Chapter 17

"It worked," Jarrod said when the entered the sheriff's office, after he made sure no one but the sheriff was there.

"What worked?" Sheriff Madden said, eager enough to hear that he stood up behind his desk.

Jarrod said, "Some of Bishop's men are in the Empire and they saw me playing with my key. One of them said Tyler hadn't gone to his room when he got back from town the other night – the night I was attacked. Tyler had just come by the bunkhouse but then went straight out to the herd without going into his room. Then one of the other men laughed and said maybe he'd lost his key."

"Did you get any names?"

Jarrod pointed to another figure he had drawn that looked like a slice of cake. "Baker was one of them, if you need a name."

Sheriff Madden looked interested, but said, "Do you think that's enough for Judge Lawson to give me a search warrant for Bishop's place?"

"Between that and what happened here last night," Jarrod said, "I'll bet it will. But we need to stay out of it and leave it all to you. In case it doesn't get you the warrant, I need to go home and get well overnight, and think of some other way to work this all out."

"I'll have to tell the judge where I got my information."

"You can be honest with him about me. He might not like I've been acting out a story, but this is just a warrant, not a trial. He'll probably give you the warrant."

"Where are you gonna be?"

"Dr. Merar's, then my office, then we're going home," Jarrod said. "This ruse has run its course and I need to get out of town in case you end up arresting Tyler or Bishop, or both. You don't need me anywhere around complicating things."

"All right," Sheriff Madden said. "If I don't find you in town, I'll come out to the ranch and let you know how things went."

Jarrod thanked him and then led the way over to Dr. Merar's office. He was still playing the part, needing Heath to steady him and pretending he couldn't hear, but as soon as they got to the doctor's office and saw he was alone, he explained everything that was happening.

"And regardless of how this goes from here," Jarrod said, "I want to get out of town and go home. I plan to be right as rain tomorrow regardless. Will you give me one more look and let me go?"

"Come on in here," Dr. Merar said and led Jarrod to his treatment room.

"Man, I hope this works as well as Jarrod thinks it's going to," Nick said uneasily while he and Heath remained in the waiting area.

In a few minutes, the door to the outside opened, and Esther came in. "I saw you come over here," she said, "and I saw the sheriff go out on foot somewhere, then come back, and then he rode out of town in the direction of your place, but of course, that's also the Bishop place."

Nick and Heath smiled at each other. "He got the search warrant," Nick said.

"To search for something at Mr. Bishop's?" Esther asked.

They remembered that Jarrod hadn't let her in on the key. Heath said, "There's something the sheriff wants to look for that might help find who hit Jarrod."

Dr. Merar and Jarrod came out of the treatment room then, and Esther quickly repeated what she had said to Nick and Heath. Then she added, "Are they looking for something I need to know about?"

"Yes and no," Jarrod said. "We found a key in the livery where I was hit yesterday, and after last night I started listening hard about who might have lost a key, because the sheriff hadn't found anyone here in town."

Esther said, "You think it might have been Mr. Bishop."

"Or his foreman," Jarrod said. "I didn't mention it to you because I didn't have anything to go on, but I overheard something at the Empire a few minutes ago and Sheriff Madden got the search warrant. Now, listen."

Esther was not concerned about not knowing about the key, and she was very interested in what Jarrod wanted her to hear now.

Jarrod said, "I want you to close up the office and go home and forget about all this until you meet me there at eleven o'clock tomorrow morning. I'm going home now, to get out the sheriff's way, and I'm going to be perfectly all right, officially, tomorrow. If anybody asks, just keep up the ruse until then. Just tell them I've gone home to rest from the attack the other night."

Esther nodded. "And never tell anyone it had all been a ruse."

"Maybe not never, but at least not until I let the story out myself," Jarrod said. Then he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

She was startled. He'd never done that before.

Jarrod smiled. "Forgive me if I'm being forward, but you've been a great help and I want you to know that."

"Anytime, Mr. Barkley," Esther said a little nervously. But she smiled.

XXXXXXX

Sheriff Madden was a little surprised to find Jed Bishop at home when he knocked on the door, but happy about it. His daughter was standing behind him in the foyer of the house and for some reason, Sheriff Madden got the feeling she was unhappy about something. Like maybe she and her father had just had words.

Sheriff Madden let that go. "Jed, I have a search warrant. I need to see your bunkhouse."

"My bunkhouse?" Bishop said. "Let me see that warrant."

Sheriff Madden gave it to him. "It lets me see your bunkhouse and the main house here if I don't find what I need in the bunkhouse. I'm gonna try a key in a lock on Tyler's room."

Angie Bishop looked startled. Sheriff Madden noticed, but Jed Bishop had his back to her and didn't see it.

"I don't know what you could possibly be looking for," Bishop said, handing the warrant back.

"We'll go look and see," Sheriff Madden said. "Maybe nothing, but I won't know until I try this key. Is Tyler here?"

"No, he's out with the herd, north ridge," Bishop said.

Sheriff Madden knew Bishop's land on the north ridge adjoined the Barkley's. It was the ridge above the orchard land they were fighting over. The sheriff hoped that didn't make any difference right now and went off toward the bunkhouse, Jed Bishop with him.

Angie Bishop closed the door behind them after they left – and she headed straight for the back door and the back way to the stable.

There wasn't anyone in the bunkhouse at this hour. Bishop led the way in and straight to Tyler's room, which was also his office. Sheriff Madden tried the door knob and found the room locked. He pulled the key out of his pocket – the key Jarrod had found in the livery – and he inserted it into the lock.

The door opened right up.

The sheriff was pleased. Bishop was astonished. "Where'd you get that key?"

"We can talk about that back in my office, Jed," the sheriff said. "Right now we better go find Joe Tyler and talk to him."

They went back outside together, just in time to see Angie Bishop riding off on horseback. "Angie!" Bishop called after her, but she didn't hear and kept going, fast.

"Where is she headed?" Sheriff Madden asked.

"I don't know," Bishop said.

"That's toward the north ridge."

"Yes, but I don't know why she'd – " And then he stopped. "I gotta get a horse and we better get out there."

Sheriff Madden said, "Catch up to me," and he hurried to his horse and rode off after Angie Bishop.