Chapter 18

Dr. Merar cleared Jarrod to go home, and just as Sheriff Madden was unlocking the door to Tyler's room, the three Barkley brothers were mounting up outside the livery.

"You sure you feel all right to ride?" Nick asked one last time.

Jarrod said, "I'm fine."

They rode out together at a careful clip, an easy gallop, chatting a bit as they rode – until they began climbing the north ridge. Suddenly, a rider was tearing out from the direction of the Bishop ranch. The Barkleys stopped, looking, and right behind that rider came Sheriff Madden. He saw them and pulled up.

"I don't know why but that's Bishop's daughter making for where the herd is, and Tyler's out there!" the sheriff yelled, his horse uncomfortable about stopping so suddenly.

"Did the key fit?" Jarrod asked.

The sheriff nodded. "The key fit. I was about to go after Tyler when Miss Bishop took off."

"Something's going on between them," Jarrod said. "Go! We'll be right behind you!"

The sheriff took off, and Jarrod took of right behind him. Nick and Heath were a little concerned about Jarrod heading off so fast, but they took off too.

It was only a few minutes later that Angie Bishop caught up with the herd and found Joe Tyler. He was mounted up and at the near edge of the herd, no one with him, looking surprised to see Angie pulling up to him.

"The sheriff found the key!" Angie yelled. "He's knows it fit your door! He's right behind me!"

Tyler saw that he was, and he saw the Barkley brothers right behind him. He froze. There wouldn't be any getting away. "Just take it easy and don't say anything," Tyler said to Angie.

Sheriff Madden pulled up in a moment, with the Barkleys only a moment behind him. "Joe – I need you to come into town with me. I'm arresting you for the attack on Jarrod Barkley the other night in the livery, and maybe for the one last night in the doctor's office too. Just come with me and don't give me any trouble."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tyler said. "I wasn't anywhere near Barkley either time."

"Just come with me, and we'll talk about it," Sheriff Madden said. "Miss Bishop, maybe you better come along too."

"I haven't done anything," she complained.

"Except ride out here to warn Joe," the sheriff said, "and you're gonna need to answer some questions about that because there appears to be more here than I suspected."

Jed Bishop rode in then, blurting out, "Angela! What are you doing here! Go on home!"

"She's coming with me," Sheriff Madden said, "and so is Tyler and so are you, Jed. I've arrested Tyler. Don't make me arrest you and your daughter too out here in front of your men."

Bishop and the Barkleys looked up. All of Bishop's men out here with the herd were staring their way.

Bishop yelled to a man nearby. "Sandy! Take charge here until we get back!"

Angie kept looking at Tyler, looking for help, but he did not look at her. It wasn't very difficult for the sheriff or the Barkleys to see that something was going on between Angie and Tyler, or to guess it was romantic in nature.

But Bishop wasn't getting it at all. He just said, "Why do you need my daughter, Sheriff?"

"Jed, she's got something to do with this," Sheriff Madden said. "We're all gonna go to my office and figure it all out."

"We'll ride back with you, Sheriff," Jarrod said.

Bishop and Tyler both looked surprised. The sheriff hadn't been talking very loudly, but Jarrod heard him. And he was talking like he knew what was going on.

Sheriff Madden drew his horse around next to and a bit behind Tyler, as if to herd him like a head of cattle. Tyler stopped looking at anyone at all. Bishop just kept looking confused at his daughter, who looked at him once and then looked down and away. Nick and Heath put themselves near her, while Jarrod pulled up near Bishop.

Jarrod wasn't sure, but looking at Tyler and Angie not meeting anyone's eyes, and Bishop looking confused, he suddenly got the feeling that whatever had been going on was between Tyler and Angie. Jed Bishop wasn't a guilty party – he was to be the stooge, the pigeon who was being set up to take the fall for whatever Tyler and Angie had planned. And Jarrod thought he knew what that might be – get Jed Bishop out of the way so Angie could get the ranch and share it with her lover. Suddenly, to Jarrod, everything that didn't make any sense before made perfect sense now, and he smiled.

XXXXXXX

When they got to town, Nick and Heath stayed with the sheriff while he got Tyler into a cell. He didn't lock Bishop or his daughter up, at least not yet. Jarrod went off to find the local prosecutor, a man named Linden, and found him in his office. He explained everything as quickly as he could – including his own involvement in it – and went back to the sheriff's office with Sam Linden. But once there, Linden told him to go home. He didn't want Jarrod there right now.

Jarrod gladly rounded up his brothers and they headed home again. This time they made it all the way, and it was a good thing they did because Jarrod was beginning to fade for real by the time they got there. He was exhausted.

It was Dan Lynch who was there to tend to their horses. "The sheriff has Joe Tyler and Jed Bishop, and his daughter in town straightening all this out," Jarrod said. "We might have everything cleared up tomorrow, but the sheriff and the prosecutor may want to talk to you again."

Lynch just nodded, looking surprised that Jarrod was talking, looking surprised that Jarrod would be saying anything to him about it. He didn't say anything, just took charge of their horses.

They went inside, finding Victoria and Audra in the foyer to greet them. Jarrod kissed his mother on the forehead as she said, "You're home. I hope that means your idea worked and things are cleared up."

"It worked, and things are getting cleared up," Jarrod said, "but I'm bushed. I'm going to go clean up and lie down for a while before Dr. Merar insists on me putting back in his sick room again."

As Jarrod headed on upstairs, Nick and Heath explained everything that had happened. Audra breathed a definite sigh of relief. "I hope you're right and it's over – but I hope you don't mind keeping Dan Lynch on. He's awfully good with the horses."

"We'll see about that too," Nick said.

XXXXXX

Jarrod rested and, as promised, was back in his office in town by eleven the next morning, perfectly able to hear and think. Esther was happy to see him and "to get things back to normal around here," as she said.

"Thank you for your help and understanding," Jarrod said. "I'm going to head over to the sheriff's office and see – "

He didn't finish the sentence. Jed Bishop came in. He looked tired, repentant, even guilty. Definitely more subdued than the last time he was here. "Mr. Barkley," he said, calmly, respectfully. "Can I talk to you?" Then he said more loudly, as if remembering Jarrod couldn't hear. "Can I talk to you?!"

Jarrod said, "Sure, come on in."

Jarrod led him into his inner office, closing the door behind them, inviting Bishop to sit down while he went behind his desk.

As Bishop sat down in one of the chairs in front of Jarrod's desk, Jarrod said, "You don't have to speak up, Jed. I can hear. I'm all right."

"Good," Bishop said. "I wasn't so sure yesterday."

"Well, you were preoccupied," Jarrod said. "I went home and got a lot of good rest."

Bishop didn't look at him. "Sheriff Madden arrested my foreman and my daughter."

"But not you," Jarrod said.

Bishop shook his head. "I'm a fool, Barkley. I had no idea what was going on behind my back. I never had anything to do with dynamiting your orchard or attacking you either in the livery or in Dr. Merar's office. It was all the doing of Tyler and – " He choked up. "And my daughter."

Jarrod felt for him, having to accept that his daughter had betrayed him, but Jarrod didn't interrupt him.

Bishop said, "They were in it together, but Tyler only wanted my ranch. He sweet talked Angie into thinking he wanted to marry her – at least that's what Angie says. She wanted me out of the way, in jail, but not dead – otherwise I know Tyler would have just killed you and gotten me hung for it. Or found a way to just kill me and not get blamed. They went after you because you were the one I was mad at, about the orchard. The law would have believed I'd go after you."

Bishop paused, but Jarrod still didn't say anything.

Bishop took a deep breath. "Tyler denies the whole thing and he's still trying to blame it on me and now on Angie too. But Angie has me convinced. He took advantage of her too. The sheriff has charged her with conspiring with Tyler to beat you up and blame everything on me – everything on me. I don't know what's going to happen to her, and I know you can't be her lawyer."

"No, I'm a victim," Jarrod said. "But I can recommend a lawyer for her to you. I'll have to testify about what happened to me though, and about how I found Tyler's key and how I found out it was his. All of that."

"Yeah, I know," Bishop said and got up. He wandered halfway to the door before he said, "I'm dropping the appeal about the orchard. It's yours. I don't even want it anymore."

With that, Bishop went out.

Jarrod got up and went into his outer office, watching the door to the outside close behind Bishop. Esther was seated at her desk, watching Bishop, then watching Jarrod. "Is there anything you need me to do, Mr. Barkley?" she asked.

Jarrod heaved a sigh. "No. This is Sheriff Madden's and Sam Linden's problem now. And Jed Bishop's. This whole thing was a scheme his daughter and his foreman rigged up together, to get him out of the way and get the ranch."

"Oh – " Esther moaned.

"Sad," Jarrod said, but then he took a deep breath. "Bishop is dropping the appeal. You and I have to move on to my case in San Francisco."

"I gave the file to your mother and sister."

"And I've brought it back," Jarrod said with a little lift in his voice. "A lawyer's work is never done. Nor is his secretary's – unless you're going to quit me because of the way I treated you."

Esther shook her head with a smile. "What would you possibly do without me?"

Jarrod gave a laugh – the first good one he'd had in days. "I have no idea."

The End