Trip to Murder 22
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Keeping a wary eye on Flannery and a firm grip on Kitty's arm, Matt steered them swiftly back to the river's edge and the small shanty he and Kitty were using as refuge.
Once inside the shack, Matt bolted the door and lit the lantern, looking over at Sean. "Welcome to our humble abode. Until we clear Kitty's name, this is home for all of us. I'm not letting you out of my sight until I know whether I can trust you or not."
Sean nodded. "I understand. I don't blame you." Taking a look around at the small room, he noted the door in the back wall. "That lead to anywhere?" He nodded towards it.
"Looking for a way out, are ya?" Matt goaded. Seeing Sean wouldn't bite, he shrugged and settled himself against a wall. "Goes into a cave under this building. Figured we could hole up down there if we had to. So far, though, it seems safe enough to stay up here."
Sean nodded. "Probably is. Doubt anyone comes down this far. This area used to be extensively used by various breweries because of the caves. They could store their supply down there and keep em cool, but every time the river would rise, they'd get flooded out and the caves were constantly filling with water. They eventually moved everything further up. There's still plenty of caves for them use but up closer to town, they don't flood out as easy."
"Thanks for the history lesson." Matt grumbled, eliciting a reproachful look from Kitty.
"Look, gentlemen." She'd had enough for one night. "I'm not sure what you two intend to do, but I'm going to take one of those blankets, Herman gave us, and I'm going to lie down and get some rest. I'm tired."
"Yeah, I guess you are." Matt's tone softened as he looked at the exhaustion she wore like a cloak. "You haven't eaten much the last three days either."
Kitty shook her head, pushing a strand of hair from her face. "I guess I haven't been particularly hungry. Something about murder kinda quells the appetite."
"You still need to eat, Kitty." He gently admonished. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her but Sean's presence there hampered that. And he wasn't about to let Sean out of his sight.
"Maybe after I've slept a little, Matt." She told him, understanding his concern. "Right now, I'm too worn out to care about it. I'm just gonna get some water and then get some sleep."
Matt nodded as he stepped over to the bag Herman had supplied them, and pulled out a couple of blankets, laying on down in a corner of the room and wrapping the other one around her shoulders. Handing her the water bottle, Herman also supplied, he pointed to the pallet he'd made. "Go on and lay down. You can eat when you get up."
Kitty nodded and, for just a second, came close to reaching up for a kiss. But seeing Sean out of the corner of her eye, she instead took a long drink of the water and then stepped over to the small pallet Matt had made for her, and lay down, surrendering to her exhaustion.
Matt leaned once more against the wall and silently watched her for quite a while, until he was certain she was asleep. Finally he pulled himself back up and looked over at Sean. "We need to talk." He said quietly, so as not to disturb her.
Sean nodded. "Yeah, you're right." He looked over at Kitty. "It's still dark out. We stay close to the shack on the river's side and we should be safe. We won't wake her up, that way."
Matt nodded but didn't move until Sean stepped towards the door first and then he followed him out and around to the side of the building. "Alright, Flannery," Matt said gruffly once he was sure he was out of ear shot of the sleeping woman inside. "I want some truth here and I want it now. Kitty may believe everything you've told us but I don't."
Sean studied Matt's face for several moments without answering; trying to come to a decision it seemed to Matt. Finally, he nodded and dropped his head. "Yeah, I guess you should know everything. I should've told you this from the beginning but I figured you'd be less likely to trust me if you knew. Seems like that backfired on me, huh?"
"If I knew what?" Matt clenched his teeth as he took a step closer to the patrolman.
"Captain Gerald Owens is my uncle." Sean answered, shame coloring his voice. "He's my mother's brother. When I first suspected him, I looked for anything to prove him innocent, because of that. But it just wasn't there. When you and Kitty came into the picture, I knew you'd need to know about him but I hoped you wouldn't have to know I was related to him."
"Hmpf." Matt glared at him. "Well you're right about me not trusting you, but I haven't trusted you too much since you first came to get me at the hotel and this little piece of information doesn't help your case any."
"No, I guess not." Sean rubbed the back of his still tender head. "But I swear, Matt. I am not now, nor have I ever been a part of his activities." He once again studied Matt's face and added, "And I think you know that. Don't you."
Matt took a deep breath. "What I know is that a man has been murdered and Kitty is being falsely accused of it. I know your uncle is up his eyeballs in this thing and that you just admitted you haven't been telling me the truth. That's what I know." His voice was rising and Matt took a step back and another deep breath before it rose enough to wake Kitty.
"Only about my being related to him." Sean defended himself. "Everything else I've told you is the truth. Besides, that's not really bothering you, is it."
"What do you mean," Matt frowned. "You think lying to us about who you are isn't enough to bother me?"
"How about Kitty?" Sean asked
"Kitty? What are you talking about?" Matt asked with growing irritation. "She's the only one involved in this that I know for a fact I can trust."
"That's not what I mean." Sean told him. "You're worried that I might make a play for her, aren't you? Sure, you want her out of this mess, yourself too. And yeah, I agree, I should've been upfront with you about everything from the beginning. But that's not the real reason you have a problem with me. The real problem is you're jealous."
The man's words stung and angered Matt and he drew back an arm and backhanded him, sending him flying backwards into the dirt. "What I am," he said through clenched teeth, "is a little sick and tired of you." Matt told him.
Sean shook his head and got back to his feet. He'd hit a nerve and he knew it. "Marshal, you can pummel me all you want but it won't solve anything." He spat the blood from his mouth, where he'd bit his cheek when Matt hit him. "I admit; I'd like nothing better than to get together with Kitty. But I'm no fool. I've seen the way she looks at you. Hell, I've seen the way you look at her. You two love each other."
Matt stood glaring at the man, silently trying hard to rein in his temper.
"Please, Marshal." Sean pleaded. "I need you to trust me. You are my only hope of stopping this thing. I promise you, I will never try to step in between you and Kitty. I'm not stupid enough to try anything. Besides, do you really think she'd betray you like that?"
Matt took several deep breaths and shook his head. Flannery was right in that much at least. Kitty would never do that and he knew it. He knew where her heart was. "I still don't trust you, Flannery." He finally said. "But you are right. We do need to work together. But you'd better tell me everything, I mean everything you know and if I find out you've lied…"
Sean spit some more blood from his mouth. "Like I said, Marshal, I'm not a fool. Now, can we talk and try to figure this thing out?"
Matt nodded slowly. "Yeah," he answered. "I guess we can. But I'm still not sure I trust you."
TBC