The Rescue 46

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For the next two days, Matt worked on Grant's ranch alongside his ranch hands. His stated reason was in order to pay his friend back, at least in part, for his generosity. But Matt also wanted to know if he had what it took to work a ranch, if he could spend his days herding cattle instead of drunken cowboys. He knew two days wouldn't be nearly enough time to know for sure, but he figured it'd give him an idea.

On the third day, he borrowed a buggy from Grant and drove to town to meet the stage. Kitty had wanted to go but accepted Matt's refusal with little argument. She understood traveling, even just the five miles into town, would be too difficult for her now in her advanced state of pregnancy. But she also suspected Matt wanted to talk to the judge alone first, to explain everything that had taken place in the last nine months.

Once he reached town, Matt wasted no time in getting to the stage station and parking outside. This meeting was important to his and Kitty's futures. And although, Judge Brooker had always been a friend, he figured he was also a very honest jurist who would not twist the law even for a friend.

Judge Brooker climbed down from the stage and greeted Matt with a reassuring smile and a firm handshake. "Matt, good to see you. To be honest I was just about to be afraid I'd never see you again."

Matt ducked his head for a moment. "I know Judge, and to tell the truth, I wasn't so sure myself."

"Well, let's see if we can fix that, shall we?" Judge Brooker slapped him on the shoulder as he accepted his bag from the stage driver. "Where is Miss Russell?" He asked looking around.

"Well, she's not here, Judge." Matt told him. "She's not able to travel."

Brooker gave him a startled look. "She hurt?"

"Not really." He answered evasively. "Look, Judge, lets ride on out to the ranch, we're staying at, and I'll tell you everything on the way."

By the time they'd reached the drive leading onto the ranch, Judge Brooker was shaking his head. "I can't believe it, Matt. You two went through all of that?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, we did, Judge."

"And you're married and she's pregnant?"

"Yes," Matt confirmed.

Brooker broke into a grin and clapped him once again on the shoulder. "Well, congratulations, Matt. I'm happy for you two."

"How happy?" Matt asked with a raised brow.

"Let's go and see your lovely bride," Brooker's grin didn't diminish, "and I'll tell you both together."

Although Kitty had wanted to get dressed and meet the judge in the great room, in the end, she acquiesced to her condition and stayed put. She just wasn't physically able to get up.

When the Judge and Matt arrived, Matt took him back to the bedroom and showed him in. Once the pleasantries were exchanged, Judge Brooker wasted no time in getting down to business. "I realize my coming here, is a bit unusual. Especially since this is not in my jurisdiction. But I felt this was important enough to warrant it."

He reached over from the chair he was sitting in and took Kitty's hand. "I know from Matt, here, that the past year has been pretty rough for you."

Kitty nodded and dropped her eyes, not wanting to think about how hard it had been.

"Well, I am hoping to make the next year easier on you. Now first of all, you had some very serious charges stacked up against you. Not just the murder conviction for Treager, but the charges of escape and the added charges of murder for the deputy and stage driver, killed when the stage wrecked."

Kitty gasped and looked up at Matt then back at the judge. "But I didn't kill them. No one did. They died as a result of that wreck. Honest, Judge, I…"

"I know, I know." He reassured her. "But you'll notice, I said 'had'. It seems Judge Henry was a little over zealous in his desire to see justice done and over stepped some boundaries. I had an independent investigator go out to the scene of the wreck and look it over carefully as well as check the stage. He reported that the wreck was simply a result of going too fast on bad roads. There was nothing to indicate any escape attempt, aside from the fact that you hadn't been found there. And that of course can be explained easily enough."

"How?" Matt asked.

Judge Brooker grinned. "Someone rescued her from that wrecked stage and took her away from there." He gave Matt a knowing look. "And although you were already retired as Marshal, you went to find her when you learned of it. Is that not correct?"

Matt licked his suddenly dry lips and looked at the judge in confusion. He couldn't be saying what it sounded like. "How do you explain our marriage and her pregnancy?" He asked.

"I distinctly remember marrying you two in secret about two years ago." The judge arched a brow at him. "And well, convicted felon or not, she being your wife and you being a man, well when you finally found her…"

Matt closed his eyes and shook his head. He couldn't believe the judge was willing to do this.

"Judge." Kitty looked at both men. "Even if we were able to convince someone of that story, it doesn't change the fact that I was convicted of murder."

The judge sobered up and looked back over at her. "No it doesn't. But convictions can be overturned, if there is sufficient evidence. And thanks to some friends of yours, there is plenty of evidence."

"What do you mean?" Matt and Kitty both asked at the same time.

"Well," Brooker smiled. "First of all, Doctor Adams, Festus Hagen, a man named Buster Musgrove and a family by the name of Atkins, all swore that they were a party to a deathbed confession of a man named Seth Brody. They even had a written confession by him, stating that he, not you, killed Vic Treager and that he inadvertently framed you for it."

He gave Kitty a reassuring tug of the hand when he saw the expression of pain on her face. "I obtained a copy of that letter, incidentally, and had it examined." He continued looking back at Matt. "The signature appears to be genuine. I also found several gamblers in town who attested to the fact that Mr. Treager had lost quite a bit of money to them and was talking about finding a way to get it back. Now that, in and of itself, doesn't prove her innocence but combined with Brody's confession, as well as other witnesses who will swear that Victor Treager had stated on several occasions that he was going to take Miss… I mean, Mrs. Dillon, I believe it's plenty sufficient to overturn her conviction and clear her name completely."

"But Judge Henry…" Matt started.

"Judge Henry is a fool." Judge Brooker said with a touch of angry disgust. "As a matter of fact he's worse than that. I still have a little more investigating to do to prove it, but I think Henry and that pompous ass of a District Attorney knew about Treager's gambling losses as well as other things that would have helped her case and withheld that from her attorney. There's also the matter of the charge." He looked back at Kitty. "Even if you and he had of fought over a gun and he got shot, it wouldn't have been first degree murder. At worst it would've been manslaughter. At best, self-defense."

Matt looked over at Kitty and saw the hopeful expression on her face, but he also saw the same feeling of almost guilt that he felt. "Uh, Judge." He glanced at Kitty again and she gave him a subtle nod of approval. "About that death bed confession…"

"Don't." Brooker said firmly. "I had a private conversation with Dr. Adams before I came here and he told me everything. Although there is a minor discrepancy in how the confession came about, it doesn't change the fact that a confession was given, both verbally and in writing and before several witnesses. In my opinion," he looked once again to Kitty. "You are from this day forward, free of all charges. Anything legally, that needs to be done to assure that, I will take care of."

As tears streamed from her cheeks, Kitty sat up in the bed and reached over, hugging Judge Brooker tightly. "Thank you." Was all she could manage to whisper.

Judge Brooker patted her on the back and then kissed her on the cheek before finally releasing her. "You have nothing to thank me or anyone else for, except maybe this tall fellow here. You were done a grave injustice, young lady. And I intend to do everything in my power to rectify that."

Matt reached out and grabbed the Judge's hand tightly. "You don't know what this means to us."

"Maybe not entirely," the judge smiled. "But I have an idea. Oh, and before I forget, you two might like to have this." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out an envelope and pressed it into Kitty's hand. "The official papers rescinding your arrest warrant and canceling the bounty, as well as overturning your conviction, are in there, as well as a wedding certificate dated about two years ago. Hang on to those."

""Yes, Sir." She smiled, cradling the envelope to her chest as the judge got up from his chair and turned to Matt.

"And, Matt," he nodded towards Kitty. "You hang onto her."

Matt shook his hand again than moved to sit beside Kitty on the bed, pulling her into his arms. "I intend to, Judge. I intend to."

TBC