CHAPTER 14

Ragger Ranch For Sale

Kitty was somewhat surprised by Sye Humphreys talkative mood. When he was sitting behind his desk in the bank, he rarely smiled and never spoke aside from the required greetings. Maybe it was the fresh air and long ride that loosened his tongue.

"I've never sold a house where there had been a murder." The bespectacled little man shivered at the thought. "I did come close to getting shot once. Do you remember Carrie Newcome?" His quick glance at Kitty was enough to see her nod. "Her boy Jeff threatened to shoot me if I didn't leave the property. Or course he didn't."

As his story came to an end, so did the journey. Sye pulled the buggy close to the front porch. He hurried around to help the marshal's wife down. "This is a nice place. Ben Testerman was fanatic about the upkeep."

Kitty shielded her eyes from the sun as she stood back for a better look at the house. "They were nice people. We were all surprised when they moved east."

"It was my understanding that Minerva's parents were ill and they moved to Philadelphia to take care of them." He lowered his voice as if to confide a secret. "I hear they were very wealthy."

Kitty acknowledged the rumor with a brief smile. She reached inside her reticule and produced the key Cicely had given her. "Matt paid Sadie Wither's and her daughter to clean up the mess. I hope she did a good job."

Sye took the key and then stepped aside to let the lady enter first. Sadie had left the windows open to air out the house. Fortunately, the bodies had been discovered quickly before the smell had a chance to attach itself to everything in the room. There was a faint smell of vanilla that Sadie had sprinkled about just to be safe.

Still, the scene of the attack held the two captive for a moment. They stood in the doorway of the study, neither wanting to enter. Each of them envisioned the carnage that had taken place. Sye was the first to clear his throat and suggest they continue their inspection.

While Sye headed toward the kitchen, Kitty wandered into the parlor. Mary Ragger had excellent taste in furniture. The photos that Calleigh had described still stood proudly on the beautifully carved mahogany sideboard. Images that reflected happier times. Smiling faces that no longer held a place in anyone's heart.

Once again, Cicely had fallen on her "too painful to look at" excuse and asked that the keepsakes be boxed up. "Maybe I can bear to go through them later." She had uttered tearfully. Kitty was drawn to the wedding picture leading the procession of silver frames. She picked it up and traced the intricate design of the shiny edges with the tip of her fingers. The Raggers looked so young and happy.

Kitty replaced the photo in its delegated spot. The picture conjured up images of her own pictorial display. Wedding pictures; one of her and Matt and of course one of Calleigh and Newly. Baby pictures of Hadley and Cooper. A few of the entire Ragtag clan. One very special shot of Cooper and Cotton Ball at the State Fair. It was an assortment of memories that when weaved together told the tale of the Dillon family.

"Mrs. Dillon." Sye Humphreys peered around the corner of the arched doorway. "I must show you something." Kitty abandoned the sweet memories to follow him. Whatever he had found stirred a lot of excitement.

"I don't know if you remember the feud between Ben Testermen and ."

"Vaguely." She stood in the center of the kitchen admiring the multiple windows surrounding the room. Each one offering itself to the morning sun. "Is this what you wanted me to see?" It was a gorgeous room but hardly something that would cause a feud between two men.

"No, it's in here. In the pantry." He held out his hand directing her to the adjoining room. At his feet was a rolled up carpet that had previously covered a door cut into the floor. "Ben became irate when Bodkin raised the cost of the safe deposit box from fifty cents a month to seventy five cents. Called him a greedy thief. The two of them stood in the bank lobby hurling insults at each other. Finally, Bodkin had one of the tellers bag up all of Ben's money. He threw is at his feet and told him to go build his own bank."

Kitty tried not to laugh but she could picture the two men fighting over twenty five cents.

Sye wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and continued his tale. "In a way that's just what he did." He reached down and grabbed the giant iron ring to pull the wooden hatch open. It was obvious; the barrier was not going to come willingly. Sye rubbed his hands together and gave it another mighty tug. The boards uttered a high pitched screech as he pulled it away from the warped frame. He hooked the ring to a hook on the wall to keep it open. "Ben spent a small fortune on this. He had plans that it would serve as a perfect place to ride out a storm, hold a season's worth of canned foods and a safe place to keep his money. Problem was, the door was so heavy it kept pulling the hook out of the wall. Minerva got trapped twice and then she refused to go down there anymore."

Kitty was caught up in the banker's laughter. The story was funny but watching the normally reserved man's uncontrollable laughter was more amusing. As he struggled to regain control he walked over to the kitchen safe and retrieved a metal box. "I found this down there. It's too new to belong to Ben. I think Ragger must have put it down there."

Kitty took the box he held out to her. "Did you open it?"

"It's locked. There might be a key in his desk." Sye could see her qualms about opening the box. "The deed to this property is probably in there you know." To further reassure Kitty, he quoted Cicely's instructions, imitating her with just a hint of sarcasm. "Mrs. Dillon will be handling everything for me. It upsets me too much to talk about losing my family."

The humor they had previously shared dissolved. It did please Kitty that Sye didn't seem to be trapped by the web of Cicely's pitiful spell. "I'll go look for a key."

Dodge House

Matt walked down the boardwalk heading toward the Dodge House. He should have checked this out two days ago after the murder but there had been so much chaos. Better late than never, he thought as he entered the lobby.

Howie stood behind the front desk wearing his usual smile. "What can I do for you today Marshal?"

Matt pushed the tip of his hat further back on his forehead and braced two large palms on the counter. "The man that was killed last week out at the Ragger farm. He was staying here wasn't he?"

"Yes Marshal he was." Howie pushed his glasses up tighter on his nose. "Lucky for us, he had paid for a week in advance. Why do you ask?"

"What name did he check in under?"

Howie pulled the ledger from the corner of the counter and flipped through the pages. "Here it is. Fletcher. Douglas Fletcher."

"Hmmm let me see that." Matt twirled the book around. "Wonder why he would check in under an alias?"

Howie offered a curious frown and hunched his slim shoulders. "If I was going to kill an entire family, I might change my name too."

"Good point. What did you do with his luggage?" Matt watched the smaller man step into the small storage closet and come out with a very expensive suitcase. Both men visually inspected the brown leather case. It proudly boasted of its superior craftsmanship with its brass locking supports and copper rivets.

The marshal opened the bag and rummaged through the tailored shirts and miscellaneous articles of clothing. In the canvas lining was a small inside pocket. "This is odd. His business card has the name Fletcher too. Says he's the Managing Editor of the Tribune." Matt looked up into the curious eyes of the clerk. He stuffed the contents back into the bag and slid it back across the counter. "Can you put this somewhere safe?"

"Sure Marshal. No one is allowed in that storage closet but me and Mr. Dobie."

"Thanks." Matt stuffed the business card and some papers he had found into his shirt pocket. "I'll get back to you."

O'Brian's Gun shop

Cicely let her gaze wander around the gun shop, seemingly impressed by all that she saw. "Did you build all of these guns?"

Newly chuckled as he reached in front of her for the roll pin punch. "No. I built a few of them but mostly I repair and sell ones that someone else made."

She giggled softly. "I feel so silly. I don't anything about guns. But then they're not really a girl thing are they?" Cicely didn't notice the strange smile that crossed Newly's lips as she slipped down from the tall stool to stand next to him. "I really want to thank you for letting me come with you today. It was nice of Calleigh to suggest it so that I didn't have to stay home alone. I hate being alone now."

"Yeah, Calleigh's thoughtful like that." Newly stepped around the girl to make his way to the counter. "She hadn't planned on leaving you today but that's the life of a doctor. Always an emergency somewhere."

"Still it must be very hard on you." Cicely began to play with a tool that she found on the counter. "What is this?"

"It's a chisel. And, no it's not hard on me. Calleigh is a very good doctor." There was no denying the pride in his voice or the love in his eyes.

Both of which she picked up on right away. "Of course, I just meant it must be difficult to see her work so hard. I guess I'm very old fashioned. I was brought up to believe a woman's place was in the home. Do you ever wonder if she would rather be just a wife and mother?"

Newly gently pushed her back to give him access to the hammer he needed. He wondered how many more questions she had tucked away in that adolescent mind. "Trust me – Calleigh does just what she wants to do. Not what someone else expects of her."

"Oh I see." Cicely was careful of her words as she continued to delve into his private life. "But doesn't she want children?"

Newly suddenly seemed guarded with his answer. "There's plenty of time for children. We're both young yet."

She had hit a nerve. "I'll bet you want a son to share this business with." Cicely brought up both hands stretching them apart as if to spread the words in the air. "O'Brian and Son. Gunsmith Shop. Has a nice ring to it." Cicely leaned closer to look over his shoulder as he bored into a barrel. "I want to have lots of children. Preferably boys." She giggled again, feigning the innocence of youth.

Newly rose up abruptly coming face to face with the young woman. Their eyes met and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable. The young gunsmith had never been much of a ladies' man and this situation was confusing him. Was this young girl…this child…coming on to him?

But those violet eyes did not reveal the heart of an innocent child.

He took a quick step back and turned away from Cicely to get his bearings. "Look at the time. We should have stopped for lunch an hour ago. You must be starved." Without waiting for an answer, he tossed the hammer into the box and headed out the door. "Let's go down to the Prairie Rose."

O0O0O0O0O0O0

They had just about reached the restaurant when Wylie raced passed them on his way to the jail. The deputy knew something was wrong. "Cicely, why don't you go ahead? I need to find out what's going on."

"I'll come with you." In the back of her mind, the cold hearted woman suspected they had found her young cowboy.

Newly wasn't concerned enough to care whether she came or not. His steps were long and quick but she was much taller than the woman that was usually at his side and matched him step for step. The marshal was following Wylie back out into the street just as Newly approached them.

Matt tugged at the front of his hat pulling it further down. "It's Gaith. He's been hurt. Doc's at home with the kids so they took him there." He hoisted himself up and settled into his saddle. "Tell Calleigh when she gets back to town."

Newly nodded a silent good bye to the two men. When he turned, he was caught off guard by the stunned face of his companion. Frightened eyes stood out in a canvas of white. Caught up in the moment, Newly had forgotten the girl's connection with the wounded cowboy. "Cicely I am so sorry. Do you want me to take you out to the Lady K?"

Cicely blinked slowly as if the translucent lids were weighted down. The stunned demeanor was genuine but not for the reason Newly believed. "He's not dead!" It was a breathless utterance.

"What?" Newly slid a supportive arm around the girl's shoulder. "He's young Cicely and Doc is a fine physician. Don't give up on him." His steps were leading them up the boardwalk to the Long Branch. This situation called for more than iced tea or coffee.

Newly ushered her inside and settled her at a table. "Pete, can you bring a whiskey over here." It was only a few seconds before the wiry bartender slid a small glass in front of the dazed girl. She didn't have to be told twice to drink the brown liquid.

Both Pete and Newly were expecting more of a reaction. Some coughing maybe, even a bit of choking. Especially for a girl as young as Cicely. Of course neither of them had any idea of the wild nights she had enjoyed in New York.

The alcohol brought warmth to her body and that needed spark of electricity required to bring life back into her brain. Self preservation was kicking in. "I should be with him." She wrapped a slender young hand around the muscular arm of the gunsmith. "Can you take me out there?"

"Sure." Newly was beginning to feel guilty for his earlier suspicions. Why would a young beautiful girl be coming on to me? Now he was glad they hadn't ridden the horses into town. "Why don't you wait here while I go down to the stable and get the buggy.