Chapter 7 – Dead Men Tell no Tales

Doralice pulled out of my arms and backed away from me. "Wh-wha-what? Who killed my father? Is that what you're askin' me?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry . . . yes. Who killed your father?"

"Why, Bart?"

"I'm tryin' to get to the bottom of this grab that Jedidiah Pike is makin' for Maude's."

"And this has somethin' to do with my father?" There was pain in her voice, the kind of pain that only a child that loses a parent much too young knows.

I shook my head. "I can't guarantee that, honey. But it looks like it might."

Doralice backed away from me and sat down abruptly on the bed. Her voice grew soft with tears. "Daddy. I think about him all the time. It's been so long since he was killed. Who's doin' this to us? And why?"

"I don't know, honey, but I'm tryin' to find out. Do you know who killed him?"

"Mama said . . . mama said it was Sam Winston."

Sam Winston . . . again that name. The man that disappeared, the man that went back to New York, changed his name and created a whole new life. The same Sam Winston that Billy Flynn owed money to. The man that killed Maude Donovan's card cheat husband. Was Sam Winston Jedidiah Pike? And if he was, what did he want with Maude's? Especially this many years later?

"Do you know when it happened?"

"Huh?" She looked up at me, my beautiful aqua eyed blonde, and she looked confused, unnerved, distraught. I couldn't blame her. I felt the same way when Pappy told me the story of him and momma. "I don't . . . I'm not sure. Sometime before I ran away with Sergio. Did you ask Maude?"

I sat down beside her on the bed and pulled her close. It seemed like it had been one punch after another since this started for the woman I loved, and all I wanted to do right now was comfort her. "I did, and she can't remember exactly. I'm gonna take her home tonight so she can check with some records she's got there. Said she's probably got somethin' that'll tell us just when . . ."

"What . . . what has all this got to do with the ownership of Maude's? And what did you find out in Abilene?"

Now I was in a predicament. I wanted to answer her question about Abilene, but Maude had it right. It wasn't my story to tell. "I found out what happened to Billy Flynn. There's some legal complications involved, and I'm not sure if it has anything to do with this situation or not."

She kind of chuckled. At least she wasn't crying anymore. "In other words, you can't tell me right now."

I did my best to look sheepish. "You're right, I can't. But there's somethin' you should know, and Cristian can explain everything. Might not be a bad idea to go see him as soon as possible."

She gave me the oddest look, but nodded anyway. "Alright. I can go now, unless you have somethin' else in mind."

I had plenty in mind, but now wasn't the time. "No, it's probably best if you go see Cristian." I stood and gathered her into my arms. "But don't make any plans after we close Maude's in the mornin'. I want nothin' better than to come back here and share a pot of coffee with you." I kissed her then, and it was all I could do not to keep kissing her.

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"You understand why I couldn't explain what happened in Abilene?" Doralice and me were on our way to Maude's when I asked the question. She'd come back from talking to Cristian and was quiet, but not angry or upset.

"I do. He explained the whole thing to me. It still bothers him, even to this day. Maybe now that the people he cares about all know what happened, he can find some peace."

"I hope. Cristian's a good man, and it's time he let the past be the past."

She looked at me hopefully. "He's not the only one." Before I could ask her what she meant, we'd gotten to the saloon. Maude was waiting for us, and I exchanged one Donovan beauty for another. We went straight to the little house that she and Cristian had purchased.

"How about if I put on a pot of coffee before I start my search?"

Real, honest to goodness coffee sounded good. "I can do that,Maude, why don't you get started?"

Twenty minutes later we were drinking coffee while Maude went through all the documents she had at the house. "Why don't you put these in Cristian's safe?" I asked while pouring us both more coffee.

"Oh, you know. There's just some things . . . some things you don't wanna share."

I thought about how many years I'd carried Caroline's picture around with me. Maude was right, even though I loved her daughter with all my heart, it was a long time before I could let go of Caroline's ghost. "He told Doralice about Abilene this afternoon."

She nodded her head. "I figured you'd send her to see him."

"Yeah, it wasn't my story to tell, either." I paused for a minute. "She feels bad for him, that he's still carryin' around such a load of guilt after all this time."

Maude nodded again. "That's my little girl . . . well, not such a little girl anymore, I guess. Ah, here it is." She pulled out an old newspaper clipping from the small pile of papers in front of her. It gave a brief account of the gunfight and listed the dead man as 'Luther Donovan, businessman' and the other party involved as 'Sam Winston, gambler.' The date of the paper was some ten years ago, and it was from Dodge City, Kansas. It also stated that the gunfight had been ruled self-defense and no charges would be filed.

I handed her the clipping. "You sure this is accurate?"

Maude read it over. "That's all I ever got – the newspaper sent it to me. Why? Is there something wrong?"

I hadn't gotten back to Cristian's office to look at the original bill of sale; he was a little busy with Doralice. "I don't know. There's somethin' botherin' me, but I can't place it yet. I'm goin' back to the saloon for the night. I need to think on this one. Thanks for the coffee, Maude."

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Take care of my girl, would you, Marshal Emory?"

"I'm doin' my best, Maude. I'm doin' my best."