"Hancock. Hancock. Bartley."
It was the last one that got him, finally. At some point he'd fallen asleep while reading to his brother and it was that same brother that woke him. "Huh? What? Oh, sorry. Did you - ? What?"
"Molly went outside to talk to Jason before he left. What's goin' on, Bart? What haven't you told me?"
"Nothin'."
"Don't tell me that. I know you're tryin' to keep me right where I am. Now tell me the truth." Bret was sitting up in bed, pillows propped behind him, with his arm in a sling to give the shoulder some support. Bart knew as soon as he opened his mouth he couldn't lie to his brother.
"They're plannin' somethin' else. I don't know what. So I'm sendin' the mares with Jason and the boys to the upper pastures to keep 'em safe."
"And?"
Bart blinked. "And what?"
"That's not all of it, is it?"
"The marshal's a little nervous. He'll be out tomorrow to ask you an Molly questions about the shootin's. An I found out the mayor's part of the consortium. That explains a lot."
"You were busy, weren't you?" Bret asked with a touch of mirth in his voice. "No wonder you were gone so long."
"Yeah, I guess. I met Delgado Hernandez, too. Sanders deputy. He doesn't like the marshal any more than I do. He's been waitin' for 'em to slip up."
"Any help there?"
Bart nodded, recalling his talk with the deputy. "Sounds like it. All he needs is evidence and he'll go to the Town Council with it. Seems some a the council members aren't real happy with the marshal or the mayor."
Bret began moving around and Bart got up and sat on the bed's edge. "What are you doin'?"
"I gotta get out of here. You need my help."
"I need you alive. You keep yourself right where you are until Doc Bradley gets back here day after tomorrow. He was worried about an infection an you're not goin' anywhere at least until he sees you again."
"I'm not sure which of you is the most stubborn," Molly said as she entered the room. "Jason's on his way with the boys and the herd. He moved the horses in the barn all down to one end so they'd be easier to get to if we need them."
"Got a good head on his shoulders, Molly. He's worth havin' around," Bart told her.
"Supper's almost ready, you two. We can eat in here if you'll help me bring it in, Hancock?"
"Yes, ma'am. I can do that if this one'll agree to stay put. How about it, Joe?"
Bret grinned the Maverick grin. "Whatta I get if I do?"
"Fed," Molly answered.
XXXXXXXX
No more meeting at the mayor's office, they'd gone to Jeremiah Bircken's ranch instead. "At least we won't get interrupted here," Jeremiah remarked as they took seats in his office. Fidelia followed the last man in with glasses and the brandy bottle, which she set down on Jeremiah's desk and then left the room. Tesson got up and closed the door behind her.
"No sense beatin' around the bush," the Marshal started. "They know what we're up to. Hancock did everything but throw it in my face."
Bircken poured brandy for everyone and passed the glasses around. "Why so much hostility between you two? You seem to delight in aggravatin' him, and it sounds like he does the same to you."
"It doesn't matter," Sanders answered. "We gotta finish this now. I'm goin' out there tomorrow to question Molly and Delacroix about the shootin's. I'll take a good look around and see what's the most vulnerable spots. Then we can proceed with the plan."
Nance shook his head. "We didn't entirely approve your plan, Conrad."
"Got to work better than yours, Nance. Seems you ran first chance you got instead a finishin' the job and killin' them two."
"Who told you that?" Nance wasn't denying it.
"Hancock." Sanders almost spit the word out. He wasn't sure who he disliked more at this moment, the saddle tramp or the coward in front of him.
"You'd have run, too. There was four of 'em comin', and I didn't know who was with 'em. Figured I'd have another chance. Didn't know everybody was gonna panic."
"We've not panicked, Nance. We've just decided to try something else," Branch Haven, ever the politician, attempted to diffuse the quickly escalating hostility in the room.
"What if you start somethin' we can't put out or control?" came Nance's next question.
"We won't," Sanders answered.
"You can't know that," Tesson quickly countered.
Burns Wolcott, who'd been silent up to this point, finally spoke up. "Can you guarantee you'll get them the next time, Nance?"
"Yes, I can."
"And what if you don't?" the mayor questioned.
"Then I'll keep my mouth shut and do whatever it takes to run her outta the valley."
Jeremiah looked from Burns to Branch to Conrad. Each, in turn, gave a small nod. "Alright, Nance, one more try. But wait until Conrad's gotten his questionin' outta the way. And then show us what you can do. If it's not done by Friday, we'll implement Conrad's plan. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
XXXXXXXX
Bret was asleep again, and Molly and Bart were sitting in front of the fireplace in the main room. There was an unexpected chill in the air, and Bart had started a small fire just to counter the early spring weather.
"What if they come after us before he's well?" Molly's tone was anxious, to say the least.
"They probably will. I just hope they wait a few days, give those stitches time to take hold. I don't like temptin' fate; we've come close too many times. I think they got somethin' up their sleeves, but it's what they do after it fails that worries me."
"After it fails? You think they'll keep trying?"
"They're not gonna give up, Molly. Not when they've come this far. I suspect whoever was behind the shootin' will come back at least once more."
She thought about that for a minute, then asked her next question. "You don't think that Conrad was the shooter, do you?"
"Nope. First off, he's a better shot than that or he woulda been dead a long time ago. Second, he wouldn't a run when you came ridin' up. Third, he's the one with the alternate plan. And I think it's gonna be ugly when it comes. That's the reason I sent the boys up the mountains, to get them and the mares outta the way. Do somethin' for me, would ya?"
"What's that?"
He looked at her in all seriousness. "Don't go outside by yourself. No matter what it's for, no matter how quick it'll be. Make sure I go with you."
"Do you really think - "
"Yes."
"You don't know what I was going to say, Hancock."
"Yes, I do think that they would try to kill you. Look at it this way, Molly. If they kill you, they don't have to kill us."
"Oh." It was easy to know from the expression on her face that she hadn't considered that. "That would solve problems for you and Delacroix. My being dead, I mean."
"No, it wouldn't. Joe cares about you. So do I, and you'd be dead. It wouldn't solve our problems at all."
"I see your point. What about the horses? We need to feed them tonight."
"I can do that. You stay here and keep an eye on my partner, alright?"
She nodded her head and he got up to go to the barn. Molly looked out the other window in the room, the one whose glass hadn't been shattered, and watched him all the way to the barn. Who were these two men, who seemed to care as much for her as she did for them? She heard Joe stir in the other room and went to see if he was awake. She didn't see the shadowy form up on the hill behind the trees with his rifle aimed at the barn.
It would be so easy to kill him now. Why wait until it was harder to accomplish? Nance sighed and set the rifle back down. He'd given his word he'd wait until the marshal came out tomorrow. Damn, a good opportunity wasted.