"As they say in the Good Book, 'Seek and ye shall find.' I came lookin' for you two boys. My deputy says that you came askin' to see my prisoner."
"Sheriff Murphy, correct?" Adam asked.
"That's right and you claim to be brothers of my prisoner." Sheriff Murphy was a big man—almost as tall as Hoss and always as large in girth but he carried himself with confidence and an air of authority, his hand resting on his sidearm.
"I'm Adam Cartwright and this is my brother, Hoss. Our brother Joe was expected back a little over two weeks now and when he didn't show, well, we decided to see what held him up."
"Worried about your baby brother, huh?" The sheriff rocked on his heels, enjoying taunting the two men. He was aware of all the times that people who passed through denigrated his town and the yokels who peopled it and although he decided not to mention it, he was aware of the Cartwright family. He had lived in Carson City about 20 years ago and when inadvertently passing through the Ponderosa on his way south, had guns pulled on him by ranch hands and told to go around the huge piece of property. So he had obliged, not willingly but out of respect for the weapons and he didn't care for the feeling at all. So once he was voted sheriff of Mule's Pass, he was surprised at how little actually intimidated him. And now, what went around came around and he had the Cartwrights by the bollocks on his property, his town. He considered tossing the two men in jail with their brother just because he could. But being basically a decent man, Sheriff Murphy decided to listen—and then he would allow them to speak to the prisoner and then he would watch them and if they did anything suspicious, they'd end o up in a cell alongside their brother.
Hoss ducked his head. He had noticed Adam's jaw muscles working and hoped that his brother would stay calm as he usually did. But you never knew with Adam. But then, if they were tossed in jail, at least they'd be able to see Joe. Fortunately, Adam smiled. Unfortunately it wasn't a particularly friendly smile.
"Well, he's young and tends to be impulsive," Adam said. "Somehow, he manages to get himself in trouble—always in the wrong place at the wrong time. You know the type—always seems to draw trouble like a magnet does metal."
Sheriff Murphy smiled but said nothing.
"So if you have our brother in jail…'may' we see him?"
"Well, since you asked so pretty, I guess you can. You go ahead of me." Sheriff Murphy stepped aside and after confirming with one another by simply a look, Adam and then Hoss sauntered across the street and down the sidewalk to the jail. Adam was aware of the sheriff following them, heard his confident step behind Hoss' but he was determined not to look back. But he did notice the people on the street seemed to take an inordinate interest in the 'parade' passing by.
~ 0 ~
"I swear to you, Adam, I tried to explain what happened and they listened but I still got arrested. They're going to hang me." Joe's eyes welled up.
"Joe, don't presume they're going to hang you—and besides, they haven't yet, right? You haven't had a trial." Adam gripped Joe on the shoulder, trying to provide comfort, to give him hope that all would be resolved in his favor but he wasn't so sure himself. "Who's your lawyer?" Adam asked.
Hoss leaned against the cell wall watching and listening. He had heard the whole story now from Joe's lips—Joe had seen a pretty, young thing, just as Hoss had suspected his little brother had, and fallen in love. That was like Joe. She was a pure beauty and not only that, but her name was Melora—it started with an "M." Joe had stated that it seemed fated after what he heard at the carnival all those years ago—and they fell in love at first sight. She had golden hair and the face of an angel and the spirit too. He wanted to marry her and she introduced him to her family—her father and sister-and they seemed to approve but with her being only sixteen, her father wasn't ready to let her go. Hoss was surprised that Adam had listened to it all and not once made a snide remark about gullibility or stupidity on Joe's part.
"My lawyer? Some horse's ass who basically says that I should throw myself on the mercy of the court and pray for the best. Adam, they wouldn't even let me send a wire home."
"Okay, Joe. Now let me go through this again and you tell me if I have anything wrong." Joe nodded. "Okay, you met this…young lady, Melora Rigby, at a street dance the first night you were passing through Mule's Pass on your way home, right?" Joe nodded. "Okay. You walked her home that night and then you asked to see her again and she said yes—invited you for dinner the next night."
"That's right. She was so pretty Adam, and sweet—the sweetest girl I've ever met. And she loved me—swore she did." Joe said wistfully. "And I loved her. She had golden, blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was so pretty."
"Yes—you've said that. Now pay attention. You saw her as often as you two could see each other- and the two of you decided to get married. She snuck out to meet you, said that she'd be about a half mile from the creek by her house. You headed there and it was then you found her dead and partially in the creek. You were bringing her in to Mules' Pass when the town doctor saw you and the two of you brought her in together, right? He didn't bring her in alone and you didn't take off?"
"No, I told you. We both brought her in. He put her body in the back of the buckboard—I put my jacket over her 'cause, well…her clothes were almost all gone—probably thrown in the water. I saw part of her dress caught on a branch of an overhanging tree and she…" Joe broke down and sobbed. Hoss moved and sat on the other side of Joe, put his arm around his brother and looked over Joe's bowed head at Adam.
"Joe, hold yourself together until we're through. Please," Adam said quietly.
"But she's dead, Adam, and it was horrible to see. You have no idea what it was like…"
"He's got an idea, Joe. Trust him—he's got an idea of what it looked like." Hoss looked again at Adam and that day they found Amy Forrester came back—their shared memory of Amy's body lying helpless—and although Hoss only saw her limp body after Adam had partially covered her, he knew that Adam was remembering the same thing-the same image haunted them both. But it had been worse for Adam—that Hoss knew.
Adam heard the buckboard coming and stood up, relieved. He walked to meet it but instead of seeing the furrowed brow of Hop Sing, it was Hoss driving the team of horses. Adam reached out for the reins to stop the horses from going any further.
"Hop Sing was supposed to come—why you?"
"Oh, Joe got a belly-ache so Hop Sing stayed home to dose 'im. He tol' me to bring out the buckboard and some blankets. What happened?" Hoss craned his neck but couldn't quite make out what was beyond his brother.
"Nothing you need to see."
"Adam, what the hell's wrong with you? I'm 17 for God's sake. I ain't no kid. Looks like…" Hoss jumped down from the wagon after locking the brake and walked around Adam to get a closer look. "Oh, hell." He turned but Adam still had his back to the sight. "Adam, who is it?"
"Amy Forrester" he replied in a hush. "Little Amy Forrester."
"What happened?"
Adam just shook his head. Hoss looked around and saw Adam's unsaddled horse and then realized that it was the mount's saddle blanket that partially covered the small body. He walked to the back of the buckboard to retrieve the blankets he had brought.
"Don't you think we should pull 'er from the water?" Hoss asked, holding the multi-colored Indian blankets.
"Not until Sheriff Coffee gets here."
"Why? What difference would it make? I mean if someone else found 'er, they'd take 'er body in? Why can't we just do it?"
"Because Roy should see…in case it's important-the way she was left. It's odd to leave someone that way. I mean if he wanted to dump her in the water, he would have—she's not that heavy. Whoever it was wanted her found this way…it's on purpose."
Hoss paused. He saw the reasoning but his instincts told him that it was disrespectful to leave her. "Well, we should cover 'er up, shouldn't we? I mean your saddle blanket ain't that big and the water's moved it a ways off her."
Adam glanced at the body and saw Hoss was correct. He nodded to Hoss and the two started toward the body but after a few steps, Hoss stopped and looked down
"I can't, Adam. I can't do it. I can't look at 'er."
Adam said nothing, just took the blankets from his brother and went to Amy's body. He pulled off the saddle blanket that was now soaked and heavy, tossing it aside, and draped one unfolded blanket over her, covering her face last. The other one he saved to wrap the body in for transport. Then he stepped back from the sight.
Hoss heard a deep shuddering sound come from his older brother as if he were about to cry. He had never, ever heard his brother cry—not even when the young Adam was tanned—not even when he had broken his arm or split his lip open. And Adam had never openly displayed grief to this degree so why now, why over this young girl whom he barely knew? And when Adam turned and dropped down to the ground again, Hoss was at a loss. So he did what he always did when he saw anyone or anything in pain, he went over and sat down beside Adam and reached out to put an arm around his brother's shoulders and they sat in silence until Roy Coffee showed up.
"She had family, right?" Adam asked.
Joe nodded. "A father and sister." He rubbed his face to stop his tears and sat back up straight.
"Why didn't you take her home?"
"Well, because of the way she looked. I mean she had been strangled and, well, it looked like she had been…she had been. I didn't want her family to see her like that. Besides, Mr. Rigby doesn't like me and he would have accused me of doing it. I knew that, so I thought I'd bring her into town, take her to the doc's and then get the sheriff. I know Doc Branson, I met him once at the Rigby's, so I thought he could see that I hadn't done it—that I didn't act like a man who'd just killed someone, especially someone he loved. I mean if I'd done it, I would've just left her. But the doctor told me to fetch Mr. Rigby so I left to get him but the sheriff caught me—I got a little lost, wandered around a bit and I he said I was running away. He took my gun and arrested me."
"So you don't think Mr. Rigby would speak up for you? Say you loved his daughter, that you were sincere and wouldn't hurt her?"
"I don't know," Joe said. "Her father…I just don't know but maybe her sister."
The sheriff came to the cell. "Time's up, boys." He unlocked the cell door and pulling his side arm, stepped back to allow Adam and Hoss to pass.
The three Cartwright brothers stood up together.
"What's your lawyer's name?" Adam asked as he turned his hat in his hands.
"Amos Spencer."
"Sit tight, Joe," Adam said and put on his hat. He winked at his brother and Joe gave a small, wan smile in response.
"Be back tomorrow, Joe," Hoss said, slapping Joe on the shoulder.
And after his two brothers left, Joe had never felt so alone before in his 22 years. He didn't feel like a man but like a scared kid. He wanted his big brothers to defend him from all the bullies of the world as they had when they were young. He dropped back down on his cot, lay back and stared at the ceiling until eventually he fell into an uneasy sleep.