Death Has Its Price

Chapter 20 – Would the Real Doc Holliday Please Stand Up?

She stared at the photo that Maverick had handed her, with everything and at the same time nothing going through her mind. "But this is – I mean – it looks like – it can't be. This is your brother. This is your brother?"

Bret nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Bart Maverick?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"But it can't be. This is John."

"John Henry Holliday?" the man in black astride the horse asked.

Amy looked at him. "Yes," she answered in a small voice.

"That would be me," Doc answered.

"But how can you – I mean he's – I thought – I don't understand."

Maverick turned to the man on the horse. "Come on down, Doc. You get to explain this one."

Doc sighed. This was one of the times when being Doc Holliday was indeed a burden. He got down off his horse and tied the reins to the hitching post. Gage Stanhope saved him from having to explain everything while they were out on the porch.

"Gentlemen, why don't we go inside? I've got coffee and whiskey, and we can talk in comfort."

Doc brightened considerably at the mention of 'whiskey.' "Mr. Stanhope, lead the way."

They all went inside, Amy fidgeting and unable to stand still. She got the cups and the coffee pot from Cora and poured for everyone, Doc taking his usual half and half mixture. Finally she could stand it no longer. "Mr. Holliday - Doc – please explain. The man that I knew as John Holliday – we're in love. He left because of me. He's not – I mean, you are – he's really Bart Maverick?"

"Slow down, Miss Stanhope. Yes, he's really Bart Maverick, my friend and Bret's brother. We were in Apache Junction almost a year ago and some cowboy wouldn't leave me alone, so I told him I was Bart Maverick and Bart was Doc Holliday. Just to pull off the ruse, we traded wallets one night so I had 'proof' that I was actually Maverick. We left the next day and forgot to switch wallets back – so when we started across the mountains, we had each other's identification. The rockslide caught us mid-way – the difference was I got slammed into a tree and knocked out. Bart must have been drug all the way down the mountain – I found his horse with a broken neck, but I couldn't find Bart. My arm was broken and I made it back to Apache Junction. By the time I got a search party organized and out there to look for him you'd already rescued him. They looked for days and couldn't find him or a trace of him. How bad was he hurt?"

Amy didn't know whether to be sad that she'd inadvertently kept the brothers apart for so long or overjoyed that the man she loved wasn't an infamous gunfighter. "It was bad, Mr. Holliday. His whole right side - A fractured shoulder, broken collarbone, arm shattered in two places, three broken ribs, and his foot was crushed and broken in several spots. But I one thing don't understand – we thought he had consumption, he coughed so much. That makes no sense."

"Half of that mountain came down with him that day, Miss Stanhope. His lungs were bound to be full of the stuff. And he woke up thinking he was me?"

She shook her head. "No, that was my fault. We didn't know who he was and I found the wallet. I just naturally assumed it was his; it was in the pocket of his coat. It said 'J.H. Holliday', so I thought he – "

"Was me," Doc finished for her.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Mr. Maverick. We thought you came looking for him because your brother was dead and you blamed him, or worse – "

"That I wanted to kill him," Bret finished.

Amy looked down at the floor, embarrassed beyond belief. "Yes."

"And you chose to protect him."

"Yes. We had to. He'd just gotten out of bed and started to use the crutch. He was in no shape for a fight."

"He wouldn't have gotten one, Miss Stanhope."

Amy remembered a question she'd never gotten an answer for. "He had a picture of a beautiful blonde woman in his wallet. Do you know who that was, Mr. Maverick?"

Bret blinked once and looked at Doc. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do. "Probably his late wife, Caroline."

Doc would have fallen out of his chair if Bret hadn't grabbed him. "HIS WHAT?"

"His LATE wife."

"Did he get married when he was twelve?"

"She was Samantha Crawford's cousin, Doc, and it's a long story. She's been gone for quite a while."

"How long is quite a while?"

"Four, five, six years."

"I was right. He was married when he was twelve."

Bret turned back to Amy. "So he was here and heard me the day I came looking for him?"

"Yes, and he didn't recognize you at all. He said he didn't know you or your brother."

Silence from Bret, while he thought of one more question. "How long since he left here?"

Gage spoke up. "Two days. Sent him off with my best horse, Noble. He's long gone by now."

"Did he leave any kind of note, or clue, where he might be going?"

"Stay here. I'll be right back," Amy told him, then went running down the hall. She found the note and grabbed it. "Here, this is what he left me." Handing the letter to his brother, she sat back down and waited. Bret read it over, then read it again. When he looked up from the paper, his voice was filled with emotion.

"That's his handwriting." He handed the note back to Amy and put his head in his hands. He made no sound, but his shoulders shook and there were tears of relief and gratitude. When he looked up his eyes were bright and he turned to Doc and grinned, a big, lop-sided Maverick grin. "He's alive, Doc. My brother's alive."

Doc clapped him on the shoulder and left his hand there, grinning himself from ear to ear. "Aren't you glad I convinced you to keep looking?"

Bret swatted at Doc with his hat. "Sure, it was all your idea. Where do you think he'd go?"

Doc was quick to answer that. "Tucson. It's where I'd head to get lost."

"Tucson it is, then."

"You have to stay and eat something," Amy insisted. "That'll give me time to get ready."

"Get ready for what, Miss Stanhope?" Bret asked.

"To go with you, of course," Amy answered.