A/N: I do not own Bonanza, only my OC. Tonight on Bonanza: Judgement at Olympus.

Edited 2-18-21 to add line breaks and fix format

"I'm telling you, the gun fires high and to the right." Candy slapped at the paper target in his hands. Hoss chuckled.

"If a man hits the target, he's a good shot, but if he misses, it's a bad gun." Joe cackled and Anne smiled as she wiped her rifle clean.

"Boys." Ben stood from his place at the dinging table and laid his napkin beside his plate. "I –" A knock sounded at the door and he hurried to answer it. "Hello. What can I do for you gentlemen?" He backed into the living room, waving the duo of strangers into the house. Anne straightened, watching Candy drape the rifle over his arm and fix the man on the left with an even look.

"What do you want, Gibbs?"

"Candy." The deputy – the star on his vest gleamed – dug a folded paper out of his vest and handed it to Ben. "You're gonna have to come back to Olympus with me, Candy. I've got a warrant for your arrest."

"On what charge?"

"The murder of Jed Wheelock." The rifle across Candy's arm was up and aimed at the lawman in a split second.

"I ain't going nowhere with you." He took one step backwards. "I didn't kill anyone."

"Candy, you're only making this harder than it has to be." The deputy stepped forward.

"Don't try it!" Candy kept the rifle leveled at his heart. "This gun may not be any good at thirty-five yards but at ten feet it'll blow a hole through you bigger than your hat."

"Put the gun down." Ben stepped between Candy and the deputy. "Put it down."

What was going on? Anne glanced between Candy and the deputy. "Candy?" He glanced her way and swallowed hard. Fear gleamed in his eyes for a split second before he ducked his head.

"Joe will go with you to Olympus." Candy stared at her pa for a long minute, saying nothing. Finally he nodded and surrendered the weapon completely.

"Alright, I'll go, but I don't like it."

"I'll ready the horses." Joe hurried for the door, giving the deputy a cold stare as he passed.

"Saddle Reno, too." Her brother halted and glanced over his shoulder. She raised an eyebrow, daring him to argue, as she buckled on her gun belt.

"Annie …"

"I'm going, Pa." Ben Cartwright sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"You two are going to be the death of me one of these days." She smiled.

"You wouldn't have it any other way, Pa."

"You see they fixed the window, Candy?" The deputy gestured at the saloon on their right as the quartet ambled down Olympus' main street. He laughed. "You should have seen it, Cartwright! Candy threw Jed through that window and then he – he jumped through what was left! They busted seven more windows before they was through. Wooee what a fight!" Anne rolled her eyes as they stopped in front of the jail. Joe shook his head.

"You sure picked a great way to let this town know how you felt about Jed Wheelock."

"And on the very morning before he was killed, too." Gibbs reached for Candy's arm. "Let's go, son." Anne looped her grulla's reins over the hitch rail and scanned the street on her way into the jailhouse. A couple standing in front of the mercantile caught her eye. The young woman was staring after Candy like she couldn't believe her eyes.

Interesting.

Dismissing it for now, Anne hurried after Joe. They had work to do, that was for sure. She may have only known the man a couple months, but she knew in her gut that Candy was no more a murderer than she was a bobcat. The cell door slammed with a heavy clang and her heart stalled. How many times in her life had she heard that sound? Usually it was Joe on the other side of the door, a few times Adam, and once or twice it had been Hoss. Now Candy. The whole lot of them were magnets for trouble. "Sheriff, I didn't kill him." Candy clutched at the iron bars. "It wasn't even until two or three weeks after I left town that I heard he was dead."

"You had motive and opportunity, the only man in town who did. What about that fight? You said you'd kill him."

"I probably did say that, Sheriff. I was sore over being cheated and in the middle of a fight."

"We'll get you a lawyer, Candy." Joe piped up from the corner.

"Thanks." Candy sat down hard on the narrow bunk.

"He's gonna need it, Cartwright." The sheriff sat down behind his cluttered desk. "Hearing's in two days."

Anne sat beside Joe at the hearing, wearing the dress she'd packed in her saddlebag. Olympus wasn't Virginia City; these people weren't used to seeing a woman gallivanting around in breeches. Besides, there was that woman who'd watched him from the mercantile. Anne dearly wanted to ask him about her, but now wasn't the time.

Candy had a chance, a slim one, but still a chance. No one could say they'd seen him kill Wheelock. Without a witness it would be hard to even convene a trial. It was that hope she clung to as the lawyer they'd found – A.Z. Wheelock's lawyer – presented his case. Her whole family had been on the wrong side of mistaken identities, false accusations, and just plain bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time for her to believe anyone involved except Candy.

"Your Honor, I move to dismiss the charges against my client." The prosecutor shot out of his chair.

"On what grounds?"

"The prosecution cannot provide one witness who saw Mr. Canaday actually shoot Jed Wheelock. Yes, he fought with him earlier that day, but who would stage a very public fight then kill the man the same day? It's nonsense."

"I saw it all Your Honor!" The crowd whirled in their seats, watching a scruffy, little man enter the room. He shot a nervous glance at Candy and inched forward. "I was out at the Wheelock ranch that night. I heard a shot in the barn and saw this man run out, get on his horse, and ride off."

"That's a lie!" Candy shot to his feet. Fuller grabbed his arm and pushed him back to his chair. "He's lying!" Annie and Joe exchanged worried glances.

Fuller tried his best but the judge wouldn't grant his motion, instead ordering Candy to be bound over for trial.

Joe stood as the sheriff came over for Candy. "Stay with him. I'm gonna wire Pa. We're in over our heads now."

"Tell him to hurry, Joe."

"He will." Her brother hurried from the room; she rushed after Candy and the sheriff, catching sight of that woman again, revealed to be the lawyer's daughter. Just how well did she know Candy? Did she harbor more than concern for an innocent man?

"Sheriff, Eigers is lying!"

"Candy, just admit you did it and take your punishment like a man."

"If Candy says he didn't do it, he didn't do it." Annie shoved the door closed and parked herself on the sheriff's desk since he wouldn't let either one of them near Candy while wearing a gun.

"We have a witness or did you not hear what happened back there?"

"He's a drunk." Her eyes narrowed. "Bathes in it from the smell of him."

"A drunk can't witness a crime?"

"From the looks of him, he'd have trouble finding his bottle."

"You don't like him because he just put the nails in your friend's coffin."

"If he did see it, why wait this long to come forward?"

"There was no one there besides me and Jed," Candy broke in. "At least there wasn't when I left. Eigers is lying."

"Why?" The sheriff leaned back in his chair. "He has no reason."

"Really, Sheriff, you've never heard of someone being paid to lie?" Contempt dripped from every word that left her mouth.

"And who'd do that?"

"Who else?" Annie parked her hands on her hips and the sheriff's gaze dropped to her Colt. "A.Z. Wheelock."

"Now see here, young lady." He sat up. "Mr. Wheelock wouldn't do that."

"I guess we'll find out, won't we, Sheriff?"

"Find out what?" Joe closed the door behind him and took off his hat.

"Did you –"

"They should be here before the trial."

"Mr. Cartwright's coming?" They glanced over at Candy.

"Don't worry, Candy. We'll get this sorted out."

"Good luck. You're all going to need it." The sheriff stood. "Both of you, out."

"You can't –" Joe grabbed her arm.

"Annie." Hot words bubbled up, but she locked them behind her teeth. Now wasn't the time to fight each other. "We'll be back later, Candy."

"I'll be here." Her eyes found his on the way out the door. He looked to be holding up fairly well considering the circumstances; his sense of humor hadn't disappeared for one thing. But how long would that cocky smile last?

Outside, Joe pulled her to a halt. "Stay around town, keep an eye on things. Something ain't right with Eiger's story. I'm gonna pay him a visit and see if I can get anything else out of him."

"Be careful, Joe."

"When am I not?"

"You want an itemized list?" He chuckled and rolled up onto Cochise.

"You be careful, sis. Let's go, Cooch." Annie watched the pinto disappear around the mercantile then stepped off the sidewalk into the dusty street. Maybe it was time to see what Mary Elizabeth Fuller had to say about all of this.

"I knew Jed Wheelock fairly well, I suppose." Mary Elizabeth twisted a wet handkerchief in her hands. "We all did. Maybe I knew him a little better since Pa is his father's lawyer and all." Annie kept one eye on that handkerchief. "But I had more important things to worry about."

"Your pa did mention you were going to school back East." Annie forced a smile. "How exciting." For some people maybe. But not her. The Ponderosa was all she'd ever need.

"I suppose it will be, Ms. Cartwright. I must admit, I've never been anywhere except that time Papa took me to San Francisco for my birthday. It's probably nothing to you, growing up on the Ponderosa and your pa taking you everywhere he took your brothers."

"We've had our share of problems." Annie picked up her tea cup and took a polite sip. The girl couldn't know she preferred coffee – as long as Joe didn't make it. She studied Mary Elizabeth over the rim of her cup. "We'll get through this one, too." The girl stilled.

"Do you …" She wrung her hands. "Do you … believe Candy?" Annie lowered her cup.

"Don't you? After all, you knew him before we did."

"Of course I do!" Mary Elizabeth jumped from her chair and paced over to the window, drawing back the delicate lace curtains, her gaze locking on the jailhouse down the street. "Candy isn't like most of the cowboys that come through here, surely you can see it, too. Jed Wheelock was no good, Ms. Cartwright. If Candy said he cheated him, he did." She abandoned the window and sank back into her chair, staring down at her hands. "That's just how Jed was."

"Are you sweet on Candy?"

"What? No!" Annie raised an eyebrow. "Nothing against him, but I – you see – Papa wanted me to focus on my schooling. Why encourage any man when I know I'm leaving soon?" Mary Elizabeth laughed lightly.

"Your aunt must be excited."

"I hope so, I mean, I'm sure she is. More tea?"

"No, thank you." Annie stood. "I should probably be getting back to Candy anyway." Something about this girl didn't ring true. Was she interested in Candy despite her protests? Her hand was on the glass doorknob when Mary Elizabeth spoke again.

"Ms. Cartwright." The petite blond followed her to the door, still fussing with that handkerchief. "Are you sweet on him?" Annie fixed her with an even stare.

"Ms. Fuller, I don't think that merits an answer."

"Why else would you come all this way?"

"Candy may have only worked for us a little over two months, but considering how we all met, I think anything after that is redundant. We know enough about him to say with complete certainty he's innocent.

"I also know enough to say that letting him and my brother head off anywhere alone is a mistake. With Candy around, it's like I have four brothers instead of three. All of them prone to finding trouble even when sent on the most innocent of excursions." Annie pulled the door open. "And this, Ms. Fuller, is far from innocent. Good day." Annie scurried down the steps before the girl could say anything else. She'd spent too long trying to pry out secrets; Candy was probably wondering where they were.

"Come on, Sheriff, you can't possibly believe Joe killed Eigers!" And this was exactly why they never sent one person anywhere anymore. Annie threw a worried glance at her brother now sharing a cell with Candy. At least they'd never had to fish her out of a cell.

"I realize, Ms. Cartwright, I may not be the best when it comes to investigation, but it doesn't take much investigating when I find your brother standing over the body."

"He said he saw someone riding away and Eigers was dead when he got there."

"I didn't see anyone but him."

"Did you look?" The man's face darkened.

"Only three people in this town had reason to see Eigers dead. Candy was locked up in here. You were with the Fuller girl. But your brother?"

"What about my brother? What's going on here?" Annie whirled.

"Hoss!" She ran and jumped into the big man's arms. "It's about time you got here." She looked over his shoulder. "Where's Pa?"

"He had a meeting he couldn't miss so he sent me when neither of you wired like you was supposed to."

"But Joe sent a wire yesterday morning."

"He did." Hoss' brow furrowed. "Must have missed us, I guess. Sheriff, what's going on?"

"Your brother killed the only witness who saw Candy kill Jed Wheelock."

"I did not!"

"I'm going to tell all of you Cartwrights something, and you'd better listen good. No one comes into my town and takes the law into their own hands. I don't care how big your father is up Virginia City way. This is Olympus."

"And I don't care who you think you are, Sheriff. We will find out who killed those men and I guarantee you, it ain't either one of them." Annie flung a hand at the cell. "You stay out of my way."

"Is that a threat, young lady?" She gave him a cold smile.

"I don't make threats, Sheriff, only promises."

"Annie." Hoss put a hand on her arm. "Now don't go flying off the handle and doing something stupid. Sheriff, she's just trying to protect her family, it's only natural."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here, Hoss."

"Act your age, then." Her mouth snapped shut and she looked away. "Stay and keep these two out of trouble. I'm going to go speak to Mr. Wheelock."

"He doesn't know anything more than anyone else does," the sheriff protested.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Hoss crammed his hat back on his head. "That's what I aim to find out." Annie snorted and stalked towards the cell.

"You. Gun on the desk." She rolled her eyes and handed over her Colt.

"You know Joe, you just proved every word I said to Mary Elizabeth." Her brother raked a hand through his hair.

"About what?"

"Why both of us came down here with Candy." She crossed her arms and leaned against the cell. "One Cartwright can usually find trouble about half the time we go anywhere, add in Candy and it's guaranteed. There's gotta be someone left standing to get you two out of it."

"Get that smirk off your face, little sister. Just 'cause you've never wound up in a jail cell don't mean nothing." She laughed.

"What am I missing?" Candy said slowly. Joe shook his head.

"Ma's hot French blood got cooled a little too much by Pa's Yankee common sense. Annie here never leaps before she's thought through every possible landing in detail."

"You ought to try it sometime, big brother, might keep you out of situations like this." She ran her eyes over the cell.

"I thought you two were twins."

"Doesn't mean we think alike."

"Well, Joe, she does have a point." He grinned when Joe glared at him. "She's out there, and we're in here."

"Will you three keep it down? I've got paperwork to file." The sheriff buried his head in his hands. "Why me?"

It was almost two hours before Hoss came back. "No luck."

"I told you," the sheriff said without looking up from his papers. Hoss handed over his gun and joined them at the cell.

"Mr. Wheelock is plumb tore up. Couldn't think of anyone who'd have done this except Candy. I told him that wasn't true, so there had to be something he didn't know about. He got real quiet and just sat there, said he wanted to turn over the reins of power and sit in the shade and play with his grandchildren." Annie blinked.

"His son wasn't married."

"He said he had hopes for a while there, that Jed was seeing the Fuller girl, but it didn't come to anything."

"Hoss, I'll be right back."

"Where you going?"

"There's something I need to straighten out. No, you don't need to come." She held her hand up. "Probably get answers faster if you're not there." Annie hurried out the door before Hoss could order her back. Hoss had given her the piece that tied everything together. How had she missed it before? She knocked on the white painted door and waited. Mary Elizabeth opened the door and froze.

"Ms. Cartwright?"

"May I come in?"

"Of, of course." The blond stepped aside and Annie brushed past her. "Did you need to speak to Papa? He's not here, I'm afraid."

"No, I just had another question." Annie closed the door behind her, purposely drawing it out. "You're not going back East to school."

"What?" She wrung her hands. "That's not a question, Ms. Cartwright."

"Is Jed Wheelock the father?" Mary Elizabeth turned white so fast Annie was sure the girl would faint dead away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The blond drifted waif-like through the parlor. "I'm going to school."

"Did he know it's his?" Mary Elizabeth spun, staring at Annie with pain-filled eyes. She crumpled into the closest chair with a wail.

"I told him it was!" She sobbed into her handkerchief. "He said how could he be sure? Of course it was his baby. I loved him, Ms. Cartwright, so much."

"And he refused to marry you." A choked sob was her only answer. "Did you tell your pa?"

"No." Annie turned. Fuller stood in the dining room doorway, hat in hands. "Jed told me. Laughed in my face and said he had no proof it was his, said there'd been others." His daughter howled from the chair, fresh sobs building.

"You killed Jed Wheelock, Mr. Fuller."

"No!" Mary Elizabeth threw herself at her father, sobbing. "Tell her you didn't Papa, please. Tell her she's wrong."

"Mary Elizabeth. He was going to ruin you."

"Papa?"

"Yes, Ms. Cartwright, I killed him. Satisfied now?"

"Once you clear the innocent men down in the jail. You killed Eigers too, didn't you?"

"Unfortunately, Ms. Cartwright, going down to the jail is not in my plans." He drew a small pistol from his coat and began to back towards the front door.

"Papa?"

"Mary Elizabeth, don't. I'm sorry." He turned and dove out the door. Annie pulled her Colt and darted after him, Mary Elizabeth wailing at her heels.

"No!"

"Mr. Fuller!" He spun and fired, clipping the porch roof. Time slowed to a crawl. The sheriff appeared in front of his office, gun drawn. Annie grabbed his daughter's arm to keep her from bolting into the middle. "Mr. Fuller stop!"

"Drop the gun, Mr. Fuller." The sheriff's voice was rock steady. "Put it down now." Annie held her breath.

For one moment, it looked like everything would end peacefully. Then, Fuller brought his gun up to bear and the sheriff fired. Mary Elizabeth wailed and Annie let her go.

"I gave him every chance to put it down." Annie holstered her Colt and bowed her head. There were times she hated being right.

"Let's go. I've been stuck in this town six days too long." Candy tied off his bedroll and collected his saddlebags from the pile on the bed.

"You and me both." Joe followed suit. Hoss stuffed his hat on his head.

"Annie and me is ready when you two are."

"We're ready." Joe reached the door first and yanked it open. He stepped back in surprise. "Mr. Wheelock." The man's gaze drifted over Joe's shoulder to Candy.

"They said I'd find you here, Candy."

"What do you want?" The man looked uncomfortable as he fumbled in his pocket.

"Here." He fished bills from his wallet. "Five head of horses at $50 a head is $250. Take it, Candy."

"I don't want your money."

"No, it's yours. My son cheated you. Take it, please." He held out the money.

"Fine." Candy stuffed the money in his pocket.

"I'm sorry. I never would have thought Fuller could …" He trailed off. "I don't want to hold you up any longer." The four watched him leave with his head down.

"Let's go." Candy was the first to break the silence and the first to shoot out the door. They gathered their horses from the hitch rail and swung into their saddles. As they rode out, Annie caught sight of a figure in black standing on the sidewalk. Mary Elizabeth stared into the street, seeming to see nothing. Mr. Wheelock walked over to her. They looked at each other for a moment, then he pulled her into a fatherly embrace. Small comfort, Annie thought. But it was better than nothing. Up ahead, her brothers and Candy spurred their mounts into a canter and she faced forward, giving Reno his head. It was time to go home.