“I won’t do that. He killed that girl, and he’ll stand trial.”
“You’re going to be sorry for this when this town is overrun with state lawmen. Your skirts are not entirely clean. Mark my word, Carroll. You’ll be very sorry.”
“I’m already sorry, Doc. I’m sorry that I never had the guts to stand up to you a long time ago. Better late than never. I’m doing it now.”
“Speak to you for a minute, Sheriff.” Johnny opened the door, but didn’t enter the office.
“What are you doin’ back here?” Thatcher said. “You might as well move in.”
“Move in with a stinkin’, lowdown skunk like you?” Johnny said. “I’m not that crazy.”
Doc Herman brushed past Johnny without speaking. His face was red, and he was breathing hard in an attempt to control his anger. He jerked his head, and Thatcher followed him out.
“Doc givin’ you trouble?” Johnny asked when they were alone.
“He wants me to let Marty out and forget about this thing.”
“What’s his reason?”
“He’s heard of his family. Says they’ve got influence. He’s afraid state marshals will come in.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll not turn that son of a bitch loose. They’ll have to kill me first. Judge Fimbres is a straight shooter. I don’t think he approves of all that Doc does. He might help if I can get word to him. I don’t dare leave the jail.”
“Want me to get the judge?”
“I’d appreciate it. Give him a rundown about what’s going on. I’ll not be able to talk freely because of Thatcher. I want the judge to hold the confession. If I turn my back, Thatcher will tear this place apart looking for it.”
Later when Johnny was in the back room of the
Gazette,
Kathleen came back with the story she had written about the murder and the arrest for the next day’s paper.
“I’ll read it to you. I’ve edited it so many times it’s hard to read.” She sat down beside him on the cot he used sometimes when he stayed overnight and read her story. When she finished she asked, “What do you think?”
“You could mention that Keith is a member of the Texas Rangers. A former member, but you can forget that. You’re giving me too much credit. Give the credit to Carroll. He needs it, and I don’t.”
“I could couple his name with yours when I write about the pictures and the stains in the car. I didn’t think I’d better mention the tooth trick.” She laughed and wrinkled her nose at him.
Kathleen scribbled on the paper. “I’ll have to retype this. Paul will be totally confused when he tries to set it on the linotype. Are you coming in tonight?”
“Kathleen, phone,” Adelaide called.
“Oh, shoot,” Kathleen said and stood. “You won’t run off, will you?”
“Not right away. Go on, take your call.”
She hesitated, then leaned down and whispered in his ear. “I’m so proud of you.” She kissed his ear, hurried to the front office, and picked up the receiver. “Hello.”
“Miss Dolan, Barker Fleming.”
“Hello,” she said again, motioning for Adelaide to stop typing.
“I have a picnic basket for you to replace the one I lost.”
“You needn’t have gone to the trouble.” Kathleen heard a click on the line, then another.
“I took the liberty of filling it, Miss Dolan. I think you’ll be pleased.”
“I’m sure I will. When will you be coming this way?”
“Would Friday afternoon be convenient? I’ll be bringing a friend. Gifford is interested in seeing a fellow he used to work with. And, Miss Dolan, could I impose on you to deliver a message to Judge Fimbres that I would like to see him sometime Friday afternoon.”
“I would be glad to. Shall I tell him that you will come to the courthouse?”
“If you will, please. How are things in Rawlings?”
“Fine, Mr. Fleming. I’ll be looking for you on Friday.”
Kathleen was smiling when she hung up the receiver.
• • •
When the phone rang at the clinic, Louise hurried to answer it. Doc could be calling from the city office.
“Hello.”
“This is Flossie. A long-distance call came to the
Gazette
from Oklahoma City, but it was nothing important.”
“Who called? You don’t have to give me your valuable opinion.”
“Barker Fleming talked to Miss Dolan. You know, he’s that good-looking Indian with the big car. I think he’s got a crush on her. He lost her picnic basket and is bringing her another one. I heard someone talking from the tannery last week. He’s going to be running it. His family owns it, you know.”
“What else did he say to Miss Dolan?”
“He’s bringing a picnic basket and he’s filling it for her. Isn’t that romantic? I can’t help it if they didn’t say anything important. You told me to let you know of any out-of-the-area calls.” Flossie sounded peeved.
“I know I did. Thanks, Flossie. Let me know if there are any calls between the paper and the sheriff’s office.”
“Sheriff’s office? Why—”
“Just let me know,” Louise said impatiently, and hung up the phone.
K
athleen and Johnny sat in the truck parked behind the
Gazette.
“Such beautiful hair.” Johnny stroked her curls, then tipped her chin with a finger and kissed her.
“Not everyone likes red hair. I’m stuck with it.”
“And stuck with me.”
“I’m happy to be stuck with you, Johnny Henry. How come you changed your mind about digging up the box at the cemetery?” Kathleen asked and snuggled her hand into the open collar of his shirt.
“I began to think of it as evidence. If I go out there and dig it up, find nothing in it and put it back, it could be said I removed what was in it. If we wait and dig it up with witnesses, maybe Grant and Judge Fimbres, and find it empty, it’ll be credible evidence.”
“That makes sense. I hadn’t thought of it that way although one of the dates I got at the courthouse corresponds with the date Clara’s baby was born. Hazel remembered it because it was her mother’s birthday.”
“You got the ball rolling, honey.”
“Are you eager to see your friend, Mr. Gifford?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him for a couple of years.” He drew her head to his shoulder. “The paper goes to press tomorrow. Tonight we’d better tell Hazel about Marty being arrested. We don’t want her to hear it from someone else.”
“You’ll go with me?”
“Sure.”
She curled her arm around his neck. “I like you a lot, Mr. Henry.”
“That’s a relief. I was thinkin’ you kissed men you didn’t like.”
His lips touched hers, lightly at first, then with longer and more intense kisses, concentrating his attention on doing this while his palm wandered from one of her breasts to the other.
“Did I tell you that the other night was the most wonderful night of my life?” she murmured.
“Only about a dozen times. It
was
great, wasn’t it? I might have to marry you so that we can do it again.” He kissed her again and again; his mouth wandering over her nose, her eyes, her cheeks. When he lifted his head, his breath was warm on her wet lips. “I’ve got to get crackin’. I’ll take you around to your car and follow you home.”
• • •
The first paper to come off the press was displayed in the window of the
Gazette.
Paul had done an excellent job making up the front page. TEXAN ARRESTED FOR MURDER blazed across the top. A picture of Clara Ramsey lying in the ditch and a picture of Sheriff Carroll beside his car were stacked along one side. The subtitle read:
SHERIFF CARROLL BRINGS IN CONFESSED KILLER OF LOCAL WOMAN
.
In the story, Kathleen had given as much credit as she could to Sheriff Carroll, reported that at first he thought the death was an accident, but after viewing the body in the funeral parlor, he realized that Clara Ramsey had been murdered. Assisting in the arrest, Kathleen wrote, had been Johnny Henry, a local rancher, and Keith McCabe, a Texas Ranger. A paragraph detailed Marty Conroy’s background, stating that he was from a prominent Texas family and had been seen with the victim at the rodeo and again at the Twilight Gardens on the night she was killed. The hearing would be held November 3, allowing time for Conroy’s Texas lawyer to find representation for him in Oklahoma.
The usual number of papers reserved for sale in the office were gone within an hour. Paul had wisely increased the print run, and more papers were brought from the back room. Adelaide said she couldn’t remember when there had been such a demand for the paper.
Johnny came to the office just as Woody was taking the bundles to the post office. He held the door until the wagon cleared, then came in, his eyes on Kathleen and hers on him.
“I’ve been down to the sheriff’s office. He spent the night at the jail since he didn’t know how much he could trust Allen Lamb, his extra man.”
“So he’s hanging in there?”
“You bet. He was afraid Thatcher and Doc Herman would find a way to let Marty out and get him back over the line into Texas.”
“Doc is in a panic, or he wouldn’t even think of doing anything so foolish,” Paul said.
“He came back last night and told Carroll that he was fired and to give his keys to Thatcher. The sheriff is more of a man than I thought he was. He told Doc that he had been elected by the people of the county and, as mayor of Rawlings, Doc had no authority to fire him. Judge Fimbres backed him up.”
“Oh, my. If you think Doc is mad now, wait until he finds out he’s being investigated.” Adelaide’s eyes sought Paul as they always did when she was worried.
“He won’t find out unless they come up with something that’ll stand up in court.”
“They’ve found something, or Grant Gifford wouldn’t be coming down. Judge Fimbres has called in a state marshal from Elk City. He’ll be here tonight. I told Carroll to keep his gun handy until then. Desperate men do desperate things.” Johnny took a paper off the counter and dropped a nickel in the cup.
“You don’t have to pay for a paper,” Adelaide protested.
“I’m taking this down to Carroll.”
“Paul and I are going to talk to Judy tonight. We think we should tell her everything. She took a big risk coming here and has the right to know.”
“Even about the sheriff?” Kathleen asked.
“Even that.”
Paul rolled his eyes when Kathleen took Johnny’s hand and led him to the back room.
“I remember when
you
got
me
in the back room every chance you got.” Adelaide cocked a brow.
“I don’t have many chances nowadays with so many people around.” Paul complained, then came to her, and whispered. “I’d rather get you in
my
bed.”
Out of sight of the front office, Johnny put his arms around Kathleen and kissed her.
“I’m going to stay with Carroll until the state marshal gets here. Then I’ll go home and get some things done.”
“You’ll be here tomorrow?”
“I don’t figure the others can get to town before noon. I’ll be here before then.”
• • •
At the clinic, Doc Herman paced his office. Louise sat in a chair beside his desk, her rabbitlike front teeth worrying her lower lip. She had chewed the thick coat of lipstick, and it was smeared on her teeth.
“I’ve got a feeling there’s things going on here that I don’t know about. Carroll has got his back up. He’s getting encouragement from somewhere.”
“Johnny Henry. And he’s being egged on by that redheaded bitch at the newspaper.”
“What could she have found out from the birth records except that there are more births here than in most towns? For obvious reasons, none of the people who send their girls here would talk.”
“Maybe we don’t have anything to worry about. If the marshals come in, it will be only to work on the Conroy case. They’ve no proof of anything.”
“Call the people in Waco and tell them not to come. Tell them the baby died.”
“What’ll we do with the baby when it’s delivered?”
“Keep it for a while and see what happens. Destroy the file of places we’ve advertised the clinic as a home for unwed mothers. That will be a start.”
“Let’s shut down and go away, Doc. You said we would when we got enough money.”
“The money wouldn’t last any time at all, Louise. I want to show you the world.”
Louise hoisted herself up out of the chair. Her dyed hair was stuck to her forehead with sweat, and perspiration stained her uniform beneath her armpits. Revulsion made Doctor Herman close his eyes for a long moment, preparing himself for the ordeal of kissing her. He went to her and kissed her gently on the mouth, forcing himself to take his time.