Whispers on the Wind (31 page)

“As you can see”—Carter
held out his hand— “Mary is still very much alive.”

“So I see.”

“Mary, do you recognize
this man?” Thunder asked.

“I...”
She hesitated and finally said, “Something ..

McCoy reached up, but
Thunder caught his arm, pinning it behind his back. “No sudden
moves. Maybe you’d better get out of here while you can. I’ll see
you in court in Appleton.”

As soon as McCoy left,
Carter looked at Thunder. “We have to get that man.”

Thunder frowned. “I know.
But it’s going to be difficult I need hard evidence.”

“Who was that man?” Mary
asked. It seemed that both men had forgotten she was still standing
there.

“That was John McCoy,”
Thunder grated out Mary gasped, but quickly got control of herself.
“He doesn’t look anything like his brother.”

“Let’s get going,” Carter
said. “Forester, we’ll see you in a couple of days in
Appleton.”

“I’ll be
there.”

Goosebumps rose on Mary’s
arms when she saw the log cabin. She reached for the doorknob, but
before she turned it she glanced at Thunder. “I don’t want to do
this,” she said, her voice trembling.

“I know, kid,” Thunder
said. Then he touched her arm. “But I need you to show me what you
remember, so I can picture it when I defend you.”

Mary nodded, then pushed
through the door. The cabin she’d once called home was dark and
musty when she stepped inside. They lit a couple of lamps, and then
Mary felt panic sliding over her like a cold, dead hand, touching
her face. Faint images of that night flashed before her, but
nothing clear. “I—I remember Big Jim going to the door and
opening
it...
then nothing.” She walked around the room with tears
trickling down her cheeks. Could she possibly have done
this?

She paused in front of the
fireplace where a large bloodstain was on the floor. She stood
staring at the spot.

Carter and Thunder walked
around the room looking for any kind of clue as to what had
happened. In a few minutes, Carter stepped out, holding something
in his hand. “Wasn’t this Big Jim’s room?”

Mary nodded.

“I found something,”
Carter said. He held up a green plaid coat.

“Oh my God,” Mary
whispered. “That’s the coat I saw at the opera house, but I
couldn’t have seen it there if it was here.” Her voice rose as she
remembered something else. “However, I don’t recall ever seeing Jim
in this coat or anything like it.”

“Remember that piece of
material you showed me?” Thunder asked.

Mary nodded. “Yes, I
thought maybe I had torn it from the intruder’s coat. But I
couldn’t have if the coat was in Big Jim’s room all along. Unless
... unless it was Big Jim’s coat.”

Carter looked the garment
over. Slowly he turned it around.

Mary’s eyes grew
big.

The room started to spin
out of control as she mumbled, “I must have killed him.”

Chapter Twenty

Once again, Mary was in
another cell, only the town was different She was back in Appleton.
However, she wasn’t alone, there were two prisoners in the next
cell. When they asked what she was in for and she told them murder,
their faces had gotten real white and they hadn’t bothered her
since.

Though the other prisoners
didn’t bother her, she was beginning to feel like a criminal. And
waiting for the trial was killing her. She needed to get everything
over with. She’d been living in an indeterminate state long enough.
Too long. Mary just prayed that Thunder could pull off a
miracle.

This morning, Thunder had
told her he was going over to the courthouse to pick the jurors.
Having been much too nervous to go with him, she stayed behind.
Besides, Mary trusted his judgment And lately she was so nervous
that she stayed queasy.

It was late afternoon when
Thunder finally sat down behind the long table that had been
assigned to him as defense attorney. The courtroom was quiet now,
and he stopped to consider what was to come. Lacing his fingers
behind his head, he stretched his long legs out under the table,
then crossed his feet as he leaned back and thought about the long
morning.

They had interviewed
fifty-six potential jurors before filling the jury box with twelve
men. A man by the name of David Degar was chosen
foreman.

Thunder was satisfied with
the jury. The members looked like honest citizens. However, he
knew he didn’t have much of a defense. Though largely
circumstantial, the evidence against Mary was convincing. He
realized that his only hope lay with his friend Delaney, and
Thunder prayed that he was on the way.

Carter had arranged for a
special Overland Stage to take him to Independence to meet Delaney,
and together they would come back to Appleton. It was a long trip
but with a nonstop stage only stopping to change horses, they could
make it. On the way back, Carter was to fill Delaney in on
everything that had happened.

Thunder left the courthouse
in a foul mood as he headed back to the hotel. There was nothing
left to do, and he hated waiting. Nothing had gone right in the
last two days, and with each day that passed, Mary’s depression
about her plight deepened. Oh, Mary had said everything was all
right, but he’d seen the dark circles under her eyes. She’d even
thrown up her breakfast a couple of mornings, which he figured was
a direct result of her being so nervous. He felt Mary needed a
woman with her, and he damned sure needed his wife.

So just maybe
...

The time of reckoning had
finally come.

Midmoming, Thunder came to
get Mary.

He walked with her and the
sheriff over to the courthouse. No one said anything. What was
there to say? Besides, she felt if she opened her mouth she’d start
to cry.

As they neared the
building, Mary glanced up at the sign hanging over the courthouse
and smiled. In big, old letters, its message was, “Justice for one
and all.” She prayed the sign was correct as she entered the
building.

The courtroom was simple
yet functional. Four windows stretched across the back, and it
would have looked like an ordinary room, if not for the platform
that held a huge desk where the judge would sit. For now, it was
empty.

Mary could tell that the
spectators’ seats were full, but she didn’t dare look while Thunder
escorted her to the front She did not want to know the people who
were going to be staring at her and wondering if she really had
murdered Big Jim McCoy, the closest thing to a father she’d ever
had.

For the hundredth time, she
wondered where Carter was. The only thing she knew was that she
hadn’t seen him since he had deposited her in jail. She had no idea
where he was, and she was too proud to ask Thunder. There was no
way she’d let on to anyone how much Carter mattered to her. Not
even Thunder.

Maybe Carter had only said
he cared for her, so she’d come along peacefully. Her stomach
knotted as she sat down behind the long, brown table. No wonder she
stayed sick to her stomach. Anyone would be sick, considering what
she was going through.

The jurors came in single
file. Each one seemed to glare at her before seating
himself.

Mary raised her chin and
looked each one in the eye. She was tired of being made to feel
guilty, and she’d be damned if she would hang her head.

“All rise,” the bailiff
called.

Judge Parker entered from a
side door. He proceeded to the platform, pulled out a straight back
chair, its legs scraping the floor, then took his seat behind the
desk.

The court crier said in a
booming voice, “Hear one and all, the Honorable District Court of
the United States for the Western District of Colorado, having
criminal jurisdiction of the Indian Territory, is now in
session.”

After everyone had quieted
down, Judge Parker turned to the jurors and said, “Do equal and
exact justice; permit no innocent man to be punished, but let no
guilty man escape; and let no politics enter here. Do this and you
will have done your duty as jurors of this court.”

Mary clutched her hands
together. She realized she could be in deep trouble if things
turned out wrong. All this time, she’d been hoping that something
would happen to prove her innocence. Now, time was running out. She
was scared. More than scared. She was terrified.

Judge Parker turned to the
clerk. “Clerk, please refresh my memory.”

The clerk shuffled some
papers until he found the precise one he was looking for. “United
States versus J.K. Jones. Charge, violating revenue law. Guilty.
Charge, introducing liquor into Indian Territory. Guilty. He’s been
committed to jail here where he’s awaiting sentencing, Your
Honor.”

Judge Parker nodded. “I
remember now. Very well. Bailiff Winston, please bring him up for
sentencing first thing on tomorrow’s session. Now, today I see we
have a murder trial. Let’s begin, as I’m sure this will be a long
one.”

The prosecution called
several witnesses, most of them men Mary had worked with at the
mine. To her surprise, the men didn’t say anything bad about her,
other than that she’d deceived them, which seemed to have irritated
all of them.

Then the prosecution called
Mary. She felt guilty the moment she stood up. The prosecutor,
Charles Bryan, was a young man with a stocky build who looked like
he hadn’t smiled in ten years.

He glared at Mary for a
long time, then he said, “Can you tell us what happened the night
Big Jim was killed?”

Mary shook her head. “I
don’t remember anything,” she admitted as she looked out over the
sea of people who had gathered for her trial in Appleton. She heard
several of them gasp, but she knew no one. She’d never felt so
alone.

The prosecutor gave Mary a
skeptical look before he said with a sneer, “If I’d murdered
someone, I’d forget, too.”

“Objection,” Thunder
shouted as he came to his feet. “We don’t care about Mr. Bryan’s
opinion.”

“Sustained,” Judge Parker
said, then looked at Bryan. “Should I remind you that your job is
to prove Miss Costner guilty without your comments?”

“I’m trying to do that,
Your Honor.”

The judge looked at Bryan
over his glasses. “Do you have any more questions for this
witness?”

“Yes, I do.” Charles
turned back to Mary. “Tell us your relationship with the
deceased.”

“Big Jim and I were
partners in the Lazy Dollar Mine. We had been partners for two
years. During that time, I came to think of Jim as a father who I
loved very much.”

“Well, Miss Costner, you
have a strange way of showing love,” Charles said on his way back
to his table. “No more questions for now, but I would like the
right to recall.”

If Thunder, who was going
by his white name Thomas Bradley, could have beat the shit out of
the prosecutor, it would have given him a great deal of
satisfaction at the moment. But it would only land him in jail, and
then he’d be of no help to Mary.

However, things were not
looking good for Mary, Thunder thought. He had hoped that Carter
would have been here by now. Thunder sure hoped Carter wouldn’t let
them down. It could mean Mary’s life.

Thunder slid his chair
back, rose from the pine table, then strode over to the witness
stand. This was the second time he’d had to defend a member of his
family, he thought. He cleared his throat. “Mary, did you and Big
Jim get along, or did you constantly disagree?”

“After the first day when
we met, we rarely argued.”

Thunder began to pace to
calm his agitation. “Can you tell me what your deed
says?”

“We both had the same
clause written into the deed. It states that if something happens
to either of us, the other partner inherits the mine.”

Thunder stopped and looked
at her. “And why did you do that?”

“We both worked very hard
in the mine. We didn’t want an outsider moving in on the other
partner.” Thunder shrugged. “Some would think that might be a
motive for murder.”

“There was plenty of money
for both of us,” Mary said.

The door rattled at the
rear of the courtroom and drew Thunder’s attention.

Carter and a man Thunder
recognized as Delaney entered through the doorway. Thunder didn’t
smile. He didn’t want to give away anything to the prosecution, but
he sure was relieved. Delaney was their best hope. He might be
their only hope.

The interruption started
the crowd talking as the two strangers moved toward the row behind
the defendant’s table. Judge Parker slammed his gavel on his desk.
“Order in the courtroom.”

Thunder stepped over to the
judge. “I’d like to request a recess. Information that I’ve been
waiting for has just arrived.”

The judge slammed his gavel
and said, “Court is adjourned for fifteen minutes.” Then he retired
to the side room.