Whispers on the Wind (35 page)

Mary looked at Helen and
said, “I never thought about that”

They all got up to leave.
“It’s time for us to go, but we’ll see you in the morning. I
understand we will be allowed back in the courtroom,” Brandy told
her.

“Wish me luck,” Mary said,
then she hugged each one. And when she got to Helen, she said,
Thank you for those words.”

It was almost noon and Rick
still hadn’t arrived, which was making Carter’s disposition a
little more surly than usual. He volunteered to go get Mary from
the jail and bring her to the courthouse.

She was sitting on the edge
of the cot when he came back with the keys. She stood as if on cue
and moved forward right past him.

Since they were alone, he
grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. “How are you holding
up?”

She shrugged and then she
glanced up at him. The pain Carter saw in Mary’s eyes made him want
to slug someone.

“I’m surprised that you
want to have anything to do with me after hearing my testimony
yesterday,” Mary finally said.

Carter groaned and pulled
her into his arms. “Do you think that anything they have said could
change the way I feel about you?”

“And how do you
feel?”

Carter looked at her a long
moment. He had found something he cherished more than anything, and
loving her made him more vulnerable than he’d ever been in his
life. That wasn’t something he was used to. Carter was used to not
feeling anything. But he knew the threat of losing Mary had begun
to haunt him night and day.

“You don’t know the answer
to the question, do you?”

Carter chuckled and pulled
her into his arms. “Yes, I know the answer. I love you,” he said
simply, and before Mary could say anything in response, he
smothered her words with a hungry kiss. Carter had his answer with
his kiss, because Mary kissed him back with all the love he knew
she felt for him.

He loved her. He really
loved her. His words were like whispers on the wind.

A part of Mary wanted to
jump for joy, but—and it was a big ‘but’—she didn’t know what was
going to happen today. She pulled away from him and said, “There
are so many things that I want to say. However, I’m afraid. I don’t
know what will happen today, so I can’t talk about a future until
the verdict is passed. Until I know what my future will
be.”

Carter gave her a
heart-wrenching smile. “I understand,” he said, crushing her to
him. “Let’s go.”

As they neared the
courthouse, Carter could see Thunder, Delaney, Brandy, and a
stranger Carter didn’t recognize, but evidently Mary did. She broke
away from his grasp and ran to the man, throwing herself into his
arms.

And the stranger wasn’t
backing off, Carter noticed. As a matter of fact, he didn’t like
the way he held Mary at all.

“It’s so good to see you,”
Mary told the man.

“It has been a long time,”
the stranger admitted as he kissed her on the nose. “You’ve gotten
yourself into a real pickle this time.”

“Who the hell are you?”
Carter challenged.

“I’m not sure that’s any
of your business.”

Mary moved away from the
man, looking very embarrassed, and Carter thought she should look
more than embarrassed because it was very evident that she cared a
great deal for this sidewinder.

“Carter, this is my
brother, Billy.”

Carter was still irritated.
“Just how many brothers do you have?”

Mary laughed. “Three. No,
make that four if you count Thunder.”

Billy held out his hand and
said, “Marshal.”

Carter shook his hand, but
he’d be damned if he’d apologize.

Thunder stepped up and
placed a hand on Billy’s arm. “He has it bad.”

“So I see,” Billy said
with a laugh. “Mary, they have filled me in on what has happened. I
didn’t realize that Big Jim had a brother.”

“Half brother,” Mary
said.

A rider came galloping up
at breakneck speed, and Carter breathed a sigh of relief. He
grabbed the halter of Rick’s horse so he could dismount.

“You could have given me a
bit more notice,” Rick grumbled as he slid to the ground. “But I
see that I’ve made it in time. What do you want me to do?” he asked
as he tethered his horse.

“We want you to tell the
jury what you saw the night at the opera house,” Carter said as
they stepped up on the boardwalk. “Remember the green
coat?”

Rick nodded.

Before Thunder could
instruct Rick, the Appleton sheriff and Marshal Forester strode
into court with McCoy. McCoy glared at the group as he came through
the doors.

“Who was that?” Billy
asked.

“Big Jim’s brother,”
Carter answered.

“Sure doesn’t look
anything like his brother,” Billy commented.

“Did you know Big Jim?”
Carter asked.

Marshal Forester came back
out and took Mary into the courtroom.

“I’ll be there in a
moment,” Thunder told her. Then he looked at Billy. “I’d forgotten
that you took Mary to Gregory Gulch and stayed with them for a
little while.”

“That’s right. I liked Big
Jim.”

Carter took the green coat
out of a tow sack that Delaney held and shook it out. “Did you ever
see Jim wear this jacket?”

Billy shook his head.
“Nope. He was more into overalls.” He took the coat and held it up,
then laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Carter
asked.

“This can’t belong to Big
Jim.”

“Why?” Thunder
asked.

“Because Big Jim was a
huge man.” He gestured with his hands. “He was this wide through
the shoulders. There isn’t any way he could have worn this
coat.”

Carter and Thunder
exchanged smiles, and then Thunder said, “Gentlemen, we have our
defense. Let’s go present our case.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

For two hours, the trial
had gone back and forth. Neither side seemed to be gaining an
edge.

When Rick was called to the
witness stand, he explained to the jury about people thinking that
they had seen someone, but they couldn’t describe him. Rick
acknowledged that he had seen a man in a green coat, as
well.

Cross-examination was
brief. Bryan cleared his throat as he stood. “You just said that
you had seen a man in a green coat, is that correct?”

“It is,” Rick
said.

“Can you identify that
man?”

“No.” Rick shook his head.
“I wasn’t close enough.”

Bryan smiled at the jury.
“No more questions.”

Thunder had been afraid
that would happen, but he had to set the groundwork for his next
witness. Now he realized it was now or never. “I’d like to recall
John McCoy.”

Looking like he didn’t have
a care in the world, McCoy took his seat in the witness stand. It
was that confidence that Thunder hoped would destroy the man. “Mr.
McCoy, you have heard us speak of the green coat.”

McCoy nodded. “Several
times.”

“Do you own such a
coat?”

“No. My brother had a
green coat”

Thunder spun around. “It is
my understanding that you’d not seen your brother in a long
time.”

McCoy nodded. “That’s
right.”

“Then how do you know what
kind of coat he had?”

McCoy smiled slowly. “He
had it on the night we had dinner together.”

Mary jumped out of her
chair. “He’s lying!”

The judge banged his gavel.
“Order!”

Carter placed a hand on her
shoulder and she sat back down in her chair, glancing at Carter,
“But he is.”

“I know,” Carter
whispered.

Thunder felt as though
he’d hit a brick wall. McCoy was thinking fast. He might be a
little smarter than he and Carter had given
him
credit for.

“I agree that someone had
on the coat the night of the murder,” Thunder said. “We know that
Mary tore a piece of material from the coat,” he added.

“I told you I don’t have a
green coat It was Big Jim’s.”

Thunder placed his forearm
on the rail and leaned against it, trying not to appear worried as
he asked, “Are you blood related to the deceased?”

“Yes. He was my half
brother,” McCoy replied.

“So you don’t look alike?”
Thunder persisted.

“Not much.”

Thunder turned to the
judge. “Your Honor, I would like to submit for evidence the green
coat in question.” Thunder walked over to Delaney and retrieved the
tow sack. He opened the sack and pulled out the green coat. He held
it up for the judge and jury to see. “I believe the killer wore
this green jacket. As you can see,” Thunder said, turning the
jacket around to the jury, “there is a piece of material missing at
the bottom.”

The judge nodded, then
asked, “Where did you find this coat?”

“In Big Jim’s cabin,”
Thunder said casually.

The judge
nodded.

Thunder held the coat up in
front of McCoy. “Is this your brother’s coat?”

“Looks like it,” McCoy
answered.

Thunder smiled. “I would
like for you to try this coat on.”

“I told you it was my
brother’s,” McCoy snapped, his face reddening. A light sheen of
sweat coated his forehead.

“I remember,” Thunder
said. “But I still would like for you to try it on.”

McCoy glanced at the
prosecutor, who then stood and said, “Objection. What does Mr.
McCoy trying on a coat have to do with this trial?”

The judge turned to
Thunder.

“You asked for some
evidence, Your Honor,” Thunder told the judge. “The coat is
evidence. We know that someone wore it the night of the murder.”
Thunder turned back to McCoy. “I hope to prove that this coat
belongs to John instead of Jim.”

“Overruled,” the judge
ruled. He glanced at McCoy and instructed, “Try on the
coat.”

McCoy stood up and slipped
on the garment “I told you that it belongs to my
brother.”

Mary gasped. Now she knew
for certain everything that had happened that night That damned
green coat had plagued her dreams.

“Now face the jury,”
Thunder demanded.

Slowly, John did as he was
told.

“As you can see, this coat
is a perfect fit.” When he heard the murmurs coming from the jury,
Thunder announced, “No more questions.”

The prosecutor approached
McCoy. “I only have one question. Is this your coat?”

“No,” McCoy stubbornly
insisted. He jerked off the coat, glared at Thunder, then went back
to where he had been seated with Marshal Forester.

“I would like to call
Billy West” Thunder said. As soon as Billy was seated, Thunder
asked, “Is it true that you escorted Mary to Gregory Gulch and you
met Big Jim?”

Billy nodded. “That’s
correct I was there when they drew up the deeds, and then I stayed
until Mary could get settled.”

“Is this Big Jim’s coat?”
Thunder asked.

“No,” Billy said with a
shake of his head. “It can’t possibly be.”

Thunder folded his arms as
he stood before Billy. “How can you be certain?”

“Because Big Jim was a
giant of a man. That is where he got his name. He was bigger than
most men. He wouldn’t have been able to get his arm into that coat.
It definitely belongs to someone else.”

Horace, one of the miners,
stood up in the back and yelled, “I remember seeing John McCoy when
he came into town. He asked where his brother lived. John had on
that very coat I remember now.”

All hell broke out in the
courtroom as everyone started talking excitedly among themselves.
The judge banged his gavel. “Order! I want order in this
courtroom!”

Taking advantage of the
confusion, McCoy grabbed Forester’s gun and yanked him up. He used
the man as a shield as he backed out of the room.

“If you come after me,
I’ll blow his head off,” McCoy shouted.

Carter and Rick both jumped
to their feet, but they didn’t draw. They didn’t want to hit
Forester, but Carter saw something that McCoy couldn’t. Mary’s
brother Scott had slid out of his seat and crouched down on all
fours.

McCoy tripped over the kid
as he backed out of the courtroom. His gun went off, but before
McCoy could get off a second shot, Carter was all over him, beating
the man half senseless before Rick was able to pull Carter
off.

Thunder turned to Mary and
draped his arm around her shoulder. “It’s all over. You’re
free.”

Mary smiled, then hugged
him. “I’m so glad to have a lawyer in the family.”

Thunder laughed. “I am,
too, since my family can’t seem to stay out of trouble. That’s two
of you down and three more members of our family to go.