The Widows of Wichita County

by Jodi Thomas

  "Much better," Shelby mumbled. "Tired. Can we go back home now? I'd like to get some sleep."

  She took his hand. "Would you mind if I stayed in town a few hours and did some Christmas shopping? Helena can pick me up. I'll have my phone with me should you need me."

  "Go ahead. I feel sure I'm out of any danger until the next time life decides to thump me. You'll probably be back long before I wake up."

  Surely Helena would be home, Crystal thought. "I'll be back before it's time for your evening medication. And don't forget, I have my cell if you need me."

  "Be careful," Shelby whispered, already half-asleep. "The ambulance driver said it's icy outside."

  Crystal stared at him a long moment before she slipped from the room. He had actually acted like he was worried about her. Like he cared.

  When a man on the rig yelled, "Duck, or no dinner," everyone needed to stay alert to live long enough to eat the next meal.

  December 18

  12:20 p. m.

  Pigeon Run

  Helena combed slowly through her silver hair, then twisted it into a neat bun as smoothly as she had every day for the past twenty years.

  "I'll be careful, dear, I promise,' but when Crystal called, she sounded like she needed me."

  J.D. did not comment. He had always hated her independent streak and loved it at the same time. But what frustrated him most, she guessed, was that she knew it.

  Helena sighed, no longer pretending to have the energy she once had. "I'll be back before dark, maybe sooner. Once I settle Crystal down, I'll probably have time to stop by the store for a while. Not that they need me much anymore. Yesterday, Paula even called it `our' store, like suddenly my store had become a group project."

  She stood and smoothed her dress. "If you have the wine chilled, I'll tell you all about Crystal's problem when I get home."

  He barely looked up from his book as she waved goodbye, and for a moment, he seemed no more than a shadow in his chair by the window.

  Crystal was waiting for her between the front doors of the hospital. Helena did not even have time to get out of her car. Crystal jumped in. As always, Helena did not bother with small talk. "Where to?"

  "The courthouse. I want to see if Meredith's car is there She told me she works every Saturday, but no one's answering the phone in the clerk's office or at her place."

  They circled by the courthouse. No old Mustang cluttered up the small lot.

  "Where to next?"

  "Anna's place." Crystal chewed on the corner of her lip.

  "I'll fill you in on the way out."

  Helena might be in her sixties, but she drove her Buick with both skill and speed. J.D. always teased her that she thought the speed limit was the minimum daily requirement for each road.

  They pulled onto the Montano ranch fifteen minutes later.

  Neither was surprised to see Meredith's old car parked out front.

  Meredith met them at the door.

  Helena gave her a quick hug and asked, "What can we do?"

  "I don't know." Meredith led them inside. "Anna's been pretty beat up, but she's resting now. She won't tell me anything. The sheriff told her she could put the man who did this to her in jail if she'd make a statement, but she won't say anything. It's like she thinks her silence is protecting someone."

  "Crystal said they have Zack Larson in custody." Helena circled the room, looking at the damage. "He owns the place next door." She was putting the pieces together in her mind and, as always, thinking things through.

  "He was here," Meredith verified. "Carlo Vangetti says Zack shot him when Carlo tried to help his sister. They took Larson and Anna's brother to the hospital in the same ambulance."

  Helena stormed suddenly. "If I get my hands on that Zack Larson, I'll kill him myself. What kind of a monster would do such a thing to Anna? She's frightened of her shadow as it is and every man she's ever known has been a bully. There is no telling the damage something like this will do to her."

  "Wait a minute," Crystal whispered. "Something doesn't make sense. Let's reason this out for a moment."

  The other two woman stared at Crystal in surprise, but she the continued before they could say anything. "If Zack Larson beat up and raped Anna, why would his first question be `Is Anna all right?' It doesn't make sense. He sounded like he was worried, really worried about her."

  "Anna's only question was `Is Zack still alive?"' Meredith added. "She didn't even ask about Carlo and he was the one shot."

  The three women froze. The only sound in the great room was the wind whistling in the fireplace.

  "Do you think…" Meredith started almost afraid to say the words.

  "It could be," Helena added.

  "We have to be sure before we tell anyone," Crystal reasoned. "No one is going to believe us."

  Suddenly, all three women talked at once. Theories flowed around the room. After an hour they agreed to collect more information, let Anna sleep, and meet back at Anna's tomorrow afternoon.

  While Helena and Meredith tried to pick up the broken furnishings, Crystal excused herself and walked out the front door.

  "Where's she going?" Meredith watched as Crystal ruined leather heels tromping through the snow toward the burned-out rig.

  "She's going to talk to the oil field workers," Helena guessed. "And from what I hear, they'll tell her anything they know. She's built a lot of respect with them over the past months. She's not just Shelby Howard's wife anymore. She's one of them."

  "But it's a half mile to those trailers."

  Helena smiled. "She'll make it. She also knows our cars wouldn't. Those roughnecks might say anything on thc phone, but they won't lie with her facing them down. She's a wildcatter's woman, and my guess is they all know it by now."

  "Can you stay here with Anna tonight?" Helena did not wait for Meredith to answer. "I'll try to track down the housekeeper Anna uses. She'll know where everything goes." Helena picked up a piece of a lamp. "Maybe she'll agree to come out and help. This might be a good time to gut the room and start over. None of this looks like Anna."

  Meredith nodded. "I didn't plan on leaving Anna at all tonight, even though Carlo sent word from the hospital that there was no need for me to stay." She leaned close and touched Helena's hand. "And how about you? How are you feeling today?"

  "Better than I've felt in a long time. There is work to do here. Crystal's right, something doesn't make sense, and wr can't depend on one overworked sheriff and a few dimwitted deputies to figure it out. I'm a workhorse. Put me out in pasture and I'll surely die."

  "Randi's coming in tonight, and she's promised to stay with me," Meredith added. "Crystal's already told me, I'm to keep her away from the new poles at Frankie's. Having her with me out here should keep her far enough away from any trouble in town. Maybe Randi can talk to the hands on the place. Someone in the bunkhouse must have heard thc shot."

  "It's a ways to the bunkhouse, but it might be worth a try. Tell Randi to check it out." Helena agreed, feeling like she was suddenly one part of a detective team.

  "Granger told me when he got here the hands were all standing around outside, like they were afraid to come in."

  "Randi probably knows most of the help." Helena dusted for hands together. "Maybe they'll tell her things they wouldn't tell us. Ask her to piece together anything she can on Zack. Someone must know him. He's lived here all his life."

  "What about you?"

  Helena shook her head. "I vaguely remember his mother, but she died years ago. His father drank himself to death, I think. To tell you the truth, I barely recognize Zack Larson when I see him on the street."

  Helena laughed. "J.D. says I know everyone in town, but line them up and I'd miss a few."

  "If Larson was here with Anna and they were friends, then who shot Carlo? Who beat them all up?"

  "We'll find out," Helena promised. "If Zack Larson is guilty of hurting her, heaven help him. If he's not, then we'll have to help him."

  Sunday, De
cember 19

  6:00 p. m.

  Sheriff's Office

  "I don't care what you and the widows came up with Meredith, I'm not letting Zack Larson out of jail." Granger looked quite official, leaning forward in his chair. "By the way, which one of you has been making trips down to Sam Houston State to pick up a Criminal Justice degree?"

  Meredith glared at the man she once considered intelligent.

  "And aren't you supposed to be staying with Anna? Why are you and Randi leaving your post?" The sheriff glanred from Meredith to Randi, who did not seem to be listening to his lecture at all. He had a feeling she probably acted the same with anyone in authority since she had been in the sixth grade. He did not even want to think about what she offered in trade for all the gossip she collected from tlu Montano ranch hands.

  "We were with her all night," Meredith answered. "Bella came by the Montano place after she brought Zack some clothes and found out what was going on. She said she'll stand guard over Anna until we get back."

  Granger started again, this time with that "I'll try to hc patient with you" tone in his voice.

  "Look at it this way, half the men in town want to kill Zack Larson, including Anna's brother. The man is safer in here for tonight. After he sees the judge in the morning, we'll take him to the County lockup. I know his kind. He's a loner. If I did let him go, the first place he'd head would be back to that rundown ranch of his, and I'd have no way of protecting him."

  Meredith knew Granger did not exaggerate the danger. Folks clustered around town, talking about how something needed to be done about Zack Larson. Most of it was talk, but what if one drunk, or friend of Davis Montano, decided to take the law into his own hands? Could Granger and a few old deputies stop him?

  The sheriff glanced over at Randi, who perched on the wide windowsill to watch the snow. She obviously did not see herself as part of this discussion.

  He turned back to Meredith and tried again. "I can't let a man go because the widows took a vote. That's not my job. I'm the one who catches them, the courts are the ones who let them go." He smiled at his attempt at humor.

  "Yes, but you're holding an innocent man," Meredith Insisted. "Doesn't that bother you?"

  "Why are you so sure he's not guilty? Because Crystal heard him ask about Anna? Maybe he was worried that if he killed her he'd be going up for murder, not just assault."

  Meredith did not answer, so he continued, "Or maybe I should unlock him because Anna asked about him? Did you women ever think that she might have asked because he scared the hell out of her and she was hoping he was dead?

  "I've got my own misgivings, but nothing strong enough to let the man go. He was in a house where he didn't belong at a time that's not usually considered visiting hours. He was undressed. Anna was beat to a pulp. Carlo was shot."

  "But I stood right next to you when Adam called from the hospital to tell you there was no powder residue on Zack's hands. He didn't fire the gun that shot Carlo." Meredith walked back and forth in front of the sheriff as though she were lecturing. "And I saw you measure the space between the weapon and Zack. He couldn't have fired the gun and washed his hands, then fallen unconscious half a room away. He wasn't the one who shot Carlo, and he didn't hit Anna."

  "Then get her in here and let me talk to her. All she has to do is tell me who, besides Zack, beat her near to death and I swear I'll put that guy in jail and let Zack out."

  "She can't come. She's too afraid. But you should she the way she looks when someone says Zack's name. She's worried about him, not afraid of him."

  Meredith rubbed her forehead. "I don't know, maybe she thinks if she tells the truth Zack and her might both die. It's that kind of terror I see in her eyes. She cares about the man and somehow thinks she's helping him by remaining silent.

  "That's not enough." Granger shook his head.

  Randi finally unfolded from the window. With her slender limbs and fringed jacket, she looked like a daddy longleggs spider on the move. "I know what would be enough," she said calmly. "I read it in your report."

  Meredith and Granger both looked at her as if they had forgotten she was there.

  Randi widened her stance. "You're a man of detail, Sheriff. In your report you wrote that you turned off the stereo."

  "So? I always write down things like that. You never know what's important."

  "All right. This is important. What was playing?"

  Granger frowned. "I don't remember, some country and western station."

  "Zack Larson didn't rape Anna Montano." Randi smiled as if she'd made her point. When the other two did not respond, she added, "Anna loved classical. Drove us all crazy every time we were around her. It was her house, her stereo, so the music would have been her choice. Classical, not C-and-W. A man doesn't take time to change the radio country if he's chasing her around the room to rape her."

  "Maybe, maybe not." Granger frowned, obviously angry that hadn't thought much about it. "Look, since yesterday morning I haven't had more than an hour's sleep. Why don't you ladies come back tomorrow?" Meredith leaned into his space. "Let me talk to him, Granger." She almost knocked his keys off his desk.

  "No way." Her nearness bothered him, but he didn't back down. "I've tried to talk to him a dozen times. He won't say a word. He won't even admit to knowing Anna, much less going over to her place."

  "Then let me talk to him," Helena Whitworth demanded as she walked through the sheriff's office door.

  Granger stood, almost bumping noses with Meredith in his haste. "Mrs. Whitworth, I was just explaining to Mrs.

  Allen…"

  Helena handed him a paper that had been folded neatly in half. "I'm too old to argue. I brought a letter from Judge Lewis stating that since Zack Larson has no relatives that we know of, I can visit him as his next of kin."

  Granger's frown was becoming a permanent part of his face. "I've never heard of such an exception."

  Randi laughed. "Great, Helena. You've adopted him."

  "No, I'm just visiting Zack Larson. I woke the judge up from his nap. It doesn't seem right for a man who's lived in this town all his life not to have at least one person visit him. If the rest of the city counsel considers themselves the town fathers, I can play the town mother once in a while." Granger shook his head. "What makes you ladies so sure you're right? Did it ever occur to you that Zack may be guilty?"

  "It might have." Helena tilted her head slightly. "Bella his housekeeper, Bella Johnson, told me he's been drinking tea lately. English tea."

  Granger threw up his hands. "That settles it. I'm letting him out. If he drinks tea, he couldn't be a bad person."

  None of the women thought the sheriff was the least bit funny.

  "Bella told me the same thing when she brought Zack up a set of clothes this morning." Granger tapped the letter against his hand. "But Bella spent half her life living in a bottle. Zack's family probably offered her the only job slu could get and keep. She'd say anything."

  Helena raised her chin as though peasants were questioning the queen. "She worked for Anna, too. Bella may have taken a drink now and then, but I believe she's honest. She wouldn't lie."

  Meredith almost felt sorry for Granger. He could handle the drunks and the troublemakers, but he had no idea how to handle the widows.

  She watched as he paced the office, rereading the letter from Judge Lewis. "All right, you can see him for five minutes. But you'll have to climb the stairs, the elevator isn't working."

  "I'm sorry, officer. I can't." Helena lowered her thin body to the nearest chair. "I've been having dizzy spells lately. I have no plans to climb any more stairs than I have to this day."

  Meredith smiled. Helena played her part so well. She wouldn't have been surprised to hear the older woman call Granger "young man."

  "You'll have to bring him down here." She said the words casually, as though ordering an extra course at dinner.

  Granger had met his match. Helena Whitworth had not managed a successful store and the
town by giving an inch to anyone. Meredith had no doubt there would be another letter from the judge if Granger didn't start moving.

  "Just wait here, Mrs. Whitworth. Adam and I'll bring him down from the third floor." The sheriff looked at Meredith and Randi. "I don't want either of you in this office when I get back."

  After he left, the three women stood staring at one another in silence for a long time. They all knew the risk they took. Crystal said the hospital planned to release Carlo by the next shift change. He had already called and had his men post a guard at the gate of the Montano Ranch. Anna would not answer the phone, she was in no shape to leave, and as soon us Carlo got home and demanded Bella leave, Anna would be all alone. They would no longer be able to get to her… or save her.

  If they were going to help Anna, Zack might be their only chance.

  "I've never done anything like this in my life," Meredith whispered as she wiped her sweaty palms on her pants and reached for Granger's keys. She circled them around the desk as though they were a toy.

  Randi shrugged. "This is just Saturday night excitement for me."

  Helena straightened. "We do what we have to. I see no crime in that."

  "Hope the sheriff agrees with you," Randi added.

  When they heard footsteps on the stairs, they sprang like rabbits.

  Randi took her place on the far side, at the bottom of the stairs. Her long leg stretched up to the fourth step as though she were a ballerina warming up.

  Meredith stood on the other side near the marble column.

  She slipped her hand up along the back side, feeling in the darkness for what she hoped was still there.

  Helena waited just inside the office, watching the men come down.

  Adam held Zack Larson's arm at the elbow. Granger walked a few steps ahead. As always, he appeared aware of everything around him.

  Meredith watched Granger's face, knowing the second Helena started her faint without looking in the older woman's direction. The lawman's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to shout and rushed toward his office door.