by Donis Casey
He stepped into the parlor and nodded at Cindy. “I thought you might be here when I couldn’t rouse nobody next door, Miz Stewart.” The marshal’s eye lit upon Webster sitting on the sofa with a cookie in one hand. “Ah, Mr. Kemp.” His relieved tone indicated he had had his fill of dealing with recalcitrant women. “I’m going to be needing to talk with your partner Geoff Stewart again as soon as may be. Did you leave him at your law office when you returned home for dinner?”
Webster’s gaze slewed toward Cindy, opposite him in an armchair, before he hastily put his cookie down on a side table and stood up. “Let’s you and me talk on the porch, Marshal.”
They went back outside and stood on the corner of the porch, visible through the front window but far enough from the door not to be heard by those inside. Cindy made no move to follow, which Alafair thought odd. If a lawman had inquired after her husband in that tone, nothing would have kept her from demanding to hear what he had to say.
“What does he want with Geoff?” Cindy asked, as though those left in the room knew any more than she did. “Why did Web want to talk in private?”
“Web probably figures you’ve been upset enough,” Shaw offered, “and reckoned to spare you the burden of dealing with the marshal any more today.” It was a gallant attempt at kindness, and Cindy grasped at it.
“Yes, probably.” She sounded relieved. “I do appreciate it.”
Web came back inside with a thoughtful expression on his face. “Well, I reckon it’s time for me to get back to the office. It’s such a nice afternoon I think I’ll leave the auto and walk. Shaw, you want to come with me? I expect Bill will have more news about Villa.”
Shaw started to demur, but something in Web’s tone made him reconsider. “Just let me grab my coat.”
***
The men had only gone a few steps into the yard when Web said, “I didn’t want to upset the womenfolks, but I’m afraid Geoff is in for some grief. I had to let Dillon know that Geoff is most likely not at the office right now. I sure didn’t want to say so in front of Cindy, but Geoff has made himself an improper alliance with one of the actresses in the Yaqui movie, and he spends every minute he can over at the hotel with her. They think they are being discreet, but half the film crew knows about it. Her movie friends are protecting her. Seems Bosworth will have her kicked to the curb if he finds out.”
Shaw gaped at him. “Well, knock me down and steal my teeth! I knew there was trouble in the Stewart union, but I’d not have guessed it was that far gone. Did you tell Dillon the whole story?”
“Yes, first time he came to the office, back on Monday. Well, I had to, didn’t I? I don’t want to be accused of withholding pertinent information.When Dillon had Geoff’s house searched a couple of days ago he noticed the absence of a man’s accoutrements right off. Then they found that burned stub-end of a bat in his incinerator. I had to tell Dillon where Geoff was when he came downtown to question him about it. After that, the marshal went over to the hotel and rousted Geoff out so he could finish his interrogation. Last I heard, he’d pretty much accepted that Geoff didn’t know anything about the bat.
“But now there’s this business with the sombrero under the porch. Dillon is getting the scent of something he doesn’t like. He did tell me just now that he’d keep Geoff’s indiscretion quiet if he can.” Web paused. “I don’t think Geoff means to hurt Cindy, if that makes any difference.”
Shaw snorted. “To my observation he don’t regard Cindy at all. Have you told Elizabeth about this dalliance of Geoff’s?”
“I never have mentioned it to anybody, especially Elizabeth, but this is not the first time Geoff has done this. I disapprove highly, but he won’t listen to me. You’d think he’d use a little sense, but this actress has him wrapped around her little finger.”
Shaw gazed at his brother-in-law for a moment. “Web, it ain’t my business to tell you how to talk to your wife, but you’re kin, so I’m going to anyway. When Elizabeth finds out you’ve been keeping a secret that is going cause grief to her friend when it comes out—and it will come out, have no illusions on that score—she will not thank you for it.”
Web’s eyes widened. “Well, Shaw, I can’t see as how it’ll help anything to put the cat among the pigeons.”
“I admire that you’re trying to spare the ladies’ feelings, but if Elizabeth is like Alafair, she won’t see it that way. She’ll feel like she’s been played for the fool.”
“But I’m her husband. It’s my job to protect her tender sensibilities from ugliness.”
Shaw almost laughed at that, but refrained when he realized that Web was sincere. He had said enough anyway. “Never mind then. It’s Geoff Steward’s head that’s about to roll.”
Levi
After dinner Web went back to work and Shaw went with him, too curious about Dillon’s confrontation with Geoff to stay home. The children went out into the back yard to play as the women cleaned up in the kitchen. While Elizabeth and Cindy washed and dried, Alafair scraped the leftovers into a pail to scatter on the ground in Elizabeth’s small chicken yard. She left a contented flock picking through the scraps and was just fastening the wire gate behind her when she caught sight of Levi Gillander standing in the street in front of his sister’s house, gazing idly in her direction. When she called his name, Levi sauntered over to join her at the fence.
“Are you looking for Cindy, son?” she asked. “She’s over here.”
“I figured.”
“Your father mentioned that you might come over to stay with Cindy at her house tonight.”
One corner of Levi’s mouth twitched up before he shrugged. “He twisted my arm, I reckon. I don’t figure Cindy needs looking after, but there’s no arguing with the old man.”
Alafair was struck again by Levi’s physical resemblance to his father; his small but sturdy frame and a complexion so pale that every passing flush of emotion showed on his face whether he willed it or not. Both had slightly protuberant, light blue eyes, but where the father’s burned with a righteous fire behind the ice, the son’s expression was guarded and wary. Having witnessed old Gillander in action, Alafair was hardly surprised that his children would go through life on edge. “Well, she’ll be glad to see you, in any event,” she assured him. “She’s been lonesome since Geoff has been away from home. And these assaults and murders have upset her, too. I guess your daddy told you about poor Matt Carrizal.”
When she mentioned Matt Carrizal, Levi’s pale eyes narrowed. “Yes, Father said he was wounded near to death when you found him. Does he still live?”
“We’ve had no word for a few hours, but Dr. Moeur reckons it’s just a matter of time.”
Levi looked away, his fair skin mottled as he struggled with his emotions for some moments.
“Levi…” Alfair ventured.
His gaze slid in her direction. “Ma’am?” He removed his hat, a reflex move rather than any conscious recollection of proper manners.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes’m. Just that I’m riled that some wretch would do such a thing to Matt. Of course, if he still lives there is yet a chance he’ll wake, God willing. At least long enough to tell who done this to him.”
“Matt was your friend? I’m sorry. How did y’all know one another? From when your sister was at school with him?”
“That’s when we first met, yes, ma’am. But later we got to be friends on our own. He was involved in a lot of charitable works helping poor Mexicans out. He approached me a few months ago about finding sympathetic folks in the Anglo community who might help with money, jobs, shelter, clothes, and the like. He figured that if anybody would know which white men would help and which would just as soon shoot coloreds, it would be me. I told him that I feel right sorry for the little brown folks. Even animals ought to have a place to be with their own kind and be left in peace.”
“Ah,” Alafair breathed, suddenly enlightened. “You were part of the Yaqui railroad.”
His for
ehead crinkled. “Pardon?”
“Oh, that’s what we’ve taken to calling Matt’s project.”
Levi looked baffled. “What project is that, Miz Tucker? What did Matt tell you?”
Alafair was surprised by his response. Had her instincts betrayed her? From the way he had spoken, she had assumed he knew all the details. “I’m sorry, I misprized the situation. When you said he had approached you about helping out with his charity, I figured you said yes.”
“Well, I told him I was willing to do what little I could, but I’d have to be mighty careful that nobody find out.”
“Especially your daddy?”
Levi’s smile was without humor. “Who would suspect me of having any sympathy for Mexicans? My father is my best armor and hiding place. But Matt never said any more about it, so I never got a chance to help out. What was it he was doing, do you reckon?”
She hesitated before answering, unwilling to betray Matt’s trust any more than she already had. “Matt told us that he raised some money to help the poor and hungry over in the barrio. I don’t know, but I expect it was church work.”
“He never mentioned the name of anybody else who was working with him?”
Something about the way he phrased the question gave her pause. “Son, do you have an idea who might have done these murders, or why? You should tell the marshal if you have suspicions.”
“I don’t. Just that if Matt was involved in any enterprise with that sassy Bernie Arruda then that’s more than likely why someone tried to kill him too.”
“Well, promise me that if you think of anything that would help catch a killer, you’ll go to the law with it.”
“I will. And will you promise me that you won’t tell anyone that Matt wanted me to help with his Mexican charity? I’d just as soon my father not disown me.”
There did not seem to be any more to say on the subject They fell silent for a moment as Alafair eyed the young man with sympathy. “Come on inside,” she invited at length, “and have a bite.”
“Thank you, ma’am, but I’ve et. If you’d kindly tell Cindy I’m here, I’d be obliged.”
Lily-Livered Creature
“But why didn’t Dillon arrest Geoff?”
“Well, what would be the motive, Elizabeth?” Web asked. “As far as Dillon knows, Geoff had no reason to kill Bernie nor Matt either, and he swears he was with his paramour when both attacks took place.”
By the time Shaw and Webster got back to the law office earlier in the afternoon, the marshal had already rousted Geoff Stewart out of the hotel and was in the midst of conducting a blistering interrogation. On their way home that evening Shaw warned that their chances of being able to keep what they had overheard secret from their wives were just about zero. Web was finding out that his brother-in-law had keenly assessed the situation.
The women met them at the door. Neither Alafair nor Elizabeth felt the need to put up with any masculine reticence. Shaw and Web were not even allowed to remove their coats before their own interrogation began.
Shaw accepted the inevitable and did not keep anything back. “I gleaned from Dillon’s questions that he thinks the hat under the porch and the stub end of a burned bat suggests somebody killed Bernie in the Stewart yard after the party was over. Then lugged him around to the front of your house, Elizabeth, and dumped him in the ditch. But it wasn’t Geoff Stewart, if his alibi is to be believed. And aside from Matt’s folks being neighbors to the Stewarts, there is absolutely no connection between Matt and Geoff that Dillon can find.”
Except for Cindy. Alafair withheld her own questions long enough to allow everyone to sit down, side by side in a row on the long couch in the parlor, so they could mull over the possibilities in companionable solidarity.
As far as Alafair knew, only Elizabeth, Cindy, and Alafair herself were aware of Bernie’s love notes, or of Matt Carrizal’s unrequited feelings for Cindy. Alafair had no sympathy for Geoff, cheater that he was, and maybe murderer. She would advise Elizabeth to turn those letters over to the law in a flash—except for the fact that when the notes became public, Cindy’s life would be ruined as surely as would her adulterous husband’s.
“Dillon sure put the fear of God into Geoff, though.” Shaw sounded amused at the memory. “When he threatened to arrest Geoff, Geoff turned white and went to quaking like a leaf. He spilled his guts, then, and swore up and down that he was just a deceiver and not a killer, and if she had to, his lover would stick up for him.”
Elizabeth was incensed. “Did he name the hussy? Oh, I hope it isn’t Miss Landowska. Or worse, young Dorothy!”
“He wouldn’t name her in our hearing,” Web said, “and Dillon didn’t demand it of him right then, either. He told Geoff he’d talk to the woman in private later, so at least he’s trying to spare the town a scandal on top of everything.”
Alafair was more realistic. “Everything is going to come out eventually, you know that.”
“It usually does.” Shaw’s quirky smile was more ironic than usual.
“Now that his ugly secret is out, why is Geoff still at the office?” Elizabeth insisted. “Why did he not come back to his wife and beg her forgiveness? Oh, don’t tell me that he’s still carrying on with that woman?”
Web shook his head. “No, Geoff told us that she was not pleased to have the law come rousting them out of their love nest in the middle of the day, so she has shown him the door. And as for Cindy, to tell the truth I think that since he can no longer keep his behavior a secret he’s ashamed to face her.”
Elizabeth flopped back against the couch. “I declare. Geoff Stewart ashamed of himself. Wouldn’t that be something? I hope you at least tried to talk some sense into him, Web.”
“How he conducts his personal life is none of my business, Elizabeth.”
The look that she gave her husband after this answer told Web that Shaw had been right about Elizabeth’s reaction, as well. Scorn, and something else. Something like bitter disappointment. His breath caught as it dawned on him that perhaps he did not know his wife as well as he thought.
After a few minutes had passed and no one offered a useful course of action, Elizabeth. said, “Well, supper is about ready if y’all want to wash up. Web, go call the children, would you?”
***
After the men left the room Elizabeth turned to Alafair. “If Geoff’s indiscretion clears him of murder, then do we have to tell Dillon about the love notes? When it became generally known that Geoff was having an affair, Cindy will be horribly hurt and embarrassed, but if Bernie’s notes to Cindy ever came to light, she would be shunned.”
“I was thinking much the same thought,” Alafair said. “Surely it would be better that Geoff take all the blame for adultery. There might be hope for the marriage that way.”
Elizabeth snorted at the idea. “I hope she divorces the son-of-a-gun.”
“You make it sound like that would solve her problems, Elizabeth. It wouldn’t, you know.”
Elizabeth lowered her gaze and gave a barely perceptible nod. “I know. Still.” She looked up. “It’s a good thing Cindy is such a lily-livered creature, Alafair. Otherwise somebody might suspect her of eliminating her unwelcome suitors herself.”
Alafair’s eyebrows shot up. She had never considered such a thing. “Elizabeth, you cannot believe it!”
“Fortunately, neither would Dillon. Now if it was me in Cindy’s situation, he’d send me up the river the minute he found out I had a connection to the victims.”
Much Improved
Dr. Moeur showed up to look in on Blanche as the family was finishing supper. His exam was short but thorough, and after pronouncing Blanche remarkably improved, he was plied with cake and effusive gratitude.
Afterwards, Alafair put the children to bed and Shaw once again took it upon himself to walk the doctor to his Franklin. “I don’t think Elizabeth will be pleased to see us go, Doc. Having Alafair here has been a real treat for her, and they’ve been enjoying getting to know each
other again after all these years.”
“When do y’all expect to leave?”
“Alafair would have me buying tickets for home right this minute if it weren’t for the attacks. We have yet to get Dillon’s go-head before we can leave town.”
“You’ve already given him your sworn statements, haven’t you? I wouldn’t think that would be any hindrance, then. But, like I told your wife, it would not hurt Blanche to to stay here in the dry climate for a few more weeks.”
“But it wouldn’t be bad for her to go home, would it?”
Moeur shrugged. “Not necessarily. Depends on what the weather is like back in Oklahoma. Even though I can’t hear anything in Blanche’s lungs any more, I think it would be a good idea if she wasn’t in the rain and damp for a while.”
Shaw brightened. “Well, that’s all right, then. My daughter writes us regular, and she says that it’s been sunny and mild for the past week.”
“You know how Oklahoma is when it comes to the weather, though.”
“Doc, I don’t think I could talk Alafair into leaving Blanche here unless it’d kill her if she didn’t.”
“I got that impression.” Moeur’s tone was dry.
“I have no reason to ask but plain nosiness,” Shaw continued, “but have you heard if the marshal is any closer to finding out who killed Arruda?”
“Dillon confiscated a passel of possible murder weapons during his house searches and gave them to me to check for blood, but I never found a trace on any of them. I expect the burned bat he found in the incinerator is what did the deed, but there is no way now to prove it. ”
“How is Matt doing, Doc?”
“Still hanging on. He can’t last much longer, I fear.”
“So you hold out no hope?”
Moeur threw his bag into the passenger seat of his Franklin and together they circled around to the driver’s side. “When I was there this morning, he was still alive. Breathing a little better, I think, though I don’t know how. It’s a wonder he has any blood left in his body after that slash to his neck. I didn’t find any signs that he tried to defend himself, either. No bruised knuckles or fingers, or tissue under the nails. I reckon he got taken by surprise by someone he allowed to get close to him. Likely he knew his killer.”