Whispers on the Wind

by Brenda Jernigan

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Do you realize that is the first time we’ve agreed on anything?” Thunder asked.

  Carter smiled. “I knew you’d come around to my way of thinking sooner or later.” He went to his saddlebags and dug out clean clothes. He was glad now that he always kept a change of duds in his bag.

  The water felt wonderful and fresh as he dove under. When he came up, he listened to the peaceful sound of the waterfall as he relaxed. After several minutes of floating, Carter finally began to lather his arms with the small chuck of lye soap that Thunder had in his gear.

  Carter thought about Mary. Was she being treated well? Was she frightened?

  Somehow he couldn’t picture her as a scared little mouse. His mouth twitched. His Mary was more like a mountain lion. Yep, that would describe Mary, all right. In spite of his concern, he couldn’t help smiling.

  But if the outlaws made the mistake of hurting her, he would personally make their deaths slow and painful.

  Had he just thought of her as his Mary? Where had that come from? Carter shook his head. His focus must be a little fuzzy at the moment He understood that once he had Mary back, he was still going to have to take her back to Gregory Gulch to stand trial. Somehow that didn’t set right with him as it once had.

  Yet, there was no concrete proof that Mary was innocent, and too much circumstantial evidence to suggest that she was guilty. Carter blew out a long, disgusted sigh. Now that he knew Mary, he found it hard to believe that she was a cold-blooded murderer. Oh, he had no doubt she’d shoot a man— most likely himself, if she were angry enough—but she wouldn’t carve someone up with a knife.

  He had some real issues where Mary was concerned. One big, looming question was whether he could let her walk out of his life. Hoping to get the cobwebs out of his mind, he ducked under the cold water.

  When he emerged, he had his answer and it wasn’t fuzzy anymore.

  He couldn’t let Mary go.

  If they found her guilty, then he’d help her fight, and if that didn’t work, he’d break Mary out of jail and they would go someplace where no one would find them.

  “Are you going to stay in there all damned night?” Thunder’s voice rang out loud and clear.

  “Hold your horses. I’m coming,” Carter snapped, then he added, smiling to himself as he called back to Thunder, “Did you fix supper?”

  Try some beef jerky.”

  When Carter walked back to the campfire, they glared at each other, but he couldn’t resist saying, “Maybe that water will cool off your hot head.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Thunder grumbled.

  It didn’t take Thunder as long to bathe as it had Carter, and soon they were both settling down on their blankets, their backs propped against their saddles, facing each other, separated by the blazing campfire. Both placed their guns within reaching distance.

  “Want some jerky?” Thunder asked.

  Carter nodded, so Thunder tossed him a couple of strips. Carter also made himself a pot of coffee. Good thing Thunder had been traveling and had had all his provisions with him or they would have nothing but each other.

  What an awful thought.

  As Carter leaned back with a cup of hot coffee in hand, he said, “I’ve heard bits and pieces about your family from Mary. It sounds like quite a group.”

  Thunder laughed. “They are most unusual and very special in their own way.”

  “Mary said you didn’t want any part of them at first”

  Thunder folded his arms across his chest “That is probably putting it mildly. I told Brandy very bluntly to go find somebody else.”

  “What made you change your mind?”

  “A marshal just like you,” Thunder said with a slow smile. “I was in a gunfight and killed a man. It was clearly self-defense, but because they thought I was a half-breed, the marshal didn’t want to hear my side. He intended to lock me up.”

  “So that’s why you don’t like the law.” Carter chuckled.

  “I practice law,” Thunder pointed out “However, the law can be blind and deaf if left in the wrong hands.”

  “Believe it or not, I can agree with you there. But what made you change your mind?”

  “Brandy.” Thunder smiled.

  The thought of his pretty wife waiting at home could turn even that ill-tempered son of a bitch into putty, Carter thought

  “She told the marshal that I was their guide and that she’d be responsible for me. So it was hang or go with them.”

  Grinning, Carter replied, “I would have liked to have been there just to see the expression on your face.”

  “I bet you would,” Thunder said sarcastically.

  “All joking aside, tell me what Mary was like when she was younger.”

  “About like she is now, only stubborn and much harder to get along with. She hated everybody.”

  Carter’s brow rose. That does describe her, though I can’t see her being much more stubborn than she is now.”

  “But she was worse when she was younger,” Thunder said with a smile. “You’d tell her to go left, she’d go right Get the picture?”

  Carter nodded.

  “And she hated Brandy,” Thunder added.

  “What made Mary change?”

  “We had to take the wagon across the Missouri River. Mary and Brandy were riding on the raft when Mary tumbled overboard. Her heavy skirts pulled her under and she damned near drowned because she couldn’t swim, so Brandy jumped in and saved her. After that, Mary mellowed out some and was a little easier to live with.”

  Carter stared at the embers burning low as he thought about what Thunder had just told him. Carter could picture the defiant young woman in his mind’s eye. He had a feeling that Mary had been trying to prove something all her life. Thanks for sharing your story with me.”

  “Now I have a question,” Thunder said.

  “Ask.”

  “Why are you so interested in Mary? Or do you take an interest in all your prisoners?”

  Carter nodded. “That’s a fair question. The truth is, I’m not sure what Mary is to me. I care a great deal about her and I don’t want her to get hurt”

  Thunder gave him a knowing look as he said, “I figured as much.”

  Carter’s gazed snapped up. “Figured what?”

  “Mary has you hooked.” Thunder grinned.

  “Well, I don’t know about that,” Carter shot back quickly. Perhaps too quickly. Maybe it was better to talk about something else. “When do you think the Carlsons will show?”

  “I figure around dawn when they think our guard is down,” Thunder explained. He pushed his hat down over his eyes. “I’m going to get some shut-eye while I can.”

  After a few moments of silence, Carter asked, “Have you ever wanted something so badly that you could taste it yet you were afraid to reach out for it?”

  Thunder shoved the brim of his hat up off his face and looked at Carter before answering him. “Yes.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I married her,” Thunder said with a smile, then pushed his hat back down to signal the end of the conversation.

  Carter stared at the fire, pondering Thunder’s words and thinking of Mary. What was it about the woman that both attracted him and made him feel like he was losing his mind at the same time? And what was he going to do about it? He recalled the unselfish passion they’d shared when he’d held her in his arms. He seemed to be blind where she was concerned, but he’d also taken an oath to uphold the law, and he was a man of his word.

  With his mind in turmoil, he didn’t remember falling asleep.

  What he woke up to was the click of someone pulling the hammer back on a pistol.

  “Mary,” McCoy said, “I want you to take this six- shooter.” He placed the gun in her hand. Her hand quickly fell to her side with the weight of the gun, but she didn’t drop it “Do you know how it works?”

  “Yes,” she said with that same blank stare in her ey
es and dullness of voice that pleased him.

  “Bring me the horse, Sammy,” McCoy shouted, then turned back to Mary. “As I was saying, Mary, you are to ride this horse until you come to the next camp. You must stop before you get there because bad men are in the camp. Do you understand?”

  “Bad men,” Mary repeated just like a performing puppet

  “You are to take the gun in your hand and shoot Carter Monroe, then turn and shoot the other man. You’re to kill both men—no matter what it takes. Understand?”

  “Kill both men.”

  McCoy took the gun. He held the horse for Mary to mount, then he handed her back the gun. “You are to keep the gun hidden in the folds of your skirt.”

  Since she was looking straight ahead, he drew her attention back to him. “Look at me,” McCoy said. “You’re still in a deep sleep and you’ll feel nothing, but when you hear the gunfire, you’ll wake up and you will remember nothing. You will not remember how you got here, and you’ll not remember who I am. Now bend down and give me a good luck kiss.”

  Mary did as she was instructed, then she straightened and obediently rode off. “You know, I could get used to that girl,” McCoy said, wiping his mouth. “Damn fine kisser.”

  “You realize that they’ll probably kill her,” Sammy said as he moved up beside McCoy. “When she shoots Carter, the other one will surely shoot her.”

  McCoy glanced at Sammy and grinned. “I know. And that’s why I’m leaving you boys now.” He grabbed up his gear. “By taking care of your problem, I took care of mine,” he said after he mounted his horse. “Now I have a mine that needs claiming.” He wheeled his horse around. “See you boys around. Nice doing business with you.”

  Sammy sauntered back to the campfire. “Now the only thing we have to do is wait”

  Carter heard the gun a second before he rolled to the side. His eyes flew open. He reached for his gun, but Thunder had already thrown his arms around Mary.

  “Mary!” Carter got to his feet, a little dumbfounded. Thunder was trying to control her. She still held tight to the pistol. She was struggling like they were her enemies.

  “Bad men,” Carter heard her say.

  She was going to kill him! And to think a moment earlier he’d thought he loved her.

  “Are you going to stand there or help me?” Thunder bit out

  Carter moved in and wrestled the gun from Mary’s fingers, then tossed it to the ground before grabbing her arms.

  Thunder stepped back. He was a little dazed that his sister had stolen into their camp without either him or Carter hearing her. Not to mention the fact that she was trying to kill both of them.

  Carter shook Mary. “Why did you do that? What the Sam Hill is the matter with you?”

  “Kill Carter,” Mary repeated.

  “But why, Mary? Why?”

  Thunder finally felt his wits return. He could see that his sister did not look like herself or act like herself. She looked more like some evil spirit had entered her body and taken her wits. “Look at her, Carter.”

  “I am looking at her, for Christ’s sake,” Carter snapped. “She’s damn lucky I haven’t slugged her. Explain yourself, Mary!”

  “Kill Carter.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I got that part. The question is why?”

  “Kill Carter.”

  Thunder put an end to the shaking of his sister. It wasn’t getting them anywhere. He grabbed Carter’s arm. “Look at her eyes. She is looking at you, but it’s as if she is in a daze and doesn’t see you at all.”

  “Mary!” Thunder called her name loudly. She didn’t respond.

  Carter lightly slapped her cheek. “Snap out of it” Still, she had that dazed stare that he could really see now.

  “Kill Carter.”

  “I’d better retrieve the gun before she does just that,” Thunder said. He reached for the gun and it went off with a loud bang.

  “Shit,” Carter swore, and grabbed Mary to protect her even though she was still mumbling, “Kill Carter.”

  “Can’t you be more careful?” Carter yelled at Thunder.

  “The hammer was pulled back,” Thunder said tersely. “You better be damn glad that I woke up when I did or you wouldn’t be here.”

  “Carter,” Mary murmured.

  Carter sighed. It was going to be a long night.

  “Yeah, I know, kill Carter.” He repeated the words he’d already heard from her a dozen times before.

  “How did I get here?” Mary asked as she shrugged out of his grasp.

  “Mary?” Carter and Thunder said at the same time.

  She blinked several times and looked around. “Where are we?”

  Carter noticed the dazed look was missing from her eyes. “We’re just outside of town.”

  “How did we get here?” Mary asked. She had the oddest feeling, like a part of the day was missing and both Thunder and Carter were looking at her as if she were loco. The feeling she had now reminded Mary of how she’d felt right after she found Big Jim murdered.

  “Don’t you know?” Carter asked, a little dumbfounded.

  “If I did, I wouldn’t be asking you,” she said begrudgingly, then added, “My head hurts. And why are you both looking at me that way?”

  “Because, my dear sister”—Thunder paused— “you just tried to kill Carter.”

  “I did not,” she said firmly. However, neither one of them was smiling. “Did I?”

  They nodded their heads in agreement.

  “What is the last thing you remember?” Carter asked.

  “The fire. The smoke. I thought I was going to die,” she recalled. Then Mary looked at Carter accusingly. “Because you left me locked up.”

  “And,” Carter prompted.

  “A man came to let me out. He said that you had sent him, so I figured it was because of the fire. I rode out of town with him, but he kept riding farther and farther away, so I stopped and demanded to know where we were going.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I don’t remember anything after that.”

  “What did he look like?” Thunder asked.

  “He ... I don’t remember.”

  “How can you not remember?” Carter’s frustration was coming out in his tone of voice.

  “That’s enough,” Thunder said, putting an end to what was going to be another argument “There has to be a reason Mary can’t remember. We’re just missing that piece of the puzzle.”

  Carter rubbed his jaw. “I don’t think Mary rode very far. I bet the culprits are near.”

  “I might not remember the man’s face, but I do remember where I rode from,” Mary said with a smile and pointed. “It’s that way.”

  “Let’s ride,” Thunder said, already grabbing up his saddle.

  It didn’t take them long before they reached where the outlaws’ camp was supposed to be. They stopped before getting there and left Mary behind with the horses.

  Thunder and Carter split up so they would come at the outlaws from different directions, and crept toward the camp.

  Carter peered through a scraggly bush, careful not to make any noise. He counted three men. One of them was Sammy Carlson, but how had Carlson been able to take Mary when he had been in the middle of that gunfight? Something didn’t add up. Again it was as if the missing piece of the puzzle was still plaguing him.

  Looking across the way, Carter saw Thunder’s signal. They both jumped from behind their cover and stormed toward the campfire.

  “You boys are under arrest!” Carter yelled.

  The outlaws didn’t surrender, but went for their guns instead.

  Thunder went after the two Mexicans, and Carter went after Carlson, who was fumbling to get his gun out of its holster.

  Sammy roared and swung, catching Carter in the belly. It stunned Carter long enough for Sammy to get the edge, and he landed two more punches.

  Carter rolled and fought for his breath. Then he managed to scramble to his feet, slightly unsteady. When Sammy came at him again, Carter ducked and
caught Sammy on the side of the head with his fist.

  Sammy retreated two steps and grabbed a large, clublike stick and swung at Carter. He backed up, tripping on a log. He went down on one knee, but he could see the club coming down, so he threw up his arm in a vain attempt to protect himself. He took the blow on his arm and pain shot all the: way up to his shoulder, but something inside Carter snapped. All he could feel was rage.

  He saw Sammy going back for his gun, and at the same time caught a glimpse out of the comer of his eye of one of the other men pointing his gun at Thunder’s back. Carter swung around and fired his Colt, sending the man stumbling backwards so fast that he looked as though he’d been jerked by a rope.

  A bullet whisked by Carter’s head, making him turn, thank God, in the right direction. He fired and caught Sammy in the right shoulder, forcing him to drop the club. But Sammy didn’t stop. He bent down and grabbed his .45 and shot at Carter.

  Carter fired back. His second shot took Sammy down. Looking down at the man, lying half sprawled on the ground, Carter was of two minds. He knew he should take the man in alive even after all this time, but he wanted nothing more than to see the man dead.

  He glanced behind him to see that Thunder had killed one of the remaining men and had the other tied up. Carter turned his attention back to Sammy, who was reaching for his gun.

  Carter kicked the six-shooter away from Sammy’s outstretched hand. “So, Sammy, now we finally meet face-to-face.”

  Sammy just looked up at him, his eyes shaded by shock. “Looks like you win, Marshal.”

  “The law always wins,” Carter pointed out “But tell me one thing. How did you get Mary to try and kill us? It almost worked.”

  Sammy grinned. “Wasn’t me. It was McCoy.”

  “Who?” Carter asked again.

  Thunder’s head snapped around at the mention of McCoy. He strode over and stood beside Carter. Then Thunder noticed Mary at the edge of the clearing and motioned for her to come stand with them.

  “What was McCoy’s first name?” Thunder asked.

  ‘John.”

  Mary gasped. “That is Big Jim’s brother.”

  Carter could see that Sammy was fading fast His voice had grown faint, so Carter knelt down. “How did McCoy do it?”