Chapter 18 - The Murder Charge
Caleb surrendered his gun.
Ethan objected.
Caleb stopped him.
“Don’t make this worse.”
Marshal Bell seemed neither corrupt nor eager.
That mattered.
He had a lawful warrant issued in Tucson.
Three sworn witnesses placed Caleb at the smelter.
Ethan and Isaac could confirm Caleb had been there.
That was the problem.
“What time did Pike die?” Ethan asked.
Bell checked his papers.
“Between four and five in the morning.”
“We left before three.”
“Can you prove that?”
“Isaac can.”
Bell glanced at Isaac.
“And he’s connected to the dispute with Vale.”
Meaning a defense lawyer would call him biased.
Ethan hated that the marshal was correct.
Caleb mounted Bell’s spare horse.
“I’ll go.”
Ethan stepped close.
“Vale wants you separated.”
“I know.”
“He may own the jail.”
“Then make sure the documents reach someone he doesn’t own.”
Bell looked at Ethan.
“For what it’s worth, I read them.”
“And?”
“I came alone.”
Ethan understood.
If Bell served Vale completely, armed deputies would have followed.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to hear both sides before somebody started a war.”
The chief approached.
Isaac translated.
“He says the war began when the water was buried.”
Bell looked toward the village.
“I suppose it did.”
They rode south.
Ethan followed with Benton.
In Tucson Caleb was placed in jail pending a preliminary hearing.
Ethan immediately sought a lawyer.
The first refused after hearing Vale’s name.
The second asked for money Ethan did not have.
The third, Margaret Ellis, read Thomas’s documents for twenty minutes before speaking.
“I’ll take the case.”
“Why?”
“Because Gideon Vale tried to buy my father’s newspaper ten years ago.”
Ethan waited.
“That enough?”
“No.”
She closed the file.
“Because the murder evidence looks manufactured.”
She showed him Pike’s death report.
Shot once at close range.
Weapon caliber: .44.
Caleb carried a .36 revolver.
“Vale’s witnesses claim Caleb borrowed a weapon.”
“Convenient.”
“Very.”
More important, a stable worker saw Pike alive after sunrise.
The official death window contradicted that.
“Can he testify?”
“He disappeared.”
Of course.
Margaret looked at Ethan.
“This is not just a murder case.”
“No.”
“Vale is using the criminal charge to label every accusation from your family as retaliation.”
“Can we stop him?”
“We can create enough daylight that he has difficulty controlling the story.”
She sent copies to two newspapers.
Marshal Bell arranged protection for the remaining evidence.
That afternoon something unexpected happened.
Benton disappeared.
Ethan found his hotel room empty.
No struggle.
No blood.
Only a note.
I am tired of others paying for my fear.
Ethan swore.
Benton had gone to Vale.
Margaret read the note.
“Maybe.”
“You think it’s fake?”
“I think people are complicated.”
Ethan rode toward Vale’s Tucson office.
Benton stood outside.
Alive.
Vale beside him.
Reporters gathered.
Ethan dismounted.
“What are you doing?”
Benton did not meet his eyes.
Vale smiled.
“Mr. Benton has reconsidered his accusations.”
Ethan froze.
Benton spoke loudly enough for reporters.
“My memory of events from 1859 is unreliable.”
“Robert.”
“I cannot testify that Mr. Vale ordered the explosion.”
Ethan stared.
Vale had turned their oldest witness.
“Why?”
Benton’s eyes flickered toward him.
One second.
Enough to reveal fear.
Not for himself.
For someone else.
Vale handed a reporter a statement.
Benton had signed it.
Ethan looked at Vale.
“Who are you threatening?”
Vale smiled.
“Still a scout.”
Ethan grabbed Benton’s arm.
“Who?”
Benton whispered one word.
“Caleb.”
Ethan’s blood chilled.
Vale leaned closer.
“Your brother has a hearing tomorrow.”
He spoke softly.
“Jails are dangerous places.”
Ethan released Benton.
Vale had created another choice.
Evidence or family.
Truth or Caleb’s life.
Ethan remembered the buried spring.
Every trap Vale built depended on controlling something essential.
Water.
Debt.
Fear.
He looked at Benton.
“Do what you need to.”
Benton’s eyes widened.
Ethan turned away.
Vale called after him.
“Giving up?”
Ethan looked back.
“No.”
“I’m learning.”
That night Ethan visited Caleb.
Bars separated them.
“They got Benton.”
Caleb nodded.
“I figured.”
“He recanted.”
“Good.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
Caleb stepped closer.
“Benton told me yesterday that if Vale pressured him, he’d lie.”
“Why?”
“Because he already gave a sworn deposition to Marshal Bell.”
Ethan blinked.
Caleb smiled.
“Vale thinks he just destroyed his witness.”
From the neighboring cell a man cleared his throat.
Ethan turned.
The missing stable worker sat in darkness.
Caleb grinned.
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“Marshal Bell found him first.”
And for the first time, Vale had built a trap without realizing someone else had already removed the spring from beneath it.
