Brooke was quiet for a time, but her next question sent silent shock through Rachel. “What about babies? If a baby dies, does it go to hell?”
Oh, Sweet Jesus, help her. Could it be this young girl had already born and lost a child? She wanted to ask. To pull her into a loving embrace and infuse her with comfort. What kind of pain and misery has this poor girl been through? Oh Jesus, I wish I knew more so I could help her deal with the pain.
Rachel could barely speak around the pain in her chest. “No, I don’t believe God would send an innocent baby to hell. Babies aren’t able to make decisions about right and wrong. I believe when a baby dies it goes back to heaven and finds rest in the loving arms of its Creator.”
This statement brought a fresh wave of tears to Brooke’s eyes. She didn’t even bother to wipe them away as she turned to her mother-in-law. “Thank you for caring enough to tell me your story. You have given me a lot to think about. I think I’ll—”
The clopping of a horse sounded outside.
Brooke peered out the window. The rider was Jenny Chang. She watched as Sean, his Stetson tipped back on his head, came from the barn and took her horse, gesturing her toward the house.
“It’s Jenny Chang,” she told Rachel. “The wife of one of the men arrested for Fraser’s murder. I told Sky last night to have her come on out here. I’m so glad he remembered. It would have been awful for her to have to stay in town today.”
Brooke wiped the residual tears from her face as she moved to the door. “Jenny, I’m so glad you were able to come. Come on in. I’d like for you to meet my mother-in-law, Rachel Jordan.”
Jenny eyed Brooke’s tear-stained face but made no comment. Instead, she bowed her head and bent both knees in Rachel’s direction, her hands curled together in front of her. “It a pleasure to meet you.”
Rachel smiled kindly at her. “I’m glad to meet you, too, Jenny.”
“Would you like a cup of coffee? We were just having one,” offered Brooke.
Jenny nodded. “Yes, thank you.”
The women sat around the table making small talk for a while. Brooke found that she felt much more relaxed with Rachel now. It had helped to learn that Rachel and Sean were not the perfect people she imagined them to be.
Suddenly she remembered a story that she had read in Sky’s Bible the evening before. Some men had brought a woman to Jesus saying that they had caught her in the very act of adultery. They asked Jesus what they should do with her. She remembered from Sunday school that it was customary in Bible days for women who committed adultery to be stoned. But Jesus gazed at the men and said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” All the men walked away because every one of them knew he had sin in his own life. Jesus forgave the woman and told her to go on her way, but not to sin anymore.
Maybe there was hope for her as well. Could it really be that Jesus would forgive her for all she had done? To lay the whole burden of her sin on Him and just walk away—how wonderful that would be!
And what about Sky and his family? Would they cast stones of criticism at her when they found out about her past?
She glanced at Rachel, who was tenderly smiling at Jenny, and suddenly she knew how they would respond; they would love her as Jesus had loved the adulterous woman.
One question still remained for Brooke: Did she want to accept Christ’s love? Sky’s? Sean and Rachel’s? Could she humble herself enough to do that?
“All right, everybody, listen up!”
As Sky listened to John Bymaster, someone came to stand beside him. It was Jason. He appeared disheveled and grim, like maybe he hadn’t slept well the night before. Wonder what kept him up? Hopefully his conscience. Lord, keep working on him. “Hi,” was all Sky said.
Jason nodded. Then both men turned to join the crowd.
“As you all know,” Bymaster instructed, “last night we appointed Hattabaugh to be the judge at this here inquiry.” An older gentleman with graying hair at his temples moved through the crowd to stand by John. “Kettenbaugh is going to be the clerk,” he gestured to a middle-aged man, “and I will act as the investigator. I want these procedures to be conducted with the highest regard for the law and under the presumption that those men in there,” he pointed toward the jail, “are innocent until proven guilty.” Sky’s opinion of the man elevated. “There is to be no drinking during the course of these procedures, gentlemen. Any man found consuming liquor will be thrown into the facilities along with the accused. Does everyone understand?”
A mumbled chorus of acknowledgment rose up from the crowd.
“Fine! Now let me inform you that one of the men who has been arrested has professed that he and four others were the ones who committed this crime, but—” he raised his hands for silence as the men began to murmur threateningly—“he won’t give us any names except Lee Chang’s. So we will proceed as though there has been no confession and see where the evidence leads.”
The sun shone down brightly on the dusty street as chairs were brought out for the judge and the clerk who also had a small table set before him on which he could write. A chair was also placed at the front of the group to serve as a witness stand. Jed produced an old dusty Bible for the swearing in, and the inquiry was put into motion.
The day was beginning to warm, and steam rose from the street as the first prisoner was brought from his cell and led to the witness stand. His hand shook as he held it out and rested it on the Bible, swearing that he would tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Sky could tell as he watched that the man feared for his life, and looking at the faces of the men around him, Sky couldn’t blame the man for his fear. The atmosphere was anything but friendly.
It had been decided that Ping Chi, the one who had confessed, would be brought out last so his testimony could be weighed in light of what all the other men had to say.
The questioning began. “Where were you on the night of the murder? What was the celebration that took place on the night of the murder about? Did you have any reason to want the deceased dead?” On and on the questions went. When each man had been questioned, he was seated, with his hands securely tied behind his back, in the shade of a tree not far away. Two men, with guns held ready, stood watch over them.
As Sky listened to John Bymaster question the witnesses, his opinion of the man rose swiftly. He repented of his earlier animosity toward him. Bymaster was thorough and fair with all of his questions. Never accusing but always cutting deeper, trying to get at the real truth of what happened on that fateful night.
Standing inside the covering darkness of the forest at the edge of town, Percival watched the proceedings through his binoculars. A pitiless smirk crossed his face as he watched Lee Chang being led to the witness chair. It gave him great pleasure to know that all the men Lee hired to do the killing had been arrested. It would make his next job so much easier. Chang, you fool. Didn’t you know that you couldn’t pull off this job and live to tell about it?
He had known Chang was the man for this job the minute he’d heard the story about the bogus gold. Percival smiled.
When David Fraser had denied him permission to date his daughter and had told Alice in no-uncertain-terms that she wasn’t to be seen speaking to him anymore, he had gone and tried to talk her into running away with him, begged her, even. But Alice, being the good daughter she was, had complied with her father’s wishes. She had refused him; said her father had opened her eyes and now she could see he wasn’t the man for her. She had wished him well, but said she wouldn’t be accepting his calls anymore. In a way, this whole mess was her fault. She had been ready to marry him before her father talked her out of it. No, not Alice’s fault; she’s innocent in this. It’s all her father’s fault!
He had been in a saloon, brooding on a way to repay Fraser when he’d heard the men at the next table relaying the story of the Chinaman up in Pierce City that David Fraser had confronted. It was an innocent comment that had spurred his plan. “I bet that China
man would like to get his hands on Fraser’s scrawny little neck!” guffawed one of the drunken men, laughter filling his words, as he slapped the table. “Imagine a showdown between Fraser and Chang!”
That had been the start of his plan. He had decided right then to contact Chang and put it into motion at the earliest possible moment. It wasn’t like he hadn’t done this sort of thing before and gotten away with it. His only qualm had been in wondering if Chang could be trusted long enough for his plan to work. After he’d met him, all his misgivings had vanished.
Now, as he stared at Chang, he smiled.
He wasn’t worried about Chang spilling his name just yet. Chang was the type of man who savored his infamous reputation. The illusion that he was in control at all times was very important to him. And it would hurt his reputation to have it known that he was merely a hired killer. Chang won’t say anything about me until his very life depends on it. And by then it will be too late.
He lowered the binoculars and eyed the large group of men listening to the inquiry. How many men would guard the prisoners when they were sent to Murray for trial? That was his only worry.
Things had to go without a hitch. Nothing could go wrong now, and in order to insure that, he must know how many guards there would be. Or would I? A sudden thought hit him. He rubbed his first two fingers across the edge of his jaw as he thought the idea over.
His eyes narrowed as he stared down at the pine-needle-covered ground. The trace of a relieved smile parted his lips as he realized his newly formed plan would work to perfection.
Several plump hens scratched in the mud, searching for bugs. The rooster sat on his lofty fencepost and cocked his head in their direction. Fluffing his feathers in the warm afternoon sun, he settled down and closed his eyes to have a little siesta.
Brooke stepped up onto her stool and began to gather the eggs.
“You cry before I come?” Jenny asked.
Brooke turned in mild surprise and smiled sadly, trying to decide how best to describe what had brought the tears on. “I am not a good person, Jenny. I have done lots of very bad things in my life and when Rachel and Sean showed up yesterday, I was so afraid of what they would think of me if they ever found out about my past. Sky is such a good man. I have never known anyone like him.”
She shooed away a roosting hen and began putting the eggs into her bowl. “I thought his parents would be disappointed in me…that they wouldn’t like me or accept me. I know I’m not good enough for Sky. But this morning Rachel told me a story about herself when she was young. She and Sean were not good people either, but Rachel says that Jesus accepted them and forgave them anyway. He changed their lives.”
Jenny was so easy to talk to. Perhaps it was her easy-going spirit or the peace that constantly shone from her eyes. Brooke opened up to her like she hadn’t done to anyone else. “I wish I could be forgiven. I’m tired, so tired of...I don’t even know why I am tired. I just feel like I need something, Jenny. Maybe I need Jesus’ love and forgiveness. But I’m afraid that what I’ve done is too terrible to forgive.”
Brooke gave up gathering the eggs and sat on her stool. Jenny pulled a log from a pile against the barn wall and followed suit. The sun was warm and gentle. A companionable silence engulfed them as they watched the pecking hens. It was a long time before Brooke spoke again.
“I have watched you, Jenny. I saw the way Lee treated you the day I was in your store. I used to know some men who treated me that same way, but I did not respond to them the same way you did to your husband. You were calm and strong and even seemed to have a peace about you. Where do you find your strength and peace?”
Jenny thought a moment before she answered. “You think maybe I haf something else that help me be strong? Something not Jesus?”
“Do you?”
Jenny smiled in understanding at her friend. “No.” She shook her head. “Jesus, He the One give me strength. He help me love Lee even when he bad to me. Even help me forgive Lee.”
Brooke looked surprised. “You could forgive a man who treated you that way?”
Again she shook her head. “Not me only. I haf to haf Jesus’ help.”
“I don’t want to forgive them.”
Jenny nodded. “First thing first. You want to find peace? You need Jesus. You not find long peace any place else.” Jenny gestured toward the house. “You haf Bible?”
Brooke nodded.
“Come. I show you Jesus’ heart.” Jenny headed toward the house. Brooke followed, carefully carrying the half-filled bowl of fresh eggs.
18
Late in the afternoon, when all the Chinamen but the last had been questioned, still not one of them had come clean. The posse brought out Ping. He admitted that he and three others had gone into Fraser’s store on the night of the murder, and while he made a small purchase to distract the merchant one of the others had lifted the lock on the front window. Then later that night, after the town had become sufficiently noisy to hide the sounds of a struggle, they had gone into the store through the unlocked window and killed Fraser.
A threatening murmur rose from the crowd, but John Bymaster held up his hand for silence and continued with the questioning. “And what was this purchase you made?” he asked, pacing in front of the witness, his fingers steepled.
“A string tie.” He pointed toward his neck with a rather unsteady hand.
John pulled a string tie from a bag handed to him by Jed. “And, is this that tie?”
“Yes.”
“Let the court know that I, myself, went to this man’s shanty this morning and found this—” He held the bolo aloft as he spoke. Turning back to the witness, he said, “What was the celebration about on the night of the murder? From all appearances it would seem that every Chinaman who participated in that affair on the night of September the ninth is guilty of being a co-conspirator to a murder.”
“No.” Ping shook his head. “People were told that celebration was in honor of Mrs. Chang. A late birthday gathering. Only ones who knew about Mr. Fraser were us who kill him.”
John paced in front of the witness for a minute, rubbing his upper lip. Relief rippled through the crowd when they heard that only a few men had known about the real reason for the celebration that night.
“Now, I must ask you, why did you commit this crime?” John moved on to a new line of questioning.
The Chinaman fidgeted with his hands in his lap. “We get pay.”
“Someone paid you to commit this crime?”
Ping nodded.
“And who did that?”
He spoke without hesitation. “Lee Chang.” His voice was sure and steady, and Sky sensed he was telling the truth.
All eyes in the group turned to the cluster of men seated under the tree.
Lee Chang, hands tied behind him, stared back at them, his red, opium-deprived eyes cold and calculating. Sky saw no remorse there. Could the man really be that hard?
Sky wondered what the man who had been in the alley that night might have to do with this. Who was he? Certainly not Trace Johnson. What was he doing there?
Lee Chang was recalled to the stand. He sat, leaning forward uncomfortably to keep his bound hands from pressing painfully into the back of the wooden chair.
“Did you pay these men to murder Fraser?” asked John.
Chang did not answer. His stare locked on Bymaster, never wavering. There was a long pause as the two men eyed one another. After several more questions to which Chang only responded with a blank stare, it became apparent he was not going to say anything, and the judge called for a short recess.
The crowd had not had a break since lunch. They stood to stretch and take turns with the dipper at a barrel of drinking water.
Sky approached Bymaster. “Would you mind if I asked Chang a couple of questions?” he asked quietly.
Bymaster ran a tired hand over his face. “Fine with me. What do you know about this situation?”
Sky told him everything he knew from the
story of the bogus gold to his friendship with Fraser. He told about Brooke seeing another man in the alley between Jed’s boarding house and the Mercantile on the night of the murder.
“I’m sure Ping is telling the truth now,” Sky said. “When we first arrested him, he denied any involvement, but he had blood all over his shirt. I had some tests run on it, but they couldn’t say for sure whether it was human or not—only that it belonged to a mammal. So that doesn’t help us much. Ping’s description of the attack would explain how the blood got there.”
Sky suppressed a shudder as he imagined what Fraser must have gone through. “Still,” Sky rubbed his chin, “I don’t think Ping is giving us the whole story. He probably doesn’t know the whole story. Somehow I think that there is someone else in the mix. Someone who knows Chang.”
“Well, he won’t talk to me, so you might as well try.”
Once Chang was back on the stand Sky didn’t waste any time getting to the point. “Chang, did someone pay you to hire men to kill Fraser?”
Chang blinked and looked away. It was the first breach that the crowd had seen in his armor all day long.
Sky repeated the question, but Chang was back to his routine blank stare.
Undaunted, Sky went on, “On the night of the murder, my wife and I stayed in the boarding house next door to Fraser’s Mercantile. My wife happened to look out on the alley between the two buildings and saw a man who is not from around here. Do you know anything about that?”
Chang blinked again but still said nothing.
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