by Ginny Aiken
“Falling out? We didn’t fall outta nothing. I lay down on the sofa, and Roger, why, he stayed in his chair.”
The audience laughed again.
“Whut?” he asked. “It’s true.”
“Ah!” Mr. Peterson exclaimed, turning toward the audience. “I see you’ve referred to the truth, Mr. Nolan. So where is the truth of that night? Did you and your brother have words? Did you argue? Did you say something…well, untoward about Mrs. Nolan? Did you and Roger fight?”
Theo shrugged. “We never did talk about her none, but we always were fighting. We’re brothers. Brothers fight each other all the time. Nothing to it never.”
“Did you fight that night?”
“Sure. We fought purty near every night.”
“What did you fight about that night?”
Another shrug. “Don’t rightly recollect. Something, I suppose.”
“I suppose you have to do some better recollecting,” Mr. Peterson said, then turned to the judge. “I suggest, Your Honor, that in light of the number of strangers in the house that night, and in light of Mr. Nolan’s admission of a falling out with his brother, that there is sufficient evidence to leave our esteemed jury with reasonable doubt as to the accused’s culpability. I move the case against my client be dismissed.”
Theo leaped up and, with many gestures and much venom, launched into his usual litany of accusations.
The other men inside the impromptu court offered encouraging cheers. Murmurs of “Agitator,” “Dangerous,” and “Inciting riot” echoed around the room.
While the judge denied Mr. Peterson’s motion, he did dismiss Theo from the stand, and allowed the trial to proceed. Mr. Parham was called to testify next. He added nothing new to what was generally known about the incident, although Faith appreciated his insistence that he hadn’t seen her do anything to his food, and that yes, they’d both eaten of the entire meal.
He, too, was dismissed.
Reverend Alton took his place in the witness chair. Although he answered all the questions about his suspicions, he couldn’t offer a single piece of solid, incriminating evidence against Faith aside from her presence in the church at the time when the cash box disappeared. Like the previous witnesses who had been unable to fully explain the events, he couldn’t explain the disappearance of the collection box, and no one but Faith had seen the dog. On the other hand, no one could deny the knot on her head. She had been hurt. The main question remained—how had it happened?
When done, the reverend followed Theo and Mr. Parham down the center aisle formed by the rag-tag assembly of chairs in the saloon.
Then Nathan was called.
As he approached the chair, he met Faith’s gaze. She couldn’t quite read the odd look he gave her, but she saw no anger or accusation there. And he offered none as he was questioned.
Judge Hess put him through a series of questions much like the ones he’d asked the other witnesses. He then called Mr. Peterson, had him go into his examination.
“How long have you known Mrs. Nolan?” Mr. Peterson asked.
“About three years now.”
“What has your contact been like during that time?”
He raised a shoulder. “She usually tended the general store when I went to place an order for the camp or when I needed something we’d used up. She was always busy, keeping things tidy and clean, and taking good care of her customers.”
“How often has she delivered your purchases to the camp?”
“Just the one time.”
The lawyer arched a brow. “Hm…only once. So you would say this was an extraordinary circumstance, right?”
“Yes.”
“What brought about that extraordinary circumstance?”
Nathan glanced sideways at Faith then shifted in his chair. “Something went wrong with my last order. It seemed to have…vanished.”
“Vanished? Could you please explain?”
“When it became clear that my order was late, that it should already have arrived but Roger hadn’t brought it up to the camp, I went down to the store to see what had gone wrong. He wouldn’t say, but told me he didn’t have my supplies. He assured me he’d make sure we would have them before the trail became impassable.”
“Did he follow through?”
The logger shifted in the chair again. “He did get the supplies, but he wasn’t the one who delivered them. It surprised me to see Mrs. Nolan lead the loaded mules into the clearing at the camp.”
“Did you ask her what happened?”
His gaze skipped over to her, and then away. “Of course, but she didn’t explain much. My men and I helped her unload so that she could be on her way back down before it grew too late in the afternoon. It turns mighty dark quite early this time of year in the forest.”
The lawyer paced in front of Nathan, back and forth, thinking, his expression one of deep concentration. Without warning, he spun to face the witness. “Did you follow her down the trail?”
Everyone gasped.
Even Faith.
Nathan jolted up out of the chair. “No! Of course, I didn’t. What are you trying to say, sir? Are you accusing me in order to set her free?”
The audience erupted into a blathering din.
The judge banged his gavel on the table. “Order! Order in the court.”
Someone chuckled from deep within the crowd, and Faith heard more than one person voice the word “saloon.”
The judge hammered away again. “I’ll clear the room if this continues. We need order, ladies and gentlemen.” He turned to Mr. Peterson as soon as Nathan sat back down. “Carry on, please.”
Faith’s lawyer nodded. To Nathan, he said, “No accusation, Mr. Bartlett, but rather a reasonable question that must be asked. When did you next see Mrs. Nolan?”
Nathan told how the men saw the smoke rise above the trees, and how they hurried down the mountain to fight the blaze. He also described finding Faith in a quiet, densely wooded spot off to one side of the trail.
At that, Theo leaped to his feet. “Don’t ya forget about my mules! She was stealing my mules.” He pointed a stubby finger at Faith. “She’s a dirty, guilty horse thief!”
Like a hammer against steel, his indictment rang out and struck home in her heart.
“Guilty,” he hollered again. “Guilty, guilty, guilty!”
The judge called a recess in the proceedings, a wise move, seeing as how no one could have made sense of any further testimony in the uproar Theo’s words unleashed. The women hurried to Faith’s side during the brief break, and the men clustered together. Theo was left alone in his far corner of the room.
“How are you holding up, dear?” Mrs. Alton asked.
Faith couldn’t speak around the knot in her throat so she only shrugged.
“Just you wait until I get hold of Eli tonight.” Fire sizzled in Olivia’s expression. “I’ll be giving him a piece of my mind, all right. I can’t fathom what’s gotten into that man. All the men should have put their heads together and found a way to silence Theo’s wild accusations by now. I can’t believe they’ve let it go this far…even if Eli did humor me when I insisted you needed a lawyer.”
Addie snorted. “Must be the same thing as what’s got hold of my Joshua. On the one hand, he did what I insisted was right by Faith, but then on the other…he hasn’t stopped this stupidity any more than Eli has. It’s certainly not smart to give a lick of credence to anything that comes from Theo Nolan’s mouth. These men have lost their senses, that’s what. And I don’t cotton to being patronized, I’ll have you know.” She shook her head, setting the pretty red curls to bouncing.
Mrs. O’Dell, the middle-aged owner of Bountiful’s bakery, tsk-tsked. “I don’t understand what would make that vile Theo think you, his brother’s own wife, would ever hurt a soul, never mind kill Roger. I haven’t thought of him as bright, but I honestly never thought him quite this dim.”
Faith sighed. “All I want is to find out who did all these things.
That would free me from the dark cloud that’s hung over me since the night Roger died.”
“I’m sure you do, indeed, want to know,” Mrs. Myers, the butcher’s wife, said. “I’m right sorry I didn’t see who it was running away from the horse that day out on Main Street. I reckon we wouldn’t be here if I had.” She placed a hand on Faith’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Nolan.”
She smiled. “Call me Faith, and please don’t fret over that, Mrs. Myers. You couldn’t have known what had come before, much less what would happen next.”
The lady’s furrowed brow smoothed. “Thank you for your kindness, but I’ll never forget I could’ve helped you. I can assure you I’ll be keeping a closer eye on what goes on outside the shop from now on. Not a thing’s going to get past me, no sirree!”
The ladies chuckled.
Mrs. Myers blushed, then, in a clear effort to divert attention from her gleeful nosiness, she went on. “What I want to know is if anyone’s ever talked to any of them soldier fellas. Did you, Mrs. Nolan? Do you know if Marshal Blair did? Did that lawyer of yours over there ask ’em anything about that night?”
“Not that I know of. I wonder how long it would take to fetch them…”
None of the women knew how far the post was from town.
“The Army men out to the post generally keep to themselves,” Mrs. Metcalf said. “They only come to Bountiful for business matters, mostly the bank and so on. They used to come to the mercantile more, but since your man and his brother opened themselves up that general store, they don’t come so much.”
How odd. Faith didn’t remember the soldiers coming to the store all that often. But before she could give that new scrap of information much thought, Mrs. Metcalf went on. “They do come to town for special events, like the box lunch auction over to the church a couple weeks ago. But not much more.”
“I believe Theo’s the only one who could know anything about that night,” Faith said. “But he likely won’t say more than he’s already said. He’s too stubborn, and doesn’t often change his mind.”
The women stood in silence until Judge Hess clapped his gavel against the table again. “Order in the court!” Thump, thump, thump! “The court will come to order now, please.”
All those who’d stood subsided. The men returned to their seats. The women, Faith now noticed, gathered together on one side of the room. Anticipation hung thick in the air. No one knew who the judge would call next, and no one wanted to miss a moment of the proceedings. A tight ache began at Faith’s temples. The trial wouldn’t be over too soon for her.
No matter what the outcome.
In swift succession, the judge called Nathan’s loggers to the witness chair. One by one, they attested how she’d only gone to the camp that one time with the replacement order. The logger who had been with Theo also described the scene in the forest when they found her calling to the three mules. He went on to describe how they found the animals shortly after, untethered and placidly grazing nearby.
Whenever someone mentioned Maisie, Daisy, and Lazy, pain seared through Faith. She missed their company, and as their gentle, protective natures were discussed, she feared for them in the future. She couldn’t bear the thought of them left in Theo’s possession. He didn’t care about them. She doubted he’d spare them a minute’s thought beyond whatever they could provide in the way of making money.
Those animals had always counted on her. In whatever way possible, and with the help she was sure the ladies would give her, she would see to it that they were cared for and safe if…if she were sentenced to hang.
She couldn’t deny she’d been glad to see them when they’d followed her into the forest the night of the fire. And, yes, she hadn’t spared a thought to going back. If one were scrupulously honest, then she had stolen the mules. Or had instinct moved her to free them from the abuse she knew they’d receive once Theo took over?
She had to pray some more and trust God for the answer.
Just as she prayed He’d guide the court to the right solution.
Right around the same time the discomfort in her head turned into a pounding headache, the judge dismissed the last one of Nathan’s loggers. She tried to focus on Mr. Peterson’s closing argument, and he seemed to do as good a job as he could, laying out the facts and the lack of actual evidence. When he was through, the judge set down his gavel and rubbed his bald head with both hands. His silence continued, turning more awkward by the second, before he finally glanced at Marshal Blair.
Faith couldn’t miss the marshal’s grim expression.
The dapper judge looked at Faith, kindness in his expression.
He then turned toward Nathan and gave a minimal shake of his hairless head.
Terror struck Faith, but there was nothing she could, or dared, do.
Nathan leaned forward, his eyes narrowed, his brow lined. His shoulders looked tight, and his face displayed fear. She thought he might spring up, but he didn’t. He stayed put, his eyes never moving from the judge’s face.
She began to shake.
Judge Hess shrugged. Faith wasn’t certain, but she thought she could read regret in his gesture. Finally, he stood. With much ceremony, he faced the jury of six men to give them his instructions.
“I hope you understand the seriousness of the job before you now,” he said. “You hold this woman’s fate in your hands. Be sober, thoughtful, and if you need to ask more questions, send someone after me. I’ll see you get all the answers you need. You also should not rush. You have all the time you need.”
Faith thought she might have heard a butterfly’s wings flap inside that saloon, so silent as the judge spoke. Gone were all the whispers from the ladies, as were the arguments and cheers from the men. Even Theo had the decency to keep quiet. She bowed her head to pray.
“Missus Nolan?” the marshal said at her side. “The judge asked me to bring you back to the jail while the jury does this part. I’m sorry, ma’am, but we need to head on out now.”
Faith stood unsteadily, and, under the pretext of helping her with the gray wool cloak Addie had loaned her, the marshal offered her his considerable support. As he escorted her from the room, she caught Nathan’s gaze. He looked distressed, and why not? It had been the most distressing day Faith had ever lived—except for maybe the day her parents were killed. With all the dignity she could muster, in the midst of the greatest indignity she could imagine, she nodded in acknowledgment as she stepped past him. That’s when she noticed the baker’s dozen of women’s eyes that also stared at her. Those thirteen bodies sat tense as fiddle strings, hands folded on laps or clutching purses, feet shifting around with each step Faith took so that each of her supporters could follow her progress to the door.
At the same time, twice if not thrice as many men watched her departure, too, their necks craning bit by bit to let them study her every step. Eyebrows beetled together over disapproving stares, and, unless she was much mistaken, Faith saw a handful of smirks behind a variety of mustache styles.
Silence reigned over all.
She held her head high, her shoulders firm, kept her steps steady. When she finally walked out, however, her brave façade crumbled. Had it not been for the kind marshal’s clasp, she might have crumpled to the dusty boardwalk. Her wrists were shackled again, and she wouldn’t have been able to do much to stop her fall.
When she heard footsteps behind her, she turned. Nathan Bartlett had followed them outside.
She stiffened her spine and drew back her shoulders, calling on the last bit of dignity she still had.
In the time she’d spent indoors for the trial, the weather had turned. Instead of the wintry sun that had fought valiantly to illuminate and warm the air earlier, a pervasive blanket of gray hovered overhead. The wind had picked up, and swooped down Main Street, cold and merciless and howling through town. It looked as though a storm was on its way in.
A chill shook Faith, threatening her balance again. She rocked on the heels of her boots. Altho
ugh she’d been mortified to need the marshal’s assistance, she once again was only grateful for his and Nathan’s presence at her side. The icy air stung on its way into her lungs.
“Wouldn’t surprise me none if it snowed tonight,” the lawman said in a conversational tone. “Surprised we haven’t had none so far yet.”
At her other side, Nathan shrugged. “I could do with it waiting until this trial is over. The trip up the mountain won’t be easy if it snows. That trail freezes right quick, soon as the temperatures drop. All my men are here, as you saw, and I don’t want to risk anyone’s safety.”
A wave of dismay caught Faith by surprise. “I’m so sorry, Nathan. You shouldn’t be here. You or your men. Go ahead. Go back to the camp. I’m sure the judge is done with you.”
Nathan scowled. “Only a snake crawls away from his duty. You wouldn’t be in this predicament if you hadn’t brought those supplies to my camp. Roger lost his temper after you got back from seeing to my men’s survival through the winter. That’s why he argued with you. You fell in the scuffle, you said, although I suspect what happened is that Roger pushed you hard for bringing us our supplies. If you hadn’t acted on your conscience, that particular scuffle wouldn’t have taken place. Whatever led to him dying, it happened while you were unconscious. The least I can do is stand by you during this farce of a trial. Whether you did what Theo says you did or not is between you and God—”
“And that jury,” she cut in with more spunk than she’d felt in days.
His nod conceded the point. “You’re right. But it’s between me and God, too. It’s only right for me to stay through to the end.”
Faith caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Those words bore the weight of finality as they echoed through her thoughts. The end…the end…the end.
Fine. Nathan would stay out of a sense of duty, just as he’d offered marriage right after she was jailed. Faith knew her duty, too. As a believer in Christ, the least she could do was go to her own figurative cross, keeping the valor and honor He showed before those who wrongly crucified Him as an example. To do that, she would have to trust God’s provision.
