by Bobbi Smith
"Who is it? What happened?" the lawman asked, immediately going to grab the reins of the horse carrying the dead man.
"It's Ben, Sheriff!" Mick told him. "When he didn't make it back to the ranch today, we went looking for him. We found him at a campsite—shot dead."
Sheriff Protzel's expression grew even more grim as he inspected the body and saw how Ben had been shot.
"And none of you saw or heard anything?"
"No. We stayed in town all night. Ben went home on his own after the dance, but he never made it back to the ranch. We went looking for him today and found him at his campsite. Whoever did this shot him in cold blood while he was sleeping."
"And we know who did it!" one of the ranch hands told him.
"Yeah. It had to be Walker Stevenson! He's the one Ben fought with at the dance," another man put it.
"Did you find any evidence that it was Walker?" the lawman demanded.
"Ben's dead—what more evidence do you need?" Mick challenged.
"It was the half-breed. We all know it!" another ranch hand added.
"Yeah," Mick said, his tone threatening. "And if you don't arrest him, we'll take care of him ourselves."
"Now, slow down there, boys," the sheriff cautioned them, resting his hand on his gun to let them know he meant business.
"No, you listen to us, Sheriff. That half-breed is a murderer! He killed Ben just as sure as we're standing here."
"Get Ben over to the undertaker's," Sheriff Protzel ordered, "and then come back here to the office. I don't want any of you running off doing something crazy. I'm the law in this town, and don't you forget it." His tone was harsh and his meaning unmistakable.
The men were grumbling as they backed down for the time being and did what the lawman ordered. They were willing to follow his direction for now, but if he didn't go after Walker, they would.
Sheriff Protzel watched them move away and then went straight over to Deputy Davis's house.
"We've got trouble," Protzel told his deputy when he came to the door.
"What is it?" Deputy Davis asked.
The sheriff told him what he knew.
"That fight at the dance was ugly," the deputy told him, "but Ben started the whole thing."
"I don't trust Thompson's men. They're a wild enough bunch to try just about anything. We'd better ride out and bring Walker in right now before things get out of hand. I wouldn't put it past them to try to lynch him."
"Let's get some more men to ride with us, just in case the Thompson boys do start some trouble."
Deputy Davis grabbed his gun belt and strapped it on before leaving the house.
A short time later, they were riding out to the Dollar, and three newly appointed deputies were accompanying them.
In town, Mick and the other men from the ranch awaited their return.
Walker had just been ready to call it a night when he heard riders coming in. It was highly unusual for anyone to show up this late, so he went outside to see who it was. He was puzzled to find Sheriff Protzel and several of his deputies riding up to the house.
"'Evening, Sheriff." Walker greeted him cordially, going forward to speak with the men as they reined in. "Is something wrong?"
Sheriff Protzel dismounted, as did his deputies. His expression was serious as he faced Walker. "Walker, I need to talk with you—privately. There's been some trouble."
Walker realized something terrible must have happened as he looked from the lawman to his deputies, and he immediately worried that it had something to do with Stacy. "What is it? Is Stacy all right?"
The lawman knew no way of making this easy. "Can we go inside and talk?"
"Come in." Walker led the way into the house.
Before following Walker inside, Sheriff Protzel paused and looked at his men, who were more than ready to come with him just in case there was trouble. "Wait out here. I won't be long."
Walker moved into the parlor to face the lawman, unsure of what was to come. "What's happened?"
"Ben Thompson is dead," the Sheriff said bluntly, and he watched Walker carefully, wanting to judge his reaction to the news.
"What?" Walker exclaimed in a shocked tone.
Sheriff Protzel was glad to see Walker looked honestly surprised by the news. "He didn't show up back at his ranch, so some of his boys went looking for him. They found him murdered at his campsite."
"What's this got to do with me?"
"I'm afraid I have to take you in."
"I don't understand." Of all the things Walker had thought he was going to say, this was the furthest from his mind. "You think I killed him?"
"Look, you two were involved in a fight at the dance and you did threaten him."
"I didn't do it,"Walker protested."I was in town last night. You can ask Stacy or Jim or even Roni. They'll tell you. I had a room at the hotel. I spent the night there."
"I'll check into that, but for now, I'm taking you in."
"If you're going to be arresting anybody, you should be arresting Ben's men," Walker argued angrily. "Ben and I did have a fight at the dance, all right, but later, Ben and some of his boys jumped Jim and me by the hotel. Jim spent the night in the doctor's office, he was beat up so bad."
"Walker, that just makes things look even worse for you," Sheriff Protzel told him.
"I didn't kill him," he repeated.
"I want to believe you, but until I get this sorted out, I'm going to keep you in custody. Ben's men are just waiting for the chance to lynch you, and I'm not going to let that happen. So, let's go."
Walker was disgusted, but he knew Sheriff Protzel was a fair and honest man. He knew it would be for the best if he went along without a fight.
"I need to tell my men what's going on," he said.
He'd just started outside when he saw his foreman, Zach Foster, being kept away from the house by the deputies.
"Walker, is everything all right?" Zach called out. He and the other ranch hands had seen the lawmen ride in.
"You can let him go," Sheriff Protzel ordered his deputies.
Zach hurried up to the house, and Walker quickly explained.
"You're arresting Walker for Ben's murder?" Zach looked at the lawman, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"That's right. Now, why don't you go get his horse saddled up for him? We need to get back to town."
Zach looked at Walker. He knew with the help of the other hands they could outgun the sheriff and his deputies, but ultimately that kind of a confrontation would only make things worse.
"It's all right," Walker told him, not wanting any trouble.
Zach went out to the stable and returned a short time later leading Walker's horse. He handed the reins over to him. "What do you want us to do, Boss?"
"Let Stacy know what's happened. She's staying in town with Roni."
"I'll get word to her right away," he promised.
Sheriff Protzel and his deputies kept a careful lookout on the ride back to town. They didn't trust Ben's men not to try something, and they were glad when the trip proved uneventful.
It was after midnight when they finally reached the sheriff's office. But despite the lateness of the hour, Mick and the others were still there, waiting out front for them.
And one of them had a rope.
"So, he didn't try to run from you, eh, Sheriff?" Mick said as he and the others closed in around the lawmen as they dismounted.
"Get out of here—all of you." The sheriff drew his gun to make sure the situation didn't get out of control, and he was glad the troublemakers had enough sense to back away. "Walker's my prisoner."
"I like the way that sounds—'prisoner.'" Mick watched as the deputies escorted Walker into the jail.
"Did you hear me, Mick? I said, take your boys and get out of here!" Sheriff Protzel repeated, gun still in hand. He stayed outside on guard, watching them carefully until they moved off. Only when he was certain they were gone did he follow Walker and his deputies inside, closing the door s
ecurely behind him.
"What do you want us to do?" Deputy Davis asked.
"Lock him up in back, and then all of you go check around town and keep a lookout for Mick and the others. I don't trust them not to try something tonight."
The deputy took Walker back to a jail cell.
"Make yourself comfortable," he said as he locked him in. "You're going to be here awhile."
He knew the sheriff had his doubts about Walker's guilt, but Deputy Davis had been at the dance and had witnessed Walker's confrontation with Ben firsthand. There was no doubt there had been bad blood between the two of them, and threats had been made.
Chapter Seven
The pounding on her office door roused Roni from a sound sleep, and she got out of bed and quickly threw on some clothes to go answer it. She expected to learn that someone had taken sick or had had an accident.
"I'm Zach, Dr. Reynolds. I'm the foreman out at the Dollar. Is Stacy here?"
"Yes, please come in. I'll get her for you." Roni started back upstairs just as Stacy appeared at the top of the steps.
"Zach's here to see you."
Having already donned her dressing gown, Stacy hurried down to see what the foreman wanted.
"Stacy, I've got bad news." He looked at Roni questioningly, unsure whether to continue in front of the new doc.
"You can trust Roni. What happened?"
"It's Ben Thompson—" he began.
"What about him?" she asked in disgust, wondering what the evil man might have done now.
"He's dead."
"Oh, my God."
Roni was instantly at her side. "What's this got to do with Stacy?"
"Sheriff Protzel and some of his deputies showed up at the ranch and arrested Walker for Ben's murder."
"What?" Stacy and Roni were both horrified.
"They brought Walker into town and locked him up," Zach went on.
"I've got to get down to the jail and talk to the sheriff. I've got to get Walker out of there! Wait for me, Zach."
"I'm going with you," Roni insisted.
The two women rushed back upstairs to finish getting dressed. A short time later they were at the jail, pounding on the door.
Considering the volatile situation created by this case, Sheriff Protzel had decided to spend the night at the jail himself rather than leave guard duty to one of his deputies. He unlocked the door to admit Stacy along with the ranch foreman and Dr. Reynolds.
"Sheriff Protzel, you've made a serious mistake," Stacy charged hotly. "My brother didn't kill anybody!"
"Well, Ben Thompson is dead, and everybody at the dance saw the two of them fighting."
"But Ben started that fight!" Stacy insisted.
"Walker is innocent!" Roni spoke up.
"He'll have to prove that at the trial."
"How can you arrest him when you have no evidence against him?"
"I'd say the two of them having a big fight just hours before the murder makes him the prime suspect. Besides, Ben's men are threatening to take the law into their own hands. Walker is safer locked up in my jail than he would be out at the Dollar."
"You're wrong about this, Sheriff Protzel," Stacy told him, growing deadly serious. "You're making a big mistake. I want to see my brother."
The lawman didn't really want to start a battle with her, so he agreed. "You can go on back."
He let the two women into the cell area, then returned to his desk.
Walker had heard the sound of Stacy's voice in the outer office and he was standing up behind the bars as they came in. He was glad to see them, and especially Roni. His gaze met hers as she and Stacy approached.
"Zach—thanks," Walker said to his foreman.
"I got her here as fast as I could."
"Walker, what happened?" Stacy was on the verge of tears, seeing him locked up this way.
"You probably know as much as I do. Evidently, Ben Thompson was killed overnight. The sheriff came out to the ranch and arrested me for the murder. I told Sheriff Protzel I spent the night in my room at the hotel, but he didn't seem to think that mattered."
Roni stepped up. "We know you're innocent."
Walker appreciated her faith in him and her unwavering support. "But everybody else in town is going to believe Mick and the rest of Ben's men."
"Then we'll just have to find the real killer." Roni's mind was already racing as she tried to imagine who would have committed such a horrible crime. Ben Thompson was a hateful man, and she'd known Walker was furious with him. She'd heard him swear to get even with Ben when Jim had been unconscious and they hadn't been certain he would recover, but she knew Walker hadn't meant he was going to sneak off in the night and gun Ben down in cold blood. Walker wasn't that kind of man.
"But how? How will we find them?" Stacy asked, terrified for her brother's safety.
"I don't know, but we will—somehow."
"Talk to Jim. Maybe he'll be able to think of something," Walker suggested, knowing how smart his friend was.
"We're going to get you out of here," Stacy angrily promised, before turning to go out into the main office and talk to the lawman again.
Zach followed her, hoping to help, leaving Roni and Walker alone for a moment.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, moving closer so she could reach out and touch the hand gripping the bars that separated them. She could see the pain revealed in the depths of his gaze.
"I've always known there were people in town who hated me, but I never thought they'd go so far as to frame me for murder."
"Don't worry. You're innocent. There's no evidence that you did it. No one can prove anything. There's no way you can be convicted."
"I hope you're right." Walker met Roni's gaze one last time.
"I'll be back in the morning," she promised.
He nodded as he watched her leave to join Stacy and Zach; then he went to sit on the hard cot. He knew it was going to be a long night.
Roni explained to the sheriff that she needed to return the next day to check on the injuries Walker had suffered when Ben and his men had jumped him after the dance. Then she left the jail with Stacy and Zach. They went back to her house to try to figure out what to do.
"Zach, send one of the boys out to Chet's ranch to let him know what's happened," Stacy directed. "I need him here with me."
"I'll do that first thing in the morning."
"And Walker's going to need a lawyer. I guess Jim can help me with that," Stacy said.
"I wonder how much time we have before the trial?" Roni worried. She knew in Two Guns justice sometimes moved very quickly.
"Jim will know," Stacy said. "We'll ask him what to do."
"Do you want to spend the night here, Zach?" Roni offered.
"No, the men are worried. I have to get back to the Dollar and let them know what's happened."
Zach bid them good night and rode out, leaving Stacy and Roni alone.
They were both too worried to be able to sleep, but they retired to their beds to try to get some rest.
They knew the next few days were going to be hard.
It was just a little after seven the following morning when they left the house to see Jim. Stacy had told him she'd be back to fix his breakfast, and they were pleasantly surprised to find him up and dressed and obviously feeling better.
"Good morning," he greeted them. He let them in with a smile, but as soon as he saw their deeply troubled expressions, he realized something must have happened overnight.
"Jim," Stacy began, "I need your help."
"Of course."
They went to sit in his parlor, and Stacy quickly told him the news of Walker's arrest.
As he listened, Jim was glad he was thinking more clearly this morning and had gotten some of his strength back. He was going to need it. He reached over and took Stacy's hand in his as she poured out her heart to him. He looked deep in her eyes, seeing her pain and fear for her brother's safety, and he knew he had to do everything in his power to help her and Wa
lker.
"We're going to fight this," he promised. "Nothing's going to happen to Walker. The first thing we have to do is hire Ralph Newsome to be his lawyer. We can go over to his office right away. He's a good attorney."
All she could do was nod. Stacy was used to being a strong, independent woman, but Walker's arrest had left her feeling completely lost. She was thankful for Jim's encouragement and support. She just wished Chet would arrive soon. She needed him desperately.
Roni examined Jim and confirmed what he already knew—his condition was much improved.
"I told Sheriff Protzel I'd be over to check on Walker this morning, so I'm going to go there next. Let me know what happens with the lawyer," she told them.
"Tell him I hope we'll have him out of jail today," Stacy said, trying to be optimistic.
Walker's mood was dark as he lay on the hard cot in the jail cell. Though he knew his injuries weren't in any way life-threatening, the pain from his cracked ribs was constant, and he had found it next to impossible to get any rest. It had been a long, painful night.
Walker wanted to get out of jail as fast as he could. Being caged up this way didn't sit well with him. He hoped he could get everything straightened out today and be released. Surely, just the fact that he'd spent the night of the shooting in his room at the hotel would be proof enough of his innocence.
Walker sat up on the side of the cot and stared blindly at the cell bars, thinking about the murder. He found himself wondering, as he had all night long, who'd really killed Ben—and why. A lot of people in the area had had run-ins with Ben, but he couldn't think of anyone who hated the other rancher enough to shoot him down in cold blood that way. He knew it could have been some trigger-happy gunmen just passing through the area, but that made little sense. Ben had been sleeping when the shooting had occurred and no one had made mention of anything being stolen.
The answer was there somewhere, and he had to find it.
Walker heard someone enter the outer office and immediately recognized the sound of Roni's voice.
"Good morning, Deputy. I'm here to check Walker," she told Deputy Davis.
"When he left this morning, Sheriff Protzel told me you'd be coming by," the deputy said. "Will you need to be in the cell with him?"
