Darlene Franklin - Dressed for Death 01 - Gunfight at Grace Gulch (6 page)

“Let’s start a fire before we talk anymore,” I suggested. “All of us are wet.”

“Good idea. I’ll take care of it.” Cord lit the kindling already stacked in the fireplace. Soon cheery flames danced in front of us. Audie lifted his hands before the fire as if trying to catch their warmth. His shirt had almost dried, but it still stuck to his back in patches. Cord settled back in his recliner and put his feet on the footstool.

Seeing the two men side by side, I was struck by how different they looked in spite of their similar blond good looks. Cord’s hair curled, whereas Audie’s fell in artfully styled straight lines. Cord’s blue eyes shaded toward navy, while Audie’s were the color of a limitless clear sky. Cord’s sun-burnished skin was darker than Audie’s strong Viking features. Powerful muscles rippled across both their backs. In a town full of handsome cowboys, perhaps I had taken Cord’s friendship too much for granted. I could hear Jenna’s voice.
You got that right.
I snorted in my coffee.

“Are you all right?” Audie asked.

“I’m fine.” My voice sounded even while my heart raced. How had I missed the similarities between them before? Maybe because although the two men looked alike, their occupations and personalities lay at opposite ends of the spectrum. Why either one of these handsome men should be interested in plain old me, I couldn’t guess.

“Have you come to any conclusions?” I wanted to get my mind back on the investigation. Thinking about the two men confused me. “What about the shots? You know about marksmanship.” I glanced at the medals on the shelf.

Cord sat up, the recliner footstool retracting into the chair with a thud. “Yes, I think so. Let me show you what I figured out.”

He directed Audie and me to stand a few feet apart in front of the fireplace. “I was facing Penn like this. We drew our guns and shot at each other, like we rehearsed. But then I heard a bullet whiz by my right arm, from behind me. I thought it was sound effects. . .until Penn didn’t get up.” He backed up until he was slightly to the right of the front door. “The shot came from this direction.”

“The saloon,” Audie said.

“The Gulch,” I said, simultaneously.

I felt a hundred pounds lighter. Tie a stone to my foot, I was ready to float off the floor. Someone else fired the fatal shot.

But that meant—murder. This was no accident. My spirits crashed, and I shivered in my still damp clothes.

“Have you told the police about this?” Hopeful, I searched Cord’s face.

“C’mon.” Cord shook his head. “Reiner wouldn’t listen to me. He’d tell me that they have their own experts and that I’m trying to save my own neck.”

Audie muttered something under his breath. I caught the word “feud.”

“I have hopes that Frances will figure something out.” Cord brightened. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders.”

“If the police won’t do anything about it, I will,” I announced. “I’m tired of the cloud of suspicion that’s hanging over you and Dina. It’s time someone did something about it.”

“And you think you’re the one to do it?” Audie asked, shifting his gaze from the spot where he had been standing by the door.

“Why not?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Cord said. “It could be dangerous.”

I stared at the two men. “I’m not some helpless Victorian maiden.” I had to stop myself from stomping my foot. “Even if I’m dressed like one! I have a mind, and I intend to apply it to the question of Penn’s murder.”

“We don’t know—” Audie started.

“Yes, murder,” I repeated. “Premeditated and intentional. And I’m going to figure out who did it.”

6

August 15, 1891

Dearest Mary,

Last evening I visited with Ethan Hardy in Oklahoma Town again. It was his wife Elizabeth’s time. He called for a doctor who has set up his practice in town. As we waited through the long night hours, I began to worry. A woman’s lot is hard, and I want a doctor near for you, dearest. I am sure they will plan for more towns, as they did in the first land run. Should I seek a plot of land in a town? It would be different than the situation we considered with Ethan Hardy. I would own my own business.

Elizabeth birthed a healthy baby boy. They are calling him Benjamin Ethan Hardy.

Your loving fiancé,

Robert Grace

~

Sunday, September 22

Audie’s stony silence dampened my high spirits even more than sitting in my rain-drenched clothes. I struggled with buckling the seat belt over the voluminous skirt while heat warmed the car and defogged the windows. Audie’s Focus was a cozy and comfortable haven in spite of the miserable weather.

He put the gearshift into
Reverse
and spun the car in a circle to head out of the driveway without speaking once. I decided to break the silence.

“What is it with men? Don’t you think I’m capable of figuring out the angle a gun was fired? Or that I can do some investigating on my own?” I stared out the window as rain hit it in a splatter pattern. “Or I am supposed to mind my own business like a good ranch wife?”

“Cici!” My name exploded out of Audie’s mouth like an epithet. “That’s not the problem and you know it. I have no doubt that you can do whatever you set your mind to.”

I knew that I wasn’t being fair to Audie. He wasn’t my father, the man who hoped, even counted on me to stay behind and help run the ranch while my sister abandoned us to pursue her dreams. He wasn’t a local cowboy who expected me to prefer hot black coffee and sweet iced tea because that’s the way things had always been. He didn’t call my store my hobby instead of seeing it for what it was—a business and a chance to do something, be someone different. I adjusted the hat on my head, using the time to clear my mind of baggage that didn’t belong to the man seated next to me.

“It’s not your competence that I’m worried about,” Audie continued in a calmer tone. “It’s you—all of you. Someone has murdered once and thinks he got away with it.”

“Or she,” I pointed out.

“And she”—Audie emphasized the pronoun—“might kill again if she feels threatened. You could step on a hornet’s nest without realizing it. ‘A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.’ ” This time Audie quoted Wilde without his usual dash of humor. “You don’t know who the enemy is. The killer probably feels safe as long as everyone thinks Penn’s death was an accident.”

I shook my head in frustration. Why didn’t he understand? “But as long as everyone thinks Penn’s death was a dreadful accident, blame will fall on either Dina or Cord. Or both of them. No. I refuse to let that happen as long as I can do something about it.”

Audie pounded his hands against the steering wheel. The car jerked and skidded over the slick road. He took a deep breath and brought the vehicle back under control. “I can’t jump a horse over a fence, but I can put my body in front of yours if anything happens. And I may need to if you insist on looking into the murder.”

Wow. Both Cord and Audie had expressed concern about my safety, like two roosters fighting over the right to protect me. I only hoped that no one got hurt in the process, including me. I put my hand on Audie’s arm.

“You really are a noble friend,” I said. His eyes slanted a question at me. “Audwin. I looked up your name on the Internet one day to find its meaning.” I blushed as I said this. Fathers didn’t name their boys Audwin in Oklahoma. and I was curious. “Audwin means noble friend, and it describes you well.”

Audie huffed. “I hope to be more than your friend.
Once you get over this obsession with the murder.
”
Once again, I was reminded of a rooster crowing.

“It’s a place to start.” I smiled at him, and he smiled back. Something inside of me pinged, like a chord not plucked for a long time.

Audie smirked, as if he had won the first round of the cockfight. His voice turned serious. “You can at least wait until the police get the ballistics report. There is no need to go around stirring up trouble if the tests prove it was—well, an accident, you know.”

“No, no,” I said. “If someone exchanged real bullets for the blanks, then it was someone besides Dina. She takes good care of the props. You know that. You’ve worked with her before.”

Audie grinned at the memory. I bet he hadn’t known what to do with the green-haired teenager who arrived at the theater for the first open audition and announced her desire to manage the props. No one else expressed interest—they all wanted a part in the play—and she had experience with a couple of high school productions. She won the position by default. After that, she twisted my arm for assistance with costumes and introduced me to Audie.

“I’ve never regretted my decision to take her on,” Audie admitted. “There’s never been a single missing prop, not even at a rehearsal. She was extra careful with those guns.”

“Think about Cord’s theory for a minute. It makes sense. Anyone familiar with the story of the gunfight would know when to shoot. The exchange of gunfire would cover the sound; and no one would be looking their way because everyone’s attention was on Cord and Penn. ‘Nothing captures an audience like a good fight.’ Isn’t that what you said?”

“You would throw my words back at me.” Audie grimaced. He had instructed his actors to make their stage fight realistic. “But surely someone would notice somebody with a rifle. Someone besides Penn or Cord, of course.”

“All kinds of people were carrying around rifles yesterday. Men, women. Even the children had pop guns. I think it made them feel like real pioneers, like those statues of frontier women in Ponca City.”

“Carrying a weapon isn’t the same as firing it. They were taking an awful risk, aiming a rifle in plain sight. That saloon front had no windows.”

“It could have been a revolver. It probably was.” Why was Audie being so stubborn about it? “The art of misdirection at the opportune moment.”

Audie snorted. “That’s it, then. All we need to do is find a magician with a reason to kill Penn. Were there any wandering minstrels in the crowd yesterday?”

“Like your mime act?” I had to laugh at that. Audie had arranged for clowns to entertain the children with balloons and magic tricks.

“Your theory has one additional advantage.” Audie’s voice came out strangely, as if the words strangled his throat.

“What’s that?”

“It clears Cord from suspicion.”

“You don’t really think Cord did it?”

“No. But maybe I wish he did.”

Oh. The heart of the matter, the rooster wanting any advantage over his opponent. The second round went to Cord by default.

We didn’t say much more until we arrived at my father’s house at the Crazy W Ranch. Crazy and wild, that described my family’s name and heritage. As soon as Audie parked his Focus, Jenna dashed out.

“Oh, good, you’re here. I need you to go to the store.” Jenna didn’t wait for a response. “Here’s the shopping list. Dina didn’t have
any
of the things I need to make my special California salad. Organic, if possible. Dad has the chicken on the grill.”

Audie looked at the still gray sky. Only Jenna would plan to grill outside on a rainy day. New Mexico had spoiled her. Maybe there they could cook outside year round. I didn’t really know.

“Of course it took quite a bit of effort to get the grill onto the porch, but it’s done, and then I discovered we didn’t have any avocados or fresh oranges and apricots. I did find prunes.” She giggled. “Go on. I still have to cut up the potatoes for French fries.” At least my sister hadn’t become a total health nut, as long as she still made French fries from potatoes grown in our own garden, a Wilde family favorite.

“And hurry, will you? Dad and Dina are famished. I don’t know why, after that enormous
lunch everyone had at church.” Jenna dashed inside.

“I’m sorry,” I said to Audie. “Do you mind? My sister is a force of nature.”

“So I see.” Audie looked shell-shocked, the way most people did when the winds of Hurricane Jenna passed over them. “No, of course not.” He backed the car up and turned around, heading down the short distance of our driveway. The Crazy W ranch hadn’t expanded as much as the Circle G had, and our farmhouse sat close to the road.

I studied Audie’s profile. The rain had ruffled his careful hairstyle so that it lay in unorganized strands around his head. It was rather darling, showing the shape of his skull to good advantage. I wondered if he had ever shaved it all off. People did that in the city, I heard, although here in Oklahoma we would probably think “Nazis” and “skinheads,” and any boy who shaved his head would receive a whipping from his father. I guessed that Audie always wore his hair long, in the style of artists the world over. He would look good either way.

“I’m sorry about today,” I said. “Not exactly the kind of day we planned.” When Audie invited me to the concert, I expected a day of worship and music followed by a quiet family dinner. Instead, he saw his date dancing the cancan on stage and then endured a long chat with his rival about the repercussions of Penn’s death.

“None of it is your fault.” Audie’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “No one expected Penn to die. And I will help you in any way I can.”

I knew he still didn’t agree with my desire to pursue the murderer, which made his offer even sweeter. The car ate up the miles into town.

“Which store?” Audie asked as we reached the edge of the business district.

I looked at Jenna’s shopping list. “The Shop ’n’ Save. They have the best produce.” I had no idea which store carried organic goods, and I didn’t care. I wanted juicy, plump fruit, regardless of how it was grown.

We entered the store and headed down the produce aisle. I grabbed a bag of mixed salad greens instead of the requested iceberg and romaine lettuce. That would have to suffice. I studied the shopping list again, automatically alphabetizing the items: almonds, apple, avocado, apricot, celery, olive oil, orange. “Why not call it the A-plus salad.” I giggled at my own joke.

Audie looked at the list. “Add an artichoke. And asparagus.”

I pretended to gag. “Or how about this? It’s called araza.” I held up a round, yellow fruit. “I think I will.”

“Tell me about Jenna. The two of you seem so different.” Audie stopped at the apple bins. “Which type do you think she wants? They taste so different.”

I studied the varieties, the faithful red delicious, and softer Jonathans, and my gaze hit upon an
A
. “Let’s try the Ariane.” I dropped a couple of apples into a bag and twisted the top.

Jenna. The orange that grew on the Wilde family apple tree. We rarely talked about Jenna’s past, although we didn’t make a secret of it. Anyone who lived in Grace Gulch twenty years ago knew the truth. I saw no harm in telling Audie the story, and it might help him understand the Wilde family dynamics better.

“Jenna’s always been a bit wild.”

“From birth,” Audie replied solemnly. “So have you.” Then he grinned to let me know it was a joke.

“Oh, you know what I mean. She’s six years older than me. When I was a kid, it seemed like she was determined to break every rule Mom and Dad set down.”

We left the produce section in search of slivered almonds and salad dressings.

“When Jenna was fifteen, she became pregnant.” I said it matter of factly. At nine, I relished the idea of another baby in the family. The shame and despair that engulfed my mother at the time had washed over me without leaving a trace.

“Mom and Dad decided to keep her child and raise her as their own. A couple of months after I turned ten, just two weeks shy of Jenna’s sixteenth birthday, she gave birth to a baby girl.”

“Dina.” Audie understood immediately.

“Dina, yes. She’s my niece by birth and my sister by adoption.”

“That helps me understand why she’s so different from you. I thought it was probably because she’s the baby of the family.”

The next aisle over, we stopped in front of the salad dressings. “I confess I’m not fond of olive oil.”

Audie grabbed a bottle of Catalina dressing. “I’ve had this on fruit salads. It’s pretty good.” He added olive oil. “For Jenna’s sake.”

“Dad handled Jenna’s wild streak better than Mom. She never seemed to recover from the shock. She died unexpectedly, a couple of weeks before Jenna graduated from high school.” The remembered pain of those days made my eyes sting. “Then Jenna left for college in the fall and never came back. To live here, I mean.”

“You must have been lonely.”

I appreciated that about Audie. He understood unspoken things. We grabbed a bag of almonds and headed for the check out. We continued talking while the clerk weighed each bag of fruit.

“With Mom dead and Jenna gone, I took over with Dina. After high school, I stayed in town and went to Grace Gulch Community College for two years. The same school Dina is attending now.” Our community college attracted people from across Lincoln County.