For the Roses (Claybornes' Brides (Rose Hill) 1)

“Goes to character, Judge,” Harrison answered. “If a man says he’s telling the truth, I have to find out if I can believe him.”

The judge agreed. “What about Catherine Morrison? What nice thing did you have to say about her to Dooley and Henry and Ghost?”

“I don’t recall.”

“Well, now, I do. I had Henry write it down, too, and sign it. We’ll get him on up here if we need to and let him say what happened.”

Harrison walked back to the table and took the top paper. He handed it to the judge. “Lionel called our Catherine a man-sniffing whore, and that he was sure she’d had most of the men in Blue Belle. He suggested to Henry that she go into business with Belle. He had a few things to say about her mama too. I’m not going to repeat them. They’re too foul. You can read them to the jury if you want.”

The judge did just that. Harrison deliberately avoided looking at John Morrison. He went back to the table and collected four other signed papers, and when the judge had finished reading what Henry had written down, Harrison handed him the other evidence.

He went back to Lionel. “The fact is simple for all of us to understand. You hold all of us in contempt, don’t you, Lionel. We aren’t citified and probably not very sophisticated by your southern boy standards, and so we’re lower than snakes to you, aren’t we? You’ve spent the last week mocking all of us and laughing at us. Half the town heard you.”

Lionel straightened up in his chair and glared at Harrison. His hatred was more than evident now. “So what if I think you are? I’ve suffered intolerable conditions this past week so that I could see justice served. Yes, my brother and I think you’re all dirty, uncivilized swill. What we think doesn’t change a thing. My mother signed the confession, saying the nigger’s guilty. That’s all that matters.”

“But you just perjured yourself, now didn’t you, Lionel?”

“I merely tried to be tactful.”

“Why now? You’ve been anything but tactful all week. Did you coerce your mother into signing that paper?” Harrison shouted his last question.

“No, I did not, and you can’t prove otherwise,” Lionel shouted back.

“Your Honor, when this is finished, I want this man locked up for perjury. I’m not finished with him, but I would like to call him back to the stand after you hear from another witness.”

The judge was glaring at Lionel. “All right. Get out of the chair, Lionel, but don’t leave the court.”

Harrison called Alfred Mitchell to the stand. He took the time to swear him in by having the man place his hand on the Bible.

The judge took over. “Do you swear to tell the truth?”

“I do.”

“I don’t believe the Bible’s necessary. Once court’s in session, everybody’s got to tell the truth.”

“Tell who you are and why you’re here, Alfred,” Harrison began.

“My name is Alfred Mitchell. I’m an attorney in the law offices of Mitchell, Mitchell and Mitchell. My two brothers are the other two Mitchells,” he explained.

“I received a wire from you, Harrison, asking for certain information. You wanted quite a few things done, and you also wanted me to get here before the two weeks were up, so I enlisted the assistance of my brothers, and we all went to work. I got everything you wanted . . . and more, I’m sorry to say. I gave you the signed and witnessed documents yesterday.”

Mitchell turned to the jury. He was young, but he’d already learned how to charm people.

“I happen to like Blue Belle. I’ve only seen a little bit of your town, but it reminds me of a town near the one where I grew up. I’m a farm boy at heart. I like having dirt under my nails because it’s proof to me I put in a hard day’s work.”

Harrison didn’t smile, but he felt like it. The jury responded to Mitchell’s candidness. Morrison even grinned.

“Tell me about Livonia Adderley,” Harrison ordered.

The smile left Mitchell’s face. “She wasn’t in her cottage. A neighbor told me she was in a nearby hospital, and so I went there to interview her. The doctor stayed with me the entire time, and Livonia told me what happened. I wrote it down the way she told me to, then read it to her, and Livonia signed it.”

Harrison paused in his questioning to go back to his table. He took the signed paper and gave it to the judge.

Burns read it to the jury. “John Quincy Adam was not responsible for my husband’s death. Walter Adderley stumbled and hit his head on the edge of the mantel. The blow caused his immediate death.”

“Please read all of it, Judge,” Harrison asked.

Burns looked at Cole and then Adam before he agreed. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure.”

“All right then. She says, ‘I do not hold my sons responsible for their behavior and I will not press charges against them. Rose has also made this same promise to me, and my faithful friend will keep her word. I love my sons. They frighten me only when they allow their anger to get the better of them. They didn’t mean to hurt me, but I had refused to sign their paper, and they then felt they had to force me to. They didn’t want the truth, and I couldn’t take any more of the beating because I’m a weak woman, just as Walter Adderley always believed, and so I signed the paper. God forgive me my lie.”

A hush fell over the crowd. Judge Burns looked sick. Harrison thought everyone did. He didn’t let up though. There was still more to tell, and he wanted all of it out.

“Besides the doctor, was there anyone else in the hospital room with you?”

“Yes,” Mitchell answered. “Mama Rose was there. Livonia calls her that and she gave me permission to call her Mama Rose too.”

“Where was she, in Livonia’s room or was she waiting outside of the hospital?”

“Sitting in a chair next to the bed. She was holding Livonia’s hand and comforting her.”

Harrison took a breath. He hated what he was going to ask now. “And how did Mama Rose look?”

Mitchell shook his head. “She was almost in as bad condition as Livonia was. Her face was swollen. She had two black eyes and bruises on her arms and legs. She should have been in a hospital bed herself, but she refused to leave Livonia’s side. Each time Livonia would wake up, she would call out to Rose. As soon as she heard her answering voice, she would smile and go back to sleep again.”

“Did Mama Rose also sign a document saying Adam was innocent?”

“Yes.”

Harrison handed the paper to the judge. “Will Livonia recover?”

“The doctors don’t believe she will. She was severely beaten. Her poor body may not be able to regain any strength.”

“And Mama Rose?”

“The doctors take care of her while she sits in the chair. It was against hospital rules to let her sleep there, but after one or two days, the nurses saw her kindness and they carried in a cot for her to sleep on. It’s going to take her a while to recover, but she’s getting the best of care.”

Harrison turned to Adam. Mary Rose’s eldest brother looked frantic. His hands were flat on the table, and he was about to jump to his feet.

Harrison waited until Adam was looking at him, and then he slowly nodded. The brother immediately calmed down again. Adam remembered Harrison was going to nod when he lied.

Cole’s hand had gone to his empty gunbelt, and he was thinking hard about snatching his gun from Burns’s table and putting a bullet through Lionel’s heart. He too saw Harrison’s nod and quickly pulled himself together again.

When he nodded, it meant he was lying. Cole had to repeat what Adam had said three times before his breathing settled down.

“Tell the jury who was responsible for beating Livonia.”

“Lionel Adderley.”

There were several loud mutters in the room. Harrison ignored the noise and turned to Lionel. “Like father, like son.”

He turned back to Mitchell. “How do you know it was Lionel?”

“Mama Rose and Livonia both told me Lionel had beat

en them. The doctor saw Livonia’s son the next afternoon. He came into the hospital room while the doctor was there. I have his signed statement. He said that when Lionel leaned down to kiss his mother, he saw the cuts and bruises on his fists. He asked Lionel directly if he’d done this to his mother, and Lionel told him to mind his own business. He never came back after that day. I believe he hired an attorney and set out for Montana Territory with his brother a couple of days later.”

“Thank you, Alfred. You may step down now.” He turned to the jury and added, “Folks, Mitchell is living proof there are some honest men living down South.”

“Lionel Adderley, get back on the stand.”

Lionel’s face was beet red when he took his chair. He looked sullen and angry.

“You lied to me, to Judge Burns, and to this jury, Lionel Adderley. You lied more than once too. I asked you specifically if you coerced your mother into signing the document. Both times you told me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t coerce her. I merely helped her see the rightness in telling the truth.”

“By breaking damned near every bone in her body?” Harrison roared. “That’s helping her?” Harrison shook his head in disgust. “I have no more questions.”

Lionel stupidly glared at the jury on his way back to his chair. Harrison called Reginald to the stand next. He didn’t soft-pedal his way through his questions with the younger brother. He was demanding, forceful, and somewhat threatening. He got down close to Reginald’s face when he was finished prying out of him what he needed, and told the man what he thought of him.

He then dismissed Reginald.

It was now time for his summation. He positioned himself right in front of the jury, just far enough away so that none of the six in the first row would have to stretch up to look at him.

“The proof is unquestionable. Adam Clayborne has been cleared of the murder charges by two witnesses. Lionel and Reginald Adderley have come into our community and pointed their fingers at Adam as a criminal. They’re outsiders, and so they believe they know better than simple, ignorant country folk like us. Adam isn’t an outsider. He’s one of us. He’s a neighbor and a friend. He’s been there when someone’s needed help, and he’s been loyal. He’s a good man. You all know that. He didn’t like hearing sweet Catherine Morrison being called a man-sniffing whore any better than the rest of you. He didn’t like what they called Catherine’s mother either. They were foul, crude words used by city boys. And all of them untrue. Do we turn the other cheek and pretend we don’t mind outsiders telling us our business? There are criminals sitting in the courtroom today. Have a good look at them, gentlemen. Lionel and Reginald Adderley. Picture what they did to their own mama, and then think about your own. We’ll all pray Livonia makes it, but I doubt she will. She won’t press charges while she’s alive, but the doctor plans to bring in the authorities and charge both boys with murder if she dies. Do the right thing. Let justice, our justice, decide the day. Thank you.”

Judge Burns wasn’t quite certain what to do with the jury now. He didn’t want anyone inside the courtroom to leave because he’d have to go through the sorting-out process all over again. He settled on sending the jury into the storeroom instead.

“Pick up your chairs and go on in there,” he ordered. “We’ll all wait here for as long as it takes you. I’ll give you an hour before I let anyone out of here.”

Harrison didn’t look at the jury as they made their way into the storeroom. No one said a word in the room, not even the spectators. Harrison hoped they were all silently seething over the facts he’d presented.

Hate. It was all about hating. He was sickened by the reality. Evidence wasn’t as strong to a man who wanted to hate. He would latch on to any little piece of possible truth and condemn his enemy. Reason was forgotten, along with compassion and understanding. Hate, like a gnawing tumor, devoured it.

He was disgusted by the theatrics he’d used, but he’d used them all the same. He knew they needed to hate someone, and so he fueled their fire until the simmering coals roared into life. And then he’d turned the flames away from Adam. He gave the jurors someone else to hate more.

He sat down at the table and turned to his wife. He needed to look at her, to assure himself she was there. He needed her comfort, and, dear God, inside he was so scared and uncertain, he could barely speak to her.

She had tears in her eyes. “Are you feeling all right?” he whispered.

“May I tell you now, Harrison?”

He felt the warmth of her comfort around his heart. “Yes, tell me.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Sir, give Mary Rose your handkerchief.”

He turned around again. Adam was looking at him. “When you nodded, it meant you were . . .”

“Yes, that’s what it meant.”

John Morrison came back into the room and called to the judge. Burns immediately got up and hurried over to the door. He listened for just a minute, gave Harrison a nod, and hurried on into the storeroom with the twelve men.

Harrison and Adam both stood up. “All rise. Court is now in session,” Harrison said.

The judge led the jury back inside. The men left their chairs in the storeroom but lined up in their same positions.

“Have you reached a verdict, John Morrison?”

“We have, Your Honor.”

“On the charge of murder, how do you find John Quincy Adam Clayborne?”

Morrison looked directly at Adam when he answered. “We find him not guilty.”

The crowd went wild. People jumped to their feet. They cheered and they clapped over the decision.

The judge pounded on his table. “All right, that’s enough. We’re all mighty happy justice was served today. Lionel and Reginald Adderley, you get the hell out of town. You don’t call our namesake a dirty nickel whore and think you’re gonna live long. I might just put a couple of bullets through your foul mouths myself. Harrison come up here. All right now. Court’s adjourned,” he added with one last swing of his gavel.

Harrison hurried over to the judge. Burns was standing now, stretching his arms.

“Tell me about the wire you were expecting. What were you hoping for?”

“I wasn’t hoping, Judge, but Mitchell’s brother was going to wire me when Livonia died. I’m sorry for her. She’d had one hell of a life. Maybe she’ll find peace in the next one.”

“If a woman ever deserves to get into heaven, Livonia surely does,” Harrison said.

“She’s lingering, is she?”

“Just barely. It’s inevitable. She’s bleeding inside.”

“You wanted the boys to know they had murder charges hanging over their heads, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Your Honor. I did.”

“They were the first ones out the door. Let me shake your hand, son. You did a fine job.”

Harrison did just that. Mary Rose caught him from behind. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight.

She inadvertently gave Burns a notion of his own. “Sugar Belle, come on over here and give me one of your happyto-see-me kisses.”

Harrison had to peel his wife’s hands away before he could turn around.

Tears of joy were streaming down her face. “I’m so proud of you, Harrison.”

He kissed her on the mouth, long and hard. “You can tell me all about it in bed tonight, sweetheart. We have to get Adam home first. Bickley’s still outside, remember?”

“Let Cole shoot him,” she suggested.

Harrison laughed.

Belle stopped to kiss him on her way out the door. “I’ve got to hurry on home and get ready for the judge,” she explained. “I’ll come on out to your ranch tomorrow to celebrate with you.”

“We’d love to have you, Belle. Bring the judge with you,” Mary Rose called out.

She couldn’t make herself let go of her husband. Family and friends surrounded her brothers. Adam looked as if he was in a daze. Harrison doubted he’d

even remember what was now being said to him by John Morrison.

They went outside together. The road was almost deserted. Once the outsiders had heard the disappointing news that there wouldn’t be a hanging anytime soon, they’d gone on back home.

Bickley and five others in his vigilante group stood in the center of the road. Harrison noticed they were all armed. He shoved Mary Rose behind him.

“Sir, go on and get in the buggy. Cole will make certain you get there. Take Mary Rose with you.”

She started to go to her father, but she kept her attention on Bickley. He wasn’t looking at Adam now. Harrison seemed to be the target of his anger.

Bickley went for his gun. Mary Rose didn’t hesitate. She threw herself in front of her husband to shield him.

Harrison shouted, “No.”

Everyone drew his gun at the same time. The judge was quicker than all of them, for he already had his pistol out and cocked. He’d had a pretty good notion of what Bickley planned to do, and so he’d waited by the side for his opportunity.

The bullet went right through the center of Bickley’s forehead. He flew backward and landed in the dust.

“Any of you other boys want some of this here gun?” the judge roared.

Bickley’s friends shook their heads and put their hands up. “Then get the hell out of my town,” the judge ordered. “And haul that trash on the ground with you. Git now.”

Harrison was shaking. He grabbed his wife and squeezed her. “You damned near got yourself killed. What in God’s name were you doing?”

“Making sure you didn’t get killed.”

“If you ever . . . dear God, Mary Rose, I can’t go on without . . . how could you . . .”

Cole started laughing. “Give her hell at home, Harrison. You know why Bickley tried to kill you, don’t you?”

“I’m guessing he hates lawyers like everyone else does. Harrison, are you sure I have to become one?” Travis asked.

Harrison wasn’t amused. He let Cole pull his horse after him and squeezed into the buggy with his wife and her father.

Travis and Douglas and Cole rode in a half circle with Adam in the center all the way home. They didn’t trust Bickley’s friends, of course, and they weren’t about to let one of them kill Adam or Harrison now.