Stands a Calder Man (Calder Saga 2)

“The only way he’ll leave that place is feet first.” The physician shook his head and sighed tiredly.

Chase was trying to put his fingers in Lilli’s mouth. She absently took hold of them and pushed his hand down. “What about Helga?” she asked, suddenly concerned about Kreuger’s wife. “Did she come to town with him?”

“I doubt it. Just about any kind of exertion starts her coughing. I’m sure she stayed at their place with her daughter,” Simon guessed and motioned to the waitress that he wanted coffee, too.

“Someone has to tell her what happened,” she said, feeling pity for the woman and wondering what would happen to her.

There was a heavy sigh from the doctor. “I’ll drive out there. She’ll probably need me.” He didn’t look forward to it, but he was the logical person under the circumstances.

Voices were raised outside the roadhouse, cheering remarks filtering inside. When the door was opened, a half-dozen people spilled into the restaurant area, fighting for the chance to shake Doyle Pettit’s hand and congratulate him on the way he had so quietly handled Kreuger. His gaze swept the room, stopping at Webb’s table. It took him a few seconds to disengage from the group and approach their table.

“I’m glad to see you, Simon.” He pulled out a chair next to the doctor’s and sat down. “I was looking for you, and somebody said they’d seen you come in here.”

“What is it? Are you having problems with Kreuger?” Simon asked, rousing himself to sit up straighter.

“Not exactly. Right now he’s locked up in my office. We took him there rather than alarming him by taking him to the sheriffs,” Doyle explained. “I’ve closed the bank for the day so we can figure out what to do with him.”

“He’s at the bank?” Simon frowned.

“He isn’t going to cause any trouble for a while.” Doyle dismissed the concern that came into their expressions. “I slipped some laudanum into his coffee. He’s sleeping on my couch. He’ll be out for a couple of hours or more.”

“Then what’s the trouble?” Simon didn’t understand, unless Doyle and the sheriff wanted him to keep Kreuger sedated.

“Kreuger’s been under a lot of stress. He cracked today.” His glance darted around the table before stopping to study a point in the middle. “I guess we can all be glad that nobody else was hurt but Evans. I can’t say I blame him for killing Hobie. There have been times when I wanted to strangle the man myself. If Kreuger is locked up until the trial, I think he’ll go completely over the wall. I’d like you to help me convince the sheriff to release Kreuger in my custody. I can control him. I can take him and his family out to my ranch where they can get plenty of food and rest.”

“Are you saying you think he was justified in killing an unarmed man because that person was Hobie Evans?” Simon stared at him, faintly angry.

“That isn’t for me to decide. That’s a jury’s job. I’m not saying he should go free,” Doyle insisted.

“But, because of his condition, I don’t think he should be jailed until the trial. After all that man’s been through, he deserves some compassion. Desperate men sometimes do desperate things.” He paused and studied the doctor with an earnest look. “Will you speak to the sheriff for me?”

“Are you really prepared to be responsible for him?” Simon murmured.

“I can handle him. Besides, I’ll have men watching him all the time. It isn’t just Kreuger I’m thinking about. It’s his wife and what all this will do to her,” Doyle argued persuasively.

“I hope you aren’t making a mistake.” Simon breathed in, still skeptical, but willing to go along with the suggestion.

“Good.” His mouth curved in satisfaction as he leaned back. “The sheriffs over in my office, keeping an eye on Kreuger just in case he wakes up. We’ll go over and talk to him.”

“Let me go back to my place first and write up a death certificate.” The waitress came with his coffee. He pushed it toward Doyle. “You drink it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

As the doctor left them, Lilli silently hoped he wouldn’t be able to convince the sheriff to go along with Doyle’s plan. She didn’t like the sound of it, even though she didn’t understand the cause of her misgivings.

But when two of the most respected members of the community put the proposition to Potter, he succumbed to their assurances. Kreuger was still unconscious when they bundled him into the doctor’s buggy and drove out to his farm to get his wife and daughter.

Doyle studied the sky, a haze of dust without a cloud in sight. The shooting this morning had been a stroke of luck as far as he was concerned. Whether Kreuger knew it or not, Doyle owed him a debt. There had been a run on the bank, draining his cash to a dangerously tow level. The shooting in the street had given him the perfect excuse to shut the doors before the money ran out and people started to panic. Because of his handling of Kreuger, the town regarded him as some kind of hero. They’d accept any excuse he gave why the bank wouldn’t be open tomorrow. Then it would be the weekend. By Monday, he should be able to raise the cash to cover the deficit.

Buying the Snake M had put him in a bind, but it was going to be worth it. If he had guessed Mace would sell so soon, he could have made provisions to have the ready cash instead of dipping into the bank’s supply. It didn’t matter now, though. Everything was going to work out.

“You look like the cat that got the cream.” Simon observed the faintly smug smile on Doyle’s face.

“Do I?” The smile became more pronounced. “I guess it just feels good to help other people.” He turned to look at the doctor. “You know what they say: Cast your bread upon the waters . . .” The biblical quotation didn’t require completion.

A horn tooted behind the buggy and Simon pulled on the reins to angle the gelding onto the hard shoulder and let the automobile pass. Webb was behind the wheel. He lifted a hand as they went by.

They hadn’t stayed in town to do any shopping as Lilli had intended. She’d lost her desire for the outing. When she recognized Simon’s buggy and guessed at its destination of the Kreuger place, all her uncertainties came flooding back.

“I’d feel much better if I knew Kreuger was in jail.” She had to speak loudly to make herself heard above the noise of the motor.