West for the Black Hills by Peter Leavell

Author:Peter Leavell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gunslinger, pioneer romance, christian western frontier romances, christian western novels, christian westerns for men, gunslinger romance, pioneer romance novels
Publisher: Mountainview Books, LLC

Chapter 24

Caroline filled the entire witness chair. Her breath came in raspy gasps and sweat stained her blouse.

I wiped the moisture off my brow. In the afternoon heat, everyone suffered.

The prosecutor walked toward her, his hair freshly oiled, his smile fake and gestures wide and exaggerated. “The defendant eats at your establishment regularly, does he not?”

She nodded.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes.” She glanced at me.

The lawyer followed her gaze and stared directly at me. “You have feelings for the defendant.”

“I was married. My husband and son died ten years ago in a railway accident.” She took a deep breath and put a hand over her heart. “My boy would be Philip’s age.”

“So you would say he is like a son?”

“Yes.”

“He was in your restaurant when he was arrested?”

“Yes.”

The lawyer wandered to the edge of the jury box and leaned against the rail, hands on his hips. He turned back to Caroline. “Describe his attire on that day.”

She looked at the crafted ceiling as if remembering. “Dark blue shirt, blue pants, and a wide-brimmed black hat.”

“Anything else?” His face turned red.

Caroline obviously wasn’t telling him what he wanted.

“He wore boots.”

The lawyer rushed across the room in a whirlwind. His fingers curled into fists and he waved passionately. “Guns! Did he have any guns?”

The crowd gasped.

She shrunk back in horror, shaking. “I . . . think so.”

I had to hold myself back. He was trying to show she was too sympathetic to me, might even lie for me.

He screamed in her face. “You think so? How many guns come into your place? Is it a common occurrence?”

Scott growled. “Object. This tone isn’t needed.”

“He can use any tone he wants.” The judge sounded as if he wanted to agree with Scott.

Adams stood close to Caroline. “Do you run a den for outlaws? A gambling parlor? How many guns?”

“I don’t know.”

“One gun? Philip Anderson’s gun?”

Caroline nodded, her breath coming in gasps.

“Perhaps you were harboring a criminal that day.” The lawyer set his hands on his hips. “Perhaps you were in on the robbery!”

Caroline’s head tipped forward, and her body curled. She slammed onto the floor.

Marshal Stone and several others rushed to her side.

Scott and I jumped up at the same time. The crowd erupted. I heard cries of “Hang him!” as well as “Leave her alone!”

I turned to the lawyer and tried to yell above the commotion. “Leave her alone. Save it for me, coward.”

Scott pulled me back.

A fight started in the crowd. I glanced back, saw Jacob and Anna slip through the crowd and out the door.

The brawl was growing despite the judge pounding the gavel over and over. Marshal Stone stepped between the two tables and pointed his shotgun over the crowd. “Quiet!”

No one listened.

I saw him switch cartridges, point the gun in the air, and fire. He used a blank.

The crowd quieted. Marshal Stone stepped through the townsfolk. “You. You, you, you, and you.” He pointed with his shotgun. “Outside, now.”

People returned to their seats as Doc Wilson revived Caroline. The marshal led the men he’d cornered to the back, where his deputies waited.

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