The Sheriff of River Bend by Gordon S. Dickson

Author:Gordon S. Dickson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Published: 2020-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

After lunch, the court resumed and the judge asked, ‘Mr Finchley, do you have another witness?’

Finchley said, ‘May we approach the bench, Your Honour?’

‘Yes, you may,’ the judge replied.

Finchley and Ivanovich went up to the judge’s bench and spoke in hushed tones.

‘Your Honour, during the lunch break I spoke with the defendant, Stewart, and he wishes to change his plea, and to testify, in return for a jail sentence, to guilty of receiving a bribe and assisting a fraud, instead of the death penalty for conspiracy to murder the three lads, and of assisting the attempted murder of Deputy Connor,’ Finchley said.

‘What do you say to this, Mr Ivanovich?’ the judge asked.

‘I don’t see the point. He will lie through his teeth to save his own skin, Your Honour,’ Ivanovich said.

‘I will allow it. He will be under oath. Perhaps we can get to the bottom of this case. You may call him, Mr Finchley,’ said the judge.

Finchley turned slowly, and spoke distinctly, ‘I call Mr Iain Stewart to the stand.’

There was some awed chatter among the public. Huntingdon and Cavanaugh looked worried, and glared at Stewart.

‘Silence in court,’ the judge snapped.

‘You’re a dead man!’ Cavanaugh muttered under his breath, as Stewart left his seat, and went to the witness box.

Stewart was sworn in:

‘Do you solemnly swear that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?’ the Clerk said.

‘I do,’ Stewart replied.

The judge said, ‘Mr Stewart, do you wish to change your plea?’

‘Yes, Judge,’ Stewart replied.

‘How do you wish to plead?’ the judge asked.

‘I plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud, and to receiving a verbal bribe, but not guilty to murder,’ Stewart replied.

‘Let it be so recorded,’ the judge said.

‘Mr Stewart, you are the bank manager in the town of River Bend, are you not?’ Finchley asked.

‘Yes, I am,’ Stewart replied.

‘How did you become involved with Harold Huntingdon?’ asked Finchley.

‘He approached me when he heard I was to be manager at the new branch in River Bend, about two years ago. He said he would make it worth my while, if I helped him buy out the four ranches in the valley, Horseshoe Valley,’ Stewart said.

He continued, ’I was to lend them money, and then foreclose on the loan when circumstances allowed. The current drought is such a circumstance. The ranchers began to lose cattle, and found it difficult to keep up repayments. I kept Huntingdon informed of this.

‘Huntingdon asked me to let him know if any of the sons of the ranchers went to Cheyenne. I did think that strange, but I assumed he wished to speak to them, to get them to persuade their fathers to sell. If I had known they were in danger, I certainly would have informed the sheriff.’

‘Did you not think there was a connection, when the three boys were shot within days of each other?’ Finchley asked.

‘Yes, it certainly occurred to me, and I came here to Cheyenne, but Huntingdon assured me he was not involved in shooting them, which I suppose was true in a way, if he got Cavanaugh to do it.

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