Texas Pride: Night Riders (19 page)

“No, Your Honor.”

“Does anybody here know him?”

“Ivan knows him,” Carla said. “He’s known him for ten years.”

“Which one of you is Ivan?” the judge asked.

“I am,” Ivan responded.

“What’s your full name?”

“Ivan Nikolai Augustus Stanislas.”

The judge blinked. “You’re a foreigner, aren’t you?”

“I was born in Poland.”

“Then how do you know this Mr. diViere?”

“We served in the same troop during the war.”

“You fought for the Confederacy? Why?”

“I like to ride horses.”

Apparently accepting this as a reasonable answer, the judge asked, “Can you speak to his character?”

“Yes.”

“Then do so.”

“Laveau diViere is a traitor and a thief. He betrayed his troop during the war and stole my money. Since then he has been involved in murder, blackmail, rustling, and bribery. He is wanted in California for trying to kill a woman.”

The judge lost interest in the papers he’d been shuffling while listening to Ivan. “Can you prove this?”

“There are many witnesses to these things,” Ivan said.

“Why hasn’t he been brought to justice?”

“He betrayed his troop to the Union army, which still protects him.”

“Texas is under a Reconstruction government. The army no longer has control.”

“He is still protected.”

The judge pursed his lips, sat in thought for a few moments. Finally he frowned and shook his head. “Your brother has undoubtedly been the victim of an unscrupulous man,” he said to Carla, “but I can’t set aside the bet.”

“Why not?” Carla asked before the judge could continue.

“First, neither your brother nor Mr. diViere is present. I have heard from others who were there,” he said before Carla could protest, “but I haven’t heard from the two people most directly involved. Though Mr.—” The judge struggled with Ivan’s names before giving up. “Ivan has given a very damaging account of Mr. diViere’s character, it hasn’t been corroborated by anyone else. I only have a sister’s account of how Mr. diViere’s remarks
probably
affected her brother.”

“My brother is out helping a group authorized by the governor to return stolen cows to their rightful owners,” Carla said. “No one knows where to find Mr. diViere.”

“I understand your dilemma, Miss Reece, but my hands are tied. People make unwise decisions all the time, but it’s not up to the courts to try to put right their mistakes. Intervening in a situation like this would set a dangerous precedent. If, when I return to Overlin, I am able to talk to your brother and question additional witnesses to Mr. diViere’s character, I will reconsider the case. Until then, I must let the results stand. Who’s next?”

Carla felt as though she’d been thrown down to the ground so hard she had difficulty breathing. She hadn’t known until then just how much she was depending on the judge to throw out the results of the card game. “I’ve got to get out of here,” she said to Ivan.

“Come to my office,” Lukey offered. “From the way you look right now, you’re not ready to drive back to the ranch.”

Carla’s thoughts were so chaotic she was only vaguely aware the streets were unusually quiet. She was struggling to accept the probability that Danny would never get back his half of the ranch. She didn’t know how she could endure knowing that for the next two years or more he’d be putting his life on the line every time he went into Mexico. She would have to talk to Kesney. Surely there was something he could do.

However, it was the second realization that came close to robbing her legs of their strength. She had been hoping the judge would throw out the bet so Ivan wouldn’t have any property to sell. Without money, he wouldn’t be able to return to Poland. If he stayed in Texas, he could marry her. She was horrified at herself. That was practically the same as trying to trap him into marriage. She would never have believed such a devious plan would have entered her mind. Not only had it entered her mind, she’d been depending on it. Her only consolation, small as it was, was that Ivan would never know.

She was relieved to reach the relative coolness of Lukey’s office. She wished she’d been alone so she could shout, kick a few pieces of furniture, or even borrow a few of Danny’s less colorful curses as she struggled to absorb the dual consequences of this defeat. As it was, she had to try to appear mature, calm, and pragmatic. Maybe she was more like Danny than she thought. At least she didn’t drink, gamble, and fall in love with children.

“Are you okay?” Ivan asked after settling her into a comfortable armchair.

“No, I’m not.”

“That’s the verdict I expected,” Lukey said. “He really couldn’t do anything else under the circumstances.”

“There ought to be something he could do,” Carla said, “
especially
under the circumstances.”

“He can’t set aside a gambling debt. If he did, he wouldn’t have time to do anything else. Nobody wants to lose.”

Carla knew what Lukey was saying was logical, but she was in no mood for logic. She needed someone to be the object of her anger. Mr. diViere wasn’t here. Neither was Danny, nor the judge. That left Ivan. “If you hadn’t come to Overlin, everything would have been different.”

“How would that get Danny’s land back?”

“Maybe diViere would have gotten tired of looking for someone to take care of it and just left it.”

“You would not think that if you knew Laveau as I do,” Ivan said. “I have thought from the beginning he came to Overlin for a reason.”

“He couldn’t have come just to beat Danny at poker.”

“When the game was over, he left without even looking at what he had won. Why?”

“I’ve wondered about that,” Lukey said. “He had me write up that document right after the game, and then he left.”

“But what would be the purpose of getting Danny’s land if he didn’t plan to sell it for himself?” Carla asked.

“I do not know, but Laveau never does anything without a reason,” Ivan said. “That is why it worries me that he gave Riley permission to set up his camp on his land.”

“But Riley is here to prevent rustling,” Carla said.

“And spend money in town,” Lukey added. “He and his men are very popular with the merchants.”

“Riley gave Danny a job even though he’s only seventeen,” Carla said to Ivan. “You only distrust him because you know Mr. diViere is such a terrible person.”

“I distrust anyone who deals with Laveau,” Ivan stated.

“Lukey said, “You won’t find anyone in town who—”

He broke off at the sound of gunshots from the street. Ivan was closer to the door so he got there before Carla. She edged past him until she had a clear view of the street where a large number of frightened women and crying children were surrounded by a group of men brandishing rifles.

More than a dozen men were using the women and children as shields.

Lukey had gone to his desk to get his gun. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Is anybody hurt?”

“I don’t know” Carla said, “but it looks like most of the women and children in Overlin are being held hostage.” Lukey’s wife and children where among the captives.

Lukey rushed from behind his desk to the window.

“The shots were not meant to hurt,” Ivan said to Lukey. “They were meant to get our attention. They want to tell us why they have come.”

“They could have done that without putting a gun to my wife’s head.” Lukey rushed to fill his pockets with bullets. “I’ll kill the sons of bitches.”

Ivan blocked Lukey’s attempt to rush into the street. “They have gathered up the women and children so that will not happen. We must find out what they want.”

Accepting that Ivan wasn’t going to release him until he calmed down, Lukey stopped struggling, but his face didn’t show less anger. The street was already filling with men, all brandishing weapons. No one attempted a shot for fear of hitting one of the women or children. They were scared—some of the children were crying—but it didn’t appear that anyone was hurt.

“What do they want?” Lukey asked.

“It looks like Mr. Dodge is going to ask them,” Ivan said.

Once Ivan was sure Lukey had gotten his anger under control, they moved out of the office and down the boardwalk.

“They’re speaking in Spanish,” Lukey said when one of the men started to speak. “Maxwell doesn’t know enough Spanish to order his own food.”

“You should interpret for him. Leave your gun,” Ivan said when Lukey started forward. “They want something very badly, but they do not what to hurt anyone. Carla should go with you.”

“Why?”

“If your wife is with you, it will reassure them that you do not intend to shoot.”

“My wife is out there.”

“They cannot know that.”

Lukey paused, but Carla didn’t hesitate. “Come on.”

They joined Maxwell Dodge who was yelling ineffectually at the intruders. Ivan listened anxiously as Lukey talked to one of the Mexicans. The man’s explanation was long and accompanied by many angry gestures. Rather than be equally angry, Lukey seemed to go from startled to insulted to determined.

“What did he say?” Maxwell Dodge demanded.

“They were warned rustlers would try to steal their cattle two nights ago, so the men were with their herds, waiting to ambush the rustlers. While they were away, some Americans rode into their town. They stole all the gold and silver from the churches and anything of value they could find in the homes.”

“Why are they here?” Maxwell asked. “We didn’t steal anything.”

“They followed the bandits into Texas before losing their trail. Overlin is the closest town, so they believe the men came from here.”

“Tell them we had nothing to do with the theft.”

“I’ve already told them that.”

“Then why haven’t they released our women and children?”

“They don’t believe me.”

“They think I would lie?” Maxwell looked so indignant Ivan couldn’t repress a smile.

“Americans stole from them and roughed up their families,” Lukey told him. “You can’t blame them for not believing us.”

“Of course I can.” Maxwell started to say something to the Mexicans but turned back to Lukey. “Did they say what they wanted?”

“They want to search the town for what was stolen.”

That request caused an uproar. The men waved guns and shouted threats. Out of the corner of his eye, Ivan saw a man start toward the circle of hostages. If he got too close, one of the Mexicans would shoot. If that happened, there would be carnage in the street. Without hesitation, Ivan threw himself into the man’s path, wrestled him to the ground, and took his gun.

“Do you want people to be killed?” Ivan inquired angrily.

The man struggled to get away, but Ivan was too big and too strong. “No one is going to search my house.”

“Do you have anything to hide?”

“No.”

“So even though you have stolen nothing, you do not hesitate to start a fight, which will get many people killed? You are a fool. So are the rest of you if you provoke a confrontation,” Ivan said to the crowd. “Some Americans have lied to them, stolen from them, and mistreated their families. All they want it proof that you did not do it.”

“It’s an insult,” someone shouted. “I won’t stand for it.”

“So what will you do? Shoot somebody who will shoot back at you?”

“They should take our word for it,” someone said.

“Would we take theirs?”

“They’re Mexicans,” someone said.

“And we’re thieving Americans who defile churches and steal from women,” Carla said. “Which do you think is worse?”

The crowd wasn’t any less angry, but they seemed more willing to listen.

“If we cooperate,” Carla said, “they will be more likely to believe us in the future.”

“Why should we care about that?” one asked.

“Because the bad men will steal from another town and another town after that,” Ivan told them. “Overlin is the closest town to the border. You will always be the first to be suspected. The next time they may not be willing to talk first.”

The leader of the Mexicans conferred briefly with Lukey.

“What is he saying?” Maxwell Dodge asked, irritated at being bypassed.

“He wants Ivan to search along with them.”

“Why? He’s not one of us.”

“He believes Ivan can be trusted not to shoot anyone in the back. He wants me to go, too.”

“Well, he can’t have what he wants.”

“Why not?” Carla asked.

“We can’t have Mexicans coming in here telling us what to do.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Maxwell. They’ve been lied to, robbed, and their families mistreated. What they’re asking isn’t half as bad.”

“I won’t have any foreigners going through my house,” one man said.

“Then I don’t suppose you mind if they take your wife and daughters back to Mexico with them,” Carla said.

Ivan listened in silence while Carla and Lukey argued with the angry crowd. After a time they reached a compromise. They would search the public buildings first. If that went without incident, they would turn their attention to the individual homes.

It ended up being the most unusual day Ivan had lived through. Once they worked out a procedure that everyone could accept—that took more than an hour itself—they started with the churches, moved to the saloons and restaurants, and finally to the individual businesses and offices. Ivan was relieved when each search turned up nothing that had been stolen. Since neither side truly trusted the other, he did most of the searching. It embarrassed him to know so much about people’s private business. Because of that, he decided there should be a change when the search moved to the individual homes.

“You should take my place,” he said to Carla when the search of Sadie Lowell’s shop was completed.

“Why?” Carla had stayed with the women and children, a willing guarantee of everyone’s good behavior.

“There are many things these ladies would not like a man to know, especially one who is a stranger.”

One woman spoke up. “I’d prefer a stranger. I don’t want a man I know looking through my bureau.”

Another woman said, “I don’t want
any
man messing with my things.”

Since a Mexican had to be present to verify that no stolen items had been found, they were at a momentary impasse until Ivan asked, “Would you agree to let Carla and Myrtle Jenkins make the search?”

Myrtle had not made many friends. Some objections were quite loud.

“Somebody has to do it, so make up your minds,” Carla said.

The crowd was getting upset and angry again, so Ivan decided to go to Myrtle himself. She had been watching the confrontation from her front window.

“I thought I would be better if I didn’t go into the streets,” she explained.

“How did they miss you?” Ivan asked.

“They didn’t, but I keep my doors locked. I don’t trust little boys.”

“We need your help.”

“Why?”

Ivan quickly explained what had happened and that they were at an impasse.

“Are you certain no one in Overlin is involved?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know who the thieves are?”

“I have an idea, but I need you to help us right now.”

Myrtle looked him in the eye. “I won’t protect a thief, even if he has a wife and children.”

“We must hurry before someone does something stupid.”

“There are men involved,” Myrtle stated. “Of course someone will do something stupid.”

Thinking it best not to comment, Ivan waited until Myrtle had retrieved her parasol.

“I refuse to be baked by the sun for anyone. What am I supposed to do?” she asked as they left her house and turned toward the main street of Overlin.

“Reassure the women that strange men are not handling their personal belongings, while you convince the Mexicans you haven’t found any of the stolen items.”

“That sounds like a job for King Solomon.”

Considering that churches had been stripped of their plates and ornaments, maybe Myrtle was right.

When Myrtle arrived, everyone seemed determined to talk at once. She stood quietly, eyeing them like a queen on her throne until the talking gradually faded. When everyone had fallen silent, she turned to the Mexican and spoke to him in fluent Spanish. He responded at some length. When he finished, Myrtle turned to the gathered men.

“I have been told what was stolen. Carla and I will search the bedrooms and kitchens. Ivan will search the rest of the house and any outbuildings. If I find anything that seems to fit the description of something they lost, I will show it to them. Otherwise, they will see nothing.”

“Will they believe you?” a woman asked.

“Do I look like a woman who would lie?”

Ivan guessed their silence indicated that many had been scarred by the sharp blade of Myrtle’s honesty.

“Let’s get on with it,” Maxwell Dodge said. “The sooner we get our wives and children home safely, the better.”

“You don’t have a wife or children,” Myrtle said.

Maxwell looked irritated that anyone would talk back to him. “I was speaking for the whole town.”

Myrtle’s harrumph was more eloquent than words. “Let’s begin,” she said, turning to Carla. “If I have supper too late, it keeps me up.”

The search of the houses didn’t go smoothly. If a wife or daughter got upset at having her possessions questioned, her husband and neighbors got upset. If it hadn’t been for Myrtle’s brusque dismissal of their objections as being too foolish to deserve her attention, there might have been serious trouble. A few items were subjected to detailed examination, but when the search was over, the Mexicans were satisfied that none of the stolen items were in Overlin. That, however, didn’t assuage the anger of the townspeople. In fact, it made some of them angrier at being accused of something they hadn’t done.

“I will ride out of town with them,” Ivan said to Carla.

“That’s a good idea,” Myrtle said. “I wouldn’t put it past some of these idiots to try to dry gulch them.”

Another term Ivan didn’t know, but he figured it wasn’t a good thing.

“Get between them and the rest of the townspeople before they release the women and children,” Myrtle advised. “I’ll walk with you to the edge of town.”

“I’ll ride with you,” Carla offered. “They wouldn’t dare shoot at me.”

“I’ll go too,” Lukey volunteered. “I want to know more about those Americans.”

Once they were released, the hostages rushed to their loved ones. While the men were busy reassuring themselves that their families hadn’t been harmed, Ivan started the Mexicans on their way home.

Lukey caught up with them after making sure his wife and children were okay. He peppered the leader with questions, but Myrtle turned to Ivan, “I want to hear more about your idea of who might be behind this. You may come to supper tomorrow. I go to bed early, so be at my house at five o’clock sharp.”

When they reached the edge of town, Lukey was still asking questions. “Ride from here as fast as you can,” Ivan advised the men. “If you are quick, you should be away before anyone has time to saddle up and follow.”

“I didn’t find out what I needed to know,” Lukey objected as the men took Ivan’s advice and put their horses into a gallop.

“It is more important that they get away safely. If even one of them is shot, they will come back shooting.”

“From what they said, the thieves could have been anybody,” Lukey said.

It could have been, but Ivan was sure he knew who to blame. Laveau diViere never did anything without a reason, and that reason always had to do with personal gain.

***

“You have no proof it’s Riley and his men,” Lukey said.

Ivan had been reluctant to reveal his suspicions, but if he was to find out who was behind the thefts, he needed support. Myrtle had prepared a supper of fried chicken, fresh corn, and pecan pie. Ivan thought it was too hot for coffee, but everybody drank it like it was natural. Myrtle offered him a glass of her homemade wine, which he discovered was surprisingly good, even though he found it to be too sweet.

“We know Mr. diViere is involved,” Carla said, “and he’s a crook.”

“Do you think Danny would be involved in anything like that?” Lukey asked.

“No,” Myrtle stated with singular forcefulness. “Danny is just as foolish as any other boy his age, maybe more so because everyone has spoiled him disgracefully, but he has an honest backbone, which he wouldn’t bend for anyone.”

Ivan was surprised at the vehemence of Myrtle’s support for Danny, but Carla seemed stunned into speechlessness.

“Don’t stare at me like a landed fish,” Myrtle scolded. “I don’t have to approve of everything Danny does to know he’s a young man with very strong principles.” She gave Carla a particularly stern look. “I’d say the same of you in spite of that red dress, if you had the good sense to get yourself a proper husband.” She sniffed deprecatingly. “I don’t know why you haven’t when he’s practically shoved himself under your nose.”

Ivan felt the heat rise in his neck. He thought he’d kept his feelings for Carla under control, but he wasn’t really surprised Myrtle had sensed them. Or that she knew Carla shared his feelings. For a woman who swore she wanted nothing to do with people, Myrtle knew a great deal about them.