Wild Kat (15 page)

“I
would like to call the town doctor, Doctor Joseph McBride.”

The
old doctor was sworn in and sat in the still warm chair the sheriff left.  He
looked at Kat and winked. Her brows rose in confusion, as far as she could ever
tell he did not care for her, but now he was winking at her.  Kat listened.

“Doctor
McBride can you tell us conclusively what killed Susanna Berry?”

“I
can.”  He shuffled through papers he had with him and put his half spectacles
on.  “The five and one half-inch dagger pierced the left lung and heart.  The
cause of death is obvious.”

“Thank
you doctor.  Your witness.”  He called to Thomas as he went to his chair, his
face smug.  For a penny Kat would have scratched his eyes out.

“Doc
you and I had a conversation recently, do you remember?”  The doctor nodded. 
“For these fine gentlemen of the jury would you repeat that conversation?”

“To
the best of my recollection, I told you if you got sick you had to clean it up
when we viewed the dead woman.”

“After
that.”  Thomas smiled and said when the crowd’s laughter subsided.

“Well,
uh... I told you that the dagger probably pierced the lung and heart, I was
right it did.”

“After
that.”  Thomas urged him on. Kat watched Thomas leaned against the jury box
like he was with them.  He smiled at them and stood near different ones each
time.  He nodded at them when he talked and made sure he always looked at them
after he asked a question.  It seemed to Kat that he was trying to make
friends.

“After
that I remember telling you that there was no way Kathleen was strong enough to
have done that by herself even though I know she is really strong.  I thought
that she and the girl struggled and during the fight over the dagger, Susanna
probably helped Kat push it deeper into herself.  I do not mean that she did
this on purpose trying to kill herself.   I think in the struggle that is what
happened.”

“Could
you tell me Doctor, is there anyway to tell by which hand the knife was
wielded?”

“I
am not sure I follow Mister Woods.”

“What
I mean is, I was reading my law books and brushing up on murder and I read that
a physician can tell which hand a murderer favors and by that sometimes you can
determine guilt.  So could you tell me which hand the knife was in?”

“I
follow you now. Give me just a Moment to check my notes.”  He paused for a full
five minutes and then, “I would say the most powering hand would be the left.” 
Thomas walked to the bench and picked up the gavel.

“May
I your honor?”  He nodded.  Thomas tossed it at Kathleen. She held up her right
hand and caught it easily.  “No more questions.”

“Mister
Peters?”  Mister Peters did not look as smug now.

“The
state rests your honor.”

“Are
you sure?”  The Judge looked at Peters strangely.  He simply nodded.  “Mister
Woods, your first witness please.”

“I
call Kathleen Woods, your honor.”  The Judge gestured to the witness chair. 
When she was sworn to tell the truth Thomas continued.  “Missus Woods would you
explain to us what happened on the day of July third?”

“I
was out all night looking for my husband until the sheriff made me go home and
wait.  He promised to find him for me if I would go home and rest.  I was
sitting in the porch in the swing waiting for him when I saw a shiny black carriage
coming down the road. It had a white horse pulling it with the silliest hat on
its head.  A woman with blond hair was driving and asked to see my husband.  I
told her he was not at home.  She did not believe me and asked who I was.  I
told her I was his wife and that he was not there.  She called me a liar then
she told me he would never marry a little heathen like me.  She attacked me and
she fell when I moved out of her way.  I told her to leave before she got hurt
and she pulled out that strange knife and came at me again.  We struggled and I
tried to get out of the way from her weapon but when I turned it sank into her
belly.  I never meant to hurt her but I could not let her kill me either.” 
Kat’s tears fell to her folded hands in her lap.  “I do not know what I could
have done differently.” Her voice cracked on a sob.  “I’ve gone over it a
million times in my head and there was just not any other way to avoid it.”

“Thank
you Missus Woods, your witness.”  Thomas told Peters.

“Yes,
Missus Woods, you are an expert knife thrower and hunter I am told is that
correct?”

“I
guess you could say that.”  Kat’s eyes were fearful.  She looked at Lawson
knowing where this man had gotten that information.

“I
heard that you can hunt, trap, track and kill better than most men do.  I also
heard that they call you Wild Kat and that you are proud of it.  Is all that
true?”

“Every
bit of it.” Her chin came up.  “I can do all those things better than most men
and I am proud of being called Wild Kat, it’s what my father named me.”  Her
smile was big and proud.

“So
how do we know you did not plan all of this to kill your competition Missus
Woods?  How do we know that you did not see your husband’s visitor as a threat
to your place at his side?”

“She
came to my house Mister Peters I did not seek her out.  She brought a weapon. 
I was unarmed.  If I planned on killing that day I would have had my shotgun
ready and I would not have killed her knowing the sheriff would be coming by. 
I would have waited and hidden the body where nobody would ever find it.  Also
I would never have admitted in court to a Judge that I killed her, you idiot!” 
Her voice rose in anger. The Judge banged his gavel. Mister Peters looked at
the twelve faces in the jury box knowing he had already lost.  He took his
seat.

“No
further questions your honor.”  Thomas stood.

“Your
honor I would like to call character witnesses for Missus Woods but I am new to
that town and I do not know whom to call so I would like to ask her for a
recommendation if I might.  I know this is out of the ordinary sir but please
forgive me.”

“It
is allowable Mister Woods, go ahead.”

“Missus
Woods, who would you recommend I call?”

“You
could just about call anyone in this room but the person who knows me best is
not here.”

“Who
would that be?”  Thomas looked at Mister Crenshaw and nodded.

“Chief
Great Bear knows me better than any living soul, since my parents have died
that is.”  Mister Crenshaw slipped quietly from the double doors and closed
them.

“So
if I could present the Chief you think he would be the best at vouching for
your character?” Kat nodded.  Mister Crenshaw came back and took his seat.  The
giant Indian filled the doorway.  The crowd turned to see him and gasps and
murmurs erupted from the citizens in the audience seats.  The Judge banged his
gavel twice to silence them. Kat’s smile broadened and she waved at him.  “You
may step down Missus Woods.” Thomas told her.  Kat hurried from the witness
chair and rushed to the Chief to hug him.

“Your
honor, I object this is not allowed in a court in this state, he does not live
by our laws, and he doesn’t even speak our language.” 

“Over
ruled.  This is my courtroom Mister Peters and whether or not he lives by our
laws, if he knows her best, I want to hear from him.

“Chief
Great Bear, we will swear you to tell the truth and then I will ask you some
questions, would that be okay?”  Thomas asked.  The Chief nodded.  The deputy
swore him in and the Chief sat next to the Judge.

“You
are the Chief here?”  The Indian asked the Judge.

“Of
sorts, yes.  You understand that you cannot lie when you are in that seat and
that her life could depend on what you say?”

“I
understand.   I cannot lie anywhere.  That is the white man’s way, not mine.”

“Let
the record show that Chief Great Bear speaks our language perfectly.  Do you
agree, Mr. Peters.”  He nodded sourly.  “Proceed Mister Woods.”  The Judge was
writing again.  Kat watched her friend.  She thought about how strange this
must seem to him.  In the white man’s court, defending a white woman, all of it
was so different from his own ways.  He looked so serene in the chair.  It was
probably the first he had ever sat upon.  Kat smiled at this last thought
before Thomas started on him.

“How
long have you known Kathleen Whitley Woods?”  Thomas leaned against the jury
box again.  He looked so elegant in his black suit and tie with his shiny boots
and slicked hair.  The Chief looked elegant as well.  He wore buckskins and
knee boots, his hair in a tight braid. 

“I
know her since she was four years old.  I met her as a boy, she was fishing
near my village and I found her.  She could not find her way home and decided
she would live in the woods until someone came for her.  I talked to her for
awhile then I led her home.”  Kat smiled at the memory.  Little Bear as he was
called then was only six, and he later admitted he had trouble finding his own
way home until he figured out that following the creek would lead him there.

“Did
you become friends and teach her things about the woods?”  Thomas pulled at his
tie to loosen it a little.

“Yes. 
She taught me your language and your ways.  She told me stories from the great
book that her mother taught her.  I taught her to survive from the land, and in
it.  I taught her how to fish, how to trap and hunt.  I taught her how to take
down an animal with a hunting knife and how to use the whole animal.  I showed
her the way of the forest and taught her our customs and beliefs as well.”  The
Chief never took his eyes from Kathleen.  “When my village agreed she was as
much a part of us as she could be we named her Running Deer.”

“Why
Running Deer?”  Thomas walked over to the witness chair and stood before the
Chief.  “Tell them why you named her Running Deer.”  He pointed to the twelve
men that would judge her shortly.  The Chief looked at the men, looked at each
of them in turn.

“We
named her Running Deer because she is the gentlest of all creatures and because
she is silent when she moves through the woods, you cannot hear her coming
unless she wants it.”

“She
is the gentlest of all creatures!”  Thomas’ voice boomed through the courtroom
startling some including Kat.  “She is the gentlest of all creatures, indeed. 
How could she be the gentlest of all creatures when she just killed a woman?  I
myself have seen her kill animals. Why do you say that Chief?”  Kat looked
suddenly worried, as did the Chief.

“She
kills from need not for pleasure and she always takes the animal down as
quickly as she can.

“Why?” 
Thomas asked him.

“So
it is painless, so other animals are not frightened and so the animal does not
suffer.  To keep an animal from suffering is the kindest, most gentle act you
can commit.”

“You
are right chief you make a very good argument.  I watched her kill a pig once
and she took it away from the others so she did not frighten the rest of them.”

“Objection
your honor, he is testifying.”  Peters jumped to his feet.

“Sustained.” 
The judge said.

“Withdrawn.
  So all in all chief, how would you say her character is? Would you say she is
a good person or the kind of person that could commit cold blooded, pre-planned
murder?”

“I
would say she is Running Deer.  I would also say that she should have been born
an Indian, not a white woman.”  The Chief lifted his chin defiantly.  The crowd
murmured.  Thomas nodded in agreement.  “Mister Peters, he’s your witness.” 
Peters shook his head. 

“I
do not talk to savages.”  Peters’ face turned sour as he looked at the big Chief.

“Neither
do I.” The Chief said quietly and stood to leave.  “May I go?”  He asked the
Judge.

“Yes,
I think we are finished speaking with you.”  The Judge told him.  The Chief
stepped down.  The Chief saw the contempt in Peters’ eyes as he passed and
simply shook his head.  “Mister Woods?”  The Judge asked.

“The
defense rests your honor.”

“Mister
Peters?”  The state’s lawyer stood and approached the jury box to give his
final argument.  Kat listened intently.  He reminded her of one of those card
players in the saloon that bluffed a lot.  He talked a good game but when it
actually came time to lay down his cards, he had nothing.  Thomas followed him
and gave his final defense of his wife.  She decided that if she were on the
jury she would believe Thomas more than Peters.  She hoped they would believe
him as well.   The Judge excused the jury to determine the fate of Kathleen
Whitley Woods and dismissed the crowd.  Kat was taken to a separate room with
Thomas.  The deputy stood guard outside of the windowless room.  She paced like
a caged feline.  Thomas looked his notes over to be sure he had not missed
anything.  Kat paced back and forth slowly.  He did not watch her, his heart
would break.  He knew how she felt in the tiny room.  It was worse than her
cell, at least there she could see outside.  The room was warm with no
ventilation and Thomas loosened his tie more.  He looked up at her finally and
told her to sit, and to try not to think about it.