The Last Buckaroo (12 page)

“
I
didn
’
t,
Kermit.  Not at all.  But I had a strong suspicion
…
 
Thank you.
”

Laughter
came from the gallery.

“
Kermit,
you were in the tavern Friday night, weren
’
t
you?
”

“
I
believe so.
”

“
Who
were you looking for?
”
Woody asked.

“
No
one in particular.
”

“
Then
why did you draw your gun as soon as Lester Kingsley entered the place?  In
fact you took aim at him.  And if it wasn
’
t
for the quick action of another patron, you would have shot him, wouldn
’
t
you?
”

“
No!
”
Striker shouted. 
“
I
just wanted to talk to him!
”

“
Well,
it appears Kingsley didn
’
t want to talk to you. 
Some witness he turned out to be.  He ran for the rear door upon catching sight
of you, Kermit.  What do you have to say to that?
”

With
pinched lips Striker glared up to him.

“
Kermit
…
what did you do with Lester Kingsley?
”

The
room was suddenly stone quiet.  Only the ceiling fans made a swishing sound.

“
Wha
…
 
What did you say?
”
 Striker got to his
feet and stepped from the witness stand.

“
I
said,
”
Woody near shouted this
time,
“
what
did you do with Lester Kingsley, Striker!
”
 
He turned and watched
him go.

“
Get
back to where you were, Deputy Striker!
”
Judge Samuels barked
from the bench and came to his feet.

“
I
’
m
done here
…”
Striker
said as he continued toward the door at the left side of the courtroom, where
Sheriff Preston Ames had stationed himself.

“
Get
back on that stand!
”
 
Sheriff Ames, red faced again, gave an
angry shove to reverse Striker
’
s
advancement.

At
that moment anxious noises at the back of the courtroom got everyone
’
s
attention.  Then the door flew open and one of the deputies from outside
stepped through it and shouted,
“
Lester
Kingsley
’
s
dead!  He hanged himself down at the railroad trestle!
”

“
Oh,
God!  No!
”
Katie
screamed and collapsed on the floor.  Yancey jumped from his seat and dropped
to his knees to comfort her.

Looking
around at the disruption, the judge pounded the bench with a fist. 
“
Clear
the court!  Clear the court!  Everybody out!
”
he shouted, then came down to floor level. 
“
We
resume at one o
’
clock sharp!  Preston,
please see to it Striker is present.  I plan to end this thing today if we need
to go into the night.  I
’
ve never had a trial
that lasted more than a day, and this one
won
’
t
become the first.
”
 
Looking around he noticed the jury still
seated. 
“
I said everybody out!  Be back at
one o
’
clock.
”

The
sheriff came with Striker by the arm.  Together they re-chained Yancey and left
with him through the side door.

Katie
was left sitting in her usual seat, face in hands.  The tears wouldn
’
t
stop coming.

Woody
sat with her for a time, then lifted her to her feet.  They would go to the
tavern.  Surely, they each could use a drink.  He knew he did.

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

“
Mister
Clampett, are you finished with Deputy Striker?
”
the judge asked, once
court resumed.

“
No,
”
Woody was quick to
say. 
“
Not
by a long shot, Your Honor.
”

“
You
’
re
still under oath, Deputy,
”
Judge Samuels reminded Striker.

Again
Woody was slow at getting to the stand, hoping to rattle Striker some in the
process. 
“
Kermit
…”
 
Woody glared at him. 
“
Now
that we know what you did with Lester Kingsley, why don
’
t
you tell the jury why you killed him?  I mean the body was hanging there near
two days.  Plenty of time for you to concoct the story to tell the jury
…”

“
Objection!
”
 
Lane Wilson jumped up from his seat.
 
“
Don
’
t
tell me you
’
re going to let this nonsense
continue, Judge?  Clearly Clampett is on some kind of fishing expedition, with
this line of questioning
…”

“
Your
Honor, may I remind you it was Mister Wilson who opened up this line of
questioning
 — 
that concerning Lester
Kingsley
…
God rest his soul.  I should have
a right to examine the testimony of this witness.
”

“
Ask
your questions, Mister Clampett,
”
Judge Samuels said. 
“
But
I won
’
t
tolerate any further badgering of this witness.  If so I
’
ll
be forced to dismiss him.  Is that understood?
”

“
I
didn
’
t
hear anything from you, Judge, when Deputy Striker stated he had a witness
claiming to have seen my client kill Clyde Banyon.  Nor did I hear you object
to anything said when Kermit here stated the eye witness mentioned was none
other than Lester Kingsley.  Now you
’
re
telling me I can
’
t take liberties with
this witness, when it
’
s certain I
’
ll
never have the chance to examine Kingsley on the stand.  Not now.  My point is,
if I can
’
t
get to the truth through this man, then who from will I get it?
”

“
I
see your dilemma, Mister Clampett,
”
Judge Samuels said. 
“
I
’
ll
allow your questions, only as long as they are not accusatory.  But then, I
presume you don
’
t expect this witness
to outright incriminate himself anyway, do you?
”

“
It
’
s
not what I get from him, Your Honor.  It
’
s
what the jurors glean from his testimony that counts.  Before I
’
m
done with him the picture will be crystal clear, I assure you.
”

“
Continue
with the witness, Mister Clampett.
”

Katie,
who felt much better now, was at the ready with her pad and pencil.

“
Kermit,
what exactly was it Kingsley told you?
”
Woody asked, his back
to Striker, facing the jury.  He wanted to see their reaction to Striker
’
s
answers.

“
Well
…
he saw it happen.  He saw Yancey there swing the hammer that killed Clyde.
”

“
And
where did this killing happen?
”

“
In
the blacksmith shop.
”

“
Well,
were the doors open on the blacksmith shop, Kermit?
”

“
No,
the doors were closed,
”
Striker said, and scratched his nose,
conspicuously.

“
So,
where was Kingsley then, when he saw Clyde being bludgeoned to death?
”

Striker
seemed confused. 
“
I don
’
t
know.
”

“
You
didn
’
t
ask him that?
”
Woody
said.

“
No.
”

“
Why,
Kermit?  I mean, you
’
re an officer of the
law
…”

“
We
only talked for a short time.  He said he would tell me more later.
”

“
So,
did Lester see Yancey drag the body into that back room?
”

“
No. 
He didn
’
t
stick around long enough to see that,
”
Striker said.

“
So,
Kingsley must have been somewhere outside?
”

“
I
guess
…”

“
Where
outside?
”
Woody pressed on.  He wanted the jury to find a pattern to these obvious lies.

“
I
told you I didn
’
t know.
”

“
Well,
was he peeking through a crack between the big doors?
”

“
No. 
I checked.  The doors have an overlap.
”

“
Oh,
so you did do some investigating,
”
Woody said. 
“
Kermit,
did Lester Kingsley happen to say whether Yancey had that hammer is his left or
right hand?
”

“
What
difference does that make?
”
 Striker looked confused.

“
Well,
it only makes sense
…
 
A right handed person
’
s
swings will generally strike the left side of the person before him
…
and vice versa, if left handed.  Especially if it
’
s
a heavy hammer being swung.
”

“
Clyde
was struck from behind,
”
Striker blurted.

“
How
do you know that, Kermit?
”
Woody asked in a louder voice. 
“
You
said Kingsley only saw Yancey swing the hammer.
”

“
Well
…
 
I
…
I could tell from the wound on Clyde
’
s
head.
”

“
But
you never examined Clyde
’
s head.  It was a mass
of crusted blood and brains by the time you found him
…
there was no way anyone could even tell where the original wound was.
”

“
Who
told you that?
”
Striker said in a panicked
tone.

“
The
undertaker is here in court, Kermit.  Shall I put him on the stand?
”

“
Objection,
Your Honor,
”
Wilson stood. 
“
I
think Mister Clampett is making testimony.
”

“
Oh,
for Christ
’
s sake, Lane!
”
the judge bellowed. 
“
Hasn
’
t
this dragged on long enough as it is?  Calvin, stand up.
”

Calvin
Twindle stood among the spectators, third row left. 
“
Yes,
Judge
?
”

“
Clerk,
get over there and swear Calvin in.
”
 
Moments later Samuels
asked,
“
Okay,
Calvin, what condition was Clyde
’
s
head in when you received the body?
”

“
Oh,
it was in terrible shape.  I worked a good thirty or forty minutes with soapy
water and brush just to reach what little hair he had, let alone find the
wound.
”

“
So,
where was the wound?
”
the judge asked.

“
Back
of the head, left side.  I told the wife at the time, poor Clyde was done in
from behind by a south paw.  Isn
’
t
that right, Irene?
”

“
It
is,
”
Irene said from beside
him.

“
All
right, Calvin, you can set down now.  Mister Clampett, you can continue,
”
Judge Samuels said.

“
Thank
you, Calvin,
”
Woody
said. 
“
Now
back to you, Kermit.  So you were saying
…
about how you knew Calvin was struck from behind?
”

“
What
do you want me to say?
”
 Striker seemed out of sorts now, his
eyes darting around rapidly.

“
Kingsley
never said anything to you, did he?  But you knew Lester knew something.  It
was all over town he had given a statement to Katie Peck, and you jumped to the
conclusion it contained things about what you
’
d
done.  I think you went over to get Clyde for the sheriff the day he and Yancey
got crosswise with each other at the tavern.  The two of you got into it once
you arrived at the livery, and you killed him.
”

“
Objection,
”
Lane Wilson said, but
there wasn
’
t much enthusiasm in it. 
“
He
’
s
badgering again, Your Honor.
”

Both
the judge and Woody Clampett ignored the objection.

“
I
see by which hip you wear your gun, Kermit, you
’
re
left handed,
”
Woody said, all the while slipping
one of his hands inside his jacket.

Striker
lowered his head and made a move like he was coming up from the chair, and
would have
 — 
gun
in hand
 — 
if
it weren
’
t
for the fast action of Sheriff Preston Ames, who put a gun to his temple before
he could follow through with it. 
“
Hand
it over!
”

Striker
did as told and came down from the stand.  Preston held him at gunpoint near
the side door.

“
What
goes here?
”
Lane
Wilson said, and glared at the judge.

Woody
went back to his table, facing the beaming smiles of Katie and Yancey as he
walked.

There
was a sudden rustling in the gallery and the judge pounded a fist. 
“
I
think it
’
s
pretty obvious, Lane,
”
Samuels said. 
“
It
is the ruling of this court that Yancey Burke be
…”

“
Just
one moment, Your Honor,
”
Woody said. 
“
I
don
’
t
exactly think this is proper, but since they came all this way, maybe you ought
to ask the jury to render a verdict
…
just to make it official?
”

“
You
’
re
right, Mister Clampett, it isn
’
t proper
…
 
But then, what has been
proper here today?  Members of the jury, what is your verdict?
”

With
little debate, Jake Pearson came to his feet. 
“
Not
guilty, Your Honor!
”