The Love of a Lawman, The Callister Trilogy, Book 3 (44 page)

An hour later, an armada of vehicles met them in Isabelle's driveway. She stood back as John loaded Paul and Keeton into the Blazer. Walt Cassidy and Dan O'Neal approached.

"Thank God," Cassidy said and patted John's shoulder.

"Good job, Bradshaw." O'Neal stuck out his hand. "Proper procedure would have been for you to have notified the right people and gone in with enough assets to prevent injury."

"Not enough time. I knew where I was going and what I was doing." He would probably never tell O'Neal about Keeton getting the drop on him.

"I'm a little pissed off," the ISP investigator said with a laugh, "that I didn't get a piece of this. Nothing would've made me happier than to surprise those fuckers in a deserted cabin."

John glanced over at Izzy, who was standing at her back door, chewing on her Up. Rooster waited in the Blazer's driver's seat. John slapped the roof a couple of times. "Go to town, Rooster. I'll be right behind you."

The caravan members all seemed to crank their engines at once and headed down the driveway like a parade. When they had gone, he walked over to Izzy. Every inch of her appeared to be in agony, but she was dry-eyed. He took off his hat. "You're a brave heart, Isabelle."

"He's so easily influenced by the wrong people," she said, wiping away a tear that had sneaked out. "I always wanted him to find someone besides Merle to be friends with."

John nodded, surprised that he had come to a similar conclusion himself.

"Thank you for saving him, John. They would have killed him. You heard that one guy."

He enclosed her in his embrace. "No, they wouldn't have, darlin'. They're professionals. That's just adrenaline and ego talking. All bullshit." He set her away. "I have to go. You'll have to come to town and make a statement. Take your time, but come as soon as you can."

"Okay," she said in a tiny voice. "He's hurt. What about his wound?"

"You don't have to worry. He and Merle both will get any medical treatment they need. I'll see to it."

She gave a big sniff. "I know. I trust you, John."

"Everything will turn out okay. You'll see." He cupped the back of her head and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you," he said softly. "Don't ever forget that."

"I won't."

He drew back with a kiss on the back of her hand and put on his hat. "Can Rowdy stay here 'til I can come back and get him?"

She nodded. "I'll unsaddle him and put him in the barn with Polly and Trixie."

"You don't have to—"

"I want to." She gave him a hint of a smile. "What, you think I can't take care of a horse?"

He walked toward his truck, turning back to gaze at her again before he climbed in. He had never seen anyone look more forlorn. Heart aching, he walked back to where she stood and took her hand. "He needs a lawyer. Get somebody good from Boise."

He dredged up a smile, too, remembering what she had said the night she told him why she felt so much loyalty to her brother. "I'm responsible for him as much as I am for everybody else, Isabelle. I'll look out for him."

Chapter 29

"Helluva thing," Walt Cassidy said, setting his coffee mug on the corner of John's desk. "After Keeton had already offed one official, I'll always wonder why he didn't shoot you, too."

Court had ended minutes earlier. Keeton had been arraigned and denied bail. Cassidy would be transporting him to his larger, more secure jail. John had offered to deliver Keeton, but Cassidy had wanted to come to the court hearing.

Represented by a pit bull defense lawyer Izzy had hired, Paul had been released on bail, for which he had the money, and restricted against leaving Callister. Fate had smiled on him. God help him if he screwed up because he wouldn't have a supporter left anywhere.

A week passed. Since John's trip up Callister Mountain to the miner's cabin, his every hour had been filled. He had seen Izzy once since the day she came to the courthouse and gave her statement. They had talked on the phone but had not had a detailed discussion about her brother.

In his off hours, John had been telling his sons about his relationship with Izzy and her daughter. His mom had been talking to them, too.

"I've known Merle Keeton my whole life," John said to Cassidy. "It's hard to think of him as a killer. I always looked at him and Paul both as nothing more threatening than dumb bastards who get drunk and don't think."

The veteran lawman chuckled and smoothed his mustache. "All criminals are dumb, John, or they wouldn't get in the messes they do in the first place. Some are just dumber than others."

John stood and walked over to the coffeepot for a refill. He brought the carafe back and poured another cup for Cassidy. "You believe Paul's story?"

"Yeah, I think I do. Most of it anyway. More important, ISP's polygraphist believes it. I don't doubt Rondeau was scared after he saw that his buddy had shot Frank. I'm sure he was afraid
not
to help bury the body. Keeton himself admitted Rondeau was no hand with a pistol and that was the only weapon in play."

"You're satisfied then that Keeton just accidentally dropped the knife in the process of burying Frank."

Cassidy nodded. "My only question is if Rondeau's lying when he says he didn't see Keeton fire the shots."

"I've heard a lot of things about Paul, but I've never heard him called a liar."

"Well, no matter. A lie's hard to maintain over time. In the coming months, Paul'll have to repeat his story a dozen times. If he's lying, at some point he'll trip himself up."

"How do you think Merle got Frank's gun? You suppose Frank really drew on him over a fishing violation?"

Cassidy shook his head and sipped his coffee. "No. But we might as well face it, John. Some things we'll never know for sure. That's the way it is in criminal investigations."

"Think Paul'll do time?"

"I don't know. He sung like a canary, seemed eager to help out. Him making that call to your office brought the whole thing to a head and he supported you up at that cabin. If he's willing to be a witness in court, well, who knows? Judge Morrison seems to like him. He must believe he's redeemable."

"One thing's for sure," John said, "I'll be keeping an eye on him. Isabelle's gonna put him to work. She told me his wife is coming back and bringing his kids and that'll make a difference in his behavior."

"A family in the picture is usually a good thing."

"I feel Paul's got a decent streak. But he needs some order in his life."

"Who doesn't? My ex-wives would tell you the same thing about me." Cassidy drained his cup, rose and reached for his hat. "If you need Keeton, he'll be locked up safe and sound in my jail."

"Thanks for everything, Walt. I don't know how I would've handled all of this without you."

"You'd have done just fine, sheriff. Just fine. A little bird told me the county commissioners are going to have a meeting about raising the sheriff's pay and pumping up the budget for the office. With two murders in three years, maybe they see they need a real sheriff after all." The old lawman looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. "Maybe you'll stick around. Maybe you'll run for the office."

John grinned. Luke McRae had all but promised him a raise in pay if he would just run. And Dan O'Neal had left town calling him "Sheriff" instead of "Bradshaw." For the last few days John had been secretly thinking he might contact the ISP about taking a few classes in their peace officer training school.

After Cassidy left with Merle Keeton in his custody, John sat for a few minutes contemplating irresponsibility and bad judgment and the catastrophic result. Fishing for sturgeon was forbidden in Idaho waters. Everybody knew it, including Paul and Keeton, but they did it anyway, for fun. The penalty was a heavy fine and possible restrictions on fishing licenses, but it didn't compare to the punishment for murder. And it sure wasn't worth the loss of a man's life. The whole episode made John shudder.

He shrugged into his jacket, put on his hat and told Rooster and Dana he was going home. He walked outside and looked up at the azure sky. Spring in the mountains. The sun had some warmth to it. The earth smelled fresh. He had two healthy sons of whom he would soon have sole legal custody. Thanks to his mom and dad, a lawyer in Boise was handling the matter now. He owned a good horse and a good woman loved him. What more could a man ask for?

His boys were still with his folks. His horse and saddle and his horse trailer were at Isabelle's. His clothes, his TV and his king-sized bed were sitting in his duplex apartment. What he needed to do now was have a long talk with his boys, then organize and consolidate.

He drove to the Lazy B, where his family welcomed him with smiles and open arms. Whatever the thing was that had hung between him and his dad for the past few years seemed to have vanished and they were returning to the warm relationship of long ago. John guessed his dad no longer thought him an irresponsible screwup who gave no thought to his actions.

He spent a good evening with his sons, telling them his plans for his future and theirs. They liked the idea of living in the country again, in a household where horses and dogs were part of everyday life. They didn't even mind that a girl came along with it.

The next morning, while he showered and put on a dress shirt, his mom helped his boys into the new jeans and boots she and his dad had bought them. After John finished dressing, they stood straight as arrows in front of him for his inspection. They seemed to be excited about making a good impression.

His parents came into the living room. "Here's the ring, son." His dad handed him an antique wedding ring. "I'm not convinced this move you're about to make is for the best, but—"

"Hush up, Tom," Katie Bradshaw said. "It's none of your business. This is John's life, not yours." She came to John. "It can be resized if necessary. I had it cleaned and had the stone tightened."

The ring had belonged to John's paternal great-grandmother. John's mother had worn it when she married his father. As stones went, the emerald was small, but its symbolism wasn't. Four generations of solid marriages and families stood behind it.

"Are you sure you're finished with it?" John asked his mom.

She laughed and hugged him, then looked up at his dad. "I haven't worn it since your dad bought me this marble-sized rock. It's for good luck, John. Someday you'll pass it on to one of your children for the same reason. I know you've found the right one this time. I can't wait to welcome Isabelle and her daughter into our family."

"Dad, is our new mom gonna let us have our own horse again?" his nine-year-old asked.

John had called Isabelle earlier and told her he would be dropping by to introduce her and his sons. "Son, she'll even teach you how to talk to him."

He and the boys stopped off at Fielder's Mercantile to buy a bouquet. Fielder's didn't have roses, so Trey said he thought the red carnations were pretty. John thought so, too, remembering the day he had bought Izzy a bouquet of carnations and placed it on the seat of her truck. Izzy wouldn't care what kind of flowers they were. She would care more about the sentiment.

As he came to a stop in his usual place near the barn, Izzy and Ava came outside. With the sun shining on her hair, Izzy looked beautiful. He and his sons climbed out of the truck.

Izzy eyed the bouquet and grinned. "What's that?"

"It's flowers," he said.

She laughed. "I can see that."

He urged Trey and Cody forward. "This is Trey and Cody." Solemn-faced, both boys put out their right hands and John hid a grin. Isabelle smiled, shook their hands and introduced Ava.

Before the moment could become awkward, he dug the ring from his shirt pocket, then sank to one knee and prodded his sons to do the same. He thrust the ring and the flowers out to her. "Isabelle, we came to ask you and Ava to marry us."

She gave a little gasp. "You are
crazy,
John Bradshaw." She turned her head and covered her face with her hand.

"How about it? Since you've already got my horse and my saddle and my heart, I'm hoping you'll take me and my kids, too."

Ava looked up at her mother and grabbed for her free hand. "Mama! Say yes."