Chapter 20
“I think you’d better start explaining,” Judge Lemke demanded after he’d read the first paragraph of Ambrose Gilbert’s written statement. “How’d you come by this, Sheriff.”
Nodding toward the ceiling, Ben laid a finger to his lips. “I’ve got night guards coming in soon. Then we can meet at the church. I’ve already sent word to the reverend and Arlo Grosspointe. Doctor Rooney won’t be able to join us because he’s got a patient in a bad way right now. But once you get a chance to read through some of that, I think you’ll have a better idea what’s going on in Roses Briar.”
A fierce scowl crossed Harlan Lemke’s face, and he leaned in close. “It’s your job to uphold the demands of the court, son.”
“I know that, your Honor,” Ben agreed, meeting the angry man’s eyes. “But if you’ll give us a chance to explain, I hope you’ll agree that this is a unique situation. And justice will be served. It’s just a little more delayed than you expected.”
The other man frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Dare I ask? Have you taken care of the other matter?”
Ben had to remind himself not to roll his eyes at the judge’s insistence about certain things. However, he replied, “Mrs. Danbury became Mrs. Chauncy yesterday. Now we’ll just need to wait and see how that suggestion pans out.”
“You’ll thank me one day,” Harlan insisted smugly before casting a dubious glance at the sheaf of paper he’d been given. “I’m going to trust your judgment, Sheriff. For the moment. But I’ll have to put this aside until after we discuss the men you are currently holding.”
“Alright, just give me a minute to grab the coffee pot from Roseanna. The guards will be coming in a bit, and they’ll need some strong brew to keep going.”
When Ben returned to the desk with two full coffee cups, the judge pointed to the chair across from him and said, “Sit.”
After the Sheriff handed off the mug, he did as directed and waited for Judge Lemke to begin the interview.
“It says here you made two separate arrests. The first, during the morning of Friday, November 26 th .”
“Yes, sir. The six men were arrested after Oswold Jenkins reported the theft of more than a thousand feet of lumber from his mill during the wee hours of the night. All the details of the theft, the evidence, and the subsequent capture of these men are detailed in my report.”
Harlan took several minutes to read through the Sheriff’s notes on the matter and shook his head in disbelief. “Are these men addled?”
“Not that I can tell,” Ben answered with a grin. “But they are mighty ornery.”
“You found the tracks, the missing lumber, and the men in the process of unloading the goods?” The judge clarified, still a little amazed by the audacity and stupidity of said thieves.
“Exactly. And Oswold Jenkins matched his stamp to those burned into several pieces of the wood.”
Setting the notes on the robbery aside, Judge Lemke picked up the next report. After taking the time to read it carefully, he looked back up at the young man caught in the middle of something more sinister than he’d originally thought. “You’ve done a good job laying out the details and the evidence. Now, I want to hear your thoughts on how all this ties together.”
Ben glanced at the clock on the wall and made a suggestion instead. “I’ve got the Voght brothers coming in for the first watch in about ten minutes. And it smells like supper is almost done. So let’s take a few minutes to eat something, and then we can head over to the church.”
“Judge Lemke, this is Arlo Grosspointe. He is the postmaster and telegraph operator. His wife Hilda was the matron in charge of Roseanna while she was in custody,” Ben offered by way of introduction. “And Reverend Fredrickson was there to provide spiritual counsel to the prisoners before their sentences were carried out.”
“Your Honor,” the pair greeted.
“As I mentioned earlier, Dr. Rooney can’t be with us. He is caring for Oswold Jenkins, the mill owner who Simon Rassbach’s men attacked,” Ben concluded before taking a seat on the front pew.
The judge looked at each man in turn and tried to hide his exasperation. “I am waiting for an explanation, Sheriff Chauncy. I was called to seat a jury and hear testimony regarding the individual robbery and assault cases you presented to me. So, explain to me why we are revisiting the case against the Pinkerton agents. They were tried and convicted to hang.”
“At the last hour, Baxter Orville sought to make his confession, your Honor,” the minister said. “His statements brought some clarity about Sheriff Danbury’s death.”
“And?” the judge impatiently prompted.
Ben stood and started to pace, his mind still trying to slide all of the pieces together. “You’ve heard Roseanna’s story, sir. During the trial of Orville and Gilbert, we presumed the agents shot Arnold while he was protecting my wife and the Matthews children. However, these men were lured to Roses Briar to discredit Sheriff Danbury based on testimony and false affidavits provided by Simon Rassbach.
“The agents were unable to verify any of the information provided by Rassbach, but when another member of the Pinkerton Agency tied the Matthews kidnapping to Arnold’s new wife, they were finally convinced of Sheriff Danbury’s guilt.”
“Are you suggesting these rogue agents were targeting the sheriff instead of Miss Sherman, er, Mrs. Danbury?” the judge asked incredulously.
“Mrs. Chauncy, sir,” Ben reminded with a twinkle in his eye. “Once you’ve had time to review the full statements provided by the agents, I believe you will understand why I’ve delayed their sentence. But you also need to know this – as far as everyone outside this room is concerned, Baxter Orville and Ambrose Gilbert were shot and killed during a gunfight at the jailhouse on the day of their hanging.”
“We even gave them a proper burial,” the minister added.
Closing his eyes, the judge began to massage his forehead with two fingers. “Alright, gentlemen, you have my attention. I am listening.”