“I will? You’ll teach me… all I have to know?”
“It’s the least I can do,” Jade said softly, “since you just taught me something I needed to know.”
“I did? What was that, Miss Jewel?”
Jade gave her a sad, mysterious look. “Something I’ve needed to learn for a long time.” She turned the girl toward the door. “Now go home and get some sleep, Birdie. And don’t mention your little visit. It will have to be our secret.”
“Yes’m.” At the door she paused to say something more, but Jade had already turned away. In profile she looked sad and pensive. And deep in thought.
As the news spread that Reverend Wade Weston had spent the night at Millie Potter’s boarding-house, half the town seemed to congregate out front, led by Lavinia Thurlong and Gladys Witherspoon. Everyone, it seemed, was itching for a confrontation.
“What a coincidence.” Lavinia’s eyes looked hard enough to shoot bullets as she addressed the crowd. “Reverend Wade Weston returns to town, after an absence of some weeks, on the same horse as the proprietress of the Golden Dragon. I’d like to hear him deny he was with that shameless hussy.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd. It grew to a roar when they spotted the object of their wrath striding out the door. The Reverend Weston, wearing a crisp white shirt and perfectly tailored dark suit, didn’t have the look of a beaten man. In fact, he looked more handsome and charming than ever.
To make matters worse, Jade and her sisters arrived in her fancy carriage at the same time.
“You’re not welcome in this town anymore, Reverend Weston,” Lavinia said. “Good, decent folks like us deserve someone better to minister to our souls than the likes of you. You have a nerve, preaching from the Good Book, and all the while dallying with a… fallen woman.” Seeing that her friends and neighbors were nodding in agreement, she grew bolder. “Hanging is too good for the likes of you. Get on your horse and ride out of here.” She turned in the direction of Jade and her sisters. “And take your harlot with you.”
Diamond, Pearl and Ruby formed a protective ring around Jade, who surprised them by pushing herself free to stand alone. “My sisters are not a party to this,” she said, hoping to distance them from her shame. “The fault is mine alone.”
Hearing her words, Nevada moved quickly to divert attention from Jade to himself. He shocked the townspeople by saying softly, “Mrs. Thurlong is absolutely right. All of you deserve better. That’s why I’ve come back. To admit the truth.”
“That’ll be a change,” Lavinia said tartly. “We’ve called a town meeting in the back of Durfee’s Mercantile. Let’s see to it quickly, so we can send you on your way and the town of Hanging Tree can once again hold its head high.” She turned on her heel, with the rest of the townspeople following.
The crowd swept along, with Nevada in their midst. Jade hurried to her carriage and turned the team to follow. By the time she and her sisters entered the mercantile, all the seats had been taken. They were forced to stand in the back of the room.
From her position Jade could see so many familiar faces. Birdie Bidwell was there, along with her parents. The girl hung her head, avoiding Jade’s eyes.
Millie Potter sat with her daughters, April, May and June. Crowded in beside them was Farley Duke and his employees from the sawmill. Though they had gladly taken Jade’s money to construct her building, and had greeted her warmly every day, they now looked the other way when they caught sight of her.
Nevada stood alone facing the angry mob.
“There’s no point in wasting time,” Lavinia shouted above the din. “I say we order Reverend Weston to confess his sins and then banish him from our town forever.”
Deputy Arlo Spitz voiced his approval. “Then we can get down to the really important things, like going after the Garland Gang that’s been killing innocent ranchers in these parts.”
“Now, just a minute,” Rufus Durfee cried. Since the meeting was being held in his store, the crowd was forced to pay attention. “Let’s have some kind of order.” He pounded a hammer on a countertop for attention. “As I see it, this is a simple case of charging the reverend here with sleeping with a woman of ill repute. Does anybody have any proof of those charges?”
“They left town at the same time. Weeks later they returned on the same horse.” Lavinia stuck her hands on her hips and turned toward her neighbors with a snicker. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but that’s proof enough for me.”
At the coarse comments that followed, Jade felt her face flame. But she held her head high, refusing to give in to the feeling of shame that washed over her. This had all been her fault. Now Nevada couldn’t even deny their accusations.
“I guess we’ll ask the reverend here to speak his piece. Then we’ll take a vote of the citizens.” Rufus rapped his hammer a couple of times for silence.
Before Nevada could begin, however, the marshal strode forward. His face bore a stubble of dark growth, and his clothes were still covered with the dust of the trail. His look was grim as he said loudly, “I’m happy to report that the gang of outlaws that’s been terrorizing the countryside won’t be bothering any of our citizens anymore.”
A cheer went up from the crowd.
“Thank you, Marshal,” Lavinia said fervently. “I’m sure I speak for the entire town when I say how proud we are that you could rid us of that plague.”
“Actually, Mrs. Thurlong, it wasn’t my doing,” he admitted. “Reverend Weston told me where I’d find the bodies.”
“Bodies?” The crowd grew animated, eager for details.
“I think I’d better ask Miss Jade Jewel to tell you about her experience at the hands of the gang. And how she was rescued.”
As one, the assembled townspeople turned to stare at the young woman. Their hostility was a living, palpable thing that seemed to assault her in waves.
“She doesn’t look any the worse for her experience,” one of the men called.
“Maybe she enjoyed being taken by a gang of outlaws,” said another.
The remarks, some whispered, others hurled in anger, were cruel and cutting.
Diamond, whose curses could curl the beard of a seasoned wrangler, managed a few loud retorts before she grabbed her sister’s hand. “Don’t dignify this meeting with your presence another minute, Jade. Come on. Let’s go home.”
“No.” Jade pulled her hand free. With quiet dignity she lifted the hem of her gown and walked to the front of the room to stand beside Nevada.
The crowd fell deathly silent.
“I think it only fair to give you what you came here for,” she said softly. “The truth about what happened between Reverend Weston and me.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Jade prayed her voice would not betray her inner turmoil. If the crowd hoped to hear sordid details of a tryst, they would be disappointed. But if what they truly wanted was the truth, she would give it to them.
She swallowed, then, as simply as possible, she told about the attack on her stage, the savage murder of the driver, and her abduction.
“It was Reverend Weston who saved me. If he hadn’t recognized my valise on the stage and followed the trail of those villains, I wouldn’t be here today.”
“That doesn’t explain how the preacher happened to be on the trail in the first place,” Lavinia said. “Or how a man of the cloth would be carrying a gun. There’s a whole lot here we haven’t been told.”
“You’re right, Mrs. Thurlong.” Nevada stepped forward, eager to deflect their anger from Jade. “I promised you the truth. And that’s what I intend to give you, without holding anything back. You see, the truth is, I used to run with that band of outlaws known as the Garland Gang.”
The crowd erupted into chaos, with shouting, cursing. Several men in the room drew their pistols and aimed them at Nevada, until the marshal held up his hands for attention.
“There’ll be no shooting in this assembly,” he shouted. “The reverend isn’t even we
aring a gun belt. I’ll arrest the first man who doesn’t follow my orders and holster his gun immediately.”
With muttered complaints, the men did as they were told.
When the crowd grew quiet the marshal said, “Go ahead, Reverend.”
“As I said, I was part of a gang.” Nevada waited until the murmuring ended. “What’s more, I served five years in prison for crimes I committed while I was with them.”
This brought even more shouts and curses from the crowd, and it took the marshal several more minutes to bring them under control.
“I think we’ve heard enough,” Lavinia Thurlong cried. “This is no preacher. This man is a charlatan. A fraud. And he has played us for a pack of fools. I say we vote to banish him from Hanging Tree forever. We are good, decent people who deserve better.”
Lavinia’s friend Gladys and several other women joined in the chorus, whipping the crowd into a frenzy, demanding an immediate vote.
Suddenly their shouting was interrupted by the widow Purdy, leaning heavily on the arm of Doc Prentice and her daughter, Martha.
“Ma refused to stay in her bed,” Martha said to the crowd. “She told Doc and me that she wasn’t going to meet her Maker until she had a chance to set things right with Reverend Weston here.”
“She’d be a fool to pin her hopes on an impostor like him,” Lavinia said, to a roar of approval from the crowd.
“You hush now.” Doc said in his most professional tone. He turned to Nevada. “I told Mrs. Purdy it’d be a miracle if she lived long enough to say whatever she has on her mind. But it looks like she’s about to have her miracle.”
“But I…” Nevada began.
“No time to jawbone,” Doc said with a trace of impatience. “Time’s wasting.” He lowered the old woman to a rocking chair, while her daughter stuffed several pillows around her to cushion her frail bones.
“Come here, young man,” the old woman commanded.
When Mrs. Purdy held out her hand, Nevada approached hesitantly. The woman’s eyes followed his every movement.
“I knew I’d get this chance,” she whispered.
“Then you knew more than I,” he said softly. “I’m sorry you had to suffer like this, Mrs. Purdy. But it was in vain. You see, I’m not—”
“You’re not going to say a word,” she interrupted. “I just want you to listen.”
“But you don’t understand.” He tried again. “I don’t deserve…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “What I have to say is the most important thing you or this town will ever hear. Now, you listen.” Pinning Nevada with a look, she said, “You asked me once if this town had ever hanged anyone who didn’t deserve it. And I told you no. But I lied. And I can’t meet my Maker with a lie on my conscience.”
The crowd gave a collective gasp and suddenly leaned forward, hanging on her every word.
“You asked me about a rancher named Jessie Simpson, and I said I couldn’t recall the name. The fact is, all the old-timers around here remember Jessie,” she said softly. “His was the only hanging I know of that was a mistake.”
Jade watched the change in Nevada’s face. The look of puzzlement turned into a hard, tight line, his jaw clenched, his gaze fixed on the old woman.
Mrs. Purdy stared around at this collection of friends and neighbors. “Jessie Simpson had a poor ranch not far from the Jewel property. Old Sheriff Handley arrested Jessie for killing a neighboring rancher and rustling his cattle. Jessie insisted he had had no part in it. He even invited the sheriff to search his property.”
“Did the sheriff find any cattle?” Doc asked, clearly caught up in her narrative. This was a part of Hanging Tree’s history he’d never heard before.
“Not a one. But that didn’t change anyone’s mind. You see, it hadn’t been the first murder, or the first theft of cattle, and folks around here were feeling mean and ornery. Sort of the way they’ve been these past couple of months, since the Garland Gang returned. People tend to get that way when things start going wrong. Anyhow, folks wanted revenge. Some argued that Jessie could have hidden the stolen herd somewhere out in the foothills. The proof, they said, was that they’d found a cow slaughtered not a mile from his place. Within a week, despite Jessie’s protests of innocence, the town had their hanging. And a fine, festive picnic it was. Ranchers came from miles around. I guess the only ones who weren’t enjoying themselves were Jessie’s family. His wife and young ones were forced to watch the gruesome sight.”
That caused some in the crowd to shudder.
“Sounds like just another hanging to me,” Lavinia shouted.
The widow ignored Lavinia and the crowd, keeping her gaze fixed on Nevada’s face. “Not two weeks after the hanging, another rancher was killed in the same bloody manner, and his cattle stolen. A month later there was another. By then, folks were forced to admit the truth. The same man that killed those others surely had killed Jessie’s neighbor. And that meant this fine, upright town, which so many of us had been so proud of, had hanged the wrong man. An innocent man.”
“You can’t be sure of that,” Lavinia interrupted.
The marshal shot her a quelling look, then asked, “Did anyone from the town go to the Simpson family and try to make amends?”
“They all knew it was too late for that. Jessie was dead and buried, and no amount of being sorry would bring him back. Besides, by then his young widow had run off. Rumor was that she took her babies with her and left her boy to fend for himself.”
At her words, Jade felt her heart stop. She had heard all this before. From Nevada’s own lips. But he hadn’t told her the most important fact of all—that his father had died by hanging. And that he’d been forced to witness it.
“Did they ever catch the real killer?” Doc Prentice asked.
The widow shook her head. “Everyone suspected Tucker Brand, a rancher who lived alone in a little shack up in the hills.”
“What about the sheriff?” Doc asked. “Did he confront this…Tucker Brand with what he suspected?”
The old woman shook her head sadly. “The sheriff was getting on in years. Winter was coming. Nothing could persuade him to go up into those hills and face Tucker’s guns. And the townspeople were too afraid of Tucker to go after him without the law to back them up.”
“You mean no one stopped the killer?” Lavinia stared around at the crowd of friends and neighbors, who had lapsed into an ominous silence.
Jade’s eyes were fixed on Nevada’s face. A face filled with pain.
Mrs. Purdy lowered her voice. “One night, maybe six months later when the snow melted, Tucker was found dead, his shack burned, his cattle run off.”
“Who do you suppose had the nerve to find and kill him?” Doc asked.
The old woman’s voice trembled. “The rumor was that it was Jessie’s little boy. No one knew for sure. The boy was never seen in these parts again.”
Though Jade had listened in silence, she now asked in a trembling voice, “Mrs. Purdy, what was the boy’s name?”
“Danny,” the old woman said. “Danny Simpson.”
Though she had already guessed the truth, Jade let out a cry and covered her mouth with her hand.
Nevada turned. Their eyes met. He saw hers fill with tears.
The old woman’s voice broke into their thoughts. “The townspeople were filled with such shame they vowed to never speak of the incident again. No one went near the Simpson ranch. It was allowed to fall into disrepair. Yancy Winslow was so enraged by what the town had done, he chopped down the hanging tree, hoping that would stop the hangings once and for all. But of course it didn’t. Younger folks, not knowing about the past, carried on the tradition. And with every hanging I found myself asking if it could have been prevented, if only we had admitted our past mistake. But no one wanted to be the one to break the code of silence.”
“That’s all well and good,” Lavinia said, pushing her way to the front of the crowd, hoping to regain their confidence. “But it hap
pened a lifetime ago. I don’t see what this has to do with any of us.”
“Don’t you?” The old woman’s voice wavered for a moment, then grew stronger. “We call ourselves good, God-fearing people. And then we stand in judgment of others. But some day it will be our turn to be judged. I know when it’s my day, I’ll hope not for justice but for mercy.”
She held out her hand to the young preacher who stood beside her chair. “I hope you will show mercy to those who wronged you and your family.”
When he didn’t respond she said in a trembling voice, “Did you think I didn’t recognize you?”
A murmur went up from the crowd as a few of them began to make sense of all this.
Nevada shook his head. “I was only eight years old.”
“And forced to grow up far too soon.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m truly sorry, Danny.”
“Danny?” Lavinia’s brows shot up. “This is the son of the rancher who was hanged?”
“The same,” Mrs. Purdy said, keeping her gaze firmly fixed on him. “Lord knows what he’s had to suffer because of our mistake. I hope you’ll forgive me, Danny. And the rest of this town.”
Lavinia’s anger exploded. “You want his forgiveness? What about us? What about the fact that he was part of a vicious gang? Why, even his name was a lie. His whole life has been a lie. Do you know where he’s been these past weeks, and who he’s been with?”
“No,” the widow said softly. “And I don’t care. Though I fervently hope he was with someone who would ease some of his pain. The only thing that matters is that the Lord brought him back in time to hear my confession. And if Danny forgives me, I will die a happy woman.”
“Mrs. Purdy, there’s nothing to forgive,” Nevada said.
“But there is. We sinned against you and your family,” the old woman persisted.
“And I retaliated by sinning against everybody.” Nevada’s voice carried over the crowd. “The Bible says that unless we admit our mistakes and repent them, we’re condemned to repeat them. Since Mrs. Purdy has already had her say, I’ll take this moment to have mine. When I was eight years old I was filled with rage. Not only at this town, but at ‘Tucker Brand, who killed and rustled, and who was the cause of my father’s death. But Tucker’s crimes didn’t end there. After we were left without my father’s protection, Tucker returned to our ranch and forced himself on my mother. That’s why she ran off with the first man to offer her a chance to escape. And why she left me behind. I’d been a witness to her shame. Each time she looked at me, she felt the pain and humiliation all over again.”