Summary: The question the Jury wanted answered was who shot Judd Clancy? It was a question to which the Cartwrights also required an answer as one of their own faced the charge of murder.

Rating:  G  (3,320 words)

 

A Shot in the Dark

Joseph Cartwright gripped the arms of the chair until the knuckles showed white. Other than that there was no outward sign of nervousness. His eyes flicked over to look at his father who was sitting on the front row and looked mighty stern, but straight backed and proud. Hoss was looking thoughtful, a slight crease in his brow indicating that his mind was concentrated on the matter on hand. When Joe’s eyes met those of his brother, Adam, they held fast for a fraction of a second and were released when Adam gave a brief nod of acknowledgement.

 

The air was stiflingly hot and oppressive within the confines of the Court room. Despite the open windows little air drifted in to cool the packed room. Women were waving pieces of paper, fans and anything else they could use to cool themselves while the men wiped their brows on the back of the sleeves, with handkerchiefs or just perspired freely. Along with the heat was the stale smell of too many bodies packed into too small a space.

 

It seemed that no one wanted to miss out on this particular trial. At the back people were standing, or rather lounging against the wall. The heat was taking its toll on those who had arrived too late for a seat. The men who had offered their seats to the women were now bitterly regretting their chivalry. Roy Coffee sat at the end of the row at the back, his spectacles glinting as he stared straight ahead of him at the Judge.

 

“Joseph Cartwright?”

 

“Yes, sir?”

 

“Remember that you are under oath.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The little man representing the widow of the deceased stared at the young man. Clayton Winters was mean minded and had a mind like a ferret. He was short in stature and had developed an oversized ego to make up for it. His eyes, too closely set together, and the small thin lipped mouth made men feel uncomfortable. One look at him and the hair on the back of ones neck stood on end. Somehow one just knew that there was no tender hearted lawyer here, just a man out for quick bucks and a good performance before the jury. He won most of his cases.

 

He was intensely disliked despite having more clients on his books than any other lawyer in town. He got results and that was what mattered. Feeling uncomfortable when in his presence was just something one had to adjust to if you wanted a lawyer with the winning touch.

 

“Remember that you are under oath. Please tell the Jury what occurred on the evening of June 12th.” Winter’s thin lips slipped over his teeth in a grimace, his eyes were small and narrow and made the young mans heart quiver.

 

Joe frowned; he inhaled deeply and began to speak. His eyes glanced to his father, his brothers as his clear voice trembled on the air around the courtroom. He forced his mind back to the events of that night, events that had propelled them into this present situation.

 

“Well,” he licked his lips, “I was in the saloon, there was a single shot from outside. I ran out along with some other men and found Judd Clancy dead. He had been shot in the back. It was dark but we could see his body there in the light that came from the door.

 

“Please go on, Mr. Cartwright, we are all very interested in what you have to tell us” the lawyers voice was silky smooth, clear and sharp, the words rang through the court room. Perhaps Ben was the only man present who detected a slight tremor of excitement, euphoria in the words.

 

“There’s nothing more to tell really,” Joseph replied, looking thoughtfully over at his father, “I think -”

 

“You are not here to think, Mr. Cartwright. You’re here to give us your clear testimony to events that led up to the murder of Judd Clancy.”

 

Joseph said nothing, he realised that rash words spoken in anger would do nothing beneficial. He swallowed, “I saw someone standing beside Judd. He had a gun in his hand and was looking down at the dead body.”

 

“Is that man in court today?”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Would you please point to him?”

 

Joseph instinctively clasped his hands together as though he could not possibly allow them to do the Judas thing and point out the man that Winters demanded be identified. He glanced once again at his father who gave a slight nod of the head. Slowly Joe raised his hand and pointed to the man seated only yards from him.

 

“Please note that Mr. Joseph Cartwright has identified Mr. Adam Cartwright as the murderer of Judd Clancy” Winters voice intoned.

 

“NO!” Joe rose to his feet in protest. A ripple of voices trickled around the court room. This is what they had come to see. This is what they wanted to know all about. Adam Cartwright. Murderer. Joe shook his head, “No, that’s not true. I pointed to Adam as the man standing beside Judd, not his murderer. He didn’t murder Judd.”

 

“Objection-”Jefferson Murphy yelled, “Objection.”

 

Jefferson Murphy was a middle aged ponderous man. He was sweating profusely and his eyes bulged in a fat face. He was the exact opposite of Winters and many wondered as to why exactly the Cartwrights had hired him for the defence of one of their own. He mopped his face with a limp handkerchief, and glared at Winters who shuffled some papers in his hand without any sign of concern.

 

“Objection sustained. Mr. Winters, please rephrase your statement.”

 

“I believe, Mr. Cartwright, that you said the man standing by the side of Mr. Clancy had a gun in his hand?”

 

“So he did too, but that did not mean he shot Judd. There was only a single shot fired. The one that killed Judd. The sheriff …”

 

“The sheriff will have his own chance to speak. We all know how friendly Mr. Coffee is with you Cartwright boys.”

 

There was a ripple of voices in the courtroom at that statement. Jefferson was on his feet shouting ‘Objection’ at the top of his voice and the Judge thumped down the gavel and advised Winters to refrain from making such statements. A woman’s voice was heard to say ‘Shame on you’ and there was a titter of laughter because no one knew whether she was speaking on behalf of Roy or against the Judge’s ruling. Ben straightened his back and shook his head, while in his seat at the back Roy tightened his lips and wondered how he could run the runt of a lawyer out of town – legally – so that he would never come back.

 

Adam Cartwright twitched a shoulder and stared at the picture above the Judge’s head. Ben, casting a glace at his son, wondered if he were as calm inside as he appeared to be on the outside.

 

“Mr. Cartwright -” Winters said once order had been resumed, “Isn’t it true that there had been a fight in the saloon between your brother and the deceased only hours before the shooting?”

 

“A fight?” Joe looked surprised, grimaced slightly and shook his head, “No. I don’t think you could call it a fight.”

 

“Really? Several witnesses swear to there having been a fight. So what would you call it?”

 

“It was just – well – just a bit of push and shove. Judd was drunk and Adam advised him to stop drinking and go for a walk. Judd threw a punch, Adam ducked but caught the next one so he thumped Judd back. Then that was it really.”

 

“Isn’t it true you had to step in between them and break the fight up?”

 

“Who? Me?” Joe’s voice rose a pitch, his eyebrows rose in surprise, “Separate old Judd and Adam?”

 

There was another ripple of laughter that ended almost as quickly as it had begun. Mrs. Clancy snivelled and wiped her eyes and wished she were back home cooking lunch for the children rather than here in a court room fast becoming more like a steam house every minute.

 

“What was the real reason for the fight, Mr. Cartwright?” Winters continued, pressing the point with his sharp little eyes gleaming “Was it sufficient grounds for a killing later on?”

 

“No, it wasn’t. I told you already the reason for it so don’t try making something more of it than necessary, Mister, just to -”

 

“Mr. Cartwright? If you don’t mind, arguing won’t achieve anything.” Winters spread out his hands in appeal, and Joe bit his bottom lip as though he had said something close to perjury. “Let’s go back to this matter of the gun. You say that there was no shot fired from the gun, but your brother had it in his hand, and there was a bullet missing from the chamber. Isn’t that so?”

 

“Sure there was a bullet missing, but it hadn’t been fired for a while, not during the time that shot was fired any rate.” Joe protested.

 

“Nevertheless, there was one shot fired, and one bullet missing.” Winters said with a shrug of the shoulders and a look at the Jury that implied ‘Draw your own conclusions from that if you will.’

 

Joe said nothing but glanced at Adam who was now observing his boots. When Winters dismissed him Joe slowly left his chair, his mind going over and over his answers, searching for the ones that may have left his brother in more danger than ever. Winters now called Hoss to the stand.

 

Hoss put down his hat and got to his feet. He ran his fingers through his hair and then strode over to the stand. He confirmed his name and took the oath before sitting down. His blue eyes turned to his brother, Adam, who gave him a brief nod and smile.

 

“Mr. Cartwright, let’s cut right to the heart of the matter, shall we?” Winters said silkily, “Tell us about this fight between Judd and your brother?”

 

“What fight? That weren’t no fight. Shucks, all that happened was Judd got drunk – ‘scuse me saying so, Mrs. Clancy, but that’s a fact -” he looked regretfully at Mrs. Clancy who was wiping her eyes again, “Judd was a big man, bigger’n me even, but he couldn’t take his drink. Adam told him to go and take a walk to cool down, but Judd lost his temper and took a swing at Adam, but then the next time he got Adam a real belter so Adam punched him back and I stepped in before Judd could take Adam apart.”

 

“So? You don’t call that a fight?” Winters rolled his eyes theatrically.

 

“Shucks no, that was jest a itty bitty scrap. Judd just gets drunk and then cools down pretty quick. The best thing is to stop it going too far before he starts really tearing things to pieces.”

 

“Which you succeeded in doing.”

 

“Guess so, ‘cos he got his hat and walked out. We just got on with what we were doing.”

 

“How long after the fight was it before Mr. Clancy was shot?”

 

“An hour perhaps. Adam got up and went out, there was a shot and Judd was killed.” again Hoss glanced over at Mrs. Clancy, feeling uncomfortable about having to talk about her husband in her presence in such a situation.

 

“Did you see what happened?”

 

“Shucks no, I was in the necessary when the shot was fired.”

 

A titter of laughter rippled through the court room. At the back the doors opened and a deputy entered the room and walked quietly to Roy’s side. After a brief whispered conversation Roy got to his feet and followed the deputy out of the court room. As the doors closed a waft of cool air drifted over the assembly. No one but the persons immediately seated by Roy were aware of his leaving.

 

“Did you brother talk to you about the shooting?”

 

“He said he didn’t shoot Judd.”

 

“But the bullet that killed Mr. Clancy came from a gun like his, the same calibre, and a bullet was missing from his gun.”

 

“Dang it, Mister, I got a gun the same as his, and so has a whole passel of folk in town. You going to arrest everyone jest because of that?”

 

“One shot, one missing bullet – I ask you -”

 

“No, Mister, ain’t no point in you asking me nothing else, because if my brother said he didn’t shoot Judd then he didn’t.”

 

“Despite the evidence?”

 

“I’ll stand by what my brother says against any danged evidence you’re likely to come up with, Mister.” Hoss retorted angrily.

 

Winters stepped back and looked at the Judge who seemed unaware of any provocation or that the witness was turning ‘hostile’. Ben sighed and chewed on his bottom lip and Joe slumped lower in his seat. Adam was frowning but appeared to be more interested in a scrap of paper he was turning round and round between his fingers.

 

“Any questions for the witness, Mr. Murphy?” the Judge asked when he suddenly realised that Winters was not going to pursue the matter further with Hoss.

 

Murphy wiped his face from perspiration and walked towards Hoss. The younger man stopped giving Winters a cold blue glare and turned his attention to the lawyer,

 

“This fight – you say it wasn’t really a fight, Hoss?”

 

“Shucks, it weren’t nothing like a fight. Judd just wanted to make a point, that’s all.”

 

“And there was no other reason behind it? No bad falling out between your brother and Judd?”

 

“Nope. Judd would just punch whoever’s standing next to him to let ‘em know he wasn’t going quietly.”

 

“So there jest ain’t no reason whatsoever for your brother to have shot Judd, is there?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Mr. Winters is mighty concerned about this missing bullet, Hoss. You got any idea what your brother last shot at and when?”

 

“Nope.”

 

Hoss frowned, wondering if it had been a trick question and he had given the wrong answer. He glanced anxiously at his father but Ben was deep in thought at the time and didn’t notice the unspoken appeal.

 

“No more questions.” Jefferson said and lumbered back to his seat.

 

“Call Adam Cartwright.”

 

There was a palpable silence. Everyone craned their necks forward to catch a glimpse of this would be murderer. Adam stood up, twitched his shoulders slightly and walked to the stand where he was sworn in. He took his seat and watched as Winters approached him,

 

“Tell us, Mr. Cartwright, what took place in the saloon the night Judd Clancy was murdered?” Winters asked, trying to add a few inches to his height but failing miserably.

 

Mrs. Clancy gave a sob and blew her nose. There was a murmur of sympathy for her but then the silence as Adam began to speak. His deep voice resonated through the room,

 

“I can’t add to what has already been said.” he replied (no ‘sir’ from this young man, he was innocent and no thin lipped miserable looking speciman of a lawyer was going to get a sir out of him.)

 

“But please try.” came the sarcastic response.

 

“I was in the Bucket of Blood and had just finished a game of cards. It was hot and I thought it was time for us to make the journey home. I went to the door. A shaft of light from the saloon was cast upon the boardwalk. There was a single shot. I caught the glimpse of the flash from a gun and took my own gun out to fire back when I realised there was a body at my feet. I looked down and saw it was Judd. He had been shot in the back. I stood up to go in pursuit of the gun man but then a crowd of men came out of the saloon and prevented me from doing so.” he frowned as though such actions still frustrated him.

 

“What happened next?”

 

“There was the usual hollering and shouting going on. Someone took my gun, and someone else decided I had killed Judd and pinned my arms behind my back. Roy came and asked what had happened, he took my gun and verified that it had not been fired recently.

 

“But it had been fired?”

 

“Not recently, not during the time period of the murder. As has already been stated there was just a single shot, Judd was dead, my gun unfired.”

 

“Do you know what I think, Mr. Cartwright? I think that you are telling us one big fat lie. The fight you had with Mr. Clancy earlier that evening … why don’t you tell us what the real reason of the fight was all about?”

 

Adam sighed and looked down at his boots, then with a quizzical look on his face he looked up at the lawyer,

 

“Why don’t you tell us what you think was the reason, Mr. Winters. You’ve had several explanations so far and don’t seem too happy to accept them. Perhaps you have reasons of your own for not doing so, perhaps we should all like to know them.”

 

“Mr. Cartwright, you’re the one accused of murder, not I. So why don’t you just refrain from the smart remarks and tell us what really happened?”

 

Adam scratched the side of his nose and pursed his lips,

 

“I believe that Judd was coming back to the saloon to apologise for the fight. He was not a hot tempered man as a rule and once he had cooled down would always apologise. I believe that there was a gunman waiting to shoot someone. It was a dark night. When I opened the door the light illuminated whoever was there – in this instance it was me. The bullet that was fired was meant for me, not Judd. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

 

“And what makes you think you were meant to be the victim of this gun man?”

 

“Because a few days earlier I had received a cable from the Governor of Yuma Territorial Prison to warn me that Bill Enders had escaped and was on his way to Virginia City to kill me.”

 

There was a gasp from the assembled people. Winters went pale, then red. He narrowed his eyes

 

“I find that story rather far fetched,” he stammered.

 

“Sometimes the truth can be like that,” Adam said slowly, “But I believe that Judd died in place of me. He saved my life, unknowingly.”

 

The Judge looked at Adam and nodded. He looked at the lawyer and was about to speak when the big doors at the back were opened. Heads turned as Roy entered followed by Mary Enders, several deputies and a hand cuffed man.

 

“Sheriff?” the Judge inclined his head towards Roy by way of a request for an explanation.

 

Roy walked to the stand and turned to face the townsfolk. He took off his hat and cleared his throat,

 

“Half an hour ago Bill Enders was arrested for the murder of Judd Clancy. He was hoping to see Adam hanged for the murder before he left here with his wife, Mary. Thankfully she saw reason and pleaded with him to surrender himself which he has done so now, although not willingly. Adam Cartwright didn’t kill Judd. The bullet was meant for him, and Judd just happened to be in the way.”

 

Ben was first on his feet, striding over to his son and closely followed by Hoss and Joe. Judd Clancy’s widow continued to sob into her handkerchief. The ordeal was over but for Bill Enders it had just begun.

 

The End

 

Tags: Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Hoss Cartwright, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright, Trial