November 15, 1899

Tombstone/Coronado. 

This morning I walked over to the newspaper office on Allen Street and picked up the new edition, talking with Jenna and Paisley. I headed back home and sat outside enjoying the view.  When Alex came out I smiled and stood, greeting him with a hug. “Good morning, dear! Sleep in today?”

“Good morning. Yeah, slept a bit late today.”

“I’ve just been enjoying the fresh air,” I held him close. “Went to Tombstone and picked up the recent paper.”

“Oh nice. Any interesting news?”

“Nothing we didn’t already know.”

“I also put a table and our maps in the office in Pearce.”

“Great!” 

“Oh.. I do have some bad news though...” I stepped back and looked in his eyes. “We should go sit inside.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked as we walked into the house and sat down on the couch. “What’s going on?”

“Mysti was shot the other day... By Matthew. He was drunk. He said she had his money.”

“Is she okay?”

“Dani was right all along. At any rate there is officially a warrant on him. I don’t know if he was arrested or not; I haven’t heard news. Mysti, she’s fine. Frustrated obviously and afraid even more.”

“Graves needs to be dealt with soon. This is getting worse,” he looked at me. 

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I need to get in contact with someone from the law enforcement and get an update.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Let’s go to Bisbee... Dani might have heard something by now,” I said and we headed outside. 

Bisbee. 

As we walked into Bisbee, we saw Dani staring into the fountain, pulling out a coin and flipping it in on his thumb. We greeted him and he seemed a bit distracted. We asked if he wanted to come into the cafe for some food and he accepted when we offered to pay. I served coffee and biscuits and then sat down beside the boys on the stools. 

“So um, is there anything I can help you with?” 

“Do you have any news on your father? Maybe where he’s staying? Or anything?” 

“I saw him last night in a cell... we had a short chat...” Dani lowered his head faintly. 

“In a cell? Was he arrested?”

I blinked at that and almost choked on my coffee. 

“I was on my way to tell the jail house officer that he may have been near by, but it was too late, they must have caught him,” he nodded. 

“What do you mean too late?” Alex looked from me to Dani. 

“Do you know who the officer was who arrested him?” Alex asked. 

Dani lowered his head and said, “He told me that the crimes he had done were punishable by by death, and more specific, hanging.”

I blinked at that and almost fell off my chair, gripping the counter. 

“Do you know what crimes he was arrested for? Was is shooting your aunt or did he do something else too?”

“The final thing he told me before the officers had to escort me out... he told me not to come... and for the first time in my life he told me that he ‘loved’ me,” Dani sighed. 

“Your father talked to you?” I asked as Alex looked down in his coffee. 

“He was arrested for the shooting of my aunt, and I think drunkenly antagonizing someone? something like that... but also the murder of my mother.”

“I love how local law tells us what’s going on.”

“Welcome to my world,” I sighed. 

“I heard his voice behind the door of the jail house, I banged on it until they let me in to talk to him.”

“And he told you he loved you...?” I shook my head. 

“I couldn’t help myself but to pretend that I hated him, though at first I did, but when he told me that he loved me for the fist time in my life.. I knew it was the last.”

“I’m sorry, kid. That’s gotta be tough,” Alex looked at him. 

“Life is life, without death there is no life at all... my grand father told me that when I was little,” Dani sighed. 

“Very true,” Alex nodded. 

“Guess our part of the case is closed then,” I looked at Alex. “They don’t really need us anymore,” I tried to hide my frustration. “And Max wasted that trip for nothing...” I sighed. “He’s just gonna get hanged anyway...”

“I will never forgive his actions... but, he’s still my father, and that will never be removed,” Dani nodded. 

You know, you can always come to either us if you need anything,” Alex said to him and then chuckled at me. “Max was happy to get out of his house for a few days. He’s got 7 kids. Wasn’t a waste for him.”

“Thank you... heh really 7, and my mother told me I was a handful phew!” 

“Yeah, he tries to get away as much as possible,” Alex chuckled. 

I set the coffee cup on the counter, staring off into space as Dani said, “I bet... but apart of me wants to go to the hanging, not to see him die, but just to let him know I am there for him. even thought he told me not to come, and to stay away from what he was doing.”

“He still gets a trial, right Dani?” I asked. 

“It ain’t an easy thing to watch someone die from hanging, Dani,” Alex looked at him. 

Dani nodded to me and said, “But I doubt he’s going to get out of it. Neither watching someone bleed out... but heh I think I could make one hell of a undertaker seeing how death seems to follow me.”

“Undertakers never run out of work,” Alex nodded. 

I shook my head, remembering how Harm had wanted me to be involved in Sunset’s hanging and said, “I need some fresh air.” I stepped outside and inhaled deeply as I looked around Bisbee, trying to calm myself down as memories flooded through me. I folded my arms across my chest and remembered all the people that I’d lost. I shook my head, telling myself to leave the past where it belonged. 

I took a deep breath and walked back into the cafe, seeing that they were now talking about why Alex became a detective. “Accounting was not my thing. And city life wasn’t either,” Alex was saying as I came in and stood beside him. “So, I came here and met Trin. She got me into being a detective.”

“And a darned good one at that,” I smiled, putting a hand on his lower back. 

“It can be an interesting job at times. Also very frustrating.”

“Same with my grand father, He desperately wants me to be a doctor... But honestly, personally I love music...” Dani sipped his coffee. 

Alex smiled at me and then asked, “Music, huh? Do you play?”

“A lot less frustrating doing it with someone else though... Being a detective on your own makes you feel like you’re up against the world. At least with a partner, I have someone to share the load with and bounce ideas off of,” I smiled and Alex nodded. 

“I’m awfully bookie myself. I never thought I’d be a detective,” Alex chuckled. 

“You know... being bookish helps with being a detective.”

“But violin! That’s something. I’m not in the least musical. Trin is a very good musician, though.”

“At least I’m not alone, at first I thought I was doomed to being a doctor. or like someone we all know, but she told me she plays piano?” Dani chuckled. 

“I sure do... Since I was a little kid,” I nodded. 

“You don’t ever have to be locked into a profession you don’t like,” Alex said. 

“Dani, we should get going back home... You’ll be alright around here?”

“Of coarse, thank you for the coffee. Take Care.”

“You’re welcome. Come see us anytime,” Alex put a hand on Dani’s shoulder and the boy smiled, one that seemed real for the first time since we’d met him. 

We said goodbye and headed towards home. On the way there we stopped at the library and relaxed for a while in our favorite place to go in town. After staying there for some time we headed to Pearce. 

Pearce. 

I gave Alex a copy of the key for the office and he tried it to make sure it worked. We walked upstairs and I showed him the new table and the maps I’d put up. We discussed how neither of us wanted Dani or Mysti to witness the trial or the hanging but we knew it wasn’t up to us. It might give him closure, but seeing his father hang was going to be hard no matter what the man did. 

Tombstone. 

We walked over to the courthouse on Allen Street and Jimmi asked if I would prosecute the case against Sam for murder. I normally wouldn’t have taken on such an intense case, but I needed to work in the courthouse again as it’d been forever. We walked inside and I went to my table as Alex stood at the back and watched. 

Judge Jimmi Rubble welcomed the jury and began the proceedings. Defense Ella declared “not guilty” and then the prosecution began its opening statements. I began my case stating that a report had been given from the deceased man’s wife, saying that she wanted vengeance for those who had killed her husband of only two days. In her opening statement, Ella claimed that Sammy was not guilty due to the fact that he was a good man in town and that the wife was now making her client the victim. 

In calling my first witness to the stand, I questioned Jack Smith about what he witnessed that day that Johnny was murdered. Used to being the one on the defense, Jack stepped forward and declared “not guilty” but I assured that he was just the witness this time. In a lengthy testimony, he explained how he was going to rob the bank but Nim caught him before he could start. He reached for his guns and saw another man, Johnny, to his right. He drew his guns but then took two bullets to the shoulder as he ran. Jack was bleeding from the shoulder and told Johnny to go to Diamond where they could get bandages, but Johnny said there was a closer place and they went to the undertakers office. They couldn’t get there, though, as Jack was shot in the back. Johnny made it inside but then was chased out of the undertakers by three people, including the defendant. 

In her cross-examination, the defense asked if Jack had seen her client shoot the defendant down, but he never saw who shot whom. 

I then read a report from the deceased man’s wife, explaining her testimony of the event. She heard from Nim that Jack had shot her and that Serenity, Sammy and Carl went to look for Jack and Johnny in Ghenna. She said that she followed and saw the shooting in the canyon and then she found her husband dead in Ghenna. 

Ella called Sammy as her one and only witness, and allowed him to tell his account of the event. He explained that Serenity called him and Carl to help her and Wedge, so they did. As the shooting happened, Wedge got Jack and Johnny and ran for a bit. They went up a tiny hill and Sammy and Carl were far behind, then they saw a body hit the floor from the hill. Serenity smiled and played with her guns, and then stole the man’s loot, leaving the body with Sammy and Carl. 

After we gave our closing statements, the jury deliberated quickly and came out with the verdict of “not guilty”. Sammy was allowed to go a free man and Judge Jimmi concluded the proceedings. Sam muttered that the drink he and I had shared meant nothing and I said that I was just doing my job, even though I knew I had no case and knew that he wasn’t guilty. 

I went upstairs to work on my report for the newspaper in my new position as court reporter, and then went to drop off the report in Jenna’s mailbox. 

***

Later this afternoon, I went back to sit on the jury for Carl’s trial on the same charge of murder from the same incident as Sam was involved in. I was looking forward to seeing how Prosecutor Jimmi would work the case and learn from one of the more experienced lawyers in town. 

Judge Ed Janitor welcomed the jury and then the prosecutor, Jimmi Rubble, gave his opening statement. Before he addressed the jury, Jimmi announced that two documents needed to be submitted to the judge and defense before he started. He explained that the documents missed the package for court lawyers and wanted to be upfront about it so as not to surprise anyone. The first was a witness statement by Mr. Jack Smith, and the second was a letter from the Secretary of War for the United States, Mr. Elilu Root. 

Jimmi began his opening statement and explained that Carl had murdered Johnny. In her defense, Ella said that Carl was a good man and was only doing his duty as a good citizen. 

Jimmi began his case by reading the witness statement from Jack Smith, explaining how he was in the process of robbing the bank when Nim drew the first shot and hit him before he ran towards the Ghenna mines as quickly as he could, leaving Johnny and the Marshal behind. Johnny caught up with him in the mines and they were both wounded so Johnny suggested they look in the undertakers’ office for bandages. In front of the office, Jack was shot down and Johnny got inside. He ran out of the office with Serenity yelling at him and Johnny dropped off the side of the cliff to the deck below. Jack saw him running with Serenity, Carl and Sammy drawing guns and chasing after him, and that was the last he saw of Johnny. 

Jimmi read the statement from Johnny Rotton’s wife explaining her testimony of the event. She heard from Nim that Jack had shot her and that Serenity, Sammy and Carl went to look for Jack and Johnny in Ghenna. She said that she followed and saw the shooting in the canyon and then she found her husband dead in Ghenna.

For his first witness, Jimmi called Marshal Nimbrel Sassoon to the stand. She swore herself in and then Jimmi asked if he could read the report given covering the incident at the bank. He read how she had witnessed Jack and Johnny near the back of the bank. Jack unclipped his holsters while she was questioning them and he told her to leave, and that they wouldn’t be in the bank long. Nim drew and took the fight to them and after the long gunfight she was wounded and both men fled to Ghenna. Wedge found her and got the names of the men to locate. The men were found in Ghenna and after another gunfight, Jack was wounded and Johnny died in the desert. 

Jimmi confirmed that the document was hers and confirmed that Mr. Smith had plead guilty in the court already. He asked who she had asked for assistance and she answered that she’d asked Wedge. Jimmi asked if there was anyone else and she said that the Colonel had asked the others to join him. Jimmi asked what exactly happened to Johnny and Nim said that she heard he refused medical treatment and died. Jimmi commented that Mrs. Rotton’s statement said that he was shot in the gut and Nim explained that Mrs. Rotton had been in trouble with the law before, and that she said she was seeking revenge. Jimmi asked her to explain how she found Mr. Rotton was dead if he was still under Ghenna when she was charging Mr. Smith. She explained that she was in the clinic most of the time the events in Ghenna transpired. She collected the statements afterwards. Jimmi pressed the issue and Nim finally admitted that Serenity gave her the statement that Johnny was dead. 

Jimmi then read from the statement from Serenity sharing how she heard shots from in front of Kate’s and shouts from Nim and Wedge about Jack Smith and Johnny having shot Nim down. They were both found in Ghenna, with the help of Carl, Wedge and Sammy. Jack was shot and arrested and Johnny died in the desert due to a gun shot. Jimmi pointed out that Nim said under oath that she asked Wedge to bring Johnny and Jack for her while recovering from her wounds. The Colonel returned with Jack, Serenity returned with this information, and then Serenity and Sam and Carl went with Wedge to Ghenna. He asked if she deputized them and she said that the colonel had. 

In her cross-examination, Ella confirmed that it was the Colonel who requested Carl and Sam’s assistance, and she said that it the Cavalry had the authority to do what they wished. She confirmed that Nim did not see the defendant shoot anyone, she heard it from a second-hand source. She agreed and felt that it was an open and closed matter. 

Jimmi then read a warrant report which had been signed and approved by Mayor Wise, and pointed out the fact that the document had been done thoughtfully and with point. The second document he read was from Marshal Nim following the capture and charging of three suspects. He highlighted the fact that the marshal had been given a task to do by a county judge and then collected statements for the defense. It was a request that the case against Serenity, Carl and Sam not be taken to the court. 

He then read a statement from the doctor who treated Marshal Nim. Jessica said that in her professional opinion, the marshal was still under the influence of morphine and may not have been able to get a posse together. 

Finally he read a report from Elihu Root, stating that soldiers have the authority to patrol the territory and ensure the safety of its residents. Civilians found to be engaged in criminal activity may be arrested by soldiers and either turned over to civil authority or taken to the stockade until civil authority can claim them there. Any person arrested by soldiers must have an arrest report submitted to the commander within twenty-four hours. Jimmi pointed out that nowhere in that official letter did it say that a soldier could deputize a citizen for the capture of a suspect. 

The defense then called its witness, Carl Anderson, to the front. Ella asked him to explain for the court his part in the events. Carl explained that he had seen Marshal Nim gunned down and Wedge was there as well. Wedge asked him, Serenity and Sammy to help so they headed for Ghenna. There, Jack and Johnny were there and Serenity and Carl went to the undertaker’s where Johnny was standing. Serenity yelled for him to get out and then there was a shootout outside with Sammy, Jack and Wedge. Jack was gunned down and Johnny ran. At this point, Serenity was after him and shot him and he fell off the hill and died. After that, they ran to see if he was okay but Johnny was shot and had a serious fall and was dead. Serenity stole all his items and his guns and then left them with the body. 

Ella asked if he followed Wedge to help bring the man in and he said that he did. She also confirmed that Serenity was ahead of him and shot Johnny and stole from him and he affirmed that question as well. She then asked if Johnny’s wife was anywhere around when Johnny was killed but he said that she was not. 

In his cross examination, Jimmi pointed out that Serenity was after Johnny and shot him and he fell off the hill and died. Carl affirmed it and then Jimmi went back to his seat, filled with anger that the entire courtroom could see. 

The prosecution and defense gave their final statements and then the jury went to the room to deliberate. We didn’t take long and came out to give the verdict of not guilty.