Firefly (55 page)

He couldn't believe his ears.

Her response was not what he had expected at all.  For the past nine years Julie had believed the worst of herself; Morgan hoped one night might have changed that, but he hadn't dared to count on it, because in the past twenty-four hours or so she must have gone through a thousand years of torture.  God only knew what Wallenmund and her father had done to her to try to persuade her to their way of thinking.  She didn't look physically abused, but Morgan knew a lot of bruises might be hidden under that dress.  Besides, Julie was the type to suffer more from the mental torment Wilhelm Hollstrom practiced to perfection.

Whatever he had done, however, wasn't enough to destroy her this time.

"She's lying!" Wilhelm stormed, jumping to his feet.  He very likely would have attacked Julie, had Ted Phillips not blocked the way.  "She's lying!  I saw them together!"

There was such an uproar from the crowd that Booth had to rap repeatedly with the gavel before quiet returned.

"Mr. Hollstrom, this is my courtroom and I am asking the questions!" The judge shouted with every bit as much fury as the man being hustled back to his chair.  When Wilhelm was once again seated, Booth turned his attention back to Julie.

"Miss Hollstrom, are you or are you not charging that man--" he pointed with the gavel at Morgan "--with rape?  Remember, you are under oath to tell the truth."

"I remember."

"Well, then, did he or did he not rape you?"

Another murmur rose from the crowd, perhaps startled at Booth's bluntness, but it died quickly.  Julie stammered a bit as she overcame her own embarrassment, but when she spoke, her voice held steady with the strength of her convictions.

"No, Your Honor, he did not."

"Then he seduced her!" Wilhelm screamed, stirring the crowd again.

This time Booth had to wait until the commotion died of its own accord.  No one could have heard the gavel.

"You, sir," the judge threatened Wilhelm, "will confine yourself to speaking when requested to do so.  Another outburst and I will have you removed from the courtroom." Chastened, Wilhelm slumped in his chair.

"Someone is lying," Booth announced in a tone worthy of a revival preacher.  "I rode sixty miles to try this man, and his alleged victim now says nothing happened to her.  I do not like my time to be wasted."

He raised his gavel, but before he could bring it down, Morgan jumped to his feet.

"Another minute, please, Your Honor."

Booth favored the accused with a biblical glare, and not a whisper was heard in the courtroom.

"What is it now?  I'm prepared to dismiss the charges against you, Dr. Morgan."

Morgan breathed a sigh of relief, then chuckled quietly to himself.  He wondered if he was putting his head right back in the noose Julie had rescued him from.

"I don't want the charges dropped," he said.  "I want my name cleared completely, and Miss Hollstrom's, too.  Let her father make the charge in open court."

Booth pondered that request for a moment.  As a few whispers of speculation began to flutter through the audience, he had only to reach for the gavel to quell them instantly.

"All right, Dr. Morgan.  I've been called to this God-forsaken corner of Arizona to hear this case and hear it I will.  Miss Hollstrom, you are excused for the time being, but remember that if I call you to the stand again, you will still be under oath."

Ted Phillips jumped to take Julie's elbow and escort her to the chair between her father and mother.  Julie refused to jeopardize Morgan's future by looking his way at this critical moment and instead made herself meet the stare of the man who sat immediately behind the chair left vacant for her.  She would not give Hans the satisfaction of seeing her cower.  Demonstrating her own innocence and hoping that she thereby proved Morgan's, she held her head high.

The judge, after he had assured himself with a sweeping glance that his courtroom was in order, called Wilhelm Hollstrom to the stand.  Julie watched with a silent prayer as Ted Phillips held the Bible and Wilhelm solemnly swore to tell the truth.  She wondered if he would honor that oath.

Booth's initial questions were innocuous enough.  He asked for the usual basic information regarding name and business and relation to the victim, all of which Julie found impossible to maintain interest in.  The heat and her lack of adequate rest made her drowsy, and her mind started to wander when a familiar but unwelcome voice penetrated her consciousness and brought her back to reality.

Hans leaned forward and put his mouth so close to Julie's ear that when he licked his lips, she felt the wetness of his tongue graze her skin.  She shuddered, then his words made her stiffen.

"He will not leave this room alive, Julie," he hissed, barely audible even so close.  "You are promised to me, and I will not let you break that promise.  I warned you what would happen, and I swear to you, I do not break my promises."

She did not turn around, but she knew Hans had slid back on his chair and was now once gain staring at the back of her head.  She had not forgotten his threat, but having him remind her frightened her more than his initial promise.  A cold lump in the pit of her stomach spread a chill through her.  Had she done the wrong thing in declaring Morgan innocent, despite Hans' threat? her terrified heart asked her.

She had no answer.  More afraid and yet more determined than she had been before, Julie cleared her head of all such thoughts and focused her attention entirely on the present.

The judge had finished his preliminary examination and gone on to the details, for Wilhelm was speaking, venom in his every word.

"I saw them, Your Honor," he insisted.  "It was five o'clock in the morning, and they were walking together from his house."

"Did you actually see them leave his house?"

Undaunted, Wilhelm did not stammer or even hesitate in his reply.

"They came down the lane, and there are only four houses there.  I do not think they had been anywhere else but his house at that hour."

"Are you sure you can correctly identify the people you saw? Can you be positive it was Miss Hollstrom and Dr. Morgan, not someone else?"

"She is my daughter!  Would you not know your own daughter? It was not midnight; there was plenty of light to see.  She was wearing the same dress she has on now and a shawl.  He walked her to the gate in front of my house and after she went inside, he walked over to the porch of this hotel.  He was there when the marshal arrested him."

Morgan listened, knowing the man spoke the truth, for once.  He had hoped for lies, even little ones, but it didn't really matter.  Wilhelm had told enough lies already; Morgan would see to it that no one believed him even when he told the truth.

The judge, however, already seemed to have doubts of his own, or perhaps, Morgan thought, he was merely playing his role as advocate well.

"All right, Mr. Hollstrom, let us assume that you saw whom you say you saw.  What made you think that anything, shall we say, untoward had happened between Dr. Morgan and your daughter?"

There was, for a change, dead silence.  Even the paper fans stopped fluttering.  Julie held her breath and found a warm hand clutching hers under a fold of her skirt.  Something of the bond between her and her mother had survived; they clasped hands for strength and to show affection.

When Wilhelm spoke, Julie's reaction was a pale echo of the outrage that shook the entire ballroom.

"Morgan had shown improper attention to her on other occasions.  He seduced her away from her family and her betrothed, using his medical practice as an excuse to keep her out all night.  I was forced to stop her working for him because her reputation was becoming tarnished."

The gavel pounded loudly as shouts rose.  A dozen people or more leaped to their feet, their cries denouncing Wilhelm in an unintelligible jumble of epithets and oaths.  Julie heard more than one voice urge that her father be tarred and feathered for even suggesting that Morgan was anything less than honorable.  Winnie Upshaw's voice was among the most strident.

Ted Phillips finally restored calm and order and got the most vociferous protesters to return to their seats.  The judge, though he held more authority, could not command the obedience the marshal's sheer size could.

"Now, look, folks!" Phillips shouted with a voice that matched his physical proportions.  "Judge Booth is just doin' his job.  Every man's got a right to his opinion; we ain't a state yet, but we abide by the Constitution anyway, so Mr. Hollstrom here's got the right to his say.  Sooner we all shut up and let the judge get on with things, the sooner we can all go home and get back to work.  Dr. Morgan, too."

The scuffling of chairs and mutterings settled once again, but Phillips nodded to the two deputies who had come in from their post on the porch at the sound of the disturbance.  Lucas and Skip Jenkins brought their chairs into the lobby, where they would be just that much more convenient if another disturbance erupted.

Morgan, following the marshal's gesture, watched the two men take their places just outside the double doors to the ballroom.  It was near noon now, and they were probably glad to get in out of the sun anyway.  Warm as it was in the hotel, the porch would soon be as hot as the surface of a griddle, and Lucas and Skip would develop a new respect for fried eggs.

Judge Booth rapped once for attention and then addressed the crowd.

"I have had just about all the interruptions my limited patience can stand.  I warn you all: One more interruption of this sort and I will clear you all out.  Is that understood?"

Like a penitent classroom, the assembled townspeople mumbled their agreement, and silence reigned once more.  Morgan wondered with a wry smile just how long they would remember the judge's warning.

"Once again to you, Mr. Hollstrom.  Can you recall any particular incidents that would lead you to believe Dr. Morgan had made any overt attempts on your daughter's honor?"

"I am not sure what that word 'overt' means, Your Honor, but I think I understand your question." Wilhelm, too, seemed subdued, as though determined not to let his anger control him and distract the judge.  "Once she came home with her dress torn.  He is known to be a drunkard and spends much of his time at the house operated by the woman called Nellie."

"And who is Nellie?"

Ted Phillips answered quickly, before Wilhelm had a chance.

"Nellie's the local madam, Your Honor.  Runs a little whorehouse down the alley behind the general store.  Nellie don't bother nobody, and if it wasn't fer her profession, I'd say she was a right decent person."

"Thank you, marshal, for the information and your testimonial."

Phillips reddened a little and retreated to his post between the jury and the witness.

"One last question, Mr. Hollstrom.  Did your daughter ever complain to you about Dr. Morgan's actions?  Did she ever mention any acts of violence or threats of harm to her?"

For the first time, Wilhelm faltered.  His eyes darted from his daughter to the physician who sat so calm and confident on the other side of the room.  Yet he knew he must answer the question.  And Morgan, knowing the same thing, smiled.

This is a farce,
he laughed to himself. 
If it weren't for Julie, I would make this scheming snake crawl on his miserable belly.