Whiskey Rose (Fallen) (24 page)

“
Oh my god!
I’
ll get the Sheriff
.
”
 
Matt heard someone on the stairs and he knew who was coming. He met her on the stairs and barred her path.

“
What happened? Let me by
.
”

“
No
,
” he said roughly.

“
What happened? Is someone hurt? Let me through
,
” she insisted.

“
Rose
,
” he said softly
.“
I
t’
s Dixie, sh
e’
s been murdered
.
” Rose gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.

“
No, she ca
n’
t be, let me by
!
”

“
I’
m not going to let you by, come on le
t’
s go back down stairs
.
”

“
No
!
” she yelled at him and pounded on his chest with the sides of her fists
.“
Let me through
.
” He pulled her tightly against his chest and she began to cry. He turned and bellowed to the other women.

“
No one touch anything. Go back to your room or down to the saloon and wait for the Sheriff
.
” He did
n’
t wait to see if they obeyed his orders he just escorted Rose down the stairs. He led her into the bedroom and sat her down on the bed. She looked dazed as tears silently streamed down her cheeks. He pressed a handkerchief into her hand
.“
Stay with me sweetheart
,
” he said softly. Fearing where her mind was going.

“
What happened
?
” He was tempted to refuse to answer but he knew she would
n’
t let him get away with that.

“
Her throat was cut
.
”

“
So there was blood, you would
n’
t let me up there because I ca
n’
t handle the blood
.
” The bitterness was clear in her tone.

“No.” She looked up at him finally. “I wouldn’t let you up there because you don’t need that image in your head. No one should ever see anyone like that but you definitely shouldn’t see your friend that way.” He saw understanding
and even relief in her eyes as she nodded. She started wiping her eyes with the handkerchief. Satisfied that she wasn’t going into shock, he quickly and completely dressed. Rose had put her shirt back on before she came out so she was presentable enough he pushed her shoes onto her feet and led her out into the saloon. All the women were grouped together, all were crying.

“
Huh, look a reason for a dozen handkerchiefs
,
” Rose whispered and he gave her shoulders a squeeze.  He sat her down in a chair beside Katrina so they could lean on each other.

“
Did anyone see anything
?
” Collectively they all shook their heads
.“
Does anyone know who she was with
?
” Again head shaking.

“
She was alone
.
” Someone said. He looked around until he found the speaker. It was another blond, he remembered that her name was Maryanne.

“
Are you sure
?
”

“
I talked to her just at closing. She was disappointed that she had
n’
t found her admirer
.
” The woman sniffed. He looked around at the room there were only women.

“
Was there anyone else here? Anyone that left because they did
n’
t want to be here when the sheriff got here
?
”

“
Walt left
.
” Raven said softly
,“
I walked him to the stairs and I turned to go back and tha
t’
s when I saw her
.
”

“
The door was open
?
”

“
Yes
.
” Raven bowed her head and began to sob into her hands. One of the other girls put their arm around her.

“
Anyone else
?
”

“
T- two left after you went back down stairs
.
”

“
Henry Barrow left about an hour ago. Just after closing
.
”

“
Keith Simmons left just before closing
.
”

“
I do
n’
t need to know who left before closing. I doubt they saw anything
.
” He himself had been walking around outside at that time and he had
n’
t seen anything.
 “
Alright, ladies, sit tight until the Sheriff gets here
.
”

Matt went back upstairs and made his way to the end of the hall. Examining the floor for blood or foot prints. Dixi
e’
s room was right at the top of the back stairs which made it really easy for the killer to get in and out. He found blood drops on the stairs and a blood smear on the edge of the door. It was too dark to see in the alley so he opted to wait until morning to look out there.

Dixie’s was not the first body he had seen. It wasn’t the first gruesome crime scene he had been to either but this was the first time he could think of that someone had been brutally murdered while he was only a few doors away. She hadn’t been dead very long her body was still warm and the blood, even the blood on the wall was still wet. He looked at the wall and the door the blood was on the back of the door. The door had been closed at the time of the attack. It appeared that Dixie had let her killer in and closed the door. He knelt and took a close look at the body. There was a thin red line on the side of her neck where it wasn’t covered in blood. The killer had taken the necklace. He looked around the room. He spotted a jewelry box and lifted the lid. There wasn’t much inside but there were a few pieces at least as valuable as the necklace that had been taken.

“
Matt, I got here as quick as I could
.
”

“
Hi Jack, thanks for coming
.
” Jack looked down at the body and sighed.

“
What a shame
.
” Matt watched Jack look over all the details of the scene. While writing notes to himself. Jack was a Ranger, still had the heart of a Ranger anyway. He was glad he was
n’
t dealing with a yokel Sheriff with no experience.  

Matt did
n’
t say anything letting Jack arrive at conclusions himself. Finally after he closely examined the body and the room he looked at Matt.
“
What do you think
?
”

“
I think she knew her killer, no one saw or heard anything. She might have been expecting him or he might have knocked but she let him in and turned her back and he cut her throat
.
” Matt said.

“
Yeah tha
t’
s pretty much the conclusion that I drew. I just have one thing to add
.
”

“
Wha
t’
s that
?
”

“
Whoever killed this girl killed Benji too
.
”

When the undertaker arrived Rose sent all the girls back to their rooms. They were all upset, as was to be expected,but sitting in the saloon just waiting for something to happen was
n’
t helping anyone. She hoped they would all get some sleep but that did
n’
t seem likely. She was
n’
t sleeping. She was pacing her room waiting for Matt to come back. She never thought sh
e’
d be so thankful to have him there.

Matt was
n’
t sure the door would be unlocked when he finally went back to Ros
e’
s room. If ever there was a time for a locked door it was now. But it was. He was
n’
t surprised to find her waiting up for him. She was sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up and her arms wrapped around them.

“
Y
a’
ll right
?
” He did
n’
t like the way she looked. She looked small and vulnerable. She nodded in answer to his question.  He sat down on the bed in front of her.

“
Do you know what happened
?
” Her voice was only a whisper.

“
No not yet but
I’
ll find out I promise
.
” She looked up and met his eyes and her head tipped to the side slightly.

“
Matt
.
” The word was an entreaty. She threw her arms around his neck
.“I’
m so glad yo
u’
re here
.
” He put his arms around her and smiled despite the sad circumstance. It only took a psychopathic killer in their midst for her to need him.

“
You really should get some sleep if you can,sweetheart
.
”

“
So should you
.
”

“
Sun will be up soon and I will be able to see outside. I might as well wait
.
”

“
Who would do this? Why her, she was so nice, I never evenheard her get cross with anyone
.
”

“
Sometimes i
t’
s not about that
.
” She pulled back and looked at him.

“
You know who did this
?
”

“
No
.
”

“
But you have an idea
.
”

“
Rose
.
”

“
Tell me
.
”

“
Rose I really do
n’
t know who did this or why yet. I have theories that I have to work through
.
”

“
Will you tell me when you know
?
”

“
That depends, you thinking of forming a lynch mob
?
” He teased but she was undeterred.

“
No
.
”

“
Yes
,
” he sighed,
“
I will tell you when I know
.
”

“
Promise
?
”

“
If you promise not to get involved
.
” She frowned at him and then her eyes widened.

“
You think it was someone here? Matt no one here would do that, they could
n’
t
.
”

“
Rose. The only thing I know for sure is that you did
n’
t kill her and I did
n’
t kill her. Like it or not everyone else is a potential suspect
.
” She sighed and laid her head on his chest. He was right and she knew it. At least she could trust him. She knew he was
n’
t the killer.

The only clue he gleaned from the alley was a bloody scarf, it looked as if it had been used to wipe off the murder weapon. Unfortunately, it belonged to Dixie so it wouldn’t help to identify the killer. He did have Jack show him where Benji’s body was found though. Now that he had two murders it might be a little easier to find the killer. Clearly Dixie wasn’t just a random stranger in the wrong place at the wrong time. The killer had sought her out, which meant that he might have killed Benji for a reason. The problem was he still didn’t know why Benji was in this town.  No one seemed to have seen him in the saloon.