Tamsin tried to remain calm. She answered each accusation fully and with dignity. Some truths rang harsh in the courtroom.
'You admit to this jury that you went to Mr. Steele's stable with the express intention of stealing two valuable thoroughbreds?' the prosecutor asked.
'You don't understand,' Tamsin began. 'These were my-'
'Answer the question,' King said.
'It's not possible to steal my own-'
Judge Marlborough rapped his gavel on the table. 'Yes or no, Mrs. MacGreggor.'
Tamsin bit back a peppery reply and said, 'No. I did not.'
King smiled. 'Then why, may I ask, were you trespassing on property you had specifically been ordered to stay-'
'I think you should ask Judge Steele what he was doing there in the middle of the night,' she replied.
'Objection,' King protested. 'The defendant is evading my questions.'
Tamsin felt hotter and hotter inside the layers of clothing and boned corset Dimitri's wife had insisted she wear. The black silk taffeta folds of the flounced dress with its high collar and tight waist smothered her. Sweat beaded on her face and collected in the hollow of her upper lip. If she didn't get off this witness stand soon, she'd faint.
'Mrs. MacGreggor. Mrs. MacGreggor, you will answer the questions put to you by…'
The judge droned on, but Tamsin forced herself to sit straight and keep watching the members of the jury. She shifted her gaze from one to another with what she hoped was an honest demeanor.
'Your honor,' Dimitri said. 'I believe my client is unwell. Could you grant a short recess?'
'Objection,' King said. 'This is my witness. There's no need to delay this jury-'
'It's all right,' Tamsin said. 'I'm fine. I'm ready to proceed.'
King continued with his grilling for nearly an hour; then finally she took her seat at the defense table and Ash clasped her hand.
'Good work,' he whispered. 'You'd have my vote for innocent.'
Dimitri put a finger to his lips, warning them to silence as Sam Steele's weeping widow took the stand.
King's demeanor toward Sarah Steele was totally different from his manner with Tamsin. He spoke softly, sympathetically. He asked only a few questions, then excused her.
As she stepped down, the widow Steele's gaze met Tamsin's. Quickly Sarah looked away, but not before Tamsin saw her flush.
'She knows more than she's saying,' Tamsin whispered to Dimitri.
Next, King called Edwards from the livery to testify as to Tamsin's behavior the day she found her horses missing.
Tamsin listened in disbelief as Edwards described two totally different animals that she supposedly left in his care.' He's lying!' she cried.
'Order!' Judge Marlborough declared. 'Hold your tongue, woman, or you'll be removed from my court.'
'Like I said,' the stable owner continued, 'that woman left an old mare and a black gelding, neither one worth spit. The kid what worked for me, Javier, claims she came back that night with a man that matches the description of the outlaw Jack Cannon and took the horses away. Next day, she starts yellin' she had blooded stock…'
Ash stared at Edwards, then whispered in Dimitri's ear.
Tamsin's lawyer jumped to his feet. 'Your honor, this man isn't-' King turned and glared at Dimitri. 'This is my witness. Mr. Edwards-'
Ash stood up. 'That's the problem, Judge. That's not Edwards on the stand. At least that's not his legal name. He's really Ed Jackson out of Kane's Crossroads, Missouri. He's wanted by the authorities there for horse stealing, extortion, and barn burning. I also believe he should be charged with Javier's murder.'
The witness leapt up, overturning his chair, and fled up the steps behind the judge's table. Pandemonium erupted as Sheriff Roy Walker and Ash both tore off after him.
The livery owner ducked into one of the rooms on the second floor. Seconds later, Tamsin heard glass breaking, then a gunshot.
The entire jury produced pistols and joined the chase. Women screamed, King cursed, and Sarah Steele laid her head on Henry Steele's chest and began to sob loudly. Judge Marlborough shouted for order, but no one paid him the slightest attention. Some of the onlookers pushed past the judge and ran upstairs; the rest spilled through the saloon doors into the street.
Dimitri pulled a derringer from his satchel, took Tamsin's arm, and escorted her through the confusion into a back office.
Buckson Marlborough followed, a Colt.45 in one hand and a bottle of good whiskey in the other. 'Don't think your client's going to escape,' he said sternly.
Dimitri motioned Tamsin to a chair and took two glasses from a shelf in the corner. 'Your honor-
The judge muttered and poured both glasses half full of the spirits. Dimitri clicked his glass to Marlborough's and took a sip.
Tamsin chewed at a fingernail and watched the door.
Two hours later, the trial resumed with a courtroom cleared of everyone but Ash, the sheriff, the accused, counsel, witnesses, the jury, and the presiding judge.
Sheriff Walker testified. 'Edwards… I guess his name is really Edward Jackson, is under arrest and being held in my jail for Missouri. He was apprehended by Morgan, who's claimin' the two-hundred-dollar reward. I'm also plannin' on askin' him some hard questions on the death of his stableboy, Javier Chispero.'
Marlborough glanced at King. 'Do you have any further remarks about that witness?'
King shook his head. 'No, sir. His true identity was unknown to any of us. Edwards-Jackson-has lived in Sweetwater for three years. We had no way of knowing-'
'Yes, yes, I understand that. Do you have anything else to say about Samuel Steele's murder?'
'No, sir. Prosecution rests.'
Marlborough grunted. 'I hope so. Dimitri?'
Tamsin's lawyer rose. His eyes were a little brighter, his stance somewhat rigid. Other than that, Tamsin thought, no one could have guessed he'd just downed five shot glasses of sipping whiskey, one less than the judge.
Dimitri gestured toward the empty witness chair. 'I'd like to call Mrs. Steele, if it please the court.'
The judge frowned. 'Not much, it doesn't. Can we get this over with, son?'
A pale Sarah Steele took the stand.
'Mrs. Steele,' Dimitri began. 'I won't make this any more difficult than it already is for you.'
She brought a handkerchief to her eyes and sniffed.
'Do you see my client?'
Sarah nodded.
'Is she a lady, would you say, Mrs. Steele?'
Sarah's reply was too low for Tamsin to understand.
'Could you repeat that, please?' Dimitri asked. 'Is Mrs. MacGreggor a lady?'
'I don't know.'
'You don't know.' Dimitri put his hands behind his back and walked over to the jury. 'I'm sure these gentlemen would have no difficulty in deciding that question.'
'Objection,' King complained.
'What's he doing?' Tamsin whispered to Ash. 'He'll antagonize them.'
'Shhh,' Ash answered. 'Wait and see what he's getting to.'
'Well, then, Mrs. Steele, would you describe yourself as a lady?'
'Objection!'
'Yes, I would,' Sarah replied. She was visibly trembling.
'Do you know what the penalty for murder is?' Dimitri asked quietly.
Sarah nodded.
