“Do you see him?” she asked.
“Yes, there he is,” Smoke said, pointing to the lawyer, who was standing on the platform. His suitcase was sitting on the ground beside him.
“It looks like he is ready to go,” Sally said. “He has his suitcase.”
The conductor passed through the car, calling out. “Colorado Springs, folks. This is Colorado Springs. For those of you going on through, we’ll be here for half an hour. Colorado Springs.”
“I’ll go out and get him,” Smoke said.
“If the train is going to be here for half an hour, why don’t we all go out?” Sally suggested. “We can stretch our legs, and get a breath of fresh air. After a night of trying to sleep on those hard seats, it will feel good.”
“Cal, Lenny, you two want to stretch your legs a bit?” Smoke asked.
The two young men agreed, so all four got up and started toward the end of the car. Smoke glanced through the windows as they walked toward the exit, and he could see Murchison, anxiously watching each of the detraining passengers. Murchison saw Smoke and Sally as soon as they stepped down from the train, and he smiled at them as he waited for them to approach him.
“Hello, Tom,” Smoke said, extending his hand in greeting to the lawyer who had worked with him during the recent auction. “I want to thank you for answering my telegram,” Smoke said.
“I am glad to do it,” Murchison replied. “And as I said in my telegram—did you get my telegram by the way?”
“Yes, I picked it up in Denver.”
“Good. As I said in my telegram, I am willing to do anything you want. But listen, Smoke, are you sure you want me for this? I’m not sure I’m the best one for the job. After all, this is a criminal case.”
“Pearlie ain’t no criminal,” Cal said quickly.
“This is Pearlie’s friend, Cal,” Smoke said. He smiled. “Of course, he is our friend, too.”
“Cal, the fact that someone’s case is a criminal case doesn’t necessarily mean the person being tried is a criminal,” Murchison explained. “It is just a means of differentiating civil from criminal court proceedings. But I’m sure you know that under our system of jurisprudence, the accused is presumed to be innocent.”
“Innocent, yeah, that’s what Pearlie is all right,” Cal said.
“Why do you seem so hesitant, Tom?” Smoke asked.
“Because I am not what you would call a criminal lawyer.”
“Have you ever tried a criminal case?”
“Yes, of course I have, but it has been a long time since I did so,” Murchison replied. “I just wanted you to be aware of that so that, if you want to, you would have time to find another lawyer.”
“Are you willing to take the case?” Smoke asked.
“Am I willing? Well, yes, I’m more than willing. To be honest, I must say that I find the idea of trying such a case again intriguing. But the fact that I consider you a friend, and this case involves a friend of yours, does make it a bit intimidating.”
“Let me put it another way,” Smoke said. “If Pearlie is innocent, and I take Lenny’s word that he is, do you feel confident that you can do a good job for him?”
“Lenny’s word?”
“This is Lenny,” Smoke said, indicating the young man, who had initially hung back. “Lenny was there when it happened, and he saw everything. He is going to be your star witness,” Smoke said.
Murchison nodded. “Well, it helps to have a witness,” he said. “But to answer your question, yes, I am confident I can do a good job for him.”
“You are going to get him off?” Cal asked.
“I certainly intend to make every effort to get him off,” Murchison replied He turned his attention toward Lenny. “Tell me, Lenny, how did you happen to see this? Were you with Pearlie when this happened?”
“No, sir, I wasn’t exactly what you would call with him,” Lenny replied. “To be honest, I didn’t even know who he was then. I just happened to be in the saloon when it happened, and I saw it all.”
“You don’t know Pearlie?”
“No, sir. Well, I know him now, because I talked to him after they put him in jail. But I didn’t know him before all this happened.”
“Is that a problem, Mr. Murchison?” Cal asked. “I mean, is it a problem that Lenny didn’t know Pearlie?”
“No,” Murchison replied. “Quite the contrary, it is good. The fact that they didn’t know each other before will give more weight to Lenny’s statement. If they had known each other, the prosecutor could taint Lenny’s testimony by suggesting that it was being given to help his friend.”
They talked a bit longer; then the conductor stepped down from the train.
“Board!” he shouted loudly, and after a wave toward the front of the train, the engineer blew his whistle twice.
Murchison reached for his suitcase, but Lenny hurried over to pick it up. “I’ll carry this for you, sir.”
“Why, thank you, Lenny.”
Smoke and the others reboarded train, then returned to their original seats. Smoke and Sally sat facing forward, while Murchison and Lenny sat in the rear-facing seat across from them. Cal found an empty seat just on the opposite side of the aisle from Smoke and Sally.
As they started rolling out of the station, the conductor came through the car punching tickets. Murchison waited until the train was well under way before he turned to Lenny.
“Now, Lenny, as best as you can remember, I want you to tell me exactly what you saw,” Murchison said.
“I saw Billy Ray Quentin come busting in to the saloon with a shotgun. He shot at Pearlie, and even though Pearlie managed to jump to one side just before Billy Ray fired, he got hit by some of the shotgun pellets anyway.”
“Pearlie got hit? You didn’t tell us that,” Sally said, clearly disturbed by the news.
“Oh, there ain’t really nothin’ to worry about on that score, ma’am,” Lenny said. “He wasn’t hurt hardly none at all. Doc Urban, he’s a friend of mine, well, actually he’s a friend of my ma’s, he took the shot out and fixed Pearlie up real good.”
“So, Pearlie saw Billy Ray coming after him with the shotgun, and managed to jump out of the way in time to avoid getting killed. Is that what you are saying?” Murchison asked.
“Yes, sir. But Billy Ray, he raised up his shotgun and was about shoot again. That’s when Pearlie shot him.”
“As you can see, Tom, it sounds like a clear case of self-defense,” Smoke said.
Murchison chuckled. “If there is one thing I’ve learned in all the years I have been a lawyer, Smoke, it is that there is no such thing as a clear case of anything.”
“Well, you know what I mean,” Smoke said.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I don’t mean to be too hard on you,” Murchison said. “I’m just trying to fill you in on some facts. Where did this take place?”
“In the New York.”
“What? In New York?”
“The New York is a saloon in Santa Clara,” Lenny said. “I play the piano there.”
“Why, Lenny, do you play the piano?” Sally asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“How wonderful! I love music. I shall look forward to hearing you play.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’d like to play for you sometime.”
“You say the New York is a saloon,” Murchison said, continuing his questioning. “Did the shooting take place inside the saloon?”
“Yes.”
“How many others were in the saloon at the time?”
“I’m not sure exactly,” Lenny replied. “I’d say about twenty.”
“Twenty people saw the shooting?”
“Yes, sir.”
Murchison turned toward Smoke, with a big smile spreading across his face. “Maybe I was wrong,” he said. “With twenty eyewitnesses, this very well could be a clear-cut case.”
“There won’t none of the others testify,” Lenny said.