Black Ransom by Stone Wallace Read Free Book Online

with some bruising, but this wasn’t entirely new to her. She would simply file these
souvenirs
away under “hazards of the trade.”
    Still and all, Harrison was impressed with the little señorita Rosina had provided, and beyond paying her fee, which he left in a sealed envelope on the night table, he also supplied a generous gratuity, which Rosina would
not
share with the girl.
    Judge Charles Hugh Harrison returned to his hotel room before dawn feeling fully satisfied and ready to get down to the day’s business.
    * * *
    Ehron Lee Burrows had spent almost two weeks sitting in the town jail awaiting the arrival of the circuit judge. Shortly after his jailing, Ehron Lee was notified by the sheriff, Buck Leighton, that his wife, Melinda, together with her sister, Abigail, would be arriving by stagecoach later in the week to visit him. Although he desperately missed his wife, Ehron Lee didn’t want Melinda, just months from delivering the baby, to see him locked behind bars, a possible candidate for hanging. He urged the sheriff not to let her in. Sheriff Leighton wasn’t about to grant him that request; he was of no mind to deal with a determined female. He bluntly told Ehron Lee that there was no way he would keep her out if she insisted on seeing him.
    What Ehron Lee couldn’t know was that Melinda would not be the problem. His sister-in-law, Abigail, was so distraught over the death of her husband that her already fragile personality had become even more unstable.
    Yet when she first came inside the jailhouse, following after Melinda, she appeared calm and composed. She sat herself next to the sheriff’s desk and let Melinda have her time with Ehron Lee. She was quiet and didn’t react to the pain-wracked voice and the tears that streamed from her sister’s eyes as Melinda clung desperately to her husband’s hands when they reached outside the bars of the cell.
    They didn’t speak for long; neither knew what to say to comfort the other. Ehron Lee struggled to give her reassurance, but he could only tell her what he knew for certain—and that could not include his prospects for the future.
    â€œI’m innocent, honey, you gotta believe me,” he said. “And they shot Winston only ’cause he got scairt and tried to run off.”
    Ehron Lee couldn’t tell if she’d even heard him. Her features reflected a strain he’d never seen on her before, aging her beyond her tender years. She seemed to have trouble accepting any of what he was saying. It was almost as if she were struggling to find a safe place in denial.
    He tried to lighten the mood. He placed the flat of his hand against his wife’s slightly bulging tummy. “Baby’s doin’ just fine,” he said with a smile. “You gotta take care of yourself, honey, for the little one.”
    But at the mention of the baby, Melinda’s emotions became so overwhelming and painful for Ehron Lee to watch that he finally motioned for Sheriff Leighton to escort her from the jail. Surprisingly, she didn’t resist; she understood how difficult this was for her husband. Ehron Lee was grateful she had made the decision to leave without protest.
    He had barely collected himself before Abigail calmly rose from her chair and walked over to his cell.
    Ehron Lee attempted a smile, but Abigail’s expression was cold and rigid. He was familiar with her odd moods, but this was a look of pure contempt.
    â€œMurderer,” she said, her voice barely a whisper though heavy with intent.
    Then her pitch rose as she spewed venom.
    â€œLow-down filthy murderer! You never was no good, Ehron Lee Burrows. I saw it right from the start. You fooled everyone else, but you could never fool me . . .”
    Ehron Lee recoiled at the accusation. He tried to speak. “Abigail, what are you say—”
    She didn’t let him finish. “I know the truth. You enjoyed