Charity by Paulette Callen Read Free Book Online

Gustie was surprised. “Who? What did he want?”
    “Said his name was Steven Springer.”
    Something was familiar about that name, but she couldn’t place it. Lena twined two fingers around a bar.
    “What did he look like?”
    “Don’t know. Couldn’t see him. The sheriff could tell you that.” Will’s hand drifted to the bar just above Lena’s fingers. Gustie knew it was time to leave them alone.
    “I’ll ask him then.”
    She left Will and Lena touching fingers through the iron barrier between them and slipped back into Dennis Sully’s office.
    “Someone was looking for me?”
    “Yup.” Dennis made a sucking noise on his teeth and turned to his deputy. “Fritz, you wanna go down to Olna’s and get our dinner? I’ll take the beef and gravy, Will the same. Extra biscuits for him.”
    Fritz said, “But it’s early yet...”
    The sheriff got official. “Don’t want her to run out of biscuits. Go on now.”
    “Yup,” Dennis repeated as Fritz closed the door behind him. “Know a Steven Springer?”
    “No. Not that I can remember.” Gustie sat in the same chair Lena had sat in the day before. She frowned. Something about the name nagged at her unpleasantly.
    “What did he look like?”
    “Pretty fancy duds. Suit, hat, gloves, all to match. Must have cost a penny or two. Said he was from Pennsylvania.”
    Gustie felt a coldness at the back of her neck. “Did he say what he wanted?”
    “Well, he wadn’t exactly lookin’ for you. He was looking for somebody else he said you was with. A Clarice Madigan.” The sheriff saw Gustie go white. “You all right?”
    “I’m fine.” She asked again, “What did he look like?”
    “Kind of pale all over lookin’. Thin. Beady blue eyes.”
    Gustie felt herself trembling and hoped the sheriff wouldn’t notice.
    He did. “You sure I can’t get you something? Have some coffee. It’s bad, but it’s wet.”
    “No. Yes. I’ll take a little. Please.”
    He poured her half a cup. “Thank you,” she said. She gripped the cup tightly.
    “You know this guy?”
    “Yes. His name isn’t Springer.”
    “Didn’t think so.” The sheriff took a sip of his coffee. Gustie took a sip of hers. It made her own coffee taste like spring water.
    Dennis gave her time before he asked, “What’s his name then?”
    “Madigan. Peter Hawksworth Steven Madigan the Second, to be precise.”
    “You mean there’s another one like him?”
    “No, probably not anymore.”
    “Just a joke. Bad one. Where’d he get Springer from?”
    She knew now why the name Springer was familiar. “His mother’s maiden name.”
    “You know a fair bit about him.”
    “What did he say, exactly?”
    “He said he was looking for this Clarice Madigan. That she had taken something that belonged to him.”
    Gustie’s blood surged in the opposite direction flushing her throat and face, burning the roots of her hair. She growled, “He’s a liar.”
    “I thought that, too.”
    Another pause.
    “He her husband?”
    “No.” Gustie placed her cup on the desk.
    “Are you in any danger from this fella, Gustie?”
    “Not the kind you mean, Dennis. Nothing you can help me with.”
    “You sure?”
    Lena came through the door, her face a picture of bewilderment. “Dennis, Will says the judge is coming tomorrow. I thought you said next month.”
    “I got a wire this morning. He’s early. Don’t know.”
    “What are we going to do?” Lena was ready to panic.
    “Will will have to stand for the hearing. The judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to hold him over for trial or not. If there is, he’ll set bail, maybe. If Will pays it, he is let out of jail to wait for trial, which would probably be the next time the judge comes through.”
    Gustie looked at her friend and knew exactly what she was thinking. There was no money for bail or anything else.
    “I’ll take you home,” Gustie said, getting to her feet.
    Lena just nodded and sucked on her forefinger. Already she was