Now Playing: One Arm Lightning
New to these parts? To start the story from the
New to these parts? To start the story from the
Episode Twelve concluded with:
Buck Torveen sighed and
nodded his head. “The last time Wes was here, about a year ago, he goaded two
of his former school mates into a gunfight. He killed both of them. He wanted
to go after the rest but the sheriff at the time, Allen Hodge, stood in his
way. Sheriff Hodge had been kind to Wes when he was a boy and my brother didn’t
want to go up against him.”
Bertram Lowrie’s face crunched up before he spoke. “So, this number three was
Wes’ way of telling the men who had bullied him as a child that he had come back
from the dead in order to finish his gruesome task.”
Episode Thirteen
Rance
Dehner had to stifle a laugh. Lowrie’s voice remained cold and precise and yet
he still managed to convey absolute contempt for the notion of a ghost.
Rebecca shared Lowrie’s distrust of
the ghost theory. “That fool, Rob Laverty, is the only person who claims to
have seen Wes’ ghost. I don’t believe a word--”
Forrest Connors interrupted his
fiancée. “I’ve talked to Sheriff Laverty and I believe he thinks he is telling
the truth.”
Rebecca Torveen gave a loud,
contemptuous laugh. “You really believe my brother’s ghost killed Stanley
Wiggins and then fled out the door when our valiant Sheriff arrived on the
scene?”
Connors hesitated. “Well…”
Buck gave the two detectives a whimsical
smile. “Sheriff Laverty claims he saw Wes’ ghost. He says the ghost told him he
would shoot Laverty in the back. He couldn’t face him in a gunfight.”
This time, Rebecca’s voice was a
shout. “And this from the so-called lawman that ambushed Wes,--with the help of
my good brother, Buck!”
A silence fell over the room borne
more of exhaustion than animosity. Rance allowed everyone to get their emotions
back in check before he spoke. “I realize this is very hard on both of you.
That story about Pete Franklin inviting Buck and Wes over to his ranch, then
chasing Wes with a gun…he was a boy, of course, but…”
“If Buck hadn’t ridden off to get
Pete’s father who knows what would have happened.” Rebecca smiled wanly at her
brother. “Buck did a good job of standing up for Wes when they were boys. I’ve
never given him enough credit for that.”
“I
know we’ve been talking for over an hour, but Mr. Lowrie and I need to get
every shred of information we can if we are to prevent any more deaths.”
“Indeed!” Lowrie stood up abruptly
and, responding to his cue, so did everyone else. “We thank you for your
co-operation. Now, we need to move on. Mr. Connors, will you be returning to
your ranch soon?”
Connors shot his fiancée a
questioning look. “Well…”
“Fine!” Lowrie replied in a jovial
manner. “Mr. Dehner will accompany you. Neither of us is familiar with the lay
of the land around here and you can show Mr. Dehner the scenery, so to speak.”
“Ah, sure.”
“Meantime, Mr. Torveen, could you
draw me a map of how to get to the Franklin Ranch?”
“Yes, but--”
“I understand that Pete Franklin’s
mother is still alive--”
“Yes, but--”
“I hate to impose on her grief. Of
course, I know that her son, Pete, was killed by Wes in a gunfight. But an
interview is necessary. If you could please draw that map.”
Forrest Connors and Buck Torveen
both appeared confused by Lowrie’s orders. But Dehner noticed the slight smile
on Rebecca’s face. Rance figured Rebecca hadn’t smiled much since her brother’s
death. The detective hoped that he and Bertram Lowrie could help the young
woman in her grief and bring her some sense of justice being done.
Tomorrow: Episode Fourteen of One Arm
Lightning
