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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 3939977" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Two-hundred-forty-one, “Wyatt Earp Testifies” , Monday, June 19th, 2:15 P.M. Kate was back at the school. It was the afternoon session now and the children were working individually on things that interested them or things they needed help on. Kate caught Mr. Gonzales eye and nodded, and when he finished talking to his student he walked over to her. "Job is doing well," she whispered. "I stayed and read him what was in the paper. He said he'd hoped selling his part of the Lady was a bad dream. He remembers Fisk, Adair, Chumbley, and Bernice there when he did it. Also, Colin Turner." Gonzales says, "Hmmm, not much I can do about that given that we need to keep my skills secret but I can go talk to Father Valdez, the fact that he uses priestly magic is known and accepted. Maybe he can help to rectify this situation." Kate tried desperately to remember if she'd told her teacher about Kevin Tomlinson and his real purpose for being in Promise City, but couldn't. Well, she'd be telling him anyway. He was the one person she truly trusted to keep those sorts of things to himself. She says, "He might be able to help. I told Job I'd talk to Kevin Tomlinson as well and see if there was anything he could do. Is there something our skills could do? I understand we can't; the fate of the Lady isn't really a dire circumstance even if it feels like one. I'm just curious." Gonzales says, "Okay, Tomlinson is busy over at the Earp trial but you might get to talk to him if or when they take a break." "They have to stop for the day at some point. I noticed you didn't answer my question," she smiles. "But that's alright, I'll ask it again in private. She then says, “I told Job about the bet involving the Lady, too. I wasn't going to be he'd find out I knew later anyway. He must trust Jake a great deal, he just said he hoped Jake knew what he was doing." Gonzales replies, "I have always hoped that Mr. Cook knew what he was doing as well, as of now I am still very uncertain." Kate exclaims, "Grandpere, I never know what I'm doing and you still love me. His intentions are good. I hope things quiet down soon, I'm starting to feel a bit ragged. Half the town has me married in the next month," she laughed. "I need to hide for a while and let people quit talking about me." He states, "Fear not my little bird, based upon the newspaper I would say that today everybody will only be talking about Mr. Earp, probably tomorrow as well, and then once the results from tomorrow's election is known all they will be talking about are the seven winners." Kate says, "Let's hope the winners are people we can live with. I haven't done nearly as much for the elections as I'd have liked to, but then I'm not a candidate. Once the party was formed it was time to let the candidates lead. After all, they're the ones who'll have to do the work, not me." A few minutes later Nate Caudell came in to talk about the elections. Mr. Gonzales went on his way and Kate settled in to listen to the lesson on the democratic system. There were many small things she'd forgotten that he was able to remind her of. Back over at the Earp trial, Attorney Upton then calls for the defendant Wyatt Earp to take the stand. Upton says, “Let’s begin with the 1st of this month. Why is it that you were at the Crazy-8 Ranch that morning?” Earp says, “I had gone to Katherine Kale’s ranch south of town to check on the status of her brother Henry whose life I had saved in the Tombstone fire and noticed some men spying on the ranch from the hill southwest of it. I mistakenly assumed they were out to harm Mrs. Kale so followed them when they left. One of them was Clifford Allman, and we now know that he was there spying on the adjacent Perez Ranch for the Hooded Riders group that he was a member of. I followed him and his companion Denny Garvin back to the Crazy-8 Ranch.” Upton says, “And what happened next?” Earp replies, “Allman went into the ranchhouse with Ken Wagner while Garvin rode out a short ways to talk to Gordy Bryson. Marshal Berg and Deputy Martin rode up to the pair of them. I was on a hillock around two-hundred yards away and could not hear their conversation. The lawmen had not drawn their weapons and were taken by surprise as Bryson and Garvin drew on them.” Upton asks, “Your weapon was not out prior to that?” Earp replies, “No, I had not gone there to kill anybody. But I wasn’t going to just sit back and watch the current Marshal and his Deputy get murdered.” Upton says, “So you fired at them?” Earp replies, “No, I waited a short while for Berg and Martin to try to defuse the situation. Ken Wagner rode out from the ranch then without drawing a weapon so I had hopes things would dissipate. But Garvin and Bryson instead readied their weapons to fire, leaving me no choice.” Upton says, “And the one who was lowering his gun?” Earp says, “He did not start to do so until after I had fired. I was a distance off. I suppose that I could have waited, but if I had that would have left him with enough time to have killed one of the lawmen. I wasn't going to take that chance.” Upton says, “Moving forward to the 8th, describe the altercation with Mr. Ordway.” Earp says, “That was like the first time in that I was following men who I saw spying on ranches. I had continue to do that since the 1st and has also seen them watching the Phillips Ranch, which was later rustled. I assumed this was a cattle rustling scheme headquartered out of the Crazy-8 Ranch following the owner’s death.” Upton says, “So you were essentially conducting an investigation?” Earp replies, “Yes, to hopefully uncover enough evidence to then get back the information back to the town lawmen through a friend of mine who I had been meeting up with every-other-day or so.” Upton says, “So what happened with Mr. Ordway?” Earp replies, “He took me by surprise. He and Nick Thayer had ridden off in the direction of Ordway’s mountain mine so I assumed that was their destination. Thayer apparently rode on, but left Ordway guarding along the trail at the base of the mountain. He was perched atop a large rock and my first notion of his presence was when the shot fired and my horse collapsed to the ground.” Upton says, “And what did you do next?” Earp replies, “I lept from the saddle and rolled on the ground as Ordway took another shot at me. For him it was like a turkey shoot, with me lying on the ground like that and he took a third shot as I draw my revolver. That shot barely missed my head and the next one would surley have killed me, but I fired first and he fell dead from the rock.” Upton asks, “What did you do then?” Earp replies, “I found where Ordway’s horse was tied up nearby and high-tailed it out of there. I knew Thayer was still in the area and would have heard the shots so sticking around didn’t make a whole lot of sense.” Upton asks, “And you kept Ordway’s horse?” Earp replies, “No, I returned it to his ranch and then continued on my way on foot. I am not a horse thief.” Upton says, “Please describe to us the events of Thursday, June 15th.” Earp says, “All of my investigations kept linking back to the same place, Hamilton Fisk’s Liberty Party, so I began watching their headquarters hoping to maybe piece something together from the comings and goings of the people there. I saw Deputy Chester Martin and his deputies enter Fisk’s house and then heard gunshots a few minutes later. A group of armed men then charged out of the Liberty Party Headquarters and I was certain the Deputy and his friends were going to be caught in a crossfire, so I fired on and hit the first two of them.” Upton asks, “There were more than two in that crowd, why didn’t you fire on the others?” Earp says, “There was no need, they turned to run back inside the Liberty Party building. I wasn’t trying to kill that bunch, I just wanted to protect the lawmen.” Upton says, “And what followed?” Earp replies, “Vaughn Palmer followed, although at the time he was wearing Bronco Madson’s face. He saw me and threw a powerful wizard spell at where I was, causing the hill around me to explode in flame. I had ducked down between the rocks which shielded me from most of it but my clothes caught fire so I stripped them off. My gun started to cook, so I left them. I then figured since he could throw spells that covered large areas from a distance hiding was out of the questions so I went on the offense and ran towards him. Probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done, running unarmed at a wizard in my birthday suit. He threw another fireball at me, this one missing me and hitting Slade’s dynamite shed instead. The explosion followed. I guess the gods were looking out for me as the explosion sent me flying and I wound up with just a dislocated shoulder and a few bruises while Palmer was blown to bits. I would have been blown to bits too if I had been closer to Palmer when the dynamite went up.” Upton says, “So to be clear here, you are saying that Palmer died as a result of his own carelessness?” Earp replies, “Yes. I had always heard that wizard magic was dangerous stuff to fool around with, I guess he proved that. When he died I was naked, unarmed and still a short distance from him, so I am curious to know exactly how the prosecutor feels that I killed him? Vaughn Palmer died accidentally by his own hands.” It was now 3:30 P.M. and over at the school the children went chattering outside. Emery Shaw was still coming by to pick up Emily every day, so Kate went outside and looked for him. He was striding down the street as she came outside. "I wanted to wish you luck tomorrow," she said when he arrived. "And ask if there is anything I need to know about going on tonight. Otherwise I'll be at the El Parador." Shaw replies, "No, not that I know of. Vera is holding a party for her friends and potential voters over at Drover's but it's less informal than a real rally. Between the Earp trial and the Van Horne tournament things will continue to be busy. I just stopped by the trial a few minutes ago, Earp is testifying in his own defense right now." Kate states, "Seems I've spread myself too thin again. I'll have to stop by the Lucky Lady later and check on things, but since Mr. Booth the elder will likely leave tomorrow, I'll spend most of the night at the El Parador for a send off. I think I'll go hear what Mr. Earp has to say for himself. It's probably quite interesting." Emery Shaw and his niece Emily accompany Kate over to the town hall and the three of them sit in the back as Attorney Elihu Upton is questioning his client. Upton asks, “Mr. Earp. Before I ask my final question of you would you please tell the court what my instructions were to you regarding your cross-examination?” Earp replies, “You emphasized to me that since the first of the charges against me took place on May 31st that I shouldn’t answer any questions regarding events prior to that. This court hearing today is about ten specific murder charges and that I should only waive my Fifth Amendment right regarding questions about my actions from that day onward.” Upton says, “That is correct. This is a murder trial, not a fishing expedition. Mr. Behan has brought specific charges regarding a sixteen-day period beginning on May 31st and I have instructed my client to answer questions relevant to that time frame. If Mr. Behan chooses to use his cross-examination to bring up extraneous matters or to seek to incriminate my client on other charges I want the jury to be aware that Mr. Earp’s refusal to answer such questions is solely due to my instructions to him and is in no way his choosing to be evasive or of any admission of guilt to whatever Behan postulates.” Upton turns back to Earp and says, “My final question to you concerns the first murder that you are accused of, Mr. Claude Buckley. Undertaker Dick Lester had determined that the murder took place during the afternoon of May 31st. Can you please tell the court where you were during that time frame and if there were any witnesses who can corroborate that?” Earp replies, “Yes, I spent that entire day on large hill in the Chirichua range around two miles southeast of here.  It was the property owned by Hamilton Fisk where the United States Army had made their encampment in January prior to the peace treaty with the Apache. There was a witness to that as from mid-morning until almost sunset I was in the company of a young woman who I deeply love. Her name is Josephine Marcus.” Behan’s jaw drops upon hearing that revelation. Upton says, “Thank you.” He returns to his seat. Kate lifted her eyebrows and whispered almost inaudibly to Emery, "I'm surprised, they were keeping that very quiet." Judge Isby tells Behan “You may question the defendant now sir.” Behan turns and glares at Miss Marcus who gives him a icy stare back. He then approaches the chair that Earp is seated in and says, “How long has this love affair with Miss. Marcus been going on?” Earp says, “I have been advised by my attorney not to discuss matters that occurred prior to May 31st.” That response angers Behan who exclaims, “So you’ve been carrying on with her for quite some time?” Earp replies, “Prior to May 31st of this year.” Behan states, “And this is a serious relationship?” Earp replies, “Yes.” An increasingly agitated Behan then asks, “And you believe that she feels the same way about you?” Wyatt Earp says, “Yes.” Behan says, “So you are saying that she is biased towards you, wouldn’t that therefore making her a non-credible witness where she would have every reason to lie?” Earp says, “Deputy Martin had a similar concern about her being my alibi so he took her to Father Thomas Valdez. Based upon that interview the priest both Valdez and Martin were inclined to then believe her.” Behan looks to the Judge and says “Objection, the results of truthfulness spells are not permitted as evidence in court.” Judge Isby replies, “Mr. Earp made no reference to any spell, you could make any number of inferences from his answer.” Behan turns back to Earp and states, “You are a married man Mr. Earp, so are admitting to a love affair in violation of your sacred wedding vows. If you cannot be honest to your wife then how can we trust that you are being honest to this court?” Earp replies, “I am unmarried. My brother Virgil has the court-documented divorce papers if you would like to see them. And as far as honesty is concerned you were quoted in the paper as saying this trial is about justice and not your own personal vendetta against me. But you have now asked me a half dozen questions that are unrelated to any of the men you accuse me of killing, instead all you appear to only care about is my relationship with your former fiancé. How is that not personal?” Emery Shaw whispers back to Kate "Now you see why, that revelation has totally thrown Behan off his concentration and hurts his credibility too. I'm not sure if Upton, Earp, or Marcus thought to do that but it seems to have worked." "His obvious bias certainly won't help his case. Miss Marcus would have known him well enough to know how he'd react," she whispered. A flustered Behan says, “My questions relate to the first man killed, Claude Barkley.” Earp says, “I believe you mean Buckley. I did not kill him, I was miles away at the time. Nor did I have anything to do with the deaths of Colin Hunter, Nicholas Thayer or Stephen Wicks.” Behan yells “Be quiet! I haven’t asked my next question yet!” Earp remains claims and sits patiently waiting. Behan then asks a number of questions related to the deaths of Morgan and Warren Earp which Wyatt Earp refuses to answer for the previously stated reason. Behan attempts to get Earp to admit that he blamed the Cowboy Gang and people rumored to belong to it for his brothers’ deaths. Earp again refuses to discuss events prior to May 31st. Behan says, “But you do admit to your armed surveillance of the Liberty Party Headquarters where you considered your brother’s killers to be at.” Earp says, “I was conducting a continuing investigation. I spent time over a few days watching that building, during which each of the men who you accuse me of murdering came and went several times. If murdering them had actually been my goal I had multiple occasions to accomplish that task but did not. As to my being armed at the time, the fact that Mr. Ordway ambushed me a week earlier shows that there was a genuine need for me to have the means to protect myself.” Kate tried to keep her face impassive at the mention of Morgan Earp, but she had no idea if she succeeded or not. "This is not going well for Mr. Behan," she said, still keeping her voice down. Emery whispers back, "Perhaps, look at the expressions on the faces of the Jury. Earp has Darla Peacock, Temple Morand, Estaban Fuente and and Rudy Baines eating out of the palm of his hands. But Sherry Winston and that Fritz Meuller both appear to hate him. It's hard to read the other six." Behan continues to badger Earp for another ten minutes on the details of the five shootings he has admitted to but at no point do any of the details change or provide the prosecutor with any indication that it was pre-planned. Upton calls as his final witness Miss. Josephine Marcus. He asks her about Wyatt Earp’s whereabouts on the 31st of May and she briefly explains that he was with her from mid-morning until into the evening. She also states that the primary reason he had remained in the area was because of her presence in town. Behan opts to not cross-examine her. The defense rests. Kate looked at the jury and tried to see what Emery saw, but reading people's expressions was not one of her strongest suits. "Well, that was over quickly. I thought the trial portion might drag on a day or two." Shaw whispers back, "Probably better that it didn't, Upton's keeping Earp to only talking about what transpired this month probably shortened it considerably, not to mention greatly helping the case."</blockquote>

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