Irving Shaw. And that’s added to what you’re already charged with, the murder of Lucas Tuttle. How the hell you made bail with that hanging over your head is beyond me.”
“That’s bullcrap. I had nothing to do with any of that. And I sure as hell didn’t do anything to Mr. Shaw.”
“So you say, Archer. We have it on good authority that you were seen with him last night right here at this hotel. Then he was found nearly bled to death early this morning three floors down from your ass.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“They moved him to the big hospital over in Garfield. He’s still unconscious, not that you give a damn.”
“We were working the case together.”
“What case?”
“These damn killings.”
“Again, so you say. We don’t know nothing about that.”
“But I’m out on bail.”
“Not anymore you’re not. Not after what happened to Lieutenant Shaw.”
They hauled him out of his room and led him out the front in handcuffs.
Shortly after that he was behind bars in a holding cell.
They had found Shaw’s spare gun on him, which did not help his cause in the least.
Indeed, when they had found the .38, Bart had eyed him triumphantly. “Shot the man and took his gun. Don’t get any lower than that in my book.”
“Well, maybe you should read some more books then, Bart.”
That had cost him a heavy fist in the face and a bloodletting from his nose.
He sat on the bench against the wall of his cell, wincing from his shiner and pinching his nose. His facial injuries from his encounter with Draper hadn’t even fully healed yet. Archer took a deep breath and contemplated his options. That didn’t take long, because he really had none.
But then a tall, portly man in his late forties with slicked-back hair and wearing a gray three-piece suit and a tightly knotted blue tie appeared on the other side of the bars. He looked like a preacher or a politician, and Archer didn’t really care to be jawing with either one right now.
“Mr. Archer?”
Archer looked up. “Who’s asking?”
“I am Herbert Brooks, the district attorney for Poca City.”
Herbert Brooks. Archer recognized the name from the letter that Archer had found inside Tuttle’s shotgun barrel.
“That means you’re no friend of mine.”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“Come again?” said Archer, rising to his feet and coming over to the bars.
“It appears that Lieutenant Shaw’s current condition was due, unfortunately, to a previous injury.”
Archer’s brows knitted together. “I’m not following.”
“He was wounded in an altercation at Miss Jackie Tuttle’s house.”
“I know that, I was there. I stopped the bleeding and got him to the hospital.”
“Yes, however, the doctors did not realize that that injury had nicked an artery. Either through some exertion or otherwise on Lieutenant Shaw’s part, the nick turned into a partial tear of the artery. He nearly died from blood loss. He’s still unconscious and still not out of danger. We’re speculating that he realized something was wrong and rushed out into the hall for help and collapsed.”
“I hope to hell he pulls through. But then why did they arrest me for shooting him?”
“The police didn’t know what had happened. He had blood all over him. They thought he had been freshly wounded.”
“So am I free to go?”
“You are, and I’m seeing to that. But please keep in mind that you are still charged with the murder of Lucas Tuttle. And I must tell you in all fairness that I’m also thinking of charging you with the murder of Hank Pittleman. I can’t imagine, after studying the evidence, that Lieutenant Shaw did not arrest you for that crime as well. But you are not to leave Poca City under any circumstances. I understand that you have made bail, which again strikes me as quite unbelievable. But Lieutenant Shaw did not go through me for that. He apparently talked one of my underlings into agreeing to it. And while I would like to revoke your bail, since you clearly did not attack Lieutenant Shaw, I have no grounds to go to court and seek that remedy. But because of the unusual conditions, I have ordered that you be kept under constant watch. If you attempt to leave town you will be immediately arrested.”
“When will my trial come up?”
“Probably in a few weeks or so. I am putting together my case now and lining up my witnesses. It’s a little more difficult, what with Lieutenant Shaw being incapacitated, but we must push on, and the notes he took during his investigation