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and is on Grady's land." He paused before adding, "My brother and I have an abiding interest in keeping the water open to all of the ranchers around. In this case, that means supporting Grady Hawks' claim. Call it stability, if you want."
    So they're not bosom buddies. Just a case of you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours. Jewel was aware of the tension in the Indian, almost a force that touched her.
    Judge Conklin rejoined the conversation. "The Double-Q and Hawks Nest are the two biggest spreads in this part of Texas and control open range and watering rights for half the smaller ranchers in the area. As things stand, that's good for everyone." His voice took on the sharpness of outrage. "Couple years back, there was a concerted effort to tag one of the Quince brothers and steal the Double-Q. Hamilton and his brother Ambrose held firm and beat the bastards back."
    He paused here, looking askance at his own words, "Pardon my language, ma'am,"
    he nodded at Comfort and then, hesitantly, at Jewel. "This year there's a Business Consortium headed by a banker named Alan Michaels." Whatever else the judge was saying was lost to Jewel in a surge of panic.
    The name Alan Michaels, itself, made her dizzy and sick. If these people were in a war with Michaels, they needed more than her help.
    Finally, understanding clicked into place. Dear God in heaven, tell me Frank didn't try to blackmail Alan Michaels. Jewel remembered his whispered apology, He knows …
    sorry.
    What does he know, Frank, what does he know? Did you try to blackmail him? Alan Michaels shot a man in cold blood. Surely you weren't stupid enough to deal with the devil?
    If Alan Michaels was in the area, she needed to leave with her daughters and get as far away as possible. Fear sharpened her voice. "Make whatever point you're skirting around, Judge Conklin. It's been a long day, and I have travelling to do tonight."
    Jewel didn't bother to be polite to the long-winded jurist. Her voice was a whip of command. He responded with a look of new deference.
    "Hawks is a breed"—he nodded apologetically at Grady and continued—"You know, part Indian. Something like a quarter or such, right, Grady?
    "It was only last year or so that the Comancheros burned out Buffalo Creek and the renegade Apache, Mangas Colorado, attacked Eclipse. Everything was fine as long as Henry was alive. But…"
    He cleared his voice twice, looking away from Grady Hawks uncomfortably. "Grady needs to marry white, so he can prove himself loyal to the ranch community hereabouts."
    She looked closer at Grady Hawks. Except for the blue-gray eyes, he looked pure Indian to her, but one drop or full-blooded, it made no difference to her. There were more savages in the west than the Indians.
    "I don't see how any of this concerns me, or the death of my husband."
    She called them back to the reason they'd hauled her in here and addressed the man who now seemed the center of everyone's focus. "I need to be on my way. Mr. Hawks, I can't feel sorry for your troubles. As you've heard, I have my own. I see no way we can be of service to each other."
    It was her guess that until recently, the judge wouldn't have wasted the spit in his mouth to douse a fire on Hawks or her. But at her words, he set forward on the edge of his chair.
    "Awful strange, you being pulled back to Eclipse, on the same day your husband Frank is found knifed in an alley using a blade belonging to Grady Hawks. On the surface, it seems like one or the other of you must have had something to do with it."
    Jewel tensed. An accusation of murder sounded like it would be the next sentence from the Judge's mouth. "Arrest me for the murder of my husband, or shut up about it."
    Now that she knew the children were safe and on their way, she was emboldened.
    She didn't consider why the knowledge of Grady Hawks at her back made her fearless.
    She listened to the conversation, biding her time till Emma and Amy arrived.

Chapter Four
    Hamilton Quince