Daniel grabbed her arm to keep her from going any farther. He stayed
by her side, but Cole had already moved to the center aisle and was
diligently searching the audience for signs of hidden weapons.
"He was in the bank. I saw him put his gun to the back of a man's head
and shoot him. I saw everything, " she shouted, "because I was
there.
" She was pointing at Bell when she made her accusations, but her
attention was centered on the woman who'd tried to kill Caleb and who'd
shot Marshal Cooper. Rebecca was shaking her head in denial as she
started to stand, then fell back against the chair. Her face was so
white she looked as though she were rapidly bleeding to death.
The crowd was going wild, the judge was pounding his gavel, and in the
fracas a young deputy in the back of the room shouted, "Those men are
armed, Judge." He then tried to bring his rifle up.
Before anyone in the crowd could summon a scream or dive for cover,
Daniel's gun was out, his arm fully extended, his target the center of
the deputy's forehead. The man hadn't even gotten his rifle past his
waist when he realized it was too late.
"Put the gun down, boy." The command was given in a deep, yet
surprisingly calm, voice.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cole had seen Daniel draw his gun on the
deputy and had already whirled around to face the only other men in the
courtroom who were armed. The sheriff was one, a deputy standing in
front of the side door was the other.
It was an instinctive reaction on the sheriff's part to go for his gun
as soon as his deputy shouted, but Cole had his gun trained on him the
second his fingers wiggled. Cole simply shook his head at the
sheriff.
The message was clear.
Rebecca frantically searched the audience for Donald. He had promised
her he would sit in the third or fourth row. She slowly slipped her
hand into her pocket.
The judge came out of his seat and leaned forward with both hands
planted on his desk as he roared, "What's the matter with you people?
Don't you know better than to draw on two U. S. marshals? Even I can
see their badges, and I'm as blind as a bat." Rafferty's voice lashed
out over the crowd and was so thunderous he was able to get through to
them and avert a panic. A collective sigh rolled through the assembly
as everyone calmed down. Several men chuckled with relief.
Rebecca was slowly bringing her derringer out of her pocket, holding it
steady in the palm of her hand with her thumb pressed against the
barrel. She found Donald quickly, he was sitting at the end of the
fourth row next to the aisle on her side of the courtroom. He was
close, very close, and as she watched him, he gave her a barely
perceptible nod before turning his attention to the deputy guarding the
side door on her left. She understood what he was telling her and
looked at Bell.
The judge took his seat, adjusted his flowing black robe, and squinted
at the assembly. They still appeared to be a little unnerved, and he