Zooey Pinkerton- a Daughter's Right Read Online Free Page B

shoulder. “Can we talk in private?”
    “Sure, alright.” Joshua turned
to place a hand on Zooey's shoulder. “Don't go anywhere until I
come back.”
    “What's wrong, Charlie? If this
has to do with Pops or the ranch I should know about it!”
    “It's a rather delicate matter,
Sheriff,” Charlie whispered aside his hand. “It's about the
woman…the cook over there at the ranch.”
    “Marta? What's happened? Did
they hurt her?” Zooey's heart was pounding wildly beneath her coat.
She couldn't bear the thought that her surrogate mother and friend
had been hurt.
    “It's okay, Charlie. Zooey was
there when they shot her father. I doubt there’s anything you can
say that will make her feel worse.”
    Joshua was surprised when the
bar owner removed his hat and stepped toward Zooey. Taking her
slender fingers in his, he said, “I'm sorry, Zooey. A few of
Sheriff Duncan's men brought her in. They found her on the road
near the ranch. She's hurt pretty bad.”
    “Is she alive?”
    Charlie nodded and wiped a bead
of sweat from his brow. “Barely, but Doc says he can patch her up.
She was beaten and well.... she was...”
    Zooey grew frustrated by the
silence “What is it Charlie? Please tell me. She was...is like a
mother to me. I have to know what happened before I see her.”
    “Damn it!” Charlie cursed as he
dropped Zooey's hand. “They hurt her bad after having their way
with her. You know what I mean Sheriff?”
    Zooey's jaw dropped and she fell
to the floor on her knees; her stomach retched. “They raped her?”
she sputtered.
    Charlie's pained look told
Joshua everything he needed to know. He bent low to help pick Zooey
up off the floor. “Come on now, don't fall apart now. She's going
to need you to be strong.”
    “I will get Tom Brennan, bounty
or not, and alive or not!”

Six
     
     
    Zooey felt her heart sink as she
and Joshua walked down the road. With no hospital within a day's
travel, Dr. Martin and his wife had set up two private rooms where
seriously wounded patients could be tended to before making the
journey out of town.
    The silence between the two was
deafening, but neither felt they had anything to say. Joshua was
seething that Tom Brennan had slipped through the cracks once
again. Zooey on the other hand, felt nothing but loss and
heartache.
    “I can almost understand killing
Pops,” Zooey finally said. “But why hurt Marta?”
    “Because he can!”
    Zooey shuddered. As cold as it
sounded, she knew Josh was right. It was not personal. A man like
Tom was all about power and instilling fear, plain and simple.
    Dr. Martins’ wife had the door
open before they could even set foot on the wooden stairs.
    “Oh honey!” she remarked as she
hurried down to gather Zooey into her bosom. “I am so sorry about
your father.”
    May Martin was a statuesque
woman with a full figure and silver hair drawn tight into a bun at
the nape of her neck. She was a handsome older woman with sparkling
blue eyes and a quick smile that would put even the most pained or
nervous visitor at ease.
    “Thank you, May,” Zooey sniffed
before wiping her nose on the sleeve of her coat. “How's
Marta?”
    “Come in and Albert will
explain. I'm glad you came too, Joshua. Zooey needs her friends
right now.”
    Joshua nodded. “I'm certainly a
friend, Mrs. Martin, but I'll need to speak with Marta if she's up
for it.”
    May wrapped her arm around
Zooey's shoulder and led them both inside the foyer. “I'll let
Albert know you’re here. Would you like some tea, Zooey?”
    Zooey nodded gratefully and hung
her coat up on the wall. She sat on a wooden bench located
underneath the coat rack and held her hands tightly in her lap.
Joshua watched her in uncomfortable silence, only lifting his head
when he heard the clicking of boot heels on the floor.
    “Zooey, Sheriff Duncan. Thank
you for coming.” Doctor Albert Martin was a rotund man, in his
early sixties, with green eyes and thinning white hair. He had a
kind face