Whiskey Rose (Fallen) by Melissa Jones

key, her mother cared for the baby and she and Izzy ran the saloon to support everyone… wouldn’t it be easier to let her raise her own child? He sighed and shook his head to clear it. At this point none of this mattered. She could have as many alter-egos as she wanted as long as none of them had murdered Benji it had nothing to do with him. But there was still the question of Orin Kline. How was she involved with him? Was he the father? If he was , it certainly proved he was still alive.
     
    Ros e’ s heart was pounding with anticipation as she approached the house. She had only just dismounted when Martha opened the door. Somehow she always knew.
    “ I thought I would be seeing you soon . ” The older woman smiled. Rose rushed forward and held her hands out to the baby and Martha transferred him over.
    “ Oh Clay I missed you so much . ” She said and hugged the baby. He squealed and then stuck his drool covered fingers back in his mouth and continued to chew on them. She followed Martha back into the house. Just holding the baby made her feel better .“ H e’ s gotten bigger . ” She said softly .“ I t’ s only been a month . ”
    “ He cut two teeth . ”
    “ You did ? ” She cocked her head trying to see around the fingers.
     
    “ Harrison, i t’ s about damn time you showed up. I got a case a week cold waiting for your tail to get back here . ”
    “ Yo u’ re going to have to put someone else on it.I am working on something . ” Captain Henning gave him a shrewd look. He had been a hell of a Ranger in his time. Now he ran the D company. H e’ d gained a good thirty pounds, lost most of his hair and maintained the carefully cultivated moustache of a bureaucrat.  But he still had the intuition of a Ranger.
    “ Close the door . ” Matt did as he was asked then sat down in the chair .“ Sergeant I expressly told you not to investigate Be n’ s murder. So why do you look like a man on a personal mission ? ”
    “ Because I am investigating Be n’ s murder . ”
    “ Damn it Matt, give me one good reason why I do n’ t throw you out of my company right now ? ”
    “ Because I am the best yo u’ ve got especially now that Benji is gone . ”
    “ Yo u’ ve got the skill but it takes more than that to make a good Ranger. You have to be able follow orders or you might as well be a two bit bounty hunter . ”
    “ Tha t’ s not a bad idea, with the men I have brought in I could be a rich man off the bounties alone . ”
    “ Yo u’ ve taken your share of the bounties. You do n’ t do this job for the money none of us does . ”
    “ No I used to do this job for the honor, for the pride of being a Texas Ranger. I though it meant something. Turns out I could be lying dead in an alley and my Captain is n’ t going to lift a finger to find my killer.  But you can be damn sure my partner would have. Fire me if you have too but I will find Benj i’ s killer . ” Mat t’ s was nearly yelling, not something he would have normally done to the Captain, he had too much respect for the man. But this was too important.
    “ Have you found any leads that show Benj i’ s murder was anything other than a random act of violence ? ”
    “ Not yet . ” Matt said deflating somewhat.
    “ Then we have no Jurisdiction . ” The captai n’ s voice was almost apologetic.
    “ What if I told you Orin Kline is still alive. That I might have a lead on him . ” The Captain perked up sitting up in his chair.
    “ You think that butcher is still alive ? ”
    “ I have a reason to think so . ” The Captain stood up and walked to the window. He was quiet for a long time. Matt could almost see the memories filling him.
    “I was there that day. We had the place surrounded. Thought we had him for sure. He was holed up in a little sod shack down by the gulf. It caught fire, started on the inside. We expected him to run out but he d idn’t. They said it was suicide. That he would rather die his way then swing from