It took many days of mountain sunshine and the comforting routine of the bed and breakfast to blur the trauma of the Lucky Pup shooting. Peace of mind was accelerated by the presence of Martha, now a full-fledged member of Bird Song's nest. More than a week passed before the subject of Brandon Westlake was discussed in any detail. It was a blissful late afternoon and the Deans were alone in the kitchen-Fred had taken Martha to a movie- when Cynthia raised the subject.
"Brandon seemed really close to his brother Ralph," she said as she snapped the fresh green beans. "It would have been interesting to hear Ralph's side of what happened in 1941."
"I've thought the same thing," Dean answered. "I've wondered if it might have been Brandon, not Ralph who did the killing-or if the circumstances were far different than he related."
"What makes you think that?" she asked.
"Brandon's feelings about the event were intense, even after all those years. Far more so than his brother's. The killing plagued Brandon for a lifetime. He never got over it. And it reeks of guilt."
"Are you saying Brandon Westlake had some feelings-favorable feelings-for this evil pervert-his uncle?"
Dean just shrugged. "Suppose it was Brandon, acting alone, who killed the Blackie Rowland?"
"That wouldn't make what Uncle Rowland did any less terrible!"
"No, and it caused irreparable damage to at least Brandon, although there's no indication Ralph carried any scars. Brandon never married. Ralph had a wife and family. It was Brandon who kept coming back to Ouray year after year when you'd think the loathsome thing that happened here would cause him to despise the place. And his actions over the bones bordered on obsessiveness. He acted very irrationally about the entire business. And he loved Billy, perhaps enough to kill the man he thought caused Billy's death."
She finished snapping the beans and wiped her hands on the towel. "Perhaps it's best we never do know the truth."
July stretched into August, and just before the election, Jennifer Radisson spent her promised week at Bird Song. When told of the happenings at her mine, she said she would consider changing its name-it hadn't been "lucky" for anyone.
Randy Byrne was joyously married with mother Cynthia in proud attendance, attired in her Radisson original dress. Fred O'Connor and David Dean kept close tabs on the New Jersey nuptials via telephone. The wedding took place the Sunday before the election for Ouray County Sheriff.
Newly crowned heroine Lydia Larkin won the election by eight votes. Fred was devastated. David Dean took a certain amount of solace in the fact that the election was close, though he questioned her ability to handle the position. Truth be known, he felt a small measure of relief, at least until he opened the mail to a flurry of bills. Cynthia accepted the news well, first on the phone amid post wedding hubbub, and the next day when he met her stepping off the plane. Both knew they'd make do, only tight was becoming tighter.