“No,” Kate answered first. “I’m sure they weren’t from around here. No one I’d seen at church or in town leastways.”
Jolie pulled her lower lip into her mouth. If she’d known the murderers, she would’ve told him first thing. He moved on to the next question.
“Did your pa have any enemies?”
Kate shook her head.
“I just don’t understand why anybody would do such a thing.” Jolie sniffed. She was working herself into another cry.
Kate looked down toward her feet.
“What are you thinking?” Jed asked.
“Well…it’s nothing.”
“Sometimes nothing turns out to be something.”
Kate picked up her cup and took another swallow of coffee. “The neighboring rancher wants to buy up our land. Pa’s been resisting for a long time. Do you think this could’ve been the work of hired guns?”
“Don’t you go saying things like that, Kate!” Jolie reared up. “Those kinds of accusations are liable to get you in trouble.”
Hired guns had been Jed’s first guess.
“The sheriff asked about enemies.”
“Pa didn’t have any.”
These girls were at each other’s throats for some other reason, Jed realized, something the killing of their pa had made worse.
“Miss Crowley, I understand your concern but I’ve got to know what we’re up against. I’ve got to interview this neighbor to make sure he isn’t involved.” He turned to Kate. “What is your neighbor’s name?”
Jolie shuddered.
“Mr. Silas Purdy,” Kate said.
“I’ll stop by his ranch and see if he knows anything about this. Did your pa have any other disputes? Someone in town? Maybe someone from another part of the territory?”
“That’s all,” Kate said. “Purdy wants to buy us out. He’s been pretty persistent.”
“What about you, Jolie, do you know of any other disputes your pa might have had?”
She shook her head. “I can’t say that I do. I knew about Mr. Purdy’s offer but I tell you, I—Mr. Purdy is one of the nicest men you’d ever want to meet.”
Kate scoffed.
Her sister cast her a look filled with venom. “I happen to know Mr. Purdy’s not a violent sort of man at all. That family don’t settle their differences by killing.”
Jed nodded. “I appreciate how you think highly of the man and I’m not saying he was responsible. I just want to ask him a few questions.”
“Will you keep us informed about what you find out?” Kate twisted her hands, showing a case of nerves for the first time.
“Of course, Miss Crowley.”
“Is there anything else you can think of?”
Both girls shook their heads.
“I almost forgot. Here’s something you should see.” Kate reached into a deep pocket of her apron and pulled out two shell casings.
He rolled one between his thumb and finger. He was right. “Looks like the shots came from a .45 revolver. Thanks for saving these. I’ll be on my way now.”
“Thank you,” Kate said. He’d no doubt she would be all right but the younger sister had him worried.
Jed pushed back from the table and stood. He’d better find that foreman before the trail went cold.
“What will we do now?” Jolie said. The poor girl kept shooting glances toward the room where her father’s body was being kept until the coroner arrived.
Jed didn’t like the idea of two girls being out here on their own. “You can come into town. I’m sure one of the church women will take you in.”
“No, Sheriff.” Kate frowned. “We’re staying put.”
Jed donned his Stetson. Seemed to him the women of the territory had a stubborn streak and he wasn’t about to start an argument. He nodded to both of the girls. They had each other. That would be enough for now.
“I’ll go see your foreman.”
“I’ll go with you,” Kate said. She rose to her feet.
Jed didn’t like the idea of having her along. “I reckon his ears are still burning from the tongue-whipping you gave him.”
Two spots reddened her cheeks. “Maybe you’re better off talking to him alone.”
“Yes ma’am, that’d be best.”
They were on the way to the front door when Jed heard the sound of a horse on the road.
Jolie jumped and Kate swiveled to Jed. Jed pulled his gun from its holster and gripped the door handle.
“You expecting company?” Jed asked.
“No, we never get company,” Jolie said.
“You girls lay low,” he said. Both stared at him wide-eyed. Kate put an arm around her sister.
The horse stopped and whinnied. Jed opened the door a crack.
Who had come a calling but Miss Carly Buchanan.
What the hell was she doing here?
Jed wasn’t the only one taken aback by the visitor. Mack, coming out of the barn, stopped short and gaped.
Jed opened the door and stepped outside.
“Will you take a look-see at who’s here?” Mack said, coming up on the porch. “It’s one of the whores from town.”
Jed bristled. On any other occasion, the two men would’ve exchanged angry words. The two girls were at his elbow, staring as if they’d seen a ghost.
Carly was dressed demurely in a high-necked shirt and a short velvet jacket in green. A woolen skirt covered her gorgeous legs to the top of her boot. She wore a top hat and veil that covered her face to the chin. Even with the veil hiding her finer attributes, he could tell she wasn’t painted, and she’d shucked her bawdy jewels. Even her hair seemed subdued, pulled back into a neat roll at the nape of her neck.
She sure was a sight to see.
Jed strode out to meet her. He reached up to help her off her mount.
She lifted her veil and cast him one of her smiles. “Why, Sheriff Poole, you are too kind.”
Damn if she couldn’t make him hard with just a look.
He lifted her out of the saddle and set her firmly on the ground. He caught a whiff of her scent, something flowery and light, something a town lady would wear.
“You seem surprised to see me,” she said as she straightened her skirt.
“That I am.” His mouth twitched. She had no idea how much power she held over him. He’d like to spend all day trading sweet talk with her but this was neither the time nor the place for a flirtation.
The Crowley girls waited on the porch.
Carly didn’t waste any more time and stepped forward. “I am so sorry to hear about your pa.”
“Don’t reckon they want your sympathy,” Mack said, his lips so tight across his teeth, the blood had run out of them. “And I don’t reckon these ladies want you in their house.”
Kate gaped at him with her mouth open and Jolie just stared.
Carly took the foreman’s disrespect in stride. “I apologize if this is an inconvenient time to pay a call. I only wanted to offer you a bit of comfort. I brought you some things I thought you might like to have.”
She turned to Jed. “Sheriff, would you be so kind to unload the basket I brought with me?”
Their foreman stepped between Carly and the girls. “Take your basket and yourself off of this property. Now.”
Carly sighed, managed a soft smile and looked fixedly at Kate. Jed couldn’t believe her kindness, her persistence even after Mack’s insults. Carly had a whole lot more class than she was recognized for. She might be a saloon dolly by trade but she had more poise and grace than a pack of town ladies.
“I’m dreadful sorry for your loss. I don’t mean any offense coming here.”
Mack laughed. “I don’t reckon you don’t. Now get out off of this property before you spoil these ladies’ respectability.”
The hurt that flashed in Carly’s countenance was more than Jed could handle.
He lashed out at the foreman. “Now see here, mister, that’s no way to treat a person who’s come to offer these girls
condolences.”
“These girls don’t need nothing from this saloon gal and never will.”
“Shut up, Mack.” The dark look in Kate’s eyes flashed a warning she was about to say something far worse than she’d let loose already on the man.
“Dad wouldn’t want us to treat anyone unkindly. It’s not the Christian way of living.” It was Jolie who’d spoken this time.
The girl had dried her tears, Jed was happy to see, and dug deep for the grit she’d need to survive this untamed land.
The foreman spat on the ground.
“Thank you, Miss…?” Kate spoke ladylike.
“Buchanan, Miss Carly Buchanan.”
“We are very much obliged for the basket.”
Jed untied the basket and carried it to the porch. He smiled. Kate Crowley could be as mean as a snake but she’d not lacked hospitality when it counted.
“If there’s anything else you need, you just ask.” Carly spun around and sashayed back to her mount.
Mack snorted.
Jed ignored him. It would’ve given him a great deal of satisfaction to choke the snot out of the man. The town fathers might frown on such an action.
He helped Carly back into the saddle and muttered, “You shouldn’t have come.”
“I wanted to be helpful.”
“Thank you for coming all the way out here,” Kate said. “We appreciate your visit.”
“You can come again,” Jolie added. “We’d be pleased to have company.”
Carly settled her leg around the horn. There were tears in her eyes.
“I’ll see you in town,” Jed said to Carly. It’d taken courage to come to the ranch but he never doubted she had guts.
She took the reins. “That’d suit me fine.”
Her horse stomped the ground, ready to get back to his feed, no doubt.
Carly leaned down. “Did they get a look at the hombres who did this?” Her voice was no more than a whisper. She didn’t want the girls to hear.
“The older sister saw them but she didn’t recognize them.”
Carly shot a look at the girls. “That’s too bad.”
“Don’t you worry, I’ll find them.”
“I’m sure you will.” She straightened.
He wondered about the question. How had she known there was more than one killer?
She turned her horse’s head and started down the road. She rode with her back straight and her head held high.
Jed watched until she disappeared around a bend. He’d like to have gone with her, but he needed to take a look around.
“I’m dreadful sorry about the way Mack talked to Miss Buchanan,” Kate said.
“She’s from one of the saloons in town?” Jolie asked.
“That’s right. She owns the Lonesome.”
“Is she a friend of yours?” Jolie asked.
Jed exhaled. He hadn’t thought of what they had together as a friendship but why couldn’t it be?
“I reckon she is.”
* * * * *
As Carly bounced down the empty road, she cursed herself for coming out to the Crowley place. She’d put on this getup and posed as a concerned neighbor. Those girls needed more than a saloon dolly to see them through the tough days ahead.
Her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She had to know if the two customers who’d been bragging about killing a man had been the desperadoes who’d done in Mr. Crowley. The oldest girl had seen them, Jed had told her. No doubt, she’d be able to recognize them if they came back to town.
Maybe Tucson had seen the last of them. Maybe not.
She reached town at last, with a sore patootie and a cramp in her leg. Mr. Trumbull met her in the yard of the livery. He grabbed hold of her horse’s bridle.
“Did you have a good ride?” he asked.
“I hadn’t realized how long it’d been since I was on top of a horse.” She lifted her leg over the horn and slid off the saddle. It was a relief to have solid ground under her feet.
The old man chuckled.
“I appreciate the loan,” she said. “Next time I get a notion to go anywhere, I’m taking a buggy.”
Mr. Trumbull shook his head. She hadn’t told him where she was going, which was just as well. She didn’t want to explain the whys and wherefores of her visit. Those questions would be on everybody’s lips when they found out where she’d been.
She hobbled back to the saloon. The dry air sucked every drop of moisture from her body. The heat this time of day kept folks off the streets. The mercantile was closed until four o’clock. She’d have to come back later to pick up her package of corsets.
When she pushed through the swinging doors, she saw Gladys flinch and drop something atop the bar. The dolly took one glance at Carly and then hurried up the stairs.
Carly went to the bar to see what had caused Gladys to jump. The girl could be secretive. O’Dell’s letter was still there. It’d been sitting unopened for the better part of a week. She picked it up. Why didn’t she just read the damn thing to the others and get it over with? They all blamed Carly for Big Jim’s poor treatment of O’Dell. She could’ve spoken up when O’Dell needed her, but she didn’t. Who wants a coward for a friend?
After her treatment of O’Dell and with her not answering for so long, who knew when a letter berating her for exactly what she was would come along.
She ripped the letter into tiny pieces and flung them into the sawdust. Some things were better left to the past.
* * * * *
Jake’s conversation with Mack didn’t prove to be valuable. The man had been cleaning out stalls when he heard the shots. All that he’d seen was a cloud of dust. Jed didn’t like the man but didn’t find any reason to think he was lying.
He spent the next hour investigating tracks in the dirt. He came across a horseshoe. The shoe could’ve come from the nag Carly borrowed from the livery. He’d ask Mr. Trumbull when he returned to town. Then he’d ask the blacksmith if anyone had rode into town on a horse that’d thrown a shoe.
One other thing nagged at him. Maybe it was nothing, but how had Carly known there was more than one killer? She’d specifically asked him if the Crowley girls had recognized the hombres—plural.
How had she known or had it only been a lucky guess? He didn’t recall the wrangler who’d rode into town with the news Crowley had been shot mentioning how many killers there were.
The coroner arrived with his wagon. Jed helped him load the body into the back, adjusting the sheet to cover Mr. Crowley completely, as if in death the man needed privacy. Both of them said a quiet prayer for the poor man’s soul. Mack didn’t show—too humiliated by Kate’s sharp rebuke or too ornery, Jed couldn’t say.
“I’ll be leaving you now,” Jed told the girls. “You want me to send someone out from town to stay with you?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Kate replied crisply.
“Won’t be any trouble.” Genuine worry prompted the offer. Those two men who’d shot their father could come back—although he doubted they would—and they’d have no protection.
Kate planted her hands on her hips. “We’ll manage.”
“I don’t think those men will return.” Jed shifted his feet. “They got what they came for.”
“We put Father’s loaded Winchester by the door,” Jolie said. “We both know how to use it if the killers return.”
Jed tipped his hat. He’d no doubt at all they could handle a weapon and wouldn’t be shy to use it. But two men bent on killing would be more than they bargained for.
Of course, they had Mack to defend them. Jed huffed. The son of a bitch would be, no doubt, useless in a fight.
He bid the Crowley girls farewell. He had two murderers to catch.
Chapter Eight
Carly returned to the mercantile to pick up her package. Mr. Finney guessed right away where she’d gone. He’d sold her the basket of dry goods.
“Does Jed know who the murderer is?” he asked as he set the bundle on
top of the counter.
Carly shook her head and kept tight lipped about what she’d seen out at the Crowley ranch. She didn’t want to talk about a man killed in cold blood and two daughters left grieving.
“I imagine those two girls will go back East where they belong.”
Carly scoffed. If they didn’t, what choices were open to them? The ranch didn’t look prosperous and that foreman of theirs would be gone by the end of the week. Those girls seemed scared. Did they understand how close they were to becoming saloon dollies? If they had family, then that’s where they belonged. Perhaps her life would have been different if she’d had a family to turn to. As a businesswoman, Carly picked up on the girls’ curvy figures and pretty faces, but she didn’t want this life for them. And truth be told, it was partly her fault their pa was dead. She’d known those boys were up to no good, that they were after blood, and she did nothing.
“I’m sure I don’t know,” she told Mr. Finney. She grasped her large package awkwardly in her arms. “If you’ll excuse me, my ladies are waiting for these new corsets.”
Mr. Finney colored up and coughed.
Carly left him to his embarrassment. She knew the entire town would be talking about the murder and most would pay their calls in the next day or two to comfort those girls.
Carly was glad Jed was there to protect them until arrangements could be made to send them to relatives. He struck her as the kind of man who would leave no stone unturned. Would he ask her what she knew? What would she tell him?
Just thinking about all of this brought on a fierce headache.
The Lonesome was nearly empty at this time of day. Alvin wasn’t at his usual place behind the bar. Four drovers played cards at a table in the corner. From the smell of them, they’d been on the trail for some time. Their glasses were empty. She put her package on the bar and picked up a bottle of whisky.
“You boys look thirsty,” she said. She filled their glasses, noticing how her hands shook. Damn. She was going through withdrawal from the elixir.
One of them glanced up from his cards. “Howdy, Miss Carly.”
Another one grabbed her wrist. She pulled away. “Aw, come on, darlin’. This cowpoke needs a little loving.”
“Sorry boys but I’ve work to do.” She sashayed over to the bar and picked up her package.
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