but a month or so before the sale. Stayed in one of the rooms above the Red House.”
A quiet settled over them as they both tried to think of something hidden that they hadn’t seen.
“Becky said there was three men who witnessed it. Who was the third?”
Now it was the sheriffs' turn to pause as his eyes looked into Luke’s. “Cooper. Troy Cooper.”
Shaking his head, Luke took a calming breath. “Those Felton’s sure seem to turn up a lot. Especially when it concerns Becky’s ranch.”
Sheriff Reed shrugged his shoulders. “It ain’t her ranch no more. The bill of sale was legal.”
Luke’s brow furrowed. “After I kill Tom Johnson’s murderer, then we can start arguing who owns what.”
The man across from him snorted. “This town is filled with hard cases. I swear it’s mind-scrambling every day it don’t blow up. Drunk miners and drunker cowboys fighting in the streets. I keep telling the mine owners and the ranchers to spread out their paydays so we don’t get everyone in town at the same time. But they don’t listen. No one around here listens. If’n I was you, I’d be careful, boy.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Sheriff, I had the boy burned out of me at Shiloh. And three more years to make sure it stuck.”
The sheriff blanched for a moment then tipped his head in a silent apology.
“What about other robberies?” Luke asked, deciding not to make it more of an issue. “Has this happened before? Since?”
“Nothing like what happened to old Tom. Miners winning too much at the poker table might find themselves waking up in a ditch. Their pockets empty and a serious bump on the back of their head. The Cowboys are usually armed so they don’t get robbed as much. But then they ain’t any good at poker and their pay goes for whiskey and girls before they can get robbed.”
Luke shook his head. Nothing to go on. It was what he had feared.
“Someone tried to rob a stage a couple of weeks ago,” the sheriff added. “Not three miles from town. Big mistake with Chester Polk up on the box. And Slim Winters at the reins. Between Chester’s scatter gun and Slim’s Fifty Sharps. Not a well-planned moment. Especially when you add one of them Pinkerton men inside the stage. The three of them opened up before the heathens could finish their speech. Plugged one of them if Chester is right. They disappeared into the desert and ain’t been heard from since.”
“Any ideas?”
The sheriff paused. “Ideas, but no proof.”
That was it, Luke thought as he let out a long sigh. He had hoped for more. A starting point.
“You looking for work?” Sheriff Reed asked as he opened the top drawer of his desk and removed a shiny gold star. “I could use a deputy. And anyone faster than Troy Cooper meets the criteria.” He tossed the badge over, forcing Luke to catch it.
The sheriff raised an eyebrow. “If I was a betting man - which I am by the way. I’d say Union Army officer. So, I know you got the smarts.”
“You didn’t know some of the officers I knew,” Luke scoffed.
Reed smiled. “Can you read and write? That puts you in front of nine out of ten men in these parts.”
Luke nodded that he could read but still he hesitated.
“This town has gotten too big and too hard for one man,” Reed said. “Especially an old codger like me. What do you say? At least this a way, when you take out Tom Johnson’s killers. You’ll have the law behind you.”
Luke looked down at the star in his hand. He hadn’t anticipated this. It hadn’t been in his plans. Should he take it? But would that constrain him? Working for the law might stop him from doing the things that needed to be done. Rules might need to be broken if he was going to find the truth.
What would Becky think of him being a deputy?
“I ain’t planning on being here long. Just enough time to get Becky what is hers and justice for Tom Johnson. There’s a nice spread up in the Cascades I’ve been dreaming on for the last four years.”
Reed’s brow furrowed as he nodded slowly. “Let me know if you change your mind. I already talked to a couple of the town council and they’ll back me if you want the job.”
“I forgot how fast news travels in a small town.”
The sheriff grinned. “I knew about your run in with Felton before he