"That's too much sugar for a dime!"
Bowing once he then clapped his hands twice and gave a silent prayer, thanking the spirit of his wife for revealing herself to this young woman so she could tell him what she saw.
Herschelina didn't know what the heck the Japanese man was doing but it looked kinda important and sombre, so the girl closed her eyes and bowed her head, just like she did in church.
"I do not think you are nutty, quite the contrary," Shintaro responded after finishing his brief prayer. "What you have told me has removed a heavy weight from my heart and filled me with inner peace."
The little black-haired freckled maid nodded and gave him an unaccustomed smile, glad she'd told him about the incident, now.
"Say, you know Mister Takahashi, if'n you are thinkin' of stickin' around these parts, I hear Mister Baur's hiring..." in her accent she pronounced the man's name like 'Barr' "... and I reckon he won't mind you not bein' a white man cause..." she looked round and whispered the scandal "... he's married to a Injun squaw!" she gave him a knowing nod.
Though he was running low on funds, he hadn't thought much ahead of what he'll do once his wife's murder was avenged. He certainly didn't want to return to the home he and his wife had in San Francisco, it would feel far too empty to him without Okashi there with him. He also had no job to return to and he doubted he would be able to resume his schooling, giving so much time had passed. No, there was nothing in San Francisco for him other than bad memories. He had his wife cremated as was custom to his people and he kept her ashes with him, not wanting to bury her till he knew her spirit could finally rest after her murderer saw justice.
Kalispell wasn't a very large town and he would miss the Asian market in San Francisco but this was where his wife's spirit had been seen by the young woman before him. Perhaps here was where she will like to be laid to rest, something he could think about later as he really didn't know the town yet.
"I will keep it in mind," he said, realizing he was being rude by not answering the young woman promptly. As she hadn't offered her name he didn't want to make her uncomfortable for not having offered it earlier. "I haven't decided if I will remain here, especially now that my reason for coming has been accomplished."
"If you excuse me, I should be going," he said, bowing slightly then taking his leave. If he did decide to stay he would need to find lodging somewhere clean and affordable or find a place out of town to set up camp.
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
The crowd dispersed, Speed stood for the moment, the weight of Boyd's death weighing on him. He had not shot to kill. He meant to wound Boyd, to stop him from taking another life as he started back into the house, he heard Takahashi say he was leaving so he waited, he had an idea that might work out for the man. It was clear that he was a long ways from home.
When he saw him in the doorway, he said, "Take you up to the saloon? Buy you a beer, I think I could use one myself." He said. "Everything here is under control, believe the lady will be alright, as well as her housekeeper. Took a nasty blow, she did."
As he was leaving the house Shintaro spotted the Marshal as he wrapped up dispersing the crowd. He paused when the Marshal spotted him and came his way.
"You are most kind to offer," Shintaro responds with a slight blow. "But now isn't the best time. With my wife's murder avenged, there are things I need to tend to ensure her spirit can rest."
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"Yes, of course, my apologies." Speed offered. "But when you have time, stop by the office, lest you're riding out after you do what's necessary." The man interested him; he saw something that just might benefit Kalispell. Be it a deputy in town or maybe the County Sheriff. There was a strong sense of justice in what the man believed, and the least he could do was talk with this fellow and offer it to him.
If the man took the job with him, then it would be night work, which, before Mister Boyd's nocturnal forays, had been a quiet job for the most part. He would have to wait and see if Shintaro Takahashi was even considering settling there or not, but to ask would do no harm.
"I do not know what I will do after," Shintaro admitted. Ever since his wife was murdered, his only goal was to see her murderer punished. In a way the Marshal's quick shot to Boyd's shoulder prevented him from the hard decision of whether to kill Boyd with his own hands or simply subdue him so he was no longer a threat to anybody. Yet he wondered if he would have honored his word not to kill if he had been alone with Boyd and the life of another woman was at stake? Unfortunately it was a question he couldn't answer. He needed to be alone, to calm his inner doubts. Only then would he be in the right state of mind to decide where to go from here.
"Once I decide, I will come see you Marshal," he added, once more giving a bow of respect before taking his leave.
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"Fair enough. You know where to find me. And we'll have that beer then. SD[peed said with a smile, offering his hand to the man who needed his time to make decisions that were just not clear to him at the moment. He hoped Shintaro Taklahashio would stay in town, whether he took the offered job or not
"No rush, whenever you feel up to it. I've got several irons in the fire, but I'll have time when you do." He said, smiling.
Yet he was bothered by Boyd's death. He should have been disabled, sure, but he did not expect the man to die like that. He was not a killer, though he had killed when he had to. It was a part of the job, but this death bothered him. It just should not have been that way; that was not his intent. He, too, would need some quiet time to reflect on what had happened. The strangler was dead, Shiontaro's hunt was over without his having to kill anyone to see justice done.