"Good, we'll stop there first before we see to this new lawman." He assured her, An' yer my queen, I'll tell you that, an' that little Price yer holdin'. Be glad to put this all behind us, well, all except for settlin' up with Mister Tom Love. I'll take real pleasure in that." He said it before he thought about the words.
"Sorry, but I will, he wanted to hurt my family, though I don't know why, so there's a reckoning comin', count on it!" He said, the anger beginning to rise, but then subsiding as he added, "Didn't mean to get all wound up, jest happened naturally I guess." He pointed, Funny how town comes inta view long before ya get there, but we're almost on top of it!"
And they were now just a few minutes from meeting Sheriff Mark Harper, just down the hall from Speed's office.
Emeline wasn't necessarily surprised at Barnabas' vehement comments about Love, it was a struggle for her as well not to harbor ill will toward the man. And she truly did want justice, wanted the man locked away at the very least, so there was no longer a threat to her family.
But she was also worried that it might consume her husband, that he'd cross the line and wind up in prison himself...or worse. It was just another layer to the whole thing.
"Town does look so nice and peaceful from here," she commented, letting the other subject drop, "and it seems to be growing every time we come here. Pretty soon they're going to need a whole police force, and the streets will be paved properly, and we'll have gas street lights..."
It did seem like the little town was growing quickly, and if the railroad made it here, it would grow even faster, hopefully in a good way.
"I ain't so sure about all the amenities. Now, as far as it growin'? Absolutely! Gold, copper, silver, it's all here for the takin', 'course that means work, but what don't? I mean even the Lickskillet took work, and getting the ranch built took doin', though I had it built, given as I didn't have the time, washin' dishes and deputyin.' an all." He grinned, "'corse i wpi7u;dn't have it any other way. Us, galavntin' around San Francisco, an' Virginia City, an all."
They rolled into town and pulled up in front of the Municipal Building, where Speed was standing out front, leaning on an awning post, "Mornin' folks."
"Mornin' Speed." Barnabas said, turning, he said, "Dallas, you and the boys stay outta trouble. Have a drink 'er two, but no fights!
"Yes sir, Mister Pike. No fightin'." Dallas stated as he and the boys swung their horses around to cross the street to the saloon.
Barnabas suppressed a chuckle, "Can't hardly get used to the Mister Pike thing. So, let's get to it."
"Well, without a 'Mister' Pike, there wouldn't be a 'Missus' Pike, would there?" Emeline asked with a grin. "And that would be a bad thing, don't you think, Speed?" She let Barnabas help her from the buggy, then greeted, "Good morning, Speed. It was a beautiful ride out here, although the reason isn't so great."
She took a breath, adjusting her hold on Wheeler. "Is Alice in town? I'd like to ask her to watch Wheeler while we do this. Or I can have Angie look after him." She certainly didn't want to have to worry about the baby while she was telling her story, that was enough by itself.
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"Last I saw, she was in the office tyding up the place." Speed told her, nodding back toward the window, "Go on in, she'll be glad to see you."
"So, I would say you and I should go on back and see the Sheriff, but if I know the women, we'd best go with all three of us." He added. "I'm not real sure about him, we've spoken in passing but I have no idea what his orders are about anything. Though life is quiet these days, even Leah's bodyguards are holed up in that cottage of theirs or at Doc Danforths."
"Dang, I got jest ahead'a not havin' anything ta do." Barnabas said, faking dejection. "Guess we get Em an' go get this done an' overwith."
The two walked inside and stepped into the Marshal's office.
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Alice could see the Pikes arrive, and when they were up on the boardwalk talking with Speed, she couldn't help but wave for Emeline and Wheeler to come inside.
The moment Em came through the door, Alice rushed over and hugged her friend and began fawning over Wheelert. "Oh goodness, the boy is growing! It's so good to see the two of you. I just wish it weren't about this mess. I just don't understand people like this, whatever his name is. Speed found a wanted circular on him, but not from around here, over in California, for something or other. It just gets my blood boiling!"
"Alice!" Emeline broke into a wide as her friend hugged her, and sank into the embrace, fighting back emotions that were stirring again. But Alice distracted her with a comment about Wheeler, and Emeline stepped back, taking a breath. "He really is growing quickly, soon he'll be walking and then chasing around the ranch after his father!"
That Love had a wanted poster from California really said something about the man, and hopefully, Barnabas wouldn't underestimate him.
"I don't know what he wanted with us," she murmured with a shrug, "and it's all the more despicable that he used those people to do his dirty work. I want to feel some empathy for the young woman, but..." She shrugged. No matter how addled she might be, even a small child would know basic right from wrong. "I just want this behind us."
"It is one of those things that never seems to have an answer until the very end. If there ever is one. Alice said as the men walked into the office.
"That is true in a whole lot of cases." Speed said. "There's been many a murder, or an assault that there is no known reason for, then again, twice as many where the reasoning is well known."
"I don't know the man, at least I don't believe I know him. It could be that this is about someone else. But he and I now have a problem should we ever meet, and I believe that is coming." Barnabas said. "Well then, I guess it's time to see this new County Sheriff and clear the air."
"Mark Harper's his name, and he's right down the hall, so, yes, let's get to this." Speed suggested. Alice had Wheeler, so there was no need to delay this meeting any longer." Speed told them as he started for the door, Barnabas and Emeline following. "Shouldn't take long."
In a matter of steps, they were at his open door, "Sheriff? I have the Pike's here about the shooting at their ranch."
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Even though Emeline trusted Alice implicitly, it was still difficult to let Wheeler out of her sight. And that didn't help with her anxiety of going into the interview. While she knew that she should have been going over the details in her head to keep them fresh, she didn't want to continue reliving it. She'd spoken it once, and today would be the last, and in a way, she wished that Barnabas didn't have to be there, but she knew he needed to be.
Clutching her husband's hand in both of hers, she followed Speed, glad that this would be over soon.
Mark looked up from the papers he was working on. "Morning, Marshall," he said as he stood up and made his way around the desk.
Looking over at the two men, he nodded, "A shooting? Never a good thing to hear about. What happened?"
@ Flip
@ Bongo