'Yes. I think so too. They've stayed away from the big cities.'
'Sheriff Norton told me about the witness you had in Middleton.' Ryan
nodded. 'Luke MacFarland was his name. He happened to be walking past
the bank during the robbery. He told me he heard gunshots, but that he
was already looking in through the space between the window and the
shades because of something else he heard.'
'What was that? ' 'Laughter.' Cole wasn't shocked. 'I told you they
enjoy their work.
It's going to get much worse unless you stop them.'
'Unless we stop them, ' Ryan corrected. 'You're in this now.'
'Yeah, I guess I am.
Did Luke tell you how the people inside died? Did they make them kneel
down? ' 'No, they were taken into the back room and killed there. The
kneeling . . . that's new. So is the knife.' Ryan reached up and
began to rub the knot in the back of his neck.
'Damn, I'm tired.' Cole could see how exhausted Ryan was. 'You
shouldn't have slept outside in the rain. You're too old for it. '
Ryan smiled. 'I'm only a year older than you are.'
'How do you know my age? ' 'I know everything there is to know about
you.' If Cole was surprised by the comment, he didn't let it show.
'Why didn't you protect your witness in Middleton? ' 'I sure as hell
tried to protect him. Honest to God I did, but another robbery was
reported over in Hartfield, and I left to check it out.
Marshal Davidson was put in charge of Luke MacFarland and his family.
' 'Besides telling you that he heard laughter, what else did Luke
say?
' 'He could only see two men through the seam. One of them took his
mask off, and Luke got a glimpse at his profile. He didn't think he
could point him out in a crowd, though. He did say he was tall,
lean.
' 'Anything else? ' 'No.'
'What was Marshal Davidson doing while his witness was being killed? '
'He'd already gotten hit. He's going to recover, but it will take a
long time. The doctor dug three bullets out of him.'
