She went on out, leaving them alone in the small office. Schedules and promotional material cluttered the walls in front of the counter. Behind were two desks and five filing cabinets. The back door led to the corral and barn where the vehicles were worked on.
“Well, you’re looking more beautiful than ever, Amy.”
“A touch of the blarney in all Irishmen, as my aunt Mae used to say.”
“Well, remembering her husband, she married a man with more than a touch of it.”
They often joked about Amy’s uncle Dick. He was a decent man but a poor one. This didn’t stop him from always giving other poor people advice on how they could become wealthy. People always told him that if his advice was good he should take it himself.
Then Ned said, “Something wrong, Amy?” Studying her face now.
She put her hand out and he took it. She knew she was making a fool of herself but she couldn’t help it. She needed to reassure herself that everything in her little world was all right, safe. That Ned and she would finally get married and live out their lives together.
“I just got sentimental I guess, is all.” What she wanted to tell him was how much she feared for him. The whispers she was hearing. Her continuing distrust of Tom Cain.
He leaned across the counter and she met him halfway. They kissed.
“Well, stop in any time you get sentimental, Mrs. Peters. I’ll be happy to oblige you.”
Door opened. Bell above it rang. She felt color in her cheeks. Had Mrs. Riley, a professional gossip, seen them kissing? Apparently not, because Mrs. Riley’s scowl wasn’t nearly as deep as usual.
“Hope you’re having a good day, Mrs. Riley,” Amy said.
“I’ve had better ones,” Mrs. Riley said.
She was always such good company, Amy thought. If you liked complainers.
Mrs. Riley was one of those tall women who got too close to you when you talked so that you had to look up to her. She also tended to shout rather than simply speak. Apparently she had only two dresses she was willing to wear in public. A dark blue one and a black one. Shoulders and cuffs were white lace and they were belted in the middle. Today she wore the black one.
She set a small, carefully wrapped package on the counter.
“Now, Ned, I’m not necessarily blaming you for this but the last time I gave you a package to send, the wrapping string came loose. I would prefer that not happen this time.”
Even from the opposite end of the counter Amy could see that the white string around the box was already loose.
“I’ll be sure to take care of that for you, Mrs. Riley.”
Mrs. Riley glanced at Amy. “I consider you a very lucky woman to be engaged to Ned here, Amy. And I defend him every chance I get. As far as I know he didn’t have anything to do with that robbery or these terrible killings.”
Amy felt her face burn. Anger and embarrassment. “Well, that’s very nice of you, Mrs. Riley.” Wanting to spare Ned any further talk of the matter.
But Mrs. Riley wasn’t finished. “I know you need money for that farm of yours you should’ve given up a long time ago. If you had, Ned, people wouldn’t be so suspicious of you. That’s one thing. And as for the killings—I always say that Ned is a sweet little man. Some of my friends always wondered why Amy here didn’t take up with Sheriff Cain. He’s so handsome and strong and—well, manly—but I always say that Ned is a comfort. And maybe that’s what Amy needs at this time in her life.”
“That’s so sweet of you, Mrs. Riley,” Amy said, now more amused than angry. “And when people speak up against you, I’m always the first to say that just because she gossips and tells lies doesn’t mean that deep down she isn’t a very pleasant woman.”
Now it was Mrs. Riley’s face that flushed red. The blue gaze scorched Amy’s face. “I see. A decent woman offers her support to a man the whole town thinks set up that robbery and killed those three poor boys and you think it’s all right to mock her? Are you going to let her insult me this way, Ned?”
“Well, if she hadn’t, Mrs. Riley, I would have.” Ned picked up her small box. “The string is already loose. Just as it was on the last box. But this time I’m going to do you the favor of retying it for you.”
She snatched the box from his hands. “I’ll mail it. Ralph at the post office would never let anybody mock me.”
Lenihan’s Irish eyes twinkled with malice. “Maybe you don’t know what he says about you after you’ve gone.”
She stormed to the door. “Now I know that what people say about you is true. And I hope they hang you.”
She slammed the door so hard the glass shivered.
Amy took Ned’s hands in hers. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I just couldn’t help it. That old crone.”
“Don’t worry about it. Ralph called her out a couple of years ago just the way you did. That’s why she started using the stage.” He smiled. “I feel sorry for Ralph.”
Amy laughed. “She’s quite a woman, isn’t she?”
But for all the humor of the moment, Mrs. Riley’s words worried Amy. The town was beginning to see Ned as the number one suspect. In a situation as volatile as this one, that was a frightening realization.
9
The woman who approached Fargo was the handsome blond sister of the dead man he’d discovered. Karen Byrnes had changed into a ruffled white blouse and black skirt. A red woolen shawl over her shoulders flattered her blue eyes and rose-colored lips. She carried a large cloth purse over one arm.
Fargo had just left the Gold Mine when she waved to him and hurried to meet him. After sitting with the Raines brothers he welcomed contact with a gentler soul. The way she filled out her blouse made talking to her even more enticing.
With the clatter and clutter of wagons and buggies behind her, she reached him slightly out of breath. “I’ve been looking for you for the past half hour, Mr. Fargo.”
“You could always call me Skye.”
“Skye, then. Thank you.”
The ivory skin was tainted only around the eyes. She’d been crying.
“You probably won’t like what I have to say.”
“I doubt that but let’s hear it first and see.”
She touched his arm with careful fingers. He liked that. “I’ve been playing detective. I promise I won’t do it again. But I thought of a woman named Ingrid Haller. Her son was one of the three boys killed. She told me about a man named Rex who saw somebody talking to the boys just before the first one was killed.”
“Did he say who?”
“No. Not to her anyway. I was wondering if you and I—”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “I work alone. I’m not even taking Tom Cain along with me. But I appreciate your offer.”
Before he knew quite what she was doing, she slid her arm through his and began walking them down the street. A pair of lovers out for a stroll. That was the mood she was obviously trying to set. A smart young woman able to put her grief aside to get what she wanted. In order to find the man or men who’d murdered her brother.
“Rex is a recluse. For most people he won’t even come to the door. And he has a dog.”
“This seems to be the town for guard dogs.”
“Do you know Helen Hardesty?”
“Matter of fact I do.”
“Rex’s wolfhound is the father of Helen’s wolfhound.”
“Can’t wait to meet him. Helen almost sicced hers on me.”
“She’s a feisty lady.”
“I noticed that.”
