“What are you getting at,” Tinsley demanded.
“Milton Ferguson is an accomplished actor. He deceived the citizens of Junction City into believing he was a half witted waster. The day we went hunting with John Layfield I was more interested in Layfield’s reactions than what Ferguson was up to. Layfield was clearly confused over Milton’s performance and indicated as much. Milton was overdoing his disguise and it was puzzling to the younger man. Layfield did not know Milton was already suspicious of my coming here and was testing me.” Royce pulled at the bun on the back of Miss Ferguson’s head. Along with a dozen or more hairpins the bun came off in Royce’s hand. “Just as I thought Miss Ferguson is wearing a false hairpiece.”
“Young man,” Miss Ferguson’s voice grated. With her hands she held the sides of her hair back off her face. “Many women wear false hairpieces if you must know. I am much too busy to worry about my hair. I find it is more convenient to cut it short. The hairpiece is to satisfy convention.” She looked down her nose at Royce shaking her shoulders fussily.
“To get to what Miss Faith Gaines told Marshal Dean that aroused his suspicions,” Royce continued. He had Tinsley’s interest and everyone else’s. “It was an incident involving Milton Ferguson. The man tried to kiss Miss Gaines and instead of slapping him. Faith had doubled up her fist and punched Milton in the face. It is an amusing incident that no one stopped to consider,” Royce said.
Miss Ferguson scoffed loudly wrinkling up her nose in distaste.
“The interesting part came later when Miss Ferguson closed school for a week. She said it was to nurse her brother back to health. Or could it have been because Miss Ferguson could not be seen in public with a bruised face.”
At this statement all eyes turned back to Miss Ferguson.
“Collingsworth was there a brown horse in the corral when you were at Miss Ferguson’s home,” Royce asked.
“Yes Sir,” Collingsworth answered.
“Milton Ferguson’s horse,” Royce replied. His conviction was growing. As impossible as it sounded even to him, Royce was certain Miss Ferguson and Milton were one and the same person. “An accomplished actor that can fool everyone into believing he is a demented halfwit could also convince people he was a woman.”
The startled look on Marshal Tinsley’s face was amusing and Royce grinned at his superior. “We will need Doctor Thomas’ assistance,” Tinsley declared. “Collingsworth go get the Doctor and bring him here.”
“Yes Sir,” Collingsworth replied.
“You interfering fool,” Milton snarled grabbing for Royce’s neck. Royce felt Ferguson’s hands tighten around his throat and knew he did not have the strength to fight the man off.
Sheriff Walden cuffed Ferguson hard across the back knocking the man off balance. He collided with Royce both men falling to the floor. Milton screeching obscenities and foaming at the mouth twisted in Walden’s hold as the sheriff drug him to his feet. “I thought you were a lady,” Walden scoffed.
“You think you’re clever,” Milton sneered. His heated eyes burnt Royce as he struggled against Sheriff Walden’s hold on him.
“It is Dean that was clever,” Royce said calmly. “I just followed in the man’s footsteps. He put the case together long before I did. You shouldn’t have tried to kiss Miss Gaines. From that time forward your identity was in jeopardy.”
“No one ever guessed the truth,” Sheriff Walden said. “When you started asking about School Board Members I thought you were way off your mark. Seems you were right. Mayor Pillsdale knew Milton Ferguson was Frank Barlow all along.”
“There we are both wrong,” Royce replied. “Pillsdale is Barlow. He used Ferguson to cover up his true identity.”
“You lie,” Pillsdale roared.
“Not so,” Royce replied. “I had plenty of time to think while lying in bed. I puzzled over the conversation I over heard between John Layfield and Ferguson. The night I trailed them it was clear Ferguson wasn’t the person in charge. Then there were a number of little things that gave Pillsdale away. Things I didn’t hear about until after Miss Gaines had left for Carrington City. You can thank Doctor Thomas for his insight. If you hadn’t shot me you probably would have gotten away with your deception. I knew Ferguson was out of town. So was Turner. It could have been Hardin but it wasn’t. He had a witness as to his whereabouts and that witness was Doctor Thomas. While I was recuperating I asked Banker Jordan some questions and he obligingly checked into Pillsdale’s bank account and discovered several large deposits that coincided with known robberies.”
“I know my rights,” Pillsdale shouted from his jail cell. “All that Mr. Hargadon has is circumstantial.”
“You were my first candidate for Barlow,” Royce explained. “Only you did not fit his description.”
“Me. Why did you choose me,” Pillsdale demanded. His face was pasty, his blue eyes round marbles. “What about Ferguson. He led the robberies.”
“Shut up,” Ferguson shouted. He reached between the bars for Pillsdale. The little man cowered away.
Royce’s grin was calculated to irritate. His green eyes glowed with hidden fires as he looked at the pompous little man. “I think I chose you because you believed you were more important than you really are,” Royce stated sarcastically, “You had an arrogance that placed you above the law.”
Pillsdale sputtered finding offence in Royce’s declaration.
Royce watched as Sheriff Walden locked the cell door behind Ferguson. Walden tossed the ring of keys to Marshal Tinsley. “I wish Marshal Dean had been more forthcoming with his information,” he said. “He played his cards too close to his vest. When his body was discovered I didn’t have enough to go on. I knew Barlow was one of several men. He had told me this much. If I was a betting man, I would say his number one suspect at the time was Jim Cook. He certainly did not like
