“Yes, ma’am, and I wasn’t expecting for us to be here either. But news travels fast, and we are sorry for your loss.”
“Are you?” she asked.
“I am. He and I didn’t always see eye to eye on everything, but we worked together for this town. Its citizens are safer with the police force, and of course the good Judge here. Trade on Saturdays has helped a good many get goods they need and purge items they don’t. You know what they say: ‘One man’s treasure is another person’s trash.’”
“I think you mean the other way around,” she said quickly.
“Do I, ma’am?”
James thought it wouldn’t be long before Sheriff Johnson’s things would be for sale at the trading booths.
“There have been a lot of deaths lately,” Kate continued. “I heard about the guys shooting at the balloons; a few of them are in the back and, of course, the ones from the exhibition before that. Now my fiancé and our fearless leader has gone missing and is presumed dead.”
“Yes, ma’am, there has been a lot of tragedy lately, but this is a new world and some rules have changed,” James replied.
“I’m glad you brought that up, James. I’ll tell you what happened, but only once. Then I won’t speak of it again.”
She went on to tell the exact story she told yesterday, knowing full well he had already heard it from someone else.
“Now, the Sheriff would want us to move on,” she added, “and he asked me a while back to step into his position, should anything bad happen. Isn’t that right, Judge Lowry?”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s correct.”
“Well, if you can’t trust a judge, who can you trust?” she asked, holding up her hands.
“I’ll be running for the seat of Sheriff of Weston, and I believe I have one opponent—is that right, Judge?”
“Yes, ma’am. A young man who mostly keeps to himself. I can’t recall his name at the moment but he’ll be on the ballot, come election day. The town needs to have fair choices.”
“So, it’s set…unless, of course, you’re running, James?” she asked, staring a hole through him and getting a look of nausea from Jason.
James paused, thinking it over, and almost voicing he wasn’t sure yet.
He laughed. “No. No, I don’t think that’s a position I’ll be putting my hat in the ring for.”
“Well, all right. Then I’ll be expecting your vote unless one of the deputies is thinking of trying to overturn the apple cart.”
“No ma’am,” came the response from all present.
“Then that settles it. The town election will be held this Saturday from noon to three,” said Judge Lowry. “My office will handle the particulars, as usual, and post the official count by Saturday’s trade closing bell. Good day, gentlemen, ma’am,” he said, walking out the door.
James and Jason headed out next, with nothing more to say at this point.
* * * *
“What next?” asked Jason. “It looks like we’re back where we started. And I thought we were going to have someone else help with that dog ladies’ problem, like the deputies.”
“Already done,” said James. “I just paid the coroner a couple of silvers and sent him over. He and his guys got it done, and that’s about the end of it. She’s a good woman and has no business in one of these jail cells. She’s holding a dog for Mel; I’m sure he’ll be happy about that.”
“So…where now?” asked Jason.
“Long Canyon, Lake Trinidad,” replied James without a second thought.
* * * *
The twenty-mile trip took only 40 minutes, with nothing out of the ordinary.
“I will say this,” said James. “These roads are safer now, for sure, and it’s probably due to the Sheriff and Judge Lowry. Let’s go around each way,” he added—“a few miles in both directions.”
“What are you looking for?” asked Jason.
“I’m not sure,” replied James. “But something tells me I’ll know it when I see it. I prayed on it last night and woke up with that thought written right across my forehead. ‘I’ll know it when I see it.’”
“Okay,” said Jason, scouring the lake, looking for something afloat resembling a tube or anything else—not a boat.
James scanned the shoreline, clearing his mind and coming back to center when he saw it. “There!” he said, pointing. “Stop here, Jason!”
“What do you see?” Jason asked.
“Her,” said James, pointing at the little girl sitting with two other children, watching their fathers fish.
Getting James’ chair out of the back, they slowly made their way towards the group.
“Nice and slow, Jason; I don’t want to get shot today.”
James waved his arms high, calling out “Hello!” to the men nearly waist-deep in the water.
Both men turned, surprised, quickly heading to shore.
“Let’s not get too close to the kids,” James whispered, staying ten yards back.
“Hello,” he said again. “Can we talk to you?”
“What for?” one man called back, hurrying towards the children.
“Your kids, they look hungry. How’s the fishing?”
“It’s not good. We can’t catch a thing.”
“Is that so?” said James.
“Yep, there was a guy up here yesterday, right in this very spot, who caught two beautiful fish and just threw them back, right in front of us.”
“Really? What a jerk!” James whispered to Jason, “Sound like someone you know? Loves to fish and doesn’t like people?
“I’m sorry to hear that,” called out James. “What did he catch them on?”
“A fly, looked like,” the other man responded. “I wish I had one of those.”
“Have you been here long?” asked James.
“Yeah, a few weeks, I suppose.”
“Have you seen anything off the past couple of days?” continued James, having a gut feeling they had and hoping for the truth.
“Tell him, Daddy, about the two men fighting!” called out a little girl.
“Quiet, honey. Let
