He would have made a good witness when those no-good bastards got
caught."
"What happened to him? " "Luke got his neck sliced like a bow tie,
that's what happened to him.
His wife got cut too. They were both sleeping in their bed, but I
think maybe one of them woke up. You should have seen that room,
son.
There was more blood than paint on those walls. I ain't never gonna
forget it.
Their little boys saw it too. The oldest, just ten last month,
found them. He ain't never gonna be the same." The story struck a
nerve deep inside Cole. He leaned against the side of the desk, his
gaze directed outside, as he thought about the children. What a hell
of a nightmare for a child to see. What would happen to that little
boy now) Or the other ones? Who would take care of them? How would
they survive? Would they be split up and shipped to various relatives,
or would they take to the streets, the way he had when he was a
youngster? Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ryan on a black
horse riding at a gallop down the main street. He hoped the marshal
would catch the monsters who had made those children orphans. In one
night, their lives had been changed forever.
He turned back when the sheriff spoke again. "There was no call to
kill those two, no call at all. You know what Ryan said? " "No,
what's that? " Cole asked.
"That it was a miracle they didn't kill those little boys. If one of
them had come into the room while they were butchering, they would have
killed him for sure . . . the others too."
"What's going to happen to them? " "The boys? " The sheriff looked
bleak, disheartened. "My Josey and me offered to take them all, but
the relatives back east said they'd give them a home. I think they're
gonna farm them out between them. That doesn't seem right to me.
Brothers ought to stay together.
" Cole agreed with a pensive nod.
"I got my own opinion why they killed Luke's wife. Want to hear it? "
"Sure."
"I think they were sending folks a message." His voice dropped to a
whisper of confidentiality as he continued. "Word gets around fast,
and anyone who might see something or hear something in the future is
gonna think long and hard before stepping forward.
Witnesses don't survive.
That's the message."
"They're bound to make a mistake one of these days."
"Son, that's what everyone is hoping will happen. I'm praying it
happens soon, cause a lot of good people have died, and not just men,
but women and children too. Those men are gonna burn in hell for what
they've done."
"They've killed children? " "I heard about one little girl that got
killed. She was in the bank with her mama. Of course it could just be
speculation. I asked Ryan about it, but he got a real strange look in