pulled the compass out of his pocket and handed it to Cole. "You just
became a lawman." at took over an hour to remove the six bodies.
Because of the heat, rigor mortis had set in rapidly, and the owner of
the funeral parlor had a hell of a time getting the two men who had
died on their knees wrapped up and carried out.
The men who were assisting him whispered while they worked. Cole
wasn't certain if they kept their voices low out of respect for the
dead or if they were just plain spooked, but one of them started
gagging and had to run outside when the funeral director worried out
loud that if the families wanted to bury the men that day, he would
have to either build two special coffins to accommodate the bent knees,
or cut off their legs. One day's delay would ensure that the
troublesome rigor mortis would have worn off. And if he sealed the
coffins tight, no one would notice the smell.
The floor near the center of the lobby where the bodies had knelt was
black. Blood had seeped into the dry wood, and it was there to stay.
Not even lye would remove the stains.
Ryan questioned Sloan for a while before he searched through the
president's office and behind the tellers' counter.
He collected the papers, put them in a box he'd found, and carried them
over to an old, ink-stained desk in front of the windows. While Cole
roamed around the bank, trying to figure out exactly how, why, and when
it all happened, Ryan sat on the edge of the desk and began to read.
Sloan stood by the door, fidgeting.
Ryan finally noticed him. "Is something bothering you, Sheriff? " he
asked, without looking up from the document he was scanning.
"I was thinking I ought to get another posse together and go looking
for the gang again. We had to disband last night when it got so
dark.
The trail's going to get cold if I wait much longer."
"That's a good idea, " Ryan said. "Why don't you take charge and see
to it."
"I figure I should pick the men I want to ride with me, like I did
yesterday before you got here." Ryan shrugged. "You know these people
better than I do. I don't want to hear you did anything stupid though,
like stringing someone up because you think he might have been
involved. If you catch anyone, you bring him back here."
"I can't control an entire posse. Folks know what happened here.
Someone mightţ" Ryan cut him off. "You will control them, Sheriff. "
Sloan nodded. "I'll try."
"That isn't good enough. No one takes the law into his own hands. You
got that? If any of your friends thinks otherwise, you shoot the son
of a bitch." Ryan expected Sloan to leave, but he stayed where he
was.
His face turned bright red, and he shuffled from foot to foot as he
stared down at the floor.
"Was there something else? " Ryan asked.
"It seems to me . . . and a lot of folks in town . . . that I ought
to be in charge of this investigation." Ryan cast Cole a quick glance