from noon until one o'clock, and that afternoon, eleven people had come
inside, and of those eleven, three were women.
One of them had left her bag behind.
Ryan and Cole were cautious about the discovery and decided in hushed,
urgent voices to keep the possibility of a witness to themselves for
the time being.
"We could be jumping the gun on this, " Cole warned. "In fact, we
probably are."
"Yeah, but I got a feeling . . . " "Me too, " Cole whispered. "The
thing is. . . it could have been under the desk for weeks."
"We should talk to the couple who cleans the place right away. I've
got their names and address somewhere in my notes, " Ryan said as he
flipped through the pages of his notepad. "Here it is.
Mildred and Edward Stewart. They live over on Currant Street. Let's
go talk to them now. I want to get out of here for a few minutes and
get some fresh air."
"It's past nine, " Cole said. "They might be in bed." He was already
moving toward the front door as he reminded Ryan of the time. They
locked the door on their way out and walked over to the Stewarts'
cottage on the outskirts of town. The couple's daughter opened the
door for them and explained that her parents were working.
They cleaned the bank, the church, and the general store every night.
The marshals backtracked. They could see the lights inside the general
store. The shades were drawn, but Edward Stewart opened the door as
soon as Ryan knocked and told him who he was.
Mildred was down on her knees scrubbing the floor. The heavyset woman
got to her feet and wiped her hands on her apron when the marshals came
inside. Both she and her husband were olderţaround fifty or so, Cole
speculatedţ and from their haggard expressions and their stooped
shoulders, he knew they had had to work hard all of their lives.
Ryan made the introductions, and then said, "We know you're busy, but
we sure would appreciate it if you would answer a couple of
questions.
" "We'll be glad to help any way we can, " Edward said. "There's some
chairs behind the counter if you want to sit down. The floor should be
dry by now."
"It won't take that long, " Ryan said. "Did you and Mildred clean the
bank Tuesday night? " Edward nodded. "Yes, sir, we did. We clean it
every night but Sunday, and MacCorkle paid us every Monday morning."
"Do you think the new people running the place will keep us on? "
Mildred asked. "We do a good job and we don't charge much." They
could tell she was worried. She was wringing her apron in her hands
and frowning with concern.
"I'm sure they'll keep you on, " Ryan predicted. "When you clean the
bank, do you wash the floors or sweep them? " "I do both, " Mildred
answered. "First I give them a good sweeping, and then I get down on
my hands and knees and wash every inch of my floors.
I use vinegar and water, and when I'm done, the hardwood shines,
doesn't it Edward? " "Yes, it does, " he agreed.