bank. You talk to fifteen and I'll take the other fourteen."
"No, that isn't how it works. We interview them together, then compare
notes afterwards. I might miss something that you will pick up, " he
explained. "We'll talk to the women first, " he repeated. "Then the
others. And that's only the beginning. We need to talk to everyone
who happened to be on the street, near the street, or in one of the
buildings close to the bank. We alsoţ" Cole interrupted him. "In
other words, we talk to everyone."
"Just about, " Ryan replied. "As much as I hate to, we're going to
have to involve Sloan on this. I don't know these people. He does,
and people here might tell him things they won't tell us. I'll give
him the list of names as soon as he gets back. P} Ryan stopped pacing
and looked around the lobby. "I think we're finished here. I'll put
yesterday's papers in the safe just in case one of us wants to go
through them again. The bookkeepers from the bank in Gramby will be
here Sunday to examine MacCorkle's records, and when they're finished,
we'll know the exact amount stolen.
Let's meet back here at seven in the morning and have Sloan round up
the people we want to talk to."
"I don't think it's a good idea to question them here. We should use
the office at the jail." Ryan shook his head. "Jails make people
nervous."
"Seeing the bloodstains is going to make them more nervous."
"Yeah, you're right. We'll use the jail." After collecting the papers
and locking the safe, they left the bank.
"Have you checked into the hotel yet? " Ryan asked.
"No, I went directly to the bank. What about you? " "I didn't take
the time either. Are you still hungry? " "Yeah, I am, " Cole
answered. "Maybe the hotel will open the kitchen for us."
"They will, " Ryan assured him. "We're marshals. We'll make them."
Cole laughed. "I knew there had to be a couple of benefits to this
job." They walked in companionable silence down the middle of the
street, the only light supplied by a full moon.
"How much money do you think they got away with? " Cole asked.
"Like I said before, we won't know the exact amount until the examiners
go through the records. I do know from the receipt I found on
MacCorkle's desk that an army paymaster made a deposit that morning.
The amount was seventeen thousand eight hundred and some change. "
Cole whistled. "That's a lot of money. I'll bet the bastards knew
before MacCorkle did that the money was coming."
"I'm sure they did.
All they had to do was follow him."
"Why bother robbing the banks? " Cole asked. "Why not rob the
paymaster on his way to the fort with the cash? " "It's too dangerous
and unpredictable, that's why. The paymaster doesn't ride alone, and
the guards assigned to him are all crack shots.
Banks are easier if you know what you're doing, and the men we're up
against obviously do." The discussion ended when they reached the
hotel. The only rooms available were in the attic and were about the