Cole's room faced the street. Ryan's room was directly across the
hall.
The beds were soft though, and with a little persuasion, the night
manager agreed to send up supper.
Neither Ryan nor Cole got much sleep that night. Cole kept thinking
about the grisly scene he'd walked into, and Ryan spent his time
thinking about the possible witness.
Sorning came all too quickly. As agreed, the marshals met at the bank,
where Sheriff Sloan was waiting to report that the posse hadn't had any
luck finding a trail. Ryan handed him the list of people he wanted to
report to the jail to be interviewed. The three women's names were at
the top.
The sheriff looked over the names and shook his head. "Some of these
folks are sick as dogs with influenza. It hits hard and fast, " he
warned. "And some of the others are getting ready to head out of
town.
I ran into Doc Lawrence at the restaurant, and he was up all night
tending to the Walsh family, and you've got John Walsh's name on the
list. Doc told me Frederick O'Malley is heading out of town with his
brood as soon as the general store opens and he can get some more
supplies."
"No one leaves Rockford Falls until Marshal Clayborne and I have talked
to them. That includes Frederick O'Malley."
"I can't make him stay."
"I can, " Ryan replied.
Sloan wanted to argue. "This seems like a waste of time to me. If
anyone saw anything, he would have spoken up by now."
"Marshal Ryan wants to follow procedure, " Cole explained.
Sloan was staring at the blue bag on the desk. "Where did that come
from? " Ryan answered. "It was on the floor under the desk."
"You think someone left it? " "That much is pretty obvious, " Cole
said.
"We're curious to know who it belongs to." A gleam came into Sloan's
eyes. "It had to have been left here on the day of the robbery because
the Stewarts, who clean the place every night, would have found it if
someone had left it the day before. They would have put it in the
lost-and-found box. They're honest people, " he thought to add. "You
don't think one of the robbers left it behind, do you? " "No, we don't
think that, " Cole said dryly.
"Which desk was it found under? " "Lemont Morganstaff's, " Ryan
answered. "We're going to talk to him right away. Do you know where
he lives? " "Sure I do. I know just about everybody in town. I'll
take you over to Lemont's as soon as you're ready. Are you going to
ask him about the bag? " "Yes, " Ryan answered.
Sloan's mind was whirling with possibilities. "Where exactly was the
bag found? Was it right by the chair or was it way under the desk? "
"It was in the kneehole, " Ryan answered. "In the corner." Sloan's
eyes widened. "You don't think that maybe someone was hiding under the
desk, do you? " "We haven't drawn any conclusions yet, " Cole told