haven't.
Lawmen make people jumpy. I'm not sure why."
"I know why, " she replied. "You have the power to lock me in jail, "
she explained.
"Not without a good legal reason, " he countered.
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I was locked in jail this
afternoon, and there certainly wasn't a good legal reason then."
"We didn't know Sheriff Sloan would go to such lengths, " Cole
interjected.
"He was convinced one of us was lying, but that still isn't a good
reason to lock someone in jail, is it? " She noticed Daniel remove a
notepad and pencil from his pocket and gave him her full attention.
"We know you were in the bank the day it was robbed, " he began.
"Yes, I was. Caleb was with me."
"Do you happen to remember what time it was? " She smoothed the
wrinkles out of her skirt as she answered, her gaze directed on her
lap. "As a matter of fact, I do remember. I was there at two o'clock,
give or take ten minutes. I went inside and got into line, but I
didn't happen to notice any of the other people there. I wasn't .
. . " "Paying attention? " Cole asked.
"Yes, that's it, " she said. "I wasn't paying attention to anyone
else."
"You didn't notice anyone in line with you? " Ryan asked with a hint
of skepticism. "I was very busy looking after Caleb. He can be quite
mischievous. The gate fascinated him, and he kept trying to swing on
it. Mr. MacCorkle became very upset and yelled at the baby.
He made quite a scene. I had my hands full, Marshal, and I simply
didn't have time to notice anyone else." While she'd been explaining,
she kept glancing up at Cole to get his reaction. He had to know she
was nervous because of the way she had rushed through her answer. Slow
down, she told herself, as she gripped her hands together. Slow down
and calm down, or they'll both think I'm hiding something.
Cole didn't look as if he thought she was guilty of anything. If she
had had to venture a guess, she would have said that the routine
questions were putting him to sleep.
She turned back to her inquisitor. "I'm sorry I can't be more
helpful.
" "Don't babies take naps in the afternoon? " Cole asked. "My little
sister always did."
"Yes, Caleb usually takes his nap right after his noon meal, but his
schedule has gotten all turned around lately. I was sick with
influenza, and because he sleeps in my bedroom, I kept waking him up
all night. He slept late today and then had a late nap. That's why
he's still running around now." She was rambling like an idiot, she
realized, and giving them far too much useless and boring
information.
"Did Sheriff Sloan show you the bag we found? " "Yes, he did, " she
answered. "He told us he found it under one of the desks. It doesn't
belong to me, " she added emphatically. "I never carry a bag." Ryan