killer by lookinâ at him?â Bullet asked.
âYes, I do.â
âAs a lawman I sure wish I had that ability,â Bullet said. He turned to Clint. âTo answer your question, no, I donât think any of those people are the killer. I donât feel somebody could have gotten away from camp to commit this murder without being missed.â
âI agree,â Clint said.
âDid you get him a hotel room?â
âYes.â
âThen I think we should be ready to leave in the morninâ,â Bullet said. âWeâll go out to the site and start from there.â
âI would like to walk around town,â Talbot said.
âLookinâ for the killer?â Bullet asked.
âJust . . . walking,â Talbot said.
âFine with me,â Bullet said. âWeâll meet in front of the hotel at seven a.m.â
Talbot nodded and looked at Clint.
âIâll see you at the hotel later,â Clint said. âWeâll get something to eat together.â
âAs you wish.â
Talbot nodded, and left, taking the Winchester with him.
âSo whatâs in the bag?â Bullet asked.
âI donât know,â Clint said. âHe hasnât shown me.â
âArenât you curious?â
âI am, but Iâm waiting for him to tell me on his own,â Clint said. âWhat did you find out here in town while we were gone?â
âNothinâ,â Bullet said. âNobody knows the dead man. Heâs a complete stranger.â
âThatâs odd,â Clint said. âNot a townie. And not with the train.â
âI know. You really want to eat with this guy? Heâs . . . kind of weird.â
âYes, but thereâs something about him . . . Iâm hoping I can get him to trust me and open up.â
âWell, good luck,â Bullet said. âIâll be eating on my own.â
âSo then Iâll see you in the morning,â Clint said.
âHere,â Bullet said. He opened a desk drawer, came out with a box of Winchester shells, and tossed it to Clint, who caught it one-handed. âGive that to your friend.â
Clint waved with the box and left the office.
THIRTEEN
Clint went back to the hotel, left the box of shells in his room. Heâd give them to Talbot later.
He went back outside and stopped just in front of the hotel. He imagined Talbot walking around town, looking into peopleâs faces to see if they were killers or not. Could he really tell? Was he that good?
He started to walk, found himself in front of Ritaâs dress shop. He hadnât seen Talbot at all up to here, but then he wasnât really looking for him. He decided to go inside.
A bell tinkled as he entered. There were two women at the counterâan older woman and a girl who was undoubtedly her daughter. Rita St. John looked over their shoulders at Clint, and smiled.
âThank you so much, Rita,â the older woman said. âYouâve been very helpful.â
âIt was my pleasure, Mrs. Rhodes. Good-bye, Amanda. Enjoy the dress.â
âI will, maâam,â the girl said. When they turned around, Clint could see the daughter was about sixteen, and very pretty. The mother was about forty, and had been pretty at one time.
âGood day, ladies,â he said, opening the door for them. Then he turned to Rita, still standing by the door.
âHowâs business?â he asked.
âBetter than yesterday,â she said. He could see that her breathing had already increased.
âReally? Then I guess you donât want me to do this.â He turned the sign in the door window from OPEN to CLOSED , then looked at her again.
âI donât know,â she said. âWhat did you have in mind?â
âI thought maybe youâd show me your storeroom.â
âYou want to see my storeroom?â
âNot really,â he said,
Mark Henwick, Lauren Sweet