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accomplished from that incident, Daniel Petterman needs to be put on the spot.”
    “Well, I certainly shook him up when I made him get on that horse behind me.”
    Elizabeth snorted, then covered her mouth. “Oh, my, I’ll wager you did. I wish I’d been there to see it. Bill says Mr. Petterman’s agreed to write a letter to the editor about the dogs, though.”
    “I’m sure it will be very polite and cautiously worded.” It would be the dullest letter Bill Byers ever published.
    “Which will get the cause nowhere. It’ll die on the editorial page without stirring any response. You can’t rally the public to action unless your initial effort enflames them. Daniel Petterman is clearly not capable of starting a fire under Denver’s public. No, I don’t think that is going to work.”
    Elizabeth was exactly right. Daniel’s letter would stir no one. “Why bother with Daniel’s letter at all? Perhaps your husband could write an article on what happened.”
    “Letters about real incidents have more power. People ignore general articles. They need their heartstrings pulled. They need the tears of little girls and the righteous anger of a father.” Elizabeth’s voice dropped. “Was he even angry?”
     “Well, he did get a little incensed about it when pushed.”
    “He did?” She clasped her hand together, intent.
    “Well, it took quite a bit of pushing, actually.” Sarah wondered what was on her new friend’s mind. She could just about see the wheels spinning in her head.
    “But, he did get fired up?”
    “Yes, but—”
    “Then, we simply need to do it again.” Elizabeth poured more brandy into their glasses and smiled at Sarah as though they were fellow conspirators.
    “We? Don’t look at me. I’m not going anywhere near the man. He’s one step away from reporting me to the Kansas Pacific, and my new superior won’t hesitate to have me fired if he does.”
    “Nonsense, my dear. Daniel hasn’t the grit to raise enough of a stink to get anyone fired, and you know it. How about it, Sarah? You never answered me. Are you game to spur another cause? Will you lead us? Shall we get these bullies off the street and let children’s dogs live in peace? Shall we find a sensible alternative to control the problem of wild dogs? Will you join us, Sarah Donovan, and show this town who you are, or will you sit by and watch the cause falter?”
    Sarah stared at her. “Good heavens, Elizabeth, what do you want me to do?”
    Elizabeth stared back, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. “I want you to help Petterman write that letter.”
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
    The door to the coffin shop creaked open, sending late morning sun streaking across Daniel’s desk. He glanced up, expecting a customer.
    Instead, Sarah Donovan stood in the doorway, framed in the sunlight. “Elizabeth Byers says your letter won’t work,” she said. She held what appeared to be his letter to the editor in her hand and peered at him with that no-nonsense look of hers. “She thinks it could use a little polishing.”
    Daniel groaned. “What do you mean, Elizabeth thinks it won’t work?”
    “She thinks the message is flat.” Sarah stepped farther into the coffin shop and closed the door behind her.
    “Flat? It’s a finely crafted letter.” Daniel stood, more aggravated by the minute. Last night, he’d labored hours on the missive before having it delivered to Bill Byers. It irritated him that Bill’s infernal busybody wife had seen fit to step into the middle of it. He sighed and shook his head. “What does Elizabeth have to do with it any way? It’s Bill Byers’s paper.”
    Sarah approached his desk as if he’d invited her. Her blond hair was pinned back in a strict style that emphasized her brusque manner. Her big violet eyes looked out place, somehow too soft for a take-charge woman like her. “Bill Byers doesn’t run that paper alone, and you know it. Elizabeth knows how to stir a cause.”
    God save him