We are now rather farther into the tale

Radnor Cooper leaned back in his desk chair.  The padding was a luxury, but when a  man reached a certain age, certain comforts were worth the price.  His joints agreed; he could move as swiftly as a much younger man.  Once upon a time, he’d walked the streets, same as his men, but now the City Council wanted him to stay where he could be found.  Once upon a time, he’d read up on business records, enough to understand the ledgers at the general store he’d never gotten around to opening, meaning he could read the Sheriff’s Office accounts, enough to see if the book-keeper had been skimming.  Before the Great War, he’d caught one of them doing that.  The fool would be getting out of the Florence Prison, soon enough, and might have the wits not to show his face here.  Prescott had never recovered the money.

“Sheriff Cooper, Sir,” Deputy Juan Della Vega called from the main office, “someone you need to speak to.”

“Bring him in,” Radnor said.  He stood and extended his hand.

“Ebenezer Sickles,” the other man introduced himself as they shook hands.  “Pleased to meet you, sir.  I’m a rider for the Norcross Ranch, west of here.”

“Tycho Norcross,” Radnor responded.  “Fine horses, fine cattle, always the best steaks at Trinity House.  Hopefully your ranch has been quiet?”

“Ranch?  Yes, sir. It’s about one of our men.” Ebenezer nodded firmly.  “Denver Joe Marquardt, Assistant Foreman, rode to Prescott, hand-carrying letters for our bank and your two general stores. We usually mail or telegraph, but lines are down again and mail these days is confused.  That heath thing.  But Joe’s vanished.”

“He rode in by himself?” Radnor asked.

“No, sir,” Ebenezer answered.  “Fat Bob Smith was with him, and an extra horse. Bob was taking his four days in town.  We each get that a couple times a year.”

“Smith I know,” Radnor said.  “At least twice I can think of, he broke up a bar fight before my men got there.  Polite about it.  Picked two guys up by the seats of their pants, one on each arm, and dropped them well apart from each other.”

“Joe and Bob didn’t return, so I got sent to see what happened.   Joe didn’t reach the bank, didn’t reach either store.  They hadn’t stayed at Beth’s Rooms For Cheap.  Bob hadn’t been seen at Sarah’s Ostrich Ranch, and they know him good.   Northcote West Stables, we’ve an account with them, checked their books.  They hadn’t stabled their horses there.  Their night watch, young lady, a real looker, proper Boston accent just like my grand-dad, was sure they hadn’t come in while she was on duty.  She promised to keep an eye open for them.”

“Northcote has a girl doing nights?” Radnor asked.

“Their regular, that would be Mister O’Hara, saw the heath and left town.  Rapidly.  With his family.  For Ireland. Said heath’s haunted by demons.  He invited me along.” Ebenezer nodded again.  “But I watched her shoot – Northcote makes their people practice every day. Then she pulled two pocket derringers, like out of nowhere, shot one of them with her off hand. Never missed.  She’s darn good.” 

“Weather’s been fine,” Radnor said.  “They didn’t try to ride across the heath, did they?  There’s poison or something there.”

“No, sir!” Ebenezer answered.  “From our water tower, we can see the heath at night, see it glow weird colors.  We don’t go near it, and there’s a good trail from us east to the highway.  If you call it a highway.”

Radnor snorted.  “Highway?  It got clipped by the heath.  No one’s taking it north or south now.  Did you follow the path they’d’ve taken?”

“Not really,” Ebenezer answered.  “I was delivering a string of mules to the Callahan ranch, well north, and the boss phoned there.  That’s a long distance call; he paid good money for that.  He must’ve been real worried.  But he’s a good man to work for, cares about his men.”

“Have to send a posse out, back trace where they might be,” Radnor said.  “Horses went lame, they stopped for a day, might explain it.  I’ve already got one forming.  Phone company thinks someone stole one of their trucks…it was supposed to be back this morning from splicing lines.  They keep losing phone lines for some reason.”

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