“That’s my worry,” I admit. “That it wasn’t actually someone on the wrong side of the law but…wasthe law.”
“I don’t follow.”
“The deputy back in Preston,” I say, cutting to the point. “What if it was Zeke?”
“Zeke? You thinkZekekilled my father? But he’s not the one I saw.”
“I think he may have hired someone.”
“Why would he have done that? My father was innocent apart from the debt he owed. He knew that.”
“So were you,” I remind her. “Didn’t seem to help you either. Cora, how much did you know about Preston? While you were there?”
“How much is there to know?” She shrugs. “It’s a small town.”
“Shouldn’t be. There’s enough business passing through there that it should be bigger.”
“But it isn’t because…”
“Because it’s pretty common that people end up having a pretty hard time there. No one tends to linger on account of the fact that a lot of robberies go unsolved. Lot of murders, too. That’s why Cypress and I were there in the first place.”
“Lot of sinners,” Cora mutters under her breath.
I nod. “It’s got a reputation. And it’s not a good one.”
“That’s why you warned me. When we first met. Not to go wandering by myself. Why didn’t you just say so then?”
“I was trying not to get too…involved.”
She smirks. “Missed the mark there a bit.”
“A bit.” I roll my eyes, but give her a begrudging smile all the same before I continue, “We assumed the law there was just incompetent. Couldn’t be bothered. But the more I think about it, the more I think that maybe the law there isn’tjustlooking the other way…”
“You really think Zeke isinvolvedin what happened to my father?”
“Yes, I think he might be. Was your farm resold after your father died?”
“We didn’t—I don’t know. There wasn’t anyone when I went back to visit the grave. My mother did try to sell it, but couldn’t. Everyone around Preston knew that plot was useless.”
“Which is why they need people who aren’t from around Preston. Someone must run things here. Collect payments. Keep an eye on things while someone else finds takers out east for when the previous owners give up. Or for when the money runsout.”
“But my father didn’t give up,” she says softly, the lingering guilt clear. “He wanted to, but I wouldn’t let him. I kept pushing him, and that day, he had a meeting in town.”
“With who?”
“He didn’t say.” She frowns. “But he was close to the sheriff’s office when he was shot. That’s why I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t help. It happened right in front of them.”
“What if his meeting was with Zeke and that’s why he was so close to the office? You said Zeke worked with the bounty hunters, which means he could have easily given one a job himself. And if he knew your father was going to be in town...I know you said he was getting you a bounty hunter, but...”
“He wasn’t. Not really.”
My eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t tell you all of it either,” she says, sighing. “The last time I saw Zeke he gave me that ticket you found. He told me he knew I didn’t have any money, and that I should just leave town. That it would be better for everyone. He also said he knew I was staying in the stable. That other people knew, too. That peopletalk, and then that night… I’m sorry.” Her eyes fall. “He was trying to warn me like you were, and I didn’t listen.”
I feel a fresh snap of anger. “He was trying towarnyou or he was trying tothreatenyou?”
“No,” she says immediately, but then seems to rethink it as she continues to stare at the ground. “No, he…he’s the one who told them. Elliot kept saying Zeke told them not to hurt me.”