“Marshal,” the sheriff called with something of a snicker.
Adam removed his hat and nodded at the deputies. “Sheriff, I need your help.”
Humor entered the sheriff’s eyes. “Well, ain’t this my lucky day. A federal marshal needs my help. What can I do for you, oh mighty marshal?”
Adam ignored his sarcasm and carried on, “I need help in investigating the incident that occurred a week ago. Innocent Indians were killed brutally. Men, women, and children were killed for a crime they knew nothing about. Even if they were guilty, the townsfolk shouldn’t have taken the law into their hands.”
The older man snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re still on about this case, Marshal.”
“I still am and I will get to the root of the matter. The young woman I told you I rescued is right now crying her eyes out because of what was done to her Indian tribe.”
“Oh, please, spare us the sob story, Marshal. What was she doing with the Indian tribe in the first place? Even if they rescued her when she was a child like you said, couldn’t she have had enough sense to leave them and come find her people?”
Rage welled up inside Adam and he struggled to control it.
“Come and find her own people? Her own people who are murderers and coffee boilers?” he bellowed with fury.
The smile wiped off the sheriff’s face and he shot to his feet. He raised a warning finger at Adam. “Now look here, Marshal, I’ve had just about enough that I can take from you. Who do you think you are to come here and try to teach us our jobs? I have been a sheriff longer than you’ve been a marshal, boy! I will not take insults from you. Got that?”
Adam’s hands curled into fists, itching to take a swing at the older man. After his parents died, he had become such an angry child that he got into fights with whoever dared to look his way. With the help of Cora, Boone, and the former sheriff, he had been able to contain his rage.
He wouldn’t go back to that life even if the sheriff deserved a bloodied nose for the nonsense he just spoke about Olivia.
“She was better off with the Indians. They had no guile or filth in them. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for my people,” he strongly reiterated.
The sheriff laughed without mirth. “It would be mighty interesting for the townspeople to know that you’re such an Indian lover.”
Ignoring the jab, Adam went on, “I seek justice for those innocent Indians and I want you to assist me in my quest. You and I know that those Indians didn’t deserve to die. Since you have been here longer than me, I reckon you will know the likely people who must have carried out the attack. I need names.”
The sheriff snorted and sat down. He swung his leg on the table and regarded Adam with amusement.
“You want me to join you in a fruitless search for people who were only fighting for their rights and their lands? Surely, that must be a joke.”
Adam didn’t know how long he would be able to control his anger before he lunged at the sheriff and beat his galley west. But that wouldn’t speak well of him. So, he forced his anger away and tried to stay calm.
“Sheriff, it’s our duty to maintain law and order in this town. Sitting and turning the other eye when a crime is committed in your town isn’t right.” He swallowed tautly. He was doing this for Olivia. “Please join me in finding these men and arresting them.”
Bluntly, the sheriff told him, “No. The fact that I have a lot of time on my hand due to the low crime rate in this town doesn’t mean I have to go wasting it investigating what should be laid to rest.”
Finally registering that he was wasting his time with the older man, Adam turned to the deputies.
“Would you please join me in my investigations? I need my own deputies. Anyone up for it?”
Adam wasn’t surprised when the men shook their heads. He was alone on this.
With his face like that of a storm cloud, Adam strode out of the office. A trail of laughter from the sheriff followed him out of the building. Undeterred, Adam went in search of the men Stephen had told him were upright and would make good deputies. However, Adam was stunned when they all refused to work with him. their answers were evasive when he asked them why they didn’t want to be his deputies.
He cursed as he walked away from the last person he had asked for help. Evidently, the town was no longer what it used to be. Lawlessness thrived and there were no good or brave men any longer to do anything about it.
He traced his steps to the courthouse to lay his complaint before the judge. He wasn’t surprised when the judge said there was nothing he could do about it.
“You can’t force them to become your deputies. That would only jeopardize your investigations,” the gray-haired man told him with something akin to amusement. “Why don’t you handle your other duties as marshal and leave going after the outlaws for now? There’s the issue of paying the court clerks and others.”
Gritting his teeth, Adam answered, “I’ll handle it when I return.”
He thought of writing to the U.S. Marshal Service in Virginia for assistance. He shook his head. He didn’t even know what he was up against. Asking for men without proper investigations would be jumping the gun.
Determined not to fail Olivia, he went about the town asking questions but the townsfolk were evasive in answering them; some were even downright rude. Even Henry, who he usually got information from, avoided him like the plague.
