“No. Well, sometimes. I know he was right. I knew he was right then. You and I wouldn’t be talking now if I had tried following them.”
“You followed Josey Pye.”
“That was different. I’m a better shot now, a better tracker, and I had Rooster with me. It made me feel a little more settled to know I was doing something instead of waiting around for Sheriff Carter, who, by the way, barely roused himself to name a deputy and begin searching. When I gave him Mr. Stonechurch’s message about the robbery, he and his deputy went out again, but they’ve already given up. I let Mr. Stonechurch know, and here you are.”
“Here I am.”
“I have a feeling you won’t give up so easily.”
“Mr. Stonechurch shares your feeling.”
“Are we right?”
“Yes.”
Laurel nodded, satisfied. “Do you remember Mr. Abrams, the portly gentleman who was one of your fellow passengers?”
“Your description helped. Yes, I remember him. Why?”
“I don’t know if he mentioned that he is an assemblyman, but he is. He advocates for the territory’s admission to the Union. He will also have some influence with the route the railroad takes, which he reminded me when he came through this last time. It’s not important to the robbery, but I thought you should be aware.”
“At this juncture I don’t know what’s important and what’s not. All information is helpful to the investigation.”
“Do you suspect someone on the coach of helping Mr. Pye?”
Call tapped his temple with a forefinger. “Open mind.”
“Probably for the best. I’m trying to do the same. I was taken completely by surprise when I received Mr. Stonechurch’s message that the payroll was missing. Mr. Pye is the obvious culprit because he disappeared that night, but that’s hardly proof.”
“But you agree the coincidence is hard to swallow,” said Call.
“I do.”
Call removed his hat and set it on his outstretched legs. He pushed his fingers through his thick hair. “If he hadn’t taken off with Penelope, where would you have put him on your list of suspects?”
“I’ve already thought of that. There really wouldn’t be a list. Mr. Pye would be the only name.”
“Why?”
“Mostly because I don’t know him as well as I know Rooster and the boys. He hasn’t worked here as long as the others. I hired him after I noticed Rooster was slowing down a bit, favoring his hips, the right one especially. I thought he should rest it some.” She paused, and then said urgently, “Please don’t repeat that. It would be humiliating for him.”
“Not a word.”
“Thank you.” Laurel was silent for several long seconds. She stopped rocking, stretched, and crossed her legs at the ankle. “I was not comfortable around Mr. Pye,” she said at last. “Never warmed to him, I’d guess you’d say. That’s not a requirement to work here, but it seems to make the work less demanding if we’re easy with each other.”
“Yet you kept him on.”
“He was good with the animals. Surprised us all when we discovered he was also a decent cook. So, yes, I kept him on for what he could do and ignored all the things he tried to get out of doing.”
“He was a shirker.”
“Yes, he was that.”
“Where did he come from?”
“He arrived on the stage, same as you, but he’s from some town I never heard of in Illinois. Like a lot of folks who pass this way, he was looking for work in Stonechurch. During the team exchange, one of the horses proved too difficult for Hank to handle. Before I could get there, Mr. Pye stepped in, gentled her, and led her away.”
“And you offered him a job.”
