“Something I can do for you, Ned?”
Lenihan appreciated Rule’s tone. The two had never been close friends but they’d always been friendly. Rule had had to suffer Cain’s arrogance the way everybody else in town had and Lenihan often found himself feeling sorry for the deputy.
“Well, I was going to talk to Cain.”
“Maybe something I can help you with?” Rule dropped the pencil he’d been using and leaned back in his chair. “You all right, Ned? You look pale.”
“I feel pale.”
“Why don’t you sit down in that chair there? How about some coffee?”
“Coffee would be good.” Lenihan’s voice was faint and he felt dizzy. He’d begun to sweat. He inched his way to the chair and sat down while Rule got him coffee.
“Here you go, Ned. You sure you’re all right?”
Lenihan took a deep breath as he accepted the tin cup of coffee. “It’s getting to me, Pete.”
“What is?” Rule said as he took his place behind his desk again.
“You know what I’m talking about. You know damned well what I’m talking about.”
Rule nodded. “It’ll blow over, Ned. You know how people are. They reach for the easiest answer. And for some reason right now you’re the easiest answer.”
“But it’s the wrong answer.”
“I know that and I tell everybody that.”
“The way I figure it, Cain’s behind this. He’s the one stirring this up.”
“Well—”
“You know it’s true.”
“How’s the coffee?”
“C’mon, Pete. Help me. You know Cain’s behind this.”
“It isn’t just Cain, Ned. It’s everybody. You work there. You’re in charge of things. It’s logical in one way—even if it’s wrong.”
“Is it logical that I killed those three boys—even if I was involved in the robbery, do you really think I could kill those three boys?”
“It isn’t logical to me. But people start talking and”—he leaned forward on his elbows—“you need to tell me everything you know, Ned.”
Exasperation in his voice, Lenihan said, “You’ve known me for twenty years. I recommended you for the job when Cain first came here before I knew what he was like. You’ve known Amy and her family longer than I have. And you’ve still got doubts about me, Pete?”
“I’m just being a deputy, Ned. That’s all. If you tell me you didn’t have anything to do with it, I’ll believe you.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“All right. I’m throwing in with you. I’m going to bring it up with Cain the next time I see him. He should be back here in a while.”
Lenihan paused. “You ever consider the possibility that Cain is behind all this?”
“Aw, c’mon now, Ned. Just because you didn’t have anything to do with it doesn’t mean that Cain did.”
“He’s still after Amy.”
“He gave that up.”
“That’s what he says. But think about it. With me out of the way he might still think he has a chance with her. He’s not the kind of man who gets turned down very often. And it embarrassed him. A lot of people sort of laughed about it and he knew that. Maybe this is his chance to get up a lot of money and take another crack at Amy. He’d have a clear field if I was out of the way.”
Rule went over and poured himself more coffee. He tipped the pot in Lenihan’s direction but Lenihan shook his head. Rule came back and perched himself on the edge of the desk. “You’re wasting your time thinking about that, Ned. And I’m saying that as your friend.”
The door opened and Tom Cain walked in. His eyes reflected his surprise at seeing Lenihan sitting across from Rule.
“You stop by to confess, did you, Ned?” The rueful, condescending tone Lenihan was used to hearing.
“You might be the killer yourself, Cain.”
“That’s just like a guilty man, isn’t it, Pete? Trying to put the blame on somebody else. We see that a lot, don’t we?”
“We were just having a talk, Tom.” Rule’s eyes met Lenihan’s. “And he wasn’t confessing to anything. He’s just worried that so many people think he’s the man we’re looking for.”
Lenihan was already on his feet. “I want you to stop spreading rumors about me.”
“And what makes you think I’m doing that?” He brushed past Lenihan, making sure he nudged him on the way over to his own desk. He took off his Stetson, hung it on the hat rack and then seated himself. “The people in this town aren’t stupid, Lenihan. They know you need money and they know you knew all about the money in the strongbox. Doesn’t take much to figure out who might be behind it.”
“How about you, like I said? Or the Raines brothers?”
“You accusing them, too, are you, Lenihan?” Cain’s smug manner only infuriated Lenihan all the more. “Pretty soon you’ll start accusing everybody who passes you on the street.”
“Easy, Tom. There’s no solid evidence against him. There’s just a lot of suspicion.” Rule’s voice was sympathetic and obviously irritated the lawman.
“You throwing in with him, are you, Pete? Seems to me you need to be a little more objective when it comes to suspects.”
“How about you, Cain?” Lenihan said. “How objective are you? You’ve hated me ever since you started chasing Amy around. You couldn’t stand the thought that she turned you down. You’ve been waiting for a chance to bring me down ever since.”
“If I wanted to bring you down, Lenihan, it wouldn’t take much. I’m older than you and not in the peak of condition but I’ll be happy to fight you with fists or guns anytime you name it.”
Lenihan’s mind blanked. Some unconscious force took over him. He found himself diving through the air straight across Cain’s desk, smashing into the startled lawman and knocking him out of his chair. He didn’t stop there. Before Rule could reach him, Lenihan struck Cain in the face twice. Despite the small size of his fists, he managed to bloody the lawman’s mouth and to give him a small cut above the left eye.
Rule shouted, “You’re just making it worse, Ned!” He got his arms around Ned’s shoulders and jerked the small man to his feet. Then he shoved him back several feet.
By now Cain was struggling to his feet. Shouting curses, touching the blood on his lips in disbelief. His eyes showed the insanity they often did when he was in any kind of altercation. As his hand dropped to his six-shooter, Rule shouted, “No, Tom!”
And to make sure Cain didn’t draw and fire, Rule lodged himself in front of his boss. “You need to simmer down and so does Ned.”
“Who’re you working for, Pete?” Cain shouted. “Me or Lenihan?”
“For you, Tom. But I sure as hell don’t want to see anybody get killed over this.”
“And what if he’s the one who killed those boys? Do you want to see him die then, do you?”
“I don’t believe he’s the one, Tom. But if he is, then I’ll have to see what I think then.”
“You get out of here, Lenihan,” Cain bellered. “Right now you’re hiding behind Pete. But if he wasn’t here you’d be dead, you understand?”
Rule faced Lenihan. Seeing that Lenihan was about to say something—still looking belligerent—he pushed him toward the door and said, “Out and out now, Ned. Right now!”
Lenihan, shaking his head, staring down at his bruised knuckles, looked up and scowled at Cain. And then, still shaking his head, left the sheriff’s office.
“What the hell’s that for?” Sam Raines said.
“I’d say that isn’t any of your business.”
“Well, since I’m the one that cleaned up all your puke a little while ago, I’d say it sure is my business.”
“Well, I’ve been known to clean up your puke when I need to.” Which was true. Sam did his own share of alcohol vomiting, too.
The shack behind the stage line had once been used for drivers to sleep in. It contained two cots, a potbelly stove, wooden flooring and no windows. One driver had remarked that it was one step up from a prison cell. No meals were made or eaten here. The Raines brothers had taken it over after the stage line got a reduced room rate from the worst hotel in Cawthorne for its drivers. At least the hotel rooms had windows and didn’t have the suffocating smell of men to whom bathing was often considered an offense.