Page 7 of Gideon

“You too.”

Gideon continued along the row, shaking his head.

When he neared the end of the row, he noticed a stall out the back under a large oak tree. It was out of sync with the others.

The woman standing behind a table full of vegetables and pottery items had a scowl on her face. She crossed her arms as she glared at the two men who were perusing her wares. It was an odd attitude to have toward potential customers.

One of the men picked up a tomato and tossed it in the air, but Gideon was too far away to hear what was being said. Then the woman leaned across the table and pointed a strong finger at the men. He heard the laugh they sent back at her. He moved closer in case she needed help.

“Hey,” the man with the tomato said. “The rules are the same for everyone. Why should you be treated any differently? It would be unfair.”

“It’s unfair for everyone,” she said. “Everything about the way this town is run is unfair.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but it’s the mayor’s job to keep the whole town in a strong position, not just save a couple of people a few bucks.”

“This has nothing to do with what’s best for the people. He’s a thief.”

“Is everything okay?” Gideon said, risking involvement.

The woman’s eyes widened for a moment as astrange looked crossed her face, but it was gone before he could discern it.

“N-no, actually,” she stuttered, momentarily flustered, but that quickly shifted to contempt when she looked back at the men. “It’s not.”

“This doesn’t concern you,” the tomato man said, giving Gideon a once over.

Now that Gideon could see his face, he recognized him as one of the men in the car at the bar that Charlie had been worried about. “I’m afraid it does now,” he said, moving into a stronger position so they knew he was committed.

Tomato man looked at his friend and laughed. “Can you believe this guy?”

“Nope,” his friend said. “Look buddy, I think it would be best if you kept walking.”

“I would, but,” Gideon smiled, “you boys appear quite capable of handling yourselves, so you can understand why I’m a little concerned when you start harassing a defenseless woman.”

“I’m not defenseless,” she said.

The friend snorted, and tomato said, “You should listen to the guy, Nikki. You're as stubborn as a mule, but you wouldn’t want to put yourself in a vulnerable position, would you?”

“Are you threatening me now?” she said, moving around the table. “You think threatening me is the right move here?”

Tomato shook his head. “I know you feel the need to show off now that you have an audience, but I don’twant any trouble. All you have to do is pay us what you owe, and we’ll go.” He rested his hand on his hip, moving his jacket out of the way to expose the gun at his hip.

“I take it you have a permit for that?” Gideon said.

The man tsked and pulled something from his back pocket, flipping it open to show he was a sheriff’s deputy.

Gideon looked at it while he worked out what to say next. “Deputy Cole, has this woman broken any laws?”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“Is it normal for you to be out of uniform when you’re doing business concerning the law?”

“I’m off duty. Doing a favor for the sheriff, since he can’t be here.”

“The deputy,” Nikki said, “is trying to get me to pay a fee for an unconstitutional resolution created by the mayor.”

“Listen to you using the big words,” Cole said. “He’s the mayor. He was elected by the people who have given him the power to do what is best for this town.”

She scoffed. “Best for the town, huh?”

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