Page 75 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
When he walked into the jail without saying more, she followed.“That’s it?”
He gave her a brief look before sitting at his desk.“They told me their names and how they knew Edwin.”He huffed out a breath when he sat in his chair.“And they had a document that said they were half owner in the store.”
She glanced at Josiah before straightening.“Is it legal?”
“Hard to say.”
When he didn’t offer her anything else, she sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk and stared at Josiah.He looked exactly as he had yesterday, but something in his eyes made him look tired and worn down.Of course, the prospect of being hanged for something he didn’t do would probably make any man look haggard.
Their eyes met, and she saw the life they could have had flash before her eyes.Would she ever get to live it?
Anger at the unknown woman who accused Josiah of saying he’d kill Edwin when he hadn’t made her heart start thumping inside her chest.Her face felt hot and her hands were shaking as she tried to control her anger over the situation.
She looked back at the sheriff and leaned toward him.“How can you hold him here, sheriff?”
The sheriff raised an eyebrow.“I’m the law in this town.That’s how.”
“I know that, but…all you have is the word of some woman we don’t even know.”
The deputy walked back into the jail then and she glanced up at him when he shut the door.Seeing him look at her, she sat up straight in her seat and said, “I heard your deputy say he’d wanted Edwin dead just yesterday, and now he is.He lives here in the town and actually knew Edwin, so if anyone has a real motive to kill the man, it's your deputy.He’s your real killer!”
ChapterTwenty-Two
“Violet, what are you doing?”
She glanced at Josiah before saying, “I’m telling the sheriff what I heard.”
“Mrs.Lincoln—”
“—Miss Campbell,” Violet said, interrupting the sheriff.
The man gave her a long look, an expression crossing his face that told him he must have remembered the mess Amos created by pretending to be a preacher before clearing his throat.“Right.Miss Campbell.You can’t just go around accusing people of something they didn’t do.”
“Why?That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it?You found Edwin dead and some woman we still haven’t met said she heard Josiah say he would kill him, which he did not, and you just—locked him up as if he did it.”
“I locked him up so I could investigate the matter.”
“Well, now you have another suspect.”She pointed at his deputy.“Lock him up as well.”
“That’s ridiculous, Miss Campbell.”
“And so is arresting Josiah just because someone said they heard something no one else did!”
The silence that followed was deafening.No one said a word for long minutes as the sheriff stared at her and, he had to admit, she had a solid point.The sheriff had nothing other than hearsay.Of course, he’d seen men hang for much less, but he hoped the sheriff could control the townsfolk better than they did in bigger towns.
Violet blew out a tired breath.“Sheriff, what possible reason would Josiah have for killing Edwin?”
The bruises on her face, the same bruises that caused Josiah to march toward Edwin’s mercantile in the first place, were barely a smudge on her skin now.Edwin had left a mark on her, and although Josiah had been upset about it, he certainly wouldn’t have killed the man over it.All he’d wanted to do was repay the favor and leave a few bruises on him as well.
The sheriff looked toward him, staring at him for so long, he knew he was considering everything logically now that the excitement from the previous day had settled down.When the man blew out a breath and wiped a hand over his face, then stood from his seat, his heart started thumping.
It was as if the man were moving in slow motion when he crossed the jail and unlocked his cell door, holding it open wide before saying, “If you leave town, I’ll automatically assume you’re guilty and will send out a posse of deputies to retrieve you.”
Josiah gave the sheriff a nod of his head and stepped out of the cell.
The sheriff closed the door with a bang loud enough to make Amos, who was still passed out drunk in the other cell, jolt.“This isn’t over yet,” he said.“Someone killed Edwin, and until I find out who that is, you two are to remain here in town.”
Violet jumped to her feet.“We will.”
