Page 82 of A Soft Kiss in Summer
The sheriff went into detail about how Bonnie had taken it upon herself to do what the rest of them wouldn’t.She headed to the undertakers and shaved the corpse to find that freckle the saloon whores claimed he had.She didn’t find the freckle, but it was such a tiny thing to even consider, it wasn’t enough to prove the man they’d found dead in the mercantile was Edwin or not, but she did bring him some curious information.
“Those two,” the sheriff said, nodding at the men in the cells, “Had a wagon full of merchandise and a bag full of money when I went to question them again.
“They claimed to be associates of Edwin’s, but when I saw them cleaning out the store, I questioned them about it.They claimed Edwin owed them and their associates a large sum of money and they were just taking what was theirs.It was enough for me to wonder if they hadn’t killed Edwin so, I had them brought here and thrown into the cells.”
“I didn’t kill him!”the shorter of the two men shouted.“How many times do I have to say it?”
“He probably ran off,” the other said.
“Then who is the man the undertaker has?”
Violet’s question left the two men looking at each other before they shrugged in unison.“Hell if I know,” the taller of the two said.“We thought it was Edwin, too.”
Something about the look in their eyes told him they might know who it was, but neither was going to say.
The sheriff tapped his knuckles on the table to get their attention and asked, “Can you prove it isn’t?”
The man shrugged again.“Maybe.”
“You’re looking at a murder charge, fellas.I think I’d try to remember anything you could to prove that man at the undertakers isn’t Edwin Wright.”
The shortest of the two looked at the other before glancing at the sheriff.He blurted out, “Edwin got stabbed in the leg not long ago.He should have a scar from it.”
A flurry of activity sent them all in different directions and when they all congregated back at the sheriff’s office, Josiah knew half of their problems were all solved.
According to the town doctor, Edwin had come in a few weeks ago with a bad cut on his leg.He’d stitched him up and sent him on his way and another search of the corpse told them he had no such scar.
The man they’d thought was Edwin, wasn’t, and with half his face blown off, it was likely they’d never know who he was or why he’d been in the mercantile, shot to death, so the real question now was—where was Edwin?
“I knew it!”Violet’s heart was racing so fast she had trouble catching her breath.
Everyone was talking at once, the main question being, where was Edwin?The idea he faked his own death was thrown around and with the money he owed the two men behind the cell bars, maybe he had, but, “None of this makes any sense.”
She realized she’d said it out loud when the sheriff looked her way.
“Most murders don’t.”
“I know that,” she said.“I meant Edwin’s insistence on marrying me.”She glanced at Josiah.“Why would he have tried so hard to get me to marry him?”
Before Josiah could say anything, the shortest man behind the bars said, “He wanted your store.”
They all turned to look at him.He grinned, his rotten teeth making him look even more untrustworthy than he had before.“He owed our boss alotof money.”
“Your boss?”The sheriff said.
The taller of the two men looked at the other and said, “Shut up, Jake.”
“Why?”Jake said.“We’re already in jail.What more can they do?”
“Oh, I don’t know.Hang us for murder, maybe?”
Jake’s face went stark white before he went to his bunk and sat down.
The sheriff asked the men so many questions after that, she was tired of hearing his voice, but Jake finally gave it all away.With Edwin marrying her, it would have given him access to Campbell’s Mercantile and the money it brought in.He’d promised them a cut of the profits, just like they had at his store.
She listened to them talk about her and her family’s store and felt the loss, even though he hadn’t taken a penny from them.What would they have done had he’d turned against them like that?
It doesn’t matter, she thought.He’ll never get his hands on her family's business.The fact he was willing to be so underhanded and steal them blind made the food she’d shared with Josiah sour in her stomach.
