Free Horse With No Name by Alexandra Amor Page A

lifted his eyes and looked at Merrick,
his fingers tugging at a thick line of thread he was using to sew
two pieces of leather together. He looked back at his work,
thinking. Merrick waited.
    Finally he spoke, answering Merrick's
question with a question, "About Anker's men?"
    Merrick nodded.
    "I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I
could throw them. But I didn't notice any guilt among them, if
that's what you're asking."
    "It is. I didn't see any guilt in them
either. But impressions can be wrong."
    "Julia didn't recognize any of them."
    "No." Merrick shook his head and looked down
at his boots, thinking. "She paid close attention to their voices
but didn't notice any familiarity when they spoke."
    Walt continued sewing, pushing the needle
through the leather with his thick fingers. He made sure to keep
his eyes on his work when he next spoke. "I noticed Julia convinced
you to take her with us when we went to the ranch. I didn't think
that was the plan."
    Merrick grunted quietly. "It wasn't." He was
quiet now for a few moments, and it was Walt's turn to wait his
friend out. When Merrick spoke again his voice was low, almost as
though he was speaking to himself. "I find Miss Thom challenging to
deal with."
    "How so?"
    "Well...she pushes her way into things, like
the trip to the ranch yesterday. I haven't known her very long,
granted, but I don't think I like her very much."
    Walt looked up from his work. "Really?" He
sounded skeptical. "I thought you two were getting along a bit
better."
    "I wish we were," Merrick shook his head
slightly, "But she's a bit of a burr under my saddle blanket at the
moment. I can't seem to get her to understand that police business
is my affair, and that she should leave that work to me and stick
to school teaching."
    Finished with his repair work, Walt stood up.
All three dogs froze and looked at him, their ears perked, eyes
alert. He picked up the sawhorse and spun it around so the opposite
side was facing him. When he sat down again to work on the leather
on this new side, the dogs relaxed and resumed wrestling. "She's
stepping on your toes."
    "Aye, she is. And repeatedly." Merrick stood
up and began pacing in front of the livery. "What if every citizen
got involved like she did? What if I had people running around,
looking into cattle theft? We'd all be tripping over one another,
and I'd get nothing done. It can't be that way. I can't have other
people trying to do my job."
    Walt nodded, listening attentively, letting
his friend vent.
    "What if you had people coming in to the
smithy, picking up your tools, trying to form their own horse shoes
and nails?" Merrick looked at Walt, enjoying his own metaphor. "You
couldn't work that way."
    "Right."
    "And I can't work this way either." Merrick
stopped his pacing and leaned on the back of the wooden chair he'd
been occupying. "I need to tell her. I need to sit her down and let
her know she can't interfere any longer. It's over. I'm done
indulging her amateur detective work."
    "Excellent. A night in the stocks might do
her some good."
    Merrick glanced at his friend, "We don't use
stocks."
    "Mebbe we should."
    Walt stood up and lifted the saddle off the
sawhorse by its horn. "C'mon then you lazy bastard. That horse shit
isn't going to shovel itself."
     

Eleven
    Most of Julia's pupils lived within Horse's town
limits, and they walked to and from school. Three out of the class
of eleven lived outside of town on ranches. Harry Hewitt and Peter
Little lived on adjoining properties about four miles outside of
town.
    At three o'clock on Thursday, when Julia was
just wrapping up for the day, she heard footsteps coming up the
wooden staircase at the front of the school. The door opened and
Harry Hewitt's father stepped into the alcove where the children
hung their coats.
    All the children's heads swiveled to look at
him and adorably the man blushed. "Don't mind me, Mrs. Thom," he
said. "I was in town and just thought I'd pick up the boys and take
them home