Free The Iron Horseman by Kelli Ann Morgan

in.
    Cadence
smiled to herself when she thought of how sweet Emaline was on the man. She
could see how his easy manner and modest good looks would attract the lovely
spinster.
    “Levi,
as you probably suspected, it looks like the blaze at the bank was no accident.
Someone started that fire and I want to know why. I know you vetted every one
of the people living around here and I thought you might have some idea where
to start. Is there anybody here you might suspect of being capable of doing
such a thing?”
    Levi
scrubbed his face with his hands. “There’s been a lot of growth in this town
since I brought people in, Sheriff. Of those, there isn’t a single person I
wouldn’t trust with my life. Why would anyone here want to see the bank
destroyed? It’ll be an important foundation for this town.”
    “That’s
what we’re trying to find out.”
    “Miss
Walker,” the sheriff turned his attentions to her, “I noticed you standing near
the bank when the train first arrived this morning, and—“
    “Surely,
you don’t think I had something to do with it?” she asked him point blank.
    “I
certainly do not, but,” he scratched his head, “we was wondering, that well,
with your pa being a Pinkerton and all, I expect you got some of his smarts and
thought you might have seen something suspicious while you were acquainting
yourself with our little town. What do you think? Did ya?” he asked.
    Cadence
thought for a good long while before answering. She was just grateful she
hadn’t become a suspect. After all, she’d only been in town one day. Of course,
Taggert and Cole had only been here as long as she had, and a number of the
railroad crew had all arrived at the same time on the same train.
    “I
don’t think your culprit lives in Flat Plains.”
    She’d
expected them to laugh. Most people didn’t take well to women with
ideas—especially about the law. They didn’t.
    “What
do you mean?”
    “Well,
everyone living here has a vested interest in seeing this little town succeed.
I think the answer lies in who doesn’t want to see it succeed. I would start by
talking to anyone new in town—including me, the Redbournes here, and the crew
who arrived this morning.”
    “Nicely
said,” Levi commented.
    Cadence
couldn’t help being pleased by his words.
    “Wasn’t
me,” Cole said.
    “Don’t
look at me.” Tag raised his hands in the air.
    “Well,
everybody is pretty new here, though I have seen a few unfamiliar faces over
the last couple of days. So, who is new to town?”
    “Obviously,
it wasn’t any of us,” Cadence said, offering the Redbourne brothers a little
smile—which still hurt her face. She had to stop doing that until the cuts and
bruises on her cheek and below her eye healed. “But there are plenty of people
who arrived with the train—from the engineer and conductor to the boys keeping
the engine fueled.” She didn’t mention her discreet traveling companions who
had opted to stay back on the train.
    “I
guess we’ve got a little work to do, deputy,” the sheriff spoke over his
shoulder.
    Cadence
tilted her head until she saw the shadow of the dark figure behind Sheriff
Richards. The short man stepped into view, but with the fading light, it was
still hard to see him fully.
    “This
here is my new deputy, Mathias Horn. He’s helping me out with this
investigation.”
    Each
of the men shook hands, but he simply nodded in Cadence’s direction.
    “There’s
a few of ‘em staying at Emaline’s place,” Deputy Horn spoke. “Some of the
others holed up in tents behind the station, and the rest, I heard, stayed on
the train. The way I figure it, if it was somebody from the railroad, they’ll
be headed out in the morning. Why don’t we just wait and see.”
    Even
in the low light, Cadence could see the sheriff’s jaw clench. The younger man,
it would appear, still had a lot to learn about keeping the law.
    “Thank
you all for your time.” The sheriff tipped his hat.