Free Love & Marry by L.K. Campbell Page A

undertaker leaves with the body, check Mr. Kelly’s suit pockets for the items Mrs. Miles just mentioned.”
    “No,” Annabelle said. “He didn’t put them in his pockets. He put them back in that valise he was carrying.”
    “Then search around the area where we found the body for a valise,” Luke said.
    Sheriff Tuttle went out leaving her alone with Marshal Johnson who took the seat that Tuttle had vacated. “Are you sure that the pouch contained diamonds?” he asked.
    “He—Mr. Kelly said that they were diamonds. He had one of those eyepieces that jewelers use.”
    Marshal Johnson leaned forward with his elbows on his knees bringing his face closer to hers. “You must have been in very close proximity to witness all of this.”
    Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she found herself stammering. “I-I was in the tub. They were in the room next door.”
    He squinted at her. “You can see through walls, Mrs. Miles?”
    She released the breath she’d been holding. “Of course not. I saw them through a cracked board in the partition. I had turned down the wick of my lamp so that I wouldn’t be seen in my altogether by anyone passing by the window. I’m from back east, Marshal. I’m not used to bathing out in the open.”
    A crooked smile worked its way across his lips, changing his face from stern to handsome. He nodded. “Must have been a pretty big crack for you to have seen so much,” he said.
    Was he making fun of her ? She straightened her posture. “I was curious, so I made an extra effort to see what they were doing.”
    “I see,” he said with a tilt of his head. “Can you describe the man? Would you know him if you saw him again?”
    Annabelle nodded. “Yes, I’m sure I would. He was tall, had dark hair and a mustache. He had the build of a man who does hard labor, and something else. He had a long scar across the back of one hand.”
    Sheriff Tuttle appeared in the doorway carrying the brown leather case. “I searched the body and the root cellar, Marshal. Here’s the valise, but it’s empty. The lock has been pried open. I did find this in one of his pockets.” The Sheriff showed Marshal Johnson a piece of paper. “It’s a telegram instructing Mr. Kelly to meet someone named Nate Harper at this way station on yesterday’s date,” he said. “It’s signed with the initials J.F.”
    “I heard Mr. Kelly call the other man Mr. Harper,” Annabelle said.
    “Take this to the telegraph office in Lake Andes,” Marshal Johnson said. “And find out if the operator has any way of knowing which telegraph office it was sent from.”
    “Are you not coming back to Lake Andes?” the Sheriff asked.
    “I’ll be along later,” The Marshal said. “I want to do a thorough search of the premises on my own before I send the stage on its way.” He turned back to Annabelle. “Can you think of anything else that might help my investigation, Mrs. Miles?”
    “I’ve told you all I know,” she said. “After the two men left the bathhouse, I didn’t see or hear anything else.” She paused and held up a finger. “No wait a minute. There is something else, but I don’t know if it means anything.”
    “Go on,” he said.
    “Before he extinguished the lamp, Mr. Harper checked the time on his pocket watch as if it were important that he know the time. It looked just like a gold watch that my husband had.” She shrugged one shoulder. “That’s all.”
    “Well, thank you, Mrs. Miles.”
    He stood and started towards the door. Before leaving, he stopped and turned back to her. “May I ask where you’re going,” he said. “Just in case I have more questions.”
    “Red Gorge,” she said.
    One eyebrow rose. “That’s a small mining town. Kind of a rough and tumble place for a lady if I may say so.”
    His description of her destination didn’t do much to set her frayed nerves at ease. “My aunt lives there. She owns a gold mine.”
    He nodded and smiled. “Well, take care, Mrs. Miles.”
    His