" "Anything else? " "No."

"What was Marshal Davidson doing while his witness was being killed? "

"He'd already gotten hit. He's going to recover, but it will take a long time. The doctor dug three bullets out of him."

"They wouldn't have left him unless they thought they'd killed him."

"Yes, that's what I think."

"Sheriff Norton told me how MacFarland and his wife were killed. A knife was used on both of them. He thinks they murdered his wife to send folks a message. He says you're going to have a hell of a time getting anyone to admit he saw anything. Word travels fast in the territory."

"Did Norton happen to tell you anything about his background? " "No, he didn't.

Why do you ask? " "Just curious. Have you ever heard of a gunslinger named the Laredo Kid? " "Sure, " Cole answered. "He was a legend when I was growing up. Every one knew what a daredevil he was . . . crazy, but fast with a gun. Real fast. He's probably dead by now. Did Norton kill him? " Ryan smiled. "The Laredo Kid isn't dead. Fact is, he became a sheriff."

"Norton is . . . ? " Cole was incredulous.

"I swear it's true."

"He should have been killed years ago. There's always someone faster with a gun waiting to prove himself. He's lucky he's still alive."

"I agree, especially with that wife of his cooking for him. Did she make you eat her fried chicken? It damn near killed me." Cole burst out laughing. He was surprised how good it felt.

The tension in his gut eased up a little. "She tried, " he admitted.

"But I didn't touch it." Ryan also relaxed, until he looked at the bloodstained floors again. It was a sobering sight.

"You've had time to look around. Tell me what you think happened. "

The laughter was gone from Cole's eyes when he answered.

"I'll tell you what I know didn't happen. None of them fought. There aren't any signs of a struggle. Hell, they were as meek as sheep.

There are guns in all three cash drawers behind the windows, " he said with a tilt of his head toward the tellers' stations. "They're loaded, but they haven't been touched. Now, you tell me something, Ryan. Why did you come after me? There are better men out there to wear this badge."

"I wanted you."

"Why? " "It's complicated."

"That's an excuse, not an answer." Ryan sent the chair flying backward when he stood up and leaned against the desk. Both men ignored the crash that followed as the chair struck the wall, their gazes were fixed on each other.

A long minute passed in silence before Ryan made up his mind. "All right, I'll tell you why I chose you for the job. A long time ago I started getting curious about you when I heard about the trouble you ran into down near Abilene and how you handled it."

"I'm sure the story was exaggerated."

"No, it wasn't. I checked it out. You knew what they were going to do to that woman, and you" "Like I said, " Cole interrupted, "the story was exaggerated."

"You shot through her to get him." "I shot through her arm, that's all. The bullet didn't touch bone. She only got a nick."

"But that same bullet killed him.

" "He needed to die." 'I can give you at least twenty other examples.

" "I'm good with a gun. So what? " "You want the best reason of all?

" "Yes."

"You think like they do."

"Like who? " "The bastards who came in here and killed all those people."

"Son of a bitch! " Cole roared. "Do you think I could do something like this? " Ryan diffused his anger. "No, I don't think you could do something like this. I said you think like they do. You can get into their minds, Cole.

I've tried, but I can't do it."

"You're nuts, Ryan."

"Maybe, but I need a man who won't hesitate and who doesn't mind bending the law in certain situations. I also have to trust him, and I trust you."

"How do you know you can trust me? " "All the stories you say didn't happen. I rode with your mother on the train to Salt Lake, and she told me all sorts of saintly things about you only a mother could believe. Does she know how ruthless you can be? " Cole refused to answer the question.

Ryan plunged ahead. "She thinks you're headed in the wrong direction.

That's why she gave you the compass."

"The compass you kept for over a year." Ryan shrugged. She also told me the compass was to remind you to stay on the right path. The way I see it, I'm helping you do just that."

"I'm not ruthless."

"When the situation calls for it, you are. I also heard about Springfield."

"Ah, hell."

"Are you going to help me or not? " Cole had already made his decision. The sight of those bodies would stay in his mind for a long, long time, and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at night unless he helped find the men who had committed this atrocity. He simply couldn't walk away.

"I want to get all of them, " he whispered. "I'll keep the badge, but as soon as this is over, I'm giving it back."

"You might decide to stay on."

"Maybe, " was all he would allow. "Are there any special rules for marshals? I never was one for rules, " he warned.

"Marshals are assigned to territories, but you and I are theexception because we're on special duty. As for the rules, you don't need to worry about them. It's all common-sense stuff anyway. Marshals can't be tried for murder, you know." He told the lie with a straight face.

Cole laughed. "That rule will come in handy." Ryan stood up and rolled his shoulders to work the stiffness out. "Why don't you go through this box while I go in the back and look through the drawers again." Ryan had already headed toward the president's office when Cole called out to him. "What am I looking for? " "The names of the people who did their banking yesterday. Sloan told me that the president insisted his tellers keep accurate records. They were ordered to write down the name of every customer they helped."

"Once we make the list of the names, then what? " Cole asked.

"We talk to all of them because one might have noticed something out of the ordinary."

"Has that ever happened before? " "No, but we still have to ask.