The Winter Pearl. Molly Noble Bull

it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

      There were two local men at the round table in the corner with the lawman. Lucas ambled toward them.

      Sheriff Manning was leaning back in his chair, drinking from a beer mug. His fat belly hung over his belt, and his blue shirt was stretched to the limit. Some of the buttons looked like they might pop off at any moment.

      “Well, Scythe,” the sheriff said, “what dragged you to town in the middle of the day? Whiskey?”

      Lucas stiffened.

      The other two men grinned.

      Arms at his sides, Lucas clenched his fists. His jaw hardened. He should punch all three of them out for their taunting. They had it coming, even if he landed in jail. However, to get the information he needed, he had no choice but to rein in his anger.

      “My niece, Honor, has done run off with my money, Sheriff. She’s a low-down thief and that’s the truth.”

      “Well, well. What a shame. Have you tried paying that girl for the work she does for ya, Scythe?”

      “She gets room and board.”

      “Room and board.” The sheriff exchanged a glance with the other men at his table. “Maybe she thought she deserved more. Ever think of that?”

      The other men looked straight at Lucas, waiting for him to answer.

      Lucas felt his face heat up, and fury burned like hot coals inside him. He cleared his throat, trying to keep calm. He’d learned the hard way that if he hoped to be looked on favorably by the sheriff and others in the community, he must pretend to agree with them, whatever the cost.

      “Any idea how I could find her ’fore she spends all I got?”

      “If your niece had money, she might have taken the stage to Pine Falls or on to Denver,” the sheriff said. “Or she could have taken the stage to Cold Springs. Who knows?”

      Slim Perkins sat across from the sheriff. He set his mug on the table. “Since Ben Kraken sells stagecoach tickets down at the livery, he might know.”

      Why hadn’t Lucas thought of that? “Thank you kindly, Slim.”

      Lucas glanced toward the door. His absentmindedness appeared to be growing by the minute. He swallowed, wishing for a drink. “I best go on over there and see what Ben can tell me, then.” He looked back. “And I’m much obliged to all of ya.”

      Nobody at the table made a comment. They merely watched him go like they all had a secret they weren’t willing to share with him. Lucas turned, clenching his jaw. If he hoped to find Honor, he’d better just walk away.

      Lucas brushed through the swinging doors, but he stopped before stepping off the covered porch in front of the saloon. Snowflakes were floating down, melting before they hit the ground. The chilly air and the refreshing sight of falling snow lifted his spirits. He straightened his shoulders and turned up his collar against the wintry breeze. If he expected Ben to provide him with answers, he would need to look composed.

      Glancing up and down the street, he took in his town. Until now, he’d seldom seen the place in daylight.

      Falling Rock reminded him of Cold Springs, the town he grew up in. He had never realized the similarity until now. Trees lined both sides of the street, and snow-tipped mountains towered in the distance. Neatly dressed people strolled in and out of the hotel and the general store.

      Looking down at the gray suit he’d worn since Harriet’s burial, Lucas wished he’d cleaned up a bit before leaving the cabin. A week ago, he wouldn’t have cared. Now, he did. He should look respectable if he expected folks to give him the information he wanted.

      Lucas started down the street and turned left at the corner. He’d almost forgotten he would have to pass by the church to reach the livery. He considered turning back, selecting a different route, then decided he just wouldn’t look at the little church with its whitewashed walls and stone porch. Not this time. As a child, he’d had his fill of church and religion.

      Yet when he reached the small structure, he found himself peering inside the open doorway. Harriet had once been a member of that church. He guessed she must have been considered a member until the day she died.

      A middle-aged man in a dark suit came out and stood on the porch. The preacher? Lucas didn’t want to find out. He stepped up his pace. Hurrying down the street, he didn’t look back.

      By the time Lucas reached the livery stable, his breath was coming in gasps. Then he coughed.

      The room used for blacksmithing jobs smelled of smoke. Ben Kraken stood in front of a heavy anvil mounted on the stump of a big oak tree. He was hammering a piece of iron into a horseshoe.

      “Good afternoon,” Lucas said from the doorway.

      Ben must have heard him, but he kept on working. His hammer hit the metal again. Whop! The metal glowed red-hot.

      Even on such a cold day, the room was sweltering. Lucas unbuttoned the top button of his jacket and stepped inside. Ben raised the heavy hammer again. When it came down against the soft metal and the anvil, another loud metallic bang rang out.

      Lucas stepped closer. “I said hello.”

      “I heard ya.” Ben glanced at Lucas out of the corner of his eye. “Good afternoon. Or it will be—if you came in to pay what you owe me.”

      Lucas felt his temper rising, but he feigned a pleasant expression. “My niece run off with all my money, and I come lookin’ for her. What else could I do?”

      Ben Kraken lifted the hot iron with a pair of long-handled tongs and dropped it into a tub of water. The water sizzled. A puff of gray smoke spiraled upward.

      Lucas took a step back from the tub. He had a deep need to punch Kraken in that big nose of his until it bled. Hearing Ben speak in mocking tones and with such a lack of respect was galling. Nevertheless, to get what he wanted out of the man, Lucas would hold back. For now. He could settle the score later.

      “Do you know if Honor took the stage somewhere?” he asked in a calm voice.

      “If I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.”

      Lucas stepped forward again. His hands clenched into fists, and his wrath grew, but he held his tongue. Looking Kraken right in the face, he glared at him. “Why won’t ya tell me, Ben?”

      “Word gets around.” Ben looked down at his work, ignoring the rage that Lucas could hear in his own voice. “The whole town knows how you treated your wife and that poor girl.”

      Ben pulled the horseshoe from the water with the tongs, then turned and thrust the metal into the forge. The blaze licked the iron, crackling and popping. Red and yellow sparks flew.

      Lucas jammed his hands deeply into his pockets to prevent them from flying out as fists. “But if I don’t get my money back,” he pointed out, “how was you expecting me to pay ya?”

      Ben dragged the iron from the fire. “Knowing you, I doubt I’ll get paid anyway.” The metal had turned a bright red. Heat radiated from it. Ben took the horseshoe back to the anvil and reached for the hammer. “Besides,” he said, “if I can help that girl a little, I will.”

      Lucas gritted his teeth. Kraken was asking for it. He counted to ten, trying to calm down. Then twenty. At last he asked, “Did a stage leave for Pine Falls early yesterday morning?”

      “As a matter of fact, one did. And somebody robbed it,” Ben said. “I had to send out another coach to take the folks on to Pine Falls.”

      “Was anyone hurt?”

      “If they were, I don’t know about it,” Ben said shortly.

      “I guess I’ll ride over to Pine Falls, then, and take a look around. See what I can find out. And thanks for your help.”

      “The best thing you can do for me, Scythe, is to get out