Joe blinked at the sudden sunlight as they exited the dim saloon. "What do you think it means, Hoss?" he blurted. "This is just gettin' more confusin' - not clearer."

Hoss nodded absently. "Somebody dressed like Adam…" he mumbled, half to himself. "Joe, didn't you tell me that Henry said as how Adam was havin' trouble handlin' Sport?"

Joe shrugged. "Yeah, but Sport can be a handful."

"Sure he can - that's why Adam don't like nobody else ridin' him. But Adam manages him jest fine."

"Yeah, but if he was in a hurry…" Joe peered closely at him. "Just what are you gettin' at, Hoss?"

Hoss scratched his nose. "Ain't sure. Jest thinkin'. Ain't addin' up, somehow. Miz Polly says Adam din't leave the saloon - ol' Henry says as how he did, but wasn't like himself…"

Joe wrinkled his forehead. "And Henry did say his clothes didn't fit right…are you thinkin' it was somebody besides Adam who left that night? Somebody - pretendin' to be Adam?"

Hoss shook his head. "Mebbe. Not all fired shur as to what I'm sayin' yet - except that there's a whole lotta unanswered questions here."

Joe nodded slowly. "So - Adam coulda already been dead. They coulda killed him and taken his clothes…but WHY Hoss? It don't make any sense."

"Nope," Hoss let his breath out slowly. "Nope, it really don't. But by the time I'm through, Joe, it's gonna. Lookee, you think you can take care o' the headstone while I go off to ask some questions?" Joe just stared at him and he flushed pinkly. "Sorry, Joe," he continued gruffly. "Shouldn't ask you ta do it alone."

Joe took a deep breath. "No," he said slowly. Then, with more conviction, "No. You go. We gotta get to the bottom of this while it's still fresh in folks' minds. You go ask questions and I'll - I'll talk to Sylvester."

Hoss looked uncomfortable. "You shur?"

Joe set his teeth hard and smiled. "I'm sure. Besides," he smiled weakly. "I told Pa I already did - guess it's the least I could do."

Hoss gave him an affectionate swat on the shoulder. "Thanks, Joe. I'll meet you at Sylvester's in an hour."

Joe nodded, watching him walk away. "Hey, Hoss!" he called suddenly. Deep in his thoughts, Hoss didn't even turn around. Joe grimaced. "What do I put on the tombstone?" he asked nobody in particular.

*

Hoss took a deep breath and pushed his way through the sturdy plank door, into the cool interior. "Roy," he bobbed his head. "You got a minute?"

Roy looked up from a stack of papers he was meticulously filling out and pulled off his glasses, peering curiously. "Hoss," he returned cautiously. "Sure I do, take a seat, son. Help yourself to some coffee."

Hoss shook his head, hooking a chair underneath him and sitting down. "No thanks, Roy - had some. I need to ask you a couple o' questions, if'n I can."

Roy's face was unreadable. "'Course, Hoss. That's why I'm here." He shuffled his papers together and set them aside. "I'm a little surprised to see you in town today, though. How's your Pa?"

Hoss frowned down at his hands. "'Bout like you'd expect. Restin' when I left."

Roy nodded. "Thought you'd wanna be with him," he suggested gently.

Hoss flushed, but set his jaw. "Had some other things what needed takin' care of. Been askin' a lotta questions around town, Roy - lotta things jest don't add up."

Roy looked patient. "What kind of things would those be?"

"Things about Adam. How he died." He fished the ring out of his vest pocket and dropped it on the desk between them. "Charlie and Dave tell me they pulled that off'n Adam's…when they was fixin' ta…y'know…" he finished helplessly.

Roy poked at it, raised his brows.

"Roy, I ain't never seen that ring on Adam in his life. Comes to it, I ain't never seen ANY ring on 'em."

"I'll admit it's a little peculiar, Hoss, but that's about all. Could be a hundred reasons Adam might'a had that ring on when he died."

Hoss sighed through his nose. "Mebbe. But that ain't all. Kin you tell me 'bout what time you locked up David Fairchild?"

Roy sat back. "Hoss, I hate to say it but, any more accusations of the Fairchilds without a little proof IS gonna look like harassment."

"I'm jest askin' a question, Roy. You said that was okay."

Roy folded and unfolded his glasses. "All right…" he agreed at last. "Reckon it was just after nine thirty er so. Remember 'cause I was just finishin' my rounds when the clock struck nine and I had been goin' through wanted posters for a while."

Hoss squinted. "So he was locked up when the fire started, but he weren't locked up when Adam left the Bucket O' Blood. Or seemed to."

Roy tilted his head at him. "Now, what's that about?"

"Miz Polly swears as how it weren't Adam who left the Bucket O' Blood at all - says as how she never seen him go. And nobody seems to have seen his face and Henry at the livery says Adam's clothes didn't fit right and he was havin' trouble with Sport."

"Well, it's dark in the saloon, Hoss, and a lot is going on. And if Adam just came from - " Roy cleared his throat delicately. "Ahem...he might have his clothes rearranged some. And anybody could have trouble with that ornery horse o' his."

"Anybody else. Not Adam."

"Hoss, Adam and that ornery critter seemed ta have an agreement about fightin' each other - like they both thought it was fun. I'm sorry - you have some inerestin' ideas, but you ain't got nothin' solid. Ain't got no proof."

"Not even enough fer a suspicion? Roy, what if Adam weren't even alive when he got ta that barn? What if he was killed right here in town and left in the barn and the fire set to make it look like a accident?"

"Hoss, that's crazy talk!"

"Is it?" Hoss leaned on the desk. "Then how is it that Sport, a nervous sorta horse, like you say, got free o' that barn but Adam didn't? How is it that Sport ran AWAY from the flames? You ever see a horse do that in all yer born days?"

"No," Roy admitted. "But maybe Adam got Sport out and collapsed before he could escape himself. That smoke kin really creep up on a man. Maybe he was so concerned about the animals he didn't notice he was gettin' lightheaded til it was too late."

Hoss bit his lip. That was a pretty good theory. Still…"Roy," he said at last. "I knew my brother. Knew him my whole life. And I'm tellin' you that all this adds up to somethin' that ain't what it seems. Maybe that don't seem like evidence to you, but it is. I knew him. Somethin' here ain't right, Roy."

Roy sighed deeply, closed his glasses and set them aside. "I know you did, Hoss," he said quietly. "Shoot, I remember back to when you was both kids - remember you followin' him everywhere, 'member how you used ta look at him just like the sun rose and set right where he stood. I know what your brother was to you, Hoss. I understand. And that's one reason I don't think you gotta case here. I think you - I think you just gotta leave it alone, son. Go home to your Pa. He needs you now." Hoss stared at him. "Son, your brother is gone, and I'm sorry about that - ain't never been sorrier 'bout anythin' in my life. But fussin' with it won't change that. Won't keep him here a minute longer. Go home, son. It's where you belong."

Hoss opened his mouth to speak, closed it again. He carefully retrieved the deformed ring and returned it to his pocket, then lumbered to his feet and turned to go. Halfway to the door he stopped, dropped his head. "Y'know, Roy," he said thoughtfully, "I know I ain't mebbe the brightest or the best spoke man in these parts. I know that. But there are some things I know real well. I unnerstand the natural order o' things pretty good - how they work, when they're outta kilter, what it takes ta get 'em back in line. I notice things." He turned to meet Roy's eyes squarely. "Adam knew that about me. You remember right how it was with us - we spent a lot o' time tagether growin' up - knew each other real well. I don't mean jest what everybody else saw - I mean way deep down - inside. It was sorta a secret we shared - who we really was. Mebbe you don't count that evidence - a man acting like he wouldn't act - but it is. It shows things are outta kilter somehow. It's mebbe the truest evidence there is.

Why, you remember that time the Town Council wanted ta put you out ta pasture and replace you with some younger, slicker fella? Adam stood up fer ya - told 'em as how you could still do the job - even agreed ta sign on as yer deputy so's he could prove it. He didn't have any proof ya could still do the job, mebbe - mebbe even had a lotta proof ya couldn't. But he knew ya - knew who ya was deep down inside, and that was good enough proof fer him. So he stuck by ya.

And ya know what? He was right, weren't he? You came through and the whole Council had to admit what Adam saw all along - that ya knew what ya was doin'. Not because o' a little evidence - that's what led the Council astray. Fer him you was the evidence. And he weren't wrong."

Roy gazed at Hoss, frowning faintly, then massaged his eyelids with his fingertips.

"Now, I'm gonna be lookin' inta exactly what happened that night, Roy," Hoss continued calmly. "I'm gonna do whatever I have to do and take as long as I have to take, but I ain't quittin' till I'm satisfied that what I know is the truth and the whole truth. Reckon ya kin help me er not, but one way or another, I'm askin' ya ta stay outta my way."

Roy sighed silently, drumming lightly on the leather desktop. He looked at his fingertips and sighed again. "What is it you want me to do?" he asked at last.

Hoss grinned, returned to his chair and settled back into it. "Thought you'd never ask."

Roy snorted. "I'll bet you did. Not bright or well spoken, he says. Then Lord protect me if you were."