Chapter Two

Jarrod again looked around, wondering who had intervened on his behalf. After a few minutes of scanning the area and still seeing nothing-even though he felt strongly someone was still watching him -he started his journey towards Brighton once again.

The feeling of being watched wouldn't leave him until he was a mere mile from town.

Jarrod, who had headed straight for the sheriff's office once he'd taken Jingo to the livery stable, now sat across from the lawman's desk telling him what had happened on his way to Brighton. That is, he told him of the attempted robbery. "The leader was right; I can't identify them; however, I can tell you their hair color." He went on to explain that, while the men may have attempted to hide their identities they'd failed to cover their heads properly. "I don't know what they were thinking only I'm glad they didn't do differently." He then added that, no, he had no clue who had been the one to intervene on his behalf.

"Me too." Sheriff Lawson went on to surprise Jarrod by telling him that Brighton had been having problems with the three robbers for a number of months. "Until you came in, I thought we had gotten a break in the case. Now, I'm not so sure…sort of wondering if they're telling the truth."

"What information do you have?" Jarrod was curious.

"Not much, only last week we had some information that led us to arrest the person we had reason to believe was telling the men where, and who, to attack. They even had one of the stolen items on them. Now, with this happening to you…" Sheriff Lawson shook his head. "My prisoner, who has naturally been denying any involvement and claims they've been set up, hasn't had a chance to tell anyone anything. I mean, they 've had no visitors."

Jarrod thought on the telegram in his pocket. As he did so, he had the funniest feeling the prisoner had had a visitor. "May I talk to them?"

Sheriff Lawson shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not." He retrieved some keys out of the top drawer of his desk, stood up and then headed for the back of the office. "You've got a visitor." The sheriff looked at his prisoner once he and Jarrod were standing in front of one of two cells.

Jarrod was shocked to see a brown haired, young woman turn away from the window. She didn't look a day over sixteen, maybe seventeen. Though, he said nothing as the sheriff let him inside the cell.

"I'll be in my office. When you're through here, just holler. That door," he nodded towards the one they'd just walked through, "is really easy to hear though-IF you're raising your voice." Sheriff Lawson told Jarrod just before leaving the cell area.

Once the door shut behind the sheriff, Jarrod asked the young woman her name, her age…and just why the law thought she was involved. "I asked to see you before the sheriff could explain that one to me."

The young woman sighed as she sat down on the only cot in the cell. "Name's Abigail Thomas, friends call me Abby. I'll be seventeen next week." She took a deep breath and then told him how she'd been in each area the previous robberies had taken place. That is, she'd been in those places shortly before the events had taken place. "I didn't have anything with setting anything up only, I guess, someone got it into their heads I did because of what I just told you. They pointed it out to the sheriff. To top things off…somehow…one of the smaller stolen items wound up in my saddlebags. I swear," she shook her head, "I don't know how it got there!" Then, not knowing what had happened to Jarrod, she added, "Because the robberies stopped once I was inside here, and that one item was on me, everyone is convinced I'm guilty. I'm not though!"

"Not everyone," he pulled out the telegram in his pocket and handed it to Abigail. "Do you know who sent this?"

With her eyebrows turned slightly downward, the young woman took the paper and began reading it. A smile appeared on her face. "I shouldn't have said everyone. My friend snuck by the window a few nights ago. He said he'd send for the best man he'd ever met to help me." Her smile then quickly faded. "I'm still in the same trouble. I can't prove I'm not guilty, and I can't even get the law to look at the possibility I'm telling the truth."

"Who's your friend?" Jarrod, who was shocked to learn that it was actually someone he was supposed to know who'd sent for him, was confused as to why the telegram hadn't been signed if that was the case.

Abigail shook her head. "We discussed this mess. I should say I was very vocal about how I felt about things, though he was more than willing to come forward. We might have had quite the row about it only we had to keep our voices down in order to avoid him being detected. It took quite a while only I finally convinced him to allow me to leave his name out of this, though he told me he was going to keep his ears and eyes wide open. That, if there was anything he could do to bring the truth to light, he would." She sighed and then continued. "I didn't really like putting my foot down and fighting him over the fact that I didn't want our names connected quite yet only…you see…he's had small skirmishes with the law in the past. I fear everyone would believe he was behind the robberies if they connected the two of us as a pair right now. And, before you even suggest it, he's NOT involved. He ran an errand for me and was out of town when this," she pointed to the room around her, "happened." She went on to say how hard her friend had been working on living a life on the right side of the law. "Needless to say, he was highly upset when he came back into town. I don't want whoever set me up to set him up as well." She handed Jarrod the telegram back. "Can you help me?"

…though he told me he was going to keep his ears and eyes wide open. That, if there was anything he could do to bring the truth to light, he would...skirmishes with the law. Her words rang in Jarrod's ears. At that moment, he just knew who had stepped in and stopped the robbery. "Do you have people who can vouch for you? I mean, what type of person you are?" Jarrod shook the thoughts off as he asked the question, knowing that would help the young girl immensely.

"A few," Abigail started telling him the people she knew in town, ones who knew her well enough to believe her. He wrote the names in a small book he'd pulled out of his vest pocket.

Jarrod stood up. "I'll talk to these people and keep my ears wide open. Though," he paused, "when your friend comes back, please, I'd like to talk to him as well."

Abigail nodded and told him that she'd do as he'd asked.

Once he was again standing near the sheriff's desk, he asked if the sheriff had talked to any of the people who knew Abigail.

"Most of them," the sheriff replied as he sat down in his desk.

Jarrod couldn't help but notice the sheriff had been giving him odd looks now and then ever since Jarrod had entered the sheriff's office. He couldn't help wonder if it was because of Abigiail's friend, though he didn't ask. He had no time to. "I'm going to talk to all of them…do you know anyone she may have forgotten to add?" He handed the book to the sheriff, hoping the man would actually say the name of Abby's friend.

Sheriff Lawson took the book and looked over the names. The fact that the man bit his lip a time or two told Jarrod the man had noticed something only, when Jarrod pressed him to tell him what he'd seen, the sheriff shook his head. "I think, with what' you've told me…" he shook his head, "Go talk to them. Talk to others. Maybe, without a badge on your chest, they'll tell you something. Maybe you'll actually uncover something I've missed."

I'll do that." Jarrod took his small book and walked out of the office.