Dakota just looked at Ethan.
"So what are we going to do," he said, "We can't even find Burke and Trevor…they seemed to have vanished."
Ethan sighed.
"They'll be back as soon as it dies down. Darrin can't afford to keep them not working for long."
They both were heading back to the office after having ridden out by the ranches to check on whether anyone had seen any strangers coming or going on the main roads leading into Paradise. But no one had seen anything. They hadn't seen this mysterious stranger come into town just as no one had seen him commit vandalism against a business.
Nobody had fled the town after the man had been locked up and would soon be discovered dead. Nor had anyone left quickly after Charlie and Dakota showed up to investigate the disturbance early in the morning.
The only time they'd left the man alone in the jail cell.
"Martha's covering for the men…you know that."
Ethan pushed the door open into the office.
"She's doing it to protect her father not them," he said, "If they break the law then Darrin's at least part responsible."
Dakota followed him into the office.
"So you think this sudden law breaking behavior is a setup?"
Ethan went to his desk.
"I know it is…and it's just to drum up business for Darren's security men…some business gets broken into or vandalized during the night…then word about it travels through this town faster than anything…next thing you know everyone's thinking they'll be next."
Dakota nodded.
"Makes sense to me and like you said, it's been done in other cities."
"Amelia said it's been done in San Francisco…and some of the men came from there."
Dakota looked over at him.
"So you think there's some connection then?"
Ethan didn't know about that and couldn't say so but the hairs on the back of his neck had done more than prickle since Darrin had first arrived in Paradise. He'd become downright suspicious of him not long afterward. The businessman had said all the right things which was part of the problem. He came off as a salesman, similar to others who had conned people in town out of their money and in a couple cases; the town had been stripped of all its valuables.
"Maybe…I sure want to find out and the key is to get statements out of Burke and Trevor."
Dakota shook his head.
"Not going to happen as long as Darrin has something to say about it and he's not even letting us talk to him…says he's too busy."
"He can't stay too busy forever," Ethan said, "I want to find out what happened to my prisoner. A healthy young man just doesn't die in his cell…unless someone helps him."
The door swung open and in walked the reporter Ernie, who looked at both men.
"Heard this town just had a murder…some man found dead in jail…"
Ethan wondered why it had taken the reporter this long to get wind that it had happened, must not be all that good at his job.
"Heard right…but there's no cause of death yet," he said, "Doc Carter said that the bruises he suffered during his capture didn't kill him."
Ernie appeared to digest that.
"So he was murdered…while in his cell," he said, "Weren't you watching him?"
Ethan sighed.
"I wasn't there…Dakota and Charlie were here…except when they had to respond to a disturbance call."
Ernie just shook his head
"That's the oldest trick in the book…lure the guards out with a false report and while you're gone, slip someone into murder him…"
Ethan and Dakota just looked at each other. They couldn't deny that this likely was the master plan of the killer.
"Weren't the cells locked?"
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yes…but…"
Dakota interjected.
"The keys were left on the desk…"
Ernie jotted that down on some tablet and then looked up at them.
"Where's the body?"
"It's in storage waiting to be claimed or shipped to his next of kin if they contact Paradise."
"Any Idea on who it might be?"
Ethan shook his head.
"None at all…some drifter…no one's ever seen him before…and he's not on any of the wanted posters."
Ernie nodded, jotting more notes.
"Why do you think anyone would want to kill him?"
Ethan folded his arms.
"I can't say until I know who he is and why he was here."
Ernie tilted his face.
"He was taken here for vandalism by a couple of Mr. Wyatt's men?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes…two of them but Mr. Wyatt won't allow them to be questioned or tell us where they are now."
Ernie's brow furrowed.
"That's interesting…maybe a cover up of something?"
Ethan shrugged.
"We've not gotten that far in the investigation," he said, "Like I said, without knowing his name and anything about him, it'll be harder to find out who killed him and why."
"Where's his body?"
"Why?"
"I want to take a look at it, describe it for my readers and who knows…you might just get lucky if I recognize him."
Ethan didn't think that likely because the country was a big place and the chances of that…seemed to make it almost impossible. But just in case…
"It's in the icehouse in a barn next to the hotel and saloon," he said, "until it's picked up."
Ernie sighed.
"I'll go check it out…thanks…"
The reporter left the office and Dakota looked at Ethan.
"Was that really wise…telling him?"
Ethan went to reach for some papers.
"I don't know…but at this point we don't have nothing to go on…and a killer walking loose."
Amelia walked into Axelrod's store with her list and saw Claire working there at the ledgers. The younger woman smiled when she saw her.
"How might I help you?"
Amelia smiled back.
"Just doing some errands," she said, "I need some ribbon and some thread…Scarlett's doing some mending…"
Claire went to show here where these items were shelved.
"Is Ethan in his office?"
Claire shrugged.
"I don't know…he wasn't when school let out but maybe he's returned."
Amelia picked out some brightly colored ribbon and some thread that she knew would work well.
"I heard there was a murder," Amelia said, "a prisoner in the jail."
Claire nodded.
"Yes…Uncle Ethan was so upset about it…but he wasn't there when it happened. Dakota and Charlie were supposed to look after him."
"Were they ever not there?"
"Yes…I heard that they left for about an hour to deal with something else," Claire said, "but he looked asleep when they returned."
Amelia knew that in the morning was when they learned the man had died during the night…but how?
"Doc Carter said his injuries weren't bad enough," Claire said, "That's what Joseph told me…but how then did he die?"
"Injuries…?"
"Yes, he was captured by a couple of Darrin's men including the one who works here…"
Claire looked at where Simon stood by the entrance of the door but Claire shook her head.
"Oh not him…it's another one," she said, "but he's not been here since the man turned up dead."
Darrin must be hiding him, Amelia thought, she wondered if Ethan had been able to talk with him yet.
"Why would anyone kill him?"
Claire shrugged.
"I don't know…No one even knew or recognized him. No one's claimed his body yet."
Amelia knit her brow. That type of crime wasn't that uncommon in Paradise. Quite a few drifters had died within its boundaries usually after they'd just won a lot of money in a poker game and angered another player. Sometimes romantic triangles erupted in violence and sometimes people were killed to keep secrets from being revealed…so what had happened in this case. Who was the man and what was the motive?
She found herself needing to know without knowing why. She knew how easy it was for murders to be forgotten, or swept under the carpet…where they would never be solved.
She'd lived that experience and that Warrick's killer hadn't been held accountable for that crime. She still didn't know why that reporter Ernie seemed so interested in grilling her on that unsolved murder…to everyone else but her.
"I don't know what's going to happen," Claire said, "I know Uncle Ethan and Dakota will do their best to find the truth behind what happened…but what if Darrin tries to stop them?"
Amelia knew that no one would ever stop Ethan from finding the truth if he sought it. She knew he'd do more than his best to bring the killer in…if only the marshal back in San Francisco had been like him. That's when she had realized the importance of the work that he did…that the sacrifices might just be worth it to bring justice and peace to a town. At least she realized then it'd be something she could live with…and her fear of losing him to a remorseless killer didn't fade but became something she could handle it.
Axelrod walked in just then.
"Whatever happened to that vandal, I'm sure he deserved it," he said, "I saw what he did to that business."
Amelia sighed.
"Vandalism is not worth killing over…"
Axelrod scowled.
"Spoken by someone who no longer owns a business," he said, "What if he'd robbed your bank?"
"That's different and this man didn't rob anybody."
"He could have…if the security men hadn't found him and got him in the jail cell…then they left him there."
"He was unwatched part of the night."
Axelrod just shrugged.
"Like I said, no major loss to this town," he said, "I'm glad he's dead…"
Amelia just had enough of Axelrod and paid for her items. She turned to leave the store and that's when she ran into Ethan…