"Ethan…"
They almost ran smack into each other which was fine with her. He smiled at her.
"Amelia…"
They just looked at each other for a moment and then he saw Simon standing there where Burke was supposed to be. He watched them closely, his hand on the butt of his gun. Ethan thought him a bit too wired for his taste. It was a miracle he hadn't accidently shot a customer yet. But then he hadn't picked these men, Darrin did and he hadn't known what the hell he was doing clearly. Not if two of them might have killed a man in custody two nights ago.
Simon just gave him a look which reminded Ethan of some of the nicer dressed thugs he'd encountered in his years as a gunslinger.
"What are you doing here?"
Ethan just looked at him without betraying any emotion.
"I'm here to look for Burke, the man who usually works here."
Simon just flexed his jaw.
"He's not here…I'm here instead."
"I can see that but I need to find him and talk to him about what happened the other night"
Simon just smiled, slyly.
"He and Trevor took care of a vandal and he'll never be doing it again."
"The man's dead…"
Simon shrugged.
"That happens…sometimes. Maybe he had a weak heart."
Ethan took a step forward.
"Maybe someone killed him."
"I wouldn't know anything about that Marshal," he said, "I wasn't working that night."
"Where were you?"
Simon shifted his stance a bit.
"I was at the bank with the boss helping him do the paperwork," he said, "and then I headed back to the hotel."
"You didn't see or talk to the two men?"
"Only in passing…I don't know them that well," he said, "Only know they're from San Francisco…worked for a hotshot there that's friendly with my boss."
Ethan digested that and looked over at Amelia who looked nonplussed at the whole situation. Ethan sighed.
"If you see either one of them…"
"I'll pass along your message but I don't know what the boss has them doing now."
Ethan had a few ideas but he said nothing and started to leave. Axelrod just glowered at him.
"Stop harassing my security man Ethan," he said, "Just because I chose to not rely on the Marshal Service you don't have to take it out on him."
Ethan focused his attention on the storekeeper.
"You know where Burke and Trevor have gone?"
Axelrod shook his head.
"Haven't a clue and if I knew I'm not sure I'd tell you."
That got Ethan's ire a bit.
"A man just died in custody Axelrod…"
"A man who was caught damaging a storefront," he said, "and Simon's right, could have been a weakness in him that killed him not Darrin's men."
Ethan just looked at him and Amelia turned to him.
"Let's get going…"
He looked at her with a smile.
"You hungry…?"
She nodded.
"I was thinking of getting something to eat at the saloon."
"I'll join you…"
He linked his arm with her and the two of them walked to the saloon.
Ernie walked into the barn where the ice room was located in the back. He saw Doc Carter and a young man he knew to be Ethan's nephew, Joseph talking together. They looked up at him. Doc Carter stepped forward.
"You need something sir?"
Ernie approached him smiling with his notepad in hand.
"I need to see the body of the young man that died in custody."
Doc Carter frowned.
"Why…are you a specialist?"
Ernie shook his head.
"I'm a reporter with the newspaper back in San Francisco."
That puzzled Doc Carter.
"Why…why would a death that happened here interest someone like you?"
Joseph frowned.
"He was here to do a story on Bella Rogers, her life after being an outlaw and he's been asking all these questions…got himself kicked off of her ranch."
"That doesn't sound good," Doc Carter, "but why does the death of this young man interest you? We don't even know his name though we have some idea how he died."
Ernie got his pad ready.
"How was that," he said, "was it from injuries of when he was captured by Mr. Wyatt's men?"
Doc Carter paused and then shook his head.
"Not likely…he had bruises, might have been a little disoriented but not enough to cause him to die in his bed."
"Then what was it?"
"He died afterward of something that happened then but from what I understand, Dakota and Charlie were there most of the time…"
"But not all the time," Ernie said, "They left on some disturbance call possibly fake and left the cell keys on the desk."
Doc Carter nodded slightly as if that made some sense.
"He got hit hard I know that but it was a fresh wound…not long before death I believe," Doc Carter said, "Perhaps when he'd been left alone."
Ernie jotted some notes down.
"Yes…yes that makes sense," he said, "they might have been watching and waiting for an opportunity."
Doc Carter looked puzzled again.
"But why…why would anyone in town kill a drifter?"
Joseph interjected.
"Because someone must have known him….without telling anyone. That's the only thing that makes sense."
Ernie nodded.
"That's what I figure…but I wanted to take a look at him so I can describe him to the readers so they'll feel like they're here with him…"
Doc Carter sighed.
"Is that necessary…to tell how brutal someone died?"
"Was killed Doc," Ernie said, "and besides, there's always a chance I might have seen him before…around town or elsewhere."
Doc Carter looked at Joseph and then back at Ernie.
"Okay…follow me…"
Ernie followed the two men into the ice room which felt quite cool to the skin and he saw the blocks of ice in storage and nearby the wooden crate that looked almost like a coffin. Doc Carter heaved it open and he saw a young man lying down, his eyes closed as if in sleep. But this man didn't fall asleep, angry bruises marred his face and cuts. Being captured by the two security men might not have been enough to kill him but it had caused visible injuries.
They had roughed him up before taking him to the jail cell.
But that's not why his eyes soon widened as he looked at the man. He turned to look at Joseph and Doc Carter.
"What is it," Joseph asked.
Ernie just kept looking at the dead body.
"I know him…"
Ethan and Amelia went inside the saloon and sat down while Scotty took their order.
"Busy today…?"
Scotty just sighed.
"Even with competition now, this place is always packed," he said, "I'm going to need to do some hiring."
He went back to the kitchen where no doubt Mary was busy at the stove with what help she did have now. People were being hired away from Scotty to work in a new eatery started up by a colleague of Darrin's across the street. A little free enterprise and competition never hurt, Darrin had said, that's how towns turn into thriving cities. But Ethan didn't want Paradise to be a city; it suited him fine just being a small town where most people knew each other for better or worse.
"I don't miss working here," Amelia said, "but I hope he finds some new workers."
Ethan remembered how she'd taken a job here even when she didn't need to do so to make a point. What it was exactly he couldn't remember, he'd just been glad she quit because they hardly had seen each other. What with their schedules being so different and not spending time with her made things far less interesting.
That still remained the rule now. He'd been hoping to see her since the party. He knew that she had this way now of allowing him to see inside her and then pulling away as if not sure how to proceed. But he also knew that she meant more to him than any woman ever had and that whatever it took to get where he wanted to be would be worth it.
She shook her head now.
"What?"
She smoothed out her napkin.
"It's just that I don't know how the two men that killed that young man…"
He sighed.
"I don't know they did that Amelia…got no proof."
She looked at him directly.
"I think they did Ethan and I've seen what these so-called security men can do first hand…"
She looked away from him a minute, withdrawing again as he watched.
"I experienced it that's how I know."
He heard sadness in her voice etched with other emotions. He reached out and put one of his hands on top of one of hers and she looked at him, smiling.
"I didn't mean to say that."
"No problem Amelia," he said, "I'm not going to disagree with you because I think you're right. It's finding proof against the two men that's going to be hard."
"I know…I know about that part of it too but you have to try Ethan…," she said, "I don't know what that man did but he didn't deserve to be killed without a judge or jury."
Ethan agreed with that but what was done was done. All he could do was to search for the answers and try to find a semblance of justice for the unidentified young man.
"I just wish I had a name for him," he said, "and locate next of kin to come get him."
Amelia furrowed his brow.
"You don't have any idea?"
He shook his head.
"Someone must know Ethan," she said, "He came here for a reason."
"He could have been just passing through."
She shook her head.
"I don't think so Ethan…I know there's a reason he was here in all this somewhere."
Before he could respond, he looked across the room and saw Darrin enter the room with his daughter. They were heading their way.
"I got some questions for him…"
She nodded.
"Then ask them…do it for that young man."