Martha ran into Ethan just as he was returning to his office after leaving Dakota at the saloon. His deputy had hit there saying that he'd be questioning any new arrivals and at the poker game that started about mid-afternoon and lasted most of the night until Scotty kicked them out.

"Get some liquor in anyone who's winning and maybe they'll tell me something."

Ethan thought that sounded as good a plan as any because no one had come forward to report witnessing what had happened with Walton both during his initial encounter with Burke and Trevor and then when he'd been left alone in the jail cell. Finding a witness t that, a much bigger long shot unless anyone happened to be walking by the barred window and heard something…but no one had come forward with any such information. He didn't think it would happen either but there were no other leads to go on so far.

"Ethan…you busy?"

He looked up to see Martha standing at the doorway.

"Just sent out more wires on Walton, the man who died in my cell…"

She bristled a bit.

"I talked to my father about him and he insisted that his security men had nothing to do with his death."

"Because they told him…"

"Because my father told me and he'd never lie to me Ethan," she said, "Can't we go back to the way things were before Bella Rogers and her band of women arrived?"

He leaned back in his chair.

"They've got nothing to do with this either," he said, "They've done nothing to hurt this town. Amelia's done more to help it than just about anyone else. Stood by it when everyone else wanted to leave and head for the hills."

She'd even refused to go with him when he packed up the children to head off to work a mine in Virginia City. Just about tore him up to, because leaving her behind standing in the street had been just about the hardest part. If Ben hadn't talked some sense into him when he tried to run away, would he have kept going? But she'd been right and so often she had been when it came to Paradise and what was best for it.

"So this is about Amelia then and how the two of you were engaged before she walked out on you?"

He didn't respond to that because he understood it a lot better now and besides she'd come back home again.

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he said, "Your father got the town riled up against them and why was that?"

She folded her arms.

"She'd been an outlaw Ethan…you know that better than anyone," she said, "You went up against her more than once…"

That'd been true but it'd also been years ago when both had been younger. He'd been skeptical at first, he had to be as the town marshal but he'd also decided to give her a chance…plus he knew that if Amelia had thrown in her lot with Bella that had to be worth something. He also had learned since then that the former outlaw had helped Amelia through some very difficult times. Times when he'd wished he'd been there instead of hundreds of miles away.

"She's helping women who need it," he said, "women who might have turned to outlawing themselves if not for her."

He didn't think Martha would ever understand that, never being in dire straits herself. Her father had always made sure that tragedy would never hit her as it did other women.

"This isn't about her…it's about a man who died in my custody and I'm going to found out how…and if necessary who killed him."

She gritted her teeth.

"Ethan, why don't you just drop it? The man was caught damaging someone's store…he's no great loss."

"He wasn't caught doing anything," Ethan said, "They didn't seem him destroy anything."

"No one else was there," she said, "Who else could it been?"

Ethan didn't want to share his theory right now nor that he believed that there was some connection between Walton and the men who likely killed him. She'd go straight to her father and Ethan didn't know how he might react…most likely by trying to protect his men. Not just for their sakes but for his own since he employed them.

"Ethan just let this go…we've got Founder's Day coming up and it's going to be the best ever…"

"I'm not going to let it go Martha," he said, "I wouldn't be doing my job otherwise."

He got up and walked out of the office, needing to go back to doing it.

Amelia urged her horse to race faster across the meadow, just off the dirt road. Burke had gotten his own horse to chase after her and she knew he hadn't expected to be recognized. He'd been in town since…but she hadn't crossed paths with him until just now. She just didn't the man she thought was hundreds of miles away would show up here. Had he followed her, tried to track her down or had it been chance?

Her horse snorted and she knew that she had to keep her running…until she got back to the ranch and the others. She could have gone to find Ethan but what might have happened…she just hadn't been thinking just acting on instinct.

She glanced behind her and saw him still there about 100 feet behind but he didn't seem t be closing on her. Ahead of her was a winding mountain trail, steep and narrow which meant she had to rein her horse in a bit to navigate through it without falling over one edge or the other. She did that and her horse scrambled up the trail but she saw that he followed her.

She kept riding low on her horse up one switchback and down another with him still in close pursuit, one glance behind her and she saw he'd pulled a gun out. She pushed harder and got around the next bend.

Damn, she wouldn't make it to the ranch and he seemed bent on killing her…so that no one would find out the truth about him and what he'd done.

She turned another steep bend and found that she'd gone up the wrong part of the mountain and reached a dead end. He'd known it too and when he gained ground on her, she saw him smile. She had to pull up her horse and it pranced nervously as she just looked at him as he stopped his own horse and then aimed his gun at her.

"No where left to run is there?"

She didn't say anything back, just looked around for a way past him. No matter how dangerous, anything was better than him catching her. The hillside next to her looked steep and everything around him just dropped like a sheer cliff.

"Why don't you just make it easy…you know I can't let you live…"

She just took a deep breath trying to calm herself so she could think better. Then she shook her head.

"I'm not making this easier…"

Then she spurred her horse towards a narrow trail to the right of his horse and he didn't have time to react. Their horses nearly collided and he fired his gun but it missed her. It did spook her horse and it arched its back and tossed her off towards the cliff. She felt dazed and saw him lunge his own horse towards her.

She scrambled but lost footing and then got back on her feet again running down the trail. Trees on either side of her like walls and then she heard a familiar noise…rushing water. She threaded between the trees and she knew he'd have to get off his own horse to follow her and so she just kept pushing her way through the brush towards the river.

She heard footsteps and branches crackling behind her, his cursing as he stumbled on some knotted roots. Then she heard the noise get louder and she'd reached the end of the ridge. She looked behind her and he approached, laughing now as he reached for his gun. He just approached her while drawing it.

"I guess this is goodbye…"

She looked back at him steely.

"I don't think so…"

Then she jumped into the rushing water.