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county supervisor should keep him locked up for a couple of days, and it would certainly be sufficient to get him fired. Once he was dismissed, Commerce Bank would quickly sell their ownership in a whorehouse.
    “ Agreed.” I held out my hand.
    Clive leaped to his feet and shook my hand. “Glad to be on the same side this time. Get your boys in here, and I’ll swear you all in as deputies.”
    “ Not Sharp’s men. Swear them in as deputies in their room. Letze="s keep our superior numbers secret for now.”
    Clive laughed so hard, his ample belly bounced up and down against the desktop. “Yep, mighty glad to be on the same side this time.”

Chapter 4
     
    According to Clive, the sheriff and his deputies generally spent most of the night in saloons, so they were seldom seen before mid-afternoon. The three of them always moved around town together. When they entered a business—any business—the sheriff and one deputy came in the front, and a second deputy entered quietly from the back, carrying a shotgun. The shotgun was normally used to threaten but on occasion had been used to kill. One time, the shotgun had terminated negotiations with a stubborn business owner. That incident had stopped all further resistance by townsfolk.
    After we stashed a satiated Jeremiah in a hotel room, Sharp and I waited in the lobby, while Clive worked to convince a few witnesses to lodge a complaint. Sharp had his ever-present Winchester leaning against a seat cushion by his left hand, and I had loaded my Colt with a sixth bullet in case of trouble.
    I was reading Roughing It , by Mark Twain, when Sharp tapped my leg with the toe of his boot. I didn’t turn to see who had entered the hotel because we had prearranged the silent signal that would tell me to put my attention on the back door.
    I heard a voice behind me. “Mr. Sharp. What brings you to town?”
    Sharp laid his newspaper beside him on the settee. “A friend needed help.”
    “ What friend?” I heard wariness in the voice. “And who’s this gent?”
    I slowly stood and turned toward the voice. I saw a young man, probably about my age. He looked confident, not dangerous. In the West, however, I had learned that those two traits could be the same thing. He wore a Colt Army Model at his belly in a cross-draw holster and a large knife on his right hip. His shirt and pants were as dusty as everything else in Pickhandle, but they were nicely tailored, and his boots, belt, and hat were top-notch.
    “ I’m one of the marshal’s new deputies. Jeff has been deputized, as well. Please tell your man to step out of the back hall and into the room. He makes me nervous, hiding back there.”
    Without flinching, Sheriff Madison sniffed. “Why the hell should I care if you’re nervous?”
    Where was Clive? Did the sheriff know about our scheme? And why wasn’t he surprised that Clive had deputized us? I told myself to clear my mind and concentrate on the situation in the room.
    “ Since we’re all lawmen, you don’t need your man lurking around back there,” I said.
    “ I do.” He just stared at me like I was a curious specimen captured in a bottle.
    “ Steve, let ’im hang out in back if he wants.” Sharp picked up his newspaper and snapped it taut as he prepared to get back to reading.
    I sat down with deliberation and followed Sharp’s lead by picking up my book.
    “ What are you reading, Deputy?” The sheriff’s tone was derisive.
    “ Roughing It ,” I answered without looking up.
    “ Good yarn, but exaggerated … for humor, I suppose.”
    “ Did you laugh?”
    “ I did.”
    “ Then the embroidery did its job.”
    So, the sheriff was not only literate but read books. I suspected this was not idle chatter. He probably wanted me to know I wasn’t dealing with a dunderhead. I put the book down and swiveled to face him.
    “ Have you seen the marshal this afternoon?” I asked.
    “ Nope, but gonna look for him.” The sheriff turned his attention to