Carol Cox by Trouble in Store

Author:Trouble in Store
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“It was.” Caleb took a deep breath. “If it wasn’t for the Lord and Levi, I don’t think I could have kept on going. My mother took care of him while I worked the farm, but then she died about a year ago, and things got even harder. When Uncle Alvin wrote and asked me to come out here and help him, it seemed like an answer to prayer. I sold our farm in Missouri, and Levi and I headed west.”

Melanie looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap. “That’s why this store is so important to you.”

“It’s our future,” he said simply. He planted his hands on his knees and pushed himself to his feet. “And I guess I’d better get back to tending it.”

Melanie looked up at him. “Do you need me to come down and help with anything? I can finish sorting through the things in this trunk another time.”

Caleb smiled his thanks. “That’s all right. Take your time. I can manage for a while.” He decided not to mention how much he could have used her help during his busy morning. They had reached a truce of sorts. There was no point in stirring up more animosity. Leaving Melanie to her rummaging, he went back downstairs and set up Levi’s lunch, then fixed some cheese and crackers for himself. He was just clearing away the remains of their meal when the bell jingled, and the door swung open to admit Marshal Hooper.

“Good afternoon.” Dusting the cracker crumbs off his hands, Caleb stepped forward to greet the lawman. “What can I help you with today?”

The marshal closed the door behind him and stepped farther inside the store. “I’m not looking to buy anything today, Caleb. I’m here on official business.” He leaned against the counter and hooked his thumb under his gun belt. “I’m trying to learn more about that fellow who got his head bashed in on your porch.”

Caleb flinched at the reminder of the grisly discovery. He shook his head and rested both arms on the counter. “I don’t know that I can help you. As I told you then, I never saw him before.”

“You can’t think of any reason he would have been outside your store in the dead of night?”

“Not a single one. There isn’t any explanation I can think of. It’s as much of a puzzle to me as it is to you.”

The marshal nodded thoughtfully, as if filing Caleb’s words away in his mind for future reference. “From the quality of his clothes, it’s evident that he was probably a man of good standing. Wherever he came from, I expect there’s at least someone back there who’s wondering where he is.”

Caleb tapped his fingers on the counter. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”

“The only connection I can find at all is that someone left a horse in the livery stable the night before the body was discovered. But Micah was over in the saloon at the time, so he didn’t

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