Joel bristled at the man’s arrogant tone. His smirk needed readjusting.
“Right under my nose, you say? And what would that be?”
The young man spat a brown stream of tobacco. “Someone done stole half your horse.”
Joel looked to the clouds. Lord, even you had a decent animal to ride when you needed it. Then he remembered that Jesus rode a donkey and left off his petitioning.
“And where does Sheriff Taney live?”
“If’n Taney wanted you to find him, seems like he would’ve told you how.”
“Does Taney spend a lot of time hiding?”
Franklin lifted his chin. His body swayed, as if weighing his answer on the scales. “I’ll tell you how to find him. The road splits just after the washout. Take the north branch and you’ll come across Taney’s place before dinnertime.”
Joel sighed. Why’d it have to be this way? Why couldn’t they understand that he really did want to help them? That he had no interest in interfering unless it was warranted?
Without a word he hopped into the pony’s saddle. This Bo Franklin didn’t seem to be a dangerous fellow, but he bore watching.
“What’s wrong with you?” Bo asked. “You don’t seem none too happy over our conversation.”
Thank goodness the pony had decided to behave. Last thing Joel wanted was to be curled up on the ground with another groin injury in front of this man. “I might not know these hills, but I know when someone’s pulling my leg. What do you bet I take the south fork and I’ll find Taney?”
Bo’s mouth twisted into a smile. His eyes pulled tight into narrow slits, and a cut on his cheek glistened with new blood. “Do what you want, Mr. Deputy. You won’t find people who care less than here.”
Chapter 10
If people were cagey about something as simple as directions to the sheriff’s house, then how would they act when an honest-to-goodness criminal was hiding? Joel brushed through the branches that stretched across the path. A wind chime of tin cans and wire jangled above his head. He’d just entered someone’s domain, as the bawling coon hound was warning. He only hoped this was the one he was seeking.
The trees thinned to reveal a log cabin. Barbed wire stretched from trunk to trunk, making his path the only unchallenged approach—unchallenged besides the gray-haired man rocking on the porch with a banjo across his lap.
“Sheriff Taney?” Joel called.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” His rocking chair halted as he sneered. “What in tarnation are you riding?”
Never more happy to get off a horse, Joel dismounted and tied the pony to a tree before continuing on foot. He nodded. “Isn’t this what lawmen in the Ozarks ride? A miniature pony?”
“What would I be knowing about that? I don’t reckon I am a lawman anymore.”
Joel looked at the gnarled hands on the banjo and proceeded with respect. “I’m Joel Puckett, sir. Pleased to finally make your acquaintance.”
Beneath Taney’s sagging brow, his sharp eyes traveled from Joel’s big hat to his cowboy boots. “Well, don’t you look purty? No wonder they gave you a toy horse. You’re just a pretty little doll-baby.”
Never before had Joel felt his youth so acutely. “I have a lot to learn, and that’s a fact, but I aim to do my best.”
“Unlike me? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Not at all—”
“Listen, boy. You think everything is cut and dried. You think you can stop the bad guys and protect the good guys, but it ain’t like that here. These fights have been going on for decades. They have long histories, and you won’t make it right by swooping in and squashing the first person to step out of line. It’s everyone for themselves, and the good guys catch all the blame.”
What did Joel expect the man he was replacing to say? Thank you for coming to do the job I failed at? Thank goodness they brought in someone with half my years to show me how to work? Governor Marmaduke’s office had warned him that more often than not, the sheriffs were part of the problem, which was exactly why someone from outside of the community had to be called in. Was Taney corrupt or merely inept?
“Any help or advice you can lend is mighty appreciated, but I still hold that right is right and wrong is wrong. Why someone breaks the law is none of my business. My job is to halt any criminal activity and to see that the ones perpetrating it are brought before a judge.”
Taney’s head wobbled from side to side. “What those people in Jeff City were thinking sending a lad out to do a man’s job—”
“I take issue with that statement.” Joel had always looked younger than he was, and even a beard didn’t help. “I earned my rank as a deputy in a good-sized city. I’ve dealt with murderers, train robbers, cattle rustlers, and a host of ne’er-do-wells in Texas.”
“This ain’t Texas.”