Prairie Song by JODI THOMAS Page B

Grayson, as always, only a step behind. “The banker says I have to wait until he thinks about it before he can clear the money. It appears a group of shady men were playing cards the night Tobin won the deed to this place. A local grocer had been given the debt by Hattie in exchange for past-due bills with the understanding he wouldn’t take over the house until Hattie’s daughter could come get her. The banker seems to think that the grocer was swindled, but that doesn’t make any sense. The grocer shouldn’t have played cards with the deed to this house. I’m beginning to think the losing hand might have inherited the place. After all, Tobin was killed not more than a week later.”
    Cherish was amazed. “Tobin was killed? Hattie has a daughter?” She laughed suddenly, thinking she sounded like a child who had been left out of an important discussion.
    Maggie hesitated, pulling off her jacket and hanging it neatly on the chair as she directed Grayson to please bring up their dinner. He waited a moment, his eyes never leaving Maggie, making Cherish wonder if this giant of a man had ever taken orders from a woman. Slowly he turned and went to the kitchen.
    Maggie leaned closer. “Don’t you think Grayson much more presentable with a decent haircut? I mean, anyone can see the good Lord blessed him with size and not looks, but he does clean up nice.”
    “Less frightening, you mean.” Cherish avoided the man as much as possible. “Now, finish telling me about Hattie and Tobin.”
    Maggie pulled off her black gloves and folded them neatly. “Tobin did die from a drowning as we were told, but when I started asking around, no one wanted to talk about it. Finally, I found out that it was at a spot on the Trinity that hasn’t been more than three feet deep since the town has been here. No matter how much Tobin had to drink, I find it hard to believe the old Indian fighter couldn’t crawl out of three feet of water.”
    Cherish felt a cold chill cross her. “And Hattie?”
    “She has a daughter she hasn’t seen for more than twenty years. She told everyone she didn’t mind losing the house because her daughter is coming to get her, but no one seems to know where the daughter is. Tobin agreed to let her stay on until the daughter comes. We sort of inherited the agreement.”
    “Can the lawyer help us?”
    Maggie shook her head doubtfully. “My guess is he’s more interested in starving us out than helping us, but I plan on going to see him again first thing tomorrow. They say he can be found most weekends at a saloon about a block away. Another strange thing is, he was at the poker game where Tobin won the house. He and a man named Spades were the two who found Tobin’s body a week later.”
    “You’re not going to see them alone, are you?”
    Maggie shook her head. “Grayson will be with me. I have a feeling some of the people in this town wouldn’t have even allowed me to talk to them if he hadn’t been standing beside me.”
    Grayson entered almost at the sound of his name. He was carrying a tray of food with about as much grace as Bar. He held the tray as Maggie put the two bowls of soup on the table.
    Maggie touched his arm lightly. “You should have brought three.”
    Cherish interrupted. “I had my soup brought to my room a few minutes ago. If you will excuse me, I promised to help Bar in the kitchen.” She could hardly add that she’d sent Bar off with a confessed killer and wanted to wait by the kitchen door for the boy’s return. Bar had been no more afraid of Brant than she had been and Cherish found that comforting. Brant didn’t quite fit the picture of a man with blood on his hands.
    Maggie nodded to Cherish as she moved into the chair Grayson had pulled out for her. She accepted his kindness, as always, without comment.
    They ate across from one another in complete silence. Maggie was lost in her plans to restore the house and Grayson was trying to figure out which one of the people