“It’s the right answer to a foolish question, Baggs.”
After Baggs had left the office, the sheriff declared: “I don’t like that feller.”
“I guess he knows it,” grinned Hashknife. “Wasn’t he the prosecutor who sent Ayres to the pen?”
“Yeah, and he shore piled it on a-plenty. I thought Len would kill him when he came back, but I guess the pen takes all the killin’ ideas out of a man. Nobody ever wants to go back.”
“Do you think Ayres really cached a lot of that money he stole?”
The sheriff laughed shortly.
“I suppose every man in this county has asked himself that same question, Hartley. Nobody but Len could prove it. They say he was the one who pulled the jobs, and he must have done somethin’ with the money. I think some folks had a sneakin’ suspicion that his wife knew where it was. But I don’t think she did.”
“Was she pretty?”
“Yeah, y’betcha. Prettiest woman around here.”
“How soon did she marry Prentice after Len was convicted?”