As he promised, Jim Lennox accompanied Lucy Scanlon to Duffy's Cafe for lunch. She introduced him to proprietor Chris Duffy. "Jim's staying with us a few days," she told Duffy. "Ma can do with help in the fields."

     "Glad to hear that," Duffy said. "What will it be today, the usual salmon and cucumber sandwich, then coffee?"

     When she said yes, Lennox asked for the same.

     Duffy, early forties, stocky, receding blond hair, lifted two sandwiches beneath a glass cover and put each onto a separate plate. Lunchtime custom at Duffy's was good. The cafe was almost full, and Lennox and Lucy were sitting by a window when a brown-haired girl of about sixteen came hustling in, fresh as a summer breeze. She said, 'Hi' to everyone and, buying a chicken sandwich and a coke, sat next Lucy. "How's things?" she asked.

     "Not too bad, thanks," said Lucy. "You're late, aren't you?"

     Rita Page, a Marriott's Store shop assistant, nodded. "I couldn't get away; it happens every lunch time: somebody comes in and wants to talk. I'd just finished serving the sheriff when Mrs Asquith came in and started yapping about winning next month's dog show with that King Charles spaniel of hers." She groaned. "She bought a packet of dog biscuits and I had to listen to her another five minutes. I mean, I had to listen because if I had ignored her I would have been fired and where else can I get a job in this flea-bitten town?"

     "It's the same with me," said Lucy, cutting her salmon and cucumber sandwich into four equal pieces. "I hate working for Rick; he pays lousy wages and treats you like dirt. Maybe one day I'll find myself a sugar daddy with a hefty bank roll."

     Rita smiled impishly. "Talking of sugar daddies, Lucy, how about introducing me to your friend?"

     Lunch meandered on and while sipping coffee Lennox slipped Amy's photograph on the table. Did the girls recall seeing her?

     "Say, she's a beauty!" said Rita. "I wish I had her looks." She glanced at Lennox. "What has she done - anything bad?"

     "No, there's nothing wrong except she has been missing several years. I'm an investigator looking for her on behalf of her family."

     Rita's brown eyes widened. "An investigator - you mean a guy who has secret passwords and carries a couple of six-shooter cannons?"

     Lennox grinned. "It's nothing like that. Do you recognise this girl? She will be about fifteen years older than the photo shows."

     "I've never seen her," said Rita. She picked up the photo and paraded it from table to table. "Has anybody seen this girl before? Come on, out with it. There's a prize for information."

     "What's the prize?" asked someone.

     "Salmon and cucumber sandwiches and coffee to follow," said Rita.

     Nobody remembered Amy. Lennox went the whole hog and passed round Johnny Benson's photo. Everyone agreed Johnny was a good-looking boy, but nobody recollected seeing him.

                                                         ***

Sheriff Jones, sporting new sunglasses, strolled along High Street as though he owned every dust particle and the entire boardwalk. He strutted up the Law Office steps, wondering why Deputy Camano was not sitting on the veranda and relaxing in the shade. "What the hell, Amos," he said, finding Camano at his own desk listening to a radio bulletin. "Why are you not outside having lunch, are you ill or something?"

     "I've just heard a radio press release about those two guys who came here."

     Jones frowned, shook loose a strip of painkillers from its packet. "What two guys? Who are we talking about?"

     "Those two fellers in the red Chevy."

     "What about 'em?"

     Camano switched off the set so it would not interfere with lunch. "They stole that auto in Tacoma. Seems it belongs to some high roller called Haskins. There's an interstate search for them. They are armed. Beat up an old guy at Broken Rock, stole over a grand." Concern etched deep on Camano's face. "We had them in our hands and we let them go."

     Jones removed his Stetson. "Forget it; we didn't know this when they were here."

     "Maybe we should inform Webster."

     Jones shook his head. "The hell we don't! We are doing fine here, Amos. We handle things our own way. If those two guys are running riot, then that's okay with me - provided it ain't happening in Julienne." He picked up the two sandwiches Camano had bought him, took a glass of orange juice from the fridge and went to the veranda. Camano joined him. Jones glared down the street. "I see Lennox is still at Duffy's. In half an hour Lucy will go back to the bar. If he don't leave town straight after, then you go kick him out."

     Camano drank from a bottle of milk. "What happens if he refuses to leave?"

     Jones swallowed two painkillers, helping them down with juice. "You kick his ass, Amos. Kick it real hard, you know, give him a positive indication that he ain't wanted."

     Camano bit into a pizza slice. He could feel a severe headache coming on. Jones did not appear troubled by Lennox turning up, but Camano knew, deep down, somehow, that the past was reaching out to nail him with long clutching fingers.

                                                        ***

Lucy got up, thanked Lennox for lunch. "Must get back," she said, "or Rick will play hell with me for being late."

     Rita's jaw dropped a moment. "Your sugar daddy bought you lunch, Lucy? I didn't know you went for older men."

     "Sure I do, older men are far more mature and experienced."

     "How do you know that?" Rita asked, her eyes flicking to Lennox, sizing him up.

     Lucy shrugged. "I just know that's all."

     "I'm not so sure," said Rita. "An older man is okay provided he's not too old. My dad is forty-one. I told him the other day that he's positively ancient and he nearly swallowed his pipe."

     Lucy smiled and said to Lennox, "Will you pick me up outside the bar at five o'clock? I've telephoned Ma and she's quite happy to let you stay a while."

     "Five o'clock it is," said Lennox.

     Rita waited until Lucy had gone. "You're staying at the Scanlon farm?"

     Lennox finished his coffee. "That's right, just for a few days you understand."

     Rita smiled her engaging smile; the one that almost said aloud 'I like you, mister, include me in.' She angled an opening. "I wonder if you could pick me up at five. I work at Marriott's. Lucy and I live on the Klondike path. We usually walk home together. My place is first; Lucy lives about a half mile further on."

     "That's no problem," said Lennox. "See you at five."

                                                            ***

It was two-thirty and the Lennox Pontiac was still outside Rick's Bar. Sheriff Jones came out of a gentle snooze and rubbed his eyes, glanced at his wristwatch and wondered where Camano was. "Are you in there, Amos?" he called through to the office.

     "Yes I am, sheriff."

     "Why are you in there when Lennox is still in town?"

     Camano came to the door, looking hangdog. "I went to see him at Duffy's; asked him why he was still here; says he's staying at the Scanlon farm from this evening, and there's nothing we can do about that."

     Jones got up, feeling stiff. He stretched. "Is that so? Where is he now?"

     "Still at Duffy's, I reckon."

     Jones repositioned his Stetson and hitched his gun belt. "Okay, I'll go see that sidewinder. You stay here and answer any calls."

     "Before you go, sheriff, Lennox showed me two photographs." Camano's sun-tanned face was showing an odd paleness. "He said the photos were of Amy Chalmers and Johnny Benson. I didn't know what to say. I recognised both of them, but I didn't tell Lennox."

     Jones drew in a deep breath and held it over one minute, then let it out steadily, his eyes all the while on his deputy. "You did right saying nothing, Amos." Jones rubbed chin stubble. "Why is Lennox asking about them? Sounds to me he could be a cop - maybe a private dick. Otherwise he would not be interested in those two kids."

     "I tell you, sheriff, Lennox reminds me of..."

     "He reminds you of nobody, Amos." 

     "But you said he reminded you of..."

     Jones placed a hand on Camano's shoulder. "Look, we've had trouble aplenty with the past. We don't don't want that to come back and bother us. We keep our mouths shut - and we say zilch and everything will be okay. Now what do you say to that, huh?"

     Camano wiped sweat from his jaw. "I don't feel too good, sheriff. Maybe it's this heat."

     "Okay, then you get off home and grab some rest. If you still feel rough tomorrow then take the day off. Just give me a call to let me know." He watched Camano clump down the veranda steps. Jones mused several moments. This could be serious. Camano was a man who might crack. He had done so once before, almost spilling a very large can of beans.

                                                           ***

The sun shone with blistering power and Jones could feel the heat searing his shoulders the moment he stepped out of shade. He found Lennox sitting just inside the Duffy's Cafe entrance, with the door ajar. Apart from Lennox and Duffy, the cafe was empty.

     "Hello, sheriff," called Duffy, working among dishes.

     "Howdy Chris, how are you and the family?"

     "We are fine, thanks."

     Jones sat opposite Lennox and stared at him across the table. There were out of earshot of Duffy. "Is there a problem with your auto - or is the problem just you?"

     "Meaning what, sheriff?"

     "Meaning my deputy came to see you. Is that right?"

     "It is."

     "So why are you still in town? Jones studied Lennox, the face, the steady grey eyes, the determined jaw. The man was almost Billy Radford's double. Jones knew what to expect and showed no surprise when Lennox placed two photographs in front of him.

     "Two youngsters," said Lennox. "They went missing around 1960. These photos come from fifteen years back so these two are now in their middle thirties. Have you seen them before?"

     Jones moved the pictures to get a better view and shook his head no. "Sorry, can't help you."

     Lennox tried again, keeping his tone respectful. "I really could do with help, sheriff. A family relative of mine is missing her daughter, the one you see here in this photo. I've promised this relative I will search for Amy and her boyfriend."

     "Why should you search for them? Give the information to the lawmen - let them do the tracing."

     "The Law has tried - and so has a private investigator. They got nowhere."

     Jones nodded. "I'm not surprised. It's a stock answer, but thousands of kids go missing every year and many are never seen again." He took one more look at the photos. "You say you are from New York?"

     "I am."

     "This relative of yours, she's from New York too?"

     "No, she lives in Bordville, Pennsylvania."

     Jones frowned and pushed the photos toward Lennox. "These youngsters came west from Bordville?"

     "Yeah, they were heading for Seattle. They had traveled to the west coast the year before, so it was nothing new to them."

     "They were heading for Seattle and you come to Julienne to check them out? Seems you're way off line to me. Well, there's one thing I can tell you - they ain't here. So I expect you to leave town quick. Maybe in a coupla days, right?"

                                                           ***

Although the sun's rays were hot, Jones took it slow returning to the office. There was a problem; it was right there in front of him, a problem of the past. He had thought the past was long gone, buried deep, but Lennox was bringing back demons from the depths of Hell. He thought back to those difficult times and of the charges that Camano and he had faced. Suddenly, he changed his mind and headed for Rick's Bar. He found Lucy wiping tables. "I got a question for you, Lucy."

     "Fire away, sheriff."

     "Lennox is staying at your farm a few days, right?"

     "Yes. I've already told you that. Ma says it's okay. We can do with the money." She looked up at him. "Is there something wrong?"

     "I'm not sure. You have to be careful taking in strangers, even for just a few days."

     Lucy went to another table, emptied an ash tray's cigarette stubs into a bag. "I appreciate your concern, sheriff, but I'm sure Jim is no danger to us - he's just a man looking for a place to stay."

     "That's not how I see it. Something tells me Lennox is trouble. I have told him to leave town but you and your Ma have offered him a place to stay. Now what do I do about our differences of opinion?"

     Lucy emptied another ashtray. "That's easy - when he leaves our place, he will leave town and then you don't have a problem."

     Jones almost laughed. "Well now, trust you to come up with a smart answer. Okay, I take your point. He stays at your farm a few days and then he returns to New York, or LA, or wherever the hell it is he comes from." He went back to the street and stared into the distance and realised Lennox was becoming one big lousy apple in a mouldy barrel.