June 25, 1869

Amiville. 

The sun shone brightly, waking me from my deep sleep. It had been the first good night’s sleep in months and I was almost reluctant to get out of bed. I waited a few more minutes before crawling out of bed and changing, putting my hair in a half pony tail before heading downstairs. The hotel was already pretty busy for that early in the morning. Over breakfast I tried to get some conversation going about the Solo brothers but most of the people there were travelers like myself and they had no idea who I was talking about. 

After finishing my breakfast I went to the saloon where I figured I would have more success. My suspicions were correct as the saloon was full of people. Everyone kept saying that I should speak to US Marshal Stacie Rage. They assured me that she would have more information, or at least lead me in the right direction. I finished my coffee and walked outside to find Stacie in the streets. I asked her if we could speak privately about a sensitive topic and she led me to the sheriff’s office, which made me wonder why we didn’t go to the marshal’s office. I wondered who the sheriff actually was but decided to leave those questions for another time. 

“Take a seat, Miss,” she invited me when we arrived. “So how can I help you?”

“Well it’s somewhat of a sensitive topic,” I hesitated.

“Oh... How sensitive?” 

“Everyone around town has been sayin’ I should talk to you,” I told her. 

“Well if everyone around town knows it can’t be that sensitive,” she said so simply it made me wonder if she even cared that one of her own marshals had been killed. 

“I was talking to deputy Peep yesterday and she seemed so distraught, so I asked her what it was 

about. She told me she was missin’ someone.” 

“Oh... Missing who?” 

“Dutch,” I sighed, trying not to let my frustration show. 

“We all miss Dutch, Trin,” Stacie nodded. 

“She seemed so distraught about it I wanted to get the truth behind what happened. He seems like such a wonderful man and I thought his memory should be preserved somehow.” 

“It is, Miss Trin. In the memories of us all.” 

“Yes, but I thought perhaps in the history books of that sort.” 

“History writes itself, Miss Trin... We just record things.” 

“Well then I want to be the one to record it this time,” I insisted. “This town has become dear to me in a short time, you see...” 

“It’s recorded in reports and court papers, Miss,” she stopped me. “What historians make of it is beyond our control.” 

“There’s just lots of people who don’t really understand what happened... why it happened...” I sighed, knowing I was getting nowhere. 

“At this time, Ms. Trin,” she said my name with more bite than before, “No one knows what or why... We’re still investigating it. We know who did it and why... We will bring them in and all information will be made public at the trial.” 

Seeing as this line of questioning was becoming pointless, I decided to change course and told her about Rosa seeing Dutch’s ghost. Stacie said it seemed like Rosa had been drinking again and I explained how I was tryin’ to find Gaide and warn him. When she asked if there was anything more, I told her how Peep had run into the saloon crying that it was all her fault Dutch was dead, and how she was the last person to see him alive. 

After saying goodbye and thanking her for her time, I went out into the street and walked around, processing all that I had just heard. It seemed curious that Stacie was so nonchalant about the murder and it was also interesting that she said there was more than one suspect. It also seemed pretty clear that she knew exactly who the suspects were and she wasn’t about to divulge that information to me. Granted, I was just a new visitor off the street but it already felt like this was where I was going to make my home, at least for the foreseeable future. 

That night I went to the saloon and watched people dancing and having a good time. I met several new townspeople and told them about the investigation I was doing. Tristan was there too, the man who’d told me about seeing Dutch and Peep fight. I couldn’t help but be attracted to him, and told myself not to let myself become distracted. I had answers to find and I couldn’t let any man stand in my way. 

A girl named Molly started talking to me and I sat with her for a few minutes talking about cookies, but my mind kept going back to the man I was investigating. Someone asked me what was wrong and I decided to call it a night, not wanting to bring it up in front of the child. I said goodbye and went back to the hotel where I fell into another deep and peaceful sleep.