The paper work on Martha was nowhere near as simple as clothing the child. Apparently mom, before assigned to hard time in Cañon City, had dragged the poor child over most of Colorado and the West. Janet and Ouray were but a stop on the bumpy road to nowhere. Records were nearly non-existent but the kindness of the Ouray school personnel allowed Martha's attendance until matters were straightened out. Which everyone involved realized would never happen.
During the two weeks there was a Mexican dinner at the Catholic church, a couple of movies, three evenings at the Ouray Hot Springs Pool and even a day of downhill skiing at Telluride. Martha tried the boards for the first time and was surprisingly agile. But the high cost of lift tickets and rentals made downhill skiing look like an infrequent outing. Fred picked up a pair of children's cross country skies from an ad in the paper and the group spent a number of after school afternoons on Red Mountain utilizing the free trails at Ironton.
Dean hadn't spoken to Jake Weller in nearly two weeks when he gave the law man a call. All of Edith Shipton's belongings were still packed in a closet at Bird Song. Storage space was at a premium and no one was making any signs of making claim to the stuff. Dean asked Weller to contact Shipton concerning disposition. Jake Weller said he'd look into it and that afternoon he stopped by the inn. He carried a large bundle.
"This junk is Shipton's, too," he said, as he dumped the lot on the hall floor and continued on to the kitchen.
"We wanted to get rid of what we had, not get more. Why would we want Shipton's stuff?" Dean asked as Cynthia joined him.
Weller ignored the question and handed Dean a sheaf of papers. "These are for you. They're filing papers for next summer's sheriff 's election."
"Why would I want those papers any more than I want Shipton's garbage? I already told you I'm not interested in your job."
"Just look 'em over. That's all." He smiled at Cynthia who looked as if she'd been out to lunch during an important discussion but she said nothing. Weller poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. "You're supposed to get a call about sending Shipton's belongings back east. The only thing I mailed was Mrs. Shipton's wedding ring. This stuff and what you've got is the lot of it. I figured you might as well ship it all together, at one time. CBI didn't need Shipton's junk after all and I don't have the room at the office to store it. We got to leave room for important things like evidence." He looked longingly at an apple pie fresh from the oven. Cynthia obliging cut a piece-a second piece for Dean after he frowned-a third as she joined them.