Arizona Territory, 1882. A brutal sandstorm has stranded eight travelers at Coyote Wells, a remote waystation on the Wells Fargo stage route. The nearest town is forty miles of unforgiving desert in any direction. By morning, Colonel Edmund Price—a railroad land agent with a dark past—lies dead in his room, strangled with a length of rope. The door was found locked, the key still in the interior lock. The window, unlatched. Among the stranded: a federal marshal, a physician with trembling hands, a widow fleeing her past, an Apache scout, a preacher with cold eyes, a nervous stagecoach driver, a soft-spoken schoolteacher carrying a Bible, and Adelaide Marsh, the waystation keeper who has watched every secret walk through her door. One of them is not who they claim to be. The storm won't break for three days. The telegraph line is down. And somewhere in this crumbling adobe compound, a killer waits.
Test every story against the dust, the doors, and the storm outside.
The Victim
Railroad Land Agent
Colonel Edmund Price served in the Union cavalry during the Civil War, commanding the 3rd Colorado Mounted Rifles. After the war, he leveraged his connections into a lucrative position as a land agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad, acquiring territory through a combination of legal maneuvering and intimidation.
The Scout
Army Scout (Apache)
Samuel Crow Feather serves as a scout for the U.S. Army, navigating between two worlds that both despise him—too Apache for the whites, too friendly with the whites for his people. He's good at what he does. He survives by being useful.
The Widow
Widow / Former Socialite
Evangeline Cross buried two husbands. The first, Robert Cross, died of consumption and left her wealthy. The second, Victor Hartley, was a charming monster who beat her behind closed doors. Three months ago, she shot Victor with his own pistol and claimed self-defense. The jury believed her. Victor's family didn't.
The Lawman
U.S. Federal Marshal
Marshal Tom Slade has worn a badge for thirty years. He's killed eleven men in the line of duty—all righteous, all haunting. He's transporting a prisoner to Yuma Territorial Prison, currently secured in the waystation's storage room.
The Schoolteacher
Schoolteacher
Clara Edwards presents herself as a prim schoolteacher from Boston, traveling west to start fresh in California. She carries a Bible, speaks softly, and helps where she can. She is the picture of frontier propriety.
The Doctor
Traveling Physician
Dr. Josiah Whitmore was once a respected surgeon in San Francisco. A laudanum addiction, born from treating his own chronic pain, destroyed his practice and his marriage. Now he travels the frontier, treating anyone who'll pay, feeding his habit with whatever opiates he can acquire.
The Driver
Stagecoach Driver
Hector Vance drives the Wells Fargo stage and owes money to the wrong people. A lot of money. To very wrong people. The kind who take fingers when payments are late.
The Preacher
Traveling Preacher
Reverend Isaiah Green is a traveling preacher with a war-worn face and a talent for speaking directly to grief. He carries scripture, offers prayer when asked, and seems to know more about violence than a man of God should.
The Station Keeper
Waystation Keeper
Adelaide Marsh has run Coyote Wells for thirty years, since her husband William died of snakebite. She's seen every kind of traveler pass through—saints, sinners, and everything between. She knows how to read people.
Common Area
The waystation's central gathering space with a fireplace, long wooden table, and worn chairs.
Restricted
A cramped cooking space with an iron stove, hanging pots, and a pantry alcove.
Restricted
A cool underground storage space accessed via steep wooden stairs.
Common Area
A narrow adobe corridor with doors to individual guest rooms.
Crime Scene
A small private room where the victim was found dead.
Private
A small private room belonging to the schoolteacher.
Common Area
A larger room with multiple cots for travelers.
Restricted
Adelaide's office containing the telegraph, strongbox, and station records.
Common Area
A covered wooden porch facing the desert, now battered by sandstorm.
Restricted
A fenced area for horses and the stage, with an attached stable.
Restricted
An adobe shelter for horses, attached to the corral.
Common Area
The compound's water source, located behind the main building.
Restricted
A locked room where Marshal Slade's prisoner is being held.
