Come daybreak, Caleb was eating from his pan – well, from a pan. The food was of indeterminate origin, cooked last night, reheated this morning, but it would serve him well enough for now. A mug with the initials “JT” carefully scratched on its side stood steaming by his foot.<br/><br/>He watched the others rise, join Amos, and start talking about the body. He watched, but did not join, his narrow eyes flitting side to side with each bundled body unfurling from sleep. His jaw continued moving, his nose seemingly impervious to the stench of human death: his calling demanded such resolution. So the scowl that screwed up his weathered features was more out of distaste for the fact the body had been found before he could get to it. It meant he would have to wait until the Sheriff's prying eyes had moved on.<br/><br/>He had helped reluctantly with the building of the fire the previous night, but now he was glad he had exerted himself so. Usually his way was to seek comfort in others' fires, but on this occasion helping had allowed him to get the measure of Amos, noting the man's keen senses and reserved manner. It meant, in all likelihood, Caleb would need to keep his wits sharp around the man. But it also meant he could probably be trusted, if they got into a tight spell. He'd heard the grumbles as he waited up late – that this was a fool's errand, even a decoy to clear out the drifters for good – and he didn't believe a whisper. The Sheriff had the hard expression of a man with a bit between his teeth.<br/><br/>But being denied a claim of salvage did not mean the death had no use for him. As he slurped his mug clean, he began approaching in his distinctive shuffling gait, making sure his satchel, “D O C” burned in the leather flat many years ago, still just visible under sand residue and scratches, hung clearly on the side facing the onlookers. He shuffled closer to the body, eyes quickly taking the absence of animal wounds: a human killing. Then he sidled back to the group.<br/><br/>“Nothing I can do for the poor girl now,” he said.<br/><br/>It was the kind of occasion where even his medical opinion could not be doubted.