A closer introduction.
His office is a place of coffee, ledgers, reports, and demands that arrive before he can finish the work already on his desk. He knows the town’s people by more than the trouble they bring him. That familiarity makes his duty personal.
McCoy is restrained rather than theatrical. He does not need to dominate a room to feel the weight of his responsibility. He tries to establish facts, keep people safe, and hold a boundary in a town where wealth can speak louder than a badge.
The saga presses on the distance between legal authority and moral responsibility. McCoy stands in that distance, trying to decide what an honest lawman owes the people who must live with his decisions.
Briggs brings a different understanding of justice. Evelyn sees the consequences a report cannot contain. Abner offers a kind of company that does not depend on speeches.