by Leena Clover
I shivered as I rushed up the steps. Tony put his arm around me, but I gently pushed it away. I was still mad at him for the snarky comment.
Pamela Harris was standing behind the check-in desk when we entered. She ushered us to a seating area near the window. She seemed restless and I wondered if Cam had railroaded her into doing this.
“You know what the police are saying?” she burst out. “They’re saying Jordan died naturally. They’re just a bunch of lazy country bums.”
I was surprised to see Pamela display so much emotion. Maybe she would be more forthcoming with some information.
“You don’t think that’s likely?” I asked, setting her off again.
“Have you looked at this place? Its over 500 acres. Jordan rode for hours every day, took care of the horses, and the resort. He built all the cabins with his bare hands. He was strong as an ox, and bursting with good health.”
I had to agree with most of what she said.
“How was he taking Cam’s sudden arrival?”
She shrugged.
“He was going to come back some time. We all knew that.”
“Did they get along, though?” I asked.
“Of course they did. They were brothers after all, weren’t they?”
“I heard they fought a lot.”
“What brothers don’t fight? When they were small, they pushed each other in the pond. Now they argued.”
“About what?”
“Didn’t matter. Whatever Jordan said, Cam had to oppose it. He’s always been that way. Loves playing the Devil’s Advocate.”
“Who, Jordan?”
“Cam! Jordan’s the sweet one. Everyone loved him. They all clamored for his attention.”
“By all, you mean the people who work for you?”
“Everyone!” Pam enthused. “The ranch hands, the guests who came here, Pa, the locals, the neighbors, they all wanted some attention from Jordan.”
“Did he like that?” Tony asked.
Pam shrugged.
“He didn’t notice it. He was Mr. Nice Guy. It was all in a day’s work for him.”
“Did he have any enemies?” I forged ahead.
“Everyone loved him,” Pam said, tearing up. “Why would anyone want to harm him?”
I gave her a minute. She plucked off a couple of Kleenex from a side table and blew her nose.
“People never stopped loving him, even after he did.”
She had a gleam in her eye. I guessed she had thought of something.
“What do you mean? Are you thinking about someone in particular?”
“His ex,” Pam grimaced. “She was a wrong one.”
“Were they high school sweethearts? Wasn’t that a long time ago?”
I know what they say about a woman scorned. Jordan Harris had been around 27. He must have graduated high school almost eight years ago. Could someone hold a grudge for that long?
“Yes and No. They were in the same high school class and they dated briefly. But nothing happened then. This was more recent. Last year.”
I was shocked.
“Er, are you sure? Jessica told me they’d been together since Freshman year of college. For 7-8 years.”
Pam looked uncomfortable. I waited for her to speak.
“They did meet during Freshman year,” she began. “They hit it off. They were very much in love and when Jordan graduated, he wanted to get married right away. Jessica wanted to wait until she got her doctorate.”
That kind of sounded reasonable.
“Did they fight over it?”
“They had a falling out. Of sorts. Then Jordan ran into this girl from high school. She pursued him. Heavily.”
“Wasn’t he interested?”
“I think he was confused. He went along with it. They got engaged. She started planning the wedding.”
“What happened to Jessica during this time?” Tony asked. “Did she meet Jordan?”
“Maybe once or twice,” Pamela replied. “Jordan was very busy at the time. He built the resort from the ground up. He shook up the ranch. Made Pa reduce his hours a bit. He had no time to call his own.”
“But he had time to date this girl?” I queried.
“She was here all the time!” Pamela exclaimed. “She lived a mile down the road, so she just walked here when it took her fancy. Or she rode over on her horse.”
“Is she a rancher too?” I asked.
“Her! She hasn’t done a day’s work in her life. Her Pa owned the ranch next door, but he died a few years ago. They let the ranch go to seed after that.”
“So Jordan was going to marry this other woman. How did he meet Jessica again?”
I was fascinated by this story. So were Jordan and Jessica destined to be together, or destined to be apart?
“He ran into her at a horse show in Texas,” Pam said dreamily. “Her Pa’s got a big spread south of the state border.”
I nodded. I remembered Jessica telling me that.
“Jordan fell for her again. It was like, they had never been apart.”
I sucked in a breath. All this sounded a bit surreal.
“Did they hook up on the spot?” Tony asked suggestively, and I smacked him on his arm.
“They met a few times after that,” Pamela said in a hushed voice. “He changed overnight. We could all see it, feel it. He had been dragging his feet as his wedding date drew closer, but he was a changed man once he met Jessica.”
“Who did you like more – the ex lady or Jessica?” Tony asked eagerly.
“We just wanted him to be happy. Pa wasn’t too happy about him going back on his word. But it was better than repenting at leisure.”
“So he broke up with his ex?” I asked.
Pam nodded.
“It was ugly. One minute she was shouting and screaming at him, promising all kinds of vengeance. Then she was gone, like that. She moved away within a week. We never saw her again.”
“What happened to her?” I tried to imagine this girl, dumped at the altar, all because of fate.
“Some say they put her in a special place, like a rehab type of thing. We never really knew.”
“How did Jessica take it?” Tony wondered.
“I’m not sure what Jordan told her, but she never talked about it. She loved the Triple H. She fit in very well here. Pa took a shine to her, eventually.”
I thought about how Jessica had conveniently lied to me about their relationship. She had neglected to mention they were apart for a few years.
“Jessica’s very smart. She’s working on some special foods that will fatten the cows. You know what that means for a rancher.”
Pam sounded wistful. I suspected she had missed her chance at college.
“You’re a lot older than the boys, aren’t you?” I tipped my head toward the tiny office where we had run into Cam before. I wondered if he was sitting there, listening to us.
“I was a senior in High school when we lost our Ma,” she said. “The boys were so young. They needed a guiding hand. Pa was up to his ears in ranch work. So, it all fell to me.”
“I lost my mother when I was seven,” I shared.
She squeezed my hand, and we shared a moment, tied together in our grief.
Pamela Harris had been more a mother than a sister to the boys. She had given up on college, and maybe a married life of her own. No wonder she looked older than her years.
“They were a joy growing up,” Pam’s eyes filled up again. “Who would’ve thought I wouldn’t see him grow old.”
Tony cleared his throat. I bet he was getting antsy, listening to all this emotional stuff.
“Were you on the ranch that Sunday?” I tried to disguise the question the best way I could. I wanted to know if she was anywhere near Swan Creek.
“Sundays are when my quilting group meets,” Pam offered. “There’s five or six of us from the county, and one woman a bit more up north.”
She named a place that was in between Swan Creek and the Tri
ple H.
“So do you just sit and sew?” Tony feigned interest.
“We have tea and snacks and share patterns and stuff. Mostly we just talk.”
“I loved the quilt in our room at the cabin,” I praised her. “Did you make that yourself?”
Pamela’s face lit up. “I did!” Then she thought back to the day without any more prompting.
“I was feeling queasy that day. I wasn’t getting much done. I left around 6.”
6 PM. Jordan and Jessica were still having dinner at that time.
“Did you come straight home? Cam said he was out that day too.”
“He had a doctor’s appointment,” Pamela confirmed. “Sunday evenings belong to me. Once I get back to the ranch, it’s back to the chores. They never end!”
“So … you went somewhere else?” I tried to be open.
“I drove around a bit,” Pamela said glumly. “Truth be told, I was feeling sorry for myself. For no reason.”
She looked apologetic.
“Sometimes I just want to tune all this out, you know. I mean, I love my life, don’t get me wrong. And the resort has given me a new lease on it. But some days, you just want to give in to nostalgia.”
“I understand,” I tried to commiserate.
I suppose I could expect something like that when I reached her age.
She suddenly stood up.
“Where are my manners? How about some coffee?”
I welcomed a hot drink. I wanted to ask many more questions, but I sensed Pam had reached her limit for the day.
Chapter 14
I savored the delicious coffee Pamela served as Tony made small talk with her. I wondered if Cam would put in an appearance. I didn’t know if I wanted him to.
“Are you ready to meet Pa?” Pamela asked after I finished my second cup of coffee.
I had devoured a muffin or two while I was at it. The large windows in the lodge provided a dreamy vista. Stark trees with some yellow or brown leaves still clinging to them filled my line of vision. The flurries were still blowing, and they had dusted the ground with a fine white powder by now. I was drowsy but I shook it off. I wondered what Jordan’s father would have to say about him.
Pam dropped us off at the main homestead. She begged off to check on the horses.
I knocked on the door and we entered as a gruff voice invited us in. Pa Harris seemed to have aged a bit in the last few days. He was ensconced in an old fashioned wooden rocking chair. He motioned us to a couch beside him. I sat and turned around to face him, craning my neck at the awkward angle.
“Pammie said you are trying to find out what happened to my boy,” he rasped.
I gave him a short account of how Sylvie was implicated and how I was trying to clear her name.
“Fair enough. Whatever your reasons, I would be grateful if you find out who harmed my boy.”
He gulped, trying to control some emotion.
“You can ask me anything you want. Don’t be shy. I will try to answer as much as I can.”
I instantly felt better. I was expecting some kind of resistance from the old man.
“Tell me about Jordan,” I began.
“Jordan was a smart boy. He went to college, you know. He’s the only one in our family who got a fancy college degree.”
“Was it of any use on the ranch?” I asked.
What was the use of spending four years at school if you were going to muck stalls for the rest of your life?
“Of course it was. He always knew he would come back and work on the ranch. Even as a kid, he liked making plans for it. He got a degree in agriculture, and in business management.”
“Is that where he got the idea of the resort?” I asked.
“The resort was his dream. He created a solid business plan, and built it all from the ground up.”
“Pam told us,” Tony supplied.
“Does Pamela like living here?” I switched the topic.
The old man frowned.
“What do you mean, little lady? This is her home, ain’t it? The only one she’s ever known. Now if she had gone and married and lived with her husband, that would be a different deal.”
“I know she has to live here. But does she like it?” I pressed.
“I dunno,” the old man looked bewildered. “What’s that gotta do with my boy Jordan?”
I winced.
“Well, we heard your other boy Cam hates the ranch, so we wondered if Pam hated it too.”
“Cam doesn’t hate the ranch. He’s happy to live here, isn’t he? He just loves giving people a hard time.”
“So, the Triple H, you named it after your three kids?” Tony leaned forward.
I was glad to have some time to think about my next question.
“These kids?” Pa Harris guffawed. “This ranch has been around for seventy odd years. My grandpa named it after his three sons. My uncles passed away in the wars.”
He didn’t specify which war, but there had been plenty in the time frame he mentioned.
“My Pa came into it, and he didn’t change the name, even though I was an only child. Then when my kids came along, it all made sense again.”
“No wonder Jordan wanted to hold on to it,” I said.
“Far as I know, all my kids wanted to. If Pammie or Cam are talking about selling the ranch, that’s news to me.”
“We heard Cam wanted to turn it into an organic farm. Or plant all the acres.”
“Pshaw!” the old man flung a hand in the air. “He can talk all he want.”
“Were you going to sign the ranch over to Jordan?” I probed.
“I was thinking about it,” the old man admitted. “Jordan worked his butt off the last few years. The ranch was bleeding money before that. He deserved it.”
“What about your other kids?” I queried. “Didn’t they look upon it as their inheritance?”
“I wanted them to work for it,” he growled.
“I bet the other two weren’t happy about it?”
He shrugged.
“Cam’s got his army pension. Pammie – I was sure Jordan would take care of her. Both her brothers would.”
“Is the ranch worth a lot?” Tony asked.
“The land must be worth something,” the old man nodded. “But the only way to make a living off the ranch is to work it. And that’s back breaking work from dawn to dusk. Jordan was doing that. And he was building up the dude ranch business.”
“Your sons fought a lot, didn’t they?” I questioned.
“Since the day they began to walk,” Pa Harris smiled, a faraway look in his eyes. “You’ll understand if you have any siblings.”
Not a day goes by when Jeet and I don’t come to blows. So I got what he was saying.
“Did they hate each other?” Tony asked.
“What kind of damn fool question is that?” the old man roared. “They were family, weren’t they?”
I caught Tony’s eye and shook my head, signaling him to drop that question.
“Did Jordan have any enemies?”
“And why would he?” the old man demanded. “He turned the ranch around, brought it into the black. He was putting food in the mouths of all the people who work here, and their families. He put a roof over their head.”
You would think Jordan Harris was some kind of saint, listening to these people.
“Pam said everyone loved him,” I prompted.
“Sure did. They would’ve done anything for him.”
“Do you have any idea who might’ve wanted to harm him?” I asked.
“I don’t. They would be facing the other end of my shotgun if I did.”
I decided to ignore that, cringing at the thought of guns stashed somewhere in the old man’s living room.
“What about the girl he was supposed to marry?”
“Oh, Jessica! She’s a sweet kid. Comes from ranching stock, too.”
The old man’s face had lit up. He was obviously smitten by Jessica.
“Not
her,” I said gently. “The other girl Jordan was going to marry.”
“Her?” the old man clammed up. “What can I say? I wasn’t too happy when Jordan did that. A man’s word has to mean something. But then I met Jessica.”
“What if Jordan had married that girl? And then run into Jessica? Would he have divorced her to marry Jessica?”
“We’ll never know that,” the old man said sadly.
Jordan may have been God to these people, but he had definitely wronged this unknown woman in my book.
“You must be quite lonely here, all by yourself?” I went on. “You don’t have many neighbors, do you?”
“It’s the ranch life. We are used to it.” Pa Harris smiled. “I go meet some old fellows at our local pub sometimes. We have a monthly poker game. It’s not that bad.”
“Were you here on the ranch when Jordan had his date with Jessica?” I wondered if he had somehow wandered into Swan creek too on the fateful day.
“I was right here!” Pa Harris said, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
I hadn’t looked forward to treating him like a suspect.
“Must have been a quiet evening, what with Cam and Pamela also out somewhere.”
“I was too busy doing Jordan’s chores,” Pa Harris said. “And then I turned in early, exhausted. Not as strong as I used to be.”
He wouldn’t have heard either Pamela or Cameron come back that night.
“So you didn’t hear Pam or Cameron come in, I suppose?”
He thought a minute, and then shook his head.
“I got up around 11 to get some milk.” He looked apologetic. “And some leftover cake. I have a sweet tooth.”
I nodded. Raiding the fridge at midnight is something I’m very familiar with.
“I looked out the kitchen window and didn’t see Pammie’s car. So maybe she wasn’t in yet. Although …”
He stopped, lost in thought.
“She never stays out that late. What was she doing, traipsing about at 11 PM?”
I didn’t have an answer for that.
“What about Cam?” Tony nudged.
“I’m not sure about Cam. He parks at the front. He snores the house down. I remember thinking it was pretty quiet.”