The Rocky Trail
Copyright Robert C. Waggoner 2012
Published at Smashwords
The Rocky Trail
An Inspector Cockrun novel
Robert C. Waggoner
Oct 2011
Prologue
On a winding mountain road, the vehicles bright lights behind him were blinding Old Eddie Two Shoes. Eddie on his way home, slowed down to let it pass. The vehicle went around and stopped in front of him. He saw three men get out with bandanas covering their faces. One was carrying a baseball bat. Eddie froze in fear.
When he woke up in the hospital, his recollection of what happened was vague. The only thing Eddie Two Shoes remembered was seeing more than one guy with red bandanas covering their faces; the smell of booze and a voice saying that this was only a reminder: That the next time, if he didn't sell his land, he would be visiting the happy hunting ground. Then the pain came and lucky for Eddie, unconscious quickly engulfed him.
The three men, laughing, got back in their pickup truck, passed the brown sack with a bottle of dark brown liquid back and forth. The guy riding shotgun, waited until they were a few miles from the encounter, then threw the bat out the window. They all agreed it was a good paying night's work.
Chapter I
After a successful ending from a difficult case involving a psychotic serial killer, Inspector David Cockrun and his longtime partner Janice Beaker Cockrun, were on their honeymoon. A friend had offered his log cabin in the Rocky Mountains of Montana for some much needed R & R.
The caretaker, Sue Leadfoot, made sure they were comfortable and well stocked for a months stay. She’d been instructed to keep an eye on them. True to her job, after three days, she drove up to see how the newly weds were fairing.
April weather in the Rocky Mountains can be fickle. It could be a nice warm spring day or it could turn cold and snowy. The weather, as Sue drove up the mountain, seemed a blessing for the two guests. Frosts occurred in the mornings, but in the afternoons, though brisk, were filled with sunshine.
Smoke was pouring out of the chimney pipe, as Sue pulled up next to their rented SUV in her old Ford pickup truck, which had seen better days. Sue waddled out and puffed her overweight body up the stairs to the door.
Janice opened the door with a big smile saying, “Good morning Sue. I’m happy to see you. I need a strange voice to hear after three days of listening to David snoring or, as I find out, he talks to himself.”
Sue hurried to the nice warm wood stove that sat in front of an old fireplace. She said, “It’s still cold out there. This heat feels so good. My heater in my old truck quit working last year. I wish I had that problem of a good man around Ms. Janice, as my house has only babies crying and my older brother who drinks too much.”
The smile left Janice’s face as she sat down, hopefully, to enjoy some outside company. Now as her instinct took over, fearing this woman had more problems than she really wanted to hear about. However, to show her hospitality Janice said, “Sue, do you want to talk about it? I’m a good listener and David is brewing a fresh pot of coffee after hearing your truck coming.”
Sue sat down, keeping her down coat on sat across from Janice in a large old armchair. Janice wondered if she might have a bit of trouble getting up out of that old chair due to her size. She looked over at Janice with her big brown eyes and red rosy cheeks still suffering from the cold outside.
Janice guessed her age around mid-twenties. She didn’t see any wedding band. The rings on her fingers were turquoise along with a huge necklace made up of the same stones. It was later when she found out that Sue was part of the Flathead tribe, located here in Northern Montana.
Sue said, “I’m sorry to bother you nice people, but I know you are detectives from Chicago. I’m worried to death about my grandfather. You see, he is one of the few who still hold title to some land up in the mountains. He has a cabin up there. There is a big meadow where he raises a few animals. A few years ago a wind power company came in and made a deal with our tribal council to put up these big ugly windmills. Like most white men they promised jobs and a big amount of cash to lease land for their wind power units.”
“They’ve been trying since then to either buy or lease my grandfather’s meadow. He refuses and with his 30 -30 rifle, drove them off his property on more than one occasion. Since then he has lost many animals to strange happenings. This morning I got a phone call that he was in the hospital up in Kalispell. I drove up to see him, but he was asleep. What I found out was that some passerby found him in his old pickup truck with a broken leg. I was afraid to hear what happened so I drove up here to see you nice people. The nurse said it looked something hit his leg very hard just below the knee.”
Janice saw tears flowing but Sue’s voice remained strong. David entered with a tray of mugs steaming with coffee. With his keen hearing and senses, he knew something unhappy was transpiring around the wood stove. He passed out the coffee catching a look from Janice that said, ‘no matter where we go, people look to us for help’, but he winked at her and sat down.
All was quiet except for an occasional snap crack of wood in the stove. David slurped his coffee to make a sound. Then when he saw Sue looking at him he said, in a soothing voice, “I think Sue you could tell us more. If your grandfather lost some animals, which to me means some locals are involved. Have you been to the police?”
“We have a tribal police force. We really don’t have much crime to speak of. Mostly we have drinking and nowadays drug problems. My cousin tends bar and she told me that there has been some rough talk around lately. And she said, some of the not so nice guys have been flashing some cash lately.”
Janice said, “Sue, we feel for you and your family, but we have no jurisdiction in Montana. Especially when there’s a federal treaty between your nation and ours; I’d guess, that if a major crime occurred, the FBI would become involved.”
“Once or twice the FBI has been here and all it did was bring out a lot of hate among our people against arrogant white authority. We really don’t deal well with white people in suits and ties.”
David thought, I agree with you Sue, I don’t deal well with the bastards either. He said, “We need some air Sue. How about we take a drive up to Kalispell and see your grandfather. This would be unofficial of course.”
Janice said, “Do they have a good place to have a steak in Kalispell?
Sue had a smile that made her face radiant. She said, “Oh my yes. And they’ve a giant baked potato. From here it will take us about two hours. I’ll drive down to town and then I’ll ride with you.”
David jumped up and gave Sue a hand out of the armchair. In ten minutes they were out the door on there way to see old Eddie Two Shoes.
Chapter II
When David saw the old Indian laying on the bed, leg up in a cast, a shot of pain hit his heart. The patient looked older than the Rocky Mountains. The wind weathered lines were more like grooves than age lines. It would be impossible to tell how old he was. Later Eddie Two Shoes admitted he really didn’t know how old he was.
On the way to Kalispell, Sue had told David and Janice that her grand father was a medicine man. He’d been to a healing ceremony and was going back home. It was after dark and he’d declined the offer to spend the night telling his host that his animals would need tending to.
David had put the story together on the way up. It was obvious that the windmill company wanted his land. Eddie refused to sell. Big company hires some thugs to apply a little persuasion to encourage the seller to agree to give up the land. This old man had spent most, if not all, of his life on this piece of property. Nothing would persuade Eddie Two Shoes to die somewhere other than his home.
This type of story had been going on for
centuries in both the Old Word and the New Word. However, both David and Janice propensity was for the little guy and not for large corporations. Yes, we needed electricity but not at the expense of destroying even one life.
Here in a hospital in Montana, an old man who had never hurt anyone in his life, lay in bed with a broken bone that some bad guys had taken a baseball bat to his thin and withered leg. A slow burn was rising from David’s neck, to stoke the fires of rage, which had previously been stored in a locker in the back of his brain.
This wasn’t his fight. They were here to relax and really get to know one another. This situation was for another agency to get involved with. David thought, this was completely out of his hands.
They left telling the old man the proper words and with a proper smile. Eddie never said much, but the look in his eye told the whole story: lip service from a white man.
Dinner was less than enjoyable, even though the steak was tender and the giant baked potato too big to eat, they left withdrawn from the tragedy to the old man.
*~~~~*
Arriving back at the cabin, the inside felt like the outside: damn cold. David quickly got the stove back producing heat, while Janice went to the bedroom to turn on the electric blanket. Hurrying back to stand in front of the stove, she said, “What are we going to do about the injustice to Sue’s grand father big fella?”
“Right back at ya, Pine Queen. What do you want to do about it, if anything?”
“Let’s call Dr. Jones and ask him.”
“You know, that’s a good idea. We never gave both he and Jake a firm answer about their proposal. I thought that we would just work around the Chicago area rather than nation wide, but hell, who knows. It’s evident that Eddie Two Shoes can’t take on a major corporation single handedly. It’s a given that the FBI should step in and take action, but the assault was committed on a state highway so the state police is responsible.” While talking he had moved two wooden rockers in front of the stove to sit and warm up.
“Yes, but we both know that no one cares about one old Indian. They’ll sweep it under the table unless they murder the old guy,” Janice said.
“I think this is very ticklish and we must be careful to not step on some toes here. Before we call Dr. Jones, let’s check out on the map where Eddie has his property and see what kind of a deal was made with the windmill people and the tribe.”
“Both Dr. Jones and Alex said our new agency would be federal and state sanctioned. Would that mean we might act like US Marshalls?”
“Maybe, if so we would have authority to at least look into the charge of assault. And if nothing else, we could shake the windmill people a little into backing off Eddie.”
“Does that mean,” she said with a gleam in her eyes, “that after morning sex we go to the tribal office with Sue?”
Later that night, as Janice lay next to him, David thought back when he’d first met Dr. Jones in Chicago. He’d been having severe headaches and was reaching the pinnacle of being so angry that he wanted to take out his gun and shoot someone.
Inspector Cockrun of the Hydespark police department was the head of the homicide division. His partner, and now wife, Janice, had been together for the last four years. David was wise enough to seek out some professional help with his mental condition. The word around revealed that Doctor A. Jones was highly respected in his field of clinical psychology. Although retired, he occasionally took on a few special cases. After meeting Dr. Jones, a murder of a prominent socialite occurred. Inspector Cockrun enlisted the help of Dr. Jones as the murderer had a mental health condition. Jointly, Dr. Jones and Inspector Cockrun set a trap and that wrapped up the case.
After it was all over, Dr. Jones and his friend an attorney, Jake Hasby offered both he and Janice a new position, but still remaining with the same employer. They hadn’t given a firm yes or no as they were on their honeymoon.
As he drifted off to sleep he was to see if he could help old Eddie Two Shoes remain alive and pass on from natural causes rather than murder.
The next morning was, as David said, “damn cold.” Probably the only drawback to the cabin was the hot water heater and the small shower area. The drawback was the hot water heater held just enough water for one person and the shower area was too small for two to shower in. However, for two such highly intelligent newlyweds, any obstacle can be overcome. Some years later they both had a laugh as they talked about the unorthodox method they used to take a shower at the same time.
First they moved an electric heater into the bathroom. Then jumped back in bed and frolicked while it heated the room. After that, one got wet while the other stood outside the shower washing the back of the shower taker. When that was finished, the reverse took place. The risk was waiting too long before anyone rinsed off. The cold well water was just short of ice. In the end, both decided sex was better in bed than in the shower.
David said, “How about we have breakfast in some local café where the locals hangout. We would be good fodder for gossip. You should wear a tight pair of Levis along with a snazzy sweater displaying two wonderful mounds of tasty love.”
They were in the living room drinking coffee enjoying the wood heat. “Sounds good to me big fella. I’m on vacation and a little sore between the legs. I thought only that big dick Dr. Zee was oversized, but you’re none too small dude,” she said sipping her coffee while coyly looking at him.
“It’s the frequency, Pine Queen, not the size. But I feel like a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of money. Everything about you tastes and smells so damn good, I can’t get enough of you. And to top it off, I love the hell out of you,” he said while standing up pretending to unzip his Dockers in front of her.
She punched him in the stomach and said, “I’m hungry. Let’s go to town and shake up the locals.”
*~~~~*
Pablo, Montana. Population around two thousand with half being Native American, was home to the Flathead Tribal office and police station.
A five minute search produced the local café where a half dozen pickups in various states of disrepair were parked on the street. The red neon sign flashed out the news this was a ‘Café.’ David having no trouble finding a parking place parked their new incongruent SUV among the old tired looking pickups.
Walking in alerted the occupants with the door bells hanging just above David’s head. He ducked, but they were just above his head, so no harm done. Janice supposed this café was fairly typical with a counter and seven stools sat in front of it. Three were occupied. Two round tables sat in the middle of the dinning room. Both were filled to capacity with coffee drinkers. Next to the window sat two booths, empty, our newlyweds sat at the first one.
Needless to say, all heads turned toward the door when the tourists came in. Voices were silenced, but the radio was heard moaning about some cowboy who’d lost his sweetheart on a Saturday night. The only female was the waitress. The customers were a mix of white and Indian. What they did, our Chicago couple could not guess. Age was difficult to tell but most appeared old enough to draw a pension, if earned.
Looking at the menu the yellow clad waitress brought two cups and a pot of coffee. Janice looked up and smiled. The waitress was a young girl that had the look of a fresh high school graduate. She was most likely of Indian blood as she had dark skin and long black hair in an attractive braid. Without asking she poured two cups and first looked at Janice then at David.
When David looked at her, the young waitress fell in love. Janice knew it was his eyes and the heavy eyebrows the set him apart from others. He really wasn’t aware of his attraction, and said, “I’ll have the bacon and eggs please.” Janice had to cover her mouth seeing the girl half buckle at the knees hearing his smooth friendly voice.
Tana said, her name tag was fastened on her left breast, “How would you like your eggs sir?”
“Over easy, but it really doesn’t matter much. What I’m really looking for is a big stack of toast with homemade strawberry jam.”
/>
Now Tana was totally flustered with a request she couldn’t possibly provide. The café’s jam came in little plastic buckets of mixed fruit. Janice said, “Me too. I’ll have the same thing please.”
Tana wrote the order down and told them she would be back when their order was up.
Janice said, “Hey big fella, you’re a butt head. There’s no way that young girl can provide you with homemade strawberry jam.”
He smiled mischievously and said, “Let’s see what happens. I’ll bet you tops or bottoms she comes back with a jar of strawberry jam that’s homemade with a date on the lid.”
“Oh, my, I’ll take that bet.”
“Either way, I win. I’m ready right now. It would be impossible for me to stand up. Those tight levis drive me crazy.”
It wasn’t long before Tana came back with their order. She gently sat the plates down and told them she would be right back with the toast and jam. While David was mixing up his over easy eggs with fried potatoes, Tana came back with a tray holding two large stacks of toast and a jar of red strawberry jam. She had a big smile and said her grandmother was happy to provide the two newlyweds with a jar of homemade strawberry jam.
Janice sat with her mouth open. David just smiled and told Tana to thank her grandmother. Then he looked at his wife and said, “Man, I’m going to enjoy the spoils of my win.”
David yelped as Janice kicked him in the shins. Tana laughed and told them to enjoy their stay. And then she added, “I sure hope you guys can help out old Eddie Two Shoes.”
*~~~~*
The tribal office was just off 4th street. Parking again was no problem. David said, as he parked in front, “I guess that’s one good thing about a small western town, parking is not like back home.”
Rocky Trail Page 1