Rasp Meadow Crossing

by Kieran York

  She called to Chance. As the sheriff walked past the reception area, she told Wanda that she was going to take Chance by High Country Animal Clinic to see the vet, then she would be out for a while. Perhaps the remainder of the day. Royce wasn’t certain where she wanted to go to calm her restlessness, but she did know that quiet was needed. For both woman and dog.

  ***

  “Chance seems tense about putting her weight on her paw.”

  Hertha explained, “That’s normal. It’s her way of being protective of her foot.”

  “And she acts tired.”

  “Again, that’s natural.” Hertha was withdrawn a moment. “She hasn’t been out exercising. After we’re in bed for a couple days, we do the same as dogs when we recover. I promise she’ll be fine.” As Hertha stroked the dog’s fur, Chance began to dance with excitement. Hertha’s voice of encouragement lifted, “That’s a good girl, Chance. You’ve been all down and out and now you’re recovering.” Energy flowed back into Chance. “Yes, you are.”

  Royce smiled. “Yes, she is.”

  Hertha’s glance at Royce was a direct hit. “Royce, she also knows that you’re depressed. She feels that. She doesn’t know what to do to make things better for you.”

  “I’m not depressed,” Royce debated. “Just consumed by the murder. Murders.”

  “You are depressed. Chance loves you – she knows what you are feeling. I know.”

  With irony, Royce stated, “So Chance is going to be fine. Thanks, for her diagnosis and mine.”

  “You need time off. I’ll ask Nadine to drop over. She said she’d love to watch the children for me. I’m ready to close up for the day. I have one operation I can perform later this evening. If you wouldn’t mind, maybe I could join you and Chance on a trek in the mountains. I could bring Louie, and we could take them out to run at the Crossing. I haven’t been to the Rasp since the fire. I’ve been wanting to get out there to see how much of the mountain’s backside the fire left.”

  “If we climbed the trail to the top of the Rasp, we could look over and see.” Royce hesitated. “I really shouldn’t though.”

  “Royce, your mother, Gwen, Nadine, Gran, everyone is worried that you’re not taking any time off. Please. It might be the best thing for the investigation right now.” She chuckled. “Air out your brain.”

  Laughing, Royce nodded. “Okay. Louie and Chance need to stretch their legs.”

  “A little hike won’t hurt me either.”

  While Hertha called Nadine, Royce went back to change from her uniform to her civvies – a pair of hiking boots, denims, and a shirt. As she walked across the street she witnessed Chance putting full weight on her paw.

  “Faker,” Royce accused playfully.

  ***

  The mountainside was catching the afternoon’s fanning sun. Royce gazed up at the luster of sunshine. The splinters of light beamed through the trees. Each step up the trail’s scenic grandeur was improving Royce’s spirit.

  Wondering if the remoteness had also impacted the Nomadic peoples with their primordial, ancient earth, Royce smiled. She shaded her eyes as she witnessed the curves of both shadows and beams. Looking upward was magic. Bird wedges flowed across the sky. Cloud formations were beginning to gather.

  However, viewing the carpet of earth was also amazing. Royce pointed out a clump of blue columbines. “Wow,” the sheriff remarked. “This is just exactly what I needed.”

  The two women, with their two dogs, excitedly hiked. Both Chance and Louie were enjoying the fresh air’s crispness.

  Hertha spoke softly, “I’ve always loved this place. Well, not so much when we saw flames shooting over the ridge.”

  “There were so many sparks flying, I was certain we’d lose the Rasp.” Royce remembered, “Oh, by the way, the department got a nice note of thanks from the ranchers. Thanks for saving their horses.”

  “I also received one. The horses are doing great.” She glanced away. “Royce, I was so grateful for your help. It was good seeing you, being near.”

  “I was amazed that the colt didn’t create problems.”

  “She wouldn’t have left her mother, she sensed danger. She sensed her mother’s fear.”

  “Sugar and Pansy.”

  “Yes.” Hertha called to her small dog, “Come on, Louie. Don’t wander.” Hertha stopped. “I can still smell the faint charcoal scent in the air. I know the other side of the mountain will grow back, I’m just sad that we’ve lost a part of this lovely forest.”

  There was a lapse in the conversation. The women continued up the winding path. They enjoyed the sounds and sights. When they reached the pinnacle of the peak, they looked down onto a patchwork of forest burn, and growth. It showed some reworking by environmental groups of citizens that wanted the land to again flourish. They had replanted new vegetation.

  Royce placed her backpack down a few feet from the top, on the Rasp side. “I’d rather sit here to drink my water. I want to see the part that was saved.”

  “Me too,” Hertha replied. “I want my children to see this. I want them to know that brave men and women helped to save it. I am glad to see folks have started to replant. I’ll bring the children out one day to plant a few new trees.”

  They sat on rock formations. The dogs behaved, only going a short distance away in their bid to explore the area.

  Royce inquired, “Do the children like Timber?”

  “They’re children. They pretty much like anywhere if they’re loved. They miss some parts of the homes they had. I’m uncertain if they remember their parent’s home. My mother took them immediately after Ray was killed in the accident. So I imagine they only really know that home. They missed my mother after she died. We moved in with Ingrid.” Hertha’s head lowered, and then went into her hands. “It was fine at first. Soon it was terrible. She’d made me believe that she wanted them. But she wanted me, without them. The children and I are a family. We come together. As one package.”

  “I’m sorry things didn’t work out.” Royce tried to comfort her. “I’m sure Vannie and Antero will assimilate into Timber as soon as school starts.”

  “I hope so. I want to always contribute to their lives. Royce, it’s as if I’m attempting to show them that the spirits of my mother, and my brother, are leading me to make them safe and loved.” Her slight smile emerged as her lips opened, “I’m not sure that makes sense.”

  “Of course it does. I’m still trying to live my life to pay tribute to my father. This case I’m working on – the cold case – was so important to him. It’s his cold case.”

  “And you’re feeling frustrated about it.”

  “Yes.” Royce felt herself relinquishing the stress of the case. “There’s nothing much I can do other than nudge it along. I keep running into walls. It feels unbearable. I want to do it for my dad. There’s little else I can do for him.”

  Hertha reached to touch Royce’s hand. Royce knew the feel of Hertha by heart. “Royce, every day of your life you do something to honor your father’s memory. You help to protect and preserve the community he loved.”

  “I want to solve his case, and my current case.”

  “Royce, they both belong to you now. And you will solve them.”

  Royce wanted to kiss Hertha. Desire warmed her when she gazed into Hertha’s eyes. Royce quickly stood, holding out her hand as she assisted Hertha to stand. “I guess we’d better get going before twilight makes the trek down a whole lot harder.”

  On the return trip, the dogs led the women down the Rasp.

  Chapter 20

  “I want him out of here now,” Nita bleated loudly. “I want his lazy ass off my property.”

  Royce had told the dispatcher that she would answer the disturbance call at the Wagner Ranch. When she arrived Nita was pointing to what had been her luxury décor. The entryway had been ravaged by her drunken stepson. There was broken glass, along with designer knickknacks scattered around.

  A sound of more destruction was coming
from the lower level. Tony screamed, “It isn’t your property yet.”

  Royce yelled down, “Sheriff’s Department. Tony, get up here now.”

  The young man’s hubris was part of his walk, and it covered his face. “Sheriff, until the estate is settled in probate, this remains my father’s home. I’ve got a right to be here.” His muscular vibrato swayed with his morning hangover. Shirtless, Tony’s biceps were working their way back from what looked to have been a barroom brawl the evening before.

  Royce agreed, “You certainly do have a right to be here. But you can’t disturb the peace, no matter whose house you are in.”

  Nita screamed, “The good-for-nothing came in at five this morning. Drunk, and slamming things around.”

  Tony countered, “You made all of us miserable. Bitch. You’ve done nothing but spend my father’s money.”

  “Sure I’ve spent money. But, you’ve spent your share. You’ve been siphoning funds to buy cars, cycles, and those stinking loud drones.”

  “My father never denied me anything. Why would I steal?”

  “He bought you that truck. You wanted a Lamborghini, so where’d that money come from? Every time one of those fancy drones did a dive, it was at minimum, couple thousand. Your father didn’t want you investing in those goofy drones. You knew that. It’s a good reason to steal when Calvin would tell you not to order anymore. You kept ordering. Yes, he damn well did deny you a few of those things.” Nita aggressively moved toward him. “Don’t tell me you paid for all that with your allowance.”

  “Pay. Not allowance,” he said, advancing nearer to his stepmother. “I have a job.”

  “Let’s settle back a minute,” Royce commanded. “Here’s what is going to happen. Nita, make a list of destroyed property. Email the list to my office. Tony will be held responsible for all broken items. Tony, you’re going to stay in your own part of the home. I assume that is in the lower level. You stay away from all things breakable. And don’t make the mistake of touching Nita or I’ll encourage her to make a complaint. If she doesn’t, I shall.”

  Royce could smell a remnant stench of morning-old booze. “Tony, I catch you drinking and driving, or being disorderly – you’ll be spending time in jail. Now, the two of you have a choice. Behave or be ready for some problems with the law. You both go to your corners. Wait it out until the courts resolve who has property rights. Then someone will be moving. Problem solved. You’ve both lived out here for a few years in the same house. Why cause yourselves aggravation when you’re within a few weeks of getting rid of one another?”

  Tony gave a nod and snort. “I’ll behave for now.” He moved through the backdoor with lightning speed. The door slammed as if it was hit with a sledgehammer.

  Nita’s face reddened as her lips puckered. “See what I’ve got to contend with? Calvin kept him under control. But there were times when Calvin couldn’t even handle him.”

  “Did it get physical?”

  “A couple times. That’s why Tony is so intent on body building. His father had a size advantage. But Calvin didn’t think Tony would ever dare fist fight him.”

  “Nita, I hope things can be civil. In spite of the fact that you think I enjoy coming out here, I don’t.” Royce returned to the entryway. “While I’m here, I would like to chat with you about what you told me was your thriving business. On good authority, I’ve heard that you have major financial difficulties.”

  “I mentioned that it is thriving because I’ve got hopes it will.”

  “I’ve got hopes that I’ll get this homicide solved. That doesn’t make it reality.”

  “Thriving is in the eye of the beholder.” She issued a smile that nearly snapped onto her face. “I think it’s doing fine.”

  Royce didn’t want to be drawn into the drama. She stretched out to her full height. “Let me know if Tony gets out of hand. I’ll send a unit out here to bring him in. And very possibly both of you will be coming in.”

  “I’ve done nothing,” she said as her eyes opened widely.

  “Bickering wears me down,” Royce said with an aggravated voice. “The two of you need to rein in your impulses to do one another bodily harm. Got it?”

  “Sure. Thanks, Sheriff.”

  Royce stepped out into the circular driveway. Walking past her vehicle, she said to Chance, “I’ll just be another minute.”

  She hadn’t arrested anyone. As long as she was playing the role of good cop, she figured she might be able to glean information from Tony. He’d gone toward the back of the house. She followed to where she thought he might be. He was leaning against the corral gate. Slumping, he was clearly suffering from a rocky morning, after being chewed up by a dozen whiskeys.

  “What do you want?” he muttered.

  “A boozy morning isn’t improving your mood, Tony. Come on,” Royce said with a laugh, “I just wanted to talk with you.”

  “I fucking don’t know squat. Zilch. I didn’t kill my father and I don’t know who did. Have you considered that Nita might have hired one of the workers to take my father out?”

  “Sure, it crossed my mind. But after both Nick and I took statements, we decided it probably wasn’t the case.” Royce studied Tony. His eyes squinted as he attempted to look up at the sun. She asked, “Other than Otis, who do you think killed your father?”

  “Emma isn’t so innocent as she pretends.”

  “You think she is pretending?”

  “She ran off with that miserable substitute of a man. Dixon. He had been incarcerated. Hell, she wrote to him when he was in prison. She liked those bad boys. Or maybe he was all she could get.”

  “She claims not to even know where he is.”

  “Look, she could have offered him a split of her inheritance.”

  “Both you and Emma are getting a quarter of the business. I guess one could buy the other out.”

  “Early on Emma asked me about selling the land off. Maybe she needed that money to pay off Dixon. If she hired him to kill our father.”

  “Your theory is that either Nita is paying a ranch hand off, or Emma is paying off her ex-husband for the murder?”

  “Makes sense.”

  Royce watched him carefully. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

  He whirled toward her direction. “No? It was clearly a gangland execution. What proof do you have that it isn’t?”

  “Guess it could be. But I don’t think so.” She studied his haughty reaction. “Tell me about your drones?”

  “Drones are tomorrow! The latest technology for everything from delivering bombs, to packages, to spyware. Hell, what I would have given for getting my hands on them when I was a kid.”

  “I hear they’re expensive. A costly hobby.”

  “Sure, they cost money. I’m intrigued by them. I try to repair them when they crash. They’re never as good.” With a malicious smile, he spoke proudly, “I’ve perfected the smooth piloting exercises. I only lose drones when I’m reckless. It’s a learning cost. I enjoy taking chances. I’m guilty of taking chances. Some thrills cost money.”

  “Once I had a small remote plane when I was a kid,” Royce commented. “It didn’t take long to crash. With all the trees and brush in these parts. But I admit, it’s a high-flying adventure.”

  “Those remotes, they’re nothing like the ones I get. My drones cost because I need the best ones. Connections are difficult in the mountains. So I need to fly the kind that generates their own Wi-Fi hotspots.”

  “How does that work?”

  “For one, I sync it to the cloud and avoid using my data plan.” He noticed Royce looking quizzically at him. “I control the drone by downloading it to my phone or tablet. That’s my piloting App. It streams images. I’ve got all kinds of photos. They’re up there in space. Bouncing around. I even have them loaded on my phone. I can see everything that’s going on in this county. And I can video capture it all. Every time I fly, I’m exploring.”

  “Sweet,” Royce smiled. “I had no idea they were so
precise.” As she perused the area’s horizon, she saw something of interest.

  His eyes lit up as he spoke, “It isn’t such an off the wall deal. Drones are important. They’ll revolutionize commerce, as well as wars. One day the country with the best, the most powerful system of drones is going to rule the world. It’s heading in that direction now.”

  “You could be right.”

  “I am right,” he disputed. “You can bet your ass on that, Sheriff.”

  With forced congeniality, Royce chuckled. “I’m not a betting woman. Thanks for the information.”

  She could tell his gaze was following her back to her vehicle. She had indeed ascertained a great deal of information. As she swung up into her vehicle, she said to Chance, “I’m not betting my ass on anything other than a sure thing.” Chance gave a frisky yip. Then the German shepherd rested her head back on the seat.

  ***

  On the way back to Timber, Royce stopped off in Crystal to visit and check in with Nick. When she entered, he was on the phone. Motioning for her to sit, he issued a sigh. After hanging up, his hands raked through his thinning hair. “A dog barking complaint. I think this woman just likes chatting every morning. Doesn’t want to formally report the complaint because her neighbors are good people.” Nick laughed. “It’s the dog that’s naughty.”

  “I just stopped by to see how Deputy Dawson’s first day was?”

  “Great.” Nick snickered. “Yesterday I asked him if everything was okay. He said the uniform fit nicely.”

  “Well, there you are,” Royce replied with a head shake.

  “Everyone loves him. People in the town have never seen a friendlier deputy. Other deputies enjoy being around him.” He paused, then noted, “With the exception of one.”

  The frown across Royce’s forehead deepened. “Someone doesn’t like that guy?”

  “Terry. She claims he is too friendly. She was rolling her eyes every time poor Sam opened his mouth.”