High Desert Detective, A Fiona Marlowe Mystery (Fiona Marlowe Mysteries)

by Thelen, Marjorie

  It wasn’t easy riding over rough ground with only the moon and stars for a guide, but Earl trotted ahead of him so Jake had his white shape to follow. He had debated coming in a truck. But if he had to ride fence looking for Glory, a truck wasn’t going to do it, neither would an all terrain vehicle over so much sage, rabbit brush and greasewood. It was all he could do to keep from falling asleep in the saddle, which he’d been known to do. The road to the BLM pasture was two rutted grooves, but the pinto was sure of foot, and they went along well enough. He had saddled the horse, collected his overnight gear, emergency responder medical kit, handheld amateur radio, and rifle because he didn’t know what he was going to meet up with or how long it would take to find Glory, if he were still on the ranch. His horse might have thrown him. Henry Crawford had been killed by getting thrown from a horse. Just about anything could happen out in the middle of nowhere.

  Fortunately, the stock pond was on this end of the pasture. But since Jake had told Glory to check fences, he could be lying anywhere along the fence line, and the fence enclosed a good four hundred acres. Glory’s horse hadn’t come home which was not a good sign.

  Earl was an amazing dog, sniffer that he was. He stayed on the trail, pausing occasionally to sniff the brush. It was like he knew his buddy, Lester, was in trouble, and he wanted to find him. Jake wished he had a nose like that dog. It would be a lot easier than trying to see tracks in the dark. Maybe Earl had figured out that they were trying to find Glory.

  The stock pond came into view. There was a solar pump on this one, and the pond normally held water and only needed topping off. He slowed the horse as they came up over the mounded dirt and peered in. The pond was nearly dry. He let go a string of really good, heartfelt cuss words. The cows were not going to be happy if they didn’t have water at the end of the trail.

  Dismounting, he went to see why the solar pump wasn’t working. When in doubt, check the power switch. It was in off position. If Glory had been here, he hadn’t figured that one out. Jake flipped on the switch. They were going to need sun to power the pump and that would be another hour. Stock ponds on solar pumps filled slowly, and there wouldn’t be enough water for the herd when they arrived. The pump wouldn’t be able to keep up.

  He walked the area looking for any signs that Glory had been there. The ground was dried into deep pockets of hoof prints from last season. He found no telltale evidence.

  Where could Glory have gone? Earl had only paused at the stock pond and trotted on. Maybe he was on to something. There was nothing for it but to ride the fence to see if the man had fallen and was hurt. The further it got into the day, the less hope Jake had of finding Glory. His feeling that their troubles were an inside job and that Glory was somehow involved would not give him rest. Glory didn’t seem the type to mastermind a plot to take down the entire H Bar O, which seemed like what was happening. Glory would be working for someone else. The question was who. He thought of the three men he had singled out on the list that he had shown to Fiona. He thought about her idea that the former girl who helped Opal was an accomplice.

  He was so lost in thought he almost didn’t catch the one lone bark. Up ahead he made out two white shapes. Earl and Lester. They were guarding something. He reined in the pinto, and they approached at a slow walk. Even so, the horse spooked and nearly threw him. He kept his seat as the horse danced around the rumpled heap of a body. Mortimer Glory. Earl and Lester sat on their haunches and panted happily, their job done.

  Jake quieted the pinto down, dismounted and looked Glory over. He tried to assess what had happened. The man was lying on his stomach, face turned to the side. Jake saw no obvious blood, but his face was covered with bruises like he had been beaten around the head. He checked for radial pulse. Faint but there was one. He ran through a quick head to toe trauma assessment, but found no breaks or open wounds. Because of the face bruises he was reluctant to tilt the head back, so he pulled on the jaw to help open the airways. As he worked, Jake could smell the sour odor of booze. He didn’t know if it were severe head trauma that kept Glory unconscious or alcohol poisoning.

  Jake checked the ground around the body. An empty booze bottle lay in the brush. He was able to make out two sets of foot prints. He checked Glory’s feet. He was wearing a sad, old pair of work boots. The other set had the narrow heel and pointy toe of fancy cowboy boots. That told Jake a lot. Most honest working ranchers wore work boots or variations with a much wider sole. He was looking for someone who fancied dress cowboy boots when beating another person up.

  This was a medical emergency. From the saddle bag he pulled out a handheld amateur radio. “This is KF7EOH. Kilo Foxtrot Seven Echo Oscar Hotel. I need medical assistance. Do you read me?”

  * * * * *

  Fiona met up with the herd moving along the road to the BLM pasture. Rosemary and Esme were riding behind and, when they saw who it was, rode over to have a chat. Fiona stayed in the truck and rolled down the window.

  “Hey, girl, I like your new rig,” said Rosemary.

  “Yes ma’am, that is a beauty,” said Esme. “Did you just get it?”

  Fiona smiled. “Couple of days ago. I really like it. I’ve never owned a truck.”

  “You’ll never drive anything else,” said Rosemary. “I bet you are looking for Jake.”

  Fiona nodded.

  “He’s up ahead. Sweet said he went looking for Glory who seems to be missing.”

  “I thought I’d drive ahead to see if Jake needed help.”

  “I bet he always welcomes help from you,” said Esme, and the two girls snickered.

  Fiona smiled and shook her head at the pair.

  Rosemary said, “We’ll move the herd to the side.”

  They rode off to talk to Sweet, and he rode to the truck, touching his hat when he got to Fiona’s window.

  “Hello, Sweet,” said Fiona. “Can I drive by? I want to see if Jake needs help.”

  “Sure thing, Miss Fiona. We’ll move the cows to the side as far as we can.”

  The buckaroos started whistling and yee-hawing to the cows and the calves. The herd was testy and noisy with bawling calves and mothers trying to find them. Two bulls were to the back of the herd.

  Sweet called to her. “Start moving slowly into them, they’ll move to the side.”

  Fiona did as instructed. Some cows moved. Some stood and looked at her. The babies seemed to think it was a new game. They jumped around and kicked up the dust. One of the bulls gave out an unholy bellow. Carefully, Fiona drove the truck through the herd, as the sun rose above the eastern horizon with the promise of another hot day. She cleared the herd and waved at Sweet, who rode toward the front of the sea of cows.

  “The pasture is to the left at least another mile from here,” he called to her. “You’ll see the stock pond.”

  She waved and continued on over the roughest road she had seen yet. She pushed the button for four wheel drive to be on the safe side. Being the city person she was, she winced every time the truck bounced over yet another rock.

  The fencing changed on the pasture, and she saw an open gate. Beyond was a raised mound. She pulled beyond the gate to the side of the road as far as she could go, cut the motor and walked over to investigate. There was a hint of water in the pond. A trickle of water entered from a pipe coming from the pump. She looked around and saw a jumble of old hoof tracks. Several sets of prints went off along the barbed wire fence.

  She decided to follow the prints on foot although she was a little jumpy, wondering who might be around, where Jake was, and if rattle snakes were out this time of year. Somewhere in the dark recesses of her mind she remembered that snakes like sun. She was careful where she walked. Far in the distance a white spot in the sagebrush caught her attention. She picked up the pace. A horse stood without a rider. A wave of panic swept over her. Thinking Jake might have been thrown, she started to run.

  “Jake,” she called, “Jake, are you there? Where are you?”

  She kept calling a
nd after a while she saw him stand and look in her direction. He waved, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Over here,” he yelled.

  A piece of dead brush caught her boot, and she almost took a tumble. She moved on slower and more carefully. She couldn’t figure out what Jake was doing. When she got to where he stood, she saw the reason.

  “What happened?” she said. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine but Glory isn’t. I called for an ambulance, but it will be a while before they can get here.”

  “Is he alive? He looks awfully bad to me. His face looks blue.”

  Jake checked for pulse. “Still alive, but I’m not sure for how much longer. I’d like to keep him alive for obvious reasons. But also because I want to know who the extra footprints belong to and why Glory has bruises all over his face.”

  “I came in my truck,” said Fiona. “Should we try to get him to it?”

  Jake shook his head. “I don’t want to move him. He’s unconscious and hasn’t moved an inch. He might have brain trauma. I’ve done what I could for him.”

  “The herd’s on its way, and there’s no water in the pond.”

  “Glory never got around to turning the pump on. He must have been drunk. I don’t know what happened exactly or the sequence of events, but I do know that someone beat him up.”

  Fiona studied the ground. Jake had a little fire going and a pot of coffee on it. “You come prepared.”

  “I’d offer you a cup but I need you to ride back and tell the boys to turn the herd around. I don’t have cell phone signal here to communicate with them. Since it will take the pond a while to fill, we’ll have to wait.”

  “I’m on my way. Will the ambulance be able to get back this road?”

  “I’ve seen them drive over moonscape.”

  * * * * *

  “Is anybody home?”

  Opal heard Tillie’s query from the bathroom where she was getting ready to go to town for another treatment. She sighed. She wasn’t ready for this. She felt like she was about to fly apart. Sammie showing up was a blessing and a curse. The two sisters had never gotten along well, and now she was caught in the middle. She finished with her hair which didn’t take much since she wore it in a pixie cut. She studied her reflection and adjusted the collar on her open neck blouse. She was an old lady, and there was nothing she could do about it. Today she felt ancient. But she had to make it through the day, the best she could.

  She knew Tillie would make herself at home so she didn’t rush. In her bedroom she tidied the bed, gathered her purse, and walked down the hall toward the living room. She checked Jake’s room. The door stood wide open, and the bed was made. He was either out early, which wasn’t unusual or hadn’t turned in.

  “Good morning, Tillie,” Opal said as she entered the kitchen.

  Tillie was sitting at the kitchen table nursing a mug of coffee. “I see my sister has arrived.” She had never been much on social niceties.

  “She has. We stayed up half the night talking, and I’m about beat. But I need to go to town for another treatment today.”

  “I can drive you.”

  “It’s kind of you to offer, but Fiona took me yesterday. I believe she’s expecting to take me today. Excuse me. I’ll see if she’s up.”

  Opal checked Fiona’s room but found it empty. Samantha walked out of her room still in her nightgown.

  “Good morning,” said Sammie. She saw the empty room. “Fiona left. I heard her rig pull out before the sun was up.”

  “That’s odd. Jake’s not in his room either. Maybe something happened during the night. Dear me, I can’t keep on top of things anymore. I wonder where they could be.”

  Samantha put her hand on Opal’s arm. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they are able to take care of any situation that might arise. Maybe it had something to do with the barking dog we heard last night.”

  “Maybe so. Tillie’s here. I need to go to town for another treatment, and she’s offered to take me. Fiona took me yesterday. I was checking to see if she was ready. I’m not supposed to drive.”

  “No problem,” said Sammie. “I’ll get ready and drive you to town.”

  Opal walked back toward the kitchen. She checked the living room and saw Paul lying flat out on the couch sawing wood. He seemed a decent enough guy. He and Olympia were still up when she went to bed, as far as she could remember.

  In the kitchen Tillie sat at the table in a pout.

  “Where’s Howie?” Opal asked.

  “Don’t know. I spent the night in town.”

  “I see,” said Opal. Keeping two men didn’t seem to bother Tillie or Howie for that matter. Opal was sure Howie knew about Tillie’s boyfriend, but it didn’t seem to bother him. Or maybe that is why he drank, because it did. Their relationship was an enigma to her.

  Opal fixed a bowl of cereal and joined Tillie at the table.

  “Do you want anything to eat?” she asked Tillie.

  “No, already had breakfast. Have you had time to think over giving us a hand with a loan?”

  Opal put a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and took her time chewing. Finally she said, “I’ve given it lots of thought. I haven’t made a decision yet.”

  “Yes, she has,” said Samantha, walking into the kitchen. “Opal has no more money to loan any of us. She needs the money to keep the ranch solvent. Hard times are on the horizon. This time you are going to have to make it on your own, Tillie.”

  Opal could almost see the hackles rise on Tillie’s back.

  “Who do you think you are? Since when do you answer for Aunt Opal?”

  Sammie stopped in front of her sister. “I’m the wiser, compassionate sister who thinks of other people besides herself.”

  Opal held up her hand. “Let’s not argue. I don’t need this. You are both welcome here. We have differences of opinion. Let’s leave it at that.”

  Samantha strolled over to the counter and helped herself to coffee and cereal. She joined them at the table. The silence in the room was so brittle it crinkled. Opal munched on cereal, sipped on her coffee, trying to think what to do with this pair. Send them to a gladiator ring to fight it out might be the best option. Tillie looked off into some distant place, her face set in a frown.

  When Opal finished eating, she said, “Look you two, I’ve had about enough. You’ve both offered to take me to town, we can all go, if you will promise to behave and act civilly toward one another.” She pressed her fingers into her eyes. “I can’t believe I am talking to two grown women like this.”

  Samantha sighed. “You’re right, Opal. I’m sorry Tillie. I shouldn’t have spoken that way to you.”

  Tillie didn’t give an inch. “Opal, if you can’t help us out, we’ll be out on the street.”

  Samantha said, “Stop being so dramatic. You could always move in with your boyfriend. You could always declare bankruptcy. Howie could get a job.”

  Tillie stood. “I can tell when I’m not wanted. I’m leaving. I can see my aunt has no compassion for me.”

  “You should talk about compassion,” Samantha fired back.

  Opal raised her hand. “Girls, please. Tillie, what did you do with the money from the loan you haven’t paid back?”

  Tillie gripped the back of the chair. “We put most of it against the house loan.”

  “Most of it?” asked Opal. “It was all for the house. That’s what you told me.”

  “We had some other bills we had to pay off.”

  Opal looked Tillie directly in the eye. “Tillie, I was hoping not to have to say this. But I’ve thought a lot about your request for more money. I’ve thought over your plight, and it seems to me I keep throwing money down a bottomless hole with you.”

  “You’ve helped the others.”

  “Some, and they’ve paid me back. You haven’t. Now I have a lot on my mind. I want to keep the ranch solvent. We’re having a tough year with the smuggling and the dry weather. What little cash I have, I’ve got use to keep this
place afloat.” She took a deep breath. “So, no. I cannot lend you the money. You or anybody else. I’m sorry but that’s the way it is.”

  Tillie held her gaze for a few moments longer, looked at her sister, then out the window. “I know my life’s a mess. I know that. I’m sorry to cause you this upset, Aunt Opal.” With that she turned and left the room.

  Opal heard the front screen door bang. She wondered how she ended up with a niece like Tillie. She hadn’t signed up for these problems, but they were on her plate, and she had to deal with them, like it or not.

  Samantha said, “I’ll drive you to town, Aunt Opal. You can rest on the way. I know this isn’t easy for you. I apologize for egging Tillie on. It’s just that she can be so conniving. She makes me so mad.”

  Opal smiled sadly at Samantha. “I know. Let’s get on into town.”

  Thirteen

  Paul was not tall. He was slim and balding, and Olympia kind of liked him. He was not your standard romance hero with broad shoulders, slim hips, and bulging muscles, the kind she had been writing about for years. In Paul she sensed a decent man, and she hadn’t known him twenty-four hours. A decent guy. New concept for her. Okay for real life but it didn’t sell romance novels.

  She had been out with her real estate agent, looking at ranches, and they had stopped at The Animal Head Bar for a drink and to talk over the ranches they had seen. Paul was standing by the juke box, and Olympia, being the outgoing girl that she was, asked him to play Patsy Cline’s Crazy.