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

by Thelen, Marjorie

  “I don’t see it on here,” Paul had said like flamboyant women talked to him all the time.

  Olympia looked over the selections with him and that was how it started. Of course, she had invited him to join them. The real estate agent didn’t seem to mind as long as they kept talking about the ranches she wanted Olympia to buy. Paul chimed right in with his opinions. It turned out that he was a soil scientist, and, having worked at soil mapping in Harney Valley, he knew quite a bit of the area and many of the ranches. He knew all kinds of things about what made a good ranch site, as well as Oregon geology, mountain climbing, volcanoes, bungee jumping, and migratory birds, none of which Olympia had thought much about. The way he spoke was interesting in an unassuming way.

  After the real estate agent left Paul suggested they have dinner at a place about forty-five minutes outside of town. It wasn’t anything special just burgers and shakes. Even though they were an odd combination, they couldn’t seem to stop talking. He listened with interest when Olympia talked about writing romance novels, though he admitted he had never read any. At least, he was honest. Since they had taken Olympia’s car and the H Bar O wasn’t far from the restaurant, Olympia invited him to visit. It got late, and he ended up on the couch. He was watching a National Geographic show on television when Olympia came out to find him the next morning.

  “Hi,”Olympia said. She didn’t understand why she was feeling shy, an unusual state for her. “I’m sorry I overslept. Did you have breakfast? I forgot to ask what time you need to be at work.”

  Paul rose, smiled, and held up his smart phone. “I work my own hours. I’m a consultant. As long as I have my smart phone I can work just about any place. And no, I haven’t had breakfast, but why don’t we grab a bite on the way back to town? You need to take me back to the bar to get my truck, remember?”

  “Sounds good to me. Did you sleep okay on the couch?”

  “Perfect. I do a lot of camping so I’m used to sleeping on just about anything anywhere.”

  “I don’t know where everyone is.”

  “I heard people in the kitchen. They left a while ago.”

  Paul followed Olympia out the front door. He stopped and looked around. “This is a great setting. Look at that gorgeous high ridge of basalt rim rock.” He stopped and considered. “I’ve mapped this area. We found topography that lent itself to uranium. But it turned out to be very low grade. The mine owners found a lucrative commercial vein to the west of here.”

  “Uranium? Around here?”

  “Not exactly here. A little further south and west. Geologists investigated here because some of the deposits seemed to be promising. But it wasn’t commercial grade stuff.”

  Olympia looked at Paul. “Did you think there is gold around here or anything else that might be of commercial value?”

  Paul shook his head. “No, the geological deposits aren’t the kind where you’d find that kind of ore. There are sulfur springs but no precious metals.”

  Olympia pointed to the black spot on the knoll on the south end of Paul’s gorgeous ridge. “Someone set fire to Fiona’s bunkhouse. She wondered if it was because there was something of value under the place like gold.”

  Paul studied the knoll. “I can tell by looking that there wouldn’t be anything of commercial value. But that isn’t to say someone might think there would be. I’ve heard all kinds of strange tales about where gold might be. You’ve got to be careful. People are funny when it comes to gold.”

  * * * * *

  Jake rode in the ambulance with Glory. At the hospital they were able to stabilize his condition. The ER doctor said he had a concussion but didn’t know when he’d come around, so Jake decided to go home. He found Fiona in the ER waiting room. She had followed the ambulance in her rig so he had a ride home. As they were leaving, Hoover came into the waiting room, and Jake related what had happened and his suspicions.

  “Do you think Glory is behind the arson at your place? said Hoover.

  Jake shrugged. “It looked that way to me at first. But apparently he never made it back to the ranch so I don’t know. Tommy Hide and Sweet don’t seem to know anything. Have you run down anyone on that list I gave you?”

  “The only thing I’ve determined is that the people are either working somewhere else, or they’ve disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  Jake shook his head. “That’s not much help. Have you heard anything on the bones in the springs?”

  “Now there’s an interesting situation. I talked to the state lab guy. He says it looks like there is one almost complete skeleton, which is that of a woman, and the rest are pig bones.”

  “Pig bones?” asked Jake.

  Hoover pursed his lips with a tight nod. “The female may be one of Hank Little’s wives. We are trying to get DNA samples of the wives, but it seems all their personal belongings have disappeared. Funny how that happens.”

  “But pig bones?”Jake said.

  Hoover lifted his shoulders. “Someone had a pig roast and dumped the bones in the spring. I don’t know. I’ve seen stranger things. We had a diver poke around the rest of the springs but some of the pools are so hot, that he had trouble staying in the water. There were a few other pig bones. That’s all.”

  “All roads seem to be leading nowhere.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “I’m going to finish haying, get the cows to decent pasture, and try not to lose any more.”

  Jake turned to go.

  Hoover said, “You don’t have any proof about anything, you know.”

  Jake turned back. “I am aware of that. Until Glory comes to, we won’t know what happened to him. The doc said someone apparently inflicted the bruises on his face. It wasn’t from a drunken fall. I found cowboy boot prints at the sight.”

  Hoover crossed his arms and studied Jake. “I’m following up on it. It appears that someone was trying to burn the hay shed. It appears that the bunkhouse fire was pre-meditated. Apparently, the bruises were inflicted. Right now there are too many appearances and apparentlys. The only solid facts are that you’re missing cows, and someone took a whack at you. Are you posting a watch on your herd?”

  Jake nodded. “I’ll have to hire someone since I’m now short a hand, and it’s haying season.”

  “Hire someone you trust. You know I need a smoking gun with fingerprints.”

  “I might come up with one. I’ll let you know.”

  * * * * *

  Fiona had listened to the exchange between the two men with intense interest but stayed in the background, biting her tongue the whole time. Hoover had been cordial enough, but Fiona had her suspicions about him. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but he sure could flash hot and cold. She watched his body language and what he was saying and how he was saying it. Had he been evasive with her because there was something he didn’t want her to know or did he have a short fuse under pressure as Jake had said?

  In the parking lot Fiona said to Jake. “I’ll drive. You look beat. How about breakfast in town?”

  Jake nodded. “Thanks, but I want to get back to the ranch. What happened to Opal?”

  “She called and said she got a ride with Sammie.”

  “That reminds me.” Jake pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “Sweet’s not answering.” He dialed another number and listened. “Tommy’s not answering. They must be out of range.” He stuffed the cell phone back in his shirt pocket.

  “Try calling Rosemary or Esme.”

  “Good idea. I forgot about them. My mind’s not working right.” He brought out the phone and dialed again. “Rosemary. It’s Jake. Where are you? Did you get the cows back? Good. Where are Tommy and Sweet? Tell them to call me. I haven’t been able to get through.”

  When they got back to the ranch, Jake checked on the cows, the hay and the water situation and then turned in to get some rest.

  Fiona sat on the front porch rocker with a cup of coffee to think things over. She was afraid Jake would collaps
e under the strain. Opal was frazzled. Olympia was nowhere to be seen. Fiona dialed her cell phone number.

  “Where are you?” she asked when they connected.

  “I’m looking at ranches. What’s going on with you?”

  Fiona updated her friend with the latest happenings.

  “You know, Fiona, Paul is an amazing resource, and he said maybe someone believes there is something valuable like gold or uranium up on your knoll.”

  “Uranium?”

  Olympia told her what Paul had said. “He’s an expert on these things. I think that one of the family somehow got erroneous information or maybe they know something you don’t know about the knoll or about the ranch. Paul has mapped this whole area, and he says there is nothing underground of commercial value.”

  Fiona’s brain went into overdrive and she said, “Or maybe someone has new information. All this started happening in the last few months, the cattle rustling, that is. The most exciting part of the drama started after I got here, so what does that tell you?”

  “You’re the problem.”

  “Right and the jack pot question is why. Tell me, how long ago did Paul evaluate this area?

  “I don’t know. I’ll ask him though. We’re having dinner tonight.”

  “This sounds serious.”

  Olympia laughed. “As serious as I can be about anyone. But, Fiona, I think you are right that someone is trying to scare you and the others off or maybe make things so unbearable that they have to leave or go bankrupt.”

  “Any way you slice it the fact is that someone is determined to change the way of life at the H Bar O. Thanks for that information. Have you found a ranch to buy?”

  “Not yet, but Paul is a great help since I know nothing about ranches. Catch you later.”

  Fiona finished the coffee and sat watching a hawk hovering over the tops of the brush in the distance. He made a short dive and came up with wiggling legs. She wondered about how that hawk flew and dipped and dived then came up with breakfast or lunch. Someone with malicious intent was doing the same thing to the H Bar O. Dipping and diving, hovering, then trying to move in for the kill. They hadn’t succeeded yet, and, if she had anything to say in the matter, they wouldn’t. She couldn’t stand idly by and watch the ranch go to ruin.

  First, there was the accident and the bones in the spring which seemed totally unrelated. If the female skeleton was one of Hank Little’s wives that mystery would be solved. Who knows what had happened to Brewster’s girl friend, and maybe that didn’t matter. The bunk house fire she was sure was set deliberately, but Hoover still spoke of appearances.

  Then there was the old gun she found on the knoll whose look alike was in the new bunkhouse on the couch. Jake said the gun belonged to Glory who was supposed to be on watch. Did Glory set the fire? At first, Jake thought he had. But Glory had never made it back to the ranch. It would have been hard for him to be in two places at once. Who did the second set of foot prints belong to?

  Then there were the missing cows, and Jake getting whacked trying to track the rustlers. Was that another warning? It was like a ghost was haunting the place without much luck.

  Then there was Tillie. Could she really be so devious as to organize a concerted effort to scare Jake away from buying the ranch? Was she in cahoots with a former employee? And what about the one relative of the three that Jake had high on the list of suspects? She couldn’t remember his name.

  She jumped up and rushed into the house, destination ranch office. She wanted to know the name of the relative that Jake suspected. She tiptoed past Jake’s closed door. She was sure he wouldn’t mind her looking at the list. She wanted to know that name. Who was the relative on the suspect list?

  The mini-blinds were closed against the glare of the sun. She opened them to let more light in so she could see the desk top. There were neat stacks of paper to either side of the computer and a flowing geometric pattern on the screen. She glanced through the papers on either side of the computer. Bills of sale, records of bull bloodlines, equipment catalogs, ranch magazines, weather records. No list. Maybe he hadn’t printed it out. A weather station monitor sat to the back that registered wind velocity, temperature, dew point and other data she didn’t understand. The radio that Jake always left on was playing country and western music.

  She sat down at the computer and clicked on the mouse to bring up the desktop icon screen. Where would he store the list? She hesitated. This was snooping into the life of the ranch. But Jake had said she could use the computer any time. This was any time. She studied the icons. One was named employees. She clicked on it. A raft of files came up. She looked for the date of the most recent file and clicked on it. Up came the listing of the employees that Jake had shown her. Highlighted in yellow were the names of the three employees on the most wanted list. Reese Crawford, Rob Allred, and Clancy James. Reese Crawford must be the one.

  They hadn’t had a chance to talk about that relative with everything else happening. Maybe it was a wild card, a wild goose chase. She sighed and sat back. What was she doing? She looked for a sheet of paper in the desk drawer to write the three names on. Maybe she could find them on the internet. She felt frustrated that she couldn’t figure this out.

  In the top drawer was a stack of envelopes that looked like bills. In the next drawer there were pipe fittings and other stuff that she didn’t understand. Where would a piece of paper be? And a pen. She started on the other side of the desk. In the top drawer she found a small tablet and a pen, and she wrote down the names. Out of curiosity she tried the bottom file drawer but it was locked.

  Outside she heard the sound of a truck and doors banging. She looked through the mini-blinds and saw four men coming in the front walk. Who were these guys? She was the only one home besides Jake. She’d see what they wanted and then determine if she should wake up Jake.

  They knocked at the front screen door, and she hurried down the hall to greet them. They wore work clothes and determined faces and stood looking around as she approached the door. One was a young boy who sported a flat top buckaroo hat. He looked like miniature of the taller, slim man beside him.

  She remained inside to greet them, looking through the screen door. “Hello, can I help you?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” said the short, stocky man wearing a baseball cap. “We’re here to help.”

  “Did Jake call you?” She opened the door and stepped outside. “I’m Fiona Marlowe. I’m a friend visiting for a while.”

  “No, ma’am. We heard about Glory and the cows and the rustling, and we knew Jake’d need an extra hand so we came to help.”

  Fiona was amazed how fast word spread and how ready to help people were. “Jake’s sleeping. He worked all night so he laid down for a few hours. Will you come in for something cold to drink? I can wake Jake up. Opal has gone to town.”

  The group nodded their heads and trooped behind her into the kitchen. They stood awkwardly with their hands in their pockets. Fiona invited them to sit down. They weren’t much for words. As she busied setting out glasses and iced tea, she said, “Where are you boys from?”

  The short one spoke up. “Next ranch over. I’m Opal’s cousin’s son on her husband’s side. I work there, and my boss said I should come over here to help Jake. Name’s Bobby.”

  One in a T-shirt with suspenders framing a drooping belly said, “I’m Mac. I work at a ranch further over in the valley. I’m a cousin, too.” He accepted a glass of tea from Fiona.

  The man with the little boy said, “They call me Doc. I have the ranch back a ways from the crossroads. I’m Opal’s nephew, and this is my grandson, Billy. He’s a hard worker.” Doc was an older gentleman with a waxed handle bar mustache and a flat crowned hat. “I understand Opal has had a run of back luck, and we rode over to see if we can help.”

  Fiona said, “That is kind of you. Glory is in the hospital, and Jake spent most of the night trying to find him and get him to the hospital.”

  “Jake’s got good wild
erness training,” said Doc. “He’s helped me more than once. What’s the prognosis on Glory?”

  Fiona shrugged. “The doctor wasn’t sure when he’d wake up. Apparently, someone beat him up. He has bad bruises around the head.”

  Murmurs and frowns spread around the table.

  Bobby said, “That’s bad news. We heard the bunk house burnt.”

  “Yes,” said Fiona. “We can’t prove it, but we think someone set the fire.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” said Doc. “Sure is a strange run of bad luck. Seems to me, it is not all luck. What about the rustling? That’s a concern to all of us. So far I haven’t lost any.”

  “I think Jake figures they’ve lost over a dozen. When he and Hoover went out to track the rustlers, someone whacked him in the head, maybe to scare him. Pasture has been a problem.” She explained about the stock pond without water and moving the cows and amazed herself with how she much she understood about ranching. “Then last night Jake found an overturned can of gasoline in one of the hay barns.”

  Bobby shook his head, “Sounds like someone is hell bent on destroying this place.”

  Fiona poured herself a glass of tea. “It does, doesn’t it? It’s hard to put two and two together.” She took a sip of tea and considered. “I’ll wake up Jake since you fellows have been so kind as to come over to help. I believe he needs a night watchman and someone to replace Glory for now. I’ll be right back.”

  They made no objection, and their concerned conversation followed her down the hall to Jake’s room. She wasn’t sure she should be disturbing him. But if these men came all this way to help, she needed to find out what should be done. She tapped lightly on the door and opened it to see if he was still asleep. The shower was running in his bathroom. At least he was up. She was undecided about disturbing him in the bathroom, but maybe she could talk to him through the door. She tapped on the door, but he didn’t respond. He was singing in the shower, so she rapped harder.