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

by Thelen, Marjorie

  “Where is your Range Rover parked?”

  Olympia frowned. “I forgot about it. Paul dropped me off and took it to Nevada.”

  “You’re a trusting soul.”

  “It won’t be the first mistake in my life if he doesn’t return for me. But I think he will.” She smiled. “I think he kind of likes me. Now I know you are in crisis mode. You get ready. I’ll be working here. Just sound the alarm if I have to leave. Give me those five minutes. Will I fit in your truck?”

  “You will. We can throw everything in the bed of the truck and be gone. I’ll keep you apprised. Are you going to work through the night?”

  “Sometimes I do. I don’t know. It will depend upon how long the muse stays with me.” She turned back to the computer.

  “You’re going to go blind.”

  “I haven’t yet. But what a way to go.” And she began typing again.

  Fiona smiled and shook her head. Olympia was one of a kind. As she left, she said, “I’m going to leave the door open so we can check on you without disturbing you, okay?”

  Olympia barely nodded. She was lost in her story again.

  Fiona’s next stop was the guest room she was using. She didn’t have much to pack either. She had hardly unpacked. Her attire since she arrived had been mostly jeans or sweats. She quickly figured out what she would do and arranged her roll-on suitcase on the bed. All she had to do was pull her hanging clothes from the closet, gather her toiletries and bag them. Her computer was already in its case. She gazed at the bed. She had been looking forward to another night with Jake in his big bed, but it didn’t look like that would happen. One could always hope.

  She looked out the window at the darkening sky, and the soothing colors of the sunset. She couldn’t deny her heart. She was in love with Jake. She didn’t know when it had happened, but last night had clinched the deal. With his body he had shown her how much he cared for her. Surprising herself, she had done the same. There was no lingering doubt in her mind. What Lauren had said didn’t ring true. What Tillie had said about Jake’s ex-wife going after him didn’t either.

  Something startling occurred to her. Was Tillie one of the women who had made advances at Jake and been rejected? Jake was a sexy guy. His smile was the sort that had a come hither look. His eye had a twinkle. He laughed like you were sharing a private joke with him. Or at least that was how he was with her. Was that what fooled women? Was that what they took for his advances? Tillie wanted to make life so miserable for him, she could have been another woman scorned. She would ask Jake about that angle. It would explain Tillie’s fury which seemed unreasonable to Fiona. But she couldn’t think about that now. She had to secure Opal’s house.

  She hurried down the hall to Opal’s master bedroom. Sammie was sitting on the bed with Opal, who was propped up against the pillows with a glass of Coca Cola in hand.

  “Are you feeling any better?” asked Fiona.

  “Hello, dear,” said Opal. “A little. I don’t know what came over me this afternoon.”

  “Tillie,” said Sammie. “That’s what came over all of us.”

  Opal gave a little laugh. “At least I can laugh about it now. It wasn’t so funny at the time. But I’m glad I did it. Now it seems we might have to pay the consequences. Sammie says we need to be prepared for Tillie’s next move.”

  “Jake seems to think she’ll try setting a range fire. We can’t be sure. Maybe we’re being paranoid, but there is no harm in being prepared.”

  “I’m with Jake. I’ve never seen Tillie this worked up.”

  Fiona decided to ask Opal about her suspicion. “Did Tillie ever have eyes for Jake?”

  Opal studied Fiona’s face. “Do you think a rejected Tillie could be behind some of this?”

  “The thought crossed my mind.”

  Sammie piped up. “Tillie’s tried to make every man in Harney Valley at one time or another. I could never figure why she thought she was so attractive with that long, skinny face of hers. It’s why Howie drinks. He won’t leave her though. He probably gets off on her doing other men.”

  “Sammie, how you talk,” said Opal, looking scandalized. “That is more information than I need. Whatever is driving Tillie doesn’t matter at this point. The woman is possessed. Now help me out of bed, you two. We’ve got to get busy and secure the house as best we can. I’m sure Jake will see to the animals. The cats are loose so they’ll be able to run, but we’ll load Earl and Lester in the back of the truck.”

  “Jake says to make sure the important papers are in the fireproof safe.”

  “I’ll do better than that,” said Opal. “I’ll put the most important in my to-go bag.”

  Fiona and Sammie helped her out of bed, and she headed for the bathroom.

  Sammie said, “I’ll help her put a small bag together.”

  “Don’t forget your things,” said Fiona. “Olympia will be ready, but her car isn’t here. I’ll take her in my truck. Do you think Opal’s truck will start?”

  “I’ll know when I try to drive it around to the front.”

  “I’ll drive Opal’s truck, Olympia can drive mine and take Opal, and you can drive your car. Jake and the others can drive their own. Let’s make sure they all have enough gas.”

  Sammie looked at Fiona. “I truly hope it doesn’t come to another fire.”

  “Me, too. But Jake’s right. We have to be ready.”

  * * * * *

  Jake watched the sun rise after working all night with the bulldozer on a fire break, sometimes digging a trench, sometimes clearing brush. Tommy helped him. Sweet had guarded the cows. They were all dead tired, and the other two had turned in for a few hours sleep. Jake walked toward the kitchen in search of chow and hot coffee.

  The night had not turned out as he had wished. He had anticipated another fabulous night in bed with the incredible Ms. Marlowe. Working a back hoe in the dark did not come close. Such was life on a ranch. Maybe he was being paranoid about Tillie. Maybe not. But he felt better that he had done something to prevent what he most feared. Range fires could wipe a rancher out. Insurance would not cover the amount of losses a fire could incur. Loss of cattle alone could wipe you out. You could lose all the hay that you had to feed or sell. Your income might be gone for years.

  Fiona stepped out the back door to greet him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. They had kept in contact by phone. He knew the women had done what they could to be ready to leave in a hurry. They had worked together and made head way. Now they would wait.

  “You feel good,” she said. “I was worried about you working out there in the dark.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I like being worried over. I may feel good, but I know I don’t smell good. I need a shower and some grub. Do you have anything for a hungry man?”

  “Sammie’s frying bacon and pancakes on the griddle. Coffee’s made. Come on in.”

  Sammie cooked, and Fiona served. Jake ate a mountain of hot cakes and a heap of bacon and scrambled eggs.

  Fiona, sitting down by him, said, “I’ll take Opal to town today. Sammie will hold down the fort. I’ll see if the doctor will release Glory. Are Rosemary and Esme coming to help?”

  Jake nodded. “They should be here any minute.”

  “Don’t they have a ranch to take care of?” Fiona asked.

  “They have a small spread they run some cows on. Mostly, they hire out to the neighboring ranches to help with cows and hay. Somehow they make it. They can do most anything. They’re amazing women and quite a team. They’ve been together for years.”

  “Whatever works for them,” she said. “I’m glad you can depend on them.”

  “If we have to leave,” said Jake, “you girls head over to their place. Sammie and Opal know how to get there.”

  “Where will you be?”

  “I stay with the ranch.”

  * * * * *

  Three days passed without incident. Fiona brought Glory came home from the hospital. Opal continued he
r treatments. Olympia rarely emerged from her room. Jake and Fiona spent the nights together, but he didn’t get catch up much on his sleep. Sweet, die-hard buckaroo that he was, spent nights guarding the cows. Tommie baled hay. Things seemed to be back to normal.

  But Jake was suspicious and ever watchful.

  Friday morning Hoover showed up.

  “We found Walt Long,” he said when he found Jake in the workshop, repairing yet another piece of farm equipment.

  Jake waited for Hoover to continue.

  The man stood with his hands on his hips looking like he had something to say but didn’t know how to say it. He finally said, “He had an accident in his truck.”

  When he didn’t continue, Jake said, “Dead or alive?”

  “Dead. Authorities found him down in Nevada back in a canyon. Rig was smashed up pretty good.”

  “What was he doing back there?”

  “Nevada authorities have been having problems with cattle rustling, too. We’ve been cooperating with them and the folks over in Idaho. One of the Nevada men was following a lead from a rancher about seeing a strange rig every now and then traveling on an isolated road south of his property. The deputy found the rig overturned and busted up pretty bad. They identified the driver as Walt Long.”

  “How’d he turn over and bust up a rig going five miles an hour?” said Jake

  “Someone was chasing him. He was shot in the back of the head. There were several bullet holes in the rear window. He was trying to get away from someone. Anyway, that’s why he didn’t come back to finish off Glory. Someone else finished him off.”

  “Sounds like the cattle rustlers are fighting among themselves. Maybe if we give them enough time, they’ll finish each other off.”

  Hoover lifted a shoulder. “Maybe. You said you thought old man Lovejoy’s place was a holding pen. I stopped over there before I came here and didn’t see anything in the shed. You sure there was new equipment in the shed.”

  “I’m not blind yet,” said Jake.

  “Didn’t think so,” said Hoover. “I walked around in the pasture and saw the cow pies. There was a herd there but they aren’t there anymore.”

  “Nothing wrong with your eyes either,” said Jake. He continued working on the piece of equipment.

  “Opal hasn’t pressed charges against Glory.”

  “Doubt she will. Fiona won’t either.”

  “We’re going to have to charge him with something. Setting fires is called arson in the law books. Is he doing okay?”

  “Doing great. Still looks like a herd of cows stomped on him but he’s back working again. He’s guarding the cows during the day. He says he has sworn off the bottle. We’ll see. He’s said that before. Sweet guards the cows at night.”

  “I saw you cleared a fire break. Are you getting ready for fire season?”

  That’s when Jake told him about Tillie and her threats. And about Reese.

  “Reese Crawford?”

  “That’s the one. One of Opal’s long lost relatives seems to have resurfaced. Tillie said he was her backer to buy the ranch, but no one has seen him. Sammie called Doc and some of the other relatives, who might know. If they’ve seen or heard of him, no one is saying.”

  “Reese Crawford,” said Hoover again.

  “Have you heard any news of him?”

  Hoover slowly shook his head. “He’s as mysterious as Hank Little’s wives. Or the bones in the hot spring.”

  “How’s that investigation going?”

  “The DNA doesn’t match either of Little’s wives. There are cut marks on the rib bones which indicate the victim may have been stabbed. We might never know who those bones belong to. But we found the girl Brewster thought might be missing. I followed up on those leads Fiona gave me, and the girl is living over in Enterprise. That is one mystery cleared up.” He hesitated. “I was a little hard on Fiona the one day she came in to share information with me.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I was having a bad day, too much to do, not enough help and she seemed to be doing my job for me, and I wasn’t in the mood.” He sighed. “She can be persistent.”

  Jake laughed, nodding.

  Hoover looked wryly at Jake. “Maybe I should offer her a job.”

  That stopped Jake in his work. He looked at Hoover to see if he was serious. It looked like he was. Jake said, “Don’t even mention it to her if you value your life.”

  Hoover laughed. “She’s got a pretty good detective head on her shoulders.”

  “You heard me,” said Jake with a warning tone.

  Hoover laughed again. “Calm down, ole buddy. Are you going to marry the pretty little lady?”

  “I’ve proposed but she hasn’t said yes yet.”

  “Then I still have a chance.”

  “When bulls fly. So, butt out, Big Dog,” Jake said, calling Hoover by his nickname. He smiled and shook his head.

  Hoover studied the sky. “I’ll keep my eye out for flying bulls. You wouldn’t want to be under one at the wrong time. That could be messy.”

  “Don’t you have a job to do?”

  “Yeah, but I had to stop by and give you a chance to make my day.”

  Jake wiped his hands on a rag. “Want a cup of coffee?”

  “I come all this way, it’s the least you could offer me.”

  They walked up to the house and went into the kitchen through the back door.

  Coffee pot was on the warmer, and Jake poured them each a mug. No one else was around. They leaned against the kitchen counter.

  “Reese Crawford,” Hoover said, getting back to their conversation. “Wasn’t he an only child?”

  Jake shook his head. “No, he had a sister.”

  “Has anyone tried to find her?”

  “Sammie tried a number one of the relations came up with, but no one answered the phone.”

  “Where’s the sister?”

  “The phone number is in California somewhere.”

  “You’ll never find her if she’s in California. What’s her name? I’ll look her up.”

  “Sammie can give you the name and number. She’s around here somewhere. Fiona took Opal to town this morning.”

  “How’s it going with Opal? Does she have a chance?”

  Jake shrugged. “Not much according to what Sammie and Fiona tell me. The treatments are pretty strong, I guess, and she’s been feeling pretty sick.”

  Hoover shook his head. “It won’t be the same world without Opal Crawford in it.”

  “No, it won’t.”

  “Are you going to buy the ranch?” Hoover asked.

  “If Tillie doesn’t screw things up, I am.”

  Later that afternoon, Paul came back in Olympia’s fancy Rover, and she came up for air to greet him, much to Fiona’s surprise. Olympia made Paul wait till she cleaned herself up and acted real happy to see him. Fiona told him it was pretty serious if Olympia interrupted her writing for Paul. Jake didn’t know. Sometimes the way women acted around men didn’t make any sense to him.

  That evening Reese Crawford himself showed up. Jake and Fiona were having a sit on the porch after dinner, enjoying the cool of the evening. Sammie was helping Opal get ready for bed. Olympia and Paul had gone for a drive. A car Jake didn’t recognize came in the road. A shiny black Mercedes Benz with California license plates pulled in at the old hitching rail in front of the house. Jake didn’t know anyone in the valley who owned a Mercedes. One neighbor he knew had bought an old used diesel Mercedes at a car auction but had pulled the motor and put it in his truck. This Mercedes could only mean trouble.

  A lone man got out. He was average size and wore a business suit which immediately set off a warning bell in Jake’s head. A car like that and a man dressed like that never came by here. He didn’t much trust a man that had to hide behind a fancy car and suit. The guy looked familiar and somehow Jake knew it was Reese.

  “Good evening, folks,” the man said. “I’m Reese Crawford, one of Opal’s nephews.”

  Jake stoo
d to shake hands with him as he came up onto the porch. “I’m Jake, and this is Fiona.”

  Reese’s smile was a little too toothy for Jake and his hand a little too soft. Reese had become a fancy city slicker. No wonder nobody had kept track of him.

  “I remember you, Jake. It’s been a long time.”

  Jake nodded, waiting.

  “Is Opal here?”

  “She’s resting in her room. She hasn’t been well,” said Jake.

  “I understand she has leukemia.”

  “That’s correct.”

  Reese’s smile collapsed into a good rendition of compassion for the terminally ill. “I’m sorry to hear of it.”

  “Is there something I can help you with?”

  Reese’s smile returned. “I was hoping to speak with Opal directly.”

  Jake looked at Fiona. “Darlin’, would you see if Opal is receiving visitors?”

  Fiona, who had remained silent, went inside. That left Jake and Reese sizing each other up.

  Jake said, “Like to have a seat?”

  “Yes, thank you.” Reese sat down across from Jake and took out a pack of smokes and offered one to Jake.

  Jake shook his head. “I gave it up.”

  “I try but so far it’s been a losing battle.” He lighted up and sat back, looking like he was starting to enjoy himself. “From what I can see of the place it looks real good. I guess you have a lot to do with that.”

  “I manage the ranch for Opal. I’ve had a hand in keeping it going all these years.”

  “How many cows does she run?”

  “Depends on the time of year.”

  “I saw the pivots. How much hay to you put up a year?”

  “Depends on the year and the weather.”

  “I understand. I know a little bit about ranching. I have a ranch in California.”

  Jake nodded. He wasn’t about to share any more information than necessary about the ranch. He knew the numbers as well as Opal did. After all, she had trained him.

  Fiona appeared at the screen door. “Opal said to tell you to come in and have a seat in the living room. She’ll be out as soon as she gets presentable.”