Jericho was the first to spot it. He was listening to Neal and Edana talk about how important it was for a puncher to become familiar with every landmark and source of water on a given range when he spied the unmistakable silhouette of a steer’s bulk on the crest. Spurring past them, he trotted up the slope and drew rein.
The rest were quick to join him.
Neal took one look and said, “I’ll be switched.”
“Why, it’s the same as the other ones we found,” Edana said. “Part of the haunch is missing.”
“Someone carved it off, Miss Jessup,” Billy said.
“And left the rest to rot,” Yeager said, “same as before.”
Dismounting, Jericho examined it. “Been dead less than a day,” he reckoned. He pointed at a hole above an eye. “Shot through the head.”
“This makes two.” Neal stated the obvious.
Billy said grimly, “Someone is huntin’ our cattle like they’re deer or elk.”
“Spread out,” Neal commanded. “Search for sign.”
Taking his reins in his left hand, Jericho searched on foot. He walked in a circle and discovered the tracks almost right away. “A shod horse,” he reported. “It came up the other side of the ridge and left the same way.”
“Then it ain’t no Injun,” Billy said.
“Unless it’s a lone brave on a white man’s horse he stole,” Yeager said.
Jericho supposed that was possible but he doubted it. He suspected their quarry was a white man. Climbing onto his zebra dun, he descended the ridge to a green valley. It was like entering a whole new world. Scores of cattle were grazing. A few, the wilder longhorns, moved off at his approach, but the rest paid him no more mind than they would an antelope.
The tracks skirted the valley rather than make a beeline across it. About halfway around, the steer killer had gone off to the west.
Jericho drew rein and looked at Neal. “Do all of us go after him or only Billy and Yeager and me?” He was giving Neal a chance to keep Miss Jessup out of it.
“All of us will go,” Edana said before Neal could reply. “I’m surprised you would suggest otherwise.”
“There might be violence,” Neal said to her.
“And you think to spare me?” Edana said. “I won’t be treated like a child, Mr. Bonner. If I’m to be your boss, I’ll do what any other boss would do.”
“Fair enough,” Neal said, “but if lead starts to fly, you’re to hunt cover until it’s over.”
“I’m not a simpleton.”
“No, you’re surely not,” Neal said with a smile. Sobering, he said, “Jericho, you take point.”
Jericho would have done so anyway. Any trouble they ran into, he’d go up against it before they did, allowing the others to protect Miss Jessup. Tapping his spurs, he followed the tracks for more than half a mile, to an expanse of caprock that stretched into the distance.
There, the tracks vanished.
Jericho drew rein.
“Tricky varmint,” Billy said when the others came up.
“Smart varmint,” Yeager amended.
“He must know this country well,” Neal speculated. “He always finds the rockiest ground.”
“We can’t keep going?” Edana asked.
“A horse doesn’t leave much sign on solid rock,” Neal replied.
“I don’t like having our cattle killed,” Edana said.
“Neither do we.”
Edana frowned. “I didn’t think to ask. Does something like this happen a lot?”
“Never,” Neal said. “When we get back, we’ll spread the word among the hands that any strangers caught on Diamond B land are to be brought to the ranch house for questionin’.”
“What if those strangers refuse?”
Billy chuckled. “We’ll bring ’em anyway, ma’am.”
Edana had more on her mind. “Could it be someone who doesn’t know any better? Who believes it’s perfectly all right to kill our cows for food?”
“Even a simpleton would know better,” Neal said. “No, whoever is doin’ this has to know it’s wrong but he does it anyhow.”
“The size of the spread,” Jericho mentioned, “it could go on a good long while before we catch him.”
“Can’t have that,” Neal said.
“Then how do we stop him?” Edana wanted to know.
“We organize a huntin’ party,” Neal said. “Jericho there will lead it. Might as well have Billy and Yeager tag along. The next time a steer is found, we send them out and they stay on the buzzard’s trail until they catch him. Or he loses them again.”
“I’d like him brought back alive.”
Jericho looked at her. “Do you realize what you’re askin’, ma’am?”
“I certainly do,” Edana said. “I want to question him and find out why he’s done this.”
“What Jericho means,” Neal said, “is that by havin’ to take the varmint alive, you make it harder for them. They’ll have to hold back and the steer killer won’t.”
“Then let me make myself clear,” Edana said. “Take him alive if you can, without endangering yourselves. If that’s not possible, shoot the son of a bitch.” She smiled sweetly.
Jericho grinned at the startled expression on Neal. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard you cuss, ma’am.”
“You should hear me when I stub my toe,” Edana said.
Billy laughed. “Ma’am, you’re a caution. You’d do to ride the river with.”
“I take it that’s a compliment. Thank you,” Edana said.
Jericho was thinking of the steer killer. Judging by the size of the bullet holes, whoever shot them used a large-caliber rifle. Something to keep in mind when the hunt commenced in earnest.
“We might as well get back to our tour,” Neal said. “We have a lot of ground to cover.”
“I must say,” Edana said as she raised her reins. “I never expected anything like this when my father accepted the position. The West is full of the unexpected.”
“Ain’t it the truth, ma’am?” Jericho said.
• • •
Neal Bonner had been wondering when Franklyn Wells would show up, and he got his answer three weeks to the day after Alexander Jessup’s misguided attempt to ride the mustang.
Neal was coming out of the stable when he spotted a couple of punchers escorting a rider in, and went over. “Mr. Wells. You should have sent word. I’d’ve had someone meet you in town.”
Franklyn Wells was weary from his long travel, and it showed. He dismounted stiffly, doffed his bowler, and mopped at his brow with a handkerchief. “I sent a letter explaining when I would arrive, but evidently you didn’t receive it.”
“Mail service out here is a mite spotty,” Neal said.
One of the hands remarked, “We saw him crossin’ our range and brought him in, like you said to do.”
“We didn’t know who he was,” said the other cowboy.
“You did right,” Neal complimented them. “Grab a bite to eat and then head out again.”
The pair made for the cookhouse.
Franklyn Wells was gazing about him with an air of intent interest. “I must say, you have the ranch bustling.”
“It’s not my doin’ so much as Miss Jessup’s,” Neal said. “She took over from her pa and has been handlin’ things right fine.”
“Yes, well.” Wells unhooked his travel bag from his saddle horn. “That’s what I’m here to talk about.”
Neal motioned at the ranch house and they started off. “It must have come as a shock hearin’ about Mr. Jessup.”
“You have no idea,” Wells said. “The man had barely begun working for us.” He shook his head. “What was Alexander thinking? He tried to ride a wild horse, I’ve been told.”
“A mustang that had been broke,” Neal clarifie
d.
“Not broken enough, apparently,” Wells said. “Why on earth did you let him do it?”
“There isn’t a day my conscience doesn’t prick at me,” Neal confessed. “As for why, he was the big sugar.” He added, in case Wells was unfamiliar with cattle lingo, “I was hired to do whatever he told me, and he hankered to ride that horse.”
“His unexpected demise has thrown the consortium into disarray. They were caught completely unprepared. It never occurred to them that he might need to be replaced.”
“They already have a replacement,” Neal said. “Edana Jessup.”
“Yes, well,” Franklyn Wells said again.
Neal didn’t like the sound of that.
As they climbed to the porch, the front door opened and out Edana came, smiling warmly.
Thrusting out her hand, she said, “Franklyn. It’s a delight to see you again.”
Wells shook with some reserve. “It’s taken longer than I’d have liked to get here. The heads of the consortium didn’t want me to come until they’d reached a decision about the new management. It took over a week of voting for them to come to a consensus.”
“There’s no need to hire someone new,” Edana said. “You have me.”
“Mr. Bonner is of a similar mind,” Wells said, and rubbed his chin. “We need to discuss things, but first I’d like to wash up and perhaps rest a little.”
“Of course. Go right ahead,” Edana said. “It’s only about one o’clock. Why don’t you relax until supper? Say, about six we’ll sit down and hash things out?”
“Hash?” Wells said, and chuckled halfheartedly. “They’re turning you into a Westerner, I see, my dear.”
“I’ve been striving my utmost to become one,” Edana said. “But you’ll hear all about that at supper.”
Neal followed them inside and stayed in the parlor while Edana ushered Wells up to his room. He was perched on the settee, his hat in hand, when she came back down. Rising, he said, “Any hints?”
“He’s holding something back,” Edana said. “I suspect it will be bad news.”
“You’ll have your chance to make your case,” Neal said. “That’s what counts.”
Edana placed her hand on his arm. “Thank you for your encouragement. You’ve stood by me through this whole ordeal. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help.”
“Shucks. I was glad to. I’d do anything you wanted of me.”
“I know,” Edana said, and rising onto her toes, she kissed him lightly on the mouth.
Neal thought his face had burst into flame. “What was that for?” he asked, his voice sounding ten times huskier than it usually did.
“Consider it a lady’s way of expressing her gratitude,” Edana said. She turned and was almost to the hallway when she stopped. Without looking back at him, she said, “No. It’s time we were honest with each other. It was more than that.”
“Oh?” Neal said, his tongue practically cleaving to the roof of his mouth.
“You must know how I feel,” Edana said, “and if you didn’t, you do now. No matter what happens with Mr. Wells, nothing will change that. It’s something we should talk about . . . after.” She hastened toward the kitchen.
Neal stood there a full minute, burning all over. Jamming his hat on, he walked to the front door in a daze. He could still feel her lips on his. He stepped outside, shook his head, and said to himself, “I am plumb flabbergasted.”
“At what?”
Neal glanced up.
Jericho was leaning against the porch rail, his arms folded across his chest. “You look as if you just stepped on a cactus.”
Going over, Neal leaned next to him. “You won’t believe it.”
“Try me.”
Keeping his voice law in case any of the hands drifted past, Neal said, “Miss Jessup just kissed me.”
“I’m shocked.”
“Why did you say that as if you’re not?”
Jericho responded, “You might know cattle inside out, pard, but you don’t savvy women at all.”
“And you do, I suppose?”
“It’s been as plain as that nose on your face that you and her have been settin’ the bag for weeks now.”
“I’ve been courtin’ her and didn’t realize it?”
“If you didn’t, you’re the only one on the ranch.”
Neal burned again, but this time with indignation. “That’s a hell of a thing to say to me. You, of all people.”
“It’s the truth,” Jericho said. “The other night over in the bunkhouse, Billy had everybody in stitches when he remarked that whenever you two look at each other, he expects to hear violin music.”
“I will by God bean him with a brandin’ iron.”
“What are you so riled about? She threw her loop over you and you stepped into it.”
“You, too?” Neal said.
“Deny it all you want,” Jericho said. “It won’t change how things are.”
Wrestling with his emotions, Neal fell silent for a bit. “It came out of the blue, is all,” he said quietly.
“They say the real article does that.”
“Since when did you become an expert on romance?” Neal asked, grinning lopsidedly.
“I’m not. But I know you, pard. That gal is smitten. Now you have to decide what to do about it.”
“Yes,” Neal said, “I do.”
30
Edana presented her case over supper. She became so caught up in convincing Franklyn Wells that she was qualified to run the Diamond B that she barely touched her food.
She reminded him of her long business association with her father. That everything her father knew, she knew. That everything he’d done, he did with her at his side. She pressed the point that she was as competent as any man, and more so in some respects.
Wells said that he was aware she had been her father’s right hand, as it were.
He said that he knew how closely she’d worked with him, and that was why the consortium had agreed to Alexander’s bringing her and her sister along.
Edana then sought to impress him with her knowledge of how the ranch was run.
For that, she gave a silent thanks to Neal, who had taught her, literally, everything he knew. She talked at length about longhorns, and the cattle trade, and the upkeep of a ranch. She threw out facts and figures that had to do with expenses and profit and every business aspect imaginable. She stressed that she knew the consortium was in the ranching business to make a profit, and she would do her utmost to see that they reaped the rewards of their investment.
Wells was pleased. He remarked it didn’t surprise him that she was so well versed, given her background. Indeed that was partly why he hadn’t brought someone to replace her. Or, for that matter, asked Neal Bonner to take over. He had a suspicion that Neal would say no on her account.
“Why look at all when they have me?” Edana asked bluntly. “Tell them all I’ve told you. Convince them I can do the job and keep me on in my father’s stead. I promise I won’t disappoint them.”
At that point, Wells gnawed his lip and thoughtfully swirled his coffee in its cup. “I just don’t know.”
“What are your objections?” Edana said. She was prepared to shoot each of them down.
“That’s the thing,” Wells said. “If I’m honest about it, I don’t really have any, other than—” He stopped.
“Other than I’m a woman?” Edana finished for him.
Wells nodded. “That’s not so much my outlook as it is some of the consortium members’. They were whalers, you understand. They lived and worked in an all-male world. The idea of a woman overseeing a business venture is new to them.” He paused. “To just about everybody.”
Neal had been quiet a long while, but now he cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind my two bits, sh
e can do the job as good as any man ever born. Probably better than most.”
“Thank you,” Edana said, deeply touched.
“That may well be,” Franklyn Wells said. “But it’s not only me you have to convince. The consortium members must be persuaded, as well.”
“Have them come here,” Neal said. “Let them see for themselves.”
“I’m afraid that’s impractical,” Wells said. “They’re very busy men. They have other business ventures besides this one. And besides, it would take weeks out of their lives to make the journey and go back again.”
“If the ranch is important to them, it’s worth it,” Neal said.
“The Diamond B is important. Never doubt that for a moment. It’s so important they hired the very best man to manage it that they could find. Alexander Jessup.”
“Now they have the best in Edana.”
Edana thought of the kiss she’d given him, and dipped her chin so no one could see her blush. “I thank you again, Mr. Bonner.”
“I need a day or so to think,” Wells said. “I’d like to look around the ranch tomorrow, perhaps have someone take me out on the range.”
“I’ll take you myself,” Neal said.
“Once I’ve formulated my thoughts and made a decision, you’ll be the first to know,” Wells told Edana. “But, even if I decide you are the one for the job, I still must convince the consortium.”
“Would it help if I went back with you and presented myself to them directly?” Edana proposed.
“That’s difficult to say. They don’t know you as well as I do. To some of them it might seem as if you’re presuming too much.”
“I know I can do this,” Edana declared.
“I’m inclined to believe you.” Wells finished his coffee in a couple of gulps. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to turn in early. It’s been a long day and I didn’t get much sleep last night with all the bouncing around the stage did.” He rose tiredly. “I will say this, Edana. You have a lot in your favor. Were you a man, I suspect I wouldn’t hesitate at all in endorsing you.”
“Women are second-class, are they?”
“In my mind, no. But a lot of men think differently. They believe that a woman’s place is in the home, not overseeing a business enterprise on the scale of the Diamond B.”
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