by Paty Jager
Shandra didn’t know what to say. She’d never been told she was the cause of her parents’ marriage. Nor did she know she’d been conceived out of wedlock. Oh Ella, I wish you were here. I have so many unanswered questions.
“That is a fact I didn’t know about my existence.” She smiled, when inside her mind was spinning.
Rapping on the door startled Shandra out of her musings.
The curly top of the attendant that delivered Shandra to the room appeared through the open door. “Mr. Seeton, you are a popular man today. You have another visitor.”
The door opened wider, and Ryan stepped into the room.
“Shandra, what are you doing here?” Ryan asked, crossing the room and standing by her chair.
“Mr. Seeton and I are reminiscing about my father.” This wasn’t a lie. She’d yet to ask him about Johnny Clark and Lil.
“Mr. Seeton, I’m Detective Ryan Greer with the Weippe County Sheriff’s Department. I’d like to ask you some questions about Johnny Clark.” Ryan grabbed a hard-backed chair sitting beside a small table with a partially assembled puzzle. He placed the chair beside Shandra’s.
“Why would the sheriff’s department be interested in Johnny after all these years?” Phil asked.
Shandra decided she’d let Ryan ask the questions unless he started making Lil out to be the villainess.
Ryan nodded toward her. “Shandra owns the old Whitmire ranch on Huckleberry Mountain. The other day while she was digging up clay, she dug up Johnny Clark’s body.”
Phil stared at Ryan, then her, then back to Ryan. “How long had he been there?”
“From all accounts, I’d say about thirty years.” Ryan pulled out a notepad.
“Thirty years. That’s a long time for no one to look for you.” Phil rubbed a bony hand over his chin. “Now it makes sense that he missed that rodeo in Cheyenne. I couldn’t believe when the rodeo committee called and asked me to fill in for Johnny. After he quit drinking he was punctual to a fault.”
“I have a witness who saw you arguing with Johnny shortly before we believe he was killed.” Ryan placed his pen on the notepad.
“Killed? You mean like murdered?” Phil stared at Shandra. “Now I know two people who were killed.”
Shandra jumped onto his statement. “What do you mean?”
“What about you arguing with Johnny at the…” Ryan flipped through the pages on his book.
Shandra took the opportunity to capture Phil’s attention. “What do you mean you know two people who were killed?”
“Horsehoe Bar in Hafersville. I have witnesses to you threatening Johnny. And it had to do with rodeo announcing,” Ryan said, ignoring her need to find out what Phil meant.
“That was probably a night when I’d had too much to drink and was blaming my problems on the nearest person.” Phil waved his hands. “I did that a lot back in the day. I’d drink to get nerve to get up on the horse. A drink to numb the aches and pains from getting thrown off. A drink to celebrate staying on. A drink to feel bold enough to ask a cowgirl to keep a lonely cowboy company at night. I had a reason for every sip I took back then. Ironically, it was the rodeo that Johnny missed and I took over that I met a person who helped me get off the bottle and stay off.”
“Do you remember where you went or what you did after your argument with Johnny?” Ryan persisted.
“Detective, I can’t even remember if the time that’s in my head is even the incident you’re talkin’ about. There are many days in my rodeo life that I honestly can’t remember.” Phil’s eyes watered even more. “There are months of that life that I’d like to forget.” He reached out a hand to Shandra.
She clasped his boney fingers in her hand.
“And there are others that I remember clear as day.” He smiled. “Your father was one of the few who knew my drinking was a sickness. He covered for me and tried to make me see a better life without the bottle.”
Shandra, again, was choked up knowing her father had been kind and helpful to another. “Thank you for calling him a friend.”
Tears gathered in the corners of the old man’s eyes. “He was a hell of a cowboy, and a hell of a man.”
Ryan cleared his throat. “Mr. Seeton, did you ever meet a young woman called Lil who was Johnny’s girlfriend at the time of his death?”
Phil released Shandra’s hand, wiped at the tears with a blue bandanna he pulled from his pocket. “She was a likable gal. Always a smile. She and Johnny seemed to be the real thing. I was happy for Johnny. That wasp he married the first time stung him bad with her trailer hoppin’ and drinking.”
“Was there a falling out between Johnny and Lil?”
Shandra glared at Ryan. The man had pretty much said there was nothing bad happening between Lil and Johnny, why was he pressing so hard?
Chapter Sixteen
Ryan watched Shandra out of the corner of his eye. His main focus was on Seeton. The man appeared to be clueless about the disappearance of Johnny Clark. But the old man and Shandra had a connection. He was sure Shandra hadn’t met the man before today, but in the time she’d arrived before him, she’d taken this man under her protective wing. It was clear by the way she kept glaring at him as he asked his questions.
“Mr. Seeton, you seem to have a fair amount of knowledge about Johnny, his ex-wife, and his girlfriend, Lil. Of the two women, which one do you think is capable of murder?” Ryan felt Shandra’s gaze ease up on him.
“Johnny’s first wife. She was a crazy bitch.” The man reddened and looked apologetically at Shandra. “Sorry about that. I shouldn’t use language like that in front of a lady. My Sherry taught me that much in the years we were married.”
“What about Lil? Did you ever see her and Johnny in an argument?” Ryan asked again. And once again, received Shandra’s glare.
“I think I saw them arguing once. It was after his ex had words with Johnny. Lil looked angry. I seen Johnny talking with her. She pulled off that purple scarf Johnny gave her and stormed off, but it wasn’t more than a little spat. They must have got over it because the next day Lil was wearing the scarf and smiling up at Johnny like he hung the stars in the sky just for her.” Seeton smiled at Shandra. “That’s the way my Sherry looked at me, and I couldn’t keep drinking cuz I wanted to see that every day the rest of my life.”
Shandra smiled. “That’s what everyone wants in their life. A person that makes them see the good in themselves and loves them for the flaws.” She patted the old man’s hand.
At that moment, Ryan realized Shandra wanted a man in her life. Up until seeing her interaction with Seeton and her words, he’d been uncertain. She was a strong, independent woman, who rarely showed any vulnerability. This glimpse into her belief about a man and a woman, gave him courage to ask her to his brother’s wedding. He’d do it as soon as they left this facility. He wasn’t putting it off any longer. As Bridget said, the woman needed time to find a dress.
“So you feel Tracy Gilley had more motive to murder Johnny than Lil?” Ryan was seeing a pattern here. No one who knew Lil believed she could have killed Johnny. If Shandra’s vehement denial hadn’t been enough, all his investigating was beginning to make him a believer.
“I could see that woman killing anyone who didn’t let her have her way.” Seeton said nodding. “You know they never did find her second husband.”
Ryan nodded. “Yes, but that isn’t my jurisdiction. If she killed Johnny, I’ll get her for that. I can’t do anything about Tucker Gilley.” Ryan stood. “Come on, Shandra.”
She gazed up at him. Her golden eyes held uncertainty. “I’d like to stay a bit longer.”
Ryan sat back down. “I’m seeing that you may be right about Lil. There isn’t any more to learn here.”
She shook her head. “Not about Johnny. Mr. Seeton knew my father.”
The lost, wistful yearning in her eyes couldn’t be ignored.
Ryan didn’t care that the old man looked on. He grasped Shandra’s hand. “I’ll wait f
or you outside, there’s something I need to ask you.”
She nodded her head. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and released it.
“Mr. Seeton, thank you for your cooperation.” Ryan left the room and headed to the parking lot. He didn’t feel like loitering in the hallway. There was something in Shandra’s eyes. A vulnerability he’d not witnessed before that had his protective instincts kicking in. Something the man had to say about her father was going to upset her. He felt it in his gut.
~*~
When Ryan left, Shandra turned her attention to Mr. Seeton. “You said something earlier about knowing two men who had been killed. Did you mean Johnny and Tucker Gilley?”
The old man scratched at his chin again. “I guess that would make three, if they do find Tucker and he was murdered.”
“Who do you believe is the third person you knew?” Her instincts and the drumming in her head already knew the answer.
“Girl, don’t get yourself all worked up or into something that happened years ago. But there was no way your daddy should have been bucked off that horse.” Phil shook his head. “He was one of the best at the time and that horse was one of the weakest buckers. He shouldn’t have landed on the ground and that horse shouldn’t have stomped all over him.”
Nausea swirled in her stomach. No one had ever told her how Daddy died. Only that it was a rodeo accident. Her mind conjured up a mangled body smashed into the arena dirt.
“I’m sorry.” Phil patted her hand. “I should have put it more delicate. I just figured you knew the whole story.”
Shandra shook her head, willing the bile rising in her throat to stay down.
Phil handed her a glass of water. She gulped down half the glass and wiped at the tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.
“No one ever told me how it happened. They just said a rodeo accident. I never…I just…” She was at a loss for words. Ella had hinted several times that her son left the earth before his time. Shandra had thought it was a mother wishing her child hadn’t been taken from her.
“Mr. Seeton, thank you for your kind words about Daddy and for this bit of information about his death. I never thought about looking into how it happened. I took my mother and step-father’s explanation and didn’t think about discovering the truth. Now that my grandmother is gone and my heritage was kept from me, I appreciate knowing the truth.” Shandra gathered her fringed bag and stood. “I need to do some thinking about this after I make sure Lil isn’t the one going to jail for Johnny’s murder.”
Phil smiled up at her. “I have a feeling you’ll help Lil and find the real killer.” He stood. “You’re welcome to come back any time you want to visit about your father. He was a good man.”
Shandra hugged the old cowboy. “I will definitely be back. Thank you.”
Walking down the corridor to the main entrance Shandra played the conversation back over in her mind. “Daddy, knowing you had a painful end makes my heart ache.”
Walking toward her Jeep in the parking lot, she spotted Ryan leaning against his SUV. He was a good-looking man. And caring. And he believed more in her grandmother entering her dreams than she did.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, leaning against her vehicle, facing him.
“Waiting for you. Remember, I said I’d be waiting, I had something to ask you.” He remained leaning against his car, but the determined gleam in his eyes wasn’t as aloof as the rest of him.
“What did you want to ask me? I hope it’s not to butt out of this case because I can’t. I found the body on my property and you are looking at my hired hand as the suspect.” She scowled at him.
A smile curved his lips. It wasn’t the first time her heart did a tiny thump at the sight of that smile.
“I told you my brother is getting married in September.”
“To your ex-girlfriend. Yes.” Her stomach started swirling but in a good way, not the way it had at Phil’s news.
“My sisters are hounding me to bring a date and since you’re the only woman I want to go to the wedding with… Would you be my date?” His gaze remained fixed on her face.
Shandra hadn’t been on a real date in years. Once her steady boyfriend in college turned out to be a jerk and she’d been used by a professor, she had to be very interested in a guy to go out on a date. She was interested in Ryan. More than any man she’d ever come across.
“Yes, I’d be delighted to be your guest. Do I have to be nice to the bride? She did ditch you for your brother.”
Ryan laughed. The deep timbre and crinkles at the corners of his eyes made her join in. “You may treat the bride however you see fit as long as you promise me all the dances.”
Shandra held out her hand. “It’s a deal.”
Ryan grasped her hand and gently tugged her toward him. They stood toe to toe in the parking lot. The heat in his gaze and the possessive way his hand held hers, she had a feeling their first date would be the first of many.
“I think this deal should be sealed with a kiss.”
His softly spoken comment stirred a whirlwind inside her chest. She swallowed and tipped her face up toward him. “Don’t stick your tongue down my throat. This is a kiss to seal a deal not make out.”
He chuckled. “I know you’re the kind of woman a man takes his time unwrapping.”
Before she could come up with a retort, his lips pressed against hers. The warmth and softness of his lips, the smell of his aftershave, and the glow warming her chest made this kiss a memorable one.
Ryan stepped back. “I have more leads to follow. I’ll call you tonight.”
Before she came down from the cloud of happiness the kiss had elevated her to, Ryan and his vehicle had left the parking lot.
She climbed into her Jeep, glanced in the rearview mirror at her reflection, and smiled. This kind of giddiness hadn’t been in her life for a very long time.
Rummaging back through her childhood brought her to the truth Phil had told her about Daddy. “Once I get Lil cleared, I’m going to see what I can find out about Daddy’s death. If someone caused it, they should be punished.”
Chapter Seventeen
The return trip to Huckleberry was filled with calls to his sisters and mother to let them know Shandra would be his date for the wedding. All three women had screeched and nearly broke his ear drum. “Remember we haven’t been dating long. Don’t go making her think she’s the next to get married. I don’t want your enthusiasm to see me married scare her off.” All three had agreed to be casual about meeting her. But he could already envision the excitement glinting in their eyes when they saw Shandra.
He pulled up to the Huckleberry Police Station in time to see Officer Blane run from the building and straight to the squad car.
Ryan rolled down his window. “What’s up?” he called out.
Blane stopped, found who shouted at him, and grinned. “There’s been a robbery at the Tasty Freeze.”
“Go get ’em,” Ryan said, stepping out of his vehicle. This was the perfect crime to keep Blane busy and out of the chief’s hair.
In the building, Ryan took Blane’s desk. He typed Echo Canyon Spa in the search area on the computer and found the establishment’s phone number. Dialing the number he wondered if the guests were allowed outside calls. They’d have to make an exception. This was official business.
“Echo Spa and Resort, how may I help you?” asked a young, female voice on the other end of the call.
“This is Detective Ryan Greer of the Weippe County Sheriff’s Office in Idaho. I need to speak with a client of yours. Mrs. Tracy Gilley.”
“I’m sorry, our guests aren’t allowed private calls.” The young woman sounded apologetic.
“This isn’t a private call, it’s police business. If I can’t talk with Mrs. Gilley then get me the manager of the resort.” Ryan doodled on the corner of a paper as he waited. The soothing music coming from the phone while he waited only annoyed him. Fifteen minutes had passed when the music stopped.
“This is Grant Parrish, how may I help you?” The business tone was confident and cordial.
“I’m Detective Ryan Greer with the Weippe Sheriff’s Department in Idaho. I’d like to speak with Mrs. Gilley about a body we found.”
The intake of breath was the only sign the man had been flustered before he explained why Mrs. Gilley couldn’t be disturbed.
The man took a breath, and Ryan jumped in. “You don’t understand. By not allowing Mrs. Gilley to speak with me you are obstructing justice.”
“She came here to rest and relax. Since she’s been here she’s a changed person.”
“That might be so, but I have a dead body that Mrs. Gilley was once married to. I need some answers.” How many people did this woman pay to keep her away from the law?
“Married to? Did they finally discover Mr. Gilley? She’ll want to know this.”
Ryan wasn’t going to say any different if it would get Tracy Gilley on the phone. “Now you see why it’s urgent I speak with her.”
“Yes. I’ll check the schedule and see what treatment she’s at. Hold one moment.”
The music that was supposed to soothe, grated on his nerves some more.
The phone clicked, the music stopped, and a gravelly voice said, “This is Tracy Gilley.”
“Mrs. Gilley, I’m a detective with the Weippe County Sheriff’s Department—”
“Why are you calling me here at the spa?” The irritation in her voice made him smile.
“A body was discovered on Huckleberry Mountain. On the old Whitmire place—”
“Again, what does this have to do with…Whitmire? As in Lil Whitmire? Tell me it was her. That husband stealing skank had no right setting my husband against me.”
“It wasn’t Lil, and from what I’ve dug up so far, you were his ex-wife when she came along.” He’d see what she divulged before he told her who they’d dug up.