by Bo Drury
“I'm sorry you had to be privy to a family disagreement, Harry. My mother had vicious wolf dogs who loved only her and Scott. They are dangerous to have around. They need to be destroyed. Mother was always dragging up the dregs of humanity and animals no one else would have.”
As he struggled to compose himself, he poured a cup of coffee and added a jigger of bourbon. Turning to the fireplace, he lifted his cup in a toast to the woman in the portrait. Harry had not noticed it before.
“My mother, the grand old dame.” He turned away but not before Harry saw the tight line of bitterness his mouth had formed.
“Would you like me to come back another day?”
“No! No, let's get this over with. Get Scott settled back down. I am sure the young woman left of her own accord. She had a change of heart and decided to go. Why she left her things...no one knows. She was probably unstable to start with and her parents’ death added to it. Scott's just like my mother, always bringing home strays of one kind or another.”
“Scott tells me your mother adopted him.”
Jeb sat very still, seemed to be studying his coffee. He reached for the bottle of bourbon and added some more to the cold coffee before saying anything. Then looking straight at Harry, he said, “Yes, that is just an example of how her mind worked. My sister abandoned Scott when he was three years old; left him for Mother to raise. Why she thought she had to adopt him, I have never figured out. To make him a son...”
He had looked away but Harry detected bitter jealousy. So this is part of the problem. Scott is equal to Jeb as a son, receiving a son's share in the estate, more than likely.
“What happened to his mother?”
Startled at the question, he stammered, then finished by saying, “She just disappeared. We assumed she came to a bad end. We tried to find her when Mother died but it was a fruitless search.”
Changing the subject, he went on, “I think I'll go for a swim. Care to join me?” He finished his drink and started from the room, saying over his shoulder, “I'll have Marie get you some trunks.” And he was gone.
“It's hell getting anyone pinned down around here to carry on a conversation,” Harry said, looking at the matronly woman in the portrait. “Sorry I missed you; I'm sure you could tell me plenty.”
Turning around, he found Marie watching him with a smile. She handed him the suit and left. Feeling a little foolish, he couldn't help but smile himself. This bunch would drive a sane man nuts.
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Chapter 4
The pool was nice. After a while, Scott wandered out and sat in one of the chairs. Harry climbed out and joined him.
“I'd like to look around the ranch, Scott. Think you could show me?”
“Yes, but what do you think you can find that has anything to do with Melody's disappearance?”
“Do we know she left the ranch?”
Scott's dark eyes grew wide. “You mean that she might still be here someplace?”
“She didn't go home, we know that. She missed her appointment with the attorney also, so we really have no idea where she went. Did the sheriff put out an APB for her car?”
“I have no idea what that poor excuse for a sheriff did. He just blew it off. I think my uncle had something to do with that,” he said in disgust. “Jeb thinks she just got in her car and took off. He was convinced she was a little gold-digger out to get what she could.”
Bitterness had crept into his voice. He looked across the pool at his uncle lying in the sun working on his tan. Harry had noted how vain the older man was.
Borrowing some jeans, though a little short, and a shirt from Scott, Harry dressed and met him outside.
They loaded into the four-wheel-drive and headed out through the corral gate to the north pasture. Driving down the dusty white road, to their surprise they ran into Hub coming in toward the house. Scott flagged him down.
“What are you doing out here, Hub?”
“Been fishing in the tank.”
“I didn't know you liked to fish. Catch anything?”
“No.” With a wave of his hand, he drove on. Scott sat silent for a few minutes before putting the jeep in gear and driving on.
“I've never known of him going fishing before.”
“Let's check it out for ourselves.” Harry decided it was time to tell Scott about someone hitting him on the head the night before, but he decided to wait on telling him about Marie and Hub by the pool in the middle of the night. Scott needed to know something ‘fishy’ was going on, and it wasn't all happening at the ‘fishing hole'.
After hearing Harry's story of the events of the night before, it was hard for Scott to imagine Harry being knocked cold by anyone on the ranch. He laughed gleefully about the incident with the dogs. Harry had to show him the cut on his head before he could make him believe it.
From what they could tell, Hub had not been at the ‘fishing hole’ at all. His tire tracks led to a rocky outbreak where he had parked and walked some distance on foot. They lost his tracks and could find nothing that would draw him to that area. Scott was determined to go back to the house and face Hub with their discovery.
“Wait, Scott; don't get in such a hurry to confront him with this. Let's watch him for a day or two and see if he comes back out here. We can follow him and see what he is up to.”
“That means you'll have to stay a few days longer, Harry.”
“Yeah, I guess I will, at that.” He smiled. “I needed a vacation and this seems like the perfect place to have one.” Free food and booze wouldn't be hard to take for a day or two. He would check in with Doris and have her keep an eye on things at the office. If he stayed gone a day or two, maybe she would miss him. It was a pleasant thought anyhow, though doubtful.
Bouncing back over the rocky road, he wondered how to explain his stay to Jeb. He wasn't sure he wanted to confide in him just yet.
“Let's keep this just between the two of us right now, Scott. We'll have to give Jeb some explanation.”
“He's going out of town for a week, so that's no problem.”
That solved that. Now all they had to do was figure out how to keep an eye on Hub and not let him be aware of it.
As they arrived at the barnyard, Harry saw a man playing with the three dogs.
“Who is that?”
“Orlando. He is one of our vaqueros. He's great with the horses.”
“And the dogs, I see. I thought they were supposed to be vicious.”
“You've been talking to Uncle,” he said with a laugh. “They hate him. He's mean to them. He would get mad at Grandmother and yell at her; they would want to kill him. If it hadn't been for her a couple of times, they probably would have.”
Scott got out of the truck and the dogs ran to his side, excited and expecting attention. Harry got out and stood quietly beside the truck. The dogs came over to check him out. The big male sniffed his feet then started to lift his leg.
“Wait a damn minute!” Harry yelled and jumped back. Looking up, he saw Scott and Orlando laughing.
“I think he likes you. He wants to put his brand on you.”
“He already did that,” he said, keeping his distance from the dogs that were determined to get acquainted.
Scott introduced Harry to Orlando. They walked to the horse walker. Harry climbed on the fence to watch, out of reach of the dogs. It was plain Orlando was proud of the horses. Though they belonged to the ranch, he seemed to feel they were his own. He went into detail explaining the good points of each one.
After a while Harry asked, “Orlando, did you ever see the girl that came out for the weekend?”
“Si, she came down to see my horses.”
Scott was surprised and said, “I didn't know that. It was late when we came out; I had no idea she had visited the corral. Must have been while I was arguing with Jeb about her being there.”
“Did she see anyone else that you know of?”
“Si, Senor Hub. He
came down too. They walked back to the house together.”
It was Harry's turn to be surprised. Hub out and out lied. The point of this was Hub had something to hide. His gut feeling about that had been right.
Leaving the corral, Harry suggested they take another ride up to the north pasture. Something had to be out there; why else would Hub be there and lie about it, and about seeing Melody too? It didn't look good for Hub if they found anything had happened to her.
When they got back in the jeep, it wouldn't start. Scott got out and opened the hood. “What the hell happened here?”
Harry got out taking to take a look. All the wires had been pulled loose.
“How did that happen?” he asked as he looked around. They had seen no one; they had been too busy watching the horses. What was the point in disabling the jeep? There were other vehicles they could use. Was someone doing this as a warning? If so, it was the second one. It made no sense.
Harry looked toward the house. Marie was standing near the gate watching them. After a minute she turned and walked away. Harry felt she wanted to make sure he saw her. Scott and Orlando were messing with the jeep.
“I'm going up to the house for a minute,” he called out to Scott. Scott waved and stuck his head back under the hood.
Going through the service porch and into the kitchen, he found Marie with the cook.
“Think a guy could get a cup of coffee?”
Marie gave him a cup and motioned for him to follow her.
“Thanks,” he said to the cook and waited a minute before following through the swinging doors to the dining room and on into the lounge. She busied herself with a dust cloth, whispering in a low voice, “We need to talk, but not here.” She looked around to see if anyone could hear her. “Go out by the pool. I will bring you more coffee.”
Settling down in a chair at the far end of the pool, he waited. He could see Scott through the trees; no one else was in sight.
She came out with sandwiches and a fresh pot of coffee. As she started to say something, Hub appeared and she left abruptly without saying anything. She passed him without a word. Hub stopped and watched her as she went into the house, then nodded to Harry and went to work cleaning the pool.
Harry picked up the sandwiches and coffee and headed back to the jeep. He'd have to figure a way to talk to Marie privately, it seemed. Was she afraid of Hub?
He wrote a note and passed it to her when she served dinner. It was easy, as there were only he and Scott. He told her to meet him after everyone had retired for the night at the far end of the pool. Harry excused himself and went to his room early, leaving Scott watching a boxing match on TV. By eleven, the house seemed quiet, and he slipped out the patio door and walked to the end of the pool. She wasn't there, so he settled in a recliner and waited.
She approached the pool from behind him and he was unaware she was there until she touched his shoulder, which scared the hell out of him as he had been watching the house while waiting.
“You could get hurt sneaking up on someone like that.” His heart was pounding; he was sure it had stopped there for a minute. “What is it you want to talk to me about?”
“Are you, like...the police?”
“Police? No, I am a private investigator hired by The Stocktons to find out what happened to the girl that disappeared.” He studied her face, then asked, “Did you want me to be the police?”
Nodding her head, she spoke with an accent, “I am afraid.”
“Of Hub?”
“Oh no, not Hub,” she answered quickly. Looking around, she leaned closer and spoke in a low tone. “Six weeks ago, after La Madonna died, a woman came to the house late at night. She rang the bell. I started for the door, but Senor Stockton told me to go back to bed and he went to the door. I was curious who would come so late at night and I stood in the shadows and watched.”
“Who was it?” he prompted her when she hesitated.
“He was not happy to see her. He called her Rebecca. I know this name. It was the name of his sister, Senor Scott's mother. I knew it because the old grandmother cried for her many times.”
“What happened?”
“They went into the lounge and he closed the door. I could hear nothing so I went to bed. The next morning she was gone. He did not mention it to anyone.” Nervously she looked around again. “Then days later a woman died, alone in a motel. No one knew who she was. They put her picture in the paper...it was the same woman, the one he called Rebecca. Senor Stockton looked at the paper and put it in the trash. He never said a word about it.” She took a deep breath. “Then the young woman came to the house. And now she has vanished. I am very frightened.”
“Why didn't you tell the sheriff about this?”
“The sheriff is the Senor's friend. I don't want to lose my job and go back to Mexico.”
“Are you an illegal?”
Fearful of his reaction, she hesitated and studied his face before she answered. “Si.”
“Are you certain it was the same woman?”
She nodded.
“Have you told anyone else about this?”
She nodded again.
“Hub?”
“Si. He told me to tell you.” This put a different light on everything.
“Don't say anything to anyone about what you told me. You can tell Hub if you want to. I need to talk to him and see what he knows, see if he can shed any light on this.”
“He knows nothing. He does not want to get involved. He thinks you will see what happened and fix it.”
He hated to tell her he couldn't fix anything. Why was Hub afraid of getting involved?
“Why is he roaming around in the north pasture? What's up there?”
“I don't know.” Watching her, Harry felt certain she was telling the truth.
“Go back to your room and be careful. Remember, not a word to anyone.” Harry waited twenty minutes, giving her a chance to get to her quarters, then went to his own room. He was surprised that Hub had told her to confide in him. He still thought Hub knew a lot more about what had happened than he was letting on to Marie. He wondered how much he should tell Scott.
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* * *
Chapter 5
Waking early, he showered and donned the clothes Scott offered him. Though they were high-water pants, he appreciated the loan. His dress slacks weren't appropriate for ranch wear and tear.
Looking forward to a good breakfast, he was disappointed when he arrived in the dining room and found no one and no sign of breakfast. Entering the kitchen in hopes of getting a cup of coffee, he found the cook in a foul mood. From what he could understand, Marie didn't show up for work and cook was upset. Going to the lounge, Harry got his second surprise when he found Jeb there, and no sign of Scott.
“Good morning...I see you're still with us.”
At a loss for words, Harry fumbled for an explanation. “Scott was showing me around the ranch, the day got away from us...”
“Yes, there is a lot to see; glad to see you still here. Have you discovered anything?” He seemed in a jovial mood.
“Not really, just that you have a beautiful place here.”
“I see you got some coffee. Hopefully we will get breakfast sometime this morning. I sent Scott to find Marie. You can never depend on these illegals. I'm not sure it's worth it, messing with them.”
Harry didn't say anything; he was concerned about her not showing up after what she told him. And why was Jeb back so soon when he had planned to be gone for several days? When did he come in? Had he seen the two of them by the pool, maybe overheard them? He had a bad feeling about Marie not showing up.
Scott walked in, shaking his head. “No one has seen her this morning. I couldn't find her.”
Cook came in with a pot of coffee, mumbling in Spanish, then motioned for them to come and eat. Harry had lost his appetite.
There was little conversation around the table. Jeb was reading papers he took from a brief
case and Scott seemed nervous. Harry was anxious to get out and see if he could discover what had happened to Marie.
He also wanted to ask Scott some more about his mother. Did the grandmother name her in the will? Harry was curious about that. Did the old woman think she was dead, or did she know she was still living? There were a lot of unanswered questions. He had a feeling it all tied together somehow.
Leaving Jeb to his paperwork, Harry and Scott walked to the corral on the pretext of looking over the horses. Climbing onto the fence out of earshot of any ranch hands, Harry asked Scott about his mother.
“In all these years did you ever know of your grandmother hearing from her?”
“No. Why the questions about my mother?”
Harry was reluctant to tell him about the conversation he had had with Marie, but he didn't see how he could avoid it if he was going to investigate her death and how it might relate to Melody's disappearance.
“I met with Marie by the pool last night. She had something to tell me. Seems a woman came to the house a while back, right after your grandmother died, and visited with your uncle. Marie heard him call her Rebecca.” He watched Scott's face to see how he was going to react. Scott sat very still then turned slowly to study Harry; it seemed he couldn't grasp what Harry said.
“You think it was my mother?” he asked incredulously.
“Marie seemed to think so.” He let that sink in before he went on. “The woman who came to the house that night was found dead in a room in town later that week. She was an unidentified Jane Doe. Her picture was in the paper. Your uncle saw it but made no comment. He threw the paper away.”
Scott's face drained of color before turning red as he absorbed the implications involving his uncle. Jumping down from the fence, he stomped around. “It couldn't be.” He shook his head in disbelief. “If she was alive, why would she never come back for me?” he asked with a stricken look. He leaned his head against the fence.
“If your grandmother never explained it to you, your uncle is the only one with the answers. Maybe you should ask him, but Scott, let's look into the death of the woman they found before we make accusations.”