Ms. Got Rocks

by Jacqueline Colt

  At ten thirty, it was lights out, and the four friends moved into the kitchen and began the vigil. Rocky was beginning to think that maybe she might be a little bit paranoid. Delete maybe, she was being paranoid and she planned to revel in it and be safe.

  Feeling sure that her camera would not get images at night without special equipment, even using the slowest shutter speed, she nevertheless set up her spy station.

  * * *

  “Devlin, I’ve been watching every night for three nights, and I know that someone was there,” Rocky told him.

  “Okay, okay, Rocky keep your britches on, we can go across the old Myerson place and get up the back side of the butte and then across the top. We can go around to the east side and go up the rock that way. It is a lot safer and easier than attacking that mountain of rock from our yard.” Devlin was doing instant planning for them.

  “That sounds great, I think my cold is pretty much better, my ribs are okay for the walk, and I should be able to do that,” she grabbed the Kleenex and blew her nose with a funny honk.“I want to get this resolved soon, Dev, because sitting up all night and sleeping in the day I’m not getting any dredging done. I’m not getting any gold, and I’m not getting in any flying and I’m not getting pictures shot.”

  “Sounds like you aren’t getting much done except getting angry,” Dev was joshing her.

  Margie was cutting up the sandwiches and piped in.

  “You aren‘t supposed to be dredging anyway, pictures okay, but no rock throwing. What are you two planning to do when you find out who the stalker is?”

  “I didn’t plan on doing anything. I mean, I guess I didn’t plan on doing anything. What do you think Dev?” Rocky helped herself to the meatloaf sandwich and looked to Devlin.

  “Hadn’t thought that far ahead, girls,” Dev was grinning at his family. “But what is the point of going through this entire riga-ma-role, to find out who or what is there and then not doing something about it?”

  Devlin was not fooling them with that nonsense that he had not thought it through. Rocky’s big brother had a plan; he was just not letting them in on it, yet.

  “Before you two go marching cross country like Sherman through Georgia, I think you should call in the Sheriff and let him do the investigation, not you two amateurs,” Margie was looking at them with a big frown on her lovely face.

  “What, just what, am I supposed to say to the Sheriff, I think that four nights ago someone was up on a two hundred foot rock face, peeking in my windows. And, when they left they couldn’t get their truck started. I know they were there ’cause my dogs barked,” Rocky was tired and sick enough to be testy.

  “No, Margie, somehow I do not like the way that sounds,” said Dev.

  “Okay, you guys, but if you think you are going to have all the fun yourselves, you have another think coming. I’m going with you,” Margie was grinning from ear to ear now, and it was like the days fresh out of college. Margie could get them into more trouble in less time, than anyone Rocky and Devlin had ever known.

  They may not find the bad guys, but guaranteed they would have fun. They were off to Myersons’ field. As they bounced over the back road in Margie’s SUV, Rocky was asking herself what she wanted to do after this. That would have to depend on who was spying on her.

  If it was kids climbing up there to do what kids do, then Rocky wouldn't do anything. She could post it with a “No Trespassing” sign at the top and bottom. That was a good idea for her protection in any event, her Father should have done that years ago.

  If it looked like something else, well, Rocky did not know. It would be safer to call in the authorities, but they have much more important things to do than chase someone off the rock.

  Later, they were all puffing out their cheeks and winded. The climb to the top of the rock from the Myerson's property side, was not the piece of cake it looked to be. The top of that rock was flat and covered with spongy moss and lichens. There was a terrific view of the cabin, river and her claim from up there. They could see what a junkyard she lived in, but blotting out all that stuff the home acres were pretty.

  Devlin was like a human bloodhound. He was looking over every square inch of the monolith.

  “Rocky, come over here and get some pictures of this area here. It has definitely been sat on or laid on. These mosses and lichens don’t bounce back fast from crushing,” Devlin was on his stomach getting a moss height view of the area.

  Margie was standing on the edge of the rock face, looking down at the meadow two hundred feet below.

  “Hey, you guys, we don’t have to look too much further. Look down here, there has definitely been someone up here recently. Look, right there on that little ledge,” she called to them. Candy bar wrappers had been thrown over the edge and landed on the outcropping.

  Devlin was on his feet in a flash and over the edge and climbed back up with the garbage.

  “Yeah, this stuff is pretty new, hasn’t been rained on. I guess we can stop wondering if there was someone and start figuring out who that someone is,” Dev was putting the evidence into a zipper bag.

  “My first guess, would be Mr. Callaghan, if he is still trying to get me off the claim. I don’t feel this is some run of the mill Peeping Tom,” Rocky said.

  “I think the first thing we should do is pay a visit to Mr. Callaghan and find out what condition his truck starter is in, and where does he spends his nights,” she continued.

  Devlin was slowly moving all over the rock. “I want to see how he gets up here so easy and then we can head back, if that suits you girls.”

  “Hey look at this, you guys,” Margie was again hanging over the side.

  “Looks like our snooper has some climbing experience, those are pitons pounded all the way down the side over there past that little green spot, see them?” Margie yelled.

  “He just ropes up and cuts hours off the travel time,” Rocky commented watching Margie clicking away with her digital camera.

  “Well, if he can rope up, we can too, next time,” Dev had this very cagey look on his face.

  “Yeah, he isn’t the only bear in the forest who can climb a rock,” Margie said, causing the other two to turn at look at her.

  Rocky knew her brother; he must have a plan. Rocky set the camera and shot a couple of frames of a mound of nice pristine moss for her portfolio. They began the long descent chatting all the way, though never convincing Dev to tell them his plan.

  Margie and Dev have gone home, there was still plenty of time to get a long nap before nightfall and her watching shift.

  Rocky and the dogs checked out the dredge, double-checked the tie downs and her goofy looking homemade anchor system. All the equipment looked untouched since last week. They piled into the truck and raced down the hill to MacPawn's in Applegate before it closed.

  Rocky charged the old camera she loved. On the way back to Whiskey Gap, they stopped to buy film. They raced the sunset back up the mountain for the night watch.

  When Mr. MacPawn asked Rocky if she was new in town, she told him. “I’m mining my Dad’s claim for the summer.

  Mr. MacPawn said he would buy gold from her whenever she was ready to sell.

  That was good to know, but Rocky knew where she could get a better price. If she needed grocery store cash, she would take some small fine flakes from the jelly jar to MacPawn.

  Come hell or high water, tomorrow Rocky had to dredge. There was no choice; there was what was left of that last photo sale money in the bank. But she had her cameras, and she had a good idea for them.

  She made a note to call Mr. Wilkerson tomorrow morning first thing about the flying job.

  After checking that the truck would start and all the windows and doors were locked, Rocky spent an hour in the makeshift closet darkroom dusting, making shelves and dryer space from scraps of nothing from the yard. Her leg ached something fierce that night.

  Margie had sent her digital pictures. The moss shots she took turned out really nice, Ro
cky put them onto the hard drive to print out later. Rocky’s moss shots will turn up from the processing plant in a week.

  She mounted her new camera beauty to the tripod below the night vision scope at the kitchen door. She loaded it with the slowest speed film she could find in Auburn.

  The telephoto lens fit perfectly in the hole in the curtain on the door. She couldn’t help herself, she grinned.

  While she waited for the teakettle to boil, she snapped off a half dozen twilight shots as a baseline. The face of the rock shots might turn into something arty looking.

  The shadows on the rock would make it easier to define where the snooper was watching and waiting.

  That big adventure in the morning and the tail end of the cold were making her sleepy. She finished her tea and curled up on the floor with her pillow and afghan. She planned to look at the latest knitting magazine, but lasted one page and zonked out.

  “What, did I wake you up, sorry, Sis. I found out what that dude what’s his name, where he lives. I saw the truck, but it was parked,” Devlin was yelling into the cell phone.

  “Okay Dev, I can hear you fine, I can‘t believe you said dude. Where does this guy live?” Rocky was trying to clear her head.

  Her brother answered, “Oh no, you don’t get to know that, I know what you would do and I’m not giving you the chance to do it. I’ll take care of it from this end.”

  “Yeah, well, what is it that you are going to do that I would not be doing? I would go park by his place every night and follow him, until he made one false move toward the place. Then I would call the Sheriff,” Rocky felt like she was reporting illicit sexual activities to her big brother.

  “That is exactly why, my sweet little hot head of a baby sister, you are not going to find out where he lives.” Her older brother switched off his cell phone.

  She put some frozen lasagna into the nuker, planning to split the thing with the dogs, and jumped into the shower and clean clothes.

  Rocky felt ready to spend the night watching and waiting. Rechecking the camera and the scope, rechecking the door and window locks, all was well. The buzzer for the lasagna went off, the dogs and Rocky sat down on the kitchen floor. They companionably shared the dinner.

  It was full dark now, and the dinner mess was cleaned, the floor bore no traces of lasagna on it.

  The phone in the kitchen rang.

  “Hi, this is Margie, have you seen anyone yet?”

  “Margie, I’m glad you called, I forgot to ask Devlin for the license plate number to the truck. Can’t know whom to watch for in town without it, since every pickup around here looks the same.”

  “I do not know what it is, hold on I’ll ask Devlin,”

  The phone went to hold, while Rocky looked through the night vision scope and watched two deer slowly, gracefully, circling the fence.

  Oh, yeah, she re-focused the scope back up onto the hill.

  “Shoot that wasn’t too smart, do I have it in focus or not?” she asked herself.

  “Are you still there Rocky? Devlin wants to know how old the shells are that you have in the shotgun. Are they leftovers from Dad?” Margie asked.

  “No, I couldn’t find Dad’s. I bought these the other day in case of rattlesnakes, and tell Dev that he isn’t going to sidetrack me. I’ll call you back, Margie, I forgot something.”

  Rocky set the phone down, hurried into the living room and got the shotgun out of the broom closet.

  “Crap, how could I have been dumb enough to not have it ready?” Rocky was muttering to Lovie “I’m getting dumber than dirt. You don’t have to agree with that, dog.”

  She got a big dog grin from the agreeable Boxer. Lovie got an ear scratch in return.

  Several hours later, Rocky guessed that it was midnight, she started checking the doors and windows again. She stood for minutes at the living room window and watched the driveway and the meadow. It was not possible to see the county road from there and almost impossible to hear the cars going through on it. The river and the rapids were a steady thrum that blocked all other sound from a distance. The night birds near the porch were calling; telling Rocky there was no one out there. She stood still and watched anyway.

  Chapter 16

  That morning the news on the radio was becoming increasingly serious, urging residents to plow their firebreaks at the edge of their fields. The radio advised to keep everything wet that they could, to clean away brush from the buildings. Soon after that,the authorities issued a cautionary announcement to watch for any strangers in the area.

  The grass and brush fires have been burning for three days. The high temperatures were drying out the grassy foothills almost as fast as the wildfires were destroying them. The wind kept blowing hotter and faster from the west, it was that west wind that concerned Rocky, it would blow the wildfires directly to Whiskey Gap.

  The fires were coming from every direction. When the firefighters had cleared one area, meadows miles away would burst into flames.

  No one in authority had come out and stated that someone or many persons were setting the blazes. When the fires moved back and forth across an eight lane freeway, anyone could see arson as plain as the nose on a face. After the bunkhouse fire scare at her godmother’s Lucky J Ranch earlier in the spring, Rocky purchased a pond pump for the river. Good thing she did it then, now there was no purchasing fire fighting equipment.

  The County Animal Shelter had burned to the ground. It was the only structure involved in the fires, to that date. The good news was that all the animals and the workers were ferried to safety.

  Devlin Clancy’s elegant suite of offices was turned into a shelter for the displaced animals from the county and for any animals displaced in front of the wildfires.

  Rocky’s three and Margie’s Pokey have joined the mix at the Clancy and Associates Geology Offices in Auburn.

  Devlin admitted that a whole office full of animals was a handful, but at any time you could find him in his office talking long distance to a head of a government, with a lap full of very contented cats. His office being the most private and quiet had been designated as the cattery, to the total disgust of his Border Collie and the delight of Devlin.

  Rocky spent hours listening to the radio reports. She pumped water from the river wetting down the meadows and even stretching the surplus fire hose as far as it will go to wet down that jackass Callaghan’s meadow adjacent to hers.

  “Rocky, this is Jazz Harris. Are you all right? I heard about the fires on CNN,” Jazz was calling early one morning.

  “I’m fine for now, but things are changing by the moment,” Rocky told her friend.

  “I’m almost at the airport now, say ninety minutes out and I can use the exercise,” Jazz said through the static.

  “Huh, you are where?” Rocky was puzzled.

  “I’ve borrowed the company Gulfstream, I think we went over Salt Lake City or Denver a few minutes ago. I’m bringing the fire retardant stuff, as much as I could get my hands on,” Jazz said. “Hugs, I’ll be there soon.”

  Rocky stared at the disconnected cell phone and said, “Must be nice to be filthy rich, but I’ll be glad to have her here, and I know she isn’t afraid to get dirty.”

  The cell phone rang again.

  “I forgot to ask, where are the dogs and Thumps? Do you want to send them home with me for the duration?” Jazz asked.

  “Uh, right now they are ten miles away, with my brother in town,” Rocky was stunned at the generous offer.

  “Okay, be there soon, I brought my jeans and boots,” Jazz hung up.

  “Whoa, she would fly my pets back and forth to Boston? Yeah, she would, she is that kind of person.” Rocky was shaking her head as she disconnected the hose and moved the pump farther down the river.

  The wind was blowing so hard and loud from the west, that Rocky did not hear the tractor until it was fairly on top of her.

  “Hey, Clancy move out of the way, this old bugger doesn’t stop on a dime, you know,” Callag
han shouted, waving his arms to get her attention.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Rocky asked, while she stood totally dumbfounded.

  “I’m plowing a firebreak, if you will move your arse, so I can do that,” Callaghan was smiling because he was steering the old tractor directly at her.

  “Why?” was the only thing Rocky verbalize.

  The old John Deere pulled to a stop at the water’s edge, Callaghan jumped from the seat and strode back to Rocky. Callaghan’s black satin hair was blowing in the hot west wind.

  “I would think that would be apparent. If the fire breaks through your place, mine is next.” Callaghan stated the obvious anyway for her. “I spent every spare moment last winter planting grapes and peaches on the other side of the rise. I don’t want to lose them.”

  That settled to his satisfaction, he swung back onto the tractor seat and resumed the scraping of the firebreak. Rocky watched where he went and then turned to see from where he came. At the bottom of the driveway, the wire fence had been mowed down by the tractor.

  “Well, I guess that won’t make much howdy do, if the whole fence is burned,” Rocky resigned herself to fence stringing at some future time. She walked to the gate at the bottom of the driveway, unlocked it, swinging it wide.

  “Just in case, he decides to go out over the gate,” she said into the smoke laden air.

  Rocky could hear the old tractor chugging its way on the other side of her meadow, building a break between the two properties.

  The fire hose was streaming water with as much pressure as she could hold steady. The logs and the front porch of the cabin were getting a thorough soaking.

  Changing her mind Rocky stopped the fire hose and put the lawn sprinkler on the front fence line that Callaghan tilled.

  Walking back to the fire hose Rocky heard a big vehicle coming up the county road. It was a bright yellow Hummer towing some type of machine.

  “That can’t be anyone but Jazz,” Rocky said aloud, she smiled while watching the big vehicle climb the steep driveway as if it were as flat as a pancake.