Crashed in Oasis

by Clay, Verna

  He replied, "Hello, sir. I'm Collin Banks. Please call me Collin."

  "My name is Desi. Come sit under the fans and take a load off."

  "Thank you. It's a pleasure meeting you."

  Dottie said, "Collin, I'd like you to meet my friend Skye Rutherford."

  Collin held himself upright with one arm on his crutch and reached his other toward Skye. She shook it and said, "I'm so excited to meet you. While we were on vacation we didn't watch the news, so when we returned I was shocked by what had happened."

  While she spoke Collin had lowered himself into a chair. He glanced at Dottie. "If not for Dottie, I wouldn't be here. She's an amazing woman."

  Dottie had taken a seat beside Desi. She said, "I believe I can echo Collin's words. If not for him, I wouldn't be here, either. He saved my life in Florida."

  Skye said, "You two should write a book. It would sell millions. How many people can lay claim to having survived a plane crash and kidnapping while at the same time searching for treasure?"

  Dottie leaned forward. "Speaking of treasure…we can't wait to hear what you know, Desi."

  The elderly man's eyes twinkled. "And I can't wait to tell you. I've been carrying this information around for decades."

  Collin adjusted his body to get comfortable in his chair and waited for Desi to tell his tale.

  Desi winked at Dottie. "Before we get started why don't you pour yourself and Collin some iced lemonade?" He motioned to a pitcher on a table near the entrance to the trailer.

  Skye jumped up. "Here let me do it."

  Desi smoothed a hand over his short cropped gray hair, still thick despite his age, and leaned his thin frame back in his chair. "Well, how should I begin?"

  Skye handed drinks to Dottie and Collin and returned to her chair, her face alight with anticipation.

  Desi said, "I used to make my living as a traveling salesman. I sold everything from pots and pans and vacuums to furniture polish. We had some of the best polish available. Why that stuff even shined cars. Nothing today can even come close." He grinned. "But that's getting off the subject. Anyway, back in the 60s, maybe 67, I was in Tucson and got a referral to a new customer. He was a widower named Jimmy. Can't remember his last name but maybe I got some old invoices that I can look up. Jimmy didn't have any kids or close family and I could tell he was lonely. Whenever I'd come to his house, he'd talk my ear off. Anyway, one day he confides something that happened when he was a kid. He said when he was nine his pa read about a company named Schneider Mining looking to hire gold miners. He said the town—it wasn't called Oasis then; it was Schneider—was advertised to be an Oasis in the desert. Jimmy said his ma had died and his pa was struggling with his grief. He thinks his pa just up and joined the miners to help overcome that grief. According to Jimmy, his pa got the gold fever and talked about saving enough money to buy his own claim someday. Jimmy said his pa once again became full of enthusiasm and zest for life."

  Desi paused to sip his lemonade. His eyes sparkled over the top of his glass. "Now for the good part."

  Everyone leaned forward.

  "Jimmy told me that one day he was walking from the shack they rented to the general store to buy a piece of licorice, when this fella comes barrelin' into town on his horse shouting something about a holdup. Of course that got everyone's attention and a group surrounded the fella. Jimmy said he pushed his way to the front of the crowd and heard the rider telling about a cache of Schneider's gold bars on shipment to Phoenix being stolen. The man said the thieves had fled toward the Weaver Mountains.

  "Of course, the mining company called for a posse. The next day, Jimmy said the posse returned with dead bodies of bandits slung over their horses, but one of them was still alive. They rushed the outlaw to the doc, trying to keep him alive long enough to tell the whereabouts of the gold."

  Collin's heart pounded. Hearing Desi's account given by a firsthand observer was amazing. When Desi paused, Collin said, "I'm assuming Jimmy is dead now?"

  Desi nodded. "Oh, yes. He died in the 70s from lung cancer. He was a chain smoker. That was the only part I hated about being around him."

  Skye said, "Wait until you hear the rest of the story."

  Collin inhaled a long breath.

  Desi steepled his fingers. "Jimmy said that he watched them carry the injured man into the doc's place. He said they posted a guard outside the door and everyone sort of hung around waiting for word of his condition. Maybe an hour later the doc appeared and said he'd removed the slug from the man's chest, but his condition was grave.

  "The next day the guy was still alive and Jimmy said the doc called for the sheriff as soon as he regained consciousness. The sheriff and witnesses crowded into doc's place to interrogate the man. Witnesses said the thief was only conscious for a short time and the only words he said were 'Fast Engine'."

  Collin frowned. "You mean like a fast car engine."

  "Maybe. Some folks speculated he was saying Injun like in Indian."

  Collin repeated, "Fast Injun. Intriguing."

  Desi agreed. "Yep. But that's still not the end of the tale."

  Collin's eyes widened.

  Desi grinned. "Jimmy said that when it got dark and no one was looking, he sneaked behind doc's place and peeked through a crack in the curtains. He said he saw the doc talkin' to the bandit and the bandit sayin' something back. He said the doc got out a pencil and a piece of paper and laid it on a board and pulled the bandit upright so he could draw something. He said the man drew on the paper and then fell backward unconscious again. Jimmy said the doc studied the drawing and then shoved it under some papers in a drawer. After the doc left the room, Jimmy said he got so curious he couldn't help but lift the window and crawl inside. He found the drawing in the drawer, fixed it in his memory, and ran home."

  Dottie said, "Wow. Please tell me there's more to the story."

  "There is." Desi grinned.

  Dottie's jaw dropped.

  "Jimmy told his father what he'd seen and his pa made him draw what was on the paper. It was obviously a map, but it didn't have any known references. The next morning they got word the outlaw had died. Jimmy's father made him tell the authorities what he'd seen, but told him to keep quiet about sneaking into the room and seeing the map up close."

  Collin asked, "What happened when the authorities confronted the doctor?"

  "Oh, he denied everything. Said the boy had a vivid imagination. The sheriff searched the doc's office, but didn't find anything. There wasn't much anyone could do so the matter was dropped. Jimmy's father never did tell the authorities about the map his son had drawn and Jimmy figured his pa was searching for the gold himself."

  "What happened to the doctor?" Dottie asked.

  "Jimmy said he'd disappear every now and again and folks who didn't believe his denial of wrongdoing, figured he was using information gained from the bandit to search for the treasure. The doc died a couple of years after the heist and if he ever found anything, it was never evident."

  Collin blew a breath. He had another burning question. "What happened to the map Jimmy drew?"

  Desi's grin split his face. "I thought you'd never ask. Give me a minute, folks." Desi slowly rose from his chair, his bones creaking. He walked to his front door which Skye had jumped up to open. She waited for him to return.

  Collin glanced at Dottie and lifted an eyebrow. Dottie had a hand over her heart, evidence of her excitement.

  Desi returned carrying a letter sized folder. He handed the folder to Collin. "That's the map Jimmy drew after seeing the bandit's drawing. I've tried to make sense of it over the years; never could."

  Holding his breath, Collin gently opened the folder. Dottie and Skye had moved to kneel on either side of his chair. No one said anything at first. The paper was old and frayed at the edges, but the drawing was still very evident. There were some odd shaped circles in the top left corner, a squiggly line from the circles to the bottom right corner, where more odd shaped circles were drawn. O
ne circle had been drawn darker and a little smaller than the others and one side of the squiggly line was shaded to the edge of the paper, or at least it looked to be an attempt at shading. Collin said, "Hmm. Maybe it's rocks with a river connecting them."

  "That's what I thought at first," Desi said. He'd settled back in his chair. "Except there aren't any rivers around here."

  Dottie and Skye returned to their chairs.

  Collin closed the folder. "Would you mind if I sent this out to be framed with preservation glass?"

  Desi grinned. "Son, that map was entrusted to me and now I'm entrusting it to you. I'm giving it to you. I'm an old man and my treasure hunting days are over; yours aren’t. More than anything I'd like you to locate that heisted gold."

  "I don't know what to say, Desi, except thank you and I'll do my damndest to solve the mystery and give you the credit."

  "Don't care about no credit, but I'd love to see this thing solved."

  Chapter 37: Another Clue

  Throughout the remainder of the afternoon, Dottie and Collin rehashed the tale and studied the map. Dottie said, "If it's not a river, maybe it's a gorge or dry river bed, or perhaps a wash. There are plenty of those in the desert."

  Collin placed his elbow on the kitchen table and put his chin in his hand. "I wonder why one side of the line is shaded?"

  Dottie shook her head. "I haven't a clue about that."

  Collin asked, "Do you feel like continuing our search of your trunks? We've almost got everything from the second trunk sorted. And, hey, I'll spring for pizza if you think they'll deliver it on the sly."

  "I'd love to keep working on the trunks. And pizza sounds great. I'll call Porky's and ask Bubba to keep our delivery a secret. So far, I don't think word of our return to Oasis has hit the media."

  Collin grinned. "I have to hand it to Jake; he's a slick talker and done well in diverting the pests."

  An hour later, Dottie opened the door for Bubba. He said, "I decided to deliver this one myself." He glanced around Dottie. "Hey, do you think I could get Mr. Banks to give me an autograph. I promise I won't let anyone see it until this ruckus is over. I've watched his documentaries on the history channel and, man, are they interesting."

  Dottie said, "Why don't you put the pizza on the kitchen table and I'll ask him?"

  Bubba's rotund cheeks jiggled when he smiled. "Thanks, Dottie. Even if Mr. Banks doesn't sign an autograph, I'd sure like to meet him."

  Bubba headed toward the kitchen and Dottie returned to the bedroom. She relayed Bubba's request and Collin said, "No problem." He grinned. "I've always wanted to meet someone named Bubba."

  Collin followed Dottie back to the front of the house where Bubba was waiting in the living room. He broke into a big smile when he saw Collin and stuck out his hand. "Mr. Banks, this is an honor."

  Collin leaned on one crutch and shook the hand of the owner of Porky's Pizza Parlor. "No, my pleasure. Last time I was in town, I got a taste of your pizza and now I'm hooked."

  Bubba beamed. "Anytime you have a hankerin' for pizza, you just call and it's on me." He stuck out an order pad with his logo of a grinning pig holding a pizza slice, and asked, "Would you mind signing your autograph, Mr. Banks?"

  "Not at all. Please call me Collin." Collin accepted the pad and pen, and scrawled a message. He handed it back to Bubba who looked like a kid in a candy store.

  Bubba said, "I'll save the readin' for when I leave. And don't you worry 'bout me showin' it to anyone. Like I told Dottie, it's a secret until all the hubbub blows over."

  "Not a problem," Collin replied.

  "Well, guess I best be goin' so's you can eat your pizza before its cold."

  Dottie said, "I need to pay you."

  Bubba gave another big-cheeked grin. "Nope. It's on me." He tapped his chin. "Dottie, do you realize how many famous people are associated with our little town? Heck, we got Max, Jr. and Sr. from that big corporation; we got Kade, our almost famous model and his wife, Skye, a famous photographer who is also a Rutherford, we got Collin a famous treasure hunter, and we got you, the woman who risked her life to save Collin's. Golly, I wonder who's going to show up next."

  Dottie and Collin both chuckled when Bubba shut the door. Collin said, "He's a character."

  "Yes. And one of the sweetest men in town although he does like to razz people. You should have heard him tease Kade about being a model. Of course, Kade was a good sport and could give as well as take. One day at Desert Princess Diner the two of them got into throwing jabs and had all the patrons laughing uproariously."

  Collin motioned toward the kitchen. "Our pizza awaits."

  After enjoying Porky's house specialty, which included just about every topping imaginable, they resumed their investigation of Dottie's family keepsakes.

  Dottie said, "I've arranged these letters into chronological order according to postmarks. Would you like me to start reading them aloud, beginning at the time my great-great-grandparents lived in Oasis. I don't know that anything before that would have significance, but we can always come back to them later."

  "Sounds like a good idea. I'll just kick back in the chair and listen."

  Dottie lifted a letter with a postmark of 1910. It was written from Dottie's great-great-aunt Marie to her sister, Dottie's great-great-grandmother. Marie wrote about how much she missed her sister and brother-in-law and gave accounts of her own family happenings. The next letter in sequence was from a family friend who also expressed how much he missed them and planned a trip west the next summer to visit. Dottie read a couple more letters from 1910 and then got to 1911.

  "Here's another from Marie." The letter began by saying how excited she was to hear about Patrick's visit to Oasis. Dottie said, "I think this must be the same Patrick that wrote the letter in 1910? Remember, he said something about taking a trip west?"

  Collin nodded.

  Dottie continued reading the letter from Marie:

  Patrick's descriptions of the Arizona desert were incredible. I can only imagine a place so stark and free of vegetation. When I asked if he saw any wild Indians, he said he saw plenty of Indians in town, but none were wild. He then told me about his day jaunt into the desert with Samuel and that he did see a wild Indian there. I was so excited to hear more, but then he explained that the Indian was a rock formation that had the appearance of an Indian brave. He said he pointed it out to Samuel and Samuel said the rock would forever be "Pat's Indian."

  Dottie stopped reading, glanced at Collin with rounded eyes, and saw that he, too, was thinking along the same lines as she.

  He said, "Fast Engine. Pat's Indian. Pat's Injun."

  "Oh, my God!" Dottie exclaimed. "Is it possible the outlaw was saying Pat's Injun but the witnesses heard Fast Engine?"

  "In a strange way it makes sense," Collin replied.

  Dottie frowned. "If it's true, then that means my great-great grandfather may have been in on the heist."

  "Maybe. Unless the name given the rock formation was well known at the time."

  "But if it was, it seems like the locals would have figured out the bandits words. There are lots of places that were named in the early years and the names have stuck to this day, but I've never heard of Pat's Indian."

  "Hmm. Let's keep reading. Maybe we can get clarity."

  Dottie finished reading the letters from 1911 and 1912. The subject was never mentioned again.

  The next day, they resumed reading until they reached 1915. After that there were only a few letters from the 1950s and 60s.

  For lunch they ate leftover pizza and discussed the mystery. Collin said, "I believe there was a clue in the letter that may help us."

  Dottie leaned forward. "What's that?"

  "The trip was mentioned as being a 'day trip.' To me that indicates they wouldn't have traveled far and since Patrick said in his letter he would visit in the summer, it stands to reason the weather would have been hot, also an indicator they wouldn't have traveled far."

  Dottie surm
ised, "So…if we knew the direction they went from my homestead, we could also take a day trip and look for formations."

  "Yes, except that I won't be taking any day trips for awhile." He patted his casted leg.

  "But I can."

  "Not by yourself."

  "No. But I could ask Kade or Max or even Bubba to join me."

  Collin steepled his fingers. "If we only knew what the squiggly line represents. I'm guessing the odd shaped circles could be rocks and the one that's a little darker could be Pat's Indian."

  Dottie tossed a piece of uneaten pizza crust back in the empty box.

  Collin continued, "What we need is a bird's eye view. Since my plane is history and I don't want to call attention to ourselves by hiring one, is there a lookout—a place where the valley can be seen from a height."

  Dottie was feeling excited. "Yes! One of the wilderness roads ascends to a great lookout. We can drive there now!"

  Collin grinned and reached to pat Dottie's hand. "I've created a monster. You now have treasure hunter's disease."

  Dottie was already headed to retrieve her car key off its hook. She joked, "You're wasting time talking, Collin Banks. Come on, we have a mystery to solve."

  Chapter 38: Bird's Eye View

  Collin kept glancing at Dottie as she drove them to the outlook. The woman was driving him nuts. He wanted to express his feelings for her, but he felt so inadequate. She was a gem of unfathomable value.

  In his mind's eye he kept seeing himself waking up beside her every morning after erotic nights of lovemaking. He envisioned them making breakfast and either sitting on his patio in Key West enjoying the view of crashing waves, or here, in Oasis, strolling the desert and talking about their latest quest for treasure. He wanted to share everything with her.