EARLY WITHDRAWAL (A Mitch Tobin Mystery Book 1)

by Mark Gannon

  It was strange not seeing any of the wranglers on the line. Speaking of wranglers – where was Frank? I hadn’t seen him since I went to bed last night. I had a hunch where I might find him. I pulled Dan up beside the entertainment tent and confirmed my hunch. From inside I heard “I’ll raise you five.” I rode Dan right in on the wrangler crew. They were seated around one of the picnic tables with a game of poker. Frank had several dead soldiers beside him and two of the other wranglers and cooks had a beer beside them. Now I knew where the cooks and wranglers spent the afternoon when I was normally on the ride. Frank knew where the cold beer was and he was making the most of a free beverage situation.

  None of the crew looked too surprised as I rode Dan inside the tent. “You know, Mitch, Lowe doesn’t allow animals in the tents. You can take the horse out too.” Frank got a nice laugh out of the others.

  I asked, “Frank, you taking good care of Ernesto? He was looking a little hot. Dan was doing a little complaining also. That’s why I brought him up here. Came to see if he wanted a beer. But from the looks of it there may not be any beer left.”

  Frank laughed while he said, “Oh there’s some left. Enough for the afternoon. We just checked. Did you want us to get one for you?”

  “That’s real nice but I think I’ll pass. I’m going to take Dan for a little ride. See you guys at supper.” As I headed to John’s horse trailer I wondered about my buddy Frank. He really did have a drinking problem. How could he function normally? If you can call Frank normal. How he could keep drinking at that pace was beyond me.

  Chapter 24

  Thirsty Crew

  By the time I made it back to camp, John was already at the entertainment tent checking on the booze. He certainly is Mr. Responsible. “Well there’s the wandering cowboy. Did you just forget about some of the thirsty customers around here?”

  “I totally forgot. Good thing you were on the ball.”

  “You got that right. All the activity from yesterday seems to have pent up demand for beverages. They are hitting it hard and only a few are moving on to the chow line.” And that’s the way it went the rest of the night. John and I had to jump in and help Lonnie dish out beverage as the crowd continued some heavy drinking. Discussion on Ned and his condition filtered in and out of the conversations around us mixed in with discussion about the day’s ride.

  The evenings scheduled entertainment for Friday night was a sixty’s rock band. The old tunes poured fuel on the fire of party time. Poor Sheriff Rawlins was still trying to complete investigations and all he was getting were bleary eyed booze hounds tired from a day’s ride. Cooperation deteriorated and the usefulness of the answers went further south as the evening wore on.

  I still slept with my forty-five under the pillow but not with a round in the chamber. As hard as we slept the gun didn’t offer much protection. The previous late night, the stress of events and the amount of beverage consumed in supervising the entertainment tent all had their effects.

  The Saturday ride routine was just that – back to routine. No law enforcement was in evidence other than Sheriff Rawlins and Bucky. People rolled out slowly for breakfast from too much partying the night before. Cap Lowe completed the flag raising ceremony with his usual pomp and circumstance. Or at least that is what I was told. Having slept in I totally missed it. A few cowboys who over did the celebrating lost their cookies saddling up or shortly thereafter.

  The ride was completed in beautiful sunshine with no major horse wrecks. The crew regained their thirst by the end of the ride and hit the entertainment tent for a couple before going to supper. Everyone appreciated that Cookie tried to outdo himself every year and kept increasing his own hurdle for excellence. Live entertainment took place after supper. Poker tables were well attended with sizable wins and losses. The entertainment tent was so busy that John and I were pressed into helping Lonnie and the crew at the bar.

  But Ned wasn’t at the main table - Silver Hair was invited to sit in. And somewhere in the crowd was a murderer or at least someone who attempted murder. I wasn’t the only person who noticed the difference. Charlie played poker but quit early and came over to the entertainment tent – something he never does. He stopped to talk with me at the bar. “Used the sheriff’s SAT phone this afternoon and got an update on Ned. He is doing better but is still in Intensive Care. I think I’ll head out early tomorrow and go check on him.”

  “Thanks for the update. I’ve been wondering all day how he was doing. You know most of these guys don’t seem bothered by having a possible murderer in the group. I don’t know about you but it weighs on me.”

  “You know Mitch, maybe we are just built a little different. It bothers me too. I’ll sleep better when I’m home safe and sound in my own house with locks on the doors.” With that he moved on to visit with another group.

  Coach Fredricks took his place at the bar. This seemed like a good chance to visit with him on his statement from the other night. “Hey Coach. What will it be?”

  Coach slurred his response, “I want two cold beers and some Jack shots. Me and my buddy are going to do it up right tonight before I have to go back to the football grind.”

  As I set Coach up with his request I asked, “What exactly did you mean when you said you hoped TT would get over it faster than I did?”

  Coach looked at me through bleary eyes without recognition at first. Then it dawned on him who was bartending. “Hi there Mitch old buddy. What was that?” Before I could answer he had the light bulb going on look and said, “You remember don’t you. I had to bench you for not working with the new quarterback for several games. It sure bothered me but a coach has to set the tone and get the team to follow.”

  I was a little stunned. “I thought you benched me because of that party that I took your daughter to. You benched me because of the quarterback?”

  “What party? Which daughter?” His look really said he didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.

  “Never mind Coach. Just take your drinks and make room for the next thirsty guy.” He frowned and started to say something then shook his head, picked up his drinks and weaved his way back to his picnic table. That was something I was going to think about but not right now with a hundred thirsty riders fighting for space at the bar.

  John and I were safe for another year on the Refreshment Committee. The booze held out. We did have to raid Lonnie’s stash hidden in his pickup but only for a few specialty bottles. When we had a breather John talked Lonnie into sampling a Double Black Stout from Redhook Ale Brewery. The face Lonnie made told me he wasn’t converting to a beer snob like I had feared. John on the other hand waxed on about coffee and dark malts. Does the guy really taste all that or does he just make it up?

  Chapter 25

  I Hate Hospitals

  Sunday morning was the last meal before going home from the Trail Ride. There was a lot of hand shaking and back slapping as new and old friends departed for another year. A lot of the riders would be back again, but there were some that would not. A few old timers would eventually decide they weren’t up to it. Some had come to experience the ride just once and now that they had, they would be on to another adventure. There were one or two that may want to come back but wouldn’t get an invite. I wondered about Silver Hair as I saw him talking to Rawlins. Surprisingly he and Sheriff Rawlins shared a table at breakfast.

  I asked Rawlins after Silver Hair left, “I didn’t know you and Silver Hair were friends.”

  Rawlins gave me a puzzled look. “You mean Thompson?” As he said this he pointed at Silver Hair’s retreating back. “You know, Mitch, he may have saved Ned’s life.” Then with a wink he added, “We let him sit in on poker last night to fill Ned’s spot. He’s a terrible poker player and has a lot of money. What better combination do you want?”

  I acted insulted when I said, “That’s a lot better than a poor player like me without much money.”

  “Mitch, I just feel bad when I take your money. His money on the other
hand is going to get my wife a new piece of jewelry. And when I do that she doesn’t mind my going on the ride every year.” Rawlins went up a notch on my smart man list.

  “So before we head down the hill, anything breaking loose on Ned’s case?”

  “I can’t tell you even if there was something. It bothers me that all these guys are going to scatter all over the place and we don’t get to lock one up. Yet.” With that he moved onto visiting with someone else.

  John and I helped Lonnie take stock of the remaining booze. Once it was all loaded in the trailer we went and took down our own tent and loaded the horses. Charlie had volunteered to take care of Ernesto but I overrode him. Ernesto needed a cowboy’s hand. Charlie doesn’t own a horse and rents one every year for the ride. It is delivered to the ride and picked up at the ride. So he rode up with Larson. Charlie volunteered to drive my pickup down the hill pulling the almost empty booze trailer.

  I fired up Ned’s rattletrap pickup and hooked on his trailer and went to load Ernesto. My horse Dan was whinnying at me complaining that I was taking the wrong horse home. Ernesto was somewhat civilized. Getting left by the other horses on yesterday’s ride and with a bunch of horses already loaded out this morning, he wanted some company. Frank helped me load him in the trailer and wished me luck.

  Frank was staying for a while. As a wrangler he needed to help clean up the camp site, take down tents, load the semi-trailers and care for areas that received too much abuse. John headed out ahead of me with his fancy rig and both our horses. I fell in line behind him but couldn’t begin to keep up to John with Ned’s old pickup.

  John was already waiting for me as I pulled into Ned’s. He was going to give me a ride from there to my place. Ernesto let out a strong stud challenging whinny as we pulled in. Maybe he was just glad to get out of the trailer but he sure was easy to unload. No one came out to visit while we were there so I assumed Louise was still at the hospital sitting with Ned. I left the keys in the ignition. Ned probably never took them out even when he went to town. He didn’t worry about car thieves and honestly you would have to be pretty hard up to steal Ned’s pickup

  Dan was glad to be home but not as happy as Biscuit. She needed a good bit of individual attention before she settled down to eat the hay I put out for both of them. I told Biscuit all about Ned being attacked. She pretended to be interested between bites of alfalfa. “It still bothers me to know someone is running around out there that was willing to stab Ned. It worries me on a lot of levels. But I’m not doing anything about it sitting here. I’ll let you two chew on this while I shower up and swing by to see how Ned is at the hospital.”

  I suppose in a bigger city you don’t go call on your bank customers in the hospital. But this was small town South Dakota. By now half the old timers in town have swung by. I was sure my folks had been there. The original ranch country folk stick together. I personally hate hospitals. Between cowboying and playing college football I had spent a lot of time getting familiar with hospitals. I do not associate them with anything but pain. So I was feeling pretty dedicated if I would venture into one to see how someone was doing.

  It was a shock to my senses as I rounded the corner and saw little Louise sitting in a chair holding Ned’s unresponsive hand. Ned himself looked like a used up seventy plus overweight little man. His mostly bald head lolled against the pillow. There were tubes running out of his arms and he was hooked up to a monitoring machine. I stepped in nice and quiet and took Louise by surprise. As she turned to me she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Hey Louise. How’s Ned doing?”

  Louise is tough old ranching stock. She grabbed a hold of her emotions and said, “Hello Mitch. Ned is doing better. You can see he’s out of any immediate danger.”

  I struggled to find words of encouragement for Louise. She was always so kind to everyone that you wanted her to feel better. “I brought his pickup and trailer down for him. And I unloaded Ernesto in the corral by the house.”

  “Well that was real nice of you Mitch. Ned will ask about that horse first thing he wakes up. It will be good to tell him that he is safe at home.”

  “I left the keys in the pickup. It should be okay.”

  “That’s where he always leaves them anyway. I’m surprised you could get it down the hill. That thing is a rattle trap. I make up excuses to take the car whenever we go to town so I don’t have to ride in the pickup.” Ned twitched ever so slightly under his covers. Louise was immediately beside him. “It’s okay Ned. You’re safe and sound now. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  She looked back at me and said, “The doctor says he may be able to hear and understand us even if he isn’t actually awake. So I try to talk to him. Would you mind visiting with him while I take a short break?” That was Louise – she would automatically trust me with her injured husband without giving it a second thought.

  Right after Louise left, an orderly quietly slid into the room. He was intently studying Ned and taking in the situation. He started to move next to Ned’s bed until he noticed me. The orderly looked surprised to see Ned had company. I got the impression he expected Ned to be alone. He mumbled, “Excuse me. I can come back later when the patient is alone.” As he ducked back out I was thinking I had recently heard that voice but couldn’t place it. I probably wouldn’t have remembered the incident but it stuck in my head that the orderlies snake skin boots didn’t seem like normal hospital attire. But this was West River South Dakota. Some people wore boots for everything.

  I turned my attention back to Ned. It was difficult to get started. Talking to someone who may or may not be hearing you is tough. My voice was low and hesitant at the beginning but as I got to the end of the ride my voice was strong and steady. “Sheriff Rawlins and Silver Hair were actually getting along. You may have to watch your spot at the poker table. Rawlins says Silver Hair has a lot of money to lose.”

  “You should know about losing money.” Judy Wren was standing in the doorway smiling and laughing at me. “Hi Mitch. Louise said you were up here. She’s down catching some chow with some friends. She was worried about you being stuck here with Ned. Now why she should worry about you when she has a ton of stuff on her plate is beyond me.” It was good to see Judy after my initial reaction of aggravation from being caught unaware.

  “So Louise sent you up to keep tabs on me - make sure I wasn’t stepping on any life lines, etc. Nice, real nice.”

  “I’ve been up here a couple of times already. Louise has been by Ned’s side every time. She can use the break. It was nice of you to sit with Ned so she could get something to eat. It’s amazing that you can be nice sometimes.”

  I was a little surprised. I think I am always nice at work. “When am I not nice? You make it sound like I am some kind of ogre.”

  “Only some of the time.” Judy looked thoughtful. “It really is hard to believe someone would hurt Ned like this. I’ve been listening at the door for a while. It doesn’t sound like the sheriff is any closer to figuring out who did this.”

  Before I responded, Louise showed up with my parents. Just like I thought, Tom and Rose Tobin were rallying around one of their own. My parents are old school ranchers and neighbors are like family. Not that I don’t like my folks but it was a good point to excuse myself. Judy stepped out too. A hospital room can only hold so many.

  I spend a good bit of time around Judy but very seldom outside of the bank. It was a little awkward walking out to the parking lot together. As we got near our vehicles something just blurted out of me, from where I don’t know. “Want to catch some supper. I just got down off the hill and really don’t have any groceries at the house.”

  ‘Well if it will keep you from having to grocery shop I guess I can go along.” Judy gave me a strange look. “You’re just full of surprises today.”

  It wasn’t too eventful of a dinner. I suggested Subway Sandwiches because I had gone four days without a real sandwich. The lack of ambiance didn’t hit me until I was sitting down tyin
g into a meatball twelve incher loaded with everything. By than it was too late. I brought Judy up to speed on anything she may have missed listening in on my solo for Ned.

  She was most curious about Larson and the conversation John and I heard coming from Larson’s trailer. “That’s just strange. It kind of fits though.”

  “What do you mean it kind of fits?”

  Judy hesitated for a little but then said, “Well Larson is kind of a creep. I know he’s a friend of Charlie’s and all. But he is a little too handy around the lady staff if you know what I mean.”

  Well I could guess what she meant. “Larson? I should be surprised but when I think about it, it fits.”

  “None of the tellers want to go with him to get his safe deposit box. Does that tell you something?” She stopped to catch my head nod. “So we always pretend we’re busy when he shows up.” Judy stopped to think a little more. “At least everyone except Nancy. I think she actually likes to wait on Larson. But that’s not too strange as she does flirt with just about every male that comes close.”

  Later at home I was relaying this new side of Larson to Dan and Biscuit. I know I shouldn’t have after enjoying refreshments daily on the Trail Ride but I was enjoying a welcome home Jack and Coke out in the barn. It felt great to be sitting at home talking to my best friend. After all it was still officially vacation.

  “Dan, we made it through one more Trail Ride. This one was a lot more eventful than several of the last few rides. Of course you know all about it since you were there. But Biscuit needs to be filled in unless you did that already. Did you Dan?” Dan and Biscuit kept pulling hay from the manger and looking at me occasionally in case I had some more sugar cubes.