Murderous Secrets: A Shandra Higheagle Mystery #4

by Paty Jager

  “Who is Melody Dean that you are looking her up?”

  “She was the secretary of the Western Stampede Rodeo Association. The rodeo where Father died. Phil said the only people in the room when the cowboys and horses are drawn and put together for the rides are the president of the association, the secretary, and the rough stock contractor.”

  Ryan took a sip of his coffee and stared at her over the cup. “Was your stepfather the rough stock contractor?”

  “His family provided the stock, but I’m not sure if he or his father was present for the drawing. That’s part of why I wanted to contact the secretary. The president has been gone for over twelve years.” Shandra read the information on the computer. “She’s alive. Still lives in Fairview. Doesn’t say if she works anywhere.” Shandra scrolled down the information. “Here’s a phone number.” She stared at the number. “I can’t see her in person right now. I have to be close by for Lil. But…I could call and see if she remembers that day.”

  She placed the laptop back on the table and shifted on the couch to face Ryan. “I’m not breaking any laws by asking her some questions about that day am I?”

  Ryan tucked the dark brown loose strands of hair behind Shandra’s ear. He liked that she confided in him. “Asking a woman about how horses and riders were chosen for a rodeo would not get you in trouble. But remember none of this is official. We can’t use anything she says to help change the decision on your father’s death being an accident.”

  “I know. But it might get me closer to discovering the truth.”

  Shandra reached for her phone. Jazz tunes jingled. She didn’t know the number that was calling.

  “Hello?”

  “Shandra, this is Dr. Porter.”

  “Hi. I forgot you were going to call.” Shandra picked up her tea and sipped.

  “I know it took me longer to find the information than I thought. How’s Lil doing today?”

  “I moved her to her room today. She was getting antsy with nothing to do in my house.”

  “Make sure she doesn’t hobble around too much. If the leg swells she needs to elevate it.”

  “I told her. But you know Lil.” Shandra moved a note pad across the table and picked up a pen. “What did you find out?”

  “There were elevated levels of benzodiazepine in his system. The coroner at the time asked and was told he’d had an injury and was using a muscle relaxer. Does this help?” Dr. Porter asked.

  “Yes and no. Thank you.” Shandra circled the name of the drug. Her mother would know if her father was taking anything for an injury. But would Aunt Jo also know?

  “What was that all about?” Ryan asked, turning the note pad toward him. “Benzodiazepine? Isn’t that a narcotic?”

  “Yes. It was in Father’s system when they did the autopsy.” Shandra scrolled through her contacts.

  “How did Dr. Porter get information from your father’s thirty-year-old coroner’s report?” Ryan settled back against the couch cushions.

  “I asked if he could access reports from other states and he said he could try. I guess he could.” Shandra touched the name she wanted to call.

  Several rings tolled in her ear before Aunt Jo answered out of breath. “Hello?”

  “Hi Aunt Jo. It’s Shandra. I have a couple questions about Father.”

  “Did you learn some more about his accident?” Aunt Jo asked.

  “Yes. Was Father hurt before his accident? Enough to need pain killers?” Shandra studied Ryan’s face, waiting for her aunt to answer.

  “Not that I know of. As far as I know the only times he fell off a horse he didn’t get more than bruised. Why?”

  Shandra didn’t want to get things stirred up. “I’ll explain later. Thanks.” She hung up before Aunt Jo could ask any more questions.

  “Someone lied to the coroner. According to Aunt Jo, Father never had an injury bad enough to need medicine.” She glanced down at the computer. Melody Dean’s name and phone number popped out at her.

  “Are you planning to call Dicky’s second wife?” Ryan stood. He had his coffee cup and picked up her nearly empty tea cup.

  “Yes. I need more information.”

  “I’ll fill these and be right back.” Ryan sauntered out of the room.

  Shandra knew she should wait for him to come back before calling but she was on a roll and had to find out who was lying and why.

  She dialed the number and waited.

  “Hello?” A voice younger than she’d imagined answered the phone.

  “Hello, I’m Shandra Higheagle. I’m trying to get in contact with Melody Dean. Or it might be Melody Harmond.”

  “My great-aunt doesn’t live here. We put her in a nursing home three months ago.”

  “I see. Could you tell me what nursing home or give me a number I can reach her?” Shandra wasn’t backing down now. She had to know the truth.

  “Why do you need to talk to my great-aunt? She doesn’t like visitors.”

  “I have some questions for her about a rodeo she helped with many years ago.” Shandra didn’t want to tell the whole story. The information she’d gathered so far could unravel at any time.

  “She may not remember. Her memory is slowly getting worse.”

  “I’ll take that chance. Do you have a phone number?” Shandra grabbed up her pen as Ryan returned with their refilled cups.

  “She’s at the West Ridge retirement home in Sunnyside, Washington. It’s close to my mom.”

  “Thank you! This means a lot to me.” Shandra hung up the phone and pulled up an app to see how long it would take her to get to Sunnyside, Washington.

  “Ugh! Five hours.”

  “I have today and tomorrow free. I can drive.” Ryan put a hand on her leg.

  “But I can’t leave Lil alone for that long.” This was one time when she wished she didn’t live so far from other people.

  “Does she have a friend you could have stay with her overnight?” Ryan picked up his cup of coffee.

  “No. The only person I can think of is Maxwell.”

  Ryan spit coffee on his shirt. “Treat? Why would he want to spend the night here with Lil?”

  “He may not, but he’s the only person I know big enough and strong enough to make her do things.” Shandra smiled. It would be fun to watch the two of them butting heads.

  “She doesn’t have anyone her age who could come play cards with her and keep her company?” Ryan had a look of disbelief.

  “She’s never made friends. Her only true friend was Sally Albright, but she’s living with her niece.” Shandra shook her head. “I can’t think of anyone else.”

  Ryan sat up. “I’ll see if Hazel Wells would come out.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Ryan sat in his pickup waiting for Shandra to give Hazel the last instructions about Lil. They’d moved Crazy Lil back into the guest room so Hazel wouldn’t have to sit in the barn with the curmudgeon. He’d been in luck. Hazel had taken several days off from dispatching at the Huckleberry Police Station to take care of Christmas projects and was willing to sit with Lil.

  Shandra carried an overnight bag as she approached the vehicle. She smiled as she climbed in the passenger seat. “Those two are already playing cards. I’m glad you thought of Hazel.”

  “Me, too. We should get to Sunnyside by dark. We can get settled for the night then talk with Melody first thing in the morning.” Ryan turned his pickup around and headed down the driveway.

  Shandra placed a hand on his arm. “I hope you don’t mind doing this on your days off.”

  He put a hand over hers. “As long as I’m spending my days off with you, I don’t care what we do.” Lifting her hand, he kissed the back.

  She smiled and slowly pulled her hand back. There was still a couple of layers he didn’t know about the woman. He hoped discovering the truth about her father’s death and her parents’ relationship would help his future with her.

  The storm that had made the roads so treacherous the last wee
k had moved on. Snow piled alongside the main road out of Huckleberry, but Interstate 90 was clear. The conversation had lulls where they listened to the radio and then would pick up again on a new topic.

  “How are your family?” Shandra asked.

  “Fine. Mom, Bridget, and Cathleen keep asking me when I’m bringing you over for Sunday dinner.” He figured that was better than asking her if she wanted to visit Christmas Day which was their real question.

  “You go to your parents’ house for Sunday dinner? Every week?” The surprise in her voice made him laugh.

  “Not if I can help it. But they ask me every week if I’m coming.” He shook his head. Still trying to figure out his mother and sisters. “In fact, they’ve been unrelenting since Conor and Lissa married. And use that they, Conor and Lissa, come to Sunday dinner every other Sunday.” Even if he could sit through a meal every Sunday with his father badgering him about his career choice, he didn’t think he could take watching the newlyweds be happy while he still wasn’t ready to commit. He glanced over at Shandra. She watched him intently. When he was ready. He wanted her to be the bride.

  “You said you were okay with Conor marrying your ex-girlfriend.” She’d said the ‘ex’ part with emphasis.

  “I am. I’m happy for both of them. I just don’t want to sit through a meal watching them be so damn happy when I’m—” He stopped before he said damn lonely.

  Shandra shoved her bag on the floor at her feet, unbuckled her seatbelt, and moved over, sitting beside him and buckling the center belt around her. “When you’re what?”

  He had to keep his eyes on the road even though he wanted to look into her eyes and see her reaction.

  “So damn lonely.” He said it and glanced over at Shandra.

  Her face was tipped down. Then she looked over at him. He had to glance back at the road.

  “I’m lonely, too. I’m happy. I love my life. But sometimes…Lil just isn’t the one I want to recount my day to.” She put a hand on his thigh. “You haven’t used my invitation to stay at the ranch when you have a case in Huckleberry.”

  She didn’t know how hard he’d wished for an assignment that would keep him in that area. “Nothing has come up since you extended the invitation.” He put a hand over hers.

  “You were going to help me get a Christmas tree. I guess it will have to wait.”

  “I’ll be back on the weekend. We can get the tree on Sunday. I won’t have to head back to Warner until late in the day.” He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. Shandra helped chase away the loneliness.

  “That could work.” She sighed. “I honestly expect to be thrown out of Adam’s house right after I ask my questions. I don’t have any guarantee we’ll get any answers.” She turned her hand under his, lacing their fingers. “They’ve hidden the truth from me for this long, they aren’t going to like me dredging up their past.”

  “Our families are complete opposites,” Ryan said. “Mine tell each other way too much and yours don’t say a thing.”

  Shandra nodded. “Did your family try to keep you from going into the military?”

  “No. Dad was a little upset that I didn’t want the sheep ranch, but when Cathleen’s husband was interested, he was happy. Conor was never interested in the sheep either.”

  “First my mother and Adam wouldn’t let me talk about or learn about my father’s family, then they tried to keep me out of art classes. But I loved drawing and making things with my hands. It was my grandmother, the one who left me the money that allowed me to purchase the property on Huckleberry Mountain, who told me to follow what my heart said.” She smiled. “She had her differences with my mother. But she was the one person who let me, as a child and adult, be me.”

  She leaned into him a bit. “That’s what has drawn me to you. You allow me to be who I am.”

  “Everyone is different and it’s that difference that makes them unique.” Ryan squeezed her hand. The sun had drifted out of sight over an hour earlier. The LED light on the dash said it was 5:30.

  “We should be pulling into Sunnyside soon. You want to eat first or find a motel?”

  Shandra put a hand on her belly. “Food. I haven’t had anything since breakfast.”

  “You should have said something. We could have stopped along the way.”

  “I just wanted to get here. Once we’re here there’s nothing that can stop us from talking to Melody.” That was Shandra’s biggest fear. Not being able to talk to the one person she was sure had the answers.

  “There’s a chain restaurant. Want to try it?” Ryan pointed to the right.

  “Yes.”

  While at the restaurant, they received directions to the nursing home and a clean motel.

  Ryan stopped the pickup at the motel and turned to her. “This type of motel isn’t the safest. I’d feel better if we had one room with two beds. Is that okay with you?”

  Shandra had thought about this most of the way. She didn’t like the idea of being in a strange town in a motel room by herself. Especially one with the doors open to the public. When she taught at colleges and attended art shows, she always booked the fancy hotels where there were doormen and cameras to catch unwanted people. “One room, two beds is fine.”

  “Ok. And I prefer upper floor, less likely to have some random hoodlum come by.” Ryan eased out of the truck and looked up at the two-story structure.

  “I agree. Upper.”

  “Got it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He closed the door.

  Shandra shivered from the cold air that settled in the cab while he’d stood with the door open. Ryan didn’t know it, but this was a test. He’d proven while staying at her place he could remain in his room and not try and sneak into her bed. Being in the same room all night would be a test for them both. She had a connection with Ryan. But she wanted to make sure he wouldn’t try to control their relationship before she took it to the intimate stage.

  Ryan returned. “Room two-eleven.” He shut off the engine and grabbed his bag out of the toolbox in the back.

  Shandra picked up her backpack and followed him up the stairs by the office and halfway down the covered walkway.

  Ryan opened the door and flicked on the light. “Check it out. If it’s not clean enough or you see anything you don’t like, we’ll look for another one.”

  He set his duffel bag on the bed closest to the door.

  She lifted the covers, checking for hairs and dirt. They looked clean. She walked into the bathroom. It also appeared clean. “This will work,” she said, dropping her backpack on the bed next to the bathroom wall.

  Ryan clicked on the TV. “You want to shower or change or something?”

  She glanced at the clock on the table between the beds. It was after nine. “I’ll shower if you don’t mind.”

  He smiled and reclined on his bed. “Take as long as you want, looks like the Hawks are playing.”

  Shandra glanced at the TV. Football. She liked watching sports but didn’t know much about anything but rodeo. Picking up her backpack, she wandered into the bathroom and closed and locked the door.

  With Ryan watching TV on the bed next to the door, there was little chance of having an unexpected guest.

  The bathroom was full of steam by the time she exited the bathroom. “It’s all yours,” she said, dropping her backpack on the floor by the TV and walking to her bed.

  “I shower in the morning,” Ryan said, turning off the TV. He’d changed into pajama bottoms and a T-shirt while she’d been showering. The shirt was tight.

  She dropped her gaze to the light. “Good night.”

  Ryan turned the overhead lights off and laid down on the bed. He rolled her direction, his hand on the light switch. “Good night.” The light went off and they were in the dark.

  There was enough light shining through the curtains, his body was silhouetted. Shandra rolled with her back to Ryan. The dark wall was better.

  He rolled.

  She remained still list
ening for his breathing to even. Once she was sure Ryan had fallen asleep, she let her body relax and slowly drifted into the darkness of slumber.

  An owl sat on a branch. It hooted at Shandra. She smiled and waved to the owl. But it turned into a hawk and soared out of the tree towards her. Shandra ran through the trees, trying to evade the hawk. It screeched and grabbed at her. She dropped to the ground, trying to hide next to a tree. The hawk landed in a branch and turned back into the owl.

  Shandra waited and waited. Ella appeared and motioned for her to continue on her journey. Shandra cast a look at the owl. It remained on the limb. Quickly, hoping to get out of the bird’s sight, Shandra ran through the trees. She came to a cliff. One thin pole lay across a deep canyon. Ella stood on the other side, motioning for her to come. Fear took over her body, making her shake and weep.

  Wolves charged out of the trees. Shandra screamed and jumped off the cliff.

  “Shandra, wake up. Shandra, honey, you’re safe. I’m here.”

  Ryan’s voice slowly lifted her up. Her hands grabbed the pole.

  “Shandra, wake up. You’re shaking. It’s just a dream. Wake up.”

  Her shoulder shook, releasing her mind from the dream, and she floated awake. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open. The dim light from the bedside table illuminated one side of Ryan’s face. Worry etched furrows in his brow and crinkled the lines around his eyes.

  “That’s it. Wake up.” His hand pushed hair off her face and lingered on her cheek. “Was it a bad dream or a dream with your grandmother?” he asked in a low, husky voice.

  “Both.” She swallowed and shoved her body up to a sitting position.

  Ryan straightened but remained sitting on the side of the bed. “What do you mean by both?”

  She told him about the owl turning into a hawk and Ella helping her get away, and then her fear to cross the small pole that Ella wanted her to cross and the wolves coming after her.

  “I screamed when I jumped into the canyon.” Her mind whirred to the image of her body lifting when she heard Ryan’s voice. He had saved her. His concern had brought her out of the canyon just as it had awakened her, getting her away from the fear in her dream. She didn’t tell him that part of the dream. She’d keep it to herself and see what she could make of it.