Stripped Bare

by Shannon Baker

  Qualifying to run for a Nebraska county sheriff wasn’t difficult. Basically, you had to win the votes. After that, you had one year to complete and pass a twelve-week course at the police academy in Grand Island. Until being certified, a sheriff couldn’t perform anything official, so the state patrol and neighboring county law enforcement filled in. It’s fortunate the good people of Nebraska are so law-abiding.

  When my turn came I sat up straight and pretended Ted loved me exclusively. I addressed Ted’s experience, mentioned that, due to his efforts at the high school, teen drunk driving had been virtually eliminated on prom and graduation nights. I concluded with Ted’s dedication to the people of Grand County, as demonstrated by him taking a bullet in the line of duty.

  Dahlia and Sid watched me from directly behind my kin. Violet, Rose, and their husbands filled out the row. Dahlia nodded with every point I made on Ted’s behalf.

  Clete opened up the floor for questions, and hands shot up.

  “What do you know about what happened at the Bar J?”

  This was a perfect opening. I needed to show Ted’s assertive action while I studied the audience to gather clues about who killed Eldon, to clear Carly of suspicion. “Not much. But Ted is keeping abreast of the investigation from his hospital room.”

  More hands popped up and Clete pointed. Yes, I answered, the shooting happened at the main house. Yes, Milo Ferguson from Choker County was handling the investigation. No, there hadn’t been any arrests. Yes, Ted responded quickly. Thank goodness Grand County rescue arrived so fast, and yes, we’re all thankful for the expertise of Harold Graham and Eunice Fleenor, since they surely saved Ted’s life.

  Aileen dropped her head, and her shoulders heaved. Both Bill and Shorty put a hand on her back, double-teaming the sympathy. Jack scowled, and I was sure his Pepsi can dented under his clenched fingers.

  I answered the onslaught for ten minutes while poor Rich’s spine softened and his knees thrust farther under the table as he slouched deeper into his chair.

  Nat and Rope sat in the last row. It surprised me they had attended the debate, because they stuck close to home most of the time, but it worked out well for me. I’d try to talk to Nat. If she had the savvy Twyla suggested, she might know if someone had a grudge against Eldon. As the questions about Eldon droned on, Rope and Nat looked more and more uneasy.

  Clete called on Dahlia’s older sister, Rose. The three Flower sisters were notoriously competitive. They spent every holiday together, socialized on Saturday nights, joined the same clubs and church, and even vacationed together. My theory is they believed the old adage about keeping your enemies close.

  Rose, the spitting image of Dahlia, if Dahlia gained twenty pounds and grew another chin, leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “The story I heard is that Ted charged into Eldon’s house, intending to save the old man. My question for him, and you, since you’re his proxy, is this: As a trained officer of the law, isn’t it foolish to run headlong into a dangerous situation? I mean, folks are making him out to be some kind of hero, but it just seems plain stupid to me. And he’s lucky to still be alive, let alone a cripple.”

  A universal gasp rose from the crowd. Dahlia glared at Rose.

  I’d been careful to keep to the line that Ted was recovering. Rose had succeeded in her probable goals of (1) showing she was on the inside with all the information, and (2) getting in a stab at one of the favored grandchildren.

  The Foxes may not always be polite to one another, but by God we stick together against outsiders. “Ted’s not a cripple,” I said. “The bullet caused some swelling in his spine, but Doc Kennedy thinks he’ll be fine.” Might be a lie, might not be. I’ll settle that with the Almighty on Judgment Day. “As to Ted’s training, he attended the twelve-week law enforcement course in Grand Island when he was elected the first time, eight years ago.” See how I cleverly inserted his experience in there? “He returns every year for a refresher. Since we weren’t at the Bar J, it doesn’t seem productive to second-guess his informed choices, does it?”

  Clete called on May Keller. She stood from somewhere in the back. “If elected sheriff, what do you propose to do about Glenn Baxter buying up all the ranches around here?”

  The room went quiet.

  Clete addressed Rich. “Since Kate’s been fielding most of the questions so far, why don’t we give you a chance to speak?”

  The look of panic in Rich’s eyes made me wonder if we’d need to get Harold and Eunice up here for resuscitation. He stammered. “Well, I. Um. You know. It’s a bad deal. But some folks. Well, the economy and all. They need. We all need. I think, you know. I heard he’s offering good money. But, then. You know. The big ranches, they kind of need to keep going so that people, you know, have a place to work. Even though they don’t pay a fair wage for the work the hired men do.”

  Rich stopped talking, apparently believing he’d answered May’s concerns.

  Clete raised his eyebrows, inviting me to speak.

  Glad to respond to something besides Eldon’s murder and Ted’s condition, I relaxed. “Well, May. We might all have opinions about whether it’s a good idea to create a buffalo commons or not. But we’re a land of laws. The sheriff’s job is to uphold the law. If a citizen wants to sell land he owns, and there’s no problem with fraud or deceit, there’s no call for the sheriff to interfere.”

  Several people nodded. Mom winked at me. Dad lifted his beer bottle. I glanced at the back row. Rope sat alone. Maybe Nat couldn’t take the conflict. I’d bet she was hiding in Rope’s pickup.

  May, her voice like a bow across a loose fiddle string, shouted, “That’s bullshit! Pardon my French.” Her lack of decorum didn’t faze me. I allowed leeway for her oxygen-deprived brain.

  Bill Hardy jumped up. “If Glenn Baxter succeeds in buying out these ranchers and they turn this place into buffalo common, those burly bastards will tear through the fences. Us little guys will end up with trampled pastures and cattle strung from here to eternity. We can’t afford to hire the help it’d take to keep up with that rodeo.”

  “Yeah.” Shorty Cally pointed his finger at Bill, nearly poking Aileen in the eye. “But you can’t tell a person what they can or can’t sell, if they own it.”

  Clete held up his hand. “Let’s all just save the fighting until the school board debate.”

  This issue trumped even Eldon’s murder. I studied the audience for guilty faces.

  Bill Hardy paid no attention to Clete. “When all’s said and done, I think Milo’s gonna find out Eldon was shot on account of him getting ready to take the buyout.”

  May’s violin screech rose higher. “Milo Ferguson don’t know his butt from a hole in the ground if he figures Eldon was gonna sell. No one shot Eldon on account of land. There’s reasons besides real estate to shoot a body.”

  That’s the kind of remark that made the likes of Ted and Louise suspect May. I didn’t put her on the list, though. She’d never be able to climb the stairs to Eldon’s office.

  Dwayne and Kasey Weber, a couple in their late thirties and relative newcomers to Hodgekiss, seemed to agree with May. Dwayne even said, “Yeah, Eldon wasn’t the great guy people made him out to be.”

  “Tighter than a tick,” Shorty Cally said.

  “Wouldn’t walk across the street to save a drowning cat.” Bill Hardy agreed with Shorty, maybe for the first time.

  Aileen patted both men on their arms. “That’s not true. He was a saint. Helped more folks than anyone will ever know.”

  Even from across the room I could see crimson slashes flare on Jack’s cheeks. It looked like jealousy to me, but was it because Aileen had touched Bill and Shorty or because she had defended her lover?

  Kasey and Dwayne Weber turned to each other with irritated expressions. Kasey rolled her eyes and Dwayne sneered. He might have mumbled “Asshole” to Kasey, but I’m not the best lip-reader of cowboys who don’t enunciate well.

  A group of older women in the front row, to m
y right, leaned forward over their knees and drew their heads together. I was sure I heard Carly’s name whispered, then all four of their heads popped up and they studied me. Damn it. Gossip and suspicion were creeping.

  The situation was running amok, and I thought I ought to pull it back onto the Ted track. I raised my voice. “We’re all concerned about who killed Eldon and why. Let me go on record to say that Ted will get to the bottom of the crime. And if he isn’t fully recovered and able to move around, I guarantee to help him, and we will find Eldon’s killer.”

  That might all be a load of horsefeathers, but weren’t all campaign promises? It sounded impressive, anyway.

  Clete raised both his arms, Moses ready to shatter the tablets. “That’s enough. Time’s run out for this debate. We’re gonna move right on to the county commissioners. Everyone, just stay in your seats while we play musical chairs up here. Thanks to Kate and Rich.”

  Polite but unenthusiastic applause filled the room as we pushed back from the table. At the same time, the scraping of chairs and volume of voices increased, showing how much control Clete wielded. Tyler Krug and Bill Hardy met in the aisle between the folding chairs. Their argument devolved to shouts and fingers pointing into chests, while May complained to people sitting around her. Other knots of people formed to cuss and discuss. Jack Carson plodded purposefully to Aileen and put an arm around her shoulders.

  The Webers, still with sour expressions, hurried out the door. The subdued tone of earlier shifted to a higher decibel as Grand County voters struggled to convince their neighbors one way or the other about the buffalo common issue.

  Whether you were for pulling up the fences and letting buffalo roam freely over the hills, as they’d done two hundred years ago, or were against relocating families and closing down already dwindling communities, it didn’t seem to me to be a practical plan.

  White settlers came late to the Sandhills. It is an inhospitable place with unique geographical features. The massive area is like a grass-covered Sahara. Except, before the fences and caretakers had shown up, the hills had been scarred with sandy blowouts. Responsible grazing had allowed the empty patches to heal and grow back. That knowledge put me on the side against the common. Free-ranging buffalo might be the natural way, but those beasts were hard on the delicate land out here.

  My main concern right now was zeroing in on a suspect to hand to Milo so he’d leave Carly alone.

  I spotted Rope with a group close to the bar, so I booked it for the door, hoping to find Nat. Milo hadn’t put in an appearance, and that gave me time to pick any nits Nat might have about Eldon’s enemies. A hand grabbed mine and started shaking. May Keller’s cracked face beamed at me. “Fine speechifying. I see where you’d have to walk that line about setting policy and enforcing the law. You got my vote.”

  I gave her hand a squeeze and tried to extricate it from her grip. “Thanks, but I’m not running.”

  May reluctantly let go of my hand. “Well, honey, you ought to be.”

  I ducked out the front in pursuit of Nat.

  13

  A cold blast met me when I rocketed from the Legion. The leather jacket didn’t offer much protection. I spotted Rope’s pickup parked in an angled space halfway down the block, under one of the streetlights. Nat’s silhouette stayed motionless as I approached and knocked lightly on the passenger window.

  She jerked and coiled into herself. She acted reluctant to roll down the window.

  I felt bad for giving her a scare. She didn’t seem like a barracuda, as Twyla accused. “Can I talk to you about Eldon?”

  Her eyes shifted from me to the street behind, giving off a whiff of nerves. “Not now. I really—”

  “You probably knew him better than most people.”

  She started to wring her hands. “We’re put on this earth to endure trial and hardship. Eldon’s heartbreak is over.”

  That was a whole pile of nothing. “Do you have any idea who might have wanted to hurt him?”

  She dropped her hands into her lap and turned red-rimmed eyes to me. “How is sweet Carly?”

  If I answered her question, maybe she’d get back to mine. “She’s in Lincoln with my sister.”

  Nat seemed surprised. “That’s odd.”

  “She and Susan are close. Susan will help her.”

  Nat shook her head. “Your family.” She clucked her tongue. “You know, I wanted children like your folks. Nine—imagine. But I had trouble. I lost so many before Mick. I took care of him. Watched over him.”

  I tried for another angle. “Mick grew up on the Bar J. Eldon was probably pretty good to him, huh?”

  Nat didn’t seem to hear me. “And Hank and Marguerite kept having children and letting them grow like weeds, no tending.”

  She had a point. It’s not that I ever felt neglected, as Louise obviously did, but I often wondered why Mom had a flock of children when she seemed so detached. That was a mystery for another day.

  Nat stared out the front of the truck. “And yet they all grew up, except Glenda, who was the best of the lot.”

  I might have been shocked or hurt if this were the first time I’d heard this opinion. People idolize those who die young. I also thought it might be true. Wind bit through my jacket, and I drew it closer around me.

  Nat jerked back to the moment. “I’m sorry, Kate. It’s all too much for me. Eldon’s passing, and today is the tenth anniversary of Mick’s trial. I’m not myself.”

  Since I didn’t know Nat well, I couldn’t vouch for her state. “I suppose Milo talked to you already, but I wondered if you’d seen anyone at the Bar J the day Eldon died.”

  Her hands worked in her lap again. “Yes. I did tell Milo. Carly was there.”

  I couldn’t hide my surprise. Carly was at the Bar J? “What was—”

  “Nat.” Rope’s low rumble cut her off.

  A squeak of distress escaped from Nat’s lips.

  I turned to Rope. “I was asking Nat if she remembered anyone out at the Bar J—”

  He cut me off. “Me, Danny, and Nat were in the calving shed. Didn’t see nothing.”

  Pick any old-time stoic cowboy character, from Clint Eastwood to John Wayne, add a dollop of restrained wrath, and you have Rope Hayward.

  “Did you ever hear him argue with anyone on the phone?” I asked. “Or see someone at his house?”

  Rope retreated to the driver’s side of the pickup. “You did a fine job,” he said through tight lips. “We’ve got to get back to our cows. You know how it is.”

  I placed a hand on Nat’s open window frame, as if trying to reach in and grab more words. It didn’t take a psychiatrist to see that Nat was afraid of Rope. The last thing I wanted was to cause Nat any trouble. I strove for a casual tone. “Sure. Glad you could make it in for the debate.”

  “You’ll let us know about Eldon’s services?” Rope said.

  Eldon’s next of kin was Carly. As her guardian, did that mean that planning the funeral fell to me? I’d have to talk to Dad; he’d know what to do. “Absolutely.”

  The sound of Rope’s door opening masked Nat’s voice. “I have the morning shift at Hardee’s. I can talk then.”

  Hardee’s? In Broken Butte. Another long drive. I nodded.

  I backed up and watched as Rope eased the pickup from the parking space and rode the brakes down the hill to the highway.

  With my mind on finding Dad to ask about Eldon’s funeral, I hurried back toward the Legion. Milo still hadn’t appeared, and that was eating at me too. Before I got to the door, a figure stepped from the shadows at the side of the building, right at the spot where Michael and Douglas had dropped me before the debate.

  “Kate.”

  Despite the cold spring night, flames leaped into my eyes. I stood paralyzed between rational behavior and emotional reaction. One said be calm, the other said kill.

  Roxy stepped closer. The outline of her coiffed hair caught light from the streetlamp. She probably used waterproof mascara, but dark smudg
es still showed under her eyes. Her tight jeans puddled over high-heel cowboy boots, and she stuffed her hands into a puffy down coat. “I came to apologize.” She swayed slightly.

  Perfect. “Okay, then.” I reached for the door handle.

  “Please, just listen to what I have to say.”

  “Thing is, I’m really not interested.” An empty branch banged on the roof of the Legion hall in applause for my response.

  She planted her feet as if readying for a shootout. “If you go in there, I’ll follow you. I’ll make a scene so loud and big you’ll never live it down.”

  Although I didn’t think any more public humiliation would faze me, I wasn’t the only one to consider. Dad stood in the Legion, surrounded by his family and friends, and he cared what they thought. The sibs were in there on account of me. I wouldn’t subject them to a Roxy performance. “What do you want?”

  She flexed her finger for me to join her at the side of the building. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this and got hurt.”

  She and Ted with their trite lines. I had to listen, but I hadn’t agreed to talk.

  Her whiskey-stained breath came at me. “But I love Ted. I’ve always loved him.” She started to cry. “He may never walk again. And I don’t know if I can be the kind of woman to care for a cripple. I keep thinking of that song ‘Ruby.’ Will I be the kind that takes my love to town?”

  “You have been so far,” I said, but she didn’t seem to hear.

  “It’s easy for you. You grew up with this big, loving family, always helping you and supporting you and on your side. I never had that. I got the shaft all along. I married two losers. They both promised to love me and provide for me and they both lied. Then I fell in love with Brian.”

  “Fell in love or found a mark?”

  “It was all perfect. Except Carly, she always hated me.” She swiped at tears. “And Eldon, he hated me even more.”