by J. D. Oliver
The attendant was a young white man. I hadn’t paid much attention as to how Faith was dressed, but he did. Faith was wearing a light summer dress, of course in the pickup, it had worked itself up to show pretty much all of her legs. When she swung around to get out, it showed all of her legs, clear up to her panties. Then when she reached in to get Alita, that must have been quite a sight also.
I had to tell him twice, to top off the tank. Couldn’t blame him for looking; Faith was a 10 for sure. But in my eyes she was clear off the scale. He was taking his time, washing the windshield and checking the air pressure in the tires, just waiting for her to come back. I couldn’t help but smile, in his shoes I would of probably did the same. When Faith and Alita came back, he stood there with his mouth open. I reached over and pushed his jaw shut, “Careful there Pardner, you’ll catch flies in there,” I said, as I paid him. I slipped him an extra five, he didn’t even notice….
Faith said, “Would you get me a Soda?”
“What kind?” I said. “A Diet Cola is fine.” She said. I went to the machine and put a dollar bill in, out came one. Of course there was no change. The machine beside that one, dispensed bottled water, I got two of them, one for Alita and one for me. That attendant was still standing there staring at Faith.
As we got back on the road, I said. “Do you always get a reaction like that?”
“What reaction? What are you talking about?”
“You know, that attendant.”
“Oh, him. Sometimes, but usually not so overt. Are you jealous?”
“No, not really. When you have the most beautiful woman in the world, I guess you have to get used to it.” I said, patting her knee.
“Thank you Sweetheart, that was nice of you to say that. But you know you’re no slouch yourself. I have noticed how women look at you also. And yes, I am jealous, so there!
“You have no reason to be. I would never cheat on you. My Mother would rise from her grave and give me hell, if I did.” I said.
Alita was asleep in her car seat. Faith was nodding off herself. I turned the radio down low, so as not to disturb them. I was reflecting back over the past couple of weeks.
So much had changed in my life and you could say in Faith and Alita’s also. I wasn’t disappointed on how my life had changed. I don’t think Faith was either.
Alita was at that age where her personality was starting to kick in; she was a happy child. She sure smiled a lot at me anyway. Or maybe I just tickled her funny bone, somewhat like a clown would.
I seen some flashing lights up ahead. Looked like the Highway Patrol had somebody stopped. I slowed down and started to move to the left, to give them the required room. I was just about past them, when I seen a flash and the Patrolman staggered back from the window. I knew what had happened; he had just got shot.
I whipped the truck around far enough to block the car from moving. Faith woke up, “What’s going on?” She said.
“Stay down, don’t get out!” I said, as I got out and reached in my jacket pocket for that 9mm, that I had put in there from the hall closest.
There were three men in that car. The one who shot the Patrolman was just getting out when I had blocked them in. I had automatically looked at the Cop, he was hit in his right shoulder, he was stunned, but if he didn’t bleed out he would be Okay.
The shooter turned his pistol my way, I shot him through his left eye. The other two were already out of the car, a bullet whizzed by my ear. He was a piss poor shot. Another bullet flattened itself against the back window of the truck.
I took a little more time with this one, I hit him in his right forearm; his pistol flew away, he went down screaming. The other guy threw his gun down and screamed, “Don’t shoot, I give up!”
Faith jumped out of the truck with her cell phone stuck to her ear, “I called 911, their on the way.” I walked over to the guy who gave up; I clipped him behind the ear with the butt of my pistol; he went down like a rag doll. Since I had to check on the Cop, I didn’t want this Yo-Yo changing his mind and shooting me in the back. The other guy was down on his knees moaning and crying.
The officer that was down, was just coming out of it. I sat him up and took his shirt off, the bullet had passed clean through. I used some of his tee shirt and plugged the hole, it didn’t look like there was any major damage to any main arteries.
Faith had come over too, she said, “Just take deep breaths, help is on the way, they said they were only about ten minutes away, I gave them the mileage post that we are close by.” She said to the Cop, he nodded, Faith laid him back down and put his jacket under his feet to raise them up, so he wouldn’t go in shock. Then she looked at me, “Perhaps you had better put a tourniquet around that idiot’s arm, otherwise I’m afraid he will bleed to death.” I glanced over at him. “Go on Honey, if you didn’t want him alive, then you should of shot to kill.” She said, as cool as could be.
They were as good as their word, another Cruiser and an ambulance pulled in not five minutes later. They hustled the injured Patrolman into the ambulance and it took off. It wasn’t five minutes later that another one showed up, along with a Cruiser with the shift Captain in it. The first thing he did was play back the video from the Trooper’s car.
It was all on there. He came over to me. “I want to thank you for stopping to help, I’m sure they would of finished him off, if you hadn’t of intervened. May I see you’re I.D.?”
“Sure.” I said, I pulled out my billfold and showed him my Wyoming Driver’s License and my Military I.D. card. “Navy huh?” I nodded. “Well, again thank you Lieutenant. I see you’re driving a New Mexico truck, is that your wife?”
“Yes, we’ve only been married for a little over two weeks. She’s from the Ranchos de Chama, she was married to Teddy Cortez, he was killed a little over a year ago in a plane accident.”
“Yes, I remember that, I was the first one on the scene. Him and his Father were both killed. Well Son, you’ve married into one of the oldest family’s in New Mexico, you realize that don’t you?”
“I don’t know, I guess.” I said, when I heard a moan. “Oh Yeah, don’t forget that guy down in the ditch there, I had to put him out, he’s not shot. But I didn’t want to get it in the back while I was seeing to your trooper, so I just clipped him behind his ear.”
“Yeah, I seen him down there. They’ll get to him. Have you ever seen these guys before?” He asked me.
“No, I haven’t, I don’t think Faith has either or else she would of said something. We were heading for Santa Fe, is it Okay if we leave? Our baby is asleep in the truck.”
“Sure, I guess. As long as you stay there for a couple of days; just in case I need to get more details. But that video pretty well tells the tale.”
All of the while all of this had been happening the traffic hadn’t stopped; they just slowed down to rubber neck. Faith was waiting beside the truck, as I walked up I noticed where that bullet had hit the rear window of the truck. I reached out to touch the spot. The residue wiped away at my touch.
“I’ll be dammed, that’s bullet proof glass; did you know that?” I asked Faith.
“No, I didn’t, but Teddy was always a nut for details. Look Alita is still sleeping; all of the shooting didn’t even wake her up. Where did you get that pistol?” Faith asked.
“In the hall closet; when I went to get the stroller. I don’t know why I picked it up; premonition maybe?” I said.
“No, more like dumb luck, wouldn’t you say?” She said, as she pulled me close and kissed me, “you saved that guys life, I bet his wife would like to thank you.”
“Yeah, I suspect, but I didn’t do anything special it was like instinct just took over; I wasn’t even thinking. I said, as we both got in the truck and went on our way.
Faith looked over at me, “Did you notice that he didn’t ask you for your gun?”
“Who didn’t?”
“The Captain, you’re supposed to have a permit for a concealed weapon in this s
tate.”
“Knowing Cops, I bet he will get around to it. Why do you think he wants us to stick around in Santa Fe, for?” I said. Then Alita woke up, hungry of course. By the time she had her fill, we were on the outskirts of Santa Fe.
We drove around a little while; till we found the most expensive looking Motel. I didn’t want to stay in a Hotel. I liked having my vehicle close at all times. The place had all of the amenities of a Hotel anyway, plus I could park right in front of our door.
This place had a four star restaurant too; anyway that’s what the ad on the dresser said. After supper, on the way back to our room, I noticed the swimming pool; it was also close by our room. “Did we bring any swimming suits?” I asked Faith.
“Sure, I have my Bikini, I tried it on before we left, I can get back in it since I lost all of the baby weight. I even have a small one piece for Alita, I got it when I had a baby shower. And yes, I have one for you too.”
“I guess that answers the rest of my question; do you want to go swimming?”
“Yes, of course we do. And don’t worry Alita won’t pee in the pool. She never does pee in her bath water; she did once in awhile till she was about three months old; but one time I told her not to do that and she hasn’t since.”
“Well I wasn’t worried about that, it didn’t even come to mind. But it’s good to know.” There was only one other couple in the pool; maybe because it was mid-week. I don’t think they appreciated us coming in. The women had her top half off; she hurriedly pulled it up as her cheeks were turning red. Faith smiled at her and nodded, I think that made her feel better, her husband or friend swam away to the other end of the pool.
When Faith got in the pool with Alita, the woman swam over. That’s one thing about a baby; she’s an ice breaker. “Oh what a pretty baby, she looks just like your husband,” she cooed.
“Why thank you,” Faith said. “I thought so too. Your friend seems a little shy,” Faith added.
“That’s my husband, we’re newly-weds. You know how it is when your on your honeymoon and there is no else in the pool. He didn’t want you to see that he was aroused; he is sort of shy.” Then she called to her husband, “Frank, can you come back over now?”
He swam toward us, his face was starting to lose its red blush. The woman said, “My name is Fern Blake, this is my husband Frank Blake.”
I said, “My name is Clay Bronson, this is my wife Faith and our daughter, Alita. We’re on a little vacation. We’re from Abiquiu. We ranch there.” I said, shaking his proffered hand. “Are you from close by?” I asked.
Fern answered, “Yes, we’re both from right here in Santa Fe. Frank is the clerk and recorder. I work in the office also, or I guess I should say I did; I had to quit when we got married. He didn’t want anyone to think he was playing favorites; you know how office politics can be.”
Fern bent over a little and started talking baby talk to Alita. I didn’t want to mention it, but when she pulled her top up, the back hook must of come unlatched; her bra top was floating free, exposing her breasts. I caught Faith’s eye, she seen what I was trying to tell her.
“Uh, Fern. Would you like me to fasten your top? It seems to be a little loose.”
Fern looked down, “Sure, can I hold Alita while you do that?” She didn’t bat an eye. Faith let her take Alita then Faith fastened her bra. Fern said, “You know I used to teach swimming at the Y, we used to teach baby’s this young to swim, would you like me to show you?”
“I suppose so, is it dangerous?” Faith said, with a little trepidation in her voice.
“No, of course not, mostly it involves showing you how to teach her.” They, the three of them moved to the shallow end of the pool. I looked at Frank and said…
“Well Frank, how long have you been the clerk and recorder?”
“Let’s see, I am 35 now and I got the job when I was 25, so ten years I guess. You say you Ranch around Abiquiu, what’s the name of your Ranch?”
“Ranchos de Chama.” I answered.
“I’ve heard of that ranch, it’s a Spanish Land Grant isn’t it?” Frank said.
“Yes, it belongs to my mother-in-law; Felicia Cortez. How come it rang a bell?” I asked.
“Strangest thing, yesterday was my last day of work; that is before we took two weeks off. Anyway there was this guy came in and he wanted to look at the plats of all of the Spanish land grants in New Mexico, especially those of the Ranchos de Chama.”
“Would his name happen to be Dipper Tick?” I asked.
“Why yes, that was his name, how did you know?”
“He’s been poking around Abiquiu also. Did he want to know anything in particular about them?”
“Yes, he was interested in the mineral rights, I told him that most all of the land grants kept there own mineral rights. I suppose a few of them have been sold off.” Frank said.
“Let me ask you this; is there anyway any of these Spanish land grants can be contested?”
“I suppose anything is possible, but to my knowledge none of them have been overturned. But there are a lot of crooked lawyers out there. Like I said, anything is possible these days. Just look at how this administration is twisting the constitution.”
“Yes, I know, all of these illegal phone taps for one thing.” I said. “Did you let him see those plats?”
“No, I did not. He even offered me a bribe, I just laughed in his face. I like to think that I’m a good judge of character. He struck me as a pompous egotistical ass of low moral fiber.” Frank said with a sniff. I had to smile to myself, here he was just about to put it to his new wife in a public pool. Well, can’t say as I blamed him much though, they were alone, at first.
“Thank you Frank, for that heads up on him. Do you know where he’s staying in town?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.
“Why yes, at the Plaza; it’s the biggest Hotel in town.” Frank said.
I looked over at the women, Alita was swimming under water between the two of them. I did hear at one time; that if you got children young enough they took naturally to the water. I glanced back at Frank, he was staring at his wife, licking his lips. I called to Faith, “Perhaps we had better get out; I think Alita has had enough for one day.”
Faith glanced at me quizzically. I looked sideways at Frank, she understood. “It’s bedtime for Alita,” Faith told Fern. “Perhaps we will see you at breakfast, that is if you get up that early,” she added.
Alita really didn’t want to get out; she just made one small protest, then acquiesced, she was a bright child. As we were walking back to the room, I said, “So you think Alita looks like me?”
“No, I did not say that; Fern said that she looks a lot like her father, I just agreed, that yes she does. I just didn’t tell her that you were not Alita’s father. It was none of her business. I think she is the type of person that likes to gossip, I just didn’t give her any.” Faith said, as her off hand slipped down the back of my swim trunks.
Chapter Four
The next morning we were laying in bed sipping our morning coffee; when there came a knock on the door. I slipped on my robe and palming my pistol behind my back, I answered the knock.
It was the Highway Patrol Captain from yesterday. He said, “May I come in?” I noticed that he had the morning newspaper in his hand, “Sure come on in, do you want a cup of coffee?”
“Yes, I would like one.” While I was answering the door Faith had got up and put her robe on, she went and got him a cup. “Do you take cream or sugar?” She asked.
“Just black would be fine thank you so much, I’m afraid I haven’t had breakfast yet; this will hit the spot.” We sat down at the table. He took a sip and then opened the paper to the front page; “you both take good pictures, evidently one of those cars that passed yesterday was a reporter for the daily Bugle. I don’t know how he got your names; probably from one of my Officers.” He held the paper up, in big blazing headlines, it read: ‘Local Rancher and Wife save the life of Highway Patro
l Officer.’
In smaller letters underneath it said. “Local rancher and his wife, Clay and Faith Bronson; save the life of Officer Kenneth Holden. After seeing Officer Holden get shot, they stopped their vehicle and shot and killed the wanted murderer Ted Wayland and his cohort; ‘Boat Lewis’, who was also a wanted criminal from the Los Angeles area. The third man in the vehicle they knocked unconscious, no name is available for him at press time.” It went on, but that’s all I read.
I looked at the Captain, “That guy I shot in the arm, he died?” I asked.
“Yeah, I guess so. Turns out he was a bleeder; they couldn’t get it stopped, I guess he was in the wrong line of work. By the way, my name is: Courtney Lopez. Yeah, I know, most people think Courtney is a girl’s name, you can just call me Cort. It’s simpler that way.”
I reached out and shook his hand. He added. “Oh yeah, by the way, I will need that pistol. I brought you another one, brand new, just like yours, same make same model. Also I brought you a permit for it. Didn’t want you packing that thing illegally. We need yours for evidence. Yeah also, the both of you will have to go the inquest. Just routine stuff. But it won’t be till next week, will you stick around or come back for it?” He asked.
“I don’t know for sure; we have some things to check on here. The newspaper gave the names of those guys, but do you know what they were doing in this neck of the woods?” I asked.
“I don’t know for sure; but the guy you knocked out was a lawyer from L.A. any way that was what his I.D. said. Worked for some big law firm; I didn’t pay much attention to their name. Of course he clamed up right away, asked for his lawyer. That pistol he had beside him, he did threaten you with that didn’t he?”
“Well, he had it in his hand and it was pointed at me at one time, but when he seen the other two go down, he shucked it right away.” I said. “So I guess you could say that he would of taken a shot; if he thought he could of got away with it.”