Saddle Up for Murder

by Leigh Hearon

  By popular vote, Jessica and Molly took the lead in the horse train.

  “When it comes to sure-footedness and good sense, a molly mule can’t be beat,” Jessica declared, and no one had the courage—or desire—to dispute her.

  Lisa, on Hunter, followed Molly. Jill was next, on her quarter horse, Billy Bob, followed by Luann on her own quarter horse, Gabby. Annie, on Trooper, brought up the rear. Being at the tail end gave Annie a chance to see how well the horse did in a position he seldom took—last. She knew that, given his druthers, he’d rather be at the head of the pack, setting a brisk pace and expecting the others to follow.

  Trooper made a few halfhearted attempts to pass his slower compatriots, but after the third time Annie firmly reeled him in, he seemed to get the message. Besides, she whispered into his ear, since he was relegated to such a sedate walk, he might as well enjoy the scenery around him. It was gorgeous, Annie thought, and at this comfortable pace, she was able to take in every detail.

  The steady, muted clip-clop of hooves on dirt gradually stilled Annie’s mind, and she began to drift to the one topic never far from her thoughts—the strange and unsolved mystery of Ashley Lawton’s death. She wondered for the umpteenth time who had killed her, and why.

  To be honest, the young woman had had enough problems on her plate to easily justify a verdict of suicide. She’d recently been arrested for possessing drugs that hadn’t been prescribed to her, and she’d probably have faced additional charges for the theft of Eloise Carr’s pills, if she were still alive. She was broke and unemployed. Her ex-boyfriend was a druggie who made and sold meth on the side and sometimes beat her up. She appeared to have had many friends, but apparently was not particularly close to any of them, not enough to tell them the truth—why else would she lie to them about Annie giving her a job and a place to crash? Bundle all these problems and Ashley Lawton had plenty of reasons to consider ending her life. On close inspection, suicide seemed quite plausible. Sad, but plausible. If the killer had been smart enough to leave a bale of hay or small stool by the body, that’s unquestionably how the coroner would have seen it. But the killer wasn’t smart, and now the sheriff was scratching his considerable head and, in Annie’s mind, trying too hard to make Pete the bad guy.

  But was Pete really the killer, as Dan kept insisting, or was it the mysterious new boyfriend? Dan didn’t seem to place half the importance that Annie did on Ashley telling her friends that she was going to see her new boyfriend the night before she died. True, without a name, it was impossible to know whether Ashley had just been telling another story to please her friends or if this actually was her plan. If it were, Annie’s money was on the new boyfriend, on the last-person-to-see-her-alive theory. Besides, Pete had an alibi courtesy of his parents. Again, Dan didn’t seem to place much value on it, and Annie was sure many parents lied for their kids, all the time. But they hadn’t bailed him out—someone named Woodstock had—which made Annie think it less likely that they would cover for Pete if they thought he was actually involved in his ex-girlfriend’s death.

  And just who was this Woodstock? Who were any of the sleazy people who tagged along with Pete because of his drugs? In Annie’s opinion, every one of them should be a potential suspect in Ashley’s death, and she hoped Dan and Kim were checking their alibis now. She wondered what Ashley’s autopsy report might have revealed, and if Kim’s interview of Clarissa Waters had shed any light on Ashley’s death.

  She had too many unanswered questions, but there was too much beautiful scenery around her to waste any more time on the subject. She turned her attention back to the trail in front of her.

  The grade grew steeper, and Annie leaned forward as Trooper patiently trudged up a long, sloping hill. At the top was an alpine meadow, filled with tiny white flowers, a precursor to the higher one where the group planned to stop for lunch. Annie was just about to dig into her saddlebag for her camera when she heard Jessica’s yell, “Halt! And keep your dogs by your side.” Surprised, Annie immediately pulled on Trooper’s reins and whistled for Wolf and Sasha, who came bounding toward her. She tried to look ahead to see what the problem was. A fallen log, perhaps? The sight of a mother bear and its young cubs? At least it wasn’t a snake—there were no poisonous snakes in the Northwest, for which Annie was very grateful.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered up to Luann.

  “Dunno,” was the low reply. “Jessica’s got her hand up, so I guess we’re all supposed to be quiet. I don’t see anything myself.”

  A few seconds later, they watched Jessica leave the pack and trot off on Molly toward a thicket of trees on the edge of the meadow. She stopped, dismounted, and disappeared among the branches. Thirty seconds later, she emerged again, her face grim. She abruptly mounted Molly and urged her back to the line of riders, all of whom had expressions of frank curiosity on their faces. Jessica walked Molly down the path so she could address everyone on the line.

  “There’s a man hanging from a tree in that copse. He’s dead, although I doubt he’s been dead very long. I’m sorry, girls, but this is the end of the trail for today.”

  CHAPTER 26

  SUNDAY, MAY 22

  Cell phone reception was nonexistent at this altitude, so Annie volunteered to ride back to the trailhead to alert the Sheriff’s Office. Lisa offered to go with her. She was looking a bit green around the gills, Annie thought, and she hadn’t the heart to say no, although Annie knew she’d get to the base faster without another rider on her tail.

  Annie did insist on one thing, and that was looking at the body before she left. It was barely visible from the trail, and Annie gave Jessica high marks for spotting it at all. She pulled the vet aside to explain her wishes.

  “I may know who it is,” she said in a low voice. “If I’m right, then Dan needs to know that when I call. I don’t want everyone to think I’m being voyeuristic—believe me, the last thing I want to see right now is another corpse—but I have to know.”

  “Of course, Annie. I’ll keep mum to the others and make sure no one else goes nearby. This is as good a place as any to eat our lunch. Although I doubt anyone is going to feel like eating now except our horses.”

  Annie walked into the cluster of trees and steeled herself to look at the figure hanging from a sturdy branch. Her suspicions were correct. Pete Corbett’s lifeless body hung from a thick rope looped around his neck and secured to a stout redwood tree. He was dressed in jeans and a ragged T-shirt with the sleeves ripped off; his tattooed arms dangled by his side. And Jessica was correct—he hadn’t been there long. It wasn’t just because Annie knew when he’d walked out of the Suwana County jail that forced her to this conclusion. It was the fact that his body was unmolested by feral creatures, a fate not spared most of the animals he’d shot with his slingshot. For a moment, Annie thought how pleasurable it would be to let Pete just hang here and let him suffer the same mutilation that had occurred to his prey.

  But that wouldn’t be right. She sighed, mounted Trooper, and nodded to Lisa, and the two women began their slow descent down the trail. Annie heard Wolf and Sasha’s sharp yelps in the background. Their feelings obviously were deeply hurt by their mistress’s departure. Luann and Jill had promised to keep them under control and, more important, assure them they would soon be reunited with her.

  On the way down, Annie wondered how Pete had even gotten to this secluded site, and realized that she already had classified his death, too, as a homicide and not a suicide. But why wouldn’t he kill himself? His drug ring was crushed and his days as a serial animal killer were over. Maybe there really wasn’t anything left for Pete to live for. In that case, Annie thought, he’d done everyone a favor.

  Yet neither of the previous deaths, both staged as suicides, had turned out to be what they appeared. So perhaps her assumption that Pete’s death must also certainly be murder had some merit.

  Cell reception at the trailhead proved little better than at the higher altitude, so Annie left the horses in L
isa’s care while she drove to find a spot with service. Four miles down the road she saw a small convenience store with a single gas pump. Surely there must be an Internet connection here. The sign on top read PHIL’S PHINE PHOODS. Oh, for pity’s sake, thought Annie. She felt like writing him a letter and telling Phil his store name simply was not phunny.

  Instead, she parked in the lot and punched in Dan’s private cell number. It rang and rang until his voice message came on. Annie hesitated; should she leave a message? Probably not. He’d just have to hear about Pete’s murder the old-fashioned way. She punched in 911.

  “You’ve reached the Suwana County emergency response line. If this is a non-emergency, please report your issue on our website at www.suwana.gov forward-slash sheriff’s office. An officer will get back to you within forty-eight hours. If this is an emergency, please push pound and wait for an operator.”

  I could have been shot and bled out by now, Annie thought irritably, but she punched pound and waited once more.

  She was disappointed to get an unknown operator and not Esther, but realized belatedly that her relatively remote location had put her in another jurisdiction.

  “911. What are you reporting?”

  It would have been so much easier explaining it to Esther. Well, here goes, she thought.

  “My name is Annie Carson, and I’m reporting a male body found on a trail in the Olympic National Forest.”

  “Is the person alive?”

  “No.”

  “Have you tried taking his pulse?”

  “No. He’s hanging from a noose in the woods. Believe me, he’s beyond resuscitation.”

  Annie could hear the click-click-click of a computer keyboard in the background.

  “Do you know the person?”

  Annie hesitated. “I believe his name is Pete Corbett.”

  “And do you know his date of birth?”

  “No. I do know he was recently arrested on a variety of drug charges and bailed out of jail two days ago. Sheriff Dan Stetson is in charge of the case. He’ll want to know about this right away.”

  “Give me the approximate location of the body, please.”

  “Oh—I’d say four or five miles up a horse trail starting at the cutoff road to Lake Piedmont. His body is in the first meadow you reach, in a small grove of redwoods.”

  “Will you be there when medics arrive?”

  “I’m telling you, this guy doesn’t need a medic. He needs a hearse.”

  “One moment, please.”

  More click-click-clicking in the background.

  “Is it possible for a helicopter to land in this area?”

  “Probably. But if you plan to do that, you’ll have to wait for three horses and three riders and a bunch of dogs to vacate first. If you try to land while we’re there, you’ll create a stampede.”

  “Who else is with you?”

  “As I said, three horses, three riders, many dogs. We were on a trail ride when one of the riders discovered the body.”

  “One moment, please.”

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later, Annie finally ended the call. Her phone was hot from use and her battery nearly drained, and she considered her own physical state much the same. Fortunately, a helicopter would not be arriving at the meadow. The operator had ascertained that the cutoff road Annie had mentioned wended its way to the meadow, and both State Patrol and aid cars were on their way via this route.

  Annie now suspected that this was the same road Pete had taken, or had been taken by someone, before he died, but she kept her suspicions to herself. There would be time enough to query Dan about this theory, and talking to the 911 operator had been unsatisfying and exhausting. Meanwhile, she had been instructed to stay by the trailhead to give her statement to the police and to provide the names of all her companions. She only hoped the police would let everyone leave before they started their investigation. It wasn’t just the gruesome aspect of their jobs she wished to shield her friends from, it also was the time it took to complete it. It was now three o’clock in the afternoon, and she suspected the police would be at the site until at least dusk.

  She tried Dan once more before heading back to the trailhead but again got his voice mail. Well, she had tried.

  * * *

  It was a somber group that came down the mountain an hour later. During the wait, Lisa and Annie had unsaddled their horses and had passed the one grooming brush Annie had stowed in her saddlebag back and forth until both Trooper and Hunter gleamed. The police had come and gone and, to Annie’s relief, told them that they would prefer that everyone exit the scene ASAP. They’d also confirmed that the medics, already on-site, had identified the body as Pete’s. The news clearly shocked Annie’s companion.

  After the police had left, Lisa was visibly subdued. She may not have been a close friend, but she had known Pete for years, Annie remembered, and so had to be mourning his loss on some level.

  “It must be hard, losing two people you knew in such a short time,” Annie ventured.

  “I just don’t understand it. Why would two people I went to school with take their lives when their lives were just beginning?” Lisa sniffled and drew her arm across her eyes.

  This was a tough one. By rights, Annie should be perpetuating the suicide theory, but she found she simply couldn’t lie. But what could she say?

  “I don’t know why Pete died, or Ashley, either. But it’s clear that they had a lot more problems than we ever knew about. Maybe we can take this as a lesson for ourselves—to make sure we’re aware when our friends are in trouble so we can try to help them.”

  Lisa turned to her, her grief replaced by sudden anger. “We did try, Annie! Honestly! But when someone seems happy and upbeat and then does something like . . . like hang themselves, what are you supposed to do? Feel guilty for the rest of your life? Wonder what you should have seen? Might have done? Or might have said?”

  She was right. Annie knew it. She realized she, too, had been on the verge of feeling guilt for the rest of her life.

  “Lisa, I don’t know the answer. I know you were the best friend you could be to Ashley, and you didn’t do anything to Pete that forced him into killing himself. Wiser heads than mine should be talking to you right now. I just don’t want you to feel sad, that’s all. You’ve got enough going on in your life right now.”

  And with that, Lisa dissolved into tears and threw her arms around Annie’s neck. Fortunately, Trooper and Hunter were too polite to stare.

  * * *

  To Annie’s discomfort, her friends insisted on talking on speakerphone about the hanging body on the way back to her stables. There wasn’t much she could do about it, and hoped the conversation wasn’t too upsetting for Lisa.

  “The medics thought he’d been hanging there for only a couple of hours,” Jill said, who had made it her business to collect as many facts as possible before the riders were told they could leave. “I’m surprised we didn’t see any signs of him on our way up.”

  “State Patrol thought he’d probably taken the back road,” Jessica commented. “Although it’s a hell of a long way to walk.”

  “Especially carrying a noose,” added Luann.

  It seemed obvious to Annie that Pete had not hiked in, and certainly hadn’t lugged a heavy rope with him, but she said nothing to her companions. Let them think it was a suicide. She dreaded the moment when one of them would realize that Pete had chosen a peculiar place to die, especially since he knew full well what the animal kingdom would do to his body in short order. Perhaps that was one of the goals of Pete’s killer. Annie wasn’t entirely opposed to this form of rough justice.

  When the caravan arrived at Annie’s ranch, Annie took Luann aside and asked if she minded continuing on in Jessica’s rig, crowded or not.

  “It’s just that Lisa knew the guy who died, and I’d like to get her home sooner rather than later,” she told her friend.

  Luann readily agreed, and offered to unload Hunter and make su
re he was settled.

  “I doubt that will be necessary,” Annie said. “Hunter’s probably the best tonic for her right now. I just don’t want her to hear more gory details than necessary.”

  “Whoops. Sorry about that. We didn’t know.”

  “Not a problem. See you on the next trail ride, and let’s hope for fewer bodies next time.”

  “Amen to that, sister.”

  * * *

  On the drive back from Lisa’s house, Annie suddenly realized her dogs had been unnaturally quiet, which was never a good sign. Barking and in-your-face behavior was the norm, and when it wasn’t happening, Annie got worried. She glanced around her truck to see where they were.

  Wolf, she saw with relief, was napping on the floor behind her. But Sasha was crouched in the corner of her extra cab, and Annie could see a predictable scenario unfold in dangerously short order.

  Pulling over to the side of the road, she put on her flashers, threw the car in park, and grabbed an old newspaper stuffed between her two front seats.

  “Sasha, hold on one sec! Just one sec until I get this under you!”

  She started to shove the newsprint under the pup and then stopped, pausing to read a headline. After ripping the page out of the section, she tossed it into her front seat and then shoved the remaining paper under her pup. Ah. She’d made it in time. Her seat covers would be safe. She praised Sasha, gave her a treat, and scooped up the soggy newsprint into a sturdy plastic bag, kept in the car for just this purpose.

  Then she turned off her engine and her flashers, picked up the newspaper she’d rescued, and started to read. She’d been smart to save it. What she poured through now was far too interesting to be wasted on puppy potty training.

  CHAPTER 27

  MONDAY, MAY 23

  “He’s not in a very good mood,” Esther whispered. “Esther, why are you whispering? Is Dan in the room?” Annie was pacing back and forth in her kitchen, anxious to share the news that Sasha had almost obliterated.