3 A Basket of Trouble

by Beth Groundwater

  Brittany nodded then winced. “I hope so. My head hurts. A lot. And I feel shaky, like I’m going to puke.”

  “That’s adrenaline shock, most likely,” Claire replied. “Take some slow, deep breaths.”

  “Why did Hank do this?”

  “Hank’s the one who dragged Kyle into Gunpowder’s stall and poked the horse,” Claire said. “That’s why Gunpowder’s afraid of him—and vice versa.”

  “How the hell did you know that?” Charley asked while still keeping watch over the finally quiet and defeated-looking Hank.

  She turned to Tom. “Your trademark stable shirt. You gave one to Hank last year when he worked for you, didn’t you?”

  Tom’s brow furrowed in a puzzled frown. “I gave him two. What’s that got to do with this?”

  “It’s got everything to do with this.” Claire looked at Charley. “Remember that scrap of cloth we found on Gunpowder’s hoof ?”

  Charley nodded, then his eyes widened. “I didn’t get a good look at it. Does it match the pattern on Tom’s official stable work shirts from last year?”

  “Yes, and I think Hank was wearing one when he tortured Gunpowder. And it got torn, maybe when he slipped in the stall.”

  Hank pivoted his head to glare at her. “You’ve got no proof for any of this.”

  Claire turned toward the sound of a siren. Two cars pulled up in the parking lot. One was a patrol car, and the other was Detective Wilson’s. He and the patrolman got out and slammed their doors shut.

  “Maybe not yet,” she said to Hank. “But we will soon.”

  Wilson walked up and surveyed the scene. “Sorry it took us so long. We were on a call on the other side of town. Does someone want to explain all this?”

  “I will.” Claire told him everything that had happened and pointed out where the three bullets she’d fired had hit. One had pinged off the hood leaving a divot, one was in the flat tire, and the third had plowed through the driver’s door and the cushion of the driver’s seat. That was the one that had shocked Hank into surrendering.

  When the ambulance drove in, Wilson interrupted Claire to get a short statement from Brittany before she was taken to the hospital. Jessica called Nancy and relayed a message to Brittany that her mother would meet her at the hospital. Kat excused herself to return Gunpowder, her horse, and the mares she had been herding in from the pasture to the barn.

  After the ambulance drove off, Wilson nodded approvingly at the patrolman, who had secured Hank in cuffs but left the rope on the man’s wrists and ankles.

  “Told him we were taking him in for kidnapping and bodily harm,” the patrolman said, “and I read him his rights.”

  “I heard,” Wilson replied. “Good work. We’ll let him stew a bit on the concrete. Start taking photos of the crime scene.” Wilson returned his attention to Claire.

  She explained why she suspected Hank now rather than Tom of killing Kyle.

  Tom shook his head while staring at Hank. “I’m no killer. Can’t believe he is either.”

  Claire studied him. “I still don’t know if you told Hank to do it, or if he did it on his own.”

  “There’s no way in hell I’d do that,” Tom said vehemently. “A business rivalry is no reason to kill someone.”

  With a sullen expression, Hank muttered against the concrete, “It’s that damn crazy horse who’s a killer.”

  Wilson studied Hank. He pulled a piece of paper out of his inside sport coat pocket, opened it, and bent down to show it to him.

  “This is a search warrant authorizing me to search the homes and vehicles of the listed people and to confiscate any Peak View Stables shirts that I find.”

  Tom peered over Wilson’s shoulder at the warrant. “How come my name’s on there?”

  Wilson returned the warrant to his coat pocket. “Because you own shirts that match the scrap we found, as do all of your employees. I’ll start with both of your vehicles.” He held out his hand. “Car keys?”

  “I’ve got nothing to hide.” Tom dug his keys out of his jeans pocket and gave them to Wilson. “It’s the blue truck.”

  One side of Hank’s mouth twitched. “You’ll have to get my keys from these damn vigilantes who shot up my car and tied me up. Even better, how ’bout charging them all with assault, especially that crazy bitch who tried to kill me?”

  “Sounds to me like it was the other way around.” Wilson took Hank’s car keys from Charley and tossed them casually in the air. “Is someone tied up here? Sorry, can’t see it.”

  Hank cursed under his breath and squirmed against his bonds while Charley looked amused.

  Wilson opened Hank’s trunk and bent over the back bumper to look inside.

  Curious, Claire sidled up next to him.

  Wilson peeked out from under the lid. “Hold it right there. I don’t want anyone but me touching these vehicles.”

  Claire stepped back. “I’ll stay out of your way.”

  He waved the patrolman over to take photos while he snapped on a pair of latex gloves. Then he removed some tools and a plastic crate full of crumpled beer cans from the back of Hank’s car trunk. He straightened and retrieved a large paper bag out of the trunk of his police car. After returning with the bag, he reached far back into Hank’s trunk and carefully pulled forward a balled-up yellow, red, and black checked shirt. He held it up to the camera.

  Jessica came up next to Claire and whispered, “Is that it?”

  “Probably.”

  Wilson spread the shirt out and whistled. The hem on the left side of the shirt front was torn at least six inches and a small piece of cloth was missing. He pulled a baggie out of his pocket and held it up to show Claire.

  “Picked this up from the evidence room this morning.”

  The baggie held the scrap of cloth taken off of Gunpowder’s hoof. Wilson held it against the tear. It seemed to match the hole perfectly. He raised an eyebrow at Claire.

  She nodded. “Will this be enough to prove Hank did it?”

  “The lab will have to confirm the match with a microscope.” Wilson leaned over the shirt and studied it. “I can’t believe he didn’t throw this away.”

  He pointed to a small dried brown stain on the shirt. “That looks like blood. And there’s another spot here. If the DNA matches Kyle Mendoza’s, then we’ve got him fair and square.” He opened the paper bag and placed the shirt inside.

  Claire let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. “I sure hope so. Charley needs this case to be solved.”

  Wilson stapled the paper bag shut and dated and signed it. He stowed it in his car trunk and returned the crate and tools to Hank’s trunk. After pulling off the latex gloves, he stuffed them in his pocket and wiped his hands against each other. “I think it’s time to take Hank Isley down to the station. See what he has to say for himself after we lay out all the charges against him.”

  Wilson and the patrolman walked over to Hank and untied the ropes. Then the two of them lifted Hank to his feet. While they escorted him to the patrolman’s squad car, Claire and Jessica joined Charley and Tom.

  After Charley apologized to Tom for the trick he played on him, Tom said, “I guess you had a good reason, to suss out Hank as a spy. Who knew he’d turn out to be a killer, too? I suppose it’s partly my fault, if Hank thought he was doing me a favor by making it look like you had a killer horse on the property.”

  They watched while Wilson put a hand on the top of Hank’s head as he slid awkwardly into the back seat of the police car.

  “We still don’t know what motivated him,” Charley said. “He and Kyle could have had some disagreement, or maybe he was jealous of Kyle being my top hand. After Kyle died, Hank led most of the trail rides, and I’m sure his tips increased.”

  “Whatever.” Tom stuck out a hand. “I hope you’ll accept my apology, too, for having h
im spy on you.”

  Charley shook it. After the two exchanged a promise to cooperate better together in the future, Tom got in his truck. As the three

  vehicles drove off, Jessica, Claire and Charley silently watched them leave.

  Charley exhaled. “I’m sure glad we finally caught the guy who killed Kyle.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Jessica said while Claire nodded. “But there goes another employee.”

  The side of Charley’s mouth twisted up in a sour grin. He put an arm around each of the two women. “Now, how the hell am I going to run a stable with only one and a half wranglers?”

  ———

  Hours later, Claire, Charley, and Jessica were sitting on the front porch of the office trailer brainstorming about just that over glasses of homemade lemonade, when a car pulled into the parking lot. The waning rays of the late afternoon sunlight glinted off its windshield, so they couldn’t see who was inside. Vince Donahue got out and walked around to the passenger side. He helped ease Brittany out of the car, then put an arm around her waist to support her.

  She slowly made her way up to the porch, while Vince assisted her. She finished the walk up from the parking lot with sweat on her face and a look of pride.

  But when they reached the steps, Vince swept Brittany up in his arms. He mounted the steps, deposited her on a bench next to Claire, then sat next to Brittany on her other side.

  “I can’t believe you’re up and about, Brittany.” Claire gave her a hug and pulled back to inspect the bruised face of her young friend. “Especially after such a trauma.”

  Jessica offered them both some lemonade from a large glass pitcher stuffed with lemon slices and chunks of ice. “I’m so glad to see you, Brittany. But not that goose egg on your head. What did the doctors say about concussion?”

  “They didn’t see any signs of bleeding in the CT scan,” Brittany said, after taking a gulp of lemonade. “But Mom’s going to have to wake me up every couple of hours tonight and check my eyes. It took two stitches to close the cut, so I might end up with a scar.”

  “I’m surprised you’re here instead of home in bed,” Charley said.

  “I will be soon.” Brittany put down her glass and looked at Vince. “But Vince and I had something important to talk to you about first.”

  Vince leaned forward toward Charley. “Mr. Gardner, I’d like to apply for a position as wrangler.”

  Charley’s eyes widened. “But you work for Tom.”

  “I hear you pay better,” Vince said with a nod to Brittany, then he smiled. “And I like the rest of your staff.”

  Charley’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t have the two of you flirting with each other at work.”

  Claire crossed her fingers but kept quiet. This was Charley’s decision to make. Then she noticed that Jessica’s fingers were crossed, too.

  Brittany held up her hands. “No, sir. We know it’s important to be professional, especially in front of the tourists. And we’ll both work hard for you. We won’t let our relationship get in the way of that.”

  Charley looked from one to the other. “God knows I need the help. And if Tom has you leading rides, you must be good.” He held out a hand to Vince. “You’re hired.”

  Vince shook it. “I have a friend who’s looking for work, too. Comes from a family dude ranch in Wyoming, so he’s used to pampering tourists. I was going to recommend he talk to Tom, but if you want, I can suggest he interview with you.”

  “Please do,” Charley said, rubbing his hands together. “I’d love to talk to him. Okay, let’s go fill out some paperwork. And please tell me both you and your friend are legal.”

  They all laughed.

  “Congratulations, Charley,” Claire said after the guffaws died down. “It looks like your problems are getting solved.”

  Charley gave her a wry smile. “I’ve still got at least one left. How the hell am I going to break this news to Tom?”

  twenty:

  a farewell and

  a celebration

  Early Sunday afternoon Claire sat next to Roger on a polished wooden pew in the whitewashed adobe Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Old Colorado City. While she and Roger hadn’t known Kyle Mendoza well, she had gotten to know his mother and brother from Petey’s hippotherapy sessions. She wanted to attend his funeral to support the family while they said a final farewell to the young man on whom they had leaned so much.

  Charley and Jessica were attending, too, and sitting in the same pew.

  Claire looked at the closed coffin up front, draped with white lilies and dark green ferns. Another young person whose life had been taken much too soon. Way too many young people she had known had died recently, and she almost wished the next death would be someone older. Until she remembered her mother teetering on the brink of mental incapacity.

  No, not her, not yet, she prayed.

  A rustle and murmur passed through the attendees, making Claire look around for the source. The Mendoza family was walking down the aisle to take their seats in the front. Ana and her husband, Emilio, came first, followed by Petey holding the hand of a young woman. With her long silky black hair and beautiful features, she was a female incarnation of handsome Kyle.

  Claire realized this must be the missing Sophie, Kyle and Petey’s sister who had been estranged from the family. Somehow, she must have been convinced to come from California for the service. Maybe that’s why there had been such a delay between Kyle’s death and the service. Crossing her fingers, Claire hoped this would be the beginning of a reconciliation between Sophie and her family. Petey needed his big sister.

  Throughout the service and in between genuflecting for prayers and rising for hymns, Claire tried to catch glimpses of Sophie in front of them, until Roger shot her a puzzled look. Before she stopped peering she had seen Sophie’s hand ruffling Petey’s hair and took that to be a good sign. Another good sign was that she held his hand again as the family left the chapel first after the end of the service.

  In the parish friendship hall afterward, Claire waited her turn in line to express her condolences. She gave Ana a hug and whispered in her ear, “I see Sophie came.”

  “Yes,” Ana replied, her eyes shining with unshed tears of grief and her mouth upturned in happiness at the same time. “We’ve talked, gotten over some old hurts. She tells me she’ll watch over Petey when Emilio and I are gone.”

  Claire returned Ana’s smile. “I’m very happy for you, but I’m also sad that Kyle is gone.”

  Ana bit her lip and nodded. “Thank you.”

  Claire took that as a cue to move on. After shaking Emilio’s hand and exchanging some well-wishes, she introduced herself to Sophie and explained, “I’m Charley’s sister. Kyle worked for Charley, and I help his wife, Jessica, with her hippotherapy sessions. I’ve gotten to know Petey through them.”

  Hearing his name, Petey, who was standing next to his sister, leaned forward and smiled at Claire. She gave him a little wave, and he waved back.

  “Mom’s told me how helpful the sessions are for Petey,” Sophie responded. “I’m so glad Mrs. Gardner can offer something like that in Colorado Springs.”

  “Speaking of Colorado Springs, how long will you be here?”

  Sophie put an arm around her brother’s shoulders. “As long as I need to be. I plan to start looking for work in the area Monday. Hopefully I’ll find a job here and can stay permanently.”

  “I’m glad,” Claire said. “I know Ana is very relieved you’ve come back—to Colorado Springs and the family.”

  Roger tapped her shoulder, and she glanced behind her. She realized she was holding up the line. “Find me later,” Claire said to Sophie. “With my gift basket delivery business, I know a lot of businesspeople in town. Maybe I can help.”

  She moved on to give Petey a hug, then waited for Roger to finish. As they walked over to the punch table,
she said, “I’m glad that sibling rivalry problem was solved, though it’s too bad Kyle had to die for Sophie to return to her family.”

  Roger handed her a cup of punch and took a sip of his. “Hopefully your own sibling rivalry problem is being solved, too.”

  Claire peered at him. “I didn’t know you noticed.”

  “Charley’s been jealous of his big sister for years. He hasn’t said anything to me outright, but I could tell he felt like he was living in your shadow.”

  “One he imagined,” Claire said, turning to look at Charley and Jessica across the room. “Certainly not one of my own making.” She sighed. “But yes, hopefully with the two murderers in jail and his staff level back up with the two new hires, his stable will recover. And hopefully he’ll realize then that he’s the one running the most successful business in the family, not his big sister.”

  ———

  As Roger drove into the parking lot of Gardner’s Stables the next evening, Claire had a sense of déjà vu, thinking back on the opening celebration they had attended three weeks before. They were attending a celebration here again, this time for Charley’s birthday. Once again she held a gift basket on her lap. So far, though, she had resisted the urge to fidget.

  The basket was filled with books about the geology of Colorado Springs and the Garden of the Gods, local rock and mineral samples, a membership card for the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society that she had signed up Charley for, and rock collecting tools. She had even put in some rock candy and chocolate rocks for fun. She couldn’t wait to see his face when he unwrapped the cellophane.

  She remembered her brother’s fascination with rocks when they were children, though when he was very little, they usually went in his mouth. Later, he collected those he found with interesting colors and shapes. Still later he learned their names—granite, feldspar, quartz, mica. If Charley hadn’t been fascinated even more by horses, she was sure he would have become a geologist.

  After parking the BMW, Roger came around to her side and collected the basket from her so she could get out of the car. A whisper of a breeze teased their hair, and puffy white clouds drifted across the sky. Claire was grateful they hadn’t developed into rain clouds, though Charley and Jessica had rented and erected a large dining tent just in case. They headed for the tent, out of which came a murmur of conversations and tinkling of glasses.