Silver Wilderness Range

by Kieran York

  Also, she asked Nick to conduct the deputy’s meeting. She had some work to do, and would be taking Deputy Sam with her.

  As daylight broke, Royce and deputies Sam and Chance drove to the outskirts of Crystal. Sam grinned and accused, “You know the others are going to be thinking we’ve run off together?”

  “I just wanted you to be with me. The others think I’m wasting my time trying to find Seth Egan. We’ll be looking for him. There was a probable robbery at Barney Emmett’s cabin. Keys were stolen. They’re for the cabins surrounding both Barney’s cabin, and Seth’s home. Royce took the large envelop from the dash and handed it to Sam. As Sam took it, he heard the rattling of keys. “These are address and a new set of keys. We’re going to check the vacant cabins out.”

  “You think Seth might be hiding out in one of them?”

  “He’s in his mid-seventies, but has enough strength that it took both Alec and Larry to restrain him. So, it’s not a reach to believe that he’s been surviving in the rough wilderness. He’s also smart enough, and cunning enough, to know where to find shelter. He would have known where Barney kept the keys. Barney was a pal and also was custodian of Seth’s property.”

  “And you didn’t want the other deputies to roll their eyes when they were told to continue searching.”

  Sheepishly, Royce grinned. “I hate to be the department joke.”

  “After you saved those kids yesterday, I don’t think anyone’s going to laugh at you. And if Seth is found alive, you can permanently shut off their laugh button.”

  Chuckling, Royce said, “See, this is why I brought you along. Humor. I need a good one-liner.” Royce pointed to the packet of keys. I’ve numbered the cabins, nearest to the Emmett cabin is first. Then it will continue from there.”

  Sam systematically directed Royce to the cabins, and they searched them as they went. Sam dropped the keys into the envelope as the cabins were checked. The final three keys were tightly held in his hand. “Okay, we’re on five of seven.”

  Royce turned down a winding road. She suddenly put the brakes on. She backed her vehicle up. Taking her binoculars, she examined the small, unkempt structure. It appeared to be abandoned. It was probably only used as a hunting cabin by its owner.

  Handing the binoculars to Sam, she commented, “Look at the ground. It’s a small dusting of snow left over from yesterday. There is what looks like footprints.”

  Sam looked for several moments. “Definitely those are tracks. I’m guessing he isn’t suffering from hypothermia.”

  “I’ll approach to see if I get response.” Royce opened her door quietly.

  “I’ll be covering you. Should I leave Chance here, or bring her.”

  “She’ll be quiet. If I get into a situation, set her free.”

  Sam nodded. “Just be careful.”

  The sheriff unsnapped her holster, and removed her service firearm. She followed the path. When she knocked, she heard the sounds of things being moved, perhaps tossed. “Sheriff’s Department,” she loudly announced. She stood to the side of the door. She saw the curtain moving. “I need you to open the door.”

  A shot was fired, then a spray of bullets followed. With the first moment of quiet, Royce kicked in the door. With gun draw, she leaned around the doorway to see Seth Egan aiming his gun. He was across the messy room, and he immediately took cover behind the stuffed chair. “Leave me alone,” he shouted.

  “Seth Egan, you’ve got to put down the weapon. Stand up, hands in the air.”

  “You’re going to send me back to that hellhole Silver Wilderness,” his voice was booming, and was much louder than he seemed to have the energy to produce. His large frame was shaking. His mottled skin was gray. His matted dirty white hair hung across his face. That face was lined and hardened. His eyes half-lidded and his mouth seemed withered.

  “No, you won’t be going back there. I just want to talk with you.”

  He slowly stood. The sidearm toppled from his hand. “I didn’t think you’d find me.”

  “I knew I would.” She called to Sam. Sam and Chance approached, and Royce commanded, “Guard, Chance.” The German shepherd bounded across the room and stood in attack mode. “Okay, Seth, come around the chair. We’re going to ask you to put your hands behind your back.” She motioned for Sam to cuff Seth. She also motioned for him to have his body cam rolling.

  As Seth moved around the chair, he seemed to weaken. “Can I sit down? And will you put the cuffs in front. I’m having problems breathing.”

  Royce motioned. “Chance, stand down.” Chance moved to Royce’s side. Sam re-cuffed Seth. “Seth, I want to know what you know.”

  “I’ve got my rights to leave that place. All that crap about them having conservatorship of me is bullshit. They set me up. I had a mild heart attack and next thing you know, I’m being drug off to that hellhole. I had to break out a couple times.”

  “Maybe it would have been wiser to come to the authorities so we could sort it out.”

  “Those guys, Larry and Alec, they hated me.”

  “And you murdered Alec?”

  Sam glanced toward the sheriff. She saw disbelief in the deputy’s face.

  Seth’s sunken eyes were red-rimmed. His lips wobbled. “That was self-defense. But I have this belief, anyone jabs me in the back isn’t going to like it when I turn around. I wanted to kill him as much as he wanted me dead.”

  “You bilked his grandfather of his money. Humphrey was disgraced and killed himself. Alec lost his inheritance. He was going to make you pay.” Silence told Royce her assertion was right on. “So, you lived rough for a couple weeks, eating out of people’s gardens, and whatever scraps you could gather. Or pilfer. My friend’s garden was one of the reasons I thought you might be alive. Nadine Atwell’s garden was open to everyone. She loved sharing her produce. But then there was someone coming for vegetables in the darkness. Stealing what Nadine loved giving away. That made me think you had been there.”

  “The newspaper women’s home. Yes, I did borrow a little food.”

  “And you borrowed Larry’s money and Alec’s grandfather Humphrey’s money.”

  Defiantly, he defended, “They invested. An investment means you can lose or win.”

  “Yet you went to a ‘hand-slap’ prison, because you didn’t invest. You stole.”

  “Alec belittled me. He threatened me. Smacked me around. I was helpless. He deserved to die. And I never knew when he was going to kill me. He would whisper, as he was injecting me, that it might be my last breath. He was this sadist. He would have killed me eventually.”

  “You took a rope, and fashioned a stump into a club, and you killed him.”

  “Before he killed me.”

  “Did you know he was shorting people on pain meds?”

  “I figured it. He’d give half doses, so he wouldn’t have to give some patients the full pill opioids. Then he traded them for other pills. I was plenty damn sure the knockout drops he gave me wasn’t on the menu.”

  “Other pills?”

  “Yes. He was a regular dealer in a lab coat. He’d trade those pills he’d stolen to a dealer that would give him GHB.” Seth’s guffaw was as loud as his breathing. “The idiot would tout himself as a playboy. He needed to slip a little GHB to help drug up the women. They turned him down and he hated them.”

  “He was trading opioids for date rape pills?”

  “Yes. The stud couldn’t attract those women.”

  “He slipped them meds,” Royce said incredulously. “And the women didn’t report him. I’ll have my friends at the newspaper try to get someone to come forward. Too late to prosecute, but at least we can get them help. He got away with it. Damn,” Royce cursed.

  “He said he could get away with murder. He would have killed me.”

  “So, you placed the rope, and waited. You tripped the bike, forced it to tumble down the incline. The fall broke his neck. So why the overkill? The club.”

  “Alec was spread out down there, and
I saw him move slightly. And I hear him moan. His moan was shallow, but it was a moan. He couldn’t be allowed to survive. It had to look like an accident. I had to finish him off. I quickly modeled a club.”

  “You felt you had to kill him. For self-preservation?”

  “I knew my time would come.”

  “Silver Wilderness got word that your home was upside down, and they had no reason to keep you around. Alec was probably tiring of threatening you.”

  “I was becoming a liability. Some of the people there were liabilities. Their accounts would run out, Social Security checks…Hell, it wasn’t paying their ways. They didn’t last long.”

  “You’re saying that they might have been murdered? That Alec, Eileen, Larry and Dr. Verner were the greedy death angels? They killed patients?”

  “Alec alluded to it. He’d say he was going to send me off with a mercy killing.”

  “Patients that got sent off – he would use a drug?”

  “Yes. It was succinylcholine. He wanted me to suffer. Alec claimed they were special money-makers. Killing them was part of his commissions.”

  “He had no remorse?” Royce was stunned at the coldness.

  “None at all,” Seth snickered. “He said they were in a fugue state. But he also said it was a terrible death if your mind wasn’t gone.”

  “You knew he was drugging other people. And he could have killed you. So why didn’t he?”

  “I did him favors. Him and Larry. And her ladyship, Eileen.”

  “You did favors for the Austins and Alec. Did the doctor know?”

  “That quack knew what was happening. After I’d do a job, he’d compliment me. And I’d be taken off meds for a couple days. For good behavior. But I escaped a couple times. So, they kept me full of dope.”

  “What were your jobs?” Royce grilled.

  “I was a forger. I’d forged names for them. They knew I’d forged in my business. It was one of my charges that sent me to prison. I was damn good at it. So, they asked me to forge names. It was my way of staying alive.”

  “Who did the asking?”

  “I think it was the four of them. But Alec was the one that had me sign.” He lifted his cuffed arms and his right hand swirled, indicating writing. “I did it to save myself. They should be charged for the forgery. Not me. I only did what they said.” He began sputter.

  “We’ll take you down to Timber. To the Sheriff’s Office.”

  “It’s their fault,” his words choked. “And Alec was nuts. He’d plan it. Kill the ones with no one checking. They could cremate the bodies. They did it. They killed. All I did was forge papers.” Seth’s breathing sounded like broken-down bellows.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Royce inquired as Seth coughed loudly.

  Slowly, Seth’s body slid downward. Sam caught him, and eased him onto the floor.

  Royce radioed, calling, “We’ve got a 10-52. Need an ambulance immediately. Looks like a coronary.” Royce gave the directions.

  Sam had started CPR, but from Seth’s coloring and limpness, both enforcers held little hope. They continued working on Seth until they heard the sirens. They passed the responsibility on to the EMTs. As they loaded him into the ambulance, the paramedics continued,

  Sam asked, “You want me to ride with them?”

  “No need, Sam. He won’t be needing an escort. He’s not going to make it.” Royce was angry at Seth. He had not only cheated the Wall Street crowd. He had forged the beautifully scripted handwriting of Daisy Barnaby. He had almost stolen her dream of having a wildlife reserve for the youth to see and appreciate. Something inside Royce despised Seth. She repeated, “He’s not going to make it.”

  And he didn’t. The EMTs radioed Royce that Seth Egan was DOA.

  ***

  “Thank goodness we got the body cam confession,” Nick praised. “I keep forgetting to turn mine on.”

  Royce teased, “You wouldn’t expect Deputy Tech Sunshine to forget to snap on his body cam.”

  “Nothing like that. Anyway, great job. The D.A said to tell you that Seth’s confession confirmed that it was a conspiracy. Seth was a player. He certainly had the goods on Eileen and Larry Austin, Dr. Verner and Alec.” Chuckling, Nick then said, “And of course Seth had reason to believe he would be killed by Alec. So, he took Alec’s execution in his own hands.”

  “Yes. The four in charge of Silver Wilderness will be indicted for everything. We may have a skirmish about jurisdiction. It’s all got to be parceled out. Feds want the three for fraud and misappropriation, CBI has a list, and Timber County has charges that loop around Crystal mountain a dozen times. Eileen, Larry, and Melvin may not be looking at life, but they’ll get enough time to make it feel like it is a life sentence. And by the time their defense is paid for, they’ll end up broke.”

  “Royce, you realize you had two shootings in two days. Shots fired by Seth, and Earl Harris. Thank goodness, Deputy Chance was there to stand guard. And Deputy Sunshine was there to give you a laugh or two.”

  “The biggest laugh was when Sam stated Seth forgot to tell us where he’d hidden cash reserve that folks speculated he’d stashed.”

  Nick grinned. “Don’t most people conjecture that he hid it with his ex-wife?”

  “I told Sam that. But he thinks that he had it well-hidden. Maybe in the pod. It was open, and Seth could have rifled through it and found an item it was contained in. Sam’s theory was that when things cooled down, Seth planned to pop the millions in a backpack and begin a new life. Sam believes the treasure trove is hidden, maybe in the cabin.” Royce snickered. “In fact, that’s where he is now. Checking it out. Actually, he is supposed to be finding anything Seth left behind. And looking for a cat named Betsy. All we know now is that the gun he used belonged to the cabin owner. And that Seth murdered Alec.”

  “Hey, Sam could find millions.”

  “Probably he’ll only find dirty socks,” Royce joked. “And we missed some of what happened this morning. What’s going to happen to Harris?”

  “His former penitentiary does want him back. Damn it, Royce. How many offences does a pedophile get before they toss away the key?”

  “I wish I had an answer. We pick them up, and the court allows those prolific sex offences to be diminished down to a parking ticket. Level three sex offenders, out in no time at all.” Royce sighed deeply. “But with our additional charges, Harris will eventually be returned to us. Attempted murder – assault on sheriff, kidnapping – a dozen charges. Hate crimes. I think they’ll nail his shoe to the ground on this one. When we get him back, he’s toast. He’ll be in our custody.”

  “There are way too many bad guys,” Nick said.

  “We’re in the business of meeting up with the dirtballs. They wouldn’t need sheriffs and deputies if the world didn’t have crime.”

  Nick sulked, “I love my badge, but I’d give it up if only the kids of the world were safe from the Earl Harris’s of the world.”

  Royce closed her eyes a moment. “Most of us would give up our lives to save children. Yesterday, each one of you was poised to charge that bus, and meet up with the perpetrator’s bullets. Taking care of our off-springs, humanity’s youth, is vital to us all.”

  “Royce,” Nick gently spoke, “you could have lost those kids yesterday. They could have lost you. I know that’s your main concern. Because it was my main fear all those year ago. But it’s more of a fear for you.”

  “What?” she questioned. Royce leaned forward.

  “The fear is worse for you because you’d just entered college when your dad, the sheriff, was gunned down. Years ago when Bev told me that we were going to have a child. I was terrified that I’d leave them. I’d be killed. That’s what you’re really afraid of. With Hertha and the kids, you aren’t frightened of losing your independence. You’re terrified of leaving children behind. You love Hertha, and she loves you. If, and we’re not going to let it happen, but if you were murdered, those kids would still have Hertha. Antero and Vannie
would have the same kind of memories you have of your dad. And just like you wouldn’t give up those memories, they wouldn’t give up memories of you.”

  “Thanks, Nick.” Royce felt a knot in her throat. She knew he was right.

  ***

  As soon as Royce left with Chance, she dialed Hertha’s number. “I’m just checking in to see how the kids are doing. It must have been extremely traumatic for all the children.” Chance and the sheriff walked slowly across the street as she talked on her cell phone.

  “Yes. Royce, can you drop by for dinner? It would help me reassure them. Some of the other kids have called to tell them they were brave and smart to get the salt. They now have many, many friends.”

  “Good to know the bullies have come to appreciate your two wonderful kids.”

  “Royce, I…”

  “Hearth, please wait. “Let me finish.” Royce clutched her phone. “Those kids have come to appreciate Antero and Vannie. I’ve come to appreciate my feelings for them. When we first got together, I warned you that there are times when I would be wrapped up in a case. Then I’m oblivious to anything else.”

  “And I told you when we spent those fifteen years together, I was aware of that. The children and I are willing to understand your job. Accept any hardship.”

  “I’ve also been frightened that I might get shot and leave them behind.” Royce terminated the phone call. Tears began to spurt from her eyes. She opened the High Country’s front door. She walked into Hertha’s arms. “I do love you. And I can be a great parent, Hertha. My mother and father taught me how. So simple. Love the children, and hope for the best.”

  Their kiss lasted only until Chance whined. She also wanted a hug. Royce and Hertha looked into one another’s eyes. It was always a good time to hug a child or a pet. Destiny is carefully mapped. It becomes its own magnificent mystery.