Moonscape

by Julie Weston

  With the men out of hearing, Nellie scratched another match and sidled toward the bundle, Moonie mimicking her motion. The pile looked to be all clothes, but she put out her hand to lift at least part of them up. The bundle moved, and Nellie gasped and fell back. Moonie arped. “Help me,” it said. “Please help me.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Yes. No. Help me.”

  Nell felt around the bundle to find a shoulder, an arm, or a leg. She found what felt like an arm and moved the person around. The voice was definitely female. “What happened to you?”

  The person sat up, and the match’s flame lit her face. Effie. “What are you doing in here? Can you stand up?”

  Effie shook her head. “I don’t think so. My legs don’t seem to work.”

  Nellie groped along one leg bone and then the other.

  “Owwww!”

  Oh, oh. Just like Charlie. Maybe her leg was broken.

  “My head hurts.” The woman sagged against Nellie and then slipped back to the ground. “I can’t.”

  “Oh, yes, you can, or I am going to leave you here while I get help.” The flame was growing dimmer and then out. “And soon. Tell me what you can do.”

  The woman’s hands scrabbled on the scratchy lava, and she tried to push herself up. Nellie stood, too, and reached down to wrap her arm around Effie’s waist. “All right, together. One. Two. Three.” And both were standing, Effie leaning hard against Nellie. Then Nellie realized she had to light another match. She had only three left. “Can you stand alone?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said. “It’s too dark.” But then she moved one leg and then another. Not broken.

  “One more.” Nell lit another match. She re-circled Effie’s waist, and they began to walk, moving like a two-sided crab back to the rock slabs and then around them.

  “I can’t!”

  “Yes, you can. You’re doing it.” Calling her a sissy wouldn’t help anyone, but Nell was beginning to get tired herself, with most of the weight of Effie on her side. Her clothes had hidden the fact that she was not slender, but her bathing outfit at the Guyer pool had shown she was not a thin woman. Nell’s pack weighed on her, and her hand holding the match was losing its grip.

  They struggled and strained and made enough noise to alert anyone who might be outside. Still, Nellie made her burden sit down near the entrance where they could see the light. “I need to see who or what is out there.”

  “Don’t let that horrible man see me!”

  Nell didn’t stop to ask which horrible man. There were several candidates. She hoped all she found was Rosy—and she did. He appeared to be alone, but Nellie couldn’t see above and behind the entrance. She tossed a small rock toward him, where he sat with his eyes closed. One eye and then another opened. He looked toward her and shook his head with a bare movement. Someone else must have been nearby. She dropped back in and whispered into Effie’s ear. “Wait. Someone is out there.”

  The woman began to cry, and Nellie shook her shoulder. “Be quiet!” she said, right into Effie’s ear. “Or the horrible man will see you!” Nellie remembered her canteen and opened it to give Effie a sip. The woman grabbed at it, and it fell with a metallic clunk, clunk, clunk. Water gurgled out before Nell could rescue it.

  “What was that?” a man called, his voice coming from right above Nellie’s head.

  “Just my flashlight. I dropped it when I dozed off,” Rosy said. “How long we gonna wait here for—”

  “I don’t know what happened. I’ll head back down that Indian trail and see where they are.”

  It was the man from the pool—Peter Banks. Effie had come out to the lava with him. How did they get separated? And, how did he and Rosy get together? And, where was O’Donnell? Who were they waiting for? Maybe it was O’Donnell. Or, maybe Ben and Pearl, the only “theys” she could think of. Or, Mayor Tom and help?

  After a silence of a quarter hour or so, Rosy’s boot and then his face appeared in the entrance. “Are you all right? Scared me to death. Who’s that?”

  “That’s Effie, the third person who came into the lava fields. The only one alive at the moment.”

  Effie struggled to get up. “I heard Peter! Where is he?” Her leg seemed to move much better. More play-acting? Nellie wondered.

  Rosy stepped down several rocks and helped Effie up and then gave Nellie a hand. She hugged her rescuer as she, too, climbed out of the cave. “How did you know I was here? That old man in the Model T must have stopped and given you my message.” She sank down onto one of the larger lava pieces. “Oh, Rosy. This was such a stupid thing to do.”

  He snorted. “You’re all right now, Nell.”

  “Don’t tell Charlie. He’ll never let me go off by myself again!”

  “He’d be right, too.” Rosy patted Nellie’s shoulder. “With any luck, he’ll be comin’ ’round that mountain soon—on a horse. When I got your message from that old guy, I sent him on with another to Mayor Tom to call Charlie and get both of them out here.”

  Nell nodded toward Effie. “How did Peter Banks get mixed up in this?” Effie hadn’t moved from the ground, where she hugged a large rock. Her breathing sounded ragged, but she no longer cried.

  Rosy shrugged. “He said he was lookin’ for a missin’ woman, just like me. So we joined up. I found him lost on the Indian trail on the other side of the rocky mountaintop there.”

  “I heard some of Elder’s money was out here, and I persuaded Peter to bring me,” Effie said. She put her hand to her forehead. “That money belongs to me. It was for my sister.” Her tears began again, a silent crying from a face as still as the stone she grasped.

  Nell stepped over to Effie and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “I am so sorry we didn’t get here in time.”

  Effie shrugged her off. “It is all those horrible men—wanting to make slaves of every woman they meet.” Her tears stopped, and her eyes narrowed, her mouth a slash of red in her dirty face. “Well, they won’t make Hattie a slave anymore.” She sat up. “Peter was here? Where is he?”

  “I sent him off to look for help.” Rosy stood and climbed a slight rise. “Don’t know where he went.”

  “I told him about the money,” Effie said. “That is what he’s after—not me.” She slumped again and closed her eyes.

  Well, Nellie thought. That money is of interest to a lot more people than she suspected. Who else? Maybe the money was the reason for the two killings—and the attempts on Effie and on her. If she made public the money was at Goldie’s, there would probably be attacks there. She and Rosy could talk it over when Effie wasn’t present to overhear.

  “They’re coming!” Peter clambered over the edge of the nearby hillside.

  “Who?” Three voices asked the same question. Effie stood up, again her face a contrast of feelings. Her eyes widened. Her mouth stayed open. She hugged herself and stepped over to Nellie, almost hiding behind her. Peter didn’t seem to notice her.

  Rosy chuckled. “A treeful of owls.”

  “Mayor Tom and the sheriff. At least I guess that’s who the second man is. They’re riding horses.” Peter turned and stared at Nellie and Effie. “What are these two doing here? Where did they come from?”

  The two horses clopped on the smoother lava. Mayor Tom led, and the sheriff looked uncomfortable. When they pulled up to the group near the cave entrance, Mayor Tom dismounted. Sheriff Azgo stayed where he was. He searched the group and found Nellie. She walked over to him, leaving Effie in the open.

  “I am glad to see you,” she said. She wrapped her hand around his good leg.

  “I could say the same thing,” he said, his voice as quiet as hers. She nodded and rubbed the bump on her head from her fall with her other hand. She doubted he could see it.

  For a moment, no one said anything. A magpie’s croak filled the silence. Then Nell did. “Effie has been hurt. She needs to go back to Hailey to see a doctor.” She turned to Mayor Tom. “Can you take her on your horse?”

&nb
sp; The sheriff surprised her by interrupting. “I can take her. She can ride behind me.” He motioned to his saddle. “Nell, you can ride with Mayor Tom. Rosy, you and Banks will have to walk back. Rosy’s auto is at the wagon trail. There’s another auto near the lava fields down the hill from there. Whose is that?”

  Peter said, “That’s mine. I came looking for Effie. She was out here, searching for money.” He frowned her way and said nothing about being the person who brought her. “I can take her, if you’ll let me borrow your horse, Tom. I could leave it at the edge of the road.”

  “No,” the sheriff said. “If I take her, I know she’s safe.”

  Those words prompted Effie to walk over to the sheriff and stand by his horse. “I’ll go with him.”

  Nellie wanted to go with the sheriff. She didn’t want to ride with Mayor Tom, and she couldn’t walk all the way back to the road. She sat down on the ledge leading to the cave. Rosy watched her. “I’ll help Nell get back. You two—” he said and motioned to Peter and the mayor. “You two can do what you please. Go back into that there cave for all I care. I don’t think you’ll find any money there. Now.”

  The sheriff studied the two men. “The money that was in the abandoned automobile is now in the bank in Hailey. It will go to the person to whom it was intended, once we find that out.”

  “It’s mine,” Effie said. “It’s the ransom for my sister. If you give it to anyone else,” she said, emphasizing anyone, “it will be adding another crime to her death.” She spoke to the sheriff, but when she said “anyone,” she looked directly at Peter. “How do I get on this horse?”

  Rosy gave her a leg up. Nellie felt a stab of jealousy. She remembered another occasion when she rode behind Charlie with her arms around him to hold on.

  “All right, Missy, you get behind Mayor Tom. That will be better than me trying to lug you across these blamed lava fields.” Rosy motioned for Nellie to mount up.

  “I think I’ll stay here for a while. You and Peter Banks go on. I have something to talk about with Mayor Tom.”

  Everyone turned to stare at Nellie, including Mayor Tom. The sheriff opened his mouth but said nothing. Rosy said, “I’ll wait.”

  “No, you better lead the sheriff out.” She didn’t want to say anything about his broken leg, although Mayor Tom must have helped him get on the horse. How he got pants on over the plaster was something she would have liked to see. “Take Mr. Banks with you, too.”

  Tom had not remounted, so he tied the horse’s reins to a nearby tree and joined Nellie near the cave entrance. “What can I do for you, little lady?”

  She wanted to say, I am not a little lady. I am a crime photographer. But she didn’t say anything until the others were gone. Charlie didn’t so much as look at her.

  “Tom, did you look in those packages before you delivered them to the sheriff?”

  A rosy flush filled Tom’s face. He knelt down so his head was on her level. “Why would I do that?”

  “Then why did you tell Mr. O’Donnell that the money was with the sheriff?”

  He stood again, his face a scowl. “I didn’t tell O’Donnell anything.”

  Nellie continued to study the mayor. As friendly as he had been, and as cheerful about helping the sheriff and her with the exploring and moving of bodies, she thought there was something about him that didn’t quite fit the whole story. He had taken them directly to the first body and, after a few side trips, to the second body, as if he knew right where they were.

  “Do you know Mr. O’Donnell?”

  “Sure I do. He’s the big cattleman around here. I know his son, Ben, too. But I don’t see them in a month of Sundays.” Mayor Tom moved over to the cave entrance and then back again. “I did look in the boxes, but not the little package. When I saw it was money, I figured I better get it to the sheriff. I thought I might find something about the identity of those three people.” He stooped and picked up something from the ground. “This here’s a cigarette butt. Do you smoke?”

  “I didn’t smoke here.” Nellie walked over to Tom and inspected the butt. “Who else smokes? Do you know?”

  “I could make a guess. Maybe Effie.” He threw it to the ground again. “I told her what was in the boxes, but she already knew. Or, at least she said she did.” He looked at Nellie. “She came by asking for ’em. I told her I had to turn ’em over to the sheriff.” He scratched his head and craned his neck around. “She wasn’t happy about that.”

  “When did she stop by your station? Was she driving herself?”

  “I think it was one of the days you was out here. After we found the two bodies. I guess after Rosy took my place.”

  Nell wanted to scream at him, and it took some effort to keep her voice down and not raise her arms. “Didn’t you think that was information we should know?” She turned away.

  “Maybe it was after you were gone from the area. I got busy at my gasoline station and kind of forgot about it.”

  “Was anyone with her?” Nell turned again and held her arms around herself. All she could think was that he was either stupid or lying. She studied him. He was flushed again.

  “She was in a big automobile, and someone else was driving, but she got out by herself and came into the station. She didn’t ask for no gasoline, so I didn’t go out. When I told her no, she couldn’t have the parcels, she yelled at me and then ran out, sayin’ she’d remember how unhelpful I was.” His face screwed up. “I told her I’d helped the sheriff and you for days to find those dead friends of hers.” He paced back and forth and half stumbled on one of the lava rolls.

  “What else haven’t you told us?” She tried to keep her voice neutral and her hands still, although she felt like shaking him.

  Tom heaved a huge sigh. “She left me a note after she copied the map. It was folded up with the paper, and I didn’t see it for days, just before I called the federal marshal in Boise. It fell out. How’d I know she’d asked for help? It was all folded up in the map!”

  “A note? What did it say? Where is it?”

  “She wrote to follow them out to Craters of the Moon if they didn’t come back in two days.” He wrung his hands together. “I threw the note away, after I called the federals.”

  The silence between them lengthened. A chitting sound rang out from behind several trees. Nell took a deep breath. The air smelled of dead leaves and hot rocks. “I don’t know what to say to you, Mayor Tom. I have to think about this. You may as well leave here with your horse. I’ll catch up.” Nellie didn’t say she couldn’t stand his company for another minute, let alone ride behind him. “Walk, don’t ride.” She left him and walked in the opposite direction of the trail out. “If you catch up with the sheriff, tell him what you’ve told me, but please, please, do not do so in front of Effie.” She heard Mayor Tom pick up the reins and begin to walk away. “And try to remember any details about the auto that Effie came in.”

  Nellie unpacked her camera and took a photograph of the cigarette butt. It looked like the self-rolled kind. Maybe Effie waited at the cave entrance for O’Donnell or Banks, or someone else. It probably wouldn’t help any but gave her something to do. Moonshine had rested quietly the whole time she and Tom were talking but joined her when she took the photo. Tom didn’t know about the money, then he did know about the money. Effie left a note, but he didn’t find it. Effie stopped by and wanted the money and left yelling at him. Whoever was with her obviously knew about the money, too. Mayor Tom spun tales in a web of deceit or incompetence or both.

  CHAPTER 23

  Nellie decided to head toward the tree molds. On that trail, she could see if cattle were being grazed in the west. She wanted to find Ben O’Donnell and Pearl and see what she could find out about Cable O’Donnell. She found it strange that his auto was no longer at the western end of the lava fields. Maybe she had been in the cave much longer than she thought, and he did have time to return to his auto and leave the area. Would he really have left her and Effie to die in the cave? As much as
she disliked him, abandoning them didn’t seem like something he would do. But how would she know? Certainly, last summer didn’t speak well for his character.

  After a short rest, she called Moonshine, who was curled up under one of the bushes shedding leaves into a red and orange pile. He came to her side, and she gave him some water from her canteen. “Uh-oh.” She needed more water. She hoped it wouldn’t take too long to find Ben and Pearl.

  The track to the tree molds was familiar by now. Cattle grazed in the distance where the lava didn’t extend. There were no trails in that direction, but she could see the animals, so she cut through cinders and over pahoehoe in a broken path. Throughout her walk, she had the sense that she was being followed and turned around several times. No one was in sight. Moonshine looked with her, but he didn’t bark, growl, or bristle. The bump on his head might have deadened his senses. The breeze blew from west to east. As was usual, the smell of cattle thickened the air as they moved closer to the grazing area.

  It wasn’t too long before she spotted a rider and waved her scarf. She wished she had something larger. Still, the rider turned her way and eventually came close enough so she could tell it was Pearl.

  “I need a ride,” Nellie said. “Can you take me to your camp? I want to talk to you and Ben.”

  “What about?”

  Nell remembered that Pearl was always suspicious of her, especially with regard to the men in Pearl’s life.

  “Not about Ben. His father was near here and now is gone. I wondered if either of you had seen him.”

  “Why do you care?”

  Nellie felt like rolling her eyes. “I thought Ben might care.” She tied her scarf around her neck again. “I am pretty sure you don’t.”

  “You got that right. He’s a double-crossing, two-timin’ four-flusher. He can go to hell and roast there for all I care.” Pearl extended her arm. “C’mon. I’ll try to pull you up behind me. You look like you tangled with a tiger.” She moved her foot from the stirrup, so Nell could use it. Pearl’s strong arm propelled Nellie to a seat behind her. “I haven’t seen him, but I’ve been out checking on the cattle—ridin’ around the edges to make sure the coyotes don’t set somethin’ off.”