Frogskin and Muttonfat (A Thea Barlow Mystery, Book Two)

by Carol Caverly

  The door swung wide again, letting in a group of weary soot-covered fire fighters who collapsed around the large kitchen table. Everyone converged on them, coffee was poured and platters of sandwiches were passed around. Tension tightened every face as talk of the fire bounced around the room.

  “It’s a bitch. Wind’s throwing it across the creeks.”

  “Took all of Hornby’s garden draw.”

  “Where’s the warden?”

  “In the air with Kendall Hauser.”

  “Called in three more counties for help.”

  The location names meant nothing to me, but the seriousness of the situation couldn’t be mistaken. I slipped out the door. I had to find Max.

  A powerful yard light softened the black night in a wide area, but cast dark shadows beyond. Car and truck headlights spiked the deeper darkness with moving beacons. The wind whipped my hair, and the acrid smell of smoke stung my nose and eyes. I met Garland and Trish Caldwell a few feet from the door, headed for the house.

  “Thea,” Garland, said with his usual bonhomie. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in the hospital. We’ve come to help.”

  Twenty-Four

  My favorite couple, dressed like Johnny Cash clones in crisp black jeans and dark shirts that probably cost at least a hundred dollars apiece.

  Trish watched the frenetic activity with sparkling eyes and more enthusiasm than I’d seen in her before. “This is exciting, isn’t it? Can you see the fire from here?”

  “I hope not,” I said, scanning the sky. “That would be too close for me.”

  Garland said, “When we heard the fire was on Buster Brocheck’s land we wanted to help. He’s a nice old guy, but I must say I’m surprised to see you here. I heard you had a brush with the ex-con.” He shook his head in amazement. “We’re not very far from his place, are we? I would have thought you’d want to keep your distance from the old devil.”

  “He doesn’t seem to be much of a threat at this point. He’s missing,” I said, looking over his shoulder, trying to spot Max.

  “Trish, why don’t you go along with Thea? I’m going to join the men over there and see what I can do to help.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I have to look for Max. Just go in the house, Trish, I’m sure they’ll have something for you to do.”

  “I don’t want to help in the kitchen. I want to go where the fire is.” The perpetual whiner.

  And I didn’t want to be saddled with either one of them. Rude or not, I turned and left. Let them take care of themselves.

  Passing from one knot of people to another, I peered at faces and asked if anyone had seen Max. Trish trailed behind, stopping now and then to talk with people, gathering information much as I was doing. I didn’t care what she did as long as I didn’t have to babysit her.

  Finally I found a woman with a long blond pony tail directing traffic and barking orders into a radio, who pointed me to a barn-sized garage. I found Max there, working with another man on the engine of a tanker truck. “Thanks, Holman,” the man said and slammed the hood in place.

  Max smiled a welcome and slung his arm across my shoulders while he waited for the man to start the truck. When the engine roared, he gave the guy a high sign and turned to me.

  “Hi. You okay? How’s the head?”

  “I’m fine. Tell me about the fire. I understand it’s burning on the Ahchin place.”

  “It’s taking off like sin in a wooded area on the upper end. They’re worried about the pastures. Jimmy’s sending another crew up there.”

  “That means the fire’s getting closer to Corcoran’s too, doesn’t it?”

  “Closer, yes, but there’s no danger. We can still get over to Corcoran’s. I offered to take a truckload of guys to the north fire line. It’s close to the rig so I’ll see if any damage has been done, but I’ll be right back. We’ll take a quick look for the Kid, then see if Jimmy needs us to pitch in. Okay?”

  “How long will it take you?”

  “Under an hour.”

  “Did you find Buster?”

  “No, not yet. Nobody seems to know where he is, but I’ll keep on checking.” We stopped at Max’s truck. “Get something to eat and rest for awhile. I’ll be back to get you as soon as possible.” He gave me a long thorough kiss. “Some vacation this is turning out to be for you.”

  I watched him drive off to where another crew gathered and begin to load the men and equipment in the back of the truck. I headed to the house.

  “Thea,” a voice called. Trish. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her standing in the shadows waving. I pretended I didn’t hear her and went in the back door.

  The kitchen was packed with people. Even more exhausted men and women had returned from a stint on the fire line. Elizabeth Brocheck fussed over them, making sure they got food, directing them to the bathrooms, or a place where they could lie down and rest for awhile. She brightened when she saw me and beckoned me over.

  “Did you talk to Max?” she asked. “Has he found Buster?”

  “Not yet, but he’s got several guys looking for him and they’ll let you know as soon as he’s located.”

  “This has been an exhausting day,” Elizabeth said, inspecting her crowded kitchen and family room, then gave a little laugh. “I guess it’s not even day yet, is it? Grab a cup of coffee, Thea, and a sandwich if you like, and come join me for a minute. I need to put my feet up.”

  We took our coffee to a large back bedroom kept off-limits by a closed door. She sat on the bed, resting her back against the headboard, and I sat in a small club chair.

  “Actually, this has been an exhausting couple of weeks, ever since Kid Corcoran came to town. I don’t know when it got out of control.” She contemplated her coffee and sipped it slowly. “Buster wasn’t at all upset when he first heard the Kid was back. Then all of a sudden jade fever took over, and everybody’s out to get revenge for past wrongs.”

  “I heard stories about the Kid’s sins practically the minute I hit town.” I said. “I also heard that he might have killed Buster’s father. Is that true?”

  “Nobody knows. It certainly looked accidental, I know Buster always thought it was, and he’s the one who found him. Shortly after Reuben’s death the Kid left for California. That was enough to condemn him in a lot of people’s eyes. But Buster’s a realist. Reuben Brocheck wasn’t a very nice man, nothing like Buster, who’s a big, kind-hearted, hard-working teddy bear and always has been. Reuben and the Kid grew up together and were partners in a lot of shaky deals, most of them involving jade. Buster’s been at peace with his father’s death for a long time. Until Hildy got hold of him. I don’t know what she’s up to, but I wish she’d leave Buster alone.”

  We drank the rest of our coffee and Elizabeth heaved a big sigh. “Well,” she said, “I better get back to work. Thanks for listening to my old-woman’s worries.”

  “My pleasure,” I said. “It did feel good to rest a minute.”

  “I wish you’d lie down here for awhile. I don’t know what that doctor was thinking about. He should have at least kept you overnight.”

  “Thanks, but I feel astonishing well.” Which wasn’t exactly the truth, but close enough to the mark not to matter.

  To my surprise, Trish was hovering close by when we left the bedroom. I introduced her to Elizabeth, saying, “She and her husband are here from Oregon, vacationing.” Elizabeth graciously took her under her wing and I slipped away to the kitchen.

  “Want to give me a hand?” Hildy asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I’ve made enough coffee to last me a lifetime, and I’m sick of it. Too damn crowded in here, anyway. A bunch of us are going to take some food to the guys working the Ahchin blaze. We’ll take my truck and set up a rest area a ways back from the fire. You can help pack up some food.” She handed me a large plastic bag and I began filling it with the sandwiches that two other women handed me.

  “I’ll go with you,” Trish said, appearing
beside me again like an evil genie.

  “Fine,” Hildy said. “Get as many of those spigoted thermos jugs as you can.” I could tell Hildy was a born organizer. “Lee can take over the pots here and keep the brew going.”

  Auntie Lee looked up from where she and her husband were listening to the radio communication. “The fire jumped Blister Creek,” she said, a look of shocked disbelief on her face.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, alarmed.

  “It’s jumping around like crazy,” Hildy said. “Could be headed this way if they can’t get it stopped.”

  “We’ll be burned out,” Auntie Lee said.

  Patrick O’Donnal clicked his tongue at her reassuringly. “Won’t be the first time. The boys are out there, and Jimmy’s sending more. They’ve got Hotshots on their way from Colorado. We’ll be all right.” He handed me a roasting pan filled with Sloppy Joe filling.

  “Let’s go,” Hildy barked. Everyone pitched in carrying food and boxes of supplies out to Hildy’s truck and loading them in the back. I had to admit that Trish did her share of the heavy work and really seemed intent on being helpful. A bunch of men dressed in yellow coveralls jumped in the back of the truck, along with the women balancing the food supplies. Someone else tossed in shovels and a variety of other items.

  Jimmy Chin stood by the truck with a radio in each hand. Hildy pulled him aside for a private conversation. Garland Caldwell stood beside him taking it all in with unbridled enthusiasm. Jimmy held the truck’s door open for Hildy and gave her directions, listening to the radio at the same time.

  “We got a two thousand gallon tanker headed out there,” he said, “and some grass units. Be sure everyone has a yellow vest on. Don’t get far from your radio.”

  Garland took the roaster from my hands and passed it to a woman in the truck. Trish and I raced back to the house for another load.

  Elizabeth handed me a food carrier and two packages of styrofoam cups. “Tell Max that I’ve gone with Hildy when he gets here, would you please?” I asked her.

  “Oh, dear, do you think you should? Why don’t you stay here and help me in the kitchen?”

  I was tired of being treated like an invalid. “I’ll be fine,” I said impatiently. Trish grabbed two loaded food cartons and waited at the door for me. “I’ll be with Hildy,” I told Elizabeth on my way out.

  Elizabeth huffed. “I don’t know how safe that will be.”

  “Thea,” Jimmy called, noticing my presence for the first time. I handed the thermos and cups into the truck. “What are you doing out here?”

  I went over to speak to him. Garland took Trish’s load and handed it to one of the men.

  “Max and I came out to help. Is the fire close to where you and I met yesterday?” I asked, still trying to get a fixed idea about its location.

  “Not yet, but that’s about where Hildy’s going to set up. A couple miles west of the old soddy. Don’t worry, they’ll get the fire under control long before it reaches that spot.”

  I watched Trish climb into the passenger side of Hildy’s truck and nod back to Garland. The truck roared to life.

  “I’ve got to go,” I said, turning toward the tail of the truck.

  “You going with them?” Jimmy asked. “Where’s Max?”

  The truck started up.

  “Hey, wait for me!” I yelled, jumping for the tailgate, but Garland was in my way. We collided with a thud and he fell to the ground. I swore under my breath and gave him a hand up.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Did you want to go with them?”

  “Yes, that’s what I’d planned.”

  “Well, I’m following in my car. You can go with me.”

  I felt like Job, and Garland Caldwell was my case of boils. But any ride, I guessed, was better than none.

  Jimmy eyed him skeptically. “You’re sure you know what you’re doing? You got a four-wheel drive?”

  Garland said he did, pointing to a Blazer parked a few feet away. I could see fishing gear in the back seat.

  Jimmy handed him a small radio. “This is tuned to the fire channel. You can hear and talk to anyone on the frequency. Listen at all times and stick close to Hildy. Stay with her unless a crew leader needs your help.”

  Elizabeth came out with two more bags of sandwiches, and set them down beside Jimmy. “Send these out with whoever goes next.” Jimmy was back on the radio, but pointed to me and Garland, who was backing the Blazer.

  She clucked at me with disapproval, but didn’t lecture. “If you see Buster, tell him to get his sorry butt back here before he has a heart attack.”

  She left and I asked Jimmy where the road went that we were going to take.

  “It’s a private ranch road, but if you follow it long enough it intersects a county road about fifty miles out. You’ll take it to the east end of the Ahchin place. There’s a left branch that goes to Corcoran’s and a right branch that goes to Ahchin’s winter pasture. That’s where the water trucks are going. Don’t take either of the branches, they’re rough going and hard to follow at night. Stay on the main track and stop when Hildy stops, and you’ll be okay.”

  Garland opened the Blazer’s rear. Two large cartons took up most of the cargo space. I tucked the bags beside them. Jimmy threw in two yellow vests, and we were on our way.

  Now that I knew we could get to the Corcoran ranch on this road, I wondered if I could talk Garland into taking me there. All I wanted was a quick chance to look at the dugout and the old barn. If the Kid wasn’t there I’d call it quits and leave the search to the sheriff’s department.

  Garland was quiet, his face dark with concentration as he hurtled ahead trying to catch up with Hildy. Finally, during changes in terrain, we would catch an occasional glimpse of taillights up ahead. I kept my eyes peeled for a left-turning branch, thinking I’d rather misdirect him than ask for a favor. I saw the road just as we were upon it, I opened my mouth to say something when to my surprise the Blazer turned that way. It wasn’t a hard left turn, just a veering set of ruts, so it could have been accidental on his part; I said nothing for the moment. The taillights in front of us still popped in and out of view, so we appeared to be going in the right direction. The ruts got deeper and rougher.

  Garland grunted. “This road’s sure rough.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed, bracing myself against the dash. We careened into a gully, then up over a rise. The lights ahead were closer.

  For a moment I thought I was the mistaken one, we must have been on the right road after all. I began to rethink my strategy. The vehicle ahead of us stopped and a few minutes later we pulled into a clearing behind it.

  I popped out my door. Garland got out too and approached the truck ahead of us, a flat bed truck with a winch. “I’ll get the vests and stuff,” I said going around to the back. I opened the hatch and pulled out the yellow vests. One caught on something and I gave it a jerk that brought something else along with it. A small purse of some sort, with a thin strap that looked strangely familiar. I held it up to the hatch light. It was bright purple. Phoebe’s purse.

  Twenty-Five

  I looked up. Garland Caldwell stood over me, his face grim.

  “This is Phoebe’s purse,” I said, not quite comprehending what it meant.

  “Yeah.” He snatched it out of my hand and tossed it back among the supplies. “Come on, let’s go.” He grabbed my arm. I tried to shake off his hold, but his fingers dug in painfully.

  “You’re hurting me,” I yelped indignantly, struggling to pull away from him. “Turn me loose.”

  “Don’t give me trouble and nothing will happen to you.” He twisted my arm up behind my back and pushed me forward around the Blazer.

  A tall figure stood nervously in the shadows by the truck in front of us, shifting weight from foot to foot. I peered through the darkness and recognized the scraggly hair and missing teeth of the mountain man, Deefy Hammersmith. He fidgeted uncomfortably, not meeting my eyes.

  “Get going, Deefy. We’ve got
to move fast, thanks to you, asshole.”

  “You wanted a diversion, I got you a diversion,” he whined like a defiant teenager.

  “I wanted the fire north of Brocheck’s, you fool, not on this side. Everyone in the damn county is coming here now. We got to be gone before sunrise.”

  I looked from one to the other, incredulous. “You set the fires?”

  “Nothing but stupid rubes around here,” Garland muttered, pushing me forward again. “Deefy, run that Blazer up the road about half a mile. Blink the lights a couple times, then hot-foot it back as fast as you can. She’ll find it; she should be heading this way already. She’ll be pissed if she has to walk too far.”

  Trish, he must be talking about Trish. But my mind whirled with more important questions. “You killed Phoebe?”

  “Your little friend lived dangerously. If Corcoran hadn’t killed her, I would have.” He gave what might have passed for a chuckle at any other time. “In fact, I thought I had. What a surprise you gave me when I saw you hauling her up the stairs.” He flashed me the grin that was supposed to make females fall to their knees. “Do you know where that vase is?”

  “What vase?”

  “The one Phoebe had. She wanted to sell it to me,” he said as if it were the most incredulous thing in the world. “It belonged to me in the first place.”

  “What did you do to her?”

  He shrugged. “Flipped a pill in her drink, nudged her with the Blazer. She wanted to meet me at the Legion Hall, so I obliged her.”

  “But why did you want her dead?”

  “Because she was stupid. Don’t you be stupid, too.”

  I stumbled as he propelled me across the uneven ground, but tried to find a landmark of some kind. Anything familiar. How close were we to Corcoran’s?

  “He didn’t know it, but Corcoran did me a favor killing that bitch. Did my work for me. Now you’re going to do his work for me.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re going to show me where his jade is.”

  “What jade?”