Legend of The Lost: (Z & C Mysteries, #4)

by Zoey Kane

  “Well, I’m thinking he probably knows everything that goes on around here,” Claire said as a matter of fact.

  “Let’s test that out,” she said, bringing Roy’s bridle out of the tack room. It was unmistakable because of the red-tooled heart in the middle of the black noseband.

  “We’re not going to use a saddle because we’re riding together, bareback.”

  “I call back seat,” said Claire.

  Zo successfully got Roy’s ears, bit, and buckles on properly and in all the right places. He was very patient with the whole routine. Stepping from a dusty fence slat, Zo mounted, and Claire followed suit.

  Zo said, “Okay, Roy: Goldstrike… Goldstrike.”

  The mule bobbed his head, and took off with so much gusto toward the entrance, he nearly threw them both off.

  They passed by the empty paddocks, and the barn where the dance was, beyond the ranch house, and veered into a right turn by a fenced pasture on a well-worn dirt road. They ended their walk with Roy’s head hanging over the gate, looking out at the no-man’s-land desert floor. He gave a long bray, sucking it back with a wheezy sound only a mule could make.

  Claire asked, “How do you know where to make him go? Shouldn’t we be letting him take us to Goldstrike?”

  “I’m not giving him any directions… This is all his own idea.”

  Claire pursed her lips and shrugged. “Well, okay. I trust Roy. Let’s open up the gate.”

  Zo moved the mule into a position where she could unlatch the gate. She kicked it open with her boot, which clanked and echoed across the empty wilderness. A lone coyote howled.

  Claire shivered. “I’m suddenly remembering Captain Daniel’s warning about going out here by ourselves in the middle of the night.”

  “Have some fun, dear.”

  The mule was given full control of his head, as she held the reins limply. He walked on with dogged determination toward the Superstition Mountains, only once in a while breaking into a little trot. The moon lit up the desert’s sparse plant life. Shadows of cactus men posed amidst the thick brush, where evil could easily be lurking, waiting to ambush. The soft perfume of night-blooming cactus flowers lingered in the air as the coyotes yelped their distant songs.

  After a while, the mule chose a little path upward from the base of a mountain, and over to a rocky, craggy cliff. He continued through a maze of twists and turns, until he encountered a tall bush, which prevented him from going further. They had reached a mountain wall.

  “Well, what do you think?” Zo asked Claire.

  “I don’t know. Did Roy punk us out?”

  The mule lifted his head, pulling back his upper lip and braying at the bush that was even taller than he. In response, they heard a faint whinny.

  “Did you hear that, Mom?”

  “Yes, a horse. Goldstrike? It sounds muffled, like he’s inside that rock wall, somewhere in there.”

  Roy grasped the bush between his teeth and backed up, revealing a cave’s narrow entrance. He let go and the dead plant toppled onto its side, no more than a cover-up for the secret opening. He clomped inside, where the cave widened and a red, all-terrain vehicle sat with Goldstrike tied to it. The horse gave the three newcomers a low-throated acknowledgement, his white mane shimmering in the glow of an LED lantern that lay in the dirt. It was significantly cooler inside. No one was in sight.

  Zo patted Roy’s neck. “Good boy!”

  They dismounted hesitantly to look around, leaving Roy with the reins tied together on a swatch of his bristly mane.

  Claire touched the dusty ATV, and said, “This looks like the one we saw speeding by earlier.”

  They walked quietly through another orifice, entering a narrow passage. Voices could be heard coming from the direction where a small glow of a light shone off to the right. Zo peeked around the corner to see. What she saw was downright surprising. She could feel Claire leaning on her, but when she turned around, she was surprised to see the face of an unshaven man with dark glassy eyes, a unibrow, and dirty hair hanging in his sweaty face. No Claire.

  His smile grew wide… and there was nothing nice about it. “Now what would you be doing here, pretty lady?”

  “Uh… Roy brought me?”

  The man glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, yeah? I guess I just gotta go find me Roy and cut his head off.” He pulled a machete out of a sheath.

  Zo’s voice squeaked as she asked, “Why? You don’t like mules?”

  “Get in there!” He gave her a big shove into a confined space that smelled like wicked B.O.

  “Where’s Claire?” she asked, wanting to run back to find her.

  “Shut up.”

  Bill’s eyes widened at Zoey’s sudden entrance. He was standing beside a man with a black cowboy hat and camouflage pants. There was a table cluttered with paperwork, maps, water bottles, an iron skillet, and empty cans of pork ‘n’ beans. Other items were strewn across a camping chair, including a short-barreled handgun.

  “I didn’t expect you here,” Zo said to Bill warily, feeling Unibrow’s machete pressing between her shoulder blades.

  “Now wait a minute, guys. Don’t be rude.” Bill stepped forward with his hands up in a small show of defense. “Zo is another investor in our gold map.”

  “Well, what are ya waiting for?” Cowboy Hat asked. “Time to show it.”

  “Sure. That’s the reason I came here, ya know.” Pulling the map out of his pocket, Bill unfolded it carefully. Cowboy Hat couldn’t wait any longer and snatched it out of his hand.

  “Heeeey!” Bill said.

  “Shut up!” Cowboy Hat scanned the old parchment. “Okay, this is a bit interesting…”

  “Let me see, Ed,” said Zo’s captor, putting the machete back in its sheath.

  Taking a deep breath of relief, Zo stepped aside.

  “You! Don’t move!” Unibrow snarled at Zo, as he approached the men.

  After taking a good look at Bill’s map, Cowboy Hat, or rather Ed, said, “We don’t want any partners in gold, or anything else. Right, George?”

  George nodded. “That’s right.” He eyed Zo to make sure she hadn’t moved, and added, “That means there’s too many people here. We just can’t let you two go. You’ve heard it said before—you already know too much. Especially you, Billy boy.”

  Bill licked his lips. “Aw, come on, guys. Don’t go there. You need money to mine gold. That’s where Zo comes in. What do you want to do, kill the golden goose?”

  “Yeah, you know we got all the money we need.” Ed scowled, wiping his matted hair under his hat. “That’s why you can’t live.”

  It was very apparent to Zo she was about to witness two murders—Bill’s and her own. Ed withdrew a gun from behind his belt, as George took hold of Bill. Bill struggled to get loose from the two, which suddenly became a three-way wrestling match. Ed angled his gun to shoot Bill without hitting George.

  A shot rang out. Ed’s mouth gaped open in surprise as he slumped over and fell, blood oozing from his temple.

  Zo was standing, a gun in her hand and a bullet shell on the floor. Ed’s gun slipped under the table when he fell, so George twisted Bill in front of him like a shield, pressing the machete against his neck. The crazed man’s eyes widened at the now empty chair where his own gun was placed earlier that afternoon.

  George said through clenched teeth, “You both are dead! I’ll catch up with you, lady.” He pulled Bill tighter to his chest as they walked backwards toward the entrance.

  Gun still lifted, Zo asked, “George, did you or Ed ride the horse over here?”

  “Of course not. We drove, stupid! And Bill here rode with us. Didn’t ya, Bill?!” he said, teeth gnashing close to Bill’s ear. “What’s it matter to you anyhow, whore? Never mind. It doesn’t matter, because only one of us is driving out.”

  Right then, ol’ Roy showed up, running through the cave door like a mighty whirlwind. There were legs and hooves, kicks and mule-butt, teeth and wild braying. Ears flattened, he st
omped up a dirt cloud, all around George. Bill managed somehow to get away, and was now watching the unpredictable scene beside Zo, his hand clamped around her upper arm with wide, disbelieving eyes.

  “Help! Help! Stop him! He’s killing me! Ahhg! Ahhg!”

  “ROY, honey!” Zo called the mule. “Stop now! ROY!”

  Roy froze, stiffed-legged, and looked up at Zo, blood on his teeth and lips quivering. George lay on the ground, unconscious, beaten up and bloody.

  Zo threw her arms around the mule’s neck and stroked him. He relaxed, dropping his head in a comforted fashion.

  Claire came walking in. “I told Roy you were in trouble. I guess he took care of things for you, huh?” She looked at all the mayhem.

  The gun suddenly felt heavy in Zo’s grasp. “I killed a man, Claire.”

  Bill protested in her defense, “Whoa! What she means is, she saved my life. I am thankful. It was him or me. I’m just glad to still be here.” He looked pale and sweaty while saying it.

  Soft drumbeats pulsed. Claire stared at her mom and said, “Yes, I hear them too.”

  “Hear what?” Bill asked, looking around as if he expected a cave-in. “I don’t hear anything.”

  Captain Daniel entered. “What happened here?”

  Claire directed her attention to him. “What took you so long? I had to send in the mule!”

  “I jumped out of bed and got my pants on as fast as I could.” All indications confirmed his statement. This time, his sleek, black hair fell freely over his bare shoulders. And he didn’t have so much as a deerskin vest covering his well-defined upper body. Besides, his fly was undone.

  Zo pretended nothing was out of the norm.

  A loud siren blared. Captain Daniel motioned with an arm to follow. “C’mon, let’s go. I’ll let them know where we are and take a report at the same time.”

  Claire held up Roy’s bridle. “I took it off because I didn’t want your captors to grab hold of it and try to restrain… The Mule of Wrath.”

  “Good thinking.” Zo chuckled, and Bill agreed. After spilling her new gun’s bullets into her jeans’ pocket, she stuffed it into her belt, and rebridled Roy.

  The three followed the captain down the path. They were almost outside when three shots rang out and Zo, who was trailing the others with Roy, turned barely in time to catch the glimpse of a figure running further into the dark, deep recesses of rocks and shadows.

  Daniel took off at a run to see what happened, his gun drawn.

  Claire said, “Let’s get out of here.”

  The Kanes felt better once they were standing outside the cave walls. Roy preferred to stay within, probably to be with Goldstrike.

  Zo was about to reload her gun when they began to worry about Daniel’s safety. But he soon exited, bringing the mule and horse with him, his fly closed.

  Two police units arrived shortly afterwards, along with an ambulance. Flashing red and blue lights looked like fire skipping in the night. Zo and Claire just stood around and tried to stay out of the way as the process unfolded. When two EMTs with a stretcher began walking up the path, Daniel met them halfway and was heard saying, “This is a murder scene, and a recovery of two bodies. George was just shot and killed by an unknown suspect. Watch your step in there.”

  “Did you hear that?” Claire nudged her mother. “Someone shot George dead. I wonder who, and why…”

  Captain Daniel spoke to a couple deputies next. “Fred, you take care of taping the crime scene, and help search for evidence, until we feel we have everything. I think the shooter might still be in the caves, so be extra careful. Larry, check out the palomino, Goldstrike, for other matters of interest. Brush down his mane and coat and check his hooves for anything out of the ordinary. The mule goes home.”

  Another unit arrived, and a tired, heavyset sergeant hiked his way up with an officer. “Oh, good.” Daniel shook their hands. “Interrogate Bill here. And I think Claire is a good choice for more information; then give them a ride home. I’m leaving the rest of the detail work with you.”

  “Zo,” he said, turning to her with a smile, “you can ride Roy back to the ranch. Sound fair?”

  “Yes, Mom, ride Roy home,” Claire agreed. “He obviously loves you.”

  “Okay,” Zo said. “It’s a done deal.”

  Daniel took hold of Roy’s reins. “I’ll walk you down the mountain.”

  The moon was actually bright enough they didn’t need flashlights. Once at the bottom, Daniel offered a leg-up onto the mule, which Zo accepted, although she was feeling tired and a little depressed. Daniel handed her the reins. Then to her surprise, the handsome Indian swung his leg over Roy’s back, wrapping his arms around her waist. He cradled her comfortably in his muscular, safe arms, placing his head next to hers, nearly resting it on her shoulder.

  “You didn’t think I was going to let you ride out across this desert in the night, all alone, on this crazy spirit-mule?” His voice was soft with an undertone of immense strength.

  Roy gave a little kick.

  Daniel said, “Oh, he’s a little jealous. Let’s move on, Roy. Go home.”

  Never… Zo thought. Never was anything as wonderful as having a beautiful man with the scent of rawhide wrap his arms around me.

  “You know what?” he asked, but continued without waiting for her reply. “The evening is so comfortable, and the moon is painting the landscape beautifully.” He was speaking a little above a whisper, his breath stroking her earlobe. “Let’s just enjoy this special ride without words. You can feel my emotion in this night, which the world was created for, as a man and a woman… in the beauty of heaven all around us.”

  He folded his arms a little more tightly around her and Roy kept to a steady walk.

  Pulling her head away for a moment, she realized he was right. Every beautiful thing was magnified, especially him so close to her. His dark eyes were framed in dark lashes. His eyebrows were so defined. Hair hung romantically to one side of his face, a face painted in starlight against the sky’s black velvet.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said softly. “You take my breath away.”

  Zo closed her eyes.

  “I want to walk barefoot in your hair…” His words echoed in her mind. Barefoot in your hair… Barefoot in your hair…

  “Zo…” She was being gently shaken. “Wake up. I said we’re here.”

  “Oh!” She sat up straight, still astride Roy. “I fell asleep. I’m so sorry.”

  They were in the horse barn. Captain Daniel slid off Roy and lifted Zo onto the ground.

  “I’ll put Roy away and you can go to bed. I want to examine the stall where Brooks was attacked.”

  “Since I was so tired, I fell asleep. I wonder now if you truly said everything I thought I heard. Or was I just dreaming?”

  “Said what?” He sounded distracted while walking Roy to his stall. When Zo didn’t respond, he turned to confused stare. He said matter-of-factly, “The desert possesses magic at night. Did you experience a little of that?”

  “Yes,” Zo answered coolly. “I thought you said just before you woke me up that you wanted to walk barefoot in my hair.”

  Daniel laughed. “Now, that’s something that would be interesting… and very pleasing, I’m sure.” His smile lingered in mild amusement.

  Zo approached him. “Well… here is the result of that desert magic.” She put her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoes, and planted a kiss on his lips, sliding an arm down his back to pull him in closer. After a long, sweet moment, she drew away and headed to the ranch for bed. Looking back, she saw him standing in the same spot, motionless.

  SEVEN

  Zoey and Claire slept in until ten o’clock the next day. It wasn’t until about noon that they entered The Rusted Buckle for brunch. Although neither one of them drank coffee, the aroma smelled wonderful when it wafted through the dining room. Their showers, well-brushed hair, and fresh faces (without a spot of makeup, to Zo’s dismay), made up for their sore muscles a
nd occasional, unrestrained yawns.

  Zo ordered oatmeal, an English muffin with honey-cinnamon butter, and a cup of creamed strawberries. Claire decided on waffles with real maple syrup and butter. The creamed strawberries sounded good to her too, so she added that to the tab, plus a tall glass of milk with ice cubes.

  Other guests came in, obviously for lunch. But there was something different today—each paused a moment to smile and say hello to the Kanes.

  “Okay, ladies,” said Bill as he sat down at their table. “I’m going to buy your breakfast! And no bill for the plane ride. You might have sued me anyway. Is there anything else I can do for you, like paying all your bills at the ranch… giving you a foot rub, or anything?”

  “You can tell us why you were up in that covert cave with those two murderers,” answered Claire.

  Cindy came over, rattling a serving cart, and placed hot plates down in front of them, then the orange juice and milk.

  “What would you like, Bill?” She took out a ticket-book with pencil poised.

  “I’ll take a hamburger and fries with a raspberry lemonade.”

  “Okay. We’re all glad that you folks are alive today,” Cindy added with a smile before pushing the cart to a nearby table.

  Bill was puffy around the eyes. “They all know about the shootings at the Box Caves last night. I look like a jerk, and an idiot, and you ladies are the superheroes on muleback.”

  “That’s us,” Zo said. “And you can call her Wonder Claire.”

  “Don’t forget… The Muuule of Wrath!” Claire quipped.

  “I would never forget Roy,” assured Zo.

  Claire smoothed her brunette hair over a shoulder and asked Bill, “So, what were you doing at the Box Caves with those two?”

  “I heard them talking about money and wondered if they might like to invest in finding my gold mine. They told me to ride over with them to their own gold mine so we could talk.” He added quickly, “Did you know that those caves were only just discovered? George found them, just by looking around. The bushes have grown over the entrance. Quite covert.”