Hoover said, “I’d say someone doesn’t want us out here looking for your cows.”
“I think you’re right. I get the impression they are trying to scare us off. Dumb of him to whack me. I wonder why he didn’t shoot us.”
Hoover shrugged. “They’re cattle rustlers, not killers. Two different mind sets. Some people like killing for killing. Some people like to steal things. I guess it is the thrill and excitement it breeds. These guys are just trying to scare us.”
“That explains it.”
“Turn around. Let me see how bad you got burned.”
Hoover pulled the tatters of the vest from Jake’s back. “Down smells horrible when it burns. Doesn’t look like it burned through to the skin. You’re wet. It’s going to be a cold night.”
Jake took off the vest and examined it. “At least I didn’t cremate myself. Not much left. I really liked this vest.”
“You needed a new one. You’re going to have a nice bump on the side of your face. Did you get any licks back?”
“I never saw it coming.”
“Whoever it was, took off before I got here.”
They sat a spell, not talking. Jake rubbed the side of his head. He could feel a bump. “Who could that have been? I walked all around here and didn’t see any tracks. He’s mighty sneaky whoever he is.”
“I’m wondering if it isn’t the same outfit that was operating over in the three corners area south of Jordan Valley. They never were caught, just seemed to go underground. Maybe they’ve resurfaced.”
“Weren’t they using GPS and ATVs? This terrain is too rough for ATVs.”
“Yes, they were which means our rustlers know horses real good, this country and what they are doing.”
“Which means it’s most likely someone who worked for us at one time.”
Hoover nodded, sipping on his whiskey. “That’s always the case. Let’s go down the list. Who isn’t working for you now?”
“The two guys that Cody got mixed up with come first to mind. They’d be the obvious.”
“What were their names?”
“Walt Long and Ralph Barber.”
“I’ll run a check when we get back. See if I can turn up what happened to them.”
“There was never a conviction. No concrete evidence. Cody was never indicted.”
“I guess Cody’s in the best place for him now.”
“I guess but it’s a shame. He had such promise. Opal can hardly talk about him without tearing up. She had big hopes for him.”
“Funny how some people get on the wrong side of the law.”
“I guess you see a lot of that.”
“More than I’d like.”
“Have you found anything on the bones in the hot spring?”
“The lab report from the State isn’t back yet. That may take a while. Seems there was a real bone spill there. Someone may have been using the site as a bone dump over the years.”
“That sounds like a serial murderer to me.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Some of the bones may not be human. Some looked older than others.”
“Interesting. Any leads?”
Hoover shook his head. “Little’s wives, the girl Jim Brewster said never made it to his house. The other missing females on file don’t lead anywhere. We’ll have to throw out a wider net instead of focusing regionally.” He paused and shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows, maybe we unearthed a brontosaurus in cowboy gear.”
“That angle sounds as likely as any.” Jake sighed. “I could use a cup of coffee.”
“Me, too. We could try to get the fire going again.”
“Then they’ll be able to shoot us for sure.”
“Not going to get much sleep tonight.”
“Probably not. Too cold and too dangerous. What do you say to a game of flashlight poker?”
Eight
Dust devils followed Jake’s truck and trailer into the ranch. Thunder clouds multiplied on the western horizon. Heat radiated in hot spikes from the dusty ground. He stopped the truck by the stock tank, and Hoover helped him unload and water the horses.
Jake’s head hurt, and his cheek was puffy. They had ridden further on at first light and rode until they found where the trailer had been parked to load the cattle that had been stolen. Jake had found an impression of truck tires visible enough to snap a photo. From the track impressions they had guessed it was a one ton truck with at least one bad tire. That wasn’t much to go on.
Confirmation of the thievery had put Jake in a wicked mood. That and his head hurting and lack of sleep made him want to find the nearest bed and lie down. But first he had to report the bad news to Opal, who was working in the garden.
She was philosophical. “I’m not surprised but that doesn’t make the financial loss any easier. This will cut way into this year’s profits. You boys look beat. Come inside and have some iced tea. I fixed a fresh pitcher this morning.”
“Where are the house guests?” Jake asked, as he sank into a kitchen chair.
“They are around here somewhere. They went to town yesterday and never got back until this morning. They had a run in with Ann King at one of the restaurants, and she told Fiona not to drive under the influence so Lauren Brooks put them up for the night. If you ask me those two can get into more trouble.” She shook her head and lowered her voice. “That Olympia is a bad influence.”
“Who’s a bad influence?” said Fiona, sashaying into the kitchen like she was queen of the outback with Olympia right behind her.
They were dolled up in fancy, swirly skirts and tight tank tops, a vision to behold. Both men sat up a little straighter and smiled.
Opal shook her head, sat glasses of tea before Hoover and Jake and fetched two more glasses for the girls.
Fiona sat down by Jake and Olympia by Hoover.
“Wow,” said Fiona, noticing Jake’s face, “what happened to you?”
Jake gave a short version of what happened and what they had found.
“I didn’t know tracking cattle rustlers could be so dangerous,” said Olympia. “It’s a good thing we didn’t go along.”
“We heard you girls have been adventuring on your own,” said Hoover. “Did that include the beauty parlor? It smells real good in here. Jake was starting to stink.”
“We treated ourselves to an afternoon of luxury. We had to spend the night in town, so we thought we’d have a girl day today to recover.”
Jake said, “I heard. Did you get another ticket?”
Fiona glanced at Hoover. “Just a little one.”
Hoover laughed. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that tickets come in sizes. Money sizes maybe.”
“I meant it was nothing. Only a little thing. I’ll get it straightened out.”
“I hear you’ve been asking questions around town,” said Hoover.
“I guess that shouldn’t surprise me that you found out. I’m not used to operating in a small town.”
Hoover smiled. “Not much goes on here I don’t hear about.”
“I was doing a little asking around about Jim Brewster.”
“Would you like to share what you’ve found out?”
“One thing I heard was that he was involved with one of Hank Little’s wives.”
“That’s rumor, you understand. Brewster’s not saying, and she’s gone missing. What was your source?”
“Lauren Brooks.”
“I see. There’s something you maybe don’t understand about this town. People talk and speculate and some, like Lauren, are particularly good about spreading gossip. What’s important are the facts.”
“Yes, sir, we detectives try to keep to the facts but sometimes rumor leads you somewhere else.”
Hoover laughed. “You’re not bad, Fiona. What else?”
“I wanted to know more about the girl he said never arrived. Her name is Pattie Smith, and she has relatives here.”