Miss Pink Investigates series Box Set Part Two

by Gwen Moffat

  ‘It didn’t occur to you to ask Sim just now where his gun was?’ There was no reply. ‘Why didn’t you, Seale?’

  ‘Because of that bloody bear, that’s why!’ She was vicious. ‘Stop badgering me.’

  Miss Pink said firmly. ‘I have no interests here, only yours, and those of your friends. You have a problem and, quite frankly, I don’t think you can handle it. From what I’ve seen of American police they can be just as hard on you as any others. We’d better see if we can work something out. If you’re not going to tell Sim, I think you should tell me why you connect him with Tye’s death. The impression you give is that, since you assume the bear wasn’t responsible for the death, then Sim was. Why?’

  ‘Not that bear. The other one—years ago; the one with the collar, that disappeared up Cougar Creek.’

  ‘Sim shot it?’

  ‘No one actually said so, but when they talk about it, to me, they’re amused, as if we shared a joke—all except Sim and Ginny. Only Wilbur said one evening, when I told him I’d found some old spurs in the attic here—he told me not to look too far at the Logan place; I might find something embarrassing. “Like what?” I asked. He was looking sly. I told him I’d probably seen more pornographic video-tapes than he’d had hot dinners: joking, you know. That’s our level of humour. Wilbur was horrified, then he came over all innocent and said: “Like a radio collar?” twisting it at the end as they do. It took me a moment to catch on and then we both laughed. I said “Sim?” and he said: “Sim ever talk to you about that bear?” He didn’t, nor Ginny; they closed up like oysters. They’d talk about bears; not that one with the radio collar. Wilbur said: “They wouldn’t, would they? Pity about the skin; that there pelt’d keep you warm nights.” ’

  Miss Pink absorbed this in silence, then asked: ‘If Tye had got hold of this story somehow, if he thought he knew who killed that bear, and he informed on Sim, could Sim have his grazing licence revoked in retrospect? Could Tye claim the ten thousand dollars reward?’

  ‘I don’t know. I’d guess Sim wouldn’t know himself. And how could Tye prove anything so long after the bear disappeared? Sim would never have been so stupid as to keep the radio collar. It would have been buried with the carcass. Nor would he have skinned it. What good is a skin if you can’t use it?’

  Miss Pink’s face lightened. ‘So he had nothing to fear from Tye. You see, once you work it out there is no reason—’ She stopped.

  ‘Perhaps,’ Seale was diffident, ‘I should have asked him if it was his gun. Should we—’

  Miss Pink stood up. ‘We’ll never get any sleep otherwise. We’ll do it now.’

  The Colt lay on the table, looking efficient and deadly despite flecks of bright rust. The Logans regarded it in amazement.

  ‘Where’d you find that?’ Logan asked. ‘It’s been out in the rain! Why’d you take it?’ Seale looked at Miss Pink in despair. Logan picked up the Colt. ‘This isn’t my gun,’ he said in relief. ‘Same model though. Where’d you find it?’

  Seale sank into a chair. ‘In Sundance.’ Her voice was weak. ‘Near the body.’

  ‘Oh, it was Tye’s! But you said he had a Magnum.’ Logan addressed Miss Pink.

  ‘He had.’

  ‘So who’s this baby belong to? Shelley?’

  ‘Shelley?’ Ginny drew it out, and the incredulity in her voice suggested yet another bizarre explanation for Tye’s death.

  Miss Pink swallowed. ‘Not Shelley. She wasn’t armed.’

  ‘So far as you know,’ Seale said, and then harshly: ‘Fetch your gun, Sim.’

  Looking intrigued and amused he left the kitchen. Ginny glanced at Seale and then at Miss Pink and by that time her face was set. No one spoke until Logan returned and placed a Colt ·45 on the table. Seale leaned her head on her hands and released her breath. Miss Pink smiled.

  ‘Same model,’ Logan said casually. ‘Something the matter, Seale?’

  ‘She thought it was your Colt she found beside the body, son.’

  Logan stared at his mother, then came round the table to Seale, who was suddenly wary. ‘You thought—’ his voice vibrated with amusement, then he sobered. ‘Oh, I get it: you made the—a connection.’

  ‘Miss Pink and me don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Ginny said quickly and with meaning.

  ‘Well, she does actually,’ Seale said. ‘Everyone in this valley suspects. Old Wilbur virtually told me, so I’ve known for a while. And I had to tell Melinda, and it was she who insisted we come across and make sure it wasn’t your Colt I found in Sundance. Mel’s a good judge of character. She guessed it wasn’t yours.’

  Logan giggled. Catching sight of his mother’s stony face, he put his arm round her shoulders and shook her gently. ‘You’re on the wrong road. Seale thought I’d put an end to Tye, and she hid the evidence. That’s loyalty, Mom.’

  ‘You thought my son were a killer?’

  Seale said: ‘What do you expect me to think when I knew Tye carried a Magnum and here was a Colt ·45, same model as Sim’s, by the body, and I knew about Sim’s murky past, as you might say? Hadn’t we all been saying Tye was asking for trouble?’

  ‘What would you have done if Sim had said it was his gun?’ Ginny asked.

  Seale met her eye. ‘I’d have buried it.’

  Ginny looked at Miss Pink. ‘And you?’

  ‘I don’t know. It’s a hypothesis and I’m not wasting my energy on hypothetical reactions. What we have to decide now is what should be done with this gun. If Seale takes it to the police she has to explain why she said nothing about it to the Farrell party or Archie Burg, why she waited until now before she told anyone. Because if she’d told you as soon as she got down, a law-abiding person would have reported it to the police.’

  ‘No problem,’ Seale said. ‘I’ll go back to Sundance and drop it near the body.’

  Logan shook his head. ‘You’d leave tracks in the snow.’

  ‘Hide it,’ Ginny suggested. ‘Only us four knows about it.’

  ‘No,’ Miss Pink said. ‘The owner knows. Who is that? And how did it come to be where it was?’

  ‘It has to be Shelley’s,’ Seale said. ‘She just never told you she had a gun. It would have been in her pack. Look at it this way: a bear attacked Tye in the open, Shelley fired three shots at it, and she panicked and ran away. Of course, Tye would be dead or she wouldn’t have left him—would she? Now she’s lost, or the bear caught up with her.’

  ‘She dropped the gun?’ Logan pondered. ‘That looks bad. You’d think, if she got away, she’d have took the gun.’

  Miss Pink said: ‘That bear ran away from me. Are you suggesting the same animal attacked and killed two people?’

  ‘Could be, ma’am. If those guys ran about screaming, firing at the beast, wounding it perhaps, it would attack.’

  ‘The bear I saw showed no sign of injury. Certainly it wasn’t badly wounded.’

  ‘Sure, but a bullet could just have grazed it. That wouldn’t show but it would certainly make the beast angry. Besides, it don’t have to be the same bear.’

  ‘We’d best get some sleep,’ Ginny said. ‘All this talk’s getting us nowhere. You got to go out, look for Shelley tomorrow, alive or dead.’

  Seale picked up the gun from Sundance. ‘I’ll take this for the time being. You two can forget you ever saw it.’

  Back in the bunkhouse she said: ‘Something’s bugging you, Mel.’

  Miss Pink subsided wearily on her bed. ‘Frank Patent. Shelley’s husband. He had to be following Shelley. He must have stopped in Prosper as he came through and someone told him the party had gone round to Wolverine. Obviously, he hadn’t been here before or word would have gone around that he was back, and looking for Shelley. And although Edna, and probably Otis, must surely be acquainted with him, neither behaved as if they were aware that he was in the locality. Surely someone would have mentioned it if he’d been seen; it makes such tantalizing gossip: the rich lady’s daughter with two men after her. Patent’s be
haviour is distinctly odd. When I met him on the other side and told him Shelley’s party had crossed the pass, he came round to Cougar. That was his car I saw in the canyon. And he hid it. He was in the back country for two days; we have only his word for it that this afternoon was his first visit to Sundance.’

  ‘My God!’ Seale breathed. She looked at the gun on the bed. ‘Our fingerprints all over it now,’ she mused. ‘Well, I’m still going to hide it. I’m in sympathy with anyone who killed Tye.’ She caught Miss Pink’s look. ‘Well, that depends … D’you know, that creep asked me if I’d got a work permit? Can you believe that?’

  ‘Have you?’

  ‘Hell, no. Why should I bother? Except when people like Tye crawl out of the woodwork.’

  ‘Gives you a motive,’ Miss Pink said coolly.

  ‘So it does. Try tracing this gun to me though.’

  ‘It’s in your possession at this moment.’

  ‘Look, seriously, do you think Frank Patent could put on an act like he did when we told him we’d found a body?’

  ‘We don’t know Patent. If it comes to that, we don’t really know anyone.’

  Seale grinned. ‘But it wasn’t Sim’s gun in Sundance. That’s a fact.’

  Miss Pink forbore to point out that a man could possess two guns—and that the police didn’t know Seale, didn’t know that she was incapable of murder. Lying in her bed, she reflected that anyone was capable of murder, but that Seale had an alibi. Since Miss Pink had arrived at the ranch (only a few hours after Shelley and Tye were seen climbing the zig-zags out of Loon Basin towards Sundance), she had been in Seale’s company almost constantly.

  ‘Seale?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Where were you on Saturday afternoon? Before I arrived.’

  ‘We were treating calves for pink eye Saturday afternoon, out back of the house. Why?’

  ‘With Sim?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Good. You have an alibi.’

  ‘Hell! I need one?’

  ‘It may come to that.’

  Chapter 7

  ‘Can Seale take care of herself?’

  This was Logan in serious vein and Miss Pink considered her answer as they rode through the foothills in search of some lost heifers. ‘Seale’s impulsive,’ she admitted, ‘but you’re well aware of that. On the other hand, she’ll be careful now that she’s aware of the consequences. I can’t see her just dropping the Colt anywhere.’

  ‘I wish you’d gone up there with her.’

  ‘It would have looked odd even to have made the suggestion. For one thing, the helicopter’s full.’

  ‘I guess you’re right at that. But I don’t like to think of her in Sundance on her own, surrounded by police, and looking for a place to drop that gun.’

  ‘She’ll think of something, don’t worry.’

  ‘It’s not myself I’m thinking about but Seale—she’s suppressed evidence. Is that how you put it?’

  ‘Yes, but there’s nothing we can do. And you should put the business of the gun out of your mind. Block it out and concentrate on cows and, for instance, telling me what to do.’

  ‘You’re quite right, ma’am—’

  ‘And please call me Melinda.’

  He grinned shyly. ‘Well, M’linda, I don’t have to tell you much. Seale said you rode drag like a proper cowboy yesterday. You’re going to have to run about more today, with just the two of us, but your horse knows what to do. It’ll be good practice for when we bring the big bunch down out of the mountains.’

  ‘That’s not going to be so difficult now, with us all pushing them down yesterday, is it?’

  ‘We won’t have got ’em all. You cleared that bunch out of Loon but with these choppers flying and men on foot with dogs, cows could be scattered all over the place by the time we start the drive.’

  ‘Won’t the snow keep them low?’

  He studied the sky. ‘It’s clearing; that snow last night will melt. Here comes the chopper now. Where did she put the gun?’

  ‘She took a small pack, just with lunch and a slicker. She said the pack wouldn’t attract attention. The Colt’s wrapped in her slicker.’

  The sheriff had telephoned at breakfast time and asked if Seale would be available to fly into Sundance and direct the police to the body. Evidently Miss Pink, as an elderly tourist, was of no account. Seale was jubilant when she replaced the telephone. ‘Made to order,’ she said. ‘I’d been wondering how I could get up there without leaving tracks.’

  ‘The Search and Rescue people will go in by helicopter too,’ Ginny pointed out. ‘Sundance will be swarming with men.’

  ‘I’ll be careful,’ Seale assured her.

  When Logan came in from feeding the calves, and told them the heifers had broken through a fence and gone off towards the Lazy S, Seale had suggested that, in view of her own absence, Miss Pink should take her place as the hired hand. So here they were, on another sparkling morning, riding through low swelling country dotted with junipers, and if the prospect of herding cattle on the open range was marred by the intermittent shuttle of helicopters, one had to accept that all that could be done to find Shelley was being done. For the moment one must concentrate on finding heifers.

  There were five miles of open country between Logan’s ranch and the Lazy S but about three miles out it was fenced. That was the boundary. Logan glanced at tracks in the mud and said: ‘They’re still going strong; what d’you say we hurry along a bit before they trample Lenhart’s oats or hay or whatever?’

  They swung into a canter, splashed through a creek and came up the bank to see a large and rugged vehicle approaching. Logan slowed to a trot. ‘Lenhart,’ he said, highly amused. ‘Come to tell me the heifers are in his oats. It must be hurting him to use that expensive Cherokee on this road.’

  ‘He’s got a full load of passengers.’

  ‘So he has.’ Consumed by curiosity they parted, Miss Pink to the passenger side where Edna rolled down the window and regarded her steadily. Her ‘Good morning’ was automatic; there was no greeting in her eyes. She had devoted a lot of time to her toilet: eye shadow and mascara were meticulously applied; there was even a trace of rouge below the high cheekbones. The effect was hard and brittle.

  Miss Pink lowered her head but was unable to see anything of the other passengers, at least of their faces. ‘I’m very sorry for all of you,’ she said. ‘If there’s anything we can do …’

  ‘Thank you. I’m taking Joe and Gale to the studio to talk to the police. We can’t go out by the highway because we’re besieged by reporters and photographers. Otis has put a man on the gate with a shotgun.’ Edna gave a grim smile. ‘He’s after badgers, of course. They’ll get past him eventually but we’re one jump ahead, coming out this way. Damned Press! Frank got away early, before they arrived at the gate, so he managed to miss them.’

  ‘Poor fellow,’ Miss Pink said, with feeling.

  ‘We managed to get some sleep,’ Edna explained, as if in justification of her cool attitude. ‘Well, the others did; I don’t feel the need for it. I keep going on nervous energy, I suppose—and bourbon. I’ve discovered that resources are unlimited when the ultimate occurs.’ Her eyes narrowed as if she were registering her own words. There was a strange expression in her eyes, an expression which Miss Pink remarked and recorded but did not at that moment identify. She nodded, mutely approving the display of fortitude. On the driver’s side of the Cherokee Lenhart and Logan were discussing heifers. There was no movement from the denim-clad thighs which were all she could see of the other two occupants. Gale and Joe could have been furniture for all the attention paid to them. Deliberately Miss Pink bent her head, and met Gale’s eyes. The woman gave no sign of recognition, and she looked wasted, haggard.

  ‘I’m glad to see you down safely,’ Miss Pink said. ‘And Joe.’ Actually she couldn’t see Joe. She went on: ‘Bear up; you’re among friends.’

  ‘Of course she is,’ Edna said warmly, taking the girl’s hand.
‘It’s all right, baby; stop worrying.’ With a radiant smile she turned back to Miss Pink: ‘Shelley’s alive, you know; I’m utterly convinced of that.’

  Gale shrank from the older woman. Joe put an arm round her shoulders and ducked his head so that he could see Miss Pink’s face. ‘We all hope so,’ he said soberly. ‘They haven’t found Irving’s gun. If Shelley has it, then—’ He hesitated. He might have been about to say: “then perhaps she is still alive” but must have decided this did not indicate sufficient optimism in the circumstances. ‘Then she had adequate protection,’ he ended lamely.

  ‘Yes,’ Miss Pink said, adding, with no idea of accuracy: ‘A Magnum has all the stopping power necessary for a bear.’

  ‘I expect so.’ Joe’s tone was dull. ‘But a Colt ·45 is a heavy weapon too.’

  Miss Pink straightened her back, stifling a gasp as her stretched muscles protested, but not caring about pain, concerned only not to miss a nuance in their voices or a shadow in Edna’s face. Joe’s remark had fallen in a sudden silence between the ranchers and over the roof of the Cherokee, Logan’s eyes flickered towards Miss Pink. He addressed Lenhart.

  ‘Who had a Colt?’

  ‘Tye had.’

  ‘It’s not been found,’ Edna told Miss Pink earnestly. ‘You didn’t find it, so I’m quite sure Shelley took it. She has her wits about her.’ The words were brave but she frowned and her hand flew to her mouth.

  Miss Pink backed her horse until she could see all their faces. ‘Who was carrying the Magnum?’ she asked.

  ‘No one.’ Joe gave her a sick smile. ‘Only Irving carried a gun. The girls didn’t know any difference, and why should I care if he wanted to pretend a Colt was a Magnum?’ He shrugged. ‘It seemed a harmless bit of swank.’

  There was a grunt from Lenhart and he reached for the gear lever. The riders continued, walking now. Even before the Cherokee was out of sight, Logan was saying, squirming with excitement: ‘That was Tye’s Colt! He were just showing off, calling it a Magnum.’

  ‘His gun,’ she agreed, ‘and three shots fired from it, and Shelley missing. And most curious of all: the mother is convinced that her daughter is alive. Two nights ago Edna was hysterical about Shelley’s fate even before Tye’s body was found. Now, whether Tye died of hypothermia or was killed by a bear, he died horribly—’ Miss Pink looked sideways at her companion who, less perceptive, completed the projected theory: ‘So what makes Edna think that Shelley didn’t die the same way: either in Sundance and the bear dragged her off so now the body’s covered with snow, which is why it’s not been found, or it’s laying somewhere in the timber? Maybe it’ll never be found. But certainly Edna don’t act as if that’s what happened.’