Murder at the Dude Ranch

by Vickie Carroll

  “They can’t leave until we have questioned everyone, and the autopsy is done so you’ll be stuck with them. Hope they paid the bill already.”

  “Yes, they paid in advance, but I can certainly see why they’d want their money back.”

  “This has nothing to do with you or the ranch, unless someone on your ranch is the killer, of course, and I can’t see that. So, Sam Henson brought the killer with him or to him, Abby. It’s all about him, not about being here on the ranch. Technically, they can leave after I’m done with their statements unless something comes out about one or more of them that requires that I hold them. But I’m not going to mention that just yet.”

  “Oh Bobby, this has been the longest three days of my life!”

  “It must be, and I’m sorry. Talk about a stressful beginning. But look at it this way, you will have weathered the worst, and everything else will be a breeze after this.”

  “Easy for you to say—your business won’t be known for its brutal murder scene.”

  “Who knows, Abby, that could be a draw.”

  “Oh, that’s ghoulish, Bobby. I hope not, but that reminds me, Teresa Moore, Miss PR wonder woman never returned my call, and now she needs to get her PR head around a murder. She’ll be dropping me as a client like a hot tamale!”

  They had reached the guest house now, and Abby had second thoughts about going in, but Bobby held out his hand and she took it. “Come on, you can do it. Let me do the talking, and you just pay attention to their reactions for me.”

  “It’s still early, I hope they are up at least,” Abby said.

  They made their way into the open area that served as a gathering and eating spot and found everyone at the table eating breakfast. They all looked up when Abby and Bobby came in, but Abby didn’t notice anyone in particular looking scared or nervous. She stood back as Bobby went toward the table, hat in hand.

  After Bobby explained what had happened, in the least gruesome way that he could, he asked them all to get dressed and he and his staff, two deputies due any minute, would be taking statements. Jill Henson looked pale and shaken but didn’t cry, but Sam’s two sisters both cried and clung to each other as they went to their rooms to dress. After they returned, Bobby separated Jill from the others and guided her out onto the side porch. He brought her coffee and sat down with her as his deputies arrived and divided up the others. Abby went back to the ranch house to let her crew know what was going on. Though Danny and Leon had been questioned by Bobby already, they too would need to make a formal statement. Abby found them in the kitchen now drinking coffee and filling Sandy in on the news. Cami was nowhere in sight, and she would have to find her and tell her Sam was dead. She didn’t look forward to that.

  Left with nothing to do but wait Abby decided to go for a walk before the sun got too hot to make it uncomfortable. As she stepped off the porch, she realized that Cami’s car was gone, and she punched in her number on her cell. It immediately went to voice mail, and Abby left her a message: call me, urgent.

  Abby’s next call was to Teresa Moore who finally answered on the fourth ring and sounded out of breath. “Oh, Hi, Abby, sorry I didn’t get back to you, I was out of town. So, what’s this story about someone shooting at Sam Henson?”

  “Oh, if only that was it, Teresa. Sam Henson was murdered last night or sometime early this morning behind my stables.”

  Abby heard nothing—no intake of breath, not even breathing. Then Teresa hissed out a whispered sound that was not quite a word, but more like a cry.

  “Yes, I’m afraid so, Teresa, and I know there is nothing you can do really. There is an investigation of course, and we will just have to let it all play out. Maybe we can do something after they figure out who killed him and why, and then we can try to separate that from my ranch. What a nightmare.”

  “Hmm, yes,” Teresa said.

  “Well, I just wanted you to know. Did you know him, Teresa?”

  “What? Oh, know him, well, sort of. I mean who didn’t. He was friends with some of my friends and business associates.”

  “You didn’t mention it before,” Abby said.

  “Like I said, it was more of a know-of-him kind of thing versus actually knowing him. A lot of people knew who he was. He was Evan’s friend, right?”

  “He wasn’t really Evan’s friend, he met him through a friend, strictly a social contact.”

  “Yeah, well, same with me. Look, I’ve got to run. Thanks for letting me know and don’t worry, we’ll put a spin on this thing once it’s over.”

  “Right. Let’s hope for the best. Right now, I just feel so bad for his family.”

  “Hmm, yes, see you soon, Abby.”

  Abby’s conversation with Teresa left her wondering again what kind of woman she was—certainly a complex one. Evan was next on her call list, and at least she didn’t dread that call. She had just started to send him a text when she received a text from Bobby asking about Cami’s whereabouts. She replied she didn’t know but would call her parents. Bobby texted back he would need to talk to her as part of the investigation since she was supposedly on the property at the time as well as all the others. Oh, now that wouldn’t go down easy, she thought as she went back to the house.

  Evan called her back after she had sent the text and Abby updated him on all the events. He offered to come out and be with her, but she declined. She learned one interesting thing from the call however, it had been Teresa who had also encouraged Evan to contact Sam Henson, after he mentioned his friend, Ernie knew him. Abby asked Evan to check with his friend about Teresa’s connection to Sam. She made a note to talk to Bobby about this latest tidbit.

  Abby helped Sandy prepare lunch for everyone including Bobby and the deputies as they wrapped up their questioning of all the guests and staff. Bobby came into the kitchen now and sat at the table. “Whew, glad that part is done.”

  Sandy put a glass of iced tea in front of him and a chicken sandwich. “Thanks, Sandy. Guess that only leaves you, Abby.”

  “Me? What do you need from me?”

  “A formal statement.”

  “Here it is: Danny called me and woke me up to tell me Sam Henson was dead behind the stables before seven. I was wearing my frog pajamas.”

  “Noted, but I’ll leave out the PJ comment.”

  “Seriously, Bobby, what are you thinking about who the killer might be?”

  “I’m trying to work backwards: what was Sam doing behind the stables and dressed, and why kill him that way?”

  “Wouldn’t you have to be strong to kill someone like that?” Abby asked.

  “No, not really. You come from behind and all you have to do is pull and twist, and as long as you can keep your grip so they can’t pull off the rope or whatever the garrote is made from, you’ll have the advantage because they will lose consciousness and you can finish the job without a lot of struggle.”

  “That sounds horrible.” Sandy said.

  Bobby took a long drink of tea. “Yes, I believe the Spanish invented it, or perfected it, whatever the right word is.”

  Abby refilled his tea and her own. “So, someone tries to shoot him and that goes wrong, and the very same night or next morning they come here and do this?”

  “I can guess better once we have the time of death form the coroner, but his first guess about that was between one and three in the morning.”

  Sandy sat a plate of brownies on the table. “Sounds like someone was pretty desperate to see him dead.”

  Bobby looked at Sandy. “Exactly, Sandy, and thanks for reminding me of that. It tells us something, but I’m not sure what just yet.”

  “When do you think you’ll let them all leave, the group? Are you getting a lot of resistance from them about being here now?” Abby asked.

  “No, the autopsy has to be done before we can release the body, and they all seemed to want to stay here until that was done so I didn’t have to do a lot of persuading. It is much easier for me and the team if everyone is here in one p
lace. I know this is uncomfortable for everyone, but they will be around for a few more days if I can string things out a bit.”

  “Geez, what am I supposed to do with them? No one is going to want to ride, learn roping, or have a big cookout now.”

  “Maybe you should ask them what they want to do, Abby,” Sandy said.

  “That’s brilliant, Sandy, and I will do that. I’ll go over after lunch and talk to them once things have settled down a bit.”

  “They might want some distractions, though I can’t imagine what that would be,” Sandy said. “I mean, really—what do you do after something like this?”

  After Bobby recorded Abby’s official statement, he decided to drive over to Cami’s parents’ house to see if he could find her hiding out. Abby made him promise to let her know if he found Cami. If Bobby found her, he would be the one to tell her about Sam, and Abby was fine with that because she didn’t want the task.

  Abby picked up her notebook and pen and made her way to the guest house. She had written down some ideas for her guests including another ride, and an outdoor cookout just to get them outside, but she couldn’t imagine anything else they would want. She found them around the table now finishing their lunch. She went to the table and pulled up a chair.

  “I can’t think what all of you must be feeling right now, but I’m just here to say, let me know what I can do to make the rest of your time here as easy as possible. Would anyone like to get out of the house in the morning for a ride, and maybe we could cook outside tomorrow for lunch. I’m just trying to think of things…”

  “To keep us occupied, Abby?” Jill Henson said.

  “Yes, that and so you won’t go stir crazy cooped up in here. I’m not expecting you to want to see roping and riding displays, of course.”

  Cathy, Sam’s sister stood up and ran her hands through her hair. “It’s my fault he was here. He did this for me, this trip.”

  “That’s not true, Cathy. Whoever wanted to kill him would have found him no matter where he was,” Steve Marlow, her fiancé said. He got up and put his arm around her. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

  Abby watched them leave and glanced around the table at the others. Diane, Sam’s other sister, and her husband, Brian sat at one end of the table across from each other. Brian was staring out the window and Diane was twisting her napkin.

  Jill stood up and looked around the table. “Yes, let’s all go for a ride in the morning before it gets too hot, and maybe have the cookout when the sun goes down, how about that?”

  Abby stood and looked around the table, hopeful she could make them at least more comfortable. “I can make that work for you. All of you want to ride?”

  Jill nodded in agreement and no one else said anything. Abby got up and looked around the table again. “I’ll have the guys ready the horses for everyone at nine in the morning unless I hear from you differently before the end of the day.”

  Lou Collins and his wife, Erin, who had said very little to Abby up until then both got up and asked if they could talk to her privately. They followed her outside, and Abby kept trying to recall their connection to Sam Henson. They had walked about halfway to Abby’s house when Lou stopped. “Here is fine, I just wanted some privacy. The thing is Abby, Erin and I want to get out of here. Do you have any pull with this sheriff so we can leave?”

  “Oh, I see. But no, Mr. Collins, there is nothing I can do until the sheriff gives the word, but it should be in a couple of days. What was your connection to Sam?”

  “Friend, and we share—shared some business interests too.”

  “Do you have any idea who would want to hurt him?”

  “Now you sound like the sheriff, Abby, but no, like I told the sheriff, Sam made enemies like you do in business, but to kill him, no, I can’t imagine.”

  “Sheriff Johns is a smart guy. He was a homicide detective in Dallas, so I am sure he will work it all out,” Abby said.

  “So, we’re stuck here and may as well make the most of it, Lou,” Erin Collins said. She pulled on her husband’s arm now. “Let’s walk over and see the horses.”

  Abby watched them go and her only thought was that they didn’t seem that upset by Sam’s death. Another tidbit for Bobby.

  After sharing her observations with Bobby via phone call, he told her Cami had been home but had left for parts unknown, per her parents. He said his next call would be to her employer if she didn’t call him back in an hour. He asked Abby to try to contact her again. Abby didn’t want to talk to her about Sam’s death, but somebody needed to make sure she knew and was okay. Bobby said her parents hadn’t heard about it, so as far as they knew, Cami had no idea yet. Soon it would be on the news and Abby didn’t want Cami to find out that way.

  Abby punched in Cami’s number as she walked back to the house, and again, it went to voice mail. She puffed out a sigh of frustration. What was she thinking, pulling another disappearing act?

  Bobby was busy doing his official duties and had no time to update her on anything, which Abby found frustrating, but understood. He sent a deputy out to the ranch to check out a few more details and ask some follow up questions, and to arrange a formal meeting with the group for the following day at two. It sounded as if Bobby might be ready to give them an official cause of death and to let them go, but she was guessing. Abby reminded the deputy that the group was going for another ride at nine the following morning, and the deputy said he’d clear it with the sheriff. He thought Bobby might want one of them to be on the ride as well.

  Abby went back to the house to re-group and let Sandy know about the cookout. The rest of the day rocked on and Abby waited in vain for word from Cami or any updates from Bobby. She knew he must be hard at work on background checks for her guests. More than anything, Abby wanted this week to end.

  The group was served dinner later and the ride for the following morning was confirmed. They decided on a lunchtime cookout before Bobby was scheduled to arrive for his meeting with the group. Abby hoped after that the guests could depart on Friday as planned. This event had her rethinking her plan for a dude ranch. She had learned a lot of lessons about what it would take going forward but the question she was now asking—did she really want to go forward? Her life in San Antonio now seemed so calm and easy compared to this.

  Abby decided to take a long bath and left her cell phone in the other room. She had endured about all the stress she could handle for one day, and tomorrow looked to be just as stressful. But she couldn’t help but check her phone for messages when she returned to her bedroom. Bobby had sent a text asking if she’d heard from Cami so that must mean he had not. She scrolled through a few messages to see make sure Cami had not responded via Email, but nothing. She replied to Bobby, and he answered back that he’d try to come an hour before his meeting with the group to talk to her first and update her as much as he could.

  The last thing Abby thought about before drifting off to sleep was Cami. Where was she and what did she hope to gain by acting like a spoiled child by not responding to anyone?

  Abby woke before her alarm the next morning as if her body knew it was going to be an eventful day and wanted to get to it. It was a little after six and she made her way into her quiet kitchen, the only sound was the muted tick of her dad’s old wall clock. Though the clock clashed against the renovated kitchen, it comforted her now. She looked at it and wished with all her heart that her dad was sitting at the table to talk this out with her, to tell her what she should do. She hit the button on the coffee maker and went to the pantry to find cereal. She wanted to be at the stables to see her guests off for their ride, and to help Sandy with the cookout prep later, and that meant a full day ahead.

  By the time the guests were ready to saddle up Abby was already at the stables talking to Danny and Leon and looking over the horses. Jill was the first one to show up looking oddly cheerful. The rest of the group soon followed and seemed ready for the distraction. Abby waved them off and reminded them the cookout wo
uld be at noon followed by the sheriff’s visit at two. Bobby had sent a deputy to go along on the ride. She looked up at the sky and whispered a silent prayer: don’t let anything else bad happen today!

  Abby started back to the house when her phone pinged. Finally, a text from Cami. It was short: what’s going on and why is Bobby looking for me?

  She replied: where are you?

  There was a delay for a minute or more before Cami replied: at my place in LA, why? What does Bobby want?”

  Instead of replying via text Abby called her and Cami picked up on the first ring. “What the heck does Bobby want?”

  “You need to come back here now Cami, there’s been—it’s bad Cami, Sam Henson has been murdered.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Someone killed Sam Henson behind the stables yesterday morning, the day after someone tried to shoot him and missed. Bobby needs your statement because you were on the property at the time.”

  At first Abby thought Cami had hung up, but she heard her sniffling. “Cami, are you okay?”

  “Murdered? Abby, who?”

  “That’s what Bobby needs to figure out, Cami. Can you get back here and give your statement so he can wrap up that part?”

  Abby heard her give a long dramatic sigh. “Sure, if I must. I’ll see if I can get a flight out tomorrow morning. I’ll text you with the information.”

  “Yes do, and Bobby can get one of the deputies to pick you up. It will save you time and money.”

  “Sure, okay, let me go then and I’ll work on that.”

  “Are you sure you’re all right, Cami?”

  “Yes, I just need some time to process, Abby.”

  “Okay, I’ll let Bobby know you’re coming.”

  “Thanks, Abby. Tell him to stop stalking me, I’m on my way back.”

  Abby sent Bobby a text to update him and then went to help Sandy with cookout prep just to keep busy because Sandy really didn’t need her.

  Sandy had things well in hand, her graying hair pinned up on her head, wearing her favorite apron, the one with red Texas boots on the front. She paused to wash her hands when Abby came in. “Hey there, how are things? Did you find Cami?”