Zeph Undercover

by Jenny Andersen

  She smiled. “Got me there. I said before I’d do anything to get those animals away from him. Now’s my chance.”

  “How are we even going to find all the horses? It’s dark, and I didn’t see any sign of outside lights.”

  “We’ll use the headlights. And I’ve got a couple of flashlights in the back.”

  Her voice shook, and Zeph touched her shoulder in reassurance. “Worried about what we’ll find?”

  “Of course.”

  “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it.”

  Her mouth curved. “Thanks.” She stopped the truck in the middle of the yard, with the lights trained on a cluster of pens. Two horses crowded close to the gates of the nearest corral. “Let’s start with them.”

  Zeph grabbed a flashlight and investigated the water troughs. “All dry.” He found a dilapidated hose and filled the tanks while Allie pitched hay. The hungry horses jostled to get at the food.

  “You’re getting good at this,” she said, moving to the next corral. “We make a good team. Here’s number three. Can you find the other two while I finish here?”

  “Sure.”

  He picked his way through the cluttered yard toward the corrals dimly visible along one side of the barn.

  “One more over here, Allie,” he shouted.

  She came to his side. “Ugh. What died?”

  Zeph edged around the corner, playing the light back and forth ahead of him. “Geezus H,” he muttered, backing away. “That damned Seldon threw his dogs on the manure pile. I’ve got to say, honey, that he is one worthless waste of space.”

  “I’m not going to argue. I want to feel sorry for him, I’ve always wanted to, because he’s had a hard life and he’s such a pathetic little weasel, but that’s over the line. Come on. Let’s finish up and get out of here. We can deal with the mess tomorrow.”

  Zeph looked at the sagging barn. “The fifth horse must be in there.”

  “I’ll get it. Stay here.”

  “No way,” he said, and started after her.

  “I mean it. I don’t think this place is safe, and I want you outside to rescue me.” She flashed him a quick grin and darted inside the dark building. The grin faded as she tiptoed deeper into the dilapidated building, sending the flashlight beam darting ahead of her.

  A huge horse, a pitch black giant, loomed out of the dark in the first stall. “You must be part Clydesdale, you’re such a big boy.” She opened the stall door, keeping up the flow of meaningless talk. Thank goodness the horse wore a halter. “Come on, old boy. Let’s get you out of here.”

  He came along willingly enough, and she’d started to breathe more easily when somewhere deep in the shadows of the barn, an unseen creature made a scuffling noise and knocked over something that fell with a loud clang. The horse bolted and lurched against the barn wall. Allie’s heart nearly stopped at the creak of rotten old wood giving way. The wall began to bow outward. The horse whinnied, a thin, shrill scream that tore the night, and began to back toward the safety of his stall.

  An old feed sack lay just inside the door. She grabbed it and tried to whip it over the plunging horse’s head. Suddenly Zeph was by her side, grabbing the sack, reaching higher than she could, blindfolding the horse. He stepped aside to whack the broad rump.

  The horse shot forward as the overhead beams began to fall and Allie ran, stumbled, grabbed a handful of mane, let the horse tow her out into the yard, scarcely aware of what was happening. “Zeph,” she screamed, her mind blank with horror that he’d been trapped in the collapsing barn.

  “Right here, honey,” he answered close behind her. “I grabbed the horse’s tail and let him pull me clear. Glad you told me that story about getting horses out of a burning barn.”

  “My God,” Allie said when she’d stopped the horse and looked back at the remains of the barn. “My dear God,” she said and started to shake.

  Adrenaline reaction. Zeph had a little case of the shakes himself now that the fun was over. He put an arm around her. “It’s okay,” he soothed. “We’re okay. And you were right. That barn wasn’t safe.”

  The horse shifted nervously, tugging at the lead rope Allie held. She took off the blindfold and led him to the watering trough that stood in the middle of the yard. The horse calmed under her soft words and touches and began to drink.

  “Why in God’s name would anyone keep an animal in a place like that?” Zeph asked.

  “No telling. Maybe the empty corrals have bad fences that Wend hadn’t gotten around to fixing. Could be he was afraid this guy would just knock the corrals over.”

  “He should have thought harder about the barn.”

  “I agree. Are you okay?”

  “A board hit my shoulder. It just skinned down my arm. I’m fine.”

  Allie shivered. “I couldn’t have done this without your help.”

  “Aw, shucks, ma’am. Twarn’t nothin’,” Zeph drawled.

  “It’s no joke.”

  “I know.” He cleared his throat. “What are we going to do with the horses?”

  “Leave the four in the corrals. This one’s cut up a little. If I can fit him in the trailer, we’ll take him back to the clinic.” She led the trembling animal toward the horse trailer in the middle of the yard and coaxed him in. “There we go. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  She climbed in and started the truck. When the headlights flashed across the remains of the barn she stopped. “My God, Zeph. We could have been killed in there.”

  ****

  The next morning Zeph and Lincoln climbed into Allie’s truck. She’d hitched the four-horse trailer on the back, ready to rescue the rest of Seldon’s horses. He’d be happy to help, but his real goal was the opportunity to search the house. Even though Wendover wasn’t part of the building scam, Zeph couldn’t let go of the feeling that he’d find something. Maybe Lander, before he got sent up, had been involved.

  Or maybe this was just an excuse to spend more time with Allie. Even with her father along, time with Allie was precious. And maybe, just maybe, if he worked hard enough this morning—well, stupid as it might be, he hated having Lincoln thinking of him as “that effete city dude.”

  Lincoln stopped the car in the middle of the trash-littered yard and sat staring at the wreckage of the barn while Allie jumped out and started hauling empty boxes up to the house. He hadn’t said a word the whole way out here, but apparently the sight of the collapsed barn had loosened his vocal cords. “Allie told me you’d damaged the barn. She didn’t say you’d leveled it.”

  “I didn’t. The horse did it.” Frowning, Zeph studied the destruction. “And when we left, only the front section was down. The back part must have caved in later.”

  “Worthless piece of shit,” Lincoln muttered.

  Zeph didn’t know if the old boy referred to the barn or Seldon—or him. “Yeah,” he muttered, well aware that he hadn’t been forgiven for taking Allie into danger. “But she had to do this.”

  “She feels guilty because we never liked the Seldons,” Lincoln said. “Wendover’s the best of the bunch, I guess. He’s only pathetic. His brothers, now, they’re all real hard cases. Or were, before two of them died.”

  “All? More than Lander?”

  She nodded. “Wendover and Lander had two older brothers. Elko and Ely were killed in a bar fight about fifteen years ago.”

  “Nice family.”

  Lincoln snorted.

  “So we’re doing this because Allie’s on a guilt trip?” Zeph asked. “Truth is, I couldn’t care less if Seldon rots in jail. The guy’s twisted as a corkscrew and stupid besides. Plus, this gives me a legal chance to search the house.”

  Allie came up to the SUV window. “Are you two going to sit here all morning staring at the barn?”

  Lincoln climbed out of the car. Zeph jumped out and went to Allie.

  “Did you see anything in there that we should reclaim?” Lincoln asked.

  “Not really, Dad. It was dark. I think something big�
�a car or tractor—was back in the corner. But Wend didn’t say anything about that. He just asked me to get the horses and personal stuff. I’ll go check the horses before we pack up.”

  “I want a look at the barn,” Zeph said.

  “It’ll take a bulldozer to deal with that.” Lincoln shook his head. “What a mess. Hard to believe he let it go like this. I remember when his mother’s family…well, enough of that.”

  “Am I supposed to feel guilty? No way in hell. Any structure that rickety should have been demolished long ago.”

  “True. But that’s the second time you’ve put my daughter in mortal danger.” The glare Lincoln bent on him must have served him well in the courtroom. Any minute now, he’d pronounce sentence.

  Zeph met the glare with a steady gaze. “As if I don’t feel guilty enough already, damn it.” He turned to the pile of debris that had been a barn. “I’m going to bury those dogs.” He turned on his heel and strode to the back of the SUV for the shovel he’d stowed there.

  Lincoln followed him around the wreckage of the barn. The collapse had covered the manure pile. “You could leave them—”

  Zeph ignored him, intent on inspecting the jackstraw pile of lumber. “They should be right about there,” he said, and started pulling away boards.

  After a moment, Lincoln moved to help.

  “Careful.” Zeph grunted as they tugged a long six by six from the pile. All he needed now was for Allie’s dad to get hurt on his watch. Even as the thought flitted through his mind, the pile shifted and rotting wood started to cascade toward Lincoln.

  If he could ram the six by six just there...he yanked it loose and shoved with all his strength, slotting it into a pivot point and heaving against the falling timbers.

  Lincoln jumped back and the pile of wood settled uneasily. “Thanks.”

  Zeph nodded, too shaken to say anything. He stepped back and stared at the pile of boards.

  After a long silence, Lincoln said, “There,” and pointed at the furry bodies that had been uncovered by the shifting wood.

  “Right. Guess I better start digging.”

  “You’re full of surprises,” Lincoln said when the nasty job had been completed. “Didn’t figure those muscles to be good for anything outside a gym.”

  Zeph pulled off his shirt and sluiced water from the horse trough over himself. “Damn, that’s cold. You’re something of a surprise yourself. Didn’t figure you for doing anything outside your office.” He shivered in the breeze and pulled the shirt back over damp skin.

  “I guess we both got a surprise. Now if you’d only stop putting my girl in life-threatening situations…”

  Allie marched over to them. “If you two have all the male bonding stuff done, maybe we could get to work at the house. I’ve got appointments this afternoon.”

  Zeph welcomed the change of subject. There wasn’t anything he could say to Lincoln, and nothing Lincoln said could make him feel worse about what had nearly happened to Allie. Twice. He followed Allie to the house, Lincoln on his heels.

  “Is the house as bad as the outbuildings?” he asked as she led the way up the sagging steps into the barren parlor.

  “Probably won’t fall down. Outside of that, it’s worse,” Allie answered. She walked through the living room and peered into a bedroom. “No wonder Wend said not to bother with furniture. There’s almost none.”

  “Thank goodness,” Zeph said. “I didn’t want to deal with Seldon’s take on interior decorating.” He looked around the untidy rooms, all visible from where he stood. Dirty dishes cluttered the kitchen table and counter. More dishes overflowed from a box in front of the couch and onto the floor. The parlor contained no other furniture…except a large, new television. Dirty clothes mounded in one corner and half an inch of dust covered most of the mess.

  “I’m guessing the TV is stolen,” Zeph said.

  “Wend didn’t mention anything except a few personal things in his room.”

  “Geez-us,” Zeph complained. “How could anyone live like this? Nothing but dirt, the TV, and a bunch of movies.”

  “That’s just as well,” Lincoln put in. “Less work. But I remember when Sharon was alive...the Seldons never were much for books or paintings, but she kept the place clean. And they did have furniture. My guess is that the boys started selling off the household goods after she died.”

  “Sad,” Allie said. She’d half-filled a garbage bag with Wendover’s clothes, and a small box with pictures and miscellany. “Best she never knew.”

  Zeph poked through the box of keepsakes. “This must have been their mother’s stuff…a pressed flower, some letters.” He took them into the kitchen to read. No way would he touch the stained and sagging sofa.

  Allie came into the room and put a hand on his shoulder. “Nosy, aren’t you?”

  He looked up. “Hey, it’s my job. Anyway, these aren’t anything but old love letters. I’m going to take another look around the house.”

  “What do you expect to find? I thought you figured Wend didn’t have anything to do with your case.”

  “Probably doesn’t. But I’m not going to pass up the chance to make sure.” He leaned back in the chair and put a hand on her waist to pull her closer. “What are you doing for the rest of the day?”

  “Worming horses. Neutering a couple of dogs.”

  Zeph shuddered. “Sorry I asked.”

  “There’s always tomorrow.”

  “Hold that thought.” He handed her the letters. “Got a flashlight in the truck?”

  Allie nodded. “Good idea. I wouldn’t want you to risk groping around in dark corners in this place.” She leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “I’ll be right back.”

  Zeph looked up and saw Lincoln follow her out to the porch. He stood there, arms crossed, watching her walk across the yard and back. Zeph sighed. He couldn’t blame Lincoln for not trusting him with Allie. He didn’t trust himself, if it came down to that.

  When Allie handed him the flashlight, he went through the house. No pictures. No music. No books. The sofa hunched in front of the TV, so dilapidated he slit the upholstery without even a twinge of guilt, but it held nothing of interest. He glanced at the stack of VHS tapes, his lip curling in disgusted expectation of a collection of porn. Instead, Allie’s comment of sad had hit the target. Seldon, sleazy and thoughtlessly cruel jerk that he was, had a tattered and well-viewed collection of children’s movies. Classic, happy-ending films. Bambi, Cinderella, Snow White. Shrek, The Incredibles, Toy Story. All the bright, glittering lives that Seldon had never had a chance to see, except on the screen.

  Zeph shook his head, trying to deny the sympathy stirring in his gut, and moved on to the other rooms. The small dining room held nothing. He rapped on walls and checked for trap doors and found more nothing. The primitive bathroom made him wish for a shower but gave the same nothing result. Two empty bedrooms—the same. Seldon’s room, the only one with furniture, took a little longer, but still nothing. He moved on to the last room.

  A high, half-width shelf had been added in the dark depths of the closet, above the normal one and visible only in the beam of the flashlight. It appeared to be empty, but tall as he was, he couldn’t see all the way back into the corner. He went to the kitchen for the lone wooden chair to use as a step stool.

  Allie finished taping the box she’d just filled and followed.

  Three large books huddled on the half shelf, pushed as far back in the corner of the closet as possible. A little zing of adrenaline told Zeph he’d found something.

  He jumped down from the chair and charged out to Allie’s truck for a paper bag. Back in the closet, he carefully edged the books off the shelf into the bag with a rusty spatula from the kitchen. He decanted them onto the kitchen table and saw that the precautions had been justified. He’d found ledgers. Ledgers with numbers and maybe, just maybe, fingerprints. Although they had accumulated some dust, they looked clean compared to the rest of the house, so he figured they hadn’t
been on that shelf very long.

  He gently opened one of them with the cleanest knife he could find and saw columns of figures. Saw company names that he recognized. “Yo, Lincoln,” he called out the window. “Come look at this. I think we’ve got it.”

  Lincoln hurried into the kitchen and bent over the book. “It’s a ledger. Looks like…well, damn. If this isn’t a business ledger for a contractor, I’ll eat the whole book. Looks like you’ve found Blanton’s second set of books.”

  ****

  After dinner that evening, Allie settled into one of the leather chairs in her father’s home office. Her father sat behind his desk, Monty occupied the other chair, and Zeph leaned against the wall. Frank Fitzgerald attended by speaker phone. Council of war time.

  “Lander and Blanton were tight as ticks from grade school on,” Zeph said. “Or so you told me when I was here before, Monty.”

  “One hundred per cent correct. Never saw one without the other. Not until Blanton ran for office the first time.”

  “So it makes sense that Derek would have asked Lander to hide his duplicate books,” Allie put in.

  Her father nodded. “I should have thought of that before. But we couldn’t have gotten a search warrant. Good thing Wendover asked you two to pack his things.”

  “I asked Wend about the books when I stopped to tell him we’d gotten the horses and his things. He told me he didn’t know about them.”

  “Rodriguez must have seen that the tax returns filed in the office didn’t match what he knew about company finances. Wouldn’t he get suspicious?” Monty said.

  “I don’t think he even read the returns I prepared. He just signed them,” her father said. “Bad practice, that.”

  “Can’t you just ask him?” Allie said.

  “We’d better prove they are duplicate books first,” Zeph said, pacing around the room. “There shouldn’t be any problem getting a search warrant for the Blanton office, should there, Lincoln?”

  Her father smiled, and Allie shivered at the menace lurking in his eyes. “You don’t need one. I can give my permission. I do give my permission.”

  “Make sure you fingerprint the volumes you found at Seldon’s before you handle them,” Fitzgerald said.