by M Elle Kelso
Blake and Jared argued that Patrick should be excluded from the investigation, along with Jack Williams, as his son was one of the aerial investigators. But the majority felt that only Patrick could be safely excluded, because of the check David and Jared had run on him sometime earlier, when Kaycee’s life and kennel were being threatened. Having excluded him from their discussion, Blake now called him back to the group, and explained what they were planning. Dismay was written clearly on his face, but he didn’t say a word. He was too much of a responsible businessman to argue against them. He knew they were right.
“Just promise me one thing.” Patrick looked around the circle. “If you’re right and it’s one of us, I want to know first, so I can talk to the rancher involved and find out why he did this. It’s going to be hard to stop the others from feeling a little bit of the old lynch mob mentality. And I don’t blame them. But I can sympathize, too, with any rancher driven to such dire straits.”
He looked to Blake.
“Promise me, Blake. Please.”
“We will. Let’s just hope we’re wrong. Do you want us to announce that we’re going to be doing these checks?”
“No, do it quietly. It’s better if no one knows what’s going on. This way they all get treated equally.”
C.J. watched as he left the group, head down. How must he be feeling to know that it might be one of his friends that had stolen from him?
* * *
The same day the investigating committee met, another meeting took place some miles away, in the late hours of the evening.
“Okay, you guys, listen up.” One man stood at the front of the room, a bottle of bear in one hand, a cigarette in the other. “We’re going to have to be real careful here. There’s going to be two helicopters doing aerial checks, looking for signs that we’ve been on the ranches we’re planning to hit. So, while we can only hope for fresh snowfall every few days, we need to get busy and load as many of the cattle we’re planning to take, and we need to be done by the end of the month, no later than the middle of January. The snowfall right now is pretty regular, so if we are on one ranch one day, the tracks from the cattle hauler should only be visible from the air for a couple of days at most. With any luck, we’ll be done and it will have snowed, before the next fly-over. If there’s no snow, we’ll have to be very careful that there are no tracks they can follow once we’re off the ranch the cattle are taken from. Any questions?” The man speaking was middle aged, looked to be about fifty-five.
“Yeah, I got one.”
The rough voice belonged to one of the men at the back of the room. There were about eight in all, sitting around, smoking and drinking, waiting for their directions. Most of these men were paid employees, drivers or out-of-work cowboys who didn’t care where their money came from.
“Well?”
“Who’s doing these fly-overs? Anyone we can buy off?” The man looked around at the others, all nodding or looking interested in his question.
“We aren’t even going to think about that. All we know is one of the pilots works for the investigating agency. We’ll just have to be careful and not get caught. And just a word of caution. If you should happen to be seen by either of the helicopters, just go on about your business; look like you belong. The trucks are completely unmarked, so there’s nothing there to give you away. Just get in and get out. Speed is what counts.”
As the meeting broke up, John Williams turned to the man who had been speaking.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Lowden, because I sure can’t afford to get caught. As soon as I declare bankruptcy, I need some of that money. You sure it’s gonna work out on time?”
“Even if your share of the herd isn’t all sold, John, the cash is there. I can give you your share whenever you need it, you just won’t get anymore when the cows sell.”
“That’s okay. Just so I know I can get it when I need it. And thanks for not telling the others about Mike.”
John Williams really didn’t think his son would be too worried about him. They weren’t very close. Never had been.
As the last of the men left the dimly lit room behind the Arco station in Douglas, a lone man watched from a truck parked across the street.
Mike Williams’s heart sank as he saw his father among them. He had followed him to town to try and find out where he was going on those nights he was away from home. He and his father had never been close, but his father had never lied to him before. At least he didn’t think so.
Taking note of everyone who’d been at the meeting and getting license plate numbers for all the vehicles there tonight was the only thing he could think to do to find out what his old man was up to. He didn’t know what he’d do with the information. Maybe he’d ask David Taylor for some help.
On Sunday morning, David and C.J. lay in bed, talking about their future. Neither wanted to get up because that would mean it was closer to the time when C.J. would have to leave. But chores didn’t do themselves and there were horses to be fed and turned out.
C.J. had finally dragged herself out of bed and downstairs to make coffee and breakfast. David was watching her from the doorway when she turned, the love in his eyes simply overwhelming her. She crossed to him and took his face between her hands.
“You, my sweet, are so wonderful I keep wondering if this is a dream and I’m going to wake up soon.”
She leaned toward him and tilted her head back, asking for his kiss.
He granted her the kiss then turned her and led her to the table.
“Now that you’ve got it all made, I’ll serve. If we start anything else this morning, those horses will be hollering for us. Sit. Now.”
She smiled as he pushed her chair into the table. He was right. They had too many things to do before they did their aerial surveillance for the cattlemen.
C.J. went to the barn with David, just for the pleasure of seeing her horses again. To think he’d bought all of them still boggled her mind. And to know that after Saturday she could visit them every day hadn’t sunk in yet.
She watched him as he and the stallion shared a silent communication. Mirage had become David’s in a way he had never been hers. Here were the two of them. Proud. Aloof. Both had that special something that made you sit up and notice them. In the horse, it was called the ‘look of eagles’.
And in David?
In David, it was that unwavering flow of good that radiated from him. You could see it in his smile; you could see it in his eyes. He, too, had the look.
David was just finishing with Mirage and turned to see her watching him.
“You were right, you know.”
He smiled at her as he ambled toward her.
“I was? About what?”
“Me. This horse. He really is special. I swear he reads my mind and I think I can read his. Something made me come out here the other day. Like I was being called. He was standing at the door of his stall watching for me when I got here, and the noise he was making made me hurry. When I got here, he started staring at Melisand’s stall. Wouldn’t look at me and he never shut up. When I decided to check her stall, she was down, trying to roll. She had colic. Hooch told me later that if I hadn’t found her when I did, she’d have died.” He stopped as his thoughts raced.
“C.J., I wasn’t planning on checking the barn. I was getting ready to leave for town. I truly believe it was Mirage calling me to come down here. That’s what I mean about him reading my mind and me reading his. We have some kind of bond.”
David was gazing at the stallion; C.J. gazed at David.
The quiet was suddenly broken by the sound of a truck pulling into the yard.
“Who’s visiting at this hour?”
David headed toward the door, C.J. close behind. They didn’t recognize the truck they saw. They watched as the driver parked and got out. When he turned, David realized it was Mike Williams.
“Hey, Mike, how ya doing? What brings you out this way?”
“Hi, David, C.J. I
’m fine, I think. Sorry to be dropping in so early, but I may have a problem. That’s why I came out here. Nobody knows where I am; the only ones who care think I’m flying.”
C.J. frowned when she heard that. It sounded like Mike didn’t have too many friends, or at least people who cared.
“David, I need to talk to you. In private.” His gaze shifted to C.J. then back. “About the aerial surveillance.”
“You can talk in front of C.J., Mike. She knows everything that’s going on. She’s on the committee.”
“This is private, though, David.”
“That’s okay. After this week, we’ll be married so she’ll know everything I will.”
“Congratulations! When did this happen?”
Mike was shaking David’s hand and smiling at C.J. as he spoke.
“Friday night. The wedding is next weekend. Just the people from the agency.”
“Okay. In that case, I want to hire you to check something for me. It’s private, like I said. Last night, my father went to a meeting, a real hush-hush meeting if what I saw was right. He told me he was going to visit a friend of his and I realized he was lying. His friend is in Maine for three weeks, left nearly two weeks ago. That’s when I realized he had told me the same thing two other times when this guy was away. So when he left last night, I followed him.”
Mike paused. He looked reluctant to continue.
“He met up with seven others at the meeting room behind the Arco station in Douglas. I only recognized one of them and I don’t know what he and my father would have in common. Anyway, while they were inside, I cruised the parking lot and took down license numbers. Can you check out who these guys are so I can find out what my Dad has to do with them?” He held out a slip of paper covered with license numbers and truck descriptions.
“Sure, Mike, but if all you want is names and addresses, you don’t need to hire me. I can do it on Monday in no time. If you give me your phone number, I’ll call you as soon as the list is ready. Do you have any idea what the meeting was about?”
“Not a one. I was parked across the street when it broke up so I couldn’t hear what they were talking about in the parking lot. All I can tell you is that all those numbers belong on trucks and the men were all dressed like down-on-their-luck cowboys.”
“Hmmm. All right. I’ll see what I can find out on Monday and let you know.”
“Thanks, David. Sorry to interrupt. I’ll get out of your hair now. See you, C.J.” He waved as he turned away.
David and C.J. stood watching as Mike backed away from the barn. He seemed particularly concerned about his father’s activities. Coupled with the knowledge that his father was bordering on bankruptcy, this news was ringing alarm bells for both of them.
“Well, I can’t do anything about this until tomorrow,” he looked at the paper in his hand, “so for now let’s just get everything else done and get up and do our aerial check. I want to be on the ground in Douglas before dark and I want to bring some of your stuff back here on the return trip, so we don’t have as much to do this week. Won’t seem like such a rush that way.”
“All right. Let me go get my suitcase and I’ll be down in a few minutes. How long do you think it will take us to do the aerial run?”
“I’m going to allow two hours until I know for sure. I guess it depends on whether we have to fly low to look at things and if we can see what we need without having to set down.”
“I don’t know whether to hope we find something or nothing. This close to Christmas is a bad time to find out people we think are one thing, may be something else.”
C.J.’s indirect reference was to one of the ranchers being guilty of rustling from himself and his friends; the idea didn’t sit well with David either.
“I know. Go get your things and meet me at the helicopter. I’ll do the pre-flight and get ready to lift off. We can talk while we fly.”
David watched her until she disappeared into the house. He pulled the piece of paper Mike Williams had given him from his pocket and looked at it. He was having an idea about this list. He’d have to run it past C.J., Blake and Jared. If they agreed with him, he’d set Will Carter and Mac Blade on a search into backgrounds. It was interesting to note that one of the people on the list Mike had been able to identify was another wealthy rancher, one the committee hadn’t visited yet.
Maybe it was time Blake and Patrick broadened their visits to the ranches and included this man on their list.
C.J.’s bag didn’t take much time to pack; some of the things she’d brought in it were staying. She didn’t see much point in taking all the clothes home then bringing them back on the next trip. It was just less to have to move later.
By the time she got to the helicopter, David had the JetRanger® warming up. She bent low and ran to the cockpit where David was waiting to stick her bag in the back. After he helped her in, got her seat belt properly buckled and her headset hooked up, he climbed in and prepared to take off.
Lift off was the only part of the flight that still made C.J. nervous, but she was getting better about it. David’s voice in her headset helped relax her.
“You’ll be fine, just relax until we’re up.” She knew, too, there wasn’t nearly the inclination to being airsick in a helicopter as there was in a plane, for which she was thankful.
David was working the cyclic and the collective as though they were part of him and his feet on the anti-torque pedals worked automatically to keep them in level flight. It had been like riding a bicycle.
Once clear of the trees, David banked the JetRanger® to point west and lined himself up to Patrick’s ranch. He’d start the aerial survey from there, then head south and back east, taking in John Williams ranch and a few of the others. He had planned to let Mike Williams do the check on his dad’s ranch, but after Mike’s visit that morning he had decided, for Mike’s own good, he wouldn’t be asked to check up on his own father.
“C.J., when we clear those trees ahead, we’ll be over Patrick’s ranch. We’ll fly it in a grid pattern. If you want to use the binoculars and sweep back and forth in line with where we’re flying, I’ll keep looking at the overall view and see if I see anything. If you see anything at all you want to check out, just let me know.”
As he cleared the trees, David dropped to about two hundred feet. With all the fresh, loose snow, he was afraid to fly any lower for fear of disturbing the surface and wiping out tracks. If he had been going faster, he might have been able to drop another fifty feet. But until he knew how well this would work, he’d try it at that altitude.
Thirty minutes later, they had completed the grid search over Patrick’s ranch without seeing anything to suggest the rustlers had been on his property. They were now flying over the extreme northern edge of John Williams’s ranch. There seemed to be a lot of scrub brush around, making it harder to see if there were tire tracks in the area. Coming over one section of brush, C.J.’s voice came softly in David’s ear over the headset.
“Can you take me down for a closer look or come around here again at a different angle. I see something down there that might be a fence; looks almost like a holding pen with a chute at one end. Or it might just be my imagination.”
“If it’s your imagination, I’m sharing it. I see what you’re talking about and it is a chute at one end. Do you see any tracks?”
“No. And I don’t see tracks leading away from here either. The snow looks undisturbed. The only thing that makes me suspicious is that the wood used for the fence looks relatively new. Like this might have been built late this fall.”
C.J. had dropped the binoculars into her lap and was leaning over, looking out the side window, trying to see anything else that might help them.
“David, I don’t see anything else here, but over at the edge of the next large clump of scrub, there’s a shadow on the ground. I hope I’m wrong, but it looks like a dead cow. See it? Over there to the right?”
David looked where she was pointing and then turned t
he helo to fly across the field next to the brush she was indicating. He could see the shadow she was seeing and he, too, thought it looked like a dead animal.
Using the binoculars, C.J. watched the shadow grow until she knew she was right. A small cry escaped her lips when she realized that a smaller shadow immediately behind the dead animal was a dead calf. Mother and baby had not made it off the ranch with the rest of the rustled animals on the last trip. Deterioration of the bodies showed that they’d been there for some time and that the predators and scavengers had been busy. David was guessing, but he calculated they had probably been there for nearly two months. That meant that if the rustlers were going to use the holding pen and chute again, it would be in the near future.
If these thieves were smart, and David was giving them that benefit at this point, they’d want all their work done before the heavier snows of winter arrived. This, then, would obviously be one of the places to check on regularly.
“Okay, that’s it for today. I guess if we’re going to fly the grid the same each time, we’d better allow more time. Two hours only got us done at Patrick’s and started at John Williams’s place.”
David thought quickly, picturing the list of ranchers and mentally calculating the time it would take to fly over his half of the ranches on that list. He would probably let Mike Williams take about eight of the other ranches. The size of Patrick’s ranch made his ranch the equivalent of three or four of the others. Instead of splitting the list of ranchers in half, they’d split the territory.
“We’ll go over it with Mike and tell him how it stacks up in terms of hours. For now, we won’t let him in on the pen and chute information. That’s for Blake and Jared only at this point. Maybe Patrick.”
