Peril by Ponytail (A Bad Hair Day Mystery)

by Nancy J. Cohen

  Why did she get the feeling she’d seen him before?

  “Ben, how have you been?” Wayne said. “This is my cousin and his wife, Marla and Dalton Vail. They’re visiting from back east.”

  Ben tipped his hat at them, his expression wary. “What Pop says is true. We’ve had offers to sell. They have to be coming from you. You’ve always coveted our property. Pop claims you and he used to talk about merging the ranches when you were kids.”

  “Those were pipe dreams, son.” Raymond glowered at him. “Any plans we had shattered when Harry died. He should never have gone into that mine.”

  Marla clutched her handbag under one arm, wishing for some shade. What did Raymond hope to accomplish here?

  “The past is over and done, Ray. You can’t bring that boy back. God knows I’d want the same thing. Revenge is a petty way of getting even. You kill my livelihood, and you kill me. Is that what you’re after?”

  “You’re the one who’s trying to shut down my operations. We’ve had incidents. Are you telling me your people are not responsible?”

  “What sort of incidents are you blaming me for, Ray? Or is this a way to shuffle suspicion off yourself?”

  Wayne mentioned the acts of sabotage. “Somebody is behind them. If not you, then who?”

  Dalton stepped forward. “If you’ll allow me to intervene, it appears both of you are suffering from a targeted effort.” He eyed the opposition. “You’ve accused my uncle of tainting your feed. Have you had it analyzed?”

  Hugh stroked his bearded jaw. “Well, no. We’ve had a drought in these parts, too. I figured Raymond’s project is at fault. He needs water for the construction. He’s siphoning from our stream up on the mountain, and I doubt he pays the town for what he takes.”

  “I have permits for the work, you asshole. The council has seen my surveys and the engineering reports. The more farsighted among them can see how the ghost town will be a boon to the area. It’ll bring in jobs and tourists as well as tax dollars.”

  “Yes, but at the expense of the environment.”

  “So are your cattle actually sick?” Dalton persisted. “Have you had them examined by a veterinarian? Or is their grazing ground merely suffering from the dry conditions, and they’re feeling the effects?”

  Marla grinned at him in approval. He was trying to get them to examine the evidence rather than fling accusations back and forth.

  “It’s more than lack of water, although that’s one problem. The vet has been here. Doc says they aren’t right, but he can’t pinpoint the cause.”

  “Why do I care what happens on your ranch, Hugh?” Raymond’s mouth pinched. “I wouldn’t waste my effort hiring someone to contaminate your feed. There’s enough to keep me busy on my own properties.”

  “Exactly. You don’t care what happens elsewhere. That project of yours is an abomination.”

  “Are you joining the environmentalists now?”

  “No, but you should watch out for them. They target places like yours.”

  “Otto Lovelace up on the mountain seems to fear them more.” Marla finally spoke up. These two men seemed too obstinate to look beyond their own noses. “From what I’ve heard, he has armed guards patrol the perimeter of his water bottling plant.”

  “Have you considered that his operation might be contaminating your soil?” Dalton asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “That’s nonsense. Water bottling is a clean industry, and he’d have nothing to gain. Lovelace is right to protect his property. Maybe I should start doing the same.”

  “I’ll bet you know about those caves,” Raymond said with a snort of derision, “and you’re secretly trying to acquire my property.”

  “What the hell are you talking about now?”

  A black bird soared into the sky, dipped toward them, and then rose toward the hills. Marla’s gaze followed it toward a white plume of vapor. Was Lovelace’s facility situated directly above the Donovan ranch?

  “We’ve discovered somebody has secretly reopened the copper mine,” Raymond added.

  Hugh gave a cackle of disbelief. “Tell me another story.”

  “All right.” Raymond hooked his thumbs into his belt and widened his stance. “You’ve discovered it’s profitable again to extract the ore, or else you want the side products. You know the tunnels underlie my renovation project, so you’ve hired somebody to cause accidents and spook my workers. Well, we found the body of my missing employee. He fell down a ventilation shaft that had been exposed.”

  “So, what does that prove? You know these mountains are riddled with tunnels. We both understand the dangers.”

  “Marla and Dalton hired a guide and went exploring. Someone has an operation going down there.”

  “It ain’t me, Ray. Now I don’t know if you’re full of hogwash or not, but if this is true, you should tell the sheriff.” His expression turned canny. “Or maybe you don’t want Luke to snoop around too much.”

  “Meaning what? Spit it out, Hugh.”

  Wayne and Ben exchanged an exasperated glance. Marla wondered if they’d ever had the chance to get to know each other. Probably not, considering how their fathers harbored so much resentment. Did the younger Donovan know about his mother’s dalliance with Raymond? That would put him solidly on his father’s team. Could he have been acting without Hugh’s knowledge against a family enemy?

  “Garrett Long would have been concerned about the problems on my ranch. He helped folks like us when he was around. And now he’s dead, thanks to you.”

  “I’m sorry for his loss, but I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Oh no?” Hugh gestured to the bystanders. “You haven’t told them, have you?”

  “Told us what, Dad?” Wayne asked his father.

  “The forest ranger had a love for history.” Hugh’s eyes sparked with respect when he spoke of the deceased. “He would have backed your restoration project one hundred percent. And he did, didn’t he? Garrett Long was your silent partner.”

  Marla’s jaw dropped. “Now that makes sense,” she muttered to Dalton. A history buff, the victim might have loved the idea of reconstructing the ghost town.

  Raymond kicked at a rock on the ground. “All right, I’ll admit it. Garrett invested in my project. He wanted to see it fly as much as I did.”

  “And now that he’s gone, maybe your debt to him is gone as well. What do the legal documents say?” Hugh asked with a sneer. “Do you have right of survivorship, or does his share go to his wife?”

  “That isn’t your concern. It’s true Garrett and I were partners, but I’d never harm him. I have to finish the project to honor his memory.”

  “His memory ain’t so clean. I hear he was fooling around with Tate Reardon’s wife.”

  Raymond raised his fist. “Watch your mouth, you sonovabitch.”

  Wayne stepped between them. “Dad, calm down. He’s provoking you on purpose.”

  “Whose idea was it to buy the Craggy Peak property in the first place?” said the younger Donovan in a genuinely curious voice.

  Ben didn’t seem to have the same hard edge as his father, but no doubt in a family feud, he’d stand up for his clan. And yet if he and Wayne could ever meet in private, they might actually get along. They had a lot in common in managing a ranch. But that wouldn’t happen as long as their fathers hated each other.

  “I had my eye on that town long before Garrett even thought about it,” Raymond replied. “He was busy with his job and protecting the forest. But when I broached the subject, he flew with it.”

  “As a forest ranger, he wouldn’t have been paid all that much,” Wayne said. “How could he afford a huge investment like that?”

  “Garrett came from old money. His family settled here after making a fortune back east. They didn’t approve of his occupation, but he was passionate about his beliefs. Conservation was important to him. He ensured we complied with environmental laws.”

  Hugh snorted. “Maybe Garrett found out you were proceeding
without proper permit approvals, and that’s why you killed him.”

  Raymond’s shoulders hunched. “I should punch your lights out. You’re the one who’s trying to kill people.”

  “I don’t think so. Stop trying to divert attention from yourself, Ray.”

  “You paid someone to fasten a trip wire across the trail where Wayne’s wife rides every day, didn’t you? Carol is lucky she only suffered a mild concussion from her fall off the horse. And I imagine you suggested putting a rattlesnake in Dalton’s suitcase. Did you hope to land him in the hospital, too? You must know he’s a homicide detective and would sniff you out.”

  “I don’t know anything about those issues, Ray. Maybe you should look closer to home.”

  Marla shot him a startled glance. Wasn’t that the same advice issued by Madame Duval?

  “What do you mean?” Raymond demanded, his posture rigid.

  “You must have known about Kevin Franks. That made him the perfect man to hire for your dirty work where Garrett was concerned. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  “Can you be more succinct?” Dalton said in his best interview voice.

  Hugh glanced at him as though he’d just crawled out from under a rock. “Franks was Garrett’s brother-in-law. If he knew about Garrett’s affair, he might have been happy to get back at the guy who betrayed his sister.”

  “Kevin Franks is Sherry Long’s brother?” Wayne’s eyes widened. “That’s news to me.”

  “You probably don’t know half the things going on under your nose, kid.”

  “We know what’s under our feet,” Raymond inserted. “And it’s a copper mine that somebody has reopened. The tunnels must run under my town project. That’s why you’re sabotaging it, so I’ll want to sell. You’ll never get my property, Donovan.”

  “It’s you who is trying to force me to sell.” Hugh’s mouth flattened. “That’s why you’re poisoning my cattle.”

  Bless my bones, Marla thought, these two will never stop arguing. She shifted her feet, hot and tired of standing. Couldn’t they go inside and talk there? She swallowed past a dry throat and yearned for a drink of water.

  “I’m telling you, I have nothing to do with the conditions on your ranch. If you weren’t so short-sighted, you’d look for real evidence that somebody means you harm. Instead, you’re flinging unfounded accusations my way. Is that what you did to your son, Jake? You drove him off with your hard-headedness?”

  “Why, you—”

  Wayne and Ben had to restrain their fathers and keep them apart. The senior men sputtered and spit at each other, speechless in their fury. Hugh found his voice first.

  “Get off my land, or I’ll call the sheriff and accuse you of trespassing.”

  “Fine, we’ll leave, but this isn’t over. You’re trying to mislead me, but I know you’re behind the incidents. You’ve always coveted my ranch to expand your cattle operations.”

  “You’ve gone sissy with your fancy resort. I don’t need your territory.” Hugh wrestled free from his son’s grip. “But don’t think you can get away with murder. I’ll find the means to prove you killed Garrett. Murdering him scored you two points. You don’t have to pay him back, and he won’t report your environmental violations.”

  “Let’s go.” Raymond signaled toward their car. “This man won’t listen to reason. No wonder his boy ran away.”

  Before Hugh could burst a blood vessel, Wayne hustled his father into the SUV. The rest of them piled in after him. Marla sank against the cushion with a sigh of relief. Her temples throbbed, and her muscles tensed. She hadn’t realized how much the altercation had upset her. Dalton’s hand folded around hers as Wayne drove away.

  On the horizon, the mountains were obscured by a haze of dust as wind stirred the dry soil. But the far hills weren’t the only objects hidden behind a film. It appeared both Raymond and Hugh Donovan had trouble seeing beyond their enmity. If they would do so, they might realize that someone else entirely was trying to acquire their land.

  Possibly, they shared a common enemy, and yet neither one could get beyond their past grief to examine the situation objectively. Was it because they’d shared a deep friendship in their youth? Hate engendered by love could be one of the strongest emotions.

  At dinner later in the dining hall, she asked Dalton about his conclusions. She was glad they’d decided to eat here instead of going to Carol’s house. After the events today, it would have been a strain to make polite conversation.

  “Uncle Ray can be damn stubborn,” Dalton said, spearing a piece of lettuce from his salad and lifting the fork to his mouth. “Seeing how pig-headed he is, I understand why Mom stays away.”

  “I’m sure Kate would respond if her brother made the first gesture. But Raymond has to forgive himself before he can move on. Look at what the past has done to him and Hugh. They used to be friends. Now they’re bitter enemies, hurling accusations at each other instead of working together to find a common culprit.”

  He chewed and swallowed, then gave her the eagle eye. “You believe someone else is behind the incidents here?”

  “It makes sense. Both men have had offers to buy their property. So have other homesteaders on the mountain. Who stands to gain if they sell?”

  “The person who’s operating the illegal mine operation. That’s an easy solution, but it overlooks personal motives.”

  Marla dug into her Caprese salad with juicy sliced tomatoes and mozzarella rounds. The tangy vinaigrette dressing slid down her throat. She could easily get spoiled by being waited on like this for meals. Viewing the guests who laughed and chatted at other tables, she was glad they still had another week left of their vacation. Maybe things would calm down, and she and Dalton could finally enjoy the amenities the resort offered.

  In the morning, she should call home to check on Brianna as well as the salon. She’d been so occupied by events at the ranch that she had forgotten about the rest of her life.

  “As far as we know, Garrett Long is the initial victim,” Dalton said, evidently still mulling over the puzzles eluding them. Having finished his house salad, he pushed the plate away. “Eleanor Reardon and Garrett were having an affair. Next, her husband turns up dead. Think about it.”

  “What, you think Mrs. Reardon is killing off the men in her life?”

  He spread his hands. “I’m just saying . . . she’s alive, and they’re not.”

  Marla took a sip of water. “I’d put my bet on Sherry Long. If she found out about her husband’s affair, she might have enlisted her brother to murder him.”

  “But then we’re back to the same question as before. Why kill Tate and not Eleanor? That doesn’t account for his death. Tell me again where you saw Franks earlier.”

  “I spied him talking to Matthew Brigham.” She remembered the lady in white who’d led her there, and a shiver crawled up her spine. “Brigham gave something to Franks. From the way they vamoosed after I called out a greeting, I’d guess they didn’t want to be seen together.”

  “They could have been meeting about anything.”

  “I know, but then why didn’t they respond to me? Then there’s your uncle. Raymond and Garrett were business partners. With Garrett out of the way, Raymond stands to gain his share.”

  “We don’t know the terms of Garrett’s will.”

  “No, but let’s assume the debt is erased, and Raymond has right of survivorship.”

  “Huh. If Garrett was having an affair with Eleanor Reardon, maybe he left her his half of the business instead of Raymond or his wife.”

  Marla sat up straight, her interest spiked by this new prospect. “Then Eleanor would have a reason to bump him off. Her husband could have found out, and she had to kill him, too.”

  “Who else might have wanted Reardon dead?”

  “He managed the bottling plant owned by Otto Lovelace. It’s possible Tate discovered something going on there that’s not on the level.”

  “So someone eliminated him? That doesn’t explain Garre
tt’s death.”

  “This is too confusing. My head is getting muddled.”

  They waited as the server delivered their next course, then ate in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Too many loose ends still flapped in the air without connecting. Marla gave up and focused on her meal.

  As they were strolling back to their room, low lights on the path lighting their way, an earlier theory surfaced in Marla’s mind.

  “It could be someone is intentionally stoking the flames between Raymond and Hugh,” she said. “They’ve both had offers from buyers. So have other ranchers in the area. If these aren’t coming from the person operating the mine, then who else might be involved?”

  “Normally, I’d look for a property developer, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.”

  An eerie sensation crossed Marla’s nape. Harry couldn’t still be alive, could he, seeking revenge on the pair who’d left him for dead?

  Nah, Raymond’s parents had buried his brother. Then Wayne’s grandmother had left town, taking her daughter with her to the east coast. That had nothing to do with recent events.

  Or did it?

  To distract themselves from their worries, she and Dalton attended a rodeo that night. Marla marveled at the prowess of the wranglers as they demonstrated various techniques. The team roping impressed her, and she could understand how ropers competed for prize money on a bigger scale. The precision of the barrel racers made her admire their riding skills. She cheered along with the rest of the guests in the arena bleachers.

  Back in their room, she soothed herself in Dalton’s arms and then fell into a deep sleep.

  She awoke some time later, coughing as grit entered her lungs.

  Her eyes popped open. Why was it so hard to breathe? The air seemed thick, and the nightlight coming from the bathroom appeared blurry.

  She sat upright, instantly alert, as she sniffed the distinct aroma of smoke. Did her ears deceive her, or could she hear a crackling noise?

  “Dalton, wake up.” A coughing fit overwhelmed her as she nudged her husband. Something irritated her throat.

  He roused slowly. “What is it?”

  “I smell smoke, and it’s foggy in here.” Her head pounded, and her temples throbbed.