Stone of Vengeance

by Vickie Britton

  Kate sank into the chair opposite Lem’s desk remembering, although she tried not to, the feel of Ty’s arms around her, the look on his face when he thought she was seriously injured. She could no longer concentrate on Lem’s monologue, that slow drawl of his that continued even without her participation. The train of his thought appeared to be summed up, though, in one statement that jolted her back to the present.

  ‘You had the evidence, then you lost it!’ Lem groaned. ‘I can’t believe this! You went out there all alone, after all your warnings not to!’

  ‘Ty called me. Then the rest … just happened.’

  Lem’s narrow features changed: the lines in his lean face became grim and tight. ‘You’re in serious trouble, Kate. What you’ve done is put your job on the line. Ben is a stickler for rules, you know that. And Jeff, he’s even worse. Neither of them will budge an inch.’ Lem added sadly, ‘We both know what’s going to happen now. And it would have, even if you had succeeded in bringing in the evidence. What on earth possessed you to go out there?’

  ‘I thought it was worth the risk.’

  ‘I don’t think you deserve what Jeff is going to hand out to you,’ Lem said. He remained silent for a while, then as if struck by a plan, spoke slowly and carefully, ‘Whatever evidence you found is lost, so what have we got to gain by telling them? Let’s just keep this between you and me. I’ll have the boys maintain a lookout for that car, and when it’s found, I’ll handle it.’ He leaned across the desk and his voice became louder, more adamant, ‘Jeff doesn’t need to know anything about what you did today.’

  ‘So Jeff doesn’t need to know?’ Jeff burst out. He stormed into the office just as he had during their last encounter, his face flushed and angry. Obviously he had heard the entire story before entering the room. He glared at Lem. ‘I’m going to tell Ben your exact words. We’ll see if he reacts to them the same way I do.’

  ‘She’s inexperienced,’ Lem muttered, gazing down sheepishly at the desk. ‘And, Jeff,’ he added hopefully, ‘she almost pulled it off. I don’t see why we can’t cut her a little slack.’

  ‘You’re not in charge Lem, I am. I thought I knew you better. Here you are, willing to lie to me!’

  ‘He wasn’t going to lie.’

  ‘No he just wasn’t going to tell me the truth!’ Jeff swung toward Kate. ‘He was going to remain silent. The same difference, isn’t it?’

  Kate rose from her chair. ‘Jeff, I.…’

  ‘No use going over it again. I heard everything. You were snooping around on Kingsley’s property. Against my orders, you headed right out to the crime scene. To top it all off, you took a major suspect with you!’ Jeff’s words continued hostile, unwavering. ‘It all comes down to this: you found crucial evidence and lost it. You bungled and now the proof we need so badly is in the criminal’s hands, not ours!’

  ‘That happens sometimes,’ Lem interceded, trying to defend her.

  His statement, however mild and weakly spoken, unleashed Jeff’s full fury. ‘I suppose it didn’t matter to you at all that you were taken off the case.’

  Jeff stepped closer to Kate, his big form appeared to her like some solid wall that would remain in place, blocking all options.

  ‘Well, this time, Deputy Jepp, you’ve gone way too far. You’ve left me no other choice.’ In a voice that would tolerate no argument, he said, ‘As of right now, I’m putting you on suspension. Turn in your badge and gun.’

  *

  Later that afternoon Kate returned to the sheriff’s department. Jeff, not speaking, gestured for her to follow him into Ben’s office. He accepted her gun and badge. He wasn’t angry, only weary and a little sad.

  ‘I want you to know, Kate, the only reason I’ve put you on suspension is because I’m worried sick about you. You’re just plain out of control.’

  ‘I know what I’m doing, Jeff.’

  ‘Do you, Kate? I’m sure you’ve never dealt with treacherous people before. I have. I’m especially concerned about you and Ty Garrison.’

  ‘You might be wrong about him.’

  ‘You think I’m wrong? Is that because you’re falling for Garrison? I’ve done a lot of checking on him. Garrison’s got a criminal record. He’s spent time in Belle County jail for fighting and disruptive behaviour. That proves what he is!’

  Kate made no reply.

  ‘People like him never change. I’m asking you as a personal favour – just stay away from him, at least until all of this is settled.’ Jeff stared at her solemnly. ‘Even if Garrison is innocent, you’re never going to be happy with a man like him. A drifter, that’s what he is. He’ll stay in Rock Creek a while, then one day he’ll just hit the road, wandering off chasing clouds and butterflies. You don’t want that kind of a life, Kate. I know that because I know your goals are the same as mine.’

  He quickly turned away from her, his habit when he didn’t want to hear any more on the subject.

  With a choked feeling in her throat, Kate left. In all fairness she couldn’t blame Jeff, just herself for defying his orders.

  Kate considered making an appeal to Ben, but he had enough to handle with his health problems. She thought now of how much she admired him, how he had supported her when no one else had. She already knew in her heart that this time Ben wouldn’t back her up. He would, if for no other reason than concern for her safety, put his stamp of approval on Jeff’s decision.

  What if the suspension ended in termination? Knowing this was a real possibility, Kate cringed a little. Feeling sombre and defeated, she felt that her career that meant so much to her had fallen around her in ruins.

  She would probably leave Rock Creek, but not until she found Charles Kingsley’s killer. She would continue working on her own until the murderer was behind bars.

  Fast-falling shadows of evening were beginning to gather. Kate walked with slow steps back to her apartment, knowing the long evening would be filled with replays of that muffled voice, that horrible masked face. She was jolted to find Ty waiting for her.

  He wore a tan shirt and a rugged suede jacket that spanned his broad shoulders in a tailored fit. Denim jeans and cowboy boots made his legs look long and lean.

  ‘Kate, can I persuade you to go with me tonight? To the annual chili cook-off. A chili-making contest, a tradition here in Rock Creek. The whole county usually shows up. What do you say?’

  Jeff’s warning words echoed into the stillness. Even though she mustn’t trust Ty, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mingle with the suspects and maybe in doing so, uncover the truth.

  ‘The park’s not far. We’ll just walk.’

  Kate fell into step beside him. Ty guided her toward the festive crowd that overflowed Rock Creek’s park. Lights glowed brilliantly from bulbs draped across trees. About twelve booths, representing tonight’s chefs, had set up around a huge space filled with picnic tables where, in the centre blazed a huge bonfire. Just beyond that, music drifted from a cement platform, already crammed with dancers. Encircled by brilliant bulbs draped across poles and trees, they looked like wind-up toys on a stage.

  ‘We’ll have to try Swen’s chili first,’ Ty said. ‘Otherwise, he’ll be insulted.’

  ‘Glad you could make it tonight, Kate,’ Swen said, obviously in a good mood. He stirred the reddish-brown bubbling contents of a large pot as he spoke. ‘Mine’s an old family recipe handed down from generation to generation. You haven’t tasted anything,’ he boasted, ‘until you’ve tried this.’

  He heaped a generous amount of his chili into their bowls. Kate ate a spoonful and nearly choked.

  Ty sampled it and said with pride, ‘It’s a sure winner.’

  ‘I won last year, but only by a small margin. So don’t forget to vote. Early and often,’ he called as they wandered off.

  ‘What’s his secret ingredient?’ Kate asked, eyes watering and her mouth still burning. ‘Cayenne pepper?’

  ‘It’s not too strong. You’re just too weak.’ Ty took her bowl from her and
finished that off too, all done without a grimace.

  ‘How can you do that?’ Kate asked.

  ‘Professional loyalty.’ Ty grinned. ‘But, just to be fair, we’ll have to try some of the others, too. There’s Jennie Kingsley. Maybe a lady cook will be more to your liking.’

  They strolled toward her booth. Like Swen, she wore a long apron, but hers was marked Rocking C. She swept at the blonde hair that had spilled across her forehead as she said with enthusiasm, ‘I’ve made some cornbread, too.’ She added in a lower tone. ‘That’s the only chance I have of beating Swen.’

  Her chili, more to Kate’s liking, consisted of a perfect balance of meat, tomatoes, and sauce. After trying several more entries, Kate said finally, ‘This is too confusing. I don’t think I’ll vote.’

  ‘I insist,’ Ty said. ‘May the best man, or woman win!’ His eyes sparkled as they each wrote a name and placed it into the huge, makeshift ballot box.

  ‘Would you look at that swarm of people around Swen’s booth,’ Ty said. ‘I’d better give him a hand.’

  After a while, feeling lonely without Ty, Kate spotted Mary Ellen seated on a park bench away from the others. Gold barrettes clipped the sides of hair that matched the streaks of light shimmering through it. The style of her dress, soft blue with a flowing skirt, made her look like a young girl.

  Kate approached her, trying hard to catch the party spirit. ‘Who’s going to win?’

  ‘Swen,’ she said. ‘He always does. But last year he only beat Uncle Charles by twelve votes.’ Mary Ellen’s wan smile added to her girlish look. ‘You should have heard him raging. He claimed that Swen had cheated, that his ranch hands had voted more than once.’

  ‘What’s the prize?’ Kate asked lightly. ‘Is it worth an under-the-table deal?’

  ‘Every merchant donates a gift,’ Mary Ellen said. ‘The Tumbleweed Café gives the winner a free meal.’

  ‘I should have set up my own stand.’

  ‘Not much at stake, but enough for a battle between Swen and my uncle. I smile about it, but it’s not funny the way they hated each other.’ Mary Ellen fell silent, her gaze skimming the crowd.

  ‘Are you waiting for someone?’

  ‘Jake Pierson, who I work with at the museum. He said he’d be here tonight,’ Mary Ellen added, almost blushing. ‘He told me to save my first dance for him.’

  ‘He knows so much about Wyoming history. This must be a great interest of yours, too.’

  ‘Not really. I only volunteer to help him out. I actually don’t understand why people get so caught up in the past. That’s what Uncle Charles always did. Shouldn’t people live for now, think more about today than yesterday?’

  ‘Yesterday keeps coming back in different forms,’ Kate remarked. Mary Ellen’s reaction, an apparent shrinking away, surprised Kate. She hadn’t intended her offhand comment to spark unpleasant memories. Kate cast her a quick glance. Her words must have caused Mary Ellen to think of her own past, of the boy she had lost so long ago that had been the love of her life. Hard, Kate thought, to let go and move on, but this was what Mary Ellen was attempting to do. That’s why she had shown up here tonight.

  ‘Isn’t that him now?’ Kate asked.

  Jake Pierson once again brought to Kate’s mind images of Buffalo Bill Cody, the fringed jacket he wore, the way his longish hair was pulled back and knotted with a buckskin tie. His eyes lit up when they fell upon Mary Ellen. ‘Ready for that dance?’

  ‘Excuse us,’ Mary Ellen said politely, rising and taking his offered hand.

  Mary Ellen had placed herself away from the others, not wanting to be the centre of attention. Now all eyes seemed fastened on the two as they made their way through the crowd and a little awkwardly, like teenagers at a first dance, joined the whirling couples. Kate idly watched as they attempted to keep up with the too-fast music, then her gaze shifted to the trees along the north side of the platform. The glint of pale blond hair, illuminated the low-hanging bulbs, almost brought a gasp to her lips.

  Slim Barton stood huddling from the chill, thin shoulders hunched, eyes burning as he stared at Mary Ellen. Burning with what: jealousy? One fact became clear, Slim Barton was either very close to Mary Ellen or else he wanted to be.

  Kate glanced back at Mary Ellen just in time to see her look towards Barton, then turn her head quickly away, as if pretending not to see him. Riff-raff, low-life; Charles Kingsley’s words described Barton perfectly. The thought struck Kate with great force: Slim Barton could be Mary Ellen’s old boyfriend, the one her uncle had refused to let her marry. Astounded, Kate stared at him, noticing the way his bold, defiant eyes remained locked on Mary Ellen. He was probably about two or three years older than her and that meant that Barton and Mary Ellen could have met years ago when he was around eighteen and she sixteen. If so, Kate could sympathize with Charles Kingsley’s stand on the matter. In his place, she would have done exactly as he had, tried any way he could to protect Mary Ellen from a man like him.

  All assumption, Kate reminded herself, leaning back against the bench; after all, Mary Ellen was gazing up at Pierson as if no other man existed. Kate couldn’t base a whole theory on a stranger who just happened to find Mary Ellen attractive. Yet suddenly, it seemed very important to her to find out whom Mary Ellen had loved and probably still did. If he had come back to Rock Creek, expecting that Mary Ellen would inherit a fortune from her uncle, this might make a big difference to her investigation into Kingsley’s death.

  The music stopped. The bandleader announced a short intermission. The couples left the floor, mingling with the swarm of people still eating. Kate looked for Slim Barton, but he had disappeared into the crowd.

  Ty had left Swen’s booth. As she rose to search for him she spotted Lem, still in uniform, cutting across the park. He stopped at Swen’s booth for some chili and ambled on. Lem had been in Rock Creek all his life. If anyone would know the name of Mary Ellen’s old boyfriend, it would be him.

  He took a seat close to Jennie’s stand. Hal Barkley, wearing a long apron like Jennie’s, dipped large helpings of chili into paper bowls. Jennie, with pleasant talk and banter, stood beside him offering cornbread.

  ‘Didn’t think you’d be here.’ Kate slipped into the seat across from Lem.

  ‘Doing my duty,’ Lem told her. He sampled Swen’s chili, but didn’t take a second spoonful, just stirred the thick soup. ‘To tell you the truth,’ he said in a confidential tone, ‘this stuff gives me heartburn.’

  Kate laughed.

  ‘We found the car,’ Lem said. ‘It belonged to Hal Barkley, who claims someone hot-wired it and stole it from his property. It had been dumped in some pasture on the road to Downing. The boys went over it, and you can guess the results.’

  ‘The usual dead end. Lem, did you ever meet Mary Ellen’s boyfriend, the one Mr Kingsley wouldn’t let her marry?’

  The question or the abrupt change of subject took him by surprise. ‘Why do you ask that?’

  ‘I think it may be important.’

  ‘That was a long time ago.’ Lem cautiously took another taste of Swen’s chili and gave a shuddering headshake. ‘Kingsley was always berating and condemning the boy to everyone who would listen. But he didn’t use any name that I recall beyond punk, rascal, or deadbeat.’

  ‘Who would know him?’

  ‘From what I hear Mary Ellen and he did a lot of sneaking around. Maybe no one.’

  ‘Someone will,’ Kate declared. ‘I need to locate Mary Ellen’s old boyfriend. One way or another, I’m going to find him.’

  A rush of people had converged upon Jennie’s stand. One brushing close to Kate, caused her to look up, right into Slim Barton’s cold eyes. Slim stood just behind Jake Pierson, who was saying affably to Jennie, ‘I hear your chili is making a big hit tonight.’

  Kate glanced over her shoulder and skimmed the crowd for Mary Ellen. She found her just beyond Swen’s booth, talking to Ty. They both looked very serious.

  ‘Garrison could be yo
ur man,’ Lem said, pointing his spoon in the direction Kate was looking. ‘He was working for Swen at about that time and would be the right age.’

  ‘But her boyfriend was employed by Kingsley.’

  ‘You have no idea how many hands those two ranches employ. So many extras are hired during branding and roundup even the employers have trouble recognizing them. Often, when offered higher wages the men jumped ship and went to the rival ranch, which was a bone of contention between them.’ Lem leaned closer to her, his voice dropping an octave lower. ‘The Double S and the Rocking C were really locking horns at the time. Swen probably sent Garrison to court Mary Ellen.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘To torment Kingsley, why else? That’s the game the two men played.’

  Kate looked toward Ty again. This time her gaze met his, and both he and Mary Ellen started toward them.

  ‘Been looking all over for you,’ Ty said. ‘Thought you had given me the slip and went home. You ready to dance?’

  The music had started again. Ty and Kate stopped beside the bonfire for a while, then joined the dancers. Bright stars, Ty smiling down at her: tonight could have been perfect. The slow tune soon changed to a fast beat. Kate, spinning and laughing, momentarily forgot Lem’s words. They ended their dance breathless. During the next, ‘The Waltz of the Wind,’ Kate thought of Jeff. She felt relief that he wasn’t here to see her dancing with Ty, to see the way Ty’s eyes shone when they looked into hers.

  An important-looking man who reminded her of Ben came up on stage. He gestured to the band, who stopped playing, and took the microphone from the stand. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, we have our vote!’

  Everyone clapped.

  ‘The winner of the Rock Creek chili cook-off is.… Wait, first I want all the contestants to join me on stage.’

  Representatives from the twelve booths complied; Swen, stopping to remove his apron and put on his Stetson. He looked very tall and strong standing next to Jennie.