“Asa excuse me,” Gabriel suddenly said. “I need to take care of something. I will be back in a few minutes.”
Asa watched him go, when a big gray dog came out of the house through the still open door and started sniffing at Grandpa Joe’s boots. The old man tried to send it away, but the dog acted like a puppy and refused to go away. “Blue, Blue,” he said to the dog. “Go away boy.” But the dog didn’t move, and lay down beside his foot. Giving up on sending the dog away, Grandpa Joe looked back up at her and asked in a stern voice. “Are you a Salish woman?”
“Yes, my mother is Salish,” the young woman smiled at him, loving how the dog and the old man interacted.
“Good,” he seemed pleased with the fact. “A long time ago, when my brothers were still alive, we used to meet with a few Salish girls, but their brothers weren’t happy with the fact and never left us in peace. But, we were young and strong then and it was just a game to us to chase them back to the reservation. One time, one of the boys was too much in love with one of the girls and we had to give him a lesson in how things are done in our world…”
“Grandpa,” a young woman stepped out of the house, and interrupted him. “Are you telling another one of your stupid stories?”
Asa had felt hurt by the racist story told by the old man, but she decided not to show her displeasure. It wasn’t the first time she met with people, who thought of the Native Americans as inferior people, but it hurt her that a man related to Gabriel would do the same.
“Excuse the old man for his racist story, Miss,” the young woman said to Asa. “My name is Jane Kimble and we don’t get many visitors out here.”
“Asa, Asa Clark,” she answered and accepted her hand. “I came here to see Gabriel.”
“Come, I will take you to him,” Jane Kimble said politely and turned around, heading the way Gabriel had disappeared a few moments ago.
“Gabriel is a great man,” Asa commented, while they walked towards the barn. “He must be of a great help here?”
“Yes, this is his home and he should spend more time working rather than wasting it with people who doesn’t understand our way of life,” Jane didn’t hesitate to respond in a negative way about Gabriel spending time with Asa. “Here in Montana, we try to live our lives in the traditional way and the coming of new people, usually brings chaos.”
“I… we…” Asa stuttered. “We just met…”
“Asa!” Gabriel suddenly called, running towards them. “Sorry for leaving you alone for so long. I am sure that Jane took good care of you.”
“No problem,” Asa smiled at him and accepted his kiss gratefully. “This place is amazing.”
“Yes, it is,” the man walking behind Gabriel said. “My brother is of a very great help to keep it that way.”
“David is just kidding,” Gabriel pushed away the compliment. “We all work together for the success of the ranch.”
Asa noticed that David and Ezekiel, their neighbor were again together, and looked very grave. Gabriel also looked worried, although he tried to act as if everything was okay. He was holding her hand, when he introduced her once again to everyone.
“Listen,” he turned towards her, when the others went to the house. “Are you ready to saddle up?”
“Always,” Asa smiled up at him and followed him to the stable. Gabriel gave her a beautiful light brown horse and they rode out across the vast property of the ranch. It was relaxing and exciting to Asa to ride in the open fields together with a man, she was really starting to like.
Gabriel used the time they had together to tell her about the ranch, his family and the way he wanted his future to happen. Asa also narrated about the times she had been riding with her mother’s tribe during the summer and asked a few questions about how they took care of the cattle.
Chapter 16
When they returned from the ride, it was almost time for dinner. Gabriel showed her the room where she could wash and prepare for the meal. Asa didn’t waste too much time getting ready and walked into the family's rustic dining hall only a few minutes later. Inside the room were Grandpa Joe, Gabriel, David and his wife Jane, all four of them doing something to set the table for dinner.
“Good evening,” Asa said, walking in and they all turned to look at her. Gabriel quickly approached her and guided her to her seat.
They all sat down and Asa once again couldn’t not notice the way they were interacting with each other. It was as if the old man was the one with power, but now the control was slowly taken away from him by David, who looked very comfortable with the new role. His wife, Jane, also seemed comfortable with the situation and acted as if she was the queen of some imaginable kingdom of hers. Gabriel, on the other hand, was completely out of his depths, and Asa could feel how out of place he was.
The table discussion revolved around the family’s conservative views and Asa was really surprised to hear David say that the government should get rid of all the immigrants coming to the country. “Those people are ruining our great nation with their new ways of life and modern inventions.” David was saying. “Our country should keep its values and forget all about all those who try to ruin it.”
Asa didn’t answer his remarks, but noticed Grandpa Joe and Jane were agreeing with what he was saying, while Gabriel looked disinterested. “We should do something to change the situation,” David continued. “There are people around here, who think that our government needs someone to show it how to deal with the situation.”
“Let’s change the subject, David,” Gabriel looked at his brother exasperated. “There are many more pleasant topics we could talk about.”
“Here,” David yelled. “Here is an example of why no one does anything. People like you, brother will bring our nation down.”
“Come on, David, it's not that I don’t care,” Gabriel said. “What I was saying is that just for tonight we should talk about other things.”
Asa already was appreciating the fact that Gabriel wasn’t as close-minded as his brother and could care less about politics. She could see that he wanted to bring her into his way of life and introduce her to his family. Gabriel was looking uncomfortable with the way his brother was bringing up politics into the conversation, but Asa didn’t really care. All she could see right now was Gabriel and how she was falling in love with him.
When the dinner was over and it was time for Asa to go home, Gabriel took her to the car and let her lean against it. “I am sorry for my family,” the man said, leaning down to kiss her on the nose. “They mean well, but could be a bit too much sometimes.”
“I don’t mind,” Asa smiled up at him. “Actually, I like the fact that they are so passionate about their beliefs. And I like them too. Your grandfather is a real charmer. After meeting him, I understand from where you get that charming smile of yours.”
“Oh, you really know how to make a man feel special,” Gabriel answered and leaned down to kiss her on the lips, at first light, but then putting more passion into it. “You should stay.”
“I would really like that,” Asa agreed. “But, I have too many things to do back in the city and should go now.”
“When will I see you again?” Gabriel asked, his lips still too close to hers for Asa to feel comfortable.
“Call me and we could have another date,” she offered.
“I would really like that,” the man repeated her previous words. “I will call you soon. So, wait for my call.”
With another long kiss, Asa said her goodbye and climbed into the car, heading back to the city with a happy smile on her lips. When she was far enough and the spell Gabriel had put her under was somehow weakened, Asa started thinking about the last day and the people she had gotten to know better.
David Kimble, Gabriel’s brother, had turned out to be a simple man, who had been forced to take a leadership role with his family after the untimely death of his father. He was a gruff, humorless man, who was consumed by thoughts of duty, work and worry. His wife, Jane, was very m
uch like him. Asa had noticed that David often talk about having a child and thought that it really bothered him that he still hadn’t got one.
David’s political views were rather fanatic. He was following politics rather closely, like a shepherd, who carefully tracks the movements of the wolves. Asa had heard him say that his biggest fear was that someday the government would sweep in from Washington, DC to take away from him the way of life he loved.
Gabriel had told her that David believed in the old family values and wanted to keep the government out of his own affairs, blaming it for all his misfortunes. His big loves were his ranch and family, which was in a funny way represented by the hat he was wearing. “It was my fathers,” Gabriel had explained. “And when David put it on after my father’s death, he accepted the responsibility for the whole family.”
Asa imagined the narrow-minded, confrontational man, who chewed tobacco inside the house and spat it without regards to the rest of the people in the room and wondered how he could be related to Gabriel.
Grandpa Joe Kimble, on the other hand, was already seventy-one years old and although he was old and frail, he still had the spirit of his old self. The man was blissfully ignorant of the world out there and preferred to live in the close quarters of the ranch rather than face the outside world. He had told Asa that his favorite past time was sitting on his front porch, cursing at invisible people and smoking his tobacco pipe. And yet, she had noticed that his grandchildren and even their neighbor, Ezekiel Warren, see the old man as a living icon of their ranching way of life.
Jane Kimble followed the example of the men in the family and supported her husband in everything he was doing. Asa had noticed her fear that she was having too much influence on Gabriel and was distrustful of her. Jane had told Asa that she never wanted anything else from life. In her opinion, what she had now was more than enough for her. All she wanted was a big happy family to live together on the ranch.
Asa supposed that in these parts of the country, her values and work ethic made her an attractive woman for all the ranchers and farmers. And yet, she couldn’t stop wondering why Jane accepted that way of life for herself.
Chapter 17
The next day, Asa Clark woke up late and was running very late for work, but couldn’t seem to get out of bed. She was still under the spell of the beautiful dream she had been having of her and Gabriel together, making love. The images of the two of them rolling around on her bed were too powerful for Asa to forget so easily. She was really starting to fall for him and for the first time in her life that thought wasn’t scaring her.
So, that Monday morning special FBI agent Asa Clark arrived late for work at the FBI field office. No one seemed to notice, except Todd Gibson, who came out of his office and called to her in a sturdy voice. “Agent Clark could you come into my office for a moment?” He asked and Asa could tell from the other side of the room that the man was angry and wanted to tell her in person what he thought of her.
“Agent Gibson,” Asa spoke, as soon as the door closed behind her. “I don’t appreciate you calling me like that in front of everyone.”
“And I don’t appreciate the fact that you are being so easily lulled into a state of complacency,” he chastised her. “You are aware that there is an ongoing investigation, right? Instead, you come to work late, look like some love stuck school girl and forget all about why you are here in the first place.”
“That is not fair,” Asa protested. “I can assure you that I have been following the instructions given to me from the Deputy Director and trying to get closer to the locals.”
“You might see it that way, but to the rest of us, things look very different,” Gibson insisted. “If you don’t get yourself in line, I might have to take over the investigation.”
Asa took a step back at the obvious threat behind his words and repeated once again, what the Deputy Director had told her. “No one was talking to me, when I first came here, but now things are turning around and I am making progress.”
“What does your progress have to do with Gabriel Kimble?” The man asked sarcastically.
“Gabriel is just a friend,” Asa was taken aback by his question. She wasn’t aware that people knew about her new relationship with the man.
“The man is a well-known playboy, agent Clark,” Gibson pointed. “You shouldn’t waste your time with him.”
“I don’t see how my personal life is any of your business, agent Gibson,” Asa pointed back, looking determined to defend her decisions. “Now, is there something work related you need to tell me, or should I return to my desk and continue with my work?”
Gibson didn’t look happy with her attitude, but after a few minutes decided to let it go for now. The man sat behind his desk and opened one of the files on it. He opened the file slowly, taking his time and waiting for his heart to slow down.
“The lab turned up something from the missing agent’s vehicle,” he finally said, without looking up from the papers. “On the gas pedal there was a distinct class of dirt, which is found in the eastern part of Kalispell.”
“How is that going to help us?” Asa asked, still under the influence of the conversation they had before.
“I think that we would be able to find out, which area they were investigating just before the agents went missing,” Todd Gibson looked surprised by her question, but didn’t comment on it.
Agent Clark took the seat in front of the desk and started reading the information, given by the lab. According to them, the dirt had a specific construction, which places it in a specific area of the country. It seemed that whoever drove the car had just stepped on the dirt and then transported it inside the car.
Both agents poured over the sediment samples and compared them with the map of the region, which was designed to show the different kind of dirt found there. After half an hour they managed to determine that the dirt was coming from a certain region and were about to call the closest police center, when agent Gibson’s phone rang.
The man answered the phone, looking at Asa and silently asking her to give him a moment. “Gibson,” he said into the phone. “Can you repeat, please?”
Asa could tell that whatever news he was given it was important, as Gibson stood up and looked very excited. “Okay, okay, we will be there as soon as possible.” He said into the phone, before closing it.
“It was the local police,” Gibson said to Asa. “Two unidentified bodies have turned up near the Flathead Lake. They could very well be our agents. The area is right and according to the police they have been there for a while.”
“No documents or other documents that can help us identify them?” She asked him, while standing up too and walking towards the door. “I will take my jacket and be ready to go.” She added, when the man just shook his head.
Asa was still a bit confused by her conversation with Gibson about Gabriel and her commitment to the case. And now the fact that the bodies had turned up was making her think not about solving the case, but about having to go back home, as soon as the case was over. Gibson must be right, if she found it so hard to concentrate on her job right now, while thinking about Gabriel came naturally.
Clark took her jacket and slowly walked out of the FBI office, heading towards her car, which was parked nearby. Gibson was still nowhere to be seen, so she had some time to gather her thoughts and relax before they had to go.
Chapter 18
Taking his time, Agent Gibson joined her in the car and together they headed towards the Kalispell morgue. It wasn’t a long drive, but it was enough for both of them to return to their previous understanding, with Gibson being resentful towards her and Clark acting as if that didn’t bother her at all.
In the morgue, they were invited into the visitor's room and the medical examiner, who had examined the bodies, came to talk to them immediately. “Agents, my name is doctor Malow and I was the one who performed the autopsy on the two bodies,” the young doctor introduced himself. “I still have work to do
on them, but what I can tell you now is also something.”
“Agents Gibson and Clark,” Todd spoke for both of them. “Can you show us your findings?”
“Yes, sure,” the energetic young man said. “This is what I have for you. The two bodies are badly decomposed, but my initial results match those of the two missing FBI agents. I am sorry about that, by the way.” The doctor added, looking up at both of them. “Another very interesting fact is that both bodies are filled with bullets. I still have to take all the bullets out of them. Whoever killed them was determined to make sure they were dead or maybe it was just another sadist, with a flair for pain.”
Asa visibly shuddered at the news and saw how Gibson tried to hide his own discomfort behind a cough. The medical examiner showed them the photos of the bodies, insisting that it was better for them not to see the real bodies. The photos showed a heap of decomposed flesh, covered in blood and dirt. The carefully photographed bullet entries looked ominous against the dead flesh of the agents.
“From what I can see, the multiple bullet entries indicate well-trained shooters and yet there is not a single bullet hole on the vehicle,” Asa Clark pointed out. “That must mean something.”
“That is interesting,” the doctor commented. “But, maybe the two agents simply weren’t in the car, when they were killed?”
“There is no maybe about it,” Asa took another photo in her hand and imagined the photos of the two agents she was shown, when she was heading this way. The two young men looked healthy and ready to turn the world around for what they believed in. And here they were, dead, filled with bullets, abandoned in the wilderness, while their killers were still on the loose.
“Ha,” Todd Gibson joked despite their dark mood. “Everyone in Montana is a well-trained shooter.”
Asa could understand why he was joking, but the joke was wasted on her. She still couldn’t understand the whole situation, but one thing was for sure, it wasn’t funny at all. Gibson demanded to see the personal effects of the agents, while Asa remained in the room with the photos and the medical examiner’s report. She went through the whole thing again and again, until it became obvious that there was nothing new in there for her right now.
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