Life at the Ranch

by Malone, Misty

  Alicia turned to Kayla, exhausted but happy. “Thank you so much for coming in and helping. I did fine all day, but I would have had real problems if you hadn't been here to help. I think I need to hire someone to help during those last couple hours, when everyone's picking up their orders.”

  “I can help you there,” Kayla offered. “I came over after school was out. I loved it today. Unless you'd rather get someone else, why don't you just let me help?”

  “I don't want to take advantage of your friendship and generosity, but if you don't mind helping until I can find someone to hire, I'd sure appreciate the help.”

  “I don't mind at all, but seriously, there's no reason why I can't help. I don't have to go home and cook. Mom and Dad have a cook at home and I'm not doing anything special during that time. Why don't you hold off hiring anyone for a little while until we see how things are. Let's see where business levels out. You may need to hire someone to help longer than that, if you get busy.”

  “Or if this was a first day rush, I may not be this busy normally,” she said. “If you don't mind, I really do appreciate your help.”

  With Kayla's help, they got out shortly after 6:00, earlier than Alicia had expected. She called Maria and told her she had a dozen homemade dinner rolls she was bringing home, and asked if there was enough dinner for her to bring a friend home with her. Maria of course laughed and said, “There's plenty for Kayla, and we'd all love to see her again.” Alicia had her phone on speaker at the time, knowing what Maria would say, and when Kayla heard Maria she thanked her.

  Alicia stopped at the bank on her way home, and at home the ladies were greeted by two anxious men, who had waited on them so they could all eat together. Everyone was eager to hear how her first day went, and happy with what they heard.

  The rest of the week went much like the first day. Kayla stopped and helped after school was out, and the ladies looked forward to their daily visit. They laughed and talked so much they both agreed it was more like a social visit than work.

  Clint called and said he had some news for them Saturday morning. Bo invited him to join them for supper, and they all waited impatiently. When he was finally there and they started eating, he explained what they'd learned.

  “Bo, this is good news, though you may not be too thrilled with it yet. We think we have it solved. We think we know who's doing it, and even why, but we aren't ready to act on it yet.”

  Bo looked a bit defeated. “Why not? I read in the paper that a couple of the homeowners who were burglarized have been pushing for an arrest. It says they understand the sheriff's department has fingerprints, but has failed to arrest the person, and they're calling for an arrest.”

  “That's true,” Clint admitted, “but he's not ready to move on this yet. They'll just have to trust him and wait. He told the reporters after this last one that they were unable to get usable fingerprints, but he didn't mention anything about an alibi. He wants this guy to think the only reason you weren't arrested is because he didn't get any good evidence.”

  “Why?”

  “We haven't been able to get any proof it's them. Everything points to it, and we both feel strongly we know who it is, but without evidence he can't charge them, and even if he did it wouldn't hold up in court. Now that we're pretty sure who it is, we want to catch them in the act. Then there won't be any problem about no evidence, and the homeowners will understand the sheriff's reluctance to arrest the wrong man.”

  “How do you plan on catching them in the act?”

  “That's the main thing I want to talk to you about. We want to set a trap.”

  “And I'm the bait?”

  “Yes,” Clint confirmed, “but you won't be in any danger. We think Alicia is right, and this guy's trying to set you up. He's been calling Brooks quite often, like four or five times a week. We want you to tell the men you're taking a couple days off to go camping by yourself, to get back to nature, or something along those lines; something where you wouldn't have an alibi. Then the sheriff's going to put guys on both of the people we think are behind these break-ins. They'll follow them anywhere they go, using different men, different cars so they won't get suspicious. They'll have dash cams so they get it on tape as they follow them. Then as soon as they enter a house, they'll swarm in and arrest them..”

  “I'm willing to help,” Bo quickly said. “Just tell me what you want me to say and when, and I'll help. I have one question, not about this plan, but something I've wondered about.”

  “What's that?”

  “All these burglaries happened at houses that are outside the city limits. Or am I wrong about that?”

  “No, you're right. Sheriff Culler and I have talked about that, too. We're not sure why exactly, but we have a couple possible theories. As long as they're outside the city, the sheriff's department is in charge, and not the city police. Maybe one of them knows someone on the city force and is afraid they'd be caught quicker. One thing we both wondered is if they're thinking there are more outside security cameras in the city that might catch them as they're getting out of their vehicle and going in the house. The one house that had a security system only had cameras inside, and it seemed as though they were aware of it and even wanted to be seen wearing clothes like you wear, right down to the cowboy hat.”

  “It did seem odd that they got his back a couple times, but never a face.”

  “Exactly. They wanted that to be seen, but maybe they don't want to be caught on camera as they get out of their vehicle and enter the house. The houses in the country are further apart, so there's less chance of being caught on a camera. If they break into another one in the country, they'll be upset when they learn they were indeed caught on a camera; a police camera.”

  Bo had to chuckle. “What if they break in to a house in the city this time?”

  “We can still arrest them. We have jurisdiction through the entire county. Sheriff Culler plans to talk to the police chief personally, though, to make him aware of this once it's set up, just to be sure there's no problem.”

  “It sounds like you guys have it all under control. Let me know when to do what. I'm in.”

  “Okay. If you think of anything you can say you're going to be tied up with, let me know. Otherwise we'll probably go with you going off for a few days camping alone.”

  “Okay. I'll give it some thought. Clint, I noticed you haven't said who you think it is. That's not by accident, is it?”

  “No, it's not. Sorry, Bo, but I can't say who we think it is, mainly for the same reason the sheriff can't arrest them yet. We don't have the evidence we need. I can't tell you who we feel it is until we have evidence to back up the accusation.”

  “Okay, I understand. Thanks, Clint.”

  After Clint left they talked a little about what they could say Bo was doing. “Going off alone to do some camping doesn't sound too believable to me,” Bo said. “I've never even mentioned camping, and it's harvest time. I wouldn't take off during our busy season to go on vacation.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Wyatt said. “We'll try to come up with something better than camping. Maybe an idea will jump out at us.”

  Something did jump out at them a couple days later, just in time. Clint got in touch with them on Tuesday, saying they wanted him to let the men know on Wednesday that he'd be gone Thursday and Friday. Hopefully this would end it.

  Wednesday morning Landon called Bo to tell him he was doing his check of the herd of cattle in the north pasture, and felt Bo might want to come take a look. There was a dead cow, and he thought it looked like it had been killed by an animal. This was always a concern on a ranch. If a bear or mountain lion killed a cow once they were apt to do it again if it wasn't stopped.

  Bo and Wyatt both went to look at the area. They agreed it was probably a mountain lion, which could be a problem. It wasn't legal to shoot a mountain lion unless it was being aggressive to a person. They would have to try to watch for it and shoot in the air, and hope that c
hased it off. That usually scared them enough to chase them further from the animals. Occasionally, though, it wouldn't work and the lion would come back, even several times.

  They were looking around the area for tracks they could follow, when Bo pointed toward the woods and raised his rifle. Wyatt turned to see a mountain lion, heading toward them, and quickly took out his rifle, as well. Bo was instantly concerned, as a mountain lion would normally avoid human contact. For one to be coming from the woods toward them was unusual. He shot over the head of the animal, which should have caused the lion to turn instantly and run for the cover of the woods. However, this one kept coming toward them, his eyes trained on Bo.

  When Bo saw that, he quickly readied his gun for the next shot, but a second shot rang out. He looked up and watched the mountain lion fall. It startled him, as he was closer to Bo than he anticipated. He looked over at Wyatt, who still had his gun trained on the animal. “Thanks, Wyatt.”

  “My pleasure. Something's not right with that animal.”

  Bo smiled a bit. “Do you mean besides the fact that he's dead?” Both men grinned, which relieved the tension in the air. Bo got serious then. “You're right, something wasn't right about it. We better call the sheriff and report it. He might want to get it tested.”

  “I agree.” Wyatt took out his phone, and Bo had an idea. “Hey, no one else is here. Let's tell Landon and the others that we think it's a lion, and I'm going to stay up here at the line shack and watch for it.”

  “Good idea,” Wyatt agreed. “They probably heard the two shots this morning. We'll tell them we tried to chase it off, but you're going to stay up here a few nights to be sure it doesn't come back. If it shows up again the cattle will make enough noise that you'll wake up and can kill it. It's legal to kill it if it comes back after you chase it off once, so I don't think any of the men will question our plan.”

  “Much more believable story. Tell the sheriff what we're doing.”

  “Will do,” Wyatt agreed. “After you leave to come here in the evening, I'll come pick you up and you can stay at the main house. There's no need for you to actually stay up here. I have plenty of extra rooms.” He smiled as he added, “I'm pretty sure there's a room at the opposite end of the house from Alicia.”

  “Just call the sheriff,” Bo growled.

  Wyatt laughed as he called Sheriff Culler and explained what had happened, as well as the story they were telling the men. The sheriff agreed to send a deputy out to get the dead animal and have it checked for rabies. Wyatt told him how to get to the location from the side road, so none of the men would see. The men waited for the deputy and helped load the dead animal in the pickup. They went back to the barn and told the men the story they'd come up with, setting the wheels in motion. Brooks immediately volunteered to do morning chores for Bo again, and Bo thanked him.

  Chapter 14

  That night Bo rode to the line shack they told the men he'd be staying at. After it was dark, Wyatt went and brought him back. They got up early in the morning to return him to the line shack. He rode in later that morning and they worked as usual. He assured Wyatt he could actually stay in the line shack, saving Wyatt a lot of time, but Wyatt and Clint both agreed this was better. Then in the event they were wrong about who was doing this, if there was another break-in, at least Bo would have Wyatt, Alicia and Maria as witnesses as to where he actually was.

  Sheriff Culler called Bo later that day to say that Brooks had again gotten a phone call from the same person, so hopefully he'd mentioned the plan. The sheriff assured Bo they had men in place, following both men and were ready.

  They did the same routine the next night, as well, and the third. They were disappointed that nothing seemed to have happened. Early Saturday morning, however, they got the call they'd been hoping for. “We got them,” Clint said excitedly when Bo answered his phone. “Is it okay if we come out and explain it all to you this morning?”

  “The sooner you can get here the better! We've all been worried the plan didn't work.”

  “Oh, it worked, all right. I'll be there in about half an hour. The sheriff has a couple loose ends he has to tie up first, and then we'll be out.”

  Wyatt brought Kayla down so she could hear the good news, as well, and when Clint and Sheriff Culler got there Maria had coffee and cookies in the living room, ready to serve, and five anxious people, ready to hear what happened.

  As soon as they were all seated the sheriff started explaining. “We had men tailing each of the people we thought were involved, and last night both men left together.”

  Bo stopped him already. “They left together, as in they met at one house and then left?”

  “Left as in they live on the same ranch.”

  Wyatt's ears perked up. “They live on a ranch?”

  “They do,” Sheriff Culler confirmed. “They left in the same pickup, so both teams of my men followed them, switching off so they wouldn't suspect anything. They drove past a house very slowly. There weren't any lights on except one in the back. The two men then drove down the road and turned onto a side road, and into an old drive that wasn't used much. My men went on past, but watched with binoculars equipped for nighttime viewing. They went along the edge of a field and stopped right behind this house.”

  “Were you able to see what they were doing?” Bo asked.

  “Not very well by then, but we had other men move in closer to the house while they were driving along the field. We assumed that was their target, so we had men hiding in the bushes along the house. They were in place by the time the suspects got to the house, and our men were able to watch them break in. Once they were inside, the men gave the signal and deputies swarmed the house.”

  Alicia looked concerned. “Any problems? Was anyone hurt?”

  “No problems. When our men swarmed inside it shocked these two and they froze. They didn't even put up a fight. We arrested them, put them in handcuffs and took them down to the station. They're in jail now. We did recover something you might recognize, Bo.”

  “What's that?”

  As soon as the sheriff held up his latest evidence bag, Bo grabbed it from his hand. “I will get this back, won't I?”

  Clint had to chuckle a little. “I take it that means you recognize it?”

  “This is my money clip,” Bo said. “It was my grandfather's, and he carried it with him everywhere he went. I'd never seen a money clip before I saw his, and I was fascinated with it. I thought it was the greatest thing ever, especially since it has his initials engraved on it. To me, that made it extra special.”

  Alicia could tell how much it meant to Bo, and she looked at the clip. “Your grandfather had the same initials as you?”

  “I was named after him. His name was Beauregard, but they called him Bo. Dad said they wanted to name me after him, but they couldn't bring themselves to pin the name Beauregard on such a little boy. I was born a little premature and was only four pounds. So they named me what everyone called him; Bo.”

  “What a neat story,” Alicia said. “What was his middle name? I see the initials on here are BTH.”

  “His middle name was Thomas, and my mom's father's first name was Thomas, so that's my middle name, as well.”

  “Bo Thomas Hamilton. I like it.”

  Bo laughed. “I'm glad you do, because I hadn't planned on changing it.”

  “So you inherited this money clip from him?”

  “When he was sick, at the end there, he gave it to me. He laughed and said he didn't know anyone else who just happened to have the initials BTH, but he knew how special that money clip was to me. I'll never forget that day. I hunted and hunted for this, but decided I'd lost it for good, and gave up. I can't believe I didn't think of it when you asked if anything was missing. I was thinking of things missing recently, and this came up missing in the first few days I was at this ranch. I assumed it must have somehow fallen out of my pocket somewhere, but it didn't make sense. One morning when I went to put it, and my money, into
my pocket, I couldn't find it. I was in a hurry that morning, so I went without it, thinking I'd find it that night. But I never did.”

  “I'm glad someone found it,” she said.

  Bo looked again at the sheriff. “I am, too. I will get it back, won't I?”

  “You will. We have to keep it as evidence until they plead guilty or are found guilty at a trial, but after that all these things will be returned to you.”

  Wyatt had been quiet, obviously thinking. “There's something that bothers me, Sheriff. Whoever this is that's been trying to frame Bo, has he been breaking into his house to take these things, or did he take them all at once, planning to do this, or what?”

  Bo added his thoughts. “I've been wondering the same thing, because the only time that money clip was out of my pocket was when I took it out to pay for something, or at night. The last thing I do before I go to bed is empty my pockets and put the stuff on my dresser. When I get up in the morning I put clean jeans on and put the stuff in my pockets. I can't think someone's been breaking into my bedroom at night while I was asleep and I didn't hear them. And this has been missing for a long time.”

  “I don't think he has been breaking in at night and taking them,” the sheriff said.

  The room became very quiet, and everyone turned to face him. Bo shook his head. “I don't understand. Who's been doing this?”

  “Trey Janson and Wade Culbertson.”

  “Who are they?” Bo asked. “Neither name sounds familiar. What did I do to them?”

  Wyatt sat straight up. “What would Trey Janson and Wade Culbertson have against Bo? Trey's probably never even met him.”

  Now everyone turned to look at Wyatt, particularly Bo. “Do you know these two?”

  “I do, and you know Wade, but not well.”

  Bo looked puzzled. “Culbertson? Are you sure I know him? Culbertson doesn't sound familiar at all.”