Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series)

by Martin Cogburn

Jason stood in stunned silence. How could someone do this? There was a person out there who wanted to make Jason suffer so badly that they had taken the last living thing that he loved and called his own and removed it from his life.

  “Some, um, somebody killed my dog?” Jason asked as moisture began to seep into his eyes. Jason didn’t have to wonder who. He knew. “It was Denton,” he said in a shaky voice. “He’s always been jealous that I got Misty. Now he wants to see me suffer.” He paused for a moment. “Dixie was the only thing I still had that loved me unconditionally,” he said as he whipped the dampness from his eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” Dr. Throckmorton spoke quietly as he looked away. “So sorry.”

  Jason just nodded his thanks. “I’ve got to be going,” he said quietly, trying to mask some of the emotion in his voice. “Thanks for listening… and for taking care of Dixie while she was still here.”

  “Glad I could help,” the doctor replied before looking up at Jason. “I want you to remember one thing for me, Jason,” he instructed. “Can you do that?”

  “I can try,” Jason answered while staring blankly at the ground.

  “Sometimes it is okay to give up,” the doctor said softly. “You have lost everything. Considering your circumstances, it would be perfectly normal.”

  “Then I don’t want to be normal,” Jason replied flatly. “And you are wrong, my friend. I haven’t lost everything.” He took a deep breath and put on a brave smile as he took a few steps back from the table. “I still have hope,” he said, raising his hands in a bowing gesture.

  “That you do, Jason. That you do,” Tomas said then took a sip of his coffee as he watched Jason walk away.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The smell of soured corn, oats, and other grain filled Jason’s nostrils with a bitter aroma. Past rainstorms, the snow melting from the previous winter, or some other form of moisture had invaded one of the big metal feeders that sat out in one of the cow pastures. Some of the ruined feed could be shoveled out through the gap in the bottom, which opened to a tray that ran the full length of the feeder, but some of grain had become so mildewed together that, no matter how hard Jason banged on the side of the metal bin, the spoiled feed would not be shaken lose.

  Finally, with no other option than to climb through one of the big doors on top, down into the inside and shovel the feed out through the openings above… that is exactly what Jason did. After a few minutes of the hard, sweaty, nasty work, he stuck his head out of the top to get a breath of fresh air. When he did, he noticed that a small group of curious heifers had gathered around, trying to figure out why their food was flying from its pen, seemingly of its own accord.

  With a smug look on his face, Jason ducked back down into the feeder, got another shovel full of the rotten grain and flung it back through the door in the direction of the gathered herd. As soon as he did, he popped his head back over the top and watched as the group scattered a few feet away from where the shovel load had landed, gazing wide eyed at their food lying scattered on the ground. Jason watched them for a moment longer then smiled a little as he shook his head and disappeared back below deck.

  A while later, Jason wiped the sweat from his forehead as he stood triumphant at the top of the feeder, towering over a job well done. He had removed every bit of the stinky, smelly substance from the feed bin. Giving a satisfied sigh, he swung the shovel over his shoulder then climbed down and headed from the pasture over to the round pen where Rye and Tyler where working horses.

  “Hey Jason,” Tyler hollered when he got within shouting distance. “I know you’ve only been out of jail for a day,” he spoke with a grin when Jason got closer, “and I’ve never done this so quickly for any other ex-convict, but you’re getting promoted.”

  “Promoted?” Jason asked.

  “Yep,” Tyler responded in a matter-of-fact way. “We’ve been working in the round pen for the last several months, due to our lack of help, but it’s time we introduce these three year olds to the square pen – make ‘em start shaping things up, you know. For that to happen, we’re gonna need extra help.” He sized Jason up and down before asking, “Can you ride at all?”

  “Yes sir,” Jason replied with certainty. “My wife’s parents have a little ranch. We go out there and ride their horses sometimes.” He paused for a moment before asking, “But if I’m helping y’all, who’s gonna feed and clean stalls?”

  “That has been arranged,” Tyler said with a subtle smile. “I hired someone just yesterday.”

  Wow. Yesterday Tyler had busted Jason out of jail, helped Rye take care of things at the ranch and still had time to hire extra help. That was a pretty impressive feat.

  “Well, when do I start?” Jason asked.

  “New help’s gettin’ here first thing in the morning,” Tyler replied. “You’ll start then.”

  “All right,” Jason responded with a nod. “Until then?”

  “You finished with the stalls and cleaning out that ole’ rain-rotted feeder?” Tyler asked.

  “Yes sir.”

  “Well then, I reckon the only thing left to do is run,” the tall horseman said with a smile.

  Jason groaned as he turned away and hit the trail. He had hoped that the all-day-and-half-the-night endurance test, from several days ago, had put all the running behind him.

  Jason made two laps in under an hour and a half before Tyler stopped him.

  “All that runnin’ slimmed you down to good size,” Tyler said as he studied Jason, “but we need to start focusing on your pulling muscles.”

  Several minutes later, Jason stood beside Tyler, who sat comfortably on his horse gazing up at the outside wall of an old storage barn. One-by-fours were nailed horizontally up a small section of the wall. The boards were only about a foot in length and spaced about the same distance apart. “Looks a bit like a ladder,” Jason commented, “only, it doesn’t seem to go anywhere.”

  “It is a ladder,” the cowboy said, verifying Jason’s observation. “And you are correct. It doesn’t go anywhere.” Jason cocked an eyebrow as he turned to Tyler. “You climb up and down it to strengthen your climbing muscles,” the horseman explained, “mainly in your hand.” He turned to Jason as he went on, “Let’s see how high you can go.” How high? That was simple. Jason knew he could climb all the way to the top. “Oh, and you can only use your hands,” Tyler added. Yeah… that might make things significantly more difficult.

  Jason gave it all he had but only made it four boards up before his hands started to give out, forcing him to dig his feet in and back-down. “You’re fairly strong,” Tyler commented, giving Jason a study as if weighing the pros and cons of a horse. “Your endurance is good, but your hands,” he said with a sigh, “your hands are weak… follow me,” he instructed as he turned his mount and rode away.

  “Pick those up,” Tyler ordered when he came to a stop, “one in each hand.”

  Jason looked to the ground where the cowboy was pointing and spotted two rocks that probably weighed fifteen to twenty pounds apiece. He walked forward and obeyed. Tyler gave no further instructions, so Jason just stood there patiently. Soon, his hands and forearms began to burn like they were on fire.

  “Wow, that’s starting to hurt,” Jason said with a strain in his voice.

  “Good,” Tyler spoke. “That’ll help toughen up your hands.”

  Jason dropped the rocks with a relieved sigh. That must not have been what the big cowboy had in mind. He frowned at Jason who, unsure of his transgression, cautiously asked, “So you want me to pick them up and hold them a few times a day… or what?”

  “No,” the horseman responded flatly, seeming to be a bit offended by the question. “I want you to make the circle with them, one time every day.” Jason looked up at him like he wasn’t believing what he was hearing… so Tyler got more specific. “Starting now,” he ordered as he pointed off down the trail.

  Jason picked the rocks up, once more. A short time later, he crossed through the pit and ch
arged up the other side, dropping his load before reaching the top. And so the next several hours went – picking up the rocks, charging down the trail until his hands became too weak to bear the load, dropping the rocks and resting his hands for a moment. Finally making it back to the ranch, Jason dropped the rocks back into their place and lifted his hands, giving them a study as they began to clinch into fist of their own accord. His mind was ordering them to open back up, but they refused. He cringed in pain as he hooked the fingertips of one hand onto the fingertips of the other and pulled. He got them opened slightly before kneeling down and shoving them onto the ground, forcing them open all the way.

  “Burns don’t it?” a voice asked calmly.

  Jason’s head bobbed up. He had been so focused on his task and the pain it was creating that he didn’t even hear Tyler ride up. “Yeah,” he said in a tense voice. “From my fingertips to my elbows, it feels like I’ve been set on fire.”

  “Yep,” the tall horseman laughed. “I know the feeling.” With that, he sat silently by, giving Jason a chance to gain control of all of his appendages.

  Finally, once Jason could raise his hands from the ground and not have them begin balling back up, he stood and looked at Tyler. “That was very painful,” he said in a matter-of-fact way.

  Tyler smiled but didn’t say a word. He just sat there, seeming to find some sort of humor in Jason’s discomfort. Several moments of awkward silence passed by while he studied Jason. Then he stepped his horse closer. “I think you’re ready to climb,” he said.

  Climb? Finally! Jason wanted to scream and shout like he had obtained victory over his worst enemy but, instead, he maintained his composure and said, “Okay, um, if you think I’m ready that sounds good to me.” But when Tyler turned his horse and began to ride away, Jason jumped up in the air and mouthed the word, “Yes!”

  “Once you have finished rejoicing,” Tyler said in a calm voice, “then come and follow me.”

  “Alright,” Jason said happily, but his joy was short lived. His smile disappeared into a frown as he watched the big cowboy began trotting off down the trail. He seemed to have in mind taking Jason on another tour around the loop. What on earth did that have to do with climbing?

  “What are we doing here?” Jason asked when they came to a stop in the basin with the small cliffs all around.

  “This is an old abandoned gravel pit,” Tyler replied, not answering the question directly. “They drill holes down into the rock every so often and pour in explosives… then ka-boom!” he shouted, “they blow the rock into pieces.” There was a gleam in the cowboy’s eye that said he sure would like to have seen that.

  After sitting silent for a moment, seeming to take pleasure in some fiery picture he’d drawn in his mind, he went on. “They take the rocks they busted lose and grind them into gravel to top roads with.” The horseman then made a sweeping gesture around the crater as he added, “And this is what we are left with – A perfect climbing gym.”

  Jason’s head spun a little as he looked around. He had been wondering where he would learn to climb – actually it had bothered him for quite some time now. He hadn’t thought about climbing these little cliffs since his first day of following Tyler around the loop.

  “We’ve got just about everything you need to learn to climb, right here,” Tyler said as he looked around the pit. “Crack climbing, face climbing, a few spots where the slant is beyond vertical… even have a few dihedrals,” he added while pointing over to spot where two cliffs met forming a ninety degree corner. A crack, varying in width from about one to maybe six inches, separated the two cliffs all the way to the top.

  “We’ll start tomorrow,” Tyler said as he turned his horse back around and headed towards the barns. “It’s time to feed the horses.”

  Jason had to admit… he was a little disappointed. He had hoped to start climbing right away, but, at least, now he had his answer as to when. Plus, he wasn’t sure if his hands were ready for more torture, at the moment.

  Climbing was the prevalent thing on Jason’s mind the rest of the evening, and when he laid his head down on his pillow to sleep that night, the thoughts of climbing flooded in, making sleep an elusive prey. But finally, Jason drifted off to sleep.

  He opened his eyes, looked at the clock and sighed. It read four thirty… already. After lighting the lantern, he got dressed, straightened up his bed and headed out the door to meet the new help. As he made his way through the darkness, down towards the barn, thoughts of the new help came to mind. Would they be able to handle his old job sufficiently? As far as their attitude, would they be easy to get along with or grumpy? Would they be hard working? Would they be… really, really short? Jason stopped in his tracks. What’d Tyler do… hire an elf? Or was that a kid? It was a kid. Was that…

  “Uncle Jason!” the kid shouted out for joy as he ran towards his bewildered uncle.

  “Ken?” Jason asked before he stooped down and swept his nephew up in his arms. “What are you doing here?”

  “We’ve come to help clean stalls so you can train!” the boy exclaimed. Then with excitement in his eyes, he studied his uncle. “You look tough,” he said as he reached up and rubbed the hair on Jason’s face. “Momma said you’re gonna get Aunt Misty back – You gonna get Aunt Misty back, Uncle Jason?” Ken asked with eyes full of innocence.

  “Yes,” Jason said as he fought the moisture back from his eyes. “I sure am.” He looked up and saw Susan smiling at them. He honestly didn’t know what to say. Having people he knew – having family there with him through such a hard time would mean more to him than words could express.

  Fighting the tears back from his eyes, he said, “Susan, you don’t know how much I appreciate y’all coming but,” he paused for a moment then added with a sigh, “I just – I can’t ask you to quit your job, leave your home, and drag Ken away from his friends to come clean stalls so I can have more time to train.”

  “I said I’d do whatever it takes to get my sister back,” Susan said with a smile.

  “But all I’ve got to do is try,” Jason reminded her. “Even if I fall, she is supposedly going to be set free.”

  “Well, even though you can be a big jerk, I know how much Misty loves you,” Susan said with a laugh, “so getting you back alive would probably be a bonus.”

  “So I’m just a bonus,” Jason gave a rough chuckle, his throat still a little knotted from the tears that threatened to spill.

  “No, you’re not just a bonus,” Susan assured him playfully. “And don’t feel bad for us. This isn’t all for you. I’ve been wanting to get Ken out of the city for a long time and, as far a cleaning stalls… please,” she said as she raised her hand, “I’d rather clean a horse’s stall than go shopping… and I love shopping.”

  Ken walked a short distance away to pet the cow dog, Red, who was doing his best to maintain a professional composure as the boy rubbed his head.

  Susan lovingly watched her son. “It’s just that Ken believes in you,” she spoke quietly to Jason. “We all believe in you,” she added with a smile then frowned at an afterthought before turning to Jason as she added, “Except for my mother, of course.”

  “Yeah, big shocker there,” Jason said, faking a surprised expression.

  They each stood silent for a moment, watching the boy and dog. Red broke his professional composure for a split second to give Ken a quick lick on the cheek before returning to statue pose. As a result, the boy giggled with delight.

  Jason cast a quick glance over at Susan. She was smiling as she watched her boy. It felt good to have them there… but there was one question that kept coming back. “Hey Susan,” Jason spoke after getting up the nerve to ask what was on his mind. She turned and looked up at him. “Where are you gonna stay?”

  “Tyler said they’ve got two extra bedrooms and a spare bathroom upstairs that they never use. There’ll be plenty of privacy,” she assured him. “The only reason I’m here is to clean stalls and cook in exchange for room, boar
d and a salary.”

  They returned to silence once more as they watched Ken with the dog. Seeing them reminded Jason of Dixie. “I think he killed my dog,” he said quietly.

  Susan turned to him in surprise. “What?” she gasped. “Who?”

  “Denton,” Jason responded flatly. “A friend of mine has been taking care of her. Said the other day when he went to feed her, she was gone. Thinks there was blood in her pen.”

  Susan stood silent for a moment, a look of surprise and sorrow on her face before she quietly said, “I’m so sorry Jason. But things are not always as they seem. There could be some other explanation.”

  True. Silence lingered in the air for a moment before Jason looked around, “Where’s your car?” he asked.

  “Parked up by the ranch house,” Susan explained. “We just walked down.”

  Jason nodded his head in understanding. “Well, it’s still a few minutes before five, but I can go ahead and start showing you everything,” he offered.

  “Sure, lead the way,” Susan responded as she waived her hand, directing him to go ahead. As they walked towards the feed shed, she turned back to her son and called, “Come on, Ken. You can help.” The boy gave the dog one more quick pat and received several friendly licks before racing to catch up with his mother.

  In the middle of the feeding instructions, Tyler walked up. “Mornin’ guys. Good to see you again, Susan,” he said as he shook her hand. “And who’s this young man?” he asked, directing his attention to a wide eyed boy.

  “I’m Ken, sir,” he said in an impressed tone. The boy was silent for a moment until his curiosity got the best of him. “Are you a real cowboy?” he asked.

  Tyler chuckled. “I’ve been accused of that a few times.”

  “You ever shoot anybody?” the boy went on in an excited voice.

  “I’m sorry,” Susan said with a laugh. “His image of a cowboy is a gun-totin’ madman from the days of the wild west.” Her laughter died quickly as she looked up at Tyler.

  “That’s, um, that okay,” the tall cowboy replied hesitantly while casting his gaze away from them. “I, uh, I guess it just goes with the territory.” They all stood there a moment in awkward silence before the tall cowboy spoke quietly, “I’m gonna go saddle some horses.” Without another word or making eye contact, he slowly walked away.