Betrayal at the Buffalo Ranch

by Sara Sue Hoklotubbe

  Wayne Sanders, leading him to believe the two murders were clearly

  connected. If the lab team could lift viable fingerprints from the arrows, it might shed some light on the Sanders investigation. Soon enough,

  they would know who killed Sanders. Now all he had to do was figure

  out who killed Angus.

  When Lance got to Highway 20, he turned east and took the sec-

  ond turnoff, toward Roy Carter’s ranch. He parked in the same place he

  had before and slid out of his vehicle. Before he reached the porch, Roy

  Carter walked out the front door. He looked hungover, with tousled hair,

  disheveled clothes, and bare feet.

  “Can I help you?” Roy said.

  “Hard night, Roy?”

  “What’s it to you?”

  “Did your wife tell you I came by?”

  “Yeah. She said so. I’ve been busy.”

  “I bet.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Where were you yesterday afternoon?”

  “I can’t see that that’s any of your business.”

  “Make it easy on yourself, Roy. I’m not in the mood to play games

  with you. From what I understand, you threatened to shoot Angus

  Clyborn, and that’s exactly what someone did yesterday. So, that makes

  you suspect number one in a murder case.”

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  “What?” Roy looked shocked. “You mean someone beat me to it?”

  “Did you kill Angus Clyborn, Roy?”

  He laughed. “Sounds like someone saved me the trouble. Good for

  them.”

  “Just tell me where you were, I’ll verify it, and move on in my in-

  vestigation. If you don’t have an alibi, well, then you’re going to have to turn in your rifle for a ballistics test. It won’t take long to get a search warrant.”

  “I was at the Party Barn, drinking.” Roy looked defeated as he

  glanced back into the house. “Marci’s not too happy with me.”

  “Who were you with?”

  “Anyone and everyone. I don’t even remember driving home.”

  “What about your son, Robert?”

  “He left for south Texas last week.” Roy looked off in the distance.

  “Said he was going to get a summer job hauling hay. It’s not good money,

  but at least it’s honest work.”

  “He didn’t, by any chance, take a rifle with him, did he?”

  “He keeps a rifle in his truck, just like I do.” He looked past Lance

  again toward the barn. “You don’t have to worry about Robert. He’s just

  a kid, not a killer.”

  “Roy, you need to know that Angus didn’t bring brucellosis into

  Delaware County. I don’t know how your cattle got infected, but I

  checked with the livestock inspector, and he told me he’d already veri-

  fied the bison at the Buffalo Ranch had been vaccinated for the disease

  before they left Wyoming.”

  Roy looked down at his feet.

  Lance relaxed. His years in law enforcement had taught him to

  read people fairly well, and Roy’s demeanor didn’t exactly scream guilt.

  Instead, the rancher appeared tired and beaten down. Angus might be

  dead, but so were Roy’s cattle, and as sad as it seemed, the herd was a

  bigger loss to Roy than the life of a boisterous game hunter.

  “Okay, Roy, I’ll talk to Rosy. I think you’re telling the truth. But if

  you’re not, you’ll have to deal with me. Understand?”

  Roy walked off the porch and to his truck. He opened the passen-

  ger’s side door, reached in, and pulled out a rifle. He slid back the bolt to show it was unloaded, and offered it to Lance.

  “Go ahead and take it,” he said. “I have nothing to hide.”

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  Lance took the rifle and then tensed when Roy’s wife, Marci, walked out onto the porch carrying a shotgun.

  “Here,” she said. “Take this one, too. I’m tired of having all these

  guns around here.”

  “No, ma’am,” Lance said. “That’s not necessary. I’m only inter-

  ested in the rifle.”

  Roy stepped back on the porch and pulled the shotgun from his

  wife’s hands. Marci turned on her heel and reentered the house.

  “Sorry about that,” Roy said. “She’s been under a lot of stress lately,

  losing the cows and all.”

  “That’s okay, Roy. Don’t be taking any trips, you hear?” Lance

  climbed into his vehicle and lowered the window. “And, Roy, you’d bet-

  ter get some sleep. You look like hell.”

  Roy turned and walked back into the house, allowing the screen

  door to slam shut behind him.

  ★

  Lance left the Carter ranch and dove toward town. His first stop would

  be the Party Barn to see if Rosy would corroborate Roy’s story, then he

  would go to his office and see if the ME had come up with the bullet that had killed Angus.

  As he drove, he thought about Roy and Marci. They were good people

  who had worked hard for what they had. This setback had upset the bal-

  ance in their lives. He hoped Roy’s rifle could be cleared sooner than later.

  He hated to think either one of them were caught up in Angus’s murder.

  Lance parked in front of the Party Barn Bar and went in. The lunch

  crowd had come and gone, leaving only a few regulars at the bar.

  “Lance, baby,” Rosy boomed. “Where you been? Haven’t seen you

  in a coon’s age.”

  Her laughter filled the room and Lance took a seat on one of the

  round wooden stools at the end of the bar where he could see the entire

  room, including the entry door.

  “Catching crooks, Rosy,” Lance replied. “Catching crooks.”

  She stood on the other side of the bar and leaned in toward Lance.

  “Speaking of crooks,” she said, “rumor has it Angus Clyborn bit the big

  one.”

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  “You know I cannot confirm nor deny any rumors.” Lance winked at her. “Let’s just say I hope he didn’t owe a very big bar bill.”

  “Is that right?” Rosy straightened her back and placed her hands on

  her hips. “I’ll be damned. What happened?”

  “We’re still trying to figure that out.” Lance’s phone rang. He looked

  at the caller ID, saw it was Sadie’s cell phone, and let the call go to voice mail. He put the phone back in his pocket. He’d call her back later. “But can you tell me if Roy Carter was in here yesterday?”

  “Oh, yeah. He drank his limit and then some. Poor guy. He was not

  in a good mood.”

  “About what time did he get here and leave?”

  Rosy thought for a minute. “Oh, I’d say he got here for happy hour

  around four and some of the guys put him in his truck and pointed him

  toward home around midnight. Why do you ask?”

  “Just doing a little research is all. Say, I’ll take a burger if you can

  make it quick.”

  “Are you kidding me? Quick is my middle name,” she said and dis-

  appeared into the kitchen.

  Lance pulled out his notebook and wrote down the information

  Rosy had given him. He considered Rosy a reliable source, so unless

  the rifle came back with a different result, Roy was off the hook. Lance

  would know more as soon as he talked to the ME.

  ★

  Sadie drove as fast as she could back to the main road, thankful that

  the forestry road into the back of the Chuculate’s property wasn’t too

  bu
mpy. As soon as she got to the highway, she floored the gas pedal of

  the Lexus, glancing periodically at Sonny. He was holding his head up

  and panting, which she took as a good sign, but the shirt Eli had tied

  onto his leg was already soaked with blood.

  “It’s okay, boy,” she said. “We’ll have you at Doc Cody’s in no time.”

  She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and hit the speed-

  dial button for Lance’s cell. When the call went to his voice mail, she

  tried to keep her composure as she left him a message telling him she

  had an emergency situation, was on her way to Doc Cody’s with Sonny,

  and to call her immediately. She put the phone on the seat beside her as

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  she maneuvered curves at high speed. As soon as she slid into a space in front of the animal hospital, she laid on the horn. A few seconds later,

  Doc Cody appeared at the front door.

  “Help me,” she yelled. “Sonny’s been shot!”

  Doc ran to the car and opened the back door. Sonny rose up on his

  front legs and growled.

  “Do you think he can walk, Sadie?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Pull the car around to the side door. I’ll meet you there with my

  assistant.”

  Sadie did as the veterinarian instructed and together they coaxed

  Sonny off the back seat and onto a gurney. Then the doctor wheeled him

  straight into an examination room and began to fill a syringe.

  “Hold his head, Sadie. I’m going to need to knock him out so I can

  take an X-ray and work on him.”

  The next thing Sadie knew, she had been relegated to the waiting

  room, while Doc Cody, having assured her Sonny would be fine, per-

  formed surgery to stop the bleeding. Suddenly, the door swung open and

  Lance rushed inside. Unable to contain her emotions any longer, she fell

  into his arms and sobbed. Lance guided her back to a chair, where they

  sat for a few minutes until she regained her composure. Then he started

  peppering her with questions.

  “Are you okay? What happened? Where’s your car? Why is Hawk’s

  Lexus in the parking lot with blood all over the back seat?”

  “Oh, Lance. I took Sonny and went looking for that white buffalo

  calf, and when we found it, Hawk was getting ready to shoot it. Sonny

  either got in the way or he scared Hawk or something, I don’t really

  know, but Hawk shot him. If it hadn’t been for Uncle Eli . . . oh, Lance, you’ve got to get out there. Eli has Hawk tied to a tree and he’s really

  pissed, Uncle Eli, that is.” She stopped for a minute, wiped her nose, and then kept talking. “Uncle Eli made Hawk give me his car keys to bring

  Sonny to the vet. The forestry road off of Eucha Road, between Eucha

  and the highway, takes you into the back side of the property. You’d

  better hurry.”

  Lance pulled her head to his chest. “Is Sonny okay?”

  “I think so.”

  “Is Joe okay?”

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  Sadie nodded.

  “And Eli’s not hurt?”

  “No, but he’s really mad. He threatened to kill Hawk.”

  “Is Hawk hurt?”

  “His hand was bleeding. Eli shot the rifle out of his hand.” Sadie

  felt a tear slide down her cheek. “You know he could have killed him if

  he’d wanted to.”

  “I know.” He kissed her forehead. “Are you okay?” he asked again.

  Sadie nodded. “I’m okay.”

  “Stay here. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Okay?”

  Sadie sniffed and nodded again, but Lance was already dialing his

  cell phone as he disappeared out the door. A moment later Sadie could

  hear the siren wail as he peeled out of the animal hospital’s parking lot.

  A smiling Doc Cody appeared through the waiting room door and

  Sadie jumped to her feet.

  “You’ve got a very lucky wolfdog, Sadie,” the doctor said. “I was

  able to stop the bleeding. The bullet went clear through his leg. I have no idea how it did that without hitting something vital, but it did. Nothing is broken. You’re going to need to keep him inactive for a few days, but

  he’ll be fine.”

  “I need to be there when he wakes up.”

  “As soon as we get him cleaned up.”

  “He’s not going to be happy if he wakes up in unfamiliar

  surroundings.”

  “I know. We’ll put him in a room by himself and you can stay with

  him until he’s okay to go home.”

  Sadie followed the doctor through the door that led to where her

  best friend and guardian slept. Today, she would be his protector.

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  Chapter 34

  After the urgent care clinic had bandaged Hawk’s hand and given him

  an ice pack for his bruised face, Lance delivered him to the county jail

  and locked him in a cell by himself. He picked up the phone and dialed

  Sadie’s cell phone and learned she was still at the animal hospital.

  The doc had wanted to keep Sonny overnight, she explained, but

  then reluctantly agreed to let her take him home. Probably, Lance sur-

  mised, because the veterinarian didn’t want to have to care for an ill-

  disposed wolfdog that didn’t usually listen to anyone but Sadie.

  “Don’t worry,” Sadie said on the other end of the line. “Uncle Eli

  and Aunt Mary are on their way to pick us up with my car. We’ll get him

  home. I talked to Beanie and told her to close the travel office when she needed to go. She’s kind of freaked out about everything. We’ll regroup

  tomorrow. Can you send someone to get Hawk’s car?”

  “I’ll take care of the car,” Lance said. “Tell Eli I’m going to need to

  get a statement from him. Okay?”

  “Okay. And, Lance? Thanks for not yelling at me.”

  “I love you, Sadie. Please take care of yourself. I’ll call you as soon

  as I can get loose from here.”

  ★

  Rowdy Canon downshifted his Ford F-250 truck as he approached a

  stoplight on Highway 10. He remained on the bypass so he wouldn’t

  have to pull the cattle trailer through Tahlequah. Following the road

  signs, he turned south again after he’d cleared the traffic congestion.

  Checking his watch, he pulled off the highway in front of a large brick

  building with a sign that read, “Cherokee Nation Tribal Headquarters.”

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  It was late in the afternoon, and he hoped everyone wasn’t already gone for the day.

  His body ached from the long drive as he slid out of the truck and

  made his way into the building. The first person he ran into pointed

  him toward his destination. Walking past an empty secretary’s desk, he

  pushed the door open that read “Chief John Henry Greenleaf.” The

  silver- haired man glanced away from his computer and peered over his

  reading glasses with a look of surprise. “May I help you?” he asked.

  “I’m here for Sandy.”

  ★

  An exhausted Sadie was sitting in the animal hospital next to a sleeping

  Sonny, her hand resting on his chest so she could feel the rise and fall

  of his breathing, when her cell phone vibrated. She pulled it out of her

  pocket and saw that it was Beanie and answered quietly.

  “Are you okay, Beanie?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” Beanie replied. “I was getting ready to leave whenr />
  that woman from Wyoming called again. She said her ranch hand is at

  the Cherokee Nation and no one knows anything about her pet buffalo.

  What do I tell her? She’s on the other line.”

  “Can this day get any crazier?” Sadie let out a long sigh. “Get her

  number, tell her I had an emergency, and that I’ll call her back shortly.

  I’ve got to talk to Lance, and I’d say the less she knows the better.”

  Sadie hung up and Sonny raised his head. “It’s okay, boy, I’m here.”

  He closed his eyes and laid his head back down.

  She dialed Lance’s phone and he answered on the first ring.

  “Lance, I haven’t had a chance to tell you all this, and it’s kind of a

  long story, but the owner of that buffalo cow with the white calf is here from Wyoming. Well, actually he’s in Tahlequah, because they think

  she was accidentally taken with a shipment of buffalo to the Cherokee

  Nation. I don’t know how Angus ended up with her, but she isn’t sup-

  posed to be in Oklahoma at all. They want to pick up the cow and calf

  and take them home. She’s a pet, for heaven’s sake. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but can I just tell them where she is and let them go

  get her?”

  “Hold on, Sadie. Is this buffalo stolen?”

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  “I don’t know. I just know that when I found the ear tag, I took it to Brad . . . oh, none of that matters . . . but the woman verified the tag belonged to her pet buffalo, Sandy.” Sadie searched for words to explain

  the situation without making it too complicated. “She told me the cow

  was due to deliver a calf that was half-Charolais, which would make it

  appear to be a white buffalo, but it’s not, it’s half- Charolais half- buffalo, and she and her kids were in a panic because they didn’t know what had

  happened to her. There’s a connection with Kenny Wayne Sanders and

  Hawk. According to this woman, they went there together to set up the

  delivery of the buffalo to the Cherokee Nation.”

  The line went silent, and Sadie knew Lance was trying to digest

  everything she’d just told him.

  “Does anyone else know about this?” he asked.

  “Beanie and Becky. They were both there when I first called the

  woman.”

  “Give me the woman’s phone number, and I’ll make arrangements

  to meet her man tomorrow. He can take the buffalo, providing he can

  prove it’s his to take. Tell Beanie to keep this to herself.”