by Julie Weston
The saddle rim offered itself as a handle for Nellie so she wouldn’t fall off. Pearl didn’t look big enough to hold onto, although her saloon girl dress had been exchanged for Levis and boots. The cowgirl made a chic chic sound with her mouth, and they all started off at a fast walk. “Follow us, Moonie!”
“Where’s that sheriff of yours?”
“He’s not mine, and, at the moment, he is escorting someone back to the road on the back of his horse.”
“Girl?”
“Yes.” Nell clamped her mouth shut. She didn’t want to have this conversation, and she especially didn’t want to give Pearl something to crow about.
“Worried?”
“No, of course not. Why would I be worried?” Nell shifted as the horse began to move a little faster. “I work for Sheriff Azgo now. I am his photographer.”
“Mmmm.” Pearl looked over her shoulder. “That sounds cozy. Does he pay you?” She giggled. The saloon girl was still inside somewhere. Nellie compared Pearl’s blonde-ness with her own dark hair and brunette-ness. Her photographer’s eye wished for a photograph of the two of them.
“I earn money with my photography, yes. Mostly I take photos of automobile accidents, suspects, dead bodies, broken guns—”
“Dead bodies? Any of those lately? I do recall you took photos all around that sheep camp last summer.”
“Yes.” No need to keep it secret. Half the county knew there were two bodies on ice at the meat packer’s place of business. “There were some visitors to the lava fields whom we found in the caves. Have you heard about them?” Maybe Pearl’s penchant for gossip would give Nellie information she couldn’t get elsewhere. Nellie strained around to look behind her. Moonshine was keeping up well with the horse, and she saw no one around the tree molds or the trail she had followed. She thought of Rosy. Maybe he had followed her. That would be like him, to be sure she was safe. And Mayor Tom had his horse. Surely, she would have seen or heard a large animal. Still, she felt uncomfortable.
“Have you heard from Ned?”
A question out of the blue, Nell thought, about the cowboy from last summer. “No. Have you?”
“Yes, we write back and forth. I’m thinkin’ of goin’ to Oregon to meet up with him. Dick’s no good for me anymore. As you know.” Pearl turned her head to scowl at Nellie. They approached a ramshackle shed with a small porch and railing outside. A tent was set up nearby. “Here we are. I don’t think Ben has returned, and it don’t look like anyone else has visited either.” Pearl slid off the horse and helped Nellie down.
“Do you have any water here? I’m thirsty and so is Moonshine.”
“That dog,” Pearl complained. “Come inside. I’ll fix you up.”
Inside, there was a sagging bunk, a rickety table, a couple of chairs, and a plank sideboard with a big bucket of water. Nellie filled up her canteen, found a metal dish, and put water in it for Moonie. She took the water outside, as the shed smelled like old meat, sweaty men, and burnt coffee. “Do you mind if I wait here for Ben?”
Pearl shrugged. “He should come round about mealtime. He expects me to cook for him. I sometimes do and most often don’t. He knows how.” She had tied her horse to the rail and sat on the stairs to the shed. “Take a seat. You need a rest.”
Nellie sat on a nearby stump, placed close to a fire ring. “I do. I have a sandwich in my pack. Do you care if I eat it? Want a little of it?”
“No. I ate a while ago. Those people you found? Ben saw them back near those caves one morning. He rode over. They were a strange bunch. An old man and two young women, one of ’em probably pregnant, was what Ben thought, she was so round. They were kneeled down, praying. And then the man hit the round one and knocked her over. Ben was shocked. He asked her if she wanted to come with him. That old man threatened Ben, but he’s big and strong. I guess you saw that when he ambled over to where you were.”
“What did the woman say?” Nell was shocked, too. But then, the woman was now dead.
“She said no. She wanted to stay with the other woman.”
Maybe “the other woman” killed her, Nellie thought. Somebody did. What a tragic end—abuse and then murder.
Pearl stood up. “Ben’s coming. That’s his trail of dust out there.” Nell joined her. “He looks in an all-fired hurry, don’t he?” Pearl said.
Before long, Ben pulled up to the shed and dropped off his horse. “What’re you two doin’ here? Pearl, you should be out checkin’ on the cattle.” He tied the reins around the rail. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Miss . . . Burns. Are you takin’ photo-graphs here at my shed?”
“No, I came to ask you about your father. Have you seen him?”
Ben wrinkled his face. “Not for a week or so. He comes around to see if I’ve kilt any cows.” He laughed, and his face lit up, making him a handsome man. He took off his hat and slapped it against his legs, and a cloud of dust poufed out. “Why? I thought you two was enemies.”
“I suppose we are. However, I think he might be missing. Have you seen his automobile? I came with him early this morning to visit one of the caves. I saw him there, and then he was just gone. His auto, too.” She scratched Moonie’s ear, and she could still feel the bump on his head. That made her aware of her bump. “Do you know Peter Banks or Mayor Tom?”
“I know ’em both. I go into Arco for supplies every week or so and visit with Tom. He’s a good ole boy. Banks?” He shrugged his shoulders. “He hangs around the lava fields every now and then. He was with that group that explored it a year or so ago. Seems like he’s not quit of the craters yet.”
“Does your father know Banks?” Nellie wondered if Peter Banks was part of the group that wore the funny symbol on their clothes. She looked around for a stick, found one, and began drawing the ankh in the dust by the stairs. “Do you know what this means?”
Ben looked at Pearl and then away. “Yeah. Some of those old-time polygamists wear it to show they’re from the lost tribes.”
“Lost tribes?”
The cowboy shrugged his shoulders. “Part of their religion. Except the ones who wear that symbol because their church outlawed more than one wife. Most of ’em already had more than one.” He climbed the stairs and entered the shed. Conversation finished, he seemed to be saying.
Pearl leaned over and whispered in Nell’s ear. “His pa is one of them—more than one wife. He wanted me for a third!” Her voice squeaked up at the end. “Not me, I told ’im. Go find some other dumb dora.” And maybe he did, Nell thought and was tempted to say but decided to keep her mouth shut this time. “Could you give me a ride back toward the tree molds? I’m supposed to be heading out to the road.” Even she heard the tiredness in her voice. Walking all that way back wasn’t appealing at all. She didn’t think she could do it. Maybe the sheriff would come find her after he delivered Effie to—to where? He’d have to wait for Rosy and then send her back to Hailey if he wanted to assure her safety. He must think Mayor Tom and Peter Banks weren’t trustworthy, either. But, then why did he leave her to talk to Mayor Tom alone?
Nell and Pearl rode in comfortable silence for a short while. “Pearl, why wouldn’t you sign a statement against Cable O’Donnell last summer?”
Pearl continued to ride without speaking but then turned her head around toward Nell. “I thought he might marry me, and then I wouldn’t be poor anymore. I didn’t know he was already married—twice, it seems!” She pressed her legs to the horse, and it moved along faster. “I knew what he’d been up to because of that sad sack Dick Goodlight.”
“Were you ever married to Dick?”
“No, and I won’t marry him when he gets out of jail, either.”
“How about Ben? He seems a nice man. And handsome, too.”
“Ben had a girl. She’s gone, but he can’t seem to bounce back. We’re just cowpokes together. Nothing else.”
“Are you sure you’re gonna be all right?” Pearl asked.
Nell had slid off her seat on the horse behind Pearl. “
No.” That was not the answer Pearl was looking for, she knew. “Yes. I’ll be fine. I may just find a cozy spot in some of those limber pines and settle in for the night. It’s getting late, and I have Moonshine to protect me.” The sun cast a mellow glow over the lava, the trees, the dust, the shrubs. Golden tones comforted her, although she knew the country could be dangerous. A while ago, she had moved the gun Charlie gave her back into her pack. Before she started out toward the north, she would find it and stick it in her pants again—just in case—after Pearl left. “Keep an eye out for O’Donnell, will you? He might be in danger.” Especially now that he had some of the money with him.
“He can take care of himself. He always has,” Pearl said, her voice laden with disgust.
Nell had forgotten to see if Pearl still wore the lovely pearl ring, but her gloves covered her hands anyway. “Did he give you that ring?”
A blush colored Pearl’s usually pale face. “Yes. I gave it back to him.” She turned her horse around. “I wished I’d a kept it. It was the only pretty thing I had.”
Nell patted Pearl’s leg. “No, you have a pretty face and figure. Maybe you should go to Ned Tanner soon.” She waved as Pearl rode off to the west, just like in the cowboy movies.
Nell trudged past the tree molds, wondering if she was brave enough to stay out all night and travel back to the road in the morning. She remembered her sense of someone following her earlier. “What do you think, Moonshine? Would you protect me if some wild animals—two-legged or four-legged—attacked me?”
He gave a short bark and looked up at her, his mouth open and seeming to smile. “Yes, I thought you would.” Maybe that is what she should do. Once it was dark, she wouldn’t be able to follow any trail at all. She turned in a circle. No clouds. Not even much wind—a nice change. If she cuddled with Moonie, they would both stay warm.
Only then did she hear what sounded like a horse coming along the trail, alternating between clops on dirt and rings on stone. She jumped off the trail and scooted to a clump of lodgepole pine trees, hoping they would conceal her.
It was a man, tall in the saddle. The sinking sun was full on his head, but his face was mostly hidden by his Stetson. And, then she recognized the taut Levis, the heavy jacket. “Charlie!” Nellie tumbled out of the trees, right into his path. “Charlie!” She held onto his non-plastered leg.
He put his hand on her head. “When you and Mayor Tom didn’t show up, I knew something was either wrong or you decided to do some scouting on your own.” He waited until she had gathered up her dignity. “I figured the scouting part, so I sent Effie off with Rosy. He’ll come back for us.”
Nell reluctantly let go of Charlie’s leg. She reminded herself she was an independent woman. “Did Mayor Tom tell you his news?”
“Tom? No. He never showed up. That was when I thought you might be in trouble. The other man—Peter Banks—split off to go to his automobile fairly soon after we left you. Rosy thought he knew the way. It seems we know some of the only people in the area who have spent time here. And you are becoming an old hand.” He smiled at her, a warm smile.
“Thanks to you. I’m not so certain I’m any good at this crime detecting. I did go to Ben O’Donnell’s camp and gleaned a little information. Mayor Tom gave up even more. I have a lot to tell you.”
“Then, let us get you up on this saddle and head back to the wagon road. You can tell me as we ride along. The sun is setting, so we have only an hour or two before it is completely dark. Rosy will go wild if we do not show up.” He extended his arm to Nell. She put her foot in the stirrup, and he swung her up, much more easily than Pearl had, but with the same motion. This time, she put her arms around Charlie to keep from falling off. No saddle rim with him.
Nell filled the sheriff in regarding her own adventures—letting O’Donnell go off on his own. Finding the cave, cache-ing the money . . .
“What money?”
Ooops, he didn’t know about that; only Goldie did. So Nell had to admit her sneaking some of the money into her camera pack. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” She was silent, waiting for him to tell her it was all right. No response. “If I hadn’t done it, I would never have found out how greedy everyone—and I mean everyone—is about that money. It’s a good thing you deposited the rest.”
“I did not deposit the money. I wanted to get out here to find you. It still sits in the parlor at Goldie’s. We better telephone as soon as we get to Carey and tell her to hide it somewhere. She might be in danger. Unless all who were here believed me.”
Nell felt a cold shudder. A premonition? She hoped not.
“O’Donnell, or at least I assume it was him, fired a shot, but I didn’t see him or what he was shooting at. In the cave, he snuck up on me and almost gave me a heart attack. He said someone was in the back cave. I was afraid it was Rosy. O’Donnell took my flashlight and the money. Then he hit Moonie on the head. I fell as I ran to Moonshine and hit my head, too. O’Donnell was gone. And, I had no light but found matches in my pack.” Nellie couldn’t help going over the scene in the cave once again. “Speaking of Moonshine . . . where is he?”
“He is following us. He keeps running from side to side, smelling things. I have an eye on him. He will not let you out of his sight.”
The way grew rockier, and the horse and its riders stepped back onto lava. Nell tightened her grip around Charlie’s waist. He felt substantial, strong, a protector. Even with his plastered leg, he rode easily. “I could see that you were shaken up, but it looked like the other woman was in worse condition and needed to get out of there. It turns out, she had a wound in her leg, so it must have been O’Donnell who shot her, whether accidentally or on purpose, we may never know. Unless we catch up with him again. She would not name him as her attacker, however.”
“I found her in the next room in the cave. She appeared almost dead, but then she woke up. Maybe O’Donnell was tending to her there or trying to finish the job. Her leg didn’t work very well, but once I found out it wasn’t broken, like yours, I helped her up and out. I wonder why she wouldn’t name who shot her. It must have been the one I heard.”
Nell continued her tale with the information Mayor Tom had finally admitted. He had looked in the boxes and also found a note. “That was when he called the marshal, he said.” Nell and Charlie traveled to the west side of a tall cone, to keep the sun on their left. Nell didn’t remember coming that way any of the times she had been in the fields. “What are those?” She pointed to what looked to her like miniature volcanoes—a series of them.
“Rosy called them ‘spatter cones.’ Lava came spurting out of them hundreds or thousands of years ago. They did not grow up to be full blown volcanoes.” He pulled the horse to a stop. “I can’t get down and back up again. Would you look around? Moonshine appears to be tracking something himself. See what you can see in this light. It is low enough now that shadows may show up.”
Indeed, Moonie scooted along with his nose to the ground. If the lava hurt his feet, he gave no sign of it. Nellie slid off the horse, trying not to fall over as her camera shifted in her pack on her back. She just wanted to go home. Still, Moonie’s activity piqued her curiosity. What was he finding? She crouched to her knees and grasped the lava to see if she, too, could find tracks to follow. The cinders hurt her hands, but she did see where something had been dragged from the trail and toward one of the spatter cones. It could have been anything—a large animal dragging a smaller one, a groove from an eruption eons ago. And, then she found a coin. And another.
“Someone dropped some coins along this groove,” she called to Charlie. She pointed toward one of the smaller spatter cones. “Whoever or whatever it was, it went there.”
Charlie pushed his Stetson back. He reined the horse to follow Nell and the dog. He took care to stay to the side of where Nellie crawled. Finally, she stood up and followed Moonshine. He seemed to have either the scent or could see the track better than she could. She left the coins, so she could return and re
start if necessary. Just two of them, and then another near the cone. Perhaps they had been dropped like crumbs from the children in the Hansel and Gretel story—an attempt to lay a signal—or, she thought, like a spider leading its prey to its web. The cool air caused her to shiver. Either that, or her thoughts.
“Is your flashlight handy?”
Charlie reached back to his pannier and pulled out the metal instrument. “I am not certain how much battery is left.” He turned it on, and the light burst forth but then dimmed.
Nellie set down her pack. “I am going to climb this cone and see if there is anything in it. It looks like a hole near the top side.”
“I am sorry I cannot help. Please be careful.”
Nellie saw that the sheriff had lifted his rifle from its scabbard and held it pointed to the ground. The assurance of his back-up settled her nerves. Although it didn’t appear anyone else was around, who knew in this landscape? Someone could hide behind any rock, any crevice, any swale, and neither she nor Charlie would be able to see him or her. Still, Moonie would give warning, she hoped. She thought of Pearl. Could Pearl have dragged something here with her horse? Or Effie with the help of one of the men? From her search that afternoon, she was afraid of what she would find. Moonshine followed Nell at first and then climbed ahead of her.
The cone was steeper and more difficult to climb than she expected. It was like climbing a stack of plates. The lava rocks and slabs kept slipping and sliding and cascading in little landslides. Her hands could hardly sustain her balance and were getting bloodied. “Moonshine, stay behind me. You’re making rocks fall.” She reached the hole and looked in. The hole was blacker than black and big enough to hold a body. Indeed, it did.
CHAPTER 24
Cable O’Donnell lay head down, face sideways, hatless, his hair covered with dried blood. His head must have caught on a small ledge, or maybe his extravagant belt buckle had stopped his slide into the pit. Whoever stuffed him there didn’t wait to see if he kept falling. Nellie was afraid to touch even the man’s boot, for fear it would cause the rancher to disappear down the hole. Moonshine tried to nose it, but Nell pulled him back. “Go down to the sheriff, Moonie. You’re just in the way up here.”
