by D C Young
As she crossed the cobblestone lane and made her way up the walk to the house, she thought about how little interest she really had in the banal, little orchestra. She only went to it in order to keep up appearances, especially when she knew that people like Greg Collins of the Blue Corn Ranch and several others from around the area were certain to be there. They, no doubt, were keeping up appearances as well. It was part of the game and a part that she enjoyed, especially since her intelligence was far superior to that of her opponents.
She laughed as she thought of how she had lured Bill away from the Blue Corn Ranch as she opened the door and called out. “Analisa, I’m about ready to go!”
She heard the scrambling of small feet on the floor above her head and soon saw the large, dark eyes and small round face peeping around the banister of the upstairs landing. “Have… OMG… Tia Juanita, you look beautiful!” the child gasped and then slowly started down the stairs, holding tightly to the oak rail as she made her way to the bottom.
Juanita wasn’t really Analisa’s aunt. She was no relation to her, but she kept up the ruse to keep Analisa content and from asking too many questions. In spite of her typically abrupt manner with children, Analisa was special to her and Juanita tended to dote over her as if she was her own. “Is Katie up there?”
“Yes,” Katie responded coming around the corner on the landing and descending the stairs, overtaking Analisa before she got to the bottom.
“Look at Tia Juanita,” Analisa said, turning to Katie. “Doesn’t she look beautiful?”
“She does,” Katie beamed. She looked up at Juanita. “You do look very beautiful Miss Esperanza.”
“Thank you,” Juanita responded before rushing into her instructions. They weren’t much different than the usual instructions that she left for Katie, who was a regular babysitter for her. “I’m not sure when I’ll be in, so go ahead and just settle into the room next to Analisa’s after she goes to bed. Have you let your parents know that you’ll be staying over?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Katie replied. “I told them that you’ll bring me home in the morning.”
“I might not be able to do that,” she winced. “We’ve got things going on at the ranch in the morning. I hate to impose, but could you let your parents know that one of them might have to come get you?”
“Or I could just drive Bertha home.” Katie issued a sly smile as she mentioned the rusted out Chevy Scottsdale that was parked in the tractor shed. She was 14 and country kids that age had several years of driving experience by that age.
Juanita frowned as she considered the request, but decided to consent. “Only if you promise to be very careful.”
“I promise,” Katie giggled.
“Martha will be here to make breakfast and she can take over with Analisa after that, okay?”
“Gotcha.”
“Come here and give me a kiss.” Juanita squatted and extended her arms to Analisa.
She rushed to Juanita and planted a wet kiss on her cheek as she wrapped her arms around her neck and squeezed.
“You be good and do what Katie says, okay?”
“Katie says that I should ask you if we can play dress up,” Analisa blurted.
“That’s fine,” Juanita said, rising up and looking at Katie. “Just don’t let her get into my stuff. She’s got lots of her own play clothes, makeup and other things in the playroom closet at the top of the stairs. And make sure you clean it all up so I don’t break my neck when I come in, okay?”
“Not a problem. Have fun.”
“Have fun, Tia!” Analisa called out. She had already scrambled away and was starting back up the stairs. “Come on, Katie!”
Katie hesitated a moment, looking to Juanita for any further instructions.
“Go ahead,” Juanita laughed. She turned to the closet to retrieve her long, fur coat, put it on and then stepped through the opening beneath the stairs that led into the dining room and kitchen beyond. As she passed through the kitchen to the garage, Juanita scooped up the red bag that perfectly matched the rest of her ensemble.
Waiting inside the garage was a Black Edition, Porsche 911/Carrera S. She pressed the garage door button and admired the car as she moved toward the driver’s side door. “Not exactly a ranch car,” she chuckled softly, pulling open the door. A moment later, sitting in the driver’s seat of the luxury sports car, she turned the key in the ignition and listened to the powerful motor come to life. “Mmmmm,” she sighed as she let a wicked grin creep over her lips. “There really is no substitute.”
Chapter Eight
There was no doubt in my mind that the ranchers and their cowboys had their doubts as to whether a soccer mom from the city was going to be up before dawn and able to keep up with them on a long day of cow herding but they were going to be in for a surprise.
Up before dawn is my middle name!
What did take me by surprise was how cold it was in the Valley before the sun came up. Not that the low temperature really bothered me, but I took extra care to layer on some clothes to make sure I didn’t draw any unnecessary attention from them. I put on a tank top and a t-shirt under my long sleeved flannel shirt then pulled on a fleece lined jacket for good measure. I didn’t bother putting on anything under my blue jeans though; no one would be the wiser. Neither did I have to worry about heating up by the time the sun was high enough. My cold blooded nature still saw to that.
Gravel crunched under the SUV’s tires as I made my way up the long winding road. It was a hill and at the top sat the main buildings of the sprawling Silver Creek Ranch. Earnest was waiting for me on the front step of the ranch house when I pulled around the circular driveway and parked the car. He was shining brightly in the morning darkness; his aura a clear beautiful blue. I searched for the streak of darkness I had seen at our first appointment but it was gone.
Poor fella must have been aggravated beyond belief about those missing cattle.
“Good morning, Miss Sam!” he said, practically flying down the steps towards the car. He was successful in his mission, opening the door for me before I could stow away my seatbelt and reach for the handle myself.
I smiled uncomfortably. It was obvious I wasn’t used to such behavior, especially from a client.
“Thank you, Earnie,” I finally managed.
“I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding the place with it still being dark out and all.”
He was right, it was still dark but then again it was just about 4:40 a.m.
I see better in the dark than you know, mister.
“No trouble at all,” I replied. “Pretty much exactly where the GPS said it would be.”
He laughed at the comment. It was exactly what he’d told me the night before when he’d called to give me the address.
“Sure enough. Well, I hope you wore some comfortable shoes, Miss Sam. The boys are saddling up the horses right now to take us out on the route they used to move that herd over to Blue Corn a couple weeks ago.”
“The trip the cows went missing on…”
“Yup.”
I nodded and lifted the cuff of my jeans to show off my brand new pair of athletic shoes. I hadn’t been confident in buying boots and Kingsley had pointed out that really good riding boots would need breaking in which might actually be a rather uncomfortable experience. Tennis shoes on the other hand… not so much.
Earnest nodded his approval and ushered me into the house. There was a huge open space down the center of the house which resembled a hall… I think they call them great rooms in this type of architecture. At one end, just before it opened up onto a huge back porch, there was a long table with benches down each side. It was covered with chafing pans and platters of all kinds of food. There were jugs of water and juices, carafes of coffee and hot water and a pile of plates, bowls, cups and cutlery.
“Did you have a chance to eat?”
“As a matter of fact I did, Earnie. I’ll be fine with just some water for the ride.”
�
��Certainly. We’ll have water and such in our saddlebags for the trip of course.”
Earnest must have seen the confused look on my face because he offered an explanation for the buffet immediately.
“We have about thirty grown men working on the ranch daily, Miss Sam. Their days start at four in the morning and don’t end sometimes till seven or eight at night. We make sure they eat well and this is the most efficient way the ranch cooks can do it since the cowboys don’t always get to sit down all at once.”
“I see. That’s makes so much sense.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” he said smiling. “The cooks have breakfast out from four to eight, lunch from noon to two and dinner from six to eight.”
“Sounds efficient.”
“It is.”
I grabbed an apple from a basket as we walked past the table towards the back porch.
“Alright then, come on Miss Sam, the boys are waiting at the stable.”
A short ride down a dirt trail onboard a John Deere Gator got us over to the ranch’s stables where six strapping men were already busy buckling saddles tight around their horse’s bellies and adjusting stirrups and other tack.
I’d confess to anyone, any day that my knowledge about farms and horses and horse riding were rather limited but I wouldn’t be admitting it to these guys unless it was absolutely necessary. I mean, I’d ridden a horse once or twice, and I more or less knew my way around one, but I was far from an expert on the matter. I just didn’t want them to be more worried about my ability to handle myself on the ride than they were about telling me every little detail they remembered from that night in the stockade.
“Good morning, boss,” a cowboy in a crisp blue shirt said walking up to shake Earnie’s hand.
“Good morning, Randal. This is Miss Samantha Moon. She’ll be joining us on the ride this morning.” The man had a skeptical look on his face. I wasn’t offended; I’d expected to get some of those. “Insurance… you know. It’s important she come along with us to inspect the stockade fences.”
Randal’s doubtful expression changed into one of slight contempt; the kind everybody has for insurance adjusters.
“Well then, in that case, I hope we don’t find too much amiss on this ride. Sure as hell don’t need any more problems with this whole missing cow business. We all feel bad enough as it is. Don’t we boys?”
There was a mumble among the men as they agreed to what Randal was saying. I instantly wished that Earnie hadn’t blindsided me with trying to pass me off as an insurance adjuster but I decided to play along with it. He must have had his reasons for not wanting the cowboys to know I was looking into the disappearance of the cattle.
As I was deep in thought, Earnie walked up to me leading two horses that were saddled and ready to go.
“You’ll be riding Sheila. She’s a good one and knows the stockade trail like the back of her hoof.”
I smiled and took the reins from his hand, careful not to touch him with my cold skin. Before he could suggest the mounting block, I put my left foot in the stirrup and launched my right leg over Sheila’s back. Earnie looked impressed but he didn’t say a word as he mounted his own horse and started towards an open field at the side of the stable. I pressed my heels into the horse’s sides and she followed suit.
When we got to the entrance of the stockade I was taken aback by the structure and its operation. First, we entered a corral through an eight-foot-tall chain link gate which was some sort of staging area for the herd. The various animals selected for the move would be brought up from the fields or pens and placed into the corral. Second, we moved through a second pair of gates into the main run. When the entire herd had been assembled in the corral, then the cowboys would open the second gate which led into the stockade run.
It was very organized and secure since two gates were never open at the same time and as soon as all the cows had been herded through into the stockade run, the gates to Silver Creek ranch were closed behind them just as they were at the moment we started off down the trail.
In front of us a corridor of land, about forty feet wide, rolled over the hills and valleys that separated Silver Creek from Blue Corn. As I looked out at the endless run of chain link fence that disappeared over the horizon, I was even more puzzled than I had been the moment Earnie had told me about the mysterious disappearance.
How the hell did someone snag these cows from under the noses of six bright and experienced cowboys while being moved through such a seemingly secure section of land?
Chapter Nine
There wasn’t much to see on the ride between Silver Creek Ranch and Blue Corn Ranch, just miles and miles of grazing land and fence stretching out in front of us in an unending landscape. It was beautiful out there though. The sun shone on the green fields as the grass swayed from side to side in the wind. Dew drops on the plants glittered like jewels in the bright sun which wasn’t quite warm enough yet to turn them to vapor.
Around me, the cowboys chattered endlessly about this and that. From their discussions I noted a few key things; for one, the co-op was a busy place to work but they all enjoyed their jobs and two, when they were riding the stockade none of them paid very close attention to their surroundings. They’d probably been through there a thousand times before… they were also not seasoned investigators with a mystery to solve… so they were taking it all for granted.
“Hey, Earnie!” I called over my shoulder.
“Yes, Miss Sam?” he replied as he rode up beside me.
“Are there any gates in these fences? Any places where the cowboys can lead the cattle out into the surrounding grazing land that we’re currently passing through?”
“No. Why would there be?”
I gave him a questioning look. Earnie was a perceptive man and he reacted immediately to the expression on my face. “It would be too dangerous to have any openings in the stockade, Miss Sam. It’s a safeguard against the very thing we’re going through now. That’s why I needed an ace investigator like you because as far as I’m concerned, these fellas let someone pick my prize cows up, lift them over four foot of fence and drive off with them into the night. I haven’t let it show, but I’m pissed as all hell about this whole predicament we’re in. That’s mostly because it shouldn’t a happened in the first place.”
I understood exactly what he was feeling. He was confused and angry all at the same time but his position as an owner in the ranching co-op meant he couldn’t let any of that show on his face until the mystery was solved. He couldn’t cast any suspicion on any of the cowboys and wouldn’t point a finger until the facts were in.
Being the boss can really suck sometimes.
In an instant, my admiration for the man grew leaps and bounds. I tipped my hat at him and pressed my heels into the horse’s belly. She trotted up to where the two lead cowboys were riding in the front of the group and elegantly made her way in between their mounts… exactly where I wanted to be.
***
Two hours later, I could see the rooftop of the buildings at Blue Corn ranch peeping over the top of the hill it was built on. Just like at Silver Creek, the main house stood tall; looking out over the surrounding grazing land in all directions.
“We made good time,” I said to one of the men glancing at my watch.
“Yup! Sure did. It’s a lot slower when you’re moving the cattle though. Usually, that ride takes the better part of eighteen hours.”
I raised an eyebrow and the cowboy laughed out loud.
“You ever seen a cow sitting out in the field under a shade tree chewing the cud, Miss Moon?”
“I’m a city girl, cowboy. I can’t say that I have.”
He laughed again. “There’s no rushing a cow, Miss Moon. They’ll walk at their own pace and lay down and not move a muscle if they want to. When we’re moving a herd that’s six hundred head strong, you’re dealing with a whole lot of stubborn. We gotta take a steady smooth pace or they’ll just quit on ya, park it and not move again t
ill the morning.”
“I understand.”
We rode up to the stable behind the main house and dismounted at a hitching post at the edge of the yard. Randal jumped from his horse, reins in hand and was standing waiting for me to hand him Sheila’s reins. I dropped them into his hand and he held her steady and tied her up securely as I vaulted from her back and landed safely on the ground.
“Steady there, cowgirl!” I heard Earnie say behind me. When I turned around he was watching my rear end with a smirk of amusement on his face.
Maybe you should cool it down, cowboy! We won’t be having any of that!
“Let’s get on up to the big house,” he said soberly. “Greg and Fred are chomping at the bit to meet you.”
“I assume they’re about as antsy as you are to find out what’s been going on around here then?”
“More, I think.”
I took that as a sign to hurry up and keep my pace matched to his as we walked up to the two-story building. I was both excited and hesitant about meeting Greg Collins and Fred Santino; the other co-op owners. Until that moment, they had pretty much remained shrouded in mystery and to my investigator’s mind that meant they were both suspects.
Until I eliminate that possibility of course…
Hell, as far as I was concerned, Earnie and every cowboy at Silver Creek were still on that list too despite me not finding anything suspicious in their energies or the way they relayed their stories about the night of the theft to me. What did concern me was the consistency of that story
