High Desert Detective, A Fiona Marlowe Mystery (Fiona Marlowe Mysteries) (29 page)

“What’s the hurry?” he said. “Don’t you want to help me dress?”

She turned and fled and heard him laughing all the way down the
hall.

* * * * *

Having Fiona find him in the shower put a smile on Jake’s day. He
felt better than he should have by the time he got to the kitchen.

“Morning, boys,” he said, accepting a glass of tea from Fiona and
to her he said, “Would you mind fixing coffee?”

Fiona went to work on the coffee pot. She’d make some guy, maybe
him, a nice ranch wife.

Doc spoke up. “We thought you might need some help and
me
and the boys have talked it over and Bobby and Mac will
be able to fill in for you. Billy here is good with haying so
me and him
can help with that.”

Jake turned a chair around and sat down straddling it. “You heard
about Glory. The situation might be a dangerous, you got to understand. We
don’t know what is going on, but it appears someone is trying to run us clear
off the ranch. You boys wouldn’t have any ideas about that would you? Heard of
anything?”

Bobby said, “I only heard
that cattle rustling
has
been a problem, and we’ve been on the lookout.
 
My boss hasn’t lost any yet, but he has a
guard posted now at nights. We have them on pasture close to the house so it’s
easier.”

“Our close in pasture is about all chewed down,” said Jake. “We
lost some of the cows we had in the little valley beyond the ridge. Brought
them in and tried to move them to that BLM lease but I found the stock pond
empty, and Glory out cold. We’ll wait till the pond fills to move them there. I
don’t want to have to start feeding this early in the year. I’ll need a guard
up there. If one or two of you could help with the hay I’d be grateful. I know
you got your own ranches to run.”

“A few days won’t make
no
difference,”
said Doc. “Billy here has his own haying operation now. He rents a piece and
does his own irrigating and hires out as a baler.”

Jake smiled. “How old are you, Billy?”

“I’m eleven years old. I got my hay up, so I can help you.” Billy
was a straight forward little guy, all business.

Doc said, “He’s been changing wheel lines since he was eight
years old. He’s a good hay farmer and has three of his own cows for 4-H.”

“That a fact,” said Jake, nodding his head, impressed. Billy was the
kind of kid that had ranching success written all over him.

The conversation turned to the drought, hay prices, problems at
the other ranches. Fiona served coffee and refills on tea. She found homemade
chocolate chip cookies to serve. Jake motioned for her to sit down beside him
at the table. It would be good for her to hear what was going on.

Doc said, “I heard that Tillie and Howie are in trouble again.”

Jake nodded, waiting to hear what Doc had to say.

Doc continued. “I heard Howie has been spouting off in town about
how they are going to get the ranch when Opal passes.”

Jake raised his eyebrows. “Is that right? I was unaware of that.”

Doc shrugged. “You know Howie. Can’t keep his mouth shut after a
few drinks.”

When Jake didn’t say anything, Doc said, “He’s big on this wind
power stuff.
Seems to think that high ridge line on your west
side would make a great wind farm site.”

Jake carefully sipped his coffee. He had heard the controversy
over putting wind farms in Harney Valley. The ranchers who had good locations
were for it, but the environmental people were up in arms about the wind mills
destroying the pristine quality of the landscape and wildlife habitat.
 
He had tried to stay out of it, and he knew
wind power was not on Opal’s radar. Now he wondered. If Howie thought the ranch
was a good location for wind power, whoever owned the ranch would benefit. If
Tillie and Howie owned the ranch, they stood to gain. Could they be paying
Glory to set fires, steal cows, try to make life difficult for Opal so she’d throw
up her hands and get out? Would they stoop that low? They had misjudged Opal
Crawford if that were the case.

Jake finally said, “That ridge isn’t high enough.”

“You’d be surprised where they put those wind mills,” Doc said.
“What it depends on is wind, and I’ve been up on the ridge. The wind never quits
up there.”

Doc and the boys continued talking about the pros and cons of
wind farms. Jake glanced toward Fiona. She was looking at him. She was thinking
the same thing. Someone might think the real value in the H Bar O was in that
tall northwest ridge. The ranch could be divided and whoever got the ridge would
have a sweet set up. Fiona’s knoll was on the south end of that ridge. You didn’t
need that old bunk house if a wind farm was going up.

She leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Are you thinking what
I am thinking? That we’ve found out why the relations want the ranch.”

He made one slight nod. “Have any more coffee? And maybe some
lunch for us? I’m starving.”

Fiona looked at him like he had asked for the moon. “Me? Make
lunch for five hungry men?”

“There’s nothing to it. Just drag out some lunch meat for
sandwiches. The refrigerator is always packed with sandwich supplies. Chips are
in the cupboard.”

“That’s a tall order for a woman who makes popcorn and beer for
dinner.”

Jake gave her an encouraging smile. She rolled her eyes and made
her way to the coffee pot. He wasn’t sure if he’d get something to eat or not. Maybe
she wouldn’t make such a good ranch wife. They might have to hire a cook if
things ever got that far.

 
Doc turned to Jake. “I
don’t know exactly what’s going on with Opal and the ranch and everything, but
Howie could be a real problem for you. I’m not trying to meddle but the more I
think about it, if someone sees this ranch as a money maker wind farm that could
spell trouble.”

Doc’s words put a lot on the table.

Jake said, “Opal hasn’t given any thought to the possibility of a
wind farm. You know she wants to keep the ranch together. Tillie and Howie want
a piece. I’m not sure who else does.” With his eyes he gave each man a sharp
appraisal.

Doc shook his head. “I got my own place, and I don’t begrudge
Opal any of this.”

Jake looked at Bobby and Mac.

“I’m out of the loop,” said Bobby. “I never thought I’d be on the
inheritance list for Henry’s ranch.”

“Me, neither,” said Mac, the man of few words. He rose. “I’m
going to step outside for a smoke.”

“I’m right behind you,” said Bobby.

Little Billy rose, too, and said, “I’m going over to the corral
and check out your horses, Jake, if you don’t mind.”

Jake smiled and nodded at the boy. “Go right ahead, Billy.”

Fiona busied herself pulling plastic wrapped lunch meat out of
the refrigerator. She sat a jar of mayonnaise on the table with the stacks of lunch
meat, pulled chips out of the cupboard along with a loaf of bread which she
added to the lunch meat in the center of the table.
 
She smiled like she had done her good deed for
the day.

“Plates and hard ware?”
Jake asked.

“Right,” she said and opened cupboard doors until she found the
requested items and sat them in the middle of the table.

Doc, still sitting across the table, cleared his throat and said,
“I saw you down at the bank the other day, Jake, talking to the loan officer.”

Jake smiled and nodded. “That you did. I’m looking for a loan to
buy a ranch.” He had known Doc for years and always liked the man. He had to
know what was going on in the family and with Opal and her illness. He wondered
what he was fishing for.

Doc nodded, too. “That right. Going to go out on your own then?”

“That’s what I’m thinking. I haven’t heard one way or another if
I’ll get the money.”

“Have a place in mind?”

Jake nodded. “But it doesn’t look like it will go through. Do you
know anything for sale around here?”

Doc rubbed his chin. “Actually, I do. Old Jim Lovejoy is thinking
to sell out. You might want to talk to him before anyone else gets wind of it.
He mentioned something to me yesterday when he stopped by on his way into town.
His health isn’t good, and his mind is kind of funny. He hasn’t been well since
his wife died. It worries me that he still drives. He’s awfully tottery.”

Jake nodded. “His place is a little rundown, as I recall, but he
has some good pasture.”

“Good pasture for a small herd, and he’s got that one section you
could put a pivot on. He also has a good size field of meadow hay. He told me he’s
head over heels in debt, and if he doesn’t find a buyer the bank might
foreclose. I thought I’d mention something to you.” Doc sat there, smiling. “It
might be a win, win situation.”

“It just might be,” said Jake, “I’ll look into it.”

Fourteen

“Why is it that when we are together things get so intense,”
asked Jake, as they were driving along in his truck on the way to Jim Lovejoy’s
place. Jake had suggested the drive after he got his new help squared away on
their jobs. “It’s like mayhem follows you around. Or is it me?”

“I guess it’s my fault,” Fiona said. “I can’t seem to stay away
from a mystery. Or I attract them. Maybe you should re-consider your offer.”

“Which offer is that?”

“I’m thinking of the offer to move in and live with you.”

He glanced over. “You know the deal on Opal’s ranch is dead.
There’s too much baggage attached to the ranch. I have no place for you to move
into. If you stay here, you have no place to live since yours burned down.”

“That is why we are on the way to visit Mr. Lovejoy, who has a
ranch for sale.”

Jake smiled out the window, watching the gravel road that led to Lovejoy
ranch. He liked when she used we. It had a future in it. He liked the situation
of the ranch. It was several ranch road miles off the highway and in an
isolated setting. Maybe there was a future waiting for them here.

He pointed a finger off to the right. “This is part of his ranch.
That field of rock and brush is where Doc said he thought a pivot would fit.
Looks like mighty poor soil though. See all the greasewood, the tall, spiky
stuff? Greasewood likes alkaline soil and alfalfa doesn’t. The soil would have
to be amended and that will take some prep to get it to something that alfalfa
likes.”

“Do you have to grow alfalfa?”

Jake shrugged. “Not necessarily. Could grow timothy or try meadow
hay but it will all take preparation.”

“I don’t see how ranchers make any money.”

“Family ranchers often don’t. Most have second jobs and ranch at
nights and on the weekends. Or the wife works or something
like
that. Opal is an exception. She’s worked years to get the H Bar O to a prime
production ranch. That is why it is so valuable. Let me tell you, in her
younger days Opal was a formidable worker. She’s slowed down a little now. I
don’t know why I thought I might be able to work a deal with her. Half of the
cattle on the ranch belong to me. Opal let me start my own herd years ago. At
least, I’ll have some cows and bulls to start a new place.”

He stopped the truck. “It’s pretty along here. See the green
along the base of the ridge? Those are cottonwoods, Russian olives, and river
willows following that small tributary that runs through the ranch. It comes
down off the mountains. That is the plus about this ranch, though it’s smaller
than what I had in mind.”

Fiona followed his gaze. The green strip ran along the bottom of
the ridge as far as the eye could see. “I don’t know much about ranch land but
the green against the back drop of the buttes is beautiful. Are you giving up
on the H Bar O entirely?”

Jake nodded, keeping his eyes on the vista. “You heard what Doc
said. If Tillie and Howie entertain the thought of wind power on the ranch,
I’ll be waiting three life times for the law suits to end. I’m not going through
that. I’ll see what kind of a deal I can work with Lovejoy. Maybe he doesn’t want
to sell. I’ve known him to run hot and cold.”

 
“At least we know the
motive for driving Opal off her own ranch. Wind energy. We just don’t know
who.”

“I don’t want to overly alarm you, but the situation is real
dangerous. I’m going to put two guys out with the cows. We’ll move them
tomorrow.”

He started up the truck again. “This is a quick trip to see Lovejoy.
I want to sound him out. I would like to buy Opal’s bull breeding operation and
take the bulls with me as well as my cattle. I love those bulls, and I don’t
think Tillie or any of the rest would be interested in them.”

“The men who came this morning don’t seem interested in the H Bar
O.”

“That’s what they say. Mac is a free loader and would latch onto
anything he could. Doc isn’t. He’s got a nice ranch. I’m not sure about Bobby.
He’s pretty far down the inheritance list.”

Fiona pulled a slip of paper out of her purse. “What about Reese Crawford?”

“What about him?”

“He’s one of the three guys on the unsavory list of employees and
the only relative.”

Jake glanced at the list. “You’ve been doing your homework.”

“This morning while you were sleeping.”

He smiled. “Good girl. I haven’t heard of Reese in a while. I’ll
ask Doc when we get back. Maybe he knows.”

They drove into a circular drive that swept along the east facing
front of an old manufactured home.

Jake looked at Fiona. “The house isn’t much.”

She laughed. “No, it isn’t. I can’t say that I’ve ever even
thought about tackling such a place.”

Jake laughed with her. “It is a little run down. Let’s see if Mr.
Lovejoy is in.”

They got out of the truck and surveyed the setting. A pair of
goats bleated at them from an enclosure to the left that led to a series of
sheds open on one side that could be used for animal shelter or hay storage.