Authors: Kathryn Long
Daniel smiled and spoke his words gently. "Joseph, maybe we can go some place quiet and talk a bit?"
The Indian looked around, his eyes searching, then finally he spoke, "Come with me."
Jess was surprised at the abrupt change of behavior. One minute he seemed totally out of it, the next, he was giving orders. She could accept that Joseph Whitedeer may be the town drunk, but she suspected there was much more than that to this man.
The three of them headed toward the south end of town and Joseph's house. Jess already worried that an encounter between the married couple might erupt into another one of those knockdown, dragged-out fights. She honestly didn't want to be a witness to that, or even more importantly, a victim. Why would he consider that a quiet place? Hadn't Daniel suggested a quiet place? Her rambling thoughts were an indication of her nerves unraveling.
"Will Mrs. Whitedeer be at home?" She just had to ask
"She's gone to visit her mother," Joseph stated in an unpleasant tone.
Jess was about to ask another question when a glance from Daniel warned her to be quiet. Puzzled, she looked at him, but didn't pursue the matter. At least she felt more relaxed. There'd be no fights with angry spouses today. Jess still didn't understand how a woman would or could fight like that. Why didn't she just file for divorce? Of course, she had to remind herself, this was a different world with different rules. A woman in Maria Whitedeer's position probably couldn't afford to divorce. What would she do to make a living? More than likely, her only choice would be to go back home to her mother, in disgrace, a failure. No, Jess sensed that, in this world, women didn't have many choices. Then suddenly she had an overwhelming feeling of compassion for Maria Whitedeer and all women like her.
By now, Jess realized, they had reached the front of an incredibly run down house. And the smell. It was enough to make Jess pass out. Such a stench should be outlawed. She wrinkled up her nose. They had to pick their way across the front walk, sidestepping and dodging unidentified objects on the ground, huge cracks in the pavement and all other obstacles along the way.
Who needs a guard dog when you have all these traps to prevent any intruder from safely reaching the front
door?
She watched as Joseph immediately opened the unlocked door.
Probably no need for
locks either
. She added this to her list of observations.
"Welcome to my castle," Joseph announced sarcastically and gestured for them to enter. As they walked into the living room, their host was already in the kitchen pouring himself a drink. "You want anything?" he hollered in an attempt to seem hospitable.
"No, we're fine," Daniel answered, settling the matter. He felt anxious to get on with his questioning. "I hear around town the sheriff is putting some pressure on you about my attack the other night," Daniel started.
Jess shifted in the chair, immediately uncomfortable again. He sure went straight to the heart of the matter, she thought, and prayed Daniel knew what he was doing.
Joseph stopped in mid air with his drink, then lowered his glass to speak. "I didn't do it," he responded matter-of-factly. His tone of voice was serious, earnest. And his eyes, both Jess and Daniel noticed, kept focused on his visitors, never once wavering.
It was easy enough to guess, from Jess' point of view, that Daniel believed him. So, it surprised her when he fired his next question.
"And Fred Clinton? Did you have anything to do with that?"
Joseph set his glass down hard on the table and sighed. "Look. I'm gettin' sick and tired of all these questions." He pointed a finger at Daniel. "You know what I really want? I just want people to leave me the hell alone! All of them … Caleb, you, Emma, Lucas," he broke off to take another drink.
"Lucas?" Daniel started. "Why would Lucas be questioning you? I don't understand." He didn't get to finish.
"Nothing. He's got nothing to do with me," he shouted. "Now get the hell out of my house!" He stood up and stepped toward Daniel who held up his hand.
"It's okay, Joseph. We'll leave, if that's what you want." He gestured with his hand for Jess to follow and they quickly headed to the door. "Just remember, we are not the enemy."
Joseph followed close behind and slammed shut the screen door as they went outside. "You're wrong." His voice had calmed somewhat. "The whole world is my enemy." He turned and walked back to his chair, company now forgotten. "The whole world," he mumbled, then took another swig from his glass.
Chapter 29
"Well, I knew it would be interesting," Jess began as Daniel pulled the truck away from the downtown area. It was four in the afternoon already, so they had decided to call it quits for the day and head for the Dusty Rose.
"All I know is that besides Joseph, there seems to be one constant figure coming into the picture everywhere we turn." Daniel paused to glance over at Jess, then almost simultaneously they said, "Lucas."
"It's strange, isn't it? The way he got so defensive when you asked about Lucas?" Jess commented.
"It certainly was," Daniel agreed. "I just wish I could have asked a few more questions."
"Well, maybe if you hadn't started by dropping that bomb with your first question," she teased.
"Yeah. That was kinda strong medicine, wasn't it?" He grinned. "Sure got a response though."
"So, now what?"
He reflected on that for a moment. "Maybe pay a visit to the library."
"Library?"
"You know. Do a little land researching," he explained. "I'm curious to see if there's anything we might find to honestly explain why these developers are interested in that particular area."
"You mean you don't believe they want it for an industrial park?" Jess asked and smiled, letting Daniel know she was just being facetious. "Seriously though, what if there isn't any evidence?"
Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "Then we start somewhere else."
They had reached about halfway to the ranch. Jess had been enjoying the picturesque landscape, the flat prairie and the painted outline of the mountain range as they drove closer.
Soon, the road took some sharp turns as it skirted through the Wichita Mountains. The vehicle had just come up over a steep grade and was about to run down the other side, when Daniel heard a pop, then a hissing sound come from under the hood. Jess started to ask what was wrong when she noticed their acceleration as they coasted downhill.
"Damn!" Daniel exclaimed as he pumped the brake pedal several times. They had no brakes.
Shocked, Jess gripped the side of the door and kept her eyes fixed on the road ahead. To the left was sheer mountain wall butted straight up against the side of the road. The right dropped off steeply as they were now situated well up into the mountain range. She then realized, as Daniel already knew, they had no place to go, nothing to stop the runaway truck. She knew better than to comment. Daniel had enough on his mind right now, though she really didn't believe anything could pull them out of this fix alive. Jess suddenly felt panicked as she remembered about her parents and that if she were gone, too, Deek and Missy would be alone. She couldn't abandon them now.
Just as they barely made the next turn without flipping over, Daniel quickly noticed something ahead. As they speeded forward, he was able to make out a cattle truck moving slowly along the road.
"Let's just hope we can get lucky," he mumbled and grabbed the receiver off his CB radio, a relic from the seventies and eighties which many folks around these parts still found useful. Most farmers and ranchers just hadn't caught on to cell phones, yet. CBs were still a great way to communicate, though quite a few people didn't have them. Daniel was hoping the cattle rancher up ahead was one that did.
"Breaker, breaker. Ah, this is Little Chief Dan asking for some assistance from cattle trucker, license RUV135S. Do you copy? Over."
They waited and listened for what seemed like forever. Static from the radio met their ears. Daniel was just about to try his message again, when someone finally answered.
"Sorry about that, Chief. Had to finish my coffee 'fore I spilt it all over me. Bumpy ride on this here truck. This is Cattleman T. What can I do you for? Over."
"Seems I have a brake problem, Cattleman. Look out your rearview. Over."
"Sakes all mighty, Chief! You're gonna barrel right into me goin' that fast. Over."
"Sorry, Cattleman T. No brakes. Do you copy? Over."
"I sure as hell copy, Little Chief. There's a level stretch of road comin' up. I'm gonna speed up some. This here rattletrap will only go so fast, but it's solid. When you hit my rear, I'll slow down. Do you copy, Little Chief?"
"Right on that one, Cattleman. Was thinking the same way. Meet up with you soon enough. Over."
"Here's prayin'."
The conversation ended and the serious business began as Daniel kept both hands on the wheel, Cattleman T's truck coming closer and closer into view. Fortunately, just as Cattleman T had claimed, the grade of the road had leveled off considerably as they were approaching the bottom outskirts of the mountains. Still, it took a real jolt as Daniel's truck slammed into the back of Cattleman T’s. It was a blessing that there were no cattle being hauled.
The lead vehicle lurched forward upon impact and swerved somewhat toward the steep right incline, but then immediately came back onto the road and began to slow down. Jess held her breath, fully anticipating them all to fly over the cliff to crash and burn.
However, within minutes, both vehicles came to a dead halt. Daniel still had both hands glued to the steering wheel. Jess shivered as the realization reached her brain. They'd nearly been killed. She gripped the door handle as a few tears ran down her cheeks. She wasn't used to such weakness, but in this situation couldn't help it. She quickly brushed them away though, hoping Daniel hadn't noticed.
A creaking sound brought her head up just in time to see Cattleman T open his door and exit the vehicle. He appeared to be in his mid fifties, rather heavy set, his skin tanned and leathery, no doubt from years of hard labor on the ranch. The most striking feature though, Jess noted, was his smile. It was broad and friendly, showing off some of the whitest teeth she'd ever seen. And the crinkled lines along the upper ridge of his cheekbones surrounded a pair of blue, twinkling eyes. It would be hard not to take a friendly liking to such a man, if appearances weren't deceiving.
As he approached their truck, Daniel reacted by getting out of the driver's seat, ready to shake hands. "I want you to know we are truly grateful for the help you've given us," Daniel said. "I mean we could have …" He couldn't finish the thought. "Thank you," he finally offered and shook the man's hand.
"Ah, think nothin' of it. Just bein' neighborly," he returned. "Name's Clay Stockwell. I own the ranch just over the next ridge."
"Daniel Ross." He then gestured to the passenger seat. "And this is my friend, Jessica Clinton."
Clay tipped his hat, the full smile covering his face again. "Glad to met you, ma'am." Then he rolled up his sleeves and turned to face Daniel once again. "Now, let's have a look see under your hood."