In the Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23 Mysteries) (13 page)

She opened her eyes. The middle of the wilderness surrounded by cattle and potential killers was not the place to have such deep thoughts. She needed to focus on the task at hand which was getting everyone home alive.

One of the sleepers stirred and began to sit up. At the same time she heard something walking toward them from her right.

“It’s time for Curly to take over the watch from Zack,” Jeremiah whispered.

A moment later she saw Zack walking toward them leading a horse. Curly got up and crossed silently over to him. He took the reins from Zack.

“They’re calming down finally. Still more restless than I would like,” Zack said softly.

“Wonder what’s got them so spooked tonight?” Curly said.

Zack shrugged. He turned and tipped his hat to Cindy and Jeremiah.

Cindy gave a little wave. If they were trading shifts that meant hers and Jeremiah’s should be half over. It was actually going by faster than she would have imagined.

The two cowboys were lost in discussion and she couldn’t help but wonder what they’d decided to do about the renegade steer that was causing them problems. She wasn’t about to ask, though, and then have to explain it all to Jeremiah.

Over in the sleeping area Mark stirred and sat up slowly, rubbing at his eyes. Cindy was about to go over and tell him that he didn’t have to get up yet when she stopped.

Jeremiah had cocked his head to the side as though listening intently to a sound that she couldn’t hear. Zack and Curly had both stopped talking and also seemed to be listening. Something was wrong, she felt it deep down. A second later she heard the sound of galloping hooves. She turned and looked at Jeremiah uncertainly.

He shook his head. “That’s way too fast for Tex to have reached town and sent help.”

“Who do you think it could be?” Mark asked, voice strained, looking suddenly very alert.

“I don’t know,” Jeremiah said, “but something tells me it isn’t good.”

Others began to stir and sit up as the sound grew louder. Cindy felt like she was holding her breath, waiting to find out what was going on and who the rider could be.

Finally a horse appeared out of the darkness. He was moving fast and heading straight for the campfire.

“He’s not slowing up,” Jeremiah said, springing to his feet at nearly the same time as Zack leaped forward.

“There’s no rider!” Zack shouted a moment later.

The horse came barreling toward them and too late Cindy realized she and the others should get out of the way.

Jeremiah and Zack rushed forward, arms up. The horse started to swerve at the last moment and Jeremiah snatched at its bridle. The horse reared for a moment and then came crashing back to the ground. He stood, sides heaving and head bobbing up and down.

“That’s the horse Tex was riding,” Curly said, his voice strained as he struggled to calm his own mount who had been agitated by all the activity and was prancing from foot to foot impatiently.

“Whoa there, fellow,” Zack said, reaching out a hand to the
riderless horse. He patted the animal’s neck and then touched his hand to the saddle. He pulled his hand away after a moment and brought it under his nose.

“What is it?” Curly demanded.

“Blood.”

Mark jumped to his feet as chaos seemed to explode around him. Another dead man was the last thing they needed, especially when that particular victim was supposed to be getting them help.

Zack had pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and was inspecting the horse that had returned. Jeremiah was still holding the horse steady and the animal looked exhausted.

Curly was mounting his horse. “We have to go look for Tex. He could be out there hurt,” he said, urgency tingeing his voice.

Zack shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said quietly. “Not with this much blood. There’s no way he’s alive.”

Mark clenched his fists and took a deep breath, working to keep it together. He felt a light hand on his arm and knew it had to be Traci. He glanced at her and she looked up at him, eyes enormous, worry written all over her face.

Kyle appeared on his other side. “There’s no way anyone could have mistaken Tex for me,” he said quietly.

“No,” Mark agreed. “But someone didn’t want us sending for help.”

“How is that even possible? We were all together?” Kyle said.

“Not all of us, not every moment,” Mark growled. “Not to mention that Roddy is still missing.”

Zack had been carefully going over the horse’s saddle and now he had moved around to the horse’s hindquarters where he was shining the light on the animal’s right flank.

“What is it?” Jeremiah asked him.

“Tex carried a whip on his saddle along with a rope. The whip is missing, but this horse has a nasty cut back here as though someone whipped him to encourage him to run.”

“Tex?” Mark asked.

“No, Tex would never have used that on a horse,” Curly said.

“Agreed,” Zack said.

“So, what, his killer whipped the horse then?” Mark asked.

“That would be my guess. He probably killed Tex then whipped the horse to send him running. Eventually the animal turned and decided to head back to camp.”

“Any way to tell how long ago all this happened?” Mark asked. Finding out how far away could help them eliminate suspects. Only Curly and Zack would have access to the horses to ride after Tex and do this. Or, perhaps Roddy had been laying in wait.

On the other hand, Tex might have been the one waiting for someone and he might have been killed for it.

“I can’t tell.”

“Do you think he was shot?” Mark asked, cursing the fact that his own gun was still under his pillow.

“Can’t tell that either. Out here, though, a gunshot could be heard pretty far away. I certainly didn’t hear anything. It’s possible he was shot, but just as likely he was stabbed. After all, whoever did this was close enough to take the whip.”

“And if it was a gun, and they were that close, they might have managed to use his own gun on him. If it was a knife...I’m not even sure we’ve seen a knife here,” Mark said.

“I think the real question is, who had the opportunity to do this?” Cindy asked.

“It most certainly is. Did you see anything while you were on watch?” Mark asked Traci and Kyle.

Traci shook her head. “No, just a couple of people using the bathroom and coming back.”

“Who?” Mark asked.

“Liz was first and then later Jeremiah,” Kyle answered.

“Norman was the only one who got up to use the bathroom while we were on watch,” Cindy volunteered.

“And, of course, we still don’t know what happened to Roddy,” Jeremiah added.

“Crossing off suspects should make things easier not harder,” Mark growled. “Okay, there’s nothing more we can really do until daybreak. I suggest those of us who can get some more sleep do so while they can. Zack, take care of the horse and then get some sleep. Curly, you’re up on cattle duty, right?”

“Right,” Curly said.

“Okay, everyone else hit the hay.”

Reluctantly the others started to return to their sleeping bags. Fear hung heavy in the air, though, and Mark doubted anyone would be sleeping well. He knew he couldn’t go back to sleep at this point.

“Cindy, Jeremiah, you can go back to sleep, too. I’ve got the watch from here.”

Cindy nodded and trudged over to her sleeping bag, walking beside Traci.

“I’ll stay up with you a while, at least until everyone get’s settled,” Jeremiah said.

Mark nodded. It was a good idea. Two sets of eyes at this point were definitely better than one. He sat down with his back to the fire as everyone dispersed. Jeremiah sat beside him.

A few minutes later Zack returned and once he was in his sleeping bag everything seemed to get pretty quiet. That was good, because Mark needed serious time to think about what the plan for the morning was.

“You awake?” Cindy whispered as softly as she could to Traci.

Traci rolled over and looked at her. “Yes, what is it?”

“I know the timing couldn’t possibly be any more inappropriate, but I wanted to tell you that I think you’re right.”

“About what?” Traci asked with a yawn.

“About me needing to talk to somebody about Jeremiah and soon.

Traci broke out into a grin. “I knew it. So, you want to talk now?”

“No, I want to try to sleep now. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be crazy.”

“Tomorrow? What would you call today?”

Cindy took a deep breath. “Honestly? I have a feeling today was just the dress rehearsal for crazy.”

Traci’s eyes widened, but she didn’t comment.

“So, let’s try talking tomorrow,” Cindy said.

Traci nodded. After a minute she closed her eyes and rolled over.

Cindy lay, staring up at the stars overhead. She tried to pray, but her mind kept wondering in all sorts of directions.
The dress rehearsal for crazy
. She wished that wasn’t true, but she felt instinctively that things were going to get weirder if not downright worse before this was all over.

She yawned and flipped over on her side. A moment later she was asleep.

It was just before dawn and Jeremiah was the only one awake. Mark had finally fallen asleep while sitting upright, his back to the fire. Exhaustion and stress coupled with the darkness and stillness had finally taken their toll. Jeremiah had helped bring that about by being quiet for the last hour and refusing to engage in idle chatter. It was nearly the end of the shift and soon the others would be waking up. Still he had maybe half an hour before they did or Curly put in an appearance. That was just enough time for him to do what he needed to if he was swift and quiet.

He rose noiselessly from his seat by the fire and walked away without the merest whisper of sound, ears listening for any stirrings from those behind him. In a few seconds the chuck wagon loomed in front of him in the early morning darkness, a hulking structure, it’s white canvas only reflecting a tiny bit of light from the campfire.

Inside was all the camera equipment containing the footage from the last couple of days. That footage could never see the light of day. Even as he eased himself up into the wagon, though, he couldn’t help but wonder who the original saboteur had been. Odds were good that whoever it was had been caught on camera doing something they shouldn’t, possibly engineering one of the “accidents” that had happened.

That mystery, though, needed to take a backseat to making sure that all of the footage was destroyed and the
cameras disabled going forward. He slid on a pair of disposable gloves he had found in a stash in the wagon earlier when searching for the truffle salt. As he picked up the main camera he struggled not to curse Kyle’s name for getting him into all this. He should have known that any vacation involving the television show host would by necessity involve a camera.

He erased the footage, removed the camera battery and found and took the backup batteries as well. Next he turned to the helmet cameras, going through them swiftly but systematically to make sure nothing was overlooked.

At last he gathered all the batteries up and exited the wagon. He walked almost a quarter of a mile away from everything else before stopping to bury them and the gloves in the ground. Finished he made his way back to camp, chasing the coming of the dawn.

Everyone was still asleep as he slid down back into position near the campfire next to Mark. He took a few deep breaths, forcing the adrenaline from his system. He allowed his heart to calm and he sat and watched the first rays of the sun peek over the horizon.

“Was starting to think morning would never get here,” he whispered.

“Hmm, what?” Mark asked, coming awake.

“Dawn’s here finally,” Jeremiah said.

Mark yawned and looked up. “I guess it is.”

“I’m going to go change clothes and get ready if it’s okay with you.”

“Sure is,” Mark said, straightening up more and yawning again.

With any luck the detective would think he’d only been out for a minute or two.

Jeremiah got up and crept quietly over to his sleeping bag. His backpack was just behind his pillow and he opened it as quietly as possible to retrieve what he needed. Cindy didn’t even stir awake. He fought the urge to linger for a moment and watch her sleep.

A few minutes later when he came back Mark headed off to get ready for the day as well while Jeremiah set about making some coffee.

When Cindy woke in the morning she was surprised to find that instead of one of the last ones up she was one of the first. Jeremiah was already awake, sitting by the fire drinking what smelled like a cup of coffee and eating a protein bar. He smiled at her and she smiled back, feeling more self-conscious than she had the other mornings about him seeing her before she could dress or brush her hair or teeth. She was sure she looked like a disaster.

He, on the other hand, was already dressed and actually looked rested. That was quite a feat and she couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to pull that off. She grabbed her stuff and headed off to clean up and get changed.

When she returned a couple of minutes later others were just beginning to stir. Jeremiah offered her a protein bar and she took it. “Thank you,” she said as she unwrapped it and sat down next to him.

“I figure it’s safe. I brought it with me,” he said.

“Wish I’d thought to do something like that.”

“Why would you? You were promised a trip with all meals included.”

“Then why did you?” she asked around her first bite.

“Oh, you know, just in case,” he said vaguely.

“What do you
think’s going to happen this morning?” she asked as she took another bite.

He shrugged. “I’m guessing that will be mostly up to Mark. Smartest thing in my opinion would be to abandon the cattle and all of us to ride for town as fast as we can.”

She winced, knowing that would mean abandoning the wagon as well. She’d have to get back on a horse. Despite the sage advice of the infamous saying she’d secretly hoped to never have to get back up on the horse again.

It must have shown on her face but Jeremiah reached out and touched her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll personally check your horse and gear this time before we set out.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I appreciate that.”

He was always looking out for her and she was starting to get spoiled. “Thank you again for saving my life the other day.”

He looked intensely uncomfortable. “That was nothing,” he muttered.

She shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I’m still not sure exactly what happened, but I do know that I expected things to be a lot worse. I know you saved me somehow.”

He dropped his eyes and he muttered something. She wasn’t sure what he’d said, but it sounded like “That’s what I do”.

“Anyway, I figure when we make it out of this mess, I’m going to owe you something cool. Dinner someplace nice or another theme park visit, something.”

He looked up and grinned. “Deal.”

The grin made her spine tingle in a good way and she felt herself grinning back.

Over in the sleeping area Traci was finally sitting up, yawning and stretching. She turned and glanced at them.

“Where’s my husband?” she asked.

“He was walking around a few minutes ago,” Jeremiah said. “He should be back any minute.”

Cindy could see the look of worry on Traci’s face which helped remind her that none of them were safe until they either found the killer or got back to civilization. She glanced around, not liking the fact that she couldn’t see Mark.

Mark can take care of himself
, she thought, trying to calm the sudden fear in her own heart. She realized in that moment that if something happened to either Traci or Mark on this trip that she’d never forgive herself or her brother.

Kyle was on his way back from the restroom area, looking more tired than she could ever remember seeing him.

He’s definitely not ready for his close-up.

She stood up and stretched, trying to hide her own burgeoning concern as she continued to look around.

Curly was standing with Zack over near the chuck wagon and he looked like he, too, was about to fall over. From what she could tell he and Tex had been friends. A surge of pity swelled her heart for him. The cowboys were likely just innocents caught up in this mess like the four of them were.