Peril by Ponytail (A Bad Hair Day Mystery) (12 page)

“So Kate lived her life as though Raymond didn’t exist?”

“Yep. We were astonished to learn about him. He had married and had grandkids. An entire branch of our family lived out west. We sent wedding invitations to all of them and were happy when Wayne and Carol accepted. Raymond didn’t bother to send back a reply.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Raymond can’t face the ghosts of his past, and seeing his sister again would remind him of events he’d rather forget. He pushes his workers hard, like he’s punishing them instead of himself. For everyone’s sake, he needs to shed his guilt and move on.”

“We’re not clear on the details. Can you tell us more?” Marla asked, hoping to finally get some answers. “It would help us understand Raymond better.”

The vet scratched his head. “I reckon you have a right to know. Here’s what happened.”

Doc Harrigan stared into the distance as he related the story. “Raymond, Kate, and Harry often played together along with their friend and neighbor, Hugh Donovan. Harry was the butt of their pranks, being bookish and not an outdoorsman like the rest of the gang. Plus, they were all jealous of his being smarter.”

“So they teased him,” Marla said. Or worse, they’d bullied him, but she didn’t express her theory aloud in case it was wrong.

“One day the foursome was playing cowboys and Indians up on the hill, and they came across an open mine shaft.”

Marla’s gut clenched. She could guess what happened next.

“The sheriff warned us about the area,” Dalton inserted. “Craggy Peak used to be an active copper mining camp.”

“The shafts should have been sealed,” Doc Harrigan continued in a somber tone. “Most of them are covered over with brush now, so you can’t even tell they were there. But the spot which the boys and Kate discovered must have eroded because the opening was exposed.”

“Surely they’d been told to steer clear?”

“No doubt. Those old abandoned mines have hazards aplenty—spiders, bats, scorpions, even mountain lions if they can get inside. Lower levels might be flooded from groundwater seeping in, and rotten timbers could collapse at any time. They’re dangerous to explore.”

“Plus explosives might have been left behind.” Dalton related the latest accident at the ghost town.

Doc Harrigan’s face paled. “How did Raymond take it?”

“I’m sure he felt bad for the workmen who’d been injured and for the families of the guys who died, but he appeared more concerned with the construction delay.”

“The accident must have hit him harder than he let on. The man didn’t tell you?”

“Tell us what?”

“That’s how his brother died. Raymond taunted Harry that he was a coward. He could prove his mettle by going inside the mine and bringing out a tool. It was common knowledge that when the mines closed, the miners walked off and left their equipment behind. With copper prices hitting an all-time low, most of them didn’t have other jobs waiting for them.”

Marla wished she could shut out the rest, but she had to hear it. “So Harry took the bait?”

“Poor kid always wanted his brother’s approval. From what they said later, Kate protested, but the boys ignored her.”

“And Hugh Donovan was a party to this? What did Harry care about his opinion?”

“You know how children want to fit in. Raymond and Hugh were tight as a rider to a horse. Harry was always the third man out when the three kids were together. Raymond paid more attention to Hugh than to his own brother, but that was natural since their ages were closer. Still, Harry must have felt he had to earn their respect. So he entered the mine.”

“And Kate stood by, knowing something bad could happen?”

“Heck, no. She’d remembered the warnings and was afraid the mine might cave in and trap Harry inside. Pretty little Kate ran for help. But by the time her dad got there, it was too late. Harry had found his tool all right, but he didn’t realize what he held in his hand.”

“And that was?” Marla prompted, dreading the response.

“A pack of dynamite. As he neared the exit, waving the item gleefully in the air, it exploded. Likely, he was killed instantly, and then the roof of the mine collapsed on top of him. It was nasty when they dug out his remains.”

Marla clapped a hand to her mouth. “How horrible.”

Doc Harrigan’s eyes glazed over. “It was an awful time. Hannah and Sean ended up separating. She took Kate with her and moved back east to be near her mother. Hannah blamed Sean for pushing the boys to follow in his footsteps and for not valuing Harry’s quieter talents. Kate blamed Raymond and pretended thereafter as though he didn’t exist. And Raymond blamed Hugh for egging him on. Everyone had regrets that haunt them to this day.”

Marla swallowed in commiseration. She’d experienced a tragedy in her past, and it had taken years to forgive herself. Its influence still held sway in her decision not to have children of her own. As a nineteen-year-old babysitter, she’d answered a phone call the parents had told her to expect, but in that instant, the unthinkable had happened. The child under her care drowned in the backyard pool.

Losing a child could easily cause discord between the parents. Little Tammy’s mother and father had argued, but they’d cast blame on Marla. She’d had to hire an attorney to fend off a lawsuit. How she’d paid the law firm had led to another blot on her past, but she hadn’t wanted to burden her family.

Her throat tightened at the memories. Her mistakes didn’t end there. She’d made another bad choice and married the attorney in charge of her case. At the time, Stan had seemed like a lifesaver. She didn’t realize until later how much he enjoyed controlling people.

She hung her head in shame. No matter what Raymond did, it wasn’t her place to judge him, not with the sins hanging over her own head. At least she’d turned her misdeeds into good, working for the Child Drowning Prevention Coalition. And Dalton had helped her find forgiveness and acceptance of her own worth. It sounded as though Raymond needed the same. He wasn’t only tormenting himself. His behavior affected the people around him.

Was history repeating itself in how Raymond belittled Annie’s decision to become a dietitian? She’d taken the intellectual route just like Harry and had no desire to get involved in ranch operations.

Dalton must have sensed her distress, because he took her hand and squeezed it. “Is that why Raymond and Hugh are at odds with each other?” he asked the veterinarian. “Raymond blames Hugh for the accident that killed his brother?”

Marla heard his terse tone and felt bad for him. No one wanted to hear about the black deeds of their relatives.

The vet snorted. “Those two might have forgiven each other and made amends, considering how tight they’d been as kids. But then Raymond did another bad thing. That guy has made plenty of mistakes in his life. Maybe what they say about the ghosts at Craggy Peak is true. The spirits of the dead seek justice by haunting him.”

“What else did he do?” Dalton said in a resigned tone.

“Sorry, but that’s not my story to tell. You’ll have to ask your uncle.”

The door banged open, and a wrangler stuck his head inside. “Have any of you seen Carol?”

Doc Harrigan shook his head. “No, why?”

“She went for her usual ride this morning. Her horse has returned with a limp. She wasn’t on it.”

“Dear God. Has Wayne been informed?”

“He’s gathering a search party as we speak. Do you want to join the posse, Doc? Carol might be hurt if the horse tossed her.”

“I should tend to the beast, but maybe I can be of some use.” Dr. Harrigan jerked his thumb at Marla and Dalton. “You guys wanna come along?”

“I’ll join you.” Dalton stood, and Marla followed suit. “Can you get a horse ready for me?” he asked the wrangler.

“Yes, sir. Won’t take me but a minute. Meet me in the corral out back.”

“I can’t go,” Marla said in a disappointed tone. “I’d slow everyone down. I’ll wait for news in the main lobby.”

Wayne might return to his office eventually, or at least he’d notify one of the other managers when they’d found Carol. Her heart thumped as conjecture flashed ugly images in her mind of possible scenarios. Carol was a seasoned rider who wouldn’t fall from her saddle without reason.

Outside, the men rode off in a cloud of dust toward the trail Carol normally took each morning. Their group got smaller and turned into specks against the mountainside. Marla recalled a time in the recent past when she’d been warned to vary her morning routine by a killer who’d taken advantage of her habits. With a possible saboteur on the ranch, Marla should have given Carol the same advice.

Oh, gosh. Standing rooted to the spot, Marla clutched her stomach. What could be the goal of hurting Carol? Was this an indirect way of getting at Raymond?

The search had brought ranch operations to a halt. From the looks of it, most of the wranglers had ridden away with the posse. Guests were even now congregating in front of the building and wondering why no one was there to greet them.

She wandered toward the lobby, a fog of dread encasing her. Maybe she should look inside Carol’s office. What if Wayne’s wife had received a note from somebody to meet her at another location? That would throw off the search party when they couldn’t find her.

Someone seemed to have it in for the whole family. Marla couldn’t discard the notion that it might be Hugh Donovan. What had Raymond done to distance himself further from the man?

Shrugging away those concerns, she focused on Carol. Maybe her horse had simply stepped on a nail in its path. That could cause a limp. Or its shoe had become loose, not that Marla knew much about horse care. The animal’s sudden stop could have unseated Carol. That was a more logical explanation than paranoia. Or maybe someone hoped to spread the seeds of distrust by causing this incident.

She only prayed Carol was lying stunned and not seriously hurt.

Marla entered the brightly lit lobby that smelled like fresh lemon oil and leather polish. A middle-aged couple was checking out, so she waited until Janice was free. The redhead signaled for her to come over.

“Hi there, hon. Any news on Carol yet?”

“I was meaning to ask you the same. Will Wayne call in when he’s found her?”

“I’d hope so. We’re all worried. This is totally unlike her to be missing. I can’t imagine what might have happened.”

“Well, I can, and none of it is good.” Marla paced back and forth, hands clasped behind her back. “I’ll check her office to see if anyone left her a note. She might have gone to meet somebody, in which case they won’t find her on the usual trail where she rides.”

“Good point, although I’d expect she would have told one of us if she was deviating from her routine. She’s careful that way.”

“Do you mind if I take a look? We shouldn’t discount any possibilities.”

“Sure, go ahead.” Janice gestured toward the staff door.

It didn’t take Marla long to riffle through the papers on Carol’s desk. She saw nothing that might be a summons or urgent note. As the financial officer for the resort, Carol had printouts of spreadsheets as well as handwritten ledgers scattered about every available surface. She must follow her own system of organization.

Opening drawers, Marla searched for anything unusual but came up empty. Other than the clutter, it appeared to be a typical office. No doubt Carol could find exactly what she needed amid the piles of papers. Marla liked that Carol’s home might be neat and tidy, but here she had few reservations about cutting loose.

“I got nothing,” she told Janice a few minutes later.

“Do you want some coffee? We have a break room in the back.”

“No, thanks. I’m wired enough already.” Marla waited until Janice checked out a family of four, who were so enthused about the place that they reserved a date for next year. “Has Carol been behaving any differently lately? Do you think she had something on her mind that might have bothered her?”

“No, she seemed perfectly chipper yesterday. You stopped by in the afternoon to talk to her. How did she appear to you?”

“I didn’t detect any problems.” Marla sank into an empty seat beside Janice, the lone receptionist on duty. If one of the managers normally worked alongside her, likely he had joined the search party. This moment of privacy might not be repeated.

“How much do you know about the relationship between Raymond’s family and the Donovans?”

Janice’s astonished gaze met hers. “The Donovans? Surely you don’t think Hugh had something to do with Carol’s disappearance?”

“Why not? I’ve heard there is bad blood between him and Raymond.”

Perhaps Carol had taken it upon herself to visit Hugh Donovan and ask if he’d been responsible for the explosion at the ghost town and the incidents on the ranch. She might be more rational about it than Wayne, whose father had been personally involved with the Donovan clan. But then what? Hugh had done something to Carol?

Or maybe she’d run across the saboteur during her ride. Could the same person be causing trouble in both locations, or was there more than one mole involved, assuming these weren’t random incidents? And if so, whose payroll was backing them?

Janice studied her pink-painted fingernails. “Look, hon, I’ve been working here for a long time, and I don’t stick my nose into the family’s personal affairs.”

“It’s not so personal when guests at the ranch could get hurt or when the bottom line at the resort gets affected, as might happen in the near future. What do you know about Raymond and Hugh?”

A mobile radio on the front desk crackled with static. Were they missing important transmissions from the search team? Marla wanted to hear what the redhead had to say, but it was more important to learn if Carol had been found. Nobody appeared to be using cell phones. The trails must not be within service range.

“Mind you, I don’t know if this is true or not,” Janice said, lowering her voice, “but Raymond knew Hugh’s wife from high school. Word on the street has it that the two of them got reacquainted after Hugh’s son left home.”

“What?” Having expected Janice to mention Raymond’s sad history with his dead brother, the woman’s proclamation startled her. Hugh’s wife and son? What did they have to do with anything?