Stone of Vengeance (9 page)

‘Yes. He worked for Kingsley several years ago. Another
low life, always in and out of jail. A burned-out rodeo star who took to drinking. Alcohol and prison, that about sums him up.’

‘Who does he work for now?’

‘He runs a ranch of his own where he barely ekes out a living. He wouldn’t have the brains or the initiative to pull off a large-scale scheme like this.’

‘Could he be getting help, say, from Hal Barkley?’

‘Barkley wouldn’t go up against Kingsley. If the trouble is coming from the Lazy C, Kingsley instigated it. And we can’t rule that out.’ Swen was silent for a while, then added, ‘Kingsley did everyone wrong, especially that little niece of his. By rights he should have secured the ranch for her, but I hear she’s making plans to leave.’

‘And that means Jennie Kingsley will be in full charge.’ Kate had succeeded in bringing the subject around to her without making it obvious. ‘I suppose you were acquainted with her before their marriage?’

Kate waited expectantly for Swen to answer and was glad when he didn’t lie.

‘Yes.’

‘What’s your impression of her?’ Kate pressed.

‘Jennie’s a right nice lady,’ Swen said. ‘Certainly not a troublemaker or a thief. In fact, I don’t know how she ever got mixed up with him.’

Kate had got this far. She had to know more. ‘Did you date her before she started seeing Mr Kingsley?’

‘Whenever I went to Casper, I’d call her to have dinner with me. We’re friends. That’s all.’

‘Did you see her on Monday, the day Kingsley was shot?’

The lines around Swen’s mouth and eyes tensed. At the same time he pushed back his chair as if in abrupt dismissal. ‘No, I did not.’

Aware of a slight advantage, needing to push him further on the subject Kate, on impulse, took out the county map. She unfolded it and placed it in front of him on the desk. ‘Are you the one who wrote down these phone numbers?’

‘Where did you get this?’

‘From the glove compartment of your black pick-up.’

‘I wrote down the first two,’ he said, ‘but not the last. Why do you ask?’

‘Because I find it odd that Jennie’s phone number would be jotted down on your map.’

Swen’s gaze remained lowered. Light glowed across his grey hair, highlighting the silver curls around his temples.

‘What are those?’ He indicated the three x’s spaced inches from one another.

‘Were you the one who marked those spots?’ Once more she felt led to believe his certain answer.

‘No, I didn’t.’

‘Do they have any significance to you?’

Swen studied the map carefully as if trying to imprint in his mind each exact location. ‘I have no idea what they mean,’ he replied shortly.

A decided change had come over him. Swen slid the map across the desk towards her, saying, ‘That’s about all the questions I have time for today, Kate. I’ve got an
appointment
to keep.’

The leaden gold of approaching dusk hugged the horizon as Kate drove towards Kingsley’s ranch. Her hands
instinctively
tightened on the wheel as she approached the intersection of the two blacktopped roads where Swen’s truck had sped toward her with such deadly force.

Kate made a sharp right turn towards the Rocking C. Enough daylight existed to check out the only x marked on Kingsley’s property, a seldom, if ever used section of range high in the rugged canyon area.

She passed Kingsley’s towering home and headed north on a narrow road past high fences and sprawling bunkhouses. Several miles beyond she spotted through a shield of
cottonwoods
and pines the old wooden-frame house where Kingsley’s foreman lived. She caught no sign of activity. Barkley was probably still in the Lazy Z drinking.

The road seemed to go on forever in a series of gently winding s-curves. Kate could see the tips of purple-hazed mountains in the distance, but all around her was grazing land interspersed by large boulders and tall, grey bluffs, like the set from some Western movie.

She drove several more miles until she hit gravel that soon gave way to a deeply rutted dirt trail. She could see no sign of civilization except for the barbed-wire fence that marked the dividing line between the adjoining ranches. Kate continued, aware she had entered the most isolated spot of the Kingsley spread. With an area covering over a hundred square miles, it was likely Hal Barkley seldom even got around to checking this part of the ranch.

The trail grew steep and treacherous. The Landcruiser
jolted upward to a very lofty elevation. The flat terrain changed into granite ridges and forests dotted with aspen, their leaves glowing gold in the waning light.

Kate stopped at the top of the cliff. The road continued, a deeply eroded path dropping almost straight down. She pulled out the map to orientate herself, deciding she was still miles from the marked location. Because it would soon be dark, she would not attempt this precarious descent, nor would she set out walking.

Possibly another road existed, a more direct route to the edge of Kingsley’s property. She would investigate that tomorrow. For now, she climbed from the car breathing deeply the pine-scented air. From her panoramic view she could see the sage-covered fields she had just crossed, spotted with yellow black-eyed susans and purple asters. Cutting through the cliffs to her left, Rock Creek wound snake-like across the flat range-land towards town. The water in places appeared motionless, deep and muddy.

When Kate turned to go back to her vehicle, she caught movement from the deep ravine below her. She shielded her eyes against the brilliant rays of dying sun and saw Swen. He walked with quick, sure stride, his hand loosely gripping a rifle.

Why was he on Charles Kingsley’s property? She thought again of his abrupt dismissal. His ‘appointment’ must have had something to do with the x marked on the map. Swen had started out the moment she had left and taken a short cut to the site.

She had no choice but to find out what he was doing. Kate
started down the steep bluff. By the time she reached the bottom of the slope, Swen had vanished into the thick trees.

Kate wandered cautiously through a deeply wooded area that continued to slant downwards. From the level ground below she caught the scent of cattle, mingled with the earthy smell of the creek. Kate didn’t have to guess what was going on: this secluded spot was a hiding place where cattle were secreted onto waiting trucks. Probably Swen had come out here to warn his men that they had to act quickly for the sheriff would soon find their place of operation.

She halted behind a wall of pines and peered out into the clearing. A makeshift corral, fashioned from crudely chopped tree limbs, was crammed with cattle. Angled close to the gate set an ordinary-looking cattle truck, just like hundreds in the area. The back ramp was down ready to load, so she could not see the licence plate.

Had Jeff had been right, all along? Swen’s being here on Kingsley’s land made it seem certain that Swen, just as Kingsley had claimed, was the one stealing his cattle.

If so, Swen had come out here to meet with his crew. But where was he now, and where were the thieves who worked for him? Kate edged closer. As she did, someone inside the truck – someone who had spotted her – threw open the door. She caught a hasty glimpse of a rifle barrel. At the same time she heard a click as a bullet was being thrust into the firing chamber. Kate whirled around, plunging deep into the cover of trees. Even though she hadn’t seen the gunman, the vision of Swen aiming a rifle at her increased her speed.

Feet scuffled and a slight curse sounded as the man broke
though the trees behind her. Hoping to confuse him, she changed course, not once, but several times until she herself lost all sense of direction.

Still, he followed. Kate considered hiding, but knew he would only keep looking until he found her. Her only chance lay in flight.

Barely able to catch her breath, she tried to outdistance him. The swish of branches and the scattering of rocks warned her that he was in close pursuit. To make things worse, darkness, like an inky cloak, had begun to fall around her, obscuring both her vision and her judgment.

Gasping for air, with legs becoming too weak to hold her, she was forced to draw to a halting stop: the wrong thing to do. The moment she stopped moving, she had become a sure target.

A shot rang out. It struck the boulder beside her that rose, high and jagged, from a bed of rock. She jumped away from the path of the ricocheting bullet, then dived into a thicket of juniper, scampering on hands and knees until she was able to regain her footing.

What had possessed her to follow Swen when she wasn’t even carrying a gun? How many men were out here? Chances are, they had her surrounded. Even if they didn’t, they knew she would try to reach her vehicle and could easily track her down before she did.

Finally, too exhausted to keep up such a wild pace, she halted again. Another mistake! This time the bullet hit her. Wincing, grabbing her arm, Kate dived into the trees, falling flat on the ground into a sea of leaves. She dared not lift her
head, dared not make a move. Running her off the road had been a warning. This time he meant to kill her!

The numbness in her upper arm quickly wore off, leaving a searing pain. She knew the bullet had just penetrated the surface of her skin: it was the gushing blood that worried her.

Kate waited, every sense alert. When she was sure he had passed by, she took a chance, sprang to her feet and ran. To her relief, she was very near the cliff, which rose, dark and looming, just above her. She had a chance to reach the top – to live! But her effort must be fast and sure for the absence of trees on the slope would leave her vulnerable.

Kate hesitated. She could do it. This thought, this rush of hope, increased her boldness, gave her new energy. She started off in a zigzagging course, not looking back, not considering the fact that she was now in plain sight. Miraculously she reached the crest of the hill. There she halted, afraid to take a step closer. The bonnet of her vehicle gaped open, cut wires and hoses hung loose from the motor.

Kate’s heart sank. The rustlers had blocked her only means of escape. One of them had beaten her to her Landcruiser. No doubt they had taken her phone, too. But whether they had or not, she couldn’t risk going any closer. Whoever had immobilized her vehicle, was certain to be lying in wait for her.

Her only concern of the moment was staying alive. She half ran, half slid back down to the canyon floor and began again her wild race to nowhere. She scrambled over
sagebrush
and thistle, hurrying to get out of range shot.

Kate, sick and disoriented, didn’t know how long she fled through the underbrush, but slowly she became
half-aware
of the damp coldness, the sharp, pungent scent of sage.

It became increasingly harder for her to see, to keep her wobbly legs moving. As she started down a rough patch of rocks, her foot slipped, and she fell hard against earth and stones. This time she could not get up.

After a while with some trouble she lifted her left arm. Blood seeped through her pullover, lots of it, streaming down her arm, through her fingers. She was losing too much blood. Still, she could not afford to stop and bind up the wound. That might cost her life.

Using all the strength she had left, she struggled to her feet and stumbled on again. Dusk had given way to
darkness
, and only the light of the moon illuminated her way. Kate was hopelessly lost, but at least she could no longer hear the sound of footsteps behind or the snap of branches.

Again she had to stop, if only for a moment. She took refuge behind a clump of trees and rested. A rabbit darted into the sagebrush making her start, then total silence. After what seemed an eternity, she ventured a look around, seeing no one, hearing no sound but the gurgling of the nearby creek. Kate’s entire body sagged with relief. She had lost her pursuer.

Before she could rise again, she heard the rattling sound of a large, heavy truck. The rustlers could not afford to be caught out here with the stolen cattle, so at least some of them must have given up chasing her. But now she was faced
with another problem. The thieves were gone, but she was out here all alone and fast losing blood.

A biting wind blew, causing a chill to settle over her. Kate shivered. She didn’t know how badly she was hurt: she’d never been shot before.

Why did she always have to act on impulse? She had been wrong following Swen into the canyon, dead wrong, trying to work this case alone. She had been so self-assured. But no amount of police schooling had prepared her for her first real-life encounter.

Kate should have told Jeff where she was going. She thought of Ben, who had put such faith in her. Ben would be angry that she had fallen into this trap when she had
promised
him she wouldn’t work again without backup. Kate gritted her teeth against the pain. If she lived through this, she’d apologize.

With the help of a tree trunk, Kate rose unsteadily to her feet. She felt light-headed, and knew she was dangerously close to losing consciousness. The water from Rock Creek rippling around boulders sounded loud. Just a few steps away, she told herself. She began to weave toward it: cold water splashed on her face might stop the increasing
dizziness
, might revive her, might make it possible for her to go on.

Kate could see the bank now, only yards away. Her vision blurred and began to blacken. Halfway to the water’s edge, overcome with faintness, she slumped to the ground.

Kate awoke to penetrating cold and a throbbing between her shoulder and elbow that shot off waves of pain.
Managing to turn to her side, she forced open her eyes and through hazy vision made out a pair of cowboy boots. She lifted her gaze and saw Ty Garrison standing over her, a revolver clutched in his hand.

E
ven the sky behind its imposing frame looked icy, too clear, too stark. Light from a brilliant half-moon lit Ty’s features, blending into them the same harshness. For a moment Kate held her breath, fearing she had been wrong about him.

‘Kate, what happened?’

‘The rustlers … I followed them here. They shot at me. A bullet struck my arm.’

Ty reacted quickly. He removed his jacket, then his shirt. He ripped off the sleeve and used it as a tourniquet. Then he wrapped his jacket, still warm from his body, around her. He slipped back into the sleeveless shirt and lifted her.

‘I can walk,’ she said.

‘This is fine,’ he replied, no change in his breath from the exertion. ‘For a girl with an appetite, you don’t weigh anything.’

Surprisingly, Kate felt safe pressed against him. She was aware of the tightness of his arms, the sureness of his steps. He carried her effortlessly, not up the cliff but continuing along the level ground beside the creek.

‘How did you find me?’

‘I was out checking on our fenceline. I spotted your Landcruiser. When I drove up there, I saw the damage that had been done. That’s when I set out looking for you. I didn’t want to risk the drive down into the canyon at night, so I took this lower route.’

He continued on with a slow but steady pace. ‘Who shot at you, Kate? Do you know?’

It sounded as if someone answered for her in some strange husky whisper. ‘I’m not sure. I didn’t see him.’

‘What did you see, Kate?’

‘A truck about to load cattle.’

‘Can you identify the vehicle? Get a plate number or a partial one?’

‘I wasn’t able to.’

Ty, supporting her, let her stand while he opened the truck door. Then he lifted her inside. This pick-up smelled of new leather, not like the old one that had battered her squad car. Ty quickly started the motor and turned on the heater.

First it blew out cold air, air that slowly became
wonderfully
warm. Kate rested her head against the back of her seat and closed her eyes. She felt drowsy, suspended in some state of pain and half-awareness.

She could hear Ty speaking from some world she didn’t inhabit. ‘Are you doing okay? You just hang in there. I’m taking you to the hospital.’

Kate awakened to the scent of flowers. For a moment she felt confused and thought she was still lying out on the cold
hard ground. She opened her eyes slowly to the sterile white walls and ceiling of a hospital room.

‘So you’re finally awake,’ a nurse called cheerily, ‘your boyfriend just left. He’s been here most of the night. Refused to budge until he knew you were going to be all right.’

She must mean Jeff. The sheriff’s department, of course, would be the first to be notified.

‘He stayed, but you slept. I kept telling him you were heavily sedated, but he was sure something was wrong.’ She slanted Kate a jolly look. ‘You’re one lucky girl, I’d say. He’s so handsome and loyal. Not to mention romantic. He came back a while ago with these.’

Many people called Jeff good looking, but few would call him romantic. Kate edged herself upward, glimpsing the bouquet of wildflowers behind her on the windowsill. Jeff had not been the one keeping the long night vigil. The events of yesterday slowly replayed. Once more, she felt Ty’s strong arms lifting her, Ty carrying her along the creek bank to his truck.

At least she could still smile. Wildflowers were the only kind of flowers she liked and Ty had remembered. Yellow goldenrods in the centre flowed above an abundance of purple asters and black-eyed Susans. How sweet of Ty to take the time to gather them and bring them to her.

An elderly doctor poked his head into the room, saw that she was awake and entered.

‘So when can I get out of here?’

He grimaced. ‘You’re just as bad as your boss. That’s how Ben greets me every single morning.’ He checked the gauze
dressing on her arm. ‘You were very lucky. The bullet made a clean entrance and exit. No permanent damage. Shock and loss of blood caused you to lose consciousness. In fact, Garrison found you at exactly the right time.’

‘So I can leave?’

He considered her question with a thoughtful frown. ‘I’m not like these fresh out of med school doctors. I don’t believe in taking chances. No, I want you to stay so I can keep an eye on you. If everything looks well, I’ll release you first thing in the morning.’

‘Why can’t I go now? I feel fine.’

The doctor remained adamant. ‘I’ve got one obstinate patient with Ben, I don’t need two. You’re staying until tomorrow morning. Doctor’s orders.’

Kate lay back restlessly against the pillows. The day spanned endlessly before her. What a waste of time when she needed to be conducting an investigation, to follow up on last night’s leads. Poor Ben, he had already been here a week and probably had another to go while he underwent a battery of tests. By now, he was probably fit to be tied.

‘I can’t just stay in this room all day,’ she complained to the nurse when she returned.

‘There’s a little lobby at the end of the hall,’ she said brightly, ‘you can watch the big TV.’

Kate glanced down at the skimpy hospital gown. ‘Like this?’

‘I’ll bring you a robe and slippers,’ she said.

‘Thanks,’ Kate said, cheering.

She dreaded seeing Ben, who without exception never
swayed from strict office rules. Trudging toward his room in slippers sizes too large for her, she felt as she had years ago when her little sister had pointed a finger at her and yelled, ‘Kate did it!’

Ben sat up in bed, idly clicking the TV remote from channel to channel. He switched it off as she entered.

‘I’ve been running relays back and forth to your room, but you were always asleep,’ he said.

‘They must have given me something that really knocked me out. How are you feeling today?’

‘Ready to go home. But Doc has a zillion more tests lined up for me. I think he sits up nights thumbing through books on little-known diseases.’

‘Better than surgery,’ Kate returned lightly. Concerned, she added, ‘You know, when you get out of here, you’re going to have to watch your diet.’

‘That’s too much to ask of me, Kate. I’ll never be able to do it.’

‘You have to, Ben. You have to follow the doctor’s orders. Not everyone gets a second chance.’

Ben shifted his heavy weight and adjusted the pillow at his back. ‘You didn’t come here to discuss my health.’

‘No, I came in here to apologize for not following orders. It won’t happen again.’

‘You’re right, it won’t. What the devil were you doing out on Kingsley property alone?’

‘I was just driving around. I spotted Swen down in the canyon area with a rifle. I had to act fast or I’d lose him.’

‘Too fast to call home?’ Home, to Ben was the Belle County
sheriff’s office. The sagging folds around his eyes tightened and narrowed as he added in the same gruff way, ‘There’s no place on my staff for a cowboy – or girl. That type brings danger to everyone. You came within an inch of getting
yourself
killed.’

Ben looked sober and stern. For a moment, he reminded her of her father, upset and worried when she had returned late from a high school dance. He added, ‘I heard Ty Garrison brought you in last night. Why do you think Swen and Garrison were on Kingsley property?’

‘They could have been out there for the same reason I was: to catch the rustlers.’

‘That’s one explanation. I’m thinking of another. I’m
beginning
to think that lawsuit Kingsley was putting together against Swen had real teeth in it.’

‘If Ty were guilty, he wouldn’t have brought me into the hospital,’ Kate insisted.

Ben slanted her a skeptical glance. ‘That all depends on how he feels about you. I suppose cattle thieves are human too, at times.’ He continued to watch her closely. ‘You’ve gone too far Kate, got yourself too personally involved.’

Maybe he was right, she had begun to like Ty far too much to be objective.

‘I wish I were free to do my own work,’ Ben exploded with great frustration.

‘I’m handling everything the best I can, Ben. And don’t forget, we’re hot on the trail of the rustlers now.’

‘And when we find them Kate, we’ll find the killer.’ His statement reminded her of Swen’s.

Ben’s words, spoken with such certainty, caused an image of the invitation to Tom Horn’s hanging to flash before her and once more she thought they didn’t know the whole story yet. ‘Maybe,’ Kate responded, ‘but not necessarily.’

‘There’s always scum to run down; that’s why we’re in business. But I’m not willing to trade catching any one of them – or all of them for that matter – for your life.’ Ben paused significantly, the same paternal manner lining his face soberly. ‘Jeff told me all about your date with Ty Garrison.’

Anger rose in Kate. She took a deep breath before she replied. ‘I just happened to run across Ty in the café. Jeff knows that. He’s manipulating everything, as usual, because he wants to be the one in charge.’

‘Don’t be so hard on Jeff,’ Ben replied. ‘He may be thinking of your safety.’

‘Jeff doesn’t.…’

Ben lifted a hand to stop her words. ‘I ordered you not to go off on your own without backup. You did and got yourself shot. Even if you caught the cattle rustlers single-handed, you could expect a reprimand from me. As much as I hate to do it, Kate, I’m removing you as acting sheriff and putting Jeff in your place.’

Ben’s quiet announcement, tinged with undercurrents of disappointment, hurt worse than the bullet that had struck her arm. She straightened up, trying hard to hide her
reaction
.

‘I wasn’t on duty,’ she said. ‘Doesn’t that make any
difference
? What I do on my own time.…’

‘Is still my business,’ he finished for her. ‘You were working my case.’ The toughness in his voice faded, replaced by
kindliness
. ‘Kate, I have to do this for your own good. Why, you’re just a kid fresh out of school. I never thought you didn’t have lessons to learn.’

Even though she knew Ben was protecting her, she still rankled over the thought that Jeff had won. He now held her position, the one he wanted most, acting sheriff in charge of the biggest case that had ever confronted Belle County.

Kate’s resentment of Jeff grew as the afternoon wore on. Even though she knew better in her heart, she kept telling herself that Jeff’s tattling to the sheriff about her and Ty had tipped the scales and cost her the appointment. How could he have run to Ben, twisting what he knew was her chance meeting with Ty into some romantic rendezvous?

‘Hi, Prep.’ Jeff, a big smile on his face, strolled from the hallway toward her bed, placing a vase of pink roses on the stand beside her. The expensive green vase bore a golden tag reading, ‘Betty’s Floral.’

‘So like you,’ she said cuttingly, ‘bringing flowers to someone you’ve just stabbed in the back.’

‘You gave us all quite a scare,’ he commented, ignoring her sarcasm. His worry, if that wasn’t just some act, quickly dissipated into criticism. ‘You know you shouldn’t have been out there in the first place.’

‘I don’t need your lectures,’ Kate returned coldly. ‘What about my vehicle?’

‘Someone, your boyfriend probably, cut it all up, mutilated
the wires and hoses, but it’s all taken care of now. Don’t worry your pretty little curls about a thing.’

That infuriating lop-sided grin appeared again.

‘That’s the second vehicle you’ve ruined,’ Jeff teased. ‘I’m beginning to think you’re working for Barney’s Repair Shop instead of for us.’

As Kate smouldered, Jeff stepped to the windowsill, lifted the vase of wild flowers, and set it down again. ‘Someone must be saving money,’ he said. ‘I should have thought of that myself. Plenty of them out in my cow pasture.’

He had the nerve, putting down Ty Garrison. Ty
understood
her in a way no one else did; he had brought her a gift she appreciated, one that spoke to her heart.

Jeff, despite her lack of pleasant responses, remained a long time making cheerful small talk. ‘Better get back to work,’ he said at last. He stopped at the door for one more smile, his close-cropped hair and skin looking dark against the surrounding white. ‘Hurry and get out of here, Kate. We all miss you at the office.’

Kate had thought she wanted to be alone, but after Jeff left, her misery only increased: Ben and Jeff were right; she was wrong. She had failed them and deserved exactly what she got.

To add to her gloom, unanswered questions kept swirling around her, questions like why Ty and Swen were
trespassing
on Kingsley land, both fully armed. If Swen had been the one who had shot her, then Ty had taken a big chance going against his boss and bringing her to the hospital. Ty Garrison was either a hero working to help clear
his employer’s name, or a rustler who had risked his own cover in order to save her life.

When Kate entered the sheriff’s office, Lem looked up from his desk. Because he usually failed to acknowledge Kate’s entrance into the office, the grin that lit up his thin, lined face surprised her.

‘I heard all about how you chased after those rustlers,’ he said in an admiring way, ‘how you took a bullet. You’re all right, though, aren’t you Kate?’

For the first time she seemed to merit the older deputy’s approval. She returned his smile. ‘I’m fine.’ Her hand went automatically to the long sleeve that hid the bulky bandage. ‘Arm’s a little sore, that’s all.’

‘I think you’re one gutsy gal, that’s what I think!’

Kate basked for a moment in the praise which, coming from Lem, was comparable to being pinned with a medal, then she asked, ‘What’s going on with the case?’

‘We picked up Ty Garrison for questioning, but there’s not enough evidence to hold either Swen or him. He made up a story about trying to hunt down the rustlers, said that’s what they were doing that night. He told some wild tale about seeing a yellow-haired man in the canyon area.’

Slim Barton leapt to mind, the man Kate suspected of sabotaging the wheel of her car at Pauley’s Auction. ‘Could Ty make a positive identification?’

‘No,’ Lem said, ‘he just got a glimpse of light hair.’