Silver Wilderness Range Read online

  “I am. You know him, don’t you?”

  “Yep.” He leaned back on the heels of his western boots. “He’s a crusty old fart. Few years older than I am, so I never knew him much back in our school days. When he come back to Timber, he was really bitter as hell. He’d got caught bilking folks out of a lot of money on Wall Street. Said folks didn’t appreciate him. When he was a kid, he was a crybaby. No one ever did right by him. Nobody understood him. He was a cheat then, and still is probably in cahoots with someone up to no good.”

  “Still is?”

  “Well, I’m guessin’ so. A couple months ago he escaped, and we played a couple games of pool. Always cheated. And all that crap about the lousy pool table tops in the pool hall. Well, he’d say his pool table was made with Italian marble. Nothin’ like the pool hall table. He musta thought we were all thick as bricks. Seth was always braggin’ and complainin’ about ever’thing.”

  “He resented losing fairly?”

  Muttering, he answered, “Yeah, he never lost and never was wrong. Pissed and moaned all the time.” Plato scratched his stubbly beard. “Well, he moves back here after all these years. Acts like he wants his rear-end kissed.”

  “Do you think there might have been foul play involved with his disappearance?”

  “Yep. Might a been a problem. I remember one time he was pitchin’ a fit. He’d escaped from out there at Silver Wilderness Center. He was all riled up and says that they put him in the psyche ward. He’d taken after one of the staff for calling him names. Don’t rightly know what the names were. Just that it sure made him pissed.”

  “Plato, if you hear anything about him, or see him, let me know.”

  Plato gave a nod. “I wouldn’t half mind if you’d sic your big dog on ‘em. There ain’t nothin’ wrong with them pool tables.”

  Chapter 4

  A shiver of winter, her grandmother called the upcoming season. Royce felt the chill in the air when she jogged that morning. The elevated mountains never seemed to bother her when she exercised. Often, she used the exercise room in Crystal. But when staying over at Gran’s cabin, she liked being in nature. When autumn said hello to winter, it seemed to slow folks down. Gran had complained of morning’s coolness recently.

  That morning Royce had also helped her grandmother harvest pots of herbs that were stationed around the property. Gran had carefully planned it, by planting seeds in the best spot for each individual herb. After they finished clipping herbs, Gran loaded her dehydrator with the leaves. The aroma was magnificent, Royce had commented.

  After she’d showered and dressed, she left. While driving to the center of Timber, Royce considered that her Gran was now in her early eighties. That brought on the worry of caring for her. At the time Gran prided herself as being full of spunk. She had always taken care of her own health and her family’s well-being.

  Now, Royce considered what Eileen Austin had said. Royce didn’t want her grandmother warehoused. It was on her mind as she pulled up to the High Country Animal Clinic. She had promised Hertha that she would walk the kiddos to their bus stop. The elementary school was located on the edge of town, and a school bus picked most of Timber’s children up in the town center. Then drove them to school.

  “Hey,” Royce said as she felt the children’s arms wrap around her. “Is everyone set for school?”

  “Yes,” seven-year old Vannie answered. She wore a brightly colored red dress. “And we’ve got our sweaters. I love school, and learning,” she exclaimed. Both children had dark hair, and skin. Their eyes were usually sparkling and intensely curious. “Most things I like about school.”

  Vannie’s brother, Antero was a year younger. And he had been silent about going to school. He mumbled, “I hate school.” He slumped as he walked. His denims were new, and freshly laundered, and his shirt his favorite shade of blue. Nearly a teal.

  Royce saw concern on Hertha’s face. Hertha’s voice was mellow, but couldn’t hide her distress. “Antero, give it time. The kids will come around. Just be kind and considerate.”

  “They call us names. And one kid tripped me. Then they laughed.”

  Vannie added, “They said his Indian name couldn’t be Surefoot.”

  Royce traded glances with Hertha. “If you do as your mother says, it will get better in time. The kids used to call me Stringbean when they teased me.”

  The sheriff walked Vannie and Antero across the street to the bus stop. As they climbed up the bus stairs, the issued their goodbyes. Words were solemnly spoken.

  Al, the bus driver, watched as the children were seated. He asked Royce, “Guess you been busy looking for that fella from the Center?”

  “Yes.” The sheriff thought perhaps a pre-emptive strike would be productive. If the driver watched the bullying, and corrected the perpetrators, it might help. Royce leaned nearer, changing subjects, and quietly whispered, “Al, could you watch after the kids. There’s been some bullying, and I don’t want anyone hurt.”

  “I’m guessing Hertha’s kids are the only Native Americans in the school system. I’ll keep an eye out. In a week or so, they’re all going on an outing. Their class will ride the ski lift at Crystal. I’ve got a wedding to attend, but they’ve got a substitute driver. New guy. I’ll mention it to him, too. Earl Harris is his name. He and Laura Price, now Harris, just got married this summer.”

  “Laura is an office worker at school,” Royce recalled. “As I remember, she’s a friend of Principal Jane Garnett.”

  “She’s the one. Laura had been widowed. She was really downtrodden after her husband died. Then she meets this Earl on line. Next thing you know she’s at the altar. They’re both around sixty. Not many spouses available as a person gets to that age.”

  Royce smiled. “Not many available up here at any age.”

  “Most are taken. Glad I got my wife, and she’s healthy,” he said with a laugh. Well, the youngsters will have a great field day going up to the Crystal Ski Lodge. The kids’ll get a ride up on the lifts. Sheriff, we’ll take care of them. And I hope you find that fella from the Center.” Al shut the bus doors and gave a wave.

  On the way back to the clinic, Royce considered her own plight. She admitted she wanted things to work out with Hertha. But now, the children weren’t thrilled with the school situation. And, Royce surmised, Hertha would leave the area to make them happy. Hertha was half Ute Native American. That was the half of her that demanded loyalty. Familia loyalty meant making certain she did what was best for her brother’s children. Now her children.

  Hertha had gone into surgery, so Royce sat a few moments in the Cat Room, to play with the kittens. Cleo, Hertha’s cat, quickly took a seat in Royce’s lap. The little spotted cat, being watched after her annual injections, was Patch. Soon Patch was also on her lap.

  The sheriff enjoyed their attention. Another cat with the appearance of a Siamese rushed across the room. Kokomojo’s was a distinctive champagne-colored coat. Her bib, lower lip, and feet were white. She had expressive blue eye. Royce patted a small place on her lap, “Come on, KoKo.”

  Royce enjoyed the tranquility of the clinic. The pets seemed to know that they were in good hands. The sheriff closed her eyes a moment. She chastised herself for mistrusting her own tranquility with Hertha.

  ***

  Later, Royce spent a couple hours in her office fielding calls, and attempting to touch bases with the several people on her list. The sheriff wanted to speak with Silver Wilderness Director Alec Zellner, Supervisor Rhonda Smith, Nurse Amber Kerr, Doctor/partner Melvin Verner, and Silent-Partner Larry Austin.

  She had also made several more failed attempts at running down Daisy’s cousin, Rick Durant. No one seemed available. That had not only seemed a coincidence to Royce. It appeared to be a communication conspiracy against her.

  She felt stymied. By midmorning, she strode across the street. She went around the Times office and into the back yard of Gwen and Nadine’s home. She’d heard Nadine’s laughter, and when she arrived at
the garden area, saw Gran and Nadine.

  “Your grandmother and I were just talking about you, Royce,” Nadine said. She was standing in the rows of onions, and carrots.

  “And laughing?” Royce questioned with a grin.

  “Well, we were inside with Daisy. She told us about some of your pranks back in grade school,” Gran explained. “I just stopped by to trade off some herbs for some of Nadine’s vegetables. The season’s ending, and I’m going to do some canning.”

  Nadine complained, “Some of my produce has gone missing. I gladly give my neighbors armloads of veggies. But most of them ask. Not lately. And someone got off with my little cotton shopping bag that held my garden tools. Little shovel and such. Now I’ll need to find another one. Empathy these days seems to be out of the question.”

  “How is Miss Daisy?” Royce asked.

  “Doing fine.” Nadine frowned. “Her mind is as sharp as sharp can be. There’s nothing wrong with her.” Nadine lifted her shovel and dug a bunch of onions from the ground. “I am furious that the Silver Wilderness Center is cheating her of her home.”

  “We have to prove it,” Royce glumly said. “I talked with Lyn earlier, and she says that although Daisy’s house is worth money, it might not have been worth the kind of money that a long stay would cost. By her calculations of eight thousand a month, if Daisy lived ten years, her surplus of approximately a million for the house would be gone. And Daisy seems to be in great health. So, what is their motive for the deception?”

  “Maybe they thought she would fade away slowly,” Nadine said. “But the cousin’s son, Rick Durant, would come into any surplus.”

  Gran shook her head. “It is just so sad that they’re charging that kind of money, these days.”

  Nadine grimace. “Gwen said that there is also a risk fee. Some of the costs are to pay any legal of expenses, too. In case the Center gets sued. After all, they’ve got a small surgery. Dr. Verner charges huge fees. That might cost them if anything goes wrong. And patients that could fall and sue them. Well, she named a batch of reasons. But still. Doc Norman doesn’t charge much.”

  Royce thought about the country doctor, Norman Nilson. He had turned seventy-seven. After he’d spend decades as a family doctor to many in Timber City, he’d retired twice. Finally, a year ago he rented a small storefront office and opened his practice again. Mae Gates, now sixty-two, had been nurse in his practice, and she joined his later effort. They primarily saw to his older patients. Gran was his patient, and most of the other Medicare patients preferred Doc Nilson to care for them.

  “He has minimal overhead,” Nadine said.

  Gran affirmatively shook her head. “Why he’s just a good heart. Always has been. So, we go to his little clinic. As soon as we can, we’ll have him take a look at Daisy.”

  “We won’t need to keep Miss Daisy undercover much longer,” Royce reported. “But we’ll need to get a clean bill of health for the court case. According to Lyn, proving that they kept her under duress is part of the lawsuit they’ll bring against Silver Wilderness.”

  “There’s not a blasted reason in the world for drugging her up like that,” Gran accused. “Daisy just got through telling us that a man called Alec has rattled her bones, getting her into her room. She said if she’d a been pushed and had fallen, they’d claim she fell out of her bed. Please don’t ever put me there, Royce.”

  Royce sucked in air. “Of course not, Gran.” The thought of that made her stomach churn. “Listen, I’m going over to The Bell Ringer Tavern to see if Faye has ever seen, or knows anything about Seth Egan. I don’t know if he ever went there since his home is in Crystal.” She was aware that in the past Seth had played pool at a place next to The Bell Ringer. He might have dropped in for a drink. She would also check the pool hall. Royce’s trusty C.I. Plato had mentioned that he’d played pool with Seth.

  Royce also wanted to see what Faye could tell her about Larry Austin. Plato mentioned that Larry Austin had also been spotted at The Bell Ringer. Plato tattled that Larry had a midlife crush on the proprietress of the saloon. Faye Arnall had attracted the married Larry Austin. Plato claimed that Fay ‘caught his fancy’ but Faye didn’t reciprocate. Although Royce didn’t believe Faye would be interested in Austin, she also wouldn’t have thought Larry Austin would have appealed to Eileen Austin.

  Now she wondered what had been the appeal to a young songstress in Memphis all those years ago when Larry and Eileen met.

  ***

  “Sheriff,” Faye Arnell greeted Royce. “I hear you’re looking for Seth Egan and Daisy Barnaby.” Faye stood behind the bar, laughing shrilly. Her round, freckled face was surrounded by rusty and gray curled hair. Nearly sixty, she was curvy, and grinning. Her lips were still painted bright red and her eyes gleamed kiwi green. Laughing, she guessed, “Hell, they probably ran off together.”

  “Nope. I have it on good authority that Daisy is still in the area.” Amused, Royce sat at the bar across from Faye. The Bell Ringer Saloon was the kind of bar that never changed. The legacy built a century and a half remained. Wood floors, swinging doors, the feel and the look of a country bar, The Bell Ringer was a meeting place for nearly every type. Young, old, resident, or tourist – they all enjoyed Faye’s drinks and celebratory ambiance. She’d been the proprietor for thirty-five years.

  “I saw pictures of Seth Egan. He normally hung out with the snooty Crystal crowd. He even tried to run for office a couple years back, but folks were smart enough to know he was a stuff-shirt braggart. And crooked as a tall dog’s back legs. I’ve seen him before, but I’m not sure it was in here. Definitely not recently.” Faye topped off her own glass of beer, and poured a cup of coffee for Royce. “Exactly what is going on?”

  “We’re searching for Seth Egan. That’s public knowledge. We’re also investigating why Miss Daisy was being kept against her will at Silver Wilderness. But I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention it. I don’t want it getting out.”

  “Well, according to the old bat at the Times – Gwen, Daisy is fine.”

  “You two are going to have your feud forever,” Royce teased. “I thought things were going better. But you’re both still upset, I see.”

  “Yep. I ‘spect so. Don’t worry; I’m not saying anything about Daisy.” Faye laughed heartily. “Gwen told me to keep my mouth zipped about it. Said not to write it on my boobs, ‘cause my breasts don’t keep secrets.” Faye looked down at her bulging bosoms.

  Royce sipped the hot coffee. “You know everyone in town, so I thought I’d also ask about Larry Austin.”

  “Larry comes in often. He doesn’t stay out at Silver Wilderness Center because Eileen drives him crazy.” Faye’s eyebrows expressively lifted. “He’s hot to trot, and Eileen is a cold-storage queen.”

  Royce paused. “I don’t know either of them. Just seen them around. Eileen would probably drive anyone around the bend,” she commented.

  “Hell, Eileen doesn’t give a damn about Larry. I’d say after the honeymoon, she wished she was back in a gritty Memphis bar wailin’ out.”

  “She certainly has more financially that she got singing for tips. But she has to put up with Larry.”

  “She probably could have done worse. Not that Larry is a prize. He’s a bull-shitter. Lots and lots of malarkey slither out of his mouth. A real horse’s hindquarters. He drops money in here, so I am civil to him, but he’s obnoxious as hell.” Faye leaned against the bar. “He’s always making plays for all the women.”

  “Including you?”

  A laugh burst from Faye’s mouth, “Especially me. I’m getting too old for this. Your mother always seems so happy. She never messes with damned men. She never gets her britches in a twist over all the ego games they play. I get my share of lovin’, so I don’t know why I’m always in the dumps.”

  “Mom is cheerful because she’s used to being cheerful,” Royce explained. “I’m only cheerful on the outside.”

  “How are things going with you and Hertha?”


  “Fine. You know how relationships are. Not all good and not all bad.”

  “For fifteen years you and Hertha were doing nothing but good. Do you still blame her for leaving you last year?”

  “I try to be understanding. Just between us, if she left me once, she might again.”

  “Royce, she’s a decent person. Hertha had to be with her dying mother. Then she lost her mother, and then she became guardian of the two kids. She was going through a lot.”

  “I was there to help her. She stayed with her ex.”

  “Don’t keep going over it, Royce. Life’s too short. My life has been passing me like a freight train. I can’t bring any of it back. Or I would. Don’t give up on Hertha.”

  “No.” Royce finished the coffee and stood. “Thanks for understanding, Faye.”

  “I’m not sure I do understand. I know you didn’t want children involved in your life. But hell, you seem great when you’re with them.”

  “They’re wonderful kids. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.” Royce tipped her hat, and pushed the swinging doors of the bar. She felt tears in her eyes. She blinked them back.

  Chance didn’t need to be called, the faithful shepherd followed as closely as she could.

  ***

  Royce stood tall as her five-foot ten could stand. As she waited outside of Dr. Melvin Verner’s Silver Wilderness Center’s office, she wondered how he would present himself.

  His receptionist repeated, “He’s got a full schedule today, and he got to do his rounds.”

  “I realize that,” Royce attempted to keep her voice well-modulated. It wasn’t going to be friendly, because she wasn’t feeling friendly. “Listen to me closely. You’ve had two seniors disappear from here. Two seniors that this facility is responsible for. I suggest you call the doctor right now. Tell him that unless he wants three dozen deputies taking this place apart, he’d better respond to my request to speak with him. I can have a warrant in half an hour.”