Читать книгу The New Cowboy - Rebecca Winters - Страница 11
ОглавлениеFriday morning Avery got up early and dressed in jeans and a fresh holster shirt. Over it she wore a short-sleeved blue denim Western shirt. In case of an emergency, the snaps made it easier to access her pistol without tearing her shirt.
She slipped out of the ranch house without eating breakfast. Normally she ate with her grandfather, but this morning she was in a hurry and didn’t want to hear the news about last night’s welcome-home party for Zane. It would hurt too much to know what she’d missed. Pretty soon Ralph would inquire about her date. That was something she would just as soon forget.
She started up her truck and took off for the shooting range outside White Lodge where she put in a half hour’s target practice, but last night’s events still haunted her. Avery hadn’t liked hurting Mike, but she’d had no choice and told him the truth: the man she’d thought she could forget had come back into her life unexpectedly. Though she didn’t know what would come of it—maybe nothing—she knew it wasn’t fair to use Mike. That was a terrible thing to do to anyone.
Naturally she’d mentioned no name, so Mike couldn’t possibly know about her feelings for Zane, who’d been away for close to a year and had only come home periodically. But it was painful how stone-cold quiet Mike had gone on the drive home. Who could blame him? When they reached the ranch house, she’d jumped out of the truck before he could come around. “I’m truly sorry, Mike. Thank you for dinner. Please forgive me.”
By the time she made it to the porch, he’d peeled out of the driveway. She could hear the screech of tires even after she’d let herself in the house. The unpleasant moment, compounded by guilt of another kind she’d been carrying around for eight years, had made her sleep fitful.
After picking up a snack, she headed for Little Big Horn College in the town of Crow Agency, Montana. The two-year community college chartered by the Crow Nation offered eight associate of arts degrees. Though the majority of the students enrolled were members of the Crow Nation, it was a public college and she’d been enrolled in Crow language classes on Fridays for a long time.
The hour and a half drive from the ranch put limits on her time so that she could only attend classes once a week. It would take years to achieve any kind of mastery, but she’d always had extra help from Jarod and his Crow family. While she’d been away at college in Bozeman she’d hired a tutor to keep teaching her the language. Because of that ability, she’d won a fellowship to Berkeley.
If she hoped to publish important works in the future, it was vital she be able to communicate with the elderly Crow people on the reservation who could help her with her folklore research. This was her focus, the only thing that was going to help her keep her distance from Zane.
After three hours of classwork, she grabbed a sandwich, left campus and headed for Absarokee. Near the town was an archaeological site that was the former site of Crow Agency along Highway 78. She was part of a crew uncovering part of the foundation of the original agency compound. They’d been compiling a growing collection of artifacts.
She’d found a blue bottle, the ceramic arm of a doll, a pottery shard and the cylinder of a cap-and-ball revolver. The fantastically rich artifact record and archaeologically intact nature of the site made it unique on the high plains of Montana. Actual objects used by the Crow formed a bridge between the past and present. Every piece of evidence excited her because the site was a window into a very transformative time in Crow Nation history.
By midafternoon she pulled up next to some other trucks parked in a field near the ongoing excavation of the foundation of a Crow cabin building that was over a hundred years old. Some kind of meeting was in progress. Paul Osgood, the auburn haired fiftyish professor who headed the dig, waved her over to him and four other archaeologists.
“Hi. What’s going on?”
“We’re glad you’re here. As you can see, vandals were busy again during the night. I called the police yesterday. They’ll do what they can, but it isn’t possible for them to patrol this area all the time. They don’t have the manpower. Last night someone desecrated part of this foundation we’d marked and tagged into units. The loss of animal and fish bone fragments comes as a real blow.”
When Avery looked down, she could see what he meant. The fragments told so much about the changing Crow diet: how they went from living on bison, antelope, deer, elk and cutthroat trout to subsisting on government-provided beef.
“Do you think this is a case of pure and simple looting out of greed? Or malicious vandalism by a bunch of out-of-control teenagers?”
“I have no idea.”
“We need a guard dog,” she muttered.
“I agree. Unfortunately the benefactors who’ve funded this project aren’t about to give us more money for protection like that.”
Ed Meese spoke up. “I could camp out here tonight.”
“Not alone,” Paul exclaimed.
Ray Collins volunteered to keep watch with him.
Paul shook his head. “I can’t allow you to do that. For one thing, it could be dangerous. You don’t know what you could be dealing with. I promised the authorities we’d let them handle this, but I’ve been asked to get some pictures proving the damage. Why don’t we walk around the site and take photos of anything we find disturbed? We’ll send them to the police and call it a night.”
They worked together till six before disbanding. Avery drove back to the ranch totally frustrated by the damage done. For the culprits, it was like taking candy from a baby. Her crew was helpless in the face of the wanton destruction happening after dark.
She pulled in at seven, heartsick over the situation. Avery was just about to pull the key from the ignition when someone walked up to her truck.
Suddenly her heart had another problem. Zane.
Avery had been so upset, she hadn’t noticed his Volvo sitting next to some of the other vehicles. He was dressed in a dark gray pullover and jeans. His hard-muscled physique standing in cowboy boots made him a good six-three. Between dark fringed lashes, his intelligent eyes glowed like twin blue suns.
With shaky fingers she lowered the window. Now if she could just catch her breath. “I understand congratulations are in order for a lot of reasons. Welcome home. You didn’t have to wait until the Fourth of July after all.”
A ghost of a smile hovered around his mouth. “Even better, I’m here to stay. You missed a great party last night.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
He raked a suntanned hand through hair that looked like rich brown loam. “Do you have another date tonight with the same man as last night?”
She blinked. “How did you know about that?”
“I saw the two of you together while I was driving in from Glasgow.”
Avery couldn’t believe it. She’d been so upset with herself for having made a second date with Mike, she hadn’t been aware of anything else. Biting her lip she said, “I have no plans for tonight. It’s been a long day.”
“Too long to go out on a case with me tonight? The police alerted the BLM law enforcement to a new problem in the area.”
Her head flew back, causing the hair to resettle around her shoulders. “What do you mean?”
“Now that I’m permanently stationed here, my first undercover assignment is to catch the vandals desecrating the dig site at Absarokee.”
A small cry escaped her throat. “That’s where I work!”
“Sadie told me.” He cocked his dark head. “After all these months of working at opposite ends of the state, imagine my surprise. When I saw my orders, it reminded me of a poem that says, ‘God long ago drew a circle in the sand exactly around the spot where you are standing right now. I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen.’”
The words, and the way he’d said them, sounded like bits of prophecy, making their way to her soul where she’d tried to hide from him. She averted her eyes.
“I need someone to give me inside information. Who better than you? Tonight I want to drive there and get a feel for the place. We won’t stay too long. If you’ll come with me, I’ll feed you. While we drive, I’d like to pick your brain.”
She cleared her throat, trying to keep her wits about her. “You think someone I work with could be responsible?”
His eyes narrowed, sending a shiver down her back. “You never know. Everyone is fair game at a crime scene.”
Zane was on the hunt. She could feel it and shuddered for the people responsible when he caught up with them. “You’re right.”
“If we leave now in my car, we should get there before it’s totally dark.”
Avery couldn’t very well say no to him under the circumstances. Her truck engine was still idling. “I’ll run inside and tell Grandpa where I’m going.”
“Good. I’ll wait for you.”
She raised the window and turned off the ignition. He opened the door so she could climb out. On a burst of adrenaline she hurried into the house only to find out her grandfather had gone over to Jarod’s for dinner. She told the housekeeper where she was going, then made a stop to the bathroom to freshen up. While she ran a brush through her hair and reapplied her lipstick, his words kept going around in her head.
I was never not coming here. This was never not going to happen.
* * *
ZANE PULLED INTO the drive-through in White Lodge where they ordered hamburgers and fries. During the short drive from the ranch they talked about family and how big Ryan was getting. She asked about some of his cases in Glasgow. They stuck to topics he knew made her feel comfortable.
Once they were headed for the dig site, he listened while she gave him a rundown of the professors and archaeologists involved in the excavation. He learned that two of the men had volunteered to stand guard, but their idea was tabled by the head archaeologist.
After they arrived, he drove to two of the homes of the owners of the land to introduce himself and Avery. He let them know he was conducting an investigation of the vandalism. They received him warmly and promised to keep an eye out that night. If they saw or heard anything out of the ordinary, they’d phone him.
Back in the car he said, “Now show me where you all park when you come to work. Does everyone come by car?”
“Some have trucks.”
Avery gave directions to the part of the field where they’d been excavating the foundation of a hundred-plus-year-old Crow cabin. Careful to park where he wouldn’t drive over tracks already made in the dirt, they got out.
“The worst of the destruction is right over here.” Both of them held flashlights as he followed Avery to the area set off in grids. “See there? They’ve raked through the dirt, destroying the bits of animal bones. And look here—they’ve stolen the wire-wound round glass beads. The beads’ eyes, in particular, make them priceless.”
He grimaced. “Stay right here. I’m going to the car to get some packs of fiber foam.” He’d decided not to cast the tracks. That process was messier. “I want to take impressions of the tire tracks.” One set of them came from an ATV. He pulled on gloves. “With the list of names and addresses you’re going to give me, I’ll have a better idea of who’s driving what. We’ll go from there.”
“What’ll happen when you catch this person?”
“If it’s a first offense, we’ll levy a twenty-thousand-dollar fine and nine months’ jail time. If they’ve been arrested before, they could be charged a hundred-thousand-dollar fine and get a five-year prison sentence.”
“Good! How dare they do this.”
Zane smiled at her vehemence. While he gathered evidence, he noticed some cigarette butts. “Does any of your crew smoke?”
“Maybe, but they don’t do it on the site.”
Interesting.
By ten o’clock he’d gathered the evidence he needed, including the butts and a peppermint pattie candy wrapper he’d found and bagged. Avery helped him carry everything to the car where he discarded the gloves. They started back to the ranch.
He looked over at her. “You’re a great helper. When we crack this case, you’ll be given a commendation from the Crow Nation, probably by Jarod’s uncle Charlo himself. He might as well be your uncle, too, right?”
He provoked a small smile from her. “That’s true, but this isn’t Crow land.”
“It used to be, and the tribe has united with the Federal Highway Administration and the Montana Department of Transportation to make certain this land is preserved.”
“Zane, the crew will be really glad to know you’ve been assigned here.”
He felt his pulse surge. “I hope that means you’re glad, too, because I’d like to enlist more of your help for this case.”
She stirred in the seat. “I’ll do anything I can. What they’ve done is not only criminal, but immoral.”
“How about coming over to the house tomorrow after we help Liz and Connor move into their new place? We’ll combine forces and get all the information entered in my files.”
If he wasn’t mistaken, her voice sounded a trifle unsteady as she said, “All right.”
Inch by inch, Lawson.
“I understand Connor has a ton of stuff stored at your ranch.”
Avery let out a gentle laugh. “You wouldn’t believe it. It’ll take hours just to transport all his trophies and awards.”
Zane grinned. “Then we’ve got our work cut out.” He hoped there’d be so much work, she wouldn’t be able to find an excuse to get away from him.
Once he’d pulled up to her ranch, he got out and walked her to the front door. He smiled down at her. In the faint light from the hallway, the classic planes of her features stood out. Between her fantastic coloring and the flare of her mouth, he could hardly tear his eyes away, but he had to. Something strange had happened when he’d looked at her just now.
Everything had been fine all evening, yet all of a sudden she was starting to pull away from him again. Almost as if he’d pressed a button by mistake and it had opened a secret panel. It wasn’t anything she did physically. Rather he felt her emotional withdrawal into that secret opening.
Puzzled by it, he said, “I liked taking you out on this case with me, especially one that impacts you personally. I’m going to bring it to a close soon.”
“I don’t doubt it. Good night, Zane.”
“I’ll be over in the morning in my truck and we’ll get the move done fast so we’ll have more time to devote to the case. The bureau wants to see it wrapped up in a hurry.”
She only nodded before slipping inside to shut the door.
He’d seen guys behave the same way after they’d retired from the SEALs. Their PTSD triggered flashbacks and attacks of nerves. Zane still struggled from a mild form of it. He saw a doctor in Billings periodically and was given medication that controlled it. But he’d learned enough about it to know it was a real illness and one not associated only with war.
You could get it after living through or seeing a dangerous event like a hurricane or a bad accident. PTSD made you feel stressed and afraid long after the danger was over. It affected your life and the people around you. Avery exhibited certain signs that led him to believe she might be suffering from it. What in the hell had happened to her to bring it on?
With his emotions in turmoil, he drove home and got ready for bed. His thoughts went back to the night Ned Bannock, Sadie’s cousin, had attacked Sadie in the barn while Zane had been in the house with Ryan. Thankfully both Connor and Jarod had caught him in time.
Ned, whose family had always lived on Bannock property, was still being treated at a mental health facility with occasional supervised visits home. Was it possible that sometime in the past he’d attacked Avery and no one ever knew about it?
