CHAPTER 20.
"Mike, how many acres is this property? It seems like it goes for quite a ways," Brad asked as he and Mike started walking toward the shack.
"I think it"s about one hundred and fifty acres. My great-grandparents bought it around the turn of the century. They owned a couple of gold mines in the area, but when those dried up, they bought this property and began to raise cattle on it. When Aunt Agnes and Uncle Max took it over, they not only had cattle, they had quite a few horses and about every other animal that you"d find on a farm. I remember having fresh eggs for breakfast that my aunt had collected from the henhouse that morning. The two of them were pretty self-sufficient. They had their own water from the dammed up stream, meat from the animals, fruit from the orchards, and fresh produce from those two greenhouses you can see over there. Aunt Agnes had a real green thumb. They always had fresh vegetables and fruit. I suppose it many ways it was an idyllic life."
"Well, it"s always been my dream to grow my own fruits and vegetables and have a lot of animals," Brad said. "I feel so much more alive when I"m outside and communing with nature than I do when I"m locked in my cubicle of an office listening to people tell me their problems. Don"t get me wrong, I really care about my patients, but if I had a choice, believe me, my choice would be to spend my life outdoors."
"I suppose you can take comfort in the fact that you have a successful practice, and you"re good at what you do. Look over there. You can see the stream and the little shack right beside it. That"s where Gary lives." He told Brad about playing cowboy there when he was a young boy and visiting his aunt and uncle.
"Let"s stop here for a minute. I want to see if we can hear any sounds coming from the shack. I can see Gary"s motorcycle, and I find that a little strange."
Brad turned towards him. "Why is that strange?"
"Well, my aunt talked about how he rode it in the middle of the night, and it woke her up. I also heard it when I first drove into town night before last. Why it"s strange is that I haven"t heard it once since then. He must not have left the shack since Kelly and I got here. Okay, let"s walk on over to the front of the shack, and I"m going to knock on the door. I don"t see a lock, and I couldn"t find a key. Why don"t you stand behind me? I"d like you to keep your gun drawn, because I really don"t know what to expect."
They walked through the undergrowth to the cabin, and Mike knocked on the door. There was no sound from within, and no one came to the door. He knocked again, loudly, and said in a loud voice, "Gary, it"s Agnes" nephew, Mike Reynolds. Please open up."
Again, there was nothing. He quietly said to Brad, "I"m going in. Keep me covered. Something doesn"t seem right."
He opened the door and yelled, "Oh no!" Brad was right behind him. They both looked in shock at the man on the floor, lying in a pool of blood, a gun in his hand. "Mike, it looks like he"s committed suicide."
"Yes, it does. Don"t touch anything. Did you bring a phone?"
"Here," Brad said, handing it to Mike who called 911 and explained to the dispatcher what they had found. She said the police would be there shortly.
"Brad, I"ve got to call Kelly and tell her what"s happened. She"s going to freak out if police cars come roaring up the lane." He called her and told her about Gary and asked her to point the police in the direction of the shack.
"Mike, I think you might want to look at this." Brad said, handing him a piece of paper which Mike quickly scanned.
"It"s a suicide note," Mike said. "He says he couldn"t take it anymore, and that he was afraid he"d hurt somebody. It says to look at the newspaper article next to the note. It will explain what he"s been going through." Mike walked over to the table where Brad had found the note and saw the newspaper article. He quickly scanned it and said, "It"s about a man who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Gary must have thought he had the same thing. That would explain the screaming that Aunt Agnes heard coming from here. Poor guy. I feel sorry for him."
Mike heard voices and recognized one of them as being Chief Robbins" voice. He walked out of the shack. "Well, Chief, two deaths in the two days since I"ve been here. Not a very good track record, I admit, and we"re still no closer to discovering who killed Aunt Agnes. If it was Gary, we"ll never know."
"Mike, you know the drill. Tell me everything you can."
An hour later, the chief said, "Go on back to the house. I imagine you have a few things to do before the service this afternoon. I"m going to copy this note and send it, along with the Judge"s signature, to my friend in Sacramento who"s the handwriting expert."
"Chief, would you hold off? I think I"ll have another one for you a little later. Might as well send them all in at once."
"Want to tell me about it?"
"I will later. If you would hold those two for now, I"d appreciate it."
"No problem. I"ll be at the house after the service. If you have it, I can pick it up then."
"Thanks," Mike said, looking at Gary"s body as it was being loaded into the rear of the coroner"s van. "Poor guy. Served his country and then his life ends in this little run-down shack. I can"t help but think he wound up ending his life because our country never adequately took care of the men we sent to Vietnam. Maybe if he"d gotten some proper mental health care for his condition his life would have been different." He sadly shook his head from side to side, and then he and Brad quietly walked back to the house.
CHAPTER 21.
"Mike, did Gary really commit suicide?" Kelly asked when he"d returned to the house and told her the details of what he and Brad had found at the shack.
"Yes. He left a note saying he couldn"t take it anymore, and he was afraid he was going to hurt somebody. The note said the newspaper article that was next to it would explain what he"d been going through. Evidently he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, or at least thought he did. The note didn"t indicate whether it was a self-diagnosis or if he"d actually been diagnosed with that condition by a professional."
"Interesting that he wrote he was afraid he was going to hurt somebody. What do you make of that?"
"I don"t know. I suppose it"s quite possible he was the one who murdered Aunt Agnes. The note he left indicates he was afraid he was going to hurt somebody. Maybe if he did murder her he was afraid he would do it again. That could have been the motive for his decision to take his own life. We"ll know more after the handwriting a.n.a.lyst examines his writing to see if there"s a match to the letters Aunt Agnes received. If there"s no match from him, but if there is a match with one of the others, that will be interesting information."
"What"s this about a handwriting a.n.a.lyst?" Kelly asked.
"The chief is going to send a copy of the suicide note and the judge"s handwriting to a friend he has in Sacramento who is with the Department of Justice to see if the handwriting on either one matches the letters that were sent to Aunt Agnes. I told him I was expecting to get one more sample of handwriting I"d like to have a.n.a.lyzed and asked him to hold off sending it to Sacramento until later today. Has John been here yet?"
"Yes. He was here about half an hour ago and left an envelope for you. He asked me to tell you he understands it will be a few days before you can get back to him and respond to his offer to buy the Robertson Ranch. Here it is." She handed him a large manila envelope.
Mike"s eyes widened as he read the offer John had submitted to buy the ranch. "Wow. This property is worth a whole lot more than I thought. He"s offering me two million for the ranch acreage, plus an additional two million for the Robertson House."
"You"re kidding! If he"s willing to offer you that much, I wonder what the developer will offer for it. That"s a lot of money to turn down. Looks like you"re going to have to make some tough decisions pretty soon."
"I didn"t expect any of this. I really never thought about who might get the ranch when Aunt Agnes died or what might happen to it. I"m going to do something I learned to do long ago when I was dealing with very difficult cases. When I started out with the Sheriff"s Department, the sheriff told me I should compartmentalize things in my mind. In other words I should do the most obvious thing at that moment and put the other things on hold. In my mind I"ve always referred to it as a "NMOT" which stands for the next most obvious thing. It"s really helped me from getting sidetracked during an investigation and spending a lot of wasted time on less important things. Guess the NMOT now is Aunt Agnes" funeral. How about making me a little lunch and then we probably better go to the church and get this thing over with?"
"Couldn"t help but overhear that, Mike," Julia said. "That"s something I"m capable of doing. I"ll make lunch, and we can all go together when we leave for the funeral. Brad rented a van for our drive over from San Francisco, so there"s plenty of room." A few minutes later she called out, "Lunch is ready, and I"m serving it on the porch. I could use a couple of hands to help me carry everything out there."
The two young girls ate quickly and asked to be excused so they could go see Missy in the barn. When they were out of earshot, Brad said, "I think we need to say something to the girls about Gary"s death, but I"m just not sure what. I"m afraid they"ll hear something when people come to the house after the funeral. There"s bound to be a lot of talk about it, and I imagine a few people will step outside and try to take a look at the shack."
"I agree," Julia said. "I"ll just tell them it was very sad that Grandpa and Dad found a man who had died when they were on their walk this morning. That should satisfy them. I think they"re far more interested in Missy and Sam. When I get them dressed, I"ll mention it, which it"s about time to do right now."
"Julia, Brad, I"ll clean up while you"re getting the girls ready. Mike, why don"t you take a shower, and I"ll be up in a few minutes to get dressed," Kelly said.
"Thanks, there"s something about death that always makes me feel unclean, but you know that," Mike said.
"Yes, exactly why I suggested it. I suppose the silver lining is that you don"t have to get into some sort of confrontation trying to get Gary to leave the shack."
"No, he took care of that for me," Mike said, as he started to walk up the stairs.
This will keep the town gossips busy for a while, Kelly thought. Another death here at the ranch, and we still don"t know who killed Aunt Agnes. That"s got to be the NMOT for me to do once her funeral is over. I might even have time to get to the art gallery late this afternoon and see if I can get a copy of Daniel"s handwriting. If not, I definitely need to do it first thing in the morning.
CHAPTER 22.
"Mike, just a few more hours, and this will all be behind you. I want you to know I"m right here for you. You"re not going through this alone," Kelly said, kissing him lightly on the cheek as they got ready to go downstairs and meet the rest of the family.
"Thanks, sweetheart. It"s just that I"ve been flooded with a lot of childhood memories from the past. I can"t help but think that this is the end of line for the Reynolds branch of the family. I"m the last one, and I don"t have any children. There"s no one left after me. One way or another at some point in time this beautiful old ranch will fall into the hands of someone other than a family member. I"ve never thought about it before, but now I feel like I"ve let everyone down. It"s so sad to think that my aunt loved this town and this ranch so much she was willing to fight to protect it and then was murdered, possibly because of her love for the town and the ranch. I really don"t know what to do. I"m almost overwhelmed by the whole situation."
"Remember what you told me earlier about the NMOT. Right now the next most obvious thing is getting you through this funeral, and Mike, you"re the one who"s usually very pragmatic. You, more than anyone else, should know this will all be resolved in time, and I guarantee you it will be for the best. I believe that, and I hope you will too."
"Ah, Kelly, what would I do without you? I don"t say it often enough, but there"s no doubt in my mind that you"re the best thing that ever happened to me. Thank you."
"Sheriff, the pleasure is all mine, but I"ll be just as glad as you will when this is all over."
The minister had told them to meet him in his office, so they could enter the front pew from the side of the church rather than having to walk down the aisle.
As Kelly walked beside Mike to take her seat, she quickly glanced towards the rear of the church. It was completely filled, and people were standing along the sides and at the rear.
I don"t know if this is because Aunt Agnes was so highly regarded or because two deaths took place in two days on her property. I"m going for the high road here and hope it"s the former.
Kelly thought the service was lovely, from the warm off-the-cuff talk the minister gave about the life of Agnes Johnson to the ending hymn, Amazing Grace, which was sung beautifully by a member of the church choir. The family left the church by the back entrance and quietly got into Brad"s van. Kelly put her hand on Mike"s as he looked out the window on the drive back to the ranch, doing his best to fight back tears for the loss of his beloved Aunt Agnes. No one spoke during the short drive. Ella and Olivia were uncommonly quiet, sensing the solemnness of what had occurred at the church.
Several of the ladies from the church had come to the house just as the family was leaving for the funeral. They told Mike they were sure his aunt would understand why they weren"t at the funeral, and that they needed to get ready for the people who would be coming to the ranch after the funeral. When they drove down the lane on their return to the Robertson House, Kelly and Mike noticed that several more cars were there. Fortunately with a ranch as large as the Robertson Ranch, parking wasn"t a problem.
Kelly walked into the kitchen and introduced herself to the women she hadn"t met. "Thank you all so much for doing this. You"ve done a beautiful job, and the lemonade is a perfect choice for a warm day like today. I have no idea how many people will show up, but be forewarned, the church was standing room only."
"Honey," the large woman with the ap.r.o.n tied around her generous midsection said, "you can plan on just about everybody in town coming. News of the second death makes this the place to be today. This town has never had a murder before, and I don"t remember ever hearing about a suicide. Yes, this is where it"s at today.
"We"ve got a load of food here, but I just hope it"s enough. When this is over, your face is going to hurt from smiling, and your hand is going to hurt from shaking everybody else"s hand. Better get ready. Looks like the first ones are coming up the lane as I speak. By the way, I make a cake for occasions like this that I call "The Big Smile Cake." I named it that because if nothing else, it brings a smile to people"s faces during tragic times, and we can all use a few happy faces on a sad day like today. I"m going to save a piece and put it in the refrigerator for you."
"I could use something to smile about. Knowing it"s in the refrigerator will help me make it through the next few hours. Thank you so much."
CHAPTER 23.
The first person Mike saw when he got back to the house after the funeral service was Ralph, the gas station owner he talked to when he"d first come to town. As soon as he stepped out of the van, Ralph quickly walked over to him.
"Mike, sorry to intrude on yer" privacy before everyone comes here from the funeral, but I really need to talk to ya". I think it"s important."
Mike turned to Kelly and said, "Would you mind greeting the first people who get here? Ralph wants to talk to me. He says it"s important."
"Of course not." She walked over to Ralph and extended her hand. "Hi, I"m Kelly, Mike"s wife. Thanks for coming. By the way, I love your gas station." She turned away and introduced herself to the mourners who were beginning to arrive at the ranch.
"Could we go out back and sit on the patio?" Ralph asked. "Agnes and I used to sit there when we were plannin" what we were gonna talk "bout before each of our weekly meetins". What I want to tell you"s private, so I"d jes" as soon not have a lot of people breathin" down my neck, and from the looks of the traffic coming up the lane, it"s going to get real crowded real soon."
"Of course. Follow me," Mike said, as he walked through the house and out the sliding gla.s.s doors that led to the patio. He walked over to a small table that was hidden from the house by a large oak tree that the patio had been built around. When they were both seated, he looked at Ralph and said, "We can talk privately here."
"Mike, I knew yer" aunt all my life. I"m only a few years younger than she was, and I was a good friend of yer" uncle"s. I remember when they took the Robertson Ranch over from her parents. Max was a real environmentalist before anyone knew what the word meant, and Agnes was only "bout half a step behind him. When Max decided to do what they call nowadays, "live off the grid," she was all for it. They both had a real independent streak in them and wanted to be able to have everything they needed to live on available from the ranch, as best they could. Didn"t want to be beholden to the city of Calico Gold if they could help it. Course they couldn"t do much about electricity."
"When I used to come here as a child," Mike said, "Aunt Agnes always told me never to rely on anyone else. She told me that was the reason she and Uncle Max lived like they did with all of the plants and animals. I believe that was the reason they dammed up the stream."
"Yeah, I remember when they did it. John Wilson was madder than a hornet. His family had been gettin" water from the stream on the Robertson Ranch ever since either ranch had been there. At the time he had a lot of underground water, so it wasn"t a real big deal, but he still didn"t like it. Mike, mind if I have a smoke? I"m a little nervous tellin" you "bout this, and it"d make me feel better."
"No, go ahead. We"re outside, and I"m sure there will be others this afternoon who will step outside for a smoke."
Ralph lit a Camel cigarette and inhaled deeply. "Don"t know what "tis about these dang things that make me feel better, but they do. Okay, back to what I was jawin" "bout. Max and John had an argument "bout dammin" up the stream. Max told me "bout it and then a few days later, John was ga.s.sin" up his pickup, and he tol" me "bout it. I"m still the only gas station for miles around, so I hear things you wouldn"t believe."
"I"m sure you do. My wife has a small coffee shop in Cedar Bay, Oregon, where we live. Everyone comes to the coffee shop to find out the latest rumors. I imagine your gas station is about the same."
"That it is. Only other place around where people like to jaw is at Betty"s Salon. Between us we probably know everything that"s goin" on in Calico Gold. Anyway that was a lot of years ago, but every time John comes to the station he still says somethin" about that dam. Don"t think he and Max ever spoke to each other again. During the last few years with the drought and all, he"s gotten even angrier. Hear he"s afraid he"s gonna run out of water, and them cattle he"s got will all die. Agnes told me several times he"d offered her a lot of money for the ranch, but she"d promised Max she wouldn"t sell it, and she was bound and determined to keep that promise. Kind of surprised me, her being such an animal lover and all. Guess she had a blind spot when it came to that dam. Anyway that"s the background."
"Yes, she told me pretty much the same thing."
"Well, here"s what she didn"t tell ya"," he said, looking around to make sure no one was listening. He needn"t have worried. No one was on the patio. "John came into the station the other day, and I was all geared up to listen to him jaw "bout how yer" aunt wouldn"t sell him the ranch, sayin" the same old things he always did. Instead, he was all smiles. Asked him what the big smile was all about, and he says to me, "Ralph, that ranch is gonna be mine. Got it figured out how I can get it. Can"t say more than that, but I"m gonna be a happy man real soon and so are my cattle." That"s what he said." Ralph sat back and looked at Mike.
"What do you think he meant?" Mike asked. "Did he say anything else?"
"Asked him that very question. Said somethin" "bout not bein" at liberty or some such thing to say anything more, but everything was gonna be jes" fine real soon."
"Ralph, you wouldn"t come out here and tell me this if you didn"t have some thoughts on it. So let me ask you again, what do you think he meant?"
He was quiet for a long time, and then he said, "Don"t ya" think it"s kind of a coincidence, him sayin" that and yer" aunt being murdered in the barn? It was pretty common knowledge that Agnes went out to the barn early every mornin" to groom and feed Missy. Kinda convenient, his ranch bein" so close, like right next to the Robertson Ranch. Funny thing is he"s got a strip of his ranch that ain"t too far from the barn. Always did think it was strange to have that one strip of his property there. It"s kind of like a finger that protrudes into the Robertson Ranch. Asked Max "bout it once, and he said the families who owned both of the ranches before the Wilsons and yer" aunt"s family had been related and wanted to be near each other. Guess at one time there was even a little house on that finger of land, but that"s long gone."
"I"ve never heard anything about that. I thought all of the property surrounding the house and the barn was part of the Robertson Ranch."
"Tis ceptin" for that little strip I jes" told you "bout. Don"t look no different than yer" aunt"s property, but if ya" look real close you"ll see there"s a tree line that Agnes planted, so she wouldn"t have to look at that section of land. It"s probably less than a hundred yards from that little strip of land to where the barn"s located and those trees Agnes planted years ago. Well, guess what? They block out any clear vision a person might have lookin" out from the house towards John"s ranch. Seems to me it would be pretty easy fer" someone to sneak undetected into the barn from John"s nearby property. Anyway, thought ya" oughta know "bout it. Ain"t accusin" n.o.body, jes" sayin" ya" might wanna think "bout it."
"Thanks, Ralph, I will. I really appreciate your coming out here and telling me. I don"t know what to make of it. I know that John wants the ranch, in fact, he"s offered to buy it from me, but a piece of his land being that close to the barn? That"s complete news to me."
"Probably would be to most people. "Member a night when I was here fer" dinner, and we had a long talk about it. Yer" aunt and Max didn"t like it, but there weren"t nothin" they could do "bout it. I"ve been jawin" at ya" long enough. Sounds like a lot of people are here. If ya" need anything, gimme a call. Kind of feel like yer" family, being Agnes" nephew and all," he said as he stood up. "One more thing, son, be careful. From what I hear, the ranch is yours. If someone killed Agnes to get it, ya" might be next. Make sure ya" got yer" back covered."
"I will, and thanks again, Ralph."