If Catfish Had Nine Lives (Country Cooking School Mystery) (21 page)

I looked at Jerome. “What else, Jerome? What else should we do? Dig some more, look for bones?”

“Well,” Jake said, jumping in before Jerome could answer, “I don’t think we should do much more than take this back to town. I can get experts with the proper equipment out here to look for any remains. This find in itself will be enough to get the proper authorities quickly involved.”

“All right,” Jerome said, but I could hear disappointment in his voice.

“We’ll find him if he’s here, Jerome, but Jake’s right. We don’t have the proper equipment, and I don’t want to do anything that might harm evidence that could help us better understand what happened to Astin.”

“I understand,” Jerome said with a little less disappointment.

“I think it’d be great to show this to Esther,” Jake said. “She’ll be beyond thrilled.”

“Let’s take it to her right now,” I said.

We stood and Jake held the
mochila
out as he inspected it again.

“This is an amazing find, Jerome,” he said to no space in particular. “I’m sure this will lead to Astin’s remains. We just have to get the right people out here to look.”

Jerome nodded.

“He understands,” I said. “Come on, let’s get back to town.”

I carried the shovel so Jake could be extra diligent as he carried the
mochila
. Jerome looked back to the spot we’d been digging as we made our way back to the Nova. I looked, too. Had our discovery also uncovered a ghost? It didn’t work that way as far as I knew, but nothing would surprise me.

No new ghosts appeared, though. There was no sense that anything unusual stirred the air. There was no new smell.

My last look behind was at the house’s remains. I knew there was nothing to find there, but I also knew I’d come back out and explore the posts and the overgrown weeds. Would I find something of Jerome’s? It was unlikely, but I needed to look for myself. Not today, though. There was plenty of other business to attend to today.

“I’m thrilled that you might have found Astin, Betts, and I’m glad Jerome hasn’t left, but Orly called and wants me to come out to the campsite. He wants to show me something,” Gram said.

“Something about what?” I readjusted the cell phone so I could hear her better.

“I don’t know. That’s all he told me—something.”

“Gram, Jake and I were out there earlier. I had a strange hunch and asked him about owning a .38 Special—that’s the kind of gun that killed Norman. He said that one potentially went missing from his truck. I told him to call the police. Don’t go out alone. Wait—Jake and I will meet you out there. Give us about ten minutes before you leave,” I said in quick-speed staccato. My foot pressed harder on the accelerator as my words became more hurried.

“That’s fine. I’ll see you there,” Gram said before she hung up.

“Why would Orly want to talk to Gram?” I said as I put down the phone. Jerome was in the backseat and Jake was double-checking that his seat belt was secure.

“Didn’t it seem like Orly kind of liked Miz?” Jake asked.

“Well, maybe, but his timing bothers me,” I said. “We’re going back out there.”

“And, apparently, we’re going to break all speed records to get there,” Jake said.

I handed my phone to Jake. “Here, hit the button for Cliff. Please.”

Jake did as I asked and I took the phone back. Cliff’s voice mail picked up again after only one ring.

“Hey, meet me at the convention campsite if you get this before nine or so. Thanks.” I hung up.

“The campsite is well populated, Betts. Miz will be fine,” Jake said.

“I guess I’m overreacting a little bit, but something’s not right.”

“Maybe,” Jake said. “What could go wrong, though? Miz will be careful; extra careful after your call. There are lots of people around all the time.”

“If there are always so many people around, how did Teddy get beaten up without any witnesses?” I said.

“Good point.” Jake pulled out his own phone and pressed a couple buttons. “Hi, Jenny, it’s Jake Swanson. Yes, I’m fine. I’m just wondering if there’s a quick way to get a hold of Jim, or maybe Cliff Sebastian. Sure. Yes, actually, if you could just ask one of them to call me, that would be perfect. Thank you. Uh-huh. Thanks again. ’Bye.”

“Was that Jenny, the dispatcher?”

“Yes.”

“You know her?” I said.

“Everyone knows her.”

“I mean, you’ve seen her in person?”

“I’ve had coffee with her. She’s a sweet lady.”

“She’s a terrible police dispatcher. And I don’t even know what she looks like,” I said. I’d never met her, but I’d come to know her through her dispatch position. Recently, she’d failed more than once to get a message I’d called in to the police in a timely manner. Gram disagreed with my poor opinion of her. Apparently, so did Jake.

“How is that—”

“Isabelle!” Jerome said from the backseat.

I stepped hard on the brake pedal. The Nova did stop, but first its tires squealed and slid. Fortunately, all wheels stayed on the road, though before we came to a safe halt, the car was at a ninety-degree angle from where it should have been.

“What happened?” Jake said.

“In the road. Joe and his horse are in the road. I’m sorry, Jake. I couldn’t have hurt them, but I was so surprised. I forgot they were ghosts.”

“We almost joined them,” Jake said.

“Sorry. You okay?”

“Fine.”

“I’m going to go see what he wants. I’ll be right back,” I said.

I got out of the car with shaky legs and a too-rapid pulse.

“There might have been a better way to let me know you wanted to talk to me, a better way to reappear. Just showing up in the middle of the road isn’t the best idea.”

“You found Astin?” Joe said, ignoring my admonition.

“Maybe. We found a
mochila
, and we suspect that Astin’s remains are in the general vicinity.”

“Take me to him,” Joe said.

“I will. Later. I need to get to Gram right now.”

“No, Betts. Now.”

I blinked. “No, Joe, not now. I’ve got to get to Gram.” I turned and went back to my car.

“Stupid ghosts,” I muttered to Jake. “Sorry, Jerome,” I said to the rearview mirror.

“What’s wrong, Isabelle?” Jerome asked.

“Joe wants to be taken to Astin, right away.”

“I can take him,” Jerome said. “No. No, I can’t. I think I’d better stay with you, Isabelle.”

I looked in the mirror.

“You
can’t
-can’t, or don’t want to?”

“I can’t,” he said.

“That means my life might be in danger?” I said.

“Betts, tell me what’s happening,” Jake said.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “Jerome?”

“I don’t know, Isabelle. I just know I need to stay with you.”

“Let’s go,” I said as I turned the key.

Nothing happened.

I turned the key again. Nothing. Not even the click of a dead battery.

“Betts?” Jake said.

I peered out my side window at Joe, who sat tall on his horse and looked at me with firm distaste. I was beginning to really not like this ghost—well, even more than I hadn’t liked him before.

“Can you guys make cars not start?” I asked Jerome.

“Not that I’m aware of.”

I got out again and hurried to the ghostly form.

“Have you done something to the Nova? Is that even possible?”

“I’ve waited a long time to find Astin’s remains, Betts. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“Who are you? Tell me why you need to find him so badly,” I said. I was fuming, literally breathing too heavy for my own good. I was about to prove whether or not smoke could truly come out of ears.

Joe’s face softened. “I can’t tell you. It’s part of . . . I don’t know, maybe it’s part of my punishment. I don’t understand it, but I know I have to find him. Once I do, the last letter will be complete and things will be set right. For him, too. I just know.”

“Were you responsible for his death? Did you kill him?” I said.

“No, Betts, I would never have killed him.”

“Listen,” I said. “You’re dead, he’s dead. I’m sorry to have only a little sympathy for that situation, but I’m worried about Gram. She might be in danger, Joe. Come on, whatever you’ve done to my car, undo it. Now. I promise we’ll attend to Astin the second I know Gram is safe. She’s been there for you for years. You owe her . . . holy cow, Joe, you owe her everything. Without her, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything about any of the letters. You can’t let me abandon her.
You
can’t abandon her!”

Joe’s face twitched and then softened more.

“All right, but just as soon as Miz is taken care of, we’ll come back.”

It wasn’t a question, but I still said, “Yes.”

“Go. I’ll follow.”

I hurried back to the car.

“Jerome, can you get to Gram?” I said.

“I need to stay with you, Isabelle. I’m sorry.”

I nodded. “Jake, call everyone—Cliff, Jim, Jenny. Don’t call Teddy. Don’t call Opie. But call everyone else. Get them to the campsite.”

The car started with the first turn of the key. I straightened the tires and sped my way toward the campsite. Joe and the horse followed behind, looking like what I imagined most Express riders looked like when they’d delivered letters. I’d seen it a little when we’d gone to visit Opie, but the visual was even stronger now. He was bent over the horse as the front flap on his hat flew back from the effort, and his eyes were focused straight ahead, forward on the path that would take them to their next stop, their one and only destination in mind. I was cooling off from my scorching anger, and I managed to take a moment to wish Jake could get a glimpse. Because, no matter how many pictures one sees, no matter how many reenactments one might participate in, there is nothing like the real thing. And seeing the real thing in my rearview mirror suddenly made me understand and appreciate it on a level I’d never been able to reach before. The riders had given their all, and it seems that in some cases, their all had included their lives. The horses had given their all, too. I’d seen something in the eyes of Joe’s horse, something that had made me wonder just how highly intelligent the creatures were. Though it was too light outside and the horse was moving too fast for me to see his eyes, I knew he was just as intent and focused on the ride as Joe was. History books would never be able to do the Pony Express justice.

We were a few minutes later than I thought we would be. Joe’s barricade hadn’t diverted us for long, but I hoped that Gram had waited for us before looking for Orly.

I parked in the same spot I had earlier and bolted out of the car toward Orly’s tent. I yanked the flap open.

“Betts?” he said as he sat on a stool and held a pair of underwear over an open bag. “Everything all right?” He noticed the underwear and placed them in the bag before he stood up.

“Gram? Has my gram been here?” I said.

“Not yet. I called her, though. I think she’s on her way. She said she’d be here.” Orly stepped forward.

I backed out of the tent and into Jake. Behind him were Jerome and Joe and the horse.

“I called the police, too. I remembered the people I thought had access to my truck. I had to leave a message with someone named Jenny, though. I’m sure I’ll be able to talk to Officer Morrison or Sebastian, your boyfriend, soon though.”

“Okay, so why did you call Gram?” I said.

Orly blushed. “I hoped to spend a little more time with her. I thought Miz and I could chat over coffee and maybe she’d want breakfast or something. It’s a quiet morning, but I’m not sure the afternoon will be the same. She’d mentioned that she was an early riser. I took a chance that that was so and called her.”

“She said that you said you wanted to show her something,” I said.

“Oh, yes. Hang on, I’ll grab it.” Orly disappeared back into the tent.

I looked at Jake and then at the ghosts behind me. At the moment, we were a rather pitiful group of heroes.

“I wanted to give this to her.” Orly said as he emerged with the item he wanted to show Gram.

“It’s a Dutch oven,” I said.

“Yes,” Orly said, “it is. It’s one of the best ones I’ve ever had. I wanted her to have it for all her trouble over these last few days.”

“That’s very kind of you,” I said.

Between Joe’s trick in the middle of the road and my concern over Gram, my heart was still beating too fast, and I suddenly noticed that I could hear its pounding rhythm. I took a deep breath.

“Can we go back to Astin now?” Joe asked.

I shook my head, but not so much that Orly would wonder what I was doing. I wanted to see Gram arrive safely for myself before I left again.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to find Esther,” Jake said as he patted my arm. He stepped through the horse as he set out.

“I’m sorry I barged into your tent,” I said to Orly.

“It’s fine,” Orly said. “Can I round up some more grub for you?”

“No thanks,” I said.

The engine of Gram’s Volvo purred down the side road. We all turned to watch her park behind the Nova. She didn’t have her stereo turned up, so neither of her two favorite country singers, Toby Keith nor Tim McGraw, accompanied her arrival. Today, she wore a University of Utah long-sleeved T-shirt. The bright red of the shirt looked great with her gray hair.

“Excuse me,” I said to Orly. “Give us a second.”

“Of course,” he said.

I greeted her halfway.

“Hi, Gram.”

“Betts. Everything okay?”

“I think I’m a little on edge this morning. I’m sorry if I sounded crazy.”

“No problem.” Gram smiled and waved at Orly and the ghosts. They all waved back. “After I spend some time with Orly, I would like to go out and see where Astin’s remains are. Sounds kind of interesting, actually.”

I glanced back at the crowd watching us.

“It is interesting. In fact, we think we found his
mochila
. It’s in the Nova’s trunk. I’ll show it to you when you’re done.”

“Oh! Wonderful. Let’s have a quick look now.” Gram sent the one-minute signal to Orly, who nodded and then busied himself with straightening up the camping equipment outside his tent.

“Sure.”

We ventured back to the Nova and I opened the trunk.

“Oh, Betts, that’s extraordinary,” Gram said.

“I think it’s cool, but you think it’s that big a deal?”

“Absolutely.” She reached in to touch it, but she moved carefully. “In the first place, these are rare finds, but that’s more the reason Jake will appreciate it. To me, well, it represents so much of my time with Joe, the other rider. I’m thrilled to touch a real one and know what it feels like.”

I didn’t mention to her that Jake had one in his archives, because I didn’t want to lessen her excitement.

“We’re guessing it was the one Astin was carrying when he died. We didn’t see any remains, but we think we found the spot where they’ll be found.”

“What did Joe say?”

“He wasn’t there at the time. We saw him afterward, and he’s anxious for us to show him the spot.”

“That’s a shame he wasn’t there. Where was he?”

“I didn’t ask. Go ahead, hold it. Jake’s not around, so he can’t cringe or chastise.”