Dark Moon Crossing (22 page)

He had no idea how close he was to being right.
“Well, stop worrying. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is going to stop me from
coming with you.”

“I’m counting on that…can you hang on a second?‌”

“Sure.” Mumbled conversation in the background and
then he came back on the line. “Listen, I’ve got to go finish up with these
damned bureaucrats.”

“Okay. I was going to share my little surprise with
you now, but I can tell you tonight,” I said lightly, wondering what he’d think
of Marmalade.

“It just so happens I have a surprise for you too.”

“You do?‌”

“I do.”

Tingling all over with happiness at the expectation of
seeing him in just a few short hours, I reluctantly said goodbye. And, if I
hadn’t gotten the little phone antenna caught in my hair and had to fiddle with
it for a few seconds, I wouldn’t have heard the telltale click of an extension
phone being cradled somewhere else in the house.

By the time I reached the main highway a half hour
later, the flames of anger had diminished to simmering coals of agitation.
What reason would anyone in the Beaumont household have for eavesdropping on my
telephone conversations?‌ It could have been any one of them but I had a gut
feeling it was Jason. I’d run into him again in the upstairs hallway when I’d
gone to get my bag and he’d pinned me with such a withering look, my insides
shriveled with alarm. Even though he now knew that I had no connection with
the Lopez woman, why did he act as if I still represented some sort of threat?‌
And why did Bethany get off on treating me in such a malicious manner?‌

Even though I liked Champ and Twyla, I’d had my fill
of the brother and sister duo and had a difficult time restraining the urge to
blurt out my accusation when I’d returned to the kitchen to announce my
departure. Unfortunately, I had no way of proving my suspicions and as a
result I wasn’t feeling any too friendly. My frosty thanks for their hospitality,
followed by my speedy exit, had left the elder Beaumonts standing on the porch
wearing bemused expressions.

Now, as I headed towards Arivaca once more, fighting
the ever-rising wind, my temples throbbed and my stomach remained in turmoil.
For the next ten miles, I tried to convince myself that the memory of the
bludgeoned cattle and the musty residue of llama spit in my nose, piled on top
of all the other weirdness that had happened this weekend, were responsible for
my feeling out of sorts. But the intermittent chills sweeping over my body and
my scratchy throat told a different story. No matter how I tried to deny it
the evidence was there. I was coming down with something.

Great timing, O’Dell. No, make that perfect timing—to
spoil the vacation with Tally. And it was all my own doing. My dad had
opined, following one of my legendary tantrums at age five, that I had been
born with an extra bone in my body. A stubborn bone. Wasn’t it because of my
pigheaded decision to flaunt my independence that I’d exposed myself to Lupe’s
illness and placed my promise to Tally in jeopardy?‌

But, maybe I was mistaken. Maybe I was just tired. I
set my jaw, determined to fight it off. “Mind over matter,” I muttered to
myself. Perhaps some soup and a couple of aspirin would do the trick, I
thought, parking near the front door of the café.

The place was only about half full, but I’m pretty
sure I recognized some of the same fossils that had breakfasted here
yesterday. Raked over by their inquisitive stares, I snagged a table in the
furthest corner and settled down with a cup of hot tea to wait for Payton. I
actually looked forward to talking with him, but had to admit that my
intentions were threefold. I certainly owed him big time for his act of kindness,
but, because of his longstanding ties with this community, I felt sure he’d be
a valuable resource, especially when it came to filling in more background on
Jason Beaumont. No doubt he’d know plenty about the young man’s past, but I
had to admit that the main focus of my curiosity was Bethany. Being the
obvious target of her ill will was a continued source of puzzlement to me. It
made sense to think the eavesdropper was Jason, but it could just as easily
have been her. But, why would either of them care about my telephone
conversations?‌

Everyone stopped in mid-chew and looked up as the door
swung open and Payton stepped inside, tamping down his windblown hair. I waved
and when he returned it and weaved among the mismatched tables and chairs towards
me, a series of quizzical gray eyebrows hiked up. Oh, boy. Something new to
gossip about.

“Hi, sorry I’m a little late.” He slid into the chair
across from me. “I was on the trail of a wily rattler and time got away from
me.”

“Did you catch it?‌”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, a ring of assurance in his
voice. “It takes a lot of patience this time of year, because their
hibernation period has begun, but it’s worth the effort. An ounce of venom can
save a life somewhere.”

Admiration swelled inside me. What a guy. I pushed
the menu to him. “I really wanted to buy you a big, thick steak, but I’m
afraid the patty melt is the closest thing to a gourmet dish offered here.”

Payton laughed. “That’s fine. You don’t owe me
anything, Kendall. I was happy to help out.”

“Hi,
Payton,” said the buxom waitress, showing him a generous portion of cleavage as
she set down silverware, napkins and water. “You gonna stay around and finish
your food today or will you be running off to rescue more stray pussy cats?‌”

Chuckling,
he winked at me. “No secrets in this town, huh?‌” I think to please me he
decided on the patty melt with fries and coffee. I ordered soup, even though I
wasn’t the least bit hungry. In fact, I felt a little lightheaded and figured
I’d best eat something since I had a long drive ahead of me. After she left he
folded his arms together in front of him and leaned in, assuming a serious
look. “Listen, I wanted to apologize to you about last evening.”

I
drew back, surprised. “Apologize for what?‌”

“Leaving
you so abruptly. It’s just that…well, Bethany can be so…so….”

“Exasperating?‌
Believe me, I hear you.” I lowered my voice. “I hope you don’t mind my
asking, but since you brought it up….”

He
put up a hand. “I know. I know. How on earth did I ever get hooked up with
someone like her?‌”

“Bingo.”

His attention turned inward for a few seconds before
he relinquished a soft sigh. “I think I fell in love with her the first time I
saw her riding her Palomino at the rodeo. We were both five years old at the
time.”

His
dreamy-eyed expression prompted me to follow my earlier hunch. “Dean’s place.
That wasn’t by any chance your ranch at one time?‌”

One
reddish brow inched above his glasses. “So you’ve been asking about me?‌”

“No.
I just added together a couple of the things you said yesterday and sprinkled
in a little reporter’s intuition.”

“I
see. Guess I’m pretty transparent.”

He
paused while the waitress delivered my pea soup and his coffee before saying,
“Yes, that was our place until it was…acquired by the Sundog a few years ago.
But, that’s a long, sad story I’m sure you have no interest in.” The undertone
of careless resentment in his tone piqued my curiosity even further.

“Quite
the contrary, if you don’t mind answering a couple of questions.”

He
studied my face intensely for a few seconds. “If I answer yours, you have to
answer mine.”

“If
I can.”

He
leaned even closer, saying in a soft voice, “So is it you or your friend who’s
having an abduction problem?‌”

Caught
off guard, my pulse rocketed skyward and soup sloshed off the spoon.
“Whaa…what are you talking about?‌” I asked, trying to appear cool while my mind
spun off in a hundred directions. How could he possibly know anything about
Lupe’s missing relatives?‌

A sly grin. “Mazzie La Casse. I’ve been dying to
know why you and your friend were having breakfast with her yesterday. I
thought you said you were here doing a story on our border issues?‌”

I’d forgotten he’d overheard Lupe’s remark at the
scene of the accident. I swallowed a few spoonfuls of soup, regaining my
composure. “Oh, that.” I told him about the UFO stories Walter had been
writing before he’d come to work for us, concluding with, “They sounded
fascinating, so I thought it might be interesting to follow up on them. She
was recommended as a good source of information on that subject.”

“Was she helpful to you?‌”

I eyed him with interest. “Yes. Why do I get the
impression that you know her?‌”

“Everyone
in town knows about Mazzie. When she found out that I spend a lot of time
tramping around in the desert in the wee dark hours of the morning, she
cornered me here one day to ask if I’d ever witnessed strange lights in the
sky. Apparently some other people had reported seeing what they believed were
UFOs around that time.”

“And?‌”

A
guarded look crept into his eyes. “Promise you won’t laugh?‌”

My
heart beat a little faster. Oh, Lordy! Another promise. “Cross my heart.”

His
voice dropped to a whisper. “I have to admit I’ve seen a few things out there
I can’t explain.”

“Really?‌
Like what?‌”

Lips
pressed in a sly smile, he said, “I don’t think I want you quoting me in your
newspaper. Agreed?‌”

“Agreed.”

Appearing
edgy, his gaze roamed the room before returning to me. “On several occasions,
I’ve seen odd, pulsating lights in the sky and then poof, they were gone in an
instant.”

Taken aback, I tried not to stare. Of all the people
I’d met, he seemed the most levelheaded. “Was this near a place called
Morita?‌”

Puzzlement
shimmered in his eyes. “Why do you say that?‌”

“Remember
the story I told you Walter was working on?‌ You know, the one about the
Mexican immigrant the Border Patrol found hiding there.”

“Oh,
right, of course. No, these were further east, closer to Ruby. Don’t get me
wrong. I’m not claiming to have seen the mother ship landing or anything like
that. More likely, the military is testing a new type of plane. We’re not
that far from the Barry Goldwater Air Force Range.”

“Well,
a UFO sighting would make for more interesting copy, but frankly it’s a real
stretch for me to believe that extraterrestrials are cruising around snatching
people away.” I grinned. “However, I’m willing to keep an open mind.”

His
features relaxed into a smile. “Whew. It’s a relief to know you don’t think
I’m two bricks shy of a full load.”

His
story was downright tame compared to Javier’s. “Not at all.” Could the
immigrant and Javier have mistaken the lights for an airplane?‌ But, what about
the description of the alien beings with the big eyes?‌ Where did that fit in?‌

He
took several sips of coffee and settled back into the chair. “So, what did you
want to ask me?‌”

Heads
craned in our direction, and a couple of senior citizens shuffled by our table
at a snail’s pace. I waited until they were out of earshot. “On Saturday,
your friend, Joe, said Jason’s folks had gotten him off the hook before. What
kind of trouble has he been in?‌”

Payton
contemplated the lint on his trousers a few seconds before answering.
“Vandalism, drunk driving, disorderly conduct, to name a few. Fortunately,
Champ has always been able to get him off with jail time served, or by paying
off the injured party to drop the charges.”

“Do
you know if he’s involved with any of these White power groups?‌”

He looked at me sharply. “What makes you ask?‌”

“I happened to pass the door to his room last evening
and he’s got some pretty inflammatory stuff plastered on his walls.”

The frown lines on his forehead became more
pronounced. “He was implicated in a pretty serious incident that happened here
a couple of years ago.”

I
stared at him. “You mean the church burning?‌”

His
initial look of surprise turned to one of perception. “Ah,” he said, tapping
his temple for emphasis, “Your friend Walter again?‌”

“Actually
he filled me in on that before I got here.”

“The
charges against Jason were dismissed for lack of evidence, but the head honcho
of the group and several others weren’t so fortunate.”

“Do
you think he was involved?‌”

He
hesitated, waiting until after the waitress served his sandwich. “Everybody
knows Jason’s got a short fuse. He’s young and cocky and I don’t care for some
of the people he associates with, but…I don’t want to rock the boat. It’s…kind
of important for me to stay on his good side.”

“Why?‌
He’s a loose cannon, at best.”

He
shook his head impatiently. “He’s my eyes and ears at the ranch when I’m
away. I like to keep tabs on what Bethany is up to regarding Brett’s welfare.”
He chewed pensively a moment before adding, “In fact, Brett said something the
other day that really blew me away.”

“What
was that?‌”

“He
asked me if it was possible to have two daddies.”

Apparently
Jason had not mentioned Bethany’s involvement with Sloan, the hunky cowstud.
It was on the tip of my tongue to reveal it, but I kept silent. It was none of
my business. I’d be gone in a few hours and most likely I’d never see these
people again in my life. I glanced at the wall clock and pushed away the
remainder of my soup. “Payton, why did you sell your ranch?‌”

He
pounded ketchup onto his plate. “Couldn’t afford to pay the taxes. It really
sucked at the time, but I guess everything happens for a reason. At least I
don’t have to put up with all the bullshit the other ranching families are
wrestling with nowadays. I’m on neutral ground. I live in Tucson, but I still
get to enjoy my old stomping grounds when I come down to visit Brett, and of
course I pick up a few extra bucks doing my snake thing.”

“Where
do you stay when you’re here?‌ I didn’t see a motel around anywhere.”

“I
rent a bedroom from an old friend of mine or I sleep overnight in the camper if
I don’t feel like driving back into town.” He popped a French fry into his
mouth. “Any more questions?‌”

Smiling, I rested my elbows on the table. “Just one,
and I’ll understand if you don’t want to answer, but I’m dying to know why
Bethany calls you Jack.”

His
eyes twinkled with humor. “You don’t miss much, do you?‌”

“I
try not to.”

He
took a big bite of the patty melt, chewed and then wiped his mouth with the
napkin before saying, “You know the old saying, Jack of all trades, master of
none?‌”

“Sure.”

“That’s
her not-very-subtle way of reminding me of the number of jobs I’ve held over
the years.” He paused while the waitress refilled his coffee then hurried
off. “My parents took over running the very successful Kleinwort ranching
properties when my grandpa died, and even though he worked hard, Dad could
never seem to make a go of it. Of course I didn’t know that then. I just knew
that it was an awesome place for a kid to live. Once I finished my chores, me
and a couple of buddies from neighboring ranches would ride off on our horses
and be gone all day exploring.” He exhaled a nostalgic sigh. “We traveled
every square inch of the surrounding desert and mountains, and I know it like
the back of my hand.”