Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 04 - Awkward Moments (4 page)

Chapter Six

Jimmy returned with the screen and a trowel and handed them to Doc, who passed them on to Mikey.
We waited while Chris shored up the hole before helping our son climb down.

“Now anything that stays in the screen is something I need to see, except for rocks. If you find rocks, throw them out of the hole. Do you understand, son?
And do you know what a bullet looks like?” Doc asked.

Mikey nodded. His
expression was serious as he took the screen and trowel from Doc. He’d been given an important job to do and he probably didn’t want to let the doctor down. In a way, I had a feeling the older man was just doing this to make Mikey feel involved.

“If you have any questions, Ace, don’t hesitate to ask.” Chris watched while Mikey bent over and began shoveling dirt onto the screen with the trowel.

Glancing at my watch, I saw it was going on three o’clock. Had this really only started at eight-thirty in the morning? It felt like we’d been at this for hours. Well, we had.

I watched while Doc began fold
ing the edges of the sheet over the body. I called it a sheet, but it was some kind of plastic. After fastening the edges, he turned to the hole and watched my son sifting through the dirt. “Careful, son. We don’t want to miss anything.”

The hole was
n’t all that deep and I could see Mikey nod his head.

No more than a minute or two went by before Mikey popped up.
“Got something.” He sounded excited and passed the screen up to Doc.

“Well, I’ll be darned.” Doc pulled a small bag out of his pocket and dropped something into it.

“Is it the bullet?” Jimmy asked.

“It sure is
, along with some buttons and things I don’t recognize.” Doc sealed the bag and stuck it back in his pocket.

“There’s something else.” Mikey held his hand up like we do when we tell the dogs to
stay
– in the air and palm outward. “I see a bump just under the dirt.”

I stepped toward the edge of the hole and looked down to see what was going on.

“Careful, Duchess, we don’t want the dirt to fall back in the hole.” Chris pulled me back a step.

“Dad? I think I’ll need your help.”

“What’s going on, Ace?”

“There’s another bag down here. It’s either stuck in the dirt or really heavy.”
Mikey’s voice squeaked.

“I hope it’s really heavy,” I said to no one in particular.

Doc grinned at me.

Chris reached down and helped Mikey out of the hole before carefully climbing
into the opening in the ground. Chris used the trowel to uncover the leather pouch, and he had to pry it out of the dirt.

We all watched, fascinated with what we were seeing. Chris lifted the bag, and it sure looked heavy to me. He set the bag on the edge of the hole, climbing out after it.

“It looks like when the body was placed in the hole, it landed on top of the bag and his weight pushed it deeper, into the loose dirt.” Chris wiped his hands on his jeans.

Jimmy knelt down and tried to open the pouch. When it didn’t give, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife, impatiently slicing through the leather. “It’s starting to look like the rumors about old Henry are true.”

“What rumors?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, what rumors?” Mikey’s eyes were wide and filled with anticipation.

My eyes probably looked the same.

Doc watched
Jimmy while he explained. “Old Henry supposedly had a lot of gold and silver. No one quite knew where it came from. We know he lived here in Nevada before he met Frannie, probably around Virginia City. It’s been said he spent time in San Francisco and Sacramento, too.

“Anyway, the rumor is that he buried his treasure around here, figuring he’d go back and get it later. This would have been around the turn of the last century. He didn’t like banks and he didn’t trust most people, so he wanted his gold where no one else could find it.” Doc scratched his chin.

“Did he and Frannie live in this house?” I asked.

“No, the farmhouse was built in the thirties, long after old Henry disappeared, and apparently long after his death. If the Perrys had planted their oak tree just a few yards from where it stands now, they probably would have found Henry themselves.”

Jimmy stood and proudly held out his hands. “It’s silver this time. Lots and lots of silver. Enough silver to… I don’t know. Just lots of silver.” He looked at each of us and appeared to be feeling sheepish. For a split second he looked like he was going to hyperventilate.

“Let’s get the silver in the trunk with the gold,” Doc suggested.

“Yeah. I got a little carried away with the sight of all that silver for a minute. I’m okay now.” Jimmy dropped the silver coins on top of the leather pouch and chuckled. “I can almost understand what makes some men go bad. A sight like that is awfully tempting.”

Simply watching Jimmy gave me a feel for what might make someone become greedy. He was young, but seeing him turn from the silver with a new resolve on his face gave me confidence in him as a flatfoot and an honest man.

He bent to pick up the pouch but when he tried to lift it the silver spilled out all over the ground. Mikey squatted and began helping Jimmy pick it up.

“Wait,” Chris said. “I saw a bucket in the shed. Give me a minute to go get it and we’ll put the silver in the bucket.”

Jimmy nodded and stood straight.

“When we got up this morning I sure didn’t expect to spend my day like this,” I said, trying to make small talk and fill the time while we waited for Chris.

“Ma’am,” Jimmy said, “I’ve learned never to anticipate what the day might be like. I just get up and hope for the best. At least today has been interesting.”

Doc smiled.
“You can say that again. Who would have thought we’d find old Henry and part of his stash today. My wife’s never gonna believe this.”

“Doc, I think maybe we should keep this to ourselves for now.” Jimmy looked thoughtful. “If you recall, a couple of years ago someone thought they found old Henry’s treasure and it set everybody off.”

He turned to me and Mikey.

“You never saw such treasure hunting in your life. I’ve known most of the people around here for my whole life, and all of a sudden they were like strangers.  And the funny thing was, it was all because someone found one lousy gold coin. Old Henry could have just dropped one and it finally turned up.” Jimmy shook his head. “People surprise you sometimes.”

It was Doc’s turn to look sheepish. “I hate to admit it, but even the chief and I did a little digging back then. The fever kind of catches you off guard.”

“Fever?” Mikey tipped his head
, looking up at Doc.

“Gold fever. The thing is, this wasn’t gold anyone had to go mine. If the rumors were true about old Henry hiding his treasure, then all we had to do was find it and dig it up. Craziness.”

“Gold fever. I need to remember that.” Mikey put on his trying-to-look-grown-up face and looked off into the distance.

Jimmy shook his head, mumbling to himself. I thought I heard him say something about
crazy old farts
.

Chris returned with a bucket and set it on the ground. Jimmy and Mikey began gathering the silver and putting it in the bucket. When they’d found every piece, Jimmy folded the leather pouch and placed it on top of the bucket.

Chris rocked back on his heels and rolled his upper lip under, Bogey style. “Let’s hit the bricks and take everything into town. I want to jaw with this nephew of Henry’s and get the lowdown on what led to the cockamamie morning we’ve had. We need to keep this close to the vest though.  Dummy up, everybody.”

“That’s the same thing Jimmy said.” Mikey glanced at the flatfoot.

Doc smiled while he listened to Chris. Jimmy appeared confused, for the most part. Mikey grinned from ear to ear. He knew when Chris took on his Bogey persona that things were about to happen.

Everyone waited while I ran into the house and found my purse. I locked up the house and our little caravan took off, headed for town and what I hoped would be a story worth hearing.

Chapter Seven

I could hear the dogs whining
from inside the farmhouse when we pulled away. They wanted to go with us, but this wasn’t a trip for them. I’d left them food and water and knew they’d be fine until we came home.

Jimmy led the way with Doc following
, and we brought up the rear. It was about a twenty minute ride into the small town of Serenity, and when we passed a diner I realized I was hungry, which meant Mikey and Chris were probably hungry, too.

“Maybe we should eat before we meet Mr. Kimball,” I said hopefully.

“Good idea, Mom.” Mikey sat in the back seat and leaned forward as far as his seatbelt would allow.

“I know we’re all hungry, but let’s at least stop and introduce ourselves to this guy
first. It’ll only take a minute.” Chris sounded a bit cross, which was funny since our surname is Cross.

I blinked, realizing sometimes my thoughts
could be a little silly.

“I think we should meet this guy and get our
photocopy of the will before we do anything else.” Chris looked at me, apparently hoping for confirmation.

“You’re right, Bogey Man. Business first, then dinner.”

Jimmy pulled into the parking lot next to Kimball’s Groceries. We followed him into the lot while Doc drove on past, ready to unload the bones.

The copper stepped out of his patrol unit and waited for us to join him. “Stu is one of the good ol’ boys around here. There’s nothing he likes more than talking about his uncle and local history, so prepare yourselves. He’ll talk your ear off.”

“That’s okay. We love a good story.” Mikey glanced at Chris to see if he’d said the right thing.

Chris smiled and nodded. Turning to Jimmy, he said, “Have you got the will?”

Jimmy held up the pouch in reply.

When we first arrived
on vacation, we’d passed through Serenity and I picked up a few groceries to take to the farmhouse with us. We were tired after the long drive so I hadn’t taken in my surroundings. This time I took a better look around. It seemed like a nice little Mom and Pop store, neat and clean with a somewhat limited selection, but since it was small I didn’t expect much more. Walking past the produce section, I saw signs indicating most of the produce was locally grown. I took that to mean the produce was vine-ripened and flavorful. I’d have to pick up more supplies while we were in town.

Jimmy
nodded at a pleasant looking man and waved him over. The man lifted his hand in acknowledgment and headed toward us. He was probably in his late sixties or early seventies, but his step was quick and sure, not that of an old man. His hair was gray and thinning on top, and he wore gold-framed glasses. Although not overweight, he had the paunch that so many men have at his age. When he stopped in front of us I saw clear blue eyes watching us from behind the glasses.

“And who are these folks?” Stu asked, holding out his hand to Jimmy for a shake.

“Well, Stu, these are the Crosses. They’re visiting out at the Perry farm.” He pointed at Mikey. “This is Mikey – and hold onto your hat – he found your Uncle Henry this morning.”

Chris and I turned to Jimmy in surprise.
His revelation hadn’t been exactly subtle or gentle. Of course, Stu was too young to have known the man.

Apparently it didn’t bother Stu. “Well, I’ll be a son-of-a-gun. So old Henry finally turned up.”
After grabbing Mikey’s hand and shaking it, he held out his hand toward Chris. “You must be young Mikey’s father.”

Chris took his hand and I saw his chest puff up a little. He could now answer in the affirmative and mean it, thanks to the adoption. “Yes,
indeed, that’s my son.”

“By the way, sir, they call me Ace.” Mikey’s chest seemed to swell just a little, too.

I smiled at the men in my life and Stu turned to me, once again holding out his hand. “And you must be Mom.”

I shook his hand. “That would be me.” Mimicking Mikey, I said, “They call me Pamela, and my husband is Chris. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Jimmy, I mean Officer Stubbin, said you’d be willing to give us the lowdown on your uncle.” Chris hooked his thumbs in the corners of his pockets.

“Can we use your copy machine, Stu?” Jimmy asked.

“Sure. You know where it is.”

Jimmy
pulled the will out of the pouch while he walked away. I knew they’d have a copy machine at the police station, but the copper knew Chris wasn’t going to let the will out of his sight until he had a copy in hand.

Chris glanced toward the front of the store and the street. “If you’re going to be here for a while, I thought we’d grab something to eat at the diner and then come back to jaw with you.”

“If you don’t mind, I’ll join you.” Stu glanced at his watch. “It’s about time for me take a break from the store anyway. I’ll tell you the story while we eat.”

“Works for me,” Chris said. “As soon as Jimmy brings me my copy, we’ll head on down
to a diner I saw.”

“Do you mind if I ask what he’s copying for you?” I could see Stu was curious and maybe had a feeling this had something to do with finding his uncle.

“We found a will buried with your uncle. I’ll let you read it before you tell us the story.”

“Fair enough.”

It was a one page will and Jimmy hurried back to join us, handing a copy to Chris and a copy to Stu. I hadn’t thought about giving Stu a copy. It was a good idea.

The older man read it through quickly, nodding his head as though it all made perfect sense to him.
“We’ll talk about this over dinner, too.” His words didn’t sound ominous, but I figured he felt anything of Henry’s should be passed on to him. Morally, he was probably right, but legally the will could mean a lot to Mikey. I’d have to think this one over.

Jimmy left us and headed for the police station. I could see a sign in front of the office across the street and down about a block.

After Stu asked a woman named Adele to watch the store, the rest of us walked to the Burnt Bun. I hoped the name of the diner wasn’t foretelling what we could expect for dinner.

We walked in and I glanced around.
The smell of home cooking wafted through the place. There were several tables and all but one were occupied. The remaining table was by the window and hadn’t been cleaned off yet.

“Essie, throw me a rag and I’ll get the table,” Stu said.

Essie took him at his word and tossed him a rag. I took it out of his hands and cleaned the table, making sure I got every little crumb. “Thank you, ma’am,” Stu said.

I smiled. “I’ve had lots of practice. We own a restaurant in Los Angeles.”

Across the room I saw an older man cleaning a table that a couple had just vacated.

We sat down
, with Mikey taking the chair next to Stu. I watched my son’s face and realized for some reason he’d taken a liking to Stu.

“What’s good?” Chris asked, picking up a menu.

“Everything,” Stu replied. “This is the best home cooking you’ll find in five counties. My wife, Jean, would rather eat here than cook at home, but she’s out of town right now. I eat dinner here almost every night now. Essie waits tables and her husband cooks the food. They’ve got a short menu, but it changes every day.”

Essie approached the table and slapped Stu on the back
after setting glasses of water in front of each of us. “Hey, old man, whataya havin’ tonight?” She glanced at us and smiled. “Where are my manners? What would you all like to drink? I suppose the boy will have milk?”

The waitress, or owner of the diner, was a little overweight, but she carried
it well on her medium height frame. Her curly light brown hair was in the process of turning grey, and she had lively brown eyes. If first impressions counted, I liked her already.

Mikey nodded and smiled. “A big glass, please.”

The rest of us ordered iced tea, and she asked if we’d decided what we wanted for dinner yet.

“Surprise us,” Chris replied. “We’ll eat anything you bring to the table.”

“My kinda guy.” She turned to me. “Is that okay with you?”

“Sure,” I said, surprised at Chris’s comment. “But let me add something. Bring each of us something different.”
I sniffed the air, wanting to sample a little of everything.

Essie was a happy woman. I could see it on her face before she walked away.

“Okay, Stu, tell us about your uncle. And don’t leave anything out, because this promises to be quite a tale.” Chris leaned back in his chair and watched the older man expectantly.