Season of Fear (20 page)

The site of the damaged shed was bustling with activity as Robin, Sara, and a bouncing Gregory approached. At least a dozen ranch hands strode busily around the area. Already the main equipment had been removed from within the unsafe walls and stood a safe distance away, where several knowledgeable men went over the machinery to ascertain if there had been any damage.

"This one's okay, boss," growled a low voice, as one of the hands finished with a large, well-used tractor.

"And a good thing that is," answered one of the younger hands. "I can just see us shoveling our way to town by hand without that big baby to attach to the plows to when the snows come."

The men within earshot laughed.

All in all, the air was one of gaiety, which surprised Robin at first. Although the machinery all checked out as the moments went on, it was evident that Gregory's report about the shed's condition had been an accurate one.

One entire side of the roof had collapsed. And there were other signs of damage.

But despite the loss of the shed, the relief of all the men on the ranch was evident. They had gotten away quite luckily after a storm of such force. Most had seen cases where entire crops were ruined, herds cruelly lost, homes and barns destroyed.

Robin looked around her in thoughtful silence. Only a short time had passed since the storm had surrounded them, and already, except for the damaged shed, almost every sign of it had disappeared. The ground was damp. Slight puddles had accumulated in occasional spots, already soaking into the parched ground. The sky was clear once more, the temperature hot and summerlike. Man seemed once more in charge of his environment. But nature was the real king out here on the open range, Robin knew, under the command of no man. She felt a deep respect for the world around her.

"Here she goes," yelled a hand as the walls of the now empty shed gave a final protesting creak and then gave way to the heavy machinery that plowed into its sides. There was a splintering, rasping sound, then a fine crack as the wood fell to the ground.

Immediately another plow pushed the remains into a large pile behind the spot where the shed had stood. There, men with saws broke the planks into transportable size and heaved them onto a waiting flatbed truck. They worked smoothly and easily at the difficult job, joking casually as they went, the whole maneuver running like clockwork. And in the middle of them all, working just as hard, sweating just as profusely, and joking just as loud, was Alex Ridley. No wonder the men worked so smoothly, were so cooperative, with a boss who could give as much as he asked from his employees. Robin's heart gave a proud little lurch in spite of herself.

The job was over soon, and the men sauntered off for a well-earned rest.

Gregory disappeared to find some more excitement in his day, now that the shed had been demolished.

Mac was walking off with a few of the other young hands, giving Sara a burning look and making some cruel comment to his companions, which, although not heard, was obvious enough to make Sara extremely uncomfortable.

Alex and Duke came by then, Alex giving Duke the go-ahead to make the necessary plans to rebuild the shed without delay.

"I'll go over the ground, boss, and decide where to sink the main posts. The old ones collapsing loosened the ground a bit too much, I think. We might be better off building on a new spot. Here maybe." His foot kicked the hard ground beneath them.

"You decide. Duke. Order the beams and whatever materials we haven't got on hand. Shall we keep a dirt floor, like the old one had, or lay a cement foundation? It wouldn't hurt to improve the place."

"Okay, boss. I'll check it out."

"I'm leaving," Alex told him, "Heading for a cattle auction in Wyoming for a couple of days. Bringing just two of the guys. I'll check in if you need anything for the ranch, Duke".

The man nodded and walked away.

"Sara, is that a long face I see? What's bothering you?" Alex turned his attention to his daughter.

She gathered a small smile for him. "Nothing, Dad. Just thoughtful, I guess. And I hate to hear you're going away. Even for a few days."

"Just business, Sara. You know how that is."

She nodded.

"I have a clear hour or so before leaving, honey," he said. How about jumping on the mean mount of yours and taking a ride with me? There's no place like the open range for thoughtfulness."

"I'll agree with that, you two deserve it," interjected Robin lightly, so pleased to see how sensitively Alex was reacting with his daughter. Perhaps these things did have a way of working out.

Sara was beaming now. "I'd love it, Dad. I'd really love it."

"And we won't be stuck out on the range, Robin," teased Alex. "We'll be sure to be in by dark!"

Robin took the jest in stride, watching the two as they strode off together, Sara's dark head bobbing next to his handsome blond one.

Robin felt a strong glow of family warmth envelop her.

Watch out, her mind cautioned. You are not a part of the family and never will be. Her head was listening to the advice, but her heart would not. And she too, had great reservations about Alex being absent from the ranch.

She stood watching them as they strode toward the barn together.

"A perfect picture of a western daydreamer, Robin." Duke's voice cut into her thoughts and brought her back to the present.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was a little involved in my own little world there for a moment."

"No apologies," he drawled, his face smiling. "We all need our dreams."

"That was quite a storm. The first I've seen."

"And you still like our land out here? Then you belong here. Some people do. Some don't. Take Laura." His voice got softer.

"She didn't belong here..." His words drifted off, and Robin felt a flash of pain for the man who spoke, so toughened on the outside, and so wounded in his heart. Wounds of the heart were hard to heal, she knew.

She changed the subject to brighten his mood. "I hear you'll be rebuilding the shed."

The two walked over to the site.

"I was thinking of moving the whole thing to a new location, but if the boss doesn't mind swallowing the cost of pouring a foundation, then we can use the original spot. The ground is a bit dug up. A dirt floor wouldn't have been firm enough to support the tractors at this point. But it's okay with cement."

They paced around the area, the ground roughened by the removal of the beams and the subsequent plowing of the debris.

"What the devil is this?" Duke was bending over a section of rough ground that had been in the corner of the shed. By the time Robin covered the few paces it took to be by his side, he was already down on his knees, his hands scratching industriously at an object partly uncovered in the dirt.

"There's something buried here, Robin. It's a box of some kind."

Soon the two of them were digging furiously at the edges of the unknown buried treasure, Robin wielding a leftover stick to loosen the earth, and Duke clearing it away.

When they lifted it free, they stood staring at the dirt-covered box they had uncovered. It was made of rough wood, about twelve inches square.

Robin felt oddly excited for no reason at all. A quick look to Duke showed that he, too, felt excited about their find. But what was it?

Duke opened the lid slowly. Its hinges showed signs of rust from years in its grave. At first glance, the box looked full of crumpled newspaper and Robin thought momentarily that they had stumbled on something as uninteresting as a load of buried garbage.

But then her eye caught a headline on a scrap of newspaper: BRUTAL ACCIDENT MEANS DEATH FOR RIDLEY WOMAN She grabbed the scrap and spread it rapidly to read the date. A lump formed in her throat. The newspaper was dated five years before, the article written the day following Laura's death.

No one spoke a word, but Robin could feel the painful memories welling up in Duke beside her, his eyes now rimmed with unshed tears. The muscles in his neck were tight, and she could see them flexing above the collar of his shirt. He sat very still.

Robin's skin felt prickly and tingling, and she had to will her fingertips to work. This box must have more significance than trash disposal, and the time had come for her to find out what the crumpled newspapers concealed.

Her nervous fingers removed the aging paper. She knew what she would find, suddenly. The picture was clear in her mind even before her fingers felt the smooth velvet beneath them.

Laura's riding helmet?

With a painful gulp, she withdrew the hat, its sleek blackness showing no signs of its long rest beneath the ground. She felt a chill go up and down her spine.

"My heaven," moaned Duke beside her, his eyes black and empty. "There's no doubt now. It's true. Someone killed my Laura. There was no accident. Murder. Murder!" He closed his eyes and Robin's feelings went out to him. She quickly replaced the helmet into the rest of the newspaper.

"I'm sorry Duke. We thought it was so, but this rather clinches it."

"Who, Robin? Who could have done this thing?"

His face was hardening now. Gone was the little-boy gentleness that she had seen in his moments of pain. Gone was the arrogant flirting of the handsome cowboy that she had first met. Instead she saw an anger growing, festering, a determination mounting.

"I'm going to find out about this, Robin. I'm not going to rest until I know the answers."

"I'll help where I can," she offered quietly.

He closed the box with a snap and stood up abruptly, tucking it under his arm.

"I'll keep this with me for now, Robin. We have to decide who to tell about it."

She had been thinking the same thing herself, but knew that the present moment was not the time for the man before her to make such decisions.

"We'll talk later when we have time."

He nodded and took off for his quarters, leaving a reflective Robin behind. What would this find mean for Alex?

But by the time she got back to the house, she found that Alex and his auction helpers had already left in the pickup truck, without hearing the news.

A few days passed, and everyone anticipated his arrival back home. The building of the storage shed began quickly and efficiently. The foundation was laid and allowed to harden, and then the tall frame of the building was erected, the look and smell of its fresh, hard wood assuring the world that the new shed would stand proud and tall against the Montana elements.

Robin saw Duke often in the distance, working hard as he gruffly gave the orders to the men on the site. To many, he seemed preoccupied with the job, obsessed that each step of the construction be done exactly right. But Robin knew that the orders he gave came from his natural good sense and a life full of ranch experience. His heart was not in it. His mind was constantly turning, thinking, wondering, trying to figure out the puzzle that surrounded Laura Ridley's death.

Late one afternoon, house chores completed, and after tending to some of the seemingly never-ending paperwork that she received in the mail from her attorney who was gradually getting her father's estate in order. Robin flagged the foreman down from the side door of the house as he headed for the barn.

"Hi. Duke," she called as he neared. "Can I ask you something?"

He nodded, wiping his face with a red handkerchief. "Shoot."

"Have you told anyone about the riding helmet? Have you decided what to do? I can't help but think that we should let someone know about it soon, not keep it to ourselves."

"No." The coldness in his voice stopped her short. "Just who would you suggest telling?"

"Alex, of course. He'll be home soon. I'm going to tell him as soon as I see him. He has to be told. I'm sure he would want to know."

"I bet he would," Duke snarled. "I bet he'd be pretty darn anxious to get rid of evidence like that." His voice had an accusing tone.

"It'll be up to him to tell the authorities. I'm sure Alex had nothing to do with Laura's death. And besides, if he had buried the box containing the helmet, don't you think he would have been a little more anxious when the shed blew down? Don't you think he would have handled the rebuilding job himself, for fear that the helmet would be discovered? Wouldn't he have insisted that you select another site, instead of leaving it all in your hands?"

Duke's eyes weakened for a moment. "Then someone, whoever did bury the box, must be sitting on pins and needles about now. Worrying if it had been discovered."

"Don't you think Alex deserves to know? After all, Duke, no matter what the state of their relationship was at her death, she was his wife and he's been through a lot over all of this. He must have cared for her."

Duke gave a tired sigh. "Oh, he must have cared for her, that's for sure, or he wouldn't have put up with as much as he did from her. Yes, he should be told. But, Robin, you do the telling. You know how I feel about this."

They were standing along the side of the house, in clear view of almost anyone. Suddenly Robin got the peculiar feeling that they were being watched. She had heard no sound. It was purely an instinctual hunch, but she had never felt so sure in her life. She glanced quickly at the windows of the house, but saw no one.