The Law and Dan Mesa (9 page)

Mrs. Cortez says, “This is Sergeant Dan Mesa of the Arizona rangers, a friend of Sonia’s. Dan, these are my daughters, Mardi and Amelia, and my husband and Sonia’s father, Napal.”

“Hello, everyone. It saddens me to meet you under these circumstances. Sonia wanted me to meet all of you under friendlier circumstances. She was very special to me, and I am so sorry about what has happened. My commander, Captain Johnson, sends his condolences, and so does the entire ranger detachment. She was well liked by them.”

Napal Cortez thinks,
I
like
this
fellow.
He
reminds
me
of
myself
sometime
back.
He
has
character
and
he
cares
about
people
but
there
is
something
driving
him
. “Sergeant Mesa, I know you’ve had a long trip,” he says out loud, “so we’ll get you settled and then we’ll talk some.”

The house is a large adobe structure with massive rooms and beautiful tapestries hanging on the wall. There are several old pictures on the wall that tells the story of an old family. Mesa spots a picture of a dark-skinned man almost his double and stops to stare for a moment. Napal walks back and smiles, saying, “I thought that would get your attention. That is a picture of you at a rodeo I participated in in Houston about thirty years ago. The horse you road that day was one of the toughest horses I have ever seen. Man, you should have gotten a higher score. Your ride was one of the best I have ever seen in my life.”

Dan Mesa smiles a sad smile and says, “Thank you, sir. It was a tough ride. That horse almost made me give up rodeos.”

After Dan unpacks his bags, he changes into jeans and a shirt. He takes off his gun and suddenly feels quite naked without it. He walks into the kitchen, and Mrs. Cortez hands him a cup of coffee and pours in brandy.

“Dan,” she says, “this is my own prescription. I know you don’t drink much, but you need this. It will settle you down some. I can tell just by looking at you that you are on edge, so drink the coffee and have some cake. I baked it myself.”

He samples the coffee and has to agree it is good and so is the cake. Mesa is remembering how he and Sonia met and it brings tears to his eyes. He suddenly realizes Mr. Cortez is speaking to him.

“Sir, I am sorry. I was thinking about Sonia. What was your question?”

“No need to apologize. I asked what had been learned about Sonia’s death.”

“We know that Antonio Blackbear is an employee of Carlos Meana, one of our local crime bosses. They kidnapped Sonia. I was sent to Richmond, Virginia, to escort a William Ranson back to Tucson to testify against Carlos. Carlos hired a hit man to kill Ranson and, I guess, to kill me. It didn’t turn out the way he wanted. One hit man was killed, and the other got away. Blackbear kidnapped Sonia as a way of putting pressure on me to release Ranson. I don’t know if Carlos ordered it or not. He is still guilty in my book. He has posted a five hundred thousand-dollar bounty on me dead. I am sure someone will try to collect it; however, they will discover that I won’t die easily. There is an all-points bulletin out for both Carlos and Antonio, and we will capture them. It is only a matter of time. What they did to her was unconscionable. They kidnapped her and left her in a house with her hands and feet tied. Lightning struck the house, and it caught on fire with her in there with no way to escape. I promise you they will pay, one way or another. She was one in a million, and I loved her dearly.”

Suddenly, Mesa rises and leaves the room almost running. He feels himself ready to explode.

All are quiet. Ophelia turns to her husband, and he follows Mesa out to the barn. Napal walks up and stands next to Mesa, who is quietly smoking his pipe, deep in thought. He hears Napal’s approaching feet and spins around with his hand poised and ready to draw. Then he must realize where he is, and he relaxes. His expression is pure animal anger. He reminds Napal of a cornered wolf he trapped once.

“Ranger Mesa—Dan, I should say—it wasn’t your fault. Those two men are the reasons my daughter is dead, not you. I am going to tell you something I have only told one other person and that is Ophelia. In my younger days, I was a Texas ranger and a darned good one. I was engaged to marry a young white girl from around Kingsville, Texas. The local whites didn’t like it, and the Klan got involved. They kidnapped her, and she was brutally raped and murdered. It almost drove me crazy. I hunted each one of them down and used the law to execute each one of them. Then I resigned from the rangers and became a simple rancher.

“I know what you are going through. Meeting Ophelia is what saved me from losing my mind. I couldn’t imagine life without Angela. That was her name. It took me five years to get over what happened. I still have dreams about it, but not as often as I did. Dan, I can’t promise you you’ll ever get over what happened, and I can’t promise you that you’ll get past your feelings for Sonia, but it will get better with time. You have got to let go sometime, because if you don’t you will die inside. I am a good judge of men, and you are a good man. Someday, some lady will be happy that you are a part of her life. Keep Sonia in here,” he says, pointing to his heart.

The two men continue talking while walking toward the horses.

Ophelia and the sisters watch their father comfort a man who should be a stranger but isn’t.

Mardi turns to her mother and asks, “Mom, why is it that Ranger Mesa, a stranger in our home, seems like he belongs here?”

“You know, it feels the same way with me,” Amelia says. “It’s as if Sonia was here with him and introducing him to us as her fiancé or something.”

“Girls, I can only say that your sister and you girls are special people. God blessed us with the three of you. You were like triplets. I only wish she were here. Girls, go into the hallway and look at the picture in the frame at the bottom.”

They go into the hallway, and Amelia drops her coffee cup.

“Mom, that’s the Ranger. How did you get this picture?”

“That picture was taken about thirty years ago when he was very young at a rodeo in Houston. Your father was a participant, and he and Sonia took that photo. She was going to show it to Dan when she brought him here to meet us. Your father said that the horse Dan is riding in that photo was the toughest and meanest horse he had ever seen. He said Dan should have won the competition but didn’t because of his race. In the early seventies, black people weren’t accepted in the rodeo profession.”

Mardi looks at the picture and sees the date as June 1970.

“Mom, where has he been all this time? Has he been a ranger all these years?”

“As I recall, Sonia said he spent twenty years in the air force and retired a few years ago as a captain. His wife left him, and he joined the rangers and the rest is history. He has apparently made several enemies. Do you remember the news articles they had about the ranger who was involved in that shoot-out in Albuquerque a few months ago? Well, that ranger was Sergeant Daniel Mesa. He and Sonia had some problems about a shooting he was involved in in Tucson, where he had to kill a man who was sent to kill him. There was another shooting in a bar in which he was involved. Anyway, Sonia had problems dealing with it because of her husband having been killed. She was adjusting and was so in love with Dan; she would have found a way to make it work.”

Chapter Six
 

Meanwhile back in Nogales, Captain Johnson has made a discovery.

“Sergeant Savalas, we have been notified that Carlos Meana and Antonio Blackbear have been spotted in Douglas by the local police. Go to Douglas and find out what is going on there. Stay under cover, because there are rumors that some of the police are on the take. Contact me as soon as you get there, and get an assessment of the situation. Sergeant, stay alive.”

In Douglas, Arizona, Carlos is trying to get across the border into Mexico. He believes he has connections but is having a problem due to what he has done. He is in the office of the chief of immigration services.

“Carlos, you are in trouble with the rangers, the kind of trouble I don’t need. It will cost you more money than you can afford, plus I know the commander of the rangers in Nogales, and he is not a person I want as an enemy. I recommend you find someone else. I won’t put myself in jeopardy for you or anyone.”

“Roberto, I need your help. I have to get to Mexico. Now either you help me or you’ll regret it.”

Roberto Gonzales, a tall slender man and one slow to anger, turns slowly to look at Carlos.

“Old fellow, you’d best get yourself together and get out of here before I forget we are cousins.”

Carlos leaves the office of immigration, swearing to himself. He knows he will get even with Roberto one way or another. He calls Vermenti on his cellular phone.

“Mr. Pellegrinni, this is Carlos Meana. Sir, have you taken care of that matter in Arizona?”

“Carlos, my boy, you problem is being taken care of, unless our people aren’t up to it. We are spending five hundred thousand dollars to take care of the situation. You will owe me, and I will collect.”

“Thank you, sir. I won’t forget.”

Carlos knows he can relax a little now. Sergeant Dan Mesa of the Arizona rangers will soon be history.

At Mesa’s place in Nogales, Jonathan and Nadia are exploring the ranch. They are walking along a trail, hand in hand. Jonathan is concentrating on the problems Mesa in facing and turns to Nadia.

“Honey, what will become of Dan? He is like our son, and I am worried about him. There is a price on his head, and he is acting as if it is nothing to worry about, but I know he is worried. That man has more bad luck than anyone I know or have ever met.”

“Jonathan, I love you because you are the best man I know. You care about people, and you love me dearly. Sweetheart, I don’t know the answers to the questions you ask, but I do believe God has his hand on the situation. I heard Dan praying the other night. He asked God just to see him through all this and help him find peace and happiness before he dies. You know that is my prayer for him too. Devlin needs him, and he needs that boy. I believe he would have fallen apart a long time ago if it had not been for Devlin. He told me that when he and Garnett first separated, it took all he had to just stay sane. He loves our daughter deeply. Isn’t it a shame they can’t find a way to make things work?” Jonathan stops and just holds his wife for a long moment. Finally, he says, “I am so blessed to have you in my life, Nadia. I couldn’t make it without you.” She smiles, and they continue walking.

In El Paso, the day is reaching an end, and plans are being finalized for the funeral. Friends and family members have been dropping by all day.

Ranger Mesa decides to go horseback riding on the Cortez ranch. He chooses an Appaloosa gelding to ride. As he rides, he thinks,
I
have
come
a
long
way
over
the
years,
and
yet,
I
haven’t
gone
very
far
at
all.
I
am
far
passed
thirty,
and
what
do
I
have
to
show
for
it?
A
broken
heart
and
an
almost
broken
spirit.
Sonia,
I
wish
you
were
here.
The
little
time
I
spent
with
you
was
so
beautiful.
I
just
can’t
believe
you
are
gone.
You
were
so
full
of
spirit
and
love.
It
seems
something
bad
happens
to
everyone
I
care
about.
He hunches his back against the wind and gallops down the trail, a lonely man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Mesa rounds a bend in the trail and suddenly sees light reflected off something. He leaves the saddle as a bullet glances off the saddle horn. He hits the ground and rolls behind a tree, gun in hand, looking for the shooter. He sees movement and fires two shots fast, and then runs to another tree. He fires a third shot and hears a groan. He knows he has scored a hit. He runs to the spot and sees blood and a high powered rifle, a 30/30. He knows the contract is for real.

He takes his handkerchief and uses it to place the gun in the coiled rope on the saddle. He climbs back up and rides for home.

When he reaches the ranch, Amelia is waiting. She sees the bullet mark and the rifle and immediately asks what happened. Dan tells her the short version. They walk inside and call the police to report what has happened. The El Paso police in turn call the Texas rangers and report the situation. Sergeant Thomas Ryan, a ten-year veteran ranger, arrives at the Cortez ranch. He is a tall, lean man of about forty-years-old, with a friendly smile.

“Hello, I am Sergeant Ryan of the Texas rangers, and you must be Sergeant Mesa of the Arizona rangers. Man, it is good to meet you. I’ve been following your actions for the past two years.”