Part 7 (1/2)
CHAPTER 24.
The next three hours pa.s.sed by in a blur for Kelly and Mike. She was glad Julia and Brad had come to help out. Kelly felt like she was on display in the window of a department store, an object everyone wanted to look at and inspect. She could tell by the way people were looking at Mike that some of them considered him a suspect in the death of Aunt Agnes. It was not a good feeling.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. ”Mrs. Reynolds,” Judge Lane said, ”I want to introduce you to Richard Martin. He came from San Francisco to attend the service. He's a developer there and someone who's very interested in acquiring the Robertson Ranch.”
Kelly shook his hand and said, ”It's nice to meet you. Thank you for coming.”
”It was a beautiful service. I never had the pleasure of meeting Agnes, but one of my a.s.sociates did on several occasions. I wanted to buy this property, but Agnes couldn't bring herself to sell it. Now that she's deceased, I understand from Judge Lane that your husband has inherited it. I'd like to talk to him, but I realize this isn't the proper time or place. I'm spending the night at the Gold Dust Bed and Breakfast Inn. Is there any chance I could meet with him in the morning?”
”I can't speak for him, and I don't know what his plans are for the ranch. Why don't you give me your cell phone number, and if he isn't able to meet with you, I'll have him call you. If you don't hear from him, plan on coming out here to the ranch around ten tomorrow morning.”
”That would work fine for me. I'm looking forward to meeting your husband and talking to him.” The two of them turned away from Kelly and walked down the steps to his car, a silver Lexus.
People were gradually beginning to leave, and Kelly and Mike were standing on the porch thanking them for coming when suddenly a pick-up truck raced up the lane and screeched to a stop in front of the Robertson House. A man staggered out of the truck with a gun in his hand and said in a loud slurring voice, ”Where's Mike Reynolds? I wanna personally thank him for stealing from me what I shouldda' rightfully had.”
Mike stepped away from Kelly and said, ”I'm Mike Reynolds. Who are you, and what in the devil do you think you're doing with that gun in your hand?”
Kelly noticed that the police chief and two of his men were quickly making their way towards the intruder.
”I'm the one that shouldda' gotten this house and the ranch property,” the man yelled. ”Name's Daniel Noonan. I'm Agnes Johnson's nephew. My mother was her sister. Probably don't mean much to you, cuz it sure didn't mean nothing to your mother and your grandparents. Kicked my mother out of the house like she was a piece of trash and never had nothin' to do with either one of us. Yep, this property should be mine, not yours.”
He turned and looked at the people who were standing on the porch and the lawn staring at him in open-mouthed disbelief. ”See this man, the one who's name is Mike Reynolds? Well, you're lookin' at my aunt's murderer. He's the one who killed her, so he could get his hands on the Robertson Ranch. You wanna solve this case Chief Robbins? Don't need to look no farther. Jes' arrest him right here and now and cart him off to jail where he belongs.”
Daniel tried to whirl around to face the police chief who was rapidly approaching, but because of his obvious drunken condition, he lost his balance and fell to the ground. He dropped the gun in his hand when he hit the ground. Chief Robbins scooped up the gun and one of his deputies subdued Daniel and handcuffed him.
The chief looked at the people who were staring at what was taking place and said, ”Show's over, folks. Go on back in the house or home. We're going to take Daniel for a little ride, and he'll be cooling his heels in jail until the alcohol wears off. Nothing more to see here.” He walked over to Mike and said, ”I'll be back a little later. I'm going to book him for disturbing the peace. When he sobers up, I'll probably let him go, but not until I impound that pistol he was waving around. I'll find some way to get some handwriting from him. You mentioned you might have one more for me. Do you?”
”Yes.”
”Good, I'll get it when I come back. Try to forget what he said. I'm sure it was the alcohol talking, not him. By the way, haven't had a chance to tell you, but I ran a fingerprint test on those letters that were sent to your aunt and there weren't any prints on them other than hers.”
”Thanks, and I'm not so sure it was just the alcohol talking. From the looks I've been getting from some of the folks who are here today, he's not the only one in town who thinks I may be the one who killed Aunt Agnes.”
”All the more reason to find the killer. We need to clear your name. Just for the record, Mike, I believe you.”
”I appreciate that. See you later.”
Kelly walked over to Mike and put her hand on his arm. ”You okay, honey?”
”Yeah. Just didn't need that right now. Our trip to see Aunt Agnes is becoming one big nightmare. It seems like it's just one ugly thing after another.”
”We'll get through it. I'm right here for you and so are Brad and Julia. You're not going through this by yourself.”
”Thanks. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.”
”I know you'll be fine, but I do worry about you, and from the way Rebel's looking at you, he's worried too.” They both turned to look down at the big boxer who was standing as close to Mike as he could get. It was as if he was trying to protect him from everything that was happening.
”Kelly, did you notice if Rebel was standing next to me when Daniel started yelling at me?”
”I was watching Daniel. People with guns scare me, particularly drunk people with guns. Knowing Rebel, I imagine he sensed danger and probably came up to you about that time. The last time I remember seeing him, he was in the yard with Sam and Lady and now here he is right next to you. I think he constantly watches out for you.”
Mike reached down and scratched Rebel's ears. ”Thanks, big guy. I'm fine, but it sure makes me feel good to know you're here for me.”
Kelly walked into the kitchen to thank the ladies from the church. ”I really appreciate everything you've done today. I don't know what I would have done without you. People are leaving, and it looks like the fireworks are over, so why don't you go ahead and take off. My daughter and I can clean up everything that's left.”
”Kelly,” the large woman who had spoken to Kelly earlier said, ”there's not much to clean up other than a few pots and pans. It's a good thing so many people brought food, because we've put out the last of it.”
”That's amazing! I thought we'd be eating that food for days.”
”Nope. Since we used paper plates and cups, shouldn't be too bad of a clean-up job. How's your husband doing? Shame that cousin of his had to barge in here and say those awful things about him. Don't think people will pay him much mind. He's not too well-liked around these parts.”
”Thanks. My husband is fine. It's just that a day like today is stressful enough without adding something to it like what just happened. I know Mike will be very glad when the killer is finally found.”
”He's not the only one. A lot of us are locking our doors and looking over our shoulders when we walk down the street. We're not used to a murderer being on the loose in Calico Gold. All of us hope he or she is found real soon. And Kelly, remember that I saved you a piece of my Big Smile cake. It's in the refrigerator.”
”Thanks. Again, I really appreciate everything you've done.”
The ladies from the church were soon gone. There had been enough going on at Aunt Agnes' funeral and reception to keep every gossip in town busy for a long time.
CHAPTER 25.
The funeral service and reception that followed had made it an exhausting day, and everyone in the family was tired. After finis.h.i.+ng dinner they sat on the porch, quietly letting the events of the day drift away. Mike was sitting on the porch swing with Ella and Olivia next to him, while he pointed to different stars in the sky and called out their names. If one could ignore the fact that there had been two recent deaths on the ranch, it easily could have been a scene taken from an old Norman Rockwell painting. Unfortunately the two deaths took away the serenity of the moment.
”Mike, someone's coming up the lane. I can see the headlights,” Brad said.
”Swell, that's just what I need. You'd think whoever it is would realize we've had a rough day and give us a little privacy. I'm not up to making nice one more time.” He stood and walked to the edge of the porch.
A dark blue pickup truck pulled up in front of the porch, and a man about forty years old got out. His black hair was beginning to grey at the temples, and he was dressed in blue jeans, a light blue chambray s.h.i.+rt, and wore cowboy boots. ”You must be Mike Reynolds,” he said, holding out his hand. ”I'm Huston Brooks. I want to apologize for not being able to attend your aunt's funeral today, but I was in court all day.”
”My aunt talked to me about you, and how she was supporting you in your campaign to be elected judge. Let me introduce you to my family.”
Huston walked up the steps and shook hands with everyone as Mike made the introductions.
”Mike, I feel like I know you because your aunt spoke so highly of you. She told me she'd called and asked you to come to the ranch. Agnes told me about some letters she'd recently received, and I became concerned for her safety. I urged her to tell the police chief about them, but your aunt was not the easiest person to persuade if her mind was set against something. She was certain you could help, and she told me she'd wait until you got here before deciding what to do about the letters.”
”I wish she'd listened to you, Huston. If she had, maybe she wouldn't have been murdered. I feel certain there must be a connection between the letters she received and her murder. The night before she was murdered she told me about several people she thought might have sent them.”
”I have some ideas on that subject. Let's compare notes.”