Peril by Ponytail (A Bad Hair Day Mystery) (32 page)

A quick search told them the place was empty. Nor were there any signs of a struggle. Marla concluded that Jesse had driven somewhere with a more important errand in mind than going to work. Could it relate to an item he’d found on his computer? After all, he’d been the one to send Dalton a map of the mining tunnels. What else had he discovered?

She picked up the nearest page on his computer desk and turned to Juanita, who stood by wringing her hands. “These are payroll records from Otto Lovelace’s water bottling plant. Did you know Jesse was hacking into their files?”

The housekeeper’s face drained of color. “I know nothing,
señora,
except Jesse blew hot and cold for me. I like him, and I did not pry into his affairs.”

Too bad you didn’t. That would have been helpful.

Marla studied the copies of company checks made out to Matthew Brigham and signed by Tate Reardon. Why had Rear-don been paying the engineer? Were those bribes for his passing grades on inspections? Brigham, in turn, had handed something to Kevin Franks the day she’d spotted them together. Had that been a payoff as well?

Her gaze fell upon a familiar diagram poking out from another pile of papers. The hairs on her nape rose. That looked similar to the layout of tunnels Jesse had sent Dalton.

It seemed more and more as though Jesse had been investigating the same things, but why?

Finding the man became urgent. He could have placed himself in danger. It was becoming more likely that Otto’s goons had gotten to him yesterday.

Stymied as to what to do next, she’d put down the papers in her hand when Juanita scooped a printout from the floor with a muttered exclamation.

“Look, it is Jesse’s writing on the side.”

Marla peeked over her shoulder. “The narrow gauge depot? What’s that?”

“I have no idea, but maybe it is where we can find him.”

Recollection made Marla wrinkle her brow. Hadn’t Raymond mentioned something about a former railroad line?

She sat at one of the active computer stations and turned on the monitor. A search brought up a local branch of the United Verde and Pacific Line. Built in the late eighteen hundreds, the narrow gauge railroad was abandoned years later when the Craggy Peak mine shut down. In the meantime, it hauled in supplies through Bigrock Canyon.

The trip saved time, but expenses remained high due to the necessity of transferring ore products from the narrow gauge depot to the standard grade line at Jerome Junction.

Nonetheless, building the narrow gauge rail had been a lot less expensive than standard grade. The narrower track required less steel, less wood for crossties, and less cutting and filling to go around sharp curves. Most of the stock consisted of smaller locomotives and rail cars. The line reached an elevation of six thousand feet at the summit, where the depot had existed.

Could that building be intact? Moreover, had Jesse gone there?

“Do you have all-wheel drive?” Marla asked Juanita.

“Si, señora.”
Juanita’s eyes filled with worry for her on-again, off-again boyfriend.

What game had Jesse played with her? Why feign interest and then blow cool? Had he befriended her to gain information?

A wave of guilt swept through Marla. Hadn’t she done the same thing? Yet, she genuinely cared about the maid’s feelings and wanted to help her.

“If your vehicle can manage, this article claims we can drive the old railroad bed up to the depot. It’ll be a scary ride, but it’s doable.”

She tried phoning Dalton on the way, but he still didn’t answer. Should she be concerned for him or annoyed that he was too busy to respond?

Maybe she should call Luke Beresby. He’d be occupied in the aftermath of Otto’s death, assuming they had found a body. But he could always send backup, and he might know where Dalton had gone.

Disappointment sank in as she dialed his number and got voice mail. She didn’t have his business card handy for his office number. Likely the sheriff was out in the field and using his radio for communication. Nonetheless, she left him a message as to her destination.

She supposed it was possible Jesse had experienced an accident along the way and lay injured on the road. Or he might have hurt himself while exploring the dilapidated depot.

They’d find out soon enough.

They bumped and jostled along the hair-raising road that stretched for twenty-five miles with one hundred and fifty curves. She’d printed out the route from the website that described the old narrow gauge line. When the rails were removed, the right-of-way became a forest service road. Had Garrett Long patrolled this section as part of his duty roster?

Spectacular views of red rocks and tree-dotted mountainsides unfolded as they careened around the bends. Marla hardly dared to breathe as they bucked and jolted over the uneven terrain. Dalton would probably enjoy this ride, she thought, gasping as they barely skirted a steep drop at the road’s edge. Her ears popped continuously as they continued to climb. Juanita drove like a mad woman, her face fierce and her hands white-knuckled on the wheel.

“Look, that must be the place.” Marla pointed to a lone wood structure with a brick chimney on the next hilltop.

As they approached, she noted the paint had long faded and roof shingles were missing, but the building had mostly withstood the ravages of time. A black Jeep Cherokee was parked there. Juanita confirmed it belonged to Jesse.

“He has to be here,” Marla said, hoping she hadn’t been mistaken to trust Juanita’s instincts about the wrangler. He could have been working with Kevin Franks. But then why would Jesse investigate Otto’s operation and send Dalton the tunnel map?

“I am scared. Why has no one heard from Jesse since yesterday?” Juanita’s lower lip trembled as she and Marla stood outside on the gravel.

A stiff breeze blew hair about her face. Grit clogging her nostrils, she shivered in the chilly mountaintop air.

“Let’s go inside and take a look,” Marla suggested. “At least we’ll be out of the wind.”

Her eyes narrowed as she glanced over her shoulder, a prickle of unease shaking her. Was that a cloud of dust on the road behind them? She sidestepped around a wheelbarrow and headed for the front door.

“Jesse?” The housekeeper’s voice echoed in the emptiness that faced them inside. The knob had turned easily, as though recently greased. “Are you in here? It’s me, Juanita. I’m worried about you.
Señora
Vail is with me.”

No answer. Various sacks lay about the interior, along with some rusty tools and old bits of rails. A blanket covered a mound in one corner. Marla glanced underneath, wrinkling her nose at the pile of rocks.

“I have an idea,” she whispered. “Call Jesse’s cell phone.” She eyed the two closed doors at the far end.

Juanita complied, and an answering ring came from somewhere beyond.

“It’s this door.” Marla strode over and turned the knob, her heart pulsing in her throat.

Jesse sat slumped against the wall, tied like a chicken prepared for the oven and with tape across his mouth. He gave a muffled cry at their entrance, his gaze filled with hope and concern.

Marla needed a tool to cut his cords. Wait, didn’t she have a pair of shears in her purse? She hadn’t packed them in her luggage yet after cutting Annie’s hair.

Juanita ripped off Jesse’s gag while Marla attempted to cut the cord binding him. Damn, her scissors weren’t sharp enough. She stuffed them in her bag, put it down, and searched for a sharper tool.

Jesse spoke, his voice raspy. “Get out of here and call for help.”

“We will not leave you.” Juanita fluttered over him like a mother hen.

Jesse’s face looked puffy and discolored, as though he’d been beaten. Who had done this to him? All the suspects who came to mind were dead.

“You don’t understand.” Jesse’s voice turned pleading. “He’s been waiting for you to show yourselves.”

“What do you mean?” Marla asked, her ears alert for any unusual noises outside.

“I got caught because he keeps cameras along the road. When he realized I had found his stash of ore, he came after me. I knew I’d be dead meat unless I gave him a reason to keep me alive. I said I’d told others about his plans. Despite his attempt to get me to talk, I wouldn’t tell him anything.”

“So he figured he’d bide his time until someone came looking for you, and then he’d catch us?” Marla said, unsuccessful in her search for a sharp implement. Maybe she’d have better luck in the other room.

“If no one arrived, he threatened to torture the information out of me. His first session didn’t get anywhere. Lucky for me, he was interrupted by a phone call and had to leave.”

Marla reentered the main room and examined the discarded relics on the floor. “Who is it, Jesse?” she called, anxious to free him and get out of there.

“That would be me.”

Marla spun around. Matthew Brigham stood in the door frame, his bearded face a twisted mask of malice. In his hand, he held a firearm.

Oh no, not again.

Her foot rested near a discarded rail on the floor, one of its ends curved up with a broken edge. Without a moment’s hesitation, she stomped on the raised portion, caught the tool as it flew into the air and hooked it at the engineer.

She dropped to the ground and rolled sideways as he fired. The shot went wild.

As the tool hit its mark, he howled with pain. His weapon fell from his fingers and hit the deck, another shot going off into the wall.

Disarmed, he leapt at her, hands outstretched.

A single gunshot roared in the air.

Brigham went down, motionless on the dusty hardwood floor.

Marla glanced up. Juanita stood in the inner doorway, a snub-nosed weapon in her steady grip.

“What?” the housekeeper said upon noting Marla’s incredulous glance. “A woman should be ready to defend herself,
señora.
I never said I came unprepared.”

“Can you please pass the potatoes?” Marla said to Annie, who sat at the dinner table on Friday night at Carol’s house along with the rest of Dalton’s family.

It had taken a while to figure things out after events at the depot. The sheriff had arrived and taken Brigham, merely wounded, into custody. His confession, along with Jesse’s, had made many items clear. Marla and Dalton shared the news with Wayne and the others at Carol’s house where they’d gathered for one more home-cooked meal before their trip home on Sunday.

Raymond harrumphed and glared at her. “So do you mean this housekeeper’s boyfriend knew all along what was going on?”

Dalton, his mouth full of food, nodded for her to respond. He chewed and swallowed, while Marla sat proudly by his side. She’d never been more glad to see him than when he had loomed in the doorway at the train depot after getting her text messages. He admitted sheepishly that he had been sharing some newer investigative techniques with the deputies in town.

“Jesse isn’t any stranger to the area,” Marla said. “I hope you won’t fire him, Uncle Ray.”

It felt strange calling him that, but Marla felt an integral part of this family now. How different it was from her first dinner here.

“What do you mean? Spit it out, girl.”

“Jesse is really Jake Donovan.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Raymond threw his napkin on the table and stood.

“Sit down, Dad.” Wayne’s commanding tone resounded throughout the dining room. Even the children, playing in the family room after eating separately, hushed into silence.

To Marla’s surprise, Raymond complied. His face registered a range of emotions, including resignation. And did she note a flicker of hope there?

“How did Jake end up on our ranch? Did Donovan plant him there to cause trouble?”

“Hugh didn’t even know his son had taken a job at the Last Trail.” Wayne took up the tale. “Jake took care to grow a beard and dye his hair, but he kept in touch with his elder brother, Ben, after leaving home. Ben is the one who gave him a recommendation when he applied for the wrangler position. I hadn’t seen Jake in years, and so I didn’t recognize the man as Donovan’s younger son. We had a nice, long talk this morning after the sheriff finished interviewing him.”

“So why did he leave home?” Annie asked. She gave Marla a secret smile from across the table.

Marla had been pleased to learn Annie had gone out on a date with the doctor they’d met the other day at Tate Reardon’s house. She’d had a feeling the two of them would hit it off.

“Hugh is a Luddite, wanting to keep things the old way, while Jake embraces technology and change,” Wayne continued, his broad shoulders hunched forward. He looked every inch the rancher with his granite jaw and tanned face. “Jake’s pa refused to acknowledge his son’s interest in computers and wouldn’t pay for the boy’s college education. He said it would be a waste of money, when Jake was needed on the ranch. It never entered his head that one of his sons might not want that life.”

“So Jake left to forge his own path,” Dalton concluded, chasing down his food with a sip of water.

Carol had made a turkey for the occasion, and it was a true feast with all the dishes on the table. Marla would miss these family gatherings. But more so, she’d miss everyone here and yes, even the tranquility of the desert.

Tomorrow, for their final meal, she and Dalton were treating everyone to the best restaurant in town. It would be a bittersweet end to their vacation.

“What happened that made Jake apply for a job at the dude ranch?” she asked, saddened that the young man hadn’t been able to follow his dream.

“He got through one year of college on a scholarship, but then he ran out of money. Deciding to take online courses instead, he returned to what he knew best—horses and ranching. Ben Donovan gave him a recommendation under his fake name. I took him on, glad to have a seasoned ranch hand.” Wayne stabbed a piece of asparagus and stuffed it in his mouth. “I suppose we should do better background checks from now on.”

“How does Juanita figure into the game?” Carol rose to refill their water glasses.

“He ran across her one day at work and couldn’t get her out of his mind since then. They wound up together, and she learned his identity. But he wouldn’t share his secrets with her and grew afraid she’d get hurt. So he pretended to lose interest in her.”