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"Here they come," said Gramps, standing up to greet the sheriff. Nora looked up as Sheriff McAllister and a deputy got out of his car.
“Oh great, here comes Sheriff Blue Eyes,” she thought. “Now try and keep your hormones in check,” she chided herself. Even if you do want to do something naughty, someone has been murdered. This is a crime scene, for gosh sakes.
"We meet again, Nora," Gabe said. "I don't often get greeted by a pretty girl with a shotgun in her lap when I go out on a call.”
Nora smiled slightly at the remark. She figured he was just trying to make her feel better. He moved slowly, and extended his hand to take the gun, which Nora gave up somewhat reluctantly.
“Are you okay?” he asked. Deep concern for her, and the situation she found herself in. showed in his eyes and on his face.
She stood and handed the gun to Gabe, stock first, barrel up. "It's loaded."
Gabe took the pump action gun and carefully unloaded it, ejecting all six shots on the ground. He turned to the deputy. "Alvarez, take the gun and pick up the shells. Have the crime lab look at it.”
"I have something else for you to look at," Gramps took the lock and chain out of the back seat of the jeep. "I found these in the grass by the back gate. Someone used a bolt cutter on the lock."
More cars were pulling up, some with police officers, and some with medical personnel. Dr. Connors from the coroner's office came over to introduce himself. "Hello, Sheriff, I'm Doctor Connors. I haven't had a chance to meet you yet. I could have done without meeting you here, like this. Henry Jessup was an old friend of mine."
"Thanks for coming out," Gabe put his hand out and shook the man's hand.
"Stay here," Gabe said to Nora and Gramps. He took the crime scene officers inside along with the coroner.
Nora and her grandfather sat in silence, waiting. Gramps pulled out his old pocket watch to check the time. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes, Gabe returned, followed by a stretcher carrying the battered body of Henry Jessup. Nora turned her head into Gramps’ shoulder to avoid looking at it.
"He was pretty beat up, but not enough to kill him," Dr. Connors said. "I'm guessing he had a heart attack or something. A younger man would have survived, but Jessup was in his eighties. I hope whoever did this is gonna roast in hell. I'll send you my report as soon as I can."
After talking to the coroner and issuing orders to the rest of the officers, Gabe returned to question Gramps and Nora. He stood with his hat in his hands, one foot resting on the bottom step.
"I'm very sorry about your friend. So, what made you come over here today?" He addressed his question to Nora.
"I came over to check up on Henry. Last night, I was sitting on the porch reading, before going up to bed. A plane flew over very low and caught my attention. After that, I saw some car lights in the pasture. It was late and didn't make any sense. I thought I better see if he was okay. It just seemed out of place to have lights in the pasture that late at night."
"You rode over here? Why not take the jeep?"
"Gramps was going to the packing house and needed the jeep. Besides, I like to ride Jasper when I can. I took the back road. I didn't expect to find this," she waved her hands in the direction of the house. "I thought maybe there was something wrong with his cattle. If his cattle were in trouble, maybe ours could be, too."
"Mr. Hollister, how did you come to be here?"
"Nora called me right after she called you guys. I came right over."
"How did you find the lock?"
"I came in the back way, too. I found it when I got out of the car to open the gate."
"The gate was open when I first came over. Ranchers and farmers don't leave gates open. I closed it behind me. It's a common courtesy around here," Nora offered.
"I see. I'm new around here, as you know. I'm a big city boy, transferred here from Tampa. I need all the help I can get to understand how things work here," Gabe commented. "Well, I guess that's all I need for now. Can I come around with more questions if I have any?" He was looking straight at Nora. She wanted to go swimming in those eyes.
"Sure, come around any time. Can I call you . . . if I see anything suspicious—that is?" she stammered.
“Sure, by all means.” He walked her over to Jasper. "Can I give you a hand up?"
"Does the city boy know how?"
"No, so just tell me what I need to do," he said, with an adorably goofy smile on his face.
She had to laugh, and his smile set her heart fluttering.
Nora turned, facing Jasper's side. Grabbing the pommel and the cantle of the saddle, she raised her left leg. "Just lift," she instructed Gabe.
He did as he was told. As she rose, she threw her right leg over, and settled softly in the saddle. Picking up the reins, she said, "I'll teach you to ride, if you want. It might come in handy around here. Lots of places you can't get to by car."
He placed his hand on her thigh. She felt the heat through her jeans. A little inappropriate, she thought, but who cares. She certainly didn’t.
"I'd love a ride with you. I mean yes, I'd love to learn to ride,” Gabe said, getting lost by her chestnut hair catching the sun and her hazel eyes flashing topaz sparks as she looked down at him from her saddle.
As she turned Jasper towards home, she was pleased to note that Sheriff Blue Eyes was blushing.
Gramps had been keeping an eagle eye on what was going on. He walked up beside Gabe. "Should I be asking about your intentions toward my granddaughter? Directing his question to Gabe, he raised his eyebrows. “I'm old, but I'm not blind."
"Mr. Hollister, I'll be honest. As soon as I figure out my intentions, you will be the first to know.”
"Fair enough," Gramps said, seating his large frame in the jeep. Gabe stood, watching as the older man drove back out the way he had come.
Gabe settled his hat squarely on his head and went back in the house. He had a crime to solve, and looking over the scene again on his own might give him some answers—or not.
He walked up to the steps and tried to recreate what might have happened in his mind. The gun was found fully loaded out here. Henry Jessup was found in his bedroom. There was blood on his chair in the living room. It all added up to the fact that Henry had taken his gun with him when he went to check on something.
Someone must have surprised him because he never got off a shot. Or he knew the person who had approached him. More questions than answers came to Gabe as he looked at the blood on the chair and the old man's bed. His mind was spinning as he started walking down to the pasture where Nora said she had seen the lights.
He was trying to stay in the shade of the tree line. He was half way down when he saw the tracks of a vehicle in the sparse grass. Nora had been right. There was a car here last night. He walked out into the open. There was a depression where something heavy had landed hard. What the hell was going on out here?
He took off his Stetson and wiped his forehead with an old handkerchief from his pocket. Placing his hat back on his head, he walked back to the house and his car.