After exploring the woods for an hour, they got back to the mansion just as the medical examiner’s two vans were pulling in.
Susan rolled down a window and smiled. “You look rode hard and put away wet, Bo.”
“Good. That must mean I’m still alive, which is more than I can say for the old couple in the double-wide over there.”
“Murdered, I take it.”
“Yeah, multiple gunshot wounds, no weapon in sight. Senseless. It will be a great help if you can determine when they were killed.”
Susan climbed out of the van and stretched. “I’ll get right to it, Bo.”
“Good.” He walked back to the sheriff’s department Explorer parked behind the M.E.’s van.
Brian Pugh got out of the passenger side. “So we have a double murder, boss.”
“Yeah, an old couple. I can’t think of any reason to rob them. Their total wealth probably didn’t amount to more than their last Social Security checks.”
Ernie Thorpe got out of the rear seat.
“You fellas bring rifles?” Tully asked.
Ernie said, “Armed to the teeth, boss.”
Pugh shook his head. “These days a Social Security check is more than enough to get a person murdered.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that,” Tully said. “But I don’t think they were killed for their money.”
“What then?”
“Probably to shut them up. About what I have no idea.”
Lurch got out of the second Explorer, walked around and opened the rear passenger door. A grayhaired lady stepped out and walked stiffly over to Tully. Lurch introduced her. “Boss, this is Vera Freedy. She’s the one who wrote the chapter about the Beeker Ranch. Miss Freedy, this is . . .”
“Oh, Byron, I know who Sheriff Bo Tully is. Everybody in Blight County knows Sheriff Tully.”
Tully shook the lady’s hand. “Miss Freedy, please accept my apology for Lurch, uh, Byron, dragging you all the way out to a murder scene.”
“Sheriff, it wasn’t Byron’s fault at all. I insisted on coming when he told me it involved the old Beeker Ranch. I’m something of a local historian, and I couldn’t resist a chance to visit the place even if it involved the murders of its caretakers.”
“Vera, maybe you can shed some light on our situation here. Before our robbery suspects became robbery suspects, they indicated they had found a place to stay over by Famine. One of them was named Horace Beeker, so that led us to the old Beeker Ranch, which as you can see is now used to grow trees rather than cattle. Lurch, uh, I mean Byron . . .”
“‘Lurch’ is fine with me, Sheriff. I like it better than Byron.”
“Good. Anyway, Lurch told me you had recently written about the Beeker Ranch, and I thought maybe, if you can remember, there might have been some mention of cabins or some other place where the ranch hands stayed.”
“I’m sorry, Sheriff, but there was no mention of such a place. All the hands lived in the little town of Beeker, now called Famine. As you may know, the Beekers were not highly thought of by the local population, probably not unusual for rich landowners, particularly rich landowners who build empires the local population depends on.”
“I suspected as much, Vera, but I was hoping you might have come across something while researching the Beekers.”
“I did, actually, something that may be of help to you, Sheriff. Mr. Beeker was not totally bad to his employees and the townspeople. Every year he put on a huge picnic everyone was invited to, even all the forest service personnel in the region. The forest rangers contributed canned hams and all kinds of other food left over from feeding firefighters. Alcoholic beverages flowed freely, and half a dozen bands came out from Blight City to supply music. People danced and sang till the sun came up in the morning.”
Tully said, “Sounds like a good time was had by all.”
“Yes, I’m sure, but I think what may be of interest to you in your investigation, Sheriff, was where the picnic was held.”
“Really? Where?”
“On Round Top Mountain.”
“Round Top? I’ve heard of it. But why would it interest me?”
“It had a forest service lookout tower on it. I believe the tower is still there. The forest service has done away with most of the towers, but I’m writing a history of them. They’re fascinating. Anyway, the Round Top tower still exists, or did last year when I was working on my book. It would be a great place for outlaws to hang out.”
Tully stared at her in disbelief. He suddenly remembered something Ed Dance had said, only to be hushed up by Beeker. Dance had blurted out the only thing their cabin came with was a view. “You didn’t happen to bring a map showing the road to Round Top, did you, Vera?”
“I’m afraid not, Bo. I imagine the road is long gone. I doubt you can even find any evidence of it.”
Tully tugged on the droopy corner of his mustache. “Here’s what I think, Vera. The men who killed the old couple in the double-wide over there did so because they didn’t want us to find out about the tower on Round Top. Somehow the killers knew about the tower and are hiding out there, until they think they can slip away. Maybe the Beeker woman told Horace Beeker about it, and he killed her.”
“But, Sheriff, if the road is gone, how are you going to find the way to the lookout? I know Round Top is on the highest range of the Hoodoo Mountains, but I don’t have a clue how to get there.”
Tully smiled. “Don’t worry about that. I just happen to have the world’s greatest tracker along. If our killers left any trail at all, he’ll find it.”