Ike Hodges couldn’t have been any more stunned had Crystal Smitty walked in dragging a dead skunk and smacked him with it upside the head. It was the first time she had returned to Crippled Crows after putting in her two weeks’ notice years earlier. He would’ve been a lot happier to see the best waitress he’d ever had if it wasn’t the middle of the night.
The hour of the visit, coupled with the serious look on her face, meant there was trouble.
Sliding from behind the bar, Ike made his way through the crowd and met Crystal halfway. But before he could playfully scold her for staying gone so long, she had him in a hug, generating a few cocked eyes from some drunk nosy patrons. Which meant it was time for some privacy.
Aside from the crowd noise and blaring electric guitar solo onstage from Comanche Moon’s lead singer, he didn’t like the idea of being gawked at by customers. It had taken years to build his reputation as a not to be screwed with owner of the World’s Trashiest Dive Bar and he hated to think that the countless ass kickings dished had all been for naught.
Ike broke away from his guest and rested his forearm over her shoulder. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “How about a little bourbon to warm you up?”
Crystal waved her hand at him. “Been on more of a chardonnay kick lately.” She added with a smile. “Just a minute of your time will do. I can’t stay long.”
Ike looked at her askance. Crystal’s time hobnobbing with the Kaisers hadn’t just resulted in a different appearance. Apparently, it had altered her palate too. “Well, step into my office then.” He pointed to the door behind his bar. “Let’s get away from all this racket.”
Crystal led and Ike followed her inside his office. Just like old times, he sat atop the floor safe while she eased in behind the desk. Had anyone walked through the door, they would’ve thought she owned the place. While he was happy to see this former party girl settle down and get focused on Ray and Savanah, it made him a little sad.
Turning down a drink was his first clue that she’d changed. And truth be told, he’d always been partial to bleach blond and skintight. But the darker hair, and business casual attire, showed that she’d really moved on since becoming Vicky Kaiser’s assistant. And it suited her just fine.
Crystal picked up Ike’s cell phone, which was buried under a mess of papers. “Guess this explains why you didn’t answer my calls.”
Ike felt a little guilty, but the damn thing was starting to feel like a ball and chain. “Sorry about that. Probably should keep it close since I got rid of my landline.”
Crystal looked at him curiously. “Why’d you get rid of your phone?”
“Nothing but trouble on the other end usually. I’ve learned over the years that anybody who wanders into a place like this doesn’t want to be found.”
There had been plenty of wives looking for husbands, and sometimes the other way around. But with age he’d become more reclusive. Ike understood the need to drop out of sight, unwind with a drink, and just be left alone. Basking in the neon, whiskey in hand, with some outlaw country playing in the background for some folks was just what the doctor ordered.
As Crystal leaned forward, her smile vanished. “I needed to find you for a good reason.”
“If you’re here this late, I’m guessing it’s kind of pressing. We can save the small talk for another day. What’s on your mind?”
“Actually, it’s two things, Ike. You’re the only one around here who knows about one of them. Which means I gotta talk about it with you.”
If there was ever a place in the world where terrible secrets were made it was Crippled Crows. But there was only one confided to him by Crystal that he swore he’d take to the grave. “This about Duke?”
Crystal swallowed hard and gave a single nod.
“What about the other issue?” Ike asked.
“Well, it’s related to Duke in an odd way. Or I don’t know. Maye it’s not.” Crystal was clearly flustered. “Sorry I’m not making much sense. I’m just stressed.”
This time, Ike leaned forward. “What’s going on?”
“Savanah can’t be found for starters.” Crystal paused, looking as if she was replaying the situation in her mind. “Well, not just Savanah. Asadi and Duke are missing too.”
“Missing? Missing where?”
“Out at the Mescalero,” Crystal explained. “They went out on Duke’s Polaris looking for some horses earlier and haven’t been seen since.”
“And you’re worried something happened?”
“We don’t know at this point.” Crystal teared up a little. “Vicky said Lacey rode out looking for them. But Ray and Bo are unreachable. Garrett too. They’re off dealing with all that explosion stuff.” She looked a little sheepish. “Guess I was hoping that maybe we could get up in your helicopter and try to find them ourselves.”
“Crystal, I’d do it without a second thought, but my bird is still down for repairs. Thanks to the aforementioned gentlemen, I’m still plugging up bullet holes from my last favor to Garrett.”
Crystal looked disappointed. “That’s okay. They’re probably already back at the barn anyhow.” She looked at her phone again, as if expecting to get an update at any moment. “Just better safe than sorry, you know.”
“Never apologize for being a worried mama. Happy to help if I can.”
Crystal got up from the desk chair. “I should probably get back out there. We can discuss the other thing some other time.”
“Nonsense.” Ike waved her off. “My bird might be winged, but I still got Black Betty.”
Ike was fiercely proud of his new Ford Raptor. Well, it was new to him anyhow. He’d won the agate black metallic finish pickup with twin-turbo 450-horsepower engine in a high-stakes poker game from a drugstore cowboy in Spearman. The losing party had inherited all the money and pomposity of his granddad, but not a lick of the old man’s business sense.
“Think the kids might be lost out in the sandhills?” Ike asked.
Crystal nodded. “Vicky said Duke’s UTV tracks were headed that direction.”
“Then time’s a-wasting.” Ike jumped off the safe and waved her on. “I’m sure everything’s fine but it won’t hurt to go out on patrol.” He winked at Crystal. “Just leave your car here and ride with me. It’ll give us a chance to catch up.”
They’d made it about halfway over to the Mescalero Ranch in his Ford Raptor when Ike inquired about Duke. He wouldn’t have pried into the past if he didn’t think it was important. But after they’d discussed the latest theories on the pipeline explosions and made a little small talk, it seemed an appropriate time to ask. After all, she was the one who’d first brought it up.
Ike turned to Crystal, noticing that she seemed nervous. And he suspected it wasn’t just about the kids. “So, how’s the Duke situation working out? Rumor has it he’s back living with Vicky.”
“He’s back, all right. Just never thought I’d ever see him again.”
“How do you feel about it?”
“Weird as hell.” Crystal pinched the bridge of her nose. “There are so many things I want to say to him but can’t. And even if I could, I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“Why can’t you talk to him? I mean . . . who’s stopping you?”
Crystal looked at Ike like he was crazy. “Really think Duke would want to know the truth?”
In all Ike’s years he’d concluded that the truth was way overrated. But he also lived with a come as you are mentality. It wasn’t in his nature to be someone he wasn’t, which sometimes meant that his philosophies contradicted. Of course, that’s when life was the most interesting. And it’s probably why a lawbreaker like himself had buddied up with a law-and-order DEA cowboy. With Garrett Kohl, the only thing you could expect was the unexpected.
Crystal looked forward and sighed. “I can’t tell Duke anything because of the contract. I agreed to it. I signed it. And I took the money. Nothing more needs to be said than that.”
“The hell it doesn’t! Deals with crooks are made to be broken. And Preston and his old man are two of the biggest criminals I’ve ever met. And that’s saying a lot!”
“I know, Ike. I know. But I gave my word. And when you grow up dirt poor, you got nothing else in this world but your honor. I made a pact and I aim to keep it.”
Ike calmed himself. “If anybody knows that you’re a woman of your word, I do.” He gave her a playful nudge from across the console. “How many times did I try to get you to leave Ray when he was in prison and saddle up with me? But you never strayed once. Loyal to a fault.”
Crystal grinned back. “Maybe . . . you’re just not as good a catch as you think you are. And it wasn’t because I was loyal to Ray. I just had higher standards.”
Ike laughed. “You’ve always been about ten rungs above me, Crystal. No doubt about it.”
“Well, when it comes to Duke, there’s a cold hard reality that I don’t like to think about.”
Ike had never asked about her love affair with Preston Kaiser and didn’t want to know. But Crystal had confided that she’d been in high school when it took place. Not only would it have caused a major scandal because she was a minor, but it would’ve landed that son of a bitch in jail. For the sake of protecting the Kaiser name, his father had covered it up with a bribe.
After accepting a cash payment of $25,000 and signing an airtight nondisclosure, the seventeen-year-old Crystal went away to have a child that she was never supposed to see or talk about ever again. Duke went on to live with an aunt, who he thought was his mother, and he was not to return to Canadian. But the High Plains is like a vortex that sucks back its kin.
Ike decided to cut the jokes, as she seemed to get more serious. “What cold hard reality are you talking about?”
She folded her hands and looked down at her lap. “People like the Kaisers don’t really want anything to do with people like me. At least out in public.”
“Crystal, he’s not just some random Kaiser. He’s your son. That changes things.”
“Does it though?” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “What does it really change? All of a sudden, he realizes that his real father is dead and his mother is some trailer trash waitress.”
“Don’t you say that. God broke the mold when he made you. I mean it, now.”
“But it’s true, Ike. I’m not like the Kaisers. You know where I’m from. Where I’ve been.”
“Well, here’s some more truth. For all my joking, I would’ve married you in a heartbeat. Hell, you know I love Ray, but I’d have brained him with my billy club and buried him out behind the bar if I thought you’d run away with me.” Ike nudged her arm with his knuckles. “I’d even let you visit him on holidays just to show what a good sport I am.”
Crystal cleared the tears from her face and laughed. “Thanks, I guess.” She turned and smiled. “Sounds . . . romantic?”
“I’m creative if nothing else.” Ike gave her a solid nod. “My ex-wives will tell you that.”
Crystal laughed. “They’ve told me that and a whole lot more.”
“Look, Crystal, your secret’s safe with me until the end of time. All I’m saying is that whatever you do, do it for the right reasons. It might be a shock to Duke at first, but he’d be lucky to know you as his mom. Won’t take him long to figure that out.”
Crystal smiled and looked ahead. “You’re sweet to say that, Ike. But there’s something else. Something that only I know. Now that Preston and his father are dead.”
When it came to the Kaisers, there were some deep, dark secrets that could get you killed. Ike shuddered to think what this could be about. “If it has anything to do with Jimmy Hoffa or the Lindbergh baby, I don’t want to know.”
Crystal shook her head. “It’s worse.”
“How could it be worse?”
“Before I signed the contract with Preston’s father, I wanted to make sure that my child would be taken care of. Mr. Kaiser, on the spot, took out some papers from a desk drawer and showed me where he’d amended his own will and testament to include Duke as an heir.”
“Amended how?”
“Mr. Kaiser told me he wanted to keep the Mescalero Ranch with a male successor. Said it was built by a man and should be run by a man.” Crystal rolled her eyes. “You might remember how old-school he was.”
“Arrogant asshole is more like it. But sounds like him. Think this document was legit?”
Crystal shrugged. “I’m not a lawyer or anything, but it looked pretty official. Plus, he had no reason to lie about it to me. He seemed pretty proud of himself. Like he was getting away with something that had nothing to do with my situation. It was like he wanted to show it off.”
Ike smiled with the realization of knowing why Vicky and her goofy sister Miriam hadn’t been seen until after Preston died. They’d probably been given sizable trust funds to live off of, but the real Kaiser fortune was in the land and the businesses associated with energy exploration, which the girls had been cut out of until Preston’s untimely death.
“What about the oil and gas?” Ike asked.
“All of the mineral assets too. According to that will, Duke is the rightful heir.”
Ike couldn’t believe his ears. “Does Vicky know about any of this?”
“I have no idea what she knows. I’m pretty sure she’s aware that Duke is Preston’s son. But I doubt that she knows about the will. And my guess is that if she does, she’s not talking.”
“Does she know that you’re Duke’s mother?”
“No, thank God.” Crystal chuckled. “We get along okay as long as she’s bossing me around at the ranch. But if she actually had the full story, I’d probably end up in a hole somewhere.”
Suddenly, Ike thought back to his joke about Jimmy Hoffa and realized that he might’ve been closer to the truth than he ever imagined. He didn’t think that Vicky was as bad as her father or brother, and he really didn’t know that much about her at all. But if there was anything he’d learned over the years running a dive bar and serving multiple generations of patrons, it’s that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Kaisers were cruel to the bone.
“Whatever you do, Crystal, don’t tell anyone else what you just told me. Big money makes for big crazy. Even a rumor of something like that is enough to get you killed.”
“Believe me, I know.” Crystal turned to him looking a little fearful. “See why I’ve kept all this to myself? Not even Ray knows any of this. Other than you, it’s a deal that died with all the Kaiser men.” As an afterthought, she added, “Except for Duke, I guess.”
Ike reached up, massaged his bristly beard, and thought about what was at stake. It didn’t take long to come back to his tried-and-true old philosophy. The truth was way overrated.