Falcon's Run

“That’s a question you’ll have to ask the owner.”

“And that would be me,” Abby said, walking up with Bobby at her side.

“The safety of the children always comes first, so the ranch will be closed until we can find out exactly what happened. I’ve made an exception for those kids because they were already here. Our riding instructor, Michelle Okerman, will stay with them while I speak to you, and if you’ll glance over from time to time, you’ll see the difference just being around the animals makes to these children.”

Abby paused and looked directly at each reporter there. “This ranch is a nonprofit whose sole purpose is to brighten the lives of kids who might otherwise have very little to smile about. One of our guests today is in the last stages of a serious illness and deserves extra consideration. That’s why I decided to let Sitting Tall Ranch rise above its present circumstances and come through on promises made.”

Preston saw that Abby’s answer had hit just the right tone with the reporters. He had a feeling more donations would soon come in. In fact, he intended to send her a check himself.

As the reporters moved away, Stan approached and said, “Well played.”

“I didn’t play, Stan. I told them the truth.”

“Yes, well, now concentrate on staying low profile till this blows over.”

“And that’ll be soon, right?” Bobby asked, looking up at Preston. “The CSI unit will get DNA from something, or trace evidence, and then you’ll go arrest the bad guy.”

“I wish it were that simple, but it’s not. Right now we’re gathering evidence, and then we’ll be interviewing a lot of people. Once we have a suspect, we’ll move in and arrest him or her.” Seeing Officer Michaels signal him, Preston excused himself momentarily.

“What’s up?” he asked Michaels as he walked over to the barn.

“We processed, photographed and logged in the evidence. When will you be ready for us to process the vic’s residence, the bunkhouse?”

“Hang on. I want a chance to look around there first. Did you or Gabe interview the staff?”

“Everyone who’s on-site now, yes. That includes the riding instructor, Michelle Okerman. She teaches the kids about balance and paying attention. Basically, she walks next to the mounts and helps them each step of the way. Monroe Jenkins, the police chief’s son, is here this morning, too. He volunteers a lot in the summer and does whatever needs to be done. Ilse Sheridan is also here. She’s Lightning Rod Garner’s personal assistant and volunteers her time to help train the horses. The last time any of them claim to have seen the vic was yesterday afternoon.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you know when you can process the bunkhouse. In the meantime, walk through the grounds and check out each of the other structures. We don’t know where else the intruder went. And verify that there’s a bicycle inside the barn office.”

Michaels nodded. “Got it. We’ve already set up a search pattern.”

When Preston returned to where Abby was standing, Bobby was speaking to Michelle. The boy was favoring his right leg and swaying slightly from side to side.

Abby followed his line of vision. “He’s conning her,” she whispered with a tiny smile. “Michelle was hoping to divert Bobby by asking him to talk to the kids, but he knows where the action’s going to be. He’d rather stick with us.”

“That kid’s in pain. I don’t think he’s faking it,” Preston said.

“His disability is real, but he’s learned to use it. Don’t ever underestimate him. Bobby’s highly intelligent and knows how to manipulate adults to get out of whatever he doesn’t want to do.”

Preston didn’t comment, still unconvinced.

“Jack Yarrow, his foster parent, prefers dropping him off here first thing in the morning because Bobby makes his wife nervous. He can read her like a book and tells her what she’s about to do next, which creeps her out big-time.”

“He’s incredibly observant,” he said with a smile.

“It’s all part of a game he plays. Bobby can’t let go of the hope that he and his biological father will be together again someday. After his dad gave him up, Bobby made up the story that his dad’s in the CIA and had to leave to protect him. He told it so many times, he actually began to believe it. He reads everything he can about spy craft and pretends he’s training so he can join his dad someday.”

“He’s protecting himself from a truth that hurts too much to accept,” Preston said, remembering his days in foster care.

“The problem is that this game he plays often gets him into trouble. When he’s told not to do something, he pretends he’s a spy on a secret mission and finds a way to do it anyway,” she said. “I’m willing to bet that most of the time he doesn’t get caught.”

“He may be a handful, but he’s got a lot going for him,” Preston said, chuckling. “Kids who’ve been bounced around often need something or someone to believe in. Bobby had a hard time finding that, so he created it. In my mind that deserves a high five.”

Just then Bobby came up. “When will you be checking out Carl’s office?”

“I’m going over to the bunkhouse now,” Preston said. “I’ll check the office after that.”

“Great. I can help you at both places. I’ve been at the bunkhouse lots of times too,” he said.

Abby gave him a surprised look. “You have?”

“Sure, after Carl finished his chores, he and I would play games. We both loved anagrams and riddles, and sometimes we’d make up our own codes and send each other secret messages.”

“On a computer?” Preston asked.

“No,” Bobby said. “Just on paper. He was good, too. We’d try to make the codes impossible to break, like real spies would, but he’d win most of the time.”

“What happened when you won?” Preston asked, following his gut.

Bobby smiled. “I’d get to feed the camels.”

“Alone?” Abby asked, her voice rising.

“No, Carl would always stay with me, watching, but I’d be the one who did it,” he said, a touch of pride in his voice.

“Sounds like the camels are your favorites,” Preston said.

“Yeah, Hank and Eli are cool. They remember stuff. There’s one guy who swatted Eli just to get him out of the way once, and Eli never forgot. After that, he’d set the guy up by acting real calm, then biting at him the second he got close.”

“Are you talking about Joe Brown?” Abby asked.

Bobby nodded.

“I caught him manhandling one of the horses and fired him on the spot,” she told Preston.

“I’m going to need to interview everyone who might have had some grievance against the victim or the ranch. Can you get me a list of all current and past employees, say, going back six months?” Preston said.

“No problem,” Abby said.

As they headed toward the bunkhouse, Bobby slipped in smoothly between Preston and Abby. Preston noted it silently, wondering if the boy had a crush on Abby. Or maybe there was more at play. Considering Bobby’s past, it was possible the kid didn’t trust cops.

“So Carl had the use of the bunkhouse rent free?” Preston verified as they neared the small building about the size of a one-car garage or a startup home on the Rez.

“It was part of the package since I couldn’t pay him what he was worth. Carl agreed to fix up the interior for me, too, as long as I purchased the supplies,” she said. “When I first bought Sitting Tall Ranch, the property had been unoccupied for years. Everything had been neglected and most of the buildings were practically unlivable.”

He looked around. The barn and storage sheds had fresh coats of paint, the corrals had up-to-date welded pipe fencing and the areas were well maintained. There wasn’t a weed in sight.

“You’ve done a good job. The place shows the care you give it.”