Page 31 of Good Girls Don't Cry

Thirty-Six

Deep in thought, Jenna stared out of the window over the majestic lowlands. Miles of golden wheatgrass moved in the wind like waves on a giant lake. In the distance, a herd of bison made its way up a small hill. Outlined against the sky, the lead bull waited for the herd to catch up. She lifted her phone and took a picture. The sight was the essence of Black Rock Falls. The timeless scene was as if she had captured one second in a century of unspoiled landscape. She peered at the image and smiled at Kane. “This is perfect. I’m going to enlarge and print it. It will look great in our office at home.”

They found the Silver Buckle Ranch without difficulty and drove along the winding driveway to find a bustling cattle business. Large buildings and holding yards surrounded a huge ranch house. Men were walking around moving horses from one place to another. Others were setting out in trucks loaded with fencing materials. They pulled up outside the main ranch house where a sign that said office sat above an open door. Exhausted from a long day on her feet, Jenna got slowly out of the Beast and followed Kane up the steps to the office door. Raised voices came from inside, and when Kane went through the door she waited just outside.

“Oh and now the sheriff is here.” A sweaty-faced irritated man dabbed a bunch of tissues over his wet brow and glared at them. “What now? Who has done something wrong, this time?” He shook his head. “I give these guys a break and all the thanks I get is that they vanish leaving a mess to clean up behind them.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Kane went to stand in front of the desk, ignoring the two men on either side picking up papers from the floor. “What seems to be the trouble? Is there anything we can do to help?”

“No. It’s too late.” The man behind the desk got to his feet and held out his hand. “Art Bligh, I own the Silver Buckle.” He shook Kane’s hand and then waved absently toward the door. “I hired these two ex-crims to rebuild the bunkhouse that burned down and they vanished overnight taking all the tools with them, including my truck. I called it in just before and spoke to Chief Deputy Rio, who said he would put out a BOLO. As no one has seen the two men for the last twenty-four hours, I figure the chances of finding them are remote. I guess I’ll just have to cut my losses and hire someone else.”

Jenna wondered why this man seemed to hire only ex-crims, unless it was his way of getting cheap labor. Men desperate for a job so that they could leave prison would work long hours for practically nothing. People in desperate situations did desperate things and not every ex-crim was a lost case. She moved slowly into the room. “We’re looking for Silas Thorne. He isn’t in any trouble, but we need to ask him a few questions.”

“Silas Thorne? Let me see. That name rings a bell.” Bligh walked over to a whiteboard attached to the wall and stood there for a few moments scanning the contents. “He’s one of the general hands, so could be anywhere on the ranch at this time of the day. Right now, they’re bringing in some of the horses from the paddocks. He might be in that bunch.” He turned to a man stacking papers on his desk. “Do you know Silas Thorne, one of the new guys?”

“Yeah.” The man nodded to Jenna. “I saw him in the west wing stables not long ago. I’ll take you there.”

“Doesn’t he have a phone?” Kane removed his black Stetson, smoothed his hair, and replaced it.

“All phones are switched off when the men are on duty.” Bligh shook his head. “I’d walk around my ranch and all I’d see is men staring at their darn phones. They’re either messaging their friends or playing games. I don’t pay my workers to play games. They can do that on their own time.”

Jenna held up a hand. She needed to speak to Bligh before they left. “What is the deal here with the employees? Some of them stay on the ranch in the bunkhouses. What about meals? Are they supplied as well?”

“Yeah, we supply meals.” Bligh blew out a sigh as if his patience was wearing thin. “I prefer they remain on the ranch twenty-four/seven, then I don’t have to hunt them down when it’s time for work. Since the bunkhouse burned down, we have six men staying at the Triple Z Motel on their own dime. There are three others staying in town in various places. Since the B and Bs have become popular since the tourist influx, I’m guessing they’re staying there. It’s not something I ask about. It’s their business. If they want to arrive in time for breakfast, it’s included with the job.”

Taking in the information, it was obvious any worker going back and forth on a regular basis would be noticed by the others. Jenna turned her attention on the man who had offered to take them to Thorne. “We know that Thorne lives in town at the moment, so he would be one of the men who comes and goes during the day. Is he usually here for breakfast or does he stay back for dinner?”

“Yeah, I do believe he arrives here before breakfast each morning.” The man pushed back his cowboy hat and gave her a long look. “In fact, he’s here for most meals as far as I recall, although I do remember him mentioning that he wanted to have a meal at Aunt Betty’s Café. I offered to lend him a few bucks, but he said he had money in the bank from prior to going to jail.”

Jenna motioned him out of the door and they followed him slowly down the steps and toward a large stable with sliding doors out front. “What is the food like here? Being as it’s a beef cattle ranch, is steak on the menu?”

“Yeah, the food is great and plenty of it.” The man rubbed his belly appreciatively. “Bligh might be a hard-ass, but he looks after his workers. He raises pigs and chickens as well. The bread is made on the ranch.”

“So there’d be no reason for Thorne to go to Aunt Betty’s Café for a meal?” Kane scratched his chin. “Does he have a sweetheart in town?”

“He hasn’t said as much, but I figure maybe he has because he never shows here unshaven.” He waved a hand toward the other workers. “It’s a ranch. Most guys can’t be bothered to shave and grow a beard. We’re usually too tuckered out to do much after work. It’s a hard twelve-hour day here.”

They reached the stable and Jenna stood for a few seconds to allow her eyes to become accustomed to the dim light before looking around. She could see a tall broad man using a pitchfork to toss straw into empty stalls. “Is that him?” She turned to the man accompanying them. When he nodded, she cleared her throat. “We can take it from here, thanks.”

They walked up to Thorne and he ignored them and kept on breaking up the bale of straw and tossing it onto the floor of each stall. When Jenna called out his name, he turned and gave her a slow smile. “Mr. Thorne, we’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“I wondered how long it would take you to get to me.” Thorne leaned on the pitchfork and eyed them both with amusement. “It’s all over the news about the kids going missing, so the first people who you come and see are the ex-crims.” He waved a hand as if encompassing the entire ranch. “I hope you’ve got plenty of time. There must be at least thirty of us here. What made you single me out today?”

“We’re starting with the men who were released from jail recently and then working our way back.” Kane took out his notepad and pencil. “I’m sure you won’t mind answering a few questions.”

“I do, but there’s not anything I can do about it, is there?” Thorne shook his head. “If I don’t comply, you’ll put me in the back of your cruiser and take me to the sheriff’s office for interrogation, even though I’ve been here all the time minding my own business. I’ve paid for my mistakes and you guys are gonna hound me for the rest of my life, aren’t you?”

Tiredness weighed heavy on Jenna and the last thing she needed was attitude from this guy. “Once you’ve answered the questions, we’ll probably leave you alone.”

“Ask away.” Thorne continued to pitch the straw into the stalls.

Kane went about asking him the exact same questions as they had Jim Birch. To Jenna’s surprise, Thorne dropped the smart-ass remarks when Kane mentioned about finding a limo with the bodies of five young men inside. This fact hadn’t been released to the media and it was obvious that Kane was using the information to see what reaction Thorne had to the news.

“So you were in town on Friday night?” Kane straightened and his pen hovered over his notebook. “Where did you go and what did you do?”

“I walked mostly.” Thorne wiped a hand down his face. “After being locked up for a time, walking under the stars is a luxury. I like to walk every night before I go to bed, no matter how tired I am. It’s very relaxing.” He stared into space for a few seconds and then shook his head. “Darn shame about those young guys. I do recall seeing them. I was walking past Antlers. It must have been around six-thirty. It’s unusual to see a long white limo driving through town anywhere in this part of the country. Those boys had the windows open and were hanging out waving and making a noise. It’s a shame they didn’t make it to the prom.”

As that was the only useful information that Thorne had given them, Jenna thanked him and led the way back to the Beast. Inside she looked at Kane. “What do you think about him?’

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