Riders - Horizons (III) Read Free Page A

to get some tangible evidence.
After a fairly repulsive dig around, I found what I needed. Placing
the two bullets in my pocket, I mounted my horse and rode back to
the ranch. It was a long ride and a hot day. I stopped at the ridge
and to ok a rest, giving Storm a break.
    I was still stinging over her. She was the
only girl I'd really felt strongly about. She was cool, beautiful,
smart, and seemed to be very into me. That day I spent with her and
her sister had been a great day. Something I'd like to have
repeated several times over. I'd felt something new growing inside
me. She'd awoken a tide of protectiveness. I'd wanted to look after
her. Both the Johnson girls. And at the same time, I wanted to
please them. To ensure they had a good time with me.
    I paced up and down on the grass as Storm
grazed, oblivious to my agitated mood. I chewed a piece of grass
while I stewed over my thoughts.
    More fool me. Appearances could be so
deceptive. Lesson learned.
    I returned to the saddle, swinging myself up
and heading off with a hardened heart.
     
    *
     
    She placed them in a labeled plastic bag
with a pair of tweezers, “I'll send them off to forensics. And we
need to eliminate your fingerprints, so can we take those, Josh?”
Lorna, the Deputy Sheriff said.
    “Sure. Go ahead, Lorna.” I
held out my hand, submitting to the finger printing. I'd do
whatever was necessary to bring the bastard who did this to
justice.
    “Got any enemies, people
with a grudge? Ex employees? Bad blood? Anything like
that?”
    “Two guys spring to mind.
Lucky, who I just fired. He's always been on my case. He could have
done this to cause me trouble. The other, more likely culprit is
our dear friend Mickey Green. Since my pa bought him out, he's
always had a sore spot. This would be right up his street, sneaking
in and shooting something belonging to us.”
    She picked up my other hand and proceeded to
print that too.
    “We need more than a hunch
to go on. I can't get a search warrant to look for a gun unless I
have good reason. But I can make inquiries at the gun stores. To
see if he purchased one local. If I can match a weapon type to the
bullet, along with due cause and motive, such as a grudge, that may
well be enough to convince the municipal judge to issue a search
warrant.”
    “Whatever you can do to
help will be appreciated. I don't know what I can do other than
hire a PI.”
    “You don't want to do
that. Not in this instance. Don't tamper with the process of law,
Josh.” Lorna smiled at me. She had a sweet smile. She was far too
old for me at almost fifty, but she still had a lot of sex appeal.
“Right we're done, wipe your fingers, Josh. ”
    “Thanks, you're a doll,
sweetheart.”
    “Excuse me? Is that any way to address an officer of the law?
Deputy Sheriff Summers to you my boy!”
    “I beg your pardon, ma'am.
Kinda forgetting myself in your presence.” I winked at her and she
blushed.
     
    As I left the Sheriff's office, I was
pleased I'd done something proactive. Not only to bring the
offender to justice, but I hoped this may finally get my father to
see I had some value. I had an ongoing need to prove myself to him.
He threw it back in my face time after time, but I kept going back
for more. It was all down to Mom. After I'd gone off the rails in
California for a year, my return had caused a lot of bad feeling in
the home. That was why I'd moved into the ranch house. I knew Mom
and Pa argued over me. I didn't want to hear it or be in their
face, causing friction. I hoped things would calm down in time and
they did. But the issue was never fully resolved. And after she
died, without her mediating between us, things just got worse.
    Mom was forgiving by nature. She put my
excesses down to my youth and a need for something more exciting
than small town life. She understood and loved me unconditionally,
no matter what. Pa was different. He'd taken my leaving personally.
It had been a rejection of his way of life, a taunting