Introduction: What is discovery? Perhaps it’s finding something that you didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s finding a hidden treasure. Maybe it’s finding out something about yourself that many were aware of but you just didn’t know it.

Mannie does some investigating at the place where Uncle Ben was murdered. It suddenly becomes very obvious who the murderers are. She is also learning about the operation of the Antelope Bar & Grill. She feels she might be able to bring some good ideas back to the winery. The roustabouts are a group unto their own. The local government looks the other way when it comes to some of their activities – such as poker. The opera continues.

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

Chapter 9

Mannie walked around the perimeter of the ‘parking’ area where her uncle’s body had been found. Obviously, there had been more vehicles down there than just teenagers looking for a spot for a little hurried sex. Several large trucks had parked close to the creek. The tire tracks were obvious; however, the tracks had been obliterated by recent rains. From the feel of things, the next storm would not be bringing rain. It would be bringing snow and much colder temperatures.

She found the spot where they had found her uncle. It was very evident he’d bled out where he’d fallen. There were still flies buzzing around the spot. They’d be dead in a few days. Hopefully, it had been quick. “I’ll get those bastards,” she said out loud.

When she first heard about her uncle’s death the thought came to mind that her father’s parents or brothers might have had something to do with it. She dismissed that thought rather quickly. If they had wanted to kill him, they would have come after him long before now, and it would have been very messy. Her second thought was that maybe the big oil companies had him killed so that they could get access to the oil under his land It was probably a bit too soon; however, there had been no overtures from any of the oil companies that worked in the area. Actually, there were only two. No, he was killed for some other reason.

After the autopsy, in accordance with his wishes, he’d been cremated. His ashes were in a box on the mantle. When her mother arrived in a week or so there would be a private ceremony down near the creek in a grove of cottonwoods. Other than Mannie and her mother, the only people present would be the Williams and the other hands and their families. All were Sioux.

A sudden shift in the wind from the southeast to the northwest brought something she hadn’t noticed before. She walked to the creeks edge. The smell of rotting fish almost gagged her. There were thousands of dead fish on the shore and floating in the nearly still water. It all came together in a second. She knew who the killers were. Well, not specifically; however, she knew what they did. She knew now for certain that her uncle’s murderers would be caught. It would just take time.

Now, she had to get back to the ranch house and change clothes. They needed help at the restaurant. She would probably act as a greeter, and maybe work at the bar. She didn’t know the restaurant business that well, but she’d helped out a bit at the restaurant at the winery a few times. It couldn’t be that much different.

She needed to make a call to John Crawford.

“Hi Shirley, is John there? I need to ask a favor.

“I’m feeling great. The ride was no problem. I pushed it a bit, but I made it in two days. Mom’s flying up in a few days. We have some legal business to take care of.

“Thanks.

“John, can you get an expert on oil drilling, specifically horizontal drilling. I need someone to let me know if we are being ripped off.

“I have a pretty good idea who killed Uncle Ben. I’ll send you an email about what I found out.

“Good. I love you guys. Tell Mike and Linda I’m doing great. The sheriff hit on me the other day. I’ll be careful.

Mannie had a good idea that whether or not John Crawford had retired, he had connections. Because of her research, she discovered that the land to the west of the ranch was Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. That meant Federal jurisdiction. The land to the east was private land, and it might be more difficult get access to drilling records. Regardless of who was drilling and where, the EPA had strict rules about what happened to what was generated in the drilling process. She might need to find a good lawyer and she wasn’t too sure where to find one.

Business at the restaurant was booming. The bar area was crowded with the off duty roustabouts. Some were just relaxing, drinking draft lite beer or other drinks. Both pool tables were occupied, and there were figurative lines of players waiting to challenge whomever was holding the table. The entertainment devices didn’t make much money, but they kept the customers around to buy drinks.

Her uncle had made a number of improvements over the previous three years, including a set of two double doors between the restaurant and the bar. Smoking was not allowed in either area. Mannie was wearing a western style skirt and blouse. It hadn’t taken her long to find that she enjoyed wearing skirts and dresses for the right occasion; however, she loved wearing her form fitting leathers when she was riding her bike. A couple of days before she’d ridden her bike into town and had stopped by to pick up the receipts to take to the bank.

Sheriff John and a deputy who Mannie didn’t recognize were sitting on the porch not far from where she parked her bike. She hung her helmet on the handle bars and being in a flirtatious mood and threw her head side to side to free up her golden locks.

“Oh God, buy me one of those,” she heard the deputy say not too quietly.

“The bike or the girl?” John asked.

“Why not go for the whole package if I gotta dream.”

“Well, I don’t think she’s available at the moment. She’s Ben Martindale’s niece. She lives down in Arkansas. She’s up here to get estate matters settled.”

Mannie could feel their eyes boring into her back as she walked down the planked walk to the restaurant.

Steve Miller, the restaurant manager opened up the safe for her. The deposit slips were already prepared. Copies were already sent to the accountant.

“Steve, have you ever had to use that shotgun,” she said pointing to the pump action shotgun standing in the corner.

“Not recently. You probably should know this. It’s loaded with one blank and the rest of the shells are loaded with buckshot. There’s a second one below the register. It’s the same thing there, except it’s a semi-automatic. If an employee has to, he or she can pull the trigger twice. The second shot will take care of whomever is standing in front of the register. That gun is locked down so the recoils won’t mess up the aim. It’s easy to unlock it if needed. My assistant and I check it every day before opening to make sure the safety is on.

“You know how to shoot one?”

“Definitely, Uncle Ben took me quail and pheasant hunting a couple of times. I was a very good shot, but decided I didn’t like killing birds.”

The first time she had to use the gun was only two nights later. As nights went, it was pretty interesting. Early on, the roustabouts had taken up a collection for Jim Larkins. He was hoping to move his family to Tagus but was short of money having only just started work. Now he needed to fly back to New Orleans because his wife was experiencing problems with her pregnancy. The hat was quickly passed, and Mannie decided they could certainly afford $100 to help get Jim a round trip ticket. She opened the register to get $100 when a fight broke out.

One of the poker players had stood and was shouting at one of the players. Someone Mannie didn’t recognize.

“You cheating son of a bitch. You palmed the ace of hearts and I think you palmed the ace of spades from the last hand. The players on either side of the cheater grabbed him before he could do anything. One unbuttoned the shirtsleeve of the accused crook’s left arm. The ace of hearts and the ace of spades fell to the floor.

“You know what we do to cheats around here?”

The accused cheat was silent, but his eyes were darting around the room. All eyes were on him.

“First we beat the shit out of you. Then we tie you up for a couple of days. We put some castration ligatures around your scrotum until your balls fall off. Then we’ll let you go. I understand it doesn’t hurt very much. The steers and dogs don’t talk much about it.”

Mannie could see that it was going to get rough whether or not they went through with the castration. She grabbed the shotgun and fired off the first shot. Fortunately, it was the blank. That got everyone’s attention.

“Just hold the gentleman until the sheriff gets here. He’s on his way.”

“What the hell is going on?” John exclaimed as he walked into the packed bar.

“It seems the restrained gentleman forgot to put a couple of aces back into the deck. Perhaps you should explain the error of his ways to him as you escort him to the county line. That would be far nicer than what these boys had in mind for him. They wanted to fix him so he could audition for the Vienna Boys Choir.”

Having experienced what the roustabouts and cattlemen had in mind, she knew the voice thing was a myth. She was fortunate that her voice was in the tenor range to begin with. She had a good speech therapist, and after six months her voice never dropped into the male range again.

We know the environmentalist tree huggers aren’t very popular to say the least. I guess it’s about time we meet some of them. Of course, you know who is among them.