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.

The weather takes a major shift and Mannie decides to catch up at the local beauty parlor. Once home she finds she just missed Steve who was going to meet with his friends in town. A series of phone calls makes her realize Andy Bennett has kidnapped him and probably intends to kill him. It’s not going to be easy, but Mannie is going to do her best to rescue him.

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 14

In spite of the snow and ice some things have to continue on. Law enforcement was one of them. Sheriff John called a couple of days later with two bits of news. The bullets taken from Steve’s side and from the door of Gary’s truck were matches to the 9mm slugs taken from Uncle Ben. The semi-truck tractor stolen from Andy Bennett’s truck yard was found partially submerged in a pothole north of town. The rear tire tread matched the picture Gary Smith had taken. Several spent cartridges found in the cab were 9mm. There was little doubt that whoever had stolen the truck probably had taken shots at the boys as they were investigating the murder site of Uncle Ben. Finger prints could not be obtained.

Weather can be a capricious thing. After two weeks of one nasty storm after another, the weather pattern changed. The cold air retreated to Canada, and the warmer air from the Pacific Northwest poured over the Rockies and raced across Montana into North Dakota. Literally in a matter of minutes the temperature rose from sub-zero to the 50’s. The dry warm air not only melted the snow, it evaporated it in the process known as sublimation. The weather phenomenon is known as a Chinook.

Steve had been feeling very good of late and no one needed to guess why. Making love became pretty much a regular routine, and each time was better than the previous. Allison stopped making snide remarks about their intimacy, and just bathed in her daughter’s happiness.

Mannie found a beautician in town who called Lindsay Porter in Ozark so that she could match the shades Lindsay was using on Mannie’s hair. Her mother had been after her to touch up her roots, and Mannie knew she was at least three weeks overdue. Mannie thought she did an excellent job. It had warmed up considerably, and Mannie had considered riding her bike into town; however, there was quite a bit of runoff from the melting snow alongside the roads. That created a very dirty road mist, and she knew that she and the bike would be a mess the first time they encountered a semi going in either direction.

Next to the beauty shop was a small but very nice lingerie shop; something she hadn’t expected to find in Tagus when she had first arrived. Maybe some of the farmer’s wives needed something to spice things up. To this point in her life her underwear was just functional, nothing special. That would have to change. She found a couple of saucy bra and panty sets plus some just very nice underwear. Steve didn’t need any encouragement, but it would be fun just to spice it up a bit.

Steve’s truck was gone when she returned to the ranch. He’d mentioned that he and the other three were getting together to make some plans for a little demonstration later in the week. Her mother confirmed what she’d thought. She must have missed Steve by just seconds when she left town. She thought she’d try out her new purchases but then she received the first of several phone calls.

“Hi Mabel, what’s going on? Everything okay at the restaurant?

“I was coming in on the highway north of your place, and I could swear I saw Steve riding with Andy Bennett in his crew cab. Steve was in the front seat between Andy Bennett and one of his hands. There were three guys in the back seat. I’m not sure who they were.”

“Where would they be going out there?”

“Andy has a couple of sections leased out there. They have a duck club around those pothole lakes.”

“If Andy was going to do something bad, he wouldn’t be taking Steve to his duck club. What else is out there?”

“That’s mostly BLM land. They don’t allow any drilling out there because they say the area is too environmentally sensitive. A lot of the land is leased to the cattle people.”

“Does anyone live out there?”

“Not for about 10 miles. I was visiting my sister up by the border, and that’s a good back road to use; hardly any traffic.”

“Thanks for the info. Why don’t you give the Sheriff a call and let him know what you saw.”

“John’s coming back from Minot. We’re having dinner over at my place. I’ll tell him.”

“Thanks for the call, Mabel. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Shit, shit, shit!”

“What’s wrong, dear?” Her mother had walked in on the last part of the conversation.

“Andy Bennett and his cohorts have snatched Steve. I imagine they’re going to kill him to make an example of him for others. I have to do something. The lingerie show will have to wait.”

The second call followed almost immediately. It was Gary.

“Mannie, have you heard anything from Steve? His truck is at the motel, but he’s nowhere around. We thought he might be snatching a nap, but obviously that’s not the case”

“Mabel just called. She says Bennett and his minions have him. She saw him in Bennett’s crew cab a few minutes ago. They were heading north of the ranch probably beyond the place where they killed Ben. I think they have the same thing planned for Steve.

“I’m getting ready to go after them, and I won’t be unarmed.”

“Jesus, be careful, Mannie.”

“What would you do, Gary, if the man you loved was in the same predicament?” Mannie asked with not a little anger in her voice.

“We’ll be there as soon as possible, but we don’t have any weapons.”

She quickly donned her leathers, then headed for her uncle’s arsenal in the den. She’d hadn’t bothered to seriously examine what he had in the gun safes; however, what she wanted was on the walls and in the closet. He had been very proud of his collection and had shown it to her three and a half years before. Two of his proudest possessions were his matched pair of Remington Model 1100 Tactical 12 Gauge Shotguns. “These aren’t for killing game,” he told her. “These are for killing people.” After what she’d found out about him, she didn’t doubt that he probably had used them for just that.

Looking in the drawers lining the wall below the gun cases, she found boxes of 12 gauge magnum load buck shot. She chambered one shell and loaded eight more in the magazine of each gun. The guns were cocked and ready to go. All she had to do was take off the safety and pull the trigger. She knew she wouldn’t stand a chance in a shooting war; however surprise was on her side. She grabbed two saddle scabbards, and as an afterthought grabbed a Model 1911 Colt 45. She didn’t chamber a cartridge in it.

“Don’t try to stop me Mom. If they kill Steve, I don’t have a lot to live for.” That was an exaggeration, but it expressed her frustration at that moment. As an afterthought, she grabbed a pair of bolt cutters from the garage wall. They were placed in her side saddles along with the shotguns, one on each side. She secured the saddle scabbards with bungee cords. It was the best she could think of at the moment. Firing up her beloved bike, she headed up the ranch road to the north. She remembered a gate in the fence. She’d cut the chains if she had to. She wasn’t about to pull a Steve McQueen.

The ranch was two sections wide and six sections long from north to south. The ranch houses were two miles in from the highway on the south and four miles south from the highway that paralleled the property for one mile on the north before it made a right angle turn to the north. That was the place where they had killed her uncle and had shot Steve. There was no question in her mind who had done it. The dirt road was in good condition; however, it was muddy due to the unseasonable thaw. She had to take it easy. The gate was locked but the chains were easily cut. That was the way they were designed. Now to find those murderers.

She found what she was looking for after five miles. She’d passed the Bennett Duck Club and the gate was locked. No one had been through there. Three miles further on, she found where a vehicle had turned off the main road, cutting through the berm of snow left by a snowplow. The light was just beginning to fail.

The road was muddy, and she had to use care once more. This was no time to take a spill. Cresting a little rise, she saw her quarry straight ahead. Bennett’s pickup truck was parked, pointing towards a cottonwood grove and the pothole pond beyond. The lights were illuminating a rather horrific scene. Steve with his hands tied behind him was standing on the bare ground. A rope was around his neck. It went over a limb of one of the trees. The other end of the rope was tied to the bumper of the truck. Needless to say, the rumble of the approaching Harley diverted their attention from the task at hand.

“It’s that fucking bitch,” Bennett shouted. “Somebody kill her.”

Mannie slid the bike to a sideways stop and pulled up a shotgun in one motion. Her first shot severed the rope hanging over the branch of the tree.

“In case any of you sons of bitches were wondering, I know how to use these things. I don’t like to hunt, but shooting murdering assholes is another matter. I have eight shots left in this gun and nine in the other. That amounts to three loads of buckshot each, plus a few left over.”

“Leon, kill that fucking tree hugger. She doesn’t stand a chance against us,” Bennett shouted.

Mannie blew the pistol out of Leon’s hand. Unfortunately, her shot took most of his hand with it.

“Now I’d suggest the rest of you put your guns down real nice like and back away from them.”

Bennett made a move for the truck where there was a rifle in the rear window rack. She shot him in the left foot. He’d probably never walk right again. “Anybody else want to try anything?” I’d be glad to demonstrate more of my shooting skills if you so desire.

“Okay, fat boy, take Leon’s belt and tightly wrap it around his arm above what’s left of his hand. I’d hate to have him bleed to death before his trial.”

By this time Steve had managed to get his hands free. Mannie motioned for him to get the other shotgun. “I’ll have you know that Steve’s almost as good a shot as I am. I wouldn’t try anything.” The truth be known, Steve had never fired a gun in his life. He’d have to learn. She quickly traded guns with him. He probably hadn’t known that the safety was on.

She handed Steve her cell phone. “Call Gary and see where they are. If you can’t get them, call 911.”

“They’re just coming down the road. The Sheriff’s right behind them. They’ll be here in a minute.”

The sheriff didn’t say one questionable thing when he arrived. He and his deputy gathered up the fallen weapons including a rather badly damaged .44 caliber revolver and a nine millimeter Glock that was in Bennett’s glove box. An ambulance arrived ten minutes later to take the two wounded to Minot where they could be secured. The other three would spend some time in the local jail before the Feds would take over. It seems their crimes were committed on Federal land.

“Mannie, may I ride back with you?” Steve asked.

“Certainly, there’s a helmet in that saddlebag. I bought it for you the other day. Unfortunately, the place for your hands is not where you want them to be. If you need to grab anything, grab the sides of the seat. Stay upright. Don’t lean into the curves.”

Steve took charge that night. Mannie was very appreciative.

The opera ends with the two lovers riding off into the sunset. It doesn’t end here for our characters. We have a lot of cleaning up to do. The trials would take place about a year later. Andy and Leon got life without parole. The other three wouldn’t see the outside of prison for at least 20 years. We don’t need to dwell on that. There is the estate Ben left, and Mannie and Allison don’t really have a clue how big it is.