Thanksgiving was fast approaching. Despite a blisteringly hot summer, there was already some snow at higher elevations just to the west of Denver. Ma had said more than once that this was a sure sign of a hard winter ahead. I knew from bitter experience that her track record in forecasting the weather was better than any of the TV weather women.

The county was as prepared as we could be for what lay ahead. Nevertheless, I had Kelly and Sue-Ellen start doing the rounds of the more isolated homesteads to make sure that they had enough food and fuel in store to last at least two weeks. While this was not strictly a Police duty it helped us to know who might be more vulnerable than most if the weather turned really bad.

The County people had held their annual disaster drill a week after Labor Day. We all thought that it was madness to do it so early but with the hunting season almost upon us there really was no other time when everyone concerned could be cajoled into taking part.

Other than that, life in the county went on as the days grew shorter and the nights grew longer and colder by the day. A cold blast coming down from Canada in early October reminded everyone that summer was fast becoming a distant memory.

One Monday in mid-November, I was heading back to town from Clarke County where I’d been all day giving evidence in ten traffic cases where the out of state drivers had appealed the standard fine. One had even turned up to fight the case with three suited and booted lawyers from Denver. They must have cost him a lot more than the original $75 fine. He lost the case and his fine and costs rose to $200. The large increase was mostly out of irritation that Judge Royce had with the lawyers. They came with all sorts of precedent’s ready to quote at the judge but there was no escaping the fact that the offender was doing 90mph which is illegal in our state. The Video evidence was inescapable especially as two days after the offence, Stan’s patrol car had its annual check by the state examiner and all the onboard equipment was found to be reading well within operational tolerances.

Everyone including the lawyers wanted to be off home early because the Broncos were playing the Redskins in DC so the game would be on earlier than if it was being played at home.

I’d just crossed into Custer County when the radio burst into life.

“Sheriff, do you read me?”

“Sheriff here. What’s the problem Tom? I’ve just crossed the county line on my way back from Court.”

“I’m at the old Cummings place. We put those concrete blocks across the back entrance like you said last week. Well, two of them have been moved. According to Mason Wickes, they were still in place at midday.”

I resisted increasing speed. I needed to think.

“Do you know where Sue-Ellen and Kelly are?”

“I think that they are farther away than you in terms of time to get here.”

“OK Tom. Park your cruiser over the entrance on the inside of the property. Don’t sit in the car. Keep yourself hidden on the other side of the road. Someone is up to no good. We don’t want to take any chances.”

“Gotcha Sheriff.”

“Tom, by the book but have your shotgun handy, OK?”

“I wouldn’t do it any other way, Sheriff.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can but I won’t be using lights or siren.”
Before he could answer I added,
“Sheriff out.”

I opened my phone and called Kelly. If she was in a homestead, she may not hear her radio. I switched the speaker on and put the phone in its cradle.

“Hi Kelly.”

“How was Court?”

“It was a PITA but that’s not why I’m calling. Tom has reported something going on at the Cummings place. How far are you away from the front entrance?”

“About twenty minutes. I’m just about done all my calls for the day.”

“Great. Hotfoot it over there but don’t advertise your presence. Park up between the front entrance and the Freeway.”

I could head Kelly laugh.

“Gotcha. No lights and keep away from the entrance. If someone comes out of the front entrance do I stop them?”

“Throw a stinger over the road and keep well away. You should have time to do that if you park up.”

“That’s just what I was thinking.”

“Kelly… Softly softly. If there is a drug drop going on, the people on the ground will be armed probably with semi-automatics or worse.”

“Understand. Where will you be going?”

“That depends upon what happens by the time I get to your side of town.”

“Kelly! Take Care.”

“Understood.”

I hung up the call hoping that I’d done the right thing. I increased speed and hoped for the best.

I’d just passed through town when the radio burst into life.

“Sheriff, Tom here. Do you copy?”

“I copy Tom. I’ve just passed through town.”

“All quiet here.”

“OK, please stay put. I’m going to meet Kelly at the front entrance. Can you call Barney SWA to come and put those blocks back in place? This time, can you get him to dig a trench inside the property. Tell him Baghdad Six. He’ll know what it means. Then he can put the blocks back in place.”

“Gotcha boss. What about the front entrance?”

“I’ll handle that. I just want that back way in blocked for anyone other than if they were driving a Sherman Tank.”

“OK, boss.”

“Stay until Barney has done the job then get off home. I know that it will be late so take the day off tomorrow.”

“Thanks Boss. Will do. Out.”

As I drove towards the front entrance of the Cummings Ranch I wondered how long the place would be a huge thorn in our side. More than once in the past two and a half years, I had considered buying the place myself and having great pride in taking a wrecking ball to the house and every other structure on the land. It was just a thought but I got no pleasure from having to consider it. The downside of my idea was that the place had been really badly constructed in the first place that it had been condemned by the County Engineer that one swing with the ball and the whole thing could collapse like a house of cards.

As I neared the front gate I could see the lights of Kelly’s SUV in the gathering gloom.

“Hi Kelly. Been here long?”

“About five minutes. The gate is just as we left it the last time the chain was cut.”

“That’s good to know. Tom will be staying at the other entrance until Barney SWA has dug a 5ft deep trench on the inside of the fence.”

“That’s a lot of trouble to go to for just a few kids out on a Saturday Night?”

“Yeah and those kids just happened to have the gear with them to drag those blocks out of the way? Remember that they weigh at least nine hundred pounds.”

“Even so. I think it is kids.”

“Well then when I get a call from some angry parents about their truck getting stuck in the ditch I’ll let you deal with them.”

Kelly threw me a dirty look and then burst out laughing.

“I guess I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. Kelly knew that I’d be right behind her should she need any help if her prediction came true.

---

There is a classic war film called ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. To me it is an anti-war film if anything but when Billy-Joe returned from his week in Vegas he soon coined the ongoing Cummings Place Saga as ‘How is everything on the Cummings Front’. I thought it quite apt but it seemed to go right over Tom and Sue Ellen’s heads.

Nothing more happened on the ‘Cummings Front’ even though anyone of us who passed either entrance to the place checked it out for signs of activity. Gradually, other jobs took higher importance until Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Kelly and I were the face of law enforcement for the county but if there was a real emergency, Tom and then Billy-Joe were on call. Sue-Ellen was away in Colorado Springs visiting relatives but would be back on duty on the Saturday.

Thanksgiving was really quiet. Most people who were going to travel did so before midday. After that even the Interstate was virtually deserted. I visited the Truck Stop for a Turkey Sandwich just after noon. There was a grand total of six people in the Restaurant.

The quietness suited me perfectly. At six, I handed over to Kelly and went home to a dried-up Turkey dinner. That wasn’t unexpected but I was happy that Kelly had shared it with Ma. I knew that despite all that had happened between her and her family, she missed being with all of them for the Holidays. Luckily Ma had left some Gravy which at least made it semi edible.

---

Black Friday is almost a non-event in these parts. We are way too far out in the boonies for any form of ‘same day delivery’. If past years were anything to go by, we’d see a procession of delivery trucks heading our way the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Most were properly operated but we also knew from past experience that temporary drivers were brought in for a week or so. Many of these temporary drivers seem to have a delight in loading their vehicles well beyond their permitted levels. This was especially true if a good number of people bought washers and dryers in the sales. These are heavier than they look.

Overladen vehicles were always a target for us. It is difficult to disagree with a set of scales that show the axle loading. We always made sure that the drivers saw the scales calibrated before each incident. Every delivery Truck coming off the Interstate into Custer County would be weighed. It was even more important this year as the County Engineer had put a 5,000 pound axle weight limit on a bridge just outside of town. Recent rain had undermined one of the pillars and it would be a week or so before it could be repaired.

With all that in mind, I had Billy Joe, Tom and Kelly out by the Truck stop weighing vehicles. By mid-afternoon and much to my relief, there had been zero fines levied. The notice of the weight limit that we’d sent to all the delivery companies before the holiday’s seemed to have worked.

I was about to call off the team when the Radio came alive.

“Sheriff, do you copy?”

“Sheriff here. What is it Billy-Joe?”

“Sheriff, I was in the middle of weighing a truck when a Black Dodge Ram went by. It was a 2017 Model with very loud exhausts.”

There was a pause.

“Sheriff, I could swear that it was Walt at the wheel.”

Suddenly, what had been looking like a good day had turned into a really bad one.

“Which way was he going?”

“Towards town. He wasn’t driving fast or anything but… Sheriff, it still had the dealer plates on it. It looked brand new.”

“Thanks for the heads-up Billy Joe. Give it another hour and call it a day with the truck weighing.”

“Gotcha Sheriff. Out.”

The news that Walt might be back in the county was a bit of a shock. A bad penny and all that. Quite why he’d come back here knowing that he’d be arrested on sight was just made me feel sick inside. There had to be a reason for him returning to the area. He was once again, bad news.

I picked up the phone and called Ma.

“Hi Ma.”

“No, I’m not going to miss dinner. Kelly will be back in just over an hour so yes, there will be three of us for dinner.”

“Ma… I don’t know how to put this… It might be that Walt has returned to the county. Billy-Joe thinks he spotted him coming off the Interstate.”

I could feel the tension down the phone. Ma was always a woman of few words and I could imagine what she was thinking and the expression on her face.

“I just wanted to let you know that you may have a visitor.”

“He knows what he’ll get if her comes a calling here. My Scatter gun Is loaded and ready by the back door! Can’t you arrest him?”

“Yes, the warrants for his arrest are still outstanding. Why?”

“Do something then!”

“Ma! Hold your horses. What if he is not alone? You are just asking for trouble if you try to arrest him with just that old Shotgun of yours.”

“I knows where you keep the real cartridges if Rock Salt won’t stop him.”

“No Ma. Just tell him to get lost. If he decided to stay then that’s his lookout. I’ll be home in an hour. I have three cases of DUI coming up in court tomorrow and I need to get all the evidence prepared.”

It was a little lie. All the evidence was neatly stacked on my desk ready to go in the safe until the morning. I wanted to spend a little time just outside of town watching for Walt before I headed home.

“Yeah!”

“Ma, if Walt does turn up, just do nothing other than telling him to get lost. I’ll be home in an hour or so, as will Kelly.”

I finished the call and after a brief look at the clock, put all the evidence in the safe and headed out of the warm office into the cold of the late afternoon. I looked up and saw that there was no cloud cover. It would freeze tonight if it stayed like this. I looked west and saw the last of the sunset over the distant Rockies. It looked clear all around.

I got into my Truck and started the engine. After about a minute, I started to feel some warmth coming from the vents. A thought crossed my mind, ‘was I getting a bit soft?’. I didn’t know but I did know one thing and that was I hated the winter more and more each year.

I headed out of town and turned off the main road that led to the Interstate. If Billy-Joe had been right and Walt was heading this way, he’d be along shortly. He could have turned off the road at anyone of half a dozen junctions but I wanted to check for myself.

I turned my Truck around about half a mile from the junction with the main road. I parked in a field entrance and switched off all my lights. I could see the lights of the town away to my right. Two homesteads were lit up to my left. Otherwise, it was as black as the ace of spades. If we’d been five hundred miles further north I might have seen the Aurora Borealis but all I could see were the lights of planes flying high above me coming from I knew not where and going to somewhere else.

Time ticked by and three vehicles left town heading for the Interstate. Nothing was coming the other way. The peace was broken by Kelly coming onto the Radio.

“Boss, we are clearing up for the day. Do you want us back here tomorrow?”

“Kelly, tell the others to do the same again tomorrow unless you hear otherwise. Did Billy-Joe tell you about Walt?”

“Yeah. Do you want me to do anything?”

“No. Just go home. I gave Ma a heads up. I’ll be back in forty minutes.”

“Roger!”

I sat back and watched the road again. Very little was moving. It was getting cold but I didn’t want to draw attention to myself by starting the engine to warm the cab. My thoughts were invariably drawn back to Walt’s sheepskin coat. I could have done with that right now. Well, before it was used to wrap up a newly born baby. I made a mental note to dig out my heavy winter gear from the storeroom at the office. Tom had been wearing his for almost a month but the rest of us had held off until now.

It was getting pretty cold by the time I called it a day and started the engine. I let it warm up before moving off.

As I drove home, I wondered what had become of that Pickup. It had to be somewhere even if it wasn’t Walt who had been driving it. The most popular vehicle in the County was the Pickup but we didn’t have many of the ultra large variants around here. I’d seen a few over in Clarke County and loads on the Interstate but so far, we’d escaped them. I didn’t like them because they were just too big in my opinion. Then there those with four wheels at the back. I had a feeling that they would not fit over a few bridges in the County.

Thinking about trucks with four wheels at the back made me think of the murder of Sandy Thompson. The people responsible for that crime drove a truck that had four wheels at the rear. That crime and the subsequent firing of Walt had led to Kelly coming into my life. That had been one of the few good things to come out of that period in my life.

---

I knew that I should not raise the subject over dinner. Ma hated Kelly and I talking shop at the best of times and Matt was persona non-grata at home and especially at meal times. Ma gave us the look when we walked into the Kitchen. That was enough to shut us up at least until after dinner.

Ma disappeared off to watch some TV after dinner leaving Kelly and me to clear up. Both of us wanted to ask the all-important question but were slightly afraid of what the other one would say. In the end it was Kelly who asked,

“Do you think that Walt is back?”

“Who knows. I’m sure he knows that he will be arrested if he meets up with any of us. Other than that, I don’t know. He was always the secretive one and as we all know, he was often up to no good. His little get rich quick schemes are still talked about at the High School to this day.”

“What I can’t understand is the truck. If it was Walt why would he be driving one with dealer plates on? They are a clear giveaways and stand out a mile. Then there was the fact that he left here with less than fifty bucks to his name.”

“That’s Walt down to a tee. He always had this knack of picking himself up and coming back stronger than before.”

“We shall all have to be on the lookout for the next few days. Any empty barns and such will be worth checking out, won’t they?”

I sighed.

“What’s the big sigh for?”

“What is the biggest empty place in the County?”

“Ah.”

“Don’t say it. I’m sure that mentioning that cursed place brings us bad luck.”

Kelly mimicked drawing a zip over her mouth.

I gave her a kiss and we went to join Ma who had fallen asleep watching re-runs of “Friends” and “Frasier”.

---

Despite the best efforts of the team we found no trace of the mysterious SUV. We did find three stolen cars for our efforts. One had been stolen from Dallas more than four years earlier. According to the property owners who’d only been in the place for a few months, it was there when they viewed the property. As the car was up on blocks and from the look of it and the vegetation that was growing up all around it, it had been there for a couple of years at least.

The other two cars were found in a barn close to the Stateline. They were in the process of being stripped. They’d been stolen from a parking lot at a Denver Bronco’s game a month earlier. We arrested the owner of the barn and he was charged with handling stolen property. He refused to divulge who was doing the stripping of the vehicles. None of the finger prints we’d collected at the scene were a match for any known criminals according to the AFIS Finger Print System.

The owner pled guilty at the hearing in the next county. Then he disappeared across the Stateline before serving his sentence of 200 hours community service. We put a lien on the property which would stop him from selling it. Then we found out that his name was very different from the one he’d been using in the state. The FBI office in Baton Rouge gave us the lowdown via a long phone call. The man’s real name was Randy Carpenter and came from St Petersburg in Florida. He had a rap sheet as long as my arm and then some. His speciality was car theft and stripping. He’d dropped off the FBI’s radar about the same time he appeared in Custer County.

We learned a valuable lesson. In future, we should run a nationwide AFIS check for anyone we arrested who wasn’t born in Custer or any of the adjoining counties.

---

It wasn’t until a week before Christmas that anything further happened of note in Custer County.

I was in the Office doing some paperwork. Kelly and Tom were out in ‘Area 51’ running the speed trap. Sue-Ellen was over in Denver with her family doing some Christmas Shopping. Billy-Joe was over in Clarke County giving evidence at a DUI trial.

The Radio came to life just after two thirty. I was expecting a call from either Kelly or Tom to let me know that they that packed up and were heading back to town.

“Sheriff. Do you copy?”

“Reading you loud and clear Tom. What is up?”

“Sheriff, Kelly and I are heading back to town. We were approaching the Interstate exit before the Truck stop when a light aircraft flew low overhead. The registration numbers on the tail and wings were painted over. Someone had slapped a load of grey paint over the numbers.”

“Which way was it heading?” I asked as I walked over to the large-scale map that was on my office wall.

“As best I can judge, it was heading North North West.”

I traced a line in that direction from the location of Tom’s sighting. My heart sank.

“If it is going where I think it is then it is heading for the Cummings place.”

“That’s what Kelly guessed.”

“Tom, get Kelly to head towards the back entrance to the Cummings place. Can you park up at the Interstate overbridge? You know the spot. The one where we often sit so it won’t be out of the ordinary. I’ll head to the front entrance. I’d get your shotgun and ammo out of the trunk. If these are drug smugglers then they will be armed. Use phones from now on and keep radio silence unless it is an emergency or something totally unrelated.”

“Gotcha Sheriff.”

“Keep your head down and watch out. If this a drug smuggling operation then they… they whoever they are may well be heavily armed.”

“Understood. Tom out.”

Tom would signal to Kelly to stop at the Interstate Off-ramp and brief her.

I strapped on my equipment belt and started to leave the Office. I’d gone two paces when I decided to make a phone call first.

I dialled a number from memory.

“Sheriff Cousins please. Sheriff Matt Beecher here and it is important,” I said as the call was answered.

I’d called my opposite number over the Stateline in Colorado. If there was contraband on the move then the most likely destination for it would be Denver or Colorado Springs. Either way, it would have to go through his county.

“Hi Troy. No, this is not a social call. We think that there might be a shipment of narcotics about to hit the ground in my County. If it is then it may well be heading your way.”

“Nope. Just a heads up at this time but if it does get past us, we’ll be needing your support. It will either be on the Interstate or on Route Twenty.”

“Thanks Troy. I’ll keep you informed. I’m keeping radio silence over here so I’ll update you on your cell if that is OK?”

“Thanks. Will do. Bye.”

---

Twenty minutes later I was approaching the front entrance to the Cummings place when a black Ram pickup came out of the drive and turned towards the Interstate. It was obviously in a hurry. I guessed that the occupants had seen me approaching. There was little cover in the direction I’d come from.

I lit up my lights and put my foot down and went after them. I called Tom on his cell.

“Tom, trouble is heading your way. Get your truck stinger out on road before the junction. Then stay well back. If the truck does not stop then take out the tires with your shotgun. Make sure that this is done well away from the Truckstop.”

“Gotcha Boss. Shall I call Kelly as backup?”

“I’ll do that. We need to get that pickup stopped but take no undue risks understand!”

“Gotcha. No risks.”

I kept a decent distance between my SUV and the pickup but there was no sign that the driver wanted to slow down at all. I could see the lights of the Truckstop in the distance. It would not be long now before something happened.

My phone bleeped with a message. I gave it a brief glance.

“Stinger in place. Danny SWA blocking road.”

I managed a small smile. Danny must have been in the area. If he sees one of our vehicles parked up on the Interstate overbridge then he’ll often stop for a chat.

As we approached the intersection I could see Danny’s big tow Truck blocking the road. Tom’s car was next to it with its lights shining down the road and right into the eyes of the driver I was tailing.

I guessed where Tom had put the stinger but the pickup went right over it as if it didn’t exist. It probably had extra heavy-duty tires on its wheels. If so, it would have probably been unaffected by the prongs on the stinger but you have to try don’t you. The brake lights came on as the pickup slowed down. There really was nowhere for it to go. The road was in a gulley at this point.

The difficult terrain wasn’t going to stop the driver. He tried to go up the bank on the left. To me, that was a bad choice. It had a very unstable surface and was prone to slipping after heavy rain.

I came to a halt and got out of my SUV with my shotgun at the ready. I quickly removed the stinger from the road and watched as the Pickup tried to climb the bank and escape. It had nearly made it but a sudden increase in engine noise only served to make everything slip. A large section of the embankment slid down taking the pickup with it. The recent rain had done its job very well. The top six inches or so of the surface just slipped down into the ditch. It took the pickup with it despite the driver frantically trying to stop it. Gunning the engine was not going to magically find grip out of thin air.

The slide and the pickup ended back half in the ditch and half on the roadway. This time, the driver tried to go up the bank on the other side but it didn’t get very far. A combination of mud clogging the tire groves and far too much throttle ensured that the vehicle didn’t get very far. Mud is a funny substance. City folk really have no idea what really sticky mud can do to even semi off-road tires. It can offer less grip than ice but until you have a few inches of it clinging to your wheels you are just driving blind.

Tom had come down the hill. I could see him carrying his pump action shotgun. I approached the pickup with my weapon drawn. The driver was still trying to get away but was going nowhere fast. The wheels were spinning yet the pickup was not moving. It was that ‘mud’ again.

From the light provided by Tom’s SUV and Danny’s Tow Truck, I could see that there were two people in the front of the truck. Then Tom put a shot into the front right tire. The vehicle shuddered as the tire started to shred itself. This caused it to jam solid. That pickup was going nowhere anytime soon.

The use of a shotgun would let the occupants know that we meant business. Well, that was what I hoped. It was time to put my hope to the test.

“Put your hands on the dash where I can see them!” I commanded.

Tom put a round into the rear right tire just to make sure that the occupants were clear that they were going nowhere.

The people in the front complied and put their hands onto the dash.
“Good. Now you the driver. Switch off the motor. Careful now. As you have witnessed, my deputy has itchy fingers so don’t try anything. Understand!”

The driver nodded his head and switched off the engine.

Tom had his shotgun pointed at the head of the passenger. I could see that neither one was Walt which pleased me no end.

I opened the drivers’ door.

“Now get out slowly and kneel on the ground with your legs crossed! Hands behind your heads!” I commanded.

Without any change in expression the driver got down from the cab and did as I instructed.

“If you try anything, your passenger gets one in the head understand!”

For the first time, I heard a reply.

“I understand.”

I quickly cuffed the driver and made him sit with his back to the front tyre. I had to kick his legs to make sure that they stayed out straight. He seemed to get the message.

Tom repeated the operation with the passenger. He made him come around to my side of the truck and was sat down with his back to the rear wheel.

“You ain’t got no reason to shoot up the tires like that,” said the passenger.

“For starters, you were seen leaving a property via a gate that was locked shut just a few hours ago. That’s aggravated trespass. Then you failed to stop for a Police Officer. Then you were speeding. I clocked you at over eighty in a fifty-five zone. Then there is causing damage to the embankments. That is county property and I’m sure that there is more than enough evidence from my dash cam for the county engineer to file suit for damages. That is more than enough to be going on with.”

Then I turned to Tom.

“Can you check over the back of the vehicle and the rear seats?”

He didn’t answer but moved to the read of the vehicle and l lifted up the lockable top to the load area.

This whistle was more than enough to tell me that he’d seen something of interest.

He took some photos of the contents and closed the lid.

Then he moved to the rear door and opened it.

“Well, look at what we have here!” he exclaimed.

Tom moved out of the way just enough for me to see the sullen face of my brother Walt.

The look on his face was a perfect picture that said ‘This is the last person in the world that I need to see right now!’.

[to be continued]