Final Call

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." Winston Churchill

01 - Fall Roundup

It was one of those gorgeous Texas autumn days, the kind that grace the covers of magazines and postcards. The trees were putting on their best show with colors of rust and gold and every shade in between. And Mattlock William Houston was right where he wanted to be, doing what he absolutely loved: rounding up cattle. The herds had done extremely well and the ranch would be enjoying a well-earned payday, the cowboys who worked there looking forward to a nice bonus from their boss, who unlike a lot of other owners, believed in being out with his employees in all of the dust and mud that working cattle generated - at least as much as his jobs would allow. While there was no doubt about who was in charge, work at the Houston ranch was a relaxed affair. The man wouldn't ask anything of the people who worked for him that he wasn't willing to do himself.

Among all the men who were working the herd was one woman: CJ Parsons-Houston, wife and business partner of Matt. After the death of her mother when she was ten years old, she began living on the neighboring ranch with her useless drunk of an uncle and spent the majority of her time with Matt and his dad Bill. Since the day that they first met at the age of ten, the pair had been in love and although they denied it for years on end, they had finally admitted it and married, becoming parents to not only three of their own children, but adopting a teenage boy as well.

As the cattle were herded into pens and sorted, a group of friends and family stood watching the cowboys and cowgirl. The couple's three youngest children - Catey, Vinnie, and Mike - were being safely supervised by their nanny Sheila Wentworth, their adopted brother Tomás, and former LAPD lieutenant Vince Novelli, a man that Matt considered a brother. Also on hand were Matt's Uncle Roy and his wife of less than a year Rosa, who was Vince's mother.

One steer seemed to take exception to the interruption to his daily routine of grazing and he made a break for it past one of the newer workers. Houston spotted the escapee and took off after him, roping him in short order and returning him to the pen. As he watched the activity, Roy chuckled. "I believe that boy should've been born a hundred years sooner."

"But what would he have done without a computer?" Vince had overheard the comment and everyone laughed.

When the sorting was all done, and the cattle loaded on tractor trailers headed to market, a rowdy cheer went up. It was time for a cookout and dancing. Madre Rosa, the housekeeper of the Texas ranch, had been preparing for the cookout for days. As the horses were put away, the music began playing and everyone gathered on the patio. Two of the cowboys - Bo and Lamar - were normally at the Houston's California ranch and were happy to be taking part in the roundup. Though both were older than the other cowboys present, they were still top hands and their antics usually had everyone around them in stitches. Other guests began arriving for the party including Chuck Wylie and his entire family, Sheriff Francine Martinez, and veterinarian Art Mulrooney. Just as they were about to start in on the meal, Matt got a phone call.

"Hey, George. How's it goin'?"

"I'll tell you in person if you'll get somebody to open your gate here." The 63 year old former Army MP had put his old Buick in park and was about to shut it off when the gates slid open and in a couple of minutes he was joining the party. "All this just for me?"

"Don't let that ego get outta control now." Matt stood and shook the man's hand and laughed as Madre Rosa began fussing over him, making sure that his plate was filled to capacity.

An hour later the two men walked away from the group that was now dancing while Bo and Lamar attempted to belt out a karaoke version of a Waylon and Willie tune without much success.

"Good thing you aren't running milk cows - the damn milk would be curdled." George jerked his head in the direction of the patio and both men laughed as Matt climbed up on the fence by the barn and horses began flocking to them.

After looking around to make sure that no one was near, the older man began filling in Houston on his investigation on Donovan Biggs Lynch, one of the people that Matt suspected of putting out a hit on him. "I got into Lynch's place the night after I called you. Put three of your critters out in different areas. Peggy is my contact there - the maid. Well, she told me that he conducts a lot of his business out by the pool so I put one of the cameras out there on this God awful statue he's got. Damn thing looks like that Greek mythology woman with all the snakes on her head. Anyway, there's that one and one in his study up on the moulding, and one in his den."

"And they're all working?"

"Yep. And fortunately they've got a damn good picture - unless he walks by one. Now that blonde he's got hanging around…" The older man smiled. "She comes through lookin' just fine. But he's the ugliest SOB I think I've ever seen." Both men chuckled but the talk soon turned serious. "I haven't heard him say anything even vaguely related to you."

Matt looked out across the pastures exhaling a long breath. "I could be completely wrong about this whole thing."

"Son, you've got some of the best instincts going. Trust 'em." He watched as the younger man nodded. "You know, you've done a lot with this place."

"Had a lot of good help." Matt turned back toward where the party was continuing up on the patio. "That right there is the best damn crew in the state of Texas."

"You sure as hell didn't hire 'em for their singing abilities, did ya?"

"Tell you what, why don't you go up there and show them how it's done?" He slid down off the fence and clapped the older man on the back.

"Believe I might. But I'm going to charge you a dance with that pretty wife of yours."

The party went on until about midnight. When Matt and CJ finally turned in it was after 1:30. Around 4:00AM, the detective awoke with a start from the strange dream that had been haunting him for over a year. It had finally gotten to the point where he could see and remember more afterward, and he had started recording what he remembered. After sliding out from under CJ, he put on a pair of jeans and quietly made his way downstairs to the kitchen where he started a pot of coffee and sat down at the table. Punching the recorder app on his phone, he began speaking quietly. "I give Jasper a drink and we start up a hill and get about halfway before the dirt and gravel under our feet starts moving and sliding us back down. Just when we get to the top there's a loud noise and bright light." He turned off the recording and sat in thought for a minute. When the dream had first started haunting him, he would wake up in a cold sweat, screaming about half the time. Lately he wasn't screaming but would jump awake. But what did it all mean?

Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. Madre Rosa appeared in the doorway coming from the hall where her room was located. "So that's what you've been dreaming all these months?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"No." She padded into the kitchen and over to the coffee pot where she poured two cups, then came and sat down at the table with him. Neither spoke as they sipped the coffee for a couple of minutes. "What you were talking about is the nightmare that you've been having?"

He nodded, looking down at the cup in his hands. "I wish to hell I knew what it meant."

"You will in time."

"I hope so."

"So what did your friend George have to say?"

"Aw, nothing much." He took another sip.

"Hijo, you're not a good liar." She watched as he swirled the coffee that was left in the cup before standing up.

Leaning over he kissed her on the cheek. "I'm gonna see if I can get some more shut eye." With that, he turned and went back through the house and upstairs.