CHAPTER 12

"An RV...that makes sense." Bateaux was on the way back to his office from grabbing a burger up the street.

"I checked out the case in North Las Vegas, too. It looks like the same guy. Right now I'm on 95 heading to Lone Pine." He filled the agent in on what he had found out about Loggenfelter and King. "I'm going to meet with Det. Simmons from the Inyo County Sheriff's Department and go to the Loggenfelter scene."

"Okay, sounds like you're moving right along on this deal. Just let me know if you need anything."

"I'll do it. Talk to you later." He hung up and then hit CJ's number on speed dial. "Hi there."

"How's it going?" CJ had been expecting a call and listened as Matt filled her in on what he had run across that morning and what he was wondering about Loggenfelter and King. "That sounds promising, hon. What time will you be in Lone Pine?"

"About 3:00. I'm about to stop for some lunch." He got quiet for a minute. "I don't know if I'll be home tonight or not, Babe."

"You do what you need to, sweetie. I understand...and you know I'll be here when you get here."

"I know - I just really miss my girls."

"We miss you, too. Just be careful, okay?"

"I will. Love you, Babe."

"Love you, too. 'Bye."

He stopped at a little diner in Beatty, Nevada for a quick lunch and then hit the road once again, taking Route 374 and crossing over the Grapevine Mountains at the California state line. After crossing the Cottonwood Mountains, Death Valley and the Angus Range, Matt finally arrived in Lone Pine. He met Det. Wallace Simmons in the parking lot of the Burger Nerd at the corner of Locust and Maine. "Mr. Houston?" The cop held out his hand and they shook.

"Nice to meet you." Matt took the folder that Simmons handed him and read through. Nodding as he closed it up. "What do you know about Loggenfelter and King?"

Simmons adjusted the ball cap on his head. "I went through school with both of them – that's why the sheriff put me on the case." He spit tobacco juice. "They were both odd ducks. King comes from money. His Grandpa was a nice enough fella who started out mining with a pick and shovel – old-school. Worked his butt off and hit it big. He started the King Mining Company and brought in plenty of machinery and people. Helped the economy here. But he was smart with his money – didn't poop it away on fancy cars and such. Lived in a normal house and drove the same pickup he started out with. His son Morton – Walter's dad – was the complete opposite. He flaunted the old man's money every chance he got. I guess the old man was blind as far as his boy was concerned. Morton could do no wrong in his eyes. He went off to school down at Berkley and came back after he graduated and went to work in the family business, got married to Margerie Rohaus and Walter was born a couple of years later. Not long after that, Old Man King passed away and that left Morton in charge. He treated Walter just like his dad had treated him and Walter was even worse than his dad had been." Simmons spit again.

"Well sir, about the time we hit high school the mine quit producing. A lot of folks were out of work and left town. Morton knew two years before it happened that it was headed that way but he kept those folks working on until he had every last thing out of those mines that he could get – and then fired every single one of 'em without so much as a day's notice."

"That's a real good way to become unpopular overnight." Matt had known folks like that in the oil business in Texas. He, as his dad before him, had always worked to find other employment for the folks that they had to let go in that type of situation.

"You ain't kiddin'. Anyway, Morton and his family still had more money than God as far as the folks that were left around here were concerned and they used it to buy up land from folks that were leaving and desperate to sell."

"That's how they got so much land." Matt nodded.

"That and the old man had bought up a bunch for the mining operations. Anyway, folks from Hollywood came up scouting for places to shoot movies and TV shows. And of course the King family made more money off of that. These days that's how most of the money comes in, which is just fine with Walter – he don't like work of any kind."

"Alright. So basically spoiled rich kid syndrome."

Simmons cocked his head and grinned at Matt. "I did some checking on you...kinda come from the same background doncha?"

"Kind of...but Daddy busted my ass when I needed it. Plus we took care of our people when something went belly up."

"I know you did. Checked on that part, too." He grinned. "I expected you to pull up here in some fancy car. Not that truck of yours. Although it is a sharp one, I gotta say."

"Thanks. I went through that phase. Glad to say I outgrew it. Anyway, back to Walter and Jerry. I take it they met in school?"

"They did. See Walter wasn't real popular. He was a bully and nobody would hang out with him but Jerry who loved nothing better."

"That's about what I had figured."

"Jerry was pretty much bought and paid for. Walter couldn't get anybody else to hang out with him and Jerry was money hungry. He latched onto Walter for a share in the gravy train." Simmons got rid of the tobacco in his mouth. "When we were in our junior year in high school, there was a girl who claimed that the two of them raped her. We had a different sheriff back then."

"And he was on the King payroll?"

Nodding, Simmons leaned against the truck. "My dad was a tow truck driver. He saw more money go into Sheriff Cosgrove's pocket than into the county tax office. Now Daddy was present at a wreck that involved Walter, Jerry, and the young lady who had accused them. The two boys walked out of it without a scratch, but the girl was dead. Daddy pulled the car out of the canyon that it had gone in, about fifty feet deep, and he got a look at her while he was hooking that car up. She had been shot. They staged the wreck to cover it up. When he got back up to his truck and started to pull the car out Morton King was there and a huge roll of bills went into the sheriff's pocket. Daddy figured that he better act like he hadn't seen a thing before he was the next one to have an accident."

"Sweet family. Umph." Matt adjusted the cowboy hat on his head. He had changed from the LAPD cap into it before he hit town in order to draw as little attention as possible.

"Well it gets even better. Sheriff Cosgrove evidently was getting a little too greedy. His patrol car was pulled out of a canyon six years later – completely burnt up." Wallace Simmons looked around. "The next time there was an election Sheriff Montgomery was elected. He doesn't play favorites and has been keeping an eye on King the whole time he's been in office. When he found out you were coming here he got a mighty big smile on his face."

"Glad I could brighten up his day." Houston chuckled. "So what tack do you suggest we take on this deal?"

"I thought you might want to get the lay of the land. I'll take you for a ride out to where we found Loggenfelter and then by the King place – they aren't very far from each other."

"Alright." The two detectives loaded up in Simmons' SUV and headed north on 395 and then turned east onto Lone Pine Narrow Gauge Road. There was nothing on either side of the road but desert, but up ahead Matt could see a line of what looked like trees and grass. "Is that Owens River?"

"Yep. Those are the only trees you'll see outside of town – for the most part." They went on, slowing down just the other side of the river before turning off onto a dirt trail. "He was spotted out here by teenagers having a kegger." Simmons stopped and put the SUV into park. "Right over there." The two got out and walked over to the spot.

Matt looked around. "Not much to work with, huh?"

"Nope. But you might find this next part of the trip interesting." They loaded back up and headed back the way they had come, stopping on the western side of the river. Simmons handed the PI a pair of binoculars. "Look about one o'clock."

Houston adjusted the lenses and could make out more trees that appeared to surround a large house and an unnaturally green lawn. "So I guess that's Walter's place?"

"Yup. Not very far away from where we found Jerry." Simmons pulled back out onto the road and headed west and then turned north onto 395. They slowed slightly as they passed by the estate. "He's got security cameras all over the place: up in the trees, on top of that iron fence, all over the house."

They turned and headed back toward town. "Has there been any other reason for the Sheriff's Department to look at him?"

"Not officially. A couple of folks have turned up missing over the years – not counting Jerry. Couple of women – and both of them had been seen around town with Walter. One of them was a local girl that had been picked up a few times for prostitution. The other one was from somewhere else and it was said that she was shacking up with him."

Matt thought as they drove back to the Burger Nerd. "With a place that big – and you said he doesn't like to work – I'm sure he has a maid or housekeeper and probably somebody to tend to the yard."

"He does – none of 'em speak a word of English. And they never stay longer than a few months. He's constantly getting new help."

"And I'm gonna guess he doesn't make too many public appearances either." The PI looked over at the detective.

"You guessed right."

Matt blew out a breath and thought a little more. "What all has he got on his property? I saw the house and what looked like a barn and some other building. What do you know about it?"

"Not much. He doesn't let anybody on the property. He's even got it where the utility meters are out front so that he doesn't have to deal with that."

"So much for that idea." Houston thought about it. "Okay, he doesn't have Loggenfelter to hang out with anymore...has he replaced him?"

"Kind of. He's got a foreman that runs the place for him. Hires and fires all the staff, deals with whatever needs doing outside of the place. The only time we see King is when he's traveling through town on his way to who knows where. I did hear he likes to go to Vegas quite often – of course it's just a rumor. Who knows where he goes?"

"What does he drive?"

"Several things. He has a Hummer, a Jaguar, a Jeep, a Tahoe..."

"Does he have an RV?"

"Yeah he does...a big ole sucker. Guess he had it specially made. I've never seen another one like it."

"Bingo." Matt grinned.

"What?"

"I think he's been using that for his dirty work."

"He leaves in it quite a bit..." Simmons thought for a minute. "Actually, the last few times I've seen him he's been in it."

Matt looked at his watch. "Okay, I'm going to find me a hotel room and do some more research on this clown." They pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. Matt handed one of his cards to Simmons, then another. "I'd appreciate it if you would give one of those to the sheriff. He can call that cell number if he needs me."

"Here's one of mine." Simmons handed over the card and put Matt's in his shirt pocket. "Let me know if you come up with anything, Mr. Houston."

"Call me Houston – everybody else does." He stuck out his hand.

"Wally." They shook. "See you later."

Matt tucked the card in his shirt pocket and headed into the Burger Nerd for supper before finding a hotel room. Once inside, he pulled out his laptop and pulled up the program for the satellite that he had bought over a year ago from the Russians. It had helped him out on several occasions and Matt felt that it was going to be a good tool to use against King. After programming in the coordinates, the private eye toed off his boots and kicked back on the bed, reaching for his phone. He hit the speed dial for the ranch. "Hey hon, how's it going?" CJ answered on the first ring.

"This guy is looking more likely, Babe. I've just got a gut feeling." He filled her in on what he had seen that afternoon and what Wally Simmons had told him.

"It's a big plus that Simmons knows him. So now what - the satellite?" She grinned as she sat down in the lounge chair by the pool with Catey on her lap.

"Yep. If you got it ...well, guess I better not flaunt it, but you know what I mean." He smiled.

"Uh huh. If you need me to keep an eye on it for you let me know."

"Okay. I think I'm just going to try to scope it out tonight and see what I can see." Neither one spoke for a minute. "Miss you, Babe."

"We miss you, too. There's a beautiful little girl here who would probably like to talk to you."

Matt's face lit up. "Okay." He heard CJ after she pushed the speaker button and spoke to Catey.

"Do you want to talk to Daddy?"

"Daddy?" Catey sounded surprised.

"Hey, Miss Whistle Britches!"

"Daddy!" The baby started jabbering a mile a minute causing both of her parents to crack up.

When she settled down for a minute, Matt spoke again. "So when are you going to say Mama?"

"Mama!"

Matt burst into laughter and CJ was smiling. "WOW!" She hugged the little girl tight. "She pointed at me when she said it."

"So I guess either Uncle Roy or Sheila will be next, huh?"

"TILLY!" The baby pointed at the dog who was sitting next to the lounge chair.

"Way to go, Catey!" Matt was laughing. "You were just waiting for the right time, weren't you kiddo?"

"Daddy!" The baby started laughing.

"Hey Catey, can you say your name?" Matt was still laughing.

"Who are you?" CJ pointed at her daughter.

"Lady Bug!" Both CJ and Matt cracked up.