Chapter Two

Radley quickly snapped to attention.

"Did any of us step on a trip wire or something?" he frowned, looking around the area. "Something must have activated that thing."

"Unless it actually is a ghost," Kalin intoned.

Radley sighed at the thought of more supernatural trouble. "Yeah. But it didn't stick around long enough to find out, so we need to look into other possibilities."

Everyone bent down, looking for trip wires or buttons or lasers or anything that could have activated a fake ghost. When there was nothing, they shook their heads in defeat. "Nothing, Radley," Billy said in frustration.

"It must be a ghost!" Biff exclaimed.

Radley straightened. "Okay, but even if it is, why is it coming now? The ranch has been here for years with no trouble."

Kalin frowned. That was a good question. Would a ghost care about former Malcolm's Crewmembers being hired? That seemed unlikely, unless it was someone who had been killed by the cruel faction in the Crew. But they had talked to the miners' ghosts before and none of them looked like this ghost.

Seluga looked worried. "It could be because of me," he said. "The accidents only started after I came here."

Kalin snapped to attention. This was some new and quite possibly valuable information. "How soon after you arrived did they start?"

"A hay bale came loose the next day and almost hit me," Seluga said. "But then it started branching out and other people nearly got hurt too. Now Rick really is hurt." He turned away. "I should go and see if that makes it all stop."

"The ghost didn't just tell you to leave, though," Radley remarked. "It seemed to want everyone to go."

"That's right," Kalin said. "Whatever's happening, I don't think it's directed solely at you, Seluga."

Seluga sighed. "Well, maybe not then. But it sure seemed to be me coming here that set it off."

". . . This may be a rude question, but why did Ms. Bennett agree to hire you?" Kalin asked.

"I didn't even ask her," Seluga said. "She came to see me when I got out of the Facility and offered me a job. I wasn't going to turn that down."

"She certainly has a big heart for Malcolm's Crew," Radley mused.

"She felt I deserved another chance because I wanted to stop Malcolm," Seluga said.

Virgil couldn't refrain from a snort. "You know, if you'd really wanted to stop him, you could have secretly partnered with us. Maybe we would have had a real chance at toppling him then."

"I couldn't have done that without him finding out," Seluga said. "Or that's what I figured anyway. I decided I had to go it on my own."

"Let's not argue about the past," Radley said. "We need to figure out who could be doing this."

Virgil scowled, but didn't say more.

"Is there anyone in town who's more hostile about the ranch than some others?" Kalin asked.

"I don't know," Seluga said. "I try to just stay here since some of the others are more accepted in town than I am. Rick is usually the one who goes for supplies, actually."

Billy looked away. ". . . Is there any news on how bad he's hurt?"

"He's definitely got a lot of hurt ribs," Seluga said. "We could all tell that just from looking at him here. I hope there isn't anything serious like one of them puncturing a lung, but right now we don't know. Jake drove Ms. Bennett to the hospital and is waiting there with her. He said he'd let us know as soon as there's any news."

"Was he conscious?" Radley asked.

"He was for a few minutes, but then he passed out and never did wake up again," Seluga said.

Even Virgil looked troubled. He didn't want Rick hurt, or worse. And all of the Bunch was very tight-knit. They could all imagine how the workers here must feel if they had any of that same closeness.

Seluga's phone suddenly dinged with an incoming text. He grabbed it out, his eyes flickering with hope, but the sparkle quickly faded. "He's lost a lot of blood," he said quietly. "And he's never woke up. It doesn't look good. The doc is asking about his family, but he doesn't have any except us."

Kalin looked away. That was all too familiar. He remembered having a similar conversation with the doctor that night about Radley. He really didn't need another reminder, but there it was.

"I'm so sorry," Radley said. "We'll do everything we can to find out why this happened, but it won't be any real consolation."

"We can only do what we can," Seluga said. "We need to find out why this happened."

He led the group the rest of the way to the barn. Inside, the other ranch hands had stopped working and were looking at their phones, having received the same text from Jake. Hearing footsteps in the doorway, they looked up.

"The sheriff and his deputies are here," Seluga said. "They'll help us figure out what's going on with the ranch."

"That won't bring Rick back if he . . ." One of the young hands spoke up, then trailed off. He didn't want to give voice to what they were all thinking.

"No, it won't," Seluga said. "But we want to bring whoever it is to justice, don't we?"

"If they can be brought to justice," another hand grunted. "What if it really is a ghost?!"

"Then we'll handle that too," Kalin spoke up. "We've dealt with supernatural problems before. Right now we want to go over the barn and try to figure out why the floor broke and how the ghost appeared, just in case none of that was supernatural."

"Go ahead," a middle-aged man said. He gestured around the large room. "We've cleaned up most of the mess, but the floor's still broke. We haven't found anything that could have caused the ghost to show up."

Kalin went up the ladder into the loft and over to the hole in the floor. He frowned as he knelt to examine it. "The edges are completely smooth," he announced. "The hole was deliberately cut!"

Radley walked up underneath the hole and looked up at him. "Then it definitely wasn't made by a ghost," he remarked.

Kalin nodded. "Only a living person could have done this. They sawed through almost all the way, so that when Rick stepped on it, it would immediately break. I saw this in the Satellite once or twice. The duel gangs were incredibly cruel."

"That's horrible," Radley said.

"Come up here and see what it looks like up close," Kalin said.

Radley complied, frowning as he bent to run his fingers over the cut wood. "So now we have a whole town of suspects," he remarked.

"Or maybe something closer to home." Kalin leaned over, whispering in Radley's ear. "I wanted you to come up mainly to talk to you in private. I think it's very likely that someone on the ranch cut this hole."

Radley looked to Kalin in shock but didn't cry out, not wanting to alert any of the ranch hands downstairs.

"The ranch is far enough away from the main part of town that any cars or motorcycles driving up would have been noticed," Kalin continued. "There's a security system and a fence all the way around the ranch, so it wouldn't be so easy for someone to walk over and sneak on the grounds. They could if they were really determined, but it's more likely that it was someone right here who did it. Not all of the staff are former members of Malcolm's Crew. Maybe one of them wants these people out."

"That's a disturbing thought, but valid," Radley frowned.

Kalin nodded. "We'll have to ask Ms. Bennett for the files on all of her staff members. Maybe there'll be something suspicious in one of them."

"It could be a long time before we get to talk to her, though," Radley said. "She'll probably stay at the hospital for hours."

"We'll go there to talk to her," Kalin said. "Then we can just come back here to get the files if she agrees. She might not like the thought of us poking through their information."

"Maybe she could even send them to us if she has digital copies," Radley said. "That's the usual thing these days."

"That would be better," Kalin admitted. "Then no one here would have to know what we were doing." He got up and headed for the ladder. "Let's go to the hospital now. We're probably not going to find anything else in here."

Radley followed him back down. The Bunch had finished examining everything for evidence of a fake ghost, to no avail. The ranch hands were starting to resume their work and mostly ignored them, but one or two looked up.

"Where did Seluga go?" Radley wondered.

"Uh . . . you know, I didn't see him," Scotch admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"He's probably taking care of other ranch business," one said. "He isn't very talkative most of the time."

Radley sighed. "Still, it seems strange that he would just leave without saying more to us."

"Did you find anything else?" one gruffly asked.

"No," Kalin said. "We're going to talk to some people around town now and see how they feel about the ranch."

"Good luck," another snorted.

"It isn't that bad, is it?" Radley remarked. "Surely most of the townspeople are willing to give you a chance."

"It'll be interesting to find out, won't it?" the former Crewmember replied.

The Bunch was relieved to be leaving. They hurried out after Kalin and Radley as quickly as possible.

"There are seriously bad vibes in there," Scotch declared. "I'm not sure those guys like us investigating."

Virgil grunted. "Maybe they've got something to hide."

"Or maybe they're just bitter because we're the law enforcement in town," Radley mused. "The feelings of each group against the other run deep. I doubt they've all been quelled, especially if there really are a lot of antagonistic feelings towards any former members of Malcolm's Crew. They might be angry that we are better-liked for the most part."

Virgil was not impressed. "It's their own fault for siding with a crumb like Malcolm. They should know people wouldn't like that."

"But if they never hurt anyone themselves, they should be given another chance," Biff said. "And all of us ended up joining Malcolm and Lawton too, but we're not hated in town." He frowned. "It really doesn't seem fair, does it?"

"Let's hope the people in town are kinder than they're being given credit for," Radley said.

Kalin nodded. "We need to go talk to Ms. Bennett at the hospital. Can all of you spread out around town and try to find out what people think about the ranch?"

"Sure," Scotch said.

"Then come find us with what you've find out," Radley requested.

"We will," Billy promised.

Radley looked up at the overcast sky and the ranch as they reached their motorcycles. "I still wonder where Seluga went," he remarked.

Kalin frowned. "I wonder too. Maybe it'll be important later, but I don't think we should go looking all over the ranch for him right now."

"No, I don't think so either," Radley said. "Let's stick with our plan."

Within moments they were all speeding away from the ranch and back towards the main part of town. Kalin frowned as they went. It definitely felt like eyes upon them, although no one had been visible when they had got on their motorcycles. Was it Seluga or some of the other ranch hands observing from the barn? Or was there a real ghost in addition to a living enemy? Right now Kalin really had no idea whether this was another supernatural mystery or not. He also wasn't sure what would be more dangerous—ghosts or mortals.

The group went in many different directions when they reached the town square. Kalin and Radley went on to the small hospital and parked out front.

Amanda Bennett was in the waiting room with Rick's friend Jake when they walked in. "Sheriff Kessler . . . Mr. Radley . . ." She sounded surprised as well as worried.

Radley didn't comment on the manner of greeting. Technically he was a deputy, but he was rarely ever addressed as such. The townspeople were so used to him just being Radley. He was quite used to it himself.

"We just came from the ranch," Kalin said. "The men got the latest text while we were there."

"Is there any further word on Rick?" Radley asked.

"No," Jake said. "The doctor said I could go in now, so I was just about to go be with him."

"Then you should go," Amanda told him. "I know you're close."

Jake nodded. "Yeah. . . . Thank you, Ms. Bennett." He nodded to Kalin and Radley and hurried down the hall.

Amanda waited until he had slipped into a room. Then she gave a sad sigh and shook her head. "They're about like your Scotch and Biff," she said. "Or the two of you. I don't know how Jake will stand it if . . ."

"Let's not count him out yet," Kalin interjected. "Maybe he'll still pull through."

"The love of a friend can certainly help with that," Radley said. "I wouldn't be alive today if Kalin hadn't brought me out of my despair when I had lost all hope."

"Well, I certainly hope Jake can help Rick keep fighting," Amanda said. "Did you come here just to check on him, or is there something else?"

"We'd like to look at the files for all of your staff," Kalin said. "The hole Rick fell through was clearly deliberately made, and the most likely people who could have made it are the people on the ranch."

"No!" Amanda insisted. "We're all like family. None of them would do this!"

"I hope that's true, but we still need to see the files," Kalin said. "If they're all innocent, you should be grateful for the chance to prove that."

Amanda finally sighed in exasperation. "Oh, alright, if it's really necessary."

"It is," Kalin said. "If you have digital copies, it would be even better. Then we could look them over without any of your staff seeing and realizing they're being investigated."

"That's a good point," Amanda said. "I'll send it to your email, Sheriff." She took out her phone and pressed a few buttons.

"Say, I just thought of something," Radley said. "What if the tunnel system under the town also runs under the ranch? Anyone could come up through a trapdoor onto the ranch, if they knew where to go."

"I haven't found any trapdoors like that, but I'm all for that idea," Amanda said. "Anything to throw suspicion away from my staff!" She pressed one last button and sighed. "I just sent the files."

"Good," Kalin said. He took out his phone. "And maybe you should start checking for a trapdoor like that, especially one close to the barn."

"You can bet I'll do that," Amanda said.

Kalin was glad Amanda seemed to have calmed down. In her normal state, she was a stubborn spitfire. That was much easier for Kalin to know how to deal with than someone falling into hysterics. He still felt badly for how he had snapped at West and Nico when they had fallen apart thinking their father had died.

Radley read over Kalin's shoulder as he opened the files. It was mostly routine and nothing sounded out of place, until they came to the file for a worker named Dave.

"Who is this Dave?" Radley asked. "You barely have any information on him at all."

Amanda sighed. "He showed up real down-and-out and needed work, so I took him on. He doesn't ever talk much about himself or anything else. He's a strong worker and just keeps to himself." She folded her arms. "He wouldn't be the one who cut the floor."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Kalin grunted.

"He wouldn't ruin a good thing for himself," Amanda said. "And he wasn't here during the duel gang wars. He has no reason to side with one side over another."

"Someone could have paid him," Kalin pointed out.

"No," Amanda insisted. "I'm a good judge of people. That's why I take on the ones no one else wants. I know Dave wouldn't do this. None of the others would either!"

"You said they're all like a family," Kalin remembered. "But it sounds like Dave doesn't want to integrate into it."

She gave him a dark smirk. "And that sounds like someone else we know, doesn't it, Sheriff?"

Kalin frowned. The whole town had known how he had kept rejecting Radley and how horrible he had felt when he had finally got his mind clear and found Radley laying forgotten and dead. For the most part, however, they were kind enough not to speak of it.

Radley was not pleased. "That's hitting below the belt. We're trying to help you . . . as you asked us to, I might add. There's no need to try to deliberately make Kalin feel badly because you don't like some of the questions we have to ask."

A bit of guilt flickered in Amanda's eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just didn't realize my own people would be put under suspicion."

"We have to investigate everyone," Kalin said, his tone clipped. "Probably even you."

"Me?!" Amanda exclaimed in disbelief.

Kalin shrugged. "You could be trying to wreck the ranch for the insurance money."

"I can promise you I'm not," Amanda said.

"We need to talk to Dave, whether you like it or not," Kalin continued. "Will he cooperate?"

"I don't know," Amanda sighed. "Honestly, he barely talks to me. I've just learned to deal with it. I really think he's just a troubled man trying to run from a painful past. He doesn't want any more trouble."

"I hope you're right," Kalin said. "We'll try not to upset him."

"Everyone seemed a little iffy at us being there," Radley remarked. "Will any of them talk to us?"

Amanda rubbed her forehead. "If they know I sanctioned it, yes, they should be receptive." She took out her phone again. "I'll ask them to please give you any answers and help you need."

"That would be very helpful. Thank you," Radley said.

Amanda tapped out the text and let them see it before she sent it. "Is there anything else?"

"Seluga said the accidents started after he joined your staff," Radley said. "Is that true?"

". . . Yes, that is how it happened," Amanda realized. "I don't know if there's really a connection or not, though. . . ."

"We're not sure yet either," Kalin said. "And we might have more questions for you after we talk to the ranch hands."

"Alright," Amanda nodded. "I'll probably be here for a long time. I don't want to leave Jake here alone. And maybe Rick will wake up. . . ."

"We certainly hope he will," Radley said.

Kalin was frowning more as they left the hospital. Radley sighed, feeling bad for him. "She had no right to say that to you," he said.

Kalin tiredly massaged the bridge of his nose. "I wonder how many of the townspeople are still bitter with me because of how I treated you. You were the one who fought so hard for them for years. I only took over and succeeded after you fell to Lawton."

"They're supposed to understand that you were not in a good mental condition," Radley frowned. "Ms. Bennett is just upset about Rick."

"Maybe," Kalin grunted. ". . . Or I wonder if she sided with Malcolm all along."

"That may be what a lot of the town is wondering," Radley said. "Here comes some of the Bunch now." He looked to where Scotch and Biff were riding in.

The first reports of the town's feelings were mixed. Some felt that Amanda was just performing a kindness for the misunderstood outcasts. Others did indeed wonder if she had always sympathized with Malcolm. Aside from a very select few, however, all were appalled by the accidents and concerned about Rick.

Radley sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad to know this. Did you keep track of who said what?"

"Oh yeah," Scotch grinned. "We recorded everything." He held up his phone.

Radley smiled. "Good."

"And we made extra notes on the mean ones," Biff said. He handed Kalin a piece of paper.

Kalin looked over the thankfully short list with a thoughtful nod. "This is about what we'd expect from these people." He showed it to Radley, who was in agreement.

"So any of these creeps could have set things up?" Scotch asked.

"It's possible," Kalin said. "We're going back out to the ranch now to try to talk to the ranch hands some more."

"We'll come too, if you want!" Scotch chirped.

Radley smiled. "Sure. Let's just text the others about what we're going to do." He quickly tapped out a message on his phone and then got on his motorcycle.

The ride back was swift and they were soon parking once again in front of the wooden fence. But unlike before, now no one was around to open the gate.

"Hello?" Radley called. "Seluga?"

Scotch leaped over the gate. "Let's just go in anyway," he suggested. "Ms. Bennett okayed us coming, so it's not trespassing!"

Radley slapped his forehead. "But it's not serious enough to warrant waltzing in without waiting to be let in," he scolded. "We have to behave professionally!"

"Probable cause," Kalin supplied. "That's what it's called when law enforcement feels justified to enter by themselves."

A scream somewhere up ahead froze their blood.

". . . Okay, that's probable cause," Radley declared. He jumped over the fence. "Hello? Where are you?"

Kalin and Biff chased after him. Scotch was already running ahead.

The sound of angry hooves beat hard into the ground. A furious bronco tore around a corner, the saddle on his back hanging to the side and flapping against his body. The animal was dangerously close to Scotch, who was either frozen in fear or seemed to think he might be able to calm the beast. The bronco was in no mood to listen.

Radley caught up, grabbing Scotch around the waist. As he pulled his friend out of the way, they tumbled down a hill and crashed hard at the bottom.

Scotch was pushing himself up in the next moment, shaken and dazed but otherwise alright. "Radley?!" He looked back to the older man. Radley was clearly breathing, but not responding. There was a rock laying too close for comfort. Scotch couldn't tell if Radley had struck it, but it didn't look good. Panicking now, Scotch desperately shook Radley's shoulder. "Radley! Come on! You've gotta wake up! Please. . . ." He blinked back forming tears. "Why do I always mess everything up?! I almost got Biff killed, and now you?!" He bent down, hugging Radley close. "I'm so sorry, Radley. . . . I'm so sorry. . . ."

At the top of the hill, Kalin caught the bronco's reins and spoke quietly to him, patting his head and nose as he snorted and tried to buck. But by the time Seluga ran up to them, the animal had finally begun to settle down.

"What happened here?!" Seluga exclaimed.

"This bronco came charging at us after we heard a scream," Kalin said. "And Radley . . ." He turned to look down the hill and his heart clenched in horror. "Radley!?"

Biff ran down the hill to where Scotch was still hugging Radley and now outright crying. Biff quickly knelt and hugged Scotch.

Seluga stared after them. "There was a bad accident right here when Ms. Bennett first started up," he said. "Carl was with her right at the start and he tells everyone about it when they join."

"What happened?!" Kalin demanded.

"One of her first ranch hands was having trouble with a bronc just like this," Seluga said. "Maybe it even was this one. It threw him and he fell down this hill and hit his head on a rock. He died. They say his blood has never washed off it."

Kalin immediately shoved the horse's reins at Seluga. "Radley is not going to die!" he snapped.

"I hope not, but it's a pretty creepy coincidence, don't you think?" Seluga said. "What if . . . what if it really is a ghost doing all these things, and what if it's the ghost of that ranch hand?! Maybe he deliberately tried to make things play out just like at his death!"

"I'll keep it in mind," Kalin said over his shoulder. He half-ran, half-slid down the rest of the grassy hill and over to his friends. "Radley!" He crashed to his knees. "Did he hit that rock?!"

"I don't know!" Scotch sobbed. "I don't know. . . ." He pushed away from Radley to let Kalin get at him.

Biff gripped Scotch's shoulder. "He's gonna be okay," he insisted, but he was trying to convince himself as much or more than Scotch.

Kalin gently examined Radley for injuries and then lifted him up. Radley groaned and stirred, holding a hand to his head before moving closer to Kalin.

"Is the ranchhouse unlocked?" Kalin demanded of Seluga. "He's starting to wake up, but he should lie down for a while."

Seluga nodded. "The house is always unlocked until everybody's asleep. You can go right in."

"Thanks." Kalin started towards the white structure, keeping Radley close to him. Scotch and Biff trailed after them.

"You're going to be alright, Radley," Kalin vowed. "I'll never let what happened to that ranch hand happen to you. I'll personally drag you back from the afterlife if Death tries to take you again." His voice shook a bit. That couldn't happen. He wouldn't let it happen.

Radley just rested against Kalin's shoulder, still not fully conscious. "Kalin," he mumbled.

"Yeah," Kalin said. "I'm here."

He couldn't deny that there was a disturbing foreboding as they drew closer to the ranchhouse, but he didn't know what else to do. Maybe one of them would have to get a car for occasions like this, when transport by motorcycle just wouldn't work.

For now, though, he pushed the front door open.