Chapter Three
The ranchhouse was quiet as they entered; no one else seemed to be inside. The decor was pleasant enough, with a sort of timeless quality about the white and cream furniture and knick-knacks. Kalin really wasn't sure why he'd felt such an uneasy feeling about coming in here, but he kept it in mind as he laid Radley on the blue-flowered couch and took out his phone to call for help.
He frowned when calling for an ambulance failed. With such a small hospital in town, there was only one, and it had strangely been damaged while bringing Rick in earlier. They were still trying to repair it and to find a suitable replacement in the meantime.
Kalin's next call was to Klaus. He would be able to quickly bring his truck from the mine, hopefully, and they could get out of here. Maybe Radley wasn't badly hurt, since he had been stirring, and they could just go home. He might not have even hit the rock. Although Kalin would rather Radley got checked out by the doctor to be sure.
Scotch dropped to his knees next to Radley while all this was going on. "Please wake up," he whispered. "I never wanted to hurt you. I'll never do something stupid again, or silly, or nuts, if you'll just be okay. . . ."
Biff gave him a worried look. "Scotch. . . ."
Radley stirred again, turning to look at the younger man with bleary eyes. "Scotch . . . hey . . ." He tried to smile. "It's okay. . . ."
"It's not okay!" Scotch exclaimed. "I should have learned my lesson when I almost got Biff killed! Instead, that wasn't good enough and I had to get you hurt too!"
Radley weakly drew an arm around Scotch's shoulders. "I'm going to be okay," he insisted. "It's not your fault."
"It is my fault." But Scotch hugged him close. "I'm so glad you're awake. . . ."
Biff smiled, also immensely relieved. "Radley!"
Radley chuckled. "I'm not so easy to get rid of."
Kalin hung up the phone. Klaus would come as soon as he could, but he couldn't get away immediately. Kalin turned his attention to the scene before him. "Radley, are you alright?" he asked.
"I . . ." Radley grimaced. "I could be better. That bronc really threw a monkey wrench into our plans to talk to everybody, didn't it."
"We'll worry about that later," Kalin said. "Klaus is bringing the truck . . . when he can."
". . . Which means it probably won't be for a while," Radley said. "Maybe there's somebody we could talk to while we're waiting. . . ."
"I don't see anyone in the house," Kalin said.
Almost as if on ironic cue, heavy footsteps came on the stairs. "What are you doing in here?!" an unfamiliar voice barked.
Kalin whirled to look. The gruff, scarred man glowering at them matched the picture from Dave's file. "I'm Sheriff Kessler," Kalin told him. "My friend and chief deputy Radley was just hurt trying to save our friend from a rampaging bronco." Scotch sadly looked away. "We came in here so he could rest while I called for help."
". . . We call 'em broncs," Dave growled as he stomped down the rest of the stairs. "Ms. Bennett sent a text that everybody's supposed to cooperate with you and talk to you and answer all your questions."
"Yes, that's right," Kalin said. "We need to know why the accidents have been happening around the ranch before anyone else is hurt."
"Well, I don't know," Dave grumped.
"Why did you join the ranch in the first place?" Kalin asked.
"Needed work. Ms. Bennett was hiring." Dave reached the bottom and stood there with folded arms, glaring at the lot of them.
"Have you seen anybody suspicious hanging around lately?" Radley queried, wanting to get in on things and be helpful.
"Not until I saw all of you just now," Dave said.
"Hey," Biff scowled.
"Have you found any trapdoors on the property?" Kalin decided to ignore the rude jab and just move on.
"No," Dave snapped.
"Have you noticed any animosity towards any of the ranch hands?" Radley wondered.
"If you mean bad feelings, yeah, I've seen some," Dave said. "Not that much with the younger ones, though. Mostly with the new guy, Seluga. People don't like him coming back."
"Can you tell us anyone specifically?" Radley asked.
"The guy who runs the lumber mill," Dave said. "I don't know his name. He came here with some supplies and he got bent out of shape when Seluga came out to help unload."
"So maybe it really is about him," Biff said.
"Was this before the accidents started?" Kalin queried.
"The day before," Dave said. "The day Seluga came here."
"Did this man act angry enough to do something about Seluga being here?" Kalin wondered.
"He was angry enough. But whether he actually did anything is something I don't know. I just know that people that angry usually do end up doing something." Dave scowled. "That's all I know about what's been happening."
"Thank you for your time," Radley said.
"Not like I had any choice about giving it," Dave said as he stomped off.
"What a jerk," Biff said with a scowl of his own.
Kalin winced. He had to admit, he was definitely reminded of himself. Dave was certainly haunted by something in his past. Kalin was inclined to believe he wasn't the creep they were looking for. But he supposed he would still have to list him as a suspect for the time being.
"Do you really think Mr. Taylor would be mixed up in this?" Biff wondered.
"He is very bitter against Malcolm's Crew, not unreasonably," Radley said. "They were always bullying him and his workers at the lumber yard." He sat up. "I think we should talk to him."
"Radley, you need to go home and rest!" Scotch finally spoke.
"If Klaus ever gets here, I think we can take a teeny-tiny detour first," Radley said. He smiled at Scotch, but his eyes were filled with worry. It wasn't usual for Scotch to be so quiet. Something was wrong—most likely his guilt over what had happened. Radley had seen Scotch subdued a lot from whatever had broken him at the foster home that he never wanted to discuss. He had finally thought Scotch was coming out of his shell more, but now the boy was retreating into it again.
Scotch definitely didn't look convinced. "We can go talk to him while you're resting," he said.
"I'd just stay in the truck," Radley insisted.
Kalin gave him a searching look. "Do you know if you hit that rock?"
"Rock?" Radley winced. "Ooh. I guess I could have, but I kind of thought I just hit the ground itself too hard. The dirt under the grass felt rock-solid." He rubbed his head.
Kalin sighed. "If you really feel up to it, we can go to the lumber yard first. But if I can tell you really don't, we're going straight home. Or to the hospital."
"You really are learning more of the fine art of being a mother hen," Radley chuckled. But he didn't mind. He was happy Kalin cared.
The red truck pulled up in front of the ranchhouse and Klaus got out, hurrying up to the porch and inside. "Radley, are you alright?!" he exclaimed.
Radley tried to push himself off the couch. "Yes, I think so," he said. "Or at least, not as bad off as you might have been envisioning." He stumbled and fell against Kalin's back, grabbing his shoulders for balance. Kalin's arms shot up and he grabbed Radley's hands to try to support him.
Klaus frowned. "You look plenty bad off enough to me," he said.
Scotch and Biff hurried to ease Radley back, each draping one of his arms around their shoulders. Kalin turned to face him and again tried to examine him for visible bumps and bruises. When he touched a tender spot under Radley's hair, his friend flinched. "Ow. . . ."
Kalin sighed. "Let's have that checked out. We're going to the hospital."
"The lumber yard is actually on the way," Radley pointed out.
"We'll worry about that when we get there," Kalin said.
Some of the rest of the Bunch was riding up as they left the ranchhouse. Billy was promptly off his motorcycle, staring at Radley in concern. "Radley, what happened?!"
Radley gave him a weak smile. "I fell down a hill, maybe hit a rock. I'll be okay, though. Can you guys pick up questioning the ranch hands while we go check out what happened to me?"
". . . Of . . . of course," Billy stammered. He looked to Kalin. Radley was clearly simplifying the explanation; he would never just fall down a hill. Something more had obviously happened to cause this calamity.
"He was saving me when I did something stupid," Scotch said softly. He walked past them to the truck and lowered its ramp to wheel Radley's motorcycle up into the flatbed.
". . . Oh." Billy frowned. Scotch would not get over that easily. Billy could understand all too well.
"We've already talked to Dave," Kalin said. "Try to find some of the others."
"And if you see Seluga, ask him where he went before," Radley added.
"Will do," Marty said.
It was a relief to be able to get on their way. Kalin also managed to load his motorcycle into the back with Radley's, with a little careful maneuvering, and then got into the cab with him and Klaus. Radley rested back against the seat, smiling weakly at Kalin.
Klaus was no-nonsense, as always, and insisted on driving right to the hospital with no stops. "If you check out okay, then we'll go to the lumber yard," he said.
Radley chuckled and sighed. "Which one of us is the boss here, Klaus? You work for me, not the other way around!"
"Yep, but when you're hurt, I reckon I have to take charge," Klaus said.
Radley could have protested or pulled rank, but he didn't want to bother. It would make everyone more at peace to be sure he was alright, so he would just go with it.
"I'm worried about Scotch," he said to Kalin as they left the ranch. "You saw how quiet he was in there."
"He's worried about you," Kalin said. ". . . And he no doubt feels guilty and thinks your being hurt is his fault."
"Yeah, that's why I'm worried," Radley said. "When he and Biff first showed up, Scotch was a little spitfire talking like a gangster. You know, saying things like 'Yo yo yo' and being kind of a headache."
". . . That would get annoying fast," Kalin frowned.
"No kidding. But Biff said to be patient with him, and I was, and somehow he got attached to me and dropped that personality. Then he was mostly shy but devoted, and he was like that a lot when you came along."
Kalin nodded. "I saw glimpses of a more extroverted person, but that side of him didn't really come out until Malcolm and Lawton were gone."
"Yeah. And now he's slipping back into being quiet again. I don't like it. I'm afraid he feels so bad that he's changing his personality for the umpteenth time." Radley sighed and passed a hand over his eyes.
Kalin frowned. "If he does that, what would bring him out of it?"
"I'm not sure. Hopefully nothing as extreme as what it took for Billy to feel better." Radley frowned too. "Biff told me something even more sad and disturbing, that Scotch said he's switched personalities so much, he's not even sure who he is anymore."
Kalin's eyes flickered in concern. "No matter what personality he's using, his core traits seem to be loyalty and devotion."
"Yeah." Radley smiled a bit. "He's a good guy." He sobered again. "Biff also told me that when he and Scotch first met in foster care, he'd heard about Scotch always standing up to the people who abused him. But something happened that to this day Scotch won't talk about and it broke him. It took Biff a long time to draw Scotch out of his shell. So I guess I'm worried not just that Scotch is switching personalities, but that he might feel broken again. I know he felt awful about leading Biff into that disaster with the breaking floor, and now that I got hurt and he blames himself for that too, that might just be too much for him."
Kalin nodded. "I could see that being the case, especially when Scotch is so devoted to you." He sighed. "I guess every one of the Bunch has their personal demons."
"They do," Radley agreed. "I just hope we can help Scotch overcome his. I think the true him is the extroverted person. He was so free and happy then. I don't want to see that side of him go away."
"I don't either," Kalin said.
They arrived at the hospital and Kalin got out first, then reached to help Radley down. Radley wobbled, then fell into Kalin's arms.
"That can't be good, huh?" Radley sighed.
"No," Kalin said. "But hopefully it's not as bad as it could be either."
Klaus went in with them and Kalin promptly noticed the waiting room was empty. Amanda Bennett was apparently in with Rick and Jake or else had left altogether, which wasn't likely.
The receptionist looked over. "Oh, Sheriff Kessler," she greeted. "If you're here to see Ms. Bennett, she's in with her two employees."
Kalin nodded in approval. "I thought that would be the case."
"Has there been any word on Rick?" Radley asked.
"I'm afraid not," she said. "Now if that's all you wanted to ask . . ."
Radley stepped forward with an awkward sigh. "No, I've kinda gotta see the doctor. I had an itty-bitty accident out at the ranch." He gingerly touched his head.
The receptionist's eyes widened. "I'll call him," she said. "Just sit down and wait, please."
It wasn't long and the doctor appeared, looking both worried and exasperated. "Radley, what happened now?" he exclaimed.
"I hit my head on something," Radley said. "Maybe a rock, maybe just the hard ground. I need to get that checked out."
The doctor shook his head. "Well, come back with me," he said.
Radley got up and walked over to him. He turned back, giving Kalin a smile. "I'll be fine. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Kalin sighed but smiled too, hoping that was the case. "Alright." He looked to the doctor. "Radley was knocked out for several minutes."
"Why am I not surprised?" the doctor sighed. He led Radley down the hall into an examination room.
Klaus folded his arms. "You two are always gettin' into some kind of terrible trouble. Everybody around town knows it."
"I know," Kalin grunted. It definitely wasn't something to be proud of.
He brought up a note-taking program on his phone while he waited, quickly inputting all the facts and thoughts they had on the case so far. Maybe, he hoped, it would cause something to jump out at him that he was overlooking.
Fact: There have been a succession of dangerous accidents at the Bennett Ranch.
Fact: They started right after Seluga's arrival.
Fact: A strange ghost has been appearing and disappearing, with no apparent projector or other method for it to be man-made.
Fact: A living person had to have cut the hole in the barn.
Fact: Some of the townspeople dislike Amanda Bennett's practice of hiring former members of Malcolm's Crew, but most don't appear to want to do anything about it.
Suspects: The small faction of hateful people in town. Would they be capable of this?
Suspects: Others in town. Are they just pretending to not want to go that far?
Suspect: Dave. He doesn't seem the type, but is he? Someone could have paid him. Again, who?
Suspect: Amanda Bennett. Is she doing it for the insurance money? Find out if the ranch is in financial trouble.
He paused, pondering as he looked over his list, and then slowly started to type again.
Suspect: Seluga. Why did he disappear so suddenly? Did he really want to stop Malcolm in the past? Does he have some strange ulterior motive for attacking the ranch? . . . Is he trying to get it for Malcolm?
Kalin frowned. Maybe they needed to visit Malcolm in The Facility. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed; he might accidentally blurt something that would be a clue if he really was involved.
"Are you figurin' things out there?" Klaus asked.
"Maybe," Kalin said.
Footsteps made him look up again. Radley was coming back, the doctor in tow. Radley smiled at Kalin. "I'm okay," he said. "Let's go home."
"Just make sure he rests," the doctor said with an exasperated shake of his head.
"I will," Kalin insisted.
Klaus smiled in relief as he led the two back outside to the truck. "I just hope things will always turn out as well as this," he said. "I don't wanna ever bring you two here and hear some kind of horrible news."
"We don't want that either," Radley said. He settled into the cab. "On the way home, let's try the lumber yard."
Kalin got in beside him. "The doctor said for you to rest," he said flatly.
"We can stay in the truck," Radley said. "I want to rest, but we should do what we can about this weird mystery. People are getting hurt, and the Bunch is all still back there trying to talk to the ranch hands. I don't like it."
Kalin sighed. He had to admit Radley had a point. "Alright."
It didn't take long to ride out to the lumber yard. It was both busy and noisy, with wood being cut to all different lengths and widths and the men shouting at each other over the sound of the machinery. Kalin leaned out the passenger window and flagged down one of the workers.
"What is it, Sheriff?" the man asked. Most of the people in town held a great respect for Kalin. Sometimes Kalin was still amazed by that. Right now he was just grateful.
"Is your boss here?" Kalin leaned out farther to try to be heard. "We need to talk to him for a few minutes."
"He's in his office," the worker replied. "It's soundproof."
"So much for staying in the truck," Radley remarked. "We couldn't possibly talk to him out here."
Kalin had to agree. This was not the sort of conversation that would be good for yelling all over creation. "Just don't strain yourself," he warned.
"I won't," Radley smiled.
"Where's his office?" Kalin said now to the worker.
"Right up there." The man pointed to the corner of the nearest building on the lot.
"Thank you." Kalin drew back inside and Klaus drove them up to the building.
"I'll wait here," he said. "This is your official sheriffing business and all."
"Hopefully we won't be long," Radley said. "Thank you, Klaus."
Kalin got out and waited for Radley to ease himself out too so they could go in together and Kalin could keep a close eye on him. Radley was moving slowly, but seemed to be doing relatively alright otherwise.
They went inside as quickly as possible and over to the office door, which was shut. Through the glass they could see Brent Taylor going through the papers on his desk in a very occupied manner. When Kalin knocked, he looked up in surprise and gestured for them to come inside.
"Hello, Mr. Taylor," Kalin said as he opened the door and they walked in.
"Hello, Sheriff, Radley," Mr. Taylor greeted. "What can I help you with?"
"We're looking into the accidents at the Bennett Ranch," Kalin said. "They're being deliberately caused by someone, but we're not sure who."
"And you thought I might know?" Mr. Taylor didn't sound surprised in the least.
"People around town know how much you loathe Malcolm's Crew," Radley said.
"You're right, I do," Mr. Taylor said. "And if I thought I could shut that place down, I would. Amanda should go somewhere else for her little rehabilitation project. That scum shouldn't be allowed to stick around here after everything they did to us for four years."
"With the exception of Seluga, none of the people there were even involved with hurting anyone," Kalin pointed out.
"Seluga coming was the last straw," Mr. Taylor said. "You're right, Sheriff, the rest were just dumb kids. But for Amanda to bring Seluga, it sounds like she really wants to bring back the whole gang. That is completely unacceptable! I'm putting together a petition for the town to sign on whether to kick them all out or not." He gestured to the papers on his desk. "I'll proudly admit that."
"And that's your constitutional right," Kalin said. "Although I have no intention of doing anything unless any of them show they're not trustworthy."
"Oh, they will, believe you me!" Mr. Taylor retorted. "Somebody else obviously saw what I saw, that Seluga coming is just the beginning of something worse. We can't wait for Amanda to get the whole gang back together again; we have to act now!"
"Would any of your workers have possibly decided to take matters into their own hands?" Radley asked. "All of this started right after Seluga came."
"It's possible," Mr. Taylor said. "If they're doing it, more power to them! But they never talked to me about it."
Radley's eyes flashed. "Mr. Taylor, there's a nice guy lying in the hospital who might never wake up again!" he cried. "His best friend is heartbroken! That's not something to be proud of!"
"Well . . ." Mr. Taylor flushed, uncomfortable now as he looked down at his papers. He hadn't wanted to get Radley upset. "Alright, they unfortunately got the wrong target. They should have made sure it would be Seluga. But their heart was in the right place."
"They wanted to commit murder!" Kalin exclaimed. "Or at the very least, they wanted serious injury. This isn't just targeted at Seluga—and it wouldn't be right if it was! But whoever it is, is clearly out to get everyone who works there! If we don't stop them, someone really is going to be dead, and it might be one of us! Radley was almost killed saving Scotch from a rampaging bronco!"
Mr. Taylor jumped. "Radley, are you alright?!" he demanded, getting up from his desk. He came around it to inspect Radley more closely.
"Yeah, I am," Radley insisted. "But Kalin is right, I could have been killed. Or Scotch. I won't stand for that."
Mr. Taylor sighed. "If I really knew anything that would help you, I'd tell you," he said. "I don't know anything for certain."
"That makes it sound like you know something that might not be certain," Kalin said, raising an eyebrow.
Mr. Taylor scowled, still looking torn. "I don't want to point fingers, but what I'd hate even more than Malcolm's Crew being here is for one of you to be hurt or worse." He hesitated, then finally heaved a resigned sigh. "It's possible, mind you, I just say possible, that Jared Adamson could be doing something. He works for me, and he hates Malcolm's Crew with a passion. He has good reason too—his son was killed being tortured in the mines."
Radley bowed his head. "Oh," he said quietly.
Kalin laid a hand on Radley's shoulder. It still haunted him that he had been unable to save all the prisoners before some died. There were times when Kalin was still troubled by it too, but he tried to force himself not to dwell on it.
"Thank you," he said. "Is Jared here today?"
"Yes, he's always here," Mr. Taylor said. "He should be out back, counting up all the lumber we cut today."
"We'll talk to him too," Radley said. "Thank you for telling us."
"Now, don't make waves if you don't have to," Mr. Taylor exclaimed. "He might not have done anything. Rick is about the same age as Jared's son. I don't think he could bear to hurt a young kid like that."
"We'll keep that in mind," Kalin said. "Thank you again."
Radley looked troubled as they left the office. "I was hoping Jared's name wouldn't come up, honestly," he told Kalin. "I don't want to think he'd do something like this." He sighed, and the weight of his years struggling to protect the town showed in his eyes again. "He was so heartbroken about his son. I don't want to have to arrest him. . . ."
"If it turns out we have to, I'll do it," Kalin said quietly.
Radley managed a weak smile. "Thanks."