Notes: Mentions of injury to a child and abuse to another child.

Chapter Four

Scotch sighed in frustration as he and Biff left the fourth ranch hand. All of their conversations had been going similarly, with the hands not seeming to really know anything. They also hadn't found Seluga, and no one seemed to know where he was. The more time that went on, the stranger that was.

"He was talking about getting out," Biff said. "Maybe that's what he did."

"Maybe," Scotch said quietly. He had barely spoken outside of the interviews, and even with those, he preferred to let Biff do most of the talking.

Biff finally sighed. "Scotch, you've gotta let go. Radley's gonna be okay. You know he wouldn't wanna see you like this."

"Yeah, I'm the class clown, so I'm supposed to put on a happy face and forget what happened," Scotch spat. "I could have got Radley killed, Biff! And I could have got you killed before that! I just cause trouble."

"Now, that's not true," Biff insisted. "You cheer us up a lot by being silly and perky. That's the you I wanna see, Scotch. Whenever you're this sad, I don't know how to handle it. There's nothing I can say to make it better."

"Because nothing can make it better," Scotch countered. "You know what happened years ago, Biff? The thing that made me turn up all broken when you found me?"

"I still don't know," Biff said. "I've worried. . . . I thought maybe you were abused bad or something."

"There was that too, but this was something else," Scotch said. "I was trying to help take care of the youngest kid in the house, but she was just too big or I was too small or something. I dropped her and she hit her head. . . ." He blinked back forming tears and angrily tried to brush them away. "The next day, they told me it was a really bad hit and she had brain damage. She'd never be normal because of me! I saw how she acted after that and I . . . couldn't take knowing I'd done that to her. Sure, it was an accident, I didn't mean to do it, and all that jazz. But I'd still done it. It was awful. . . ."

Biff stared at him in shock and sadness. "Scotch, I'm so sorry. They didn't really blame you, did they?!"

"Of course they did," Scotch said. "They said I was a devil child and they beat me. But I figured I deserved it. I never told anybody, but the social worker found out and got me out of there. And now I've seen that the pattern just goes on. All I know how to do is hurt the people I love more than anything else!"

"That's not true," Biff insisted.

"You and Radley could have been seriously hurt or worse. I don't want to know what I'll do next." Scotch stared at the ground. "I never should have been stupid enough to think I could live a normal life after what I caused."

"You can!" Biff exclaimed. "We all can! It's thanks to Radley we're able to!"

"And I sure have a great way of paying him back," Scotch muttered. "I don't know what I was thinking. Was I trying to stop the bronco? Was I just too freaked out to do anything?" He sighed. "Radley always knows what to do. And he always does the right thing."

"Radley's messed up sometimes too," Biff said. "And other times he thinks he has, even if it's not his fault. Nobody's perfect, not even Radley."

"He's . . . practically perfect," Scotch said. "The things people think are faults are just part of who he is. He wouldn't be him without them."

"That's how it is when you really love somebody," Biff said. "The faults don't get in the way of loving them." He paused. "That's how we feel about you too."

"You're crazy," Scotch mumbled.

"And Radley's crazy too?" Biff retorted.

"Radley . . . he sees what the person could be, even if they're not there yet," Scotch said. "I don't think I'll ever be what he saw in me."

"I think you will," Biff insisted.

Scotch managed a weak smile. "It's a nice thought anyway."

Biff sighed. "Well, if you don't wanna let Radley down, you'll keep trying," he said.

Scotch considered that and finally nodded. "I guess so. But I still don't feel like being perky and happy right now."

"Then don't be," Biff said. "Be whatever you feel. I still say you don't need to be all these other people."

"But . . . which one is me, Biff?" Scotch ran his finger over the wooden fence as they walked alongside it.

"People are a lot of things. All these personalities of yours, they all have parts of who you are," Biff said. "But what I always saw in you was a scrappy, loyal guy who's totally devoted to his loved ones. You'll do anything for them you can."

". . . Yeah, that's true," Scotch said slowly. "But I wish I could do more."

"Right now, the best thing we can do is keep going with these interviews," Biff said. "That's what Radley needs from us while he rests."

Virgil and Jimmy were coming from the opposite direction now and swiftly met up with them. "I think between us all, we've talked to everyone now," Jimmy said.

"Except Seluga," Virgil added. "No one's seen him."

"Maybe he really did leave," Scotch said. "That's weird that no one's seen him, though."

"Yeah. That sounds more like they're all covering for him," Virgil said.

"Why would they do that?" Biff frowned. "They should wanna get this thing resolved. Not cooperating just makes it worse."

"Who knows." Virgil rolled his eyes. "They probably have some stupid reason, like thinking they all need to band together against 'the fuzz' or something."

"Ms. Bennett told them to cooperate with us," Scotch frowned.

"Which they probably won't, if they don't want to," Virgil said.

All of their phones dinged with an incoming message. They looked in surprise.

"Radley's okay!" Scotch read in relief. "They're going home soon so he can rest. He should be resting right now!"

"You know Radley," Virgil said. "If there's anything he can do, he'll do it, even if he should give it a rest first."

"Yeah," Scotch said, shaking his head. "He always does so much. I wish we could do more."

"The best thing we can do right now is finish those interviews," Biff said. "He's counting on us."

"That's right," Virgil said. "We probably still won't have much luck with the creeps, but we have to try."

Scotch nodded. "Let's check in with the others and see how far they've got, so we don't repeat any of the interviews." He tapped a reply to Radley, expressing their joy that he was alright, before sending off another text to the rest of the Bunch.

It didn't take long for the replies to start coming back in from the rest of them. Between the lot of them, they had questioned everyone on the staff that they knew of, except for the missing Seluga. They were all coming back to join Scotch's group.

"Well, it sounds like finding Seluga is our next priority," Virgil said in annoyance. "This is just weird!"

"Has anyone checked his bunk to see if his stuff is still there?" Jimmy wondered.

"I doubt it," Virgil said. "We should do that ourselves. Come on!" He took off over the grass, Jimmy chasing after him.

Biff looked at the sky in exasperation. "Why have I got a really bad feeling about this?"

"Maybe because us doing things we weren't expressly told to do usually causes trouble?" Scotch retorted.

Biff sighed. He couldn't deny Scotch had a point, but it hurt his heart to hear his cheery friend so bitter and sad.

"We'd better go with them," he said. "Maybe we can help if things go wrong."

"It's pretty unlikely I could, but yeah, maybe you can," Scotch said. He started off after them.

Sighing again to himself, Biff followed.

xxxx

Kalin and Radley were still standing in front of the lumber yard office, about to head back to talk to Jared, when Klaus called out to them from the truck.

"What are you two waiting for?! It's time to go!"

Radley started. "We need to talk to one other person first," he explained. "I'm alright."

But Kalin frowned. He had started to get caught up in the mystery, as well as Radley's insistence about being alright. He seemed okay now, but he had been wobbling before the doctor examined him. Maybe he had been able to psychologically make himself stop doing that for a time, letting himself fully believe he was alright, but he wouldn't be able to do that forever. If he kept pushing himself, it would catch up with him, and Kalin didn't want to see that.

"Radley, you need to go home," he insisted. "It was against my better judgment that we talked to one person. I'll take my motorcycle out of the back and I'll talk to Jared. Then I'll come home too."

Radley sighed. "It would just be a few more minutes."

"We don't know how this guy is going to react," Kalin said. "If he gets upset, you might get upset too, and push yourself too far. We're just lucky you're not in as bad of shape as you could be. Let's not play with fate any more than we already have."

"Best advice I've heard today." Klaus got out of the truck and took Radley's arm. "Come on, Radley."

Radley looked worried and uncertain, but he didn't want to make it look like he didn't trust Kalin to handle the situation. He knew Kalin could. "Okay," he said in resignation. He walked with Klaus back to the truck.

"Good," Kalin said in relief. He wheeled his motorcycle down the ramp. "I'll join you soon."

Jared Adamson was indeed around the back, still counting up lumber and making notations on his clipboard. He barely looked up when Kalin approached.

"Mr. Adamson?"

Now he looked up. "Sheriff," he said in surprise. "What's this about?"

Kalin sighed. "I'm trying to find out who or what is behind the accidents at the Bennett Ranch," he said. "I wondered if you might know of anyone who would have a motive to hurt the workers there and try to rout them out."

"Yeah," Jared retorted. "Me! And pretty much everybody else here. We all hate Malcolm's Crew. They'd come around every day bullying us. That Seluga creep was always among them."

". . . I've heard that you have a much deeper reason for hating them," Kalin said quietly.

"That's right." Jared's eyes darkened. "I'll never forgive Malcolm or his guards for what happened to my son. And Seluga was one of his high-ups; he had to know what was going on in the mines!"

"He no doubt did," Kalin agreed. "But people other than Seluga have been getting hurt. Rick is in the hospital and might never wake up again. He and his best friend Jake never hurt anyone. They didn't deserve to be targeted. And Radley was hurt when a rampaging bronco got loose. He most certainly didn't deserve that either!" He looked straight into Jared's eyes. "That's the problem with lashing out in hate. Other people always end up paying the price instead of the 'guilty' party. And sometimes, things aren't what they seem with the 'guilty party' either."

Jared turned away. "Don't you go lecturing me," he spat. "When you've lost a loved one and been consumed by hate over it, then we'll have something to talk about."

The horror from the Duel Monsters world flashed before Kalin's eyes again. "I have had that happen," he said. "And I wouldn't regret what I did, only it's not the first time I've fallen into hate. It's a poison that eats you up from the inside until it's all that's left of you."

". . . That's awfully insightful for one so young," Jared grudgingly admitted.

"Young in years doesn't always mean young in experiences," Kalin said. "And you didn't actually admit whether you're responsible for what's been happening."

"I'd be stupid to admit that, even if I knew it," Jared said. "I don't know who's actually doing it. I just know that I approve of them doing it."

"Even though innocent people are getting hurt?!" Kalin demanded.

"There have to be sacrifices," Jared said. "To get at the ones who need to be punished, sometimes other people have to get hurt."

Kalin was chilled in spite of himself. Jared had apparently changed from when Radley had known him before. This was a man who would have to be watched.

"You realize you're making yourself our key person of interest," Kalin remarked.

"Do you think I care?" Jared retorted. "It's not like there's anything to live for since Malcolm's men murdered my son."

Kalin sighed and stepped back. "I'm truly sorry for your loss. But we'll have to talk with you more later if we have more questions."

"Fine," Jared grunted.

Kalin was deep in thought as he got on his motorcycle and rode off towards home. Jared was a very angry man, and really, Kalin could hardly blame him. But he also knew firsthand how dangerous Jared's attitude and lack of concern for others was. If Jared actually was responsible in any way for what had been happening, who knew how many people could end up hurt by the end.

Kalin gripped the handlebars tighter. Radley could have died, and it sounded like if he had, Jared would have written it off as necessary, despite the fact that Radley had shown a great deal of compassion to him. Hatred truly was a frightening thing.

Klaus's truck was still parked outside when Kalin pulled up at home. He had to shake his head with an amused sigh. Was Radley being stubborn? Or maybe Klaus was just being protective. Kalin hoped for the latter.

When he went inside, Klaus was sitting on the couch with a magazine. He looked up, pleased that Kalin was back. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"It was 'official sheriffing business,'" Kalin reminded him. "How are things here?"

"Well, Radley wished he could have stayed with you, of course, but he knew you could handle it," Klaus said. "I got him resting in his room. I hope. Thought I should stay until you got back."

"That was a good idea, Klaus. Thanks." Kalin shut the door and hung his keys on the rack. "I'll go see him now."

Radley thankfully was resting, but was awake, when Kalin approached. He immediately perked up. "What happened?" He pushed himself up on the pillows.

Kalin shut the door and sighed. "If he's our man, we've got a problem," he said. "He seems to believe that the end justifies the means." He sank into the chair by the bed. "And I've been that way myself."

"But you're not anymore," Radley frowned in concern.

"No, but it brings back unpleasant memories," Kalin said. "And I wonder if I can really fight him well, if necessary."

"Kalin . . ." Radley laid a hand on his arm. "You'll do what you have to do, just like what you told me about arresting him. I'll do what I have to do too, even if I don't necessarily want to."

"Well, right now, what you have to do is rest," Kalin said. "You need to get better."

"I'll be fine," Radley smiled at him. "Especially with you here to keep me in line. The Bunch will probably be coming soon too."

Kalin looked at his phone. "Right now they're still finishing up the interviews. Seluga has completely disappeared. No one is talking about him or knows where he is, supposedly. . . . Now the Bunch has gone to see if his belongings are still at the bunkhouse."

Radley sighed. "Why do I know that's going to end badly?"

"Let's hope it won't," Kalin said. "We do need to find out what's going on with him."

"I know," Radley said. He hesitated. "Is there any news about Scotch?"

"No," Kalin said. But he imagined that if Scotch was still feeling badly, they wouldn't want to let Radley know about that.

From Radley's eyes, he knew it too. He gave a weary sigh and covered his eyes with one hand. ". . . So what exactly happened when you talked to Jared?" he asked.

"He admitted he wanted to see Malcolm's Crew get hurt, even ones who hadn't done anything," Kalin said. "He acted like those people had to get hurt on the way to the dangerous ones being hurt. He was even unfazed by you being hurt."

Radley sighed. "He's becoming completely consumed by missing his son and hating the ones responsible."

"And I can understand that, but it's still disturbing," Kalin said. He looked away. "Especially that I was like him."

Radley laid a hand on Kalin's. "I'm glad you're not like that anymore."

Kalin managed a smile. "So am I." He squeezed Radley's hand.

". . . Hey, when did the guys send that message about going to check out the bunkhouse?" Radley wondered.

". . . A while ago," Kalin frowned as he took out his phone again to double-check the time.

"It seems like they should have seen about it by now," Radley said.

"You're right." Kalin typed into the phone and waited for a reply. When none came, Radley groaned and started getting up.

"Something went wrong," he exclaimed.

Kalin gently pushed him back into the bed. "We'll see about it," he promised. "Just relax. I'll get Klaus to drive out and find out what happened."

Radley sighed. "I know there's a lot of the Bunch, but there's a lot of Malcolm's Crew working at the ranch too. And after the way they've been acting, I'm not sure at all that I trust them."

"I know," Kalin frowned. "I'm not sure I do either. The way they've been acting is strange. They should want to solve this instead of fighting us at every turn."

"So why are they fighting us?" Radley wondered. "What could they have to hide?"

Kalin leaned back, pondering the odd problem. "Aside from the possibility that they just don't want to cooperate with law enforcement, what could it be?" he mused. "Is there something at the ranch they don't want us to find?"

"And what could that be?" Radley retorted. "Why would it be a problem if we found it?"

Kalin shook his head. "I can't imagine."

"I wonder if Ms. Bennett would tell us if we asked her," Radley frowned.

"Judging from how she was acting at the hospital, I'd say it's a toss-up," Kalin said.

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too," Radley said. "Whatever's going on there, she's probably part of it."

Kalin nodded and got up with a sigh. "I think Klaus is still here. I'll see if he can drive out there and find out what happened now."

Radley's phone dinged. "Wait," Radley said. "This is from Scotch." He quickly read through the message. "Seluga's belongings are still there and Dave chased them out of the bunkhouse." He slapped his forehead. "Things aren't any less confusing."

"They're sure not," Kalin frowned.

"I'm telling them to come back now," Radley said as he typed. "We're obviously not going to learn anything more right now. Maybe later, when it's night and they hopefully won't be expecting us to be around."

"You're thinking some of us will go back then?" Kalin said with a quirked eyebrow.

Radley looked up and smirked a bit. "Well," he said, "they probably won't beexpecting us then, will they?"

Kalin smirked a bit too. "Probably not."