Chapter 5

The ride up to the highway had been a long, arduous one. Greg and the horse reached the fence and he found a gate before getting to the cattle guard. When Greg got on again, the horse decided it had some of its spunk back and tried taking off again. Greg wasn't having it a second time and hauled back on the reins so hard it hurt his shoulder. But it seemed to express Greg's intent to keep the ride at a walk. There were several roads between the gate and the highway, but all of them had cattle guards. He didn't feel like getting off and fighting with the horse to get back on, so he kept riding.

He'd intended on reaching the highway and flagging a car down. That came with two new sets of obstacles: a lack of cars and the horse's wild reaction to the few that did pass. Every time a car approached and Greg started to reach out to flag down the driver, the horse had a meltdown. The road had wide shoulders that gave him plenty of room to fight with the horse and not get in the road – but the shoulder was hard packed dirt, some sand, rocks, and cacti. So every time it had a meltdown – rearing, prancing, and trying to bolt – Greg had no choice but to focus on the fight or be thrown. So he came up with a new plan; he was going to the first house he could get to without getting off, no matter how far he had to ride to find one.

"I really hate you," Greg muttered when the horse started prancing and tossing its head.

The horse snorted, as if replying, 'Feeling's the same, jerk.'

He heard a vehicle approaching and got a grip with his legs and hand on the saddle horn, preparing for the battle. The horse reared as the car passed and lunged forward. Greg pulled back, getting the horse under control a little quicker than the last time. He tried to see the plus side to this; the horse appeared to be adjusting to traffic and it was stopping its fits quicker.

Greg looked up when the vehicle that had passed came to a screeching halt. That set the horse off again. By the time Greg got the animal back under control, the vehicle had backed up to them. He looked up, staring at Nick through the open passenger window.

Nick smiled back. "Hi, Greg."

"I hate you," Greg snarled.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb. You know this whole disaster is your fault! I hate you! And knowing you, you won't even get a slap on the wrist for it. But I will. I'm sure I'll get my chops busted for contaminating the crime scene even though I was stuck in the middle of the desert for two days! Or putting my weapon down, despite the fact I had a gun to my head. Or—"

The horse tried to buck but Greg gave the reins a hard enough tug it couldn't. He turned its head and planted his heels in its side. The horse started walking and Nick inched along beside them. The horse snorted and nervously gnawed on the bit. Greg wondered it if it thought the black beast next to it might leap from the road and attack them.

"I'm sorry, Greg. I am. But if you'd just answered your phone or turned up your radio—"

"Are you fucking stupid? Oh wait. You're the great Nick Stokes. You're never stupid!"

Nick took a couple deep breaths and then in an unnaturally calm voice asked, "Why am I stupid, Greg?"

"Maybe you haven't notice, but we have no cell service out here! And you know damned well that when we get twenty miles out of city limits, the radios are a crap shoot. We've been complaining about that for years! YEARS! So don't go blaming me for any of this! You wanted my call, so you took it because you're the damned assistant supervisor and you can do that. And what do I get out of this? I fall in cactus, get shot at, get knocked out, and my Denali burns up with my phone and my radio and kit in it! All of which I'm sure I'll have to replace. Course if I were you, that wouldn't happen, would it? No. And to top it off, I hate horses, and this ride has not changed that opinion, but I had to go for help somehow, so here I am, riding a horse, hating every minute of it. All because you just had to make me flip for a call, didn't you? That was just great fun, wasn't it? Did you enjoy your case at the Bellagio, Nick? Was it as easy as you wanted it to be?"

"Greg… I… I'm suspended for two weeks without pay and demoted because of the Case Roulette and making you do it. I did not get off scot-free for what I did to you, and I am sorry I let it happen in the first place. All I can say is I'm sorry, Greg. And I'll help pay to replace the kit or anything else they ask you to pay for. Okay?"

"You're suspended and demoted?"

"Yes."

"GOOD! You deserved it, asshole!"

"Aw come on, Greg! You're not hurt that bad and you weren't shot. And you look good on that fine looking animal. You even chose the right saddle and bridle a beautiful palomino like her should be wearing. Can't we let bygones be bygones?"

"Go to hell!"

"Does it count that I'm proud of you?"

Greg stopped the horse and looked at Nick with open suspicion. "Why are you proud?"

"For one, the crime scene back at that farmhouse. You did a good job single-handling securing it, protecting the corpses, and the evidence. And that filly is probably a year, maybe two, and has probably never had a person on her back. But you're up there, riding her like a pro. You green broke your first horse, Greg-o!"

"It let me saddle and bridle it. It's just spooky." Greg spurred the horse back into a walk.

"I know a spooky horse from an inexperienced horse. That filly has never had a person on her back before you, but you're doing a great job with her."

"I don't care. Go away! I'm going to find a phone and call in the crime scene."

"Sara already radioed it in and I came looking for you. You've done your job and you did it amazingly well."

"Fine. Then I'm going home."

"You're going to ride all the way to your condo? And when you get there, where are you putting the horse? In your living room?"

Greg stopped the horse and glared at Nick.

"Do you really think now is the best time to make fun of me, Nicholas?"

Nick started to answer. Greg cut him off.

"I'm not taking him back to that place, Nick. Not with all those dead horses."

"Her, and I didn't say that. I'll call animal control and—"

"They don't take horses."

"They take everything."

"He's not going to the pound. He's a good horse."

"It is a she and I thought you hated the horse."

"I hate you."

Nick laughed. "Fair enough. I'll call a guy I know on the mounted police and see if we can put her up at the barn until we clear her from the crime scene. And then you can find your pony a nice home."

"He's not a pony! He's almost fifteen hands."

"I didn't mean pony, literally. Look, are we going to go five miles an hour all the way back to Las Vegas arguing about stupid shit or are you going to let me help you? And for the record, I am sorry Greg. I didn't make you flip to be mean and honestly, I am sorry for everything that's happened to you because of it."

"You are not sorry!"

"I am too! And I had no intention of the last four days being this rough on you. Come on. Let me help you."

"Four days? It's only been three."

"Uh-uh, Greg-o. You've been missing for four days."

"Really?" Greg turned the horse back to the Denali. "I must have been out longer than I thought."

"You're always out."

"Screw you!" Greg spurred the horse harder than he planned. She tried to break into a run but he settled her back into a walk.

Nick hurried to keep up. "I'm sorry. Greg, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that."

Greg didn't stop the horse.

"Come on, Greg. Quit acting like this."

Greg didn't stop the horse.

"Greg, do you remember when you asked me to tell you when started acting like a diva? Remember that?"

"Yes."

"Greg, you're acting like a diva."

Greg slowed the horse to a stop. He looked at Nick.

"I want three days off."

"What?"

"Three days or I'm just going to keep riding and tell lies about you."

"I am not a supervisor anymore, Greg. I can't do that."

"You can make things happen. Make this happen."

Nick smiled. "Okay. I'll see what strings I can pull for you. Are we good?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"So am I calling the mounted police?"

Greg reached down and patted the horse's neck. "Okay."

The horse started prancing.

"Car's coming. Better get off the road."

Nick looked in the mirrors. "I don't see anything."

"She hears it."

Nick laughed and drove to a road to pull off onto. Greg let the horse trot to catch up. Nick got out with his phone pressed to his ear. He joined them, petting the horse's neck.

"Hey Chris. I've got a favor to ask you or one of your guys there. Seems we have a homeless horse from a crime scene and one of my CSI is attached to the little girl. I was wondering if you'd be willing to put her up until we can clear her."

The car came over the hill and she started prancing and fighting to run. Greg held her back until it passed and she calmed down again. He looked down at Nick. He was smiling up at him.

"Good job, Greg," Nick told him. To the phone he said, "You can? How soon can you leave? Let me tell you where we're at."

Nick disappeared around the Denali. Greg slid out of the saddle and stood next to the horse. He stroked her face, watching her.

"I have a name for your, if we can't find your original one," Greg told her. "Hell's Belle. I think it fits you."

The horse was indifferent.

#

With a long, heavy sigh, Morgan sat down on the locker bench, and then laid down on it and stared at the locker.

"It's been a long couple of nights, hasn't it?"

She looked up at her father. Ecklie walked to the spot at the end of her toes and sat down. He leaned on his legs, shaking his head a little.

"I tell you. Greg makes getting lost an art." Ecklie smiled at her. It faded when she didn't return it. He looked away again. "And now he owns a horse. And he doesn't even like horses."

"Did you search for him?"

He nodded.

"I couldn't. D.B. and Catherine made me stay on my case." She looked at the locker again.

"Did you solve it? Your case?"

She nodded.

"Anything good about it?"

She shook her head. "Did you tell them not to let me search for Greg?"

"No. Why would I do that?"

"Because you've told D.B. not to let me do other things since I started and it's getting really annoying, dad. I'm a big girl, and I can't learn the job if you're always interfering."

"I'm sorry. I'll try not to interfere – as often. I just want to protect my daughter."

She seemed to ignore the remark when she told him, "I wanted to search for Greg. He searched for me when I was hostage in that helicopter."

"If you can call it that."

She looked at her dad. "What does that mean?"

"I thought he was going to start ripping off heads the way he got when you were up there."

She smiled as she looked away. Other people had told her that – she knew what that meant, but she had her eye on someone else.

"What? Why are you smiling?"

"Nothing, dad."

"If you'd like, we could go have breakfast."

She didn't answer. He stood and walked away.

"Will you buy me a happy face pancake? And make sure they poach the eggs right?"

Ecklie turned, smiling. She looked at him.

"Yes."

She stood up and followed Ecklie out.