Treasure of the Anasazi Page 18

  “See you then.”

  * * *

  I watched as George’s jet taxied to an area near the terminal. Right on time. I met him as he came in.

  “Hi, George,” I said as we shook hands. “Where would you like to go?”

  “Here’s just fine.”

  “This isn’t very private.”

  “It’ll be fine. Lots of noise is sometimes just as good.”

  We grabbed a couple of seats by themselves over in a corner.

  “What’s this all about, George.”

  “I got a call from Emitt. He told me about the problem down here.”

  “You know Emitt?”

  “For a number of years. I’m going to tell you something. As I mentioned on the phone, it’s confidential.”

  “Okay,” I said, not knowing what the secrecy was all about.

  “I know about the Anasazi and the Restricted Area and I know about the two individuals that threaten their existence. I’m part of a group, the ‘Overseers,’ who protect the Anasazi… and others. We can’t allow those two to cause any more trouble.”

  “The situation has become worse. Now they’ve become more than just a threat, now they’re murderers too.”

  “Then the action we are taking is even more appropriate.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re bringing in a specialist with a skill set suited to this situation. Officially, he will be coming here as the temporary replacement for Emitt while he recovers. Unofficially, his assignment is to eliminate this problem by whatever means he deems appropriate to protect the Anasazi. I’d like you to help him out in any way you can. You know the people and the territory. It’ll make his job just that much easier and faster.”

  “What about Samantha Baker?”

  “She will stay on as his assistant.”

  “I don’t get it. Why come to me? Why not go directly to Sam?”

  “I’m sure she’d make a great Ranger, but she’s in over her head when it comes to dealing with this sort of individual. And she wouldn’t like hearing it from me, she doesn’t even know me. I think the transition will be accepted much easier coming from you.”

  “She’s not going to like it.”

  “It’s for her own safety. She’ll get over it.”

  “You don’t know her the way I do.”

  “The specialist’s name is Chuck Sawyer. He’ll arrive with official papers from the Park Service naming him interim park ranger.”

  “Isn’t this something the local Sheriff’s department should be handling?”

  “Perhaps, but the matter requires a special expertise and we’d like to avoid any local involvement that might get tangled up in red tape. Sawyer knows what needs to be done and he’s very good at it.”

  “Am I supposed to let Sam know he’s coming?”

  “No. She’ll be getting a call from the Regional office either later today or first thing tomorrow morning. Sawyer’s going to need someone to pick him up here at the airport. Can you do that for me, Jack? It’d be good if Miss Baker could be here too.”

  “I can’t promise that I can get her here, but I’ll be sure to be here. When’s he coming in?”

  “Tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. He’ll be coming in on this same plane.”

  “That doesn’t give Sam much notice.”

  * * *

  I waited until the next morning to pay a visit to Sam at her office. I opened the door to find her sitting behind her desk, staring out the window. She didn’t even acknowledge my presence.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  She started to talk, but paused, hesitating to answer. I could see moisture on her cheek, glistening from the morning sun.

  “Jack, I just got off the phone. They’re bringing in someone to take Emitt’s place while he recovers.”

  She continued to stare out the window. I knew it would come as a shock to her. This was going to be her chance to prove herself. I could see it in her face, as far as she was concerned, her chance was over.

  “I guess I really blew it this time,” Sam said, turning to look at me, forcing a weak smile.

  “You know it wasn’t anything you did. We both knew this could happen.”

  “I know. It just makes me so mad that they didn’t even give me a chance.”

  “Maybe there’s another reason why.”

  Sam sat up in her chair and swung around to face me.

  “What do you mean? Do you know something?”

  “What if I told you he was being brought in because of Smith and Jones?”

  She sat quiet and motionless, staring at me. She seemed to be trying to make sense of what I had just said.

  “Why do you know more about this than I do?” she asked, with suspicion in her eyes and voice. “Why do you know about it at all?”

  I thought telling her would make her feel better. I could have been wrong. I may have just made myself the enemy.

  “Do you remember George Whitney?”

  “Sure. Your friend up at Telluride?”

  “That’s right. He told me a new guy was being sent here.”

  “And how did he know? I just found out.”

  “Let’s just say ‘he knows people’.”

  “I’m still a little confused. Why would he tell you?”

  “I think he thought I could help with the transition.”

  “Transition?” she blurted. “There shouldn’t even be a transition. I’m perfectly capable of handling this job, without any help.”

  “Even Smith and Jones? Dealing with the likes of them is not in your job description,” I pointed out.

  “I need to be able to deal with anything that comes up,” she insisted.

  “You’re wrong. No one expects it of you but you,” I said.

  Sam shrugged. I think she knew she needed help. She would have been just fine running the park under normal conditions, but since Smith and Jones had showed up she really was out of her element. I also knew she wasn’t about to admit it.

  “This guy isn’t being sent here because you can’t handle the job of Ranger, it’s because of those two running around out there endangering the secret of the Anasazi and everyone else they come in contact with, on and off park property. If they hadn’t shown up, I have no doubt that you would have been left alone to do your job without interference.”

  That seemed to help put her at ease. “Do you really think so, Jack?”

  “I’m sure of it.”

  “There’s one more thing. George asked if I could pick up Mr. Sawyer at the airport today at 2:00 p.m. It would be nice if we could both welcome him here.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You’re going to have to work with him. You might as well start off on the right foot. C’mon Sam. He’s coming here to help.”

  “All right already. Come by around 1:00. We’ll take the park jeep. That’ll make it official.”

  * * *

  We arrived at the airport a little early, just in case Sawyer’s flight was ahead of schedule, even though I couldn’t recall the last time a plane actually arrived early. Sam and I waited patiently at the gate where he would enter. I had failed to ask George what Mr. Sawyer looked like. He had just said it wouldn’t be hard to pick him out from the other passengers. We figured he would recognize us by Sam’s uniform. I had an image in my mind of what he might look like based on his line of work and his special qualifications. Tall, trim, fit, and all business.

  A man carrying a duffle bag approached us with a big smile, his hand out. If this was him, he wasn’t at all what I had expected. A glance from Sam told me he wasn’t what she had expected either. He was about five-foot nine inches and about one hundred sixty pounds. He must be good because he wasn’t intimidating.

  “You must be Samantha Baker, and you must be Jack Trader. It’s a real pleasure to meet both of you.” He shook each of our hands eagerly with a firm handshake. “I’m really anxious to get started.”

  Sam wasn’t nearly as enthusia
stic. “Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Sawyer,” with a formal, all-business tone, forcing a barely perceptible smile.

  “Please, call me Chuck.”

  I tried to make him feel as welcome as possible by carrying the conversation, asking how his flight had been or if he had luggage to pick up. The usual small talk. None of it meant anything except to prevent a long awkward silence as we walked to the jeep.

  “Do you know where the Cozy Inn is?” he asked.

  “Sure,” I said. “Why?”

  “I thought I would stay there. I understand it’s not too far from the park.”

  “That’s true, but I don’t…”

  “Now Jack, if that’s where Chuck wants to stay…” interrupted Sam.

  “It’s not a very nice place,” I said.

  “I’m sure I’ve stayed in worse. I won’t be there much of the time anyway. If you can take me there I’ll check in and drop off my bag.”

  “Did you want to go out to the park today?” Sam asked.

  “Like I said, I’m anxious to get started. And the sooner the better.”

  * * *

  The ride to the motel began in silence. Sam felt that she could have been more hospitable when they met, so, feeling guilty, she attempted to start a conversation.

  “I guess you’d like to be filled in on what’s going on around here?”

  “There’s plenty of time for that,” said Chuck. He fell silent again as he constantly turned his head to view the sites out his window.

  “This sure is pretty country,” he commented, to no one in particular.

  “Thanks, we like it,” I replied. We slipped back into small talk interspersed with more silence.

  “Don’t you want to know what and who we’ve been dealing with?” asked Sam, starting to become frustrated at his apparent lack of interest.

  “I’ve already been briefed,” he said calmly, continuing to take in the sites. “Maybe I’ll spend a little extra time here when we’re through with all this.”

  “Wouldn’t you like to hear firsthand?” asked Sam.

  Chuck stopped looking out the window and turned to look at her directly.

  “Okay, Miss Baker. Tell me what’s been going on.”

  Now that she had his full attention, she didn’t know where to begin.

  “Well, I… ,” she started.

  “We’ve got a couple of bad hombres in the area, a Mr. Smith and a Mr. Jones,” I began.

  “Smith and Jones? How original,” Chuck commented.

  “We already suspect that they’ve killed one man and they attacked Sam.”

  “That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

  “I don’t know if you’ve been brought up to speed on the Restricted Area, but there is a situation out there as well.”

  “I know. That’s the other reason I’m here. Nothing personal, Miss Baker, but that is my primary concern. We can’t allow these individuals to jeopardize what’s in the Restricted Area. I won’t allow it,” said Chuck with a dead serious look in his eye. His smile had vanished. Right now he was all business. Then in a flash his smile was back, just as fast as it had disappeared.

  “Yeah, this is really pretty country.”

  The rest of the drive was in total silence.

  “This is it,” I said as Sam pulled off the highway and turned up to the motel office. Mr. Sawyer went in and shortly returned with key in hand.

  “Room #100, down at the far end if you please.”

  Sam pulled in front of his room. He went in, threw his bag on the bed and returned immediately.

  “It wasn’t much, was it?” I asked, knowing what the answer would or should be. I had tried to tell him, but there was no sense in making a point of it now. He didn’t respond.

  “I don’t know if it makes any difference,” I said, “but the two men of interest, Smith and Jones, were staying here. They’re gone now, but we’re sure they’re still in the area.”

  “Nice to know. Let’s go to the park. I’d like to get started.”

  I had run out of small talk and neither Sam nor Chuck was making any effort to talk, so again we continued the drive in silence to the park headquarters. Inside the office Chuck once again became all business. It was interesting how quickly he could turn it off and on. Sam showed him where his desk, or rather Emitt’s, was located.

  “Thanks, but I won’t need it. If I’m behind that desk, I’m not doing my job. So, now tell me, what’s been going on here the last few days, specifically? And do you have any idea where Smith and Jones are right now?”

  I nodded and Sam began to explain, “We don’t know where they are exactly, but…”

  “Do we know if they are still in the area?” interrupted Sawyer.

  I jumped in, “We haven’t seen them lately, but we’ve seen what we’re sure was their handiwork. We found the body of an old man in a shallow grave at his homestead outside of town. We know Smith and Jones were there earlier.”

  “Do you know why?” asked Sawyer.

  “We discovered that a local realtor had told them about the place. They were attempting to obtain permission for access.”

  “Why?”

  “We believe it was so they could enter the Restricted Area from the east without having to go through the park.”

  “And now you don’t know where they are?”

  “Not exactly. Just that they are out there somewhere, trying to access the Restricted Area again. We believe they took the old man’s horse.”

  “I assume you have notified the authorities?”

  “Of course. After discovering the body, we drove straight to the Sheriff’s office and reported what we’d found.”

  “There is the potential for another problem then.”

  “What’s that?” asked Sam.

  “Even if Smith and Jones have left the area, the Sheriff’s department is going to be all over the area looking for those two,” Sawyer pointed out.

  “So?”

  “So, we don’t want them stumbling onto our little secret. They’re not going to stop at a fence if they’re on the trail of murderers.”

  “We had to tell the authorities, didn’t we?” I asked. I shouldn’t have had to explain. It was the right thing to do.

  “Yeah, I suppose it probably was the right thing to do.” I was beginning to get a sense of how this guy thought. He was only interested in the end results.

  “What were we supposed to do?” I asked. “Leave him buried in the shallow grave?”

  “That may have made things easier. I mean, he was already dead and wasn’t going anywhere, but that’s all right. We just need to make it a priority to find these guys.”

  Sam picked up the phone. “I’m going to call Joe and see if they have any leads.”

  Joe was still in the field, but the radio operator patched Sam through. Joe let us know they were getting together some of the ranchers with horses to track Smith and Jones cross country. The search party would meet at Hank’s place. They had already been trying without success to find out if Mr. Dugan had any relatives.

  “Is there anything we can do to help?” Sam asked Joe.

  “No, just keep an eye open for them, just in case they head back into the park area. Have you seen Jack?”

  “He’s right here. He went with me to pick up the new ranger at the airport.”

  “New ranger?”

  “Here’s Jack,” said Sam, cutting Joe off, handing over the phone.

  “Jack?”

  “Yeah, Joe, what I can I do for you?”

  “What’s this about a new ranger?”

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  “Okay. Well, I’ve got a favor to ask you.”

  “This should be good. What is it?”

  “You know this area as well or better than anyone else. Can you come back out to the Dugan place and help with the search party?”

  “I don’t know how much help I’ll be. I know the park area pretty well, but outside the boundaries…”

  “
If you don’t want to help, just say so,” said Joe, thinking I was putting him off.

  “It’s not that… sure, Joe, I’ll get out there as soon as I can. I’d like nothing more than to see those two behind bars.”

  “Thanks, Jack. We’ll be waiting for you. By the way, have you heard from the Hightowers?”

  “Not a word, but then we’ve been kind of busy. Just a second.”

  I held out the phone to Sam. She shook her head no.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I hung up the phone.

  “Is there a vehicle I can use?” asked Sawyer. “I’d like to do some poking around.”

  Sam opened her desk drawer, grabbed a key and tossed it to Sawyer.

  “Would you like to go along with me?” I asked.

  “Thanks, but I want to check on something… alone. Maybe I’ll meet up with you later.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  It didn’t take long for the back sides of city boys Smith and Jones to become sore from riding. They dismounted and began walking, towing the horse behind by its reins.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t bring water,” blurted Jones.

  “If you’ll remember, you were in a hurry to leave. Besides you could have brought some just as easily.”

  They were both very aware that they were out of their domain. Smith handed the reins to Jones.

  “Here. You hold on to him for awhile.”

  Jones took the reins but wasn’t happy about it. He jerked on the reins to force the horse along. The horse rebelled immediately by rearing back, pulling the reins from Jones’ hand.

  “Get the reins!” he shouted, but it was too late. The horse was already running at a full gallop away from them, probably back to his home.

  “Don’t say anything,” said Jones.

  “Now what are we supposed to do?”

  “We don’t have any choice. We’ve got to go back.”

  No horse, no water. They started walking back to the old man’s house.

  “How far do you think we can go if we try going cross country in the car?” asked Smith.

  “Probably not very far, but we won’t know until we try. It’s either that or take off on foot again, with water this time.”