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Will glanced at his friend and smiled. He nodded in unspoken agreement. Their lives had improved. All because they married Lily. All because she needed a husband.
14
Seth
Later that afternoon, Seth and Will made the decision not to go to town, but rather search the ranch to see if they could find any more of the missing cattle. They left Lily at the house with strict instructions not to step foot out of the house for any reason.
Unless there was a fire and then she could leave.
As they rode, they realized the value of the land surrounding the ranch. The green pastures, the river, the beauty of the rolling hillsides. There was plenty of tall grass blowing in the wind and water for cattle or horses.
“No wonder that prick White wants this land. Look at the river.”
“The man reminded me of a snake oil salesman,” Will said. “He’s going to try something to get the land or Lily.”
As they topped the rise of a hill, they noticed a horse with a saddle meandering in the valley below. That was odd.
“Buzzards,” Seth said, noticing the ugly birds flying overhead.
They pulled their horses to a halt and sat gazing down at the scene below them.
“How long did she say Mr. Garza had been missing?”
“Two weeks,” he replied. “If that’s his horse, why didn’t he return home?”
With a sigh, Seth kicked his horse moving down the hill. “Guess we better check this out.”
As they rode toward the horse, he turned and neighed at them. Riding up, the mare seemed almost grateful to see them. The animal was not tethered like he feared, but rather stood patiently waiting on its owner.
At first, they didn’t see the body, but the stench alerted them that something dead was nearby. Then they saw a foot sticking out from beneath the brush. His body half hidden, a bullet hole in his chest.
The body had been there for a while. They both reached for the handkerchiefs below their chins and pulled them up over their noses. When you worked crime scenes, you quickly learned what came in handy.
“How do we know if this is the man who's missing?”
“We don’t, and no, Lily is not going to identify him. That would devastate her,” Seth said, swinging his leg over his saddle and dropping to the ground. He walked over to the horse.
A beautiful red mare that neighed when he came near.
“Easy girl. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said softly.
Will swung his leg over his horse, his feet hitting the ground. He walked to the body and reached inside the man’s pockets. He pulled out a used billfold that held a wad of bills.
“Wasn’t robbery,” he said.
Then he found a letter folded up inside. Quickly he unfolded the worn missive and read it.
“It’s Garza,” he said. “This is a letter from his sister telling him about their mother’s death. He must have saved it.”
“The brand on the horse is the Sweet B Ranch,” Seth said, running his hand over the horse’s flesh. The animal quivered.
Stepping back, Seth reached into his saddle bags and pulled out an apple. The hungry animal gladly accepted the fruit.
The thought of her waiting for her owner left Seth sad. A sucker for animals, he didn’t like to see them hurt. Since the death of his childhood dog, he couldn’t bring himself to own another one. It hurt too much.
“The horse survived on the river water and grass, but didn’t leave his rider,” he said out loud, knowing the faithful animal would receive a full sack of oats tonight.
Turning from the animal, he made his way to look at the decomposing body.
