Dark Moon Crossing (33 page)

“Is this a loaded question?‌”

“Just answer it.”

“Of course I do, but I happen to think you’re way off
the mark on this one.”

I groaned through gritted teeth. “Just try to listen
with an open mind. That’s all I ask.”

“Okay.” He folded his arms and listened with an
inscrutable expression on his face as I filled him in on each new aspect of the
story. When I finished he shook his head sadly. “Kendall, I can’t believe
you’re actually serious about this. Only you would be able to make a
connection between a hundred-year old legend about a phantom black horse and
the mindless babble of a five-year-old.”

“But don’t you see, Javier must have heard the
identical story from his great-grandfather that Cecil just repeated to me.
That’s why he was so afraid to cross the border with his mother. He has to be
talking about the same place.”

“Fiction,” he proclaimed, sagely staring off into the
distance. “You should take up writing fiction.”

Stung, I retorted, “That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny.”

I prayed for patience. “So, you’re not the least bit
disturbed about Jason threatening me in Champ’s study?‌”

A careless shrug. “Can you blame him?‌ You really
shouldn’t have been going through Champ’s stuff without someone’s permission.
He probably just overreacted.”

“Overreacted?‌ He practically choked me to death! I’m
telling you Tally, he’s dangerous and he thinks I’m some sort of a government
spy or working in some capacity for this Lopez woman he’s always snarling
about. And what about when he spotted me on the stairs?‌ He looked at me like
I was a ghost. Don’t you see?‌ I was never supposed to escape from the trap he
set for me in Morita. I think he and some of his Knights of Right goons are
responsible for the fact that I no longer have a car.”

My speech did nothing to diminish the obstinate set of
his jaw. “So, you believe Jason is the brains behind some sort of phony alien
abduction scheme designed to wipe out the entire Mexican migrant population as
they cross the border?‌”

That gave me pause. “Well, I don’t know if he’s smart
enough to be the mastermind, but I’ll tell you what, his true sentiments are
reflected by his choice of reading material and his violent behavior. Do I
think he’s sadistic enough to snuff out people he perceives as parasites?‌ You
bet I do. I also think he’s afraid I’ll find out what he’s up to and that’s why
he wants me out of here tonight.”

“If you’re so sure something is going to happen, why
don’t you alert the Border Patrol?‌ Let them handle it.”

I
glared up at his shadow-streaked face. “I’ve already thought of that. If
you
don’t believe me, how am I ever going to convince them?‌ On top of that, I
suspect that one or more agents may be involved in some capacity.”

If
possible, his expression grew even more incredulous. “Why would you think
that?‌”

“Because
of the Bob Shirley case. Think about it. Why was he so paranoid about
discussing the migrant he arrested in Morita, remember the one whose story
matched Javier’s?‌ And then, suddenly, out of the blue, he kills himself two
weeks later?‌ Again, we’re back to timing. It’s just too perfect.” I could tell
by his doubtful grimace that he wasn’t even close to being persuaded. “Look, I
know you think I’m being pig-headed….”

“You?‌
Pig-headed?‌ Never.”

I
scrunched my nose at him. “Okay, I know this is all a bit of a stretch, and it
may turn out to be nothing at all, but what do you have to lose by driving me
out there?‌”

Following his prolonged sigh of exasperation, he
lifted his hat, finger-combed his hair and settled it back into position before
asking in a weary tone, “Okay, what’s the plan?‌”

“What
do you mean?‌”

“What
do you plan to do when we get there?‌ Are we going to attempt another one of
your daredevil schemes and try to round up this bunch of thugs by ourselves?‌
If they are as dangerous as you suspect, I’m surprised you’d want to confront them.
I only have my .45 with me and I’m not sure that’s going to be enough
firepower.”

“Who
said anything about confronting them?‌ I’m not that crazy. I think the safest
approach is to find a spot to hide, hunker down, and then wait to see what
happens. If I’m right, then we contact the authorities, lead them out there
and then let them handle it.” His thoughtful expression conveyed that he was
thinking it over and I held my breath waiting for his response.

“How are you going to know where to find these
people?‌”

“Ah,
that’s the beauty of it,” I said, rubbing my hands with enthusiasm. “I already
talked to Felix, and he gave me exact directions to the crossing place.”

Even
in the dim light, it was hard to miss the sly twinkle in his eyes. “I have to
admit that the part where the two of us hunker down under a bush is a pretty
tempting offer, but somehow stumbling around out there in the dark doesn’t
sound like a good plan to me. And that brings up another point. Short of
shining a spotlight on them, how are we going to see anything?‌”

Oh, boy. It was time to tell him. “It might not be
as dark as you think.” He reacted to my account of having witnessed a strange
hovering craft and being blinded by a bright blue beam of light with a
vociferous, “Oh, come on!” He grabbed my shoulders and gave me a little shake.
“Kendall, listen to yourself! I can’t believe I almost bought into this crazy
theory of yours. Can’t you see that you’re basing this whole conspiracy on two
unsubstantiated UFO stories, a couple of fairy tale rhymes and a fever-induced
dream?‌ You don’t have one shred, one iota, even one teeny little speck of
actual physical evidence to prove your point. Give it up.”

Crestfallen by his negative response, I thrust out my
chin. “Fine. Don’t believe me. Give me the keys to your truck. I’ll go by
myself.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” he thundered.

I clenched my fists. “Tally, I was not dreaming!
Listen, I’ll make you a deal. Come with me. If nothing happens, you can spend
the rest of my life saying I told you so, but what if I’m right?‌ Javier’s life
could be at stake while we’re standing here arguing.”

“Or not. Again, you’re making an assumption. What
makes you think the kid didn’t just wander off someplace?‌ Most likely, he’s
somewhere else in the house or on the property and she just hasn’t found him
yet.”

Thinking about the mission resurrected the memory of
my night in the car and I gasped, “I just remembered something! That night I
saw the illegals being herded into the vans, remember I told you three of the
vans went north but the fourth one went south and I couldn’t figure out why?‌”

“Yes, so?‌”

“The
flashes! The driver signaled with his headlights and there were answering
flashes from the southwest. I didn’t put it together until just this minute,
but now that I think about it…” I paused and turned in a circle to get my
bearings. “That’s it! I’m sure they came from the direction of Morita! And a
Border Patrol jeep followed the van, or maybe I should say
escorted
it
to its final destination.”

“Now
you’ve lost me completely.”

“Don’t
you see?‌ For a while I thought maybe Sister Goldenrod might be in on the
smuggling scheme, I mean, I think she is in a secondhand way because she
is
harboring these illegals, but now I think Jason and his Knights of Right bunch
may be siphoning off people from the groups she’s bringing in, and Froggy is
the snitch. That silly little rhyme was to alert Jason that they were there
for the picking. Once transportation arrived, they simply commandeered one of
the vans. There! Is that enough evidence for you?‌”

“Jeeezus!” Tally exclaimed, raising his arms in appeal
to the stars overhead. “That is the most disjointed, far-fetched story I’ve
ever heard in my entire life. I swear you are the most exasperating woman I
have ever known.”

I opened my mouth to tell him he was the most
exasperating man I’d ever met, but was interrupted by Twyla’s frantic, “Tally!
Tally, where are you?‌” We turned to see her silhouetted in the open
doorway.

“I’m talking with Kendall,” he called back, unable to
conceal the agitation in his tone. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Shrugging into a coat, she hurried towards us, the
tension on her face visible as she moved in and out of the dappled light. “I’m
sorry to interrupt,” she said, placing a hand on her heaving chest, “but I
need your help.”

“What’s the problem?‌”

“I really hate to ask after all you’ve done for us
today, but, could you go to Arivaca and bring Jason home?‌”

“Excuse me,” Tally drawled, edging me a condescending
glance, “did you say Jason is in
Arivaca
?‌”

I felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water
on me as my carefully constructed theory fizzled before my eyes like a
defective sparkler. Impossible! How could I have miscalculated so badly?‌

“I begged him not to go out tonight,” she sniffled.
“Apparently, he’s been drinking and mouthing off to some of the other patrons.
My lawyer says things could go very badly for him if he gets into trouble
again.”

Relying solely on my reporter’s instincts, I cut in,
“How do you know for sure that he’s at La Gitana?‌”

She pinned me with a look of blank confusion. “The
bartender called. Why?‌”

Unwilling to admit defeat, I pressed, “Did you talk to
him personally?‌”

“No, Lin Su took the message,” she replied, pulling
the coat tighter in the quickening breeze.

“So, how do you know it was really the bartender?‌”

“What are you getting at?‌” she asked, her tone snippy.

“Kendall, lighten up,” Tally warned, lightly squeezing
my arm. “Twyla, isn’t there someone else you can ask?‌ I’m sort of tied up
here.”

“I’d go myself, but I can’t leave Bethany alone to
handle everything. Most of the boys are getting the horses and wagons ready
for the hayrides and I can’t find either Rob or Sloan,” her voice broke and she
buried her face in her hands, bawling, “Oh, God, this has been such an awful
day. Please, Tally, if you could just do this one more thing for me I’d be so
grateful.”

Tally, reacting like most men do to tearful
situations, shifted his stance uncomfortably. “Simmer down. I’ll do what I
can.”

“Oh, thank you. You’re such a dear boy.” She dabbed
her eyes. “And, Kendall, thank you for being so understanding about all of
this. I really don’t know what I would have done without Tally’s help today.”

I nodded wordlessly. What could I say?‌ While I
sympathized with her plight, nonetheless it annoyed me to play second fiddle to
the mighty Beaumonts. Ironically, I was probably getting a taste of my own
medicine. After she disappeared back inside the barn, it took me a few seconds
to work up the courage to make eye contact with Tally. Bracing for his
inevitable lecture, I cringed inside. “Okay,” I sighed, “apparently you’re
right and I’m totally off base on this one.” But his steady gaze, brimming with
warm compassion, surprised me. Stepping closer, he pushed the cloud of wind-blown
hair away from my face, then let one finger slide down my cheek and trace the
outline of my lips. His gentle touch quickened my pulse.

“Listen, pretty lady, one of the things I admire most
about you is your eagerness for doing the right thing, for fighting injustice,
even down to the simple act of rescuing an injured kitten,” he added with a
hint of a smile. “Come on, you did your best to try and help out a friend and
who can fault you for that?‌ But let’s face facts. You’ve been a pretty sick
little filly here for a couple of days and I think you’ve had a little too much
time to lie around and let your imagination run wild. You also had your heart
set on unearthing another mind-blowing, adrenalin-popping, front page scoop,
but it’s time to back away gracefully and admit that you’re wrong this time.”

His soft-gloved indictment was ego-shattering and
heartening at the same instant. Escape from this sticky situation was at hand,
and it would have been so easy to succumb, but I could not shake off the
gnawing sense of unrest. “I know you’re going to brand me as certifiable, but
I still believe something is going to happen tonight, and if we don’t get out
there soon, it will be too late.”

Ignoring my plea, he hooked his hand through my elbow
and led me towards his truck. “Look, I have to do this. It shouldn’t take
more than an hour and a half round trip. Why don’t you come with me?‌”

“I have no desire to confront Jason Beaumont in a
drunken rage, thank you very much.”

“All right then, I have a second proposal.” He
stopped, pulled me into his arms and pinned me with a penetrating look. I
tensed, feeling positive that his choice of words meant the big moment had
finally arrived. I wanted to shout out, ‘yes, the answer is yes!’, but instead
of the expected marriage proposal he laid on his exaggerated western drawl.
“Well now little lady, hows about when I get this business out of the way, you
and me mosey on upstairs to your cozy little loft and start enjoying our
vacation.” Without waiting for my response, he whipped off his hat and
fastened his mouth firmly against mine. After so many days of mental anguish,
fearing that I’d lost him, my body blazed with pent-up desire. Remembering
Ginger’s words of advice, I wrapped both arms around his neck and returned his
kiss with a heated fervor designed to leave no doubt in his mind as to how much
I wanted him, how much he meant to me. When we finally pulled apart, my
emotions were in such turmoil, I could hardly stand up or think straight.
Judging by his uneven breathing and the intense glow of passion in his eyes,
I’m pretty sure he felt the same way.

“Ninety minutes,” he intoned huskily, jamming on his
hat and fishing his keys from his jacket. “Keep that fire burning.” With a
rakish grin, he jerked the truck door open, jumped in, started the engine, and
with a final wave roared off into the darkness.