The Archer [Book 13 of the Hawkman Series] (13 page)

He pointed at the arrows. “You want me to take these in and see if we, by chance, can get some prints?"

"Yes, thanks. Detective Williams is running the three from my office through the lab. We'll see if they can get a match."

"I'll touch base with him when I go into town tomorrow."

After the deputy left, Hawkman placed an arm around Jennifer. “I don't think you have anything to fear. They're trying to scare me off of helping Laura."

She looked up at him. “I don't understand their persistence in harassing her, and now after us. Why are they doing it?"

"I wish I could answer, but I have no idea and found nothing in Laura's past to warrant it. She's hardly old enough to have a wicked background."

Jennifer placed a hand on his arm. “What about her folks?"

He shrugged. “There's a possibility Olly has done something to cause anger in someone. I'm going to have to do a bit of research on their family."

"Don't forget Laura's mother. You never know what might have taken place years ago causing ill feelings."

"You're right. I might see what I can find out tonight."

After dinner, Hawkman retired to his home office and booted up the computer. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Miss Marple standing at the door watching him. “So what have you been up to, you little trouble maker. Obviously, you're disgruntled with your mistress or you wouldn't be seeking me out."

She walked over and began rubbing against his boot, purring a soft song.

"Oh, brother, I can tell you got into some deep trouble today and want forgiveness."

About that time, Jennifer peeked into the room. “Ah, ha, there's my little scalawag. She's not happy with me today. I had to shut her in the bathroom for an hour."

"I figured something happened, as she usually doesn't kiss up to me unless she's in deep dodo. What'd she get into?"

"Caught her on the kitchen cabinet, which is a very strong no-no."

"What was she after?"

"I think she got a whiff of tuna, where I'd made myself a sandwich for lunch."

Hawkman glanced down at the cat, who was hiding behind his boots. “Girl, you know better than to get up there."

"You want me to take her out of here while you're working?"

"Not really. She can sulk with me. If she gets out of hand, I'll bring her to you."

"Okay. Good luck."

Hawkman settled at the computer and went into a secure website where he typed in Oliver Joseph King, Olly's full name, which he'd learned from the phone bills. The machine hummed as it went through the search, then popped up with a web page. Hawkman scanned the information and felt he had the right man. As he read more thoroughly, his eyebrows shot up as he flopped back in the chair, causing Miss Marple to jump up from her comfortable position, and streak out the door.

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Hawkman spent a restless night, as he kept waking with nightmarish scenes running through his brain about the lawsuits Oliver King had been involved in several years ago. He needed to talk to the man and get the details. The litigations might not amount to anything, and whether they'd have any bearing on the harassment of Laura was anyone's guess. He'd also discovered Clay Hicks’ deceased wife, Edna, and Violet were sisters.

Finally, he gave up trying to sleep, slipped out of bed and padded into the kitchen barefoot. The floor felt cold, so he flipped on the heat, but softly closed the door to the bedroom, as neither he nor Jennifer could rest well in a warm room.

Waiting for the coffee maker to brew, he stared out the window as he watched the sunlight slowly light up the surrounding area. Turning around to lift a mug from the cabinet, he heard Miss Marple let out a yowl as she sat at her empty food bowl.

"Shush, you silly cat. You're going to wake up your mistress. I'll get you some food."

He poured some dry niblets into her bowl, then filled his cup. Walking into the living room, he looked out over the lake which reflected the trees and banks like a mirror into the pool of still water. He marveled at the beauty. When Pretty Girl, his pet falcon, spotted him at the window, she squawked several times. Hawkman smiled. “You pets are determined to wake Jennifer,” he said softly.

Stepping back, he turned around and found his wife standing in the hallway, wrapping a robe around her slim body. “Boy, when you get up, you certainly cause a commotion. Miss Marple meowing and Pretty Girl letting you know she'd like to go hunting."

He bowed his head. “Sorry, sweetheart, I intended to let you sleep."

She smiled. “I know, just giving you a hard time.” Then she frowned. “Why are you up so early on Sunday morning?"

"I did some research last night and found out some things about the King family. I'm wondering if these incidents have any impact on the harassing of Laura."

Jennifer moved into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee, then turned toward her husband. “For instance?"

"Several years ago, Olly sued Al Wallace. It appeared to be some sort of land problem; the site didn't go into details. Olly won the suit, but I need to find out more of the details."

"Isn't Wallace the father of those two rowdy boys you told me about?"

"Yes. The boys wouldn't have been old enough at the time to understand the complications of the courts. But as they got older, they could have decided the time had come to pay back Olly for embarrassing their father."

Jennifer tilted her head. “Interesting. Also very probable. Ignorance can lead to problems and they more than likely know nothing about the law suit, only tidbits of what their father has said. They put them together and came up with something worse than it is."

"Exactly, and took matters into their own hands. If they're the ones harassing Laura; I need to talk to Olly. However, I could be way off base on this."

"Learn anything else?"

"Yes, and it's sort of puzzling why Olly never mentioned it. Clay Hicks’ deceased wife, Edna, was Violet's sister. I'm sure it has no bearing on Laura's case either; just thought it strange no one in the family has talked about it.” He shrugged. “They probably didn't think it had any thing to do with what we're dealing with, and it probably doesn't."

"So, are you going out to the King's place today?"

"I'm seriously considering it. Do you think you'll be okay here alone?"

"Of course. Ken is just down the street, and I'll wear my fanny pack with my gun, just in case."

"Okay, it's settled. I'll give Olly a ring and see if he's going to be available."

She glanced at the clock. “I'd wait awhile; it's still mighty early to be calling anyone.

He grinned. “You're right, even farmers might not be up at this hour."

Hawkman showered and dressed while Jennifer prepared breakfast. At a decent time he contacted Olly and made plans to see him around one in the afternoon.

When Hawkman reached the King's ranch, he discovered on the GPS that Laura had gone into Medford. He hoped she hadn't ventured out alone. He walked up to the front door and knocked. Olly invited him inside.

"Now what's this you want to talk to me about?"

"First, I'd like to ask where's Laura?"

"She and her mom went shopping."

"Good, someone's with her."

Olly rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, but they were both as nervous as two jackrabbits."

"They'll be fine."

"What's on your mind?"

"I have questions about the lawsuit you and Al Wallace were involved in several years ago."

Olly furrowed his brows. “What's that got to do with Laura?"

"I'm not sure. Wallace's got two rowdy boys who could be playing a dangerous game."

"Those fellows were just little tots when the court action took place. They wouldn't know a thing about it."

"Al could have griped for years about losing, and the boys have decided to retaliate."

Olly waved a hand in the air. “I doubt it. Al and I parted friends over the whole mess; a misunderstanding all the way around."

"Tell me about it."

"Okay, let's go for a walk out in the field and I'll show you what brought the suit on."

The two men headed out on foot across the pasture, passed Ed and Clay's home and crested a small hill. Olly stopped and pointed toward a fence line running as far as the eye could see before it disappeared over a knoll.

"My property goes just a ways beyond the crest. One day I came out here walking my property line and discovered a homesteader sign on my land. I pulled it up and threw it away. Shortly afterwards I received a call from Al. He told me he wanted to homestead the property. I told him no way in hell was he squatting on my land."

"Did he argue about it?"

"Yes, he told me the papers showed no one owned it. I told him I had the papers to prove I did. If you knew Al Wallace, he always thinks he's right. So I took him to court, brought my legal papers showing the boundaries of the land and the judge ruled in my favor. It miffed him for a while, but he soon got over it and eventually apologized for his mistake. This fence hasn't been there but about eight or ten years. I put it in right after the court case. I didn't want to go through it again."

"Were his boys present in the court room?"

"I don't remember, but I doubt it unless their mom brought them. She was still alive at the time.” Olly shook his head. “Kids wouldn't have found the dry legal talk of any interest."

"Do you think Mr. Wallace would have complained in front of them?"

"It's possible, but it's water under the bridge now."

"Those boys are ornery and might feel you cheated their dad."

Olly stared at Hawkman. “Are you saying they could be taking it out on me for protecting my land by harassing my daughter?"

"I have no idea, just throwing some ideas around."

"I'd hate to believe that. Maybe I should talk to Al."

Hawkman raised a hand. “No, don't yet. Let me do a bit more investigating before we throw those boys to the dogs. However, from what I understand, they're not far from it."

"So I hear. It's a shame too, as they were good kids, but got off on the wrong track after their mother died. Al doesn't know what to do with them."

They started walking back toward the house.

"How'd you find out about that law suit anyway?” Olly asked. “I haven't thought about it in years."

"Being a private investigator I've ways of finding out things that a layman wouldn't know about. Like I found out Clay's wife was Violet's sister."

Olly stopped in his tracks. “Why would that be of interest?"

"It wouldn't, unless there was a problem within the family."

Olly grinned, and started walking again. “There's always a problem between sisters."

"Anything worth mentioning?” Hawkman asked.

"Naw, just sibling rivalry, even after years of maturity."

"Nothing that would make Clay unhappy?"

"Not at all. We used to laugh at the two women bickering at each other. I think Violet really misses it now with Edna gone."

When they reached the house, Hawkman lingered outside the back door. “You've answered my questions about the lawsuit. If I need to know more, I'll give you a call."

"Good seeing you. Don't hesitate to ring me."

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Hawkman watched as the truck continued around to the back of the house. The side windows were slightly tinted, but he could make out the silhouette of Joey Higgins, the neighbor's youngest son. Backing up, Hawkman could see the lad had stopped in front of the barn, and Olly was making his way toward the structure. It appeared they had some sort of deal or swap going on. King did hire the Higgins boys to do some of the hard labor on the ranch, even though Ed and Clay took care of most of the work.

He drove down the driveway and onto the road. Checking the GPS, he could see Laura and her mother were headed for home. It appeared they were traveling at quite a rate of speed, which worried him. He didn't suspect Laura would drive fast with her mother onboard, unless something had frightened them. When he came to a broad shoulder in the road, he pulled off and waited. Sure enough, Laura's green Celica barreled past. Not far behind a black pickup came into view. Hawkman waited for the truck to get by, then made a U-turn and tailgated the truck.

Two heads bobbed in front of the back glass, but he couldn't identify the occupants. Suddenly, at a crossroad, the black vehicle veered off to the right and disappeared in a cloud of dust. Hawkman decided not to pursue, as he needed to know from Laura what happened, if anything. He continued toward the King's ranch and pulled up behind Laura's car. She jumped out and ran back to his SUV as he climbed out.

"Oh, Mr. Casey, I'm so glad to see you."

"What happened back there?” he asked.

"Mom and I were coming out of the grocery store with our purchases when the Wallace brothers showed up.” Her voice shaking, she continued. “They began to shout about Dad hiring a detective to watch after his little girl. I didn't respond, but they kept getting closer, until Mom and I jumped into the car. We locked the doors, and when I tried to pull out of the parking place, they pushed a cart in my way, so I couldn't back out. A man saw what happened and moved the basket out of the way. I sped out of the lot, but I soon spotted their black pickup in my rearview mirror. Those guys really scare me. You don't know what they'll do. They have no respect for anyone. Here I had my mother with me."

"Did you get a call or message on your cell phone?"

She whipped out the small instrument from her jeans pocket and studied it, then shook her head. “No, nothing."

Hawkman patted her on the shoulder. “Calm down, you're safe now."

Leaving Joey Higgins hoisting bales of hay into the bed of his truck, Olly came jogging toward the house. His face showed concern when he saw his daughter and wife leaning against the car. He glanced at Hawkman. “What's going on?"

"Laura can tell you. Every thing's okay now, but she had a scare.” He turned toward the women. “Let me know immediately, if you have any more trouble with those two renegades."