The Bovine Connection (12 page)

Angelica looked out of the window at the mountains in the distance and exhaled. “That’s great, Matthew.” Angelica’s index finger glided softly along the top of her lip. “I do grow weary of D.C. from time to time. I could definitely come back here… to get away.”

Matthew smiled, “I hope you will… come back.”

             
M
atthew pulled up to the curb just outside the old-fashioned diner on the corner of the town square. “Well, here we are!”

Angelica got out and looked up at the diner’s old sign. Matthew had grown up in Elberton so she imagined he had spent a lot of time at what appeared to be the only hangout that didn’t serve liquor within a twenty miles radius. She thought about him as a young man, sipping milkshakes, loaded with whipped cream and a signature cherry on top while reading the
Alfred Hitchcock
book series,
“The Three Investigators.”
She had read it herself when she was young, and wondered if Matthew had too.

Angelica kept pace behind him as they entered into the loud room. She heard the old tin bell chime against the glass door as it shut behind her.

She noticed a blonde woman in her early thirties staring at her. Angelica felt uncomfortable. As Angelica passed by her, the lady glanced away with a crooked smile.

Angelica was clearly an outsider in a small town. She noticed several people with the same piercing stare, as she walked by.

There was a time when Angelica would have been offended. These people had no clue what she had gone through, even being spit on while trying to question an indicted Councilman while he was making his way into the courthouse. She knew it was par for the course, so she took it for what it was… humanity at its finest. She clutched her purse tightly and continued behind Matthew.

Matthew caught the awkward stares and low whispers so he casually turned around to Angelica. “Don’t let it bother you, just smile and nod. They’ve had their share of big city folks that come over from Elk Lodge.”

An older lady with tanned, leather skin walked up. “Hello, Matthew! Who you got here?”

“Hi Bev, this is Angelica Bradley with the
Liberator Magazine
. She’s in town from D.C., doing a story.”

Bev appeared friendly, but uninterested. “Well, that’s just nice… what will y’all be having today?”

Matthew rubbed his hand together like a boy and with his boyish smile he stated, “How about a slice of that chess pie, and some coffee.” Matthew responded a little too excited, Angelica thought, as she laughed inwardly.

Bev looked to Angelica. “And you, honey?”

“I’ll have the same, thank you.”

They sat down in the booth. Angelica glanced around the diner to see if the patrons were still staring at her. There were a few quick glances her way, but everyone appeared to be pretending to mind their own business.

The bell on the door chimed again, and in walked Sheriff Taylor, all neat and groomed in his brown official uniform. He took his hat off as he came in and rubbed his hand across the top of his forehead to smooth the black hair back into place, at the same time wiping away the shine of sweat.

He was a thin man and in his late fifties. He appeared to be a happy, confident man. As he crossed the room toward Angelica and Matthew, he stopped and talked with the town folk along the way.

Angelica found the Sheriff amusing to watch. He was a politically savvy showman. He would gently pat a person on the shoulder, then roll his head back and let out an obnoxious chuckle, giving the impression he was genuinely interested in the conversation.

It was obvious he was well-liked and respected by the people in the town. He finally made his way over to the booth. He wiped his palm across his forehead to smooth his hair once again while he placed his sheriff’s hat on the hook fixed to the side of the booth.

Sheriff Taylor’s voice was assertive. “Hello, Matthew!”

Matthew got up from the booth. “Hello, Sheriff. This is Angelica Bradley with the
Liberator Magazine
.”

Angelica rose up from the table and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Sheriff!”

“Call me Bob,” he said with what appeared to be a fake smile as they all sat down.

Angelica turned to smirk discreetly. Sheriff Bob Taylor… this would make a great Twilight Zone episode, she thought.

“So you’re here to investigate the cattle mutilations?” Sheriff Taylor stated, direct and to the point.

“Yes, I came in from D.C. two days ago. This is not typically my type of story. I’m more of a political investigative journalist,” Angelica stated with an arrogant air as she sat her coffee cup down.

Sheriff Taylor held eye contact as he tried to size her up, as people usually did with Angelica.

“So what’s your take on the mutilations, Bob?” Angelica reached down and grabbed her recorder from her satchel.

“Hold up young lady, I need to get me a piece of that famous chess pie and cool off with some cold sweet tea. It’s a hot one out there,” he smiled and looked at Bev while she placed Matthew’s and Angelica’s pie down in front of them.

“Oh yes, sorry.” Angelica nodded blankly.

“So… you want my opinion. Well, I don’t believe little grey men are doing it, like Matthew over here, if that’s what you’re asking,” the sheriff said, as he nudged Matthew with his elbow and chuckled. Matthew rolled his eyes.

“Honestly, Ms. Bradley, I’m not sure what to make of all this mutilated cow stuff. I’ve been investigating the incidents since the first one back in 2000 at the Anderson ranch. I thought it was probably from coyote. Then, after examining the carcass and speaking with the local vet, I thought maybe it was a revenge killing.”

Bev walked up and placed the sheriff’s pie and tea down in front of him.

“I suspected a dispute may have taken place between Hugh Anderson and somebody, but couldn’t find any evidence to suggest that was the case. And frankly, Hugh wasn’t the sort of guy to cause anyone hard feelings.” The sheriff looked at Angelica as he cut a bite-sized piece of pie. “Love the chess pie here!”

Sheriff Taylor, holding his fork like a shovel, cut off another rather large piece of pie and took another bite, and with his mouth full, went on to say… “Then we started looking at the possibility that we had some sort of sicko on our hands.”

Angelica couldn’t help but notice the pie moving around in his mouth as he spoke. Trying to focus on what he was saying instead of his lack of manners, she nodded her head and maintained eye contact.

“After all the leads ran dry,” the sheriff said, “we put the file away and as time passed, we moved on.”

Angelica took a bite of her pie. “Delicious,” she thought. She hadn’t had chess pie since she was a young girl in Asheville.

“That was, of course, until the second mutilation that occurred on the Keller ranch,” the sheriff told her. “When I got the call, I thought ‘here we go again.’ That’s when we were put in contact with Dr. Walter Goolrick, the Chief Veterinarian of Sciences over at the University of Colorado. Dr. Kenneth Tidwell, we call him KT, who is our local veterinarian, recommended him. KT was just as perplexed as we were.”

Angelica heard the door chime again. She glanced around to notice a young man and woman walk into the diner. Her attention had wandered. Sheriff Taylor cleared his throat causing Angelica to turn back around and see he had paused waiting for her attention. Angelica was fully alert. “Yes, go on,” she said.

“Dr. Goolrick concluded that the wounds
were surgical,” the sheriff said, “due to the ‘incisions and extraction of internal organs,’ were his words. The incisions were too precise, he said. Someone took great care and probably speed while cutting up that animal. That was, as you can imagine, quite disturbing news. We realized we were dealing with a sicko who had some smarts.”

“Interesting!” Angelica exclaimed. “Yes, I read his report, as well. Did you follow any leads in pursuit of this sicko?” After asking the question, Angelica glanced over at Matthew. Matthew raised his eyebrows and tightened his lips. Angelica looked back at the sheriff.

“We’ve pursued every possible lead and they all lead nowhere,” the sheriff told her. “Here in this small town, we may appear dumb, but we’re not. I was born at night, just not last night, Ms. Bradley.”

Angelica looked intensely at the sheriff wondering if, and how she had offended him… “So you don’t believe any of the other theories out there?”

“Ms. Bradley, are you asking if I believe in ETs?” Sheriff Taylor put his fork down on the side of his plate, turned and looked around the room before looking back at Angelica. “No, and don’t get that crap started again in this town!”

Matthew and Angelica were equally surprised, and Angelica was offended. She squinted suspiciously and although she was struggling to believe the ET theory, she challenged the sheriff. “Really, you haven’t entertained any thought that there might be something truly unusual going on around here?”

Sherriff Taylor rolled his eyes and dramatically shook his head.

Angelica didn’t believe the sheriff. She saw the look in his eyes and she knew his type. She dealt with those assholes every day in D.C. She knew that even if an alien beamed down right in front of him, he’d later deny it ever happened for the sake of his sanity. Remembering that neither Hugh Anderson nor Jack Keller told the sheriff everything they had witnessed on the nights of the mutilations, she dropped it.

Angelica turned off the recorder. “Would it be all right if I come by the station and take a look at the files?”

“That’ll be fine,” he stated confidently. “I’ll have them ready for you. Just ask for Sergeant Hamilton and he’ll show you to them. However, your editor has already been sent copies of everything we have so it may be wasted time.”

“Oh,” Angelica said softly. “Well, thank you.”

Matthew shifted in his seat and put his hands on the table. “Well, thank you, Sheriff, for meeting with us,” Matthew grabbed the check and they got up from the booth.

“You’ll let me know what you uncover before you leave,” he said directly to Angelica with a stern look in his eyes. The sheriff announced throughout the diner for everyone to hear, “The pie was delicious, as usual… Outstanding!”

Bev, who was walking to the cash register to meet him said, “Glad you liked it, Sheriff.”

Sheriff Taylor turned and looked back at Angelica. “Hope you’re enjoying your stay at the Elk Lodge… Impressive place!”

Angelica smiled and agreed, then glanced around to see Michael standing outside on the curve helping an attractive brunette woman into the passenger side of his Black Escalade. Her heart fluttered. The woman was stunning. Angelica suspected she was his girlfriend.

As she and Matthew walked out of the diner, Michael and the woman drove off. Suddenly self-conscious, she changed her expression in case Matthew noticed. “Ellen McKinney, huh… This should be interesting.”

“Yes, this will be an interview worth remembering.” Matthew laughed.

             
I
t was very quiet in the car. Angelica was thinking about Michael and the beautiful woman.
Why couldn’t she stop thinking about Michael?
she wondered.

“Do you mind if I stop by my house and grab something?” Matthew asked.

“As long as you stop at that liquor store first.” Angelica pointed to an old western style building with cherry stained cedar shingles and a front porch held up by two large posts.

Matthew pulled into the front parking spot. After a few minutes, Angelica came out and got back into the car. “Friendly fella in there! Thanks… my nightly sedative,” she said, as she held up the brown paper bag. Matthew noticed the box of Macallen 12.

“And it’s cheaper. The hotel’s probably real expensive,” Matthew said, as he smiled boyishly.

Driving through town, she tried to imagine what it would be like living in Elberton.
What the heck is there to do around here
, she wondered,
except eat chess pie, look at the scenery and gossip?

Back in D.C., Angelica went to the gym every day after work, or on occasion she’d skip her workout to go to the popular bar around the corner to meet Andrew or her girlfriends for drinks. She looked out the window at the dime store shops with outdated window dressings, along the main avenue as they passed by. “So, do you guys have a Starbucks?”

Playfully ignoring her question, Matthew looked at Angelica and smiled. After a few blocks he announced, “Here we are. Would you like to come in for a minute?”

Angelica opened the car door, and stepped out onto the loose pea gravel driveway in between a strip of grass. As she turned around she saw an old Victorian white house with a small white picket fence encircling it.

“It’s lovely. Yes, this is how I pictured you,” she smiled confidently. ”Is it haunted?” she asked, straight-faced.