Chapter 33
Sally drafted her newspaper
column by mid-morning and ate lunch at her desk while proofing her work.
As she opened her car
door, Sally glanced toward the heavens putting the morning behind her.
Now she had to meet Gus.
She wondered
if she could ever really overcome her fear of riding a horse. If a blind
man could ride a horse in a parade, it was time she got past her childhood
fear. Gus was the man who could help her. She so admired the courage of
the unsighted man, realizing he was no fool. Something about him still
echoed inside her.
The drive from Prescott
to Sedona was about 50 miles even with the Cherry Road shortcut to the
I-17 Freeway. Once on the freeway, the drive took her through a mountain
pass and into the Verde Valley with its meandering river.
Today the water was
racing along its banks from the afternoon storm. It was monsoon season
which was characterized with sudden cloud bursts. Small fierce storms often
came over the Mingus mountains toward Sedona. As the storm brewed, the
air was forced up into the atmosphere where it was cooled.
When the air came cascading
down the other side of the mountains, the friction in the raindrops and
moisture triggered an abnormal amount of lightning. Thunder bolts striking
trees were a daily occurrence on the Sedona side of the mountain.
Although the
sky was clearing over her, Sally could see flickers of lightning loitering
over Sedona in the distance, lending further credence to Sedona's mysterium.
The drive was pleasant
and uneventful except for an accident which had occurred at the I-17 Freeway
and Sedona turnoff. A pickup truck pulling a horse trailer had apparently
misjudged the turn at the freeway entrance. It had cut the corner
too short, running off the embankment and then rolling on its side.
It appeared to Sally
the accident must have just happened and the highway patrol had arrived.
Two cars were there with revolving red and blue lights. The officers were
placing flares to guide the traffic around the accident. Sally complimented
the patrolmen in her mind for the speedy response, yet wondered how they
had arrived so quickly.
Gus and Sally arrived
at the Red Bell Inn parking lot at the same moment as if destiny had a
specific plan for them.
They pulled up next to each other in the parking
lot, smiling at the synchronicity which placed them together at the same
moment.
They walked toward
the coffee shop, Gus indicated relief at not being late because of his
errands. He asked if she had a pleasant drive.
Sally said, "It was
especially beautiful around the last bend in the road. The first time you
see Bell Rock is spectacular. I thought I might be a little late myself
when an accident at the freeway held me up. The police were already there.
Funny how they got there so quickly."
"Oh?" There was
a slight apprehension Gus's voice.
"Yes, a dumpy old black
truck with a homemade camper and horse trailer missed the freeway entrance
and overturned."
Something about the
mention of a homemade camper took form in the back of Gus's mind. He stopped
dead in his tracks as they entered the lobby.
He didn't want to ask
the next question because of its possible and tragic implications, yet
the question clamored out of him grasping for an answer.
"Was the overturned
horse trailer gray and rusty red?"
"Yes. How did you know?"
A jolt of sharp anguish
hit Gus and he came to full alert. He had put the pieces together in his
recognition of the truck and trailer that seemed almost too far fetched
to be believed.
He asked another question,
"Could the police have been chasing the truck and trailer when it overturned?"
"That may have been
the reason they were there so quickly," responded Sally, "I never considered
that."
"Snake Buckman!" he
said. "Was there a horse in the overturned trailer?"
"I didn't see, but
it's possible."
Gus stepped to the
phone, dialed the ranch but got the interrupt operator saying the phone
was temporally out of service.
"Come on, Sally, we
have to leave right now. I have to check back at the ranch. I think we
may have a stolen horse."
Sally leapt into the
truck, "Oh no, not the horse in the parade?"
"I'm afraid so."
Gus told her about
the card game with Snake in which he had won Biff, and Snake's drunken
nature. He described how Snake carried a grudge for years trying to get
the horse back. Likely hearing about or seeing Biffer in the parade, coupled
with all the 4th of July parties set him off on a bizarre scheme to steal
Biff.
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