In the Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23 Mysteries)

  “Got a plastic bag and something to scoop with?”

  “I’ll check the wagon.”

  Jeremiah climbed up into the back of the wagon. He moved over to a big ice chest and opened it up. Rows of packets of cut up portions of meat and other spoilable items met his eyes. He picked up a package of the bacon and noticed that it was double bagged. He removed the outer bag and replaced the bacon in the cooler before closing it back up.

  Then he turned and pulled a large serving spoon out of a canvas case that held a variety of utensils. He carried the bag and spoon outside and hopped onto the ground.

  “Shall I do the honors?” he asked.

  “That’s okay, I’ve got it,” Zack said. He had a small black bag that had been with the remaining luggage outside the wagon beside him. He had pulled out a disposable pair of plastic gloves and was putting them on.

  Once gloved he took the bag and spoon and carefully ladled what he could of the stew into the bag. At the last he sealed it with the spoon inside. Then he carefully piled a couple of inches of fresh dirt over the contaminated area and tamped it all down before removing the gloves and disposing of them in a small trash bag he also pulled out of the bag.

  “Okay, now the big question is what to do with this?” he said, indicating the bag of stew.

  It was the very question Jeremiah had been pondering. They needed to put it somewhere safe where it couldn’t be sabotaged, stolen, inadvertently destroyed, or accidentally eaten. Keeping it with the medical supplies wasn’t a good idea in case the bag was punctured and contaminated everything.

  “Brent’s bag, that’s the only place I can think of and we put it in its own section of the wagon where we can isolate it from everyone else’s things.”

  “Sounds like a good idea,” Zack said.

  Aside from the cowboys’ gear, Brent’s bag and sleeping bag were the only ones that hadn’t been transferred to the campsite yet. Both were easy to find because he had luggage tags with his name on them.

  Mark disengaged from the group that was still surrounding Cindy and joined them. “That’s where you’re storing the sample?” he asked skeptically after Jeremiah caught him up to speed.

  “You have a better idea?” Jeremiah asked.

  The detective shook his head.

  “I’m going to stow this in the front of the wagon, just behind where Cindy is sitting.”

  “Okay. See if you can find a packet of truffle salt while you’re at it. Apparently Kyle always uses it on everything and Cindy’s convinced that might be what was poisoned.

  Jeremiah put the poisoned food into the bag and then went and stuffed it into the far right hand corner of the wagon. He then put Brent’s backpack on top of it for good measure, as one extra barrier between the sample and the rest of the things in the wagon.

  He then began to look around for a bag of truffle salt. He assumed it would be fairly small. He found some other herbs the chef had clearly used, more food for the rest of the journey, and more cookware. Nowhere, though, could he find any truffle salt.

  He closed his eyes, trying to picture the scene immediately after Brent had collapsed. It was possible that the killer could have snuck into the wagon and grabbed the salt. Unfortunately, where he’d been on the ground next to Brent, he’d had his back to the wagon. So had Mark.

  When he exited he noticed that things seemed to be calming down slightly. He wasn’t fooled, though. He figured everyone had just exhausted themselves and shock was starting to set in.

  Wayne, Junior, Liz and Norman were standing a little ways off, huddled together, not saying anything, but just looking miserable. Hank was standing by himself, arms crossed over his chest, face unreadable. Cindy was sitting on the ground again and Traci was huddled beside her.

  “I couldn’t find it,” Jeremiah said quietly to Mark.

  “Well, it’s not out here anywhere, I looked,” Mark said.

  “So, the killer must have grabbed it in the confusion after Brent collapsed. Any chance they still have it on them?”

  “If it were me, I’d have gotten rid of it fast,” Mark said. “Won’t hurt us to look, though.”

  Kyle had turned and was looking all around him. A moment later he spotted Zack and walked over to him.

  “Where’s Roddy?” Kyle asked.

  “I haven’t seen him,” Zack said.

  “Didn’t he come to get you when Brent collapsed?” Kyle asked, frowning.

  “No. I finished unsaddling the horses and I was heading in to grab dinner, heard some shouting and saw people clustered around. I figured someone else had gotten hurt and I came running.”

  “So, where is Roddy?” Kyle asked, panic beginning to tinge his voice.

  It was a good question. Jeremiah glanced around. He didn’t see the man. He did, however, see Tex finally heading in from where he and Curly had been bedding down the cattle.

  “What’s been going on?” Tex asked as he walked up. His eyes fell on the blanket that was over Brent.

  “The cook was killed,” Zack said shortly.

  Before Tex could say anything Kyle grabbed his shoulder. “Have you seen Roddy?”

  “Not since lunch, why?”

  Kyle blanched. “Okay, people, listen up!” he bellowed. “Roddy is missing. We need to break up into groups and go and search for him,” he said.

  Everyone turned to stare at him, their faces lined with concern but still dazed and shocked.

  “This is what we’re going to do. We’re-”

  “Okay, pretty boy you can sit down and stop talking now. You’re not in charge anymore,” Mark interrupted.

  “What? Why?” Kyle asked.

  “I’m in charge now, because this has officially become a crime scene.”

  10

  Mark’s cop instincts were kicking into high gear which was both a good and a bad thing, Jeremiah thought. It always made him a little nervous when Mark was in full detective mode. The man was smart and hyper-observant. Which meant that Jeremiah needed to be more careful.

  “Hold on,” Kyle started to say.

  Mark gave him a withering glare. “You keep your mouth shut so that I don’t decide to go ahead and let the killer take another crack at you. Understand?”

  Kyle nodded mutely, eyes practically bulging out of his head. Jeremiah couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since someone had talked to him that way. At least the seriousness of the situation seemed to be finally sinking in and he had enough sense to do as Mark was telling him.

  “Okay, first things first. I’m going to need each of you to turn out your pockets. All of them. Do not make me search you, because trust me I will and it would be better to just turn yourself in now.”

  “What are you looking for?” Traci asked.

  “We’re looking for a packet of truffle salt,” Mark said. “Traci, Cindy, if you would be so good as to check out what everyone is holding and feel free to check their pockets, too, if you don’t trust them. Go ahead and turn yours out first, so everyone can get a good look at them.”

  Traci pulled a hair scrunchie out of one pocket and a small tube of eye drops out of the other. Cindy pulled out some tissue and a couple of allergy pills.

  “Very good,” Mark said. “I have nothing in my pockets, but in the interest of disclosure, I am carrying this,” Mark said. He untucked his shirt and pulled out a gun from the back of his waistband.

  The others began to mutter. It was a bold move, also one that leveled the playing field a bit. All three of the cowboys wore guns. Now everyone else knew Mark did, too.

  “Jeremiah, show what you’ve got,” Mark said.

  He dutifully complied, holding up a protein bar he’d had in his pocket since that morning. Given what had happened to Brent, he was already wishing he had brought more of them. Cindy and Lisa walked over to inspect it, but they didn’t check his pockets. He was glad because he didn’t want anyone to know that he was also carrying a very small Swiss army knife.

  “Now, Kyle, if you’d
be so kind.”

  Kyle looked like he wanted to object, but he pulled his phone out of his pocket along with a comb, a small mirror, what looked like an old friendship bracelet made out of thread, and some lip balm. Cindy stared oddly at the contents of his hands for a moment before moving on.

  “Zack.” Mark called out.

  “This is going to take a while,” Zack said with wry humor.

  First he pulled his wallet and a pair of gloves out of his jeans followed by a small knife similar to the one Jeremiah had and followed that up with a travel sized tube of aspirin. Then he pulled a pocket watch, a pack of gum, a small pen flashlight, a compass, and some sugar cubes from his vest pockets.

  The man came prepared, Jeremiah could respect that. As soon as he had begun stuffing everything back in his pockets Mark called out Hank’s name.

  Jeremiah turned eager eyes on the big man. As it turned out he was only carrying lens cleaner for the cameras and some cloths. Jeremiah wasn’t sure what he’d expected. If Hank had been carrying something incriminating Jeremiah had no doubt the other man would have been clever enough to hide it before Cindy and Traci reached his side.

  “Okay, Norman, you’re up,” Mark called.

  The cinematographer pulled a pair of earplugs, sunglasses, a handkerchief and a folded up piece of paper out of his pockets. Cindy touched the piece of paper and he flinched. “That’s private.”

  “Then she’s definitely going to need to take a look at it,” Mark said gruffly.

  Cindy picked up the piece of paper, carefully unfolded it and began to read it silently. Her cheeks flushed after a couple of seconds and she folded it back up and returned it. “It’s a love letter,” she said.

  “Okay. Let’s move on to Wayne.”

  Cindy and Traci moved over to him. Jeremiah remembered that Wayne was the one who had taken a swing at Kyle on another job. He wondered what they would find in Wayne’s pockets.

  “Supposin’ I don’t want to play?” Wayne asked.

  The guy was big and strong looking. He wasn’t as tall as Hank, but he would still be formidable in a fight.

  “Then I’ll just have to make you play,” Mark said, his voice taking on more of an edge.

  “You and what army?” Wayne asked, squaring off his stance and clearly preparing himself for a fight.

  “Don’t need an army when you’ve got a rabbi,” Mark said.

  Jeremiah shook his head, wishing Mark hadn’t said that. He dutifully walked over, though, and planted himself in front of Wayne. The other man was definitely getting ready for a fight. In fact, it seemed like he was almost spoiling for one. That wasn’t good on any level. Jeremiah had no doubt about his own ability to put the man down, but it would require him to expose more of himself to the others present than he wanted to.

  He waved his hand down by his side and he could see the others moving back out of the corners of his eyes. Then he stepped right up to Wayne, invading the man’s personal space. From the widening of his eyes he could tell that Wayne wasn’t used to someone being that bold.

  Jeremiah allowed his face to change so that it hardened. No one else could see it but Wayne. For only the second time since starting his new life he let his old one shine through. “How many men have you killed?” he asked so softly that no one else could hear.

  Wayne blinked, clearly surprised by the question. “Shot a couple while in the army,” he said gruffly.

  Jeremiah shook his head almost imperceptibly. “How many have you killed with your bare hands?”

  “None,” Wayne said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

  “Then you should take a step back right now.”

  The man took half a dozen steps back, his hand diving into his pocket. “This is all I’m carrying, I swear it,” he said. He lifted his money clip high for everyone to see. It was completely stuffed with cash. The exterior bill was a hundred dollar one and Jeremiah was willing to bet the rest were as well.

  His actions made perfect sense now. The only question was why had he wanted the money clip to stay hidden? Was it because he was afraid the money would somehow incriminate him or because he didn’t trust someone there not to steal it?

  Mark whistled low. “Any particular reason you needed all that money on a cattle drive?”

  Wayne dropped his eyes. “My ex-wife has to pay me alimony. She likes to pay in cash and I didn’t have a chance to get to the bank. Didn’t want to leave it in the house.”

  His son was staring at him in confusion. “Mom pays you alimony? Seriously?”

  Wayne turned red, but didn’t say anything.

  “Okay, moving on,” Mark said. “Junior, your turn to show the ladies what you’ve got.”

  Junior turned away from his father in time to leer at both Cindy and Traci. “Oh, I’ll be more than happy to show them what I’ve got.”

  Wayne glanced at Jeremiah quickly. “Shut up, Junior.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because I’ll take it out of your hide if you don’t,” Wayne said ferociously.

  Junior hunched his shoulders but pulled an iPod and some gum out of his pockets.

  Wayne glanced again at Jeremiah who nodded and stepped back. Clearly he had put the fear of G-d into the man. Hopefully he’d keep his son in line for the duration of the trip.

  “Okay, Liz, you’re up,” Mark said.

  “Way ahead of you,” Liz said. She was holding up some paper, a pen, safety pins, a packet of moist towelettes, a comb, lip gloss, a small makeup brush, and a compact with loose powder.

  Cindy and Traci inspected everything and then nodded to Mark.

  “Okay, Tex, you’re up last,” Mark said gruffly.

  Tex pulled gloves and a tin of chewing tobacco out of his pockets without a word and handed them over to Cindy and Traci who quickly returned them.

  “Okay, that’s it,” Cindy said, turning to Mark.

  “Someone should go out and check Curly,” Traci said.

  “And Roddy, wherever he is,” Cindy chimed in.

  “Curly couldn’t have gotten to the salt to grab it after Brent used it because he was still out there with the cattle and horses,” Jeremiah said. “Same is actually true for Tex and Zack.”

  “So, no need to check any of their gear,” Mark said. “We do, however, need to check everyone else’s.”

  “Over my dead body,” Junior huffed.

  “Don’t push me right now,” Mark said, “because I’m sure that could be arranged.”

  “He won’t give you any trouble,” Wayne said quickly with another glance at Jeremiah.

  Junior glanced at his father in surprise. There was enough respect and fear in his eyes, though, that Jeremiah knew they didn’t have to worry.

  “Before we start searching luggage, we should find Roddy,” Jeremiah suggested. He didn’t like that the man was still gone. If he was Kyle’s would-be killer he’d had plenty of time to destroy any evidence. Of course, he wasn’t eager to have his own bags searched and it would make things so much easier if Roddy was the killer.

  Mark nodded. “Jeremiah, you and Zack go look for Roddy. Make sure you stick together.”

  Jeremiah nodded. It was clear that Mark still didn’t completely trust Zack. He made eye contact with the cowboy and together they begin to head out toward the horses.

  Behind him he could hear Mark saying, “Okay, we’re all going to just sit tight and wait for them to get back. So, everyone better get comfy.”

  “So, what exactly did you say to that guy Wayne to get him to back down like that?” Zack asked.

  Jeremiah shrugged. “I just told him that he was making himself look guilty and that he wouldn’t want to see what Mark would do to him if he thought he was the killer.”

  “Smart. I would have thought he could come to that conclusion on his own, though.”

  “You know, people sometimes don’t think clearly when it comes to money and he was clearly trying to hide his.”

  “I wonder what Roddy’s trying to hide,?
?? Zack mused.

  “He’s been gone long enough that I was frankly thinking the same thing.”

  “We should grab a couple of horses. It will make the search go faster.”

  “Faster is definitely better.”

  Zack eyed him speculatively. “I’ve seen you ride. You’re pretty good. Can you ride bareback?”

  “Yes,” Jeremiah said reluctantly.

  “Good, that will save some time.”

  In another minute they had reached the horses. They unhobbled a couple of the horses and with only hackamores on them went ahead and mounted up. Jeremiah’s horse was bony and not the most comfortable to sit on bareback, but time was of the essence.

  He turned, scanning the horizon, looking for any signs of Roddy. No horses were missing so wherever the man was he couldn’t have gotten too far. Jeremiah just wondered why they couldn’t see him.

  They rode out toward the herd and Curly trotted over to greet them. “You can’t be relieving me already?” he asked, with a confused look.

  “Sorry. We’re actually looking for one of the film crew, Roddy. Apparently he came out to get me and never came back to camp,” Zack said.

  “I haven’t seen him, but he’s probably just walking around somewhere. He’ll show up I’m sure.”

  “We haven’t got the luxury of waiting for that to happen,” Jeremiah said grimly.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Cookie was murdered, poisoned,” Zack said.

  Curly stared at him in disbelief. “The hell you say?”

  “It’s true,” Jeremiah said. “We’re worried that Roddy might have done it and is somewhere destroying evidence.”

  “Then we better find him,” Curly said, voice hardening.

  Cindy and Traci sat together and Cindy felt like half of her life was spent waiting as they kept craning their necks to see if Jeremiah and Zack were coming back yet. Mark was, in fact, the only one who hadn’t gone ahead and sat down. He stood, surveying them all as though they were a bunch of criminals who would try and escape at any moment. At least he wasn’t holding his gun, but his stance was suggestive of an ability to whip it out at any sign of trouble.