Chapter 36

THIRTY-SIX

Rowley turned his truck into the Big H Ranch and headed along the impressive sweeping blacktop to the house set on the top of a hill. The ranch spread out in endless grasslands, and he recognized herds of Black Angus beef cattle. Safe from the wide areas of flooding, they grazed in lush green pastures on high ground. Well-maintained outbuildings, barns, and ranch hands’ cabins made up part of a huge business. Another large ranch house sat at the end of a separate driveway with a massive garage on one side. He whistled and glanced at Rio. “Wow! This spread is impressive.”

“This would be a beef cattle ranch?” Rio turned in his seat. “It’s huge.”

Grinning, Rowley headed for the barn with the office sign above a side door. “You’re in Montana now.”

“Hmm, well I figured the cattle ranches in Texas were big too until I visited Australia.” Rio chuckled. “I’ll give you a comparison. In Texas the biggest cattle ranch is 830,000 acres; in Australia it’s 5,831,000 acres.” He shrugged. “I guess they sure love their steaks Down Under.”

Always amused by Rio’s retentive memory and his wealth of useless information, Rowley swung out of the truck and headed to the office. The smell of cows washed over him, and flies buzzed around his head. The white painted office door stood open and a broad-shouldered man sat behind the desk working on a computer. He knocked and waited for him to look up. “Hi there. Deputy Rowley and Rio, we’re looking for Jess Hallon.”

“Oh, please don’t tell me that one of our hands has gotten himself into trouble again?” The man leaned back in his office chair making it squeak. “I’m Jess Hallon and I run things around here.”

Rowley shook his head. “I don’t recall us having anyone in the cells overnight. We need to speak with you on a different matter.”

“Do you own this spread?” Rio rested one hand on his weapon and waved his other one as if encompassing the entire ranch.

“I’m partners in the business with my pa.” Hallon shrugged. “He’s getting on in years. After a fall from his horse last spring, he’s been taking it easy. So, what brings you here today?”

“If you’d watched the news over the last few days, you’d be aware that the bodies of two of your friends were discovered in the river.” Rio was taking a casual pose. “We’ve hunted down who was with Cole and Abby over Halloween the night they went missing and your name came up. As there’s no statute of limitations on murder and it’s evident from the injuries on the bodies that we’re looking at a homicide, Sheriff Alton has reopened the case. We’re speaking to every member of the group who was with them on the night they died.”

“Yeah, I have to admit it was quite a shock.” Hallon leaned back in his chair crossing his legs to rest one boot on his opposite knee. “We all figured they’d run away together.” He shook his head slowly. “One news report said they’d been buried alive. How so? I don’t recall any landslides or anything that night. It was cold and clear with a heavy mist on the ground.”

Surprised by the man’s casual attitude, Rowley took out his phone. He needed to record this interview. He held up the phone. “Mind if I record the interview? If I forget to tell the boss something, I’ll be back again tomorrow.”

“Sure, I’ve got nothing to hide.” Hallon’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Ask away.”

After hitting the record button, Rowley placed the phone on the desk. “Persons unknown attacked Cole and Abby with an ax and then buried them alive in a cave. We’ve established the location of this cave. The sand was washed out due to seismic activity, but the ensuing flood from the melt distributed the evidence in the same vicinity. Only the bodies were washed into the river and that’s because they were mummified.”

“Mummified, how on earth could that have happened?” A stunned expression crossed Hallon’s face. “You mean like Egyptian mummies?”

“Yeah, much the same. When bodies are submerged in very dry sand, the normal decomposition process doesn’t happen.” Rio glanced at Rowley and gave him a “what the heck” shrug. “Most of the bugs that aid decomposition can’t live in dry sand. The bodies just dehydrate. Without the weight of water in the tissues, they floated like dead leaves on top of the river.”

“I see.” Hallon cleared his throat. “Do you have any suspects for their murders?”

Rowley narrowed his gaze. There was no way he’d allow Hallon to take control of the interview. Right now the suspect was making excuses not to tell them about the night he’d spent with Cole and Abby. “If you could just tell us what you can recall about that night, we can be on our way.”

The monotone description of Halloween night was given without any embellishment and was exactly the same as the others they’d received. He exchanged a meaningful glance with Rio and moved on to Marissa Kendrick’s murder. “I’m sure you’re aware that one of your friends was found murdered at the Old Mitcham Ranch on Thursday morning. Her name was Marissa Kendrick. Do you recall her?”

“You know, I don’t even remember what Marissa Kendrick looks like.” Hallon brushed a hand under his nose. “She is just a name from my past, is all.”

“Can you account for your whereabouts on Wednesday and Thursday?” Rio took a step closer to the desk.

“Yeah, sure.” Hallon turned to his computer screen and typed on his keyboard. “Wednesday I was in town from about eleven through to maybe two. I went to Guns and Ammo. After that I grabbed a bite to eat and then came home. Thursday, I took my wife, Dawn, to visit her mom. I messed around town for a time. I went to look at new saddles, visited the produce store, put in an order, and paid my bill. I went to the pizzeria for lunch.”

“Did you meet up with anyone who can verify your whereabouts in town on those occasions?” Rio had adopted a bored expression.

“Only the storekeepers, I guess.” Hallon removed his hat and scratched his head, smoothed down his shaggy hair, and replaced it. “No, I tell a lie. I did speak to someone that day in the pizzeria: Lily Jones, a girl I knew from college was waiting for her pizza. I shot the breeze with her for a few minutes to pass the time.” He let out a long sigh. “I hope you’re not going to make a big deal about that. My wife is the jealous type and if she believes I’ve been meeting up with some girl in the pizzeria when her back is turned, she won’t be amused.”

Rowley’s mind went immediately to his wife, Sandy. They had a very loving and trustful relationship. He didn’t have to worry if she met old school friends in town, they were as solid as a rock. “Don’t worry, we have no reason to discuss this with your wife.”

His phone buzzed with a message. It was from Jenna with instructions to ask if the suspects ever competed in woodcutting competitions and to ask if they still had their fraternity pins. Wondering what this had to do with the case, Rowley pushed on with the interview. “Just one other thing. Have you ever competed in woodchopping competitions?”

“I know you were raised in Black Rock Falls.” Hallon smiled. “Didn’t you attend the local college?”

Rowley shook his head. “Nope, I wanted a career in law enforcement so I went to UM.”

“University of Montana, impressive.” Hallon smiled. “Well here in Black Rock Falls lumberjack contests are an extracurricular activity. Back in those days on the football team, any way of building upper-body strength was good and competing was encouraged.”

Listening with interest, Rowley toyed with the way to introduce the question about the fraternity pin. “Did you join one of the fraternities?”

“Yeah, I was in Alpha Pi.” He stared into space for a few moments. “Those were the days. We thought they’d last forever.”

Needing to wind up the interview and move on to the next suspect, Rowley nodded. “We sure did. Have you still got your fraternity pin? I always wear mine to reunions.”

“Now that’s a question.” Hallon rubbed his chin. “It’s not something I would toss away, so it must be around somewhere.”

“What about the other members of your fraternity? Do you get to see them often?” Rio gave him a long look. “You were all like brothers, if yours was anything like mine.”

“No, I don’t.” Hallon waved a hand as if encompassing the entire ranch. “Working here takes up all of my time, especially now as I’m doing my pa’s work as well.”

Satisfied he’d gotten as much from Hallon as possible, Rowley stopped recording. “Okay that’s all we need for today. Thank you for your cooperation.” He handed him a card. “Should you have any recollections about that night, apart from what you’ve told us, please give me a call.” He tapped the desk with his fingers and then headed for the door.