Chapter 13
Nathan had to know the truth. No matter how it played out for either his friend or for Lillian, he needed to know what happened.
This morning while Lillian was trying to find a place to move her grandfather to, he had pulled up the death certificate for Cal’s grandmother. It was vague. Too vague. Something didn’t seem right about Barbara Thomas’s death.
The older sheriff had retired years ago and he was not known in town for having a sterling lawman’s reputation.
The last he’d heard, the man was living at the same nursing home as Ron’s grandfather.
Nathan knew that Lillian wanted to speak to the woman who owned the bar and get her memories of that night. She also wanted to speak to the two other men who were in the game, but they had yet to learn their names. Hopefully today.
He called the nursing home, and after he told them who he was, they verified the old sheriff was there.
“Lillian,” he said, grabbing his briefcase. “I need to run to the nursing home. Then I’ll come back and we’ll get your grandfather. Don’t leave without me.”
“All right, I think I’ve found a place that will take him,” she said.
“I’ll be back soon,” he replied.
Cal had left early this morning to search for the people who had played cards with his grandfather that night.
They were all searching for the answers and did not trust the people they loved to give them the answers they needed to solve this mystery.
He hurried out the door. It didn’t take long to reach the nursing home and when he walked in, he said a quick prayer that he never had to put someone he loved in this type of place.
The nurse at the front desk told him which room Mr. Cruz was in.
He hurried down the hall, trying to breathe through his mouth and not his nose because of the smells.
He knocked on the door, and then saw an old man in a chair watching television.
“Are you Gary Cruz?”
“Yes,” he said. “Who wants to know?”
“My name is Nathan Alley,” he said.
“Is your father Scott Alley?”
“Yes, sir,” he said.
“What do you want?”
There was no place to sit. No place he really wanted to put his butt on. The room was small and there were pictures on the wall of when the man was the sheriff.
“You were the sheriff of Blessing for many years,” he said.
“That’s right,” he said. “Loved my job. Until I couldn’t do it anymore.”
“I remember when I was kid, you were a fine sheriff for our community,” he told the man, thinking the opposite but wanting to feed his ego a little before he started asking questions. Questions he feared the man was not going to want to answer.
“Thank you. Why are you here?”
The man was direct and his brown eyes were staring at him like he knew he wanted something.
“I’m working on a case, and I wanted to know what you could tell me about Barbara Thomas’s death. The death certificate said it was from a fall. Is that true?”
The man chuckled and shook his head. “That’s what her husband told me. The autopsy showed that she fell down some stairs and cracked her skull.”
“Did you see the body?”
“Yes,” he said not giving any details.
“Did she have any other bruises?” Nathan asked.
With a sigh, he stared at him. “She fell down the stairs. Of course, she had bruises all over her body.”
If she had died suspiciously, he wasn’t going to tell him.
“This was about the time that Ron Thomas acquired the Sweet B Ranch,” he said, wondering how the man would react to that information.
He watched him carefully.
“Yes,” he said.
The man was tight-lipped.
“I’m really confused about how Mr. Thomas was able to get the ranch without purchasing it. Can you explain to me how that happened?”
With a deep breath, he glanced out the window. “That stupid Paul Bradley got drunk while playing poker. He signed over the ranch because he thought he had a winning hand and lost. It broke my heart when I had to evict his wife, daughter, and granddaughter. If only he’d stayed home that night, he would still own that ranch property.”
“Did you see the signed agreement?”
His eyes narrowed. “Of course.”
“You know I have a copy and it’s very misleading. It starts out saying he’ll pay him twenty thousand dollars and then it says when he loses the game, the ranch is Ron Thomas’s. Isn’t that kind of high-dollar poker game in Texas illegal?”
The man glanced out the window and picked up the television remote.
“Young feller, I’m going to answer this question, and then we’re done. I don’t know who is digging up this nonsense, but I’m done answering your questions,” he said. “Yes, it’s illegal, but Paul Bradley was damn stupid to sign that piece of paper and to play in an illegal game. I wasn’t going to arrest him because his family was already suffering.
“As for Ron Thomas, the man is the biggest crook in town, and everyone but Paul knew that. Maybe he pushed his wife down those stairs, but I didn’t have any evidence to prove it, so I didn’t arrest him. Besides, she was better off without him.”
Nathan couldn’t restrain himself. “Did he pay you to look the other way?”
The man’s brows rose and then his eyes narrowed. “Get out.”
He hit the button on the television remote to turn up the volume until the nurse appeared at the door.
“Gary, that’s too loud,” she said.
“Get him out,” he replied.
Nathan stood and then he glanced at him. “Lillian Bradley, the granddaughter, is now a lawyer, and she’s taking this case to court. You may be called upon to testify.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the room.
“Son of a bitch,” he heard him yell. “Tell that girl to leave this alone.”
He didn’t stop walking but kept on down the hall. He really wanted out of this place and he needed to get back to Lillian before she drove out to her grandfather’s without him.
Thirty minutes later, he pulled up in the driveway and saw her car still sitting there.
When he walked into the house, she was on the phone with someone.
“I’ll be looking for you,” she said and disconnected the line.
“My grandmother and mother are coming in from San Antonio,” she said. “Let’s go move my grandfather. I found a place for him to move into.”
He nodded.
“What did you learn?”
“That the previous sheriff of Blessing was a real dick,” he said. “He didn’t investigate Barbara’s death.”
A sigh escaped from Lillian. “If Ron thought she was having an affair, he could have killed her.”
As much as he didn’t want to believe it, he feared that Lillian was right. And his friend Cal was going to face yet more people in his life who had done him wrong.
“Come on, let’s go. We can take my truck if your grandfather has any belongings he’s taking.”
“We can’t take him there for another two hours. Could we go to the bar and speak to the waitress?”
“Let’s go,” Nathan said, and they hurried out to his truck. “When I spoke to the sheriff, he wasn’t much help. But I do think he covered up the death of Cal’s grandmother. I don’t know that for certain. Supposedly, her autopsy report says that her skull was cracked. I’m going to get my hands on that report.”
They pulled out of the driveway, the truck bouncing on the uneven road.
“If Cal’s grandfather could do this to my grandfather, he certainly could kill his wife,” she said. “I feel so bad for Cal. First his parents, and now he’s learning terrible things about the man he worships.”
Nathan agreed. “I know. He loves his grandfather so much.”
“And I loved and adored mine,” she said softly.
They drove through town to a bar just outside the city limits. Nathan helped her out of the truck and they went inside.
When they walked into the almost empty bar, the music played softly. Very few lights lit the room, and only some neon signs shined on the bar which was empty.
“Hello,” Nathan called knowing they didn’t have as much time as it seemed.
A woman walked from the back.
“How can I help you?”
“Are you Priscilla Jones?”
“Yes,” the woman said, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “I’m sorry. I’m preparing everything for tonight.”
He nodded. “Could we ask you some questions?”
The woman’s brows drew together.
“About what?”
“Almost twenty years ago, a group of men liked to play poker in the back room.”
Her face darkened.
“Paul Bradley and Ron Thomas were two of the players. Do you know who the other two were?”
She licked her lips and frowned. “Toby Smith, Andy Long, and William Rogers. They met in the back and played every Tuesday night until…”
There was silence. She’d almost said until the night of the incident.
“Until what?”
“The last time they played, Andy couldn’t make it, and Ron Thomas agreed to sit in for him,” she said.
“What happened that night?”
“Who are you people?”
“Sorry, I’m Nathan Alley, and this is Lillian Bradley,” he said.
She frowned. “You’re Scott Alley’s son, and you’re Paul’s granddaughter. The one he used to brag so much about.”
“Yes,” Nathan said, and Lillian just nodded, keeping quiet.
“That night was a long time ago. What do you want to know?”
“Do you remember how many beers Paul drank that night?”
“Don’t remember,” she said and quickly turned away. He couldn’t blame her for responding that way because it had been a long time ago.
Lillian stepped in front of the woman. “My grandfather signed a document that gave the ranch to Ron. Did you see that document?”
“No,” she said. “I was just the waitress.”
“And yet your name is on it as a witness.”
The woman swallowed.
“A document that is obviously not worded correctly. A document that is fraudulent,” she said. “With your name on it.”
The woman’s eyes widened.
“Look, Ron came to the bar and asked me to put a couple of roofies in your grandfather’s drink. I was so poor. I couldn’t make the next month’s rent and would soon be living out of my car. He paid my rent for several months because I dropped those pills in your grandfather’s drink. No, your grandfather never drank much. But that night when he left, I feared he would die trying to get home.”
Nathan glanced at Lillian, who sighed and shook her head.
“Why did you witness the agreement?” Nathan asked.
“Because Ron was paying my rent. But I had no idea what he was doing to poor Paul,” she said, shaking her head. “The man’s a bastard. Your grandfather was always good to me, and I’m sorry for my part in what happened to your family.”
Lillian closed her eyes and hung her head. “I knew he wouldn’t deliberately do this.”
Nathan stared at the bar owner. “You may need to testify in court. Are you willing to testify?”
She glanced around and then leaned forward and spoke softly. “Yes, if it will help the wrong done to Paul, I will. I’ve always felt bad about what happened.”
“Thank you,” Lillian said. “He’s dying, but at least his name will be cleared.”
“What about Toby Smith and William Rogers? Do you know anything about them?”
“Toby died several years ago, but William is still in town.”
“Thank you,” Nathan said. “We’ll be in touch.”
She nodded. “Hey, I hear Ron is in the nursing home, paralyzed. Is that true?”
“Yes,” Nathan said. “His grandson now runs the ranch.”
She nodded. “Come back soon and the drinks are on the house.”
No way. Nathan would never let someone who could put roofies in someone’s drink pour his own. They’d come here to learn more about what happened that night. Sadly, things were not looking good for his friend Cal. It seemed that his grandfather had shamelessly taken the ranch from Lillian’s family.
When they got back in the truck, Lillian shook her head. “If only they had investigated this twenty years ago.”
“Agreed,” Nathan replied.
The ride out to her grandfather’s shack was silent, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Nathan wanted to speak to the only remaining member of the card game. Ten minutes later, he turned down the dirt road that led to the row of falling-down shacks where her grandfather resided.
When they pulled up, the old woman was sitting outside in a rocking chair, smoking a cigarette. “I don’t know if he’s home or not.”
Lillian nodded. “Thanks. I’ll just knock.”
She pounded on the door. “Grandpa, it’s me, Lillian.”
There was no response.
“Grandpa, open the door,” she called.
Nothing. Nathan kept a watchful eye out, fearful of some big, burly goon coming from around the back. He walked over to the window and glanced inside.
Her grandfather was lying on the floor, not moving.
“Move,” he commanded her.
Stunned, she stepped out of the way, and he kicked in the door.
“You’re going to pay for that,” the woman screamed at him.
“Call an ambulance,” he told Lillian as he rushed to the man’s side.
“Oh, dear God,” Lillian cried as she dialed the number on her phone.
Nathan knelt beside him on the floor. He wasn’t dead yet.