Chapter Three
A Snake By The Tail
Willow
Willow reached the top of the ridge and heard Daisy barking before she saw Dale. He had a relatively large snake by the tail. He grinned when he noticed her, a look of gleeful delight in his expression.
“We had a little excitement,” he said. “Daisy spotted a rattler.” He twisted and gave Daisy a firm pat on the head.
His smile widened, showing a sun-darkened complexion with a little red on his high cheekbones and grooves in the skin around his eyes from squinting into the sun.
And most likely from the exhilaration over killing the snake.
Willow sucked in air, then let it out as it registered that he was okay. Curiosity made her move closer. “You said we had rattlesnakes, but I wasn’t sure I believed you,” she said a little breathlessly. “Did you need to kill it?”
“Yes. They don’t travel far, and with it this close to the house, it was a danger to us and the dogs.
If I spotted it while hiking, I’d have left it alone.
Most of the snakes I see are harmless bull snakes, but I heard the rattle.
You really think I would tell you to stay clear of rattlers if we didn’t have them? ” he asked incredulously.
She shrugged. “Not really; I just hadn’t seen one.” She stopped speaking and looked off toward the canyon she’d just climbed out of. “We might have a problem,” she said.
“Is it one we can discuss over a glass of iced tea?” he asked. “I’ll put the snake in my fridge and meet you inside,” he said after she gave a nod.
The bones weren’t going anywhere, and iced tea sounded good.
It would give her a chance to calm her racing heart.
She pulled two tall glasses from the cabinet.
Dale had shown her how to make sun tea, and it had quickly become the only cold tea she drank.
It was wonderful on hot days. She filled the glasses with ice, glanced at the water bowl for the dogs to be sure it was full, then poured the tea.
She enjoyed waiting on Dale. He grumbled in the beginning, but she told him she would have done it for her grandmother, and he could just put up with it. She owed him so much, but if she tried to thank him, he would grumble even more.
He waited in the big reclining chair he’d claimed as his own. She handed him the glass, then sat on the couch facing him. They both took a long swallow of tea.
“So, what’s this problem we might have?” Dale asked.
“Max uncovered some bones. At first, I thought they were a wild animal or another goat. Then I saw what I’m pretty sure is a human skull,” she said the words in a rush.
Dale blinked. Took another swallow of his tea and blinked again. “You think it was a human skull?”
“Yes. Kind of like the rattlesnake. I didn’t expect what I saw.”
“What made you think it was human?”
“The eye sockets,” she replied.
He set the glass down and rested his elbows on his knees. “Were you on this property?”
“I’m pretty sure. I was looking for the fourth land marker. The bones are in a gully close by the location my grandmother had marked on the map.”
“But it could have been BLM land?” He asked.
“Doubtful, but possible.”
Dale stood. “I’m going to take a look,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but if I call the sheriff and it’s something other than human, it will be the whole ‘cry wolf’ thing, and they won’t rush out here for a real emergency.”
Dale had little faith in the department he retired from. Willow wasn’t fond of cops and shared his opinion. Her grandmother hadn’t liked them either, and Willow heard stories each time Joan visited her in prison.
Dale still blamed himself for her grandmother’s death, though he no longer said it out loud.
He’d been given information by a drug task force agent that the Hogg family, complete pieces of shit, were cooking methamphetamines.
He’d kept the information to himself and not told Joan.
She made endless complaints against the Hogg family, and Dale didn’t want to rile her up.
Willow didn’t think it would have changed anything, but she still saw the sadness in Dale’s eyes and the clench of his jaw when the Hogg name was mentioned.
It went far past dislike. All in all, Dale didn’t like the way the department treated what they called cedar rats who lived on the ranch.
The area had once been a cattle ranch but the owner died and the kids divided it into forty-acre parcels though Willow’s was the largest at eighty acres.
“I’ll go with you,” Willow said. “Rattlesnakes and bones are not a good combo, and I don’t want to stay here alone.”
“The sun will be down within a couple of hours, so we had better get moving,” Dale said. “Do you mind grabbing me a water bottle?” He leaned over, lifted his tea, and drank the rest.
It took them an hour to reach the gully. Max seemed to know where they were headed and led the way, Daisy a foot behind Max’s nub tail.
When they approached the bones, Dale removed a pair of rubber gloves from the backpack he’d grabbed from the trailer.
“Yeah, this is human,” he said before he even crouched beside the bones. “Been dead for a while, but it’s slightly strange. Bodies out here tend to mummify.”
“Mummify?” Willow asked blankly.
“The heat and low humidity here cause a body's soft tissues to dry out and harden before insects and bacteria have a chance to break them down. Mummification can preserve a body for a very long time. The skin becomes leathery, and the body essentially fossilizes in place.” He tipped his hat back and crouched. “I’ve found two bodies in the area, not close to here, but on the ranch. They had signs of mummification, and the pathologist explained why they both had dark, leathery skin and weren’t as decayed as someone would expect. ”
“There’s no skin,” Willow said, crouching beside Dale.
“Look here,” he pointed to one of the longer bones a few feet from the skull. “This looks like a clean cut. Here’s the other section with the same cut.”
Willow looked around. “Could this be a burial ground?”
It was Dale’s turn to gaze at the narrow rock walls.
“The Diné were known to bury their dead in secluded locations. Rock crevices, caves, or beneath a pinyon tree were the norm. I’m not counting it out, but they don’t cut up the bodies of their dead.
The sheriff’s department will need a forensic pathologist to have a look at the bones so they know more. ”
“I didn’t touch anything,” Willow said.
“Even if you did, it wouldn’t have mattered. This person is long dead. They’ll look for items in the area that might identify someone, but our prints won’t make a difference. We need to get home. I’ll call the department as soon as we get there.”
The shadows cast by the setting sun that usually held beauty felt eerie to Willow as they walked. Both of them carried small but powerful flashlights. Daisy and Max didn’t care; they ran around, sniffed, and did their business like usual.
Dale placed his cell on speaker when he made the call.
“This is Dale Berger,” he told dispatch.
“How are you, deputy?” the feminine voice asked.
“Hey Molly, not too bad. How about you?”
“Kids driving me crazy like always, but I can’t complain much. How can I help you?”
“I need to speak with a deputy,” Dale told her.
“Okay.” She hesitated. “Deputy Wallard is on duty and has the district to himself this evening,” she said.
“I’m unfamiliar with Wallard. He new?”
“He came from Gila County about six months ago.” She hesitated again. “You still out there with that pretty little thing?”
Dale looked at Willow and smiled. “Yeah, sold my property and I help Willow out now that her grandmother has passed. She’s adopted this old man and spoils me rotten.”
She laughed. “I’ll give Deputy Wallard your number and have him call,” she said hurriedly. “Stay safe.” The call ended.
“That was strange,” Dale said while shaking his head. His phone rang before he had a chance to set it down. He placed it on speaker again.
“Hey deputy, I didn’t want to say anything while we were on a recorded line.” It was the dispatcher.
“That’s okay Molly. What’s the problem?”
“Wallard is trouble with a capital T,” she said. “You know that mirror on the wall we have in dispatch?”
“Yeah, I remember it.”
“When he talks to us, he admires himself in the glass. I’ve never seen anything like it. Crystal, you remember Crystal?”
“If you mean Crystal, who works in dispatch, of course I remember her.”
“She has a sixteen-year-old daughter. Wallard couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He then pulled her over twice and asked inappropriate questions.
Crystal made a complaint. The complaint didn’t go anywhere, but when I say the man’s trouble, I mean it.
Don’t let Willow out of your sight when the deputy is around. I’ve been hearing bad things.”
“Thanks for the heads up. If I could wait for another deputy, I would.”
“Understood. I just wanted you to know.”
“Appreciate it. Take care of yourself.”
“Will do. Stop by the center if you’re in town. I’ll get you inside.”
“Thanks Molly.”
Their call ended, and Willow looked at him questioningly.
“She’s a nice lady who’s had a rough time of it. I helped her out with her good for nothing ex. What can I say, she likes me.” He gave Willow a smile.
“How old is Molly?”
His cheeks reddened. “Not old enough for me, if that’s what you’re asking. Her kids are still in grade school. She’s simply a nice lady.”
Willow put her teasing aside. “What did all that mean with the deputy?” she asked to change the subject.
“Predator cop. There are more out there than I like to admit. When he arrives, stay beside me. Or maybe we should take it one step further and have you put the dogs on a leash. That will keep him from even shaking your hand.”
“You haven’t met him yet,” Willow said.
“The ladies in dispatch hear everything. If Molly says he’s trouble, he’s exactly that. Predators come in all shapes, sizes, and uniforms.”
Willow smiled tightly. “There were prison guards we all knew to avoid. I’ll leash the dogs.” All humor had left her voice.