Not A Good Reason (Alexandria Whitney Mystery) Read online

  “Well I just came from there and you’d better have your chains ready. Hopefully they’ll let you through, but no promises. The old girl is really showing them whose boss, if you know what I mean. Good luck to you.” The driver stood and put his Peterbilt cap back on, as he was ready to get back to work.

  “Thanks. Same to you. Where are you headed?” Sam appreciated the heads up and was glad she had chains.

  “Hastings. Nebraska, that is. You never know what you’ll run into out there on the road. Sometimes it’s a good idea to go with the flow. You know? Take it as it comes, nice an easy. You drive carefully now” The driver tipped his cap and gave Sam a wink as he walked out.

  “You too.” Sam watched as he climbed into the cab of his truck and thought what a coincidence to meet someone going to Hastings, but in different state. Then feeling the hair go up on the back of her neck she remembered he’d winked at her. Was it Ramon warning her of what lie ahead? If not, it would sure make a good story to tell Alex when she got home.

  Chapter 5

  As Sam walked across the large parking lot she was relieved that Alex was aware of her current location and that weather was certainly going to be a factor. She did a quick check to make sure Smokey was somewhat content and gave him the bowls of oranges.

  “Now just hang in there and tonight if we don’t make it all the way home we may get lucky and have a barn to sleep in.” Sam knew he didn’t understand, but he did appreciate the oranges, which were consumed in seconds.

  The traffic on I-80 was light, only because it was still Christmas vacation for so many people, but come Sunday the roads were sure to be extremely congested. Bloomsburg was the halfway point and hopefully had a feed store that carried fortified sweet feed. It was a little stressful not having a Pilot truck stop waiting for her. But she figured there had to be some other truck stop close by. Sam did a quick calculation in her head to figure out what time she would arrive and it would be close to two. If she was lucky enough to get through, it would put her at home around nine o’clock. Just the thought of sleeping in her own bed next to Alex was more than enough incentive to keep her focused. But the closer she got to the town of Bloomsburg the more apparent Mother Nature had other ideas about the current weather. What did the truck driver say “the old girl is really showing them who’s boss” was going to be an understatement.

  Sam was ready for a break when she saw the mileage marker for US-11N which said it was three miles ahead. The wind had picked up a little and driving was a lot more nerveracking with the trailer in tow. Pulling off on US-11N and heading for the first gas station she found was the plan and was easily accomplished. The attendant knew of a pet store, but not a feed store close by. The clerk gave her directions and after hitting the restroom and filling up so that would be off her mind, she pulled out and found the little pet store. The woman was very nice and told Sam the only place she knew of that carried all types of feed was Clark’s Feed in Shamokin. It was about twenty miles south. She would need to get back on US11 and head south. She wrote down the direction and it was going to be a couple of hours detour until she could get back to the I-80, but a promise was a promise.

  As she neared Shamokin the snow started to fall, but Sam hoped it would stay a light snowfall and not a blizzard. As she walked into Clark’s the sweet smell of molasses was the first scent to hit and it brought back a flood of fond memories of her weekly trip into town to restock. The clerk knew exactly what she wanted and ordered it to be brought up from the back, along with two more bags of shavings. Sam paid for it and walked outside to the receiving area where the second scent, pine shavings filled the air.

  “Are you planning on driving further today?” An older gentleman dressed in a plaid shirt was leaning against his truck as two boys loaded it with straw.

  “Well that was the plan, although I don’t think Mother Nature is going to let me. Is there a stable around here I could board my horse until I can get through? I’m headed home and it’s about five hours east of Bloomsburg.” Sam thought about Alex’s dream and the old barn.

  “I didn’t think you were from around here. Not with those New Mexico plates and a strong resemblance to several Native American friends of mine. What tribe are you?” The farmer had spent time in the military and had been stationed at Kirkland AFB in Albuquerque.

  “I’m Ashiwi, also known as Zuni. I’m moving back out here to take a job as a Deputy Sheriff in a small town called Hastings.” Sam didn’t want any trouble and figured letting him know she knew how to take care of herself couldn’t hurt.

  “Wow, I was stationed at Kirkland, only a couple hundred miles east from your reservation. What are the chances of meeting someone from there back here? My name’s Jack Hood. I own several farms in the area. In fact I have a place not all that far from here. No house, but an old barn that you can stay at until the weather clears. Its got water and power.” Jack didn’t think it was clean enough for her but the horse won’t mind.

  “Thank you, Jack. I’ll take you up on that offer. My name is Samantha Pierce.” Sam walked closer to shake Jack’s hand.

  “Great. Let me get a piece of paper and draw you a map. It’s off this main road back towards Bloomsburg, it’s just before you get to Jefferson Township down a dirt road about seven miles.” Jack retrieved a piece of paper from his glove compartment and started to write the directions.

  He drew a rough but detailed enough map and told Sam she would see the barn with a half painted fence leading up to it. A drifter was supposed to paint the whole thing but took off after only one day. Sam remembered painting with Alex back at the ranch and knew if you didn’t have help it could be a really boring job.

  “Jack, I really appreciate this. If we ever cross paths again I owe you a dinner.” Sam saw the smile appear on the old man’s face as he gave her a wink and drove away with his load of straw.

  Sam was beginning to wonder if winking was more common than she thought. Now that the boys were done with Jack’s order one of them brought out her bag of sweet feed while the other had her two bags of shavings on a dolly. Now she could get on the road and try and find this barn before it got too dark. The grumbling in her stomach also reminded her she needed to pick up some supplies if this storm did get nasty.

  The directions were excellent as Jack had drawn little landmarks along the route. Just before she turned up the driveway to the barn with the half painted fence Sam thought she saw a figure standing at the back of the barn watching her, but when she got closer it disappeared.

  First order of business was to see what kind of shape this place was in before she unloaded Smokey. Sam found the light switch which illuminated two eight foot fluorescent fixtures inside the barn as well as two lights on the outside. The barn seemed to be in fairly good shape as the front doors had been replaced. But it was very apparent that the maid had been let go long ago. The large hay barn had several large stalls and six bales of straw were stacked against the side of one. Sam grabbed a pitchfork and cleared the old straw out of the largest stall, making sure to check for any objects or holes in the ground that might harm Smokey. Grabbing one of the bales, she cut it open and spread it out. This would be like a four star hotel to Smokey considering where he had been staying the last several days. Sam then went to get her antsy boy who was dancing in the trailer with anticipation of getting out of his crate.

  “Whoa, whoa. Easy Smoke.” Sam could feel him trembling with excitement and knew he may get a little crazy while she walked him into the stall.

  Smokey backed out and stood stalk still, still shaking but not moving. Then like someone had slapped him on the butt he jumped straight up in the air and almost landed on Sam who had the good sense to figure this was coming and moved out of harm’s way. As he spun around he was snorting as if he knew something was out there in the distance.

  “Easy Smokey. It’s just you and me and an old dirty barn. Now calm down and let me get you to your room.” Sam wondered what was up with him. The last few days he wa
s fine in a busy truck stop and out here in the nice quiet country he’s freaking out. But he stopped and spread his legs as his need to relieve himself was stronger than what he sensed in the air.

  As Smokey walked into the stall he was a little calmer, but still not crazy about his new surroundings. Sam figured she’d grab some sweet feed as a treat for being such a good traveler so to speak. As she walked back to the truck the only sound she could hear was her own footsteps, but she felt a presence nearby. Sam decided it was time to get her gun out from under her seat. Sticking it in her belt behind her back she then retrieved Smokey’s water buckets and the fifty pound bag of feed and carried them back inside the barn. Was it just the wind blowing the few trees that were close by that gave Sam the sense of movement behind the barn or was the drifter back that Jack had mentioned? Sam put in a couple of handfuls of feed and tied the bucket up in the corner of the stall. Not an easy feat considering Smokey was fully aware of what she had in that bucket. Next chore would be to fill up the other bucket with water as well as the containers in the truck bed. As Sam walked around the outside of the barn she kept looking over her shoulder expecting to find someone coming up behind her.

  “This is great. How am I going to be a good cop if I’m constantly thinking I’m being followed? Okay, whoever is trying to be cute and wants to scare me I need to warn you I’m armed.” Sam stood still hoping for a response or at least some movement she could actually see. “Nothing. Okay you’ve been warned.”

  As she came around the last side of the barn she nearly tripped over the coiled hose only seeing it just before she was on top of it.

  “Good place to put it as far away from my truck as possible.” Sam turned on the water to let it run for several minutes to get the stale water out of the hose.

  The running water looked clean enough even with the cloud cover dimming the light. Sam took a long drink of the cold water.

  “Well water tastes so good. Okay I’m just going to drag this hose around to my truck and fill up my containers.” Sam figured if the drifter was lurking around he may figure she was friendly enough and introduce himself.

  Taking the shortest route to her truck the hose almost reached, but not quite. Sam jumped in and maneuvered the truck and trailer around so it was parked right along side the barn facing the road and close enough for the hose to reach the bed. This way if it did snow hopefully she could put on her chains and pull straight out. The snow was still just light enough that it looked like feathers floating to the ground, but not enough to worry about right now. Sam filled both containers and retrieved her sleeping bag, several blankets, camping stove, flashlight and dishes. Then she covered everything in the back with the tarp she had used to cover the trailer back at the ranch. Now she could concentrate on finding a place for her to sleep and seeing if this old farm had an outhouse. Relieving herself in the stall was always an option. The thought of unhitching the trailer and driving the truck into the barn had crossed her mind, but sleeping on the metal truck bed didn’t seem as appealing as it did before she left the ranch. Not to mention having to unload her stuff out of the bed to make room was another deterrent. She would make herself a bed of straw in the stall next to Smokey’s and throw one of her camping blankets on top for added comfort and sleep in her subzero sleeping bag as well as her clothes that should do it.

  The little mini mart and gas station Sam had stopped at was well stocked with canned goods and junk food of every description. Corned beef hash had sounded great but not cold so she picked up a propane cylinder for her camping stove. Sam felt like she was camping again and wished Alex was there as well. This was one activity they both had promised to do together as often as they could get away. The hash was starting to smell really good and Sam figured if the drifter was around this should be enough to get him to reveal himself.

  “Wow, this sure smells good. I know I can’t eat all of this myself. I hate to see it go to waste. Oh, well que sera, sera.” Sam spooned out a hearty portion for herself and turned off the flame. “Too bad for you, last chance!”

  Sam went over to her makeshift bed and leaned against the wall of the stall. Wondering what time it was Sam pulled out her cell phone which showed the time to be fourthirty and no signal. Smokey was happily munching hay after devouring his treat. Sam would need to fill that bucket with more water for him to have during the night. That would be her last chore as she was beginning to feel very sleepy and so she decided to get it out of the way before she dozed off. It was so early, but today the stress of driving had taken its toll and she truly felt it. Sitting back down and finishing off the last few bites of her meal Sam placed the plate off to the side and crawled inside her bag and fell sound asleep.

  Chapter 6

  Sam slowly opened her eyes and listened to the footsteps walking just a few feet from her head. As she looked through the slats of the stall she could see a pair of boots pacing back and forth. Smokey was sleeping as his head was down and seemed oblivious to their visitor’s nervous state. As Sam slowly rose up out of the sleeping bag she reached for her gun, which fortunately was still where she placed it. Hopefully she wouldn’t need it, but it would be there just in case.

  “Can I help you friend?” Sam wondered if he was just hungry.

  “You can see me? Nobody’s been able to see me before, that was right in the head that is.”

  “Of course I can see you and hear you. If you’d stop hiding other people could see you too.” Sam wondered if this kid was a little off center.

  “No you don’t understand. I’m dead and cursed to spend eternity here on earth. You’re the first person to see me this way since I died, and not run off.”

  “Okay, I must be dreaming. That’s it, this is all a dream. I’m going to go back to sleep now.” Sam looked at Smokey and he was still sound asleep; this had to be a dream.

  “Please don’t go. I’ve been so alone for so long. I try to talk to the people that come here occasionally but they’re afraid of me. I just want to talk to someone. I see things have changed so much over the years, but I want to know what they are. Like the wagon you came in. What do you call it?”

  “My truck. It’s called an automobile. They replaced horse drawn wagons about a hundred years ago. When exactly did you die?” Sam wondered where this dream was going.

  “In July 1863. I don’t know the exact date or how I got here. The last thing I remember is we were getting ready to fight the Rebs at Gettysburg. Then I woke up in this barn. All I heard was the sound of dogs barking and men yelling. The next thing I know I’m being told I was a deserter and that I was going to be hung for my crime. I told them I couldn’t remember anything after the battle started. They told me I was a coward and said they were going to bury me in an unmarked grave so no one would ever mourn me or know who I was. That I would be cursed to remain on earth forever and never be allowed in Heaven.”

  “1863, you died in 1863. Okay, do you remember your name?” Sam felt sorry for this kid. He looked very young and seemed so sincere. She would play along with his fantasy.

  “Oliver Wade Simmons, with the 46th Pennsylvania Regiment.” Oliver was very proud of his regiment as they had seen a lot of action before Gettysburg.

  “Did you try to tell the men this, Oliver? Did you have family that could have come here to help defend you?” Sam could see this young man was very confused about his situation.

  “I didn’t have any kin that cared about what happened to me. That’s why I run off and joined the Army.” Oliver had been shuffled around from cousin to cousin.

  “How old are you Oliver?” Sam wondered how long this kid had been on his own.

  “I don’t rightly know exactly. I counted back as many winters as I could remember and I figure some when I was a baby. So I’m thinking fifteen or sixteen give or take. Why does it matter?” No one really put much stock into age, if you could work you worked.

  “It just seems awfully young to be going to fight in a war. Did they let you enlist at that age
?” Sam knew they took young men but this seemed a little over the top.

  “I didn’t tell them my right age. I heard them saying you had to be at least eighteen, but I looked as old as some of those guys and since I didn’t rightly know my exact age I just stayed. I stole a uniform and did the work no one else wanted to do. So when they figured someone had made a mistake and forgot to write my name down I didn’t tell them they were wrong.” Oliver had learned how to avoid direct contact with the officers and to stay out of trouble.

  “Well I can try to answer all your questions, but I don’t know how else to help you.” Sam wondered how she could help him end this fantasy of a curse.

  Sam and Oliver talked for what seemed forever. He had a lot of questions about everything he’d seen for the last one hundred and fiftyish some years. Sam finally had to call it a night as she was tired; even if it was a dream she was pooped. Oliver thanked her for her time and said he wouldn’t bother her anymore and wished her a safe trip home.

  Sam rolled over on her back then felt her gun dig in and that was enough to bring her out of a sound sleep.

  “Ouch, what was I thinking? That would have been a good story to tell everyone, how I shot myself in the ass.” Sam looked around as Smokey’s head came over the rail and tried to sniff her head. “Good Morning. How did you sleep? I had the strangest dream and it will make a great story to tell Alex.”

  Sam pulled out her phone and realized she’d really slept in as it was 10 o’clock. Upon standing, everything was where she left it and reheated hash sounded good for breakfast. It had been so cold that it was like the hash had been in a refrigerator all night. But first things first check outside and see what kind of snowfall she would have to deal with then see if there was an outhouse. She really needed to go badly since she didn’t last night. As Sam walked around the entire barn, the snow was about a foot deep in some places but around the truck barely six inches. There was no sign of anyone else’s footprints. There was an old outhouse, but Sam wasn’t up to digging away the snow piled in front of its door. The stall would do just fine, after that she’d have breakfast, put her snow chains on, clean out the trailer for his majesty and get on the road. Sam hoped that leaving this late in the morning meant that the highway was clear of snow and that she would have clear sailing home. It took a good hour to complete everything necessary and washing the dishes could wait until she got home. At least she and Alex would have part of their Sunday to spend together. Monday meant everybody would be going back to work, including Sam on Wednesday.