Detective Mike

Chapter 7

He checks the oil and warms up the Mustang. It's a heavy overcast sky so he leaves the top up. Whistling a merry tune he heads out to the freeway and towards Chilliwack. He swings off on number Three Road a few miles out of Abbotsford and angles east for Yarrow. Just about into Yarrow he starts watching house numbers and almost misses the machine shop built into the ground floor of an old barn. He turns in and parks by the display window. Looking around he doesn't see any other car so waits for Bradley.

After a while a tall young fellow in black leather jacket comes out of the shop door pulling on leather gloves. He has a motorcycle helmet hanging from his belt and approaches Mike.

"Hey, are you Mike Claymore?"

Mike looks him up and down, "Yes, I am. Who are you?"

With obvious impertinence he answers, "Bradley. What're you doing sitting out here?"

Mike counts slowly to ten under his breath before saying, "I was waiting for you to show up. Shall we go inside?"

"Ah, not much point, he doesn't want us. He needs a cowboy."

"Let's just go in and see."

Mike gets out and finds the lad is eye to eye with him. He nods towards the door as he goes that way. Bradley eyes him up and down. "Aw s**t, okay." He follows along.

Mike stops at the door and says, "Aw s**t, what?"

"I'm gonna quit! It was bad enough with n*****s and women but now I gotta work with a half-breed. To hell with it!"

Mike speaks quick and sharp, "Nope, you can't quit! You know why?"

"I can do whatever the hell I want!"

"You can't quit if you don't work for me, lad. Tell Trudy to make up your cheque and I'll do your references for the job. Clear out now. You're fired!"

Mumbling and grumbling, he climbs on a fast looking street machine and swishes out of the lot. Mike grins after him then goes inside. He goes back to a worn counter and asks if John Servant is about. A young fellow at the counter says to wait a minute and calls on an intercom. "Fellow here looking for you, Dad?"

Mike sees a man of about fifty coming from the house and asks, "Is that him?"

"Yep."

Mike goes out to meet him. He calls out extending his hand, "Hi there, you must be John. I'm Mike. My gal told me you needed some help."

They shake hands and he says, "I don't know Mike, who you with?"

"Mike Claymore Security and Investigations."

The fellow looks him over and grins. One of your fellows was just here, Mike."

"Well, yes and no. You see he was one of our employees but he no longer works for us. Seems he doesn't like our employment."

John gets a twinkle in his eye and says, "Come on in, Mike and sit a spell. Got some mighty good cold cider if you've a mind."

They go inside and John offers Mike a chair at the kitchen table. As he gets the cider he starts in, "You know I figured it might be a broken fence or maybe a coyote but I lost me another heifer last night and called the cops. They say it's out of their jurisdiction but they will keep their eyes open. Now that doesn't help me. That's the third heifer since August so I figure about one every two months. I think someone is rustling them."

Mike sips on the cider. "What're they worth, John?"

"Maybe couple hundred each, I guess." He sits down with Mike.

"You know, I could do a spot investigation, check out the situation and give you my opinion for a couple hundred but if you wanted me to catch them it would cost you a lot more. I'm being honest with you."

"How be you do the spot investigation and then I make up my mind if I want more? Is that okay?"

"I was going to suggest that. I think it's most practical that way." He adds, "Mighty good cider, John. Your own apples?"

"Naw, came from the Okanogan. Got a bunch last fall and the ones the wife couldn't put down or we couldn't eat we squeezed. Got me a cider press out behind the shop."

"Is that right, I didn't know anyone had a press around town. Can I take a look at it?"

"Sure can as soon as you finish that cider there." He downs his. Mike does likewise and they go out towards the barn/shop. Mike notices he has a new barn on the other side of the house behind some trees. They enter a back door and inside it is dark and cool. John clicks on a light and they go to one corner of the room. Under some burlap bags smelling of vinegary spice he uncovers the old hand press.

"Wow!" Mike exclaims, "I haven't seen one of these since I was in Ontario years ago." He spins the large wheel that lifts the press head slowly. "That thing is lubricated to work like when it was new, too. You really look after this baby."

"Yep, sure do." His chest puffs out. "Nothing works like these old hand operated machines. No pieces of peelings or seeds in our cider; nothing but the pure juice. You suppose that fella in Ontario still has his? Hard to find parts for these old timers."

"I don't know, I can give you his name and address if you'd like to try to contact him. He was an old Russian immigrant named Eli, Eli Karpov. He lives in a small village called St. Williams."

John is writing with a pencil stub on a piece of brown paper, "Eli Karpov in St. Williams, eh? I'll give him a try. Can't hurt."

"I have no idea the postal code, I imagine the post office can give you that. Likely only one code for the whole village."

Mike starts covering the machine again. "John, if you'd like to show me where the cows were that you lost, we could see what we can see. You say it was only last night when the last one was taken?"

"Yeah, okay Mike. Come on, we'll take the pickup." They leave the barn/shop and drive back a laneway. John gets out to open a gate and Mike says for him to go on through and he will latch it up for him. Mike comes to join him in the cab and they drive across a field. As they top a rise Mike spots cattle ahead. John stops and says the heifer was taken from here.

"John, did the police come out to search for prints or anything?"

"Nope, just took a report up at the shop."

"Okay, where was the other two taken?"

"That first one last August was here too but the second one was from the back pasture. We were away that weekend so I didn't find out until Monday. My son was home but he was out a lot too. We figured it might be a coyote since that pasture is right up on the woods back there. In fact there was some talk of a cougar on the loose back here but we are quite a ways from the wild lands on the mountain, must be five miles at least and lots of farms between us and the brush up there."

Mike rubs his chin, "Well, let's go down by the creek passed the cows and take a look. I imagine they water there each night." John nods as they get out and walk around the herd of cows and heifers.

Near the creek Mike asks, "Is that the road out there, John?"

"Yep, there's a small bridge over the creek. That's number Three Road."

"How do you keep the cows from going under the fence across the creek, John? Do they ever get out on the road that way?"

"They used to, that's why we have that strand of electric fence a few feet off the water. Can you see it?"

"Oh yeah, I see it. I'm gonna go down that way and check for prints. Be right back." He heads down towards the water and as he suspected the sand is littered with hoof marks from the cattle coming to water at the creek the previous night. There is a widening of the creek where the cattle have worn a path across to the other side. Mike moves towards the fence and the cow prints become less. He watches the ground and soon grins. He stoops to inspect a print and then another.

He shakes his head and works his way right up to the fence. Ducking down low he finds he can lift the fence enough to slide under the electric line and comes out on the side where the road is. He inspects the ground here and nods. Retracing his steps he comes back to John.

"That one was taken away alright. Looks like right under the fence down there and loaded up by the bridge into a truck or van. I suspect it was a horse van. Quite low to the ground."

"You found out that quick? Wonder who it was?"

"John, you might find this hard to believe but it was two women, one a bit slighter than the other."

John slaps the side of his head. "Oh Lord, what do I owe you?"

"You know who it is?"

"Yep. I never would have thought it."

"Do you want me to see them and turn them in for you?"

"God, no! That's just fine. If I had known they were having it that rough I would have given them to her."

"Oh, I see. Well, how about half the price of one of those heifers?"

"You got a deal, Mike. And thank you for helping me out. I'll tell anyone looking for a fine detective to call you, son." He thinks a minute, "In fact if you want to put up any advertising here in my son's shop or in the feed store in town, you have my say so. I'll call the store."

"Well, that's the kind of support I really appreciate, John. Thank you very much. I better get on now, I have some other clients to meet."

"Good luck, Mike." He shakes hands again with Mike as he gets into his car. Mike calls Trudy from down the road and tells her what happened.

"I knew you would fire him! Couldn't let me have the fun!"

"I counted to ten and bit my tongue but I just couldn't take his arrogance one minute longer. Anyway we can place advertising in Servant Feeds in Chilliwack and please send some to John when you send the bill. His son is going to put it up out here in his machine shop.