Marjorie Thelen: High Desert Detective

“I’ll take you,” said Tillie.

“No problem,” said Jake. “We’ll back out the rigs.”

The man started to walk around Tillie’s truck to the passenger side, then stopped and looked at Tillie. “Of course, included in the proposal will be the stipulation that whoever contracts with us will have clear title to the land and a right-of-way.”

“No problem,” said Tillie.

When cows fly, thought Jake. He liked that Fiona had the right-of-way. He hadn’t thought about it much because he was never interested in having those big windmills on the ranch. Of course, he might not have any say in the matter, but Fiona would. Jake backed out, then Fiona, so that Tillie could leave. Tillie gunned it going down the road, sending up a plume of dust.

Jake drove back to the ranch house, pulled around to the back and parked near the kitchen door. Fiona followed him, and they stopped by the rigs to talk.

“She’s trying to get away with something,” said Fiona. “The little weasel.”

“We know who wants the ranch and why,” said Jake. “We don’t know who is paying to run us off. I’ll have a talk with Opal to see if she’ll confront Tillie. That may stop the little weasel but there are more people than Tillie involved in wanting this ranch if we are to believe Glory.”

Fiona nodded. “We have to find out who that is. That reminds me.” She told him about the conversation with the doctor about Glory.

“That’s good news,” said Jake. “If you can go for him tomorrow, that would be great. We’re baling, and I need to be here.” He could see how much he was coming to depend upon Fiona as his partner.

His phone rang as they talked and he looked at the ID. “This is Jake,” he said into the phone. “Yep, yep. Good, that’s great. Yes, ma’am. Yes, ma’am. I’ll be in as soon as I can get away. Thanks very much. That’s good news.”

He closed the phone. “The bank has approved my loan for the purchase of Opal Crawford’s ranch. Of course, I don’t know if I’ll be able to buy it, but that’s a load off my mind, and a big step for me.”

“Fantastic,” said Fiona and threw her arms around his neck in a big hug. “Congratulations, my dear Jake. I know how much this means to you. If they will loan you on this big ranch, maybe they’ll loan you money for a smaller one.”

He twirled her around on the walk. “They just might.”

When Opal got home that afternoon she already knew another storm was brewing. Tillie had called Samantha while Opal was in treatment to enlist Sammie’s aid in convincing Opal to consider a wind farm. Sammie, today’s chauffer and dutiful niece, had relayed the news to Opal. She expected Tillie to show up pretty soon, and her niece did not disappoint her.

Today’s treatment had been longer, and Opal wasn’t feeling too good. She couldn’t pinpoint the exact nature of her discomfort. Only that she had a general feeling of malaise, like an ache all over. The doctor and nurse had explained what to expect. Some days she would feel okay, and other days she wouldn’t. Opal already noticed that her appetite, which had never been good, was failing. She wondered if she would get that thin, gaunt skeleton look that she had seen with other terminal cancer patients. God grant she would go before that happened. Her face had always been too thin and no makeup on God’s green earth was going to make her look like she belonged to the living. Maybe she could stuff cotton balls in her cheeks.

Jake had talked to her in the office after lunch and told her about the man from the wind farm coming with Tillie, about the right of way, and about his getting the loan for the ranch. Now she needed to make a decision, and she didn’t have the energy or even the heart. She suspected she was in the throes of something she had seldom experienced in life. Depression. She had always been too busy to feel sorry for herself.

She sat down in front of the TV in the living room to watch a late afternoon talk show. Sammie brought her a glass of iced tea and sat with her. Opal was glad for Sammie’s company. She had a calming effect on most situations.

Tillie drove up in her truck a few minutes later and parked in front. She didn’t bother knocking on the screen door, just gave a shout hello like everything was perfectly normal. But nothing, thought Opal, was perfectly normal. Nothing at all.

Tillie stopped in the living room when she saw the two of them sitting in front of the TV.

“I came to see how things are going,” said Tillie. “How are you feeling Aunt Opal?”

Opal gazed at Tillie, feeling like she was in a dream world. Tillie was weaving back and forth, and Opal blinked her eyes to clear them. Now she was losing her sight, as well as everything else.

“Have a seat, Tillie,” Opal said, “you’re making me dizzy.”

“Sure,” Tillie said, “are you okay?” She took a seat on the hassock in front of Opal.

“As good as an old lady with a terminal disease can be.”

“Cheer up,” said Tillie, “those treatments might be unpleasant but you are going to get better and outlive us all.”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” said Opal. She thought she might as well help Tillie get to her reason for coming. “What’s this about your coming this morning with a man from a wind farm company?”

Tillie gave a forced laugh. “News travel fast. Well, I thought since you are sick and all that I’d look into this for you and tell you about it when I had more information. It’s a great opportunity to expand and grow the ranch. The wind power engineer that came is going to get back to me in a week or so. He said that the site looked good for a pretty big wind farm. But there was stuff that he had to check out first. It would bring in a nice revenue stream for you.”

“Tillie. . ” Opal stopped and sighed. She didn’t continue.

Sammie, who was sitting beside her, said, “Aunt Opal, can I get you anything? You haven’t touched your tea. Would you like something stronger?”

“No, child, I don’t think so. I really don’t have much appetite for anything.” A wave of nausea came over her, and she thought she was going to lose what little lunch she had eaten. “Maybe you could bring me a glass of Coca Cola. The doctor said that might help.”

Sammie got up and hurried to the kitchen. So far she had kept her opinions to herself, for which Opal was grateful.

“I’m sorry,” said Tillie. “I didn’t realize you’re feeling so bad.”

Opal studied Tillie’s face. “Tillie, I sometimes wonder what planet you live on. Surely, not the same one I inhabit. I don’t understand why you went to all this trouble about a wind farm when I am not interested, and I’ve told you that. And you’ve known other people undergoing cancer treatments, namely your mother, and it involves extreme discomfort.” She paused and passed a hand over her eyes then said, “I’ve made a decision on your request for money and on the ranch.” She steadied her gaze on Tillie. “I’ll lend you the money that you asked for, but that is where it stops. There will be no more, no matter how much you beg and throw temper tantrums. Believe me, I’ve given this a lot of thought. You see, I’m selling the ranch to Jake. You’ll have to talk to him about the wind farm.”

There. She had finally made a decision. She had said it. Maybe now she could die in peace.

Tillie sat in silence with neither a whimper nor a cross look.

Sammie came back with a glass of Coke without ice for Opal, who took a delicate sip which barely wet her lips. Her stomach felt awful, but her heart felt much lighter. She was happy with her decision. With a little luck Fiona would stay and marry Jake. Tillie would get another loan which she would never pay back. Jake had agreed although reluctantly. Unknown to Tillie, the money she was borrowing would come out of her chunk of the estate. Jake had said Opal could stay on here as long as she wanted.