Ken Douglas - Gecko

The cattle, agitated now and afraid, began milling and bleating as Jim and Roma reached the fence. In tandem they hit the ground, rolled under and they were instantly covered in manure and in danger of being trampled by the nervous cattle.

They got up and started to make their way through the fenced in herd, each step burying their feet in manure as they climbed a mountain of the muck. They instinctively headed toward the center of the pen, dodging between the animals like they were winding through a maze. Then the animals began to settle down and Jim felt a tug as Roma stumbled and fell.

He helped her up and for what seemed like the thousandth time that night, they tried to hug their fright away. Then, with the cattle quiet, they moved through them toward the other side of the pen. He wanted out of the enclosure before the animals panicked.

When they slid under the fence the danger outside far outweighed the danger inside, but now Jim was acutely aware of what could happen inside and had no desire to be crushed. He was glad when again the clouds allowed a hint of light through the dark and he saw the other side of the pen only feet away.

He made for the fence, confident that the animal with the yellow eyes had gone. The cattle were quiet, sensing no danger and that was a good sign. He allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief as he reached his hand out to the fence.

Another roar ripped the night apart. It must have circled around, upwind. Now it was among the herd. The cattle started to panic, bleating, wailing, pushing against each other and them. Roma’s hand was ripped out of his as she was trampled. She screamed and he turned to help, when another roar hurled forth and he saw the beast, a giant lizard-like animal, leap onto the back of a frightened cow, then dive on Roma, mouth wide, showing razor teeth in the moonlight. He watched in horror as it dragged her among the swirling cattle. Then he lost sight of her, as clouds again covered the moon, plunging the cattle pen into blackness and dark night.

He started toward where he’d seen her last, screaming, but in the dark he ran into one of the frightened animals and was knocked down. Something banged him in the head and his world went black.

Hugh Washington and his daughter rode in silence on their way to the freeway and the beginning of their four hour drive to Collinga. He broke the quiet as they entered the on ramp.

“ I lied when I said it wouldn’t be dangerous. It could be.”

“ I know.”

“ So I want you to stay well out of the way until I see how it’s going to go.”

“ Dad!”

“ Promise me or I’ll turn the car around and take you home right now.”

“ Okay.”

“ Okay, what?”

“ Okay, I promise I’ll stay out of the way until you make sure it’s safe.”

“ That’s better,” he said. “When we get there you wait in the car till I question them. Once I make sure everything’s all right, I’ll come and get you.”

“ I’ll feel like a kid.” She pouted. He always bent when she pouted. She could get anything she wanted out of him. But this time he remained firm.

“ My way or no way,” he said in his policeman’s iron voice.

“ Your way,” she said and the subject was closed. For the rest of the trip they talked about her school, her friends, her job and police work in general. It was almost like they were on a holiday drive. She liked being with him. She liked how he was intensely interested in anything she did. He was her dad and she loved him.

Because of the rush hour traffic leaving Los Angeles, the normal four hour trip took six. Six hours that went by like twenty minutes, with Power Glide delivering a smooth, air conditioned ride. Father and daughter had a way of talking, laughing and kidding each other that moved time aside and the forty-five-year-old Chevrolet helped to keep it away.

It was 9:30 and the night was cloud covered and dark, when he took the Collinga off ramp and steered the car toward the Harris Ranch Inn. He turned into the parking lot, picked a spot opposite the driveway and backed in.

“ You still position yourself for the quick getaway,” Glenna said.

“ I’m not the only one,” he said, indicating a white Ford Explorer with a nod of the head.

“ Think he’s a macho man, too?” Glenna teased.

“ I don’t think I’m macho, just prepared.”

“ Okay, Dad, I’m sorry.” She was trying to keep a straight face, but her stomach muscles were shaking involuntarily. She was silently laughing at him. He smiled, then jammed his finger into her stomach and tickled her like he did when she’d been a little girl. She burst into laughter and he laughed with her. It felt good.

“ We’ll check into the hotel,” he said. “I’d feel better if you were tucked into a warm room, behind a locked door, than sitting out in the car.”

She didn’t argue.

They approached the front desk, tired, but full of energy. They seemed to be charging each other. He was close to his quarry, she was with her father, her hero, and they felt the electrons in the night air.

“ We’d like two rooms,” he told the young man behind the desk. Then he screwed up his nose. “Jeez, what’s that?”

“ Wind shifted. Usually it goes the other direction, but when it blows south, we get the smell of thousands of beef cattle. You get used to it,” he said.

“ I don’t know if I ever could,” he said.

“ You have the greenest eyes,” Glenna told the man. She was direct and disarming.

“ Yeah,” he said, “if my hair would have been any other color, maybe they wouldn’t stand out so much, but it’s red and they do.”

“ My father and I are supposed to meet some friends of ours here,” she said, laughing. “Could you tell us if they’ve checked in?”

“ I just got on, but I’ll be glad to check. What’s the name?”

“ Barnes,” she said, “Jim and Roma Barnes.” She wanted to show her father that she had a flair for detective work and she figured there was a pretty good chance that Monday and his sister-in-law might be using her name, because no way could they use his. She knew she’d done good and she felt an inner glow when she saw her father’s smile of approval.

The desk clerk punched his keyboard, stared at the screen for a bit, then said, “Nope. I got a Lambert, two doubles. A Holiday, a double. And a Ross, two doubles. No others, it’s a slow night. Looks like you beat them in. Want me to tell them you’re here when they arrive?”

“ That would be nice.” She was upset that her gambit hadn’t succeeded in finding Monday, but it had, she just didn’t know it.

Five minutes later she was sitting on her father’s bed, the door to their connecting rooms open. He sat down next to her.

“ Why don’t you pick up the phone and see if you can charm that clerk into telling you which room Edna Lambert is in,” he said.

She wondered who Edna Lambert was, but she called the clerk as he’d asked and though that red-headed kid probably wasn’t supposed to give her the information, he was more than happy to. Sometimes being young and pretty paid off.

“ She’s in Room 221,” Glenna said.

“ And that’s where we’ll find our man.”

“ How did you know about this Edna Lambert person?” she asked.

“ Walker told me. It was on the news. I’ll go right over and talk to Monday. Tell him that I’m on his side. Then we’ll see where we go from there.”

“ I’m going with you.”

“ No, I let you come this far, but first I want to talk to him alone. I’d never forgive myself if he did something stupid and you got hurt.”

“ Dad, I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m going.”

“ No, that’s final. Please don’t make me regret bringing you.”