Liam unfolded the map again in the passenger seat, checking for the road they passed about two miles ago. He was trying in his head to figure out how many miles were left until they reached the ranch. The land in Wyoming stretched out for miles. Empty fields and the occasional telephone tower were the only notable sites. Tanner put out his cigarette into the console ashtray and said irritable,
"I feel like I'm gonna go crazy looking at the same road, same field, and fence post. You'd think people would just kill themselves out here."
The long dirt roads weren't paved. Instead, they were just dusted with gravel that would fly up into Tanner's fenders, each piece making small clicks much to his detest seeing how much money he'd put into that beloved Pontiac convertible. Liam squinted his eyes and folded the map back into the glove box, slamming it shut abruptly.
Tanner looks over across the top of his sunglasses, then turns down the radio playing Time of the Season,
"What's with you, champ? That girl of yours keep you up all night?"
Liam sneered, he was never free of the torment of his dating life. Or the lack thereof. He scoffed hatefully and said,
"So fucking funny. Has Johnny Carson called you yet?"
Tanner snickered under his breath and said,
"Trust me, I'm waiting by the phone."
Tanner was always a big kid. Slender like a rail with dark, almost black hair that he kept long enough to sweep back with combing gel. He kept a mustache on his lip that Liam found himself envious of but instead he was thankful he wasn't as lanky as his partner. Tanner was a great guy and if you were the ass of his jokes, he thought pretty great of you as well.
"Diane doing okay?" Liam asked, putting on his sunglasses, hoping the sun out of his eyes would help his head stop pounding against his skull.
"Ehh." Tanner said shrugging, "She's so worked up over this Sharon Tate shit in the news. I mean she's really having a hard time with it. Have you seen it? These miserable Manson bastards."
"Yeah." Liam answered, "I saw something about those freaks in the Enquirer. She was in that movie last year right?"
"Yeah, yeah." Tanner said nodding as he held the steering wheel with one hand to talk with the other, "I forget the name. Anyways, they murdered her. She was eight months pregnant. Ain't that the sickest shit you ever heard? Her husband was away in London for a trip or something. She was home all alone."
"Damn." Liam said looking over, "Rosemary's Baby, I think was the movie. She was…ugh.."
"She's hot." Tanner interrupted. "Smoking hot. But yeah, Diane is all a fuss. Doesn't want me to leave the house anymore. I hate it, but we're so covered up right now."
Liam got the map back out of the glove box and looked ahead as they were coming to a crossroads. He found his spot from before and told Tanner this was the right turn before arriving at Erwood Ranch.
"When we get up here-" Tanner said, turning, slinging dust in a cloud behind them, grabbing his badge off the dashboard to clip onto his side, "Follow my lead. Remember what Priestly said in the brief, we're just here to gather information, we don't want them to get a sniff that we're onto them for something. Cause they could do anything like split town or whatever, alright?"
Liam nodded and he asked as he also clipped his new badge onto his hip,
"I'll stay close but I won't breathe down your neck or anything."
They noticed on their left in the neighboring field, cattle being let in from the side in an enormous, moving herd. Several hundred heads of steer all roaming at once. Two riders on horses stayed near the end, leading them ahead into the range in the back of an upcoming home. Liam couldn't make out the faces of the men on horses but saw both of them shouting across the moving drove.
"Go ahead and get the nine-mills out champ, I think we're close." Tanner said as he slowed down to turn onto the property and Liam dug under the seat, getting both their guns already in holsters for their belt. Liam fixed his denim jacket over his collared button-up and fixed his sandy, waved hair in the reflection on the window.
They passed through the tall front gates of the ranch. Liam moved his sunglasses back over his head and saw the extent of the grounds. It was a long, gravel driveway that stretched right up to the front door. The front of the estate was mostly tall glass windows framed by the cedar-fashioned, rustic exterior. Small, shallow flower beds lined the walkway up to the front double doors and Tanner brought the Pontiac to a park, leaving some space in case anyone pulled in behind him.
Liam looked over to see a small tree complete with a swaying tire swing and he wondered if there were children inside. Tanner stood up away from the cab of the car and Liam handed him his gun holster quickly. He turned, taking the keys out of the ignition and he mentioned quietly,
"Damn, this is nicer than I thought. Especially out of…bum fucked nowhere."
The house looked to be worth hundreds of thousands and Liam nodded impressed as well. They heard the commotion towards the back where the cattle were moving in and Liam turned his head to see a blue Ford pickup parked on the side of the house, facing the back.
The door opened before they could approach, and a tall, blonde young man waved to greet them,
"Good morning." He said, "How can we help you?"
He was well dressed, with a white dress shirt that was covered with a sharp, black suit vest. A small broach hung by his breast pocket with a pocket square visible. It seemed to be a tailored ensemble and he wore it well.
"Morning." Tanner began as he stepped closer,
"I'm agent Easton, we're from the Bureau. We talked to Thomas on-"
"Oh, oh that's right." The man said with the realization washing over him suddenly.
"I hope we're not too early." Tanner said as the man approached and he replied shaking his head,
"Of course not. The only thing early is the cattle. I apologize for the racket. My name is Kyran, Thomas is my father."
"Pleasure to meet you." Tanner said with a firm shake, then gestured over to Liam with his eyes, "This is my partner, Liam. He's still fresh out of Quantico, he's gonna play my shadow today."
Liam stretched his hand to shake Kyran's hand and they met eyes. Kyran had golden brown eyes, it stopped Liam in his tracks. They could look right through you. His shake was strong and Liam was surprised by how young he seemed. Certainly younger than him. How could an almost 80-year-old man have a son so young?
Kyran invited them in before the rain comes shortly. They followed after him and kept their head on a swivel to take in the spacious inside of the house. There was a tall staircase that ended there in the foyer with beautifully finished redwood. Framed photographs lined almost every wall along with large Navajo tapestries that were hung to take up space. Kyran closed the door behind them and offered a cup of coffee to which neither obliged.
"My father is upstairs with my niece. They do daily treatments because unfortunately, she's blind in both eyes. However, I'll go let him know you've made it in. Just a moment." He said as he turned to climb the stairs in front of them and the room grew silent. Tanner spun around still taking in the room and he said with an approving nod,
"Might have to retire out here. Not too shabby."
Liam stepped closer to a picture he saw from across the room and he studied it closely. The photograph showed a younger Thomas Erwood, dark-haired and suave in a suit as he held up a martini glass. He stood behind a sofa where two individuals were sitting. One seemed to be Kyran, who he'd met moments before then also a woman. She was also dark-haired, slender, and outwardly gorgeous. Kyran looked amazingly the same. Not younger, not older. But Thomas was years younger in this image. He looked and saw a calendar in the back of the picture and Liam squinted to see what year it was. "Nineteen…fifty-four?" Liam muttered with a squint on his face until there was a sudden thudding down the staircase.
He stood away from the picture nonchalantly as Kyran reappeared.
"Father will be with you shortly. And if you'll excuse me, I'll step out to give these fellas a hand. Nice meeting you!"
He took a windbreaker from the coat rack inside and gave a small wave before exiting through the front door. Tanner heard a voice from upstairs and saw a door open in the hallway at the top. Liam returned to his partner's side and watched as slowly, Thomas Erwood appeared at the top of the stairwell. His cane cracked against the hardwood floor and a smoking pipe was held in his free hand. He wore thin, bifocals that rested halfway down his nose and a charcoal gray suit that almost hung from his body. His long, white beard was groomed and presentable as the long white hair that was tied behind his head. His voice, however, jarred the room with its booming deepness,
"Gentleman." He addressed, from the top of the steps, "If you'll come upstairs, you can make yourself comfortable in my study."
They both listened after hearing a commanding voice like that and they climbed the steps almost in fear. Liam reached the top of the steps as Tanner shook Thomas's hand first and Liam was met by a sudden clash of weight against his legs, like a small impact. He realized after a soft grunt that it was a girl. Tanner and Thomas turned to see what had stopped him. She stood away and Liam looked down to console her and saw her eyes. Both of her irises were clouded and milky, they only stayed upward for a second until she realized this wasn't her Papa she'd run into.
"I apologize. She's as blind as the night is dark." Thomas said firmly and came to the girl's side,
"Amey, what have I said about running near these steps? Be more careful, little lass. Your mother will pitch a fit."
"I'm sorry." Amey said with her foggy pupils moving rapidly in response to the light hitting her eyes. Liam felt awkward to have a child apologize to him and he assured the man, sympathetically.
"It's no trouble, not at all."
He looked down and Amey held out her hands searching for the handrail to the stairs but her nerves were already anxious having been scolded by her grandfather and she tripped going down the first step. Liam held her side, worriedly and he looked to Thomas,
"I'll watch that she gets down there safely. Start without me."
He promised Tan that he'd be back up in just a few minutes and they began towards the study in the middle of the hall. Liam turned once the door closed and Amey was already halfway down the stairs. She hugged the rail with both arms, going one step at a time and Liam rushed down to meet her side,
"Here." He said, outstretching his hand, "I can lead you down, sweety."
"No thank you." She said curling away from him, hugging the railing tighter in response and Liam thought it was for the best since he didn't want to intimidate her. He searched for something to say, matching her pace down the steps and he said to fill the silence,
"My name is Liam. It's very nice to meet you."
Her eyes looked stayed forward like she was watching the ground at the bottom and she answered,
"I'm Amethyst Erwood. They call me Amey." Liam kept a straight face, not having to smile to appease her which was relieving and he tells her shortly,
"That's a beautiful name."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and she stood in one place, her eyes moving like she was waiting for something and Liam looked around unsure until she answered,
"You're supposed to knock on the back of the sofa so I don't run into it."
"Oh." Liam said quickly and he delivered several short knocks on the frame of the couch she referred to and she moved down into the sitting room, navigating across the small let-down step on the threshold. She was very sure of herself, moving at a normal speed, and she was well adjusted to using her hearing. He watched as she sat down on a small loveseat and took a book from the coffee table. Liam looked back up the stairs and wondered if he should even bid her goodbye, knowing she'd probably hear him leave anyway but he started to speak until she asked,
"Is Uncle Kyran outside?"
"Yes." Liam answered, "He went outside to help with the herd."
"I can hear him." Amey said, opening her braille book in her lap. Liam was impressed again at her capability. With his own hearing he could only hear a hum from the outside of all the noise from the cattle. He didn't want to stand over her as she read and he informed her he'd be outside smoking if someone asked for him.
"Okay, Liam. Take this." She said reaching in the pocket of her floral dress that matched her wide, plastic headband,
"It's a peppermint. Cigarettes make your breath bad."
Liam took the candy from her palm as she held it above her head and placed it in his front pocket.
"Yes, they do. Thank you. Don't ever smoke, okay?" Liam said and began out the front door. He started to stand only on the stoop to begin his cigarette until he saw a small garden bench out under the tree that hung the tire swing. He dawdled over and lit the end of his cigarette as he walked. He figured Tanner wouldn't mind his absence seeing that they probably hadn't even begun just yet and he sat down on the stone seat.
He inhaled deeply and felt the smoke enter his lungs warmly. With his thumb, he grazed his forehead tiredly listening to the sounds of movement from their herd in the back. He turned his head to watch the commotion and one rider appeared momentarily. He was tall, brawny with jet-black hair. The horse trotted in half circles around a moving steer and they met eyes. Liam gave a small, acknowledging wave and the rider gave him a cold critical look as he scanned him up and down. The rider tipped his hat before disappearing back behind the house.
Liam turned back to the front and noticed in the distance a van moving up the road. He watched the long trail of dust behind the back tires, clouding into the air. It turned onto the property and he saw closer that it was a Volkswagen Type-2 traveling up the driveway. It came to a stop with a screech and he moved his eyes away to keep from staring in case someone got out. The doors opened and a woman exited from the side, carrying a small leather satchel on her hip. Liam heard the woman laughing and he looked over, trying to fight the sun in his eyes.
The woman appeared from the opposite side of the van that remained idling and he saw her as she broke the rays of sunlight. Her hair was in a long braid down her back, with turquoise earrings swinging from her ears. She reached down, bunching the long, tie-dye skirt that nearly dragged the ground, and untied her hair, tossing it away from its bind. She walked forward, adjusting the bag on her shoulder and she saw him. She turned her head and saw him by chance as she moved. Liam looked away, feeling stupid for letting himself stare but he knew he'd seen that face before.
He didn't know how. Chronologically, it was impossible. But, it was the woman from the picture on the wall inside.