Page 50 of Seeking Evil

“What was that?” a distant rumble had Zeke heading for the window.

“Probably one of the gold miners trying to open up one of his claims in the mountains.” Patrick said without much alarm.

“You’re kidding? How often does that happen?” Zeke had no idea there were gold mines in the Wind River Mountains.

“Fairly regularly. Those old coots are determined that their mine is the one who will bring home the motherlode.”

Zeke turned from the window. “Anyone ever gotten trapped up there?”

Patrick nodded. “Occasionally. Mostly these old guys know what they’re doing. They’ve been mining the mountain for years.”

“Anyone ever struck it rich?”

“Not really. I think most of the gold has been mined already.”

“But they keep trying.”

Patrick laughed. “They do. I think it’s a fever that gets in your blood. You can’t stop. The gold might be just around the next corner. So they keep blasting.”

“What do you know about Inez’s husband?” Zeke told him what Inez said about Terrance. “He’s a former climber, and he always seems to be gone.”

Patrick shot him a look. “Not much really. Kind of quiet, bordering on weird. Keeps to himself a lot. Never really attended church with Inez. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen his rig around town in a while. I’m wondering if he and Inez had a fight.”

“Or, he’s our kidnapper.”

Patrick seemed less convinced. “I’ll see if I can check in with his employer.”

Zeke’s phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket.

“Where are you?” Cooper asked as soon as Zeke answered the call. “I’ve been standing outside your cabin for a while.”

“Oops, sorry, brother. I couldn’t sleep. I walked back to the station.” Zeke told his partner about what he’d found out from Inez.

“Well, that’s interesting. You hear that noise?”

“I did.” Zeke explained what the sheriff said.

“Interesting. Hannah’s grabbing us some coffee from Inez. We’ll be there soon.”

“See you then.” Zeke ended the call and returned the phone to his pocket.

Patrick had set up a couple of cots in his office. Jack and Megan were catching some shuteye. Patrick sent Deb home to get some sleep.

“Are you doing okay there, brother?” Zeke asked the sheriff, who’d been consuming an enormous amount of coffee.

“Yeah, I’m good. I got used to the long hours without sleep in the military.”

Zeke looked at him curiously. “What branch?”

“Army. I was a Ranger for many years. You get used to long stretches with no shuteye.”

“I can imagine. How’d you end up in Wyoming?”

Patrick chuckled. “I came here with Deb on our honeymoon. She loved the mountains. Always wanted to live in them. We fell in love with the area. Came here as often as we could. When the opportunity arose, I came to work for the previous sheriff. He took me under his wing. When he got ready to retire, he recommended me for sheriff. He helped me get elected.”

“So dreams do come true,” Zeke teased.

“I guess they do.” Patrick pinned him with those steely eyes. “You gonna tell me about you and that missing agent?”

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