“Whaddya mean, ‘he’s disappeared’?” Jeremy asked Amy.

“Uncle Seth, Brandon’s father, has been trying to call him the past couple of days, and he hasn’t been answering his cell phone, so he tracked down his roommate, and he said that he hasn’t seen Brandon since he first showed up. It’s not like Brandon to just run off like that. Something’s wrong, Jeremy. I just know it.”

“Have you called the FBI?”

“No. Kenny is here on the speaker phone with me. Let me have him talk to you about that.”

“Hey, buddy. Listen, I know a guy who works in the Dallas Field Office. I’m gonna call him. That way, this won’t get lost in the bureaucracy.”

“What can I do to help?”

“I know you need to get back to the ranch,” replied Amy, “but do you think you could hold off for a day or two, or at least until we find him?”

“Of course. I’ll come right over.”

“No. What we’d really like you to do is head up to Uncle Seth and Aunt Cathy’s farm. Somebody needs to be there in case he calls, and they could really use some support right now.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll check the flights and rent a car.”

“That won’t be necessary. Daddy’s company has a corporate jet at the airport. Just wait at Ford’s apartment, and the pilot will come get you. And Daddy will arrange to have a car waiting for you.”

When Jeremy arrived at the small airfield in Tyler, Texas, that afternoon a driver met him and took him to the Miller farm just outside of Kilgore. Jeremy had met the Millers briefly at the wedding, or non-wedding, but he had not really gotten to talk with them much. It would be a misnomer to call them “simple folks.” They were what people used to call “the salt of the earth,” good people. They greeted him warmly and opened their home and their arms to him. There was no word from Brandon that night.

The next morning, Jeremy wanted to sit by the phone with the Millers, but he knew that farms don’t run themselves, so he offered to help with the chores so that Mr. Miller could be with his wife inside. Kenny called, but it was only to report that there was nothing to report. Then, he called back on Jeremy’s cell phone a bit later and told him to step outside out of earshot of the distraught parents.

“From what we’ve been able to piece together,” said Kenny, “some fraternity plebes were given an initiation assignment. ‘Fuck a fag,’ they call it. They were supposed to identify someone they thought was gay and let him know that he was not welcome on their campus. We don’t know yet whether these four boys actually raped Brandon, but we do believe that there was some rough stuff.”

“You don’t think they—”

“Most likely he just got scared and ran away. At this point, we are proceeding on the assumption that he is alive, and we’re going to keep looking until we find him, but as you may know, the longer he stays missing, the less likely it is that….” Kenny agreed to call back the next day at the same time—or sooner if he had something more concrete to report.

The next morning, Jeremy cooked a hearty country breakfast for everyone, but hardly anyone ate much. Then, he headed to the barnyard to take care of the chickens and other animals. His cell phone rang.

“Jeremy, I think we may have something. His car was spotted by the LAPD, and—”

“Los Angeles? Why would he go to Los Angeles?”

“I don’t know, and I can’t say for sure that he is there. All we know is that his car is there. That’s not the same thing.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Still, it’s the best lead we’ve had so far.”

“The poor kid is probably starving. From what Seth...Mr. Miller...has told me, he had very little money, and he must’ve used up nearly all of that on gas. What’s he gonna live on out there?”

“I hate to say this, Jeremy, but if he gets desperate enough, he’s likely to do what lots of pretty young men do to make money.”

“Oh, God, Kenny. No!”

“Let’s hope that it hasn’t come to that.”

“Well, I’m not waiting around to find out. I’m getting out to L.A. as fast as I can.”

Jeremy went into the farmhouse to relay what Kenny had told him, minus the scary prospects. He told them that he would go straight to Los Angeles to look for Brandon himself. The pilot who had flown him to Tyler had told him that he would wait around as long as he needed him, so Jeremy called him on his cell phone and told him to get ready. Jeremy threw his clothes together, and Seth drove him to the airport as fast as his old Chevy pickup would take them. Just as Jeremy was getting ready to walk out onto the tarmac, Seth pulled him back and spoke directly into his eyes.

“I don’t know exactly what your relationship is with my son, and I really don’t care. All I know is that he worships the ground you walk on...and he’s missing.” He gripped Jeremy’s hand with both of his and, with lips trembling and eyes watering, pleaded, “Bring our son back to us. Please.”

“I will, Mr. Miller. By God, if it’s the last thing I ever do, I will.”

*******

Sheriff Nick Scarpelli and Police Chief Ben Carter rode out to the Travis Ranch together on Sunday morning. Nick would have gone sooner, but he needed to follow up on a few things, and he also agreed to wait until Ben got back from a police chiefs’ conference in Sheridan. “I have a few questions for Wade too, if you don’t mind,” Ben had said to Nick. When they got to the ranch house, Randy answered their knock at the door.

“Your dad here?” asked Chief Carter.

“Yes, sir. He’s taking a—”

“Oh, mornin’ Chief…Sheriff,” said Wade, entering the foyer nearly naked. Water dripped down his muscular body, rippling through the thick mat of fur that covered his beefy chest, a dark treasure trail disappearing under the white towel that gripped his narrow waist, contrasting sharply with his sun-bronzed skin. Nick Scarpelli saw immediately why Patty would be attracted to this man. He was fuckin’ hot! Nick had never entertained the thought of being attracted to a man himself, but in one flicker of a moment, he imagined that if he ever were, it would be someone like this. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you,” said the cowboy icon. “We were just getting ready for church.”

Yeah, church. Probably taking Patty to church.

“Randy, get these gentlemen some coffee,” said Wade. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Nick watched the cowboy traipse back down the hallway before he followed Randy into the kitchen. Chief Carter waited in the foyer for Wade to return, dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt.

“I’ve already been through all this with Sheriff Scarpelli,” insisted a frustrated Wade Dawkins.

“I know, Wade, but I need to hear it for myself,” said the police chief. He explained to Wade the possible connection between the murder of Carl Pipkins and the recent bank robbery and how it was important for him to confirm the timelines.

“Where were your men when you left Thursday to take Jeremy and Amy to the airport?” Carter asked.

“I sent the men out to ride the range, checking for any strays or downed fences.”

“But not Carl Pipkins?”

“No, the tractor we use to pull the hay baler wasn’t running, and Carl said he could fix it, so I left him here to do that. I told him if he finished early, he could stay here and chop up some wood since winter’ll be coming on soon.”

“And the other five…were they together the whole day?”

“You’d have to ask them, but it’s not likely. As you well know, Ben, we’ve got 16,000 acres here, so it’s not at all unusual for the guys to split up.”

“OK, so you dropped Jeremy and Amy off at the airport, but you didn’t get home until late that night?”

“That’s right. I stopped at the co-op to pick up a few things, and I heard some of the boys talking about the bank robbery that afternoon. One of ’em mentioned that Mrs. O’Toole had been in the bank at the time, so I stopped by to check up on her.”

Ben calculated that Wade must have arrived at Mattie O’Toole’s house just after he left her there. “Mighty neighborly of you,” he commented.

“Well, she was always kind that way to Jeremy’s folks when they were alive and—”

“And then what did you do?”

“I grabbed a bite to eat at the Albany and then went to a meeting.”

“A meeting?”

“Yeah, Ben. I’m on the steering committee for next year’s Frontier Days. Ask any of the committee members. They’ll tell you I was there.”

“So, you got home after dark and then went to make your rounds.”

“Yes, I went first to the bunkhouse…and like I told the sheriff…Marty, Vern, and Johnny were there, but not Randy, Carl, or Eddie.”

“Then, you went to the barn, and that’s when you found Randy and Carl.”

“That’s right, Ben. That’s pretty much the whole story.”

“One last thing, Wade. Did you ever check to see if Carl fixed the tractor or chopped the wood?”

“Why, no. With everything that’s happened recently, I just never thought about it.”

“Where is the tractor now?” asked the chief.

“When I left, it was parked behind the barn.”

*******

While Chief Carter interviewed Wade Dawkins in the den, Sheriff Scarpelli continued his interrogation of Randy Dawkins in the kitchen. He began by asking the young man how he was feeling. “Bet you’re glad to be home, huh?”

Randy responded very politely. His ordeal had obviously had an impact on him.

“How did you get along with the other guys in the bunkhouse, Randy?”

“What do you mean, Sheriff?”

“Well, were you friends?”

“Nah, not really. To tell you the truth, Sheriff, I was a bit of a pain in the ass when I first got here…have been all summer actually. The guys put up with me, but they mostly just kept their distance. Can’t say as I blame ’em really.”

Nick couldn’t help but smile at Randy’s self-realization.

“The other day, Randy, you told me that Johnny Duncan was the person who had first told you that Ned Beasley could supply you with drugs.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Were you and Johnny close?”

“No, not really.”

“Did the two of you ever get high together?”

“A few times.”

“In the hayloft?”

“Yeah. Once or twice.”

“And it was more than just pot, wasn’t it?”

“Johnny was into meth and God knows what else, but I never used anything stronger than weed. I know you don’t believe me, Sheriff, but—”

“Actually, Randy, I do believe you. But Johnny—”

“ Wait a minute. You don’t think Johnny—”

Nick took a breath and looked Randy straight in the eye. “Randy,” he asked gently, “was there ever anything else between you and Johnny?”

“Whaddya mean?” blushed Randy.

“A couple of weeks ago, when Sugar had to be put down, was there some reason that you and Johnny didn’t want to ride back to the ranch together?”

Randy fumbled with a placemat on the kitchen table and took a drink of water before finally confessing. “I…uh…once, when we were high on weed, I made a pass at him…tried to kiss him.”

“I see. And how did Johnny respond?”

“Oh, God, he was pissed like you wouldn’t believe. Called me a goddam fuckin’ pervert and even kicked me.”

“And after that?”

“He wouldn’t speak to me. Of course, no one really noticed since they all pretty much avoided me anyway.”

“So, he was pretty mad at you. Mad enough to want to hurt you?”

“You don’t think he could have killed Carl?”

“Maybe, maybe not, but even if he didn’t, do you think he was angry enough to try to frame you for Carl’s murder?”

“Gawd, Sheriff. I can’t imagine….”

*******

Having finished his interview with Wade Dawkins, Chief Carter strolled out to the barn to check on the woodpile and the tractor.

As he was heading back to the ranch house, Ben heard a thud coming from the barn. When he went inside to check it out, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He rushed back to the ranch house.

“Nick,” he said, breathing heavily. “There’s something out here you’re gonna wanna see.”

When Nick entered the barn, he too was dumbstruck. There, hanging from the rafters, was another body.