Marilyn Wright Dayton
maredayt@yahoo.com
Murder On The Mesa - Read a sample chapter here.
CHAPTER SAMPLES FOR “MURDER ON THE MESA” BY MARILYN WRIGHT DAYTON
CHAPTER 1
A MURDER IN ARIZONA
“One always dies too soon…or too late.”
- from ‘No Exit’ by Jean-Paul Sartre
She lay on the ground, feeling the life seeping out of her. She thought, “Am I dying? It feels so peaceful.” Then she remembered what had happened and she began to fight it, “No, I can’t – I have to fix this! I have to….” But then she was gone, with her beautiful but blank eyes staring up at the blue Arizona sky. No more life in her young, sweet body, so full of life and promise only seconds ago.
Her horse Brandy watched her, not knowing what to do. She loved this girl and had always been there for her, through innocent and painful tears, to joyous laughter when life had become happier for her.
And now that girl lay on the ground, lifeless, gone forever. Brandy could feel her tears fall as she carefully lay down next to the girl to protect her from more pain in the hot Arizona sun. Brandy felt something inside her die too as she leaned over to gently slip the girl’s long blonde hair between her lips one last time.
She would die for this girl – and maybe she will if no one finds them soon.
The dead girl had no idea how complicated things would get because of her ‘murder’ where the Hopi & Navajo lands bordered with her father’s Arizona ranch land. Her death would stoke a fire between her father and the Indian Nations about law enforcement rights and cause old wounds to reemerge from several people’s pasts, pitting mother against father, friend against friend, law officer against law officer, and an elderly retired Private Investigator against her past friends and foes.
CHAPTER 2
TWO DAYS EARLIER
“A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.”
- from ‘Friendship’ by Ralph Waldo Emerson
The retired Private Investigator had been packing and decided to join her friends for one last get together to play cards, followed by lunch, before leaving for Arizona. Louise ‘Weezie’ Hightower was in her early 70s, though she didn’t look it. She lived in the Hightower apartments beside the Highland Park Clinic in Rochester, New York. Her late husband’s family was wealthy and had left money to the Clinic to build the ‘Hightowers’, two tall buildings (that look like silos), with senior residential facilities for those who needed living quarters near a medical facility.
She was late, but only by a few minutes. Yet, the other three gals looked up with some slight irritation in their eyes, mixed with a touch of sadness. As usual, Bitsy was the first to open her mouth, “You’re late, Weezie. How can we get our two hours of card playing in if you are late?” Bitsy had a tendency to act like a little girl, all dramatic and flighty with her hands going all over the place. This was nothing new for her. You get used to it over time, expecting her to act that way.
Weezie smiled at the three gals who had become her best friends since she arrived at this facility two years before. She had become the natural leader of their little group, and every Wednesday she led them in ‘story day’, when she shared past detective adventure stories from her days running the Hightower Detective Agency with her husband Earl. They had spent decades traveling all over the country investigating and solving cases. That’s a lot of stories.
This was not a Wednesday, so they were going to play cards. It was a quarter past 10 in the morning (15 minutes late), and Bitsy grabbed the cards and began shuffling with flourish. Always with flourish, and she did it well.
Weezie wondered why everyone seemed a little ‘off’. Bitsy answered before Weezie could ask, “You’re leaving us for a whole week. In two years, you have never left our group. Why couldn’t we at least go with you?” Pout.
Weezie smiled, “But I’ll be working all the time, covering for Jake while he’s gone. And I don’t know what type of crimes I may walk into.”
Bitsy, ever the dramatic one, whined and said, “Why couldn’t someone else cover for him? Why you?”
Weezie laughed, “Probably because I had offered to, and he won’t need to pay me.” The girls still looked sad, and Crip, ever the retired schoolteacher, looked at Bitsy, “Dear, you really need to learn to get control of yourself. It’s only a week, eight days, and then she will be back before you know it.”
Bitsy, still pouting, “Well, that is MORE than a week, you know.” Millie, always a loving grandmotherly type, leaned over and patted Bitsy’s hand, “Now, dear, we will be here with you, and we will keep you busy, you will hardly know she’s gone.”
Bitsy, always needing the last word about it, “What do we do on Wednesday? She won’t be here to tell her story!” And the beginning of tears.
Weezie thought to herself how this was going to be harder than she had thought, so she added, “OK, I promise to take you all on my next adventure.“ That seemed to satisfy them, especially when she added, “We will start planning it when I return, how does that sound?” Smiles all around. “Plus, I will be calling you every day to fill you in so you can be a part of it all, OK?” Placating done.
After a few minutes of playing, Bitsy looked up and began primping, as she saw Guy Davis walk into the room. Elizabeth “Bitsy” Sutton was a bit of a flirt, well, more than a bit. And at her age, with the red hair, her heavily made-up face and bad choice of too-young-for-her clothing, it looked quite ridiculous to the other girls. But you had to love her anyway. They all looked up at Guy, a retired detective, now in charge of the security at their facility. And he was their friend, stopping by every day to say “Hi”. He had been the one who named their little group the ‘Cackle Gang’.
“Well, well, ladies, how are you doing today?” Guy was a tall, good-looking man with a friendly attitude, and most of the ladies in the facility ‘swooned’ over him. Then he looked at Weezie, “Still want me to take you to the airport?”
“Of course, I think that would be wonderful,” said Weezie.
He pulled up a chair, sitting down with a serious look on his face, “Weezie, I was thinking. You are going to be out there in Arizona doing detective work all by yourself. How would you like some help? Someone who could work with you, and be there to protect you just in case?”
Weezie smiled at the thought, but then pondered just for a moment, “Are you sure about that, Guy? I really don’t know how dangerous it might be, it could be really quiet with not much going on while Jake is gone.”
Guy laughed, “Then we could drive around and see the sights. I know you’ve been there before. You could show me the highlights. It’ll be like a vacation.”
Bitsy immediately popped in, “What? The two of you together on a vacation? Being…um, together?”
Weezie pretended not to hear her, “Guy, I really could use the help, especially if it does get a little bit difficult, I haven’t held a gun in many years.”
This time, Millie was the one to interrupt, “A gun?? What do you mean, a gun? Could it get that dangerous?”
Guy was the one who responded to her, while also looking at both Bitsy and Crip, “Don’t worry girls. It doesn’t always work out to be that dangerous. But you never know. And if it does, I’ll be right there with Weezie. And I know how to use a gun.”
Weezie hadn’t thought about the chance of her week in Arizona including anything other than investigative work. ‘Quiet’ investigating at any rate. On reflection she realized it might be a good idea to have Guy around. “Yes, Guy. I think that would be great. Are you going to use some of your vacation time from here?”
Guy lifted his eyebrows when he smiled, “Already asked for it. I wasn’t going to let you say no.”
Bitsy looked down at her lap, trying to hide her disappointment that it wasn’t her who would be spending a week with Guy. When she sighed, everyone looked at her, and Crip decided to try to make her feel better by reaching over and taking her hand. They all knew how Bitsy was, so they needed to nip this in the bud. “Remember Bitsy, we will be heading off on an adventure with Weezie after she gets back. While she’s gone, let’s start thinking of what we want to do, ok?”
Another deep sigh, but Bitsy looked up with a weak smile, “Yes, let’s be ready with ideas when she gets back. I already have some.” And her smile widened, as she started feeling better, “Let’s eat.” No more cards, it was almost lunchtime.
The airplane trip out west proved to be fairly uneventful. Weezie and Guy got their rental car and headed to the motel in Flagstaff, where they had rooms next to one another, with an adjoining door. All the better to work together on cases.
Weezie began to feel excited. She hadn’t seen her nephew Jake since he had taken over the Hightower Agency two years before. To her, giving him a week of vacation was going to be interesting, and she hoped there would be at least one case to test her.
CHAPTER 3
ONE DAY BEFORE – THE HIGHTOWER AGENCY
“The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use you make of them.”
- by Montaigna
Early the next morning, they met with Jake at the Hightower Detective Agency offices in Flagstaff. He had taken over the business shortly after Weezie’s husband Earl had died, working with Weezie until she retired. Jake seemed well suited for private investigative work, and had a full client load, as well as new, larger office space, plus a secretary. Weezie and Earl never had a need for a secretary, as they shared the workload and kept an organized office, letting their answering machine take the calls for them. Different times, different needs.
After introductions, and deep nephew-aunt hugs, they decided to talk about current cases over breakfast. They headed down the street to Jake’s usual breakfast spot. Jake carried a briefcase with the paperwork he wanted to review with them.
Jake had never married, although he had come close a couple of times. It seemed none of the gals he was interested in could compare with his Aunt Weezie, someone he had always loved and admired. And in her day, she had been quite a ‘dish’.
The waitress seemed to be one of those ladies who admired Jake, as she sauntered over in her too-tight uniform and leaned towards him, “Morning, Jake. How are you today?” It appeared she had tunnel vision, focused only on him. Weezie looked at Guy who rolled his eyes. They sat back in the booth and waited for their turn.
“Morning, Sally, lookin’ good today.” Yup, Jake had taken after his Uncle Earl, all charm and charisma, with a huge smile that seemed to draw the ladies in. Weezie tried not to chuckle.
“The ‘usual’?” Sally asked. Jake smiled a yes, then looked over at his breakfast guests and introduced them. “This is my Aunt Weezie and her friend Guy. I’m sure they are hungry too, Sally.” Makes you think that if he hadn’t mentioned them, Sally wouldn’t have said anything to them, instead ignoring them and walking away. Again, Weezie had to hold her laughter.
After they had ordered, Weezie couldn’t help herself, “Well, Jake, I see you still have a way with the gals.” Then she allowed herself to laugh.
He looked a little embarrassed, “Yeah, I guess that part of me related to Uncle Earl shows itself sometimes.” Smile. “And actually, it comes in handy when I have to question people, especially the ladies….and no, I’m not dating anyone at the moment.” He looked at Guy, “You see, there just is no one like my Aunt Weezie. No one can compare. She is adorable, still cute, smart as heck, and keeps me on my toes. I don’t think there is a girl out there like her.” Then, a little sheepishly, “I can’t help it, I am asking for a lot, I know. Here I am at 38 years old, and I haven’t even been engaged.”
“Does that bother you, Jake?” asked Weezie, leaning forward with concern on her face. “I’m not here to pressure you or try to make you feel bad about it. You are the closest I ever had to a son, and you know that Earl and I have always thought of you that way.”
“I know, and I have always felt the love you both had for me. I just work all the time, and the only women I meet lately are either clients, suspects, married female cops, or…uh, Sally?” They all laughed at that.
“Don’t worry, Jake, believe me, your time will come when the moment is right,” added Guy. “Trust me.”
“All right, let’s get to business. What do you have for me…us?” Weezie asked as she looked over at Guy. Somehow, she knew that he would be a lot of help. Once again, she was glad he had come with her.
“Not too much that can’t wait a week. Of course, that could change tomorrow. Some big case could come in, but I’m sure you have had enough of those, you could probably solve just about any case before I even come back.” Jake said. “Then, YOU will need to fill ME in.” They smiled, because it was probably true.
It didn’t take too long to review just three cases that needed to be watched, and just a few inquiries to be made, fairly easy stuff for an experienced P.I. and a retired cop. One case was a robbery, where it was waiting for a police report which could come in at any time. Jake suggested that they could just add in the report to the file, give it to his secretary to hold for him, and he could handle it when he came back. No hurry there.
Another one was a wrap up and review of a case that was pretty much completed. Jake asked Weezie and Guy to look it over and if they find anything he may have missed, to check it out and prepare a report for him. The third one was just beginning. It was a murder case which happened just the week before, “If you could review what I have, then call the police contact listed in the file, and maybe interview some of the involved parties, that would be great. Or it could wait until I return. I’m sure a few days’ delay wouldn’t hurt the case. I know the police have their hands full with crimes to solve and it might still take them a few days to pull together everything we would need anyway. I was trying to wrap as much up as I could to keep you from having a heavy load while I’m gone. And Janice, my secretary, is a great help. You could probably tell when you met her that she is really smart and very capable of a lot more than what a secretary usually does. Feel free to ask her anything and let her know what you need.” Then he noticed the expression on Weezie’s face, “What??”
“Oh, nothing, honey. She seems like a real doll, cute as a button, smart and really devoted to you and your work.”
She decided to let the matter drop when she saw how red Jake’s face was getting. So, she changed the subject. “I know I have mentioned my Cackle Gang to you before, and the gals really want to feel like a part of this. Even though there isn’t much in the way of activity, to them it would seem ‘huge’.” She smiled, “I love them and really want them to feel involved. You don’t mind if Guy and I ‘consult’ them on cases, do you?” She smiled.
Jake understood, “Of course not. I’m sure they even wanted to come with you. Such an adventure, right?” He smiled back. He had met the gals once and it didn’t take him long to figure how they would love an adventure of any kind.
Jake continued, “If a big case comes in, feel free to grab it and run with it. I trust you completely. And you have my cell number if you need me for anything.”
Weezie leaned in closer to him, “No I will not call you! This is your vacation, the first in how many years? At least two years ago you took over the agency. The only time away was those few days you helped me move to Rochester. I repeat, I will NOT call you, OK?”
They all smiled and rose from the table to go back to the office.
CHAPTER 4
FINDING THE BODY
“Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them.” - George Eliot
Just as she had mentally promised the girl, Brandy lay beside her for hours. The girl was Tracey Bachman, a rancher named Jack Bachman’s daughter. She was young and beautiful. Tracey had been a nurse, working at the Hopi clinic, where her caring and patient personality made her popular with all who met her.
On this particular morning, her father had begun worrying about where she was. It was after noon, more than four hours after she had left for a ride. They hadn’t talked much, sadly, but he knew she would have told him if she was going to be gone for hours. She was good about doing that at least. So, he began making phone calls. His first was to her cell phone, where it went to voicemail. Then he called the clinic in case she had gone there. She wasn’t there.
It didn’t take long before he realized that he didn’t know who else to call, as he was unaware of any friends she may have had over the past couple of years. In desperation, he called his friend Anthony Musselman, the Flagstaff Chief of Police. Anthony suggested that he try to ping her phone, not promising results due to cell services being so ‘spotty’ around the reservations. “Do it, Anthony. This is just so unlike her. Do it!!” Jack’s voice reflected his desperation.
A few minutes later, Anthony called him back with good news, “We have her phone, just at the northern edge of your ranchland. I will pick you up and we will find her. Don’t worry, Jack, we will find her. I also have sent out a team to the area to begin a detailed search. I will see you in a few minutes.”
Jack found it painful waiting for Anthony’s car, so when he saw the police car coming up his long driveway, Jack left the house quickly to meet him. That way, they could get back on the road as fast as possible. It wasn’t just the hot Arizona day that caused him to sweat so profusely, it was fear, something he just couldn’t shake. He had a very bad feeling about this.
It took them about 20 minutes to race across the ranch land to where they saw the other police. But they were in a cluster near the trees, not spread out searching. Had they found her?
Sadly, they had found Brandy first, then they had seen the girl lying almost under the now-dead horse. Jack had trouble climbing out of the car. He felt paralyzed. In his heart he knew she was gone when he saw the body of the horse lying so still on the ground. But he had to move closer and make sure. It was now almost five hours since she had left home.
Jack saw Tracey’s long blond hair spread out on the ground beside Brandy. He fell to the ground, crawling to her, unable to see clearly through his tears. He knew she was dead. When he started to reach out to her, the police held him back, “Jack, looks like she met someone here, and that person killed her,” said one of the men. They pulled him back to the car, where he sat on the ground and wept, repeating her name. He had never felt so much pain. His girl. His beautiful daughter, so young. He couldn’t think straight, all he could do was lean against the side of the car and weep.
Meanwhile, the police secured the scene, taking pictures before moving anything. They suspected the horse had died from exposure and heat stroke, as she had no visible wounds. But Tracey had wounds to her head. Terrible wounds. Almost half of her head had been caved in. They needed a medical examiner to see her soon and had also made calls to get a tent to set up over the bodies, to keep the bodies from deteriorating more in the hot sun.
All Jack knew was that his girl was dead. He couldn’t talk at all when his friend Anthony helped lift him back into the car, until he realized they were taking him away from his girl. “No, I need to stay with her! I can’t leave her!” Anthony tried soothing the grieving father, patiently waiting until Jack was ready to leave.
“Let’s go back to the house. We need to let these men do their job. Jack, who do you want me to call? Then I need to come back here.” Anthony knew the answer before Jack replied. “No one. There is no one left.”
Over the next few hours, things got very interesting, as word spread about the girl’s death. And especially where she had died, on the boundary of Jack’s ranch and the American Indian lands. Soon, both the Hopi police and the Navajo police arrived to talk about jurisdiction over the investigation. If Jack had been there, he would have fought them all. As it was, Anthony did call Jack when he found that there seemed to be a problem over which police force would have precedence over the investigation.
Jack immediately lost it, “Anthony, this is ridiculous! This is my daughter, on my land. I want you to be in charge!”
But that was debatable to everyone concerned. He could hear the raised voices in the background. When Jack realized what was happening, he placed a call. He had heard good things about the Hightower Agency, and wanted the best, needing them to be in charge, and reporting only to him. This was his daughter! His only child! The only person he loved in this world. And his only living relative!
To learn more about this book and the other novels by Marilyn Wright Dayton, go to Amazon here.
Copyright 2015-2025 by Marilyn Wright Dayton
Contact her at maredayt@yahoo.com.
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