Chapter 5

In his room, Bob called Bear’s Best, Mountain Bike Rides and signed up for the ride at 10:00 the next morning. Then he called The Sunset Cowboy Trail Ride and signed up for tomorrow’s trail ride. That made him think of the lady cowgirl again. Maybe she’ll be on that trail ride. It’s been years since he’d ridden a horse. Surely the horses in Nevada haven’t forgotten how to handle an old cowboy who hasn’t sat on a saddle in years!

He had built his confidence up after all this, that he knew as soon as he saw the young couple from San Angelo, he was going to introduce himself. He could still track them, by staying back out of the way so they wouldn’t recognize him with his vehicle. He may even get brave enough to introduce himself to the lady cowgirl from Midland...

Then, the nagging thoughts of why he was here crept back into his mind. He knew it was only a matter of time until the three suspects would catch up with the young couple.

Those three had to have something other than luck going for them or they’d never have gotten this close to nabbing the Manaras, like they were back in Wickenburg.

Bob took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as he thought of what could have happened, had the Manaras passed through Wickenburg ahead of him.

He needed to keep a close watch for those guys. They didn’t know him, and they had no idea they were being tracked. He had the advantage, for now at least.

What if... ? What if the Manaras were actually innocent of being accessories to any of the bank robbers? What if he was wrong about them ... and what if the three suspects were also wrong? Was there really some of the bank robbery money in the Manaras Camaro?

How did those three get the Manaras names in the first place? How did they find out what make and color of vehicle the Manara’s owned? Did they have access to a TV and see it on the news after the robbery?

Those three sure made a beeline to that black Camaro, back in Tombstone. Could it be, there is someone back in Odessa feeding them the information? What about a bank employee? An employee would have access to their bank accounts, if the Manaras in fact did have an account with the same bank at a branch in San Angelo!

If that’s the case, the three are already on their way here to The Texas Station Hotel! The Manaras would have used their credit card or debit card to check in!

Bob checked the tracking on his iPhone and his heart skipped a beat when he saw that the target vehicle was halfway to Las Vegas, from where they’d taken US Highway 95 north, from I-40 in California. Why did they suddenly turn north? He thought sure he had lost them. They really are good at guessing, or someone is tracking the Manaras for them.

Bob called his boss and left a message for him to call. He gave him the Texas license number he’d gotten from the sedan he’d spotted in Tombstone. This needed to be checked out immediately. Maybe his boss could get a name for him to keep tabs on. Guilty or not, the young Manara couple could very well be at risk of being kidnapped ... even murdered.

He was in the shower when his boss called back. As soon as he was out, Bob returned his call...

“ ... Your suspicions were correct. The Manaras each have accounts with the branch bank in San Angelo. I’ve started a probe of bank employees in Odessa to discover who’s feeding those three the debit activity. That’s the only way they could have traced them thus far. I’m getting an update on that right now ... OK, here it is.

“The license number on the vehicle you gave me, came back with a Malachi W. Ventura of Odessa, as the owner. I ran a check on him and would you believe? He has a sister who works at the branch bank that was robbed. You’re getting close to breaking this case wide open, Bob. Just watch your back, Ventura has a long list of theft and robbery arrests. He’s always gotten off with a light sentence each time since none of them were serious crimes. That, and the attorney he has representing him each time, makes a living working with these petty criminals.

Bob told his boss of his plans to introduce himself to the Manaras, as a fellow Texan, so he could keep an eye on them better while they were here in Vegas.

“Good idea. It looks as if this is about to go down very soon now. If those three have access to the banking info, they’ll know where the Manaras are staying. Be very careful how you handle this, Bob. You may need to inform the local police or even the FBI, if you feel there’s a chance the bank money will change hands. If that’s the case, the Manara couple will more than likely be killed, no matter if they were involved or not! I’m beginning to think the Manaras are totally innocent in all of this. Things just don’t add up if you think about their trip so far and their casual travel attitude you’ve described to me.”

It was early yet, but Bob was too hyper to stay in his room. Up until now he’d been dressing as inconspicuously as possible, wearing plain clothes which didn’t call attention to himself, as he carried on with his cat and mouse game. He was smiling as he pulled out his pointed-toe cowboy boots and his favorite pair of faded Levis that he hadn’t worn in years. He hadn’t even tried them on until recently, simply because he couldn’t pull them up over his fat butt and snap them around his waist.

Worry. ... was not the healthiest path to weight loss. Worry drags a man down through the pits of loneliness, and lends agony as he wallows there in misery and self pity. Bob was through with being alone, and through worrying! Well, he would be, if and when he solved this riddle with the newlyweds and the three bank robbery suspects.

After pulling on one of his newest, white knit Polo shirts, he clipped his snub-nosed .380 Mustang to his belt, just behind his right hipbone. From now on, he wouldn’t leave home without it!

He pulled one of his two sport coats out and looked it over. It could stand a trip to the dry cleaners, but it was the best he had - it had the faint smell of one of his old colognes. It fit him perfect now, just as his faded old Levis did. This was the best he could do on such short notice.

He looked at himself in the mirror before he turned to leave the room. At six foot-one and one-ninety, he had to admit, he looked good for forty-eight.

He smiled at that thought. He had never been bothered with how he looked, even as a kid. He was just Bob Conlee all his life and that was good enough for him. Good enough for Janet too, all those years.

Up until today, that is. Janet is gone, and it’s just him now. Yet, his heart was pumping hard and fast, like the night he dressed for his first date with Janet. Just the thought of possibly meeting a pretty lady cowgirl from Texas gave him hope. Hope - that a change for the better was in his future.

He was an hour early for his unscheduled dinner date. Hopefully, a dinner date with three friends he had yet to meet. He’d been wishing he could meet new friends. Friends have been hard to come by for Bob over the past few years. He’s been a hard friend for anyone to make, and he knew it. He was trying to change that, now that he was alone ... and lonely.

Stepping off the elevator, he saw the entrance to the bar across the lobby and decided to have a drink before dinner, just to settle his nerves.

He looked over to see Clara as she talked to new arrivals. She waved and he did too when she smiled.

This was all new to him. He’d never dated anyone other than Janet. He had seen how it was done in the movies ... and he’d watched his single and divorced friends as they mixed and mingled among the finest sweethearts Texas has to offer. He could never pretend to be that cool in front of a woman. He was just another plain old Bob, in a long line of Plain Old Bobs — and Plain Old Bobs were not put together that way.

He sat at the far end of the long bar, in order to see the entrance and view the entire room. There wasn’t much to see this time of day. There were only two men at one table and two couples at another.

“What’ll it be, Sir?” The bartender asked in a tired voice.

“Crown and coke.”

“A double? Happy Hour gets you two for one!”

“No, I’m not out to get drunk. Just mix me one in a tall glass of coke on ice.”

He was watching the bartender mix the drink when she walked past him. He saw her in the bar mirror as she turned. His heart did that little fluttering, skip-a-beat, flip-flop thing again. Could this be the lady cowgirl? She’s dressed in denims and a nice hundred-dollar western shirt. Her boots probably set her back a cool grand and she’s looking around like she owns this place. She’s carrying a large suede-leather shoulder bag with beads and fringe on it.

She’s packing a small handgun in that bag, too. Probably similar his little .380.

‘Ten will get you a hundred that she can, and will use it - if push comes to shove’

The bartender placed his drink on the bar and Bob felt her brush against his coat when she sat on the barstool next to him. He looked at her in the bar mirror. She was looking at him ... She was smiling as she began to speak... “I know this is going to sound corny, but I feel as if I should already know you,” she spoke to him, just above a whisper. Her voice soft, solid, and just short of husky-sexy. She had turned on her barstool to speak directly to him.

He turned to face her and their knees touched. She didn’t move and he didn’t either. He wasn’t sure if he could overcome his fear of casually talking to a beautiful woman. He took a deep breath and with an imaginary fist, he gripped the knot in his gut long enough to get his first words to come out...

“If you feel you know me, it’s because someone else told you about me. I’d never have the nerve to do what you just did.” That was easy enough, because he spoke the truth. Just stick with what you’ve got going, Bob. Don’t get fancy with your words and lose it this time.

“You’re Bob Conlee, aren’t you?”

“That’s me. Now tell me how you knew me.”

“Clara flagged me down as I passed the desk just now. She told me about you. She told me that you were from Texas and that you had walked into the bar just ahead of me. She also told me that I needed to meet you because you were a really special, really nice guy and that you were tall, tanned, and handsome as all get-out!”

Bob had to laugh at that and replied, “Clara does love to go on about people, doesn’t she? She tried to describe you to me when I checked in. She left out the part about your eyes, and that you don’t even wear makeup. You’re Jackie, aren’t you? I recognize the rest of you from her description now.” Keep it simple, Bob, and keep it honest. Just say what you feel and let her be the judge — if this comes to trial later.

“Yes I am. Now tell me about my eyes ... and tell me about the rest of me that you so readily recognized.”

“You know your eyes better than me, Jackie. But I have always noticed people’s eyes. Not just womens eyes, but everyone I meet. You, Dear Lady Cowgirl from Midland, Texas, have the eyes that men talk about later, and writers try to describe in books. The rest of you looks like a model for western wear, and-you-got-class, Lady Cowgirl!”

“Clara was right about you, Bob. Yet you don’t see yourself as special. You’re not as cool as you’re trying to be. You’re even more nervous than I am and I’m shaking as I sit here trying to think of something to say that doesn’t make me sound like I’m fresh off the farm.”

“You don’t seem nervous. You sure hide it well.”

“I learned early in life, to never let a nervous horse know that you’re more nervous than he is.”

“I’ve never heard it put that way. You sure pinned me down with that statement. I’m as nervous as a young horse that’s just had a saddle thrown across his back for the first time. It’s been a while since I’ve been close enough to a woman to look into her eyes. I saw you when you walked past and wished I had my drink already so I could take a long sip and settle myself down. I would never have spoken to you first. I’m just not made that way, and I realize it now that I’ve met you.”

“How long ago did you lose her?”

“Almost two years ... How did you know? Even Clara didn’t know that!”

“I look into peoples eyes too, Bob. Your eyes told me that you suffered a big loss. I know how my hollow eyes have looked for the past three years now, after I lost him.”

“Jackie ... now I’m at a loss for words. I honestly don’t know how to carry on a conversation with a beautiful woman such as you ... Any woman for that matter. I never dated but one girl in my life and we were married for nearly thirty years. If I make a fool of myself, please don’t laugh — just walk off and let me wonder, what if.”

“How old are you, Bob?”

“Forty-eight.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me?”

“No, I was taught to never ask a lady that.”

“I’m forty-two, since you wouldn’t ask and I wanted you to know. Call the bartender over here and order me a tall, whatever you’re having. I need to calm down and I need to ask him a favor.”

“Bartender, bring the lady one of these in a tall glass, and bring me another one.”

“Bob, do you have a hundred on you?”

“Yes, and I’m buying your drink.”

“I’m going to let you buy my drink. I hope I don’t get sick when I drink it and I hope I don’t get drunk and dance on the bar before the night is over. I want you to get an envelope from the bartender and put your hundred in it with mine. Then I want you to seal it, sign it, and give it to the bartender to deliver to Clara. I owe her big time, Bob. That girl missed her calling, and before I leave here Friday, I’m going try and convince her to start a dating service!”

Bob and Jackie sealed the two bills in the envelope and Bob signed it...

Lonesome Bob & The Lady Cowgirl. Thank you Clara - for the introduction!

When the bartender returned from the lobby, he walked down the front side of the bar to where they sat. He turned and pointed at the doorway leading back into the lobby, “There’s a young couple out in the lobby who wants to meet both of you. Clara told me to tell you that she owed you this one ... Whatever that means...

“You can join them in the restaurant and I’ll bring your drinks and your tab to your table.”

“Jackie, that has to be the Manaras standing there. Did Clara tell you about them?”

“No, tell me about them before we meet them. They are such a handsome young couple.”

“They’re newlyweds from San Angelo, Texas and they’re traveling through on their honeymoon. They are signed up for a mountain bike ride at 10:00 in the morning and The Cowboy Sunset Trail Ride tomorrow evening. Clara told me all about them and told me I should meet them. Let’s go meet them together - I think I like them already.”

“I know I do. I recognize them from the memory of myself and my husband, when we stopped here our first time.”

“Come with me, Jackie. I want to try and make their memory of this place a special one, but I’ll need help.”

“Lead me on, Lonesome Bob. I’m your Huckleberry!“

He turned to look at her with a strange look on his face, “You’re a fan of that movie too, I take it?” he asked as she stood beside him, slipping her purse strap over her right shoulder ... smiling as she hooked her left arm in his.

“I’ve watched it at least three dozen times. I have it on the original cassette, on DVD, and stored on my PC. We’ll have to watch it together one day, when we’re both back in Texas at the same time.”

“If that’s an invite, I accept. ‘Tombstone’ is one of my all time favorite westerns.”

“You’re becoming more likeable by the minute, Bob. Be very careful with me, I’m still fragile and I hurt easily.”

“I’m in the same category you are, Jackie. I hurt too easy for me to even be doing this, but for now, let’s go meet our new friends...

“Hello, you must be the Manaras. This is Jackie Lauterette and I’m Bob Conlee,” Bob said as he reached out to shake first with Tommy, then his wife.

“Yes we are. This is my wife, J Lo, and I’m Tommy Manara. We’ve heard a lot about both of you since we checked in. Clara told us we needed to meet both of you.”

Jackie stepped up to shake hands with them, “J Lo, you look so much like Jennifer Lopez, it is unbelievable. Is that your real name or did someone give you that name because of your looks?”

“My name is Jennifer Lee and my maiden name really is Lopez. Tommy started calling me J Lo when we were just learning to talk, and it’s stuck with me. I wear it proudly now.”

“You should. You’re so tall, slender and athletic. You remind me so much of me, the first time I was here with my late husband. We were eighteen and on our honeymoon at the time. Of course, I’m no longer slender like I was back then.”

“Ms. Jackie, you are so beautiful. When I first saw you stand up, I told Tommy that you were one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. Now that we’re up close, I can see that you don’t even have to wear makeup.”

“Well thank you, J LO ... and please call me Jackie. Everyone does back home, and besides, we’re going to be best friends now that we’ve met.”

“Thank you, Jackie. I’d love to be your friend. Clara told us that you have a ranch near Midland. Do you happen to know Regina Angelina Lopez?”

“I certainly do! My land joins her’s at my northeast corner. Don’t tell me she’s kin to you? She’s such a wonderful neighbor.”

“She’s my Granny - my daddy’s momma,” J Lo said proudly. She was very close to a sob when she spoke, she was so happy she’d met a friend of her granny’s.

“Oh, Really? I know we’ll be best friends now. I’ll have to call her and tell her that I’ve met you and Tommy. She was so good to me when I lost Chuck. She came over every day, and called me each night, for weeks afterward. We still meet each week and ride across her land and mine. You and Tommy will have to come see me the next time you’re over to visit her.”

“We’re going to live on her ranch so we can help her manage her oil and gas leases, and keep up with her cattle when we get back. We’ll be your neighbors too, Jackie!” J Lo was so excited. She was already planning to call her granny and tell her that she’d met the famous WPRA Cowgirl, Jackie Lauterette.

Bob stepped close to Jackie, taking her arm as he looked around at them, “Let’s all go inside Austin’s. We can get a table and continue our conversation.” He didn’t tell them that he needed to go somewhere and sit down because his knees were shaking.