Chapter 8: Seniors Rule

"Good grief, Marty! I never thought I'd look at a return to school as a break!" Adoré was relaxing on the living room sofa of the Corvallis house, after they'd put the horses in the boarding stable.

She was happy to return to her home. She'd competed in several weekend horse shows and had worked twelve-hour days with the horses at the ranch. They had a senior year of college to complete, a lively and wonderful son to raise, and more work to do than hours to do it in.

Champ was left at the ranch. He'd be on stud duty, with one of the two horses they'd bought from Samantha Allen. She brought two of the other 'Allen' horses with her. Both, she felt, showed extraordinary promise, but both needed a lot of schooling.

The class schedules she and Marty had were pretty strenuous, too. As seniors, they had some latitude in the courses they chose. But all of the upper level classes were demanding. And neither of them was willing to just slide by.

Also, they were determined to make lasting friendships in college. The ranch was really remote and they needed friends to break up their isolation from time to time.

They kept their eyes open to find a good man for Denise, too. A real fear they had was that the men Denise tended to date were as messed up as her family was. They both were determined to do better for their friend.

A month into the fall term, they had gotten back into it. Marty helped with the horses, schooling them on the basics, so Adoré could concentrate on the fine points. They both worked hard on their courses, and both made sure they had at least an hour a day with Robby, just to play with him-usually the best hour of their day.

Marty introduced Denise to a fraternity brother who he considered a nice guy. He told him that he expected her to be treated with respect-she'd had enough jerks in her life. That casual relationship soon blossomed into a romance and Marty had good hopes for it.

Then the Thanksgiving break was upon them.

They would spend the break at the ranch. Adoré was really tempted to take the horses back and bring two others back to Corvallis. In the end, she decided that the others were still really young and the two she had needed the work.

Denise pleaded to come with them-she didn't want to stay alone and she didn't want to go home with her new boyfriend... It was too soon for that.

It was tight, but they all made it in the pickup, happy for the extended cab that allowed Robby to curl up behind the seat.

Denise fell into the pattern of the summer: watching Robby and helping Hazel-and was genuinely happy doing it.

Adoré, with Marty and Ad keeping an eye on what she was doing, spent serious time with the other horses they got from Samantha Allen. She gentled the foals and got them used to being handled and bridled. She rode Champ and the other two show horses, to keep them aware of what was expected of them.

She made time to review the Steele herd and marked several animals as culls. Those were separated into two categories. The first would be sold as jumpers for the hunt club market. The second would be sold in the general riding market. Ad would take care of that.

Offered a chance to call her family on Thanksgiving Day, Denise shuddered and called her boyfriend.

They soon understood why Denise shuddered.

Their holiday meal finished, the women were cleaning up while the men watched football, courtesy of Ad's new satellite dish. A really beat-up old Plymouth pulled into the yard and parked by the house. The thing sounded like it wouldn't start again. A middle-aged couple got out and strolled up to the porch like they were neighbors dropping in for a casual visit.

Seeing them through a window, Denise ran to her room.

When they rang the bell, Ad went to answer the door.

"Hi," the man said. "I'm Denise's step-dad. This is her mother. We come to see her." He tried to walk in, but Ad blocked his way.

"I don't know about that, mister. What Denise are you talking about?"

"The one what goes to Oregon State. The one what didn't stay in Corvallis like I told her, an' come here instead."

"You know, out here, folks don't just show up, 'less they're invited. I don't recall inviting you."

"That's OK. We're Denise's folks. You might say she's our invitation."

"Noooo. Don't think I'd say that," Ad drawled.

"Look. We came a long ways to see our daughter. You goin' let us in?"

"I don't think so. I think, if you're hungry, we'll give you some food to take on your way."

"Well, we was hopin' for some gas money and a bed for the night... from Denise, you know? I know she's been workin' for you-all and has money."

"We don't have any extra beds. We've never turned anybody away hungry, but we aren't in the 'gas money' business."

"That's OK. We'll just sleep in Denise's room."

"Mister, I don't know what part of 'no' you don't understand. You are not spending the night and you are not even going to set foot in this house."

Hazel, having listened closely to the first part of the conversation, had put up a meal from the leftover Thanksgiving feast and pressed a large sack into Ad's hands.

"Here's a dinner for you-enough for a couple days, from the heft of it. Now head on down the road... And don't come here again."

"Now mister. That's not very neighborly of you. We just wanna see our daughter, this bein' Thanksgiving. Isn't that what parents are for?"

"Not in your case-and you're not neighbors. If you're not out of here right now, my wife will be on the phone to the sheriff. You can spend the rest of the weekend elsewhere, or in jail. I really don't give a damn, as long as it is away from here."

"You'll regret this," the man blustered, as he and the woman retreated from the porch.

"I don't see how," Ad retorted, closing and latching the door.

While Ad had been dealing with them, and Hazel packing food, Adoré had gone to Denise's room.

"Are they still here?" she asked, fearfully.

"Yes, but Ad won't let them in."

"I hope not. They're evil, Dory. Evil... Mom held me down... while he raped me... when I was a virgin. Two nights later, I lay awake listening to the screams while he did the same to my sister. He's never worked a day since he moved in with mom. He lives on the insurance money for me and my sister..."

Adoré just held her. What can you say, to something like that? "Do you have some money, Denise? That he's stealing?"

"Yes. But how can I get it? The checks come right to my bank account-he made me put his name on the account too. Same with my sister. We can't do anything."

"Maybe I can. Can I try?"

"I suppose. I guess my sister ran away, since she wasn't with them..."

"All right, Denise. We're good friends, right? I'll do what friends do. I'll try to help. OK?"

Denise, wiped out by her mother's unexpected visit, agreed. "If you could... ? OK."

As soon as the door was closed, Ad phoned the sheriff in Bend, described the situation to the deputy on duty, and asked that the nearest patrol deputy be dispatched to the ranch, just to be safe. "Of course, we can protect ourselves," Ad told the deputy, who he knew. "But in this case, I think one of your cars should make sure these folks get back to civilization and don't try any mischief out here."

"You got it, Ad. I'll have somebody there in a half hour. Give my love to Hazel."

"Thanks, Gary. I'll do that."

The old Plymouth made it about a fourth of the way down the ranch road leading to the county road when it quit. Soon the guy claiming to be Denise's step-father was back on the porch.

"Ah... sorry. But my car seems to have quit. Can you call a tow? And maybe give us a bed for the night?"

"I'll call the tow. In fact, I'll tow you to the county road. You can sleep in your car," Ad said.

"Shit! Western hospitality sure is just a myth," the guy said.

Marty fired up the tractor and towed the car onto a wide spot in the county road, while Ad called the sheriff back. "Gary, the guy claims his car broke down, now. Send a tow truck too, please. We'll put him on the county road. I don't want him on the property. Talk about a slimy customer. This one is it."

"OK, Ad. I'm on it."

"Thanks again, Gary. I owe you one."

"An invitation for deer season would do."

"You got it. Show up when you're ready to bag a big one."

Ad got into his pickup, to ride to the county road with the intention of telling their unwanted visitors that a tow was on the way. Rounding the knob that hid the ranch headquarters from the road, he saw that Marty was dismounted from the tractor and had his hands in the air.

Not one to waste motion, Ad pulled the old Winchester 30.06 from the rack in his truck, checked to see that the magazine held the full five rounds, and chambered a round. Putting the weapon on "safe" he threw a handful of shells from the glove box into his coat pocket and climbed a way up the knob to a spot where he had good coverage of that part of the road, and was concealed from anybody there. Not that he thought the 'city guy' would look up, anyway.

Ad didn't believe in movie cowboy notions of chivalry. His telescope sight showed the guy holding a gun pointed at Marty. Ad checked the wind and estimated his relative elevation over his target. He didn't try to shoot the gun out of the guy's hand. Nor did he try for a head shot. He put his cross-hairs on the center of the guy's chest and caressed the trigger.

The bullet arrived before the sound of the shot. Marty heard it pass and fell to the ground, rolling away. His attacker was dead before his body crumpled. A hunting bullet at a mere 200 yards will make hamburger of a man's heart and lungs, when it has some shattered fragments of rib to help stir the stew.

When their ears cleared from the sound of the shot, Marty and Ad heard the woman screaming. She had a gun, too, and was waving it around dementedly. Marty again dove for the dirt and crawled away from the car.

Ad and Marty just sat and waited-to see that no one left the car-until the deputy sheriff arrived. Ad moved down from the knob to intercept him, making sure he parked safely away from the woman with the gun.

"What we got, deputy, is a couple claiming to be the mother and step-father of a girl who works for us. They showed up out of the blue, wanting us to put them up. All they did was put us off. Anyway, I ordered them off the place. Then they said their car broke down. So I had Marty tow them to the county road and called for a tow truck. When I drove out here to tell them a tow was on the way, I saw the guy holding Marty at gunpoint. He looked like he was ready to shoot, so I shot first. Then we saw the woman in the car waving a gun around, too...

"It's all yours, and we're glad to let you have it. If we can help, we will."

"Thanks, I guess, Ad. OK. I'll try to talk to her. Just stay back here for now. OK?"

"Happy to."

The deputy turned on the loudspeaker on his car and identified himself as a deputy sheriff. "Ma'am, there will be no more shooting here. I need you to throw your gun out of the car. Ma'am. Do it now. Throw the gun out the window right now, and there will be no more shooting here today."

They heard a scream from the car. "If you want my gun, come get it, you bastards!" Then she opened fire on the patrol car. Fortunately, she was too far away to do any damage, though one bullet did break a window on the side.

When she had obviously emptied her magazine, the deputy trotted to her car and stuck his pistol in her ear. "Drop the gun, ma'am, or I'll pull the trigger on mine. And after being shot at, I really don't mind doing it." She believed him and let her pistol drop to the floor of the car. The deputy opened the car door and pulled her out, cuffing her as he did. He frisked her and frog-marched her to his car, where he stowed her in the back seat. Then he returned to check the guy who was lying in the road, bled out. Finally, he searched the Plymouth. Besides a spare tire and an old suitcase, the trunk contained the body of a young woman who, from the looks of it, had been beaten to death.

Returning to his patrol car, the deputy placed the woman under arrest, then called his dispatcher, requesting a lab crew and the coroner. "I've got two stiffs, Gary. One new and one a couple days dead. One live one in custody. Gary... don't fuck around on this. I need help and I need it now. I'm on the county road, at the entrance to the Steele Ranch. Ad and Marty Steele are here with me."

"Don't freak out, Harlow. The Sheriff himself, and a lab team from the State Police are on their way, code blue. The coroner is about an hour away. OK?"

"Thanks, Gary. This is really freaky. I thought I was just supposed to arrest drunks on Thanksgiving, you know?"

"Yeah, pal. Hang in there. Help really is on the way."

Marty took Ad's pickup and went back to the house. When he told the women what had happened, Denise demanded that she be taken to the scene.

Seeing the body in the trunk of the car, she screamed and stormed toward the patrol car. Marty grabbed her and physically stopped her. She was in an insane rage.

Marty held her until she'd regained control, then asked what had set her off.

"That's my little sister. They killed her. And they were after me. I've put up with so much... so much... I'll kill her for this... Let me go, Marty. I have something to do!"

"No, Denise. She's in custody. She won't get away and she'll fry for this. All you can do now is screw yourself up. She's not worth it... but you are. Let it go, Denise."

Slowly, gradually, the tension left her. Then she sobbed, as Marty held her. After a bit, he steered her back into the pickup and returned her to the house, for the women to comfort her.

Returning to the road, Marty told the deputy what he'd learned. He was also able to give him the address Denise had for her mother-an older rented house in east Portland.

The deputy radioed that in, suggesting that the Multnomah County Sheriff be asked to investigate and treat the house as a probable crime scene.

As it turned out, the house was already well known. It was a meth lab, and had been busted two days before. With the information about the dead girl, the detectives and forensics people were able to establish that the girl had been kept prisoner there, and that she had probably been killed there.

The exciting break over, Marty and Adoré returned to Corvallis with Denise and little Robby. They were ready to get back to school. There was less than a month before finals, and they all wanted to do well, this last year.

Since the murder of Denise's sister had probably taken place in Portland, even though its discovery had been in Deschutes County, the investigation and trial were moved north.

Eventually, Denise's mother was found guilty of aggravated murder and sentenced to execution.

Denise consistently refused to accept calls from her mother, or her mother's court-appointed lawyers. With the Steele's help and support, she managed to stay out of the news. (Several years later, when her mother was finally executed, an especially persistent reporter managed to track her down. "I hope the bitch fries in hell!" she told him. (He was looking for some anti-capital punishment propaganda.) "The only way I'd support her getting out of this would be if it would bring my sister back. She killed her. She raped us both. She's a cold-blooded murderer and absolute bitch. May she burn in eternal damnation!" She slammed the door in the reporter's face and collapsed, sobbing, into her husband's arms.)

In spite of the heavy schedule they'd undertaken, they were determined to enjoy their last year of college. They bought season tickets for football and several basketball games. They attended the winter formal and enjoyed dressing up-Adoré was breathtaking in a formal gown.

Christmas had been a family holiday-but always before in Richmond. Adoré felt her mother was feeling lonely, so they flew out to visit her. It wasn't too hard to do, as they still had occasional use of the family jet, her mother having insisted that the kids had priority over executives from various family-owned businesses.

One really gloomy, rainy winter day in February, nobody bothered to tell them the bad news.

The bad news was that Darnell Hollins had been released from prison.

They were told, much too late that, "A federal judge ordered that the prison had two hundred too many inmates. The crowding was 'cruel and unusual punishment'. Hollins was one of those released. We hoped he'd just go back to Portland where, hopefully, he'd join a gang and get shot in a turf war or something..."

What they didn't count on was that Darnell felt that Adoré 'owed him' for his prison time and she was going to pay!

Marty returned home from a late class. It was an advanced genetics seminar for animal husbandry majors-only six students-and the professor made it intense. Denise had a date that night and wasn't home. Marty just wanted a sandwich, a beer, and bed.

What he got was a broom handle beside the head and hogtied before he came to.

Hollins had Adoré stripped naked, spread-eagled, and tied to the corners of her bed. He heard Marty's key in the door and rushed out to handle him, then came back in the bedroom.

"You miserable honky bitch. You thought your pussy was too lily white for ol' Darnell. Well, I'm gonna show you what you been missin'. Maybe I'll even leave a little Darnell in you. Would you like that?"

As he leaned down to kiss her, she spat in his face. Immediately, he slapped her hard with both hands, using full swings of his arms.

"Big fucking man," she ground out through her tears of pain and rage. "Beat helpless and pregnant women. You're not a black man. You're a shitty little street nigger. You aren't even fit to be a slave. My family would have sold you off, you worthless piece of brown shit."

Enraged, he pummeled her, breaking her nose and blacking an eye, with a cut in the eyelid. He didn't neglect the rest of her, including a broken rib and some internal injuries.

"I'll show you who's worthless, cunt!" he screamed. "You'll be begging for more of me in that unused little pussy of yours when I'm done with you."

"Yeah. That's why they call you 'needle dick', huh?" she grunted at him.

He was moving above her, preparing to enter her forcefully when the window shattered.

A really big guy shot through the window and tackled Hollins, knocking him off of Adoré and clear off the bed. Several others just as big followed. They surrounded Darnell and proceeded to pound him to a pulp.

Seeing that all was in hand, one stood up and politely covered Adoré with a blanket, then untied her ankles and wrists. While the others hauled Darnell off into the kitchen, he stepped into the bathroom, where he wet a cloth and returned to gently wash the blood from Adoré's face.

"Hey Gil, there's a guy out here, tied up!"

"Well, untie him and haul him in here, asshole!" the leader of the group called back.

Adoré was very frightened when she saw them drag Marty, limp as a rag and with his scalp torn and bleeding, into the room.

"What have you done to him?" she screamed.

"Relax, Dory... You don't recognize me, do you? We had that advanced history class together. I'm Gil Torrey."

"Oh. Hey, Gil. What's going on? Why are you here?"

"Your dad was a fraternity brother of ours. Sorry he's gone by the way... Anyway, he asked us to keep an eye on you. A real close eye. He was afraid of something like this, I guess. As you see, we take our duties to our brothers seriously." He chuckled. "He also paid for a very nice renovation to the kitchen in the fraternity house. Since we're mostly jocks, we REALLY appreciated that. Though it wasn't necessary.