“G’night,” Cindy said sleepily.
As I stepped out into the hall, I heard her Say to Jackie, “Do you think the Man in the Moon got Daddy?”
When I stepped out of the trailer, I saw the pudgy, middle-aged man who was lambasting Cartwright about catching John Wheeler. Wheeler had certainly aroused the ire of a lot of people.
The new arrival was chunky and balding and had a gray moustache under a jutting nose. Cartwright was reassuring him that John Wheeler would be caught and dealt with according to the law, but it wasn’t appeasing him.
The man spotted me coming down the steps of the trailer and swung toward me. He snapped, “Who the hell are you?”
Cartwright answered for me. “He’s the one who found your grandchildren out on the highway, Barrett. Name’s Markham.”
Ralph Barrett still had a truculent look on his face, but he stuck out a big paw and said, “Thanks, Markham. We appreciate the help.”
I returned the handshake and said, “I didn’t want to leave them out there.”
Cartwright asked, “You didn’t see anybody else around where you found the children, did you?”
“No. I don’t know where they came from. That bothered me...”
“Well, we’ll find Wheeler.”
“When?” Elaine jumped on him. “I’m not sure you even want to find him.”
Cartwright’s face tightened, but he kept it under control. After a second, he said, “I’ll talk to you again in the morning, Mrs. Wheeler. I’m glad the children are all right.” He turned and walked toward the car.
I followed him. Elaine Wheeler and her father went into the trailer. Before Cartwright got into the car, he paused and leaned a hip on the fender. He evidently wanted to talk to me as much as I wanted to talk to him.
He started it off. “Do you know anything else about all this?”
I shook my head. “Nothing that’ll help you find Wheeler. What’s the situation here, Sheriff? Are those kids safe?”
He rubbed his lantern jaw. “I wish I knew, Markham?”
“You know they’ve been abused?”
“I suspected as much. I saw that the boy had a black eye.”
“Did you see the cigarette burn on his hand?”
“No... I didn’t.” Cartwright’s voice hardened. “It’s damn tough, Markham. I’ve heard rumors about how the Wheelers treated them, but without some hard evidence, there’s nothing the county can do.”
“How much more evidence do you need?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have a talk with the child welfare people first thing in the morning.”
I asked, “How about some background? Who are these people?”
“Not meaning to sound rude, Markham, but what business is it of yours?”
“I found those kids and brought them back here. I feel a little responsibility.”
He nodded and I knew he understood. “Elaine is a local girl. Her father has a big trucking business. He about disowned her when she married John Wheeler a few years back. Wheeler wasn’t from around here, and what made it even worse as far as Ralph Barrett was concerned, he didn’t have any prospects. He took what odd jobs he could find, which aren’t many in a county like this, but mostly he wanted to be an artist. Of course, none of his paintings ever sold, and the family had to live in this little trailer and just scrape by, but that didn’t seem to bother Wheeler.”
“It bothered his wife and father-in-law, though, didn’t it?”
“That’s what brought on the separation. That and Joyce McCormick.”
“Another woman?”
“Yep. Wheeler started carrying on with her about six months ago, and Elaine threw him out. She’s filed for divorce, but the case hasn’t made it through the courts yet.” He paused and gave me that long hard look again. “You’re not planning to get mixed up in this business, are you, Markham? There’s nothing in it for you.”
“You’re absolutely fight, Sheriff. I just wanted to know a little more about it before I headed on back to L.A. I was just worried about the kids.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, now that they’re safe, I’m going to call my boys in. No telling where Wheeler is by now, and I’m not going to stay up all night just to satisfy Ralph’s and Elaine’s vindictiveness. You don’t have to tell anybody I said that.”
“I won’t.” I handed him one of my cards. “If you need any more information from me, you can reach me at that number.”
He got in his car and said, “Be seeing you, Markham. Take it easy.”
I waved at him and then walked back to my own car as he drove off. Before I could get in, though, the door of the trailer opened and Ralph Barrett hurried out. He caught up to me and said, “Wait a minute, Mr. Markham. I want to talk to you.”
I didn’t want to talk to him, but I didn’t have the energy it takes to be rude. I said, “Yes, Mr. Barrett?”
“Elaine heard the sheriff say you were a private detective. I want to hire you.”
“To do what?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“To find my son-in-law and bring him back to me. I don’t trust Cartwright.”
“He seems to be a good man. I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, Mr. Barrett.”
“Wheeler has to be punished for what he’s done.”
“There are courts to handle that sort of thing, you know.”
He didn’t catch the sarcasm in my voice. He said sharply, “This is wide country, Markham. Some things we handle on our own.”
“I get it,” I said, not bothering to keep the rough edges out of my voice. “I find Wheeler and bring him back here, and you beat him half to death. Is that it?”
“Maybe not just half.”
I opened the car door and got in. “Good night, Mr. Barrett. I’m glad the children are all right.” It seemed like I kept saying that, but no one was listening. Like the children weren’t the main concern.
I didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. He opened his mouth, but I cranked the engine and put the car in gear before any words came out.
The last hour had taken a lot out of me, and I wasn’t as determined to drive all night now. I kept seeing Jackie’s face and hearing Cindy’s giggle. And as soon as I did, I thought about the marks on them, the ones that showed and the ones that didn’t.
I came into a larger town about twenty minutes later, found a motel with its vacancy sign lit up, and turned into the lot gratefully.
The next morning found me heading back toward Dunes. After a few hours of fitful sleep, I had decided I wanted to see how things turned out. There were no cases waiting for me at home, and every so often, you have to indulge your curiosity.
On the highway the night before, I had noticed Ralph Barrett’s trucking operation. It was a big fenced yard with several buildings and some trucks inside, and at the time, it had been dark and quiet. Now, as I passed it this morning, it was bustling with activity.
When I came into Dunes, I spotted Sheriff Cartwright’s car parked at the gas station. I pulled up behind it and got out. Cartwright came out of the office, followed by the station attendant.
“Didn’t expect to see you again,” he said.
“I decided to stick around and see if I could be any help to you,” I said. He frowned, so I hurried on, “I mean I thought I could take you out to the exact spot where If found the kids. Have you talked to them this morning?”
“Yeah, I got their story, what there was of it. The little girl didn’t remember much, and she was kind of confused about what she did remember, but Jackie told me what he could. It seems Elaine left them playing by the trailer, yesterday evening while she walked down to the store. Wheeler drove up while she was gone, grabbed both kids, and put them in the car. They drove around for a long time, Jackie said, but he didn’t know where they were. Wheeler told them they were going to live with him from now on, that they’d never see their mother again. Something happened to the car, and when Wheeler got out to check it, the kids slipped out and ran off. Wheeler couldn’t find them in the dark. Jackie found the highway and they started walking. You found them a little while later.”