Officer Barnes arrived at Michael York’s home quickly. I was very nervous about what we would find there. Michael York had given Molly and I our first real breaks in living in Columbia Falls, and had generously given Molly and I a lot. I felt he deserved some peace in what were his twilight years. Instead, some lunatic attacks him.
As we arrived a County Sheriff’s Officer arrived right behind us. This wasn’t truly unexpected. The ranches that surrounded Columbia Falls were outside the city limits in many places, which put them under the jurisdiction of County Sheriffs, State Troopers, and Highway Patrol officers. Officer Barnes and I were officially responsible for the areas within the city limits of Columbia Falls.
However, in the relatively short time I had served with Officer Barnes, I had learned that there was a lot of cooperation that went on between these police units. Not so much in the sense of better coordination in enforcing the laws, but in having the manpower to enforce the laws. Montana as a state was far bigger then Illinois in terms of geographical area, and the state’s budget for law enforcement was smaller. This meant that there were fewer State Troopers and County Sheriff’s Officers to patrol a much larger land area. Local city police units commonly had to help these other units if something happened close enough to their jurisdictional areas.
And that would be the case here, and had been the case in a couple of other cases, so far. In this case, the County Sheriff’s Officer would likely take the lead in the case while Officer Barnes and I would provide help for him. And that was a slight relief to me, as this would likely strike at me on a personal level. And in some cases, this system went in reverse. Some of the officers that had responded to Williams’ attack on the station and the school were County Sheriff’s Officers and State Troopers.
“They called you guys in too?” the County Sheriff’s Officer asked.
“Can’t let you have all the fun,” Officer Barnes replied.
The County Sheriff’s Officer chuckled, and introduced himself, “Reggie Won… people have nicknamed me “One” because of it…”
“Officer Frederick Barnes and George Wayne,” Officer Barnes returned the introduction.
Reggie shook my hand, “I’d heard you two were involved in a lot of big things.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I told him.
“Anyway, Officer Won, as this is your jurisdictional area, this will be your case,” Officer Barnes answered, “Officer Wayne and I will do what we can to help.”
“Oh… thanks,” Officer Won shook his head and began to approach the ranch’s driveway.
Following behind, I quickly noticed that the white Toyota that had been idling there when I walked in to work wasn’t there anymore. Now, unless that was a different ranch hand’s vehicle, the assailant had left the area. Before I could comment on this, Officer Barnes had his own question
“Do you know what the status of the paramedics is?” Officer Barnes asked, “we were told to expect them on the scene.”
“They should be right behind me,” Officer Won answered.
And the ambulance probably was. I could hear further sirens going and approaching the home. As we came closer, Frank Rhoer and his daughter Meredeth came out from behind their vehicle, looking very much like hey were frantically looking for medical supplies.
“Thank goodness you’re here!” Frank Rhoer spoke quickly and moved forward, “where is the ambulance?”
“We beat it here, sir,” Officer Won answered, “are you the one that made the 911 call?”
“Yes,” Frank Rhoer answered, “Frank Rhoer… I… you’d best see this…”
Frank Rhoer then moved back to a gate that lead to the pasture by the dirt road by Michael York’s ranch. Meredeth followed close behind motioning for us to follow them. We followed them into the field until we came to a spot where some of the long grass was bent over. In that spot was Michael York. The elderly man lay still and unconscious with a large bruise on one side of his face and head. Nessie was kneeling by him, trying to do what she could.
“I don’t think his spine is hurt,” she announced, “but the lug that did this has to have done damage…”
“How did this happen?” I asked.
“We don’t know exactly how the “attack” went,” Frank Rhoer answered, “we came in as usual to check on what needed haying and taking water to the animals.”
“When we arrived, there was this white Toyota truck parked here,” Meredeth answered, “the guy said he was hired to do some fencing work. So I went in to find Mr. York while dad and Nessie went to do their jobs.”
“Dad?” Officer Won asked.
“My daughters, Meredeth and Nessie,” Frank Rhoer explained, “we work here for Officer Wayne and Mr. York.”
Officer Won turned to me.
“Michael York has been a great benefactor to my wife and I,” I told him, “when the Smith’s property was auctioned off, the man who won the cattle gave them to me and Michael York offered to share the land for the small herd I had been given as well as his own.”
“I see,” Officer Won said slowly.
“Anyway,” Frank Rhoer continued his story, “we went about our work, Mr. York went to talk with the guy… who WAS human, by the way. After a little while, when Mr. York didn’t come in to check on our progress, we went looking for him and found him here… out cold… and who knows how bad.”
“And the fence was cut besides,” Meredeth added.
We then looked to the barbed wire fence. Like the one at the Ames’ ranch, it was cut by wire cutters in a straight line and pulled way back to allow any animals in the field to easily wander out.
“Did any cattle escape?” Officer Barnes asked.
“No,” Frank Rhoer answered, “we ultimately planned to hay this field today.”
By now the ambulance had arrived and the paramedics were getting some information on Michael York’s condition from Nessie. One was sent back for a hard board and the other began to double check Nessie’s earlier examination. Our part of the investigation was quickly put on pause for the moment.
“His back looks okay…” the first paramedic spoke, “but his life signs are weak.”
“Please say he’ll be okay,” I found myself blurting.
“I don’t know, Officer,” the first paramedic answered me, “the guy looks like he took a large blunt object to the side of the head… and at his apparent age, he’s lucky to still be alive.”
“What can we do to help?” Officer Won asked as the second paramedic arrived with a hard board and a few straps.
“Help us move him into the ambulance,” the first paramedic said slowly, “the quicker we can get him to Kalispell the better.”
“Does he have any next of kin?” the second paramedic asked.
“A daughter, but she and her husband do not live in Columbia Falls or even in the area anymore,” I told him.
“I’ll go with him,” Nessie offered as everyone began to ease Michael York’s body onto the board.
Much of the effort was to make sure his head and neck weren’t needlessly flopping about. Even if there was no damage to the spinal column at present, no one wanted to take the risk of allowing for damage to be done while transporting him. Getting Michael York into the ambulance took about ten minutes, mostly in the various security checks to make sure the elderly man wasn’t further hurt by moving him. Nessie then climbed in to give whatever medical history and payment information that would be needed.
“I’ll come by to pick you up,” Frank Rhoer called to Nessie.
Nessie nodded and did her best to stay out of the way of the two paramedics as they went about their work. They shut the rear door to the ambulance and it was soon on its way again, sirens blaring. With that done, we largely returned to the present investigation.
“Do you know who the guy who did this was?” Officer Won asked, “or have any idea why he did this?”
“Not really,” Frank Rhoer answered, while I moved to sniff at a spot in the grass that was outside the barbed wire fence, “we weren’t here for any of the conversation that Mr. York had with the guy.”
Officer Won gave a sigh, sounding defeated.
“I think I know who the guy is,” I answered.
Officers Won and Barnes turned toward me and the spot where I had been sniffing.
“What is it, Officer Wayne?” Officer Barnes asked.
“The attacker’s scent,” I answered, “he was standing right here.”
“Can you track him?” Officer Won asked.
“Probably back to where the truck that he drove was,” I commented, “which won’t work. The thing is that I recognize the scent…”
“You mean?” Officer Barnes began.
“This is Washerman’s work,” I answered, “the scent here is exactly the same as the human scent that was moving the Ames’ cattle out of their pasture. It was the same guy.”
“Which means that the motive was likely some crazy scheme involving the saving of the animals from becoming hamburgers, ultimately,” Officer Barnes grumbled.
“Have you ever seen the guy in the area before?” Officer Won asked Frank Rhoer, “or have any idea where he might go?”
“We’ve never seen the guy around here before,” Frank Rhoer answered, “never.”
“Could you guess where he went?” Officer Won repeated the second half of his question.
“The only thing he ever gave us was that he was where the animals were free from cruelty,” Meredeth answered, “that was about it.”
Officer Won and Officer Barnes gave almost defeated sighs.
“That’s about all we can get from here,” Officer Won then spoke after a few moments, “you’re free to return to your work… though we’d ask that this area be preserved as is.”
“Of course,” Frank Rhoer nodded and moved off with Meredeth following closely behind.
Officer Won then turned to me.
“You never said you had a personal stake in this,” he spoke firmly.
“We didn’t know who the victim was when we responded to the call until we got the address,” I answered, “and while Michael York has helped my wife and I… and that we’ve gotten along well with him… we don’t interact with him all that often. My wife and I aren’t ranchers and we gave Frank Rhoer and his family the job of taking care of the cattle because they would be better suited to doing the job.”
“Isn’t Frank Rhoer Molly’s blood uncle?” Officer Barnes asked.
“Yes,” I nodded, “but when we talk with him, it’s generally been on personal matters. Not related to the ranch.”
“All the same... Officer Wayne, you have a vested interest in this property and personal connections to the victim,” Officer Won answered, “now, given your reaction to seeing Mr. York as he was, I doubt you were involved in the attack… but your connections to this case are too personal.”
“Personal interest does not cloud my judgment,” I answered, a growling tone sneaking into my voice, “Officer Barnes and I are already trying to catch Washerman for what he did with the Ames’ cattle. We couldn’t know in advance that he was going to go after someone I knew personally.”
“You’re certain you won’t tear him apart when he’s caught?” Officer Won asked.
“My instincts do not control me,” I answered.
“This has nothing to do with a tiger’s instinct,” Officer Won replied, “this has to do with seeing a friend hurt and taking vengeance for it. A very human reaction. We have to remain professional in this job.”
“And I will,” I vowed.
“We’ll even give the lead in searching for Washerman to you and the County Sheriff’s Office,” Officer Barnes offered, “we can do the grunt work, and you will be in command…”
“Especially since this incident and the one with the Ames’ cattle are both in your jurisdictional area,” I added.
Officer Won then sighed heavily, “this breaks a ton of protocols… but alright. Just remember to control yourself. A cop who acts like a vigilante is just as much a vigilante as a civilian who does it, and vigilantism removes justice from the equation.”
Officer Barnes and I nodded.