Kate looked at Jerry. “Let’s fill him in before we go down to the ranch to greet poor Sam and swoon over her exploits.”
Jerry grinned. “I guess my smile says all I have to say about Sam.”
Tom said, “We’re giving her the benefit of the doubt. We’re also giving her enough rope to hang herself. I think young Lucy knows a lot more about what her mother is up to than she’s told us.”
*
Chapter 26
The ranch
Tom and Kate saw Jack and June tending to the horses in the corral as they rode up to the ranch. They waved and joined their friends. Tom, cut to the chase. “I have some serious concerns about Sam’s excursion. Where did she say she’d been?”
Jack frowned, “She said that she tried to walk north to the swimming hole, but must have missed it and went too far north. She found herself lost and slept under a pile of leaves to stay warm.”
Kate asked, “Was her story believable?”
Jack thought for a minute, but June said, “No! Anyone with half a brain knows north is uphill, and south is downhill around the ranch. She avoided looking us in the eyes while telling her BS story. That girl is up to something.”
“Keep this to yourselves. Only Jerry knows what I’m about to tell you. When I heard about Sam being missing, we sent the drone up. We saw her coming from a camp full of strangers. Just before getting to the ranch, she walked north so it would throw us off where she’d come from.”
“That’s not good.”
Kate took Lucy to the barn to have her show Lucy’s rabbit breeding program. The two dozen rabbits now numbered in the hundreds, but the tame rabbits were far behind the wild hares but catching up. It was apparent the cages were taking up too much space in the barn, and then Kate slapped her forehead.
“Lucy, we have too many rabbits for the barn. We need to move the breeding program to other places. Anyone who found the barn would know someone is living here. I can’t imagine how that escaped our operational security meetings.”
Lucy asked, “Where would we move them to?”
Kate played dumb. “We’re thinking about starting a new location so we can add some of your mom’s vigilante group. They could also raise rabbits for food.”
“That’s a great idea, and sorry, I never thought about hiding the rabbits.”
“Could you help your mom start-up a rabbit breeding program when we choose a place for them to settle?”
Lucy was so proud of being asked to help that she let something slip. “Mom has already chosen a place for them to settle. They moved there the other day. It’s not far from here. They’ll be moving to the new place … err.”
Kate showed her open hands. “Go on. I’m interested in the location of their new place.”
Lucy’s face was beet red, and she stuttered, “I, uh, err … better, uh … let Mom tell you.”
Kate thanked Lucy and left the barn to join Tom in Sam’s room.
***
Tom knocked on the door to Sam’s room and heard a muffled, “Come in, the door’s unlocked.”
Tom saw Sam lying in bed looking worn out. Sam smiled. “Tom, it’s good to see you.”
Tom didn’t want to waste time, so he confronted her. “Sam, what in hell made you think you could leave the ranch by yourself? You know the rules about telling the person in charge about leaving your assigned location and our buddy system for traveling.”
Tom could see the fire in her eyes. The color rose from her neck to the top of her face. Tom almost laughed because he thought she might burst into flames. “I’ve been on my own for a month and don’t need a babysitter! I …!”
Tom’s face more than matched Sam's crimson color, his teeth were clenched, and his fists closed. “I’m trying to be patient with you. You know the rules, and I expect you to obey them for your safety and the ranch’s security.”
Sam’s eyes watered. “I’m sorry. I was just tired of being cooped up and walked over to my friend’s camp to see how they’re doing.”
Tom’s head jerked upward, and his eyes flared. “You said they were staying just a short way east of Ashland. That would be an eight to ten-mile hike one way.”
Sam knew she’d trapped herself into telling the truth. “Don’t be mad at me. I gave them directions to a spot about five miles southwest of here before I left them, just in case I didn’t come back from my last operation. I knew you’d find them, and I hoped you’d take them into our group.”
Tom knew she’d lied, but didn’t know if she was still lying or not. He frowned and took her hand. “Sit up and act like a woman who can walk ten miles in a day and a half. I need some time to discuss this with the others. Until then, you will be confined to your room. I almost understand what you did before you came home, but I can’t guess why you didn’t trust us.”
Kate walked into the room and started to speak. Tom cut her short. “Babe, I’ll fill you in on what Sam just told me. She’s confined to her quarters until we meet with the others to discuss her situation.”
He took her hand and pulled Kate from the room. As soon as he shut the door, he whispered, “Don’t talk. She told me what she was doing.”
Kate scowled at her husband and wanted to rip into Sam, but backed down. “Sorry, but I learned that she moved her group to that camp in the past couple of days.”
“Huh? She told me she gave them directions and instructions to make the
