SMALL TOWN BIG CATCH 21

del and sharon had taken the check for the sale of the calves to the bank. del had plans for that money and the old frame house he lived in with sharon. then he was going to tackle the house at the ranch. he figgured sharon might need some privacy soon the way jerry was in the loop. the first morning the carpenters arrived at the house del showed them the plans he had layed out for the addition to the existing house. the carpenter forman raised a eye brow "why not just rebuild a whole new house? with these plans your not far from it." "lets just say ime attatched to the old house." del smilled. "as you wish , its your nickle."the foreman rolled the plans up and turned to his crew. sharon stood back behind del with a smile creaseing her face"thank you brother. its not every girl gets this kind of attention." del smilled and waved a hand," you earned it , enjoy it. ime going to the ranch see ya this afternoon." nafzigger had called tom, the head of the survey team. the team had dispersed and disapered but tom still hung around where he could be found. nafzigger had him bring the survey truck and pick him up early in the morning at the motel. nafzigger used the excuse of going to the ranch to double check the survey markers. tom was like a sled dog, he did what he was told and didnt question it. he had seen nafzigger in pinches before and he always wiggleed out. this wouldnt be no different.it was still dark when they left town headed out to the ranch. when they arrived tom drove to the spot he and his crew always parked in. it was secluded and hard to see unles you ride right up on it. nafzigger was through with tom, he didnt need him anymore. when tom parked the truck and got out nafzigger walked over to a pile of boulders as if to look down country. when tom walked up nafzigger turned and shot him point blank. a look of shock spread across toms face as he slide to the ground between two big boulders. " dumb hick. when i get del they will think you did it." nafzigger hadnt thought this through at all. he had gone to the other side , leaveing his reasoning behind. nafzigger was stacking big rocks over toms body when he heard the far away growel of a pick up enjine. looking between the boulders down toward the head quarters he saw del s truck roll to a stop in a cloud of dust in front of the barn. it was a good mile down the ridge to where del was parked. nafzigger watched as del unloaded his horse , mounted and set out comming toward him. " right into my lap" nafzigger whispered. as del ddrew close to the boulder pile he couldnt explain it but he felt uneasy. something wasnt right. he reined his horse away from the trail he followed and started around the end of the boulders. suddenly his horses knees buckled and the animal went down just as the sound of the shot echoed. del rolled to the side of the down anumal and was fishing his pistol from his chap pocket. he was cussing under his breath. he brushed the dust from the pistol and slowley looked over the saddle toward the rockes. the fork on his saddle exploded with a bullit hitting it. del ducked behind all was quiet for a moment and del looked again. he saw movement in the boulders, he fired a round through a crack in the rocks and heard a surprised yell. then a few seconds later the engine on a truck fired up and he could hear it roaring away down hill. del slowley got to his feet and walked over to the boulders. at first he found nothing, then he saw the half buried body in the crevas of the rocks. shakeing his head he returned to the dead horse. the animal had fallen in such a way there was no way to pull the saddle off. del took his chaps off and laid them on the dead horse. he took the pistol and stuck it in the waist band of his wranglers. he turned and started down hill toward his truck " well at least its down hill" he said out loud. in the distance the survey truck was raising a dust cloud. del pulled his head between his shoulders and started marching. walking wasnt his long suit.