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thought. “Yes, my name is Liz Langley. May I speak with Mr.
Gordon?”
    “May I tell him what this
is regarding?” Selene asked.
    “Yes. This is regarding
the death of Milt Huston. Mr. Gordon left the Big T Lodge an hour or so ago and
asked me to call him after I talked to the decedent’s widow.”
    “Just one moment. I'll see
if he’s available,” Selene said.
    A few moments later a male
voice said, “This is Stanley Gordon, Mrs. Langley. Were you able to contact
Mrs. Huston?”
    “I called her, but
evidently she’s taken her parents, who are visiting from Italy, on a
sightseeing trip. The message said she’d be out of town for a few days. I
didn’t leave a message, because I felt she wouldn’t want to hear news like that
on an answering machine. I do have a question for you. I have something I’d
like to send by FedEx or UPS. Does the town where you’re located have a
facility that provides a service like that?”
    “Yes, you can either go to
the post office on Main Street in Riley or go one street over to Elm Street,
and there’s a private mail box service there that has FedEx. A lot of the
ranchers in the area have post office boxes there, because it's simply easier
to have their mail sent there rather than to their remote ranches. They
generally send in one of the ranch hands several times a week to get their
mail. You can easily find it.”
    “Thanks. Jack said there
were several cars available for use by the guests, and he specifically told me
since I wasn’t hunting, I was more than welcome to use any of them. I think
I’ll drive into town later, take care of my business at the FedEx store, and
then explore the town a little bit. I probably need to pick up some souvenirs
from this trip.”
    “Don’t get too excited
hoping you’ll find things,” Stanley Gordon said. “I’d be willing to bet this is
one of the smallest towns you’ve ever been in. There’s a grocery store, our
mortuary, the post office, the private post office, The Riley Restaurant, and a
couple of stores that sell ranch items. Trust me, Dallas it ain’t.”
    “Thanks for your honesty,
but I think I’ll go the FedEx store anyway. When I finally get in touch with
Milt’s widow, I’ll let you know what she says.”
    “Good. I’ll look forward
to hearing from you. Tell your husband I hope he has a good hunt.”
    “I will,” Liz said as she
ended the call.
     

CHAPTER 11
     
    Liz heard the sounds of
the ATVs as they returned the guests to the lodge. She put the bottle of red
juice in her suitcase and said, “Come on Sam, let’s go greet Roger. I need to
get some breakfast.”
    They’d just
reached the bottom of the stairs when Roger walked through the front door. He
walked over and hugged her. “How bad was it?” he asked.
    “It’s been
taken care of. I’ll tell you all about it later on. I’m starving, and I imagine
you are too. How was the hunt?”
    “I’ll tell you
about it over breakfast. Let’s go into the dining room.” Once they were in the
dining room they sat down at one of the tables, and a waiter immediately
brought them coffee.
    “My name’s
Jesse,” he said. Liz looked up at him and thought how appropriate it was that
he was wearing jeans, a button down blue denim shirt and a red kerchief around
his neck. Jack had said all of the staff would be at the hunt, so she assumed
if he’d been there he must be a great quick change artist.
    There was no
doubt in Liz’s mind they were in the land of cowboys, and Jesse portrayed the
look well. He handed each of them a menu and asked if they’d like some fresh
squeezed orange juice. They both replied in the affirmative and moments later
two chilled glasses of fresh orange juice were placed on the table. “Are you
ready to order or would you like a few more minutes?” he asked.
    “I think we’re
ready,” Liz said. “I love salmon, and the salmon eggs benedict sounds
delicious, but I'm a little concerned about how fresh the salmon is given