Free Blazer Drive by Sigmund Brouwer Page A

tape.
    â€œMost of the other ranchers didn’t sound like they believed me. But when I called here, Dan Belkie listened to my whole story. Then he said he might know something interesting that would help me. We set up a time to meet. I had a ton of errands to do in town, so I couldn’t wait for you. You must have gotten both of my notes, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”
    I bent forward and tried to lift my hands to my mouth. Maybe I could bite through the tape. It didn’t work. My head pressed against the dash, and my hands stopped just short of my teeth.
    â€œLet me guess,” I said as I sat back. “Belkie wanted to get you out here because he was worried you knew too much. You couldn’t know, of course, that he was the one behind all this.”
    â€œHe reeled me in like a fish,” she said. “When I got here, I made the mistake oftelling him you were the only person who knew where I had gone. So he and the other man moved the truck in here and tied me to the steering wheel. Then Belkie told me the rest.”
    â€œHot-air balloon,” I said. The gigantic leather harness that I’d seen in the barn now made sense. “They were rustling prize bulls using a hot-air balloon.”
    â€œHe told you?”
    â€œNope.” If it was the only thing I’d done right all day, I could at least feel good about figuring it out. “Remember you told me that one of the ranch workers heard a roar and saw a glow in the sky as if a UFO had landed?”
    â€œIn Montana,” she said.
    â€œRight, the roar must have been the burner they used to put hot air into the balloon. The glow came from the flame. And remember the steel rod I accidentally kicked at my ranch? They must have used it to tie a rope to the balloon so it wouldn’t float away while they were killing the cattle. I’m guessing they used a few steel rods. The one we found was too hard to pull out, so they left it behind.”
    Stephanie smiled. “I admit, I’m impressed. And here I thought you were just a handsome face.”
    I didn’t know if she was serious or not. So I kept speaking as if I hadn’t heard.
    â€œThey would lift out the prize bulls with the balloon, wouldn’t they?”
    â€œYou saw the harness. I think they’re getting ready to do some more rustling.”
    â€œIt’s a great idea,” I said. “No helicopter, no airplane, no trucks. Almost like swooping in on a broomstick.”
    Stephanie nodded and told me what she’d learned from Dan Belkie. Ernest would find work at the ranch with the prize bull. He’d wait until he knew a good time to steal the bull. Belkie and the big guy would drive as close as possible with the truck, making sure to find a place where the wind would cause them to drift toward the cattle. Ernest would signal them with a flashlight, guiding them to the exact spot.
    They used the balloon to carry in a bull about the same size and color as the prize bull. When they landed, they would tranquilize allthe cattle they planned to kill. Once the prize bull was tranquilized and harnessed, they would kill all the other cattle, chopping them up so it looked like a cult killing. Their main goal, though, was to chop up the bull they had brought in, so no one could tell they’d made a switch. That way, if it looked like the prize bull was dead, no one would ever go searching for it.
    â€œHang on,” I said, stopping her. “Big Boy is worth a lot of money. But only if he can be used for stud services. If a rancher doesn’t know he’s Big Boy, the rancher won’t pay expensive stud fees.”
    â€œThat’s what I said too. If you can’t advertise the bloodline, you can’t charge stud fees.”
    â€œAnd?” I asked.
    â€œBelkie had one of his own bulls sired by Locomotive. With Big Boy, Champion, and the two bulls from Montana and Alberta, he now has five of the bloodline. He wants