Free Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman

owner of the lodge, a
guy name Jack, announced that Milt had an emergency come up, and he had to
leave. When we were walking back to the ATVs after the morning duck hunt, I
happened to overhear the owner talking to one of his guides. He said Milt died
in his sleep last night, and the local mortuary was coming to pick up his body
this morning. He asked the guide to call the chef at the ranch house and make
sure the body was gone before he and the guides started taking the hunters back
to the lodge for breakfast.
    “The body must have been
gone because they loaded all of us in the ATVs a few minutes later. We just
returned from the afternoon quail hunt, and I came out to the edge of the
forest away from the lodge to call you. I didn’t want anyone to overhear me
talking to you. Here’s what I want you to do. Try to nose around a little and
see what the word is in Sacramento. Also see if there’s any rumor or word on
the street that Milt has died.
    “I have no idea if his
wife has been told. They’ve only been married a few months. If you don’t hear
anything about it, might want to tell a few key people that you heard from a
good source that Milt is dead. That should start the rumor mills going and
prime the pump for my press conference. Look, I’ve got to go. I don’t want
anyone to get suspicious about why I’m making a call out here and not in the
lodge. I’ll call you tomorrow to see what you’ve found out.”
    The man talking on the
phone was quiet for a moment and then said, “Yeah, I’m pretty stoked. Sure
seems like some good karma to me. Milt dying so I can become governor, just
like I’ve always wanted to. Later.”
    Liz had stepped off the
trail and was standing behind a tree, not wanting whoever it was who had been
talking to see her. She carefully peeked around the side of the tree and caught
a glimpse of a large silver-haired man with a barrel chest hurrying back
towards the lodge. She put her hand down and indicated to Sam that he was to
stay. She stood there for several minutes, giving the man plenty of time to get
back to the lodge.
    “Come on, Sam,” Liz said.
“I’ve got to get back to the lodge and talk to Roger. Sure seems strange to me
that the man I overheard talking on the phone who apparently wants to be
governor of California just happened to be here at the lodge at the same time
Milt was, and then Milt unexpectedly dies. I don’t know, but it all seems a
little too convenient.”

CHAPTER 17
     
    When Liz and Sam returned to the
lodge, she hurried up to her room, hoping Roger had returned. Sam left her and
looked for Jack, his inner clock telling him it was time for Jack to feed him
his dinner. When she opened the door to their suite she heard the shower
running and figured Roger was washing off the dust and grime from the quail
hunt. A few moments later he opened the bathroom door and walked out.
    “Hi, sweetheart,” he said
as he walked over and kissed her, “I still feel bad about leaving you to clean
up what Jack should have taken care of himself. I know he’s supposed to be some
big shot in the hunting world, but I think he really mishandled Milt’s
situation.”
    “Don’t worry about it,”
she said. I’ll tell you everything in a few minutes, and I do mean everything,
but I want to hear how your first day as a hunter went. Did you get any quail?
And I’m not sure if I’m using the right words.”
    “You are, and I did. I’ve
owned a shotgun ever since I was a young man. Over the years I’ve gone out to
the local trap and skeet range to practice. I’m actually a pretty good shot.
However, this is a whole different ball game. You’ve got to be ready when the
dog goes on point, because everything happens with lightning speed. It was
pretty amazing. I was nowhere near the best shot among the hunters, but I did
well enough that no one laughed, which I’d been worried about. Now, tell me
about your day,” he said sitting down in one of the chairs that looked out