Fool's Deadly Gold, page 28
“You have it all wrong,” she said, as sparks of anger seemed to shoot from her eyes. “I found that area first and could tell it was promising. I didn’t know that Tansey was filing a claim until I tried to file one, and I was told I was too late.”
“But like I said, you thought that his grief over his wife’s accident would be enough to cause Dade to give up on it, and so you moved in, so to speak,” Roger said.
“I thought about that. And I even thought about trying to form a partnership with Tansey, but then my cousin, whom I truly despise, looked me up and told me that he was going to own that claim and that I was to stay off of it. He killed Bridgette. And what a fool he was. He thought it would look like an accident. You say you think I killed her? You don’t know me well. I’m a lot smarter than Cutler. I would have known that the cut rope would be discovered.”
The interview went on for several more minutes, and by the time it concluded, Roger was convinced that the late Cutler Pike did indeed kill Bridgette. Gus Colburn had been right all along.
Later that evening, tired from the events but relieved that answers were coming, Roger informed Dade of his conclusion.
“At least now I know for sure,” Dade said wearily. “It won’t bring Bridgette back, but I can find some comfort and closure knowing that Pike paid with his life.” He dropped his head in his hands, and for a couple of minutes, he simply could not stop the tears from flowing. Roger waited patiently. Finally, Dade looked up, wiped his eyes, and said, “Maybe that wasn’t why Sylvia killed him, but he’s dead, and that’s where justice would have eventually led.”
***
Together, Lauralyn and Dade hiked to the mine on a cool, clear day late in September. Dade had made a decision regarding his claim; he intended to forfeit it. But he didn’t want anyone else to die because of that mine. He was convinced that there was very little, if any, gold still to be found.
He carried some explosives in his pack that day. He did not intend to use those explosives to try to expose some hidden vein, which he didn’t even believe existed. No, he had another purpose, and Lauralyn agreed with him on his plan.
By the time he had carried it out, that old Spanish mine was hidden. Oh, he knew that someone, if persistent enough, could eventually gain entrance by tunneling in from another direction or even attempting to dig through the rubble he’d just created. But he had set off enough explosives to make that very unlikely. For all he knew, he might have caused further damage inside by blowing up the opening. In fact, it was very likely the mine caved in at a few of the weaker points.
As he and Lauralyn began the hike out that afternoon, he was more at peace than he had been since the death of Bridgette. He would spend time in the mountains in the future, but at this point, he didn’t think he’d be poking around looking for gold. He’d found a lost mine, and lives had been lost because of it, including that of his beloved wife. The gold still left untouched in these beautiful Uintah Mountains was better left for fools to search out. In his experience, the elusive gold was deadly to those whose greed made finding it their main goal in life.
Epilogue
One year later
Dade, Darlene, and Lauralyn had a fun day planned. The two women had finally convinced Dade that mountain climbing wasn’t nearly as dangerous as searching for gold. So on this sunny morning, they approached a moderate rock face. Dade, whom they had both instructed and cautioned on the art of rock climbing, reached the summit unscathed. He stood looking out over a beautiful view, but not a spectacular one, as Lauralyn said. Spectacular would come later when he climbed more challenging and much higher places.
“That was great,” he said. “Next time let’s do a really challenging one. I want to be rewarded with a spectacular view.”
“Is the gold fever gone?” Lauralyn asked, putting her hand to his forehead. Then she chuckled. “You feel a little warm, Dade.”
“It’s not gold fever. It’s rock climbing fever,” he said. “You ladies have me hooked.”
About the Author
Clair M. Poulson was born and raised in Duchesne, Utah. His father was a rancher and farmer, his mother, a librarian. Clair has always been an avid reader, having found his love for books as a very young boy.
He has served for more than forty years in the criminal justice system. He spent twenty years in law enforcement, ending his police career with eight years as the Duchesne County Sheriff. For the past twenty-plus years, Clair has worked as a justice court judge for Duchesne County. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army, where he was a military policeman. In law enforcement, he has been personally involved in the investigation of murders and other violent crimes. Clair has also served on various boards and councils during his professional career, including the Justice Court Board of Judges, the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, the Utah Judicial Council, the Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, an FBI advisory board, and others.
In addition to his criminal justice work, Clair has farmed and ranched all his life. He has raised many kinds of animals, but his greatest interests are horses and cattle. He’s also involved in the grocery store business with his oldest son and other family members.
Clair has served in many capacities in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including full-time missionary (California Mission), bishop, counselor to two bishops, Young Men president, high councilor, stake mission president, Scoutmaster, high priest group leader, and Gospel Doctrine teacher. He currently serves as a ward missionary.
Clair is married to Ruth, and they have five children, all of whom are married: Alan (Vicena) Poulson, Kelly Ann (Wade) Hatch, Amanda (Ben) Semadeni, Wade (Brooke) Poulson, and Mary (Tyler) Hicken.
They also have twenty-five wonderful grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
Clair and Ruth met while both were students at Snow College and were married in the Manti Utah Temple.
Clair has always loved telling his children, and later his grandchildren, made-up stories. His vast experience in life and his love of literature have contributed to both his telling stories to his children and his writing of adventure and suspense novels.
Clair has published more than thirty novels. He would love to hear from his fans, who can contact him by going to his website, clairmpoulson.com.
Other Books by Clair M. Poulson
I’ll Find You
Relentless
Lost and Found
Conflict of Interest
Runaway
Cover Up
Mirror Image
Blind Side
Evidence
Don’t Cry Wolf
Dead Wrong
Deadline
Vengeance
Hunted
Switchback
Accidental Private Eye
Framed
Checking Out
In Plain Sight
Falling
Murder at TopHouse
Portrait of Lies
Silent Sting
Outlawyered
Deadly Inheritance
The Search
Suspect
Short Investigations
Watch Your Back
Clair M. Poulson, Fool's Deadly Gold
