Mrs. Eugenia Potter is the widowed owner of a cattle ranch in southern Arizona very near the Mexican border. While staying in Maine for a few weeks, she receives a call from Ricardo, the manager of her ranch, asking her to return immediately, but when she returns the next day, she learns that he and his granddaughter Linda are both missing, having left their home on horseback in the middle of the night. Added to this concern is that Mrs. Potter doesn't know why she was summoned back – Ricardo wouldn't tell her over the phone because of the party line in their small town.Based on some notes Ricardo left in her house, Mrs. Potter feels more and more sure that Ricardo and Linda were the victims of foul play rather than an accident. There are plenty of suspects: neighboring ranch owners as well as those who work on the various ranches.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Potter learns that Jed, her college sweetheart from forty years ago, is staying at a fancy dude ranch nearby while in the area on business. Jed's presence is a unexpected surprise in the midst of her worries, making Mrs. Potter wonder whether Jed wants to re-establish a relationship.
I had my pet suspects, but as usual, Pickard (and Rich) fooled me. The thorough details sometimes seem more than needed, but they set the stage quite well.
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