Sagehen Mesa - Season 4, Episode 3 - Desperately Seeking Ronda - Deputy Rae Joins the Search.
Hello, this is Rae.
I just arrived this evening in Roaring Heights. The good people of Sagehen Mesa had a come-to-Jesus meeting with Sheriff Lang and told him in no uncertain terms that finding Ronda Culpepper should be made a priority if he ever hoped to be re-elected as Sheriff. He grudgingly sent me along to help. Samir filled me in on their efforts so far.
"Boy are we glad to see you, Rae. Trying to find Ronda is about a hard as trying to find the Loch Ness monster," Sam said.
"Oh surely it's not as difficult as locating the Loch Ness monster," I replied.
"Have you checked the fishing holes? You know the Culpepper girls are awful fond of fishing."
"Dara has inquired about the fishing holes and got slapped in the face by a homeless man for her efforts," Sam informed me.
I suspect she wasn't too diplomatic in her questioning. She might need some coaching on that, but I didn't feel it was my place. Experience is the best teacher, my dad always told me. I spoke with the local police about the incident, and they said the man fit the description on a homeless man known as Kirk the Red who is very hot-tempered and easily offended.
He lives in a small tent city near Prosperity Park, and they have a history of needing to pay him visits regarding minor assault complaints in the area. I thought the tent city would be good place to start. Even if Ronda wasn't there, they might have seen her.
I didn't find Ronda, but I found the fella we think she ran off to meet. I introduced myself, told him I was a private investigator hired by Ronda's parents to locate her and coax her to come back home.
Carmen wasn't very forthcoming, but I think there's a code among the homeless to not provide any information on each other to the authorities. In a group like that, telling me anything of importance would damage his 'street cred.' He was friendly, but rather closed-mouth about whether he has seen or talked to Ronda.
I told him Ronda was fond of fishing, but the ponds are probably too frozen for her to be there.
In fact, Jolene had staked out the local fishing hole and had no luck.
He suggested I try some of the local shops, especially those that might attract teens and young adults. (This guy has apparently been feeding a deer who found its way to the city as it approached the camp and seemed quite tame, going so far as to sniff his pockets for something to eat. A guy who cares for critters can't be all bad in my book.)
It was about then that an irritating old woman broke into the conversation, mocking me and hurling insults. 'We don't associate with your kind, copper! You head on home and leave us be!' she hollered.
Unlike Dara, I kept my cool and didn't resort to violence. However, she carried on and made it difficult for me to question any of the group, including this Carmen fella. I gave him my number, assured him I had Ronda's best interest in mind, and asked him to call me if he had any information regarding her whereabouts.
The following day, Dara ran into Carmen at a cafe on the beach. Ronda wasn't with him, of course.
She had a talk with him, but got nowhere.
This time she tried turning on the charm rather than using intimidation tactics. She said he didn't look like he was that impressed. She explained that she was concerned for Ronda's health and safety with this cold front plunging the whole city into a deep freeze.
"Look, I get it, he said. You're Ronda's sister and you're worried. . .
. . . but I don't know what you expect from me. She was nice to me when I was in Sagehen Mesa, and we became friends - that's all. I haven't seen her lately, so I can't tell you where she's staying. It's not with us at the camp is all I can tell you."
'You know what I think?' she fumed. 'I think you care more about the animals that roam around your camp than you do about Ronda. If something happens to her and you aren't telling us about it, any harm that comes to her will be on your head!'
'Don't deny it! You know it's true. You need to be HELPING us! Not making things more difficult.'
At least Dara stormed out before she got violent. I think her little talk with Carmen worked, because it wasn't long afterward that I received a call from him.
He said he couldn't talk to me when the others were around, but he did run into Ronda at the museum a couple weeks ago. She gave him some story about being on a school trip, which he didn't buy.
He expressed his concern about her being out in the bad weather at night, and she assured him she had a place to stay, and in fact, she had a plan of hiding out in the museum until it closed and taking advantage of the bed that was on display there. He didn't know is she was successful in her scheme or not. Other than that, she didn't share much information with him. Probably because she thought he might blab when people came to look for her.
'This is a great lead, Carmen. Thanks! Please call again if you see her or remember anything else that might be useful,' I told him.
Jolene questioned the employee at the snack bar in the museum, who confirmed that he sees her around once in awhile, but hasn't seen her in the past few days. We've had a few fruitless stakeouts . . .
but so far we haven't seen her. Then Dara got a call from her just yesterday, so we know she's okay.
Dara expressed concern that Ronda is missing her last semester of school when she is so close to graduation.
She pointed out that in a few short months, she would be an adult anyway, and would then be free to go wherever she wanted to. Her family loves and misses her.
Ronda said she was taking online classes, so she would be graduating on time. She said to tell her folks she loved them and would call them soon. But she refused to provide any information on where she was staying.
So, you're all caught up. How are things going in Sagehen Mesa? Do you think you'll get re-elected sheriff next time around after this case is solved?"
"Well, I'm torn. I love my job in law enforcement, but my recent demotion has got me thinking that maybe I need to start a new chapter in my life.
Clancy and I would like to start a family, and working in law enforcement, especially in a leadership role combined with raising a child might be a bit much for me. When I get home, starting my family will be my priority.
"You might be able to do both. Crimes in Sagehen Mesa are pretty few and far between, aren't they?"
"It's funny you should mention it. We just had a burglary. This poor woman had just moved to town. She's a caterer, and she built this cute little house right across from the Roland place.
On her first night in town, a burglar broke into her house and stole her pizza oven!
She woke up and called the police, but unfortunately, we were too late, and the poor woman lost her pizza oven.
The victim wasn't happy with the way the police handled the incident. She claims the officer on duty put the blame on her for not having a burglar alarm.
We are in dire need of some officer training courses on the proper way to interface with the public.
Being mocked is the last thing a citizen needs when they have just been burgled.
Well, I think I'll go brush my teeth and turn in. Thanks for catching me up on what has been happening."
As I was heading off to bed, I spotted Dara sitting and reading Where's Bella. I guess she was trying to get some new ideas for searching for people.
The next morning I brought up the subject and reminded her that not every idea in a book is foolproof or even accurate, and she needs to focus on the tried and true police investigative methods when searching for a missing person.
We set off for the police station to see if there were any new leads while Jolene did some research of online high schools that Ronda might be using. We're thinking we might get some warrants for them to release any information they have on Ronda - including an address.
Hopefully we'll get some new leads soon.
*** For behind the scenes details that went into this story, look me up on YouTube: Chillin' with Cheeseweasel. ***
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