Of Death, Drugs, Deceit & Dishonor

The car left Indio, California  headed south.  Driving well within the posted speed limit the man was deep in thought as he drove along the highway.  His destination was the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.    He exited Highway 86 onto State Highway 22, the highway leading toward the small town of Borrego Springs.   Some few  miles before reaching there he turned south once again.  He entered the Anza Borrego Desert and headed down a wide arroyo.  He drove for several miles until finally locating an area where he could leave the sandy bottom and gain access to a ridge.  The drive along that feature lasted for only a few hundred feet.

The desert was quiet.  With a half moon casting little light upon the chopped up landscape it was an eerie setting.   There had been no discernible movement other than his solitary car traversing the desert scene.  The man drove slowly up to where the headlights could no longer pick up the existence of solid ground in front of  him.   He stopped.   After the ignition was turned off and the lights extinguished he sat for more than an hour - sat and contemplated his next move.  He was not a brave man.   At this point of his journey he was frightened. 

Finally deciding that he could wait no longer he opened the door and stepped out of the vehicle.  Without closing the door securely he walked to the edge of the arroyo.  Turning once he could see that the dome light was still shining inside the car.   Shrugging his shoulders he took a deep breath and, for some unknown reason, closed his eyes just before he pulled the trigger on the gun he had pointed at his head.

The absolute quiet of the desert was shattered by the sound of that single shot.  It was near midnight and a gentle breeze wafted across the landscape.   A coyote, trotting along a ridge line, stopped with a forefoot paused in mid-stride.  His head swivelled  toward the direction from which the sound had come.   Seeing nothing resembling a threat he started off again on his ground covering trot as he continued his nightlong search for food.

Three persons were walking along the bottom of an adjacent arroyo when the sound of the shot reached them.   Each dropped to the ground and looked around fearfully.   When no other sounds were forthcoming and no one appeared to challenge their passage they rolled to a sitting position.

Strapped to each of their backs was a forty-pound bale of marijuana.   The leader scrambled to his feet and speaking quietly, in Spanish, ordered the other two to get to their feet.   Before walking out of the end of the small arroyo and entering the larger one, he paced ahead of them.

Situated on a low bank of the wide arroyo, fifty yards ahead could be seen a parked automobile.  The dome light showed clearly in the desert night.   Seeing the parked automobile brought an immediate stop to their movement.  Cautiously the leader headed his team around the site by following a small off-shoot which would take them around the location of the mysterious car.

There was no activity around the car and he decided to slip by its location.   The terrain forced their passage to come within fifteen feet of where it sat, mysterious, intriguing, yet not threatening.

At a point below the front of the car they stumbled upon the body of the man.  He lay face down with his arms and legs akimbo.  In the darkness of the small cut it was impossible to ascertain his condition.  However a quick examination of the man by the use of the flashlight carried by the leader revealed a head half gone, the man dead.

Telling his mules to stay where they were the leader climbed the bank and slowly, with only his head above the rim, looked around.   There was no activity - no other person visible.  He clambered up and cautiously approached the empty car which had stopped with its front wheels almost off the edge of the embankment.  The vehicle was empty.

After several minutes of careful observation of the entire countryside the man returned to the edge of the cut and told his men to come up.  Returning to the car, he saw that the keys were in the ignition.  The tag on the car was a Dealer’s License Plate.

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