by B. J Daniels
“Mr. Atwater said for you to leave whatever it is here at the gate.”
He shook his head. He’d been expecting as much. “If he doesn’t want it...” He started to shift the pickup into Reverse, but the guard stopped him, just as he knew he would.
“In that case, take this. I’ve marked the Atwood estate on the map.”
Estate, Culhane thought as the gate slid aside and he drove into one of the most exclusive clubs. He’d heard a person had to put up millions of dollars before they could be considered. Famous names were often thrown around as to who lived behind these walls. He could see mansions tucked back in the pines as he drove.
Atwater’s estate wasn’t as grand as some. But it was massive compared to a normal home. He drove up the heated driveway to the stone edifice, parked and climbed out. As he walked to an entrance wide enough to let a tank through, he wondered how long it had taken Atwater to call the sheriff—and how much time he had before the first cruiser got here.
As he went to push the intercom button, half of the double front door swung open, and he saw inside the house to a water feature he remembered too well. This was the house where he’d met Jana. The house where he’d attended the party almost seven years ago.
For a moment, he was too stunned to speak, but then all the pieces began to fall into place as the door was opened—not by Atwater but a boy of six or seven. It took Culhane a moment to get over his second shock of the night.
The boy looked up at him, his blue eyes and that shock of wheat-blond hair too familiar. Jana must have worked in this house as a nanny seven years ago. It was the oldest story of all. But how could Atwater’s wife not notice the resemblance? How had Jana not seen it?
With a start, he realized she had. She’d stolen the necklace from this house. Or was this one of the houses Jana cleaned here in Big Sky? Was this why she’d returned to Big Sky, to be near her son?
“Hello,” Culhane said to the boy, his voice rough with emotion.
The sandy-haired child glanced over his shoulder, but only for a moment, before turning wide, innocent blue eyes back on Culhane. In the background he could hear someone calling the name Joshua. “If you’re here to see my father—” But that was all he managed to get out before a large dark-haired man appeared behind him.
“Son,” Atwater said, placing a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Your mother’s calling you. She has a treat for you before bedtime.”
Without another look at Culhane, the boy turned and ran back inside.
“You have something for me?” Atwater said, his tone no longer cordial. Clearly this exchange was going to take place on the doorstep. He saw the man look past him. But no one was watching because there wasn’t another house around even if anyone could see through the falling snow.
“You told the guard you had something for me,” Atwater repeated.
“I do,” Culhane said. “A message for the sheriff.”
The man frowned. “I assumed you had brought something of value, or I wouldn’t have told the guard to let you in.”
“Oh, it’s valuable. Tell Garwood to release Alexis Brand, or I will take the necklace to the FBI and expose not just your insurance fraud but everything else that has to do with Jana Redfield. I suspect you fired her, and that’s why she took the necklace. Did she figure it out? Or had she always known where her son was?”
“I don’t know what you’re—”
“A simple DNA test would prove—”
“Don’t you dare threaten me or my family,” Atwater said from between clenched teeth as if trying hard to remain under control. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
“Oh, but I think I do. You and Garwood think you’re above the law. But you’re going down. I’ll see to it,” he told the man. “Just in case you try to have the guards stop me on my way out, I didn’t bring the necklace. It’s somewhere safe. If anything happens to Alexis or me, it goes straight to the FBI with everything Jana told me.”
With that, he turned and walked back to his pickup. To his surprise, he had no trouble getting out of the gate. He was back on the main highway headed toward Bozeman when he got the call from Garwood. He sounded scared even as he threatened him. Culhane had figured that Atwater would put even more pressure on the sheriff. The man sounded as if the stress was taking its toll.
“Let me talk to Alexis. Now,” Culhane said and waited with his heart in his throat.
“She’s not here. You can talk to her in the morning. Unless you do something stupid like you just did.” The line went dead.
It was going to be the longest night of his life.
* * *
GARWOOD MADE THE call as soon as he hung up from Culhane. Deputy Furu’s phone rang four times before he finally picked up. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was in the john, and I left my phone in the other room,” Furu said, sounding testy. “Are we making the exchange?”
“In the morning. Culhane wants to hear Alexis’s voice first to make sure she’s all right. She is all right, isn’t she?”
“She’s fine. Terry just checked on her. She’s sleeping. I don’t understand, though, why it is taking so long.”
Garwood thought about telling the deputy about Culhane’s visit to see Atwater and the subsequent furious phone call to him. But he didn’t want the deputy to think he wasn’t on top of this. He could hear something in Furu’s voice that worried him.
“This whole mess will be over soon. It’s Culhane’s word against mine.”
Furu didn’t say anything as if he didn’t believe him. Because he knew it wouldn’t be that simple to clean up this mess. Did he also know that Willy had no intention of letting either Culhane or Alexis live? They’d put him through too much already. He’d take care of them himself. Furu was too squeamish to do the job, and Willy couldn’t depend on Cline to do it right.
“You just get me the new people we need for the operation,” he said. “Try to find someone better than the last ones.” He was still upset over what Atwater had told him tonight. Jana had been working for a Big Sky housekeeping company so she would be able to see her son when she cleaned the Atwater house.
He said he hadn’t known about it until his wife recognized her and fired the housekeeping company, saying that Jana had broken something. Apparently it was after that that Jana had gotten into the house and taken the necklace.
Willy had been furious but had to hold his tongue. If Buzz had been able to keep it in his pants seven years ago, this would never have happened. Willy had come up with a plan to buy Jana off by throwing her together with Culhane—until Atwater decided he wanted the kid. He’d found out that his wife couldn’t have kids, and Jana was carrying a male baby.
Willy couldn’t believe everything he’d been through for Atwater. He’d brought all of this on himself. Not that Willy had a choice but to clean up the mess that had been made. Atwater had introduced him to the right people, invited him to the right parties. Willy wasn’t ready to give that up.
“I don’t think it should be business as usual for a while,” Furu said as if Garwood cared what he thought. “I would think you’d want to let things settle down for a while first.”
That’s why you aren’t in charge and I am. “It’s almost Christmas. This time of year there are a lot of people at Big Sky for the holidays. There are lots of parties, lots of drinking, lots of jewelry. I should have all the information soon.” Another reason he had to kiss Atwater’s rosy behind. The man provided what houses to hit, when and what to take. “We can’t pass this up.” Atwater would want his split. “Once the holidays are over, most of the really wealthy residents will be off to St. Barts or Monte Carlo or wherever they all go.”
He waited for Furu to argue the point and was glad when he didn’t. “What I need you to do is call Culhane in the morning. Just let her talk long enough that he knows she’s all rig
ht, then tell him to call me. That’s it. I’ll let you know about the exchange.”
“We are going to exchange her for the necklace, right?”
Garwood didn’t like what he was hearing. “You getting squeamish, Furu? I thought better of you.”
“Not squeamish. Just cautious. I think it’s bad business if Culhane or Alexis get killed, especially with the lawsuit against the department.”
“You don’t have to worry. Culhane is dropping his lawsuit, and both of them are going to keep their mouths shut because they will have no proof. It already looks like his case is just sour grapes over being fired. Once he drops it, all of this will go away.”
“I hope you’re right. I’ll make the call.” He disconnected, leaving the sheriff feeling anxious. Maybe it was time for Furu to have an accident. Garwood would miss him. But before he’d come to take the local-sheriff position, he’d realized that men under him often had an expiration date. Furu’s seemed to be up.
In a perfect world, Furu would take Cline with him. But that would have to wait for a while. He couldn’t have too many bodies turning up—and right before Christmas. Culhane’s and Alexis’s would be plenty. After all, they were both wanted for questioning and were considered armed and dangerous. Anything could happen.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ALEXIS WOKE TO the thin stream of light that bled through the basement window. She blinked and sat up to listen. No sound. The deputies must still be asleep. Which meant she had an opportunity. She considered the room for a moment. There were three doors. The one Cline had locked, one that was probably a closet and the third...a bathroom? A bathroom with a window that opened? If she was right and this was a basement, then under law it needed an egress window in case of fire.
She began to wriggle and felt the straps loosen from her efforts last night. A little more and she would be able to get an arm out. She felt stronger this morning, more clearheaded than she had last night. The sleep had done her good.
After freeing an arm, she quickly rubbed feeling back into it before she slipped down the straps that bound her and threw the dark blanket aside. She knew she had to move quickly. She heard a phone ringing in the other room. That meant something was likely to change.
She moved as quietly as possible toward the first of the two doors. She listened for a moment, then eased it open just enough that she could see inside. Closet.
Moving swiftly but as quietly as possible, she opened the second door. Bingo. It was a nice-sized bathroom with a window. She stepped inside, locking the door behind her. If they came into the room and saw her no longer on the mattress, the locked bathroom door might buy her a few minutes tops. But she’d take them.
She hurried to the window afraid she was going to find that it didn’t open. With a surge of relief, she saw the crank and quickly began to turn it. As the window opened, she saw that she would have to pull herself up and then fall out of the window onto a pile of dirt just outside.
But this part of the house backed up on forest. Once she was through the window, she could run into the trees. That was if she could run. The drop was more than she expected, considering that the window was in the basement.
She shoved out the screen, knowing that the noise she was making might bring them. But she had no choice. The screen came loose, she set it aside, then tried to pull herself up. Her arms still felt numb from being tied up for so long. But she managed on the third try.
Outside the bathroom door, she heard someone come into the room. There was a cry of alarm, then footfalls. Someone tried the closet door and then she heard the knob rattle behind her. Any moment, one of the men would knock down the door and be on her.
She thought of the baby growing inside her as she slithered up and out the window. In the distance, she could hear Christmas bells ringing and realized it was Sunday and the bells were coming from a nearby church.
* * *
THE SHERIFF HAD never been good at waiting. He paced his home office. Why hadn’t Culhane called? Willy had been so sure that the man was in love with Alexis Brand and would jump at a deal. Was Culhane playing him, or did he really not care?
Atwater had called again, anxious to get the necklace back. Like Willy wasn’t just as anxious?
When his phone rang, he felt such a sense of relief that his legs went weak, and he had to sit down. So much was riding on this. The crime-scene techs would be finishing their investigation of Jana Redfield Travis’s murder. He would have to move on what they found, and yet, the last thing he needed was some law officer to pick up Culhane before the necklace was in his hands.
“Hello?” He knew he sounded smug, but now he had Culhane exactly where he wanted him. Once Culhane heard Alexis’s frightened voice, he would bend, and this would be over. At least for Willy. Not so much for Culhane.
“We have a problem,” Deputy Furu said. “Alexis got away.”
Willy couldn’t believe he’d heard correctly. Was this a bad joke? “How is that possible?”
“We had her bound up, but she got loose and went out the bathroom window into the woods behind the house. Cline and I are out looking for her now. She can’t have gotten far. I’ll call when we have her.” He disconnected.
Gripping the phone so hard than his fingers ached, he wanted to explode. How could the fools have lost her? Everything was riding on this trade. Culhane was expecting a phone call from her. What would he do when he didn’t get it? Take the necklace to the FBI?
Willy slammed down his phone, kicked his desk and sent his trashcan cartwheeling across the room. Were they trying to ruin him? Did they not realize that they were going down with him?
His phone rang. He snatched it up, hoping it would be Furu and that they had Alexis. But of course it was Culhane. He declined the call, knowing he would have to take the next one. But first he had to figure out how to play this.
* * *
ALEXIS HAD NO idea where she was as she ran through the pines. She needed to get to a road, to people, to a phone to call for help. Had there been a creek, she would have followed it down, knowing that was what lost hikers were advised to do. But the house seemed to have been in the middle of nowhere. From the bells she’d heard there was a church nearby. But she had no idea where. She couldn’t double back to the road for fear of running into the deputies, so she kept going. Ahead she could see some rock outcroppings that rose up high enough that she might be able to see something from there.
She knew the deputies wouldn’t be far behind, and there were two of them. Her chances of actually getting away weren’t good. But she’d had to try. She was still dressed as she had been earlier in the mountains. But they’d taken her gun and her cell phone.
The ground was covered with dried pine needles beneath the trees. But no snow. That meant that they had to be in the western part of the valley away from the mountains. Breathing hard, her boots pounding the ground beneath her, she kept moving. All the while, she listened for the sound of traffic—and the men behind her. She heard nothing but her own ragged breath.
Furu and Cline would have a hard time tracking her in the needles, she told herself. She hoped they would split up to find her—and that might give her an edge.
At the high outcrop, she slowed and looked back. All she could see were dense conifers. But while she couldn’t see men, she knew they were back there. Hurriedly she climbed up the rocks. At the top, she tried to peer over the trees. She could see the tops of mountains in the distance but little else.
She heard someone coming fast. Ducking down into a spot in the rocks where she could hide, she found a softball-size boulder she could use as a weapon if one of them got close enough. Crouched, she waited.
* * *
CULHANE CALLED THE sheriff’s cell-phone number again, more than worried now. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Garwood had been anxious to make the deal, and now he wasn’t answering his phone?
; His heart thundered in his chest. Alexis. Something had happened to her. That’s why they hadn’t made the call to let him know that she was alive. He felt sick. He should have just made the deal. Maybe Garwood had been telling the truth about Alexis not having a lot of time.
If he could get his hands around Garwood’s thick throat right now—
“Hello.” The sheriff sounded chipper. Or at least wanted him to think he was.
“Is there a problem, Garwood?” He tried to keep both the anger and the fear out of his voice. “I thought you wanted this necklace. Maybe I should just turn it over to the FBI and let them deal with you.”
“If you were going to do that, you would have already,” the sheriff snapped back.
“What makes you think I haven’t?”
“Because that wouldn’t be healthy for your girlfriend,” Garwood said.
“If she were healthy, I would have already talked to her.” Silence. It hung between them too long. Culhane felt his stomach roil. The ache in his heart was unbearable.
“She’s fine,” the sheriff finally said. “We’re having trouble with cell-phone coverage where she is. But we’re moving her. Once we get coverage...”
He was lying, and yet Culhane wanted to believe it with all his heart. He heard something in the background. “Are you having an office Christmas party?”
“One of the dispatchers brought her baby in,” Garwood said. “If you’re asking if I’m taking this seriously, I am. Once you get the call from Alexis, let’s get this over with.”