by Jenna Night
He was in the office at North Star Ranch with Adam and Ramona. Jay had gone into town to pick up some pizzas for lunch just before Harry and Ramona returned from Jasmine’s condo. A couple of empty pizza boxes lay open on desktops. Cassie and the other two bounty hunters were out tracking a bail jumper who’d been spotted at the truck stop on the Idaho-Washington state line. Sherry and Jay were eating at the table in the dining room, surrounded by paperwork and a couple of electronic tablets as they worked on the monthly bills to be sent out to the people who boarded their animals at the ranch.
Adam’s dogs were also in the office, lying near their master’s feet, chewing on the treats Adam had just given them. Tinker, the younger and smaller dog, was especially excited and kept rolling on his back and kicking his back legs while he chewed. His hind paws smacked Duke in the face several times. More than ten times Tinker’s weight, Duke barely seemed to notice. He closed his eyes as if in exasperation when the little dog went into a kicking frenzy, but he didn’t get up and move away.
“I really want to help get Darrin locked up,” Caleb said over the phone. “My brother made some stupid decisions. He should never have tried drugs and he knows that now—but he wouldn’t have done it if he hadn’t been pressured into it. It just makes me so angry to know that Darrin and people like him make money exploiting other people’s vulnerabilities. And they bring added violence to an otherwise nice town and put innocent people in danger.” He sighed. “I’m emailing you a link that might help you.”
Harry watched his computer screen until he saw the notification and opened the email. “Got it,” he said. It was a list of addresses and hyperlinks.
“I researched property listings going back to the time frame when Darrin first contacted me,” Caleb said. “I looked for the elements he wanted. Then I looked to see which listings are no longer on the market. That’s the list I just sent you. I can’t find Darrin’s name connected to any of the properties, but like we were just discussing, he could easily hide his connection. It’s possible he actually did buy one of them.”
“I could go out to the properties and have a look,” Harry said. He was already clicking on the links and looking at the photos of lakeside houses with private piers and large storage buildings.
“I thought you might want to do that,” Caleb said. “I’ve got to get back to work. Call me if there’s anything else you need from me.” He disconnected.
Harry set his phone down on the desk and then leaned back with his arms crossed. His gaze was directed toward his computer screen but his thoughts were on the secluded locations of the properties on the list and he asked himself if this was yet another trap. He would not make the same mistake he’d made in Bridger. And that meant he couldn’t blindly accept Caleb’s help without questioning it.
What did he know about Caleb, really? How did Harry know if any of the man’s story was true? For all Harry knew, this guy could be a plant sent by Darrin. He could even be a drug addict himself, wanting to keep Darrin from being caught so his supply of drugs wouldn’t be interrupted.
There were so many angles to consider in this case. Harry couldn’t afford to rush and make mistakes. And yet, he didn’t have the luxury of leisurely mulling things over, either. He had to make decisions and he had to take action. Every minute that Darrin Linder walked free meant he could try again to kill Ramona. And Harry couldn’t let that happen.
“What was that call about?” Ramona asked. “It sounded like you were talking to Caleb.” She’d been sitting at Cassie’s desk but got up and came to stand behind Harry, looking over his shoulder at the images he was clicking through.
Harry filled her in on Caleb’s side of the conversation.
“We still have a few hours of daylight,” Ramona said, glancing toward a window. “We could go check out one or two of the addresses.”
“You two can’t go alone,” Adam said, getting to his feet and picking up the empty pizza boxes. “You need somebody watching your backs.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” Harry said. “Much as I’d like to get this wrapped up right now, we’d better wait until Cassie and the guys are available and can go with us.”
Adam nodded. “That would be my suggestion.” He headed out of the room. The dogs picked up their toys and followed him.
“Just to be on the safe side, we won’t look at the properties in the same order that they’re listed here,” Harry said, strategizing out loud. “We’ll check them out in a random pattern. That way it won’t be easy for someone to predict where we’ll be next and set up an ambush.”
“I think we should forward the information to Sergeant Bergman,” Ramona said.
“Agreed.” Harry forwarded the info along with a short explanation. “It’s not exactly a hot tip,” he said to Ramona. “I wouldn’t expect Bergman to jump right on it. We’ll probably end up checking it out before the police department does.”
Ramona sat back down at Cassie’s desk. She gestured toward a framed picture of Cassie with a uniformed cop. “I assume that’s Cassie and her late husband. Do you know what happened to him?”
Harry stood up and walked over behind Ramona and looked at the picture. He’d seen it countless times, but it still tugged at his heart. Cassie and her husband, standing in the front room of this ranch house, both laughing.
“He was an Idaho state trooper,” Harry said. “Whether that was related to his murder, no one knows. He had a Saturday off and he went fishing in one of the inlets on Lake Bell. He headed out early in the morning. Late that afternoon some hikers found him. He’d been shot. He’d apparently passed away several hours before they found him.”
Ramona turned to him with emotion-filled eyes. “I remember back when that happened, it was all over the news. But I didn’t make the connection until now. Did the police capture whoever killed him?”
“No.” Harry shook his head. “There never were any useful leads. It’s been four years since it happened and unfortunately, the case is stone-cold.”
Harry had known about the murder of Cassie’s husband. Nearly everybody in town did. But it had happened before they’d begun working together—back when they were nothing more than nodding acquaintances who recognized each other from their search-and-rescue volunteering.
Even though they were good friends now, he and Cassie still didn’t talk much about their personal losses. They just didn’t have that kind of relationship. But Cassie had pushed him when he needed it. Encouraged him to keep himself busy and she’d offered him meaningful work when he was floundering after losing Willa. He could only imagine her own experience with loss had taught her when to offer a helping hand.
“I don’t know how Cassie was able to keep going after experiencing something like that,” Ramona said. “I don’t know how you were able to recover after losing your wife.”
“You get through it the same way we’re going to capture Darrin Linder and lock him up,” Harry said. “One step at a time.”
She smiled gently at him and gave him an encouraging nod.
And, if you’re smart, he thought, you protect your heart so you don’t ever have to go through that kind of terrible loss ever again.
ELEVEN
The next day, Harry, Ramona, Leon and Martin set out to take a look at the properties Caleb had listed.
By the time they drove up to the sixth property, Ramona had gotten used to the routine Harry had set up. They’d traveled back and forth around the perimeter of Lake Bell and it was already late into the afternoon. As Harry promised last night, he’d made a point of visiting the properties in a random order. And they had not visited properties that were close together one after another. He seemed determined to avoid making their movements predictable.
Ramona was sitting beside Harry in his truck, trying to resist that sense of connection with him and the almost physical tugging sensation that made her want to believe they belonged to
gether.
Leon and Martin were in the big SUV. Cassie was working at the office in town.
Harry had made it clear when they first started out that not only did they want to stay hidden from Darrin and his thugs, but they wanted to stay out of sight of any neighbors or passersby, as well. If they were seen, there was the risk of the person telling Darrin that they’d seen someone prowling around his property.
They didn’t have the time to park far away and hike to the fairly remote properties they were checking on in full stealth mode as Martin had called it. Instead, they stationed their vehicles at a point closest to the properties where they could pull off the road and keep the truck and SUV camouflaged by the surrounding thick forest of trees.
Lake Bell was ringed by steep hills rising just a few miles away, and the late afternoon sunlight was casting deep shadows through the low-lying section of forest where they were parked not far from the water’s edge. They weren’t especially close to the cabin campgrounds where Darrin and his goons had chased Ramona only eight days ago, but the scenery was so similar that she found herself thinking about that terrifying night. A shiver passed through her and she hugged herself. She’d spent so much time around the lake as a kid and thought of it as a fun, happy place to be. But now, thanks to Darrin Linder, being here left her feeling edgy and nervous.
“If you want me to take you back to the ranch, I will,” Harry said, watching her closely.
It was amazing how often he seemed to know what she was feeling or what was on her mind. And looking into his honest blue eyes filled with concern, her skin warmed and her heart felt like it was starting to soften.
No. She commanded herself to stop. He isn’t ready to move on. He doesn’t want to risk loving again. And you can’t do anything to change that.
Denying that truth and trying to press on toward a relationship with him would only make them both miserable. And yet, sitting here so close to him, breathing in the slight sandalwood scent of his aftershave, looking at the expression of genuine concern on his rugged face, made it hard to resist trying.
“After this one, we’ve only got one more property to check on, right?” she said, putting a lot of effort into sounding normal when she was feeling anything but. “I can make it.” And after that, she should probably avoid being in close quarters with him. Her heart could only take so much.
She glanced out the window, watching Leon and Martin exit their vehicle, cross the road and disappear into the woods beside the house. Leon would be looking for fresh tire tracks or footprints near the entrances to the house and the big storage building. Martin would check out the private pier and boat house looking for watercraft, fuel containers or anything else that made it look like boats might be actively moving in and out of the dock.
Two of the properties they’d already checked on were occupied by what looked like typical families. In each case, Leon had taken pictures and short videos of the people he’d seen and texted them to Ramona for a quick look. She was the person who’d had the clearest views of Skinny Guy, whose real name still hadn’t been determined, and Eddie Jarvis, formerly known as Bald Guy. Ramona was the one most likely to recognize them. And maybe, if Darrin had other partners with him, they might look familiar to her. There was the possibility that they would be people she’d seen with him before, while he was still dating Jasmine.
“I’ve got something.” Leon’s deep voice came across Harry’s radio.
Ramona felt nerves tingle along the length of her spine. She wanted Darrin captured. But the thought that he might be nearby frightened her to her core. She didn’t want to see his face. And absolutely didn’t want to look into his eyes.
“What have you got?” Harry asked.
“The grass is packed down alongside the driveway near the front of the house,” Leon reported. “And there are tire ruts in the dirt, too. It looks like there were several vehicles parked out here not long ago. I’m going to look a little more.”
“Okay.”
“What if somebody is living here now and Leon startles them?” Ramona asked. “He is trespassing. Somebody might come out shooting.”
“We always run the risk that someone will shoot first and ask questions later,” Harry said. “Most of the time we’re hunting for dangerous people, so we’re used to that. And as far as trespassing goes, you’re right. But we aren’t looking in windows. And if anyone other than Darrin or one of his thugs asks Leon to leave, he absolutely will. Immediately. And he’ll offer an apology. We’re assertive because we have to be. But it’s never our intention to frighten or be rude to an innocent party.”
Ramona nodded, thinking about how the world around her was not nearly as safe or fair or controllable as she would like it to be. She’d been reminded of that a lot lately.
“Martin, are you seeing this?” Leon’s voice came over the radio.
“The boat?” Martin asked, speaking into his radio barely above a whisper. “Yeah. I’m trying to see if there’s someone inside.”
“What’s going on?” Harry asked.
“I walked around the storage building and saw a boat tied at the pier,” Leon said. “If I move in a little closer, I might have a better view inside the wheelhouse than Martin.”
“Stay cool,” Harry said into the radio. “And be careful.” He turned to Ramona. “We need to head over to the property. Just in case there’s trouble.”
He opened his door and got out. She swallowed nervously and followed suit. Part of her wanted to turn around and flee, but she reminded herself that Harry had given her every opportunity to remain back at the ranch. She’d come along because she honestly thought she could help them identify the bad guys. The potential for danger on this excursion had been made abundantly clear to her. Never more so than when she’d been handed bulletproof body armor.
Harry checked his sidearm and his taser, and then hung a set of binoculars around his neck. Ramona took a deep breath and silently prayed, Dear Lord, please protect all of us.
“Do you have your phone with you?” Harry asked as they started walking toward the property.
Ramona patted the thigh pocket on the khaki cargo pants Cassie had loaned her. “Yep, it’s right here.”
“Good. Now, stay behind me.”
“Okay,” she said.
They crossed the road and headed toward the side of the house closest to the storage building, paralleling the driveway as they threaded their way through the thick trees. Ramona saw the roof of the storage building first, off to her right. Then, to her left, she saw a low, rambling ranch-style house. Between them, she could see an expanse of the lake.
She heard five rapid gunshots from the side of the house that faced the lake.
And then an engine started up.
“Martin. Leon. Check in,” Harry commanded into his radio. He reached behind him for Ramona’s hand, grabbed it, and started running toward the house. They crouched down alongside a wall for cover.
It seemed to Ramona like it took forever for anyone to respond to Harry’s call.
“They spotted us.” Martin’s voice finally came through the radio. “At least two men. They’re in the boat. I’m with Leon. As soon as we started to move toward the boat, they started shooting. They’ve got us pinned down.”
“Is Darrin Linder one of the men?” Harry asked.
“We can’t tell,” Martin answered.
Harry crept closer to the corner of the house and Ramona stayed right behind him, peering over his shoulder until they finally reached a point where she could see the boat, about a hundred feet away. In the fading light, she could just make out someone crouching down low on the bow and casting off the tie lines. The boat started to move away from its mooring.
“Hold your positions,” Harry said. “And keep your heads down.”
He lifted the binoculars off of his neck and handed them to Ramona. “See if you reco
gnize anyone on the boat.”
She wasn’t used to using binoculars and the boat was bobbing up and down as it moved away from the pier. The fading sunlight wasn’t helping, either, but finally her eyes landed on a sickeningly familiar face with unforgettable tattoos inked onto a thick neck. “Eddie Jarvis,” she said. He was piloting the boat.
And then she saw the gun pointed in her direction. Heart thundering in her chest, she managed to grab Harry’s arm and yank him out of the way before bullets tore off the corner of the house. Shaking at the near miss, Ramona found herself unable to loosen her grip on Harry.
“Leon, call 9-1-1,” Harry said into the radio. “Report shots fired, and positive identification of a suspect wanted for the violent attacks on Ramona.”
“I saw Skinny Guy, too,” Ramona said. Her throat was so constricted by fear that she found it hard to force the words out. “That’s who shot at us.”
“Make that two suspects,” Harry said into the radio.
“Got it,” Leon said.
“Is one of the suspects Darrin Linder?” Martin asked.
“No,” Harry said into the radio.
“I’m on the phone with 9-1-1,” Leon said. “PD is coming by land. The sheriff’s department is dispatching their patrol boat.”
“Good. Now come meet up with us.” Harry described their location, and a couple of minutes later Leon and Martin walked up to them.
Meanwhile, the boat had cleared the pier and was heading out toward the open lake at full throttle. With the sun just about to disappear behind the western peaks of the surrounding hills, much of the shoreline was already hidden in darkness. Lake Bell was big. Depending on where the sheriff’s patrol boat was when they received the dispatch, it could take them a while to get here. The bad guys could be long gone.
“They’re getting away,” Ramona said sadly.
Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “They’ll only get away if we stop looking. And we won’t stop looking for them. That’s a promise.”