“Either that or she’s got her own plan,” I whispered to Willy.
He nodded. “How many perpetrators?”
“Two.”
“Thea, give us the go.”
I could hear Win’s voice, rising in hysteria. She was speaking a foreign language and trying to do what? Make them think she was in another place at another time? Was her PTSD taking over? Win, please, please don’t do anything that will cost you! We’re here!
“Four, three, two, one—go!”
Win
I’d gotten to Don. Agitated, he told me to shut up. Stood and walked toward me. Leaning over me, menace painted every feature on his face. “I told you to shut your fucking mouth. Do it or I’ll do it for you.”
I pushed off with my good leg, head-butted the oaf and swung my interlaced hands into his neck with as much force as I could muster.
He toppled over.
Sarah
Willy pushed through the small door with me hot on his heels. “Hands up! Sheriff! Now, now, now,” Willy yelled. The cry was yelled by every officer.
One of the kidnappers toppled over. I’d heard no shots. Heart attack? Or had he just fainted? The other looked at us and threw his hands up.
“Kneel down. Hands at the back of your head,” Thea yelled from the loft.
He did so without hesitation. The other guy was still down.
While the others went to cuff our prisoners, I holstered my weapon and went to Win.
She wore a wide grin. “You like my performance?”
“You’re okay?”
Win nodded and held up her hands with a plastic tie on them. I cut it off. Win opened her arms to me.
I walked into them. “Damn, I was so scared.”
She hugged me close. “How’s Des? Did they—”
“We got her to the vet right away and she’s in surgery. Doc Huff’s taking care of her.”
“Can you let your people clean up? Can we go to Des?”
I nodded, unable to trust my voice. I took off the com set and asked Willy if he could take it from here. He nodded with a big smile. Happy that I’d relinquished control? “Good job, Willy. We have a wounded dog to tend.” I called Branch and asked him to bring his unit to the barn. “The crutches still in the back?”
“Yes, ma’am. Shall I bring them in?”
“Yes, if you will.”
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Sarah
Once Win got the crutches in place, she steamed along on her own power. In the backseat of the unit I took Win’s hand in mine. Now that she was safe, I could worry about Des. I wondered what would happen to Win if Des didn’t make it. Would it throw her back into the killing fields? I checked my phone for messages. Nothing from Doc Huff, but three from dispatch. I didn’t want to answer, but I thought I’d better. “Operation’s over and Win’s okay.”
“Thank the Lord,” Dory said. “I called ’cause we’ve had two calls from a man who says you should talk to him.”
“About what?”
“He wouldn’t say, Sarah. But he sounded creepy. After the first call, I asked Nathan to trace the call. Virginia. Now who’d be callin’ from Virginia?”
“If he calls again, patch him through, Dory.”
“You give Win a big hug for me, you hear?”
“Promise.”
I took Win’s hand again. “What was your performance about?”
“Masking any noise you might make getting in place,” she said, leaning her head back. “Or if they thought I was hallucinating, get my own op going. Take down Don. See if the other guy wouldn’t cooperate.”
“You got the big guy down?”
“Yeah. Bigger they are, harder they fall,” Win said. “He was the one in charge. Drove, gave orders. I think they planned to trade me for Leatherby and McNab.”
“Trade?” I told Win about the calls. “Maybe that’s what the caller from Virginia wanted to set up.”
“If he doesn’t know I’m free, we could set a trap. You need to get hold of Don’s phone, check if he’s received any calls from the number.”
We pulled into Doc Huff’s parking lot. I helped Win get out and followed her into the office. As she eased herself into a chair, her face looked drawn and tired. The receptionist told me Doc was still in surgery, but it shouldn’t be long. I sat down beside Win.
“She was conscious when we brought her in,” I said. “And Doc thought she hadn’t lost too much blood because the snow made it clot faster.”
Win took my hand. “I know you did everything you could. She wasn’t even close. Down at the other end of the trail, terrorizing small critters. I remember thinking I was glad she wasn’t there. I…”
I squeezed her hand. I didn’t know what to say. Des and I had a bond, but Win and Des? They’d merged soul-deep. All they did was look at one another and they’d know what was up. No words needed and certainly no commands. If Des didn’t make it, Win’s grief would be soul-deep.
Doc appeared at the door to the back of the clinic, still in his bloody scrubs. “Sorry to take so long,” he said, walking toward us.
“Is she—”
“Shh,” Win said.
“After a period of recuperation, she’ll be fine,” he said, sitting down next to Win. “Maybe not a hundred percent right away. The bullet missed any important organs, but tore up some muscle and connective tissue. She’ll be taking it slow for a while.”
Win shut her eyes tight, but tears still leaked through. I put her hand between mine.
“She had a lot of scarring from her previous surgery and I took the opportunity to clean some of that up. Took longer, but I think the long-term benefits outweighed the risk. She’s one strong dog.”
Win nodded, still unable to talk.
“Can we wait until she wakes up? I think she needs to see Win’s okay.”
Doc looked at Win, who still struggled to regain her composure. “Sure, no problem. I’ll call you as soon as she’s awake.”
As he walked away, Win broke down. I held her in my arms, told her everything was going to be all right.
With Des, yes. With the rest of McCrumb County? Who the hell knew?
* * *
We got home late and I could tell Win was exhausted. She flopped on the couch, leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
I lit the fire and sat beside her. “I can’t do this anymore.”
She looked up at me. “You want a divorce?”
“Divorce? No. What are you thinking?”
“You said…I just thought…Shit, Sarah. I’m so tired I don’t know what end’s up.”
“I know, I know.” I put my arm around her. “We’ve both had quite a day. Quite a day in a long line of quite-a-days. I’m going to resign.”
“Resign? From what?”
“Sheriff’s office.”
Win examined my face. “Not tonight, you’re not. Not tomorrow, either.”
“What? I thought you’d be happy.” Who was this woman?
She pulled me close. “Part of you is the sheriff’s department. I love you, even the sheriff part. I’ve worked hard to accept that part. You wouldn’t be the same woman without it. I think it’s vacation time. You need time away.”
“I have to be here to oversee all the charges, trial prep and then the trial.”
Win shook her head. “Tomorrow, which is your day off, you can get everything rolling. The trial isn’t going to be next week. As a matter of fact, I think you should transfer these last two guys to Bill. I’m surprised you haven’t heard from him yet.”
I was quiet for a minute and looked into the fire. “Bill can sweat them for intel in a way I never could.”
“There is that.”
“Win, I’m sworn to uphold the law. I can’t turn them over for a trip to Gitmo or wherever they take prisoners like this. They broke county and state laws. I caught them, therefore they stay in county jail.”
Win shrugged. “That’s fine. You still need to get away from the stress. We could go
to the Bahamas, Costa Rica, someplace with a nice beach and nothing to do but lie around. Make love all day.”
“On the beach?”
“We can go wherever you want to go. You just need time away.”
“What about Des?”
She grimaced. “Yeah. But promise me, no resignation until you’ve had time away. We’ll go down to West Baden for a couple of days. Doc isn’t going to release Des right away. Even if we just go for a day. Please Sarah.”
“You win this round.” I snuggled into her. “Des sure was glad to see you. I thought her tail was going to tear her stitches.”
Win was quiet and leaned her head against me. I watched the fire and thought about the day. If they’d wanted to terrorize me, they’d succeeded. I wanted to hunt down all the bastards and put them on a spit with a slow fire.
Win must’ve felt my muscles tightening. She leaned over and kissed me. “Let’s just go to bed.”
“Make wild and passionate love?”
“Uh, not until this damn cast is off.”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Win
The next day, I’d packed up all the burn phones I’d bought over the last couple of years. Made Sarah’s driver stop at a convenience store. When we got to the station, I asked Sarah if there was a quiet place I could work.
“Caleb’s office good enough?”
“Sure. Won’t he be in today?”
“He’s in court all morning, maybe this afternoon. The DA didn’t want to postpone his testimony.”
As soon as I settled in the chair, I began to unpack. The first thing I did was call Nathan on the land line. “Hey, Nathan. So what do we know today that we didn’t know yesterday?”
He laughed. “Morning, Win. Very glad to hear your voice.” His desk chair creaked. “The guy in Virginia used a burn phone. Got a call from this area code just about the time your kidnappers made it back to town. Seems like he had eyes on the sheriff’s building.”
“Shit. Sure wish we’d been able to reel him in.” I took a deep breath. “I want to know what the hell is going on. Is this a national conspiracy? Most of all, I want to know why they picked McCrumb County.”
“Good questions Win. Wish I had answers for you.” His chair squawked. “What do you need me to look for?”
“A high-profile target worth the risk. Is there any business or installation in the county that needs a full-force attack? For a prize worth it?”
“Shoot. Nothing I can think of right off the bat. But I’ll look. What kind of prize are we looking for?”
“No idea. I was thinking along the lines of material to make a dirty bomb. I couldn’t find anything. But some kind of WMD. Something that can’t be obtained easily anywhere else.” I sighed.
“I’ll think and I’ll look. Anything else?”
“Yeah. I’ve got four phones here I need a new identity for. Can you do it?”
“Easy. You have new cards for them?”
“Yeah.”
“Turn them on one at a time. Wait ’til I switch it, then load the card. I’ll turn it off. You’ll be in business.”
“Thanks, Nathan. I seem to thank you a lot. If I can ever return the favors, just holler.”
“Just be good to Sarah.”
We went through the process with each phone. I numbered them, then opened my laptop. While I was talking to Nathan, a thought had occurred to me. I typed in “chemical weapon storage.” The pages came up for Pueblo Colorado, Umatilla Oregon and Tooele Utah. Nothing in Indiana or even the surrounding states. I thought I remembered one in Indiana. And maybe one in Kentucky. Had they been closed?
A shadow fell on the desk. Micah. I smiled and motioned him in.
“You takin’ up the job of Chief Deputy?”
“No, never. Just borrowed the desk until Caleb gets out of court.”
“Mind if I set a while?”
“Please do. Let me ask you something. Wasn’t there a chemical depot in Indiana?”
“Sure was. Down at Ridley Forge. Made VX gas ’til—well, reckon I don’t know when. Tore down the facility what made the gas in aught-six or so. Army turned over the depot to locals in twenty-ten. Had this big plan to reuse the facility, but that kinda fizzled. It’s just settin’ there.”
“All the VX was destroyed?”
“Yep. Well that’s what they said.”
“But?”
Micah stretched out his long legs. “Don’t know nothin’ for sure. Just heard rumors, an’ you know what rumors are like in the county. I would venture to say your friend Bill might know more.”
“Did they build an incinerator there?”
“Yep. Folk was upset. Wanted the gas gone, but didn’t want it destroyed there either. Dilemma.”
“Have you been down there since the army moved out?”
“Reckon not. Wanna go?”
I nodded. “This afternoon?”
“Fine with me—if you an’ Sarah will accompany me to lunch at the establishment of your choice.”
“Can’t speak for Sarah, but I’d love to. You’ll have to charm her yourself.”
* * *
“So where did you and Dad go this afternoon?” Sarah asked as we ate dinner.
“Driving. He thought I should refamiliarize myself with the county.” I kept my gaze on my food. Took a quick bite of the sausage and tomato casserole.
“Truth, Win.”
I finished chewing. “I wanted to take a look at what used to be the Ridley Forge Chemical Depot, supposed to be shut down in 2010.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Dammit, Win. Talk to me.”
“Woman can’t even eat dinner in peace around here.” I started to take another bite, thought better of it. “It could be what the Rangers were practicing for.”
Sarah took a bite. Thinking, turning it over. “What did you see?”
“The railroad tracks were shiny on the spur into the facility.”
“What does that mean? You think they didn’t really shut it down?”
I shrugged. “It’s a spur line that only goes to the incinerator. The county had this big reuse plan. Nothing happened. Just a thought, Sarah. Something to keep on the back burner.”
“Oh, hell and damnation.” She threw her fork down. “You still don’t want me to resign from this insanity? Because how the hell am I supposed to think about VX gas without wanting to run away?”
I examined her face. Could see how overwhelmed she felt. Which is why I didn’t want to tell her about our trip. “No, I don’t want you to quit. We’ll face this together.”
“Win, you could’ve been killed when they kidnapped you. What if the girls had been here? To come all the way from Afghanistan to be safe—and then go through this kind of trauma with their new family here?” Her voice rose with every word.
“They weren’t here. I’m not saying you have to be sheriff forever. I’m just saying you shouldn’t resign right now. Give it some distance. Besides, Ridley Forge could be a figment of my imagination.”
She glared at me.
“Any chance we can get away before Des comes home?”
Sarah shook her head. “There’s so much paperwork to finish. Plus, figuring out the right charges that the DA can prosecute and all the different jurisdictions involved. But I promise I’ll take the weekend off.”
“Swell.”
Chapter Sixty
Sarah
The week slid by in a blizzard of conferences and paperwork. The high point was leaving work early on Friday to pick up Win for a trip to Doc Huff’s. Des limped out slowly, but she had regained the light in her eyes. Win insisted on lifting Des into the backseat, afraid that my cast would cause damage. What a crew we were, the Three Wounded Musketeers. I wondered if having Des home, as a reminder of the trauma, would cause Win to change her mind and want me to get out of a war where I didn’t even know whom I was fighting.
Des slowly made her way to the fireplace and then turned around as if to say, �
��Where’s the fire? Get cracking.”
I got a blanket she could settle on and then lit the fire. I was aware Win still stood at the entry, watching me tend Des. There was a definite conspiracy between them. After all, both my legs were functioning. “You want me to put you to bed too?”
Win grinned. “I’ll settle for the couch. How about we order something in tonight? I don’t feel like cooking.” She took off her jacket and thumped to the couch. When she had her leg on the pillow, she looked up at me. “Pizza? Calzones? Both?”
I ordered, fetched a couple of beers from the fridge and sat next to her and leaned my head back. What a fucking week. At least all of the felons were still behind bars. The judge thought they provided a serious enough threat to the community that he’d refused bail. Our two kidnappers were up for bail next. Caleb would be at the hearing, handling the evidence for the DA.
The Indy and Louisville media had covered both the arraignment and bail hearing and had buzzed around for a few days. Then they’d hared off after the latest sensational story. They made me appreciate the calm coverage Lloyd and Zoe offered, though Zoe wasn’t satisfied with my answers. “What groups are behind these guys?” became her mantra, though she changed the wording. “What was the purpose of the attack?” her other favorite question. I shrugged and said we just didn’t have enough information yet. I shouldn’t have said “yet.”
I looked over at Win. She was asleep. She hadn’t said another word about me resigning. I thought she’d support me no matter what I decided. Why the hell did she feel I should stay? She was the one who worried about my safety every day. If I was no longer sheriff, what the hell could I do? We needed the income with two kids coming. Our ISP district commander had talked to me about teaching at the state academy, but those were six-month-long periods outside of Indianapolis. Come home on the weekends while Win was away teaching in Bloomington? It sounded like Dad would be raising the girls. The basic fact was that if I resigned as sheriff, I didn’t want to join any other law enforcement agency. What the hell could I do to earn money?
What the hell did I want to do? Was it too late to change course?
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