Cold Heart

by Sheila Dryden

  He went out to the horses and did the morning routine with them. By the time he was finished with that it was nearly eight.

  The cell phone was vibrating as he walked back in the house. It was the Sherriff. Carter’s stomach heaved as he pulled it from his pocket and answered.

  “Have you found her?” Carter asked.

  “Not yet, Carter,” the Sherriff said. “I need you to come down to the station. I want you to look at some surveillance video.”

  “Of what?”Carter asked.

  “Of someone driving what appears to be Lexi’s vehicle and buying gasoline,” he said.

  “Where?” Carter asked.

  “Her credit card was used at a gas station in Sacramento last night and then in Reno later in the wee hours,” the Sherriff said.

  “It’s not her,” Carter said.

  “Don’t get excited,” the Sherriff said. “I want you to have a look at the woman that was picked up on the camera.”

  “I can tell you. It’s not her,” Carter repeated.

  “I’ve seen the footage from the station and I’m pretty sure it’s not her, either. It’s someone that if you weren’t looking closely might be mistaken for her but it’s not her. It is her SUV though or one with her plates that is exactly the same. They are hoping that if we check we will buy into it.”

  “Damn, I just wish I hadn’t left her yesterday,” Carter said.

  “You would have sooner or later and they were just waiting for that moment.” the Sherriff said.

  “Are you coming down now, Carter?” the Sherriff said. “I just want to be sure and you know her better than me.”

  He was at the station in about ten minutes. The Sherriff came out of his office to greet Carter.

  “Thanks for coming in Carter,” he said.

  “Bring up that video from Sacramento, Dave,” the Sherriff said to one of the officers sitting at a computer.

  He played the tape and Carter watched a woman come through the door of the gas station and go to the counter to pay. She used a card but didn’t look directly at the camera. She had blonde hair about the same length as Lexi but she was wearing a scarf. She was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and she had a handbag slung over her shoulder. Carter asked the officer to play it a second time.

  “It’s not her,” he said.

  “You’re sure,” the Sherriff said.

  “Yes,” he said. “Positive.

  “Do you recognize anything she’s wearing?” the Sherriff asked.

  “Yes, the bag looks like Lexi’s and so does the sweatshirt,” Carter said. “But they have all her clothes.”

  “I know, just asking is all,” Sherriff Montgomery said.

  “Do you think there is someone involved besides Mitch that might be watching her somewhere? I don’t understand why neither of them has left the property. Are you sure there isn’t somewhere on the winery property that they might be keeping her?” Carter asked.

  “Well given that this girl is not Lexi and is clearly involved, I think it’s possible there are more people involved,” the Sherriff said. “I’m going to have the State Police include this girl in our APB. If they can pick her up she might be able to tell us something about Lexi’s whereabouts.

  “Dave, just for the heck of it, can you pull up the winery property on Google maps?” the Sherriff asked.

  They looked at the satellite imagery of the property. They could see the winery, the house and the roads. There were no other buildings that would be suitable to hide someone in.

  “This dirt road goes very close to the highway that runs along the property at the back. What if there is a gate there and they are going out that way? Carter asked. “It’s hard to tell but there might be tire ruts there.”

  “I’ll get someone to check it out,” he said. “Now I suggest you go home and I’ll call you the minute we know anything.”

  Carter had no intention of waiting around doing nothing. He got in his truck and drove over to Lexi’s. He looked around again in the house and outside and then drove to the end of her driveway and turned left and drove to the Winery property, this time continuing past the entry there. He could see the rental car with the officer in it. Carter kept going he turned left again at the next road and then left again at the next one. He should be on the road he and the Sherriff had seen on Google maps.

  He couldn’t see any place on the winery property where a vehicle could come out to the main road. He retraced his route feeling absolutely useless. He was totally stumped now. The only hope seemed to be if the deputies that were searching found something that would help. He called the station to see if there was anything new. The Sherriff had gone home to change the dispatcher said. He had to give him credit he was taking this seriously and trying to follow every possible lead. Carter didn’t know what to do. He felt pretty helpless.

  28

  It was a long night and a long day and by the time Mitch showed up again with some water and food, Lexi was at her wits end. How long were they going to keep her locked up here in the dungeon? Her bladder was bursting and she was sure that Tucker’s was too.

  The light blinded her when Mitch opened the door.

  “I know,” he said. “You have to pee.”

  “You could at least leave me something to pee in if you aren’t going to show up more than once every twenty-four hours you asshole,” Lexi said.

  He put the take out bag on the table and untied her and the dog from the pipe.

  “Get up,” he said and grabbed her arm and pushed her ahead of him. She stumbled along her legs stiff from being in one position for so long.

  They walked across the room to the stairway and then up to the disgusting bathroom. Lexi used it as quickly as she could because she was sure poor Tucker was desperate to go too. They went out the door to the outside and Lexi walked him along until he relieved himself all the while knowing that Mitch was holding a gun on her.

  When Mitch turned to push Lexi back through the door she made her move. Lexi let go of the leash and yelled at the dog.

  “Go Tucker, find Carter. Run,” the dog took off headed for the road and as soon as Mitch realized what had happened he turned and fired the gun at the dog. Tucker yelped but kept running.

  “Fuck! You stupid bitch,” he said and punched Lexi in the face, leaving her stunned.

  He grabbed her and yanked her by the arm and dragged her across the floor and down the stairs then he threw her in the room, didn’t bother to tie her up but just locked the door. He ran back up the stairs and across the building flung the door open then got in his truck and roared out of there. The dog was nowhere in sight when he hit the road.

  “Shit shit shit,” he cursed. “I can’t wait to kill that stupid bitch.”

  Mitch stopped at the intersection of the driveway to the warehouse and the road. He got out and looked around. Sure enough he saw some blood and there was a trail headed to the left and damn if the dog wasn’t going the right direction. He’d better not take any chances.

  “That fucking dog might actually find its way home,” he said. It had a head start but it shouldn’t take him long to over take him, if it followed the road.

  * * *

  Gladys and her husband, Remy were driving along the road on their way to their daughters. They were going to babysit their grandchildren so that their daughter and son-in-law could go to the movies.

  “Remy,” Gladys said. “Look at that dog running along the road, its limping. It looks scared or lost.”

  Remy slowed the vehicle and then pulled over. Gladys got out and called to the dog.

  “Here boy, you okay,” she said.

  The dog was slowing a bit, limping more.

  “Here fella,” she said again. The dog slowed and limped towards her. He was panting and Gladys could see blood dripping on the ground.

  “Remy,” she yelled this dog is hurt, it’s bleeding.

  Remy got out of the car and came over to Gladys and the dog to take a look. The dog was lying on the
ground now and looked to be in bad shape.

  “Let’s get him in the car,” Remy said after taking a closer look.

  He went to the back of the vehicle and opened the hatch and then the two of them lifted the now barely conscious dog into the vehicle. Remy closed the hatch and they both got in. A truck went by and slowed. They turned the vehicle around and started back to town. Gladys called her daughter to say that they had been delayed and would be a little late getting there.

  * * *

  Mitch was following slowly not wanting to miss the dog if it collapsed in the ditch. Then he saw a vehicle stopped up ahead. A man and woman were getting back in their vehicle. Had they stopped to look at something? Was it the dog? They had been heading his way and now the driver was turning around and heading back to town. He was pretty sure the couple had picked up the dog. He kept driving and jumped out near the spot where he had seen them. Sure enough there was a lot of blood and the ground and then nothing, the trail stopped.

  Now he was sure they had picked up the dog. Should he follow them? He could say it was his dog. The dog would probably die. He’d clearly lost a lot of blood. Mitch decided to continue back to the warehouse. He’d left Lexi untied and he didn’t want to take any chances. This time he left his truck outside and just used the side door. He went downstairs and unlocked the door to the room where Lexi was.

  “Your dog is dead,” he announced, “You stupid bitch! I ought to kill you right now for causing me so much trouble.”

  Lexi started to cry. He went over and tied her to the pipe again. Then he remembered the food and grabbed it off the table and handed it to her. Mitch flipped off the lights leaving her in the dark again. He locked the door and headed out of the building and back to the Thomas property where he repeated the process with the ATV.

  * * *

  Lexi was devastated. She had killed her dog. Guilt and despair were her only company now in this pitch dark place. She didn’t know how much more she could take. Her jaw ached badly where Mitch had slugged her but it wasn’t nearly as painful as the unbearable heartache of thinking she had sent Tucker to his death. She had been so stupid to think that he could out run Mitch’s bullets. Of course, he would have been dead anyway if he’d stayed here, but still what if Carter figured things out and found her. If she lived, she would never forgive herself.

  She had to figure out a way to get herself free. She forced herself to eat the food he had brought and to drink the soda, though it was going to make her have to pee again and if it took as long for him to come back the next time, as it had this time, she would just pee in the damn cup. She started to chew on the zap strap.

  * * *

  Gladys and Remy called their daughter and asked her to look up the address of a vet. They reached the clinic of Dr. Mitchell just as he was locking the door for the night. He shouted to his assistant who was just getting into her car and then unlocked the office and helped Remy carry the now unconscious dog into the surgery. He and his assistant went to work. He asked Remy and Gladys to find something to write on and to leave their number at the front desk.

  29

  Dr. Mitchell was encouraged. The dog was looking pretty good this morning. He and his assistant Marcy had stabilized and then operated on the dog. He had a bullet in his shoulder and it had been a little trickier surgery than he was used to performing. The dog had obviously lost a lot of blood and he would have liked to give him a transfusion but he didn’t have any donor dogs on file at the moment. He sent his assistant home shortly after they finished the surgery and he slept on the cot they kept in the clinic, so that he could keep an eye on the dog all night.

  “Good morning, I bet you are tired,” Marcy said when she arrived.

  “I did get some sleep,” he said, “But I’ll be wanting a nap later I think. Thanks again for staying.”

  “Are you going to report it to the Sherriff?” she asked.

  “Well I don’t know. It was probably some farmer whose hen house had been raided one too many times. Although in that case, I would have expected it to have been a rifle or a shotgun and this was definitely from a handgun. So yes, I guess I should give him a call,” Dr. Mitchell said.

  He went into his office to make the call.

  The Sherriff himself came on the line when Dr. Mitchell reached the station.

  “Doc, how are you? What can I do for you today?” the Sherriff asked.

  “Well a couple brought in a dog they picked up on the road last night. It had lost a lot of blood and turns out it had been shot,” the Vet said.

  “Really,” the Sherriff said. “By any chance is this dog a chocolate Labrador retriever?”

  “Why yes it is, Sherriff,” he said.

  “Any idea where this happened?” the Sherriff asked.

  “I don’t know, but I do have the phone number for the couple and obviously they can tell you where they picked up the dog,” he said.

  “I’ll be right over,” the Sherriff said.

  “Get me Carter Monroe right now,” the Sherriff said to the dispatcher.

  She dialed the cell phone they had on file for him and gave the Sherriff a nod and he picked up his phone.

  “Carter,” he said.

  “Yes, Sherriff, you have news?” Carter asked.

  “Not the news you are hoping for but maybe our first real lead,” he said.

  “Meet me over at Doc Mitchell’s Veterinary Clinic at the north end of town. He’s got a Chocolate Lab in there, been shot. Think it might be Lexi’s dog.”

  “Geez,” Carter said. “I’ll be right there.”

  Carter had been driving around aimlessly for hours. It felt like he had looked at every empty building in town, in between trips back to the farm to check on the animals. He was exhausted. He started up the GPS and looked for the Veterinary Clinic. He headed that way. He and the Sherriff pulled in at the same time and both hurried into the clinic. The Sherriff spoke first.

  “We’re here about the Lab that was brought in,” he said.

  “Of course,” the receptionist said. “I’ll just call Dr. Mitchell’s assistant Marcy.”

  Marcy appeared in short order.

  “Hi, I’m Marcy. I’m Dr. Mitchell’s assistant. I was here when the dog was brought in last night,” she said.

  “How’s he doing? Can we see him?” Carter said.

  “Do you have an address or phone number for the people who brought him in?” the Sherriff asked.

  “Yes, we have a phone number and I’ll take you to see him,” she said. “When we are sure he’s the dog you’re looking for, you’ll be able to call the people who brought him in.”

  “That’d be great,” Carter said.

  She led them into the back and over to a cage where a big brown dog was hooked up to an IV and looked to be sedated. There was a large bandage on his shoulder. The Sherriff looked at Carter who nodded.

  “It’s him,” he said. “It’s Tucker.”

  “I’d like that phone number now,” the Sherriff said.

  He walked out to the front with Marcy while Carter stayed behind. He got close to the cage and whispered to Tucker.

  “Hang in there buddy,” he said to the sleeping dog. “We’re going to find her and we are all going to be together again.”

  He went out front and the Sherriff was on his phone. Carter waited for him to finish.

  “They found him on Lake County Highway,” the Sherriff said. “They are going to meet us here and we’ll follow them out to the spot. We’ll concentrate our search starting there. I’m calling in all the boys that have been searching the south area and as soon as we have a location they will meet us out there.”

  Carter felt encouraged for the first time since this whole ordeal had started. The fact that Tucker had been shot was very worrisome but he was not going to allow himself to think about that too much. He had to believe they could find her alive. The alternative was just more than he could handle right now.

  When Gladys and Remy arrived at the Veterina
ry Clinic Carter was the first to reach them.

  “I can’t thank you enough for stopping to help Tucker,” he said.

  “Well anyone would have done the same,” Remy said.

  “I don’t think so,” said Carter. “I’m really grateful.”

  “This could be our best lead for finding the young lady that owns Tucker,” the Sherriff said. “Let’s get started. Carter, ride with me.”

  Gladys and Remy got in their car, the Sherriff got in his cruiser and Carter joined him. The little caravan started out and for a few minutes Remy’s car drove at regular speed. It then slowed, drove a few yards more before stopping at the side of the road. Remy and Gladys got out. The cruiser stopped as well. Remy went to the other side of the road and was looking at the ground. He walked a little farther along and then waved to the Sherriff and Carter who raced across to the spot. There was a trail of blood that ended there and you could see where their vehicle had pulled over and then turned around.

  The Sherriff went back to the cruiser and radioed the location in.

  “Thank you so much,” Carter said. “Now we finally have a place to start looking.”

  “Well we really hope you find her and hope that Tucker recovers alright,” Gladys said.

  The Sherriff came back across the road.

  “Thanks folks,” he said. “You can be on your way now if you like. I’ll see to it that someone calls you and lets you know how things turn out. Thanks again for your help today.”

  “Happy to do it Sherriff,” Remy said and the pair walked across to their car and drove away.

  It was only about ten minutes and three patrol cars joined them. The officers got out of the cars and they all talked with the Sherriff. Carter hung back and waited til they were finished.

  “What’s the plan? He asked the Sherriff.

  “They’ll each cover a certain amount of the area and are to call in anything that looks suspicious. They will be checking every empty or abandoned building they find.

  “What about us?” Carter said. “What area can we search?”