Cornered in Conard County

by Rachel Lee

  Then his words struck her. “Why should Flash have to keep you in line?”

  He just laughed. She felt a few more cracks in the ice that was encasing her, because she understood that laugh.

  For the first time in a long time, she hugged something special close to her heart.

  * * *

  GEORGE CUSSED HIMSELF for a fool. He’d gotten all the money he needed off that woman, and she hadn’t slowed him down much. It was everything else that was slowing him down.

  Things had changed since he’d gone to prison. He’d been shocked to discover that he couldn’t even buy a bus ticket without ID. The last thing he wanted was a record of where he’d been. The bus company might have accepted his prison ID—they had when the prison sent him home—but even if they would, he didn’t want anyone to be able to trace his movements. Not with what he had in mind.

  Of course, that gave him an idea. Walking boldly into the bus station, he asked for a ticket to Miami, and while the clerk hesitated a moment when seeing his prison ID, she didn’t hesitate long. He walked out with a ticket to Miami, a false trail already started.

  Now he just had to figure out how to get to that place in Wyoming. Once again, he walked to a different town. The outdoors still felt too big to him. He wondered if he’d get past that. Anyway, he felt better when surrounded by houses and trees. They cut the sight lines to something more reasonable. But from what he knew of Wyoming, he was going to have to get used to wide-open spaces quickly.

  The next town had a small library, but that didn’t mean they were without computers or the internet. He made his way to one of them without having to show a card or other ID and set to work. If they didn’t want people to walk in and just use the machines, if they hassled him...well, they had books, and he was pretty sure they didn’t have a problem with people browsing the books.

  But no one harassed him the least little bit, and he began to do his research on Conard County.

  An hour later he was wondering what had drawn Dory to a place like that. It was the ends of the earth. Hardly any people, nothing to do, really. The main town, Conrad City, was a cow town, if that. The plus was that she’d stick out and be easy to find. The minus was that so would he.

  Leaning back as far as the chair would let him, keeping his hand on the mouse, he tabbed between pages. One gave him the stats about the place. Another gave him a reasonable map, although he was sure plenty of minor roads probably didn’t show up. The third gave him photos. Beautiful mountains, a worn-out town and plenty of wide-open spaces.

  He had no way to know if Dory had moved there on her own or if some guy had drawn her there. Her personal life was a closed book to him. Crap, she didn’t even have a social media account under any possible name he could cobble together for her.

  It hadn’t always been like that. That was how he’d learned she’d become a graphic artist and worked for some company. Then everything had shut down ten years ago. As if she’d gone underground and wanted to stay there.

  It didn’t make any sense. What was she afraid of? He’d still been in prison, and anyway, he’d given her absolutely no reason to fear him.

  If only she hadn’t come downstairs that night. She’d loved him back then. He’d made sure of it. Made sure that she worshipped him more than their parents, that she was his ally and kept his secrets. Then she’d broken the rule and come downstairs.

  Even so, she had no reason to fear him. No reason to think that her loving brother would come after her with murder in his heart. He’d always been good to her.

  It did seem suspicious that her location had changed on the company’s website right around the time he was released. But it had changed back. What if it was just a mistake? Because why the hell would she go so far out of the way?

  “Sir?”

  George looked up. A middle-aged woman smiled at him. “I’m sorry, but you’ve been using that computer for over an hour, and we have other people waiting.”

  He smiled, calling on every bit of charm and sexiness he owned. No point in making himself memorable. “I’m sorry. Let me just shut down my search.”

  “Oh, take a few more minutes,” she said, smiling in answer. Her cheeks even flushed a little. “I’ll explain you’re almost done.”

  As she walked away, he wondered if he should chat her up a bit, maybe spend the night with her. Then his memory flashed the image of the wedding ring she wore.

  Nope. He’d have to find a different flophouse.

  He closed out his search, erased the search history and rose, heading for the door. He gave the librarian another smile before he stepped out into the sunny morning. The library was on a wide boulevard, and for a moment he froze, overwhelmed by the space. Then he gathered himself and began to stroll down the sidewalk, glancing in shop windows, a handsome man just past forty. He liked seeing his reflection.

  All the while his mind kept ticking things over. The change of address, changed back. Too coincidental. Why the middle of nowhere? Because she was afraid, after all?

  When he’d seen her standing in the kitchen, he’d tried to reassure her, telling her he’d gotten rid of the bad man. Had she believed him? She should have, but a lot of years had passed, and he’d spent them in prison. Maybe she believed his conviction more than she had believed him. Certainly something in her had snapped. He’d never forget the way she ran from him and stood in the street screaming her fool head off. The sound had frozen him, had thrown all his plans into a mixer, and in the end he hadn’t had the time he had planned on to clean himself up, get rid of the weapon and lay a false trail.

  If she’d just stayed in bed... She’d never told their parents that he was stealing from them, even though she’d seen it. In the end she’d never told anyone anything about that night, as far as he could tell. Hell, she’d stopped talking entirely. His lawyer had been good about keeping him informed. The freaking lawyer thought he was worried about his sister. Idiot.

  He’d kept tabs through that guy, loosely, of course. The years she spent with her godparents, a couple he’d never cared for. The trip to college when briefly he’d been able to follow her on social media. But then, for no apparent reason, she’d dropped out. Gone. Canceled her accounts.

  He still wondered what the hell had brought that on. Maybe someone had been bothering her. Anyway, she’d apparently never picked it up again. She was almost as far off the radar as he was.

  The idea made George smile. Maybe he could just make her disappear. Who’d be worried about it? Her coworkers? If she had friends, he hadn’t been able to find out. Not even that damn lawyer could tell him, and finally the guy had gotten impatient, reminding George that he was not on retainer and while he’d been doing favors out of kindness all these years, he was through.

  Bastard. George sometimes thought he’d take care of that lawyer once he’d settled matters with Dory.

  With a start, he understood he’d reached the end of town. He hesitated only a minute before deciding to just keep going, heading west. He’d been warned that hitchhiking was illegal, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t pick him up. He looked innocuous enough, clean, not too big, carrying a backpack over his shoulder. No one would guess that a slender guy like him could be trouble.

  Which was just how he wanted it. He’d used his exercise periods to stay lean. Fit, but lean. Bulking up like so many of the guys did only made a man look like potential trouble. George didn’t want to frighten anyone.

  For now the only weapons he needed were his good looks, his smile and his tongue.

  * * *

  EVEN THOUGH IT was late, the morning sunlight almost hurt Dory’s eyes as she opened them. She needed to get some curtains in here.

  Then she realized she was alone. At once she turned over and saw that both Flash and Cadell were absent. Reaching out, she touched the covers and felt warmth. They hadn’
t been gone long. Then she heard sounds from the backyard and saw that Cadell was running Flash through his paces.

  She sat up and stretched until joints popped. No nightmares. None. Not even a hint. She’d just had the best sleep she’d had in weeks, maybe a month.

  Feeling better than she had in quite a while, she slipped out of bed and headed for a shower that would make her feel even better.

  When she emerged freshly dressed in a light T-shirt and jeans with a towel around her blond hair, she stepped outside to watch Cadell and Flash. They’d passed the work stage and were now at the play stage. She smiled as she watched the dog jump for joy each time Cadell threw the ball. To be so happy...

  Before her thoughts could take a downward spiral, Cadell called Flash to heel and came toward her. “You slept well?”

  “Like a rock. It was amazing. That hasn’t happened in a while.”

  “Good news, then. When you’re ready, we’ll go out to my place. I do have something there besides two ostriches and a dog kennel.”

  Her smile started to widen, then hitched. “Who’s taking care of the dogs?”

  “They are,” he said simply. “I never know when I might have to be away for an extended period, so I have a very modern kennel. It feeds and waters them.”

  “And the ostriches?”

  He laughed. “I hope they got all the insects out of the corral.”

  His cheer was contagious, and she liked it. Before long they were heading out to his ranch with Flash in the cage in back. He seemed excited, as if he knew he was going to visit his dog friends.

  Dory wondered what was happening inside her. After last night’s shocks, shouldn’t she be more upset? Instead she felt as if she had been freed in some way. Maybe Cadell had given her some of the answers she’d been looking for. Maybe now she felt she knew what she was facing, rather than wondering.

  But she was sick of her own fears this morning, and she shoved them aside. George’s release didn’t mean she couldn’t still have an enjoyable day. In fact, now that she thought about it, she was appalled at how much power she’d given her brother over her. She’d allowed him to haunt her for years. Allowed him to terrorize her sleep and dreams. He didn’t deserve that right.

  Lifting her head, she looked to her left and drank in the mountains. At midday they looked a little hazy, the greens very dark except for lighter patches here and there. She wondered if she was looking at different trees or if that was the dappling of sunlight.

  “Cadell?”

  “Yeah?”

  “After your divorce...did you find it hard to trust?”

  He snorted. “Oh, yeah. I got distrustful of women, and I got distrustful of myself.”

  “Why yourself?”

  “Because before that I thought was a fairly decent judge of character. Afterward, not so much. Which was probably a good thing for a cop.”

  She turned a little in her seat so she could look at the side of his face. “How so?”

  He paused as he steered them into his rutted driveway. The truck began to jolt. “Because it’s not possible to really judge a book by its cover. In my line of work, making that mistake can be deadly. I guess I figured out that before you can trust someone, you need to get to know them. You need to see them in stressful situations, not just dates where everything is fine. If I ever marry again, I’ll want to know how a woman reacts when the toilet overflows.”

  The quiver began deep inside Dory, and seconds later emerged as the heartiest belly laugh she’d had in ages. “The toilet?” she gasped finally, wiping an errant tear from laughing so hard.

  “Well, it could be something else,” he allowed. “But I think you get my drift.”

  She did indeed, but it was still funny, and she couldn’t stop grinning. She imagined him with a clipboard ticking off boxes as a harried woman worked on a toilet.

  “Are you keeping a checklist?” she asked.

  “Not consciously. But that’s the best way I can explain it. People change under stress. I kind of think it’s important to know how they change. Every life has problems that have to be dealt with. I’d prefer someone who can deal.”

  Which ruled her out, Dory thought, wondering why it should matter. He’d seen her under stress, and she didn’t think she was getting any gold stars from him. Afraid of nightmares, of being alone? Afraid of her brother? Turning herself into a hermit because she trusted no one easily? How was that truly coping with anything? She was a mass of defense mechanisms.

  She sighed, imagining him filling out his checklist when it came to her, or worse, writing “Failed” across the sheet.

  Oh, well. She might not pass his tests, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the day. Even if George were somewhere close, he’d never find her out here.

  Chapter Nine

  Cadell had left the ostriches in the corral, which was also electrically fenced. They’d done a good job of scratching up the place looking for food. Leaving Dory to get out of his vehicle in her own time, he headed for the pen. The two birds came running.

  “Yeah, you guys know who feeds you,” he said. Before he let them in, though, he had to dump feed in their trough. No way was he going to let them get close. He’d learned his lesson.

  He opened the gate into the pen and stepped back as the two birds entered. He didn’t know if he wanted to confine them again just yet, so he left the gate open.

  Dory had joined him, Flash at her side. “Man,” she said. “They moved fast!”

  “They didn’t even get up to full speed. Quite amazing birds...at a distance.”

  He was pleased when she laughed again. He’d gotten the feeling just before they finished the drive that something had darkened her mood. Well, not really darkened. Not that bad. Just a kind of sadness, he guessed.

  Which under the circumstances needed no explanation. He was pretty impressed with how well she’d handled last night’s revelations, especially the one about the murder being premeditated. She probably had been fighting that thought for years, unwilling to believe that her beloved brother was capable of it. Much easier to believe he’d lost his temper in a big way than to imagine him plotting the entire thing.

  He led her along the fence. “See the wire fencing inside the wooden corral? Courtesy of my father and the ostriches.”

  “What was your dad like?”

  “An honest, decent, hardworking, churchgoing man. Respected by his neighbors. A good example for any kid.”

  She looked toward him. “Why’d you leave?”

  “Youthful wanderlust, I guess.” He sighed and shook his head a little. “I didn’t think I was cut out to be a rancher. It about wore my dad to a nub. Same thing every day and worries that never quit.” He shook his head a bit, leaned his arms on the fence and lifted one booted foot to the lower railing.

  “It’s hard to remember what I was thinking back then,” he said. “I’m sure it made perfect sense to me. I tried staying for a couple of years, but my dad didn’t stop me when I took off. He was already winding down the operation here. Cattle are expensive to raise, and he wasn’t getting enough when he sold them. I sometimes wonder if he didn’t think I’d be better off doing something else.”

  “Maybe he did,” she said quietly. The breeze was blowing, tossing her hair, caressing her skin gently. A beautiful day. “Then you come home to the ostriches.”

  He laughed easily. “Yup. And don’t think I don’t wonder if he planned that. He knew me well. I wouldn’t leave animals uncared for, and he probably knew just how much difficulty I’d have getting rid of this pair. What a way to get me back to my roots, but he sometimes had a strange sense of humor.”

  “They’re quite a joke,” she remarked, watching the two strange-looking birds eat ravenously. “I know they’re birds, but...”

  “Too big,” he agr
eed. “Dinosaurs.”

  “I’ve heard people can ride them.”

  He laughed again. “No, thanks.”

  He studied her for a few minutes before turning his attention back to the mountains that loomed over one side of his ranch. She seemed tentative. After starting the day in a mood so good it surprised him, she had retreated a little.

  “I wish I could have met your father,” she said.

  “Why?” It occurred to him that she’d never really had a chance to know her own father or mother. After all, a child of that age would have only a few memories and very little knowledge about the adults in her life.

  “Because the person you are tells me something about him.” She astonished him with a small smile. “I’m sure he was every bit as good a man as you said.”

  Quite a compliment coming from a woman who’d frankly told him she didn’t trust easily. Although saying something like that was hardly a matter of trust.

  A bark from the kennel area drew his attention.

  “Flash!” Dory said and then laughed. “He must be feeling forgotten. He wants to play with his buddies.”

  “Let’s go let them out, then.” He paused only to lock the ostriches in their pen.

  The summer-baked ground was hard beneath their feet, the remaining grasses dry and crackly. Out back where the kennels resided, however, the ground softened and greened because of how often he had to spray down the concrete. Each kennel opened onto a small, individual outdoor space so the dogs didn’t start feeling too cooped up, but right now they were all at the front, watching Flash, who was prancing right up the middle of the dog run.

  “I could almost swear he’s taunting them,” Cadell remarked.

  “That dog is capable of more expressions and feelings than I would have believed,” she answered. “You have a lot more cages than dogs. How come?”

  “It varies, actually. I don’t just train police dogs. I work with service dogs and even family pets. But mainly my job is being the lead K-9 officer and trainer. Anyway, every now and then I might have eight or ten dogs here.”