Dodge the Bullet

by Christy Hayes

  “As soon as we hear, you’ll hear.” The woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Have you heard about Dodge yet? Is he still unconscious?”

  “I was just about to call the hospital.” He reached for the phone and began dialing. “If he’s conscious, I'll need a ride to the hospital. Tired as I am, I'd fall asleep behind the wheel.”

  ###

  Kimberly sat at her desk in Senator Benjamin Burwick’s Washington office frantically searching the internet. She’d wanted to call Tommy that morning to see if anything had happened at the ranch last night, but she’d dropped her cell phone as she'd exited the small aircraft. The phone bounced down five metal steps and suffered a quick and painful death when stepped on by Heratio Martinez, the Senator’s press secretary. She didn’t dare call from the office, so she searched the internet for hometown news. Finding nothing, she walked to the cappuccino machine in the corner of her office and contemplated calling her mom for information. Connie Weston was as good as the morning paper when it came to the latest news.

  She heard the familiar pacing sounds from Benji’s office along with a muffled curse. His behavior ratcheted up her apprehension considerably.

  Kimberly jumped when the senator opened his door and poked his head into the reception area. “Kimberly? Have you heard from Fred Saxton?”

  She nearly gasped at his appearance. He looked like a feral dog that’d gone too long without food. “No, Sir, I haven’t.” She swiftly moved behind her desk in search of safety. “Senator, is something wrong?”

  He was so distracted, standing in the doorway fingering his phone as if a genie could appear if he rubbed hard enough. “Huh? No, no. Listen.” He moved into the reception area and started kneading a pencil he’d pulled from the holder she kept on her desk. “I’m expecting a call from Colorado. It’ll probably come in on my cell, but if it happens to be routed through the office, let me know. No matter what I’m doing.”

  “Okay,” Kimberly said slowly. “Who will the call be from, Sir, so I’ll know when to interrupt you?”

  He hesitated a moment before answering. “An old friend.”

  “Okay, Sir. You’ve got a meeting with Senator Manning at ten to discuss the appropriations bill and I’ll have your notes ready in just a minute.”

  Benji nodded and closed himself back in the office.

  Chapter 23

  The ringing phone woke Sarah from a fitful sleep. She answered quickly, hoping to not to disturb Dodge. “Hello?” She cleared the sleep from her throat.

  “Mrs. Woodward? It’s Sheriff Darren Farley.”

  “Yes, Sheriff.” Sarah stood up and stretched her back. “Do you have any information for me?”

  “Actually, I was hoping you’d have some information for me. I understand Dodge is conscious. I’m on my way to question him now.”

  She looked at Dodge as his eyes fluttered open. He still seemed pale, but his gaze was clear and peaked with interest. She didn’t want him questioned until he felt stronger. “I don’t think now is a good time, Sheriff. He’s awfully weak and--”

  “Now’s fine, Sarah,” Dodge said. “Tell him to come on.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Dodge nodded. Sarah gave the sheriff his room number and replaced the phone. “You look exhausted,” he said and reached out for her hand. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest. I’ll have Farley put one of his men at the ranch until this thing’s settled.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” Sarah sat down and threaded her fingers through his. “I'm not letting Farley interrogate you alone.” She tried to stifle a yawn. “Besides, the nurse said you might go home this afternoon.” When he tried to protest, she held up her hand. “Save your breath. I’m staying.”

  “When did they move me? The last thing I remember is the emergency room.”

  “You got some pretty good drugs in your system not long after they brought me back. It took about an hour for them to move you up here. I’m surprised you don’t remember. You made a bit of a fuss about the bright lights in the hall.”

  He shook his head, rubbed his eyes with his fingers. “My head feels like somebody’s used it as a soccer ball.” He inclined his head to look at her. “I wish you’d go home and get some sleep.”

  “Can’t. I promised your family I’d stay.” She thought of them, all six sisters and a few of the brothers-in-law whose kids were old enough to be left alone during the night, and the quiet family patriarch who’d perched himself in the waiting room.

  Dodge looked surprised. “My family’s been here?”

  “Most of the night. When they transferred you to this room and they each got a peek at you I talked them into going home for some sleep. I’m sure you’ll have a steady stream of visitors once you’re released. I doubt I’ll have to cook for a month.”

  Dodge adjusted the bed to sit upright. “What do you mean you won’t have to cook?”

  Sarah stiffened at the tone of his question. She’d discussed it with his family and they’d all understood when she insisted he recuperate at her cabin. It made sense. The boys were gone for at least another week and he’d be right there to oversee the business. He wouldn’t have to drive to the ranch every day and she’d be there to take care of him. She thought he might object and had planned to break it to him gently. Her lack of sleep made her tongue a lot looser than his brain. “You’re staying with me. We all agreed.”

  “Who all agreed?”

  “Your family agreed you staying with me would be best. They all have jobs and families to take care of and I’m at the house all the time.”

  “You have your own family to take care of.”

  “Not for another week I don’t. By the time the boys get back you’ll be good as new, or at least as good as you were before.”

  “I’m not imposing on you. I’ll stay at Dad’s. I don’t need a damn babysitter.”

  She was too tired to keep the irritation out of her voice. “I don’t intend to baby you. You need to rest, you’re on a lot of medicine, and your wound dressing needs to be changed every day. I'm the only one with that kind of time on their hands. End of story.”

  “Well, with such a warm invitation, how can I refuse?”

  She straightened the blanket over his chest. She didn’t mind arguing with him, considering a few hours ago she didn't know when or if he'd wake up. She turned at the knock on the door and watched Sheriff Farley enter the room with a baby-faced deputy. Farley had cleaned up from the night before but his eyes were red and he trudged into the room like a man who hadn't had any rest.

  “Dodge,” he nodded. “Mrs. Woodward.” He motioned toward the young man beside him. “This is Deputy Tanner. He was present at the scene last night.”

  “You’ll forgive me if I don’t remember seeing you, Paul.” Dodge’s sarcasm and his familiarity with the young man eased a fraction of Sarah's apprehension.

  “You two know each other?” she asked.

  Paul smiled and the glare of his clean shaven face made the other men appear worlds older. “I'm the clean-up batter for the Hailey Hornets.”

  “Our men's softball league,” Dodge explained.

  “Dodge almost beat my batting average. Almost,” he added with a wink.

  “This is a minor set back, Tanner. Don't count me out next season.”

  Sheriff Farley cleared his throat. “I’ve got some questions for you, Dodge.” He glanced at Sarah. “If you’d excuse us, Mrs. Woodward. This shouldn’t take long and then I’d like a few minutes with you.”

  When Sarah stood up to leave, Dodge grabbed her arm. “She can stay, Farley. You can question us both together.”

  Farley eyed the two of them suspiciously. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

  “Sheriff?” Sarah said as dread began pooling in her belly. “Are we being questioned in an official capacity? Are we suspects?”

  “Mrs. Woodward, we got a dead body with a gun shot wound and an explosion on your property. The victim's cell pho
ne contained some interesting numbers. Right now I’m just trying to connect the dots. Why don’t you both start by telling me what the hell happened last night?”

  ###

  Dodge wished his head didn't hurt so damn much. He needed to protect Tommy’s cousin at all costs and couldn't afford to let something slip. If Benji was twisted enough to torch Sarah’s barn, there was no telling what he’d do to Kimberly if he thought she’d snitched.

  “I caught a guy trying to set fire to the barn and pulled a gun on him before he could finish the job. He pulled a gun from his belt, so I took a shot. The next thing I know I’m in the hospital.”

  “How did you catch him? It must have been what, three, three-thirty in the morning?”

  Dodge closed his fingers over Sarah’s hand, alerting her not to speak. “We had a hunch somebody meant to do some harm to the ranch, thought maybe last night was the night. Turns out we were right.”

  “What tipped you off?” Deputy Tanner stepped forward, his hat in hand.

  “Well, I don’t know if you’d heard or not but some wires had been cut on the fence line a week or so ago.” Dodge shrugged, looked from Farley to Tanner. “Got me to thinking. Then yesterday we found some weird tracks around the back gate of the property, dug into the mud when it’d rained so hard. Nobody at the ranch uses the back gate and the guy at the cabin has no reason to stop.”

  “So, some cut wires and tire tracks got you and Miguel worked up enough to stage an ambush?” Farley asked.

  Sarah had a death grip on Dodge’s hand. He pulled it away and patted her wrist. “Ambush is an awfully strong word.”

  “Since when is it against the law to protect your own property?” Sarah asked.

  “It’s not against the law, Mrs. Woodward.” Deputy Tanner's mild manner made Dodge think he was playing good cop to Farley’s bad. “Like Sheriff Farley explained, we’re just trying to figure out what happened.”

  “Did you recognize the guy before you shot him?” Farley asked.

  “No, not even his voice. You identify him yet?”

  “We're running his dental records through the system. There was a phone, probably stolen, but…our John Doe had some interesting friends.” His eyes flickered to Tanner, then back to Sarah. “Either of you know why the guy who torched your place had called and received numerous calls from Senator Ben Burwick?”

  Dodge kept his face neutral. Farley had wanted to drop that bomb since he walked in the door. “Seems to me like you should be asking Senator Burwick that question.”

  “What the hell is going on? From the looks of it, the Senator tried to burn your barn and you two seem to be holding out on me? What gives? And don’t bother to lie. I’m too tired to give a damn about propriety. I’ll have you both tossed in jail until I get answers.”

  Sarah looked at Dodge.

  “Burwick’s in bed with Saxton on the Cooper deal,” Dodge said. “He promised him Sarah’s land for water rights and he’s been trying to scare her into selling ever since. When she wouldn’t budge, he upped the ante.”

  Farley rubbed his temple. “How do you know this? How do you know he’s working with Saxton?”

  “My friend, Senator Jack Carnes, told me about the connection,” Sarah explained.

  “Are you telling me that a United States Senator paid someone to torch your barn in order to scare you into selling your property? Got any evidence to back this up?”

  Dodge didn’t like the condescending tone Farley used with Sarah. “You've got the phone,” he said.

  “And his assistant can vouch for everything we’ve told you,” Sarah explained.

  Guilt nagged through Dodge's pounding head. “She's still with Burwick. Until she's out of his reach, I think it’d be irresponsible to confront Burwick with these allegations. There’s no telling what he’d do.”

  “What do you expect me to do?” Farley’s words dripped with sarcasm. “Sit on my hands while you figure out how to get her away from him? And how do we know she'll cooperate?”

  Dodge sat up in the bed and adjusted the pillows behind his head. “She's Tommy Thornton's cousin and she's the one who alerted us to his plans. Give us some time to get her away from him before you question him.”

  Farley snorted.

  “The cell phone alone connects them,” Dodge said. “Kimberly knows about Saxton. She was present at their meetings.”

  “How do you plan to get her away from Burwick?”

  Dodge ran a finger over the stitches on his forehead. “Tommy could call her brother and ask him to invent a family emergency. Once she’s away from Burwick, you can question them separately.”

  Farley looked at the ceiling, considering.

  “The guy’s a pansy,” Dodge explained. “He’ll buckle under interrogation. It’s Saxton he’s afraid of.”

  Farley sighed and slowly extricated himself from the chair. “Call Tommy. Get the wheels in motion. I’ll give you twenty-four hours to get the cousin away from Burwick or I’m proceeding with the investigation.” He nodded toward the door for Tanner to head out. “Keep me in the loop, Dodge. I’ll be in touch.”

  ###

  “I don’t understand,” Kimberly said to her brother. “I just talked to mom last night and she sounded fine. What happened?”

  Roger Weston hesitated before starting into the prepared speech he’d practiced with Tommy only moments before. He wasn’t all together comfortable lying to his sister, but Tommy had assured him it was a matter of life and death. Confirmation from Sheriff Farley made him place the call despite his reservations.

  “She just collapsed in the kitchen this morning. I found her and called 911. She’s in the hospital. They’re running some tests.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Kimberly said, her voice faltering. “I’ve got to arrange for a flight. Tell Mom I love her.”

  ###

  Kimberly knocked on Benji’s door and didn’t wait for his response before entering. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Senator, but my mom’s in the hospital. I need to get to Westmoreland today.” She ran her hands up and down her arms. “I’ll call Hector and let him know I’m leaving.” Benji sat up in his chair, relieved at the distraction. “Sure, Kimberly, of course. What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. My brother said she collapsed.”

  Benji moved to the front of the desk and touched Kimberly’s shoulder. “I’ll call and have the private plane ready for you in thirty minutes.” He dropped his hand when Kimberly nodded and headed to the door. “You be sure to call me and let me know how she is, okay?”

  “Yes, Senator. Thank you, I will.”

  He watched her fold her suit coat over her arm, grab her purse and dash out of the office.

  Benji sat down at his desk and made arrangements for the plane. His thoughts returned to Hailey, not an hour's drive from Westmoreland. He contemplated going with her, seeing for himself what had happened at the Woodward ranch, but knew it was best to keep his distance. He didn’t need to go sniffing around Hailey.

  The longer he sat in Washington, completely out of touch with what was going on in Hailey, the more he couldn’t focus on anything at all. He reached for his suit coat, his cell phone and his briefcase. Like it or not, Kimberly was going to have company on her flight.

  ###

  Sheriff Farley and Deputy Tanner sat in a cruiser on the tarmac of Westmoreland’s only airport. The plane was scheduled to land in twenty minutes and Deputy Tanner fidgeted in his seat and checked the dash clock again. He didn’t know if he had the jitters or if the spicy burrito he'd eaten for lunch had been a poor choice. They were going to question a United States Senator under suspicion for arson. This, he thought as he checked the safety on the revolver in his holster--a revolver he’d never drawn in the line of duty, was why he became an officer of the law. He stole a sideways glance at Sheriff Farley and couldn’t stop himself from asking what he knew would sound like a stupid question. “Why are you so calm, Sheriff? Aren’t you the least bit excited about
confronting Burwick?”

  Sheriff Farley sighed deeply and seemed to study the horizon. “Son, if Burwick's responsible for the attempted arson at the Woodward place, and I suspect he is, I’m not the least bit excited. The man’s supposed to be molding legislation on behalf of the state, not risking the law to pad his pockets and help greedy land developers.” He sucked on his front teeth and shook his head in disgust. “The whole thing makes me sick.”

  Both men gulped as a jet approached from over the mountains and made its way toward the runway. “Well,” Deputy Tanner sighed. “Excited or not, here he comes.”

  When the staircase lowered, Farley moved to block the exit and shouted over the hum of the engine. “Kimberly Weston. Senator Burwick. I’m Sheriff Darren Farley and this is Deputy Paul Tanner of the Hailey Sheriff’s department.” He flashed his badge and Paul noticed the Senator’s face blanch. “We’re going to need to ask you both some questions. If you’d kindly follow me to the patrol car, Deputy Tanner will make sure your luggage is taken care of.”

  “Sheriff…Far--,Farley,” the senator stuttered. “What in the name of heavens is this about? My assistant's mother is in the hospital. We really don’t have time for this.” He grabbed Kimberly’s arm and tried to usher her beyond Farley to the waiting cab.

  “I’m afraid I'm going to have to insist.” Farley blocked his path. “If you’ll both follow me, please.”

  Kimberly reached for Farley’s arm. “Sheriff, please. I need to get to the hospital as soon as…” Her words trailed off as Roger Weston approached from the airport's terminal. “Oh, God Roger. What’s happened? Is Mom…?”

  Roger shook his head and pulled Kimberly away from the senator. Farley patiently waited while the senator ranted in his face, his voice booming.

  “This is unconscionable,” the senator shouted. “I won’t be manhandled. I’m a United States Senator!”

  “You can either come with me voluntarily or I’ll issue a warrant for your arrest,” Farley stated. He didn't seem the least bit surprised or concerned about the senator's demands. “The choice is yours.”