Her cabin didn’t have an attached garage, and as she trotted down the outside steps to the carport, keys at the ready, she paused, listening keenly. It was an out of the way spot, which was one of the reasons she’d rented it, but since hearing of Luke’s escape she’d been particularly aware, and standing in the growing darkness her senses were in high alert. She waited a full minute, then finally satisfied she unlocked her car and headed off.
On top of a ridge, a ten minute ride away, Luke was sitting on Ghost, peering through his small but powerful binoculars. Barry’s Bar was where he’d first hooked up with Patty Jamison, and thanks to Dwayne he’d learned her habits hadn’t changed. After watching the red tail lights of her car disappear into the night, he moved Ghost slowly forward and followed the track down to her house.
When Patty walked into the bar the band was already on stage playing up a storm, and couples were dancing, clapping and laughing. Buoyed by the crowd she moved to the bar and perched herself up on her favorite stool; it was towards the end, offering a view of the stage and the dance floor, but far enough away to carry on a conversation if she wanted to.
“What’ll be?” the attractive young bartender asked.
“I’m glad Barry hired you,” she flirted. “I look forward to coming back here even more now.”
“Thanks, appreciate that,” he grinned, “and I’m always happy to see you.”
“Margarita, and you got any chips and salsa back there?”
“Sure do,” he nodded.
Sighing, as she watched him walk away she impulsively decided to ask him over to her cabin. She hadn’t had sex in too long, and he was about as hunky as they came.
“They’re gonna catch him, don’t you worry. Luke Larson is as good as caught already.”
The remark captured her, and pricking her ears she slowly turned to see who had made the comment; seated at a table behind her was a young man who looked vaguely familiar, and he was talking to Tess Turner.
Shit, Tess Turner, I can’t believe it’s her. What the hell is she doing here?
“I hope you’re right, Dwayne,” Tess replied. “It sickens me that he’s out. I hate that man with every fibre of my being.”
Really? She hates him? She was reason he fucking broke up with me, at least I thought so. Huh, isn’t this interesting?
“I don’t blame you,” the young man remarked. “He turned out to be a real bad guy. Shoot, my phone, hang on a sec, Tess.”
Patty watched him answer his call, stand up and walk to a quiet corner, then quickly return.
“Sorry, Tess, I’ve gotta run. My brother’s car won’t start and I’ve gotta go help him. I won’t be long though. Do you wanna leave or wait?”
“Night’s early, and it’s good to be out, I’ll stay here and people watch.”
“Okay, I’ll be back soon,” he promised, and grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair he hurried out the door.
“Here are your chips and your Margarita, you wanna start a tab?”
Patty turned back to the bar and gazed at the boyish grin of the super cute bartender.
“Yeah, why don’t you do that,” she nodded, “and do you know what that woman over there is drinking?”
“Looks like a Mai Tai,” he replied staring across at the table. “You want me to send one over?”
“No, just make one and I’ll take it myself,” Patty smiled. This will be fascinating. I can’t wait to hear what she says.
Tess was nervous. The plan seemed simple enough, but its success rested with her ability to get Patty to trust her enough to start talking. She’d told Luke she didn’t think it was possible in just a couple of hours, and closing her eyes she recalled the conversation at the kitchen table.
“If Patty thinks she’s found a true cohort, another woman who hates me like she does, there’s more than a good chance she’ll let somethin’ slip,” he’d declared. “Anything, no matter how small, will be more than we’ve got now. She’s the only one who can lead us to whoever set me up.”
“I’ll do my best,” Tess had promised.
“When you call Jeb and tell him you’re takin’ Dwayne out for a drink as a thank you, make sure you tell him somewhere other than Barry’s. He’s likely to show up with Glynis in tow.”
“Yeah, he’d do that,” Dwayne had chimed in.
“Remember, all you have to do when you’re with Patty is be yourself,” Luke had smiled, “just a girl talkin’ to another girl about a miserable sonofabitch who screwed you over.”
“Hi, Tess Turner right?” Tess had been lost in her thoughts, and startled, she flashed up her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Patty apologized.
“Yes, I’m Tess,” she replied, “and I’m sorry, I was just thinking about something, or rather, someone,” she added, recalling the last words that had just crossed her mind.
Just a girl talkin’ to another girl about a miserable sonofabitch who screwed you over.
“I’m Patty Jamison. Not sure if you know-”
“Patty, of course I know you who are,” Tess interrupted.
“May I sit down, I bought you a Mai Tai, that’s what you’re drinking, right?” Patty asked.
“Yes, please, your timing is kind of amazing,” Tess said enthusiastically. “I was just thinking about Luke Larson and what a bastard he was. I can’t believe he’s out on the streets.”
“You really think he’s a bastard?” Patty pressed, her eyes wide.
“Don’t you?” Tess frowned. “Didn’t you barely escape? He wasn’t going to take no for answer, isn’t that what happened?”
“Yes,” Patty said dramatically.
“Wow, you’re so lucky you got away when you did,” Tess remarked leaning across the table, engaging the girl’s eyes. “Let’s have a toast, to the cops catching Luke Larson sooner rather than later.”
“Sounds good,” Patty agreed lifting her glass.
As they clinked glasses and she took a sip, Tess noticed Patty took a large swallow of her Margarita.
Damn, maybe Luke was right, maybe this will work, maybe if she drinks enough I can get her to open up.
“Chips and salsa, ladies?”
The cute bartender placed the uneaten basket of tortilla chips and its accompanying dip on the table.
“What’s your name?” Patty asked.
“Daniel,” he smiled.
“Hi, Daniel, I’m Patty, and this is Tess. Keep the drinks and munchies coming, Tess and I have a lot to talk about.”
“Will do,” he replied, flashing his best smile.
“How hunky is he?” Patty whispered as he walked away.
“Super hunky,” and way too polished for my taste.
“I’m going to ask him out, or rather, over to my cabin later,” Patty continued.
“Wow, isn’t that a bit, I don’t know, dangerous? You don’t even know him,” Tess frowned.
“What? No, not at all. Just a bit of fun,” Patty shrugged. “Life’s about taking risks, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” Tess nodded, no, not stupid risks like that. “Let’s drink to that, taking risks,” she added, the good kind of risks, like helping the man you love.
“You bet,” Patty grinned taking a big swig of her drink.
Tess sipped and smiled.
Getting you plastered and talking is going to be easier than I thought.
With Ghost tied up in the thicket of trees, Luke had made his way to the cabin and peeked through the windows; a small lamp was burning by a couch, and he could see nothing had changed since he’d last been there. Moving around to the back door he checked under the flowerpots for a key but found nothing, then spying a decorative bird’s house he checked inside, still nothing.
Hmm, she always kept a hide-a-key, and it was usually under something. She’s a creature of habit.
Though loathe to use it, he retrieved his pen flashlight and shone it around the nearby stones, then he saw it; a roundish rock with the words, Abracadabra chiseled across th
e top. Lifting it up he discovered it was plastic, and sliding back a small catch he found the key sitting in the cavity.
“Patty, too easy,” he mumbled.
He was about to switch off his flashlight but changed his mind, and as he unlocked the door he paused, swinging the beam in front of him.
“Damn,” he muttered.
Three trip wires were strung across the threshold, spread apart, each higher than the first, and shining the light further afield he saw several boards with four inch nails sticking straight up.
“What the hell?”
Sighing heavily, grateful for his keen instincts and natural caution, he stepped over the wires and made his way around the boards. Continuing to swing the light ahead of his steps he moved slowly forward; his goal was a storage closet near her bedroom.
Patty wasn’t a hoarder, but Luke had discovered she held on to certain things, things that she considered important, things that were meaningless except to her, and she’d boasted about a lifetime of memories kept in a collection of shoe boxes. She’d claimed they were locked away the small storage closet at the end of the short, narrow hallway.
“But they’re just for me, and one day they’re going to turn into a best-selling book,” she’d claimed.
He could feel his heart racing as he entered the living room, and flashing the light across the floor he saw a clear field ahead of him. Reaching the entrance to the hall he peered ahead and started carefully forward; it wasn’t far, but it felt like a mile, and by the time he reached the door he’d broken out in a sweat.
Easy boy, take a deep breath. Focus, relax and focus.
After his narrow escape from the nasty trap at the back door he moved the flashlight around the frame looking for anything out of the ordinary, and staring at the doorknob he saw it; a tiny wire was wrapped around its base.
“What now?” he mumbled staring at it more closely.
White tape made it barely discernible against the white of the door, then it virtually disappeared having been run along the narrow gap where the door met the frame. Dropping to his knees he carefully pulled back the rug, finding the wire hidden underneath, and following it down the hall he found its end; a plug in a power socket.
“The damn thing is set to electrocute someone, it could’ve killed me,” he shuddered, and pulling the plug from the point he let out a long, deep breath before walking back to the closet. “What the hell is so important? What exactly are you hidin’ Patty Jamison?”
Doing one last check around the door, holding his breath he slowly turned the handle and opened it, and as he flashed his light inside his blood ran cold.
The boxes were gone.
The closet had become some kind of shrine…to him.
Plastered across the walls were pictures of him, newspaper clippings, pieces of paper with his name scrawled across it, and then he saw the blown up photograph that had been taken of the two of them at a party; she had scratched out his eyes and put a dagger through his heart.
The answer came to him in a flash.
No-one had put Patty up to luring him out to the lake.
It had been Patty acting alone.
It had been Patty who had hit poor Nate, and Patty who had stashed the money and his crowbar in his garage.
“And just how the hell am I gonna prove it?” he sighed.
Retrieving his phone he took photographs of the bizarre contents, making sure he shot from every angle. There were so many items pasted across the walls, some on top of others, he wanted to make sure he didn’t miss anything that might later prove useful. Finally finished he carefully closed the door and took photographs of the wire around the handle, and putting the plug back into the point at the end of the hallway he shot that as well.
Shaking his head he stared at the innocent looking closet.
“Damn, Patty, you are one messed up girl,” he mumbled, then cautiously making his way back through the house and into the kitchen, he stepped carefully over the nail boards, and out the back door, but as he hurriedly returned to Ghost he had a sudden flash of panic; Tess was with Patty.
Damn, I have to make sure Tess isn’t alone with that nut job.
Urgently pulling out his phone he began to text Dwayne, only to discover he had no signal. Jumping quickly on Ghost he trotted up the hill, a risky ride in the dark with so many fallen branches and potential hazards, but the horse was up to the task and delivered him safely to the top. As they zigzagged down the other side Luke finally found a place from which he could call.
“Hi, Luke, everything okay?” Dwayne asked.
“It is on this end, but I need you to make sure Tess doesn’t go anywhere with Patty,” Luke said urgently. “I’ll explain later, but go back and make something up, something that will make her leave with you.”
“Uh, like what?”
“Where does she think you are?”
“Helping my brother with his car,” Dwayne answered, “not that I have a brother.”
“Tell her you stopped by the house to check on Rex and he was gone, and you need her help to find him.”
“But Rex would never-”
“Neither Tess nor Patty would know that,” Luke interrupted.
“Oh, good point,” Dwayne replied. “I’ll go right now and see you back at home.”
Ending the call and praying Dwayne could get her out of the bar without raising any kind of suspicion, Luke headed for his ranch. It hadn’t been an easy ride to get to Patty’s cabin but it was well worth the effort, and as he let Ghost find his own way through the uneven ground, Luke pondered his discovery.
I should have hunted for your boxes, but you probably have them hidden away with more booby traps. I was lucky to get in and out of your house in one piece. Probably just as well I didn’t push my luck.
In the parking lot of Barry’s Bar, Dwayne wasn’t convinced Luke’s suggestion was a good one.
If Rex had gone missing I wouldn’t drive all the way back here to get Tess, I’d call her and let her know I was roaming the streets looking for him. I need to think of something else.
Leaning against his car he stared at the ground, tapping his foot, humming a song, thinking about how he’d enjoyed the last couple of days hanging out at Tess’s house, how he’d managed to fool Jeb, how-
“That’s it,” he exclaimed loudly, and grabbing his phone he texted Jeb.
At Barry’s Bar with Tess, having a great time. You and Glynis should join us.
He waited impatiently, staring at his screen, then broke into a broad smile.
On our way.
As he ambled back to the bar, a Cheshire Cat grin on his face, he decided maybe he wasn’t such a dummy after all.
People think I am, I know that, but sometimes it just takes me a while. I usually get there in the end.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Already annoyed that Dwayne had made a premature return to the table, Tess stared in disbelief as Jeb and Glynis waved at her from across the room. The crowd near the bar had thinned out, most having imbibed enough to laugh their way to the dance floor.
“Isn’t that Jeb, the Deputy Sheriff?” Patty asked. “I’ve never seen him out of uniform. He’s your brother, right?”
“Yes, he’s my brother,” Tess replied, and I have no idea why he’s here, or how I can get rid of him.
“Hi, Dwayne,” Jeb grinned.
“Hi, Jeb, hi, Glynis,” Dwayne answered quickly, “good to see you guys, you know Patty Jamison of course.”
“Patty, what a coincidence,” Jeb remarked. “I won’t talk shop now, but if you’re gonna be around tomorrow I’d like to stop by for a word.”
“Sure thing, what about?” Patty asked.
“Just wanna go over what happened with Larson,” Jeb answered casually. “Thought I’d give the file a quick review.”
“Don’t see how there’s anything to review,” she frowned.
Her head was beginning to spin, and when she tried to recall how many margarita’s she’d drunk, she
wasn’t sure if it had been three or four.
“Minor details, but like I said, I’m off duty,” he continued. “Tess, how are you feeling? I’m surprised you’re out, you didn’t look too swift this morning. Do you think it’s a good idea after being sick for the last couple of days?”
“I think I was suffering from cabin fever more than anything,” she declared. “I absolutely had to get out of the house, and like I told you earlier, I wanted to take Dwayne out for a drink to thank him.”
“Tess, I hate to be a party pooper,” Dwayne interjected, “but your brother might be right. Maybe we should get you home. You don’t want to relapse.”
“I feel fine,” Tess said forcing a smile as she stared across at him, and you’re making no sense. What are you talking about, and why did you come back so early, that wasn’t the plan?
“I know we just got here,” Glynis said sweetly, “and I’d love to spend some time with you, but I have to agree with Jeb and Dwayne. If you just got out of bed you should go, you don’t want to overdo it.”
“I’m feelin’ a bit tired myself,” Dwayne announced, then leaning across the table toward her he said, “and don’t forget Tess, I still have to walk Rex. You know how the big guy can be. If I don’t get back when he thinks I should he gets really agitated.”
What’s he saying? The big guy? Holy crap, he’s talking about Luke. Something’s up and he wants us home.
“You guys have ganged up on me and I can see I’m not going to win this one,” she sighed, “but you’re probably right. Sorry, Patty, I was really enjoying our visit. Maybe we can get together again soon.”
“Yeah, let’s,” Patty agreed. “I don’t have many female friends.”
“Make sure you get straight to bed,” Jeb said firmly.
“I will, big brother,” she promised as she stood up and grabbed her jacket. “I have to admit I am starting to feel a bit knackered, but I’m glad I ran into you both. I’d hug you but-”
“No thanks,” Glynis grinned. “We don’t need to get the bug.”
They said their goodbyes, and as Dwayne and Tess headed through the bar and out to the parking lot, though Tess was jumping out of her skin with curiosity she waited until they were safely in the car before pumping Dwayne for answers.
The Wanted Cowboy (Cowboys After Dark Book 5) Page 11