by Terri Reed
“Hung up enough on her to try to kill her? It doesn’t make sense.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Helena agreed. “Hey, another little tidbit. Tala got back to us on that baseball cap you found. There was a long brown hair in the hat, but couldn’t get DNA from it or the hat.”
Too bad there wasn’t a hair follicle to provide DNA. Sandy, Carly and Violet did not have long brown hair. Was there a fourth female suspect?
“It’s a synthetic hair.”
Surprise gave way to frustration. “A wig.”
“Yes.”
“So our suspect could be anybody.” Irritation fired along his nerves.
“Right. It could’ve been a man or woman,” Helena said.
His gaze sought Carly Winters in the crowd, but she was nowhere to be seen. He needed to find her. “I’ve a hunch I need to follow. How quickly can you get here? I need someone to watch over Ariel.”
“Ten minutes, tops,” Helena told him before signing off.
Hunter hung up the phone. He needed to ask Carly some more questions. And time was of the essence because he wasn’t going to let anyone hurt Ariel. Just the thought carved through him with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting away his resistance to allow her into his heart.
SIXTEEN
Ariel placed her feet on the boards along the edge of the sled runners and gripped the handle bar at the back of the sled. The seconds were ticking down. The team in front was amped up, the dogs dancing with excitement as the crowds cheered in anticipation of the start of the last of the season’s fun run sled dog races. Teams would deploy in two-minute increments, and the team with the fastest time across the finish line would win. The next teams coming in after the winner would get a percentage of the prize money. Ariel needed that money.
She glanced around, trying to find Hunter among the throng of people gathered to watch. She spied him standing among the crowd, clearly searching for someone. A horn blew. Ariel frowned. It was the sound the judges used to let the mushers know there would be a delay. Like the other mushers, she stepped off her sled, setting the brake that would keep her team in place.
A disembodied voice came through the loudspeakers. “Ariel Potter, please come to the judges’ tent ASAP.”
Confusion and a prickle of fear slid down her back, creating a shiver that shook her body. She was aware of the gazes of her fellow mushers on her as she waved Trevor over. He had earplugs in but popped them out. “What’s going on?”
“I better go find out,” Ariel said. “Can you stay with the dogs?”
“Of course.” He traded places with her.
Once again, Ariel searched for Hunter. She couldn’t see him as she jogged to the official judges’ station. Just as she reached the enclosed ten-by-twenty tent, he joined her.
Hunter gave her a questioning look and she shook her head. They entered together. Monitors showing the crowd waiting for the start of the race and displaying the route along the Trozier Track lined one wall of the tent. Video cameras along the trail prevented cheating and alerted EMS if any mushers and their teams had problems.
Ariel took out her earplugs and approached the judging table, where four men and one woman sat. “I’m Ariel Potter.”
A gray-haired man with bushy eyebrows steepled his fingers together and stared at her over his thick black-framed glasses. “It’s come to our attention, Miss Potter, that you are doping your dogs.”
Ariel’s jaw went slack. No way could she have heard him correctly. “Excuse me? Doping? What on earth are you talking about?”
“We’ve had a complaint that you are giving your dogs performance-enhancing drugs,” the woman at the table said with a disapproving tone.
Dumbfounded by the accusation, Ariel’s gaze jumped to Hunter. “I wouldn’t ever do something like that.”
His troubled blue eyes held hers. “I’ve seen you giving the dogs some sort of powder in their food.”
Disbelief knocked her back a step. “It’s vitamins and minerals. Not only is it perfectly legal but good for them.” She turned back to the judges. “I do not give my dogs anything to enhance their performance. I would never violate the rules, nor would I put my dogs’ health in jeopardy.”
“Until that can be verified, you are banned from any races,” one of the other male judges stated.
“Banned?” Outrage heated her skin. “This is a fun run.”
“It’s still a race with a purse.”
Ariel’s fingers curled at her sides. “This is absurd!”
“The vet will need to take blood samples of your dogs to verify,” the woman spoke again. “If the accusation proves false, we will reinstate you.”
“Are you serious?” Ariel scoffed. “By the time that happens, the race will be over.”
She looked to Hunter for help. He didn’t come to her defense. Crushed by his lack of faith in her, she turned on her heels and walked out.
Hunter caught up with her. “Ariel, maybe this is for the best.”
“For the best!” She rounded on him. “Did you do this?”
His eyes widened. “No,” he said. “Of course not. I would never do that to you.”
“Of course not,” she mimicked him. “You didn’t want me to compete in this race to begin with. Now you’ve sabotaged me. Thanks, Hunter. I thought I meant more to you than that.” She stalked away from him.
“Ariel, where are you going?”
“I’m going to talk with the vet,” she called over her shoulder as he walked behind her. “I don’t need you with me.”
Tears blinded her as her heart caved in on itself. She’d almost considered herself in love with that man. Would she ever learn that was too much of a risk?
* * *
Hunter slowly followed after Ariel, keeping her in sight but giving her enough distance to cool off. It hurt to imagine that she believed he would do something so underhanded. He knew deep in his soul that she was a goodhearted woman who loved her dogs and she would never do anything to hurt them.
But somebody was obviously out to ruin her.
If it wasn’t Jason Barba’s ex-girlfriend, Sandy, who was in Fairbanks, then that left Jason, Violet James or Carly Winters.
Once Ariel entered the veterinarian’s tent, Hunter picked up his pace. When he entered the tent, he found Ariel talking to Dr. Cora Madison. He was surprised to see the K-9 Unit’s veterinarian working the race.
Both women stopped talking to stare at him.
He spread his hands wide. “It wasn’t me, but I suspect I know who did make the complaint.”
“Who?” Ariel’s tone was filled with antagonism.
He wasn’t ready to divulge his suspicion until he had it confirmed. “I’m going to deal with it. You stay here.” He turned to Cora. “Please, don’t let her leave this tent. And don’t let anyone else in here. Helena is on her way.”
Ariel blew out an exasperated breath. “Hunter, I’m done taking orders from you.” She turned away, giving him her back.
A helpless sort of rage infused him. He didn’t want her to believe the worst of him. Yet he had questioned her about the supplements she used for the dogs. And he hadn’t wanted her to race, but not because of this.
He needed to make this right. He returned to the judges’ tent and went to the young man sitting in front of the monitors. After showing his badge, Hunter asked, “Can you pan the crowd?”
“Sure.” The man toggled a device on a keyboard sitting on the table in front of him.
Scanning the faces, Hunter didn’t see Violet or Carly.
“I need you to send a copy of the last hour of video feed to this person.” Hunter took out Eli Partridge’s business card. “And then I want you to allow him to tap into the feed so that he can look at the crowd right now. There may be a killer on the loose.”
A flash of alarm flared in the younge
r man’s eyes. “You got it.”
The gray-haired judge from earlier hurried over. “What are you doing?”
Hunter explained and the gentleman nearly convulsed with panic. The other judges rushed over, obviously realizing that something was going on, and nearly matched the older judge’s distress.
“Please, don’t make this public,” the female judge said.
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it quietly,” another judge insisted. “We can’t have pandemonium. People and dogs will get hurt.”
“I’ll do my best,” Hunter assured them. “Who filed the complaint against Ariel Potter?”
The judges looked at each other.
“It was anonymous,” the gray-haired man claimed, his gaze shifting away from Hunter.
Narrowing his eyes, Hunter said, “I don’t believe that. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll put an end to this whole race right now.”
“You can’t do that!” the woman exclaimed. “We’re about to start the race.”
Hunter ground his teeth together. “Then give me the information I need.”
“Just give it to him, Tom,” the woman said. “It doesn’t matter in the long run.”
Tom huffed out an agitated breath. “It was Carly Winters.”
Just as Hunter suspected. Ariel’s competitor wanted to discredit Ariel and hurt her business. He believed that Carly was behind the attacks on Ariel, as well. Without another word, he hustled out of the tent and nearly mowed over Helena.
“Whoa, slow down,” she said, steadying herself. “What gives?”
In rapid-fire words, he gave her the highlights of the situation and where to find Ariel.
Secure that Helena would keep Ariel safe, he ran for his truck.
He was going to have it out with Carly Winters and arrest her for attempted murder.
* * *
Ariel’s dogs checked out fine, just as she’d known they would. Cora marched off to give the judges an earful, for which Ariel was grateful, but she was too upset to even contemplate joining the race at this point. She wasn’t sure why the officials had continued to delay the start of the race...though she suspected it had something to do with Hunter.
Maybe she’d been wrong to accuse him of sabotaging her. But the look in his eyes and his question about the supplements she gave to her dogs had made her see red. And ache with the pain of betrayal.
Just contemplating that Hunter could believe she’d do anything so underhanded and harmful made her insides twist.
And the question of who filed the complaint poked at her like a sharp stick, drawing bits of blood with every stab.
Hunter’s questions regarding Carly played through her head. She’d been truthful that they weren’t friends. But she didn’t tell him that ever since the other woman had landed in the area and Ariel had refused to sell her a dog, she had made her dislike of Ariel very clear. Was Carly the one behind the complaint? Had the other breeder been so jealous of Ariel’s business that she’d tried to hurt her?
A sinking sensation in her abdomen had Ariel needing to grab the nearest chair. Had Carly followed them up the mountain and acted on an opportunity to push her off the cliff? Then, when that attempt on her life hadn’t been successful, had the woman tried to steal Dash, Ariel’s most sought-after stud? Ariel was sure the person who had tried to strangle her was female or at least sounded like one. Could it have been Carly?
Her competitor had also been at the banquet. She could have easily been the one to orchestrate the collapse of the backdrop.
Heart hammering in her chest, Ariel jumped to her feet. She needed to find Hunter and tell him.
His teammate, Helena, and her partner, a Norwegian elkhound, walked into the tent just as Ariel was rushing out.
Helena’s wide green eyes flared with recognition. “Ariel.”
She stopped short, glad to see the trooper. “Helena, have you seen Hunter?”
“I just talked to him,” she replied. “He left, though. He told me to stay with you and get you back to your place.”
“Left?” Disappointment reared, mixed with the anger at his betrayal of trust. “Do you know where he’s going?”
“He’s following a hunch.”
Ariel hesitated. Then determination straightened her spine and infused her muscles with energy. She tugged on Helena’s state trooper jacket sleeve, pulling her and her partner into the judges’ tent. “I need your help with something. We’ll use your badge to get the information I want...”
“I’m here to help you in any way I can,” Helena said.
Once inside the tent, Ariel marched up to the judges’ table, where the panel sat. “My dogs are fine. But we need some information. Who told you I was doping my dogs?”
One of the judges rolled his eyes. “Not again.”
Ariel narrowed her gaze on him. “What do you mean?”
“The other trooper was in here asking the same question,” the gray-haired man told her.
Ariel’s pulse ticked up. She shared a startled glance with Helena.
Helena stepped forward. “This is official business. What did you tell him?”
The woman sighed. “That the breeder, Carly Winters, was the one who made the accusation.”
Helena gasped. “He’s headed to Carly’s!”
Ariel’s breath stalled in her lungs. “I’m afraid she might be dangerous.”
Helena’s eyebrows dipped. “But just to you, right?”
“We don’t know that for sure. She might do anything to keep from being caught.” Ariel took her phone out of her jacket pocket. “I’ll try to reach Hunter.”
Her call went straight to voice mail. She sent a text, as well. Dread gripped Ariel like a harness belted too tightly around her chest. “He’s not answering. We have to go to Carly’s.”
“I’ll call for someone to go there,” Helena said.
“There’s no time. Carly’s place isn’t far from here,” Ariel said. “We have to go ourselves.”
“We’ll take my rig, but you’ll stay in the car.”
Not about to argue, Ariel checked with Trevor to make sure he would take the dogs back to her place in the trailer.
With her dogs secure in Trevor’s capable hands, Ariel got into Helena’s SUV. She sent up a prayer: Dear Lord, please protect Hunter.
* * *
Hunter arrived at Carly’s place, pulling up next to the red truck with the Winters Kennels logo on the side. He studied the house. A curtain moved in an upstairs window.
She was home.
Caution tripped down his spine. He checked his weapon. Then he radioed dispatch, giving them his location and informing them he was questioning a potential suspect in the Potter case.
He climbed from the SUV, keeping an eye on the front of the two-story house. Using the release button on his keychain fob, he released Juneau. The dog jumped out, landing silently on the plowed driveway.
Hunter attached a lead to Juneau’s harness, and they approached the front entrance.
As he stepped onto the porch, a strange spitting sound raised the fine hairs at his nape in alarm. Beside him, Juneau let out a howl and then toppled over.
Heart jumping into his throat, Hunter dropped to his knees beside his partner. A blue-and-yellow dart protruded from the dog’s side.
A tranquilizer dart.
Anger, swift and dangerous, flowed through Hunter’s veins. He plucked the offending thing from Juneau, hoping to keep the full dose of the drug from entering his body. The crunch of footsteps on the porch stairs behind him had him reaching for his sidearm.
“Don’t move,” a gruff male voice demanded. “Get your hands in the air.”
Slowly Hunter raised his hands and swiveled to face Jason Barba. The man held a tranquilizer gun.
“You.” Regret for letting the weasel get the drop o
n him wound around him like an anchor rope to a tree. “Why aren’t you still in custody?”
“Lawyer.” Jason spit out the word. His face twisted with hatred. “You’ve gotten in our way far too much.”
“Our?” Dread pinched Hunter’s gut.
The front door opened and Carly Winters stepped out holding a .32 caliber weapon in her hands. She wore a baseball hat with her kennel logo over a long brown wig.
The pieces of the puzzle shifted. “You two are working together.”
“That’s right, handsome,” Carly said. “Now put your weapon on the ground.”
No way was he giving up his sidearm. “Why are you mixed up with Jason? Why are you trying to hurt Ariel?”
“Hey.” Jason’s voice rose to a higher octave. “What do you mean by mixed up with me?”
“Shut up, Jason,” Carly said, her brown eyes glittering with malice. “Trooper, do as you’re told or your dog dies.” She shifted the barrel of her gun to Juneau.
Afraid she would follow through with her threat and kill his partner, Hunter rushed Carly. He’d rather be shot than let Juneau die.
She screamed and danced back. A sharp pain between his shoulder blades drew Hunter up short. Jason had fired a dart into his back. Another dart hit Hunter in the leg. He dropped to his knees beside his partner.
Carly pushed Hunter over with her foot. “Now, be a good boy and go to sleep.”
Hunter fought the drug invading his system as the world went hazy, but it proved to be too strong and he succumbed to the darkness.
SEVENTEEN
With her heart in her throat and fear tingling through her, Ariel held on to the dashboard as Helena drove at a breakneck speed with the siren blaring toward Carly Winters’s kennels. The two-story house and outbuilding came into view. There was no sign of Hunter. Carly’s truck was not in the driveway, either. Helena brought the SUV to a skidding halt.
Ariel caught sight of a white tail sticking out from beneath the porch.