When the Wolf Prowls: A Cimarron/Melbourne Thriller - Book Three

by Vanessa Prelatte

  “Do you really think it will work?” she asked.

  Dawn suppressed a smile as she moved over to the coffee station to pour herself a cup of coffee. Of course it would work. If the fund-raising campaign didn’t raise enough money, Sloan would personally make up the difference.

  Ty joined her. “So, how much do you think we should contribute?” he inquired.

  Dawn sipped her coffee and reflected. “Why don’t we wait until the final total is added up before we decide?” She finished her coffee and threw the cup away. A couple of comfortable-looking chairs near the coffee station tempted her to sit down and try to relax. Ty sat down next to her. After only a minute or two, however, Dawn stood up again.

  “Man, I hate all this sitting around. I wish I could go somewhere, do something,” she said.

  “What’s stopping you?” Ty asked.

  “Duh… I have to stay here. I don’t want to be missing in action when the doctor shows up to give his report.”

  “Give me a minute. Maybe I can help here.” Ty walked over to his father and said something in his ear. Sloan nodded and walked out the door. He reentered presently and walked up to Dawn, saying, “I managed to get some information on Rafe’s status. He’ll probably be in surgery for a while yet, so if you want to get out and walk around, go ahead. I promise you that if the doctor shows up while you’re gone, I’ll make sure that he remains here until you get back.”

  “Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on your offer,” Dawn said gratefully.

  In just a few minutes, she had made her way to the elevator and up to the fifth floor, where the surviving victim recovered from the trunk of the car was being treated. Disappointment awaited her there, however, for the woman was still in a coma.

  Before returning to the waiting room, she decided to check on the suspected poisoning victim, Jillian Kaelar. Returning to the elevator, she pushed the button for the fourth floor. When the car stopped, she got off the elevator and headed for the nursing station. To her surprise, she saw a familiar figure there.

  Amethyst Gascoyne caught sight of Dawn at the same time and smiled. At that moment, Dawn knew that Rafe was right; something was definitely amiss here. Amethyst’s reaction was all wrong. Someone who had been accused of poisoning another person should be hostile or frightened, intimidated or irritated when a police officer showed up – not smiling as if she hadn’t a care in the world. And she certainly shouldn’t have a cat-that-just-licked-the-cream expression on her face.

  “Detective,” Amethyst purred. “What a nice surprise. Perhaps you can help me out here.”

  Dawn raised her eyebrows. “Help you? In what way?” she inquired.

  Amethyst waved a hand toward the nurse she had been speaking to. At the same time, she indicated a flower arrangement resting on the counter in front of her.

  “I stopped by to give Jillian some flowers, but the nurses won’t let me see her. They won’t give her my flowers, either.”

  “Considering that Jillian has accused you of poisoning her, I don’t find that surprising at all, Amethyst,” Dawn said. “In fact, you shouldn’t even be here. Not while it’s still an open case.”

  Amethyst turned wide, innocent eyes on her. “But I explained all that, Detective. Why can’t anyone understand that?”

  “Sorry, Amethyst, but in a police investigation, explanations aren’t enough. Now, I really think you should leave,” Dawn said firmly.

  “But what about the flowers?”

  “You could leave them here with us,” the nurse suggested.

  “Not a good idea,” Dawn interposed. “Better take the flowers with you, Amethyst,” she advised.

  With a shrug of her shoulders, Amethyst gathered up the flower arrangement and sauntered away, blowing an airy kiss in the direction of all of them as she went.

  “What a piece of work,” the nurse commented as they watched Amethyst’s retreating back.

  “Yeah,” Dawn responded thoughtfully. “Yeah – she really is. But I didn’t come here to see her, but to see the patient and find out if there’s any news on the tox screen.”

  “I’m afraid that the tox results still haven’t come back. Apparently they’re swamped down in the lab. And the patient – Ms. Kaelar – was asleep the last time I checked on her. But I can wake her if you want.”

  “No, don’t do that. I’ll wait for the tox results to come back before questioning her. Thank you.”

  Dawn’s cell phone pinged right then. Scanning the text, she hurried back to the Surgical Waiting Area. There, she found the doctor waiting for her with his report.

  “Dawn Cimarron?” he inquired.

  “That’s me,” Dawn confirmed. “What’s the news on Sergeant Melbourne?”

  The doctor nodded toward a small office adjoining the waiting area.

  “Why don’t we step in there, and I’ll update you on Sergeant Melbourne’s condition,” he suggested.

  The doctor led the way into the office and waited for Dawn to seat herself before he took his own seat.

  “Sergeant Melbourne is out of surgery and in Recovery,” he said. “He’ll be in there for a little while; then he’ll be moved up to his own room. Once he is settled in there, you may go in and visit with him, if you wish.”

  “Thanks,” Dawn responded. “What’s his current status, Doctor?”

  “It’s satisfactory. As you were told before, the appendix had a slight tear in it and was leaking poison into his system, but it was not a large amount. We were able to clean it out and insert a drainage tube after we removed the appendix.”

  “How long will he need to stay in the hospital?”

  “Because his appendix was perforated, albeit only slightly, he’ll probably be in the hospital for a few days. After his release, he can be cleared to return to work within two to four weeks.”

  “Okay – he’s not going to be happy about that,” Dawn reflected. “But I’ll make sure he takes it easy and doesn’t push to return to work before he’s fully recovered,” she said.

  The doctor glanced at his chart. “I see from his admitting information that Sergeant Melbourne lives alone,” he said. “Can arrangements be made for someone to stay with him once he gets home? It’s not a good idea for him to be alone, at least for the first few days.”

  “I’ll take care of it. If nobody can come and stay with him, I’ll have him stay at my house for a while.”

  “There’s no family available? I see that in addition to yourself, he has a brother listed who also has power of attorney for health care.”

  “Gabe – his brother, lives in Pittsburgh. I called him right before they took Rafe into surgery. He’s on his way. He could only get a couple of days off work, though. He won’t be able to stick around and look after Rafe once he’s released from the hospital. Like I said, I’ll persuade him to stay with me.” And I’ll enlist my mother and father-in-law to help me, if necessary , she added to herself silently. Rafe was tough, but he was no match for Sloan and Maeve Lewellen.

  The doctor excused himself and departed, but Dawn decided to remain behind in the office for a few minutes and use the opportunity to call Prentiss for an update before returning to the waiting area.

  “How’s Rafe?” Prentiss inquired immediately.

  “Out of surgery and in recovery. The doctor says I can go in and see him as soon as he’s settled in his own room.”

  “That’s good news. I’ve got some other news for you: The X-rays of the dead woman’s arm confirmed her identity. She’s definitely Zoe Ballentine.”

  “Have the parents been notified?

  “Yes. They’re on their way.”

  “What about the other victim? Since we know that she can’t possibly be Kit Blakewood, do the parents have any ideas concerning her possible identity?”

  “Not a clue. They were astounded to find that someone other than Kit had been found with Zoe.”

  “We’ll have an opportunity to question them more thoroughly when they arrive here. Maybe something el
se will have occurred to them by then.”

  As she disconnected the call, Dawn contemplated this newest turn of events in the case. Zoe Ballentine was dead. The unknown survivor was lying in a coma in Mountpelier General Hospital, only a few floors above where Dawn herself was calling from. So where was Kit Blakewood?

  Chapter 12

  Kit was dreaming. She was nine years old again, walking up to a forbidding gray stone building. She dreaded the thought of entering it, her new school. This was a strange new environment, and she didn’t know anyone. Going to a new school without even one friend? That was something she had never dreamed she would have to do.

  She’d been born and raised in Michigan. She had lived with her parents in a neighborhood filled with other families who had lots of kids. She had never wanted for friends. There was always somebody to play with, ride the school bus with, hang out with after school. She’d always taken it for granted.

  Until her parents had started to have problems. It seemed like her dad had changed overnight. He’d moved out, started seeing another woman. Within a year, he had divorced her mother and married that other woman. Then her father’s new wife had gotten pregnant, and soon Kit had a half-brother. After that, she had hardly ever seen her dad again. It was as if he’d written off family number one, and now only had time for family number two. Every month, she would see her mother’s anxious face, waiting for the child support check. Most months, it was late, or didn’t arrive at all. She would hear her mother on the phone, begging her father for money, desperation in her voice.

  That had gone on for a couple of years. Then her mother had made some changes. She’d gone back to school and finished her college degree. She had petitioned for and received sole custody of Kit from Family Court. Her father hadn’t even bothered to show up to fight it. Then her mother had announced that they were moving. She’d gotten a new job, a good, high-paying one in Des Moines, Iowa.

  Within weeks, Kit was bidding her old neighborhood goodbye. She had relocated to a new state, a new house, and a new neighborhood. And school had started two days later. She hadn’t had any chance to make new friends. So she had approached the new school with trepidation.

  But then another girl was there, a girl with bright red hair, big blue eyes, and a smile that seemed to embrace the entire world.

  “Zoe,” she whispered. She reached out and tried to grasp her hand, but Zoe was fading, fading away.

  “No, Don’t go. Stay. Please, Zoe. Don’t leave me!”

  She was still screaming, begging Zoe not to leave, when she woke up.

  Still disoriented from the dream, it took Kit a moment or two to remember where she was. And the memory did not bring her any comfort. She was in an unfamiliar room, lying on a narrow twin bed. The bed had an old-fashioned headboard with brass posts on either side, and her wrists were tied to the posts. There was another twin bed in the room. But that one was unoccupied

  She strained her ears, trying to catch some sound. Something, anything, that would give her a clue as to Zoe’s whereabouts. She heard nothing, however. And that scared the hell out of her.

  He had taken Zoe out the day before. Kit had heard the footsteps retreating down the stairs. After that – the screams, the terrible screams. Silence for a while after that. Then he had returned to the room, but Zoe was not with him. Kit had opened her mouth to ask where Zoe was, but he held up a hand.

  “No questions,” he ordered.

  He had a sandwich with him and ordered her to eat. Then he had let her use the bathroom. Tying her to the bed again, he’d left a bottle of water with a straw inside it on the end table next to the bed. By leaning over and angling her head, she could just manage to get the straw into her mouth.

  “I have to go out for a while,” he said. “I probably won’t be back until late tonight. So you’d better make the water last. Don’t drink too much of it at once.”

  He had gone away, and she heard the sound of the car starting up and rumbling down the driveway. After that – nothing but silence.

  Night had fallen, but he had not returned. The sun had risen, the minutes had ticked by, but there was still no sign of him.

  Her mind floated back, back to the beginning of this nightmare. It had seemed like such a good idea, to take a little side-trip and visit the scenic gorge that morning. They’d heard about it from the waitress who served them breakfast at the hotel that morning. The waitress had urged them not to skip viewing such an amazing site. All they had to do, she said, was take Exit 71 off I-25 just a few miles south of Colorado City and follow the signs from there.

  Everything had gone well at first. But then the paved road had given way to a rough surface of dirt and gravel. Driving had been tricky, but she and Zoe had been determined to continue on and see the gorge.

  After about a quarter of a mile, the road had split into a ‘Y’. They had taken the right branch, hoping to catch sight of the gorge, but their view had consisted of nothing but a lot of trees and brush. Then a double disaster had struck. First, it had started pouring down rain. Kit had switched on the headlights and started the wipers going. Glancing over at Zoe, she had commented, “Looks like it isn’t the day for a scenic side trip. Maybe we should just turn around.”

  Before Zoe could reply, however, the second disaster struck. With a cough and a splutter, the car had simply conked out.

  Kit didn’t panic. Her stepfather had taught her a lot about car maintenance, so she had gotten out and lifted the hood. Zoe joined her after a minute or two, an umbrella in her hand.

  “What do you think?” Zoe had said. “Should we call for a tow truck?”

  “Not yet,” Kit had responded. “It could be something relatively minor like a problem with the battery terminals. Look, get my tool case out of the trunk, will you?”

  Zoe complied and brought the case to Kit. Reaching inside, Kit had plucked out a voltmeter. Connecting it to the battery terminals was the work of just a minute or two.

  “It’s definitely the battery,” Kit affirmed. “If we’re lucky, maybe it’s just a loose connection.”

  She had fiddled around a little with the connections. Straightening up a short time later, she had backed up a step and said, “I think I might have solved the problem, Zoe. How about you get back in the car and try starting it up?”

  Zoe had moved into the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition. With a vroom, the engine had turned over and the car had started up.

  “Yippee!” Zoe yelled. She darted out of the car again and danced back to Kit, throwing her arms around her and enveloping Kit in a hug. Unfortunately, the car had spluttered and died again a second later.

  Just then a car had pulled up, going in the opposite direction. There was a family of four inside: a man, a woman, and two children.

  The man had rolled down his window and said, “Having some car problems? Do you need me to call a tow truck for you?”

  His voice was high-pitched for a man, Kit had noted. Other than that, there was nothing to distinguish him. He had even, regular features and a long neck. On his head he wore a blue golf cap.

  Kit responded to his offer of assistance by saying, “The car stalled out on us, but it’s just a minor problem with one of the battery terminals. I got it fixed a minute ago, and I’m going to try tinkering with it again. I’ll see if I can get it fixed for good this time and avoid calling a tow truck. If I can’t get the car started again, I can always use my cell phone to call a tow truck. Thanks for stopping and checking on us, though.”

  The man had nodded and driven on. But just a few yards down the road, she realized that he had swung the car around and stopped again. The driver’s side door popped open. The man got out of the car and walked back toward them. When he was within a yard or two of them, he said, “My wife refuses to let me drive on until she’s sure you are okay here. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  The words were harmless. The tone was kind, considerate, helpful. But suddenly the hairs were standing up on th
e back of Kit’s neck. Despite the warmth offered by her light jacket, goose bumps were prickling all along her upper arms. It took her only a split second to realize why. There was a bend in the road where the man had stopped his car, and he had angled it so that it completely blocked the road. Acting on instinct, Kit had pivoted on her heel, circled around the hood of the car, and moved toward the rear passenger side door.

  Her hand was on the door handle, but before she could get to the rifle resting under a blanket on the back seat, the man snapped out an order.

  “Hold it right there. Don’t move another inch!”

  Turning, she saw the pistol in his hand, and the pistol was aimed straight at Zoe’s head.

  Chapter 13

  As she left the small office where she had consulted with Rafe’s doctor, Dawn was conflicted. One part of her was filled with the case. Thoughts of Zoe Ballentine, Kit Blakewood, and the unidentified woman lying in a coma up on the fifth floor of the hospital were chasing each other through her mind. Superimposed upon them, however, were concerns for her partner. Much as she wanted to focus on the case, Rafe was her first concern at the moment – at least until his brother arrived.

  Joining the others in the waiting room, Dawn told them what the doctor had said.

  “So the surgery went well. That’s good news,” Sloan said.

  “Very good news,” Maeve added. “Now you can relax and start breathing again, Dawn,” she said with a smile.

  “Speaking of relaxing, have you eaten anything lately?” Ty asked.

  “I’m okay,” Dawn said. “I got a package of trail mix from the vending machines not too long ago, right before you came in.”

  “That’s not a proper meal,” Ty pointed out. “Why don’t we go down to the cafeteria, grab a bite to eat?”

  “I want to see Rafe first.”

  “Rafe’s in Recovery right now. It’s the perfect time to take a break and get something to eat.”

  Dawn opened her mouth to respond, but closed it when another woman entered the waiting area and hurried up to them. She recognized Tara, Rafe’s former sister-in-law, and realized that she had forgotten the fact that Tara was currently staying with Rafe.