by Carrie Carr
Hubert sat and brushed a hand through his greasy hair. "Yeah, whatever."
The sheriff entered the room, barely able to hide his amusement at the look on Hubert's face. He sat at one end of the table and turned on a small tape recorder. He stated the date and identified himself and the others in the room. "Hubert Walters, do you understand the rights that were read to you earlier today?"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's get on with it." Hubert ignored the glare from his lawyer and locked eyes with Charlie. "I want some guarantee you'll protect me, old man."
"Protect you? From what?"
"Bobby." With sweat pouring off him, Hubert grabbed the sheriff's arm. "That son of a bitch killed Rick, and I'm next. He thinks I owe him money."
Charlie none-too-gently disentangled the hand from his arm and leaned back in his chair. "Why would he think so?"
"You don't have to--" Kirk started, only to be interrupted.
" Cause he's the one who almost killed Lex, that's why. Jesus, old man, think about it!" Hubert jumped to his feet again and patted his shirt pocket, realizing belatedly he had quit smoking years before. "Okay, look. Rick introduced me to Bobby right around Christmas. We played poker a few times, and I guess I must have complained about my sister at some point." He glanced at Charlie to make certain he was listening. "Anyway, Bobby must have got it in his head I'd pay him to get rid of Lex."
As the lawyer lowered his head in dismay, Charlie sat up taller in his seat. "And how did he come to that conclusion, Hubert?"
"How the fuck should I know?" Hubert sat and began to nervously draw patterns on the table with one fingertip. "I had no idea what he had done, until he came into my office and beat the shit out of me."
"Bobby is the one responsible for putting you in the hospital? Why didn'st you tell us earlier?" Charlie closed his eyes in disgust.
"You could have saved us all a bunch of trouble, son."
Hubert slapped the table. "Haven'st you been listening, old man? The crazy bastard would have killed me for sure."
"Why tell me all this?"
"Because," Hubert enunciated slowly, "I'm afraid for my life. Since Bobby already took care of Rick--"
"Several pints of vodka took care of Mr. Thompson. The man was stinking drunk and drove into a telephone pole."
A frown covered Hubert's face as he looked from Kirk to Charlie. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying," Charlie spoke slowly, much as Hubert had done a moment before, "you jumped to conclusions and panicked." He stood and patted the stricken man's shoulder. "Thanks for all the information, son. I'm sure your lawyer can fill you in on what to expect in prison." He picked up his tape recorder and left the room.
LEX TOSSED HER duffel bag into the back seat of the truck, relaxed after another good night's sleep. She leaned against the side of the vehicle, glancing at the cabin with a wistful smile on her face. They hadn'st been there long, but she was going to miss the cabin. When she heard the front door slam, Lex enjoyed the view as Amanda slowly ambled to where she stood. "Got everything?"
"I think so." Amanda used her free hand to brush the hair out of her eyes. "I don't think I want to leave, though. It's been so wonderfully peaceful."
Lex took the bag. "I was thinking the same thing." She tossed it into the seat beside hers and closed the door. "But I guess we'sve played hooky long enough, huh?"
"Only if you feel like going back. There's nothing that won'st wait. You're much more important." Although the shadows were gone from beneath Lex's eyes, Amanda couldn'st help but worry it was too soon for them to leave. "I'm sure our families can handle everything for a few more days."
"Nah. I'm ready to get home. But it has been nice, lazing around in the sun with you." Lex pulled Amanda into her arms and kissed the top of her head. "We will have to come back, though. Maybe take off for one weekend a month?"
"Sounds good to me." Amanda snuggled close. She stood quietly for a long moment, enjoying the feel of the arms around her and the warm sun against her skin. The happy song of a nearby mockingbird was the only sound she heard, aside from the beating of Lex's heart under her ear.
Pulling away reluctantly, Lex looked down into her eyes. "We're not getting very far, are we?"
"Depends on what you mean. But I suppose we'd better head back, since we told my grandparents we'd stop by their house for lunch."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot." Lex released her hold on Amanda and opened the front passenger door to the truck. "Come on. Maybe Jake is whipping up some of his famous stir fry." She hurried around to the other side of the truck and slid behind the steering wheel.
After dropping the shotgun off at Sherry's, they settled in for the short trip to Somerville. A few miles from the lake, heavy smoke could be seen off the road. Lex pulled the truck behind a couple of other vehicles parked on the shoulder of the two-lane highway. A harried older woman covered in soot rushed to the vehicle and knocked on Amanda's window.
Amanda rolled her window down. "What's going on? Is there something we can do to help?"
"Brushfire," the woman gasped out. "My husband and three kids are trying to contain it a few hundred yards west of here. It's heading straight for a mobile home park."
Amanda traded a quick glance with Lex. It never failed. Just when they thought they could relax, something else came along. She turned back to the other woman. "Have you contacted the fire department?"
"That's why I was coming back to my car. But my cell phone won'st work in this area, and our cabin at the lake doesn'st have a phone. I was about to head into town when y'sall drove up."
Already out of the truck, Lex tied her hair into a ponytail and took her black Stetson from the back seat. "How'd you find out about the fire?"
The woman reached into the back pocket of her dirty jeans and pulled out a grubby handkerchief, which she used to wipe her face. "We were building a new fence down the road a ways and saw the smoke. We haven'st been here long."
"Amanda," Lex walked around to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door, "would you mind driving into town and getting some help? I'm going to see if I can help these folks."
An irrational fear coursed through Amanda. She didn'st want to leave Lex. "I can help."
"Not with your leg giving you trouble. But you can help if you'd get the fire department out here."
"I don't want to leave you."
"I understand, cause I don't want you to leave." Lex ran her hand along Amanda's arm. "But someone needs to contact the authorities. And you need to let your grandparents know we may be a little late for lunch."
Amanda accepted the keys from Lex. "I'll go. But I won'st like it." Not caring they weren'st alone, she wrapped her arms around Lex's neck and pulled her close. "I love you," she whispered, as she placed a soft kiss on her lips.
"I love you, too. Contact Charlie when you get into town, and tell him which direction the fire is heading. He may want to evacuate the trailer park."
"I will." Amanda started around to the driver's side of the truck. "Be careful."
"Aren'st I always?" Lex watched as Amanda drove away, then to the woman who stood a few feet away. "Well? You have any more shovels handy?"
The woman shook her head to clear it. "Uh, yeah. Come on. We'll grab a couple and head back to where my family is."
TRAVIS PARKED HIS car behind the large truck. He was impatient to tell Lex and Amanda how he used the county commissioner's greed against him, and bribed the man into getting an inspector to the ranch immediately. It was only an hour ago that he had returned from the ranch, where he had watched the inspector tag the residence for immediate occupancy. He felt quite proud of himself. The commissioner had no idea he recorded the entire conversation, and turned the tape into the mayor. Someone would be looking for a new job in the near future. Travis practically jogged up the steps to the house and stepped inside. He heard voices in the den and smiled in anticipation as he crossed the threshold.
"I'm not a child, Grandpa. I need to get back and see what I can
do to help," Amanda pleaded.
Jacob looked up as Travis stepped into the room. "Thank goodness you're here. I could use some reinforcements." He patted his granddaughter on the knee and stood. "Maybe you can help me convince Amanda she'd be better off staying here with us."
"What's going on? Where's Lexie?"
"She's out near the lake helping fight a brushfire. I was on my way back to help, but Grandpa seems to think I'd be in the way." Although her recently healed leg was slightly stiff, Amanda felt her place was with her partner, not sitting in town waiting for news.
Both men sat, one on each side of Amanda. Jacob put his hand on her leg. "It's not that I'd think you'd be in the way, I'm concerned about your welfare. When you came into the house, I could tell your leg was bothering you. How much help are you going to be out there if you're in pain?"
"He's right. Have you ever been around a fire like that? It's strenuous work." Travis remembered a few fires in his days as an oilman. The heat, smoke, and complete confusion were unbelievable, and Amanda would be in constant danger.
Amanda wiped the tears of frustration from her face and sniffled. "No, I haven'st. "But I can'st sit around here waiting, not knowing what's going on out there."
"You'sve done the important part. I'm sure with the fire department and all the volunteers, the blaze will be out in no time." Jacob wrapped his arm around his granddaughter's shoulders.
"I don't like it. There's got to be something I can do, or some way I can find out what's happening." She leaned into her grandfather. "The waiting around and not knowing is going to drive me crazy."
There had to be some way they could stay in the loop, without actually being there. A sudden idea popped into Travis's head. "What about a radio?"
It took a moment for Jacob to understand the question. "Of course. Why didn'st I think of that?" He stood, bringing Amanda up with him. "Come on. We're going down the street to see a friend of mine."
"What? Who?" Amanda looked from one man to the other in confusion. She allowed herself to be escorted out of the room, but was at a loss to determine what her grandfather was up to.
LEX JABBED THE blade of the shovel into the hard earth, leaned on the handle of the tool and wiped her forehead against her shoulder. The heat from the fire they had been battling for several hours was beginning to wear on her, and she silently cursed herself for her lack of stamina. She glanced to her right, where another woman was busy shoveling chunks of dirt onto the slowly moving flames.
After she had watched Amanda drive off, Lex followed the woman to the truck and gathered up several more tools.
"I swear she'll be the death of me some day. She's always got her head in the clouds, and can'st seem to do a simple task without being led through it. Kathy's a dreamer, that's all there is to it." Tammy Kirkpatrick handed Lex a shovel from the rear of the truck. "This is the first job we'sve been able to get her on in months. I don't know what I'm going to do with her."
Lex accepted the tool. "I can understand your concern. But maybe Kathy needs to find her own niche, and it might not be in the family business." She didn'st expect the vehement response, which erupted from Tammy.
"That's a load of bullshit if I've ever heard it! I think the girl's afraid of a little hard work. She needs to get her feet back on the ground and quit dawdling." Her light gray eyes looked up into the shadowed face above her. "I've been grooming her to take over for years. Lord knows her brothers ain'st got enough sense to run the business like she could." She thumped Lex on the back and started back to the woods. "Come on, hon. We'd best get to work."
While they hurried back to where the woman's family was busy trying to contain the fire, she learned more about her. Tammy Kirkpatrick was the mother of three adult children, ranging in ages from twenty-three to thirty-two. They all worked in the family business of fence and barn building. Her only daughter was twenty-five years old and, as she explained to Lex, was the most trying of the three.
Lex looked at where the younger Kirkpatrick woman was busy throwing shovelfuls of dirt. Kathy didn'st appear lazy. She had been given a brief introduction to her, and could quickly tell the young woman was no more suited for fence building than she herself would be at a desk job. Lex wiped the sweat from her brow again, and decided to circle around several yards away. She hoped to force the fire back into itself, which would cause it to burn out.
Several volunteers had the same idea as Lex, she found out as she stepped over the small hill. Three men were hacking down trees to make a firebreak, and one looked up and saw Lex nearby. He waved one arm in greeting and then pointed her back into the trees. "We need more folks there," he yelled.
"Okay." Lex waved back and stepped into the denser brush. With a quick look around, she could see what the man had meant. There were no other people in this part of the woods, and the fire looked to be burning quickly beyond their control. "Damn. Guess I'd better get busy." She ducked in reflex as the top of a tree exploded, showering ash and debris down around her.
Chapter Nineteen
"HI THERE, ROB. This is my granddaughter Amanda, and my friend Travis." Jacob introduced them to the old man who had answered the door. "We were wondering if you had your scanner on."
Rob opened the screen door and gestured for the threesome to step inside. "Sure do. Been listening to them fight the fire out by the lake." He waved an arm at the furniture in the cluttered living room. "Have a seat."
Jacob guided his granddaughter in front of him. "Thanks. We'sve got family out there and were hoping to listen in with you."
Amanda perched on one end of the sofa, sitting as close as she could to the radio which took up the center of the rickety coffee table. She could hear garbled static, and looked up at their host. "Have you heard any news?"
"Some." Rob dropped into a chair across from Amanda. "There's three different departments out there, as well as two volunteer agencies. They're afraid it's going to get out of hand, because of the wind."
Amanda sat up. "What about the people out there? Are they in any danger?"
"From what I've heard so far, there's already been injuries to a few of the firefighters. They're hoping they can stop it before it gets to the populated areas."
"Injuries?" Amanda gasped, looking at Jacob and Travis. "I've got to get out there."
Jacob, who had sat next to her, stopped Amanda by the arm. "No. Stay here with us." He looked at Travis, who had a worried expression on his face. "Lex is probably fine, right?"
"Oh, right," Travis agreed, not looking too convinced. He glanced at their host. "Did they mention any names of the people who had been injured?"
"Not--" Rob's answer was cut off by the radio.
"Dispatch, this is Unit Four. We need an ambulance immediately."
All four people stared at the device, waiting for more information.
"Ten-four, Sam. We'sve got one en route. How bad is it?" the dispatcher asked.
"Can'st tell for sure at this time, Dispatch. The woman was trapped under a burning tree for a few minutes. She's unconscious."
"Roger. The ambulance is on the way, Sam. Dispatch out."
Amanda leapt off the sofa. "I can'st sit by and listen to this. That could be Lex!" She was almost to the door when a strong hand clamped down on her arm. She turned around to Travis. "I've got to go."
"No. If you want, we can go back to the house and wait, but I can'st allow you to go running off half-cocked like this." Travis's sad eyes looked out from a drawn and tired face. "You realize Lexie wouldn'st want you to place yourself in danger."
"It's not fair, Travis." She leaned into him. "It's not fair."
LEX USED HER hat to brush the embers from her clothes. The heat from the fire was almost unbearable, and she took a moment to spare a glance a few yards away. Kathy Kirkpatrick had joined her a few minutes earlier and was having her own problems. She kept running her fingers through her blonde hair, fighting the ash and fiery debris that continued to pelt the volunteers. Lex hurried to her. "You okay?"
she yelled, to be heard over the noise of the fire.
"I think so," Kathy admitted, then screamed. "I think my hair's on fire. Help me!" She frantically slapped at her head. "It burns!"
"Calm down." Lex pulled her away from the blaze. She waited until they were well away from the fire before turning her attention to Kathy's hair. "Let me see."
Kathy leaned her head forward until her chin touched her chest. "God, it hurts." She placed her hands on Lex's hips to keep from digging at her own scalp.
"Looks like you'sve got a couple of nice little burns, here." Lex took off her hat and placed it on the other woman's head. "Wear this. It should keep the burns fairly clean until you can get some medical attention."
"I can'st take your hat. What about you?" She lifted the brim of the hat back so she could see.
"I don't have burns on my head. I'll be fine. Do you want me to help you get back to the main road? I'm sure they have paramedics standing by who can treat you."
Kathy shook her head, causing the hat to bounce. "No. I want to keep trying to get this damned thing under control. My mother would never let me hear the end of it if I stopped." She picked up her shovel from where she had dropped it and jogged back to the fire.
"Stubborn. But I can'st blame her." Lex picked up her tool and went back to work a few yards away from her.
THE LARGE MAN wiped the sweat from his forehead with the end of his shirt. He continued to walk through the smoldering mess, doing his best to avoid the volunteers and firefighters. He had started the fire to burn toward the lake, but the wind changed directions. The idea had come to him the previous day, when he found out by accident where Lex was staying.