by Kim Redford
“That’ll work.”
“I’m free now. What do you want me to do?”
“Find Jeremy. I can’t spare anybody else.”
“Jeremy!” Trey felt like he’d been broadsided.
“Yeah. He reported in at Twin Oaks. The Gladstones’ van wasn’t there. He alerted Ruby. She checked their room, but they’d cleaned out without telling her.”
“Suspicious, huh?”
“Damn straight. Ruby’s staying there in case they come back. She’s waiting with her shotgun, but I sent a guy over to stay with her.”
“Good.” Trey tapped his fingertips against the steering wheel. “Where did you last hear from Jeremy?” Trey hated to think the young whippersnapper might be in trouble.
“Wildcat Road at the turnoff to that partially burned tree farm across from your ranch.”
Trey groaned again. “Think they went back to finish the job?”
“Crossed my mind.”
“And Jeremy got caught in the middle of it.” Trey’s mind leaped ahead as he tried to sort out possible dangers. “Okay. I’ll call in the hands to patrol the ranch, but I’ll go after Jeremy.”
“Thanks,” Harry said. “And Trey, watch your back and stay in touch.”
“You too.” Trey clicked off his phone.
“Now I really think it’s the Gladstones,” Misty said. “But I won’t contact Audrey till we know how this plays out. No need to worry her.”
“Sounds good.” Trey punched speed dial and got his foreman on the phone. “Greg, we’ve got a situation. Firebugs are attacking the county. They may try for the ranch again. Get hold of as many hands as you can and send them out on patrol. Call Harry if you run into trouble.”
“They’re not getting Wildcat Ranch,” Greg said in a gravelly voice. “I’m on it.” And he clicked off.
“Good man.” Trey dropped his phone back in his pocket.
Misty gave Trey a determined look. “I can’t think of any reason for the Gladstones to set all these fires except to scatter resources. That’d leave their real goals vulnerable, wouldn’t it?”
He nodded in agreement. “The Texas Timber Christmas tree farm and Wildcat Ranch.”
“Right. Nobody’d be around to stop the fires this time.”
“If that’s right, they’d go there last, wouldn’t they?”
“I’d think so. And it’d mean we still have a chance to get ahead of the fires.”
Trey hesitated and looked over at her. “Maybe I’d better take you back to the cafeteria. My truck’s there.”
“Why?” She cocked her head in puzzlement.
“I want you safe.”
She smiled, but shook her head. “I don’t want you in danger either. But that’s not an option. We’re in this together. Thick or thin.”
“Let’s go get ’em.” Trey gunned the engine.
He tore down the street, and then turned down one lane after another till he’d driven out of town. He headed across open pasture, knowing the owners and knowing the fence gates that’d let him come in the back way to his own property. It’d give him a chance to surprise anybody watching the main roads.
He bounced the ATV across dry grass, startling sleeping cattle, driving cottontail rabbits out of hiding places, and sending birds flying from low perches in trees. He was glad the full moon illuminated the countryside. He had the ATV’s headlights on, but those provided limited coverage.
Trey braked in front of a gate in a barbwire fence. He stepped out of his four-wheeler, opened the gate, got back in his ATV, drove to the other side, got out, and closed the gate.
When he sat down again, he glanced at Misty. “Rough ride?”
She smiled as she shook her head. “All in a day’s work. Maybe you ought to let me open and shut gates from now on.”
“It’d sure save time.”
He took off across the pasture, bumping over clumps of grass and weaving around bushes as he watched the land and skies for anything that didn’t fit. He dreaded to see the telltale sign of smoke over his ranch, but so far the night appeared normal.
Misty helped at the next gate, opening and closing it like an old hand. He hit a little-used dirt road that skirted the back side of his ranch. He didn’t want to spook his own hands by tearing across pastures. He knew the sound of the ATV would carry on the night air, so he could only drive in so close without alerting others. He pulled up under the low-hanging branches of a live oak tree. He cut the lights and engine.
He stepped out and transferred his phone to the back pocket of his jeans. He listened intently as he gave his eyes a chance to adapt to the moonlight. No sounds of vehicles or folks talking. He didn’t hear anything that was cause for alarm, but he still had an uneasy feeling that something wasn’t right. He glanced back at the sky. As far as he could tell, there was still no sign of smoke in the bright full moon’s light.
Misty got out and walked around to him. “What now?”
“Let’s go in on foot to the road between the ranch and tree farm. See what we can see.” He held a fingertip up to his mouth to indicate quiet.
She nodded in acknowledgment.
Trey set off at a jog and she kept right up with him. He was glad the dirt road muffled their footsteps so they could make good time. When they got close to the asphalt road, he slowed and held up his hand. She dropped down to a walk with him.
He crept up to a corner of the ranch’s barbwire fence. Misty moved quietly like his shadow in the silver moonlight. Finally, he got a good view of the road. A Wildcat Bluff police car was parked on the shoulder up from the entrance to Wildcat Road. The front door was open. Trey felt a chill run up his spine. Misty squeezed his hand, so he knew she was concerned at the sight, too.
Where was Jeremy? He was a professional. He’d never abandon his vehicle and leave the door open. Now Trey was truly worried about the young policeman.
Trey glanced around the area again, but he didn’t see any sign of the Gladstones’ van. Maybe they’d come and gone or Jeremy might’ve spooked them to run for cover. Still, he doubted it.
He leaned down to whisper in Misty’s ear. “Got to check on Jeremy. Stay off the road and in the shadow of the fence line.”
She nodded in agreement.
He stepped onto the dry grass in front of the fence and started toward the police car. He kept his ears open and his eyes wide for any disturbance. One thing for sure, it was too quiet. Animals had gone to cover. That couldn’t bode well.
They hadn’t gone far when he heard the muted crackle of fire and caught a whiff of smoke. He looked in the direction beyond the burned area of the tree farm, but couldn’t see anything. Still, he trusted his instincts.
When Misty clutched his hand, he glanced down at her. She pointed toward an area on the tree farm. She’d affirmed his suspicions. He glanced back at the police car. He was torn between going after Jeremy or seeing about the fire. Misty didn’t give him a choice. She tugged hard on his hand, pulling him back toward the ATV. She was right. Jeremy was safer if they stopped the fire.
But where did that leave the Gladstones? Maybe they’d set the fire and used a back road to get out of there or maybe they were still lurking on the other side of the tree farm. Trey tugged his phone out of his pocket and tried to reach Hedy at the station. He hadn’t expected coverage and he didn’t get it. Even if he had gotten through, everybody was already out on calls. Bottom line, no backup. Whatever happened now, it was up to Misty and him.
He squeezed her hand and ran with her back to the four-wheeler. He leaped into the driver’s seat and she jumped in the other side. He started the engine, turned on the headlights, and tore out down the dirt road. No time for stealth now. They were racing against time.
As Trey passed the asphalt road between his ranch and the tree farm, he glanced down it. Jeremy’s police car hadn’t moved an inch. He
wanted to go down there, but it had to wait. He kept going so he could come up on the backside of the tree farm. Ahead, he finally saw the Gladstones’ white van. He pointed for Misty to notice it, too. She nodded that she’d been proven right.
He cut left into the tree farm and kept going fast, dodging in between small cedars, smelling their pungent aroma, feeling the sharp limbs scrape across his bare arm through the open roll bars. He glanced to see if Misty was okay. She was leaning forward and toward the center of the ATV as she searched for the fire.
When he saw a flash of orange-red cut into the darkness, he aimed the ATV straight for the blaze. On the other side of the burning tree, J.P. and Charlene stood frozen with horrified expressions on their faces. They might as well be two deer caught in the headlights. He realized all they saw was a big four-wheeler barreling down on them. They couldn’t see who drove the vehicle or the intent of the driver. Finally, J.P. grabbed Charlene’s arm and started pulling her in the direction of their van, but she kept stumbling because of her high heels and impeding their progress.
Trey decided they weren’t armed or they wouldn’t be running away. He needed to stop them, but he had no way of subduing them. And then he had an idea that might work.
“Misty, take over driving, will you? No matter what happens, keep on their tail.” He hollered above the sound of the engine and the scrape of the cedars against the ATV.
“I’ve never driven a four-wheeler before.”
“You watched me. That’s good enough.”
He let go of the wheel and she caught it. He twisted around, grabbed the roll bar above his head, levered his body up and over the front seats, then landed on the backseat. He checked on Misty. She’d changed seats and was driving like a pro, staying right on the Gladstones as they tried to make it to their van.
He tossed a couple of old towels and a fire extinguisher into the front passenger seat. And he found what he was looking for on the floorboard. A rope. He grabbed it, made sure there was already a loop in place, and then stood up on the backseat.
With his head and chest above the open metal frame, he balanced against the swaying of the ATV with both feet, not unlike riding a bucking bronc. He raised his lasso over his head and started spinning it—waiting for just the right moment to rope two at once.
Trey watched as Misty kept after the Gladstones, but they weren’t an easy target. They were weaving between saplings, sometimes together, other times apart. Maybe this wasn’t going to work after all. And then Charlene turned an ankle and went down. J.P. helped her up and kept an arm around her waist as they headed toward the van again. Just the opportunity Trey needed. He had one shot and it’d better work. He judged distance and forward momentum. And let the rope fly up—out, over—and the big loop of rope settled around the shoulders of J.P. and Charlene. Trey jerked hard and they went down in a heap with the rope binding their arms against their bodies.
“Stop!” Trey hollered to Misty. “I’ve got them. You get the fire.”
As she slowed down, he leaped out of the ATV, keeping the rope tight in his hands. He heard Misty turn the four-wheeler around and head back toward the fire.
He ran over to the couple struggling to untangle from each other and remove the rope, but he’d been to this rodeo a few times before. He knew how to truss up a calf. He jerked hard, pinning their arms to their sides, then dropped to his knees and wound the rope around their ankles, back up to tie their wrists together, and tied off the rope. He’d been quick, just like he always was in an arena. Now they were hog-tied good and proper. They weren’t hurt, except for their pride.
He hurried back to Misty, listening to Charlene’s screams and curses as she struggled to get free. Guess she wasn’t much of a lady when things didn’t go her way.
Misty was beating at the fire with two towels, but trees with sap were hard to put out. He ran to the ATV, grabbed the fire extinguisher, came back, and doused the small tree as well as several saplings near it since he figured the Gladstones had poured gasoline over a wide area. Finally the blaze went out and the moonlit night again returned to silver and gray.
He hugged Misty close. “Got ’em.”
“I’ve never seen anything to match you riding that ATV like the back of a horse and whirling that rope above your head. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks. Got lucky.”
They walked over to check on the Gladstones. J.P. and Charlene were struggling to get free of the rope that bound them.
“Hate to tell you,” Trey said, “but the more you worry those knots, the tighter they’ll get.”
“How dare you truss us up like animals,” Charlene complained as she gave Misty and Trey angry looks.
“How dare you burn down Texas Timber tree farms and cut Wildcat Ranch fence,” Misty shot back at her.
“We don’t know anything about that,” J.P. said. “We saw a fire and were trying to put it out. Weren’t we, my dear?”
“Yes, that’s exactly right,” Charlene agreed.
“Hope somebody is paying you a lot, ’cause you’re in serious hot water.” Misty put her hands on her hips and looked down at them.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” J.P. said. “We were just taking a little drive after the chili cook-off.”
“And helping out the community by trying to put out that fire,” Charlene added.
“Guess the authorities will find a lot of collectibles in your van,” Misty said. “Then again, maybe they’ll find something a lot more incriminating.”
“Look, we’re all professionals here,” J.P. said in a voice that had taken on a wheedling tone. “Texas Timber has its goals, as you well know. Other folks have other goals. Why don’t you untie us, send us on our way, and that’s it. No harm. No foul.”
“And there might even be a nice, fat bonus in it for both of you,” Charlene added.
“Not gonna happen,” Trey said in disgust.
“And I hope you broke all your fake, red nails,” Misty bit out. “Petty of me, maybe, but there it is.”
“Would a sprained ankle satisfy you?” Charlene asked in a snide tone.
“You’ll answer to the law,” Trey said. “Now, what did you do to Jeremy? And you’d better hope he’s okay.”
“Who?” J.P. asked.
“Wildcat Bluff Police.”
“I can answer that.” A shadow loomed up out of the darkness as a tall, lanky shape in a Wildcat Bluff Police uniform walked up to them.
“Jeremy!” Trey said in relief. “What happened to you?”
“I got out of my vehicle to help a lady in distress—namely that one on the ground,” Jeremy said. “And I got bushwhacked by her partner. Knocked me out cold. I just came to. I’ve got a knot on the back of my head the size of an egg.”
“I suppose we’re going to have to go through all the legal formalities,” J.P. said. “For the record, we want to file a complaint against these two vigilantes. We were innocently trying to put out a fire when they attacked us. And who knows what they might have put in our unlocked van to make us look guilty.”
“News flash,” Jeremy said. “You’re in Wildcat Bluff County and we don’t cotton to strangers trying to burn us down.”
“No idea what you’re talking about,” J.P. said. “But if you don’t get us untied soon, your city and county are going to be looking at a big lawsuit.”
“Why didn’t you gag them why you were trussing them up?” Jeremy complained.
“Didn’t have my bandannas handy.” Trey was shaking his head at the Gladstones’ audacity when he heard sirens out on Wildcat Road. “You call in the cavalry?”
“Yep,” Jeremy agreed. “Heard good news while I was at it. Fires all over the county were caught in time and put out. Thanks to our volunteers and friends in nearby counties.”
“That’s a relief,” Misty said.
“Good,�
�� J.P. said. “Maybe we can deal with rational human beings, not Barney Fife here.”
“And we want our lawyer now,” Charlene added.
Trey glanced up when he saw several sets of blinking lights turn off Wildcat Road and drive up the asphalt road and stop across from their position. Soon Harry, with a trooper and a sheriff’s deputy, tromped up to the Gladstones. They looked down and started laughing at the sight.
Harry glanced at Trey. “New rodeo event I didn’t know about?”
“Got to keep in practice,” Trey said.
“We demand to be released and to see our attorney,” J.P. said.
“All in good time.” Harry looked around the area. “Fire’s out?”
“Misty took care of that.” Trey pointed toward the dirt road. “The Gladstones’ van is back there. Figure you’ll find plenty of evidence in it.”
Harry rubbed his chin. “We sent that tissue to forensics. Might be something interesting there, too.” He looked at J.P. and Charlene. “You two ready to cool your heels in my fine jail?”
“Dinner and shower would be good,” Charlene said, suddenly sounding pleasant. “I’m sure you’ll see this is all a big misunderstanding.”
Harry turned to Trey. “Thanks. All’s well that ends well.”
Trey nodded and put an arm around Misty’s shoulders. “Figure you’ll want a report, but we’d like to go home first.”
“Later’s fine.” Harry tipped his cowboy hat to Misty. “Thanks. We’ve got this under control. It’s Christmas Eve. Time for you to celebrate.”
“Will you please contact Texas Timber and give them an official statement?” Misty asked.
“Sure will. We’ve been in touch with them since the first fire burned down their Christmas tree farm.”
“Thanks.” Misty smiled at the law officers. “And Merry Christmas to all of you.”
They nodded and touched the brims of their hats.
Trey walked Misty back to his ATV, settled her inside, and joined her. He gave her a warm smile, then revved the engine and took off for home.
Chapter 40
Misty awoke early Christmas morning with a smile on her lips. She stretched in the soft cocoon of Trey’s big bed. She felt completely content and satisfied with life. She’d talked with Audrey and Cindi Lou last night. Audrey had praised her work and promised a bonus. Cindi Lou had suggested she lasso Trey when she’d heard their story. One thing Misty knew for sure. She’d never have completed the Texas Timber job without Trey’s help. They made a good team—in bed and out of it.