When the Bishop Needs an Alibi

by Vannetta Chapman

  Emma was a little surprised Tess had so readily done as asked.

  “Step back. Both of you.”

  A man joined the woman. He was tall and thin, wearing jeans that were marginally too long and a camouflage jacket over his T-shirt. The jacket was too short and didn’t quite reach to his wrists. He seemed to be all arms and legs. Emma guessed his age to be somewhere between seventeen and twenty, but probably closer to the first. He carried a flashlight covered with some type of red cellophane and pointed at the ground.

  “Jimmy, pick up that phone.”

  He glanced nervously at the woman, and then he did as he was told.

  “You want me to destroy it?”

  “No. We need to see who they called. Put it in your pocket for now.”

  Emma still felt panic threatening to push through her veins, but her heart rate was calming. They hadn’t been shot yet, and she was beginning to take in the details of what she was seeing. The woman was wearing a National Park service uniform. In fact, something looked vaguely familiar about her. Emma glanced down and, though she could barely see by the light of the flashlight, spotted a deep scuff across the toe of the ranger’s right shoe—just like in Henry’s drawing.

  Jimmy shifted from one foot to the other. Emma was certain she’d never seen him before. How had someone so young managed to get caught up in such a terrible thing?

  “Did you kill those elk?” Tess asked.

  “That’s none of your business.” The woman motioned for Jimmy to shine his flashlight on Tess and Emma. “Put the light on their feet.”

  She peered through the darkness at them and then said, “You, in the dress, step back. Now over. Not that far. Just…” She stepped forward and pulled Emma to the left a few steps and then forward again. Apparently satisfied that they were lined up perfectly, she nodded once.

  “Is this one of those illegal hunts?” Tess asked. “It must be.”

  “Did we look like we were hunting?”

  “This is why you killed Cooper? To protect some business deal? Somehow he found out, and he was about to expose you.”

  “Cooper didn’t take the hint when we told him to drop the story.” The woman’s tone was contemptuous.

  Emma guessed the woman couldn’t imagine anyone arguing with her, daring to oppose her. She wasn’t passionately upset, but her calm and cool demeanor sent a chill through Emma’s soul. She would take a life as easily as she’d nabbed the elk. Nothing would stand in her way because she was right and justified in what she was doing, or so her attitude seemed to suggest.

  “And no, we didn’t kill the elk. Do I look like a rich person who gets her jollies spotlighting animals?”

  “What then? Why did you just take them?”

  “You’re selling them to a managed wildlife facility,” Emma said.

  Katie Ann had gone with Doc Berry to one of the managed properties. She’d come back describing the giant racks on the elk, how the wild animals came running as soon as the feeders went off, and the controversy regarding high fences. “You’re increasing the gene pool of their herd.”

  “The Amish chick is pretty smart,” the woman said.

  Chick? Emma almost rolled her eyes.

  “How could this be worth killing people?” Tess asked.

  “You have no idea what people will pay for an elk of that size.” The woman took a step closer to Tess, who didn’t back down at all.

  “And so you steal them? From here and Glacier and who knows where else?”

  Jimmy’s light splayed over the two women, and Emma could see the ranger’s name embroidered on a tag and affixed to the pocket of her uniform. Paddock. Emma had never heard the name before, but she suspected it was her real name. Paddock acted like a woman who wouldn’t try to hide who she was. As if she were above the law. As if no one would dare to question her right to be here. And if she was a ranger, as it seemed she was, then probably no one would question her. It was the perfect setup. She had access to the entire park.

  Tess took another step forward. There were now less than five feet between them. Just as it seemed Tess was about to confront the ranger, Paddock raised the rifle. Her hand didn’t shake on it, and Emma understood that she wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. She certainly wouldn’t miss at less than five feet.

  Tess froze, her hands raised in the air, as if she could protect herself that way.

  “Enough tranquilizer is in one of these darts to incapacitate a seven-hundred-pound bull. If I shoot you, it’ll be as fatal as a bullet.”

  Emma pulled Tess back and kept her hand on the woman’s arm. They needed to stay calm, to think of a way out of this.

  Paddock didn’t glance away from them, but she said, “Jimmy, bring the truck around.”

  “Where are we going to take them?”

  “Just do what I said.”

  Jimmy practically jumped, and he didn’t ask any more questions.

  “Leave the light,” Paddock added.

  He nodded twice, gulped, and set the flashlight down, its beam slicing across the ground. Then he darted off into the darkness.

  “Where are you taking us?” Tess asked.

  “Back of beyond, where they won’t find your bodies.” Paddock didn’t seem at all remorseful about what she had done or was about to do.

  If anything, Emma would have said her manner was businesslike. It was all in an evening’s work.

  “Will the animals be all right?” Emma asked. It wasn’t her primary concern at this point, but she wanted to keep the woman talking. “It’s obvious you care about them.”

  When Paddock cocked her head, as if puzzled by the question, Emma pushed on. “The way you checked on them. I could tell.”

  “Perhaps I was just protecting my investment.”

  “Maybe, but you seemed to care. About the bull, I mean.”

  “He was a beauty.” Paddock glanced across the meadow to where the elk had been. Nothing remained to prove what they had done. Who would miss three elk from a national park? The only proof, the only evidence they had, was Emma’s and Tess’s word against this park ranger—that and the video Tess had taken on her phone.

  “Actually, I’m a wildlife expert,” Paddock admitted. “Trust me when I say those three will be well taken care of. They’ll have a better life than they do here.”

  “I doubt the elk would agree with you.” Tess’s voice quavered with anger.

  “This isn’t Disney, you know. Elk want what every animal wants—food, water, safety, and other animals like them. That bull will have all those things, and the fact that my bank account will be fatter because of it? Well, I don’t consider that a sin.”

  “You killed my sister.” The words came out like a screech owl, pain dripping from every syllable.

  “Shut your mouth,” Paddock growled, her tone low and threatening.

  Fortunately, at that point they all heard a truck engine, and then Jimmy was pulling into the clearing in a large, dual cab pickup that looked to Emma as if it were several feet off the ground. Why would anyone drive such a thing? And how did you get into it?

  Then she realized it was dark colored with an emblem on the side of the door. Was this the truck that followed Sophia? Before she could ask any questions, Paddock directed them toward the truck’s open door with her rifle.

  Emma thought Paddock would insist on slipping into the driver’s seat. She seemed the kind of person who liked to be in charge. But she motioned for the two of them to get in the backseat and told Jimmy, “You’re driving.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Don’t worry about that. Keep an eye on them while I make a call.” She pulled a service revolver out of her utility belt and handed it to Jimmy with a final order.

  “Shoot them if they try to get away.”

  Sixty-Three

  We have a problem.

  What now?

  Two witnesses.

  ?

  A lady who claims to be Sophia’s

  sister and an Amish chic
k.

  What did they see?

  Everything.

  Buy their silence.

  Sophia’s sister isn’t going

  to settle for money.

  You’re probably right.

  Paddock typed furiously, frustrated that she couldn’t pick up the phone and simply call the man. But he was insistent that any communication be done via texts, as if they couldn’t be intercepted like anything else.

  There’s more. They seem to know

  we’re connected to the other

  pickups.

  All right. Do what needs to be done.

  Here?

  No. Pick another place

  farther from the pickup point.

  I was thinking the sand dunes.

  Easier to hide the bodies there.

  I told you before,

  I don’t want to know the details.

  Of course you don’t.

  You have a problem with

  the way I’m running things?

  After this I want out.

  Was the pickup successful?

  Yes.

  Then stop complaining. Your money

  will be wired within the hour.

  Sixty-Four

  Henry waited until the truck began to pull away, and then he ran and hopped into the bed, banging his shin badly against the lowered tailgate. Why the tailgate was lowered, he couldn’t have said, but he managed to pull himself farther in, among various types of equipment.

  It was something of a miracle that he’d made it into the truck bed because the vehicle had a high suspension. It must have been used by the park service for off-road trips—rescues maybe. It also had a loud diesel engine. Henry knew that sound because he’d heard the trucks often enough at the diner. Now he lay in the back of one, straining to hear what was being said inside, but the mechanical whine of the engine blocked out the voices. The woman was definitely a park ranger, not merely impersonating one. Or at least that was his sense of things.

  Why would she be involved in this? What exactly was her role?

  He’d only caught random words from the conversation between her and Tess and Emma.

  The ranger’s body language said it all, though. She was comfortable holding the rifle, slightly impatient with this unexpected delay, and clearly in charge of the young man.

  He’d wanted to insert himself into the situation, but something had convinced him to hang back, and it was probably a good thing he had. Otherwise, he’d be riding inside the cab, the gun pointed at him as well. And that would do his friends absolutely no good.

  He tried to assess exactly how much trouble they were in.

  Stuart had been eager to help. He had even wanted to go with Henry. There was no doubt Stuart would do as he’d asked—go back to his house, call Grayson, and wait there for help to arrive. He’d impressed upon Stuart that Grayson was the only one they could trust. Henry hoped the sheriff had answered right away. But if not, Stuart would wait.

  It wasn’t a great plan, but it was the only one Henry had been able to come up with.

  He wished he’d told Stuart to let Lexi out of the house and feed her. Honestly, though, he shouldn’t be worrying about the dog at a time like this. But he did worry about her. Suddenly he remembered that Stuart had two dogs of his own—Labradoodles his wife had insisted on bringing home. He had eventually fallen in love with them, and he’d even shown Henry pictures of the two beasts sitting on his living room couch.

  If he allowed the dogs on his couch, if he was that sort of dog person, then Henry didn’t have to worry about Lexi. Stuart would hear the dog barking or whining and let her out, even find the food in the mudroom. He would take care of Lexi and alert Grayson, so all Henry needed to worry about was keeping the women alive until help arrived.

  As the truck bumped and swerved, Henry prayed, asking God to fill his mind with wisdom, his heart with assurance, and his soul with strength.

  And then he didn’t have time to even think.

  The truck slowed down and abruptly came to a stop beneath a streetlight. If only a park camera were hung there, but as Henry continued to crane his neck to check, he didn’t see one.

  The ranger grumbled some sort of order, which Henry assumed was to the young man. The driver’s side door of the truck opened, Henry heard the squeak of a gate being rolled back, the door closed again, and they drove through before the truck stopped again.

  The man was walking back to close the gate, now behind them.

  Henry lay down flat, but then he elevated his head just enough to see what was happening. And at that exact moment, the man turned around. And stopped.

  Henry didn’t speak or move.

  And then the young man shook his head once, just a short jerk Henry might have imagined, and walked past him to get back in the truck.

  The truck proceeded down a two-lane blacktop road.

  Had the man seen him? Henry’s heart rate once again accelerated. His mind darted back and forth, wondering if he should jump out of the truck, but he would never be able to keep up on foot. And he wouldn’t consider abandoning Tess and Emma now. No, if the man had seen him, then he would deal with the outcome of that later. The critical thing was to stay as close to the group as possible.

  Henry quickly lifted his head to take in as much as he could before they went too far. They weren’t at the main entrance to the national park. There was no visitor center, and he saw no signs other than one across the gate. Henry couldn’t read it because it was facing back toward the road. He could see a lock on the gate, though. This must be a service road for park employees, which meant the ranger was taking them to the back of beyond, to a place remote enough that there was little chance of anyone seeing them.

  No more witnesses.

  She already had two she needed to get rid of. Maybe when she’d been on the phone, typing something into it but not speaking, maybe she’d received orders to take them here. Henry couldn’t know. He didn’t fully understand how cellular phones worked. He’d only used a cell phone once, when he’d called 9-1-1 after finding Sophia’s body. From the look of consternation on the woman’s face, he could guess she was reporting what had happened and that she didn’t like the response.

  And what of the man? Had Henry imagined the fellow had looked straight at him and shaken his head? He didn’t think so, but what did it mean? Why didn’t he holler, We have a stowaway. Come look!

  He was involved with this woman in some way, but perhaps he had fallen in too deep. Maybe he was rethinking his associations and actions. It was possible he wanted a way out, or he was willing to steal animals but not to murder innocent people. It was conceivable, and Henry prayed it was true, that the young man was having second thoughts.

  If so, it was possible he would be willing to help them.

  It was also possible Henry had imagined the entire thing.

  Sixty-Five

  Emma couldn’t quite fathom what was happening. Something had changed back in the clearing. What, though? She needed to put the pieces of this puzzle together, and do it quickly.

  There’d been a moment, when the woman had stepped away to use her cell phone, that the young man had looked as if he wanted to say something. But then Paddock had stomped back to the truck, climbed into the passenger’s seat, and told him, “You drive while I keep an eye on those two.”

  As they’d pulled away, Emma had heard a thump in the back of the truck. It sounded too big to be an animal, but she couldn’t think of any other possibility in the middle of the night and in such a remote location.

  More than anything, Emma wanted to talk to Tess. They needed to come up with a plan, and she wanted to know what exactly Tess had succeeded in doing on her phone.

  But she didn’t have a chance for a private conversation.

  First, Jimmy was driving, practically jumping to do whatever Paddock ordered. When they’d stopped at the gate, Paddock had turned around and held the pistol on them, daring them to make a move. Now they were winding t
heir way down a back road. Twice Jimmy had looked in the rearview mirror and locked eyes with Emma. Was he trying to tell her something? Did he want to help them escape? That seemed like too much to hope for.

  They passed a sign that said “High-Clearance Vehicles Only” followed by another that said “Point of No Return” with an arrow pointed in the direction they were going. And then the sound of the road changed, and Emma realized they were driving on hard-packed dirt rather than asphalt. Point of No Return sounded ominous to Emma, but she didn’t believe it. She wouldn’t allow her mind or her heart to go to such a dark place.

  God hadn’t allowed her to live this long, and He hadn’t helped her escape the Monte Vista arsonist, only to let her die in the middle of the sand dunes. Besides, He wasn’t done with her yet. She was far from perfect. She cared too much about the extra twenty pounds she carried, fussed over the gray hairs that wouldn’t stay in place, and had been known to covet the newer clothes or nicer homes of her neighbors. No, she was not perfect, but God had promised to complete a good work within her. There was still plenty of work to be done.

  This, along with a burning desire to see her family again—to see Henry again—pushed away the fear that had earlier thumped at the door to her heart. Tess no longer had the phone, but maybe she’d successfully sent the evidence on to someone else. Emma nudged her foot against Tess’s and mimed holding a cell phone in her hands. Tess shook her head. Not a good sign.

  The road twisted and turned, and then they pulled into what might have been a parking area. It was deserted. Emma guessed the time was close to four in the morning. Clyde and Rachel would be worried. She hoped the grandchildren would be asleep and blissfully ignorant of the jam their grandmother was in.

  “Get out.” Paddock was once again pointing the pistol at them.

  Emma and Tess climbed out of the truck. Emma moved slowly, carefully, not wanting to startle the woman.

  Jimmy stood there, once again holding the flashlight and waiting for instructions. Paddock had left the rifle in the truck, the one with the tranquilizer darts. Now she held a pistol with her right hand, and with her left she tapped each of her fingers against her thumb—once, twice, and then a third time.