Dead of Spring: An Alexa Williams Novel

by Sherry Knowlton

  A shadow flitted over the desert ahead. Will looked up to see a dark bird circling high against the sun. An eagle? Or maybe a hawk? Back on the East Coast, Will would have been able to identify the raptor, but the desert felt like foreign territory. His inability to name the bird brought back the nagging feeling he’d had all morning. That something wasn’t right. He knew he was driving Tanner crazy, going over all the details. Maybe he just didn’t feel comfortable relying so heavily on people he’d just met.

  He softened his tone. “Too bad we couldn’t get that TV station in Desert Forks.”

  “It’s a pretty long haul for them to come way out here.” Tanner adjusted course, veering left. “But Dorothy said the town newspaper and one of the TV stations will show up by eight too.”

  “Righteous. Thanks for hiking in here with me. I might have made it, but with the way this desert goes on and on, I could have missed the construction site. Your local knowledge helps.” Will could see a fence in the distance. “You’re certain nobody will be on site at this hour?”

  “Nothing’s certain, man. But a buddy who works for the construction company told me they just lock the gate when they leave at night. No guards.” Tanner slowed his footsteps.

  Will pulled a pair of binoculars and a canteen from his backpack. He scanned the fence line for movement. Taking a long drink of water, he said, “Looks like we’re OK.”

  The two men easily found the main gate. On either side, an eight-foot chain-link fence stretched long in both directions. Three strings of barbed wire crowned the top. Will turned his back to the gate and gazed down the long dusty entrance road. No sign of traffic. Inside the perimeter, he could see nothing but a line of parked construction vehicles and earthmoving equipment, their yellow paint dulled to a dusty tan by clinging sand.

  Will turned his back on Tanner to empty his bladder. The temperature was cooler here near the river gorge. Still, his thin stream of urine dried in the sand before he’d buttoned up his jeans. Pulling his baseball cap lower on his forehead, Will exhaled a long breath. “Let’s do this.”

  Tanner and Will dug thick chains out of their backpacks, along with padlocks. At the point where the two halves of the wide gate met, they threaded their chains through both sides. Then they sat on the ground, a few feet apart, and looped the heavy chains in complete circles around their midsections.

  “Ready?” Will padlocked the ends of his chain to the links that ringed the gate. Tanner did the same.

  “Here.” Tanner held his hand out for Will’s key. “I’ll throw them out there.” He pointed on the far side of the road. When Tanner hurled the keys, Will saw a glint as they hit the desert floor.

  The two men sat in silence for a while. As Will breathed the dry air and watched the sun rise higher over the desert, he warmed to the desolate beauty of the place. But it was a far cry from the forests of Pennsylvania he’d roamed as a child and young man. He missed the cool green stillness of the woods.

  Will turned to Tanner and smiled. “Nobody mentioned the rattlesnakes when we came up with this plan.”

  “No worries. They’ll feel the vibrations when we move around and stay clear.”

  Kicking the ground with his boot heel, Will joked. “Like this?”

  “That should do it.” Tanner answered with a tense expression.

  Either Tanner didn’t get the joke, or he didn’t have much of a sense of humor. Will had only met the guy a few days ago, after he’d arrived in town to organize the protest. When they’d come up with the idea of chaining someone to the gate, Tanner had volunteered without hesitation. But, now, the guy looked really nervous. “Having second thoughts about this?” Will asked.

  “There’s no going back now. We can’t unchain ourselves until Dorothy Two-Eagles arrives with the duplicate keys.” Tanner ran a sleeve across his sweaty forehead.

  “We’ve got a good plan. It should work. If Mononuclear gets enough bad press, it could slow them down. Force them or the state to hold public hearings before they proceed. By then, that environmental lawsuit will be filed. That’s the game; just keep hassling the energy companies until they decide it’s going to take too much time and too much money to complete the process. So they cut their losses and walk away. We can’t rely on the NRC. It has to be a grassroots effort.”

  Tanner shook his head. “That all sounds good. But Mononuclear has hired a really rough bunch of goons to intimidate people who oppose Oasis. I heard they threatened two of the county commissioners who were going to disapprove the plant permits. There have been some other incidents too.” Tanner’s voice quivered.

  Will patted his arm. “We’re going to have the press here for our protest. They won’t do anything weird if the TV cameras are running. He looked at his watch. We’ve got about an hour before they arrive. I think I’ll take a quick nap.

  Will had no sooner closed his eyes than he heard the rumble of a vehicle engine. He jerked his eyes open at the unexpected intrusion. Although he knew that noise carried long distances over the desert, the vehicle sounded like it was coming this way. “Do you hear that?”

  Tanner didn’t reply, but his expression tightened again. He looked like he was about to throw up.

  A dart of fear stabbed Will between the shoulder blades. He could see the source of the sound now: a roaring cloud of red dust sweeping across the desert. As it got closer, Will saw a dark jeep with a roll bar at the center of the cloud, barreling toward them, dust billowing from the wheels. “What’s going on? This is too early for any workers, right?”

  Tanner’s face had paled, and he avoided Will’s eyes. As a cold, hollow dread surged through his body, Will knew.

  “I’m sorry, Will. I had no choice. They threatened my kid. Said they’d kill him if I didn’t help them deal with you.” Tears streamed down Tanner’s face as he dug a key from his pocket, and, hands shaking, opened his padlock. Slipping out of the chains, Tanner took off, stumbling across the desert at a forty-five degree angle to the road.

  Maybe they just want to rough me up. Teach me a lesson, Will hoped as he sat there, helpless, chained to the fence. He flinched as a shadow flickered across his outstretched legs. The shriek of the soaring raptor pierced the air. His heart flailed against the cage of his chest, as if trying to break free and join the high-flying bird.

  When two hulking men in dark clothes stomped out of the jeep, a hard knot of despair clenched deep in the pit of Will’s stomach. He’d been living on borrowed time ever since Three Mile Island. And he feared the clock was about to stop today. A bleak smile flickered across his lips. What a godforsaken place to die.

  “Randi, Walden, I did my best. I love you,” Will whispered, picturing a green forest glade in his mind. The men halted at his feet, shoulder to shoulder, their faces grim. One man, tall and rangy, dangled a baseball bat from his hand.

  Feeding his courage on a flare of anger, Will looked up. His voice never wavered. “I have a right to lawful protest against the Oasis Nuclear Power Station that is being constructed at this site. I’m exercising that right.”

  The beefy, shorter man spoke with a flat, western accent in a bored voice. “Mononuclear ain’t putting up with any of you no-nuke pukes. The desert’s a big place, and you won’t be the first eastern pretty boy to be left for the buzzards.”

  “I have a right to protest. The press will be here soon to film our demonstration . . .”

  The beefy man ignored Will and nodded to his silent companion. The tall man raised a baseball bat high over his head. He rocked on his heels for a long moment, bat extended aloft. His silhouette looked like a black tower against the bright sun. Then, with a cruel smile, he brought the bat down with an abrupt slash.

  Tensing in despair, Will heard a whistle of air, high-pitched like the raptor’s cry. Walden, he thought as his skull shattered with a burst of excruciating pain and a last wild lurch of his heart.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Walker Toland’s drawl ringing in her ears, Alexa ran from the hearing room,
looking for the capitol police. She slowed at the sight of Nason Kurtz and another beefy man lounging in the far corner of the hall. They were studying Kurtz’s phone. Looking up in unison, they moved toward her.

  “Alexa,” Walt called as he emerged from the hearing room. “What’s going on?”

  Alexa grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall. Walt let her manhandle him for a while then stopped. He turned and grabbed both of her arms and demanded, “Look, it’s clear something’s wrong here. But you need to tell me what.”

  Alexa glanced down the hall. Kurtz and his friend had backed off, but they were watching her. She kept her voice low. “I just figured it out. The guy who testified, Walker Toland. He was there the night Senator Martinelli died. I have to tell the cops.” She nodded in the direction of the main door, where she’d spoken to the capitol police earlier.

  Walt looked confused. “How would you know who was there that night?”

  “Keisha Washington and I were in the rotunda when the senator fell.”

  “So you saw Toland push him over?”

  “No, we just heard voices, men arguing not long before it happened.”

  “And you think Toland was one of those men?”

  “Yes. I have to get to the police. Now.” Alexa shrugged out of his grip and marched toward the door, a determined look on her face.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “Thanks.” Alexa looked over her shoulder at the sound of footsteps hitting marble. Nason Kurtz and his buddy were running down the empty hall toward them. “Walt, Toland’s stooge must know I figured it out.”

  “Let’s get to the cops. They can deal with them.” Walt picked up the pace. Alexa tried to match his long stride, happy she’d worn flats.

  The two dashed into the entrance area only to find it empty. The doors were closed with a velvet rope blocking any exit.

  “Let’s head for the capitol. If there are any police in this building, they’re out on patrol.” Without waiting for an answer, Walt doubled back a few yards and dodged into a corridor.

  Alexa looped her purse across her body. Then, she ran after Walt, fumbling with her cell phone. She wanted to dial 911 but had turned the phone off in the hearing room. Every time she slid her thumb to open the emergency screen, she had to look up to avoid tripping. By the time she glanced back down, the security screen had popped up again. Finally, she held the phone in front of her as she ran and tried hitting the emergency button. Nothing happened. Damn. No bars.

  “Forget the phone. We’ll find police in the capitol,” Walt directed as they fled down the empty hallway. Alexa jammed the phone in her jacket pocket. She could hear the two men chasing them, but they hadn’t yet rounded the corner.

  Alexa and Walt turned into yet another hallway. Kurtz and his buddy’s footsteps echoed behind them, gaining ground. Walt pointed ahead, “That’s the door to the capitol. When we get on the other side, I’ll slow them down. You run for the cops. There should be a guy on the back door.”

  “OK,” Alexa gasped. She shrieked as a chunk of plaster hit her hand. A loud crack reverberated through the corridor.

  “Weave,” Walt yelled. “They’ve got guns.”

  Alexa and Walt veered apart. They zigzagged for the last few yards, dodging chunks of falling ceiling. Terrified, Alexa sprinted faster. The racket was unbearable. Plaster dust and the smoke of gunfire filled the air. Covering her ears and coughing, Alexa burst through the doors into the capitol’s East Wing. Taking gulps of clean air, Alexa bent over to catch her breath. She looked up to see Walt flick a switch above the door that had closed behind them.

  “Automatic lock. It will only slow them down a minute or two.” He motioned to his left as he stepped forward. “There’s another entrance down there.”

  Alexa could feel her heart hammering as she looked at her phone. Still no bars. “You know your way around this maze. Let’s stick together. I might get lost on my own.”

  “Let’s keep moving.” Walt took off.

  “I expected to see police running down here toward the gunshots. Or someone from that hearing.” Alexa tried to keep up with Walt, trailing him down another long hallway. They passed a corridor to the right, but he kept going straight.

  He slowed to let her catch up. This hall, like all the others, stood empty. “I hoped someone would be watching a security camera, but I guess not. I guess the sound of gunfire didn’t carry the whole way back to the hearing room.”

  “Where is everyone?” Alexa puffed in disbelief.

  “The legislature’s out of session. That means most of the senators and representatives are in their districts. On non-session days, nearly all the employees hit the road at five or earlier. The capitol complex is a ghost town in the evenings.”

  “Tell me about it.” Alexa took several deep breaths to calm her fear.

  Behind them, their pursuers were banging on the locked door. Wham. Wham. Wham. Moments later, they crashed through the far doors with a loud bang.

  “Run,” Walt shouted above the clamor.

  Alexa broke into a sprint, not slowing until she reached the cafeteria area. Finally. Help was near.

  “This way.” Walt veered toward a vacant desk marked Information. He stopped short. “Damn. There’s usually a capitol policeman here.”

  “No. This is crazy.” Distressed, Alexa ran to the back entrance, hoping to find help. She tried each of the doors. All locked.

  “We can’t get out that way.”

  She came back to Walt’s side. Before them, the silent expanse of marble in the East Wing Atrium was empty. The gift shop, welcome center, and cafeteria were shuttered for the evening. The only sounds were the muted burble of a fountain and the chug, chug, chug of the huge escalator that led to the main capitol building. To the rotunda where Senator Martinelli had died at Alexa’s feet.

  “Where’s the capitol police office?” Alexa looked at Walt. She shot a nervous glance down the hall they’d just exited. No sign of their pursuers.

  “At the end of that corridor. He pointed beyond the cafeteria to a hallway that ran the same direction that they’d just come from.”

  “Couldn’t we have gone straight there?” Alexa snapped. She been relying on Walt’s knowledge of the capitol, but now she was having doubts.

  “Yeah, down that hallway we passed. But I don’t know if it’s staffed at night. I figured this was the best bet. Let’s head over there now.” He sounded reluctant.

  “Why not go up to the rotunda? Someone’s sure to be at the main entrance.”

  “OK. If not, we can duck in somewhere and call for help. How are you doing?” His tone was solicitous as he touched her arm.

  “Fine. Let’s go.” She tried to keep the impatience from her voice. For all this guy knew, she could be some shrinking violet teetering on the edge of total collapse. But she could hold her own. They needed to get help now. Comparing their favorite ways to cope with the stress of being shot at by maniacs could wait for later.

  Walt stepped toward the escalator just as Kurtz and the other muscleman emerged from the corridor. The men peered into the visitor’s center then turned left into a hall that curved north. Apparently, the thugs hadn’t seen them.

  Still, Alexa and Walt couldn’t take the escalator to the main capitol. Nor could they cross the open atrium to the capitol police office. Either route, they’d be sitting ducks if the men came back.

  Signaling with a jerk of his head to the left, Walt ducked behind the pillar and slipped off his shoes. A few steps behind, heart pounding, Alexa followed his lead. Then they moved down a hall that curved to the south, a mirror opposite to the corridor Kurtz had decided to investigate. Alexa followed Walt through a maze of halls. Right. Left. Right. Disoriented by the unfamiliar labyrinth, Alexa felt increasingly dependent on the legislator.

  An alarming thought hit from left field. What if Walt was in on it? He’d been so quick to offer help. What if he was leading her through this cavernous building right into a trap? Kurtz and the H
ulk could just be the sheepdogs helping Walt herd her into a snare. But if she ditched Walt and set out on her own, she might take a wrong turn and run smack into Kurtz.

  Alexa remained wary as Walt led her up a set of steps and through a door. The architecture made an abrupt change from modern to an older style; they’d arrived in the main capitol at last. Grounded by knowing just that little bit about their location calmed Alexa, and she pushed aside her suspicions. Walt was one of the good guys. He was risking his life to help her.

  The representative stepped around yet another corner and pulled Alexa to his side. They stood and listened. Complete silence.

  “I think we lost them,” Alexa whispered. She looked down at her phone, but still no bars. “Do you have reception?” she asked Walt.

  “I left my phone back in the hearing room. It’s in my briefcase.” His expression was sheepish. “Let’s keep moving. If we walk down this corridor and take the central stairs, that will bring us into the main rotunda.”

  “The central stairs? The ones that come up beneath the grand staircase?” Alexa asked. She flashed to an image of Senator Martinelli’s body crashing into the angel statue.

  “Yeah. We come to the top of the stairs, walk through the rotunda, and the guards are right there at the main entrance.” Walt took off down the hall. Alexa followed, glad to resume walking; her bare feet had grown cold, standing still on the marble floor.

  Alexa and Walt climbed the stairs with caution. Several times Walt made a hand motion for Alexa to stop. She could see his time as a Marine had kicked right in when faced with this dangerous situation. When they reached the top of the stairs, they faced the top of the East Wing escalators. Although their path from the atrium had seemed erratic, Alexa realized they’d traveled in a long U. But their journey would be over soon. They could turn everything over to the police.

  As they stepped onto the floor of the rotunda, loud voices laughed near the front doors. Alexa grabbed Walt’s wrist. Still hidden behind the big pillar, he froze.