by Toni Leland
Unlike earlier that morning, the desktop was clear. No papers or mail, another indication that someone had come to the barn that afternoon. Kim moved to the file cabinet and opened the top drawer. It was empty. She looked in the second and third drawers. All empty. Puzzled, she stooped to open the bottom drawer and the lights went off. She jumped up, reaching for her nonexistent weapon.
Suddenly, her head exploded in pain. Stars whirled through her consciousness, then faded into complete darkness.
Chapter 38
A deep throb bumped through the base of Kim’s skull as she became aware of the hard chill of concrete beneath her. She struggled to open her eyes, fighting the blur and the pain roaring through her head. When her focus cleared, her heart lurched. She lay on the floor of the feed room, staring into familiar unfriendly dark eyes.
Wade Warren offered an ugly smile. “You just couldn’t mind your own business, could you? Had to muck about in mine. You shoulda just kept snappin’ pictures like a good little photographer and none of this would have to happen.”
Kim’s mouth felt like cotton. “You killed Teri.”
“Excellent, Officer Kovak! I heard what a good cop you were.” He sneered. “As though there’s any such thing.”
“Why did you kill her?”
Warren leaned against the opposite wall and contemplated Kim for a moment. “She wasn’t any use to us anymore. She was what you call a loose end. And so are you.”
He took a step forward and leveled a gun at her head.
Panic screamed through her brain, but years of training took over. Negotiate. Always appeal to the criminal ego.
“At least tell me how you and Reggie Fortune so cleverly organized the theft ring.”
Warren’s surprise would have been comical had it not been so deadly. After the initial shock of her comment, he narrowed his eyes and smiled cunningly, the typical stupid thug obviously dying to brag about his accomplishments.
“Stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. Buying time with doubles made the whole operation easy as taking sweeties from a baby. Key people in the horse industry plus a few poor sods who’ll do anything for a buck. Perfect setup.”
Kim feigned awe. “Wow. But how did you get the stolen horses to the buyers?”
Warren’s dark eyes flashed. “Too many questions. Say goodbye.”
Terror surged through Kim’s head and she shrank back, waiting for the bullet to take away all her dreams. Instead, Warren’s gun butt slammed into the side of her head and fireworks exploded behind her eyes. As she spiraled downward through the darkness, an insistent vibration pressed against her thigh.
~~
Quaid sat back in the booth. “That should hold you ’til we stop for breakfast, probably around six. I’ll put the seat back and you can sleep all the way home.”
Ricky looked a little pensive.
Quaid cleared his throat. “Listen, I’m sorry about cutting the trip short, but I do need to work on this case.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t want to go look at a bunch of old buildings anyway. Visiting Dad and seeing where you worked was a good way to end the trip.”
Quaid’s chest ached with emotion. He really loved this kid and would do everything in his power to make his life happier.
He stood up. “Let’s go, Sport. We have a long drive ahead of us.”
His phone chimed and Dixie’s name on the screen sent a jump-for-joy feeling through his head.
Her tone frightened him. “Garrett, I’m not sure what to do. Kim left me a message that she was going up to that farm in Delaware, the one where the woman was murdered...”
“What’s the problem?”
“The place has been abandoned except for one horse, which is why she went. But she’s alone and not answering her phone. She was supposed to be home by seven.”
“Jesus, Dixie, get up there right away. We’ve discovered someone who’s probably responsible for Teri Fortune’s death, and they just might have figured that out.”
“I’m fifteen minutes from there. I’ll call you back.”
Quaid disconnected and stared at the dark screen, noticing for the first time that he’d missed an earlier call. Kovak’s voice held the excited tone of discovery. “Quaid, I have some ideas about the theft ring that won’t wait until you get back. Give me a call when you get this message.” He pressed the call button and his shoulders sagged as Kovak’s voice mail took over. That damned Bandit horse might have put her in real danger.
He steered Ricky toward the truck, fending off the kid’s questions. “Later, Rick. Right now I have to think, so just sit back and listen to your music or something.”
He found the ramp to the interstate and set cruise control to 70, then let his mind work, trying not to think about the worst case scenario. The digital clock ticked off the minutes. More than fifteen passed and he was tempted to call Dixie. No, he’d give her time to find out what was going on. She’d call him when she knew something.
~~
Kim struggled up through the muck and mire of unconsciousness, thoughts tumbling through memories and recent recollections. Hard concrete, pain, horses whinnying. Where was she? Her thigh throbbed and then a memory slammed into her brain.
My God, I’ve been shot! Red! Where’s Red?
An acrid odor burned her nostrils and her eyes flew open. She wasn’t on the street, she hadn’t been shot. That was a dream—no, a nightmare. She inhaled and coughed. Smoke! A high, terrified whinny echoed somewhere. She struggled to get up off the floor, but her legs wouldn’t cooperate. She sank back against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. A distinctive crackle came from above, the sound of something burning at a terrific rate. The hayloft is on fire.
As she tried to push herself up from the floor, her hand pressed on something sharp. Despair coursed through her head as she stared at her smashed phone. She was on her own.
She attempted to stand up again and, this time, one leg supported her, but the other was limp and useless. Confusion raged through her head. Why did one leg not work? Wade Warren! She supported herself and hopped along the feed bins toward the door. Grabbing the handle, she pulled. Locked. Smoke curled through the crack under the door and she suddenly understood.
Warren hadn’t shot her because he knew the fire wouldn’t destroy the fact that she’d died earlier. No, he’d planned that the barn would burn down, the investigators would find her and think she’d been trapped in the blaze. The insurance would pay off, Reggie Fortune would be richer, and Wade Warren would still be a free man. They would both win.
Through the door, she heard the frantic cries of her beautiful Bandit.
“Over my dead body!” she screamed.
~~
Quaid clenched the steering wheel so hard his knuckles hurt. Helpless didn’t even begin to describe how he felt at that moment. The only saving grace was that Dixie was a cop and she was Kovak’s best friend. Or more. Quaid took a deep breath. Don’t go there.
The digital numbers on the dashboard clock had only advanced three minutes since the last time he’d looked. Dixie should have called by now. It had easily been more than forty minutes. To distract himself, he thought about Kovak’s strange voice mail. What had she been doing that had instigated a desire to talk to him? Had she discovered something at the barn, or had she called before she got there?
“Uncle Garrett?”
Quaid jerked, then let out a sharp breath. “Yeah, what?”
“When we move to Dayton, will you come to visit as often?”
“I’ll come more often, Sport. I might even do a little moving myself.”
“Wow, that would be great! We can go to the air museum and I can show you all the neat stuff there.”
“Absolutely. But it won’t be right away. I have to organize some things first.”
Ricky looked at him for a minute, then turned his attention to the night sky. Quaid scowled. He hadn’t meant to reveal his plans quite so soon. What if it didn’t work out? Ricky would be disappoi
nted and Quaid would once again be the unreliable uncle.
A huge billboard welcomed them to Pennsylvania as Quaid’s phone rang.
Dixie was breathless. “Jesus, Garrett, the barn’s on fire!”
“Is she there? Is she okay?”
“Her car’s in the lot, but I don’t see her. I’ve called 911. I’ll call you back when I have something.”
Quaid felt like a man trapped in a cage.
~~
Kim tried to gather her wits to figure out her next move. She examined the door. It opened inward, so kicking it down wasn’t an option. As if she could do such a thing with only one functional leg. She looked down at the throbbing limb, then leaned against the wall and unzipped her jeans. As they slid down around her ankles, she saw the problem. Her knee was swollen with blue and dark red bruises leaching into the skin above and below. Without a doubt, the kneecap was either broken or dislocated. Warren had guaranteed that she wouldn’t be able to function when she regained consciousness. She gritted her teeth as she pulled her jeans back up.
“You only think so, asshole.”
She examined the door again, trying to remember what it looked like on the other side. The door handle looked like an ordinary lock mechanism, not a deadbolt. Or there might be a latch and padlock. If she could find a crowbar or something similar, she might be able to pry the door open. She turned and scanned the room. Bags of supplement, salt blocks, buckets and scoops, a broom, and a ladder to the loft. As her graze traveled up the rungs, she saw smoke seeping around the edges of the trap door. She didn’t have much time. In the background, Bandit’s frantic neighs tore through her heart.
The room suddenly became brighter for a moment and Kim wheeled around to focus on the small oblong window near the ceiling. A flash of lightning zagged beneath the heavy plank of dark clouds, the brilliant rays lighting up the room and giving her an idea. If she could climb up on the grain bin, she might be able to hoist herself out the window. She grimaced. Now would be a good time to be about twenty pounds lighter.
She hopped over to a shelf laden with supplies and hefted a shrink-wrapped salt block the size of a brick. Calling on her high school days of softball, she threw it as hard as she could. It arced up toward the window and she held her breath. The block fell short and tumbled to the floor. She grabbed another one and moved closer to try again. The block hit the window and disappeared through the shattered glass.
Taking a deep breath, Kim hopped over to the grain bin. Would she be able to hoist herself up there? A sudden roar caught her by surprise and she looked toward the door. Smoke poured under the door, moving quickly in a deadly blanket across the floor.
“Oh God, I’ve just made it worse.”
Eyes burning, she placed both hands on the grain bin and pushed up, managing to get her good knee over the edge. She lay there for a moment, panting and gritting her teeth against the excruciating pain in her right leg. No time for this, no time. Get up! You have to get Bandit. Go!
She managed to push herself upright and roll onto her thigh. As she looked up at the window three feet away, a loud pounding sound reverberated through the room.
“Kim! Kim, are you in there?”
Smoke choked Kim’s throat and she closed her eyes tightly against the sting of the smoke. She tried to answer, but no sound came out. Her arms began to tremble, then gave out and she rolled over the edge of the grain bin, hitting the floor hard. Pain seared through every part of her body and tears coursed down her cheeks as she listened to Dixie’s frantic voice on the other side of the door.
“Kim, stand back from the door. I’m gonna shoot it open!”
Wood fragments flew everywhere as three bullets shattered the lock. In a heartbeat, Dixie was through the door and on her knees.
“Kim! Oh God, come on!” Her voice sounded strangled. “We’ve got to get out of here!”
She slid her arm under Kim’s shoulders and helped her sit up. Kim pointed to her knee, making croaking sounds, but no words.
Dixie nodded, then grabbed Kim under the armpits and pulled her up. Holding her around the waist, Dixie headed toward the door, but Kim’s battered body wouldn’t function. She started to slump.
“No! Kim, you have to try or we’re both going to die!”
A man’s voice broke in. “I’ve got ’er.”
Strong arms curled around Kim’s body, scooping her off the ground. Kim struggled to talk, tears of panic and frustration blinding her, but all she could do was point toward the stalls.
The fireman’s voice was gruff. “We got the horse out. He’s fine.”
Kim closed her eyes and succumbed to the pain raging through her body.
Chapter 39
Quaid looked at the clock again, then scowled through the windshield. That does it—I’m calling. As he reached for the connect button on his Bluetooth, his phone chimed and Dixie’s voice came through.
“She’s safe, we got her out. God, Garrett, this was awful!”
“What the hell happened?”
“When I arrived, the far end of the barn roof was engulfed. As I got out of my unit, something crashed through a window and that’s how I knew where to look for her.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“No one’s talking to her right now. She’s in an ambulance on her way to the OSU trauma center.” Dixie’s voice broke. “She’s hurt bad.”
“The fire?”
“No, someone beat her up. Head wounds look like a pistol-whipping, and I think her leg might be broken.”
Quaid couldn’t speak. Of all the scenarios both he and Kovak had dreamed up, the worst ones were clearly right on. Maybe he was partly responsible for her circumstances. If he’d been less worried about his ego and more in-tune with her passion for solving the mystery of the theft ring, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.
“Garrett, I have to go now. I’m following the ambulance and we’re almost there. And I’ve got my police dog with me. I need to walk him and get him some water. Can I call you later?”
“Sure, Dix. I’m gonna be driving all night.”
The phone went silent and Quaid lined up all the players in his mind. He had plenty of time to assess each one and figure out who had the most to lose by Kovak’s knowledge. And the most to gain by her death.
He took a deep breath and looked over at his nephew, sound asleep as only a child could manage. Then he stared out the windshield into the dark and let his thoughts run.
Around two in the morning, his Bluetooth hummed.
Dixie sounded exhausted. “Hey, it’s me. Where are you?”
“About an hour from home. How is she?”
“Out of surgery and heavily sedated. The doctor said she’d probably have a full recovery. No skull fractures, but the damaged knee will probably give her problems for the rest of her life.”
Quaid let out a long breath, surprised he’d been holding it.
Dixie said, “What in the world did you guys uncover that got her into this mess?”
“Let’s just say that what looked like a simple insurance scam turned out to be a lot bigger. We hadn’t worked out the details yet. I’m surprised she didn’t tell you all about it.”
“She’s been more focused on the plight of the horses than the bad guys.”
“Did Bandit—”
“He’s fine, they got him out.”
“What about the barn?”
“Pretty bad, but the firemen got it doused before it was a complete loss.”
“Good, ’cause I’m guessing there’ll be something there that will help us figure out who attacked Kim.”
Quaid blinked as he heard her name roll off his tongue. He rather liked the way it sounded.
“My money’s on the brother,” said Dixie “The insurance payoff on that place should be huge.”
“I’m not so sure. I think Wade Warren is at the bottom of this. I’m going to do some digging later this morning, see if I can find out anything more about him other than what he wants us to kno
w.”
Dixie yawned. “I’m beat. Thank God I’m off tomorrow. Saskie and I can just stay in bed all day.”
Quaid’s vision of adorable Dixie, lounging on silk sheets with a beautiful dog by her side, sent a sharp tug through his groin.
He lowered his voice to a suggestive level. “Mmm, that sounds good to me.”
Dixie’s tone was soft. “Oh, Garrett. You and I need to talk. Soon.”
~~
Bandit nuzzled Kim’s cheek, chuckling in his throat and searching her pockets for treats. She laughed and stroked his beautiful neck, admiring his large muscled body and thinking about how much fun they’d have together. Suddenly, he wheeled and headed toward the blazing barn, tail high, kicking up his heels. Kim gasped and started after him.
“No!” she screamed.
Strong hands grabbed her shoulders. She struggled for a moment, then looked around in confusion. Everything was white or cream, it smelled funny, and she became aware of a deep throb in her knee. She focused on the person next to the bed.
“Who are you? Where’s my horse?”
The man smiled, his dark eyes warm with compassion. “You’re in the best hospital in the state. I’m the physicians’ assistant for this ward, but I don’t know anything about your horse.”
Kim tried to get out of the bed, but he held her back. “No, you can’t get up yet. Your friend is here, though. Maybe she knows.”
Dixie’s face appeared in Kim’s line of vision and, suddenly, some of it came back.
Dixie picked up Kim’s hand. “How you feelin’? Like a tank ran over you, I suspect.”
Kim nodded, unleashing a bowling ball to crash around inside her skull. “Where’s Bandit?”
“Animal Control picked him up. He’ll be well cared for until you’ve recovered.”
Kim sank back into the pillow and closed her eyes. “Thank God,” she whispered.
“I talked to Garrett. He was worried about you. He’s coming down later today. Maybe you can tell us both exactly what happened.”