Just about a hundred feet from where the body had been found, she saw evidence of a struggle, and while she couldn’t be positive considering all the rain, she recognized the dark staining on the fallen leaves as signs of a blood pool. It could be the site of an animal kill, or even a fish gutting, but her gut said no. Looking around with an expert’s eye, she saw that the riverbank was higher here, and the body could easily have been pitched into the water, moved downstream, and gotten snagged on the brush along the edge. Moving closer to the bank, she stepped into a hole and almost pitched headfirst into the water, wrenching her hip and her stump as she pulled herself backwards and fell onto the spongy ground, her heart pounding as the fear of what could’ve happened gripped her.
“Son of a bitch,” she ground out, waiting for the pain to dissipate and noticing a new scent now that she was closer to the ground. Closing her eyes, she sniffed deeply. Human blood had a different odor to it than animal blood. Moving her hands, she brushed the leaves to the side. The blood underneath was old and dry, bearing a mustiness in its metallic scent. It reminded her of the jar of old pennies her grandfather used to keep in the garage. The odor of decay reached her as well, and as she followed it, she saw tiny bones—were these the corpse’s phalanges, scattered by scavenging animals? She would have Cal call in an FBI forensic team before any more evidence was lost.
Getting up and standing while ignoring the throbbing in her hip and leg, she slipped on a rubber glove—she never went to any crime scene without one in her pocket—and picked up as many of the tiny bones as she could. As well as what appeared to be a bicuspid, dropping them into the small baggy she brought with her. DNA could prove whether or not they belonged to the recovered corpse.
Bending down once more, for what she thought might be another tooth, she was surprised by the crack of a gunshot followed immediately by the thwack of an object hitting the tree not ten feet from her. A bullet! Forgetting about the pain in her leg, she flattened herself on the ground—someone was shooting at her, and in the clearing like this, she was providing the gunman with a nice, clear target.
Chapter Ten
Emily lay still, hoping she’d imagined the gunshot. The clearing was open, a verdant field between some trees and the river, a perfect place for kids to make out or to commit a murder and right now, she was the target of that grisly choice.
Pulling herself along the ground as best she could, ignoring the agony in her leg, she headed for the cover of nearby boulders and bushes. As she inched closer, another gunshot, followed by the ping of the slug off a nearby rock, much closer to her than the first shot had been, gave her the impetus she needed to snake across the damp grass to a safer hiding place. Hidden from view, she flipped onto her back amongst the rotting leaves, her heart pounding and her chest heaving, desperately aware of how vulnerable she was. There was no doubt in her mind that the mystery man had been killed here, and whoever had done it was probably at the other end of the sniper rifle trained on her.
On the heels of that thought, came another. Only three people knew she’d come here—Mike, Cal, and Kevin who’d set the GPS for her. Either one of those men was involved with the killer or someone was monitoring phone conversations. Hacking a cellphone was a piece of cake to someone like the Chef. She shivered. If this was his dirty work, then she was in deep trouble. He not only knew the department was on to him, he knew exactly who they’d sent. Suddenly, the SUV trying to force her off the road, the missing battery, and the death threat took on another dimension.
The sound of a car engine in the distance raised her spirits since she thought it might be Mike, but two quick gunshots stole that momentary joy from her. Scrambling to stand again and pulling out her gun, she moved as quickly as her cane and aching stump would allow through the brush and trees.
Almost back to where she’d parked her car, she slowed her progress. If someone was waiting for her, he had to have heard her moving through the trees. When she heard a car engine start, she stopped. Mike would’ve called out to her. Whoever had stopped by her car hadn’t been a friend. Cautiously, she moved out of the trees and stared at her vehicle. Both front tires were flat. She’d been stranded here, probably so that the killer could pick her off whenever he liked. No doubt, that’s what he’d had planned for Monday night too, but Jackson had saved her.
Damn. She reached into her left pocket for her phone, and tried to hide behind the car for cover, praying she’d actually have a signal out here. Almost weeping for joy when she saw the two bars of service, she stopped before dialing a number. If someone had somehow cloned her phone, she had to be careful.
Obviously, the person she should phone was Cal, but since the sheriff, Kevin, and Mike were the ones who knew where she was, she hesitated. Making up her mind quickly, she keyed in the number Jackson had put into her phone a few hours ago.
“Hello?”
Jackson’s voice was a welcome relief, and emotion clogged her throat. “Jackson, it’s Emily Jacobson,” she said after two false starts to speak. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve had a bit of car trouble, and I’m stranded by the river.”
“By the river? Where are you?”
“I’m at the location where they found the body on Monday night.”
“Alone? Why would you go out there?”
“If I wasn’t alone, I wouldn’t have to call you, would I? And I came out of morbid curiosity. Healthy Living implies not taking unnecessary risks,” she said, realizing that this had definitely fit into that category. “I wanted to see where the kids went swimming,” she finished lamely.
“If you’d asked me, I could’ve told you it wasn’t a safe place for anything. A couple of boys out fishing along the bank drowned in that area about twelve years ago, but you know kids. They think they’re invincible. I was planning to mention this in the opening day assembly. On top of that, the place is isolated, and a lot of hunting enthusiasts go out that way hunting rabbits. Just sit inside the car and wait for me. Will I be able to fix the car?”
“I don’t think so. It looks like one of your hunting enthusiasts shot out two of my tires.”
“Damn. Emily, you sound upset. Are you okay?”
“I’m a bit scared, but otherwise unhurt.”
“Get in your car and wait for me. Lock the doors, and don’t let anyone in until I get there. We have a lot of transients around because of the new construction and everything…” He stopped talking.
Now she knew he was remembering what she said at lunch about the Chef.
“It’ll take me close to an hour from here, so sit tight. It’ll probably get dark before I can make it.”
“Doing it right now, and Jackson, can you hurry as much as possible?”
“I will.”
She hung up the phone, opened the door, got into the car, and locked it. Reclining the seat halfway so no one could see her, she swallowed her fear and tried to relax. From this position if anyone tried to get into the car, she would have a clear shot at them. Gun resting on her stomach, she waited for her knight on a white horse, or in this case—in a white truck, to rescue her.
The minutes crawled by slowly as she watched the sun sink behind the trees, bathing the area in an eerie twilight. Jackson said the area was popular with hunters. Could those shots have come from someone who’d mistaken her for game? Not bloody likely. So who’d want her dead? As much as Mabel might not like the idea of a new food plan, the woman didn’t look vindictive enough to hire a sniper, so it all came back to her faceless enemy—the Chef.
She needed to report this to Cal, but she would do it in person. Could Kevin be in league with the Chef? If Micah was, and she hadn’t found anything to disprove that, he wouldn’t be the first lawman to get embroiled with the bastard or to do something stupid because of a pretty face. He was a young man; he could be looking for excitement, and a few hundred thousand to look the other way bought lots of toys. Micah obviously liked the best, and she would never have it on a teacher’s salary.
Emily had found Randal Curry in her online search. He was an ex-military man, one who’d know how to use a sniper rifle. He’d seemed so nice and harmless Monday night, but sociopaths often had a façade that hit their true natures from the world.
She would have to tell Mike about this as well. Someone could’ve cloned his phone and gotten her message. If the Chef were onto him, Mike’s life, not to mention his undercover mission, could be in danger, too.
Almost an hour later, two sets of headlights lit up the clearing, and Emily sat up carefully. It didn’t take long to see the first set of lights belonged to a tow truck with Aaron Katz and Kids Garage emblazoned on the door. The second set belonged to the white truck that pulled up behind her car. She heard the truck door slam and watched Jackson run the short distance to her vehicle.
“Are you okay?” he asked pulling open her door as soon as she unlocked it.
“Yes, I’m fine, especially now that you’re here. This place is kind of spooky in the gloom.” She shoved her gun under her.
“Looks like you took two in the tires,” the man driving the tow truck said coming over to the open door. “Probably just kids taking potshots at you. Mabel has a few people riled up, and after a few beers, some people might decide scaring you away would make her happy, and, judging from this, someone else beat them to it. Looks like you were sideswiped.” He pointed to the scrape. “Todd mentioned it after he replaced your battery. I’d say someone’s trying to score some points with her. Might be her husband, but I doubt it. This ain’t his style. He can be as mean as any son of a bitch, but this is a little over the top even for him. Might be that no-good nephew of hers though.”
“Emily, meet AK, the owner of Braden’s only full-service garage,” Jackson said. “Let me help you into my truck, and then I’ll help AK load your car onto the tow truck.”
Emily moved her gun to her purse, then got out of the car, grabbed her purse and her cane, and turned, extending her hand to AK. “Pleased to meet you, and sorry to bring you out here, but I’m glad you came. That nephew wouldn’t happen to drive a black SUV would he?”
AK laughed. “He don’t drive nothing, but he can steal a car with the best of them. He might be the one who took your battery. If he was driving a black SUV when he done this, you can bet it wasn’t his.”
“Thank you. Can you tow it and fix the tires for me? I’ll have the fender fixed another time when I don’t need the car as much as I will next week.”
“Sure thing. If I’ve got the tires in stock, I’ll have them on first thing in the morning, and my boy, Todd, can drop it off for you before noon.” He smiled. “Not much happens in this town without everyone hearing about it sooner or later.” He moved back to the tow truck.
Emily watched him maneuver the vehicle into position.
“Come on,” Jackson said. “You look a little rough around the edges. Did you fall?”
Emily looked down at the dirt and grass stains, along with a bit of the dried blood now caked onto her suit. “I did. This terrain isn’t easy for walking, especially with a cane.” There was no way she could reveal the truth to him, at least not out here, not now. She needed to figure out exactly who’d taken those shots at her.
“You’re lucky you didn’t fall headfirst into the river. There are rocks along the shore that you can’t see because of the color of the water.”
“I came close. Rocks or no rocks, if I’d fallen in the water I would’ve been in big trouble. I don’t swim.”
“Everybody swims,” he said.
“Not me.” Her artificial leg would short out in the water, and she would sink like a stone. The doctors had offered her a swim leg, but she’d opted to do without for now. It was like the running blade. If she ever wanted one, they had all the information needed to make it. Limping far more than she normally did, she followed Jackson to his truck.
He opened the door, and just as he had on Monday, lifted her up and placed her gently on the seat. Thankfully, most of the grime on her had dried and didn’t transfer. “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”
Emily chuckled. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to—it’s a standard. I’m hopeless when it comes to a clutch.”
“I’ll teach you someday. It’s a safer car in the winter.”
She nodded. There was no way she would be able to drive a regular car with a standard transmission. She didn’t have that kind of control over her artificial leg.
Emily’s phone rang, startling her. She saw it was Cal and picked up quickly. “Hi, Cal. What’s up?”
“I need you at the hospital in Waterloo. Reuben Hazlet and the paramedics got a 9-1-1 call from an anonymous source. They’ve brought in three kids with a suspected overdose. The doc isn’t sure what they took, and I hoped you could lead them in the right direction.”
“Who are the kids?
“Three teenagers from Colchester,” he said. “Incidentally, they’re three of the four who found that body. I’m thinking this might not be a coincidence.”
“Yeah. You could be right. We’ll talk about it when I get there. In the meantime, I suggest you look for the fourth boy.”
“Where are you?”
“Still out by the river. I had car trouble, but the tow truck is here.”
“How are you going to get to Waterloo?”
“Jackson is with me. I’ll ask him for a ride.” She hung up as Jackson came toward the truck, hoping she wasn’t about to cause her savior more trouble.
* * * *
Jackson ran his trembling hand through his hair, hoping to calm himself enough to be of help to AK. When he arrived earlier, and there’d been no dark head silhouetted in the glow of his headlights, he’d almost lost it, thinking the worst had happened. He then hurried over to the driver’s side of the car, wanting to pull Emily out of the vehicle and into his arms, knowing he couldn’t do it, no matter how great the need to hold her and touch her was. He didn’t understand this attraction to a woman who was still virtually a stranger, yet he was helplessly in her thrall, and the thought she might’ve been hurt tore the soul right out of him.
Having her pop up like a Jack-in-the-Box when AK had driven past her in the tow truck had jumpstarted his heart. Someone had taken shots at her. What the hell was going on? This wasn’t the Wild West where you could run someone out of town. It was the twenty-first century, for God’s sake, and people had to get along with others whether they liked them or not. You couldn’t go around shooting at those who wanted to change things up a little. He couldn’t believe one of Mabel’s friends would go to this length. This was way beyond mischief. Whoever had fired on her car—and he hoped it had been just the car, and she hadn’t been in it at the time—could be facing attempted murder charges.
After he’d hung up, he’d thought about why Emily had called him for assistance instead of Cal or Mike since he’d seen those numbers in her caller list when he’d added his, but then he’d realized she probably had, and the others hadn’t been able to respond. Mike might be at work, since there were three different shifts at the plant while they scrambled to get it up and running before the end of the year. Then Cal could be out on a call. Rather than tell the dispatcher she was in trouble, she’d called him—the third on the list. The only other people she knew in town were Elias, her super, who was in Waterloo with his bowling buddies on Wednesday nights, and Kevin, probably the last person she’d want riding to her rescue.
He’d seen the look of pain on her face when she’d limped over to the truck, and he hoped she hadn’t hurt her hip too badly in that fall. Thinking she could’ve gone into the river made his blood run cold. He’d been home the summer they’d pulled those kids from the water. What he would like to do now was take her back to the homestead and have her soak in the therapy pool he had installed for Uncle Jack. The swirling, hot water had eased his arthritis on more than one occasion, and that might be good for her hip.
“Do you need me to do anything, AK?” Jackson asked, although since AK had her car up on the
tow bed, it was a moot point.
“Nope. Got it on okay, but I’ll probably have to order tires for the car. I’m not sure I have these in stock.”
“Well, you’ve got my number. Call me, and I’ll contact her. If you can’t get them before Monday, I’ll see she gets wherever she needs to go. I’ve still got Jack’s coupe in the garage. It hasn’t been driven in a while, but it still works. I start it up once a week.”
“That’s a damn fine automobile. Jack took as good a care of it as he did of you. I’ll have a closer look at them and get back to you. Worse comes to worse, I’ll look for a couple of decent used ones until I get the order in.”
Jackson watched AK pull out. The mechanic would drive east a few miles and use the side road to get back to the highway and Braden. The road was too narrow for him to turn around here. Heading back to the truck, Jackson saw that Emily was on the phone. As he got in behind the wheel, she ended the call. “You look beat. Let’s get you home. Have you had dinner?”
“No, and as much as I need to go home and change, staying there isn’t going to happen anytime soon. I’ve got a favor to ask.”
“Anything.”
“That was Cal. Three kids from Colchester have been taken to the hospital in Waterloo. I need a ride there, but first I have to get some clean clothes. I can’t show up at the hospital looking like an accident victim. I’m the flavor of the month as it is, and I’d rather not add to the gossip.”
“Understood. If you think being with me will lead to gossip, don’t worry. I’m footloose and fancy free, have had all my shots, and can look after myself,” he joked hoping to see her smile. She had that deer in the headlights look on her face. When she didn’t comment, he quit trying to be funny. “We’ll head into the city as soon as you’re ready and get something to eat after we talk to Cal. Did he happen to name the kids?”
Secrets and Lies (Hearts Of Braden Book 4) Page 16