“Whatever works for you two, I’m fine with. Just as long as I get to the airport in time for my flight.” Jessie knew this could be enough to keep Alex home as she knew how much she hated to impose on people.
“It will be fine, Alex. As long as you think you can make it through the day with little or no sleep.” Sam wanted to ease her mind about what needed to be done.
“All right. Then let’s get to bed now so we can at least be resting. I know I’ll be okay tomorrow since I’ll be running on pure adrenaline.” Turning to Jessie she pulled her into a big hug. “I’m so sorry your visit has been such a disaster. How about I make you a promise right here and now that we spend Christmas with you.”
“Darlin’, that would be the best present you’ve ever given me. I’d love to have the two of you back for the holidays.” Smiling, Jessie saw Sam smile wide as she loved the idea too.
“Great. Then off to bed with us. You have a long flight home tomorrow and Sam and I have a long night ahead of us.” Alex was thrilled that she came up with that idea and then wondered if Anna had put the thought in her head.
Laying out what she would wear tomorrow for work, Alex thought to save time they should put on the clothes they would wear tonight and then set the alarm for midnight. They would be ready to go and would only need to grab a jacket and put on their shoes. Then they would have plenty of time to get to school by twelve-forty-five. Curling up with Sam, spooning her, she tried to get her mind to stop running at ninety miles an hour. Everything that had happened all week was replaying at high speed. Sam could tell Alex was tense and tried to get her to relax by stroking her arm.
“Is it that obvious I’m restless?” Alex tried to concentrate on the feeling she was getting from Sam’s touch.
“Just a little. You need to relax and let whatever happens happen.” Sam was beginning to feel this whole drama already had an ending and they just needed to walk through it.
“I’ll try. I know I’m in good hands.” She reached across and gave Sam’s hand a squeeze.
“That’s right. I’m here and so are Anna and Ramon. You can’t get better help than that.” Sam felt Alex relax completely at those words and knew they were going to be all right tonight.
When the alarm sounded, both women had been in a deep sleep but woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. Alex hit the bathroom and brushed her teeth, as did Sam. They then grabbed their stuff and quietly left for what they hoped would be a very productive stakeout and happy conclusion.
Chapter 39
The conversation on the way to the stakeout was minimal. Sam was hoping that when they arrived nothing had happened and that Richard would show up at dawn. Alex was hoping Richard was already in custody and the Sheriff had just forgotten to call and tell them to stay home. Neither wanted the other to know what was racing through their minds, but both had a good idea what each other was thinking.
As they neared school, there wasn’t any sign of activity. Rolling into the front lot, Sam parked the truck next to the Sheriff’s patrol car. She got out as quietly as possible and asked Alex to stay with the truck. She would be right back as soon as she found the Sheriff. Alex wasn’t thrilled at the thought of being left alone, but agreed, as she knew Sam would be a lot quieter walking across the gravel parking lot alone. Looking around, she was amazed at how few lights were on. There was one over the main entrance and one at each end of the building. They weren’t very bright and most of the building was in shadows. She looked towards the maintenance yard and dormitories and very few lights could be seen from there either. Alex was thinking she should bring this to Mrs. Greenway’s attention when the driver side door suddenly opened and caused her to jump.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Sam got back in and rubbed her hands together since it was very cold and she didn’t have any gloves.
“I didn’t see you coming back. So much for my skills as a lookout. Did you find the Sheriff?” Alex had expected him to come back with her.
“No. But it isn’t quite a quarter to one yet. We’re a little early. Although, I figured I would have seen him and his deputy out there somewhere.” Sam wondered where the boiler room was located and if they were going to have to sit out in this cold all night.
“You can’t see the boiler room from here. It’s closer to the dormitories than the main building. We wouldn’t want the girls to have to wait long for their hot showers now would we.” Alex never realized how big this place was since she only went to her classroom, the cafeteria, and main building.
“Okay, then we’ll wait for him to come get us.” Sam stuck her hands in her pockets trying to get them warm.
Alex opened her glove compartment and produced a pair of gloves. She always had a pair in her coat pocket and a spare in the truck. Sam was grateful that Alex was so well prepared for this occasion.
As they waited in the truck, Sam couldn’t help but look at her cell phone. She began to worry, as twelve-fortyfive had come and gone with no sign of the Sheriff. Discussing whether to go find him or wait there, Sam was concerned that something could be wrong. Not wanting to scare Alex, she blew it off as men not being aware of the time. When her phone read one o’clock she looked at Alex and knew she would want to follow her wherever she went. She suggested they go look for the Sheriff, but they couldn’t talk - only whisper.
Sam checked the Sheriff’s patrol car and it was locked. Walking as quietly as possible over the gravel parking lot, Alex followed closely behind. It wasn’t pitch black due to the various lights that were on around the school, but anyone or anything could be hiding in the shadows. As they made their way towards the location of the boiler room, Sam stopped occasionally and listened for any sounds of another person walking. Coming around the corner Sam pulled Alex close and whispered a question as to which building housed the boilers. Alex wasn’t sure, but she guessed it was the smaller one. She never gave it much thought when she went to the maintenance area to talk to the guys. The little building was off by itself and the door was on the other side. Coming around the far corner, which was furthest from where Sam figured Richard would be approaching, she listened and then looked to see if anyone was around. There was no sight or sound of anyone in the area. As she slowly approached the door, she couldn’t see that well, but it appeared that the door wasn’t closed all the way. Whispering to Alex to stay put while she looked inside, she hoped Alex would comply. She did. Not wanting to use the small flashlight she’d brought along, she used the light from her phone to confirm that the door wasn’t closed. Slowly pushing it open, she could see a light lying on the floor and realized it was a flashlight. As she slowly walked towards it, she almost tripped over something laying in her path. She turned her phone down to see what it was and realized it was a body. It wasn’t moving. Taking a closer look she saw it was the Sheriff. She turned her flashlight on, figuring Richard was long gone and the Sheriff needed help.
“Alex, come in slowly and help me find the light switch. The Sheriff’s been hurt.” Sam’s heart was pounding as she felt for his pulse. “He’s alive, but I don’t know how long he’s been lying here.”
Alex came through the door and found the light switch immediately. The Sheriff was lying about ten feet from the door. As she reached down to touch him he stirred.
“Sheriff John.” Alex touched his arm, which was warm, so she hoped he hadn’t been unconscious for too long.
“Aah. When I get that son of a bitch I’m going to kick his ass to China.” The Sheriff was more embarrassed about being surprised and struck from behind, than seriously injured.
“What happened?” Sam figured he was checking the room and hadn’t realized Richard was around.
“I came in to make sure the device was still attached to the pipe, when the lights went out.” The Sheriff was rubbing the back of his head.
“Wasn’t the door locked?” Alex wondered what other buildings weren’t secured at night.
“That’s why I came in to check. The door was unlocked
. Richard must have heard me and ducked behind the door. I can’t believe I made such a stupid mistake.” The Sheriff would never hear the end of this from his deputies.
“Don’t blame yourself. We figured he would probably come in the morning. He must have realized the drawing was gone and wondered if someone was on to him. Where was the device attached?” Sam realized that the Sheriff didn’t call it a bomb so she didn’t either.
“The pipe closest to the gauges on the back side.” The Sheriff was trying to stand up with Alex’s help.
Sam walked over to check and see if it was still there. She wasn’t surprised to see it gone and realized Richard was probably going to vacate the cabin as well. They needed to move fast if they wanted to catch him before he disappeared again.
“Alex, can you get the Sheriff to his car so he can radio this in. If Richard hasn’t vacated the cabin yet I can call and tell you where to send the cavalry. But we also need to remember that he has the device and who knows what he’ll do next.” Sam was wishing for some night vision goggles or a full moon.
“Hopefully he didn’t notice the cut wire to the detonation cap and thinks it still works. But we can’t assume that. So be extra careful.” The Sheriff was doing pretty well on his own as he headed for the door.
“I won’t assume anything with this guy.” Sam turned off the lights as they exited the room.
“Sam, please be careful.” Alex wondered if ravens flew at night and wished she knew for sure Anna was around.
“Always, Darlin’. You drive the Sheriff back to his office, or the hospital if he’ll go.” Sam had the keys to the truck and took off at a slow jog towards the woods, but not before she kissed Alex and whispered to her to be very careful.
As Sam approached the far end of the parking lot, near where the tunnel exit was located, she felt a presence and stood very still. Looking in all directions she didn’t see anything and hoped the opening was easily accessible. Figuring it was near a rock formation, like the other access, or a clump of bushes, she slowly looked around. It was so quiet, which meant the generator wasn’t running or that the cabin was a lot further in the woods on this side. Then she felt something brush her leg, causing her to jump. She could have sworn she saw the outline of a wolf move past her.
“Anna, is that you? You almost scared me to death.” Sam’s heart was pounding, as if she’d just run a marathon. Giving herself a moment before she continued, she whispered, “Okay, lead the way I’m right behind you.”
Sam assumed that Alex was safe, since Anna was there with her. She had no way of knowing this wolf was Ramon’s spirit and that Anna was staying close to Alex in the form of an owl for the time being. She was thankful for her flashlight, as this black wolf was becoming harder to see as they moved away from the dim light provided by the school buildings. Sam wondered why Anna hadn’t taken her to the tunnel opening, but was proceeding into the woods. Then she saw the cabin’s outline as there was a light on the other side of it, but seemed to be getting fainter as she approached. Realizing that Richard was probably walking towards his car with a lantern, she shifted into high gear. She hoped the mud wouldn’t slow her down too much so she could catch him before he got away.
“Anna, can you follow him and try to slow him down?” Sam had lost sight of the wolf but hoped she heard her.
She was running out of gas as the mud was making it very hard to catch up with him and she hadn’t done this much running in a very long time.
Sam stopped about a hundred feet from the cabin. Catching her breath, she decided she wasn’t going to be able to catch Richard, so she better at least check the cabin. Hopefully he’d left some evidence behind that would be useful in putting him in jail for a very long time. As she took her first step towards the cabin, suddenly something hit her square in the chest sending her flying backwards. Just then the cabin exploded into a ball of flames sending burning lumber in every direction. Quickly rolling over and covering her head, Sam was being pelted with burning debris. She started calling for Anna, hoping she hadn’t been hurt and then realized she wasn’t a real wolf. She jumped up, knowing she had to get to the truck and call the fire department as several trees had caught fire. They were wet from all the rain, but not soaked and several were engulfed in flames not to mention, whatever evidence was in there was gone now.
Wishing for wings herself, it took a tired Sam five minutes to get back to the truck, but luckily she got a signal and called the fire in. The explosion was loud enough to wake up half the school, including Frederick.
Trying to dress as fast as a fireman, Frederick headed for the boilers, but checked the parking lot first since he was aware of the stakeout and could see the flames coming from the woods. Only seeing Alex’s truck, Frederick thought the worst, but was relieved when Sam appeared.
“What happened?” Frederick was thrilled the boiler room was still standing.
“Richard blew up the cabin in the woods. I’ve called the fire department. Alex and the Sheriff should be on their way to the hospital or his office. Richard surprised the Sheriff in the boiler room and clobbered him from behind. I’m going to get on the road and see if I can spot Richard’s car before he gets on the highway.” Sam was kicking the tires as she spoke, trying to get as much mud off her shoes as possible. She didn’t realize she was covered in wet leaves and bleeding from several cuts from the flying debris.
“Okay. I’ll show them where it is. But then, they should be able to see the flames when they arrive.” Frederick was going to have his hands full keeping the looky-loos away.
Pulling out onto the road, Sam wished she had TJ with her. She knew these roads and would have a good idea where Richard would head to get out of the area as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, as Alex drove the patrol car, the Sheriff was radioing his dispatcher to put out an APB on Richard and to call every deputy and get them on the road to look for him. After that, Alex asked the Sheriff if they couldn’t stop by the hospital to have his head looked at. He declined saying he wasn’t bleeding, but promised he would go later. Alex was worried about Sam, and when the call came over the radio about the explosion at the school she slammed on the brakes. She turned the car around and headed back to school, this time at high speed. Checking with his dispatcher, again he was told a woman named Samantha Pierce had called and reported the explosion and that every available deputy would be there as soon as they could. The Sheriff could hear Alex let out a big sigh, as she was relieved to hear Sam was okay, and she slowed down just a little.
“I have the sick feeling that Greenway’s gotten away again.” The Sheriff figured if he was smart he’d head for the next county and wait for things to die down.
“I really hope not. I want this to be over so I can have my old boring life back and Sam and I can enjoy ourselves without having to look over our shoulder every minute of the day.” Alex was getting angry that Richard once again had the upper hand and was calling the shots.
“I know, Alex. I really let everybody down getting caught off guard like that. I should have had one of my deputies take that shift. It’s been such a long time since I’ve actually worked in the field. I’ve been behind a desk for so long and this town is usually so peaceful, I forgot some of the basics.” The Sheriff really wanted to get Richard tonight so he could save face with the town.
“This isn’t the big city. What makes you think your deputies wouldn’t have done the same thing you did and had the same results? Besides, how many psychos have you dealt with in your lifetime? There’s no way anyone can predict what he’s going to do like blowing up the cabin to allow himself time to get away.” Alex hoped the Sheriff didn’t beat himself up too much.
“I know you’re right, but I can’t help feeling that I should have been ready for anything.” The Sheriff felt a little better knowing Alex didn’t blame him for letting Richard get away.
“We’ll find him. Anna will know where he is. I’m sure of that.” Alex started a prayer and hoped An
na was able to hear it.
As Richard made his way out of the woods, after several close calls of almost crashing into trees, he skidded onto the paved road flinging mud everywhere. As long as he had mud on his car he would be leaving a very easy trail to follow for a while. Besides that, he knew they had to know the description of his car by now. Realizing this, he remembered that the school had a car that was kept for running errands and taking students to appointments in town. He could double back there, wait a couple of hours for the excitement to die down, and then swap the cars. No problem. They’d never be the wiser, until the next time they needed it, and he’d be long gone by then.
Chapter 40
As Alex and the Sheriff pulled into the school parking lot, it was alive with activity. Police, fire and even the paramedics were there. Alex asked the Sheriff if she could borrow his phone to call Sam while he went to check in with his guys. Dialing her cell and praying she would answer, Alex became much calmer when she heard Sam’s voice.
“Hey Sheriff. How’s your head?” Sam had found the muddy tracks coming out of the woods.
“Please tell me you’re all right!” Alex could tell by her voice she was, but wanted to hear it from Sam’s lips.
“I’m fine, Darlin’. A little singed, but fine. Really. Anna saved my ass by knocking me flat on my back. Otherwise I may not have survived the blast. Where are you?” Sam hadn’t intended to tell Alex everything, but it just came out.
“At school. When we heard the report about the explosion we came back. Anna was with you? Thank Goddess she knew you were going to be in danger.” Alex started to shake and needed to sit down so she did, on the bumper of the Sheriff’s car.
but, mercury's not in retrograde! Page 22