Under the Dog Star: A Rachel Goddard Mystery #4 (Rachel Goddard Mysteries)

by Parshall, Sandra

  “Jesus Christ.” Tom slid an arm around Rachel’s shoulders and pulled her closer. “Thank god you were still up when it happened.”

  “Oh, my gosh!” Holly’s exclamation from the doorway made Rachel and Tom turn. Holly had come in with Brandon, and she rushed forward and threw her arms around Rachel, forcing Tom to let go of her. “Are you all right? I just about fainted when I heard your house was on fire.”

  “I’m fine. You didn’t have to come over so late.” Rachel blinked back tears and extricated herself from Holly’s fierce hug.

  “I couldn’t keep her from coming to make sure you’re okay,” Brandon said. With a grim expression on his young face, he surveyed the burned drapes and carpet, the smashed window. He asked Tom, “What do you think about this, Captain?”

  “It probably has something to do with the Hall case.”

  “I still think it might have been intended for me.” Rachel couldn’t let go of the idea that the gang they’d encountered at the Hall house and the sanctuary had come after her tonight.

  “Because of the dogs?” Holly asked.

  Brandon’s professional demeanor vanished in an instant, giving way to wide-eyed alarm. “Then they might come after Holly too.”

  “Well, I got news for them,” Holly said. “We’re not quittin’. We’re not gonna give up and just let people shoot those poor creatures.” But her voice wavered when she asked Rachel, “We’re not, are we? You won’t quit, will you?”

  “Of course not.” Rachel glanced at Tom, hoping he wouldn’t argue.

  But he wasn’t looking at her. He seemed in the grip of his own dark thoughts. The rigid set of his jaw sharpened the angles of his face, and the cold anger she saw building in his eyes made her suddenly afraid of what he would do, not to her but to some unknown enemy.

  ***

  Tom and Brandon walked into the yard, out of the women’s hearing range. Pausing next to his cruiser, Tom said, “Whoever did this, I don’t think they’ll stop with one brick and one bottle of gas through a window. If they want to do some real damage, they’ll try again. I have to get on top of it before anything else happens.”

  “You think it’s somebody who’s mad about the dog pack?”

  “Could be. But it also could have been the guy who set his dog on Gordon Hall. If Hall’s death is connected somehow to the dogfighting, this might have been a warning to back off.”

  “They’ve gotta know we’ve been nosing around,” Brandon said. “You can’t keep something like that quiet for two minutes in this county.”

  “There’s another possibility, though. Beth Hall and Pete Rasey. They both think they’ve got reason to hate me. Beth left home without permission tonight, and nobody in the family knows for sure where she went, but they said she’s in the habit of sneaking out to see Pete. I’m going to track him down right now and see what he has to say.”

  “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

  “No, I want you to stay here with Rachel, just to be on the safe side.”

  Brandon’s face fell, but he didn’t argue.

  “Don’t say anything to Rachel about Pete,” Tom told him. “She’s still afraid of him because of what happened at that meeting at the Rocky Branch school, and I don’t want her to know he set this fire until I’ve got proof.”

  When Tom went back inside and told Rachel he had to leave for a while, she simply nodded, didn’t ask questions.

  Holly, however, was never one to restrain her curiosity. “What’s so important that you gotta leave right now?”

  “I can’t talk about it. I need to get moving. Brandon’s going to stay here until I get back.”

  “And I’m stayin’ too.” Holly moved closer to Rachel and threw an accusing look at Tom. “She ought not to be by herself after gettin’ a shock like this.”

  No, she shouldn’t be, Tom thought. Rachel was too quiet, too calm, and that probably meant she was scared to death.

  He put an arm around her shoulders and whispered, “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t leave if it wasn’t important. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “I understand,” she said. “Be careful, wherever you’re going. Come back in one piece, okay?” She tried a short laugh but didn’t quite carry it off.

  She was afraid for his safety, Tom realized then, not her own.

  ***

  Pete’s car wasn’t in the driveway. Tom parked on the road near the Rasey house, cut his engine, and waited. Twenty minutes later, he saw headlights approaching from the opposite direction. Near the house, the headlights suddenly went out. Illuminated by the moon, the black Thunderbird rolled slowly into the Raseys’ driveway. Pete was trying to get back into the house without waking his parents.

  Without turning on his own headlights, Tom started his engine and moved the cruiser to the bottom of the driveway, blocking it. Pete climbed out of the Thunderbird, caught sight of Tom getting out of the police car, and paused with one hand still on his open door.

  Tom was walking up the driveway when the front door of the house banged open and Beck Rasey charged out. Standing under the dim porch light in a tee shirt and boxer shorts, he shouted at his son, “Where the hell have you been? I told you to get back here by nine o’clock. I swear, if you’ve been sneaking around with that Hall girl again, I’m gonna kill you with my bare hands.”

  “Dad.” Pete pointed at Tom.

  “Evening, Beck,” Tom said, with a little wave of his hand. “I was just about to ask your son the same question. Where have you been, Pete?”

  “What the hell business is it of yours?” Beck stomped down the steps in his slippers and hustled over to Pete, reaching him the same time Tom did. Side by side, they looked like a before-and-after illustration of how a handsome young athlete might end up if he let himself go. “This is family. Keep your damned nose out of it, Bridger.”

  “I need to know where Pete was tonight.” When he looked at Pete, the boy’s gaze connected with his for a second before jumping away. “Were you anywhere near my place?”

  “What?” Beck said. “What are you talking about? What are you accusing him of?”

  His father might be startled and defensive, but Pete didn’t seem surprised by Tom’s question. Jamming his fists into his jeans pockets, he hunched his shoulders and fixed his gaze on the ground. In that moment, Tom was certain Pete had thrown the brick and firebomb into his house. For now, though, he didn’t have a shred of proof.

  “Pete knows what happened tonight,” Tom said.

  Beck poked his son’s shoulder. “What have you been up to?”

  The boy jerked back from his father’s touch. “Nothing! I didn’t do anything. He’s just winding you up.”

  Beck rounded on Tom. “I want to know what this is all about.”

  “Somebody set my house on fire tonight.”

  Beck’s mouth dropped open. His expression wavered between incredulity and outrage. “And you think my kid was responsible?”

  Tom didn’t answer, but kept his eyes on Pete, pinning him with a stare that seemed to make the boy shrink back inside himself.

  “Where’s your evidence?” Beck demanded. “You don’t have any, do you? And you’re not gonna find any, because my boy didn’t do squat to your precious house. So you’ve got no right coming on my property throwing around blame. Now get on out of here.”

  Tom held his ground for a moment more, long enough for Pete to dare eye contact again. Silently, Tom sent him a message. I’ll get you for this, you little punk.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  As if I’m going to sleep tonight. I may never sleep again.

  After sitting up until nearly three waiting for Tom’s return, Rachel grew tired of Holly and Brandon fussing over her and urging her to rest. She climbed the stairs, changed back into her nightgown, and settled on the bed with Frank curled up at her feet. Although she felt safe with Brandon there, she was certain she wouldn’t be able to sleep until Tom came home.

  She awoke to see sunlight streaming through the win
dows. She sat up with a jolt. Where was Tom?

  The sheet and pillow on his side of the bed looked rumpled as if he’d slept there. Thank god. If he’d been home, he must be all right. But she hadn’t been aware of him coming to bed or getting up again.

  Pulling on her robe as she went, she walked down the hall to the bathroom. Tom stood at the sink, wearing his uniform pants and a tee shirt, running an electric shaver over his chin.

  She went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face into his neck. Safe and sound, no gunshot wound, no bruises. “Why didn’t you wake me up when you came in?”

  He hugged her with his free arm, the razor still buzzing in his other hand. “You needed your sleep.”

  “I wish you’d woken me up. I wanted to hear—” Rachel broke off to yawn.

  Tom laughed. “You’ve made my point for me.” He switched off his razor and lifted her chin with a finger so he could kiss her.

  “Where did you go?” she asked. “Do you know who started the fire?”

  “I’ve got a suspect. I don’t have any proof.”

  “Who?” Rachel moved away and leaned against the door jamb.

  He hesitated, silent as he stowed the razor in the medicine cabinet.

  “Tell me,” she said. “I have a right to know who’s trying to hurt me. Hurt us.”

  “Just let me handle it. And I will handle it, don’t worry.”

  What was he protecting her from this time? “Isn’t it better for me to know—”

  “A guy’s coming to replace the glass in the window. He’ll be here in the next hour. Do you mind dealing with him? He’ll send a bill.”

  Okay, she’d have to worm it out of him, maybe over breakfast. This was Saturday. They’d formed the habit of long, leisurely breakfasts on the weekend. But this wasn’t a normal Saturday. “You’re going to have something to eat before you leave, aren’t you?”

  “I’ll grab something somewhere. I have to get back to work.” He pulled a fresh uniform shirt from a hook on the back of the door. “There’s a lot going on with the Halls.”

  Only then did Rachel remember that the oldest Hall daughter had been in an accident the night before. “How’s Soo Jin?”

  Buttoning his shirt, Tom said, “She’s still unconscious. The airbag deployed, but that didn’t stop her from getting a head injury.”

  “Oh no. Is she paralyzed?”

  “They can’t tell at this point.” He stuffed his shirt into his pants and gave her another quick kiss. “I’ve got to go. We’ll talk later. I know you’ll want to go check on the dogs, but don’t go out there by yourself. Get Joe Dolan to go with you. Everybody along this road will keep an eye out today and make sure nothing happens.”

  She could argue with him about Joe, but what would be the point? He was right, after all. She needed protection. If anybody tried to attack her, Joe could shoot him with a tranquilizer dart. She almost smiled at the thought.

  Tom brushed past her. On his way down the stairs, he called back, “I’ve already fed Frank, and I gave Cicero some fresh seeds and water and let him out of his cage.”

  A minute later she heard the front door open and close.

  Rachel walked back to the bedroom, acutely aware that she was now alone, but telling herself it was ridiculous to feel as if Tom had abandoned her. She’d never been the clinging type, and she despised the impulse in herself. “What do you want him to do?” she asked herself as she opened the closet door. “Stay home and hold your hand instead of finding out who set our house on fire?”

  She paused, her hand on the shirt she meant to wear. Our house? Was she thinking of it that way now?

  She pulled the shirt off its hanger, grabbed a clean pair of jeans, and began changing. Our house. For weeks she’d felt like a visitor here, an intruder at times. Everywhere she looked, she saw reminders that this house had belonged to Tom’s parents, and in spirit it still did, even if Tom’s name was on the deed. Everything in it had been chosen by Tom’s mother. Some of the rooms had flowered wallpaper that made Rachel wince every time she looked at it, and nothing had been painted in at least a decade. But it had never occurred to Rachel to suggest changes. What right did she have? She was a pretender, playing house with Tom, letting him believe they had a future together when she wasn’t sure she believed it herself.

  ***

  Tom was halfway to town when he got the call. The display on his cell said it came from a public phone.

  “Hey, buddy, I got somethin’ for you.”

  For a second the voice didn’t register. When it did, Tom yanked the steering wheel to the right and pulled off the road. “Burt? Hey. What is it?”

  “I heard there’s gonna be a fight tonight.”

  “Great. Where?” Tom fumbled in his shirt pocket for a pad and pen and flipped open the pad on the passenger seat.

  “You know that place called Ladyslipper Hollow?”

  “Yeah.” Tom wrote down the name. “That’s a wetland. How can they do anything in there?”

  “That’s not the place. You go about two miles past there, maybe a little less, and look for a dirt road on the left. It’s hard to see. It’s more like a trail or a path than a road. You get on that and keep goin’ and you’ll find the spot. It’ll probably start around nine-thirty or ten.”

  “Where did you—”

  The line went dead.

  Tom thought about trying to get Morgan back on the phone, but decided against it. He’d told Tom all he was willing to tell him. Morgan didn’t have a phone line at his cabin, and Tom doubted he owned a cell phone, so he’d probably had to go into town to make the call from a public place. He wouldn’t take a chance on prolonging the conversation and being overheard.

  Tom pressed a speed-dial button and waited until he connected with Dennis at headquarters. “You’re there early on a Saturday,” Tom said. “Your whole family must be hating me about now.”

  “They’re getting used to it,” Dennis said.

  “I’m afraid I’m going to keep you busy tonight, too,” Tom said. “I got a tip on the location for the dogfights, and we’ll need to have a team out there tonight.”

  “Hey, that’s great. I’m ready when you are.”

  “You got anything from the State Police about Soo Jin’s car?”

  “The report just came in, with some pictures.”

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  When Tom reached headquarters, Dennis had four eight-by-ten close-ups of the tires on Soo Jin’s car pinned to the bulletin board in the conference room. Brandon joined Dennis and Tom in studying them.

  The photos showed thin slices between the treads on all four tires.

  “Man,” Brandon said, “that’s vicious. Somebody definitely wanted to hurt that girl.”

  “It could have been vandalism,” Dennis said. “Somebody just wanting to give her four flat tires.”

  “I wish we had some idea of when it happened,” Tom said. “How long would it take for the tires to go flat with the car moving? If the damage was done while she was out last night, they wouldn’t have lost so much air by the time she headed home. Maybe it was done earlier, before she went out.”

  “Somebody at the house did it?” Brandon said. “Maybe somebody in the family?”

  “Yeah,” Tom said. “That’s exactly what I think.”

  Soo Jin could have been killed if the car had rolled all the way over or blown up. She might die yet. Murder usually involved strong emotions, and Soo Jin didn’t seem to inspire that kind of feeling in anybody except her adopted sister Beth. Tom had seen the kind of rage Beth was capable of. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d plotted against Soo Jin. Beth could easily have tampered with the tires while the car sat outside the house.

  Maybe yesterday had been payback day for both Beth and her boyfriend Pete.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  The little brown mutt with his ribs poking out didn’t look like he could terrorize a whole county. He didn’t look as if he wan
ted to, either. He scampered to the front of the cage, tail wagging, when he saw Rachel approach with Holly and her grandmother, Sarelda Turner. Standing up against the chain link fencing, he bounced and yipped.

  Rachel poked a couple of fingers through the fence and scratched the dog’s head. “Hey there,” she said. “Have you forgiven us for putting you in a cage?”

  “That poor little thing’s just starved for attention,” Mrs. Turner said.

  “And starved for good food too,” Holly added. “Look at him. He’s skin and bones.”

  The floppy-eared mutt looked as if his filthy, wavy coat had been draped over a skeleton. “He’s so small that the other dogs probably never let him get much to eat,” Rachel said. Standing, she smiled at Mrs. Turner. “I have a feeling you’ll fatten him up.”

  “You know, I’ve kind of took a fancy to this one,” Mrs. Turner said. “He’s real good-natured. I bet he’d get along with my dogs like a charm.”

  “Let’s make sure he’s healthy first. Let him settle in today and I’ll examine him thoroughly tomorrow. But you can pamper him all you want to in the meantime.” Rachel checked her watch for the fourth or fifth time since leaving the house. This was her first stop, and she still had to check on the Halls’ dog. Every minute she was away, she worried about somebody showing up at the farm, setting the place on fire or doing other major damage. The neighbors might check on the place and watch the road for strange cars, but the distance between the farms would make it easy for somebody to slip past. Billy Bob was safe with the Duncans, but Frank and Cicero were inside the house with no one to protect them.

  Stop it, Rachel told herself. She was worrying too much. If Tom thought the house and the animals were safe, she shouldn’t be concerned either.

  Still, she wanted to finish up here, make a quick visit to see Thor, and get back home.

  She walked over to the first run in the section, where Joe Dolan crouched outside the fence, trying to coax the dog they’d caught two nights before to come closer. The two dogs had been separated because Rachel wanted them to focus on their human caregivers, not each other, but as they captured more members of the pack, this whole line of runs would fill up.