by TM Simmons
How soon could she move? She had to warn the others. Only she knew a killer stalked through the house.
A muffled curse followed a small thud. The man had run into something or stubbed a boot. She desperately ran the layout of the house through her mind. A glass-fronted cabinet filled with Kachina dolls stood in the foyer beside the stairwell. She had nearly bumped it on her way to the kitchen. Hopefully, the man was out of the living room and on the stairs.
She listened closely. A step near the bottom had creaked when she came down, startling her. She didn't hear it, but that didn't mean the man wasn't on his way upstairs. He could be aware slats creaked and step on the side.
If he was climbing the stairs, he would find Keoman or Nodinens in less than a minute. Shoot them!
Channing slipped to the floor and peered around the edge of the couch. What could she do? Without much thought, she jumped up and raced into the kitchen, her bare feet silent on the carpeted floor and tile.
She jerked the alarm cover open and slammed her palms repeatedly on the buttons. Nothing. The killer had totally disconnected it.
Channing grabbed a large knife from a stand on the counter and raced to the bottom of the stairwell.
"Fire!" she screamed. "Fire! Gun! Killer!"
The shot from the upper floor decimated the silence.
"Gun!" she screamed. "Help! Keoman, Nodinens! Run!"
A large shadow loomed at the top of the stairwell, and Channing instinctively crouched behind the Kachina cabinet. Knife at the ready, her heart pounded in double time cadence to the sound of the killer's feet on the stairwell. As though he knew where she was hiding, he hit the bottom of the stairwell and pushed the cabinet. It fell on Channing with a splinter of breaking glass. She only had time to cover her eyes protectively.
"Channing!" someone yelled as she tried to push the cabinet off. Keoman's voice. He yelled her name again but didn't sound any closer.
She shivered in a cold wind. The killer had gone out the front door rather than the way he came in. A cut dripped blood down her arm, which she ignored as, with an effort, she carefully pushed the cabinet off. Her body had protected the floor beneath her, and she crawled to the stairwell and stood.
"Keoman!" she screamed as she shook her pajamas to rid them of some of the glass. When he didn't answer, she studied the hallway as well as she could in the darkness. Rather than race up the stairs, she cautiously walked toward the light panel beside the front door. She tried to protect her bare feet from the glass littering the hallway, but at least two small pieces pierced the sole on her left foot.
She flipped the switches unsuccessfully. The bastard had disconnected all the power. She scurried around the cabinet to the carpeted stairwell and ran up.
"Channing!" Keoman yelled when she was halfway to the top. "Call 9-1-1! Nodinens' been shot!"
Instead of turning, Channing continued. No doubt the intruder had also disabled the phone. She detoured to her bedroom and grabbed her cell before she raced into Nodinens' bedroom.
With the window curtains pulled back, she could see Keoman. He held what appeared to be a pillow case against Nodinens' shoulder.
"We need an ambulance!" he demanded.
She tossed the phone beside him and said, "Call. Let me see her. I'm a doctor, remember?"
Keoman relinquished his hold in favor of the phone.
"The man cut the power," Channing told him. "Look in the end table drawer for a flashlight."
He followed her order and pulled out a large mag light. Turning it on, he held it over the bed so she could see better and juggled the phone in his other hand as he dialed.
Channing lifted the pillow case and revealed a deep gash in the top of Nodinens' shoulder. She didn't think the bullet had hit any vital arteries, but given the elderly woman's age, other situations could develop from a gunshot wound. She refolded the case and maintained the pressure while Keoman talked to the 9-1-1 operator.
"Tell them it's a gunshot wound on an elderly woman," Channing said. "To get here as soon as possible. Also, see if I can get patched through to the squad as it travels."
Keoman relayed the information to the operator, then held the phone under the flashlight beam. "Show me where the speaker button is."
Channing pushed it with her free hand. "Lay it on the stand there. I need you to go into the bathroom medicine chest and see what cleansing agents she has. No alcohol, maybe some peroxide. And gauze. Anything else you think I might be able to use."
Keoman hurried away and returned with several things he dumped on the bed beside Channing. He laid the flashlight on a pillow so she could see, then pulled out the bedside drawer again and removed a semi-automatic pistol.
"Dr. Drury?" a voice said from the phone.
"I'm here," she said. As she continued her conversation with the paramedics, Keoman ran out.
The bastard was probably long gone, but Keoman wasn't going to take that chance. He only stopped by his room to shove his feet into boots and grab his flannel shirt. Carefully, he crept down the stairs. When he noticed the ruined Kachina cabinet, he muttered, "Damn, I should have made sure Channing wasn't hurt."
He'd been too worried about Nodinens and Dan Walking Eagle. The man with the gun should never have been able to get past the guard.
He scanned the foyer. The front door gaped open, and his feet crunched glass as he walked to where his heavy jacket hung on a clothes tree. After he made sure the door lock was disengaged, he stepped outside and pulled it closed.
He should probably go back inside and find another flashlight, but he had one in his truck. The moon had already traced across the night sky and now hung low on the western horizon, its light completely useless.
"Where are you, Dan?" he whispered. He examined the pickups in the driveway, his and Walking Eagle's, and studied the path he would have to travel to reach them. The intruder could be waiting anywhere, hoping to get off another shot.
The sidewalk was shoveled clean, but deep footsteps led into the woods, marring the snow on the other side of the driveway. The man's pistol had too short a range to reach the house from the woods, if he was hiding there. Still, nothing said he couldn't have a rifle waiting behind a tree.
Crouching low to use the vehicles as a barrier, Keoman ran to his truck. His keys were in his jacket, and he opened the door, pushing the overhead light button quickly enough it only flashed a second. He laid across the seat and unlocked the glove box. In addition to his flashlight, he removed his own Glock and shoved Nodinens' gun into a pocket.
He closed the driver's door and cautiously moved to Walking Eagle's truck. Maybe he had stepped out to have a cigarette, although Keoman couldn't remember if the other man smoked or not. He tried to open the driver's side door, but it was locked. Taking a chance the man who broke in was gone, Keoman shone his light into the truck cab.
Empty, except for a coffee cup in the console and a crumbled paper sack on the passenger seat. The backseat was also unoccupied.
In the distance, the ambulance siren signaled its nearness, and Keoman pulled his cell phone from his jacket pocket. Hjak answered after two rings, his voice bleary with sleep.
"I'm at Nodinens' house," Keoman said quietly, his eyes scanning the trees and underbrush. "She's been shot."
"What? How is she? What happened?"
"An ambulance is on the way. Someone broke in. Bypassed the alarm somehow."
"Why the hell didn't my dispatcher call me?" Not waiting for an answer, he said, "You're not going after the perp alone, are you?"
"There's a trail into the woods. You'll see it when you get here. On the north side of the driveway."
"Damn it, Keoman. Don't go out there until I get there!"
The ambulance drove in, and before it turned off its siren, Keoman disconnected his phone. When the paramedics rushed out, Keoman called, "Upstairs. First door on the right."
Then he followed the footsteps.
He didn't get far. A few feet on the other side of the picku
ps, he found Walking Eagle.
"Hey!" he yelled as the paramedics started into the house. "I've got a man down over here!"
One of the men continued inside, but the other rushed to where Keoman knelt beside Walking Eagle. Keoman trained his flashlight so the paramedic could examine the injured man.
After a few seconds, the paramedic said, "He's still breathing. Help me get him in the house so I can check him better. He could have hypothermia, depending on how long he's been lying here."
Keoman only glanced once at the woods where the footsteps disappeared. Then he shoved his pistol in a different pocket and grabbed Walking Eagle's shoulders.
Keoman's phone vibrated. He ignored it as he and the paramedic carried Walking Eagle inside. After they laid him on a couch, Keoman said, "The power's out. There's some camping equipment in the garage. Probably some battery-operated lanterns. I'll check."
He wasn't surprised to find a dozen lanterns in the garage, all with good batteries. The electricity up here failed periodically in heavy snows, let alone the blizzards that blew down from Canada and iced the lines several times each winter. He carried six lanterns inside, turned on three around Walking Eagle and took the other three upstairs.
"How is she?" he asked in Nodinens' room, one lantern already lighting his way. She was awake, her face white with pain.
"She'll pull through," Channing replied. "But we have to take her to the clinic for a better exam and IV antibiotics. Maybe some blood."
Keoman set up the other two lanterns where they would give the most productive light. Their illumination revealed the bed beneath Nodinens' shoulder soaked in blood. His mouth tightened grimly. The man who had done this would need more than blood when Keoman got done with him.
"How's the man downstairs?" the paramedic beside Channing asked as he taped some gauze over Nodinens' shoulder.
"Downstairs?" Channing asked. "Is Walking Eagle hurt?"
"Yeah," Keoman told her. "Pretty bad. They'll have to share the ambulance."
After receiving his promise that he would pick her up at the clinic, Channing got in the ambulance with both patients. Keoman finally checked his cell display to find Hjak's number as his missed call. Before he could return it, Hjak's squad car passed the ambulance in the driveway. The sheriff pulled up beside Keoman's pickup and got out, his own flashlight already in his hand.
"I was too busy to call you again," Keoman told him. "With two people wounded, it took all of us to help."
"I'm just glad you didn't go off alone," Hjak said. "And two?"
"Dan Walking Eagle was lying in the snow over there. I helped one of the medics get him inside. He's in the ambulance with Nodinens and Channing."
"How bad?"
"Nodinens will make it. It's a shoulder wound. Walking Eagle got a pretty good knock on the head. The medic said the snow probably kept his brain from swelling, but there's no guarantee he'll come out of it. The blow caved his skull in."
"Damn."
"Would have been worse for Nodinens if Channing hadn't been awake downstairs. She screamed and scared the bastard enough to spoil his aim. Still, by the time I got up, he'd already shot Nodinens and headed downstairs. I had to try to stop Nodinens' bleeding and wait for Channing before I went after him."
"I've got men on the way, and I called Lauren to see if she'd bring one of her tracking dogs. But I can no doubt tell you right now what we'll find. There's a road about a half mile on the other side of those woods. He probably parked there and walked here."
"Then instead of wasting time trailing him through the woods, we need to go around."
"Let's get a look at these footprints first."
Hjak pulled a digital camera from his pocket. At the beginning of the trail across the yard, Keoman held both lights up while Hjak snapped several photos.
The sheriff led the way to his squad car as he said, "Ride with me. I'll radio our location. Like I said, I'm sure the perp will be gone, but we can see if there are any tire treads to identify … if and when we eventually find the vehicle."
Keoman grabbed two more battery-operated lanterns before they left. As he stored them in the backseat, a thought nagged him. As soon as he and Hjak were on the road, he asked. "Why Nodinens? She's never hurt anyone. The only thing I can think of is that we've made no secret of our current belief that Nenegean is after the molester, and Nodinens is the most knowledgeable person in the tribe about communicating with the entity."
"Everyone involved in this mess is keeping me apprised," Hjak said in a grim voice. "Our FBI agent told me he'd asked Nodinens to do some research and see if she could find a common denominator to link the kids we've found together. Both the ones hurt and the ones Nenegean took."
"Nodinens was talking about that and showing Channing what she'd found earlier tonight.".
"Maybe there is something," Hjak mused. "And maybe Nodinens was getting close to uncovering it. Who all knows about the work she was doing?"
"It wasn't any secret. I just found out tonight, but I'm sure Gagewin knew. Probably the rest of the Elders. And they'd discuss it with their wives, girlfriends, family. Hell, probably the entire county knows."
"There's one other thing," Hjak said, and Keoman tensed. If Hjak was thinking the same thing as him, it was a definite possibility.
"The intruder might have been after Channing," Keoman said. "A lot of people know what happened out there when she and Radin were teamed up on the search."
Hjak slowed his patrol car and trained the outside spotlight on the woods.
"There," he said pointing through the windshield. "That has to be where he parked. You can see the footprints. But he's already gone, like I thought."
"I hope he feels secure," Keoman said in an ugly tone. "Because when we find him, he's never gonna feel safe again."
Chapter 40
"I am not staying here," Nodinens said as she sat up on the exam table, "or going on to the Grand Marais hospital. I have my own doctor with me, and if I need more of that medicine in my blood, she can do it for me. In my own home."
"Nodinens," Channing said at the same time Nurse PawPaw, who had met them at the clinic, said, "Grandmother!"
"You have stitched me up and said my count was good enough that you did not think I needed any extra blood, Channing. Will you two help me get dressed and home? Or shall I do it myself?"
Channing exchanged a tiny smile with PawPaw. "We'll help. But you have to promise you'll rest and take care of yourself. A gunshot wound isn't something to mess around with. If we didn't get all the residue out, you can get blood poisoning."
"I understand," Nodinens said before she asked PawPaw, "Is there anything here I can wear home? They did not bring even my coat with me."
"I have to call and get us a ride," Channing said. "I'll have Keoman or whoever comes bring whatever you need."
"That will be good," Nodinens said serenely. "PawPaw lives miles in the opposite direction from my home."
"Will you promise to cooperate with PawPaw while I make the call and also check on Dan Walking Eagle?" Channing asked.
Nodinens crossed a large X on her chest.
Keoman answered and told her he would be there within the half-hour. Next, she looked through her phone list and found the number for the hospital in Duluth. After identifying herself, she discovered Dan had just gone into surgery. She left her contact number for the trauma team to notify her when they knew anything more.
The clinic door opened, startling her. She whirled, prepared to fight, but relaxed when Grant walked in.
"Sorry," Grant said. "I should have knocked. I'm well aware you and everyone else around here are on edge."
"True," Channing agreed. "What are you doing here? It wasn't Nenegean who broke in."
"Gagewin called me anyway, just to make sure, I guess. Besides, I'm also trained in other areas than the paranormal. Now that I've already gotten permission from my home office to make this an official investigation, which is what Gagewin is now asking for, I can call
in more help if we need it."
"Why wouldn't Pete Hjak make that decision?"
"It was joint," Grant said.
"If I had my way," Channing said grimly, "I'd have men and women from every law enforcement faction in the state here to track this bastard down. I'm willing to bet he's the same man who's been hurting the children."
"I agree," Grant said. "With both statements. Can you give us any description at all?"
Channing shook her head. "Just maybe his height, which looked about five-ten. I couldn't begin to guess his weight, since he was dressed for the weather. And a mask completely hid his face. I didn't want him to know I was there, since I was the only one in the house aware he'd broken in. If he'd shot me, he could have killed the others before they reacted."
"You did the right thing, Channing. We'll get the bastard."
Channing didn't voice her own further thoughts. Yes, they would get him. First, though, she had to figure out a way to escape the new bodyguard that Keoman would surely assign to her.
~~~~
A gorgeous sunrise painted the eastern sky canvas as Keoman drove her and Nodinens to the resort so Channing could pack some of her own clothing and toiletries. She didn't see Grant's rental in front of his cabin. He and Gagewin were probably strategizing somewhere, perhaps at the tribal headquarters. She had left her cell phone number taped to the clinic door and planned to continue staying with Nodinens in order to give the injured woman at least one more bag of IV antibiotics.
Keoman stood at the front door while she packed, his alert gaze divided between her and Nodinens, who waited in the still-running pickup. She took time to call the rental company, irritated when a different clerk couldn't guarantee her car would arrive that day. She had already asked Nodinens for her address, and at least took care of that change in the reservation.
"You probably won't need your own car," Keoman said as he took her suitcase, overnight bag, and medical supply satchel from her to carry out the front door.