Holiday Amnesia

by Lynette Eason

  “Of course. What’d you see?”

  “Just some flickering. Like the sun glinting off glass or metal. Or something.”

  “Where’s Robin?” Lance asked.

  “In her cottage.” He pointed to the one Robin was using. “I think it’ll be fine if you just want to sit in the cruiser and keep an eye on the place.”

  “No problem.”

  Toby nodded to Aaron’s truck. “Since I’m down a vehicle, Aaron was kind enough to loan me his for the next few days. Wanna take a ride?”

  “Absolutely. But let’s take the cruiser.”

  Clay and Toby climbed into the cruiser and Clay drove slowly, like he had all the time in the world, but was probably just making sure he wasn’t missing anything. “Might be nothing,” Toby said.

  “I know. Doesn’t matter. If you saw something, you need to check it out.”

  Toby shot Clay a tight smile before focusing his gaze ahead on the area where he’d seen the flashes of lights. “Appreciate it.” Clay tapped the wheel while Toby’s eyes darted from one side to the next. “I don’t see how it could be anything. I know for a fact no one followed us here.”

  “I don’t know, Toby. When people are determined, they’ll find a way.”

  Toby cut his eyes at Clay. “Thanks for making me feel better.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  He did. He also knew Clay was right, which was why Toby was being extra careful and going to check out the area.

  Within seconds, Clay pulled close to the place Toby spotted the flashes of light and cut the engine. “Over there,” Toby said, pointing.

  They climbed out of the cruiser and Toby led the way to a small clearing just behind the tree line. “A good place to sit and watch the house,” Clay said.

  “A very good place,” Toby muttered. His gaze swept the ground. Nothing obvious stood out to him. Except a partial boot print and a groove in the dirt near one of the trees. “Take a look at that.”

  Clay crouched to peer at the ground, then looked up. “Thoughts?”

  “Could be anything, I guess.”

  “That’s a heel with a specific design on it. I’ve got the equipment to make a cast. Let me get it.”

  While Clay was grabbing the items from the cruiser Toby examined the other thing that had caught his interest. The groove in the dirt.

  Clay returned and set his equipment on the ground beside the partial print. “What’s got such a tight hold on your attention?”

  “This.” Toby pointed and looked up at Clay. “I think it’s the stock from a rifle.”

  “I think you’re right,” Clay said. “That’s kind of worrisome.”

  A loud crack echoed around them and Toby bolted to his feet.

  Clay ducked behind the tree. “Someone’s shooting!”

  “Yeah! But at what?”

  “That wasn’t aimed at us.”

  “No,” Toby said. “It was aimed at Robin’s cottage.”

  * * *

  The loud crack and the sound of shattering glass jerked Robin awake. She shot into a sitting position and tried to get her bearings. Her head throbbed and spun, and her thoughts wouldn’t line up.

  “Robin! Are you okay? Robin!” The pounding and the yelling on the front door finally penetrated her fog and she hurried to look out, staying to the side to avoid any more flying glass. She spotted a man in uniform on the porch.

  “Who are you? Where’s Toby? What’s going on?”

  “Stay down! Someone’s shooting from the trees!”

  She dropped low, keeping her hand on the doorknob.

  “I’m Deputy Lance Goode. I’m Amber’s husband, and a friend of Toby’s. He asked me to come out here and keep an eye on you. Right now, someone’s shooting up your windows. Can you let me in?”

  She opened the door. Faster than she could blink, he pulled her to her feet and propelled her into the short hallway. Another pop had more glass raining to the floor.

  “They found me?”

  “Looks like.”

  She slid down the wall to sit on the floor, grateful for the safe area even as the despair of being found washed over her. Another shot hit the side of the cabin and she flinched. Blinked as a dead man’s face floated into her mind. Robin clapped a hand over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut. Who was he and why did he have a bullet in his chest?

  Lance gave her a gentle shake. “Stay with me, okay?”

  All she could do was nod.

  For the next few minutes, he stayed with her, requesting backup and hovering over her, his weapon drawn. Another loud crash followed by a jarring boom sent her sideways. Lance went to his knees beside her and smoke filled the air.

  “Come on!” He grabbed her hand and they bolted for the back door. As they approached, Lance held her back and glanced out the window. “Toby’s here.”

  He opened the door and Robin caught a glimpse of Toby’s fear before it eased slightly when he saw her and Lance. Toby snagged her hand and pulled her from the smoking cabin. Lance stumbled out behind her, coughing.

  Bullets slammed into the side of the cottage and Toby pulled her to the ground. Another bullet whizzed past her ear and then Toby had her on her feet with Lance yelling, “Get on the other side out of the line of fire!”

  They darted around the corner and into the front yard of Toby’s cabin. “We don’t dare go in there,” he said. “They’ll just smoke us out again.” His eyes swept over both her and Lance. “You two okay?”

  “Yes.” Robin coughed, her lungs aching. She glanced back at the cabin. “There aren’t any flames.”

  Another gunshot echoed through the air and his jaw tightened. “Clay sent me to check on you two since you weren’t answering your radio,” Toby said.

  “I was on the radio requesting backup,” Lance said. “Clay should have heard me.”

  “Well, he didn’t. I had to leave him going after the shooter alone, and I don’t like the sound of that single gunshot. Go check on him, will you?” He rattled off the location.

  Lance bolted toward the squad car while Toby pulled her down the small pathway that led behind the cabins.

  An engine roared in the background, and Robin shot a quick glance back over her shoulder. “Someone in a Jeep is coming this way.”

  Toby spun.

  “And they have rifles,” she cried. “Aimed at us!”

  Toby swerved off the path and hit the small backyard of the next cabin in the row just as the first volley of gunfire slammed into the side of the cottage. “Uh-oh. Sent Lance away too fast. Run. Go. Head for the tree line.”

  She put on an extra burst of speed, ignoring the fact that her head pounded in time with her feet. The Jeep’s engine roared. She ducked between the last two cottages and hit the tree line. Toby caught up and pulled her behind a large oak.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked, breaths coming in pants.

  “Keep going. I’ve gotten to know these woods like the back of my hand. We can cut through them and come out at the general store.” He led the way and she couldn’t help but notice he made the path as easy as possible for her.

  “Where are Clay and Lance? Shouldn’t we let them know we’re in the woods?”

  He glanced at his phone. “No signal.”

  “Is that why the radios weren’t working?”

  “It’s possible they did something to jam the radio waves or the signal’s just down. But I’m guessing they did something. Should have gotten the satellite phone from the house.”

  “You didn’t know we’d need it. So, does that mean backup’s not on the way?”

  “Probably.”

  She shivered as a gust of wind whipped her hair across her face and penetrated the heavy sweater she’d changed into before lying down. In their mad dash out of the house, she hadn’t had time to grab her co
at, hat or gloves. A fact she deeply regretted. “Where’s the Jeep?”

  “Behind us somewhere. They probably saw us enter the tree line and are going to come after us on foot. With no way to communicate with Clay, I can’t let him know what’s going on, but I’m sure he heard the shots. The only thing we can do right now is keep moving.”

  So she did, stumbling over the tree roots and limbs that littered the wooded floor. Deeper and deeper until she had no idea where she was or which way was out—and her head spun while her stomach lurched. But at least she was warm. A trickle of sweat dripped down her temple. “Toby?”

  “Yeah?”

  “My head. I’m going to be sick.”

  He pulled her to a tree. “Sit.”

  “We need to keep going.”

  “No. We can stop. I need to take a look around and assess the situation. Just sit here and rest a second.”

  She nodded. And sat. And placed her head on her knees until the spinning stopped and the nausea eased. When he came back, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “How are your hands?”

  She’d forgotten about them. “My head overrules them.”

  “Can you go a little farther? Mr. Richardson owns the general store just over that hill and up the path. We can use his phone to call for backup.”

  With Toby’s help, she stood. “Are they following us?”

  “I’m not sure, but I still don’t have a signal.”

  “How did they find me? I thought you said I was safe?”

  “I sure thought you were. I was wrong and I can’t tell you how much that scares me.”

  SEVEN

  “If you’re scared, then I’m terrified,” Robin told him.

  He gripped her hand, careful not to squeeze too hard, and she continued to step behind him. “We need to call for help, then find a safe place to sit down and figure out how this happened,” he said. How had they been found? He’d been so careful. His mind clicked through the possibilities, even the crazy ones. Like he’d trusted the wrong person. Ben? Amber? No way.

  “Actually,” she said, “what we probably need is for me to leave so I don’t bring any more trouble to your family. This is exactly what I was afraid of. They blew up the cabin, Toby.”

  “That was unfortunate, but Aaron and Zoe are well insured and they’ll be fine.” He paused. “And they didn’t blow it up. It wasn’t a bomb. They were trying to smoke you out so they could shoot you.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s so much better than blowing it up.” She grunted and stepped over the next dead limb. Actually, it probably was. Less costly anyway. “How much farther?”

  “Just over the next hill and you’ll see the path. How’s the head?”

  “Pounding, but not viciously like earlier and the nausea’s eased. I’m assuming that since my breakfast is still where I put it that I’m all right.”

  She was a trouper. “We’re almost there.”

  He glanced behind them once more and saw no evidence they were being followed. Toby frowned and led the way to the path. “This is it,” he said.

  “This is what? The path?”

  “Yep. According to the Starkes, Mr. Richardson cut this path out for the Updike kids who liked to walk to his store. That was years ago so it’s a little overgrown, but we should be all right to walk it.”

  “Fine. Let’s get on it then.”

  “We are on it.”

  “A little overgrown?”

  He held a tree branch out of the way and she ducked under it. Toby continued to clear the path while watching their backs. “Overgrown might be an understatement, but at least it’ll be hard to follow us.”

  “I don’t think anyone’s back there,” she said with a glance over her shoulder. “You think they gave up?”

  “I’d like to think so, but I’m not relaxing my guard until we know for sure.”

  The tree line broke and they found themselves standing six feet from the store’s back door. Still holding her hand, Toby led her around the side only to jerk back when he spotted the Jeep parked in the lot. “Well, now I know why they weren’t behind us,” he muttered.

  “How would they know we’d come here?” she whispered. “We didn’t even know we were coming here!”

  “Educated guess. This is about the only place we’d have to run for help on foot.”

  They’d done their homework. Or they had some mighty sophisticated equipment at their disposal. Satellite? He glanced at the sky as though he’d be able to see it.

  “Now what?” Robin asked.

  “We wait a few minutes and see what these guys plan on doing. I don’t want to enter the store and endanger anyone.” He paused, thinking. “Would you be all right on your own for a few minutes?”

  “Maybe.” She bit her lip. “Why?”

  “I want to see if I can get to a phone. A landline. It’s the only way anyone’s going to know we need help.”

  “Of course. The landline won’t be affected by whatever is blocking the cell signals.”

  “Exactly.” He scanned the area. “But for now, we need a good place for you to hide.”

  Another gunshot echoed split the air. “Clay and Lance,” she said. “They could be in trouble.”

  “Which is why we need to get you hidden and I need to get in there and find a phone.” A Dumpster edged up to the back of the building. “Come on,” he said. “You can hide behind here. Don’t come out until you hear me knock on the side of the Dumpster.”

  “Okay,” she said. “What if they come back here?”

  “Be very quiet.” He helped her behind the bin, then stepped back. “Can you squeeze a little farther to your right?”

  She did, and he’d never know she was there if he hadn’t helped hide her. “Hurry,” she whispered.

  “Will do.”

  He slipped around the side of the store to see the Jeep still there. There were two men were seated in the front of the vehicle and they appeared to be in no hurry to leave.

  With a frown, Toby stepped back and hurried to the back door of the store. He’d never used it before but figured it would lead him to the office. If it was open.

  He turned the knob with a sigh of relief and slipped inside. Shelves stocked with inventory greeted him. Employee bathroom to the left, office to the right, the main store straight ahead. Since the door to the office was open, Toby entered and grabbed the handset from the base. He punched in 911.

  “911. What’s your emergency?”

  “I need you to put me in touch with the Wrangler’s Corner sheriff’s office. We’ve got a shooting. And send fire trucks.” He gave his sister’s address, heard the line click.

  “Wrangler’s Corner sheriff’s office.”

  “Alice, this is Toby Potter, Zoe Starke’s brother. I’ve got an emergency. I need whoever you’ve got on duty to get out to the ranch. Someone was shooting at Clay and Lance.”

  Computer keys clicked in the background. “Someone is on the way,” she said. “What about you?”

  “I’m at the general store. The men who shot at us are in a black Jeep Wrangler. They were still in the parking lot about a minute and a half ago. Radio and cell signals are out at least in a two-mile radius of the ranch.”

  “Got it. You should be hearing sirens shortly.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I said, where are they?” The shout came from the front of the store. Toby hung up and stepped out of the office. The door leading into the main store stood cracked, and he crept to the side and peered around the doorjamb.

  One of the men from the Jeep held a gun on Mr. Richardson who had his back to Toby. In the mirror above the entrance door, Toby had a clear view of the scene. The older man’s eyes narrowed, and Toby knew the retired police officer could handle the intruder. “I told you. No one’s come in here.”

  “And I don’t believe you
. They cut through the woods and this is the only place they could have been headed to.”

  “And I’m telling you, I haven’t seen a man or a woman I don’t know. I’ve only had regulars in here this morning.”

  The store stood empty for the moment and Toby realized why they’d been outside waiting. They’d been watching for him and Robin as well as picking a time when the store was empty. They didn’t want any witnesses. And by the way the man’s finger twitched on the trigger, he was only a few seconds away from pulling it.

  Toby lifted his weapon and aimed it at the man’s head. And hesitated. If he confronted the man with the gun, he could startle him into squeezing the trigger and killing Mr. Richardson. And he didn’t see the man’s partner. Toby checked the mirror and every square inch he could see. No sign of a second man, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t hiding somewhere. If Toby pulled trigger, the second armed man might pull his.

  He blew out a low breath and tucked his weapon behind him at his lower back while he moved back to the storage room. Hefting a forty-pound bag of dog food over his left shoulder and leaving his right hand free in order to grab his weapon, he returned to the door leading into the retail area. “Hey, Mr. Richardson, I found that bag of dog food. Thanks for holding it for me. Mom would be real upset if she had to run into Nashville to get it.” Throughout his speech, he’d waited, listening, praying he could pull this off. “Mr. Richardson?”

  Praying he hadn’t lost his undercover skills, he walked through the door like he belonged there. The man with the gun had it hidden. All Toby could do was hope he was only after Robin and didn’t recognize him. “Oh, hi. Want me to pay for this now or put it on my tab?”

  Mr. Richardson cleared his throat. “Ah, we can just put it on your tab. Why don’t you...ah...get that on home to your mother?”

  “Sure. Will do.”

  “Where’d you come from?” the stranger growled.

  “From the back. Why?”

  “Anyone else back there?”

  “Nope. Just me. I always park in the back and help myself.” On the last word, Toby hefted the forty-pound bag at the man’s head and gave a grunt of satisfaction when it connected with a sold thud. When the guy staggered backward, Toby tackled him, his hand wrapping around the wrist that held the gun. The man beneath him bucked and wrenched free, rolled to his knees and turned the weapon on Toby.