Colton on the Run

by Anna J. Stewart

  “Doesn’t matter to me as long as it has a bed and a roof. Gettin’ a bit on in years to be crawling around on the ground.”

  Trapper had his own armload of...stuff as they wound their way around the back of the stable to the structure beyond. Almost as large as the farmhouse, the single-story building had gone up more than twenty years ago, when the ranch was running at peak capacity. Built to house up to twenty ranch hands, the structure was simply organized with a galley-style kitchen near the front, a long table with benches and generous sleeping partitions.

  After choosing the room closest to the kitchen, Trapper deposited his stuff and came out to retrieve the items Leo set on the table. “You going to tell me why you lied about Spectacle back there? I saw you pop those pebbles out from under her shoe and readjust it.”

  Leo cringed. “Yeah, thanks for not letting on. Were you by any chance up on the ridgeline earlier this week?”

  “Me? Nah. Was still on the other side of that monstrosity they call a town.” Trapper’s aversion to the downtown area was a local inside joke. One of the longest residents of these parts, Trapper went out of his way to avoid most anything to do with, well, people and their commercializing ways. “Why? You got rustlers?”

  “No.” Leo took a seat while Trapper finished putting his belongings away. One thing he’d learned a long time ago was the old man liked to be his own man. Agreeing to the offer of a room was about as far as he’d go when it came to accepting help. “No rustlers. Jane said she saw someone riding around. Spooked her a bit.”

  Trapper stopped inside the door to his room and narrowed his eyes. “Your girl in there looks spooked now. You want to tell me who she is?”

  If only I could. “I thought maybe you might know.” Short of gossip central in town, Trapper was as good as it got when it came to information about Roaring Springs.

  “Hard to tell under all that mud. You know me, Leo. I don’t pay no one no mind, and they don’t pay me. That’s the way I like it.”

  “I do know that. So that wasn’t you she saw.” So not the answer he’d been wanting. He hadn’t been lying this morning when he said sometimes neighbors just cut through, but the truth was, it didn’t happen that often.

  “That why you want me to stick around?” Trapper wandered back into the kitchen. “You worried about your girl?”

  “Stop calling her my girl. She’s just staying here for a while. She had an accident. Hit her head. She’s...scared.” Leo struggled against the truth. He’d only promised Jane he wouldn’t go to the police. He hadn’t said anything about not confiding in a friend about her situation. Besides, Trapper was gold with confidences. “She’s all alone and doesn’t remember who she is.”

  “You mean she’s got amnesia?” Trapper’s eyes went wide as he dropped onto the bench across from Leo. “I thought that only happened in books. It’s a real thing?”

  “Apparently so.”

  “You don’t think she’s faking?”

  “No, I don’t think she’s...” The very idea was offensive. “She’s been traumatized. Believe me. There’s no faking how she was when I found her. Someone abducted her and left her tied up in some abandoned shed somewhere.”

  “That’s just plain evil. You call the sheriff?”

  “No.” And that decision weighed more heavily on him every day. Was Jane in the right frame of mind to know what was best? He wasn’t convinced. Especially now that he knew a killer was on the loose. What if she had been one of the lucky ones to get away? “Jane doesn’t want me to.” Honestly, if he didn’t think she’d bolt, he’d reconsider his promise.

  But what if she was right? What if whoever took her was looking to reclaim her? He’d do whatever he could to protect her, but if she could help the authorities catch the man responsible for the killings...

  “You have any idea where she was before?” Trapper asked.

  “Not really. I thought about maybe getting out a map and having her look at it with me, just to see if anything seemed familiar. It could just take one thing to snap everything into place.”

  “Could.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  “Leo.” Trapper removed his hat and ran gnarled fingers through his too-long hair. “I’ve been on this earth a long time. Nothing one human being can do to another that would surprise me. No map is going to give you the answers you’re looking for.” He pinned him with a hard stare. “What’s really going on here? I can understand why your Jane might be spooked, but why are you?”

  “Who said I am? And stop calling her my Jane.” He liked the sound of that far too much.

  “I’ve known you since you were stumbling around here in your diaper, Leo Isaac Slattery. I know when you’ve got something on your mind. Same look as your daddy and your grandfather had. It’s there.” He circled a finger in front of Leo’s face even as a pang of longing and grief swept over Leo. As much as he liked having Trapper around, he still missed his grandfather. And his father. Sometimes so much he ached. It wasn’t easy going through the world alone. But he hadn’t been. Not for a few weeks. Not since Jane had arrived. “So spit it out already before your girl sees it.”

  At this point he really didn’t have a choice, did he? “Protestations about not knowing what’s going on around town aside,” Leo began and ignored the flash of irritation in Trap’s ever-searching eyes, “what have you heard about this Avalanche Killer? About the victims up on the mountain?”

  “Up near The Lodge, you mean,” Trapper spat.

  Leo sighed. He should have known Trapper’s lifelong resentment of all things Colton would rear up. “This isn’t about the Coltons, Trap. Please. If you’ve heard anything—”

  “Not about the Coltons. Bah!” Trapper let loose with a string of expletives that would have had Leo’s grandmother reaching for a bar of soap. “The first body they found, they thought Wyatt Colton himself was responsible. Sheriff even recused himself for potential bias. Don’t tell me the Coltons aren’t involved in this Avalanche Killer mess. They’re in it up to their greedy little eyeballs.”

  “Can you please just focus on the details for now and tell me what you know?” Clearly, it was time to put in yet another call to the county to find out when he would have better internet access and thus civilization would be making it down the road to his land. Every time he thought about calling, it was either too late or a weekend. That said, a quick online search could have saved him this entire conversation. “Please, Trapper. For Jane.”

  Trapper blinked, as if connecting his invitation to stay and Leo’s request for information. “You thinking that poor girl may have been his next intended victim?”

  “I don’t know what I’m thinking.” But the idea had followed him home from town yesterday. And haunted him every second he’d tried to sleep last night. He’d lost track of the number of times he’d gotten up to check on her, just to convince himself she hadn’t been stolen away in the night. “All I know is that she turned up in my barn, bruised, battered and without any memory of who she is. Then when I go into town, I hear talk of a serial killer stalking Roaring Springs. I might not be a Rhodes Scholar, but even I can see when things add up.”

  “Or don’t add up, depending on the case. Okay.” Trapper nodded. “I see what you’re thinking. What did Jane say when you told her?”

  “Ah, nothing.” Leo’s gaze skittered to the floor. Maybe he needed to run a broom through this place.

  “Land’s sake, what kind of idjit are you?” Trapper slapped his hand on the table. “You’re telling me you think that girl might have been attacked by a psycho and you aren’t telling her? What are you going to do, keep her locked up on the ranch until they catch him?”

  “Maybe I am.” Leo shrugged. “Or at least until her memory comes back.”

  “And if her memory includes being assaulted by this monster? And she finds out you knew or suspected? Leo, I
never took you for an i—”

  “Stop with the name-calling.” Leo was doing enough of that himself. “Look, Trap. You have the best ears in Roaring Springs. And the best eyes. Nothing gets past you. And if you don’t have any details about this case, then the only thing I have left to ask you is to stay here, on the ranch, and help me keep an eye on her. I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone for long stretches of time.”

  “So take her with you.” Trapper cackled. “Obviously she has a talent for ranch work. What did she do? Try to feed the cows by hand?”

  “She tried to catch a runaway calf on her own.” The memory of that was going to keep him laughing for a long time to come.

  Trapper’s mouth snapped shut. “Oh. Well.” He cleared his throat. “Isn’t that just the dumbest and sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. You hiring me as her bodyguard, then?” Trapper’s frail chest puffed out like a pigeon on bread crumb duty.

  “More like keep her busy. I can’t keep being distracted. Not if I’m going to bring that herd to market next month in time to invest in some new prospects.”

  “What about her memory? You want me to keep poking at that? Or would you prefer she not remember?”

  “What kind of question is that?” Leo wasn’t the type of man who snapped at accusations. Unless of course they landed a bit too close to home. “Of course I want her to remember who she is. She has a life, Trap. Somewhere, she has a life.” One that didn’t include him. And the sooner he came to accept that, the better. Which meant it was time to put some distance between him and Jane. And this guy was the perfect person to do that. “Let’s get Spectacle settled into her stall, shall we?”

  “Oh, yes, let’s.” Trapper rolled his eyes, but when they stood, he added, “I’ll do what I can to help with your Jane, Leo. But you need to decide what it is you really want. And given all the goings-on in Roaring Springs, I suggest you figure that out sooner than later.”

  Chapter 5

  “Either I was starving or you, Leo Slattery, are getting better in the cooking department.” Trapper dragged the last slice of white bread around the rim of his dinner plate before he pushed it away. “Did you know this boy here couldn’t boil water before he left for the great north?”

  “Steak and baked potatoes aren’t exactly rocket science,” Leo said. “Jane? What’s wrong? Your head bothering you again?”

  “What?” She blinked and jerked in her chair, as if just noticing she was rubbing her fingers hard against her temple. “Oh, yeah. I guess it is.” The beam from the ceiling light was making her wish she was wearing sunglasses. “Sorry. Did I miss something?”

  “You missed your dinner.” Trapper pointed at her half-full plate. “You’re going to need your strength out here. You’re too skinny, especially for ranch life. Eat up.”

  Jane flicked her fork under a leaf of lettuce. “I guess I’m not that hungry. I probably ate too much at lunch.” She almost reached for the chai tea she’d made from a container she found in the back of a cabinet, but the smell of cloves was making her feel slightly sick.

  “You’re just a bit of a thing,” Trapper scoffed. “Not sure you can eat too much. Protein. That’s what you need, girlie. Lots of protein. Especially if you’re going to be helping me with the horses starting tomorrow.”

  “I, uh, what?” She looked at Leo, who seemed as surprised as her.

  “That was actually going to be your surprise, meeting the horses, but it looks as if I got bypassed.”

  “We’ve got four of them, you know, five now with Spectacle, who needs special care.” Trapper went on as if neither of them had spoken. “I think this young man’s been neglecting them with all the work he’s got going on around this place. What with Gwen being away and all. Going to be up to you and me.”

  “Okay.” Jane frowned, recalling Leo had told her about Gwen’s work on the ranch with the horses. Why did she feel as if she’d been dropped off the edge of the horizon? “I don’t know how much I know about horses.” She didn’t know much about anything, near as she could tell.

  “What you don’t know, I’ll teach you. Been tending these horses since before I could walk. It’s in my blood. Time to get it into yours. Which means you need to eat. Leo, you have anything to take the edge off my sweet tooth?”

  “I picked up a peach pie at M&P yesterday. And there’s ice cream in the freezer. Jane?” He gave her a concerned look. “You sure you’re okay? You’re not due for another pill, are you?”

  Was she? She’d lost track. “I don’t think so. And I’m sorry. I can’t eat anything more.” Her stomach was rolling. “I think maybe I did too much today?”

  “Sliding around in the mud can be exhausting,” Leo teased, but she didn’t have the energy to laugh. Although she wanted to. “Maybe you should go to bed.”

  “Yeah.” She pushed up from her chair and tried to ignore the way her head spun. The pounding was worse than it had been when she’d first awoken in the shed. “Yeah, I think I will. Dinner was good, Leo. Thank you for it. For everything.”

  “Hey.” He caught her arm when she stumbled. “Hey, I don’t like this.” He got to his feet and moved in, pressing his hand flat against the side of her head. “If this gets worse you need to tell me. We agreed, remember? I know you don’t want to go to a doctor, but that might not be your decision any longer.”

  Logically, she knew he was right. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that once she stepped foot off his land, once she took a step into the real world, everything was going to change.

  She lifted her chin to look into Leo’s worried eyes. “Let me see how I do tonight, okay? If I still have the headache in the morning, I’ll let you take me into town.” The very idea made her want to throw up what little food she’d eaten.

  “You’ll tell me the truth, yeah?” He stroked her cheek with his thumb. She shivered, and for the first time since Trapper had arrived, she wished she and Leo were alone. She felt so good around him—safe. Protected. Confident. Which unnerved her to the quick. How could she feel these things when she didn’t know who she was or where she came from? “Jane?”

  “I’ll tell you the truth.”

  “And we’ll take care of them horses,” Trapper called over a plate filled with peach pie. “You sleep well, girlie. And feel better.”

  “Thank you, Trapper. I will.” Still she didn’t move. Couldn’t move. Not with Leo’s dark, searching gaze sliding over her like silk. “I’ll be okay.” She wrapped her hand around his wrist and squeezed. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  She stepped back, trying to reconcile how lost she felt when he let go of her. Every step she took back to her room was deliberate, careful. When she closed the door behind her, she dropped to the floor, curling her legs in tight and resting her head on her knees. She heard Ollie scratching at the door, then Leo’s gentle call to the dog to leave her be. Jane let out a long breath, closing her eyes against the darkness of the room even as the stabbing pain settled into a dull, aching throb.

  Was she prone to migraines? She didn’t think so, since she realized she didn’t know anything about them. When it came to cooking or the washing machine or other tasks around the house or even different topics of conversation, she knew enough to hold her own. But Leo was right. If these headaches kept up, she wasn’t going to have a choice but to go to the doctor.

  She pushed to her feet, feeling her way over to the bed, wondering about this strange, empty feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. She almost felt as if...as if she wasn’t completely herself, as if part of her was missing or lost. “Of course you’re lost,” she muttered as she pulled off her T-shirt, shimmied out of her jeans and dropped into bed in her underwear, huddling under the blankets as she shivered against a sudden cold.

  Cold. In the middle of a Colorado summer. It made as much sense as a woman who couldn’t remember her name. My name, Jane thought. What’s my name...?
<
br />   And she dropped into sleep.

  * * *

  Glass shattered, exploding in and around her, showering her arms and face with razor-sharp shards. Jane screamed and dived to the side, the gearshift of her car digging into her ribs as she tried to disengage her seat belt.

  The driver’s-side door was ripped open. A figure, dark, in shadows, black against the near-midnight sky, reached in. Clawlike hands grabbed for her. Long fingers scraped into her arms as she kicked out, hard. She wasn’t aiming for his knee, but that’s where she hit, the needle-sharp heel of her pump causing enough damage to shove him off balance.

  Cool air brushed against her now bare foot; her shoe had fallen off, but she couldn’t stop now. She kicked off the other one and, while the shadowed assailant got his bearings, she felt nails break as she pushed the button again on her seat belt. When the latch broke free, she took a deep breath and arched for the passenger door. She’d just gotten it open and was scrambling for escape when a hand locked around her bare ankle.

  Jane screamed. A throat-scorching, lung-burning scream that echoed into the night.

  “Jane!”

  She screamed again, scrambling up in bed, hugging the blankets against her as she braced herself against the headboard. Light streamed in through the hall, spotlighting Leo as he stood in the doorway.

  “It’s all right,” she said shakily as she pressed a hand against her face and found her cheeks damp. “I’m all right. Bad dream.” Really, really bad dream.

  “You’re not all right.” Leo left the door open and approached the bed. “I think you might have woken the dead with that scream of yours.”

  He was trying to make jokes again, trying to lighten the mood, but it was useless. Not when all she could see, all she could feel, was that monster—that man’s hand locked around her ankle. She kicked her leg free of the blankets, pulled it in so she could touch the still faintly bruised skin.