At the Crossroads

by B. J Daniels

  As if she had a choice, she thought, still trapped between the seats. Then she realized that he was referring to when she got out. It surprised her. As he opened his door, she felt the cold breeze and smelled water. Given the length of time they’d traveled, she knew it had to be a river. She wasn’t all that surprised when Furu helped her out and she saw the silos.

  * * *

  AS IF ON CUE, Culhane had heard the sound of a vehicle engine. He hadn’t turned around to look as it had grown closer, though. He’d noticed that the sheriff also hadn’t bothered to look, which he took to mean that Garwood knew who had pulled in. He ached to see Alexis, to make sure she was all right, to find a way to keep her safe, knowing how dangerous this was going to get.

  “The necklace,” Garwood called, sounding both irritated and worried. A breeze had kicked up. It blew across the sagebrush-covered area, kicking up dust that whirled around them. The breeze, especially this close to the river, was chilling.

  He heard the vehicle engine switch off. A door opened and closed, then another. Still Culhane didn’t turn. He kept his gaze on Garwood, waiting for him to make his move—even as he worried that Furu or Cline might shoot him in the back. Probably Cline, since he was even more Garwood’s puppet than Furu.

  He watched the sheriff stomp his feet as if trying to warm them. But Culhane suspected he was mostly just getting impatient. This was taking too long. Garwood needed this over so he could start covering his tracks. He would frame this to make both Culhane and Alexis look guilty of Jana’s death. The man had resources. Culhane didn’t doubt that he would pull it off—unless stopped.

  Behind him, he could hear the crunch of boots. He listened, surprised that he heard only two people approaching.

  Just as his heart was about to drop to his feet, Deputy Dick Furu and Alexis came into view off to his right. He heard no other sound as they stopped some distance away. Garwood, Culhane, and Furu and Alexis made a triangle. None of them too close to the others.

  “You can see that she is fine,” the sheriff called. “Now, let’s see the necklace.”

  “Not until he uncuffs her,” Culhane said.

  Garwood swore loudly. “You have pushed me as far as—”

  The snap of the cuffs being removed cut off whatever else the sheriff had said.

  Furu pushed Alexis forward, then turned and began to walk back in the direction he’d come.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Garwood demanded, but the deputy didn’t answer as he kept walking. “Furu?” He’d told him he could leave, but now that he was here...

  Culhane could hear the deputy continue departing. A moment later, a vehicle door opened and closed, an engine revved and tires threw up dirt and gravel as Furu left.

  The sheriff looked as if he might have a coronary.

  “I guess it’s just you and me,” Culhane said.

  “And your girlfriend. Let’s not forget about her,” the sheriff said.

  * * *

  THE COLD BREEZE stirred her curls as Alexis stood out in the cold. Culhane was on her left, the sheriff off to her right by the river. She was afraid to move. Deputy Furu had cut the plastic cuffs off, leaning close to her. She’d felt the sudden weight in her right-hand coat pocket as he’d put something in there before he’d walked away.

  She listened to him leave, seeing the sheriff’s reaction to it. Clearly that was not what the sheriff had in mind. Was he suddenly afraid that he couldn’t handle the two of them alone? He had no idea, she thought, as she slipped her hand into her pocket and felt the gun Furu had put there.

  A ripple of excitement raced along her nerve endings. Of course, it might not be loaded. Maybe it was just a cruel trick to make her think she was safer than she was. She didn’t think so, though. Furu had told her to keep her head down. He wasn’t happy about this and wanted no part of it. He’d just evened the odds with the gun, she told herself, hoping she wasn’t wrong.

  He’d armed her with a gun, even if it wasn’t loaded.

  Because he’d known she was going to need it.

  She ran her fingers over the cold steel and cupped the grip, her finger on the trigger for a moment. A Glock, if she wasn’t wrong. It would have an ammunition clip. She felt... There was a clip in it. Still, that didn’t mean it was loaded. But why else give it to her?

  Then it hit her: so that when the sheriff shot her, he would be shooting an armed person of interest. But, she quickly told herself, he could just as easily plant a gun on her after the fact. She kept hearing Furu’s words. Keep your head down.

  “Looks like a standoff,” Culhane said, his voice carrying across the expanse between them.

  “You still haven’t shown me the necklace,” the sheriff said.

  “Throw Alexis your car keys, and let her leave. This is between you and me, Garwood.”

  The sheriff seemed to consider it for a moment. “First you show me the necklace.”

  “I’m reaching into my left-hand pocket for the necklace,” Culhane said.

  Alexis readied herself, worried that once he withdrew it, Garwood would go for his weapon. She kept her focus on the sheriff, but out of the corner of her eye she could see Culhane pull the necklace out and hold it up. The morning light caught on the allegedly faux jewels, making them shimmer and shine.

  “Your turn,” Culhane said, still holding the necklace up with his left hand. His other hand was in his other pocket—just like Alexis’s was. “No one has to die here today. Less mess for you to clean up. Especially when you don’t know which side Furu is going to land on.”

  The sheriff had seemed mesmerized by the necklace reflecting the light but appeared to shake himself out of it. “I know exactly which side my deputy will fall on, Culhane. But you’re right. Why shed more blood than necessary? You’re still wanted for murder, and your girlfriend is wanted for aiding and abetting. When it comes to a question of credibility—”

  “That’s if Jana is really dead,” Culhane said. “Your keys, Garwood.”

  The sheriff hesitated, then said, “I’m reaching into my pocket for my keys.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  “WAIT!” ALEXIS CRIED and began to walk toward Garwood. “Why don’t you just give me the keys? I saw you throw at the company-picnic baseball game last summer.”

  “Alexis, no!” Culhane called, but she kept walking.

  The sheriff looked surprised as she began to close the distance between them. “She’s right. What was I going to do? Throw them to her? I’m not that good, am I?”

  Garwood sounded pleased. He was smiling as she neared. She could almost see the wheels in his head turning. The moment she got within his reach, he would grab her and use her as a shield before killing both Culhane and her—and getting away with the necklace.

  But Alexis already knew what he planned. She stopped six feet from him. “You should be able to toss the keys from there,” she said.

  The sheriff laughed. “Why don’t you let me hand them to you? If I miss and they drop in the sagebrush—” He lunged for her an instant before she brought the weapon out of her pocket. It didn’t matter, she realized, if the gun Deputy Furu had given her was loaded or not.

  She grabbed the barrel and swung the moment his head was within her reach. He’d already latched onto her arm as the butt of the gun struck the side of his head. He let out a howl of pain. His fingers loosened but quickly found their grip again on her coat as he jerked her toward him.

  “Where’d you get a gun?” Garwood said, looking confused.

  “Your deputy thought I might need it.” There was that moment of stark fear in the sheriff’s gaze that she took satisfaction in before she tried to break his hold on her.

  But off balance, she lost her footing even as she saw him reaching for the gun with his other hand. Seeing an opening, she kicked him in the crotch.

  A loud oof escaped his
lips, and he lost his grip on her arm. She swung the butt of the weapon again, but Garwood was already reaching for her. He blocked the blow with his arm and grabbed her, throwing her to the ground and knocking the weapon from her hand.

  He was bent over, clearly in pain as he drew his own weapon and turned it on her. “You stupid bitch.”

  * * *

  THE MOMENT CULHANE saw what Alexis had planned, he took off at a dead run toward Garwood. The sheriff was having trouble keeping his focus on both of them. Alexis had purposely stepped where she was blocking Garwood’s view of him.

  Alexis had to know what the sheriff would do—just as he did. When she pulled the gun, it surprised them both and gave her those extra few seconds to swing the butt at Garwood’s head.

  With the sheriff momentarily distracted, Culhane sprinted, weapon drawn as he closed the distance between them. He saw her swing the weapon, catch the sheriff in the head. The blow had to have dazed Garwood, but he didn’t let it stop him. He grabbed Alexis and threw her to the ground.

  Culhane watched in horror as the sheriff pulled his gun and turned it on Alexis.

  After that, everything seemed to happen at high speed. The sound of a helicopter approaching was drowned out by the report of gunshots: Culhane fired as he rushed the sheriff, but Garwood had seen him coming and got off a shot before Culhane tackled him and knocked him to the ground.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw four men materialize out of whirling dust in front of the silos. Dressed in black flak jackets and armed to the teeth, they rushed forward. “Drop your weapon!” one of the men was yelling.

  He hit Garwood with the butt end of his gun with enough force to send blood flying, and then he dropped his gun, kicked away Garwood’s and fell to his knees next to Alexis’s motionless body.

  The FBI swarmed over them, the blades of the helicopter sending the dust flying around them in a blinding whirlwind. He bent over Alexis to shield her from the flying debris and to feel for a pulse. Please, God. He felt one. Strong and steady. “That’s my girl,” he said. “I love you. Alexis. I love you. I can’t live without you.”

  “FBI. Put your hands behind your head!” bellowed a male voice behind him. “You, too, Sheriff,” the agent said. “Now!”

  Culhane didn’t want to let go of Alexis, but he had no choice. He put his hands behind his head. “Alexis is hit,” he said but wasn’t sure if anyone could hear him. The ground next to her was bright red with her blood.

  “Get me an ambulance!” the sheriff was screaming. “I’m shot. Culhane Travis shot me. I was trying to take him in for murder! You can’t arrest me! I’m Sheriff Willy Garwood. It’s those two you want.”

  “On the ground,” the FBI agent ordered.

  “You don’t understand,” Garwood cried. “He murdered his wife Jana!”

  “Jana Redfield Travis is alive and well and in custody,” the FBI agent said as he grabbed him, rolled him over in the dirt and cuffed him.

  “She’s alive?” The sheriff shot a look at Culhane before the FBI agent pulled Garwood to his feet for his perp-walk to a waiting vehicle. Covered with dirt, the sheriff limped on his wounded leg toward the waiting vehicle. “You will pay for this, Culhane!” he yelled over his shoulder. “I will see to it.”

  In the distance, Culhane could see that agents had detained Deputy Furu. They’d surrounded his vehicle and now had him out and on the ground.

  All Culhane cared about was Alexis. Not that he didn’t hope that the sheriff lived to stand trial for murder, for attempted murder, for insurance fraud and whatever else the FBI dug up on him.

  As he was cuffed and pulled to his feet, he stared at Alexis’s pale face. Two EMTs raced up and began to see to her. “How is she?” But he got no answer as he was led away. He stumbled as he felt his heart break. She had to be all right. He’d seen her try to roll away as the sheriff had fired. He had no idea how badly she was shot. But she had to make it. And the baby.

  He felt another chunk of heart shatter at the thought of the baby.

  Two FBI agents led him to a waiting vehicle. Before they reached it, an ambulance pulled up. He looked back at the two EMTs on the ground with Alexis as they motioned for a stretcher, and then he was forced into the back of a dark-colored van with no windows.

  All he could do was pray, something he hadn’t done since his mother was alive.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  ONCE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY, Culhane was allowed one phone call. He could have called a friend. He could have called his father’s lawyer. He called Earl Ray Caulfield in Buckhorn, Montana.

  * * *

  ALEXIS DRIFTED IN and out. When she finally opened her eyes and focused on the room, she realized she was in the hospital. Her mother sat on a chair next to her bed holding her hand.

  “Mom?”

  Her mother’s eyes filled with tears as she squeezed her hand. “Hold on. Your father is out in the hall pacing. I promised to let him know the moment you opened your eyes. Don’t close them again,” she said and jumped up to hurry to the hospital-room door to call for him. “Harry, she’s awake!”

  “Don’t yell, Imogene. It’s a hospital.”

  Alexis felt her heart fill with love for her parents as she heard the joy in both of their voices. In an instant they were at her bedside, one on each side, each taking one of her hands.

  “Now, don’t accidentally unplug her, Harry,” her mother warned when he took her hand hooked up to the IV.

  “She isn’t plugged in, Imogene.” He smiled down at Alexis. “I won’t hurt her.” She saw her parents share a smile across her bed. For all their chatter at each other, she’d never known a couple more in love. They were inseparable and always had been. Alexis had been a surprise late in their lives, one that seemed to have brought them even closer together.

  “Now, what’s this we hear about you catching a bunch of crooks?” her father asked.

  “Harry, I don’t think this is the time.”

  “It’s fine, Mom. Have you heard anything about Culhane?”

  Her parents shared another look. “I’m sure he’ll be by to see you as soon as he gets out of the hoosegow,” her mother said.

  The doctor came in and asked her parents to wait outside. They both hurried out, looking worried, though.

  “The baby?” she asked the doctor once they were alone.

  “Is fine.”

  She closed her eyes, tears leaking out as she let herself finally breathe. She’d been so afraid. The doctor was saying something about her loss of blood, a concussion and a future scar. Her hand went to a bandage above her temple.

  “You’ll have headaches for a while, but you were very lucky that the bullet only grazed your skull. We’ll keep monitoring you and the baby, but I don’t see any problems at the moment,” the doctor finished and cleared his throat. “There is an FBI agent here, though, who would like to speak with you.”

  She opened her eyes and nodded. A few minutes later, the agent came into the room. “Are you up to a few questions?” he asked before setting up a video camera. She told them everything, from waking up to find out that Culhane was wanted for the murder of his wife to being abducted by deputies Terrance Cline and Dick Furu. “Culhane didn’t kill Jana. He didn’t kill anyone.”

  “Jana Redfield Travis is in custody. She confirms your story,” the agent said when she’d finished.

  Alexis let out a sigh of relief. “And Culhane?”

  “He is still part of the ongoing investigation.”

  “And Sheriff Garwood?”

  “He’s been booked.”

  She thought of Dick Furu and the gun he’d slipped into her coat pocket. “Deputy Furu helped save our lives.”

  “He’s turned state’s evidence against the sheriff and has been helpful in filling in the gaps,” the agent said as he turned off the video recorder and rose to leave.

>   “It’s over.” Her hand went to her stomach and the baby still there. Culhane’s baby. Their baby. She had to fight back the tears.

  The agent smiled. “The investigation is ongoing, but I think it is safe to say that your part in it is over. Shall I send your parents back in?”

  “Please,” she said and braced herself. She hadn’t wanted to tell them the news until she’d told Culhane, but she couldn’t keep it a secret any longer.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  DAYS LATER, EARL RAY pushed Bessie in a wheelchair toward the door out of the hospital. The sun had come out and shone bright overhead. He stopped her in a pool of golden light and bent down to make sure she was all right.

  “I’m fine,” she said, not for the first time since she’d been released. His love for this woman filled him to overflowing. Now that he’d finally admitted it to himself and to her, he felt weak with it and yet stronger than he could remember. It made him want to laugh and cry at the same time.

  He’d kept her at arm’s length for so many years. Almost losing her had been his undoing. Maybe he could have let her move to Arizona and kept on living. But hearing that gunshot and seeing her fall to the floor... The memory almost dropped him to his knees. At that moment, he’d known that he was through not just denying his feelings. He was through living alone in the house he’d shared with Tory. He’d kept it just as it had been, a mausoleum he’d built like a wall around him and his heart. Yet Bessie had broken through that wall even as he’d denied it. Once he’d accepted the truth, he’d been waiting for a sign from Tory. He wasn’t sure if she was letting go or if he’d let go of her. He liked to think that she would have wanted him to be happy.

  His plan had been to wait until he and Bessie got back to Buckhorn. But now he moved around to the front of the wheelchair and placed his hands on the armrests to look down at her; he knew this couldn’t wait.