What She Saw

by Barb Han

  “What’s going on with you two?” Zach didn’t mince words as he closed the door to his office behind the three of them.

  “Not anything we want to discuss.” Jordan wasn’t lying.

  Zach shot his cousin a look.

  “It’s personal. We go way back,” Courtney interjected.

  “We all go way back, but you can’t storm into an interview room like that again, Jordan.” Zach’s tone left no room for argument. “Courtney’s a deputy and a damn fine one. She can handle herself.”

  “Any chance we can delay this conversation until tomorrow, Zach?” It was an earnest question. By then Zach would understand what Jordan’s reaction was about. It would all make sense.

  “I’ve said what I have to say about it.” Zach’s gaze bounced from Jordan to Courtney. If Zach had figured out there was something going on between them, he didn’t let on. Jordan was relieved for Courtney’s sake. He wasn’t trying to force her hand. He’d hoped that she’d seize the opportunity to speak up, but that seemed to be hoping for too much.

  When Courtney shut down, she was a closed book. Her arms folded, she said, “I appreciate your confidence. I’m fully capable of doing my job. I think Jordan was reacting to the fact that I’ve been under the weather lately.”

  “Food poisoning?” Zach asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “And that’s the story you’re comfortable telling?” Damn. Zach knew something was up.

  “It is,” she replied. “I’d like to request a meeting with you before my shift in the morning. Just the two of us.”

  “Have Ellen put it on my calendar.” His eyebrow arched.

  “Yes, sir,” she said.

  Jordan figured Courtney was giving herself the night to talk him out of making the announcement to the people he cared about. There was no amount of cajoling that could turn that into reality.

  “I’ll see you tonight at dinner, Jordan. Okay?” she asked.

  * * *

  BY THE TIME Courtney woke after her long nap, it was dark outside. She freshened up before checking her phone. Amy had called again. Courtney let her thumb hover over Amy’s name. One tap and Amy would be on the line.

  What would Courtney say to her former friend? To any Kent relative? The thought of sitting across the dinner table from Jordan’s family kicked off a whole reaction in her body.

  She tucked her phone inside her purse instead.

  A wave of guilt struck as Courtney strapped on her shoulder holster. The annoying voice in the back of her mind returned. What was the point of friendships when everyone she’d cared about at one time was dead now?

  Was that really true? She knew she was being irrational. Instead of fighting it, she resolved to make the call to the counselor. Right now, it was time to face the music—the Kent family.

  Before she made it to the door, a knock sounded. Panic heated her veins.

  She reminded herself to breathe.

  After checking the peephole, Courtney opened the door to a frantic-looking Mrs. Farmer. A cold gust of wind slammed into Courtney. It was five forty-five in the evening and already dark in Jacobstown.

  “Sassy got out of the yard.” The woman was pushing seventy-five and loved her Yorkshire terrier more than anything. “You know there’ve been coyotes in the neighborhood lately, and I’m scared one will get to her.”

  Sassy had a habit of slipping underneath the fence. Courtney was almost convinced the little pooch did it for attention. Sassy had a flair for the dramatic.

  Of course, Mrs. Farmer could’ve left the front door open for the mental state she’d been in. She’d walked next door and introduced herself on Courtney’s first morning in her newly rented bungalow-style home. Mrs. Farmer had cooked a southwest skillet breakfast and brought it over, still steaming. It was the best first morning Courtney had spent anywhere but the cabin with Jordan. No amount of eggs and vegetables could top those seven days. But the offering had been the closest thing in recent memory. She didn’t even want to think about those nights.

  “I’m sure we can find her.” Courtney grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and put on her belt. She met Mrs. Farmer on the porch. The woman had a full head of gray hair that she wore in messy bun. She was as tall as Courtney and had the clearest green eyes. She carried herself elegantly, like she was former royalty. Mr. Farmer had passed away six months ago, and Mrs. Farmer seemed to be in the thick of the grieving process. She never would’ve left Sassy outside long enough for the little Yorkie to get out of the fence in her right state of mind.

  Mrs. Farmer stood on the porch, twisting her hands together and shivering.

  “Let’s get a coat on you.” Courtney grabbed an extra warm one from the closet nearest the door and then set down her phone in order to help. “You can’t go out in those slippers and help find Sassy.”

  “You’re probably right. I didn’t have my head on straight. I saw you turning off lights and worried I’d miss you,” she said.

  Courtney pulled out a pair of boots from her closet. “Think these will work?”

  Mrs. Farmer put them on. “They’re a little big, but they’ll do fine. We better get out there.”

  “Did you lock your place up?” Courtney asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Mrs. Farmer pulled a set of keys from her pants pocket.

  “Good girl.” The last time Sassy got out, she’d run into the field across from the cul-de-sac. It had been daylight and much easier to find her. “Let’s start looking in the last place we found her.”

  “Thank you, Courtney. You can’t know how much your help means to me. I’m sorry to be such a bother,” the older woman said.

  “You’re not. Besides, I have a few minutes to spare.” She didn’t. She was due for dinner at Jordan’s house and this would make her late, but she wouldn’t tell Mrs. Farmer that or deny helping the woman. As far as neighbors went, Mrs. Farmer was the sweetest. She was like the grandmother Courtney never had.

  Courtney locked up her own house and walked out of the cul-de-sac and to the neighboring field with Mrs. Farmer. The elderly woman called for her dog while Courtney trained her flashlight around to various spots on the ground and made kissing noises.

  The wind blew, making it difficult to hear movement. Courtney stepped along the field, keeping near the street that led out of the neighborhood. She lived on the outskirts of town and closer to the Kent property than she’d realized when she rented the place.

  Of course, finding a rental property in Jacobstown wasn’t exactly easy. Most people owned their homes and had lived in them for decades, unlike in Dallas, where it wasn’t uncommon to move every few years.

  There was also a distinct lack of apartments in Jacobstown, being a small community. There was no motel within the city limits. If someone wanted lodging, they had to find a place up on the highway. There weren’t a lot of transients in the area, and most people knew each other and went way back. It was the kind of town people brought up families in.

  Courtney made more kissing noises. Activity to her left, deeper into the field caught her attention. She shined her flashlight in the area until she found the culprit, a raccoon. She tried to shoo it away. “Get out of here.”

  The raccoon stood on its back legs and hissed at her. Courtney tried to discourage it from coming closer by shining her flashlight directly at the creature. All she managed to do was annoy it. Rather than get into a real estate debate with a furry four-legged creature, Courtney decided it was time to move on. She located the biggest stick she could find and palmed it in case the raccoon had any ideas about stalking her.

  Courtney kept searching, praying she wouldn’t find Sassy in the jaws of a wild animal. For someone who lived in the country, Courtney was most definitely not comfortable out in the woods with animals at night.

  The sounds of Mrs. Farmer’s voice echoed with the wind from a littl
e farther away than Courtney had intended to separate.

  “Come on, Sassy,” Courtney pleaded twenty minutes later with no sign of the little dog. Her cell was blowing up with texts. She checked the screen and realized Jordan was worried about her. She sent a text to let him know that she was running late. She hadn’t meant to make him stress, and she realized after what had happened at his cousin’s office earlier that’s exactly what would happen.

  She was still trying to wrap her mind around making the announcement to key people in the morning. It wasn’t until she saw that fierce protective look in his eyes at the sheriff’s office that she realized just how difficult this whole ordeal might be for him. In the last forty-eight hours, since finding out about the pregnancy, she hadn’t thought about the impact this news would have on Jordan or his world, or about the position she was putting him in by asking him to keep quiet.

  Nothing in her wanted to tell her boss or the Kent family about the pregnancy yet. For safety’s sake, she might have to talk about it earlier than she’d like.

  It was high time she listened to his point of view and took it into consideration. It would be good practice, because this was the beginning of many joint decisions that would need to be made about their child. Their child. Those were two words she never thought she’s be saying out loud.

  “Sassy,” she said quietly, making more kissing noises. It was probably futile to keep calling out the little dog’s name. Sassy never came when she was called except to Mrs. Farmer.

  After another bitter cold twenty minutes had passed, Courtney decided to circle back and tell Mrs. Farmer they should check at home in case Sassy had gotten spooked and returned to her yard.

  A noise stopped Courtney in her tracks. The hairs on the back of her neck pricked. The feeling that someone was watching her crept over her skin. A snorting sound from deeper in the field at the tree line caught her attention. Her first thought was wolf or coyote, neither of which were good signs for Sassy.

  Courtney spun around toward the noise and trained her flashlight in its direction. She drew her weapon and held it alongside the flashlight; the bullet would hit the same target if she had to shoot. Tall weeds swayed in the breeze.

  She stared at the rustling weeds, waiting for a wild animal to come pouncing out of them. There was no way she was moving until she knew what the heck she was dealing with. She had no plans to become a late-night snack for a hungry black bear. Rare as they might be in this area of Texas, sightings happened.

  Just as Courtney was about to give up and walk away, she heard a familiar yip-sounding bark. It was coming from the direction of the snarls that were now echoing across the field. The beast—whatever it was—might be after Sassy.

  “Come here, girl.” Courtney raced toward the sounds of the yips while surveying the area beyond. Sassy was not getting eaten by some wild animal on Courtney’s watch. No, sir.

  Unexpected tears flooded her eyes as she pushed closer toward the sound while fighting back the panic that was becoming all too familiar when she was thrust into high-pressure situations.

  Her hand trembled so hard she worried she wouldn’t be able to get off a clean shot when the time came. Granted, most of the time the presence of a weapon was enough to deter a criminal. That wasn’t the point, her mind argued.

  The thought almost stopped her in her tracks. Her career was all she had left, and she’d been stubbornly hanging on to it. Pregnancy aside, she couldn’t be selfish. Her coworkers’ lives depended on her, and it wouldn’t be fair to them if she couldn’t come through in a pinch.

  Damn. She was going to have to request desk duty tomorrow morning.

  Sassy’s head popped up, bouncing just higher than the weeds, which meant she was struggling to get through the thicket.

  Courtney’s nerves were being put to the test as she raced toward the little dog. Tears streamed down her cheeks at the thought of not being able to come through for Mrs. Farmer, for Sassy. Courtney didn’t even own a dog, but that didn’t stop her heart from beating against her rib cage.

  “Come on, Sassy. Run, girl,” she coaxed.

  The little head with a hot-pink ribbon tied around it like a headband bobbed up and down.

  And then Courtney saw the blackest eyes focused on the little dog.

  Chapter Eleven

  The animal chasing Sassy was the size and girth of a coyote. Based on the intensity with which it was chasing the little Yorkie, the thing was starving.

  Frustrated tears slipped out and then a moment of resolve—like a flash that rocketed through her body—steeled Courtney. Her grip around her Glock steadied, and she took aim.

  “Go away. Get out of here,” Courtney screamed at the top of her lungs. She made herself seem bigger by flapping one of her arms, and when that didn’t stop the animal’s momentum, she shone her flashlight into the beast’s eyes.

  The coyote shunned the bright light, turning its face away. Sassy got the break she so desperately needed to get a little bit ahead of her chaser.

  Courtney shouted louder this time, “Shoo!”

  With the coyote gaining ground on Sassy, Courtney took aim. If Sassy’s head bobbed at the wrong time or Courtney’s hand trembled when she needed it to be steady, she’d kill the wrong animal.

  With a final push, she caught the coyote’s gaze in the beam of light. Courtney screamed like a wild banshee.

  At the last second, the coyote broke right, and for a moment Courtney worried that it would stalk Mrs. Farmer. Until it made a U-turn and bolted toward the tree line from where it came.

  Courtney dropped down to her knees in time to catch a trembling Sassy. She holstered her weapon and set down the flashlight. She picked up the little fur ball and cradled her against her cheek. The dog was hard-core shaking but alive.

  “Sweet girl. You’re okay. You’re going to be fine. I got you.” Courtney’s heart flooded with warmth, and she burst into tears. It was probably just overwrought hormones, but she kept that little dog against her cheek as several seconds ticked by. She whispered reassurances and tried her level best to collect herself after the ordeal.

  The sound of footsteps coming closer forced her out of her reverie.

  “I got her. She’s safe. Your girl is fine.” Courtney sniffed back tears and hurried to her feet.

  Mrs. Farmer’s warm smile melted what was left of the ice encasing Courtney’s heart. These two, Mrs. Farmer and Sassy, had broken through to Courtney, and that gave her hope that others could, too. Others like her growing child. And maybe, someday, she could let a man inside her heart, too. If she did, it would be Jordan.

  Courtney handed over the little dog, doing her level best to mask her own emotions at the reunion. Mrs. Farmer held her dog with two hands and nuzzled the little creature.

  “Sweet girl. Thank heaven you’re safe. What would I do if something happened to you?” The dog’s tail wagged hard.

  “What do you say we get the two of you back inside?” Courtney said.

  “I can’t thank you enough for saving my Sassy. She would’ve frozen to death if she’d been out all night,” Mrs. Farmer said. “Let me fix you something to eat. I bet I caused you to miss your supper.”

  “If I didn’t already have plans, I’d take you up on that offer,” Courtney said. And she wasn’t being polite. She really wanted to spend a little more time with the kind woman who seemed a bit lonely.

  “Maybe tomorrow then,” Mrs. Farmer offered as they made the trek back to her house.

  “Definitely tomorrow,” Courtney confirmed. “I’m working, but my dinner break is at seven o’clock. Is that too late?”

  “Not at all.” Mrs. Farmer practically beamed. She started prattling on about what she might decide to cook, and Courtney wondered if the woman had eaten alone every meal since her husband had passed. Sharing a meal was the least Courtney could do for the sweet old woman.

 
; Courtney walked Mrs. Farmer to her front door.

  “Your boots,” Mrs. Farmer said before Courtney could say goodbye.

  “Keep ’em for now. I can pick them up tomorrow,” she said.

  “Are you sure? I don’t think my feet have ever been so warm. You might need them,” she said.

  “I have another pair in black,” Courtney said with a smile. Seeing Mrs. Farmer and Sassy together again after fearing the worst brought another peek of light into dark places in Courtney’s heart. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen someone love anything that much.

  “See you tomorrow then.” Mrs. Farmer returned the smile and waved.

  “Lock up,” Courtney reminded before she walked down the steps of the small concrete porch.

  She moved to her vehicle and locked the door once she got inside. The creepy feeling of eyes on her returned, but it was most likely the stress of the situation. She’d had the feeling before. It had stalked her for weeks after the shooting in Dallas. She’d go to the grocery store and feel like someone watched her. She’d try to escape to the movies only to feel like she was part of the show.

  Time had made it easier to cope. And that was about all she’d done in the last year. When she really thought about it like that, her life sounded awful.

  Courtney navigated her vehicle onto the farm road that led to the Kent ranch, which was a mere half-hour drive from her place on the outskirts of town. Her heart still beat erratically in her chest, but a sense of calm was starting to come over her the longer she was on the road.

  Almost a half hour on the dot later, she pulled up to the guard shack. Isaac stepped out as she rolled down her window.

  “I’m here to see Jordan,” she said.

  “Yes, ma’am. He called ahead. Go on through.” He pushed the magic button that made the gates open. He stood watch behind her, and she was reminded of what had happened at the ranch just that morning.

  Icy fingers gripped her spine thinking about it. What sort of twisted person delivered a foot to someone’s doorstep? In the wake of dealing with the Sassy crisis, Courtney hadn’t thought about the case. She had a few choice words for Gus Stanton later.