by D'Ann Lindun
A sudden pounding on the inside of the door startled them both. “Help! Help!”
“Who’s there?” Jamie called.
“God, help us. Please let us out.”
Austin stepped off the porch and found a large rock. After three or four slams against the lock, it broke. Jamie kicked the door open and stepped inside. Two women tore out.
January Devlin.
And behind her, a dark-haired girl with a haunted expression. Both looked terrified.
Jamie rushed to the first woman, Austin the second.
“Thank God you found us, he was going to kill us for sure,” January babbled. “We thought he was going to help us, but instead, he locked us in here and we couldn’t get out. We’ve been so scared.”
The other girl didn’t speak and cowered away from Austin.
In Jamie’s arms, January shook like a falling leaf. “You’re safe now,” Jamie assured her. “Sit down.” With her arm still around the other girl’s shoulders, she eased down onto the steps. “How long have you been here?”
“All day.” A shudder rippled through January’s body.
Austin guided the other girl to the bench on the porch and eased her on to it. “Easy does it.”
The girl wrapped her arms around her middle and rocked.
“Who did this?” Jamie asked.
January moistened her lips. Before she spoke, Jamie made an educated guess. “Was it Deputy Carver?”
“Yeah,” January whispered.
The other girl moaned.
January met Austin’s eyes. “When did this happen?”
“This morning,” January said. “We got off the mountain and to your house—”
“My place?” Jamie kept her arm around the woman’s shoulders. “Why?”
“You had our horses, right?” Austin said. “And Sheriff English’s truck, too.”
January nodded. “We had to get out of the mountains before that guy killed Kyra and me, too. The horses just appeared. We didn’t know where they came from or where to go to look for the owners. It seemed like a sign, so we rode them to your truck. I found the keys and we went to your house.” She took a shuddering breath. “That’s when I called your office for help.”
The pieces began to fall into place as Jamie listened. “And Deputy Carver brought you here and locked you in?”
She jerked her head affirmative.
Austin asked the dark haired girl in a gentle voice, “You were camping with your husband? Something happened to him, but you got away?”
She nodded, her look vacant. “Boyfriend.”
“You somehow located this other lady?”
Another blank nod.
“I found Kyra,” January said. “Half dead in the bushes. She told me her boyfriend had been murdered and a man was after her. Then the horses showed up and it seemed prudent to find help.”
Kyra moaned.
“We all need help,” Jamie said. “I think it’s time to call for backup. Austin, do you still have Vasquez’s phone?”
“It’s dead. Battery kicked the bucket.”
Jamie really wanted to punch something about then. “It’s about another two miles to the trailhead. I can get service with my own phone, so I’ll ride over there.”
“I’ll go,” Austin said.
“You’re shot and bleeding.” Jamie frowned at him. “I’m fine except for a little bit of aching in my leg.”
“I’m fine.”
Jamie shot him an irritated look, but spoke gently to the girls. “We’re going to need all the details, okay? I’m going to go inside and see if Kate left any coffee grounds and a pot. We could all use something hot.”
“I’m going to saddle the horse.” Austin turned away.
“I wanted a fire,” January said. “We were freezing.”
The minute Jamie stepped inside the claustrophobic confines of the cabin, she saw what January meant about needing light. Carver had nailed plywood over the single window, making it dark as a tomb inside.
Jamie shivered. She stuffed several chunks of wood in the fire, lit it and rummaged through the cupboards until she found a can of coffee grounds and a jug of water. After pouring the water into the pot, she placed it on the stove.
Holding her hands over the heat, she let her thoughts go to the two girls outside. Never in a million years would she have believed Tad Carver capable of the things he’d done. Stealing women. Spiriting them across the border. Rape.
Unbelievable.
Even worse that he did these terrible things right under all their noses, and not one of them had been the wiser.
Austin joined her, also holding his hands over the flames. “These women are extremely traumatized, especially Kyra. I want to kick Carver in the teeth.”
“Me, too.”
The water boiled and Jamie poured grounds into it. The heavenly scent of fresh coffee filled the cabin. She took the pot from the heat and set it on the table. “There are cups here somewhere.”
“Got them.” Austin placed four mugs on the table.
Jamie filled them.
“That’ll hit the spot.” Austin sipped from his cup. “Listen, Jamie. I think it’s best if you stay with the girls while I go for help.”
“You’re injured,” Jamie protested.
“So are you,” he reminded her. “It’s not that far to get phone service and I need to call my boss and get her up here. The sooner we get federal help to cross the border, the sooner we can retrieve the missing women. These ladies have been terrorized by a man. It might be easier on them if a woman is with them.”
Jamie drank from her own cup, savoring the hot brew. “Makes sense, I guess.”
“I’ll have CBI alert all law enforcement to put out an APB and we’ll get Carver rounded up immediately.”
“Okay,” Jamie agreed reluctantly. She picked up two of the cups. “Let’s take this to the ladies.”
January could barely hold her cup, she shook so hard, and although Kyra accepted hers, she just stared at it. Jamie wondered if the girl had been so traumatized she might not ever be the same again. They all had been through hell, but it was about to end.
~*~
After Austin rode away, it took some convincing, but Jamie managed to get January and Kyra back inside the cabin, although they refused to allow her to close the door. The rain and snow had finally stopped, but the clouds stayed low, not through spitting yet.
Jamie stuffed a couple logs into the stove and held her hands over the warmth. January and Kyra pulled kitchen chairs close and sipped their coffee. Although Jamie had a million questions, she decided to wait until Austin returned to ask them.
A shadow fell across the door, drawing her attention.
“Hello, ladies.” Tad Carver stepped inside, revolver pointed at them. “Good of you to wait for me.”
Kyra squeaked like a trapped mouse.
January’s face went as white as her hair.
Automatically Jamie reached for her gun and cussed inwardly when she didn’t have it. “Carver.”
He sneered. “Jamie.”
“That’s Sheriff English,” she said. “Don’t forget it.”
“Big talk for somebody who can’t see what’s in front of her nose.” He pointed the gun directly at her chest. “Sit down.”
She ignored that. “Turn yourself in now, Carver. Agent Varner is on his way back with the cavalry.”
He snorted. “Nope. I took care of that little problem. Nobody’s coming.”
Her heart twisted into a knot. “What did you do? You hurt Austin and I’ll—”
“Do what?” He laughed. “Arrest me?”
“You’re going to spend the rest of your miserable days in a federal prison if you don’t get the death penalty.” Jamie hid her shaking hands as best as she could. If Austin really was lying out there hurt or dead, she would never forgive him. Stubborn mule should have let her go for help. There had to be a way to get past Carver. Keep him talking while her mind raced with ideas and dis
carded them. One of them would likely end up shot if they rushed him. Out of the corner of her eye, she searched for a weapon. The hot coffee. If she could reach it she could throw it in his face. If January would follow her lead maybe they could overpower him.
“The only place I’m going is Mexico, where I’m dropping you all off, collecting my big paycheck and hitting the beach.” He aimed the pistol at January, who stared defiantly at him. “You’re worth quite a bit, apparently.”
Jamie took a side step toward the coffeepot as January spoke. “To whom, may I ask?”
He shrugged. “Hell if I know, but you’ve given me quite a chase.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” January said bravely.
Tad pointed the revolver at her chest. “This says different.”
Jamie inched toward her target. “I say different. Miss Devlin isn’t going anywhere with you, Tad. Neither are Kyra or me. We’re all staying right here.”
“I could shoot you all,” he said.
“You could,” Jamie said, “but then you’d have three bodies to hide. That isn’t all that easy, is it?”
Kyra moaned.
“Shut up,” he ordered.
She continued to moan in a low, keening sound that made Jamie’s hair stand on end. “Taking three women to Mexico? How are you going to get us there? That’s a long drive. Someone is bound to spot us. Give up now, Tad, and we’ll see about getting you a deal.” Jamie took another step.
“I ain’t taking no deal.” He waved the gun. “The only deal I’m interested in is the one Alejandro has lined up. Getting paid for her—” he pointed at January “—and getting the hell out of this shithole.”
“Vasquez is dead.” Jamie smiled grimly. “I killed him.”
For a moment he looked startled. “I figured he was. No skin off my back. I can step right up to the plate and take over where he left off. More money for me anyway.”
Jamie took a deep breath and prayed January would understand her tactic and forgive her. “If Miss Devlin’s the target, why do you need me and Miss Jacobi? Take Miss Devlin and just go.” Ignoring January’s gasp, she continued. “She’s the one you said you wanted. What good are we?”
“The same reason I took the others.” He puffed up like a peacock. “There’s good money in blonde American women in South America. Mexico’s just the first stop. There are buyers from all over the world down there. Arabs, especially, like blonde girls.” Rubbing the barrel of the gun along her cheek, he added. “If they’re true blondes, that is. No bottle blondies need apply. You a real blonde, Jamie? Should I look?”
Jamie suppressed a shudder and gestured at Kyra. “She’s not blonde. Tina isn’t blonde. Neither is Rosie.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “Never said they made it to the buyer, did I?”
“What did you do to them?” Jamie’s pulse picked up as anger and fear flooded her.
January spoke then. “Just take me and leave the others alone.”
“And leave good money on the table?” He snorted again. “Not to mention a chance to get rid of this bitch?” He indicated Jamie. “Not a chance, sister. You’re all going.”
“Who wants me enough to go to all this trouble?” January asked in a strangled voice as she sank into one of the chairs. “Is it Dominic again?”
“Who is Dominic?” Jamie looked between them.
“My stalker. The reason I moved here.” January looked ready to vomit.
“Hell if I know,” Tad said. “Alejandro had the contact information.”
Jamie eyed him in disbelief. “So you plan to take three women to Mexico with no papers, cross the border and just start asking around until you find someone who wants to give you a few pesos for us?”
“I’d give you to the first bandito who’d take you,” he snarled. “Just to get rid of you.”
“I’ve treated you fairly,” Jamie shot back.
Laughter gurgled out of him. “You’re worse than your old man. Give the team all the shit jobs while you take all the credit. Guess he got what he had coming, though, didn’t he?”
Fury welled up in Jamie and she clenched her fists to keep from punching him, gun or no gun. “You shot Big Jim? Why?” Realization dawned. “He had it figured out. He was going to stop you and Vasquez.”
“He had an idea who took the girls,” Tad said. “He saw me with them after the fair and confronted me about it.”
“So you followed him home, shot him and pretended to be the first one on scene,” Jamie accused bitterly. “Thank God he didn’t die.”
“Yet.” He chuckled.
“Why, Tad? What would make you shoot a lawman? And steal innocent girls? Tina and Carly are just teenagers. They’ve never hurt you.” Jamie’s heart constricted. To think that one of her dad’s own men had shot him in the back of the head…and the teenage girls he’d destroyed. It was too much to take in at once.
“Those little bitches got what they had coming. Stuck up. Too good for anyone. I guess they’ve come down a few pegs now, huh?” He glanced at January. “You’re the worst of them all. Got your big city nose stuck in the air all hoity-toity like we all smell bad. When Alejandro told me he’d trade me coke for you, it was too good to be true.”
“Alejandro Vasquez traded you cocaine for women?” Jamie couldn’t believe her ears. Human trafficking was something that happened in big cities, not a town no bigger than a post stamp.
“Sure did.” He nodded like an apt pupil. “I figured what the hell, man? It was going to be so easy. Grab her” –another jab with the gun toward January— “take the coke, sell it and we’d all be happy.”
January sucked in her breath, but Jamie didn’t look her direction. “Why then Tina, Carly, Monique and Rosie? And Kyra? What does she have to do with this plan?”
“Alejandro got pushy. He handed over some coke up front, and I made a nice little deal with your buddy Kate to let us use this building to hide the girls. What I had left over, I sold. Alejandro wanted instant results. He said the buyer would take a replacement to keep him happy until I could move the preferred product.” He talked like he was discussing cartons of eggs, not women. “A couple of teenage virgins kept him quiet for a while.”
“Dear God.” Jamie’s knees threatened to buckle. “And Monique? Rosie? Same thing? Easy to steal?”
A grin spread across his rosy, fat face, but he just shrugged.
“You killed Katie? Why?” Jamie demanded. “She knew about this?”
“Nope. I told her I needed this place to hunt. I just didn’t tell her what for.” He made an innocent face. “I never touched her. Alejandro did because her little habit got to be a big habit. Guess he didn’t think this place was worth the price.”
“Where are they?” Jamie demanded, refusing to let the picture his hate-filled words painted sink in her head. One of her lifelong friends an addict. “The girls you took?”
“Beats me. I brought them here, and Alejandro transported them. One of his drivers was a guy named Viejo. He brought in coke, took girls out. Benny and Jinx stopped him one time, but somebody higher up got him a quick prisoner transfer.”
“Which one of you dealt coke at The Moon?” Jamie asked. “You or Alejandro?”
“You don’t think he ever got his pretty brown hands dirty, do you?” Tad countered.
“So, you.” Jamie was so angry she could hardly speak. One of Big Jim’s team, her team, had dealt drugs, stolen and killed women. All right under her nose. For two cents she’d tackle him and take her chances. “You also raped Haley Spencer.”
His chuckle repulsed her. “Stupid old cow. She thought I seriously wanted a relationship. It was all I could do to keep it up long enough to get off.”
“Doc said she took the belt buckle. But you did. And you stuck it in my bed, then took it back after you attacked me in my barn. You drugged Haley and took the morgue keys from her to steal the buckle. The rape was just extra warning to keep quiet.”
A jerky nod. “Yup, yup. Very good,
Sheriff. If you would have just taken the hint and left town, all this could have been prevented.” He waved the revolver around at each of them. “Enough chit chat. Let’s go. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”
Without warning, January leaped to her feet and screamed, “I’m not going anywhere with you. You’ll have to kill me first.”
Kyra shrieked and covered her ears with her hands. Then, crawling on all fours, scrambled for the door.
Jamie hesitated only a moment. Then, seeing her opening, grabbed the coffeepot and flung the contents into Tad’s face. He screamed and dropped the gun. It bounced, skidding across the floor.
Jamie scrambled for it.
She could not lose that weapon.
She strained with all her might to reach it, shimmying like a trout across the dusty floor. Her fingers touched the cold barrel. She snagged the gun, rolled into a sitting position and aimed it at her former deputy. His face was red, burned. With her heart beating as hard as if she’d run a race, she steadied her hands. “Give me a reason.”
“Do it.” His eyes reminded her of a rabid coyote she’d seen once.
“Shoot him,” January urged.
“Nope.” Jamie shook her head. “Not going to let him off that easy. I want to watch his face when they put that poison in his arm. For all of the women’s sakes, I’ll be there.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Restless, Jamie wandered around her living room. She plumped a pillow on the couch, turned on the TV, turned it back off. Dani had begged to spend the night with Rae, and only because her mom looked so lonely had Jamie reluctantly agreed.
With the case solved, she had nothing much on her plate. Her thoughts turned to Austin again. She’d been so sure he was different than Lance, but it turned out he was exactly like him. A love ’em and ride away type. She picked up one of the pillows and punched it. Damn it!
Hammer began barking wildly and scratching at the door.
Jamie’s heart jumped. Had something happened? Was Carver on the prowl again? Then she remembered he was in jail where he’d be for a very long time. Austin had ridden to the rescue and the feds had quickly taken charge because women had been transported across the border.
