Whispers of the Heart

by Woster, Barbara

  Dalian didn’t respond. He just sat with Kat’s head on his lap, the flurry of activity around him disregarded. The shooter hadn’t severely injured Kat, for which he was grateful; in fact, the bullet had penetrated the fleshy part of her upper arm and exited out the rear. His apathy stemmed not from fear over her well-being rather at the knowledge that he truly could not protect her, as he promised her he’d do. They had been in a yard full of people, but that hadn’t prevented the shooter making another attempt on their lives. It meant that the killer was far bolder than he’d first imagined, which meant they were in greater danger than he’d surmised.

  “Dalian?”

  “We have to catch whoever’s responsible, Harvey,” Dalian whispered finally. “Nothing more can happen to Kat. She’s suffered so much in so short a time. It isn’t right that someone so gentle hearted should be the target of someone with a vengeful spirit. What could she possibly have done in the time she’s been here, to generate animosity?”

  “You’re assuming that she is the target,” Harvey replied. “You were embracing, so that bullet could have been intended for either of you – or both of you,” he concluded softly. “Kind of makes you wonder, especially since you both could have easily died in the fire also. And don’t forget that it was you that got walloped on the head in that attack.”

  “So you’re proposing that we’ve pissed off someone so badly that we’ve both got bulls eyes on our backs?

  “Well, someone is holding some serious resentment against one or both of you, there’s no doubting that,” Sheriff Masters said, moving to kneel next to Kat. “How is she?”

  “I think she’ll be okay. The paramedics are on the way.” Dalian was about to comment further, but before he could launch into his list of growing concerns, the sheriff continued speaking.

  “We’ve got ourselves a real mystery here, because not one of your guests or ranch hands has any kind of a record to speak of. An outstanding parking ticket here and there, but nothing serious. There are two guests with a half dozen marriages under their belts – Chloe Harper and Cal Withers. All of Chloe’s marriages ended in divorce, but Cal is another matter altogether. He was a person of interest in the death of his wives – all three of them – because of the amount of the life insurance policies; however, in each of those cases, the police apprehended a suspect who a jury subsequently tried and convicted. Whoever is making these attempts, we have to assume we haven’t made his or her acquaintance yet and we can assume with a high degree of certainty that he or she is, one – fearless; two – a decent shot; and three – completely bonkers.”

  “I’d have to agree with that assessment,” Dalian said with a sarcastic snort.

  “Anyway, I brought some extra men with me to help in the search. Has anyone found anything yet, Harvey?”

  “Not that I’ve been made aware of. Now that you’re here though, I’m going to join in the hunt. It’s time we ran this fox to ground.”

  “I agree. I’ll stay and talk to Dalian until the paramedics arrive and then I’ll join up with everybody. We won’t leave a shrub unsearched.”

  Harvey nodded, clasped Dalian’s shoulder reassuringly, and then headed toward the area that he was certain the shot originated. He didn’t know who was trying to harm his dearest friend, but whomever it was better pray he or she didn’t meet up with him before the police made an arrest; or he or she would be going to jail with some freshly inflicted bodily injuries.

  Kat stirred and her eyelids fluttered opened. Dalian smiled encouragingly, but the smile refused to erase the concern in his eyes. “Well, it looks as if I find myself once again lying injured on the ground in your embrace,” Kat quipped in a whisper, trying to assuage Dalian’s fears. Her armed ached painfully but the fact that she woke up and was still breathing relieved her mind a great deal. Now she needed to relieve Dalian’s mind. If the pained look in his gaze was any indicator, he somehow blamed himself for this latest assault. “This wasn’t your fault.”

  “I gave you my word...”

  “And you couldn’t have guessed that this person would be as audacious as to fire into a crowd of people,” Kat countered quickly. “Oh my, no one else was injured, were they?”

  “Just you,” the sheriff answered, and tears misted Dalian’s eyes.

  “I’ll be okay, Dalian. It could have been far worse, as we both know. I will happily carry a scar over dying and never seeing you again.” Dalian pulled Kat tighter into his embrace and then the tears started to fall.

  “I hear the paramedics approaching,” the sheriff said softly, and then stood to leave.

  “Sheriff,” Kat whispered, continuing to stroke Dalian’s hair in comfort, “did you catch the guy responsible?”

  The sheriff lowered his gaze, his face flushed with humiliating anger. He wished he could assuage her concerns, tell her that the person responsible was on the way to jail, but he couldn’t. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “we haven’t caught whoever’s responsible yet, but there were a lot of people out searching just after the shot was fired, so whoever it is couldn’t be too far off getting caught.”

  Kat nodded and then refocused on Dalian, as the sheriff walked away. He lifted his head and swiped the tears from his eyes, “I’m so sorry, Kat.”

  “And I’m mad as a hornet,” Kat said, her tone sharp. That brought a small smile to Dalian’s lips.

  “You are, are you?” He whispered, placing a light kiss on her lips.

  “You bet your ass I am. I hope to high heaven they catch this person and when they do, they should hang him by his toenails during his trial. See how he likes enduring excruciating pain.”

  “Hurt a lot?” Dalian whispered, stroking her arm gently below the wound.

  “Like hell, if you want the truth.”

  Jake, the same paramedic that took care of Kat last time, approached, cutting off Dalian’s response. His brow quirked in puzzlement, “What happened this time?” He asked, instinctively searching for another burned down building.

  “Someone took a pot shot at us. Injured Kat.” Dalian began to assist Kat to a seated position, but Jake stopped him.

  “Let’s let her stay where she is until I have a look, okay?”

  Dalian nodded and Kat relaxed her head the best she could against his thighs. She winced when the paramedic made to lift her elbow-length shirt over the injury, “Okay,” he said, stopping in mid-lift when she hissed loudly, “the blood is starting to congeal, which is good; however, the drying blood is attaching the clothing to the skin. The doctor will be able to get to the wound easier than I can right now. All I needed to do was make certain it wasn’t life threatening. We’ll get you to the hospital. The doctor will need to clean the fibers from the shirt out of the wound. Once he’s ascertained that there is no risk of infection, he’ll probably release you to return home rather quickly.

  “She’ll be staying at the hospital under guard for a few days,” the sheriff said approaching again. “This is Deputy Will Remer. He’ll be escorting you to the hospital. He’ll stay posted outside your door until I determine it’s safe for you to return. You’ll be staying in the room with her, Dalian. I want you both out of this guy’s line of sight for a few days. And before you argue, Dalian, that you want to be a part of this search – the answer is an emphatic no. We don’t know where this guy is, or who his intended target is. I can’t risk you tramping about on the range.”

  “I wasn’t going to argue, Sheriff,” Dalian said, helping Kat to stand. “I agree that Kat and I are in danger, and I don’t plan to leave her side or do anything that would put us at further risk,” and then added, “see? I can be amenable,” when the sheriff quirked a brow in his direction.

  “So you can. Go with the deputy, and pack some supplies for you and Kat while Jake and I get Kat into the ambulance.

  Before any of them could move, a shout sounded from across the yard. “Over here! We’ve found something!” It was Chloe. She was standing near a hill at the edge of the yard, waving her arms f
rantically. Dalian was about to move in her direction, but the sheriff placed a restraining hand on his arm, “You’re out of this, remember?”

  Dalian closed his eyes and counted to ten, but then nodded. He was truthful when he told the sheriff that he planned to stay out of it and let law enforcement do their job, but hearing there was a break in the case nearly made him forget. He sighed heavily, and wrapped his arm around Kat’s shoulders as he watched the sheriff and everyone else converge on Chloe’s location.

  “You want to go too, don’t you Deputy?” Dalian asked, his tone empathetic.

  The deputy inhaled sharply and nodded, but responded diplomatically, “Keeping you and Kat safe are equally important.” A theory borne out by the gun he’d pulled from his holster rapidly when Chloe began shouting at them. He kept the barrel pointed at the ground, but his stance made it clear he was ready to take aim and shoot if it came to that.

  “What do you think they’ve found?” Kat asked in a near-whisper, hope pounding through her veins.

  “Whatever it is, it must be important or Chloe wouldn’t have been dancing around like she was auditioning for Dancing with the Stars.[4]

  Kat laughed and Jake and Will snorted. The humor helped relieve a small measure of the tension swirling around in all four of them. It also snapped them out of their current mesmerizing stances. Each wanted to remain there waiting for some word, but Jake knew it wasn’t good for Kat to stay standing with a bullet wound in her arm. As if just realizing his professionalism had slipped, he turned and reached for Kat’s good arm, “Let’s get you on the gurney. You don’t need to be standing up right now, and your increased pulse rate has caused your wound to start seeping. Let me see if I can’t help with that while Dalian and Will go to pack up some supplies as the sheriff said. The sooner we get her to the hospital,” Jake continued, turning to address Dalian, “the better it will be for her.”

  “Let’s just go on to the hospital. I’ll come back and collect some things as soon as the doctor sees to Kat and she gets settled into our room.”

  “Fair enough,” Jake said, gently lowering Kat on the gurney. “You’ll take this trip lying down, Miss. Rules are rules.” He smiled and carefully strapped Kat onto the stretcher. “Dalian, help me lift her up?”

  The two men hefted the gurney and slid it into the back of the ambulance. Kat winced when the legs bumped and collapsed beneath her, but kept her discomfort quiet. She didn’t need Dalian worrying anymore than he already was, and other than some pain in her arm, she knew she was going to survive this latest assault; a knowledge that boosted her spirits – and her temper – considerably. She didn’t know who was responsible for these attacks against her and Dalian, but she hadn’t come on vacation to suffer through all of this drama; although she did have to admit, it would add an exciting element to the story she planned to write about her and Dalian when all of this was over. She grimaced at where her thoughts automatically directed – writing. Well, she couldn’t help it if she was an author, nor that authors had to find their material somewhere. If not life, then where?

  Her thoughts ceased when Dalian and Jake climbed in on either side of her. Jake immediately got to the business of being a paramedic, retaking her blood pressure, and hooking her up to an IV drip, while Dalian gave her a gentle kiss.

  “Will and I are going to follow along behind the ambulance in our cars. That way I can get back here when I need to. Are you okay with that? I know it won’t be a picnic riding back here on your own.”

  Kat wanted to beg him to ride with her, but instead she tamped down on her fears and smiled bravely, “It isn’t too far a ride, and just knowing you are coming with me is enough to keep me from falling to pieces.”

  “You’re braver than any woman I’ve ever known. I love you, Kat.” Dalian kissed her again, and then moved to jump down from the ambulance. Jake was right behind him. “We’re headed out now, Kat.” Jake smiled encouragingly and then closed her in the back of the ambulance, her thoughts and fears her only companion.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  “What have you found?” The sheriff asked, his breathing coming in short gasps as he came to a halt near one of the junior state patrol officers.

  “Over here. We haven’t touched anything, since we’re waiting for the forensic team to get here to lock down the scene. I took the liberty of radioing it in and also in ordering a continued search for our suspect.”

  “That’s great! Thanks...”

  “The name’s Mitchell Brown, sir.”

  “Much appreciated Mitchell, and nice job. Show me what we’ve got.”

  Mitchell turned and walked a few feet down the main trail, and then turned and headed down a much narrower path. “It’s over here, sir. We won’t know until forensics gets done on whether this is related to this case, but if I were a betting man, I’d say we’ve got ourselves a mighty big break.”

  The sheriff stopped and looked down at the path, a giant grin spreading across his thin lips, “And I would be placing a bet right alongside you. Officer, I think we may have a shot at solving this case.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The sheriff stepped gingerly around the evidence lying on the pathway and made his way over to the edge of the hill. He peered over and saw Chloe headed toward the main house, conversing with Kenny, the ranch hand who’d given Marsha her much-needed alibi. Didn’t take Kenny long to get over Marsha, the sheriff thought with a grin and then shifted his gaze. He panned around until his gaze located the ambulance. Dalian, Kat, Jake, and Will were standing there facing his direction. He could only imagine what was going through their minds, but he definitely knew what was going through his – that very thought he’d voiced aloud just prior to making a mad dash across the yard, “He’s bonkers,” he whispered the thought aloud.

  “Sir?” Mitchell asked, moving to stand beside the sheriff.

  “Our shooter. He’s bonkers, and apparently fearless, or he wouldn’t have taken a shot from this distance into a crowd of people.”

  “Your point, sir?”

  “I’m not sure, but I do want extra men manning this evidence until it’s bagged and tagged. If he’s as crazy as I’m presuming, he may attempt to retrieve it, and one man alone up here may not stand a chance at stopping him. Dispatch five men to this spot – good shots – and tell them they are to remain on high alert. Let’s get back out to the main trail. If he left evidence like this lying about, then he may have been careless enough to leave other evidence.”

  The officer quickly radioed in the given orders and then trotted to catch up with Sheriff Masters. “There are a lot of tire tracks out here, any of which could be our shooter’s – or none at all.”

  “Tracks,” the sheriff whispered thoughtfully.

  “Yes sir. The ranch hands use these trails to get around the range in the vehicles, when it necessitates.

  “Understood, and we may not be able to discern which tracks are our perps – if any at all – but we may be able to deduce direction.”

  “Sir?”

  “Find me a ranch hand that knows these trails like the back of his hand, and get back on the horn. Tell central I want a helicopter airborne in less than fifteen minutes. If our assailant is still mobile – whether in a car or on foot – and unfamiliar with the range, he may be sticking to the trails.

  “If he’s mobile, isn’t there a good chance he’s already hightailed it out of here?”

  The sheriff shook his head, “The guard would have informed us had anyone left the ranch, especially anyone attempting to do so right after the shooting. No, I have to believe that this guy is still out here somewhere, and we’re going to find him.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  “I just want to change and put on a better pair of shoes before I continue traipsing around in the woods some more,” Chloe was saying to Kenny as she made her way toward the front door of the house.

  “I’m not certain you should be traipsing around after anyone, ma’am. I wouldn’t exactly think it safe.
What if you are out there and you happen to be the one who comes across him?”

  “I’ll charm him into surrendering,” Chloe quipped and then grew serious. “Kat is a good person. She doesn’t deserve what’s happening to her, and if I can help find the man responsible, then I’m damn well gonna try. I certainly am not going to sit back on my fanny and do nothing.

  “Well, maybe you can ride along with Miss Kat to the hospital. I’m sure she would like your company and...” Kenny stopped talking as the ambulance drove past, closely followed by Dalian’s Jeep and the deputy’s patrol car.

  “Looks like that idea just passed me by,” Chloe said, heading up the front steps. “Perhaps I can join you in the search, Kenny. Unless you think I’d get in your way,” she batted her eyelashes, and Kenny’s heart thumped against his chest. He didn’t know if she’d get in the way or not, but he could think of a dozen cozy little caves he could use to keep her out of harm’s way. He smiled at the thought, and Chloe grinned, “I’ll only be a moment. You wait here for me, okay?”

  Kenny nodded and Chloe pulled open the screen door and went inside. The vapid grin she’d been wearing when conversing with Kenny slipped and in its stead, a worried crease formed along her brow, as she headed up the staircase. She didn’t really want to go traipsing along after Kenny, despite her brave words to the contrary, but the thought of hanging about in a nearly empty house with a potential killer at large was far more unsettling.

  Unfortunately, her sundress and flip flips had truthfully proven ill suited for traipsing about in the bushes, as she’d quickly discovered when they all heard the gunfire. Without thought, she immediately ran after the hoard of men, and then proceeded to slip and slide her way up the hillside in an attempt at not being left alone.