by Toni Leland
A minute later, the chief gave her a thumbs-up. “Campbell just called for an ambulance.”
“For who?”
The fireman shrugged. Kellie's knees wobbled and she closed her eyes. Ed was all right, but something must have happened to Hyde. I can't stand another second of this nightmare.
A hand touched her shoulder and Clarke's voice brought her back. “What happened out there with Jethrow?”
“He said he wanted to come back and connect with the family again, but I guess all he really wanted was to destroy me.”
She turned to gaze at the soggy heap of charred wood that had once housed her mares. “My God, look at this”
“Your insurance will cover it.”
“Nothing will replace the historic value of the original settlement barn.” She squared her shoulders and gazed at her brother. “But it's only a building. The important and precious things in my life are safe, and that's all that matters.”
Except for Jethrow. But perhaps it was for the best. He was trapped in the prison of his hatred, and his anger would never allow him to forgive and make peace with himself. Acceptance replaced her pain. She had to let go of her memories of who he'd been, and accept the man he'd become-a stranger.
She gazed across the blackened fields, thick with lingering smoke. The time had come to let go of the past and allow her brothers to get on with their plans.
Chapter 21
Kellie trudged back to where the exhausted firemen were coiling hoses and stowing gear. A brush tanker grumbled through the pasture gate and rolled to a creaking stop, and the sooty-faced driver climbed down.
“Everything's under control. A crew is standing by at a pole barn on the southwest side of the property. We want to make sure that mountain of hay bales is fully extinguished.” He shook his head apologetically. “I'm afraid the structure's a total loss.”
“The fire got that far?”
“With thirty-mile-an-hour winds and these heavy drought conditions, grass fires can travel up to 15 miles an hour.”
“There's a house out there. Was it...?”
“Nope, the guys set a backfire after we evacuated Deputy White-”
“Danielle? What was she doing out there?”
“Dunno, but Sheriff Campbell and Doc Browning were taking good care of her, last I saw. Anyways, the backfire burned up a hundred-yard-wide path that kept the wildfire from advancing when the wind changed. And we doused the building with retardant, just in case.”
Kellie exhaled slowly, stunned by the overload of information. “I can't thank you guys enough.
He grinned and saluted. “That's what you pay taxes for.”
Ed's patrol car eased up beside them, the door opened, and he leaped out of the car. “Kellie!”
He grabbed her, hugging her so hard she couldn't breathe. Her body trembled and the tears came, a lifetime of emotions returning all at once.
His husky voice rumbled through her hair. “Oh my God, I thought I'd lost you again.”
“Eddie, just hold me.”
Suddenly he cleared his throat and released her, stepping back and looking around in embarrassment. Roy, Sara, Cliff, Clarke, and several of the firemen were standing there, grinning at the spectacle.
Kellie started to laugh. “Don't you all have something else to do?” She turned back to Ed. “Where's Hyde?”
A wicked grin emphasized his answer. “He rode in the ambulance with Danielle...Did you know they had something going?”
“Hyde? And Danielle? Hardly!”
He chuckled. “Still waters and all that stuff.”
She took his arm. “I have a lot to tell you.”
“I'm going back out to your brother's house. You want to ride along? You can look over the rest of the property too.”
She glanced back at the soggy scene. Roy and her brothers were hosing down some horses and Sara was helping. Things seemed under control. She climbed into the front seat of the cruiser, memories sending startling images into her head. When was the last time she'd sat beside Ed in a car?
Fighting the hard knot of apprehension growing in her chest, she stared out the passenger window as he backed the vehicle away from the barn. Where was her life headed? Confusion muddled her thoughts as they drove down the lane. So many things to think about, including an ex-husband wanted for assault and on the run. Through all this, he hadn't been there...he'd never been there, really. The painful reality washed over her. Sara was the only reason Frank stayed around.
The car turned onto the east section road and moved along the rutted lane. Kellie stared through the windshield, struggling with the scene before her. The winter storage barn was gone, except for one pole at the far corner. Huge bales of hay glowed with the fires that still smoldered inside them. A full year's supply of feed destroyed.
Ed's tentative tone drifted in the close confines of the car. “Remember how we used to come out here?”
Her cheeks flamed, not from embarrassment, but from the heat of the memories. She nodded, but avoided looking at him. At that moment, her vulnerability would be her undoing.
A fireman flagged them down, then leaned in the window. His ruddy face glistened with sweat. Throwing a nervous glance toward Kellie, he lowered his voice.
“We found a body out in the field.”
She gasped and leaned forward, craning her neck to see where the fireman pointed. Who would be way out-?
“Oh God!” She fumbled for the door handle, fighting the stomach-turning thoughts that crashed through her head.
Ed grabbed her arm. “Kellie Jo!”
His sharp tone pierced her rush of panic and she sank back into the seat. No one had called her Kellie Jo since grade school, and then, only when she was in trouble. She willed her trembling hands to still, then glanced over at Ed's face.
His stern expression said it all. “You stay put. I'll be back in a few minutes.”
“Stop treating me like a child! I want to know who it is.”
His gaze softened and he squeezed her hand. “Please, Kellie, let me check it out first.”
Something in his tone calmed her reeling thoughts and she nodded. “Okay, but I'd like to take a look at the hay barn.”
“Just be careful.”
He left the car and headed across the field with the fireman. She took a deep breath, stepped out onto the crunchy black ground, and surveyed the destruction.
Six workers moved through the rubble, shoveling burned material, and inspecting heavier debris. One of the crew stepped away from the group and approached her.
“Watch your step, Ma'am. This side took the brunt of the fire.” He wiped his forehead. “I think some of the hay on the far side might be salvageable, but we won't know for a while.”
Numbed, she watched the firemen hack open the bales and spread the smoldering hay over the concrete floor. Other workers covered it with sand to smother any hidden sparks. Seeing the bales destroyed, her thoughts traveled to another time, and images of the small love nest she'd shared with Ed in that very spot. What fun they'd had arranging the bales into a fort that couldn't be seen. Memories pressed against her heart-months of heavy petting, then the final consummation of their love on graduation night. A stronger heat than the fire scorched through her senses and she drew in a long breath, trying to obliterate all the years between those memories and this.
Ed's voice whispered close by her ear. “Come back to the car with me.”
She turned, and her heart jerked at the sadness in his eyes. She started to ask, but changed her mind, suddenly sure she didn't want to hear what he had to say. He guided her gently into the front seat of the car. When he'd settled behind the wheel, he reached over and took her hand.
“...I don't know how to tell you this...” He stared at her for a moment. “That was Jethrow's body.”
“No! It's probably some itinerant-how can you be so sure?”
“The belt buckle.”
She recoiled, fighting the image of her nephew's burned body.
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Ed squeezed her hand. “I'm afraid there's more-it looks like he started the fire. We found five empty gas cans close by...I'm sure sorry.”
Grief stepped aside for disbelief. Jethrow was her kin, bonded through blood, thicker than water. Family was all-important-why would he do such a thing? His angry words rang through her head and she closed her eyes tightly against the truth. This was his revenge for all the imagined wrongs. But had he meant to die?
The dispatcher's voice crackled through the microphone, snapping her back to the present. Ed reached for the radio, giving her one more sorrowful look before his demeanor returned to an official one.
“Call the coroner out to the Sutton place. The southwest quadrant, Section Road 640...You have any news on Tina Brown?”
He put the radio back into its base and shook his head. “Tina didn't show up for her birthday party this afternoon. She left work early yesterday and no one's seen her since.”
Kellie shrugged. “She's so unreliable, that means nothing.”
“No, I have a real bad feeling about the girl. If your nephew could do this, he was capable of just about anything.” Ed stared out the windshield for a moment. “I'll take you back. I need to get to town.”
She grabbed his arm. “Take me over to Randy's. Please? I need some time by myself.”
He considered her for a moment, then nodded and put the car into gear as one of the firemen ran toward the car, waving his arms.
“Sheriff, you'd better come take a look at this.”
Kellie jumped out of the car before Ed could stop her. He glowered, but said nothing. Hesitating for only an instant, she caught up with him at the edge of the concrete slab that formed the floor of the pole barn. Stepping carefully through the smoldering hay, she focused on three men in sooty yellow gear who stood at the center of the destroyed structure, looking down at the floor. What had they found that was so important?
Ed turned to her, his voice hard as flint. “What is this?”
She gaped at a metal trap door in the floor. “I have no idea-a tornado shelter, maybe?”
Ed dropped to one knee and examined the large metal ring that had been installed as a handle. His hand moved to his belt, and he unsnapped the flap on his holster, then looked up at Kellie.
“Go back to the car.”
Her pulse jerked. The sinister grey of the handgun made the scenario so much more frightening. She met his gaze and shook her head no, but did step back a few paces. His jaw tightened, but he let it go.
The iron hinges complained loudly as he lifted the trap door. A musty, slightly sweet odor wafted up from the pitch black hole. One of the firemen aimed a high-powered flashlight into the dark, the brilliant wide beam illuminating concrete steps descending into the dark.
Ed pulled out his gun, and his voice dropped to a stage whisper. “Someone's been here recently.”
Kellie stared at the footprints on the dusty stairs, and her heart thumped against her ribs. Had Jethrow used this secret place as a hideout?
The firemen backed away from the opening, and Ed called out, “Logan County Sheriff Department. Anyone down there?”
A crow protested in the distance, emphasizing the heavy silence. Ed released the safety on his gun as he started down the stairwell, carefully avoiding the footprints. A second later, Kellie heard the scrape of wood on concrete. She held her breath, fear reaching into the corners of her mind. Please don't let anything happen to him.
A patrol car roared up and slammed to a stop. Two serious-faced deputies jumped out and hurried toward them.
“Folks, you'll have to move back off the concrete. This is a crime scene now.”
“Crime scene?” Kellie felt rather than heard the waver in her voice. “What happened?”
The young deputy shook his head. “I can't say, Ma'am.”
One of the firemen walked up to them. “We need to collect our gear and get back to the station. Is that okay?”
The deputy held up one hand, then spoke into the two-way radio on his shoulder. “Okay for the fire crew to leave?”
Ed's voice came through, loud and clear. “Affirmative, but we'll need to talk to them later.”
Irritation snatched at Kellie's patience. “What is going on? This is my property, and I have a right to know.”
The deputy's radio crackled again, and he stepped away as Ed emerged from the dark underground hideaway. Kellie searched Ed's face for some clue about what was going on, but she only saw disbelief in his expression. He spoke to a nearby deputy, then turned and headed toward her. A moment later, Frank emerged from the dark hole, handcuffed and head down.
Kellie gasped. “What was he doing down there?”
Ed blew out a long breath. “You really don't want to know.” He took her arm and gently turned her toward his vehicle. “You still want to go out to your brother's?”
“Yes. And I do want to know about Frank.”
The county coroner's van pulled up and a female technician leaned her head out the passenger window.
“Dispatch says you have two bodies. Is that right?”
Ed nodded. “One of my men will show you.”
The woman climbed out of the van, and the driver steered the vehicle toward the center of the scorched field.
Fear curled through Kellie's chest. What had Frank done? Who was dead? She climbed into the car and waited, composing her thoughts and wording her questions. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now.
Ed slid behind the steering wheel and removed his hat. His face looked haggard, and she felt a sudden urge to reach out to him, run her fingers over his cheek, tell him how much she still loved him. But in the face of all that had happened today, she felt vulnerable and forsaken. This wasn't the time to do something emotional.
The car eased forward through the burned grass, and he cleared his throat.
“I know you want some answers, and I'll try, but we don't know much right now. Frank says one of his track thug-buddies came looking for him, that they were going to kill him. He's saying self-defense, and that's probably true.”
“But why did they want to kill him? And how would they know to look in a tornado shelter that even I didn't know about?”
Ed's jaw hardened, but he didn't respond.
“Tell me!”
“There's a few million dollars worth of marijuana and heroin stashed down there.”
She gaped. “Drugs? Frank, the health-nut athlete? Why would he do such a thing? He's always had plenty of money. And I think he's done pretty good at the track...or maybe this has something to do with that racehorse that died.”
Ed reached over and grasped her hand. “It doesn't matter why-Frank's in a lot of trouble. He shot and wounded a law enforcement officer, he killed a man, and he's clearly involved in drug dealing. I can't come up with a good enough excuse for any one of those charges.”
Kellie focused on the warmth of Ed's hand and the sensations it generated. In one long day, her life had been transformed forever. She didn't know how she would handle those changes, but one thing was sure-she needed some time to put the present and the future into perspective.
The car eased into the gravel behind Randy's house, and Ed turned to her, his eyes reflecting a lifetime of sadness.
“I think I understand how you must be feeling. A lot has happened, none of it good...” He took a ragged breath. “But I want you to know that I'll be here if you need me.”
His vulnerability shook her confidence. She opened her mouth to reply, but he held up a hand. “Don't say anything right now. When you're finished here, call me and I'll come back to take you home.”
“My phone battery's dead.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white phone. “I keep this for emergencies.”
She took the phone, then opened the car door and stepped out onto the land that had given and taken everything she'd ever wanted.
Chapter 22
Smoothing her hand along the back of an armchair, Kellie gazed a
t the subtle changes in the living room. The protective furniture sheets were neatly folded in a stack on the end of the couch. The drapes had been opened wide. The morning newspaper lay on the coffee table, folded open to the latest story about the Sutton Ranch. Understanding hit her hard. He was going to come back after he destroyed us. Live here like nothing happened. Bile rose in her throat and she turned her back on the familiar room. Jethrow's rabid hatred obliterated all the good memories, leaving her with nothing but a sense of failure and loss. She never wanted to see this place again.
As she headed back toward the kitchen, her thoughts turned to Frank. Where had she failed as a wife and a partner? What could have driven him to get involved in something so dangerous? She closed her eyes against a new pain seeping into the outer edges of her mind. Sara would be devastated.
The red cooler still sat on the floor by the stove. Out of curiosity, she opened it. Soda, cheese, lunchmeat, apples-enough for several days. On the counter next to the sink, an ashtray overflowed with crushed cigarette butts. How long had he been out here? Stalking her, maiming her horses, plotting his wicked revenge. She stared at the smokers' debris and a prickle of apprehension crawled up the nape of her neck. She stepped closer to peer at the odiferous stubs. Bright pink lipstick stained two of the butts-Tina had been there.
Kellie spun around and scanned the room, looking for more clues. Had the girl been there at the same time as she and Sara? She might have been hiding in the bedroom. Kellie hurried down the hall, glancing into the bathroom as she passed. The first bedroom was undisturbed, the bedspread faded, the top of the bureau clear. The second bedroom-Jethrow's childhood room-told a different story. The bed was rumpled and a dingy towel lay on the linoleum. The air smelled sour and vaguely familiar.
A square of paper lay on the floor under the edge of the bed, and she picked it up. Tina Brown gazed back from the snapshot, bare-breasted and smiling seductively at the camera. Ed's concern echoed through Kellie's thoughts and a chill ran over her skin. Would Travis Mack have trusted this girl with his plans? Not likely.
