The Widows of Wichita County

by Jodi Thomas

  After a few more assaults, Zack must have known Carlo planned to make good on his promise, so he started hitting back.

  Anna screamed, knowing she had to help, had to stop this before one of the two men were dead. Begging her brother to stop, she moved closer.

  Zack glanced at her. He seemed to be saying, "It's all right. I can take care of myself. Don't worry, Anna. Don't be afraid."

  But before he could say anything, Carlo landed another blow hard against Zack's jaw.

  "Hold on!" Zack tried reason one last time. "There is no need…"

  Anna stepped between Zack and her brother as Carlo raised his fist once more. She cried, pleading with Carlo in two languages for she knew he would not stop until Zack was dead. She begged for his life.

  Carlo's fist flew into the side of her face, knocking her off the ground. She tumbled against the hearth like a broken doll.

  "I will deal with you later!" he yelled. The toe of his boot slammed into her middle, sending her rolling again, into the brick. "I will make it so you will never leave this house again. I will see that no one ever looks at you again."

  Anna watched knowing Zack was not a fighter. He told her that, except for a few times when he had been drunk, he had never hit anyone in his life.

  But he fought now. He fought for his life. He fought for Anna.

  He plowed blow after blow into Carlo's stout body, paying no mind that Carlo hit him back, no pain seemed to matter. They rolled across the room, toppling chairs, breaking tables and lamps. Carlo swore at him in two languages and laughed each time he drew blood.

  Zack tripped over the rug and hit the floor with a thud. He tried to stand but the fight was taking its toll.

  Anna watched in horror as Carlo lifted a wrought-iron floor lamp high like a weapon.

  The first blow slammed into the side of Zack's head. The second into his rib cage. Each drew blood.

  "No!" Anna screamed. "N-no! Put it down. You will kill him!"

  Wiping the blood from his eyes, Zack tried to block the next assault, but Carlo swung the lamp once more.

  Anna pulled herself up on the hearth, feeling the hits as if they were on her body and not Zack's. Blindly, she grabbed the Colt Carlo had left for her. With shaking hands she pointed it toward her brother.

  Carlo laughed without fear. "Say goodbye to your lover, Anna! You will not see him again in this lifetime." He raised the lamp higher to make sure the impact would crush his bones.

  Zack fought to get out of the way but he was fading in and out of consciousness.

  The lamp started toward his head.

  A shot rang out.

  The world shifted to slow motion with the sudden explosion. Carlo looked surprised, then turned his anger toward his sister. The lamp fell from his hands tumbling against Zack's legs.

  "Anna," Zack managed to whisper before he fell backward.

  The wide-open Texas land had an edge to it, never quite calm. It bred risk takers like white water breeds danger. Generations descended from desperadoes, wildcatters and gamblers.

  December 18

  8:00 a.m.

  Sherrif's Office County Courthouse

  Granger wasn't sure which he hated most: ice, or people who thought they could drive on it. He'd been on the roads once before dawn and finally found a minute to check in with the office. Inez was on the morning shift, but busy on the phone. Granger figured he'd do some paperwork and let Adam handle the roads for a while. He would send Inez home to read her spy novels on her own time.

  When he walked through the door, he heard Inez scream, "911 coming in!" If her voice had been a little lower, she would have made a great extra in a WWI film. The whole battlefield could have heard her yell.

  Calls to the department were common, but folks never used 911 unless it was something horrible or somebody had died. Even then it was usually natural causes or an accident so the hospital handled the call, because things like murder never happened in Clifton Creek. The last emergency call that came through had been the oil rig fire several months `go.

  "Montano Ranch!" Inez yelled with her hand over the bottom half of the phone. "There's been a shooting and a rape!"

  Granger grabbed the extra phone. "Sheriff Farrington…"

  He didn't get time to say more before the caller was shouting.

  Granger knew it was Carlo Vangetti by the accent. He had talked to Carlo enough months back to remember his voice well. "Calm down, Carlo. We're on our way. Yes, we'll bring an ambulance."

  Inez was already on the other line giving the hospital instructions to send out Will, the only full-time medic in town,

  "Trouble at the Montano place again. Trouble again."

  Granger hung up his phone. "Get any details you can. Call Adam and tell him to back me up. The dented fend will have to wait."

  Inez nodded, her spy novel forgotten.,

  Hitting the lights and siren buttons, Granger sped out of the parking lot. He knew Inez would get calls about all the noise, but he didn't want to lose a second. He flew past Meredith pulling into work, her car clanking and sputtering, as always.

  The roads were bad, but once he hit the Farm-to-Market cutoff, it was a straight shot to the Montano place. The ambulance lights blinked in his rearview mirror, a half mile behind.

  A dozen men who looked as if they worked on the ranch stood around in front of the main house as the sheriff pulled up.

  Granger jumped from his car. "What happened?"

  "Don't know," one of the men said. "I thought I heard a shot, but there was no answer when I knocked. Carlo would be real upset if we bothered Mrs. Montano for no reason."

  Ignoring questions, Granger ran up the steps and pounded the front door. "Carlo! You in there?" He thought he heard a yell but the place was like a fort.

  Granger stormed around the side of the house and tried the door near the garage. None of the men followed. They acted as though some invisible line prevented their stepping any further.

  The side door opened. Granger turned and waved the ambulance onto the driveway, then stepped inside.

  He crossed the kitchen and noticed Carlo leaning against the wall with the phone clenched in his fist. Dark blood spots from his body had marked the wall in several places. Adrenaline must have been shooting like wildfire through his veins, for he talked as fast as he could in two languages.

  But none of it made any sense. His normally dark skin was pale. He must have lost a great deal of blood, but a fire still smoldered in him as if he had one more battle yet to fight. "Settle down." Granger tried to stay calm, but Carlo's panic bombarded him. Blood dripped from several spots on his face and arms. His knuckles were raw, and his left pant leg was soaked in crimson.

  Granger put his arm around Carlo and tried to maneuver him to a chair, but the stout man would not cooperate.

  "He must have broken in sometime last night!" Carlo yelled beyond the kitchen to the huge living room as though someone else needed to hear him besides the sheriff. "He was beating Anna when I checked on her this morning. Then the bastard shot me."

  "Who?"

  "Zack Laison." Carlo looked like he wanted to spit the words out. "That worthless rancher from next door. Davis never liked the man. I should have been more careful about leaving Anna alone. It is my fault."

  The boys from the hospital banged in through the door with supply boxes and a stretcher. Will was the only hospital employee who drove the ambulance, and Granger wonded if he didn't sleep in the back on one of the stretchers. Will had talked the nursing program at the college into requiring each of their students to volunteer shifts to help him, so there was always a kid or two with him.

  Will took one look at Carlo and nodded toward Granger as if silently saying he would take over now.

  "Where is Anna?" Granger tried to get Carlo to look ü him. After seeing her brother, Granger did not want to think about what shape she might be in.

  Carlo did not answer. He swatted at Will and his assistants as though they were flies bothe
ring him.

  "We need to find her and get her to the hospital."Granger tried to get past Carlo. "I'll worry about Larson later."

  Carlo grabbed Farrington's shirt with bloody hands.

  "She is fine! Wants to be left alone. Do not touch her, or I swear I will…"

  "Now settle down, Carlo. No one else is going to hurt your sister. I just need to have her checked out for injuries and get her statement." Granger pulled out of Carlo's grip.

  "I will give you her statement." Carlo shouted as Will and the two volunteers moved in on him.

  Granger ignored him. While the medic examined Carlo cuts and wound, the sheriff stepped into the great room.,he had been here before, after Davis Montano's funeral. The place reminded him more of a hotel lobby than a home.

  Now, it was a wreck. He had seen bar fights that left a room in more order. Sunlight knifed its way through the east windows, slicing the room in sections. A quilt lay crumpled on the couch, clothes were scattered across the floor, Travis Tritt's voice echoed through the rubble from speakers, mounted high on every wall.

  The smell of blood blended with the scent of a püion fire burned low.

  Granger almost tripped over a body in the shadows.!`Guys, we got another man hurt in here," he shouted toward will.

  "Let him bleed to death!" Carlo yelled. "He raped my sister!"

  Granger knelt and touched Zack's throat. He was still alive, though judging from the wounds he wouldn't be for long if he didn't get attention.

  Carlo struggled with the two young men trying to get him on a gurney. "If you put that man in the ambulance with me, I will finish killing him before I get to the hospital. I swear."

  Granger saw Will jab a shot into Carlo's arm. "Just relax, friend. We're going to take care of you." Will motioned, instructing his two assistants.

  Carlo jerked away with the last of his strength. "I do not want you to take care of me. I want you to hang Zack Larlon. He tried to kill me. He hurt my sister."

  Will and his helpers were used to handling drunks and cowboys at the rodeo. Before Carlo could react, they rolled him onto the gurney and strapped him in.

  The medic signaled for the assistants to get the patient to the ambulance while he hurried to Granger's side. "Is Larson alive?"

  "For now."

  While he shouted orders to the young men now outside, Will cracked open his tool box of medical supplies. He worked like a pro. "I'll get him stable and to the hospital. He's had a bad blow or two to the head. Which puts him in a great deal more danger than that Italian with a nickel's worth of lead in his leg."

  "What about Carlo's threat? Can you transport them both?"

  "The shot I gave Vangetti will keep him sleeping like a baby for a while." Will grinned. "We'll give him a local and take care of that leg. The only danger he's in is dying of a heart attack if he doesn't calm down."

  As one assistant returned, Granger stood and looked around the room.

  "Anna!" he called. "Anna!" He walked carefully, afraid he might stumble over her also. If Carlo was telling the truth she could be hurt or even dead.

  He noticed the gun on the hearth and let out a long breath. If she'd been assaulted and was armed, it could be dangrous. Most of these ranches had several guns around the place.

  "Anna." Granger moved through the house. "Mrs. Montaro, it's all over. You can come out now. You're safe."

  He'd worked enough rapes in years past to know that the last person a victim wanted to see was a man. Anna might know him, but Granger doubted she would trust him. Maybe the uniform would help her know she was no longer in danger. The lady didn't like talking before, and after what might have happened to her, he held little hope she would give him a statement.

  "Anna?"

  The master bedroom was locked, but he heard her whimpering. "Anna. Are you all right?"

  "G-go a-away." Her voice was so low he barely heard it.

  "I'm here to help you, Anna. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Open the door." In a big city he might have been more insistent, telling her she was a witness and if she didn't cooperate she could be held in contempt of court. But in Clifton Creek that kind of thing wouldn't fly. He had to be careful.

  "I-I'm all right. Go away."

  "I just need to ask you a few questions."

  A silence followed. He could hear her moving toward the door.

  "Open the door," he said, leaning against the wood.

  "N-no," she whispered from the other side.

  "I can help you."

  There was a long pause before the door opened a few inches. "I-is Zack still alive?"

  "Yes. We're taking him and your brother to the hospital. You want to ride along with me?" Granger wanted to push the door open, but he couldn't frighten her more.

  She raised her head slightly and he saw the bruises. It lurked like Zack Larson had done a thorough job of beating her. "G-go away. I-I will be fine."

  Granger couldn't force Anna to cooperate. She was like a frightened animal who'd been wounded.

  "If we're going to file charges on the man who did this to you, we're going to need your help."

  "G-go away." She closed the door. A moment later the lock snapped in place.

  Granger heard Adam's voice coming from the living room. The deputy had made good time.

  He hated leaving Anna, but he wasn't sure he was doing any good.

  They were rolling Zack out when Granger stepped back Into the main room. "You want me to wait for the woman?" Will asked. "We've got a nurse over in the next county that can do a rape exam."

  "I'll bring her," Granger said. "Adam, see if you can get Helena Whitworth on the phone. Maybe Anna will go in with a friend by her side."

  Adam stumbled over a lamp. He had been a deputy long enough to wear out several uniforms and outgrow a few.

  "And be careful," Granger snapped. "We got a crime scene here, and I'm not at all sure what happened." Something bothered him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Carlo's account didn't fit the facts.

  "Breaking and entering. Rape. Attempted murder. Zack Larson won't be seeing freedom any time soon," Adam mumbled as he headed for the phone on the kitchen wall. He carried an attitude that said he had seen it all during his years as deputy and already knew who was guilty.

  "Thanks." Granger frowned. "Saved us a lot of time sifting through this mess. How about we just go hang him like Carlo suggested?"

  "That would be too good for him, hurting a fine lady like Mrs. Montano." Adam shook his head. "I remember back several years ago when Larson wasn't even out of high school. Caused all kinds of trouble. Appears he hasn't changed his stripes."

  Granger memorized the room as Adam tried several numbers to find Helena Whitworth. The gun was too far to have fallen from Zack's hand and Zack didn't look like he could have been in any condition to circle the room after he'd shot Carlo.

  Will stepped back inside to grab his box of supplies.

  Granger followed a hunch. "Bag his hands for me, Will."

  "Which one, Carlo or Zack?"

  "Both. I'll be in as soon as I can to run a powder test."

  Will waved and disappeared out the door.

  "No luck," Adam yelled from the kitchen. "I talked with Mrs. Whitworth's daughter at the store. She said her mommi might have taken the phone off the hook to sleep in."

  "Try Meredith Allen at the courthouse." Granger frowned. "No, wait. I'll call her."

  He took a breathe before saying, "Meredith, this is Granger. I need you to come out to the Montano Ranch. I want you to drive carefully, but get here as fast as you can."

  Granger hung up the phone.

  "What'd she say?" Adam asked.

  "She said she's on her way."

  Adam didn't look like he believed the sheriff. "Didn't she ask any questions? Like what was going on? Or why we'd want her out here in the middle of nowhere on a cold day like this?"

  "She knew I wouldn't have asked if I hadn't needed her." Granger smiled to himself. "You'd bett
er head to the hospital. As of right now, Zack Larson is in our custody. Don't let him out of your sight. I don't want anyone talking to him when he comes to. Understand? No one."

  "You got it, chief." Adam headed out. "Do I smell overtime'?"

  "Looks that way. Call Inez on your radio and see if she can get hold of someone from campus security. Maybe Phil can handle the calls coming into our office until we get this settled. With the college out for holidays he's not doing anything but circling empty buildings. And tell Inez to order lunch delivered on me. She's to stay on the desk until I get back."

  "She'll have time to finish a whole book." Adam laughed an he casually saluted goodbye.

  Granger watched him leave as he retrieved his equipment from the trunk of his patrol car. Using the kitchen table, he spread out everything he would need. By the time Meredith arrived, he had already taken a dozen pictures and collected samples of blood. He'd also bagged one of the iron lamps that had blood and hair on it as well as the small Colt.

  Meredith took one look at the room and whispered "Anna?"

  "I don't think she's hurt bad, but I need to get her examined at the hospital." Granger hated telling Meredith, but he needed her help. "Her brother said Zack Larson raped her this morning."

  He wasn't sure how he had expected Meredith to act. Cry probably. Maybe even fall apart. But she didn't. For the first time, he saw it. The steel inside her. The teacher who must have wiped bloody noses and cleaned up after sick children a thousand times. The one who had to be calm, no matter what the chaos.

  "You can handle this, can't you?" He met her gaze.

  She nodded and he realized behind the reindeer sweater and necklace of Christmas lights was a soldier who had faced the front and lived to tell about it.

  "Her face is bruised." He led Meredith down the hallway "If you suspect any other injuries, we need to deal with their first. Try not to handle her clothes any more than necessary. They're evidence. And get her to tell you what happened if you can."

  Granger tapped on the door. "Anna, Meredith Allen here to see you."

  The bolt clicked open.