Manhunt (A Rocky Mountain Thriller Book 1)

by Ann Voss Peterson

  And their camera was pointed right at her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  SHANNA AND JACE DUCKED INTO the vestibule. So much for her new identity. If that news camera was on, it had caught her on tape. Even with the new hair and sunglasses, someone could recognize her.

  She might not have as much time as she’d hoped.

  Shanna plunged her hand into the pocket of her new coat. Locating her wallet, she dug out Linda’s key card. At one side of the door was a small panel. She stood to the side, trying to avoid the camera she knew was in the console. She pushed the card into the slot and punched in Linda’s number.

  The machine didn’t respond.

  “Great. The machine picked today to malfunction.” Unless she’d entered the number wrong. She removed her sunglasses and stuffed them into her coat pocket, still careful to avoid the security camera peering out of the machine. Fingers trembling, she punched in Linda’s number again, focusing on each digit, making certain she had it correct.

  Still, nothing.

  “The machine must be broken. There’s another entrance on the other side of the building. We’ll have to try that one.” She hit the eject button and waited for the card to spit out.

  Nothing happened.

  She couldn’t believe this. She hit the button again. She’d beat the machine silly if it thought it was going to swallow her card.

  “Shanna?” Jace stared through the glass door leading into the inside hall. At the far end of the hall, a security guard walked toward them.

  Shanna’s hands shook so much she could hardly control them enough to try the button again. Was this more than a malfunction? Had Barstow flagged Linda’s card in some way? Had he guessed she would go to her friend for help?

  She remembered the police showing up at Linda’s door the night before. Maybe they’d been watching Linda’s place. Maybe they were waiting for her to show.

  “I hope you can get us out of this.”

  She hoped she could, too.

  The guard drew closer. He was big, well over six feet, and his bulk blocked the dim light from inside the hall. He reached the vestibule door. Sunlight streaming in from outside illuminated a doughy face set with bright blue eyes. A thin goatee framed his thin lips.

  Dirk.

  “It’s okay. He’s a friend. I should be able to talk to him.”

  “A friend?”

  “He asks me out about once a month.”

  “So he has a soft spot for you… as long as being accused of killing two men doesn’t lessen his attraction.”

  “Men are funny that way.”

  Dirk arrived at the door, and Shanna gave him what she hoped was an embarrassed yet flirtatious smile.

  He opened the door, blocking the entrance with his big frame. He stared at her for a moment, brows crunched low over his eyes. “Shanna?”

  “Hi, Dirk. Don’t say you didn’t recognize me.”

  “You changed your hair.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “It looks great. But then any way you wore your hair would look great.” His thin lips curved in a smile, as if blissfully unaware he was looking at an accused murderer.

  Apparently Dirk didn’t watch the news.

  He narrowed his eyes on Jace. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

  Jace gave him a pained smile.

  “This is John Sebastian, Dirk. Mr. Sebastian is working on PR for the mill project. I told him I’d let him in the side entrance so he could avoid all that.” Shanna gestured toward the front of the building.

  Dirk nodded to Jace. “Damn protestors.”

  “We need to get in to the building without attracting attention outside,” Shanna said. “Can you help? I think my card is jammed.”

  Dirk frowned down at the machine. “It’s not your card.”

  “Is the machine broken?”

  “No. I mean, the card. It’s not yours.”

  A small detail she’d hoped he wouldn’t notice. “Yeah. I left mine in my office. Linda let me use hers so I could get in this morning. It’s kind of an emergency, with the protest and everything.”

  “You’re supposed to call security if something like that happens, Shanna. You’re never supposed to use someone else’s card.”

  “I know. I was just in a hurry. And with this mine protest business, I’m a little at loose ends.”

  He punched a few buttons. He frowned and hit a few more. Finally the machine coughed up the card. Dirk slipped it into his pocket. “Tell Linda to see me this morning to get her card back.”

  No, no, no. If Dirk made a big deal about this, it was only a matter of time before Mr. Barstow would zero in on her friend. If he hadn’t already. “Come on, Dirk. This is my fault. Not Linda’s.”

  “Each person is responsible for their own card.”

  “But I talked her in to it. I pleaded with her.” She could feel Jace watching her, but she kept her eyes glued to Dirk. “You can write me up or whatever you need to do, but forget I ever had Linda’s card, would you?”

  Dirk scuffed his big feet on the tile floor. “I don’t know, Shanna. I suppose I could fill out a report stating that you lost your card.”

  “And not mention Linda?”

  “Her card was logged in to the machine.”

  “Can you log it out as if she popped in and then left?”

  He hesitated. “I guess I could.”

  Shanna let out the breath she’d been holding. She could feel Jace’s tension ease, too, though she didn’t dare look at him. “Thanks, Dirk. I really appreciate this.”

  The big man nodded and smiled. “You’ll have to come with me to the guard’s station to fill out the report.”

  Shanna’s relief vanished. The last place she wanted to go was the lobby. Not with the television cameras out front. Not with her coworkers bound to see her. Not with Mr. Barstow’s inevitable entrance. “Is that necessary? We’re kind of in a hurry.”

  Dirk looked from her to Jace. The grin dropped from his thin lips, and they twitched downward in a frown. “Who did you say this was?”

  “Sebastian. Public relations,” Jace said, convincingly.

  At least Shanna hoped Dirk would find it convincing.

  Dirk narrowed his bright blue eyes on her. “You’re in accounting. What do you have to do with a PR man? And why isn’t there a Sebastian on my list?”

  “I’m just doing a favor for—”

  “Do you think I’m stupid, Shanna?” Dirk shook his big head slowly. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask the two of you to come with me.”

  ______

  Jace sized up the guard, noting the pistol in the behemoth’s holster. It would be tough to take him. But if Shanna couldn’t flirt her way out of this mess, Jace didn’t have a lot of options.

  “I can’t go with you, Dirk. I’m sorry.” She took a step backward, toward the door.

  Dirk glanced from Shanna to Jace and back again. “What’s going on, Shanna? Who is he? Really?”

  “He’s no one.”

  No one? Maybe Jace should be offended. Instead—in the interest of getting out of this building without having to get his butt kicked—he decided he’d try to look like no one.

  “He’s just trying to help me.”

  The guard’s frown deepened. “Why do you need help?”

  “Frankly, I don’t know. But I’ll try to explain.”

  Dirk tilted his head to the side. He looked like he wanted to believe her. Like he wanted to hear her explanation. But Shanna’s story was so outlandish there was no guarantee the guard could swallow it no matter how willing. Jace had certainly had some trouble. Even Linda had balked at first, and Linda was Shanna’s best friend.

  “You know the company hunting trip? I was invited this year. And while we were out in the mountains, Mr. Barstow tried to shoot me.”

  Dirk shook his big head, as if tossing off the incongruous idea like a wet dog shakes off water.

  Jace tensed. Maybe if he could get a hold of the guard’s g
un, he’d have a chance.

  Shanna splayed her hands in front of her, palms up. “I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out. Please, Dirk?”

  If Jace was the guard, he’d already be on the phone. But to his relief, the man-mountain just watched Shanna and waited for her to continue.

  “I got away, but two men died. The outfitter and Mr. Davis.”

  “Ronald Davis?”

  “Yes. Shot by Mr. Barstow. And now he’s blaming their murders on me.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I need to get in to my office. I think there’s something I stumbled on that Mr. Barstow wants kept secret. Maybe Mr. Davis knew about it, too.”

  Dirk nodded, as if he was not only listening to Shanna, but also actually believing her story.

  Amazing.

  Obviously Dirk found Shanna attractive. How could he not? But the look in his eyes said more. As long as Dirk’s brain didn’t kick in, maybe Shanna could talk him in to believing anything.

  “The sheriff was hunting with us, too. He’s in on this with Mr. Barstow.”

  “The sheriff? What about Palmer police?”

  “They believe what they’ve been told. That I shot two men. That I’m a murderer. But I’m not, Dirk. You know that, don’t you?”

  Tension clamped down on the back of Jace’s neck once again. He didn’t like Shanna laying things out so clearly, asking for Dirk’s trust point-blank. It was a gutsy move…and one that could easily backfire.

  Dirk frowned and hunched his Wyoming-size shoulders.

  Shanna touched his arm. “You know me, Dirk. You know I’m not capable of doing something like that. Never. Remember the time you killed that mouse in my office?”

  Dirk’s distressed expression didn’t change, but he managed a laugh. “You were so upset. I would have thought it was your pet, had I not known better.”

  “Can you imagine me killing a person? Any person?”

  Dirk met her eyes. His jaw went soft. “No.”

  “Then you have to let me run up to my office. Just for a few minutes. I need the chance to clear my name.”

  “I can’t let you in. Not now that your card has been flagged.”

  “Can’t you unflag it? Say it was a mistake?”

  The big guy actually swayed on his feet, as if being pulled by two invisible and opposing forces.

  “Please, Dirk. You’re my only chance.”

  The guard pulled a notebook and pen from his jacket and scrawled a telephone number and address. He ripped out the page and handed it to Shanna. “I need to get back to the lobby, but if you need more help, you just ask.”

  Shanna stuffed the paper in her pocket. “Thank you, Dirk. You might have just saved my life.”

  The guard held the door open for Shanna to slip through. As Jace followed, the soft expression in the guard’s eyes changed to challenge.

  A man claiming his territory with all the subtlety of a bull elk during the rut.

  At least Jace knew one thing. The guard might be promising to help Shanna, but he had plans of his own.

  And those plans didn’t include Jace.

  ______

  Shanna settled into the familiar contours of her work chair and tried to focus, despite Jace’s relentless pacing and peeking into the hall every other second. She was still shaking from their close call with Dirk, but what had her really jangled was how she felt she no longer belonged in her own office.

  How could she have not sensed this before? How could she have spent fifty hours a week in front of this desk and not have felt the dangerous undercurrents flowing around her?

  She sure felt them now.

  Shanna picked up the picture of Emily that she’d snapped on their minivacation to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody last summer. She removed the photo from its frame and slipped it into her pocket. She didn’t care about the rest of her things. Let Barstow do whatever he wanted with them. But she wasn’t leaving a picture of her daughter in this place. She was sorry she’d taken the job at Talbot. She was sorry she’d brought Emily into this at all.

  She just prayed the files would provide a way to get her daughter out. To get them both out.

  She booted up her computer, located a spare flash drive from her desk, and glanced up at Jace, who was still pacing her office floor. “Something’s bothering you.”

  “I don’t trust him.”

  “Who?”

  “Your guard friend.” He stopped and met her eyes, as if to check out her reaction.

  Shanna shook her head and typed in her password. She could understand why Jace was so keyed up after their close call. She’d felt his tension in the vestibule. She’d seen him eye Dirk’s gun. She’d sensed him getting ready to jump the guard if Shanna hadn’t been able to reach him.

  Strangely enough, Shanna hadn’t doubted Dirk would come around. Once she’d started explaining, she knew he’d believe her. She wanted to trust his offer of help was real. Of course, her judgment of men had proven to be lacking. “Do you think he’ll call the police? Or Barstow?”

  “Maybe not. But I still don’t trust him. He wants something, and he thinks by helping, he can get it.”

  “Wants something? What?”

  “You.”

  Her cheeks heated like a teenage girl’s. She didn’t know why she felt so flustered. She’d known Dirk had a crush on her for months. She’d even talked about it with Linda, no blushing involved. But this was different, and the only reason she could figure was that this time the observation was coming from Jace.

  She looked down at the computer, taking a moment to regain her composure. “We needed his help to get into the building.”

  “And you trust him?”

  “Shouldn’t I?”

  “He’s in this for you. How reliable do you think he’ll be once he figures out you aren’t interested in the same outcome as he is?”

  She wanted to toss out a great comeback. Question why he thought she wasn’t interested in the same thing as Dirk. But she knew Jace wouldn’t buy it. And she’d never been very good at playing those games. Not when the outcome mattered.

  “If I can find something, I won’t have to worry about what Dirk thinks.” She logged into the system and called up the files she’d worked on during the past three months.

  Jace peered over her shoulder. “That’s a load of files.”

  “The files are listed under each mine’s approximate location.”

  “How about the mill?”

  “Red Desert Basin Mill.”

  Shanna scanned through her project list. Then she scanned it again, slower. “This is weird.”

  “What?”

  “The mill. It’s not here.”

  “You sure?”

  “It must be a mistake.” She hit a few keys and did a system search.

  It came up empty.

  A crystal-sharp trill ran over her nerves. “This is impossible. It’s as if the file never existed.”

  “Anything else missing?”

  Shanna’s heart thumped hard against her ribs. Her lungs felt tight, as if she’d just finished running in high altitude. “I don’t know. I don’t remember. I’ve done a lot of projects in the past three months.”

  “When did you work on the mill?”

  “I finished the updated profit projection maybe two weeks ago.”

  “What did you work on since?”

  She entered the new search parameters. The mill had been a big project. With the time she’d taken off to get ready once she’d been invited on the hunt, she’d only done one project since. “I did an analysis of a mine Talbot has invested money in.”

  The search came up empty. “That’s not here either.”

  “What mine?”

  “Hell’s Half Acre Mine. It’s right near the canyon.”

  “What did you work on before the mill?”

  She conducted another search. This time, a list of files appeared. She went down the column. “There’s only on
e more missing. Another mine not too far from the mill.”

  “Red Desert Basin again?”

  “Yes.” Shanna stared at the computer, her mind spinning. She tried a few more specialized searches.

  Nothing.

  “Everything I’ve worked on in the last month is gone. Wiped from the system. It’s as if the mill and the two mines never existed.” She thrust herself from her chair. “So whatever it is that Barstow is trying to hide has to do with those two mines and the mill.”

  “Or something that happened in the past month. You have a calendar?”

  Shanna opened her desk drawer and pulled out a small paper desk calendar.

  “Old school, huh?”

  “I guess. I like to write things down and check them off.”

  “Grab the pages from the last month or so. Maybe it will jog your memory.”

  She paged through previous weeks and ripped them off the calendar. “At least they didn’t think to take these. Of course, that might mean they aren’t worth taking.”

  “Or they didn’t know about your paper calendar fetish.”

  “Crossing off my to-do list isn’t as satisfying on my computer or phone.” Shanna stuffed the calendar pages into her coat pocket. “None of this makes sense. What possible reason would they have for deleting the files? The company is trying to get the mill up and running. That’s no secret. Why would they want to pretend it doesn’t exist?”

  “Maybe they just want to pretend the records don’t exist. Was there something sensitive there? Something that might keep the mill from opening?”

  “You mean, something the protestors could use?”

  “Exactly.”

  She searched her memory but came up empty. “The environmental groups are worried about safety, radiation, ground water, that sort of thing. Like I said before, I don’t have anything to do with that part of Talbot. I never see those reports.”

  “Then maybe there are financial concerns about the mill. Things that the protestors could use to stall the reopening, even if it has little to do with the mill’s safety.”

  She shook her head. “The mill’s financing is solid. It’s running in the red now, but when it’s operational it will bring a lot of money into Talbot.”

  “I remember Talbot releasing that news a while ago. It was the reason its stock price went up so dramatically. Hell, even I invested.”