Manhunt (A Rocky Mountain Thriller Book 1)

by Ann Voss Peterson

  Unless…

  He set the bottle back on the vanity.

  Maybe he didn’t have to sit back and let her take on this burden. If he could get that key…

  He opened the mirror and started rummaging through the bottles in the medicine cabinet. He plucked a bottle from the shelf and read the dosage guidelines before prying open the cap. Yes, that would do. It was even in capsule form. He spilled a dose into his palm and slipped it in his pocket. He just needed one of those crystal tumblers from the wet bar.

  He was about to close the cabinet when a pair of scissors and a razor caught his eye. He set them out on the countertop and located some shaving cream. Perfect.

  Leaving the bathroom, he carried the bottle of scotch back to the living room.

  Shanna still sat on the couch, arms wrapped around her chest, the key probably still in her pocket.

  He held the bottle up and gave her a look he hoped she would read as apologetic. “I hate to drink alone. Want one? Just a splash? It’ll take the edge off.”

  She gave a reluctant nod.

  He doubted she even wanted a drink. But he knew she couldn’t turn down his peace offering. That damn sense of decency running through her was too strong for her to reject his bid to make amends.

  He poured two tumblers of Glenlivet and spilled the sleeping pills into one.

  Shanna would never forgive him, of that he was certain. But she’d have a shot, and so would Emily. He could give them that. And he had every intention of returning after his visit to the bus station so he could explain his reasons to her, face-to-face.

  And if something should go wrong, at least this time laying his head on the chopping block was his own idea.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  SHANNA STRUGGLED TO OPEN HER eyes despite the pounding in her head. What had happened? She must have fallen asleep. The last thing she remembered was talking to Jace, drinking the scotch he’d poured for her, then deciding to take a little nap before leaving for the bus station.

  Her eyes ached. Her lower lids were swollen from tears. Her head felt like fog punctuated by a splitting headache. She sat up on the love seat and looked around the cabin. She didn’t hear Jace. Had he gone to bed?

  She forced herself up on unsteady feet and walked through the kitchen. She climbed the stairs and checked the bedrooms. No Jace.

  An uneasy feeling nipped at the back of her neck. Where could he be? The garage?

  After they’d run from Dirk’s house, they’d doubled back to the park along the river and left Dirk’s car. There, they’d picked up their motorbikes from the spot they’d left them earlier in the day. One of the bikes was running a little rough. Could that be what Jace was up to? Fixing the bike?

  She made her way back down the stairs and through the kitchen. Peeking her head into the garage, her unease turned to full-fledged alarm.

  Not only was Jace nowhere to be found, but one of the motorbikes was missing. Shanna slipped her hand into the pocket of her jeans.

  Her fingers touched nothing but lint.

  ______

  Jace inserted the key into the bus-station locker. The mechanism turned with a click. Sucking in a breath, he pulled the door open and peered inside.

  A black, zipped case filled the small space. Glancing over his shoulder in as blasé a way as he could muster, he pulled the case from the locker and let out the breath he’d been holding.

  So far, so good.

  He shrugged the strap over his shoulder and walked from the station. Approaching the door, he spotted the security camera staring down at him. A weary employee nodded to him from behind the ticket counter. A janitor didn’t even look up from the floor he was mopping.

  Jace pushed through the door and stepped into the cool dawn. The town was still, the air quiet. Even the birds were hushed, most either leaving or already left for warmer climes.

  He wished he could join them. Him and Shanna and Emily.

  Jace shivered and hiked the collar of his coat higher around his neck. What he wouldn’t give for his hat right now. He had no idea how cold an autumn morning could be without his hat…or his hair.

  Unable to resist, he raised his hand to his head and ran his fingers over his smooth scalp. Being bald was a little surreal. Though judging from the ease with which he’d slipped in and out of the bus station, it was plenty effective. Still, not a look he was eager to keep, that’s for sure.

  At least he knew he could pull it off. Just in case it didn’t grow back.

  He ducked behind the Laundromat four doors down from the bus station and pulled his motorbike from its hiding place. It had coughed and choked all the way into town. He hoped to hell it got him back to the cabin. He couldn’t wait to hear Shanna’s reaction to his new look.

  If she would talk to him at all after what he’d done.

  ______

  Shanna checked the clock on the kitchen wall. By now, Jace either had the laptop or he didn’t. If he’d managed to get it, and it contained evidence of Mr. Barstow’s crime, everything would be over soon. If not, their last hope of proving Barstow’s embezzlement was gone, as was her hope of clearing her name.

  Either way, the outcome was no longer up to her. What she couldn’t figure out was why she still felt so uneasy. If they’d found the answer, why did she sense she was missing something? Something big?

  Maybe it had to do with what Dirk had suggested over the phone. That Mr. Barstow was into something larger. That a federal agency was involved.

  She’d gone through everything she had, including the calendar pages from her office and her memories of the financials for the Hell’s Half Acre mine, and even tried to recreate her past month at work to no avail. She was out of ideas.

  Shanna started gathering the few things she had at the cabin, her hunting clothes and personal items, and stuffing them into the plastic bags. Her legs trembled, a feeling she was getting far too used to lately. She’d have to talk to Jace about the federal-agency angle. She’d have to talk…

  Shanna leaned on the table.

  She didn’t know what to think about Jace. She didn’t know how to feel. When she’d noticed a motorbike and the bus-station key gone, she’d been angry. Now she was simply confused. He’d deceived her. Drugged her. And stolen the key.

  Shanna knew he’d done it for her. That he wanted to prevent her from being recognized. That he wanted to bring an end to this nightmare just as much as she did. But did the end justify the means?

  She didn’t know.

  Legs trembling, Shanna sank down on a dinette chair. She’d been through such a roller coaster of emotion in the past days, she wasn’t sure she knew how to feel about anything. If this ever did end, she’d have to get far away from Jace. She’d let her emotions catch up. She’d let the fog of attraction clear. Then she’d decide if she could ever trust him again.

  If this ever did end…

  Linda was right. Shanna saw what she wanted to see with men. Shanna had ended up being right about Dirk. He was a loyal friend. Whatever his motives, he’d tried to help. The rest didn’t really matter. But had she been right about Jace? She’d thought so. Now she wasn’t sure.

  At least Emily was safe. And Linda. Linda had always been there for her, ever since Shanna had moved to Palmer.

  And what had Shanna done in return?

  She’d put Linda in danger. Jeopardized her job. Made her leave her home.

  Guilt added to the unease bearing down on Shanna. She never should have talked Linda into letting her borrow her security card. Dirk had said it was flagged as a security risk. Now Mr. Barstow knew Linda was helping her.

  She raised her hand to her shoulder, trying to massage away the tension running from her neck through her arm.

  The question was, how had Mr. Barstow known?

  Linda had cooperated with the police at work that day. She’d cooperated later when they’d arrived at her condo. As far as Shanna knew, Linda didn’t have a problem with police. But she did have a problem at Talbot. The
re she was flagged as a security risk.

  Scratch that. There her card was flagged as a security risk.

  But how had that happened? No one knew Shanna planned to use her card. No one but Linda herself.

  Shanna felt dizzy. Her face grew hot. There had to be another answer, another explanation.

  She ran over events in her mind. Police had showed up at Linda’s door shortly after she and Jace had arrived. Could be coincidence. Could be their junker truck and their circular route to her door had made neighbors suspicious.

  But then Linda’s card was flagged as a security risk when there was no reason for it, at least no reason Shanna could quite believe.

  And Dirk…oh, God, Dirk.

  No one had known Dirk was helping her. Not unless Dirk had given himself away. But Shanna had told Linda.

  Pressure assaulted Shanna’s chest, making it hard to breathe. Any one of those things could have another explanation. Any one of them could be coincidence.

  But all of them together?

  Shanna started for the garage. Everything Linda had helped her with had backfired. Everything she’d shared with Linda had made it back to Mr. Barstow. Maybe there was an innocent explanation. Maybe not. Shanna didn’t know what was going on, but she knew one thing. Linda had Emily.

  But not for long.

  ______

  Shanna’s hands were shaking when she reached Linda’s mother’s trailer, but it wasn’t from the vibration of the bike. She was nervous. No, she was scared.

  Linda knew how hard it would be for Shanna to stay away from Emily for any length of time, so her friend shouldn’t be suspicious at her sudden appearance. The problem was getting Emily out of the trailer and on the dirt bike. Linda was smart. She would catch on fast.

  She knocked on the trailer’s aluminum storm door.

  A shadow blocked the window. The door opened and Linda peeked her head through. “Shanna. Come on in.”

  Linda opened the door and stepped aside, ushering Shanna onto the worn linoleum.

  The trailer smelled of stale cigarette smoke and pine cleaner. A sagging couch sat on one side of the small room, a round table and chairs on the other. Wood-print countertops and cabinets lined the back of the space, forming the kitchen.

  “Mommy!” Emily raced across the uneven floor and threw herself into Shanna’s arms.

  Shanna held her little body close. She inhaled the scent of crayons and graham crackers. It was all she could do to hold her ground and not just grab her baby and run.

  “Where’s the cowboy?” Linda looked down at her, hands on her fashionable hips.

  For a woman who worked with money, Shanna had been utterly blind. Linda didn’t make nearly enough to afford her fancy condo and closet of designer clothes. If Shanna hadn’t been so desperate for a friend, she would have seen that. She would have wondered. “Jace left. We had a…falling out.”

  “What happened?”

  “You were right. He wasn’t the man I thought he was. Or at least not the man I wanted him to be.”

  “Jace?” Emily pulled her head from Shanna’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. “Jace is a Power Ranger.”

  “Sure he is, sweetie.” She patted her daughter’s back and glanced around the trailer. No sign of Linda’s mother.

  Linda crossed her ankles and leaned against the kitchen counter. “I heard about the security guard on the news.”

  Shanna’s stomach spun. She could still see Dirk’s eyes, still smell the fleshy scent of his blood, still feel it sticky on her hands.

  “They’re saying you killed him.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “They’re saying you did. They’re looking for you. Maybe even more than before.”

  “Listen, Linda. Can I have a moment with Emily? I just want to be with her alone.”

  Linda pursed her lips as if she wasn’t quite sure.

  Shanna’s pulse thrummed in her ears. She tried to keep her breathing even. She tried to look at Linda just as she had before… before she suspected.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Linda said.

  Shanna’s stomach clenched. “She’s my daughter, Linda. I’m not going to hurt her.”

  “This whole mess is hurting her.”

  “That’s why I need to talk to her. Explain things.”

  “Maybe you should explain things to me, too.”

  “After I talk to Em.” Shanna forced a smile. Despite her best efforts, she could feel the corners of her mouth tremble.

  Linda pushed up from the counter and opened a drawer. She started plunking silverware into it from the dish rack flanking the sink.

  “I know this is all hard to take, Linda.”

  “You think?”

  “Em and I will go outside. We’ll just be a few minutes. Then I’ll explain everything to you.”

  “No, I think you’ll explain everything to me now.” Linda lifted her hand from the drawer. In it she held a dull gray pistol.

  Shanna glanced down at Em, then back to the woman she’d once thought was her friend. “Linda, you can’t—”

  “Oh, yes, I can.” She held the gun steady and reached for her cell phone with the other hand.

  Shanna stared into the black eye of the gun’s barrel. She had the feeling she knew just who Linda was about to call.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “WHY DID YOU DO IT, Shanna?” Linda had ordered her and Emily to sit on the couch. Now she sat in a chair ten feet away. Arms braced on the tabletop, she kept the gun pointed at Shanna’s chest.

  And waited.

  Shanna looked her friend square in the eye. “I didn’t do anything, Linda. Mr. Barstow did.”

  “You already did that song and dance.”

  “It’s true.” Shanna swallowed into a dry throat. Linda couldn’t know everything that was going on. Shanna was sure she didn’t. Otherwise she wouldn’t go along. Otherwise she couldn’t do this. Not to Shanna. And certainly not to Emily.

  The only chance Shanna had to get herself and her daughter out of this mess was to tell Linda the truth, all she knew of it, and hope her friend would believe her. “Mr. Barstow is embezzling from Talbot.”

  Linda arched her eyebrows. “Embezzling? I think not. Anthony built the company. He would protect it with his life.”

  Anthony. Not Mr. Barstow.

  Shanna didn’t have to think too hard to know what Linda’s name choice meant. She and Mr. Barstow had a relationship. A personal one. “Well, he’s not protecting the company. He’s stealing from it. You know the mine out near Hell’s Half Acre? It doesn’t exist.”

  Linda frowned.

  “Jace and I went out there. We saw it. There’s nothing there, Linda. Nothing but bare ground. Yet the financials say Heritage Mining, the company that owns it, is drowning in debt. It has all the debt of a very unsuccessful, working mine, yet it doesn’t really exist at all. Except to suck money out of Talbot.”

  Linda didn’t look impressed. “And to you that’s evidence of embezzlement?”

  “I haven’t been able to find out who owns Heritage Mining. Not yet. But I have a feeling it’s Mr. Barstow.”

  “You must think I’m awfully stupid. Anthony doesn’t own Heritage. Talbot does. How can Talbot be embezzling from itself? But then you knew that, didn’t you?”

  Shanna leaned back on the couch. What was Linda saying? “No. I didn’t know that. I didn’t know any of it.”

  “You worked on the financials for the mine.”

  “You mean, the mine that doesn’t exist?”

  She waved a hand, as if that was a detail that didn’t really matter. “You filed a report recommending Talbot cut its ties with the mine. You knew exactly how much red ink was involved.”

  Shanna’s mind stuttered. She gasped for breath, feeling as if she’d just had the wind knocked out of her. “What are you saying, Linda?”

  “What do you think I’m saying?”

  “Heritage Mining isn’t a way for Mr. Barstow to embezzle money.
It’s a place for him to dump extra debt? To get it off Talbot’s books?”

  “See? You knew.”

  Except Shanna hadn’t. Not until now. She’d looked at the mine, only the mine. It had never occurred to her to do an overview of the whole company’s financials when she’d noticed Heritage’s debt. “Mr. Barstow is diverting expenses and losses to Heritage and then pretending it’s a totally separate company from Talbot?”

  “He’s saving the company.”

  “Saving the company? Talbot is going bankrupt. Only no one knows it yet.”

  “Anthony’s buying time. The income from the mill will put the company back on firm footing. He’s saving the company.”

  “Linda, I’ll bet if you check, you’ll find that Mr. Barstow has been dumping his stock as quickly as he can.”

  “No. He wouldn’t.”

  Shanna felt numb. Mr. Barstow wasn’t the only one with significant money invested in Talbot. Most Talbot employees had their retirement funds wrapped up in company stock. Including her. Including Jace. Heck, most of Palmer had jumped on the bandwagon in anticipation of the coming uranium boom. “People are going to lose their life’s savings.”

  Linda scoffed. “You act like you’re so clean and pure. But I’ll bet you sold your Talbot stock before you set up your meeting with the SEC.”

  “The SEC?”

  “You didn’t think I knew?”

  “My meeting with the SEC didn’t have anything to do with you.”

  “Didn’t have anything to do with me? Are you kidding? I have more than a 401K in Talbot. That company is everything I have. It’s everything the town of Palmer has. But you didn’t think about that, did you? You didn’t think about anything but yourself.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You. Destroying my livelihood. The whole town’s livelihood. Just so you can be the perfect little Girl Scout.”

  “I didn’t—”

  “Bullshit.”

  Shanna could see it now. She’d been invited on the hunting trip after her visit from the SEC. Linda must have reported it to Mr. Barstow. “My meeting with the SEC agent had nothing to do with Talbot.”