Special Agent

by Valerie Hansen

  He was running toward her as he called 9-1-1, identified himself and reported the explosion. “At the Garwood Ranch. That’s right. Between South Fork and Groveland. Send an ambulance and the fire department. I see a lot of smoke.”

  Dropping the phone on the littered ground beside Katerina he fell to his knees and began to check her over. “Lie still. Don’t move. An ambulance is on the way.”

  She moaned and shifted position.

  Max held her shoulders gently but firmly. “I said don’t move. You could have broken bones or spinal damage.” He could tell by the way her eyelids fluttered that she was only half-conscious. That was the worst time for exacerbating injuries. Out cold she wouldn’t move. Conscious, she’d probably try to do as she was told.

  People were running to evacuate frantic horses from the remaining, undamaged barns. Dogs circled and barked, adding to the mayhem. A heavyset man stomped across the dirt drive. He was wearing boots, a Western shirt and hat, and jeans belted with the biggest gold buckle Max had ever seen.

  “Who are you?” the man bellowed.

  “Max West, FBI. You must be Bertrand Garwood.”

  “Smart man. What’re you doing on my ranch?” He pointed at the prone figure of his daughter. “And what is she doing here?”

  The coldness of the older man almost gave Max the shivers. No wonder Katerina didn’t want to face him. Well, he wasn’t backing down. Although he couldn’t safely release her until paramedics arrived he looked up and glared. “Your daughter is unconscious, Mr. Garwood. I’m not certain how bad her injuries may be. I don’t see any bleeding other than a split lip so she may have escaped the worst of the blast. It’s too soon to tell for sure.”

  “Just get that trash out of here as soon as you can.” He started to turn away. “I’ve got valuable livestock to see to.”

  If Max had not been busy tending to Katerina he might have resorted to language he hadn’t been tempted to use in ages. What a pompous excuse for a parent Garwood was.

  Max gazed down at the injured young woman and gently stroked strands of honey-blond hair off her forehead. There was a first aid kit in his car but he didn’t dare leave her unattended to fetch it. Close by in the SUV, his trained K-9, Opal, was using her deep boxer bark to alert the world to danger, even though the worst of it was probably over.

  As soon as the ambulance and fire department arrived, Max planned to assert authority and insist that he and his K-9 partner perform a bomb sweep for additional devices. It was his job—and Opal’s—to ensure no one else got hurt without actually revealing the overarching mission. It was going to be tricky to investigate Kowalski’s crimes without exhibiting too much interest in the man’s former connection to the Duprees.

  He looked at Katerina again and realized he didn’t want to turn her over to the care of the EMTs. He would, of course, because it was the right thing to do, but he wasn’t going to like relinquishing control before he was certain she was okay.

  TWO

  Katerina could hardly breathe. Disoriented, she opened her eyes. The back of her head throbbed and her ribs refused to allow her to fully inhale. Gasping, she fought to regain her senses, to sort out confusing memories.

  A weight was on both her shoulders, holding her down.

  “Don’t try to get up,” someone ordered gruffly. “An ambulance is on its way.”

  Nevertheless, she tried to move.

  “I said, hold still.”

  There was a gentleness underlying the otherwise firm tone and it gave her a sense that she was being well cared for. “Who? What?” Flashes of reality returned. “The stable! The horses!”

  “They’d been taken out. Remember?”

  “Only—only from the one barn.”

  “That’s the one that blew.”

  “Oh.” Blinking up at the face of her companion she saw mostly shadow. Sunlight behind him gave his short blondish hair a haloed look. The brightness kept her from reading his shadowed expression. She sank back down with a moan. “My head hurts.”

  “I’m not surprised. You hit the ground hard.”

  Her heart sped as she realized she could have been even closer to the barn when it disintegrated. What could have caused an accident like that? There was nothing more volatile than horse liniment kept near the animals. Even the tack room was safe.

  The man restraining her shouted, “Medic! Over here. Everybody else stand clear.”

  “I’m all right. Really. I need to get out of here.”

  “The only place you’re going, Ms. Garwood, is to the hospital.”

  “No. I don’t have insurance. I can’t afford to be hurt.” She pushed against his hold momentarily, then sagged back.

  Bright flashes of colored light sparkled behind her eyelids. Shooting pain banished any thought of trying to stand. Escape was unthinkable.

  Katerina felt as if she were falling into a bottomless abyss. Fog surrounded her, bearing her ever deeper into unconsciousness. Longing for release, she ceased to fight it. Rational thought fled.

  The world, and her troubles, faded away.

  * * *

  Max stayed on at the Garwood Ranch to assist local authorities in searching for additional devices in the unaffected outbuildings and house after Katerina had been stabilized and transported in the ambulance. From what he could deduce from the damage, the explosion in the stable had packed a lighter punch than the others he’d recently investigated. Unfortunately, an ensuing fire had wiped out much of the evidence and what the flames didn’t consume, the firefighters’ high pressure hoses had dispersed.

  By now the place was swarming with law enforcement, fire personnel and crime scene investigators. He was relieved that he and his K-9 had not discovered more bombs because a crowd like that was hard to safeguard.

  When he reported to the incident commander, a fire department battalion chief, he brought Opal with him. “My dog and I have completed our search. All clear.”

  “You sure?”

  Max laid a hand gently on the boxer’s head and stroked between her ears. “Opal is positive. That’s good enough for me.”

  “Okay. Thanks. I can’t believe you were already on scene when this happened. Is that some new FBI deduction technique that we haven’t heard of?”

  Max chuckled. “Not hardly. I was here to follow up with the Garwoods regarding another case my team is working. What can you tell me about Vern Kowalski?”

  “Not much.” The chief paused to radio instructions to an engine crew. “Pull down that west wall. I don’t want to see a rekindle and lose another barn.”

  As soon as the man turned back to him Max asked, “Had you met Kowalski?”

  “Briefly. The guy wanted to join our volunteers but he didn’t make the cut. Katerina seemed to like him, though.”

  “I gathered, since she was going to marry him.”

  “Yeah. I hope she’s gonna be okay. Nice girl. Her daddy’s a real piece of work, though. He was hard to get along with before he got elected mayor of South Fork. Now he’s impossible.”

  “Any word on her condition?” Max asked, remembering her attempt to avoid treatment and her father’s unfeeling reaction to her condition. How could any parent see his child injured and just walk away?

  “Not yet. We shipped her to the hospital in Mariposa. Paramedics said she could have a concussion. Hard to say without X-rays.”

  “What became of Garwood? I know he was here for a while.” Max made a sour face. “He’s hard to ignore.”

  “Yeah. Sheriff Tate took him off the property in a patrol car. They’re old buddies.”

  “I see. Then I’ll talk to the Garwood I can find and head for Mariposa.” Max scanned the scene. “Just make sure your people bag and tag as many clues as possible. I’ll notify Quantico and have an agent pick up the evidence for proce
ssing.”

  The chief didn’t look particularly pleased to share jurisdiction but didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded and returned to the smoldering wreckage.

  Max was pouring fresh water into Opal’s bowl in the backseat as he checked in with Dylan at headquarters. “The ranch owner is AWOL at the moment so I’m going to follow up with the injured daughter, providing she’s conscious.”

  “The one who was engaged to one of the men arrested in the Dupree sweep?”

  “Yup. That’s the one.”

  “Just watch your back,” Dylan cautioned. “I don’t care how idyllic it looks up there, you’re in more danger than a gold prospector defending himself against claim-jumpers back in ’49.”

  Max had to smile. “I have Opal and a cell phone and radio, and I’m armed. I’m covered.”

  “The dog will always work but don’t count on electronics if you get down in some of those deep valleys. Besides, the Duprees play rough.”

  “I know. Thanks,” he said, ending the call and drawing his fingers down the ridge of the old scar remaining on his left cheek as he recalled the events originally surrounding that injury five years before. Max knew that nobody lived forever, but he simply could not accept the premature death of a child on his watch. Worse, he had unknowingly contributed to that disaster by trusting the boy’s father when the man vowed he’d cut all ties with the drug culture.

  Clenching his jaw, he shoved aside the painful memory. If that senseless tragedy had taught him anything, it was to be far less gullible. No one had fooled him since, nor would they do so in the future. Criminal minds were devious in myriad ways. All he had to do was keep himself from accepting anything—or anybody—at face value without concrete proof of innocence.

  Take the Garwoods, for example. The young woman he was on his way to see may have looked harmless but she was so unnaturally nervous he was having second thoughts about her. It was hard to attribute all that angst to a strained relationship with her father. Yes, the man was vindictive, but lots of people experienced difficult family situations without quaking in their boots. A more likely scenario was that Katerina knew about the bomb and had miscalculated the timing.

  The worst kinds of criminals were the ones who were able to fake innocence so well. Katerina might have fooled the firefighter he’d spoken with but Max would not be as naive. He had not risen to a command position on his team by letting himself be tricked by pretty faces or sweet smiles.

  He didn’t care if the whole world thought he was inflexible and opinionated. He did his job. And he never lost focus. Not anymore.

  * * *

  Katerina was exhausted. She’d been poked, prodded, x-rayed and scanned. All she wanted to do at the moment was sleep despite the nurses who kept coming into her room and waking her to check her vitals.

  The door to the hospital room made a swooshing sound as it opened. She squeezed her eyes shut against the bright overhead lighting. “I’m awake. Please let me rest.”

  The ceiling-mounted curtain was pulled to isolate her bed. Someone’s latex-covered hand clamped hard over her mouth and she tasted fresh blood from the cut on her lip. Tightening her muscles sent pulses of pain shooting through Katerina’s battered back. She tore at the glove and tried to see who was attacking her but a ski mask covered his features. A harshly whispered warning came next, “Stop fighting.” She tried. Panic argued against it. All she could manage was to hold a little more still after he planted a heavy arm across her chest.

  “Don’t scream.”

  Although she managed a weak nod she was not agreeing. This was a busy hospital. If she could manage to shout, even once, help was bound to arrive. Hopefully, it would be enough for a rescue.

  The gloved hand eased its pressure. The arm lifted. Trembling, Katerina froze and stared at the figure hovering over her bed. He seemed tall, although it was hard to tell for sure when she was lying down. What she could see of his bare arms beyond the short sleeves of the faded green scrub outfit he wore told her he was tanned but not unusually so. If she’d been able to see his hands they would have given her a better idea of whether he worked inside or on a ranch or farm.

  Should she speak at all? she wondered. If he was planning to kill her, surely he wouldn’t have awakened her first. But why bother her at all? Why was any of this happening? She gritted her teeth in frustration.

  “Vern sent me,” the man gritted out.

  Anger mingled with her fear. So that was it. “Why?”

  He didn’t answer. She could see the rapid blinking of his eyes through the holes in the mask as he swiveled his head nervously. Finally, he reached for the IV needle taped to her arm and started to pull it out. “It’s too dangerous for me here. You and I are leaving.”

  Katerina pushed his hand away, took a deep breath and screamed, “No. Help!” at the top of her lungs.

  Her attacker jumped away as if he’d been shot with a Taser. At that moment she wished she had one to make it real.

  He lunged to cover her mouth once more, but she evaded him by rolling to the side. “Help me!”

  The physical pressure lifted. Katerina continued to shriek with primal fear, no longer articulate.

  A hand touched her shoulder. Voices mingled.

  When she turned her head there were two nurses at her bedside, one blond, one graying and motherly looking.

  Katerina peered past them. “Where did he go?”

  “Who, dear?”

  “The man. He had a mask on and he—”

  “You’ve been through a severe trauma,” the blond nurse interjected. “We can’t give you a stronger sedative just yet, because of your head injury, but the doctor said we could take the edge off your pain. You may be having a delayed reaction to what happened to you or to the IV meds. I’ll report it to him.”

  “I am not hallucinating,” Katerina insisted hoarsely. “There was a strange man right here in this room. He threatened me.” She lost hope when she saw the nurses exchange knowing glances.

  “All right. Just lie back and rest,” the motherly one said, patting Katerina’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll be released soon. In the meantime, one of us will be close by. Use your call button if you need anything.”

  “You’re not even going to look for the guy, are you?”

  “As I said, we’ll report your symptoms to your physician, dear.”

  Meaning, they still thought she’d been hallucinating or dreaming. Was it possible? No, she concluded. A trick of her brain would not have made her cracked lip bleed again. There had been a man’s hand pressed over her mouth. And he’d intended to take her away with him.

  Vern was in jail. So who had accosted her?

  * * *

  Max knocked before entering Katerina’s room accompanied by a nurse. He’d expected to see her in bed but had not anticipated the reaction he got. She took one look at him, fisted her sheet and gathered it up under her chin like a shield. Her skin was pale, her mouth slightly swollen and her eyes reddened and puffy as if she’d been crying.

  He hesitated, raw emotion churning through him. despite outward calm “The staff says you’ve been having a rough time, Ms. Garwood. Do you remember who I am?”

  “FBI. You were there when the barn exploded.”

  “Right. I looked after you until the ambulance arrived. How are you feeling?” he asked gently. “Are you up to finishing our conversation?”

  As he watched, Katerina tried to raise herself into a sitting position and blanched. She looked ill beyond her injuries. Max beat the nurse to her bedside and steadied her. “Easy.”

  With the weight of her shoulders resting on his arm, Katerina sighed. “Sorry. I forgot myself for a second. It’s been a rough day.”

  Max stepped back as the nurse raised the head of her bed slightly, and then he asked, “Better now? Or do you need a few mo
re minutes?”

  “I’ll be fine as long as I don’t try to move too quickly.” She eyed the young nurse in the background. “Would it be possible for us to talk alone?”

  Max nodded. “I see no problem with that. Leave the door ajar on your way out, please,” he told the nurse. As soon as she had left he took out a small digital recorder, clicked it on and renewed his interest in the patient. “What can you tell me about the incident at the ranch this morning?”

  “Me? You were there, too. I don’t know any more about it than you do. One minute I was yelling back at you and the next thing I knew I was knocked off my feet.” Her voice softened a notch. “Thanks for looking after me.”

  “You’re welcome. Now think. Did you see or hear anything unusual earlier?”

  Her brow furrowed. “No. I wasn’t actually there for very long. I’d just stopped by to pick up the last of my clothes and things. I told you that.”

  “I understand you no longer live there.”

  “No. I don’t. My father was so angry when Vern was arrested for smuggling and distributing drugs he blamed me for ruining the family reputation and threw me out.”

  Max struck a pseudo-relaxed pose. “And you’re surprised by that? It was pretty risky to keep company with a lowlife like Kowalski in the first place. You must have suspected he’d eventually be caught.”

  “I had no idea he was a crook.”

  That he didn’t believe for a second. “You were supposed to be marrying the man. How could you possibly not have known?”

  “Because he was slick and because I was naive, I guess.” Her cheeks warmed visibly and his chest constricted when he saw moisture glistening behind her lashes. But he reminded himself he had a job to do. “Look,” Katerina went on, “I’m not stupid. I actually have a pretty decent IQ. But Vern wasn’t like the other men I’d met. He said all the right things at the right times and I fell for him. How was I to know he was using my father’s horse business as a cover to distribute drugs?”

  “Intuition? Didn’t Kowalski ever say or do anything that made you suspicious before he was arrested?”