Mountain Witness

by LENA DIAZ,

  He threw the door open. “Griffin, you seen anyone skulking around here?”

  The answering smile on Griffin’s sun-browned face was replaced with concern as he glanced around. “Just the workers, feeding the horses, mucking stalls. I saw your truck and thought you might have an update on Miss Ashley.”

  “Stay here.”

  Without waiting for the older man to reply, Chris hurried from the kitchen, through the great room to the still-closed door of the front guest room. He didn’t stop to knock. He threw the door open, sweeping his pistol out in front of him, fully expecting to see an intruder standing over Julie’s bed or perhaps already holding her hostage.

  There wasn’t anyone there. The bed didn’t even look like it had been slept in.

  “Chris?” Griffin had obviously ignored his order to stay put and was behind him in the doorway.

  Chris ignored him and cleared the closet, then the attached bath, before turning around. He strode across the room, the gun still at his side.

  “What’s going on?” Griffin asked, quickly backing up to let him through the doorway. “Should I call 911?”

  “Not yet.” He headed to his right, beside the staircase to the back hallway and the room at the back right corner of the downstairs. He headed inside and pulled up a chair in front of the main security camera console.

  “Is Miss Ashley okay? Did something happen?”

  The worry in Griffin’s voice as he ran into the room finally sank in and Chris turned to face him. Last year Ashley had nearly been killed by some very bad people who were after her. Griffin had probably seen Chris’s gun and thought the worst.

  “She’s fine. She and the baby are both fine. Dillon’s with them at the hospital. They were able to stop the contractions, but they’re keeping her for observation for a few days.”

  “Gracias a Dios. Thank God,” Griffin whispered, making the sign of the cross on his chest. “I thought the bad men were back again to hurt Miss Ashley.”

  A pang of guilt shot through Chris for not taking a few extra seconds at the back door to reassure the old man. From what Dillon had told him, Griffin still had nightmares about the siege that had happened here when the men had caught up to Ashley last year.

  Chris flipped on the computer monitors and entered the password into the menu to access the security footage. “Like I said, Ashley and the baby are fine. I’m here for another reason entirely.” He keyed in some commands and accessed the recording from the cameras on the front and kitchen doors, with both displays side by side on the monitor in front of him. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for.

  He cursed and pressed a key to pause the footage. Then he shoved his gun into his holster.

  “Detective Downing? What’s going on?”

  Chris forced a smile. Griffin was always polite, but for him to call Chris “Detective” meant he was getting really worried.

  “It’s okay, Griffin. Everything’s okay. When I went to open the kitchen door to let you in, I realized the security alarm was off. I thought something might have happened, so I had to check things out. But everything is fine.”

  The look of relief that swept over the older man’s face was palpable. “Good, that is very good. Dillon will tease you about forgetting to set the alarm then.” He grinned.

  Chris smiled back. “Yeah, he’ll get a kick out of that. Was there anything that you needed?”

  “No, no. Just saw your truck, wanted to check on you and see about Miss Ashley. If you don’t need me, I’ll get back to work.”

  “Thanks, Griffin. Good to see you again.”

  “You, too.”

  As soon as Griffin left the room, Chris turned back to the monitor. It showed a picture of the front door opening a crack. From the inside. He pushed Play and the image expanded to show Julie Webb sneaking out the front door. Which meant she must have watched him key in the security code yesterday and she’d shut off the alarm.

  He watched the video until she disappeared from the camera shot. He punched up several other videos, examining angles from other cameras. Then he turned off the monitors and pulled out his cell phone.

  “You on your way?” Chief Thornton asked, recognizing Chris’s cell phone number.

  “Actually, no. There’s something I need to take care of. It’ll be a couple more hours before I can bring Julie to the station.”

  * * *

  CHRIS DROVE HIS pickup across the field toward the weathered gray barn on the right side of Cooper’s farm. The older man’s white pickup was sitting beside the barn where he must have left it before going into the hospital. After last night, Chris had planned on calling someone else to clear the land he’d promised Cooper he’d clear. But after seeing the security video, and seeing Julie climb into the back of his pickup and hide under a tarp early this morning, he’d changed his mind.

  He was going to make her tell him what she was hiding and why she’d snuck out of the house. To do that, he needed some time alone with her. His boss would think to check Harmony Haven if he got impatient waiting on him to bring Julie in. But he’d never think to look here. The only question now was how long Julie would let this little farce play out before she came out of hiding. She was about to find out that Chris could be a very patient man.

  He parked next to the white pickup and killed his engine. He waited, checked the rearview mirror, waited some more. When the tarp didn’t move, he let out an exasperated breath and hopped out of the truck, shoving the keys into his jeans pocket.

  Two blood-bay mares and a palomino gelding idled lazily in the corral attached to the barn. Cooper’s small farm was several miles from the nearest neighbor, but all of them were pitching in until he was back on his feet. One of them must have come by this morning already and fed and turned out the horses. That was the sum total of livestock on the farm. Cooper kept the horses for his grandkids when they came visiting. Otherwise, he rotated tobacco and hay in his fields, to augment his pension and keep himself from being bored.

  Thousand-pound round bales of freshly cut orchard grass dotted the field behind the barn and the little one-story farmhouse a few hundred yards away. The grass was already drying to a golden brown that would become hay. In a few more days, another neighbor would bring equipment to gather up the bales. By the time Cooper was home, all he’d have to do was tend the summer garden he wanted for his own personal use. Which was why Chris was here.

  Unless Julie quit being stubborn and made herself known, he’d be just as stubborn and go ahead and clear the acre of brush close to the house to make it easier for the owner to tend without having to walk so far. Cooper was getting a hip replacement, which meant exercise was good for him. But there was a limit to just how far he should have to walk and Chris aimed to help him out in that regard.

  After another glance at his truck, he headed into the barn that housed Cooper’s tractor and other farming equipment. He was just about to hook up the Bush Hog mower attachment to the back of the tractor when his phone vibrated. When he took it out of the holder and saw who was calling, a mixture of worry and dread shot through him.

  “Dillon, did something happen? Are Ashley and the baby okay?”

  A tired sigh sounded through the phone. “They’re no worse than when you and I spoke earlier this morning. We’re still fighting to keep the baby in the oven. Ashley’s going stir-crazy, wanting to get out of bed. But the doctors won’t let her move and they’ve been pumping her with meds to stop her contractions.”

  “Sorry, man. Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to bring something to the hospital?”

  “You already have.”

  “What?”

  “That ADA, Nelson? She sent two henchmen to the hospital an hour ago to ask me if I knew where you’d taken the witness. This is the first chance I’ve had to call and tell you.”

 
Chris tightened his hands around the phone. “Henchmen? Are you talking about Henson and Bolton, her admin assistants? They should have gone back to Nashville with her.”

  “Well they didn’t. I don’t suppose you noticed they’re both over six feet tall and built like bodyguards? You don’t really think they’re Nelson’s gofers, do you?”

  “Honestly, I’m embarrassed to say that I didn’t pay them much attention at all last night. Other than noting they both had dark brown hair and wore matching gray suits, I probably couldn’t pick them out of a lineup. I’m sorry they bothered you.”

  “Oh, I didn’t let them bother me. When they knocked on Ashley’s door and introduced themselves, I introduced them to hospital security and had them escorted outside. I didn’t like the vibe I got from either of them. You might want to run a background check and see who they really are and why they’re hanging with an assistant district attorney.”

  Chris leaned against the tractor. “You have a working theory?”

  Dillon paused before continuing. “Not based on any facts. It’s more of a feeling. I didn’t trust them. Which makes me not trust Nelson, either. I think your next-door neighbor has landed you in the middle of something really bad. And since you’re going to be my daughter’s godfather, I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”

  Chris couldn’t help grinning. “So, you’re having a girl.”

  A chuckle sounded through the phone. “We’d planned on being surprised during the delivery, but they’ve been doing so many ultrasounds and checkups that we really couldn’t avoid finding out the gender. So, yeah. We’re having a girl.”

  “That’s great. Any ideas on names yet?”

  “We don’t want to jinx anything, so we’re waiting on that. Taking it one hour at a time. The doctor wants the baby to cook at least a couple more weeks, if possible. Until delivery, Ashley’s on complete bed rest.”

  “She’s going to go nuts lying around that long.”

  “Tell me about it. Hey, Chris. Back to this Julie Webb person and the goons who showed up this morning. I watched them from the hospital room window when they left. They were in two separate cars, which seems odd enough since they’re both allegedly from out of town on a business trip together. What was even odder was that both cars were muscle cars. What’s that sound like to you?”

  “Like you said earlier, bodyguards. But the ADA wasn’t with them?”

  “No sign of her,” Dillon said.

  “Which means they aren’t guards. We’re back to the henchman theory.”

  “Pretty much. Be careful, all right? I mean it. Watch your six.”

  He glanced at the barn’s huge double doors, made large enough to accommodate the tractor, and thought about his truck outside—and what was in the truck—or rather, who. His little game of outwaiting Julie was no longer viable, not if there were two thugs looking for her. He pushed away from the tractor and headed toward the doors to get her out of her hiding place. The bush hogging would have to wait.

  “Thanks, Dillon. I’ll check back later.”

  He ended the call and pushed through the double doors, just in time to see Cooper’s white pickup truck bumping across the field toward the road.

  With Julie Webb in the driver’s seat.

  Chris swore and ran toward his truck. He skidded to a halt at the driver’s-side door, his boots sliding in the dirt. The front left tire—which had cost a cool five hundred dollars because it was so big—was completely flat. He whirled around in time to see the white pickup reach the road and turn north toward town. A moment later, Julie had rounded a curve and thick stands of pine trees hid her from sight.

  A whinny had Chris turning around. The palomino brushed against the corral fence, its head extended over the railing as it tore chunks of sweet clover out of the ground.

  Chris ran into the barn. Less than a minute later, he had a harness and reins on the palomino. No time for a saddle. He led the gelding out of the corral, grabbed a fistful of mane and vaulted onto its back.

  “Yah!” he yelled, squeezing his thighs against the horse. The gelding squealed and took off at a bone-jarring gallop across the field. Right before the horse reached the road, Chris yanked the reins, sending them both crashing into the woods.

  Chapter Ten

  Gravel seemed to roll beneath the wheels like a wave as Julie fought to keep the truck on the road. She eased her foot off the gas and the pickup straightened out. Too fast. She was going way too fast for these bumpy country roads. If she didn’t slow down she’d end up in a ditch.

  Easing off the accelerator even more, she glanced in her rearview mirror. She’d caught a glimpse of Chris running out of the barn when she’d stolen his friend’s truck. Thank goodness she’d let the air out of one of his tires. Facing him when he looked that angry wasn’t something she hoped to do anytime soon.

  Guilt swept through her as she sped up again on a straightaway. From the moment she’d met her sexy neighbor, he’d been nothing but nice. He’d done everything he could to protect her. And how did she repay him? She’d snuck out of the house before dawn, using the security code that she’d seen him enter into the keypad when they’d gotten there. And then, when she’d realized she was in the middle of nowhere with no hope of escaping on her own, she’d hunkered down in the back of his four-by-four, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

  Her plan had worked. Except for the part where he didn’t take her into town and, instead, drove to a farm even farther out in the boonies than the horse-rescue place had been.

  It didn’t matter. Now that she had transportation, she’d head to Destiny and leave the truck parked somewhere obvious so the owner would find it. And leave a wad of cash hidden inside as an apology for taking it.

  The trees seemed to encroach on the narrow road as she slowed for another one of the hairpin turns. At this rate, she might get there faster by walking.

  She came out of the curve and onto another straightaway. A dark blur suddenly burst from the trees on the right and leaped onto the road fifty yards ahead of her truck. A horse! She slammed the brakes and desperately turned the wheel. The pickup began to slide sideways like a jackknifed semi.

  Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God. She was going to hit the horse.

  The animal gave a high-pitched whinny and bolted toward the trees on the other side of the road just as the pickup slid to a stop.

  Julie’s heart hammered in her chest, her breaths coming in great gasps as she stared through the windshield. Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly she could feel her pulse thumping in her fingers.

  What in the world had just happened?

  She blinked, drew a ragged breath and scanned the road, looking for the horse. There, thirty feet away on the left, it stood with its head down, calmly munching on the tall green grass beside the road. Reins hung down from its harness. But it wasn’t wearing a saddle. She frowned. Had someone been on the horse when it dashed in front of her? Everything had happened so fast. But she was almost positive she’d seen something, someone, bent low over the horse’s neck.

  Her door flew open. She jerked around and let out a squeal of alarm.

  In the opening stood a very angry looking Chris Downing.

  His dark eyes seemed almost black as he glared at her. “Get. Out.”

  * * *

  CHRIS STALKED ACROSS the road toward the gelding, leaving Julie standing beside the truck, minus the keys this time, which Cooper had been foolish enough—or trusting enough—to leave in the cab. Then again, around these parts, people didn’t make a habit of stealing their neighbors’ vehicles. Unlocked doors were the norm. The only reason that Chris and Dillon were so security conscious was because in their role as police officers they saw more than the average citizen of the dangers that lurked out there.

  Like from out of towners passing through, such as Julie
Webb.

  He cursed beneath his breath and forced himself to act as calmly as possible so he wouldn’t spook the horse. He spoke to it in low, soothing tones as he took off the harness and scratched its velvety nose. Then he steered the horse around to the other side of the road and slapped its withers, sending it off at a trot back into the woods.

  Julie’s eyes widened as he strode toward her. She glanced at the harness in his hand, then the horse as it disappeared into the trees. He wasn’t going to tell her that the horse would find its way back home just like a cat would. Let her wonder, and maybe worry just a bit about the havoc she’d caused.

  He tossed the harness and reins in the bed of the truck and popped open the driver’s door.

  “Get in.”

  She glanced longingly toward the trees where the horse had gone, then at the road that led toward town.

  “You just told me to get out.”

  He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the cab of the truck. Not giving her a chance to hop back out or argue with him, he climbed in after her, forcing her to slide over.

  She glared at him and kept sliding, then grabbed the passenger-door handle.

  Chris yanked her toward him and anchored her against his side with his arm around her shoulders.

  “Let me go.” Her eyes flashed with anger.

  He leaned down until his face was just inches from hers, intentionally using his much larger size to get his point across.

  “I’ll let you go if you give me your word that you won’t try to hop out of the truck.”

  A shiver went through her as she stared up at him, uncertainty replacing the anger in her eyes.

  And just like that, Chris’s own anger began to fade. Intimidating a young woman who’d been through what Julie had been through didn’t make him exactly feel proud of himself. He swore yet again and released her.