by Rita Herron
More guilt heaped onto the pile.
“I’m so sorry, Joy. Sorry for Joleen and her family and . . . sorry for coming here.”
Joy brushed her hands down her apron then pulled Mia into a hug. “This is absolutely not your fault,” Joy said firmly.
Mia hugged the woman, but Joy’s reassuring words fell on deaf ears.
How could it not be her fault if Geoff had killed Joleen because of her?
A noise sounded outside, and Joy looked up, stricken. “What was that?”
Dusk had set, the sun already faded so night shadows plagued the land as Mia glanced out the window. A dozen different scenarios taunted her.
Geoff had called her only a few minutes ago. Was he in the woods watching now?
Perhaps sneaking up to the house to trap her while Alex and the other men were at the dining hall?
Had he killed Joleen to lure Alex away from her so he could gain easier access to her?
She grabbed the rifle and braced it by her side. “Stay here, Joy, I’ll be right back.”
If Geoff showed up, she’d be ready.
Suddenly a window crashed in the living room.
Mia raced to the hallway and screamed at Joy to run out the back just as smoke began to fill the room.
By the time Alex went back inside the dining hall, the ME was there.
“What happened?” Sheriff Leonard asked.
“Emmett Royce tried to run. I caught him.”
Henry rubbed at his chin. “Did Royce hurt Joleen?”
“I don’t think so,” Alex said. “But he was in prison with Geoff Jones. He claims he hated the man though and has a scar to prove they weren’t friends.”
“Do you believe him?” Sheriff Leonard asked.
Alex shrugged. “I think so. Did you learn anything from the other hands?”
Sheriff Leonard gestured toward a thin, dirty-blond haired guy dusty from working the ranch. “Troy Durgin over there said he thought he saw someone in the woods behind the dining hall earlier. Fits with the time of death.”
“Which was?” Alex asked.
“Shortly after lunch.”
So, everyone had cleared out of the dining hall except Joleen. The shooter would have known she was alone and that no one would show up until dinnertime.
She’d been vulnerable. If she’d tried to call for help, Jones would have killed her to keep his presence unknown.
Sick fucks like him took pleasure in tormenting their victims. Playing with them. Enjoying their fear.
Alex walked over to the lead crime tech, and the ME and introduced himself.
“What can you tell us from the body, Doc?”
Dr. Cato pointed to Joleen’s bloody chest. “She died of a single gunshot wound that pierced her heart. No other visible injuries.”
Alex frowned. “No bruises or rope marks to suggest that she was coerced?”
Cato shook his head. “I’d say the shooter surprised her with the gun. She probably thought if she cooperated, he’d spare her.”
“Any sign of robbery?” Alex asked on the off chance that her murder wasn’t connected to Jones. Robberies turned into murder all the time.
Lt. Ponderson from the CSU team spoke up, “It didn’t appear that anything was missing. Her ID, wallet with a hundred dollars in cash, was still intact. She was still wearing a gold cross and wedding band.”
“Even if her jewelry wasn’t worth much, a robber would have at least taken the cash,” Alex said.
“So, we think one of the workers on the ranch killed the woman?” Lt. Ponderson asked.
“Either that or someone who snuck on the ranch did,” Alex said. “We’re questioning each of the employees. Now we know the time of death, we can check alibis.”
“But you have another theory?” Dr. Cato asked.
Alex explained Mia’s situation and Jones’s prison escape.
Henry ran toward them, his breath ragged. “There’s smoke at the house! I gotta go.”
“Smoke?” Panic seized Alex, and he turned to the sheriff. “I have to go, too. Mia’s there. Question the rest of the man, and don’t let anyone leave until you get his alibi for the time of death.” He glanced at the ME and Lt. Ponderson. “Call me if you lift any prints, DNA or other forensic evidence.”
He palmed his gun as he followed Henry outside to his truck. They jumped in and Henry pressed the gas, his craggy face terrified as they bounced over the ruts in the dirt drive leading back toward the farmhouse.
Smoke curled upward in a thick cloud from the front room, flames sparking through the window in the distance. Three more minutes and they would be there.
But fire could spread quickly, especially in an old wooden home.
“Call the fire department!” Henry shouted.
Alex punched in the emergency number, praying that Mia and Joy were all right.
The smoke was so thick Mia couldn’t see. She shouted for Joy, but she didn’t hear her respond. Where was she?
Frantic, she plowed through the den back toward the kitchen, hoping the woman had escaped. But Joy was nowhere to be seen.
Mentally she debated on whether to call for help before the fire spread or to find her.
Joy. She had to make sure her friend was safe and alive.
She screamed her name again, smoke already filling the kitchen and starting to fog her vision. She stumbled forward, ran into the table and winced.
“Joy?”
A low groan echoed from her right, and she spun toward the sound, her lungs straining for air.
Joy. Dear God. She was lying in a heap on the floor half unconscious.
Mia darted toward her, knelt and stroked Joy’s cheek. “Come on, we have to get out of here. The living room is on fire.”
Joy moaned, and Mia saw blood trickling down her forehead.
Someone had hit Joy over the head. Had Geoff tried to kill her as he had Joleen?
She gently shook Joy, but she didn’t budge. “Come on, we have to get out of here.” But Joy had passed out again.
Mia tried to lift her, but she was too heavy. Her lungs straining for air, she slid her arms beneath Joy’s arms and dragged her toward the back door.
“I’m sorry, so sorry,” Mia whispered. She kicked the door open with her foot and pulled Joy the rest of the way outside then onto the ground a few feet away beneath a Blackgum tree.
A second later, a car engine rumbled down the drive, but it was hard to tell who it was over the sound of the fire crackling.
She bent and hugged Joy. “I’ll be back with help. Hang in there, Joy.”
She turned to run around the front of the house, hoping to see Alex or the sheriff, but suddenly something slammed into the back of her head.
Mia cried out, stumbled, then hit the ground, and the world went black.
As soon as Henry braked, Alex hit the ground running. He didn’t wait until the truck had stopped. Seconds later, he heard the engine die and Henry’s labored breathing behind him as the older man jogged after Alex.
One look at the front of the house though, and Alex noted the flames eating the living room curtains. He gestured toward Henry. “Around back. We can’t go in the front.”
Alex darted left, calling Mia’s name as he glanced through the side windows. Smoke was creeping in the hallway toward the back. “Mia!” he shouted again.
Please God, let her be okay.
The sound of fire crackling popped into the night, a breeze stirring, making the situation more dangerous with every second. The fire would spread to the dry grass outside if they didn’t contain it soon. He made it to the back steps, scanning left and right, then spotted Joy slumped onto the ground beneath a tree unconscious.
“Henry, there’s Joy!” He ran toward her, knelt and checked her pulse. Low and thready, but she was alive. �
��Call an ambulance,” he said as Henry lumbered up.
The poor man looked panic-stricken and was sweating as he dropped to his knees and dragged his wife into his arms.
“Baby, hang in there, it’ll be all right.”
Alex gave Henry’s shoulders a gentle shake then shoved his cell phone into Henry’s hands. “Henry, call an ambulance. I have to find Mia.”
The older man seemed to jerk himself out of his shock, took the phone and started punching in numbers.
Alex raced up the steps to the front porch, heat and smoke suffusing him as he ran through the open back door. “Mia!” The smoke was so thick he could barely see, but the kitchen was empty.
Had Mia dragged Joy to safety? If so, why wasn’t she outside with her?
“Mia!” He stepped into the hallway, scanning the living room that was being eaten by the flames, and squinted through the blaze in search of Mia. But he didn’t see or hear anyone inside.
The steps were to the left, so he jogged up them, dodging a patch of fire on the bottom step. He had to hurry before it spread. Already, smoke was rising, thick and suffocating toward the bedrooms.
“Mia!” No sound.
Why would she have gone upstairs? Unless she’d been up there when it started, and Joy had gotten herself out. But once the smoke curled upward, Mia would have come downstairs.
Unless she was hurt and unable to.
Pure fear paralyzed him for a moment. What if Jones had knocked Mia unconscious and left her in the house to die?
Fire crackled and a board splintered down, dragging him from his terror. He had to hurry. Every second counted.
He took the steps two at a time, then checked the first bedroom and adjoining bath. Empty. Covering his mouth with a handkerchief to keep from inhaling more smoke, he ran to the next bedroom, then the master suite.
Both empty.
Panicking, he jogged back down the steps, jumping over patches of flames and the burning rug. A siren wailed, coming closer.
The fire truck. Maybe the ambulance was close behind.
But where in the hell was Mia?
Mia roused from unconsciousness and realized someone was carrying her through the woods.
Geoff?
He had thrown her over his shoulder, the sickening smell of sweat hitting her. “Let me go!” She screamed and clawed at his back, struggling to make him put her down.
His hands tightened on her backside, another hand pressing firmly against her legs where she was kicking at him. She beat at his back with her fists, then yanked at his hair.
It was long and shaggy.
Not Geoff.
“Let me go!” she cried again.
“Shut the fuck up,” the man hissed.
Anger mingled with pure fear, and Mia suddenly sank her teeth into his shoulder. She bit down hard, biting him with all her might.
He bellowed, yanked her head up by her hair then threw her down, sending her sprawling into a cluster of trees. The backs of her legs hit a stump, weeds clawing at her legs and arms, the sound of twigs and bramble breaking.
“You stupid bitch!” the man snarled.
Mia frantically searched the ground for a weapon. Her hand came up with a stick, and she grabbed it, using it like a sword as he lunged toward her. She managed to jab him in the stomach once, then he caught her by the waist. Remembering the self-defense classes she’d taken, she jabbed him in the eyes with her fingers.
He yelled and cursed, drawing back, temporarily disoriented with the pain. But she quickly recovered. She had to get away.
Pushing to her feet, she ran back toward the ranch.
A loud curse echoed behind her, and sticks and leaves crunched as he raced after her. The world spun, her vision blurring as she wove between the trees. She stumbled over a limb and nearly fell but caught herself and trudged on.
The smoke from the house curled into the sky, the flames drawing her eyes.
“You’re going to pay for biting me!” the man yelled.
“Help!” she cried as a branch slapped her in the face. “Someone help!”
He was getting closer, gaining on her. She could hear his breathing. Smell the sweat pouring off of him.
The house loomed so far away. She felt his fingers snatching at her back. Catching in her hair.
She ran faster. If he caught her this time, she might not get away.
The ambulance roared up just as Alex ran out the back of the house again. The fire truck had arrived, and firefighters were already rolling out the hoses and spraying water on the flames.
Two medics knelt by Joy, examining her.
Alex’s heart hammered. Mia wasn’t in the house. What if Geoff had her?
In spite of the heat from the fire, cold fear swept over him. He’d promised to protect her, and he’d failed.
The noise of the water spraying rent the air, but suddenly he froze. He thought he heard a scream
He pivoted, scanning the property. The silhouette of a person moving in the woods caught his eye.
Another scream.
Mia.
She was running, but a man was chasing her, close on her tail.
Yanking his gun from his holster, he darted in the direction of the figure. His lungs strained for air as he jogged into the thicket of trees. With daylight long gone and only a sliver of the moon to illuminate the woods, he lost Mia for a moment.
Terror overwhelmed him. Geoff must have orchestrated the fire to lure Mia outside. Killing Joleen had been a diversion.
Another scream pierced the air, and he cursed and picked up his pace, dashing to the right and jumping over branches that must have been blown down in a storm.
The sound of a man’s snarl made his stomach clench, and he spotted a hulking figure lunge at Mia. She went down, the man on top of her.
Pure rage assaulted Alex, and he tightened his grip on his gun and hurled himself through the weeds. A few feet more and he saw the man drag Mia up by the hair.
She was panting and fighting, kicking back at him, fighting like a wildcat.
Alex inched behind a tree, raised his gun and aimed it at the man’s head. “Let her go or you’re dead.”
Leaves rustled as the man’s head whipped to the left toward him. Alex sized him up quickly.
Not Geoff. This man was larger, burly, had a beard, and hands the size of ham hocks.
Alex’s finger tightened on the trigger. “I said let her go. Now.”
“Son of a bitch,” the man snarled.
Mia’s shaky breathing rattled in the silence as Alex stepped from behind the tree to reveal himself and his weapon, which he kept trained on the man’s head.
“I’m not going to say it again,” Alex said. “Release her this second or take a bullet.”
The man dropped his hands from Mia’s hair. She stumbled, caught herself against a tree and shoved strands of her hair from her face. Blood trickled down her forehead, sending his temper to a boiling high.
“Are you all right, Mia?”
Her gaze met his, her eyes filled with fear. But he recognized fight there as well. “Yes.”
But she wasn’t all right and they both knew it. She’d obviously sustained a blow to the head, and no telling what else. She’d been missing less than half an hour but a lot could happen in that time.
His gaze skated over her, assessing. At least her clothes were intact.
The bastard who’d attacked her shifted and Alex shook his head in warning. If the jerk touched her again, Alex would kill him with his bare hands.
“Go ahead. Try to run,” he said in a menacing voice. “Give me a reason to blow your head off.”
The man’s hands flew upward in surrender. “No. Don’t shoot.”
“Who are you?” Alex asked.
Sweat poured down the man’s ruddy skin. �
�Look, I wasn’t going to hurt her, but the bitch bit me.”
Alex slid his hand into his pocket and removed a pair of handcuffs, then quickly yanked the guy’s hands behind his back and snapped the cuffs tight. “I asked you your name.”
“Fuck you.”
Alex ground his teeth. “Why did you abduct Mia?”
The man’s jowls puffed out, and he glanced at Mia. Her breathing was finally steadying, but she was still trembling. He wanted to drag her in his arms and hold her, comfort her.
Alleviate her fear.
Kill the man who’d hurt her.
Alex twisted the man around and flung him up against a tree so hard the man winced in pain.
Alex raised his gun and pointed it straight at his eyes. “Tell me.”
“I—”
But the bastard never got to finish the sentence. A bullet whizzed by Alex’s head and penetrated the jerk’s skull. The man’s eyes widened just as the bullet entered, then he dropped to the ground, blood and brains splattering across the dirt.
Mia screamed, and he lunged toward her, pulled her in his arms and yanked her safely behind a smattering of trees in case the shooter fired again.
Mia clutched Alex’s arms as he dragged her to the ground to cover her. He checked her for injuries, but she brushed away his hands and his concern. She couldn’t take her eyes off the man who’d been shot.
Blood gushed from his head, the top of his skull exposed, his body limps. He’d been shot right in front of her eyes.
“Mia, are you okay?” Alex asked gruffly.
She nodded, shock straining her features.
“Do you know who he was?” Alex asked.
She shook her head no. “Joy and I were in the kitchen, and I heard the window crash. When I went into the living room, I saw the smoke and yelled at Joy to run out the back.”
Alex cradled her face between his hands. “Did you see Geoff?”
“No,” she said shakily. “When I ran back to the kitchen, Joy was on the floor. I helped her outside, then was going to call for help, but someone hit me over the back of the head.”
She automatically touched the spot where she’d been hit, sticky blood coating her fingertips and matting her hair.
