My heart broke for her. Too young to carry such a burden. “I’ll stop him, I promise.”
My phone rang, and I pulled it out. The hospital. “Sheriff.”
A sweet voice I didn’t recognize answered. “Hi, Kate. Your Aunt Tutti asked me to call and tell you that Kyle Red Owl is waking up.”
Relief, like a soft breeze. Immediately followed by a jolt of fear. “Thanks for calling. But do me a favor and don’t tell anyone else about this. I’m on my way.”
The caller hesitated. “Really? ’Cause Tutti told me to call all the sheriffs.”
My mouth went dry. “I’m the first call, right?”
Her voice shook. “Um. You’re the last one.”
I spun from Shelly and Max and sprinted for Ted’s pickup.
31
I’d been so quick to advise Kyle to let Shelly go. But seeing her today, frightened and young, trying hard to be grown up, hammered home the inexperience and vulnerability of an eighteen-year-old. Shelly had taken on the responsibility of Alex and her mother, carrying them on her thin shoulders. She thought of herself as Superwoman, but she needed help.
I raced down the highway and reached for my phone. When the hospital operator picked up, I asked for Aunt Tutti.
Bright spring sunshine coaxed the hills into a dazzling green, highlighted with wildflowers. Black cows dotted the prairie, and the sky burst in deep blue. The whole day looked as if it’d been drawn by a kindergartner with a new eight-pack of crayons. Too cheerful and hopeful for what was going on.
After a few minutes on hold, Aunt Tutti picked up. “What?”
“How’s Kyle?” I sounded breathless.
Aunt Tutti ground her words like pepper. “Didn’t Brianna call you? Damn it.”
“She called. I just want to know from you.”
Tutti sounded irritated. “His heart rate and temp are normal. Respiration good. The swelling is down, and he woke up for a few minutes. Honestly, I’m busy with patient care. Don’t have time for phone calls.”
Ted’s pickup had power and felt like driving a tank, but it didn’t have a light bar or siren. “Sorry. This is important. Is anyone visiting Kyle?”
“For the love of Pete. I don’t know.”
I hated leaving Kyle alone. “You’ve got to check on him. Make sure only hospital staff goes into his room.”
“Why?”
Should I tell her I suspected Lee Barnett was a murderer? I had no proof, and if I accused him falsely, it would be bad. On the other hand, if I was right, I couldn’t take a chance of giving him access to Kyle.
“Just don’t let anyone in, okay?”
Aunt Tutti sounded weary. “I’ve got patients that need care. I can’t stand guard over one because you’re paranoid.”
My voice rose a few decibels. “The person who hurt him might come back.”
Now she sounded interested. “Who?”
Well, damn the torpedoes… “I think it was Lee Barnett.”
She laughed. “No, really. Who?”
I wanted to scream. “Please.”
Lucky for me she didn’t have the time to argue or gossip. “Whatever. You can explain when you get here.”
I passed the Flying T ranch sign. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
But it seemed more like two hours before I flew by the sale barn on the outskirts of Broken Butte. Within ten minutes I whipped into the lot for Broken Butte County Hospital. There were only two public entrances into the hospital—the main one opening into a lobby and the reception area, and the emergency entrance in back with sliding doors. I parked in the lot behind the hospital, close to the emergency doors.
Right next to the Spinner County sheriff’s Bronco.
Damned good thing I’d made Aunt Tutti promise to keep Kyle safe.
There seemed to be an abundance of vehicles in the back lot. By that I meant two pickups, a blue Suburban, and a black Malibu station wagon, besides Lee’s Bronco and Ted’s pickup. I raced to the emergency room entrance. Aunt Tutti would be keeping a good eye on Kyle, but I needed to find Barnett. What I’d do then, I wasn’t sure.
I pulled out my phone. Since Ted had Marty and Rhonda, I hit speed dial for Milo. “Can you hurry to Broken Butte?”
Milo grunted. “Can’t. My danged back went out again and I’m down. But I just talked to Pete, and he said he’s on his way down to say hi to Kyle.”
I didn’t want to tell Milo my suspicions until I talked to him in person. I’d stand guard over Kyle in the meantime. “Right. I’ll be here.”
He sounded concerned. “Well, okay, then.”
I’d made it across the parking lot and checked to make sure my gun was nestled on my hip.
The glass doors of the emergency entrance slid open, and I walked into chaos.
32
Two middle-aged women in jeans and T-shirts sat in the molded plastic chairs where I’d talked to Aunt Tutti earlier that morning. They were covered in dirt, their hair in disarray. People, also grungy and disheveled, sat on tables in both the exam rooms. Medical staff bustled around them. It was a small ER, so it took only a few people to fill it and make it seem like an all-out disaster.
No one wailed. I saw no tears, and not even any blood. Aunt Tutti scooted out one exam room on her way to another. I jumped toward her and caught her arm. “What’s going on?”
“The ladies auxiliary were cleaning the Legion, and Guy Compton ran his Cadillac through the kitchen wall.”
I must have looked flummoxed.
She pulled her arm away. “Says it’s a new car and he couldn’t find the brake. They ought to take away his license, is what I think.”
I spun around and raced down the hall. Barnett was in the hospital, and no one was protecting Kyle.
My boots clacked on the shiny linoleum until I hit the hallway leading toward the front door and administrative offices. I dashed down the corridor, skirting a woman locking an office and slinging a purse over her shoulder. She gasped and muttered something as I raced past. A young man in scrubs carrying a yellow plastic tray full of vials flattened against the wall to let me pass.
I rounded the corner and poured on the speed. Nurses and other staff crossed in front of me or hurried on their own business. It could’ve been a shift change or maybe it was the emergency, but the place seemed to whir with activity. No one would notice Barnett slipping into Kyle’s room.
They barely paid me any attention, except to get out of my way. After what felt like an elephant’s lifetime, I reached Kyle’s corridor and his room.
I grabbed the doorway and propelled myself inside. Like plunging into flames, I reacted without thought. Barnett stood over Kyle, a grimace on his face. Within reach of the IV running into Kyle’s veins. “Stop!”
Barnett flung his head up. Our eyes met. “Stay out of this.”
Kyle lay motionless on his back, eyes closed, his skin a chalky version of his usual bronze. A bandage turban glowed white against wisps of his black hair. Defenseless, vulnerable, so alone.
Desperate to protect Kyle, I lunged across the room, catching Barnett off guard. Ambushed, Barnett’s defenses never really kicked in. I didn’t know how, but I’d already clutched my cuffs, and before I knew what I planned, I snapped cuffs closed around one wrist and yanked it, along with his other arm, behind his back. Adrenaline and flat-out rage at him for threatening Kyle gave me strength I didn’t know I had.
The spindly IV rack crashed to the side, tossing the half-full bag of fluid across the room, jerking the end from the back of Kyle’s hand. I was probably yelling, Barnett roared, but who knew if either of us used real words.
Whether the racket from the toppled IV hook or our struggles caught her attention, an older nurse in dark green scrubs scurried into the room. “Dear Lord, what is going on?”
I clamped the cuffs on Barnett and he fought to escape, kicking the bedside table so it rolled toward Kyle’s head.
“Stop it!” the nurse hollered. “Get out!”
I cla
sped Barnett’s cuffed hands and took hold of his collar and started propelling him from the room. “Kyle’s IV got pulled out. I think Barnett might have put something in it.”
Barnett twisted from side to side attempting to break away. “I didn’t touch it.”
Barnett was a big guy. Even cuffed he took my full strength to control.
The nurse seemed more annoyed than worried. “You can go to jail for tampering with his meds.”
“He’s going to jail for more than that,” I said.
Barnett wasn’t making this easy. “You don’t understand. I’m protecting Kyle.”
“From what, staying alive?” Kyle looked so fragile in his crisp sheets, white bandages, pale skin. “Is Kyle going to be okay?” I asked the nurse.
She righted the rack. “Not if you don’t get out of here.”
I shoved Barnett ahead of me. “Let’s go.”
Barnett planted his feet. “Damn it, Fox. You’re going to get Kyle killed this time.”
I routinely wrangled two-hundred-pound calves, so one overweight, soft-bellied sheriff wasn’t going to get the better of me. Since I didn’t have an electric cattle prod, I used the standard Fox control method. I pinched hair at the nape of his neck and snapped it up.
“Ow!” He flinched and took a few steps forward.
“Did you think you could get away with it?”
“I haven’t done anything I need to get away with.”
“Kidnapping Alex is definitely something.”
He whipped his head toward me. “You were at my house?”
“Don’t worry. Alex is fine and ready to testify that you locked him up. And as soon as Kyle comes to, he’ll confirm you’re responsible for beating him. After that, it’s a matter of compiling evidence that you killed Darrel.”
Barnett swiveled to look at me. “You’re insane. Remand me to Ted’s custody.”
I reached behind his head and gave his hair another yank. “All because you don’t want the world to find out that Kyle is your son.”
The nurse stopped her checking and patting and repairing for a split second. Barnett’s lips curled back. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Let’s go.” I shoved him, and he stumbled a few feet.
I manhandled Barnett out of the room, and now a small crowd formed a circle around us. “I found Shelly and she’s safe from you.”
He looked alarmed. “Where is she?”
I kept shoving him down the corridor.
He balked. “You need to tell me where Shelly is. If you don’t, I can’t protect her.”
I grunted, cold rage taking root. “You kidnapped Alex, tried to kill Kyle, and now you want me to tell you where Shelly is?”
Barnett sounded equally wrathy. “I didn’t do any of that. I’m only trying to stop it from happening again.”
“If you didn’t do it, who did?”
He closed his mouth. After a moment, he said, “If you’re going to haul me away, at least call Milo to come sit with Kyle.”
“When you’re locked up, Kyle will be safe.”
“Damn, you’re stubborn. Now I know why Ted left you for Roxy.”
He was not making me feel any better about him as a human being.
We struggled down the corridor, him cuffed and belligerent, me pretending I had the situation under control but really just happy to have Barnett away from Kyle and wishing Pete would hurry. Taking Barnett to the Broken Butte cop shop temporarily would be best.
He eyed the gathering looky-loos and quit fighting me. “Okay. Let’s get out of here.”
We tromped back through the ER, where the ladies auxiliary had vacated, assumedly none the worse for Guy Compton’s driving.
What was taking Pete so long? “You say you didn’t do this, but you won’t say who to blame.”
Barnett spoke as if his jaw were stone. “I won’t blame anyone.”
“You’d rather go to jail?”
He fired up, his eyes going all Godzilla. “Your generation is out for yourselves. You’ve been coddled and given the big red participation ribbon all your lives, so you have no idea about friendship and honor and loyalty.”
Yep. That’s me to a T. So pampered I had that nice diving vacation coming up, as soon as I quit bailing out my family. My walls could be lined with the Divorce ribbon, Unemployed one, Single and Childless, Niece Missing, and oh, and don’t forget the Pathetic Pity Party one with all the streamers and stars.
He’d hit a nerve, for sure. “Loyalty, huh? I’m pretty sure murder cancels your nobility.”
We made our way out of the ER without running into any more shocked citizens. By now, the gossip would be spreading through the Sandhills. I kept a hand on Barnett’s back because he remained reluctant to leave the hospital.
He bucked me. “You can’t leave Kyle unprotected.”
“It’s touching how much you care.” We crossed the parking lot. “I’ll need your car keys.” I couldn’t haul a prisoner in Ted’s pickup.
Barnett halted midstep.
Around the corner of the hospital, Pete drove his Chester County sheriff’s Bronco into the front parking lot.
Barnett sucked in a quick breath. He shook his head and turned to me, alarm shooting from his face. “Let me go.” He jerked out of my grasp.
“Knock it off.”
The humiliation of having Pete see him cuffed, or maybe revealing Kyle as his son, seemed too much for Barnett. He twisted and spun, like a calf at a rodeo. Before I knew it, he flew past me, heading back to the hospital. With his arms pulled behind his back and his wrists tied together, he ran like a rooster. Still, he had the jump on me, and I took off after him.
While the hallways had been bustling before, now no one ran interference for me. Barnett made it through the ER before I grabbed his arms and threw him backward.
He bounced against the wall and fell to his knees.
He roared at me. “Stop him!”
I stared at him, not comprehending. He struggled to his feet. “Don’t let him get to Kyle.”
My thoughts started to shift into a new perspective. “But Alex?”
Barnett’s slick-soled boots slid on the linoleum. “I had to hide him. I was trying to find Shelly for the same reason.”
Shelly said she’d been chased by a Bronco. Barnett had been at her wreck in his pickup.
Oh my God. I’d been so wrong.
33
I left Barnett struggling to his feet and raced down the hall. Kyle’s room felt like it was ten miles away and I was floundering through neck-high cut-grass. I slid around a corner and opened up on the last few feet to propel myself into his room for the second time.
Again, a sheriff stood by Kyle’s bedside.
This time, it was Pete Grainger, his skin mottled, eyes glassy, and lips pulled wide in a mask of horror. His arms were braced, and he leaned his weight into a pillow covering Kyle’s face. Meanwhile, Kyle’s arms slapped weakly and his body contorted beneath the thin hospital sheets.
Grainger lifted his head and focused on me. “Get out!”
I threw myself across the room as Pete backed from the bed and reached his arm behind him. With a fluid movement, he pulled out his gun and held it straight, barrel pointing at my heart.
The pillow over Kyle’s head slipped to the floor.
I slid to a halt, arms raised. “Hey, Pete. Easy.”
A cornered animal, he sweated, and his focus flicked around the room. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. But it’s your fault. You should have let it go.”
Breathe, Kate. “Come on, Pete. You don’t want to do this.”
His dark eyes pleaded with me, and for the first time, I noticed they were same umber color as Kyle’s. “I don’t. You’re right. But what choice do I have? Tammy, she won’t understand.”
What would he need to hear? “She loves you. She’ll forgive you.”
He seemed to consider that with some hope. Then his eyebrows fell and tears pooled. “No. She won’t. If I’d
told her a long time ago, sure. She might even have adopted Kyle and raised him like her own. But not now. She’ll never forgive me for not claiming Kyle. Not giving him a father.”
I stepped toward Kyle’s bed. Pete startled and shoved his gun at me. I didn’t flinch, even though instinct told me to dive for cover. I kept eye contact. “He’s your son.” Then whispered to him, “You can’t kill your own son.”
Frantic eyes shifted from Kyle to me. “It’s the only way to fix this. He should never have been born. He ruined my life.”
I spoke low. “Too many people know.”
He choked a sob. “My kids. This will destroy them.”
“Kyle is your kid!” Damn it, why didn’t that sink in?
His face sloppy with tears, his mouth opened in a silent scream. I’d never seen someone so broken.
He stared down at Kyle and drew in a shocked, shaky breath.
Kyle’s eyes held Pete.
Pete looked at me, pleading for something I couldn’t give. He slowly raised his gun to his temple.
Crashing behind me, a heavy body thudded into the wall and slammed into the door. “No!” Barnett shouted.
It was enough to make Pete hesitate.
Barnett righted himself and stood inside the doorway. He advanced on Pete. “You can’t do that. Your kids, Tammy. Hell, me. We’ve had each other’s backs since high school.”
Pete’s eyes seemed unfocused, as if he couldn’t quite make out Barnett. “You knew, didn’t you? All along you could have turned me in for killing that Indian. But you didn’t.”
Barnett inhaled with a pain, as if Pete thrust a knife into him. “No. I hoped it was what they said, a hit-and-run.”
Pete pleaded with Barnett. “He said if I didn’t pay, he’d tell Tammy, tell everyone. I couldn’t let them know about—” Pete’s face contorted with hatred as he glared at Kyle. “Him.”
Barnett held out his hand. “Don’t you leave me now. Not like this.”
Pete’s shoulders heaved with his sobs. “I can’t.”
Barnett walked past me, his hand out. “I’ll be with you. No matter what happens. I’m your friend. Always.”
Bitter Rain (Kate Fox Book 3) Page 27
