Present Danger

by Elizabeth Goddard

  Had she had a premonition that something was about to happen? Whatever. It happened. And on the other side of that, Terra feared she didn’t have the same mettle her mother had.

  But thinking about her fears wouldn’t help her investigation, so she set her cell phone on the side table and concentrated on her laptop.

  Time to research. Savvier computer techs could dive deeper than Terra was able to, including finding their way around the dark web, but in her last go-around with illegal archaeological digs and trafficking, the criminals had sold items online on the “legal” Internet. Given the current climate of crackdowns on artifact trafficking, one would think those seeking to sell illegal items online would be few and far between, but the reverse was true. Most pieces found online were either fake—not an artifact at all—or had been looted.

  Terra started on eBay, but experienced traffickers would know better. The first items to pop up on her screen were labeled as Mayan artifacts, supposedly “ancient and authentic” with paperwork obtained legally by the original owner declaring a provenance through an estate sale. Terra scratched her head.

  Could be true.

  Probably wasn’t.

  The laws were decidedly complex, and the potential to sell illegal items online was dangerous but infinite. Terra had been told there had been an increase in this kind of activity on the web, with as many as, if not more than, a hundred thousand antiquities being sold online.

  Snatching up her cell from the side table, she stared at her contacts. Besides Jeremy Brand, she had other connections. She could pay a visit to Joey DeMarco, who was still serving time in prison in Colorado. She doubted he would be willing to talk to her, much less give her additional information or names—but the guy was in deep. He’d been willing to negotiate, give up more names in return for a lighter sentence, even though the sentence was light to begin with. That was the downside of trafficking—the money was often worth the risk and a few months or years in jail.

  But Terra had a plan. She’d befriended Joey’s mother, who was heartbroken to learn what Joey had been doing right under her nose in her own home. The woman had been suffering with a debilitating disease, and Joey had cared for her. Mrs. DeMarco would want her son to cooperate.

  She had thought her son was a simple collector of modern art. He attended antique shows and made his connections that way.

  That was just it—Jim wasn’t only a collector or he would have displayed items in his home. But she had seen no art in his home. Instead, he had wanted to keep this part of his life a secret.

  And that secret had killed him.

  Who were you working with, Jim?

  The credits for the movie she hadn’t watched scrolled across the TV. A couple of hours of searching online auction houses and the like hadn’t led her to the Native American headdress she’d seen at the cabin. She was going about this all wrong—but she had to try. Terra’s eyelids finally grew heavy, and she closed her laptop.

  She stood, ignoring the sensation of being watched. It had to be because of the eyes belonging to her great-greats in that old photograph. Time to turn off the lights and TV and go to bed.

  Terra reached for the remote. Before she touched it, the television screen turned black. Lights flickered off, shrouding her in darkness.

  NINETEEN

  Jack knew that Terra would never have agreed to this. Better to sit outside and watch over the house and Terra. He wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. Maybe he was overreacting. Watching over her wasn’t his job. She was a trained law officer.

  Jack had tried to ignore his gut, so he’d gone home to check on Aunt Nadine. She was safe and sound. Maybe Terra didn’t need his help, but he couldn’t sleep with the sense that something was wrong gnawing at the back of his mind.

  So, he’d parked his vehicle off the beaten path to watch over her. He could see anyone coming and going, that is, if they used the remote drive into the small valley. And now he was glad he’d listened to his instincts.

  The security light had gone off at the same time as the lights in the house.

  Darkness engulfed him. Clouds hid the moon at the moment.

  Jack shifted in his seat.

  He texted Terra.

  Are you okay? Saw the lights go out.

  Then he grabbed a flashlight and his 9mm and climbed from his vehicle. He wouldn’t wait for her response to take action.

  God, please let her respond. Please let his gut be completely wrong. He’d prefer paranoia to actually being right.

  He flipped on his flashlight so he could see where he was going as he continued toward the house. In the distance, horses whinnied from inside the stables. Outside the stables, the security lights were on. Unfortunately, Jack’s cell didn’t buzz with a reply from Terra. The muscles in his shoulders grew taut.

  At the front door he rang the bell and pounded. “Terra, it’s me! Are you okay in there?”

  Sweat bloomed on his hands. How long should he wait for her to answer? She could be in real trouble. Instead of waiting, he opted to check the perimeter. Someone could have disabled the alarm and found a way in. He hoped she wouldn’t think he was the intruder and shoot him.

  He sloshed through mud along the bushes next to the house. That sixth sense that had warned him something was wrong grew stronger.

  God, please let Terra be okay. Let her be aware and alert.

  He couldn’t handle something happening to her.

  At the back of the house, he continued to check the windows and looked for irregularities. He needed to work quickly. After Terra had spent years trying to persuade him to do so, her grandfather installed a security camera. He grew up in a time when no one needed to lock their doors, especially living in the country in Montana, much less install security alarms.

  Why had someone followed Terra tonight to begin with? Did it have to do with their investigation, or was it something entirely different?

  He crept around where bushes were high against the window and the woods encroached—a good place to hide and come at the house.

  Light flashed from a window.

  Gunfire resounded.

  “Terra!” he shouted.

  A window shattered on the other side of the house. Gripping his weapon, Jack sprinted around the corner.

  “Terra, hold on. I’m coming!”

  Maybe he should have remained silent in case he was only alerting the intruder to his presence. But that could go either way. He could scare the danger away too—and give Terra hope.

  As he rounded the corner, he spotted a figure running into the woods. He wanted to tackle the assailant, but Terra was his first concern. He dashed to the shattered window, avoiding chunks of glass.

  She appeared in the window and pointed to the woods. “He’s getting away. Let’s go.”

  He wouldn’t waste time arguing with her. She pushed the remaining shards of glass from the window using her arm wrapped in a blanket and began climbing out. He helped her through the rest of the way, and together they sprinted across the wet ground, flashlights lighting the way.

  The clouds partially cleared, revealing a crescent moon. He flicked off his flashlight. “We can let the moon guide us without becoming a target.”

  She turned off her flashlight too.

  Jack took off deeper into the woods, Terra on his heels. Neither of them spoke until he stopped to catch his breath.

  He searched the shadows. “Heading into the woods like this could be dangerous.”

  “He could ambush us. But I don’t think he wants to kill anyone. I think he wants to escape.”

  “He didn’t fire his weapon?”

  “No. I told him to stop. I fired a warning shot, but he escaped anyway.”

  Jack would learn more about what happened later. Right now, they had to focus on getting the intruder.

  The moonlight dimmed, then faded completely.

  Great. Now what? If he shined his flashlight, he could draw attention to them. And despite what Terra had said—that the in
truder probably didn’t want to kill anyone—Jack wouldn’t risk their lives on it.

  They stood back-to-back, weapons ready, and searched the dark woods as the trees dripped with rain. Coyotes howled.

  And in the distance, an engine started up.

  Jack sagged. “That has to be him.”

  “Agreed. The neighbors aren’t close enough for us to hear their vehicles starting. Let’s stay alert in case we’re wrong as we make our way toward the road.”

  Jack started forward, turning his flashlight on. The clouds had covered the moon again. “I don’t want to trip over a log. Did you get a good look at him? Tell me what happened.”

  Hiking next to him, she shined her flashlight around as they rushed in the direction from which they’d heard the vehicle starting. “I was about to turn off the TV when the lights went out. It’s weird, because before that, I kept thinking . . . I had that sensation of being watched. You know? I attributed the feeling to that old photograph on the wall. It’s always creeped me out.”

  “But you shook it off because you thought you were being childish.”

  “Yes. And now I’m even more creeped out to think it wasn’t the photograph at all, but someone was in the house with me.”

  He stopped hiking when they approached the empty road. “Wait. He was in the house while you were there?”

  “I’m not sure if he was already there when I got home or if he broke in while I was there, but when the lights went out, I grabbed my gun and searched the house. That’s when I caught someone trying to escape through the window. He must have cut the power, hoping to guarantee he stayed in the dark as he made his escape, I don’t know.”

  Or he’d hoped that would hamper the alarm system, depending on what kind was in place. Jack hadn’t heard it go off. He would need to check into that. “So, tonight you think someone followed you, but you lost them. And maybe someone was already in the house when you got home.”

  “I know what you’re thinking—if they wanted to harm me, they had ample opportunity.”

  “Let’s get to the road. I don’t know, maybe the license plate fell off the car. Maybe we can get techs out here to get the tracks. Something.”

  At the road they shined their flashlights around.

  “Here.” Terra’s beam focused on a set of tracks.

  Jack called and reported the break-in and asked for a casting kit for processing the tracks before more rain washed them away, as well as techs to process the house. Jack explained that the break-in wasn’t typical and needed to be fully processed. A law enforcement officer had been targeted.

  When he ended the call, she stared at him. “A law enforcement officer was targeted?”

  “Yes. You. You were followed, and someone broke into the house where you were staying. Let’s not downplay this.”

  “I have no intention of downplaying it, and I want the entire house processed for fingerprints.”

  “Of course. We’re on it.”

  She rubbed her arms.

  Clearly, tonight’s events disturbed her more than she’d been willing to let on. Jack resisted the urge to draw her into his arms.

  “I wish I knew what they were after inside the house. I didn’t see anything obviously missing, like electronics.”

  “Does your grandfather keep any cash in the house? A safe, maybe?”

  “If he does, I didn’t know about it.”

  Jack and Terra waited in the cold drizzle until, finally, headlights shone in the distance, along with red and blue flashing lights. Jack directed the vehicle’s driver to avoid the tracks left behind so they wouldn’t be destroyed.

  Deputy Matt Whitmire stepped from his county vehicle, and Jack explained he needed the tracks marked off and protected from contamination while they waited on techs to arrive with the kit.

  “Sure thing,” Matt said. “It shouldn’t take them long to get here.”

  Jack and Terra left Matt and hiked back to her grandfather’s ranch house.

  Questions fought for space in his head. Could someone have been waiting in the house, expecting her grandfather or Owen? Could be the intruder hadn’t known Terra was temporarily staying there.

  “When will Owen and Robert be back?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “I won’t leave you alone tonight.” Because he couldn’t be sure that she wasn’t the target.

  TWENTY

  Gramps stood with his back to Terra as he drank his coffee. He’d used store-bought grounds today instead of the beans he roasted himself. That should tell her something. She joined him in staring out the kitchen window at the mountains, and in the near distance, a couple of horses grazed in the meadow beyond the stables. A picture-perfect scene. Terra understood why he so often stood at this window—the scenery calmed his nerves and gave him peace.

  He and Owen had arrived home late this morning to the news of the break-in. Investigators discovered the safe in his office had been broken into.

  “What was in the safe, Gramps?”

  “The usual. Insurance policies, personal and financial documents, some cash. Nothing special. Someone thought they’d check out the place and look for a safe. Maybe I give the impression I have money.” A boisterous laugh erupted. “What was I thinking? A safe behind a picture is probably an easy target. I’ll put Owen on moving it for me. Can’t trust these yahoos out here. Someone at a bar probably blabbed about putting it in.”

  “So, you had the safe installed recently?”

  “A few months back.”

  The safecracker had drilled into the locking mechanism to open it, and with that information, authorities knew the intruder had been in the house and done his work before she got home. To think that someone had been in the house with her, biding his time for a chance to escape, left her unsettled. She rubbed the goosebumps that suddenly rose on her arms, then poured herself another cup of coffee. She would need it after the night she’d had.

  “And why did you suddenly decide to install a safe after living here for decades?”

  He set his mug in the sink and turned to study her. The skin around his eyes crinkled with his smile. “Well, you know, I added an alarm system. Figured I should go all the way.”

  He patted her shoulder as he moved away from her. Was he trying to avoid more questions? Gramps headed out of the kitchen.

  “They’ll find whoever was behind the theft, Gramps. They processed for fingerprints last night and got a cast on the tracks as well as the footprints in the woods and around the house.”

  He paused, then turned to face her. The lines in his face deepened, making him look ten years older. “You could have been killed because someone wanted in my safe.” Gramps closed the distance and hugged her. “You and Owen mean everything to me.”

  “And you mean the same to us. Family is everything.”

  “One of these days, the two of you will get the ranch,” he said. “You’ll get it all.”

  She scrunched her face. “You’ll probably outlive the both of us. You’re as strong as those horses out there you love so much. You’re not going anywhere anytime soon.”

  “I sure hope not. I have a campaign I need to focus on in the coming months.”

  He was really going to run for office. Terra wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but it wasn’t her life or decision to make, and she wouldn’t get into it with Gramps now.

  Owen stepped into the kitchen, smelling of horses and hay. He’d gone straight to the stables when they’d arrived this morning. Terra wasn’t sure he’d even registered that an intruder had broken in last night.

  A big grin spread across his face. “Hey.” He eyed Terra. “I need to go wash up. You staying for a while?”

  “No. I have to get to work.”

  “Come on then, I’ll walk you out.”

  Terra rinsed out her mug and put it away, then grabbed her bag and jacket.

  Owen strolled with her to her vehicle parked in the circular drive. “Are you okay?”

  She opened the door
but remained standing. “Sure. I’m wondering about Gramps. Has he been acting strange?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been away a while, you know. But not that I can tell. He was a huge help to me with the equestrian therapists. You know he has that way about him. Everyone likes him, and respects him. He can make anything happen, if he wants to.”

  “I’m glad the trip was good for you then. This is going to be great, Owen.”

  He grinned.

  “Do me a favor,” she added, “and keep a close eye on Gramps and the house.”

  “Because of the break-in?”

  “Yes.”

  “I still have skills.” Owen winked.

  Owen put on a good show to hide his true misgivings, but he would be okay. She believed that. Now and then she saw a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. He’d been a warrant officer and had planned to be a career helicopter pilot. Flying Apache attack helicopters in the Army was a dangerous career, and Terra was just glad to have him home alive.

  Those thoughts she kept to herself.

  A contemplative expression took away his smile as he glanced toward the house. Terra suspected he had more to say, but she knew that look. He wouldn’t talk to her about it now, and she also knew better than to push him.

  She gave Owen a quick peck on the cheek. “Don’t forget to take that shower, but you should probably wait until you’re done with the horses for the day.”

  Her cell rang. Jack. She flashed a smile at her brother. “Okay, I need to take this call. I’ll see you later. Don’t wait up for me.”

  When she answered her cell, either Jack had ended the call or the signal had dropped. She climbed into her vehicle and reached for the door.

  “Terra, wait.” Owen crossed his arms.

  “What is it?”

  “We haven’t had a lot of time to talk, and I just wanted you to know that I do plan to get my own place. It’s just Gramps. He asked me to stay and I agreed, at least for a while.”

  “You have to do what’s right for you, Owen. If this therapy venture works out for you, then it makes the most sense for you to stay here. I’m sure Gramps welcomes the company. I think he feels lonely. Stay if you want. However, please don’t be guilted into staying if things don’t work out, but I’m sure they will!”