Part 61 (1/2)
They needed an ally in this town.
They would be taking a risk, but she had the feeling time was short.
Doug had a radio in his car and he heard the call. Marty had been attacked and had called for him.
'She needs you.'
Those words echoed in his head. But Marty had asked for him. She was in poor condition, according to the dispatcher. Perhaps she had something more she had to tell him.
Torn, he finally stopped, turned around and headed back to Bisbee. Liz should be safe enough where she was. As sheriff, he had covered all of Cochise County at one time or another. He'd patrolled for illegals and smugglers as well as caches of stolen Indian artifacts. Otherwise he wouldn't have known of the cabin's existence.
He put the flas.h.i.+ng light on top of the Jeep and pressed his foot down on the gas pedal. Ten minutes back. Then he would return.
Who would have hurt Marty? Every one in Bisbee respected her. Some might argue with her defense of down-and-outers or her opposition to many of the newcomers who wanted to change Bisbee. But crime--particularly violent crime--was not a major problem in the city.
He knew it had something to do with the three tourists and Liz.
He wanted to talk to them again. He should have pressed the point when he'd seen them. But he'd realized from the first day he'd met Liz that she was running from something. He had not wanted to excoriate the wounds. Now he wished he had.
He reached the hospital three minutes later.
He parked in front of the emergency room and ran through the doors. He stopped only briefly at the desk. ”Marty?”
He didn't have to elaborate. Everyone knew Marty.
”They took her up to one of the operating rooms.”
”Her condition?”
”Critical. There's been bleeding in the brain.”
His heart sank. She couldn't help him now. Still, he decided to go up to the waiting room to see whether he could find out anything more. He walked in and saw the same three people he had seen in the bar.
He went to the desk, heard the same information as he had below. ”How long before they will know anything?” he asked.
”I don't know,” the nurse said.
Then he went over to the two men and woman. ”What do you know about this?”
”I found her,” the tall detective said. ”After going to her house as you suggested, we returned to the store. The sign still said CLOSED, but the door was unlocked. We went in and found her.”
”You didn't see anyone there?”
”No, but it looked like someone had searched the place.”
Doug remembered her jotting down directions to where Liz was hiding. Sometimes imprints remained on the next page of the pad.
”Do you want to tell me why you are really here?”
Dom stepped forward this time. ”As we told you, we're looking for Meredith Rawson's sister, Holly. She's my daughter. I didn't know about it until a few days ago. It's a long story, but there's been several murders surrounding Ms. Rawson's search for her sister. If you know a woman with a small boy and who sculpts in metal, she could well be Holly Ames. And if she is, there are some people who would do anything to keep us from finding her.”
”A husband?”
”Yes, a state senator. And her father is a justice on the state supreme court. Both men are powerful in Louisiana.”
”And your role in this?” Doug stared straight at Gaynor.
”I'm here for Meredith.”
Doug quickly made up his mind. He felt he was a good judge of people, and he instinctively trusted these three.
”Let's go,” he said to Gage.
”I'm going, too,” Dom said.
”So am I,” the woman added.
He didn't have time to argue with them. He turned to Gage. ”You have a gun with you?”
”No.”
”I have an extra one in the car.”
He started toward his car at a jog. He had a sick feeling in his gut. They reached his Jeep. The older man got in the front without asking. The other two piled in the back. Doug screeched off, putting the siren back on top of the Jeep.
Holly waited for Marty to either call or return. Her friend had promised to do so if she heard anything from the mysterious sister.
She also knew Marty would call Doug. She continued to keep her ears turned to the phone and her eyes on the nearly invisible road that led to the cabin.
Harry was quiet. More quiet than she had seen him since they had reached Bisbee. Even Caesar moved around with his tail between his legs.
She had explored the area behind the cabin, the mountain it backed up to. Marty had said it was full of hiding places. It had once hidden Apaches for months.
Holly fixed some pork and beans for herself and Harry, then looked back outside. It was late afternoon, and the sun was falling, casting shadows over the desert landscape.
Holly s.h.i.+vered with loneliness.
She looked outside again. She saw a trail of dust rising up from the distance.
Doug?
Her heart flip-flopped at the thought. She dreaded telling him the truth but it would also bring relief.
She should have told him earlier. She knew that. She'd allowed fear to overcome her instincts.
She looked back outside. The vehicle was closer. Not a Jeep. Not Marty's old Bug.
That fear she'd been trying to mask flared into full terror.
She grabbed the dog's leash and clicked it on. She couldn't leave the animal here and break Harry's heart once more. ”Come on, Harry,” she said. ”Let's play a game of hide-and-seek.”