Catherine’s nerves were icy as she sprinted after Garrett and his tugging hound. She refused to let her fear yank her into despair. They would locate her sister alive. And her uncle too. Yet she could not completely banish the flash of memory of finding her father. Would she discover her sister too? Gravely injured? Worse?
Shoulders stiff, she wrestled the fear back into its well-worn channel. You aren’t going to win this time, Stone.
But when the dog let out an emphatic “woof,” her terror ignited.
Pinkerton nosed at a spot to the side of the path as if he might ingest the scent itself. She peered around Garrett’s broad shoulder, barely discerning the droplets on the ground, ink-dark. Cold prickles stabbed her all over. It took a moment for her to realize Garrett had half turned to grip her forearm while he hauled the hound to a full stop.
“It’s blood, isn’t it?” she said before he could get a word out.
He gave one brief nod. “You should go back, wait with Hagerty.”
She shook her head as she detached herself from his touch. Was her message clear enough? You let him escape. You are the reason this is happening. And there was no way she would flinch from whatever was to come. She would be there for her sister. “Let’s go.”
He did not need to command Pinkerton, who was again following his nose around the bend in the trail.
Antonia. Antonia. Her sister’s name beat against her skull. You’d better not be dead, you hear me? All that survival training and self-defense stuff you bragged about. It had to have been enough to save her. Catherine clung to that thought as they jogged. Their pace quickened and it was all Garrett could do to hang on to the leather lead as the dog sped along, ears flapping audibly in the wind.
Pinkerton galloped off the trail, skidding to a stop at the side of a towering granite outcropping. Her view was obscured by his enormous ears and quivering body, and his baying echoed like an air-raid siren.
Garrett went to his knees and she saw. Her sister sat half-propped against the rock, eyes closed, her short hair a platinum corona.
“Tony,” she gasped, falling down next to her and grabbing her hand.
Garrett pulled Pinkerton away and ordered him to sit.
Tears blurred Catherine’s vision as Garrett sought a pulse. At first his words did not penetrate the excruciating pain in her chest.
“She’s alive.”
Alive.
Catherine squeezed her sister’s cold fingers. “I’m right here, sis. Can you hear me? We’re going to get you to the hospital. You’ll be okay.”
Garrett spoke urgently into his cell phone.
Her sister twitched, then blinked, and Catherine forced down her terror in favor of an encouraging smile. “Tony, it’s Catherine. Can you answer me?”
“You know I hate that nickname,” she whispered.
Relief made her dizzy. “Sorry.” For a moment they both simply breathed, fingers entwined together. “Help is coming. Can you tell me what happened? How did you get out here?”
Antonia blinked again, grimacing. “Porter showed up. I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong. Uncle Orson intervened. He told Stone he’d called the cops and they were headed up the drive, but I think it was a bluff. Stone freaked anyway. He was shoving me into the car when I broke free and ran. I was going to get clear of the house, head for the neighbor’s and get help, but I fell and hit my head.” She rubbed at her temple. Now her dark eyes, brown like their father’s had been, came into focus. “Did he...? Is Uncle Orson...?”
“Missing.” She could not bear to say “kidnapped.”
A dribble of blood trickled down her sister’s cheek from her brow. “Why won’t Porter leave us alone?”
If only she had an answer to that question. “The police are looking for him.”
Her laugh was bitter. “Oh, great. Super comforting.”
Of course, it wouldn’t comfort either of them. “We’ll get you to a hospital. We’ll find him.” And Stone would be punished like he should have been a decade before. It had to be that way because the thought of going back into hiding struck her soul like a hammer.
Hagerty arrived with backup a few minutes before the firefighters, who had to carry Antonia to the ambulance on a stretcher after they stabilized her. From what Catherine could see, the source of the bleeding was a cut on her forehead, but who knew what kind of unseen injuries she’d sustained trying to save their uncle?
Garrett gave Pinkerton a handful of treats, which the dog devoured in seconds, trotting along as they hurried back to his car. She wanted to take the wheel herself, speed after the ambulance as it raced away, but they arrived to find a woman and a man on scene, their tall statures and strong chins marking them as Wolfes. The woman was obviously Garrett’s twin.
“Stephanie Wolfe,” she said, “and this is my brother Chase.”
Chase nodded, his hair a mess of wild curls. He was taller and rangier than his siblings. “We’ll stay. Get whatever we can from Hagerty.”
“Garrett.” There was steel in Stephanie’s voice. “I need to talk to you privately for a moment.”
“Later. Taking Catherine to the hospital.”
“Garrett...” she said again, this time through clenched teeth.
Catherine got into the passenger seat. If this family drama was going to play out any longer, she’d ask Hagerty for a ride, but Garrett got in and cranked the ignition. His sister’s fury followed them as they left.
“I don’t need you to drive me,” she said. “Let me borrow your car or get a lift from the cops.”
“It’s no problem.”
“I think it is. Your sister’s furious. She doesn’t want you involved in this.”
“And you don’t either, do you?”
She paused. “Do you blame me?”
“No, actually. He got away because of me.”
“It’s not...” She bit back the comment.
“Not what?”
“I get that things happen. My dad was a cop before he switched to corporate life and I understand it’s an impossible job.”
“But?” His tawny eyes flicked to hers. “Say it, Catherine.”
“You didn’t believe us,” she blurted. “You refused to accept that Stone was guilty of murdering my father.” The anger poisoned her words, hardening them into arrows. “You took his word because he was a local, you knew his dad. Did you let him escape? Turn your back for a minute on purpose?”
He didn’t flinch, didn’t move, but a vein jumped in his jaw. “No,” he said slowly. “I did not. I may have been a failure as a detective, but I had integrity—still do, as a matter of fact.”
She knew her comment had cut into him and she was glad. Hurt for hurt. Payback. But she couldn’t sustain the flash of anger because she read in his expression that it was true. He hadn’t let Stone escape. It had tortured him too, likely. And whatever reason caused him to doubt Stone’s guilt, it was a legitimate one, at least in his mind.
I’m sorry, she wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t emerge past the mass of emotion roiling in her gut.
They drove the remainder of the way to the hospital in silence, then checked in and settled into uncomfortable waiting room chairs.
The doctor allowed her to see Antonia an hour later.
Garrett shrugged. “I, uh, I’ll wait here.”
She nodded and hurried in.
“Just bumps and bruises,” the doctor pronounced to her profound relief. “I’ll give you a few minutes, but the police are waiting to interview her.”
Her sister looked small in the big bed, a bandage covering her forehead and dark shadows prominent under her eyes.
She tried for a grin, but her customary fire was missing. Then again, maybe it had dulled long ago. Catherine only saw her sister via video calls and a clandestine face-to-face once or twice a year.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Antonia said.
“I never know where you’ll turn up.” Catherine gripped her hand.
“I don’t suppose they caught him? Found our uncle?”
She shook her head. “They will.”
“They won’t.” Antonia shut her eyes and tears trickled from beneath her closed lids. “This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not. Don’t say that. How could you have known Stone was going to escape again?”
“He never should have even been involved in our lives. I broke up with him after two dates and he turned into a monster after that. I knew when we hiked up to that cabin in Burney it wasn’t going to work out between us.”
“Like I said, you couldn’t have known,” Catherine said more firmly.
But when her sister looked at her again, there was an odd detachment in her expression.
“I wish I could believe that, but I know it’s my fault, deep down. I’m going to fix it.”
Catherine edged close. “No, you’re not. Whatever you’re thinking, stop it right now.”
“You always tried to take care of everyone, me especially, after...” She swallowed, a little sob escaping.
“Listen to me, sis. Stone is the bad guy here. Not you. Promise me you won’t get involved, that you’ll trust the police to do their jobs.”
“Do you?” Spots of color rose on Antonia’s cheeks. “Do you think that cop out there—Garrett, I mean—is going to catch him somehow? After he’s escaped twice already?”
“Garrett’s not a cop anymore, but there are lots of officers involved now. They’ll...” Her comment trailed off under her sister’s intense scrutiny.
“No one is going to do it, Cath, and you know it,” Antonia said fiercely. “We have to take care of ourselves now that he knows where we are.”
Knows where we are... The safety of their fake names and identities would help them no longer. “Tony...” she began when Hagerty poked his head in.
“Sorry to intrude, but I need a statement.”
“Have you found our uncle?” Antonia demanded.
He heaved out a breath. “Not yet, ma’am, but we’ve got the roads covered in and out of town plus the train and bus stations.”
She shook her head. “So the answer is no.”
He paused. “Correct, ma’am. At the moment we do not know the whereabouts of your uncle or Porter Stone. If I could have your statement, we need to figure out how Stone knew you both were here in Whisper Valley.”
Antonia wearily waved a palm. “I don’t know, but I’ll tell you what I can, which isn’t much.”
“I’ll be outside,” Catherine said.
“Can you get me some clean clothes?” Antonia said. “The doctor says I’m getting sprung later today and I can’t stand the thought of parading around in my dirty jeans. We can’t get into Uncle Orson’s house until the cops finish.”
Catherine wasn’t sure if their uncle’s wife, Linda, would let them into the house at all. One problem at a time. “I’ll find you something to wear until we can get your things,” Catherine promised. Her rental car with her own bag of belongings had probably been confiscated by the police for evidence collection too. At least her ATM card was in her pocket, along with a small amount of cash, enough to buy her sister an outfit.
“I’ll be back,” she promised, the door closing behind her.
Garrett pushed off the wall where he’d been leaning. “How is she?”
“Bruised and upset. She blames herself.” Catherine didn’t stop, making for the elevator.
He hustled after her. “Where are you going?”
“To buy her some clothes. She’s going home in a few hours.” Home? Where exactly was that? Her sister rented an apartment in Portland. She couldn’t possibly be going back with their uncle’s whereabouts unknown. Where exactly would they stay if Linda didn’t allow them to sleep at Orson’s place? Was it wise to stay there anyway? It would be a neon sign that the Hart girls were back in town no matter how they disguised themselves. Stone would know exactly where to find them. She suppressed a shiver. “And I need to find us a hotel room.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“No, thank you. I’d rather take a taxi.”
“The town knows you, Catherine. The safest thing is to hang on to your Molly identity and lay low until they find your uncle and Stone.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He stopped her, his fingers warm on her wrist. “Please. My family can help.”
Her nerves hummed. “I don’t need your help and I don’t want it.”
He did not release her. “I know you don’t. I get that. But we have the tools to find people. At least let us...”
She stepped away and into the open elevator. “I said no thank you.”
As the closing door shut out the pain in his eyes, an ache started up in her chest.
Garrett didn’t deserve her scorn. His failure hadn’t been intentional. She’d failed her father too, in her own way, fallen asleep with her headphones on, music blasting like Dad had cautioned her not to do many times. If she’d been able to hear Stone arguing with her father, attacking him, she might have saved him.
Garrett Wolfe’s life had also been upended by Stone. She could empathize, but it didn’t mean she had to do any more than that. She lifted her chin and stared at the cold metal panels.
He was a temporary ally only.
You’re on your own like you’ve always been.
Did you let him escape? Turn your back for a minute?
Catherine’s earlier accusation burned like acid, more so because he’d been investigated after the incident. Cleared, yes, but he could still taste the shame, and humiliation, the fear that he’d see doubt in the eyes of his chief and fellow officers. They’d all taken an invisible step away from him, as if his failure could possibly taint their own careers and reputations.
He returned to the sprawling Security Hounds Ranch, giving Pinkerton an ear rub before he let him loose in the gated yard. Wally, his brother Roman’s dog, looked up from the massive hole he was excavating, his torso coated with grime. Stephanie’s champion liver-and-tan bloodhound, Chloe, ever fastidious, sprawled in a patch of spring sunshine, completely ignoring her male counterparts.
Garrett knew he was about to face a firing squad, but he trudged inside anyway, the scent of coffee from the perpetually brewing pot making his mouth water. Beth’s closed bedroom door indicated she was home from her surgical prep appointment, napping. Napping was a signal that his retired Air Force-nurse mother, who never sat still unless absolutely necessary, was in serious pain.
The surgery had been moved up when a spot in the OR became available. Roman and his new wife, Emery, intended to shorten their honeymoon to hurry back but Beth had thrown a full-on fit, insisting they not alter plans for her. Emery’s father, newly exonerated of an attempted murder charge, was relishing his time caring for his grandson, the nephew Emery and Roman were raising that he brought over frequently for Beth to spoil. Things were under control and there was no need for the honeymooners to rush home. That was the party line anyway, and he wouldn’t object.
“The pre-op went fine,” Stephanie said before he could even ask the question. “She’s got a green light for the surgery on Friday morning. She reports Thursday.”
“That’s good.”
She sat on the sofa, crossed one long leg over the other and propped them on the decorative table. “Now that we’ve gotten the niceties out of the way, care to enlighten me on the reasons for your ridiculous behavior?”
Chase emerged from the hallway with an enormous cup of coffee in his palm. His mop of curls indicated he was overdue for a haircut yet again. “O-o-oh, perfect. We’re just in time. Can’t wait to hear you try and wiggle out of this one, Garrett.”
Their younger sister, Kara, followed him in, barefoot as always. She quietly fixed Garrett a mug of coffee, which he accepted with thanks. At least Kara would try to understand. He knew he wouldn’t get quite the same compassionate ear from his other siblings.
He plastered on his usual easy smile and sprawled casually in a leather chair. “Afternoon to you all too.”
Kara smiled, but the other two did not. Chase leaned against the wall. “Hagerty says Stone is still at large, no update on the whereabouts of Orson. What’s your status report?”
A former Army scout, Chase didn’t believe in cluttering up reports with anything other than the vital components.
“Antonia appears to have minor injuries only. She’ll be released today. I dropped Catherine in town to buy some clothes for her.” He shrugged. “That’s what I’ve got. Figured we could start from there.”
“No,” Stephanie said calmly. “We should have started earlier, like with a phone call from you where you filled us in instead of barreling into a potentially dangerous situation for a woman concealing her identity, no less.”
Kara tucked her feet underneath her and smiled. “We know Molly Hartman is Catherine Hart, daughter of Abe Hart, murdered ten years ago allegedly by Porter Stone.”
He appreciated the “allegedly,” not surprised that his techie sister had already revisited the facts of the case he’d worked on. He took a breath. “No need to be cagey. You already know the rest. Stone escaped on my watch at the arraignment because I was trying to arrange a private room to talk to him. Since then he’s terrorized the sisters, hence their fake names.”
Stephanie folded her arms. “Why didn’t Antonia and Catherine involve the police if Stone was threatening them all this time?”
He winced. “Don’t exactly blame them. He would likely have been tried and convicted if I hadn’t botched things at the arraignment.”
Stephanie cocked her head. “So that’s what’s behind this? Your guilt?”
“Behind what?” From the look on her face it was clear that he wasn’t going to distract her from the topic. He stopped her before she could launch in. “Sis, I know. I got involved and I shouldn’t have. The smarter thing to do would have been to call the cops and share my suspicion that someone was in her car. But you know what an impulsive, fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants guy I am, right?”
She raised a finger. “Don’t try to charm your way out of this.”
“Okay. She needed help. I stepped in.”
“Fine. Over and done with and you’re out of it, right? Handing this over to the cops?”
He met the challenge she’d fired at him, his smile melting away. “I want to help find Stone. I figure I owe Catherine and Antonia that much, at least.”
“The way Catherine was looking at you, I’d say she doesn’t want your help,” Chase said over the top of his mug. He knew a thing or two about women who wanted to go it alone.
“I’ll win her over,” he said with a cockiness he did not feel. “Been trying to figure out why Stone returned to Whisper Valley now. Did he know somehow that Catherine and Antonia were here?”
Chase frowned. “Not necessarily. Possibly he needed money and a place to hide. His family’s local still. He saw Catherine and grabbed his chance to get to her sister.”
“Garrett?” Kara toyed with her thick braid. “What made you doubt Stone was innocent aside from his not-guilty plea? What were you going to question him about at the arraignment before he escaped?”
He stepped back into that awful day, the certainty he’d felt that he’d missed a key detail, that there was something more, just out of his reach. How could he actually say it aloud? “All the evidence pointed to his guilt—his prints in the house, blood on his truck. That’s why he was arrested, but I wanted to understand his motive. That’s the part I couldn’t square.”
Kara looked closely. “What was it, Gare Bear? Something in particular bothered you.”
When Kara pulled out her nickname for him, he knew she wasn’t going to be diverted either. “Shoes,” he said finally. “It was the shoes.”
Now his siblings were all staring at him. No going back. “I was questioning Stone’s parents, his brother, the neighbors, and I encountered a man who lived in the woods near where Stone parked his tow truck and switched to his personal vehicle for his pizza delivery job. The guy pointed to his boots. Said Stone had taken his own boots off one winter day, insisting the man accept them because his were in tatters.” He rolled his shoulders, feeling his cheeks flush. “It just kept bugging me. How does a guy who gives away his own shoes turn to violence over something as trivial as not being allowed to date someone?” Of course, there were tons of reasons. Heat of the moment. Hair-trigger temper. People could love unconditionally in some circumstances and hate passionately in others.
Maybe that’s why you didn’t make it as a cop. Your brain just can’t keep up with reality. The dark cloud settled down on him again, the same one that showered him with self-doubt all those years he’d struggled to read, to write, to cover up the problem that would later be identified as dyslexia. Maybe you’re just not smart enough.
Kara smiled at him. “That makes sense to me.”
No doubt it landed in the ludicrous zone for Chase and Stephanie but they didn’t say so. “And they couldn’t find any definitive fingerprints from Stone on Abe Hart’s wallet taken from his delivery vehicle.”
Chase raked the hair from his forehead. “Police report says Abe didn’t want Stone dating Antonia. She was too young, sixteen to his eighteen. She went ahead and saw him twice anyway before she decided he wasn’t her flavor of the day and broke up with him.”
Garrett searched his memory. “Stone’s father and mother had a contentious relationship while he and his brother, Wyatt, were growing up and his reaction was to hide in his room, wait for the argument to die down. He was never confrontational.”
“Still waters...” Stephanie said.
“I know. People snap. Stone must have, obviously.” Garrett swallowed. “It’s clear now that I was wrong about him.” Something he’d only recently been able to push from his mind until the moment he’d recognized Catherine. “He escaped from my custody and he’s stalked the sisters ever since. How’d he get away from the cops this time?”
Steph consulted her phone. “Last month he was spotted a half hour from here in Durnsville where Catherine and Antonia lived as kids and he was busted. Yesterday they were moving him to a van for transport to a less crowded facility like I told you. They were in the process of recuffing him when he shoved a cop and bolted. No word on how he evaded pursuit.”
Garrett groaned. “Now he’s got Orson, and Antonia barely escaped.”
“Not your fault, nor your responsibility.” Stephanie laced her fingers together.
“Yes, it is my fault, which makes it my responsibility.” The room went quiet. “I understand it’s not a Security Hounds case, but I’m making it mine until Stone is found.” Garrett summoned a playful expression that felt like an ill-fitting mask. “Relax, sis. I won’t do anything you all wouldn’t do.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. “That’s what worries me. We’ll help.”
Chase nodded. “Already got feelers out. Bill Stone and Wyatt live in the RV park by the river. They still run the tow truck business. Hagerty is aware, so I’m sure they’ve got eyes on that in case Stone heads there. Where did Porter’s mother wind up?”
Kara consulted her phone. “Tracy Stone remarried and moved to Nevada.”
“All right, so we’ll have to assume Stone didn’t make it out of the area before Hagerty got the people in place to watch the exit roads. If he’s still here...” Garrett said.
“We’ll find him, emphasis on the ‘we,’” Stephanie said. “No more blazing a trail on your own.”
Garrett quirked an eyebrow. “Or what?”
“Or she’ll get out the big guns and tell Mom,” Chase said.
Garrett laughed and looked away out the window, pretending he was watching the bloodhounds while he sought composure. He didn’t deserve these siblings, who had his back no matter what. He was supposed to be the one who helped them, not the other way around. Finally, he nodded. “All right. But mission number one is getting Mom through her surgery and recovery.”
They all nodded.
“Mission number two is to find Porter Stone.” Then Garrett added on silently, And to make sure Catherine and Antonia are safe until he’s put away for good.