Asadi arrived back at the barn with the horses a half hour later, still feeling a bit numb. The stranger, whose hand he’d held while he died, didn’t pass on to the next world in any memorable way. His breathing just stopped and that was that. But for some reason, Asadi just couldn’t shake the image of that burned body. He saw it everywhere. Even when he closed his eyes.
“You okay, sonny?” Butch called from the porch. “Would’ve met you out there, but I figured by the time I got saddled you’d already be back.” He marched from their farmhouse to the barn and took Sadie’s reins. “Looks like I was right. You made it here in record time.”
“I’m fine, I guess.” Asadi could see a look of genuine concern in Butch’s eyes and thought he’d better reassure him there was no need to worry. “Once I knew Garrett was safe, it wasn’t too bad. Just took a couple of minutes to find Sadie. But she came right up to us.”
A soft smile raised on Butch’s face. “Guess you got a little more than you bargained for when you went looking for that poacher this morning, huh?”
Butch was the kind of man who was all business. Although as goodhearted as they come, the old rancher was as rough and tough as the land he’d worked his entire life. The softened demeanor made Asadi wonder if there was other bad news. “Is David going to make it?”
“Don’t know yet. He’s in the ICU up in Canadian.” Butch shook his head. “Time will tell.”
Asadi hated expressions like “time will tell.” It had always been that way when it came to his brother. While he appreciated Garrett’s attempts to keep his hopes up, he suspected there was no real chance that he’d ever see Faraz again. “When is Dad coming home?”
“Don’t know for sure. Said he didn’t want to leave until he got a chance to talk to Tony.” Butch grimaced. “I expect that’s going to be a hard conversation. Maybe one of the hardest. And that’s saying a lot for someone like Garrett.”
Asadi didn’t know exactly what that meant, but he suspected it had to do with the war in Afghanistan. Garrett had made references to a big loss over there that had sent him spiraling. Of course, he never revealed much about his time in Special Forces beyond the most general details, but it was obvious he’d experienced something that he’d not gotten over.
Before Asadi could ask any more questions about his dad or David’s condition, Butch offered a hand to help him down from the saddle. “How you feeling about what happened?”
The question about feelings was rarer than the gesture of helping him down. The old man was all about self-reliance in every sense. Of course, he’d had to be. He’d run the whole ranch alone for most of his life. Independence for him meant survival.
Asadi followed behind Butch, who was already pulling Scamp back to the barn. “Really wish we could’ve done something for that guy. The one who died. But I didn’t know what to do. Just held his hand. Talked to him.”
Butch spoke as he walked. “You did more than you think. Won’t be easy for his family. But it’ll be no small comfort for them to know you were with him. To know that he wasn’t alone in the end. Believe it or not, it’ll help with their grief.”
Asadi didn’t see how that would make any difference but didn’t feel the need to argue. “Who was it? I’d never seen him before.”
“Sounds strange to say it, but maybe that’s the good news. Wasn’t from around here. Was an inspector out of Houston just visiting from out of town.” Butch glanced back and gave a shrug. “Wrong place at the wrong time it seems.”
Asadi wouldn’t exactly classify it as good news, but he knew what Butch meant. Somehow it was less painful if they didn’t have to watch the family mourn. But someone somewhere was living a nightmare. And “wrong place at the wrong time” wouldn’t ease their pain. Like his parents and brother, this inspector was just another poor soul who would also be forgotten.
After getting a thorough checkout from the doctors in the ER, Garrett was cleared and free to go. Having been in a lot worse before, he’d assumed as much. But to make his girlfriend happy he succumbed to a full overview. Despite a few coughing fits and an unquenchable thirst, he was feeling back to his old self. At least physically speaking. The fact that Tony’s son, David, was hanging on by a thread cast a dark shadow that he just couldn’t shake.
Garrett suspected that much of it had to do with a favor he owed his best friend from a couple of years past. When a foreign rare earth minerals mining company had set the ranch ablaze and attempted to gun down his family, his best friend, Tony Sanchez, a Hemphill County sheriff’s deputy, had put his own life on the line to save Asadi.
Now that there was an opportunity for Garrett to return the favor, it was starting to look a lot like he’d failed. He had enough of ghosts haunting him without adding yet another. Of course, feeling sorry for himself was pointless, especially when Tony was heartbroken. Garrett had just walked out of the ICU and rounded the corner in search of him when they came face-to-face.
It was clear from Tony’s puffy red eyes that he’d been crying. And it occurred to Garrett that in all his adult life, he’d never seen this battle-hardened former Marine get emotional. He cleared his throat, buying a little time to try and think of the right words. “Hey, man, I was just coming to find you. Can’t tell you how sorry I am. Just don’t even know what to say.”
“It’s all right.” Tony raised his hand, looking as if he was about to break down. “Is what it is, I guess.”
Garrett found it difficult to meet Tony’s eyes. “Just wish I could’ve found him sooner.”
“Wouldn’t have mattered,” Tony answered, his voice sounding a bit raspy as he fought to compose himself. “Most of his burns came from the first blast.” He reached out, gripped Garrett’s shoulder, and squeezed. “If you hadn’t gone in after him, he’d have no chance at all. Whole building collapsed, they told me. Came crashing down in flames.”
At risk of taking the conversation to a gloomier place, Garrett moved on to a subject that they might be able to do something about. “Do they know what caused the explosion? Heard the one who didn’t make it was an inspector. Assume he was out there for a reason.”
Tony shook his head. “Inspection was on the books for months. This was just a routine visit.”
“So, it was just an accident.”
Tony’s face tightened. “I don’t know about that.”
“What else could it be?”
Tony looked over his shoulder to make sure that no one else was around, then turned back. “Before David went into surgery, he regained consciousness for a couple of minutes. And he told me that they saw someone else out there.”
Garrett looked over his own shoulder too, although he wasn’t sure why. “Like who? You mean another employee?”
“No. It was no one he knew. Big guy, he said.”
“Was he wearing a uniform? Maybe he was a contractor. Was there a vehicle around?”
Tony shrugged. “He didn’t say.”
“Well, I need more details. What exactly did he see?”
“I don’t know, Garrett. My son wasn’t exactly in good enough shape to interrogate just yet.”
Garrett threw up a hand, palm out. “Sorry, man. Sorry. Just an old habit of the trade. The fact that he was able to get that out says a lot. But that intel takes this to another level. If there was someone out there trespassing before the explosion then we need to know who it was.”
Tony gave a nod. “That’s why I’m telling you this.”
Garrett didn’t need any plea for help. He was all over it. “It’s got me thinking. We’ve had someone sneaking onto our ranch, poaching pretty close to the compressor station. Doesn’t mean there’s a connection between the two, but it’s at least a place to start.”
Tony glanced around again, this time as if he was expecting someone. “Look, Silvia will be wondering where I am. She’s a mess. Kids are too. I just can’t leave them right now. But knowing this information I feel the need to—”
“Tony, you just be here for your family. Don’t worry about anything else. I’m on it. I’ll head over to the Mescalero and track down Smitty and Bo. Maybe they’ve seen something around the ranch that doesn’t fit. Someone who shouldn’t be out there. They keep a close watch.”
A weak smile raised on Tony’s face. “Knew I could count on you, brother.”
As his friend turned and walked back toward the ICU, Garrett’s stomach dropped at the thought of what the Sanchez family was going through. Even if David survived, it wouldn’t be an easy recovery. He’d known quite a few soldiers who’d gone through that long and painful process. One had even told him that if he had to go through it again he’d rather just die.
Garrett had just made the move to leave when he felt the buzz from his phone. He pulled it from his pocket to find a text from his business partner, Vicky Kaiser. It was fortunate since he was heading out to the Mescalero Ranch anyhow. But the reason for her to reach out was more shocking than the explosion, or even Tony’s revelation that there could be foul play.
Her message was right to the point. And it involved a person, whom he thought he might never see again.
Your sister is here in my office. We really need to talk.