Alex (In the Company of Snipers) (5 page)

A sudden burst of wind kicked up against the cabin, slamming the screen door back and forth on its hinges. She jumped in her sleep; her hand to her mouth as if she might cry. She didn’t. Instead she let out a small groan that was instantly lost in the sound of rain drumming loud and hard against the windows. Alex stood over her. How did a woman like her get into so much trouble?

He couldn’t solve that puzzle, so he secured the door and planned his next day’s chores instead. First thing in the morning, he planned to hike back to the gas station, call the sheriff, and let the authorities take over. While he waited for the sheriff to show he could rig a shower so she could get that hip of hers cleaned, maybe wash her hair, too. Being clean always improved a person’s outlook.

He took out his cell phone and snapped a couple pictures of her battered face for evidence, berating himself for not thinking of that earlier when she had looked a whole lot worse. That would have been the smart thing, but no, he was too caught up in feeling sorry for himself then. Guilt poked at him. He should have handled finding her a whole lot better.

An inexplicable wave of tenderness inundated him. His unwelcome houseguest was sound asleep. For tonight, she was safe and warm, guarded by two working dogs and one grouchy ex-Marine. He tucked the blanket under her chin. She didn’t move, but something stirred inside of him. He brushed a strand of dirty hair off her clean face. Realization flooded a part of his heart he thought had long ago died.

She needed him.

By morning, the sun shone bright through the high trees. Kelsey was still sound asleep when he got up, and Alex felt better about going for help this morning. She wasn’t as close to death’s door as he had thought. When he cracked the door to his bedroom, she still lay on her side, with one hand on Whisper. The dog had moved to the floor beside her. He didn’t budge when Alex quietly gathered his boots. With his muzzle on his chin, Whisper watched his master intently.

Alex scribbled a note on an old scrap of paper so Kelsey would know that he had gone for help and would be back soon. He left the last of his bottles of water and the Advil on his counter. She would need them the minute she opened her eyes. He paused to listen to her breathing, slow and steady with no whimper or congestion. A little food and water had gone a long way. A little soap hadn’t hurt either. Overall, she had a few bumps and some nasty scrape, but last night could have turned out a whole lot worse.

He opened the cabin door and whispered to the dogs, “Out.” After they took care of their business and rousted a few chipmunks from last year’s woodpile, he ushered them quietly back into the cabin. “Stay.”

Once again, Whisper took up his post at Kelsey’s side. Crazy dog. There was definitely something going on between him and this woman, although most of it was probably in Whisper’s hard head. Kelsey would be in good company until he got back, and that’s all that mattered. Slinging his backpack over on shoulder, he shut the door quietly and locked it from the outside, just in case. He didn’t need any more surprises. Neither did she.

As he hiked back to the service station, he discovered last night’s storm had caused quite a bit of damage. Trees were torn up, branches scattered everywhere, and when he crossed the road to the gas station, he noticed the power lines were down as well. Mother Nature had left a trail of destruction. To top it off, local phone service was out.

Fortunately, the clerk at the station had shown up to check his business for storm damage. He was in the middle of clearing fallen branches and shingles out of the parking lot when Alex stepped out of the trees. According to the clerk, it would take a month of Sundays before utilities this far out in the woods were back online.

Alex listened to the man ramble. It was then he noticed the flyer taped inside the store window. Kelsey’s sad eyes stared back at him from behind the glass.

“What’s her story?” He nodded toward the picture, downplaying his interest.

The man shook his head. “She’s a mean one by the sounds of it. Got an Amber Alert on her two little boys, too.”

“Why’s that?” Alex asked evenly.

“Guess she up and run off. Left her husband. Poor man’s been looking for her over a week now.”

He studied the flyer. Kelsey Durrant. According to the paper, she was five feet tall, long brown hair, brown-eyed and twenty-six years old. Known to have psychotic breaks. Left home with her two young sons in a 1978 blue Ford Fairmont. The active Amber Alert taped alongside Kelsey’s picture showed two little boys, Tommy and Jackie, ages two and four respectively. Their last known location was listed as their apartment in Lakewood, Washington. No description of what she or her boys were wearing was included.

“Yeah,” the talkative clerk continued, “Channel Five had a press conference a couple days ago for the poor fellow. He was all tore up and crying. It’s a shame is what it is. A guy thinks he’s marrying the girl of his dreams, and he ends up with some lunatic, you know what I mean?”

Alex hesitated. His gut told him different. There was more to her than the flyer disclosed. His plan to contact the authorities didn’t feel like the right thing to do anymore. Instead, he talked the clerk into opening the store for a couple items— antiseptic ointment, sterile gauze, a travel-sized bottle of baby shampoo, a hairbrush, and a small ladies T-shirt. He topped off his pack with a pound of bacon, a dozen eggs, and a loaf of bread.

“Looks like your lady friend musta forgot to bring her beauty supplies,” the nosy clerk commented at the cash register.

“Dan Fletcher still own this place?” Alex changed the subject. Nobody needed to know he had that missing woman safe and sound in his cabin.

The clerk’s eyes brightened. “You know Dan? Sure, he still owns this place. I reckon he’ll be in later to see how much damage the storm did.”

“Tell him Alex stopped by, will you?”

“That your truck out there?”

Alex nodded.

“Well, I’ll be. Dan’s always talking ‘bout you. Sure glad I got the chance to meet one of the guys he served with.” He extended a hand for Alex to shake. “I’m Pete Sanders by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Pete.” Alex returned the handshake. “Tell Dan thanks letting me park here for a couple days.”

“Sure. No problem. Lots of guys leave their rigs here.”

“Keep the change.” Alex handed over several twenties. “Something extra for opening the store for me. I appreciate it.”

Pete waved the money off. “Sorry, but your money ain’t no good around here. Dan wouldn’t take it, and neither will I.”

“He still as hard-headed as he used to be?” Alex chuckled as he stuffed the bills back into his pocket.

“He’s a good man.” Pete nodded. “You take care.”

“You, too.” Alex nodded as he placed his purchases inside his backpack, the eggs on top, and headed back to the cabin. He checked the bars on his cell phone. Fortunately, the cell tower must have survived the storm unscathed. That was a welcome break, but instead of contacting the local authorities like he planned, Alex called his right-hand man. The forest made for a good office.

“You miss us already?” Murphy was his usual cheerful self.

“Need you to run a background check, Murph.”

“What? You working a case out there in the Cascades, are you?”

Alex ignored the friendly banter. “I’m sending a couple pictures. See what you can find on a missing woman in the Tacoma and Seattle area. Name is Kelsey Durrant.”

Murphy stowed the chitchat. “Send me what you got.”

Alex sent the pictures he had taken while Kelsey slept. If nothing else, he wanted to know exactly who she was before he handed her over to the locals. He owed her that much for being a jerk.

The forest smelled extra good this morning after the nighttime rain. It was alive with the rowdy chatter of birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. A Western Jay fluttered away in a flurry of deep indigo, squawking like the murderer it was, the pink kernel of another bird’s baby hanging from its beak. Alex watched the parent birds attack the fleeing predator, while it dodged branches to escape. As beautiful as life was, it was still cruel.

His phone rang on his hip holster. “Stewart.”

“Exactly how’d you run into this gal?” It was Murphy again, concern heavy behind his question. “You’ve only been gone four days, and three of them had to be on the road. What’d you do? Pick up a hitchhiker?”

“Special delivery, Murph. Found her on my porch last night. Why?”

“Well, I’ll tell you why, son. There’s a missing person report all right, but there’s an Amber Alert in the tri-state area for her two boys, too. I’m sending pictures to your phone now.”

“Already know that. Tell me what’s not on the Amber Alert.”

“She got the boys with her?”

“No.”

“She say where they are?” Murphy’s grandfatherly interrogation sparked Alex’s anger.

“For hell’s sake, look at the picture I sent. She can’t remember her own name.”

“Now hold on, son—”

“No. You hold on. I asked for information, not an inquisition.”

“You’re right. I’m just thinking of those little fellows.” Murphy calmed.

“And I’ve got a woman who can’t stand on her own two feet. I spent he whole night doctoring her. Now what else do you have?” Alex kicked the ground as he walked. He didn’t mean to come across harsh, but this vacation just kept getting better and better.

“Okay,” Murphy continued. “She’s got a sister, Louise Timpson, who lives in Pendleton, Oregon. She’s the one who filed the missing person reports on Kelsey and her boys.”

“What about her husband?” Alex already suspected the answer.

“Name’s Nick Durrant. I’m sending his photo now. You would have thought he would be the one to file the missing person report on his wife and kids now, wouldn’t you? Mother pulled a TV newscast from two days ago. Guess Durrant held a press conference and asked for help in locating his missing wife and kids. He said she wasn’t stable, that he was afraid for his boys’ safety. According to him, she suffers psychotic breaks and has threatened to kill them in the past.” Murphy’s voice filled with disgust. “You should’ve seen it. This guy’s lying through his teeth.”

Alex opened the picture of Nick Durrant. A weaselly looking man with greasy blond hair, a wispy excuse for a goatee, and thin lips stared back at him. “What else?”

“Well, okay, so Mother contacted Louise Timpson. According to her, Durrant is the dangerous one. She thinks he’s been beating Kelsey since they got married. Timpson said her sister hasn’t been the same since.”

“Why don’t women leave jerks like him? What else?”

“Mother located Durrant’s employment, financial, and police records. The man’s a two-bit thief. Hasn’t worked a steady job in his life. The one thing he does have is a healthy rap sheet, mostly car prowls, shoplifting, petty thievery, and stuff like that. Plus, I’ve got two reports of animal cruelty. Thought you’d want to know that. A couple neighbors claim he shot their dogs. Plus there’s a whole list of emergency room visits on her. She’s had a broken nose, broken fingers, broken left arm, as well as repeated spiral fractures.”

“Let me guess. She fell down the stairs?”

“You know what you’re looking at, don’t you?” Murphy was clearly concerned.

“Yeah. A bastard who beats his wife. She’s all of a hundred pounds soaking wet.”

“Never could figure out guys like that,” Murphy said quietly.

“Me either.” Frustration curled Alex’s fist as he walked. He couldn’t decide who he was angrier with, Kelsey or her deadbeat husband.

“This guy’s dangerous. Best thing for you to do is—”

“What else?” Alex didn’t want free advice.

“Okay, well, so she married this Durrant guy four years ago. She taught school before that. There’s only been one police complaint against him, and she didn’t file it. Guess one of her neighbors heard screaming one night. When the police investigated, Durrant opened the door with a crying baby in his arms. Said the little guy had an earache.”

“Was she there?”

“The police report didn’t indicate one way or the other.”

Alex trudged through the trees, absorbing the information. He had never experienced abuse himself, and he didn’t understand it. The solution seemed clear to him. If a bully hits you, hit them back. End of story. Of course, that might be harder for a little gal like Kelsey. He hiked, silently considering all the ways she could have defended herself. There had to be more to the story, a piece to this puzzle he wasn’t seeing.