Cold Target (50 page)

The sheriff said little yet she realized he was fully absorbing everything even as he drove.

“Why?” he asked. “Why is she running?”

“I don't know,” Meredith said. “Something terrible must have happened. We do know that an employee of Senator Ames was killed about the same time she disappeared.”

“You never met her?”

“Yes,” she said, “though we went to different schools. I met her at some fund-raiser or another.”

“No recognition?”

“No. We don't look that much alike. I see more resemblance between her and my mother than she has with me. Since I never knew I had a sister, I never thought about it.”

The sheriff was grim. His fingers were nearly white where they clasped the steering wheel.

“Should you call for help?” Meredith asked.

“Not until I know what in the hell is going on,” he said. “I did ask for a patrol car to patrol an area just north of here. They can be here within four minutes.”

He loved Liz Baker. That much was obvious. He was going to do his damnedest to protect her. She glanced at Gage, and he nodded. He had caught it as well.

It was odd how well they communicated. They didn't need words.

They left the main road and turned onto something that barely resembled a trail. They bounced over rough terrain and Gage's hand tightened around hers.

Despite the dust that rose and smothered them in gray fog, she saw a small building. Then two cars.

One man was at the front door of the cabin. He held a rifle in his hands.

The sheriff uttered a curse, then took the radio in one hand and called for help. He turned on the siren, obviously to intimidate.

The man in the doorway stood his ground and leveled the rifle. He pointed it at the oncoming car.

The windshield shattered, and glass flew throughout the car. Meredith felt a sharp sting.

The sheriff turned the car suddenly as the shooter aimed again. Menelo zigzagged, and Meredith heard the report of the rifle again. But this time it didn't seem to hit the car.

“There's an extra pistol in the glove compartment,” Sheriff Menelo said. “There's also a rifle in the trunk.”

“I can shoot,” Meredith said.

“So can I,” Dom said.

Menelo slammed the car to a stop and jumped out, taking his pistol from his holster as he did so. Meredith spilled from the other side of the car and took cover behind it. Dom rolled on the ground with the pistol he had taken from the glove compartment, and Gage grabbed the keys Menelo threw to him and opened the trunk, taking out the rifle.

Meredith could have believed it was all choreographed ahead of time.

The window in the cabin broke and a rifle poked out.

Meredith glanced over at the sheriff. His face was like stone.

“Liz and her son might be inside,” he said. He hollered out, “Liz?”

No answer.

Then, to the gunman, “There's no way out. More cars are coming. Come out with your hands up.”

Silence. Then the rifle moved, obviously searching for a target. But the shooter didn't seem to aim at them.

“Go,” Menelo said.

They ran for cover. Gage followed Meredith to a shallow gulch and shielded her body with his. Dom and the sheriff followed.

Dirt rose as bullets peppered the ground in front of them, but the gulch protected them.

Menelo glanced at Gage. “Can you get to the back? It looks like there's only one shooting.”

Gage nodded. “Stay here,” he told Meredith. “Don't move. You don't have a weapon.”

She nodded. Reluctantly.

He leaned over and kissed her. “I love you, Ms. Rawson.”

Then he was gone, sprinting toward the cabin, zigzagging as he did so. Menelo kept the shooter occupied by shooting slightly above the window. It was obvious he didn't want a stray bullet to go inside.

Meredith prayed as Gage reached the side of the cabin and disappeared behind it.

She heard a siren. The backup car was on its way. Most likely more calls had gone out.

But where was Liz Baker? Was Liz Baker really Holly Ames?

Was she already dead?

And Gage? He was taking so many chances. She wondered whether her breath would stop coming every time he was on duty.

Shots. Different sounds. Then Gage appeared at the front door. “Call an ambulance.”

She ran toward him. So did Menelo.

“Liz?” he asked.

“There's only one here,” Gage replied. “And he's wounded.”

Holly heard the hunter behind her. He was making no attempt to mask his movements.

Harry was exhausted. The dog was panting. She didn't know if she could run another step. They couldn't go any farther.

She heard a siren in the distance. Then shots. She stopped. Listened. But then she heard a rustling of brush beneath her and understood the pursuit had not ended. She urged Harry onward again.

Doug was here. She'd known he would come. And now he would probably come after her. He would be a prime target for the man chasing her.

She stopped, looking around. They were high. Near the edge of a cliff.

Harry had caught her urgency. He'd suddenly understood danger. So apparently had the dog. He didn't bark. He just went where led.

She saw a cottonwood not far from where they were. It had been struck by lightning and was charred.

She stopped and kneeled. “Harry,” she said. “You must do something for me. No matter how hard it is.”

His eyes grew big.

“Do you see those bushes over there? Near the tree?”

He nodded.

“Take Caesar. Hide behind them, and if you see a man, toss a rock toward that ledge. Can you do that?”

His lip trembled. “I don't want to leave you.”

“You won't be far away. You can always see me.”

She heard a rock fall. It wasn't far from them. “Please, Harry.”

“I can,” he said.

“Don't let him see you. I just want him to hear the rock land. Right over in that spot.” She pointed out a spot.

“'Kay,” he said.

She hugged him. “I love you,” she said.

“I love you, too.”

“Now go. And find a good rock.”

He dragged the dog away, and she watched as he hid himself. She went close to the ledge and sat as if she couldn't go any farther.

In seconds, a tall, well-built man appeared. His gaze moved around, catching her. She watched as he glanced down at a photo, then back at her.

“You're going to pay for making me go to all this trouble,” he said as he approached her. “Where's the kid?”

“I didn't bring him.”

“You lie. I saw the coloring book. Two plates on a table.” He drew closer. “I won't hurt him.”

“You heard the siren. The police are here.”

“Hick cops,” he said arrogantly. “They're probably dead by now. Now where's the kid?”

A thud behind him. Harry's rock. The man quickly turned toward the sound and she ran toward him and pushed. He stumbled, took a step, then started to swing around, grabbing for her. A flash of color flew past her, a low growl filling the air. The hunter put up his hands to protect himself, dropped the gun and stepped back into nothing.

Holly grabbed the dog's leash and pulled him back as her hunter went over the cliff, his scream following him all the way down.

thirty-two

Meredith heard the scream. A man's scream.

Doug turned to one of the two newly arrived officers. “Take care of the man inside the cabin. You,” he said to another, “come with me.”

He started toward the back of the house and up a trail behind it, moving faster than Meredith thought possible. Gage was next to him. Dom behind.

She followed.

Gage turned. “Stay here.”

“Not on your life,” she said. “It's my sister.”

He shook his head and took off.

The trail was difficult, rarely used and barely visible in the gathering dusk. Yet they could still see what must be recent footprints. They were clear and pronounced. Someone in a hurry.

“Liz?” the sheriff called out as they continued to climb. Meredith glanced to the side and saw a body sprawled out on the ground far below, limbs at an unnatural angle.

“Sheriff,” she shouted.

He stopped, turned and said something to the deputy beside him, who peeled off and headed toward the figure. The sheriff continued to climb, his gun ready in his hand. Gage still carried the rifle, cradling it in his right arm. Of all of them, he seemed to move the most easily, his rangy body taking the climb gracefully and surely.

Meredith's heart pounded faster with each step. What had happened up above? That could have been her half sister and nephew lying broken on the ground, the family she'd never met, never known. She prayed that they were all right.

She heard a voice. A woman's voice. Low. Scared. “Doug. Here. I'm here.”

Breath rushed back into her throat. She stepped up her pace and reached the summit of a ridge in time to see a lovely young woman throw herself into Menelo's arms. He held her tight for a moment, then finally released her.

“Anyone else around?”

She shook her head.

Menelo holstered his pistol, leaned down, picked up a small boy and held him as if he were a precious object.

Meredith stood back and watched.

Gage put an arm loosely around her shoulders. Dom was staring transfixed at the man, woman and boy, who were totally oblivious to anyone else.

The woman finally turned and looked at them, bewilderment in wide blue eyes. Cornflower eyes. A lighter blue than Meredith's. Her hair was short, dark, unlike the blond tresses Meredith had seen in photos. Her face was streaked with dirt, possibly tears, but even that couldn't disguise her beauty.

Meredith walked toward her. “I'm Meredith Rawson,” she said slowly. “I think … I believe I'm your half sister.” She couldn't wait to say it, not when she had come so close to losing all the family she had left. Not after the secret had been stifled for so many years. How close had they come to it being too late for the truth?

Too close.

“That couldn't be,” the woman said. “I don't have any—”

“Thirty-three years ago my mother was seventeen. She had a child out of wedlock, a girl, in Memphis, Tennessee. The child was taken from her. She tried to find her, but couldn't. There were no records. At the same time your mother was in Memphis, Tennessee, but we don't think she had a child. We think you were given to her.”

Bewilderment crossed the woman's face. Liz Baker's face. Holly Matthew's face. “But why?”

“We don't know exactly. We have some good guesses. But a DNA test would confirm your parentage.”

Meredith held her breath as she watched the words take hold. Holly looked up at Menelo, who was still holding her son. She took one of the boy's hands and held it tight. A frown creased her brow as she obviously tried to absorb what was being said. Meredith knew how hard it must be for her.

“You mean my father … isn't really my father?”

“It's possible.”

“Then who …?”

Dom, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. His face was a mask of control but his brown eyes were roiling with emotion. “I think I am,” he said. “I didn't know about you until a few days ago. I—” His voice broke.

Meredith wanted to hug Holly. She wanted to hug the boy. She knew Dom must be fighting every fiber of his being not to do so.

The officer who had been dispatched to check the body below arrived. “Dead,” he reported to Menelo.

“What happened?” Doug ask Holly softly.

“I was … waiting for you. So much I needed to tell you. I saw the car approach. I knew it wasn't you, so I took Harry and Caesar …”

For the first time, Meredith noted the nondescript Benji-type dog that huddled close to Holly, its leash trailing on the ground. “He saved our lives,” Holly said, “He went after …” A tear started rolling down her face as she knelt and hugged the dog.

The aftermath of fear, Meredith thought. She was becoming all too familiar with it. “There's another man down in the cabin. He's been injured. Perhaps he can tell us who sent them and why.”

“It was my husband,” Holly whispered, looking up at Sheriff Menelo, her heart in her eyes. “He sent them. He sent someone to kill me in New Orleans. I overheard a conversation I shouldn't have.”

Menelo's eyes closed for just a fraction of a second, and Meredith saw the pain he felt for Holly. “I thought it might be something like that,” he said softly, putting his free arm around her.

“I killed the man he sent,” Holly said. “I knew no one would believe me. My husband is …” She was trembling. Her entire body trembled. Her eyes were glazed with tears.

Meredith couldn't stop herself from reaching for her free hand. Holding it tightly. “They'll believe you now,” Meredith said.

“Why?”

“It's a very long story,” Meredith said. “Maybe we should go down.”

But Holly wasn't ready yet. She looked at Dom, obviously trying to see something of herself there. She bit her lip. “My father—Judge Matthews—is part of it. He's untouchable. He and my husband—”

“No one is untouchable,” Dom said roughly. “With your DNA, we can prove he defrauded his father's estate. We have a witness alive below. There's been other murders, and if we can tie him to them, he'll have to talk to avoid the death penalty.”

Holly looked at him again. “You're Dom Cross, aren't you? I've read about you. You work with children.”

He nodded. Meredith could tell how much he wanted to go over to her. Meredith dropped Holly's hand and moved away, making room for Dom. Or maybe they both needed more time.

But Holly held out her hand to him.

Tears gathered behind Meredith's eyes.

Holly Ames looked fragile but there was a gentleness and kindness in her that glowed. Obviously, there was also strength. That she had escaped a murder attempt, made a new life with friends who apparently would do anything for her, then survived this last attempt on her life proved that. Pride surged through Meredith. And admiration. Her heart swelled with a sweet poignancy.