Dodge the Bullet (30 page)

“Miguel? There’s a car coming your way from
the west pasture. Stay put. I’m coming in from behind about a
hundred yards back.” He only hoped Miguel understood as he didn’t
have time for questions or to repeat himself.

Dodge left his truck and took off on foot.
He ran from hay bale to hay bale, grateful he’d left some in the
field to use as cover. The car moved slowly and kept along a
straight path when the road forked off toward the adjoining
pasture. He was going for the barn, leaving Miguel in the line of
fire. Dodge moved quickly as he knew Miguel wouldn’t budge until
Dodge had instructed him.

Dodge thought about the plan he'd formulated
in his head. Once someone came onto the property he could have them
arrested for trespassing. But trespassing was a minor charge and he
knew whoever Benji had hired had more than simple trespassing in
mind. He and Miguel had set out a plan to intercede only if things
took a different turn. They wanted to catch the perpetrator at
something more than a misdemeanor as it increased the chance for
them of implicating Burwick.

But now that Miguel waited like a sitting
duck, he questioned the plan from beginning to end. He clutched his
phone, his hand gun tucked into the back of his jeans, and
zigzagged his way across the field toward the barns. He made up his
mind to call the police as soon as he had an idea of what was going
on. At least Sarah was safely stowed away at the cabin.

The car pulled behind the empty corral and
stopped. Dodge heard a squeak of the breaks but noticed the tail
lights hadn't illuminated. It only added to his dread. He stopped
behind an old tiller and pulled the gun from his waistband. The man
got out of the car and opened the trunk where he seemed to assemble
something. Dodge reached for his phone to tell Miguel to double
back around the barns and wait by the side entrance, but before he
could dial he saw the man lift two large gas tanks from the trunk
of the car. Shit. Time to call the police.

“911 operator. Please state the nature of
your emergency.”

“Cheryl, its A.J. Dodge. I’ve got a
potential arson about to be committed at the Woodward Place on the
Seven North. I need you to send someone now,” he whispered.

He disconnected before Cheryl could ask any
questions and dialed Miguel, told him to get out of the tractor and
move toward the house. Dodge placed the phone in his pocket and
considered his options.

The sheriff’s office was ten minutes away
and it would take at least that long for the fire trucks to arrive.
In ten minutes the whole barn could be nothing but ashes, not to
mention the tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment housed
inside. He watched the man tuck a large flashlight into the waist
of his pants and carry one of the large gas cans around the
building. Dodge recognized the butt of a gun poking out of the
man’s belt.

Damn it. Dodge moved around the tiller,
crept along until he could peer into the trunk of the car. There
was a large rifle case, unopened and pushed into the far back. He
saw two more gas cans, along with some lighter fluid and a box of
new work rags. No doubt about it, the guy planned to torch the
barn. If Dodge hadn’t been so averse to using the gun in his hands,
he would have shot him first and asked questions later. But he
certainly didn’t want killing a man on his conscience, so he needed
another plan.

He ran back toward the tiller near a pile of
old debris he'd started cleaning off the property. He found a scrap
piece of metal sturdy and sharp enough to pierce through rubber. He
slashed four quick gashes in the tires of the car, made sure he
heard the whiz of air leaking out, and positioned himself along the
side of the barn where he could inch toward the door and peer
inside. Except for the beam from the flashlight, the barn was black
as night. The man made quick use of the first can of gas. Dodge
watched as he flipped it to the ground before turning to retrieve
the other can he’d left by the car. Dodge lunged behind the open
barn door and waited until the man was around the back of the barn
before he let himself breathe.

Now what? The guy would catch him when he
came back with the other can. He could escape inside the barn, but
that didn't seem like the smartest idea. He needed to catch the guy
outside before he set the fire which meant now, right now. Dodge
took a deep breath, cocked his gun and inched along the wall like a
crime show actor toward the back of the barn. A peek around the
corner confirmed the man had noticed the tires as he'd crouched
down by the driver’s side wheel.

“Put your hands up where I can see them,”
Dodge said with his gun outstretched. “Nice and slow.”

He seemed startled, but not surprised. He’d
seen the tires and knew someone had sabotaged the car. He rose
slowly but didn’t raise his hands, undaunted by Dodge and his Colt
revolver.

“I said put your hands up where I can see
them. You’re trespassing. I have no problem shooting first and
asking questions later.”

The man considered Dodge for a moment before
raising his arms in the air. “You’re making a big mistake here,
pal.”

“The mistake was yours,
pal
, when you
came on the property. Now move to the front of the car.” Dodge
shifted his weight from foot to foot, eagerly listening for an
approaching siren. Dodge never shied away from a fight, but a
shoot-out with a professional arsonist didn’t sound all that
appealing. He felt the squeeze of a tight fist of fear when the man
stood his ground and ignored his request. “I said move,” he
repeated firmly.

“One shot from that gun and this whole place
goes up in flames.”

Dodge stepped closer, positioned the gun to
chest height. “Then you’d better listen.”

Dodge heard footsteps behind him. He turned
his head to see who'd approached and in the instant he saw Miguel
knew he’d made a fatal mistake. The arsonist whipped the gun from
his belt and aimed at Dodge. With no time to think and barely time
to aim, Dodge let loose a quick shot and caught the stranger in the
shoulder, flinging him back onto the car. Before Dodge could take a
step to follow the stranger around the back of the car, a blast of
sound and light pierced the night sky. Dodge went flying back,
propelled by the force of the exploding car.

###

Sarah sat up with a start, clutched the
phone and fingered the handle of the baseball bat laying across her
lap. She’d fallen asleep on the couch and was momentarily
disoriented. When reality slapped her in the face, she lunged for
the kitchen window, pulled back the blinds and stared in shock at
the fireball burning near the barn.

“Oh, my God.” She quickly dialed Dodge's
cell but only heard his message. He’d told her to stay put no
matter what happened until he called but… He wasn’t answering his
phone and there’d been an explosion. She couldn’t stay holed up in
the cabin when he could be hurt or worse. She grabbed the keys to
her truck and took off down the stairs, determined to find
Dodge.

Sarah arrived at the scene at the same time
the sheriff’s car came bounding through the front gate. Sirens from
the approaching fire engines rang out in the distance. She bolted
from the truck and screamed for Dodge, her eyes stinging from the
thick smoke.

“Mrs. Woodward? Are you ok?” The sheriff
pulled her away from the flames.

“No, I’m fine, but Dodge… Dodge!” She
searched fruitlessly through the billowing smoke.

“Was he in the car?” The sheriff shouted
over the sirens of the fire truck coming through the gate.

“What?” Sarah didn’t know how to respond,
what to say. “Dodge!” She couldn't pull free from the sheriff’s
tight grip.

“You need to move away from here, Mrs.
Woodward, please.” He dragged her back toward his police
cruiser.

“No, I need to--” She spotted two bodies on
the ground, seared metal still smoking near their ankles. She tore
free and ran, skidding to a stop near where Dodge lay unconscious
with blood leaking from a gash on his temple. “Help! Somebody help
him, please!”

She gingerly ran her hands over his body.
There were cuts on his arms and a large gouge in his jeans with
more blood, but she didn’t see burns. She placed her trembling
fingers to his neck, searched frantically for a pulse. She felt the
faint fluttering of a heartbeat, saw the rise and fall of his
chest. “Dodge.” Fear for him leaked out of every orifice of her
body. “Wake up, baby, please wake up.”

Two men approached with medical equipment.
She scooted back at their command but stayed crouched nearby. One
man began working on Dodge while the other attended to Miguel. He'd
regained consciousness and was trying to sit up while speaking in
rapid-fire Spanish.

The sheriff hovered near Miguel, listening
as he talked. She heard Miguel say a man with a gun shot into the
car and caused the explosion. Sarah listened but nothing registered
in her mind other than Dodge. The fireman working on his limp body
used the radio to call for an ambulance.

“Is he going to be okay?”

“I’m doing everything I can. I need you to
stay back please, Ma’am.”

Sarah moved a step back and turned her head
to see the scorched remains of a charred vehicle as it smoldered in
the spray of water. The ranch was a bevy of activity; more police
cars and fire trucks had arrived unnoticed. The ambulance, its
bright lights mimicking a far off lighthouse, became the focus of
her attention. She measured time in heartbeats, waiting for Dodge
to open his eyes and yell at her for leaving the cabin.

###

Tommy Thornton raced through the emergency
room doors of Westmoreland General, his tired eyes searching for a
registration desk or someone to inquire about Dodge. An older woman
with wiry gray hair and bright pink lipstick directed him to the
waiting area around the corner.

He made the turn and wondered if there’d
been any change since he’d last talked to Sarah. She’d called him
over an hour ago, sounding like a hollowed-out version of herself.
She was on her way to the hospital, following the ambulance that
carried Dodge after an unexplained explosion had left him battered
and unconscious. She didn’t have any details and what she’d passed
on had been sketchy at best. She’d asked him to contact Dodge’s
family, let them know he’d been hurt and was on his way to
Westmoreland. She’d barely gotten the last few words out through
the tears he could hear in her voice. He only hoped she’d be okay
to drive herself there and wondered what idiot had let her take off
on her own in the first place.

He cussed himself for not being there for
Dodge and Sarah when they all knew trouble was heading there way.
Dodge had insisted he stay away from the ranch which boiled down to
Dodge's stubborn determination to protect those he cared about to
his own detriment.

The antiseptic smell slapped him in the face
as he rounded the corner, slowing his gait. His dad had died in
this hospital. The smell and the blinding light opened a cavern of
his memory he’d thought long buried.

Two nurses spoke in hushed voices at nurses’
station, the mauve color of their uniform casting a deathlike
pallor on their faces. He turned into the waiting area and saw
Sarah. She sat curled in a chair along the wall, her head resting
on her up drawn knees. He couldn’t tell from the angle of her face
if her eyes were open or closed. When he touched her shoulder, her
head shot up in panic. When recognition hit, she slumped back
against the wall in relief.

“How is he?” Tommy asked and sat down next
to her.

She rubbed her eyes and let her feet fall to
the floor. “Still unconscious, I assume. They won’t give me much
information since I’m not family. They’ve stitched him up and
they’re waiting on some test results. They won’t let me see him.”
Her lip quivered when she spoke and Tommy didn’t know what to
do.

“I called Isabel. She’ll call the others.
Someone will be here soon.” He patted her knee. “I’ll talk to them,
don’t worry.” He knew she wouldn't feel better until she saw Dodge
with her own two eyes. How long had she sat there alone, waiting
for any shred of information, unable to see the man who’d so
obviously touched her heart? Damn hospital rules.

“So what happened? Do you know anything
more?”

Sarah wiped her nose with a tissue. “I don’t
really know. I was in the cabin. I heard the explosion and found
Dodge unconscious. Miguel was okay, a little spooked, but he said a
guy tried to torch the barn.” She rubbed her temples with her
fingers before slapping them down on her jeans. “He’d spread
gasoline inside the barn and was about to light it when Dodge
pulled his gun. After that I don’t know. The medics were working on
the bad guy around the back of the car when I left. I’m not sure if
he made it.” She paused, stood up to pace. “I guess I should call
the sheriff.” Sarah chuckled. “You know Dodge is going to want to
know what’s going on when he wakes up.”

Tommy watched her face crumble in an
instant, like the laughter had cracked her heart wide open.

“I’m sorry,” she said abruptly, swiped away
her tears. “I don’t mean to cry. I hate it when I cry.”

Tommy stood up and handed her his phone. He
couldn't stand to be alone with a crying woman. “Call the
sheriff.”

Sheriff Darren Farley looked down at his new leather shoes and
cursed. Nothing ever happened around Hailey and then bam, out of
nowhere, a dead body, an unconscious local and an attempted arson.
Throw in a pair of ruined $80 shoes and he had one hell of a bad
night.

The stench of gasoline and the stuff the
fire department had poured over it proved a bitch on his sinuses.
As bad as the scene looked, they were all damn lucky the car fire
hadn't ignited the barn.