Hold Your Breath (Search and Rescue) (40 page)

“Oh my goodness, Rory!” She could hear the rapid tap-tap of keyboard strokes as Libby typed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Letting out a shaky breath, she closed her eyes. She
was
fine—well, she would be eventually.

“Is there a possibility that they’re still in the building?”

“They are, but I’m pretty sure two are dead, and one’s tied up.”

There was a pause. Not even typing broke the silence for a long moment. “Oh my goodness.” The keystrokes resumed with a vengeance. “Deputies are on their way, and I’ve paged the sheriff. Medical is en route, as well, although they’ll just stage nearby until they get the all clear from law enforcement that it’s safe to come on scene.”

“Thanks, Libby.” Ian returned and gave a grim shake of his head. She felt the bile creep up her throat again.

“No problem, hon. Stay on the line with me until the deputies arrive, okay?”

Rory remembered something. “I need to run out and unlock the gate, and I’m on a landline. Can I call you back in five minutes?”

Ian held out his hand for the keys, but she shook her head. It might be wimpy of her, but Rory did not want to be left alone in the shop with a trussed-up Duke and two dead bodies.

“I’d rather you didn’t go outside until the deputies clear your property and make sure there isn’t anyone else nearby,” Libby said with worry evident in her voice.

“There is, but he’s tied up, too. With his bootlaces.” It was probably just a stress reaction, but Rory suddenly wanted to laugh.

“Oh my goodness.”

* * *

After a short discussion, both Rory and Ian ended up going out to unlock the gate. When they returned to the shop, Rory reached for the phone to call Libby again but hesitated, looking at the back-room door.

“What?” Ian asked, following her gaze.

“I should probably check that they didn’t…um, disturb anything.” She gave the listening Duke a wary look.

“I can do that.” Ian started to move toward the door, but she hurried after him.

“No,” she said, catching his arm. “I’ll be able to tell if anything’s not right.”

Watching her carefully, he didn’t move from his position blocking the door.

“It’s fine,” she said, wondering how many more times she would use the word “fine” that night. “I’ll just do a quick check and then get out of there.”

After another hesitation, he stepped back. Straightening her spine, she forced her legs to walk forward. At the threshold, she paused. The smell was already terrible. She didn’t remember her parents’ bodies smelling so strongly, although shock had messed up her memory of that event.

There was a lot of blood. It was pooled around the bodies and even sprayed over the walls and her worktable. She wouldn’t have guessed that two bodies could hold so much blood. A strangely detached portion of her brain thought of how much cleaning was going to be required before her back room was usable once again.

Forcing her gaze from the bodies and blood, she focused on walking over to the cabinets lining the far wall, carefully placing her feet in spots clear of blood and other matter she didn’t want to think about. The cabinet doors had been opened, but the secret drawers had not been disturbed. After checking each one, she picked her way back to the front room.

“Okay?” Ian asked.

Unsure if he meant the state of the cabinets or of her mind—one of which appeared to be fine while the other was still up for debate—Rory just answered, “Yes.”

* * *

Ten minutes later, the first sheriff’s department squad flew through the gate. As Rory opened the front door to let Deputy Chris Jennings inside, she noticed that the mountains in the east were edged with pink. The sun was starting to rise.

Since Chris had bought a couple of hunting rifles from her, she was on friendly terms with the cheerful deputy. Despite that, he had both her and Ian handcuffed and weaponless within minutes. He sat the two of them on the floor, their backs to the shop wall. Once they were secured, he grimly ventured into the back, pulling on blue latex gloves as he went.

The deputy quickly returned to the front area, looking a little pale. Although his voice was low, she heard him speaking into his shoulder mic.

“Neither victim has a pulse, and there are signs of lividity in both bodies, so I did not begin CPR. I have two people in custody, and there is a third who was restrained with duct tape before I arrived on scene. None are complaining of any injuries.” He paused and then continued in an urgent tone that contrasted to the calm, objective way he’d delivered the previous information, “Please tell Rob to hurry his ass up.”

Chris eyed Duke. “As soon as another unit arrives, I’ll get you out of that duct tape.”

“That’s okay,” Duke said. “This tape’s actually more comfortable than cuffs, anyway.”

Although Chris gave him an odd look, the deputy just said, “That’s…good, I suppose.”

While Jennings’s focus was on Duke, Rory caught Ian’s attention and mouthed, “Zup?”

“Hey, Chris.” The deputy turned toward him. “There’s a fourth guy. He’s on the southwest side of the property. He was tied up, but he might’ve managed to get loose by now.”

Chris’s gaze shot to the door, as if Zup was going to be charging inside at any second, and his hand reflexively touched the butt of his holstered gun. “Shit, Ian,” he groaned. “Could this be any more of a cluster?”

Ian just shrugged, the motion abbreviated by his cuffed hands.

“Um…I know it’s not a priority right now,” Rory said, glancing across the room to the countertop where Chris had placed her beloved revolver after clearing it, “but do you think I’ll ever get my Colt back? It was my sixteenth birthday present from my parents.”

“You should, eventually, if you’re not charged with anything.” After a pause, Chris added, “I’m not sure if that’s the best sweet-sixteen gift ever, or if it’s completely messed up.”

Rory huffed a laugh, but her amusement didn’t last long. “Me neither.” She realized Ian was watching her closely. “What?”

“You okay?”

“Yes. Quit asking.” There was a tremor in her voice that made her flush with shame. She wasn’t dying, wasn’t even hurt, so there was no reason for her to be shaking.

“I will when you quit lying.”

“I’m not lying.” She bit out the words, glaring at him. “I’m not injured. Therefore, I am okay.”

Ian made a frustrated sound. “That isn’t—” Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by the arrival of the sheriff. Rob looked around the room, his sharp gaze taking in everything within a few seconds.

“Bodies are in the back.”

With a nod, the sheriff moved to the door leading to the back room and looked inside. When he turned back to Chris, his face showed grim resignation before it returned to his usual implacable expression.

“I’ll call the state investigators again. Damn it.”

Order Katie Ruggle's next book
in the Search & Rescue series

Fan the Flames

On sale June 2016

A fan of the old adage “write what you know,” Katie Ruggle lived in an off-grid, solar- and wind-powered house in the Rocky Mountains until her family lured her back to Minnesota. When she’s not writing, Katie rides horses, shoots guns, cross-country skis (badly), and travels to warm places where she can scuba dive. A graduate of the police academy, Katie received her ice-rescue certification and can attest that the reservoirs in the Colorado mountains really are that cold. A fan of anything that makes her feel like a badass, she has trained in Krav Maga, boxing, and gymnastics. You can connect with Katie at
katieruggle.com
,
facebook.com/katierugglebooks
, or on Twitter
@KatieRuggle
.

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