Jake (33 page)

Phoebe turned to Meg. “Did you sleep?”

Meg shook her head.

“There’s coffee.” Phoebe indicated a tray of mugs on the counter.

While Jake was pouring coffee he said, “I thought I heard Pa and Big Jim talking.”

At that moment Quinn and Cheyenne came in from the mudroom. Overhearing Jake’s remark, Quinn said, “They’re in the barn running a check on the plane before takeoff.”

Josh and Sierra came downstairs arm in arm. Sierra hurried over to hug Meg. “I’m sure the night seemed endless.”

Meg nodded and accepted a mug of coffee from Jake.

Minutes later they heard the crunch of tires and the sound of an engine, and looked out to see Raven and Everett Fletcher arriving in separate vehicles. The two men strode inside and greeted everyone before accepting coffee from Phoebe and Ela.

The police chief spoke first. “It’s all arranged with the bank. Judge Bolton contacted the bank president. As soon as the bank opens at nine a teller will have the money ready. You’ll have to go through the motions of a regular bank transaction, in case Blain is watching from somewhere nearby.”

Meg nodded. “I understand.”

Raven opened a backpack and began removing several items, which he laid out on the kitchen table. “The state police agreed that you need to wear a wire.”

“A wire?”

“This guy isn’t stupid. He was wise to our sting at your ranch. He has to assume that you’ve gone to the authorities. His only hope is grabbing the cash and getting away without being caught. He knows we won’t move on him as long as Cory is in danger. We’re assuming that he’ll choose an isolated spot to have you deliver the money. A spot where we can’t plant our people ahead of time. But with a wire, we get two things. First, a tracking device. We’ll know where you are every step of the way. And second, a microphone. We’ll be able to hear every word he says once you get within close range of him.”

Jake frowned. “You’re thinking of letting her go alone?”

“He’ll insist on it.”

“And she can refuse. She can insist that I go with her.”

The police chief shook his head. “Be reasonable, Jake. The last thing this guy wants is a big, strong cowboy getting in the way. Right now he thinks he’s on easy street. A kid and a woman. And he’s holding all the aces. He’s never going to agree to let you come.”

Raven nodded. “The chief’s right. Meg will have to do this alone.”

When Jake opened his mouth to argue, Meg put a hand to his cheek. “I know you’re worried, Jake. I’m worried, too. But I have to do whatever he demands. For Cory’s sake.”

She turned toward Raven. “Let’s get this wire hooked up to me. The sun’s coming up and Paintbrush is an hour away.”

Cole and Big Jim were airborne as soon as the sky was light. They used Raven’s map and grids to check off each parcel of land as they swept overhead.

While Cole handled the controls, his father focused high-powered binoculars out the windows of the cockpit.

“Such beautiful land,” Big Jim remarked. “Sad to think that somebody could spoil it with something as hideous as harming a helpless boy.”

“In our lifetimes we’ve come across our share of evil,” Cole muttered.

“So we have.” Big Jim lay a hand on Cole’s sleeve. “But the good we’ve seen far outweighs the bad.”

“Let’s hope the good guys win today.” Cole touched the wheel, and the little Cessna dipped lower as they passed over a pasture dotted with Conway cattle.

Quinn, Josh, and Jake had been assigned the task of searching the rangeland around the Conway and Stanford ranches.

Chief Fletcher pointed to the picture of Cory. “You can see the straw, and a bit of an old wooden wall behind him. That means he’s in a building. A wooden structure of some sort. I don’t care how big or small or how abandoned it may appear, if it’s got four walls, you need to check it out.”

Quinn and Cheyenne headed out on their all-terrain vehicles for the rugged hills above the tree line of the Conway’s north range. Josh and Sierra opted to hike the southern range. Jake took the western ridge of Conway land that abutted the Stanford land. Because of the tall grass, he decided to go by horseback so that he could have a closer look.

After he rode only a few miles the sun had begun climbing steadily over the foothills of the Tetons, filling the rangeland with light. On any other day Jake would have paused to enjoy the beauty around him. Today, all he wanted was to hold back the sunrise and slow down the hours.

Though it weighed heavily that he couldn’t be with Meg, keeping her safe, he took comfort in the thought that if he could only find Cory, they could call off this dangerous game she was being forced to play.

Meg’s hands were slick with sweat, and her heart was pounding as she walked into the bank in Paintbrush.

It all looked so normal. The tellers, sitting at their windows. A smattering of men and women going in and out, some standing at tables, filling out forms, others pausing to chat with neighbors.

Looking at them, Meg couldn’t tell if they were operatives playing a part, or if they were actually innocent people, unaware of the terrible drama being played out before their eyes.

A young teller removed a closed sign and beckoned Meg forward. Meg handed her the withdrawal slip that had been prepared by Judge Kirby Bolton and the young woman said softly, “I’ll have to clear this with our bank president.”

Meg wanted to catch her sleeve and stop her, but the teller was already walking away.

Panic gripped Meg by the throat. Had she chosen the wrong teller? Was she making a terrible mistake?

The young woman spoke to the man in the office before returning to her station. With a smile she said, “Sorry. Bank protocol when there’s a withdrawal of this size. And we always follow protocol.”

“Of course.” Meg ordered herself to breathe.

Obviously the teller had been briefed ahead of time, and knew that she had to play this by the book.

Minutes later she counted out the money in denominations of tens and twenties as requested, and offered Meg a heavy cloth bag. “You may want to use this, since that’s an awful lot of cash.”

“Yes. Thank you.” Meg set the bag of money inside the oversize shoulder purse Raven had provided. Hefting the purse to her shoulder, she turned away.

Though she’d been warned not to call any attention to herself, she couldn’t help noting the number of men on the street outside as she stepped out of the bank. Every one of them appeared to be busy, but she felt her skin prickling at the thought that all of them were there watching and waiting.

She hadn’t taken more than a couple of steps on the sidewalk before she heard the ping announcing the arrival of a text on her cell phone.

Go to your ranch. Alone.

She climbed into her rental car, which Raven had provided, and began the long drive to her ranch. Along the way she spoke, knowing Raven and the state police could hear. “I’ve been ordered to drive to my ranch alone. Since the message came as soon as I’d left the bank, I have to assume he was watching. I hope someone has already spotted him.”

A text arrived saying:

No sign of him, but you’re not alone.

Not alone? She looked in her rearview mirror, and there wasn’t another car on this stretch of deserted highway. Still, she had to believe that the professionals who had planned all this knew what they were doing. Besides, Raven had more than a dozen operatives already in place around her house.

As she came up over a rise, she had to stand on her brakes to keep from hitting a line of cows slowly crossing the highway. She could see a length of fencing down and the cattle moving with deliberation, following the lead cow. There was no telling how long this delay might last.

While she waited, she sat drumming her fingers nervously on the wheel. When a hand slapped her driver’s side window she nearly jumped out of her skin.

A man in a plaid shirt and dirty jeans was turned away from her, watching the movement of the cows. With one hand he motioned for her to roll down her window.

She was smiling, expecting to hear a word of apology from the wrangler about this unexpected delay. Instead, when he turned, she sucked in a breath of recognition.

Despite the scraggly beard and battered Stetson, it was Blain Turner.

“Get out of the car now. And don’t forget to bring the bag.”

Blain was astride a bay gelding and holding firmly to the reins of the spotted mare on which Meg rode. By the time the long line of cattle had crossed the highway, the two riders had disappeared into a thick wooded area.

Meg knew that Raven would have overheard Blain’s command to step out of the car, and she was comforted by the fact that his operatives were tracking her, but she could only hope that someone had spotted the cattle and had seen her leaving on horseback.

“Where are you taking me?” She needed to keep Blain talking so Raven and the state police could get a fix on them.

“Shut up.”

“You’d better be taking me to see Cory.”

He turned and pointed a gun at her head. The look he gave her was so dark and menacing, she felt her heart leap to her throat. “What didn’t you understand about ‘shut up’?”

She fell silent and struggled to breathe. Her heart was pounding so hard she was certain Raven and his men could hear it.

They rode deep into the woods before Blain suddenly stopped and slid from the saddle.

“Are we here?” She swiveled her head, straining to see some sign of a cabin.

“Shut up.” He dragged her from her horse, tore the shoulder bag from her, and lifted his hands to her shirt. Without warning he tore it open, popping the buttons as he did.

“Are you crazy—?”

As the fabric shredded and fell away, the hidden wires were revealed.

“I knew it.” With a vicious oath he tore them from her and stomped them into the spongy ground.

When she tried to resist, he slapped her so hard her head snapped to one side.

“Get on your horse.”

“My shirt…” She clutched wildly at the torn bits of fabric.

“You’re lucky I let you keep your bra. And if you open your mouth one more time, I’ll rip that off you, too.”

He boosted her into the saddle and grabbed up her reins before climbing onto his own mount. As they continued on, her heart fell. She was no longer in contact with Raven and the others. She was completely on her own.

With a madman determined to leave no witnesses.

They’d been riding through the dense woods for what seemed like hours when Meg heard the drone of a plane’s engine, and looked up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Conways’ Cessna. All she saw was a glint of silver through the thick foliage before the little airplane made a slow turn and flew in the opposite direction. Soon the sound of the engine had completely disappeared. For some reason, the silence seemed harder to bear now that Cole and Big Jim had flown away.

Alone, she thought desperately. She was all alone now.

She was tempted to leap from her horse and make a run for it, but she was desperate to get to Cory. The thought of that frightened little boy was all that kept her going. She needed to be strong for him.

Blain slowed their horses to a walk as they picked their way through fallen trees and rocky terrain.

Up ahead Meg spotted what appeared to be a small wood shack, no bigger than an outhouse. Her heartbeat quickened. Cory. She would see Cory. And whatever happened after that, she would focus all her attention on keeping him safe from this monster.

The thought had come to Cory when he’d finished crying. He’d been staring at Jake’s old hat, and thinking about Jake, wishing he would come and save him. That was when he caught the glint of Jake’s lucky stone in a stray sunbeam that had slipped through the cracks of the old shack at sunset. With a faint flicker of hope, he’d started nudging himself closer to the hat.

Even when he was close enough to touch the hat, it had taken an hour or more to work the stone from the band. At first he’d thought he would just hold it. For luck. But then the desire to escape had begun to take shape. What if he could use the sharp edge to cut through the ropes that bound him?

He’d had to figure out how to position the stone in the hay so that he could rub his ropes over and over the sharp edge. It hadn’t been easy. But a tiny crack in the floor had provided just enough of an anchor to keep the stone from slipping away.

At first he’d despaired of ever cutting through the rope. But when he’d finally felt that first small bit of fiber unraveling, hope had begun blooming in his heart. This was, after all, Jake’s lucky stone. How could he go wrong?

The longer he rubbed the rope against the stone, the more he cut himself. His skin burned like fire, and by the time the rope finally gave way, his poor wrists were a bloody mess. But his hands were now free and he grabbed up the stone, working the sharp edge furiously against the rope binding his ankles.

He had no idea how long he’d been working on his bonds, but he could tell, by the pitch darkness in the shack, that it was nighttime. Blain had said he’d come back after dark, but Cory decided that since Blain had lied to him once, he’d probably lied about that, too.

By the time bright morning sunlight began filtering through the cracks in the walls and roof, Cory had managed to free himself and was working furiously on the rope that hobbled poor Shadow. Though he was desperate to escape this filthy prison, he wasn’t leaving without his colt.

And then there was the brace against the door.

He would worry about that when Shadow was able to stand.

Blain had heard the drone of the plane and figured it was the state police. He expected to see plenty of frantic police activity in the next couple of hours. That was why he’d moved so quickly. He needed to get the money, grab the kid, and use the woman to carry the message that unless the police kept their distance, he’d waste the kid.

That ought to stop them long enough for him to get clean away.

He’d already stashed the truck less than a mile from here. Nobody would be looking for it, since it belonged to an old rancher who never knew what hit him. As always, Blain had found the perfect mark. A bachelor with no family and hardly any visitors. The old geezer could be dead for weeks before anybody found him. And even then, they wouldn’t be looking for an old stake truck when there was a newer pickup truck parked in the barn right alongside the body.