The Door at the Top of the Stairs (29 page)

"We'll only be a couple hours, Morgan. I'm sure you can spare her just that tiny bit of time."

Jesse stepped back and shut the car door. "Look Sandra, she's my boss. If she says I need to stay, then I probably need to stay.

Can we get together some other time?"

Morgan was completely taken aback. Jesse had never sided with her on anything.

Sandra shook her head. “No, Jesse. We arranged this yesterday. She can't take your day off away from you." The way she held her bottom lip reminded Jesse of a petulant child.

Jesse didn't want to ruin the hunt club's chances for riding on the Adams' land, and she
had
been looking forward to some casual diversion with Sandra. "Tell you what—why don't I give you that tour of the barn you were talking about yesterday, and when we're done, I'll finish the work Morgan has for me?"

Sandra's face brightened. “I'd love to see your barn. That's a wonderful compromise, don't you think, Morgan?"

Morgan raised her eyebrows. “Wonderful."

As Jesse and Sandra walked past, Jesse slowed and said quietly so only Morgan could hear, “See that 'Do not disturb' sign on the door?" She continued walking and Morgan reached out and swatted her on the back of the head.

"I see it; I see it." Morgan chuckled as she watched them walk into the barn. When she turned around, she saw Ryland walking down the path. "Uh oh." She stood with her hands in her pockets waiting for Ryland to reach her.

"Why is Sandra's car still here?"

"We compromised."

"You compromised."

Morgan rocked back and forth on her heels, hands still in her pockets.

Ryland looked at the barn door, then back at Morgan.

"Morgan, this is not a good time."

Morgan nodded.

"Fine. If you can't tell her, I will."

She started past Morgan, who put her arm out and stopped her.

Morgan asked, “Haven't you heard that old saying?"

Ryland crossed her arms. “All right, I'll bite. What old saying?"

"When the barn's a'rockin' don't come a'knockin'." She smiled at Ryland, who rolled her eyes. Morgan said, “Look, I'll stay down here at the kennels a while, then I'll kick Sandra out. If Jesse has problems, I'll be right here."

Ryland sighed. “Just make sure you bring Jesse up to the house with you. I don't trust her not to take off again like last night." She reached up and kissed Morgan on the cheek. "You'd better watch out or your reputation as an ogre might get tarnished."

Morgan watched Ryland walk back up the path, then went back to the kennels. She had a couple of hounds in sickbay, and this would give her some extra time to spoil them.

An hour after she'd gone to the kennels, Morgan heard Sandra’s car drive away from the barn. She walked around front and found Jesse sitting on the bale of hay. "So, did she like the barn?"

Jesse picked up a stalk of hay and broke it into smaller pieces.

“She was really impressed." She raised her eyebrows. “I mean
really
impressed."

Morgan held up her hands. “Spare me the details—and by the way, you owe me one. Now let's get up to the house before Ryland blows a gasket. She's called the kennels about five times already."

They walked up the path and found Ryland sitting on one of the benches. She got up as they approached, put her arm around Morgan's waist and started walking with them. "I've got dinner ready and waiting."

Jesse smiled. “Already ate."

Ryland stopped, mouth open, hands on her hips. "Jesse Shaunessy, I do not
believe
you just said that!"

Jesse kept walking and Morgan stuffed her hands in her pockets again. Ryland turned toward the barn, then turned back to her friend. “Morgan—"

Morgan wisely kept her mouth shut and Ryland laughed at the twinkle in her friend's eyes as she slipped her arm around her waist and they followed Jesse into the house.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Jesse stood in the guest bedroom with her shirt off, her back to the full-length mirror. It bothered her that she'd never seen the scars before, how her mind could have hidden such a tangled web.

Between the burn marks and other scars she didn't remember getting, there wasn't an undamaged piece of skin.

Dark shadows hung in the corners of the quiet house as Jesse slipped on her shirt and made her way through the living room and out onto the porch. She sat on the steps and leaned against the railing, running her hands over her face and arms, trying to feel anything that didn't belong. What other scars did she have that she didn't know about? That she couldn't see?

Movement caught her eye, and she watched as an older truck drove slowly down the main road, its headlights off. She pushed off the steps and walked toward the barn, making her way through the trees instead of using the path. Fallen branches littered the ground, and she stepped carefully around them, not wanting to make any noise.

The barn was to her left, the road to the right. Keeping to the tree line, she moved right, stopping behind each tree to listen for any night sound that didn't belong. There—movement between her and the road. The moon shadows concealed her and she watched as Cody made his way toward the barn. He was good, his steps careful and silent as he followed a trail familiar to him. He passed close by her tree, and she stopped breathing and made herself look at the ground so the whites of her eyes wouldn't give her away.

He was carrying a heavy container in his right hand that banged against his leg as he walked. She watched him switch it to his other hand and once he was a good distance away, she began moving from tree to tree, following him. When he came to the clearing around the barn, he stopped and lowered the container to the ground then knelt next to it and waited.

Jesse guessed he was listening, making sure Morgan wasn't out on one of her night patrols. When he was satisfied he was alone, he surprised Jesse by bypassing the barn and heading straight for the kennels. She moved up to the corner of the barn and slowly edged her head around so she could watch without him seeing her. He set the container on the ground, and moved his hand and arm as though unscrewing a cap. Jesse's heart raced as he poured a liquid around the base of the wooden kennel wall.

Her legs couldn't move fast enough as she raced toward him, knowing she had to stop him before he had time to light the gasoline. He jerked his head her way at the same time he swung the can in an arc. Before she could react, a wave of gasoline soaked her head and shoulders. She tackled him as the fumes triggered memories from the room. Her throat closed as she fought, and she knew that if she couldn't breathe she'd pass out before she could stop him from burning the hounds.

He was a clumsy fighter and whenever he'd swing his arm to hit her, he'd lead with his head. She stepped back, giving him a clear target to her face, hoping he'd swing hard. When he did, she timed her punch to take advantage of his forward motion and threw her full weight behind her fist. She heard him groan as he fell to his knees long enough for her to open the outside gate for the hounds, who didn't wait two seconds before joyfully stampeding to freedom.

Morgan sat bolt-upright in bed, knowing instantly that someone had let the hounds out of their kennels. Their joyous barking meant they were ecstatic that someone had come to play.

She leapt out of bed, threw on her clothes and yelled for Ryland to call the sheriff as she slammed open the door and ran out into the night.

The moon lighted the path as she raced for the kennels where she saw someone pummeling another person who was on their hands and knees struggling to stand. As she ran closer, she smelled gasoline and recognized Cody, who had just landed a hard blow to Jesse's midsection with his boot. Rage overpowered her senses, and she threw Cody up against the kennels and pounded his face over and over until someone grabbed her arm from behind.

Jesse managed to choke out, “You'll kill him...you have to stop."

Morgan heard her struggling to breathe and forced her anger down. Cody dropped to the ground as she let go of his neck and took Jesse's face in her hands. "Slow your breathing, Jesse. You can breathe." She brought Jesse's damp head close and realized she was soaked in gasoline. “Jesus!" She let go and reached down to turn on a hose.

When she turned back, Ryland took the hose from her and held it over Jesse. "You watch Cody to make sure he doesn’t wake up and light a match. I've got her."

Morgan dragged Cody away from the gasoline and searched him. He had a lighter and several books of matches, which she took and stuffed deep into her pockets. She heard a siren in the distance and watched anxiously as Ryland rinsed Jesse and tried to help her breathe.

Two patrol cars drove down to the barn, dodging several hounds that were milling about, enjoying their freedom. The deputies took Cody from Morgan, and she ran over to check Jesse.

Ryland was still rinsing off the gas, but Jesse had recovered enough to complain about being soaked to the skin.

Morgan went into the kennels and brought out a second hose, which she connected to another faucet and began hosing down the gasoline-soaked ground. A third patrol car pulled up and Sheriff Carlson stepped out, his uncombed hair standing out at unnatural angles from his head.

"Everybody all right? Dispatch called me out of bed, said there was big trouble and I should get down here."

Morgan filled him in on what she knew, and when she finished, he retrieved his Stetson from the patrol car and walked over to where Jesse was sitting. He stood with a wide stance, legs spread, arms crossed. “Why is it every time I see you, you're in another fight?"

Jesse shrugged. “Just lucky, I guess."

"Why don't you start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened?"

Ryland hooked her arm around Jesse's and pulled her toward the house. “You'll get all the information you need after she's had a shower and changed into dry clothes. In the meantime, you can help Morgan corral these hounds and put them back to bed."

The sheriff touched the tip of his hat. “Yes Ma'am. I know an order when I hear it."

Jesse allowed Ryland to lead her up the path to the house. She took a long, hot shower and pulled on the clean clothes Morgan and the sheriff had brought up from her apartment. The three of them were sitting at the table drinking coffee when Jesse walked into the kitchen. The sheriff stood up and pulled out a chair for her.

There was no way she'd sit where he told her to, and when she started toward a different chair, Morgan growled, “Don't even think about it."

"I'll sit where I want."

"He's being a gentleman."

"He's setting the stage for an interrogation, my back to the wall, him fencing me in. Fuck that shit." She pulled out a chair where her back was to the open room and sat, arms crossed, waiting for Morgan to react.

The sheriff chuckled. “Am I that transparent?"

Morgan hesitated, then got up and poured a mug of coffee for Jesse. She brought the creamer from the refrigerator, mixed it with some sweetener and stirred it all up. She set the cup down in front of Jesse and went back to her seat.

Jesse watched her suspiciously, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The sheriff sat and picked up his coffee mug. “Okay...if it's all right with Ryland...." He pointedly looked at Ryland, who nodded.

“I'd appreciate it if you'd tell us all what happened."

Jesse took a sip of coffee, letting the warm liquid soothe her aching throat. Trying to pull in air through constricted airways had shredded her windpipe, and she cleared her throat carefully.

Ryland pulled her chair closer to Jesse’s. “Does your throat hurt?”

Jesse shrugged. “Just a little.” She felt her face flush when Ryland took her hand and held it in her lap. She glared at Morgan, daring her to say something, but Morgan just sat back, waiting for her to tell them what had happened. She cleared her throat again.

“Well, I couldn’t sleep, so I was out sitting on the porch. I saw a truck drive down the road without any headlights on, and I figured it might be Cody coming to do something to Aristotle.” She took another sip of coffee. “I headed into the forest ‘cause I wanted to catch him doing it so I could beat the shit out of him.” She glanced up at the sheriff. “Somebody’s been poisoning one of our horses.” Morgan and Ryland exchanged surprised looks at Jesse’s use of the word “our.” Morgan grinned and Ryland winked at her.

Sheriff Carlson nodded. “I know, I’ve been making some inquiries at the various farm supply stores to see who might have bought some pesticide they didn’t usually need. But go on with your story.”

Jesse retrieved her hand from Ryland’s lap and crossed her arms. “I saw him carrying something to the barn. Then he went around to the kennels and started pouring the gasoline on the wood. I ran up and he got lucky and soaked me in gasoline.” She stood up and walked to the sink, keeping her back to them. She wasn’t sure how to explain to the sheriff why she couldn’t breathe without telling him about what Richard had done to her.

Ryland stepped in to help. “I don’t know how anyone could function after being drenched in gasoline. I’m surprised the fumes didn’t make you pass out.”

Jesse turned back to them and nodded. “I thought I was gonna pass out. That’s why I opened the kennels, ‘cause I knew I had to get Morgan’s attention somehow.”

Morgan raised her eyebrows. “Well, it worked.”

“After the hounds were out, I saw Cody reach into his pocket, so I went after him again. Then Morgan showed up.” She returned to the table to sit down again. “You know the rest.” Everyone looked at the sheriff, who picked up his hat and stood. “Well, that answers most of my questions. If I have any more, I’ll contact you. My thanks for the coffee, ladies, and don't worry about Cody. He'll be charged with attempted arson and attempted murder. Not to mention the fact that his fingerprints matched some we lifted from several of the local burglaries. He won't be getting out of jail anytime soon."

Morgan stood as well. “Did they match the prints you took from the pack of cigarettes?”

He nodded. “Yes Ma’am, they did, but unfortunately, planting cigarettes isn’t a criminal offense.”