The Widows of Wichita County (19 page)

He stood and helped her up, then retrieved their coats and hats from inside. They strolled, hand in hand to the walkover, slowing as they neared.

She did not want the night to end but reality had to win out this time. And she knew even after she left him, she would still have her memories. Sometimes she thought their few hours together were the only cherished memories she had. The only time she had been allowed to just be herself were the times she had crossed the fence and stepped onto his land. He asked nothing. He might never know how much he gave in return.

Anna took the first step and faced him.

“Come back when you can,” he said with his head too low for her to see his eyes. “I'll be waiting.”

“How long?” she whispered. “H-how long will you wait?”

He looked up, straight into her eyes. “Forever, Anna. I'll wait forever.”

She leaned against him and kissed his lips. She was not sure what she had ever done to deserve finding him, but suddenly she knew she could not let go. When she crossed the fence she was not going back to life. Life existed here, with him; the rest was the dream. Zack was her reality.

This time he was ready for her advance, he did not hesitate. His arms closed around her, pulling her to him as he returned her kiss completely. His hands moved inside her coat and beneath her blouse, hungry for the feel of her skin. His kiss was eager, awkward in haste.

Anna pulled away suddenly and tumbled over the stile,
almost falling. She ran several feet before she turned around, knowing he would be there, watching.

“Well.” She laughed. “Are you coming? You said you would come home with me if I kissed you like that again. I never thought you were a liar.”

He jumped over the steps as she ran toward her house. She made it to the patio before he caught her.

For a moment he just held her, breathing against her hair. Then, he gently pushed her against the wall and pressed his body along the length of hers. “I'm not a liar,” he whispered.

His kiss was wild and hungry, as if it were essential to living. She answered his need, starving for the nearness of him.

He had half her clothes off by the time they stumbled into her house. Neither of them noticed a lamp tumble as he drew her toward one of the overstuffed couches.

“Wait!” Anna pushed him away, laughing and kissing him even as she tried to untangle from his arms. “I will be right back.”

He took a long breath and let her go without asking her reason.

When she returned, he had turned her stereo to a country station and unbuttoned his shirt. The lean curve of his chest and stomach drew her artist's hands as if she could memorize each line and reproduce it one day in clay.

“Are you sure?” He kept his hands at his sides as she brushed her fingers across his chest. “I could leave if you want to stop. If you're not sure. Anna, I want you so bad and that isn't going to change, but I don't want to hurry you.”

She spread the blanket she had gone after across the couch. “I am sure.” Her voice trembled.

She sat on the blanket not knowing how they would get
back to the wildness of a few minutes before. She needed to feel alive, but knew there was far more to them than that. She needed him.

He knelt in front of her. “I'll never hurt you, I swear.”

His callused hands moved over her body, pushing the silk blouse off her shoulders. “You're so beautiful. You deserve a lot more than the likes of me.”

She leaned forward and kissed him, pulling him gently back with her to the quilt her grandmother had made. The only words that came to her mind were in her native tongue. She had to make him understand with her actions.

And she did.

December 18
Dawn
Montano Ranch

A
n icy sunrise sparkled against the windows, reflecting frozen shafts of dawn light. Zack jerked, reacting to the front door rattling a moment before Anna could pull fully awake. He moved while she was still trying to figure out where she was. A warm blanket covered her and the warmth of Zack's nude body molded against her side still warmed her. He was not in her dreams; he definitely was in her house.

He turned his head into her wild hair. “Anna! Anna you are in my arms. I thought I might be dreaming.”

The memories of the night washed over her groggy brain. They had made love like two awkward fools the first time. She accidentally shoved her elbow into his eye, he pulled her hair, they bumped noses. They laughed and apologized and made up.

The second time, they got it right. And the third had been heaven. She knew it then, deep inside, all the way to her soul. They were meant for one another. They would
be together until they were both too old to remember what they had done this night.

The door to the kitchen rattled, then opened.

Zack jumped off the couch, waking Anna fully in his haste. He had his pants pulled on by the time Carlo reached the great room.

“I made it back early. The horses were not…” Carlo stopped as he looked into the great room.

For a moment Anna's brother stood there as if he had turned to stone. Snow sparkled in his hair and two days of stubble covered his face.

Slowly, his entire body swelled in rage.

Zack stepped in front of Anna as she frantically searched for her blouse. “Now hold on, Carlo.”

Anna watched anger building in Carlo like steam in a boiler. Zack looked worried, but not frightened.

“We can talk about this,” Zack tried again.

Carlo did not look like he planned to reason.

“I don't blame you for being upset.” Zack pulled his shirt across his shoulders. “But she's a grown woman who knows her own mind. It's time you let go of some of that brotherly guard.”

Anna agreed but could not get her voice past the fear blocking her breathing. She stared at Carlo.

Suddenly, Carlo came at Zack like a wild bull in full charge.

“I will kill you!” he screamed as he landed a blow against Zack's ribs before Zack could react.

Zack was better prepared for the second blow, but only defended himself and did not strike out at the man who might soon be his brother-in-law.

After a few more assaults, Zack must have known Carlo planned to make good on his promise, so he started hitting back.

Anna screamed, knowing she had to help, had to stop this before one of the two men were dead. Begging her brother to stop, she moved closer.

Zack glanced at her. He seemed to be saying, “It's all right. I can take care of myself. Don't worry, Anna. Don't be afraid.”

But before he could say anything, Carlo landed another blow hard against Zack's jaw.

“Hold on!” Zack tried reason one last time. “There is no need…”

Anna stepped between Zack and her brother as Carlo raised his fist once more. She cried, pleading with Carlo in two languages for she knew he would not stop until Zack was dead. She begged for his life.

Carlo's fist flew into the side of her face, knocking her off the ground. She tumbled against the hearth like a broken doll.

“I will deal with you later!” he yelled. The toe of his boot slammed into her middle, sending her rolling against the brick. “I will make it so you will never leave this house again. I will see that no one ever looks at you again.”

Anna watched knowing Zack was not a fighter. He told her that, except for a few times when he had been drunk, he had never hit anyone in his life.

But he fought now. He fought for his life. He fought for Anna.

He plowed blow after blow into Carlo's stout body, paying no mind that Carlo hit him back, no pain seemed to matter. They rolled across the room, toppling chairs, breaking tables and lamps. Carlo swore at him in two languages and laughed each time he drew blood.

Zack tripped over the rug and hit the floor with a thud. He tried to stand but the fight was taking its toll.

Anna watched in horror as Carlo lifted a wrought-iron floor lamp high like a weapon.

The first blow slammed into the side of Zack's head. The second into his rib cage. Each drew blood.

“No!” Anna screamed. “N-no! Put it down. You will kill him!”

Wiping the blood from his eyes, Zack tried to block the next assault, but Carlo swung the lamp once more.

Anna pulled herself up on the hearth, feeling the hits as if they were on her body and not Zack's. Blindly, she grabbed the Colt Carlo had left for her. With shaking hands she pointed it toward her brother.

Carlo laughed without fear. “Say goodbye to your lover, Anna! You will not see him again in this lifetime.” He raised the lamp higher to make sure the impact would crush his bones.

Zack fought to get out of the way but he was fading in and out of consciousness.

The lamp started toward his head.

A shot rang out.

The world shifted to slow motion with the sudden explosion. Carlo looked surprised, then turned his anger toward his sister. The lamp fell from his hands tumbling against Zack's legs.

“Anna,” Zack managed to whisper before he fell backward.

The wide-open Texas land had an edge to it, never quite calm. It bred risk takers like white water breeds danger. Generations descended from desperadoes, wildcatters and gamblers.

December 18
8:00 a.m.
Sheriff's Office
County Courthouse

G
ranger wasn't sure which he hated most: ice, or people who thought they could drive on it. He'd been on the roads since before dawn and finally found a minute to check in with the office. Inez was on the morning shift, but busy on the phone. Granger figured he'd do some paperwork and let Adam handle the roads for a while. He would send Inez home to read her spy novels on her own time.

When he walked through the door, he heard Inez scream, “911 coming in!” If her voice had been a little lower, she would have made a great extra in a WWI film. The whole battlefield could have heard her yell.

Calls to the department were common, but folks never used 911 unless it was something horrible or somebody had died. Even then it was usually natural causes or an accident so the hospital handled the call, because things like murder never happened in Clifton Creek. The last emergency call that came through had been the oil rig fire several months ago.

“Montano Ranch!” Inez yelled with her hand over the bottom half of the phone. “There's been a shooting and a rape!”

Granger grabbed the extra phone. “Sheriff Farrington…” He didn't get time to say more before the caller started shouting.

Granger knew it was Carlo Vangetti by the accent. He had talked to Carlo enough months back to remember his voice well. “Calm down, Carlo. We're on our way. Yes, we'll bring an ambulance.”

Inez was already on the other line giving the hospital instructions to send out Will, the only full-time medic in town. “Trouble at the Montano place again. Trouble again.”

Granger hung up his phone. “Get any details you can. Call Adam and tell him to back me up. The dented fenders will have to wait.”

Inez nodded, her spy novel forgotten.

Hitting the lights and siren buttons, Granger sped out of the parking lot. He knew Inez would get calls about the noise, but he didn't want to lose a second. He flew past Meredith pulling into work, her car clanking and sputtering as always.

The roads were bad, but once he hit the Farm-to-Market cutoff, it was a straight shot to the Montano place. The ambulance lights blinked in his rearview mirror, a half mile behind.

A dozen men who looked as if they worked on the ranch stood around in front of the main house as the sheriff pulled up.

Granger jumped from his car. “What happened?”

“Don't know,” one of the men said. “I thought I heard a shot, but there was no answer when I knocked. Carlo
would be real upset if we bothered Mrs. Montano for no reason.”

Ignoring questions, Granger ran up the steps and pounded on the front door. “Carlo! You in there?”

He thought he heard a yell but the place was like a fort. Granger stormed around the side of the house and tried the door near the garage. None of the men followed. They acted as though some invisible line prevented their stepping any closer.

The side door opened. Granger turned and waved the ambulance onto the driveway, then stepped inside.

He crossed the kitchen and noticed Carlo leaning against the wall with the phone clenched in his fist. Dark blood spots from his body had marked the wall in several places.

Adrenaline must have been shooting like wildfire through his veins, for he talked as fast as he could in two languages and none of it made any sense. His normally dark skin was pale. He must have lost a great deal of blood, but a fire still smoldered in him as if he had one more battle yet to fight.

“Settle down.” Granger tried to stay calm, but Carlo's panic bombarded him. Blood dripped from several spots on his face and arms. His knuckles were raw, and his left pant leg was soaked in crimson.

Granger put his arm around Carlo and tried to maneuver him to a chair, but the stout man would not cooperate.

“He must have broken in sometime last night!” Carlo yelled beyond the kitchen to the huge living room as though someone else needed to hear him besides the sheriff. “He was beating Anna when I checked on her this morning. Then the bastard shot me.”

“Who?”

“Zack Larson.” Carlo looked like he wanted to spit the words out. “That worthless rancher from next door. Davis never liked the man. I should have been more careful about leaving Anna alone. It is my fault.”

The boys from the hospital banged in through the door with supply boxes and a stretcher. Will was the only hospital employee who drove the ambulance, and Granger wondered if he didn't sleep in the back on one of the stretchers. Will had talked the nursing program at the college into requiring each of their students to volunteer shifts to help him, so there was always a kid or two with him.

Will took one look at Carlo and nodded toward Granger as if silently saying he would take over now.

“Where is Anna?” Granger tried to get Carlo to look at him. After seeing her brother, Granger did not want to think about what shape she might be in.

Carlo did not answer. He swatted at Will and his assistant as though they were flies bothering him.

“We need to find her and get her to the hospital.” Granger tried to get past Carlo. “I'll worry about Larson later.”

Carlo grabbed Farrington's shirt with bloody hands. “She is fine! Wants to be left alone. Do not touch her, or I swear I will…”

“Now settle down, Carlo. No one else is going to hurt your sister. I just need to have her checked out for injuries and get her statement.” Granger pulled out of Carlo's grip.

“I will give you her statement.” Carlo shouted as Will and the two volunteers moved in on him.

Granger ignored him. While the medic examined Carlo's cuts and wound, the sheriff stepped into the great room. He had been here before, after Davis Montano's
funeral. The place reminded him more of a hotel lobby than a home.

Now, it was a wreck. He had seen bar fights that left a room in more order. Sunlight knifed its way through the east windows, slicing the room in sections. A quilt lay crumpled on the couch, clothes were scattered across the floor, Travis Tritt's voice echoed through the rubble from speakers mounted high on every wall.

The smell of blood blended with the scent of a piñon fire that burned low.

Granger almost tripped over a body in the shadows. “Guys, we got another man hurt in here,” he shouted toward Will.

“Let him bleed to death!” Carlo yelled. “He raped my sister!”

Granger knelt and touched Zack's throat. He was still alive, though judging from the wounds he wouldn't be for long if he didn't get attention.

Carlo struggled with the two young men trying to get him on a gurney. “If you put that man in the ambulance with me, I will finish killing him before I get to the hospital. I swear.”

Granger saw Will jab a shot into Carlo's arm. “Just relax, friend. We're going to take care of you.” Will motioned, instructing his two assistants.

Carlo jerked away with the last of his strength. “I do not want you to take care of me. I want you to hang Zack Larson. He tried to kill me. He hurt my sister.”

Will and his helpers were used to handling drunks and cowboys at the rodeo. Before Carlo could react, they rolled him onto the gurney and strapped him in.

The medic signaled for the assistants to get the patient to the ambulance while he hurried to Granger's side. “Is Larson alive?”

“For now.”

While he shouted orders to the young men now outside, Will cracked open his toolbox of medical supplies. He worked like a pro. “I'll get him stable and to the hospital. He's had a bad blow or two to the head. Which puts him in a great deal more danger than that Italian with a nickel's worth of lead in his leg.”

“What about Carlo's threat? Can you transport them both?”

“The shot I gave Vangetti will keep him sleeping like a baby for a while.” Will grinned. “We'll give him a local and take care of that leg. The only danger he's in is dying of a heart attack if he doesn't calm down.”

As one assistant returned, Granger stood and looked around the room.

“Anna!” he called. “Anna!” He walked carefully, afraid he might stumble over her also. If Carlo was telling the truth, she could be hurt or even dead.

He noticed the gun on the hearth and let out a long breath. If she'd been assaulted and was armed, it could be dangerous. Most of these ranches had several guns around the place.

“Anna.” Granger moved through the house. “Mrs. Montano, it's all over. You can come out now. You're safe.”

He'd worked enough rapes in years past to know that the last person a victim wanted to see was a man. Anna might know him, but Granger doubted she would trust him. Maybe the uniform would help her know she was no longer in danger. The lady didn't like talking before, and after what must have happened to her, he held little hope she would give him a statement.

“Anna?”

The master bedroom was locked, but he heard her whimpering. “Anna. Are you all right?”

“G-go a-away.” Her voice was so low he barely heard it.

“I'm here to help you, Anna. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Open the door.” In a big city he might have been more insistent, telling her she was a witness and if she didn't cooperate she could be held in contempt of court. But in Clifton Creek that kind of thing wouldn't fly. He had to be careful.

“I—I'm all right. Go away.”

“I just need to ask you a few questions.”

A silence followed. He could hear her moving toward the door.

“Open the door,” he said, leaning against the wood.

“N-no,” she whispered from the other side.

“I can help you.”

There was a long pause before the door opened a few inches. “I-is Zack still alive?”

“Yes. We're taking him and your brother to the hospital. You want to ride along with me?” Granger wanted to push the door open, but he couldn't frighten her more.

She raised her head slightly and he saw the bruises. It looked like Zack Larson had done a thorough job of beating her. “G-go away. I—I will be fine.”

Granger couldn't force Anna to cooperate. She was like a frightened animal who'd been wounded.

“If we're going to file charges on the man who did this to you, we're going to need your help.”

“G-go away.” She closed the door. A moment later the lock snapped in place.

Granger heard Adam's voice coming from the living room. The deputy had made good time.

He hated leaving Anna, but he wasn't sure he was doing any good.

They were rolling Zack out when Granger stepped back into the main room. “You want me to wait for the woman?” Will asked. “We've got a nurse over in the next county that can do a rape exam.”

“I'll bring her,” Granger said. “Adam, see if you can get Helena Whitworth on the phone. Maybe Anna will go in with a friend by her side.”

Adam stumbled over a lamp. He had been a deputy long enough to wear out several uniforms and outgrow a few.

“And be careful,” Granger snapped. “We got a crime scene here, and I'm not at all sure what happened.” Something bothered him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Carlo's account didn't fit the facts.

“Breaking and entering. Rape. Attempted murder. Zack Larson won't be seeing freedom any time soon,” Adam mumbled as he headed for the phone on the kitchen wall. He carried an attitude that said he had seen it all during his years as deputy and already knew who was guilty.

“Thanks.” Granger frowned. “Saved us a lot of time sifting through this mess. How about we just go hang the guy like Carlo suggested?”

“That would be too good for him, hurting a fine lady like Mrs. Montano.” Adam shook his head. “I remember back several years ago when Larson wasn't even out of high school. Caused all kinds of trouble. Appears he hasn't changed his stripes.”

Granger memorized the room as Adam tried several numbers to find Helena Whitworth. The gun was too far away to have fallen from Zack's hand and Zack didn't look like he could have been in any condition to circle the room after he'd shot Carlo.

Will stepped back inside to grab his box of supplies.

Granger followed a hunch. “Bag his hands for me, Will?”

“Which one, Carlo or Zack?”

“Both. I'll be in as soon as I can to run a powder test.”

Will waved and disappeared out the door.

“No luck,” Adam yelled from the kitchen. “I talked with Mrs. Whitworth's daughter at the store. She said her momma might have taken the phone off the hook to sleep in.”

“Try Meredith Allen at the courthouse.” Granger frowned. “No, wait. I'll call her.”

He took the phone and punched the number to the county clerk's office. When he heard Meredith's voice, he took a breath before saying, “Meredith, this is Granger. I need you to come out to the Montano Ranch. I want you to drive carefully, but get here as fast as you can.”

Granger hung up the phone.

“What'd she say?” Adam asked.

“She said she's on her way.”

Adam didn't look like he believed the sheriff. “Didn't she ask any questions? Like what was going on? Or why we'd want her out here in the middle of nowhere on a cold day like this?”

“She knew I wouldn't have asked if I hadn't needed her.” Granger smiled to himself. “You'd better head to the hospital. As of right now, Zack Larson is in our custody. Don't let him out of your sight. I don't want anyone talking to him if he comes to. Understand? No one.”

“You got it, chief.” Adam headed out. “Do I smell overtime?”

“Looks that way. Call Inez on your radio and see if she can get hold of someone from campus security. Maybe
Phil can handle the calls coming into our office until we get this settled. With the college out for holidays he's not doing anything but circling empty buildings. And tell Inez to order lunch delivered on me. She's to stay on the desk until I get back.”