Double Blind (26 page)

“Here,” he said, startling her. He stood next to her.

“Jesus. You scared me.”

“Sorry.”

“Are you OK? Did you get hit?” she asked.

“Yeah. Left shoulder.”

“Bad?”

“Hurt’s like a bitch, but I’ll live.”

“If you see a doctor,” Sam said.

“I’d like that, too. You didn’t happen to bring Dr. Hartsman with you, did you?”

Sam couldn’t suppress a soft laugh. “No.”

“Didn’t think so,” Billy said.

Her vision accommodated to the dim light. Billy appeared pale, drawn. She could see strain lines around his eyes. His shirt displayed a dark smear that spread from his shoulder across his chest. “Jesus,” she said.

“Looks worse than it is.”

“If you say so.” She looked into his face. “Did you kill Walt and Ted?”

“What?” Even in the darkness she could see the surprise in his eyes. “They’re dead?”

“You didn’t know?”

“How could I?” Billy said. “I didn’t stick around when Burt started shooting. What happened?”

“Somebody bashed their heads in. Like Mr. Varney.”

Billy sighed and shook his head. “Let me guess. Wade and Burt have convinced everyone that I killed them and Lloyd?”

“That’s about it. And that horse. You know anything about that?”

“God, no. I wouldn’t do that to an animal.” He looked down at her. “This morning, I came up on the horse and was trying to figure out what had happened when Burt plugged me. But, I didn’t do it.”

“I believe you,” Sam said.

Billy eyed her. “So, how do you propose resolving this?”

“Simple. Come out with me.”

“Right. You have no idea what’s going on. Burt wants me dead and Wade’s his hand puppet. And if you don’t believe that by now, you might as well run on back out there, because you can’t help me. I’ll take my chances up here where I have the advantage.”

“Some advantage. You’re wounded. You’re cornered in a cold, damp mine.”

“Not exactly cornered.” Billy said. “These mines interconnect. I know a half dozen ways out of here.”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “Then what? Die from a wound infection? Come on, Billy, think straight.”

He paced back and forth, but said nothing.

Sam grabbed his arm. “Burt has a load of dynamite out there.”

“That’s just great.” He looked past her, toward the entrance. “And you don’t think he wants me dead?”

“That’s why you have to come with me.”

“Say I do come out. What’s going to keep them from shooting me? You?”

“Me. And this.” She pulled her .357 from the small of her back.

Billy laughed. “You’re a ballsy woman, Sam Cody. I’ll give you that.”

“So I’ve heard,” Sam said. “Besides, even if Burt and Wade wanted to do anything, there are too many witnesses. Me, Eloy, Murph, Carlos. Trust me. We’ll get through this.”

“Then what?”

“You see the doctor. Get an attorney. If you’re innocent, the truth will come out. I promise you that.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Burt’ll blow you to pieces.” She sighed. “Look Billy, let’s just get out of this situation, get you some medical help, then examine the options. I know you want to fight, but this is neither the time nor the place.”

He rotated his shoulder slightly, grimacing with pain. “I guess I don’t have much choice, right now.”

“Not that I see.”

Sam led Billy from the mine. In the daylight, she could see a ragged wound beneath the shredded left shoulder of his flannel shirt. Dried blood matted his beard where it lay against his chest. His left arm hung stiffly at his side as he walked.

Burt aimed his rifle at Billy.

Sam stepped between them her .357 at her side, muzzle pointing down. “Relax,” she said. “Billy’s going to cooperate.”

Wade stepped up. “Billy, you’re under arrest for the murder of Lloyd Varney, Ted Smyth, and Walt Packer and the arson of Burton Eagan’s stables.”

Billy looked at Sam and then Wade. “Arson?”

Sam grabbed Billy’s arm. “Don’t say anything. Not until you talk to an attorney.”

Wade dangled a pair of handcuffs in front of him.

“He doesn’t need those,” Sam said. “He’s wounded and he gave himself up.”

Wade ignored her and ratcheted the cuffs on to Billy’s wrists.

Will Proctor cocked his head back so he could see through the lenses of his half glasses, which rode low on his nose. He carefully laid the bones on the green surgical towel he had spread out on one of the exam tables in his veterinary clinic. He picked up the skull, turning it over, examining it from every angle.

His mind ran through the possibilities as his fingers played over the yellowed bones. Rabbit, squirrel, bobcat. fox, marmot. None fit.

Jeremy and Jonathon leaned their elbows on the edge of the metal table, watching Will handle the bones. Oscar wedged his head between them and rested his chin only inches from the towel, his nostrils flaring as he performed his own examination.

“Curious,” Will said.

“What is it?” Jeremy asked.

“Just a second.” Will retreated to his office and returned momentarily with a thick textbook, stained and frayed from use. He laid it on the table, opened it to the index, found what he wanted, and then thumbed to a page filled with intricate line drawings of animal skulls.

“Cool,” Jonathon said. “What’s that book?”

“It’s a text of comparative veterinary anatomy. See, we can match this skull with those in the book.” He flipped through several pages that showed even more drawings and photos, studying each page. Finally, he looked at the boys. “This is strange.”

“It is?” Jeremy said, his eyes wide. He nudged his brother with an elbow.

Oscar apparently sensed their excitement. He looked from one brother to the other, his tail beating the air in a steady rhythm.

“I told you Dr. Proctor would know what it was,” Jeremy said. “Is it a whistle pig?”

“Afraid not. I’m not sure what it is. Looks like a rabbit, but it’s too big.”

“What’s too big?”

Will turned to see Don Dinsmore, holding Precious, Mama Rose’s Cameo Persian. “Hello, Don. Is Precious here for her yearly shots?” Will reached out and massaged the cat’s thick fur.

“Yeah. What do you have here?” Don said, indicating the collection of bones.

“A mystery. Jeremy and Jonathon found these. Look like rabbit bones, but they’re too big. Too thick.” He looked at the boys. “This is going to take some study. Mind if I keep these for a day or two?”

Disappointment fell over their faces.

“Tell you what,” Will said. He selected a few bones from the array. “Why don’t you hold on to these and I’ll get the others back to you in a few days? OK?”

“Can we keep the skull, too?” Jonathon asked.

“That’s the one I need the most if we’re going to find out what this is. I’ll take care of it and you can have it when I’ve finished.”

Jonathon looked at Jeremy. “I guess that’ll be OK.”

*

As soon as they arrived at the hospital ER, Sam called Alyss and gave her a brief rundown of what had happened, saying she would explain more later. Alyss said she and Shelby would come down and pick her up.

Sam returned to the treatment room where Dr. Beth Hartsman was cleaning Billy’s wound. Wade stood by, both thumbs hooked over his belt. Billy grimaced as Dr. Hartsman flushed the hole in his left shoulder with a reddish brown solution.

“Betadine,” she said. “This stuff will kill anything.”

“Is the bullet in there?” Billy asked.

“No. Through-and-through wound. That’s good. Otherwise we’d be taking you to the OR and digging it out.”

“Sounds pleasant,” Billy said.

Dr. Hartsman smiled. “We’d knock you out. But, that’s not the story anyway. And no bones or blood vessels are damaged. You’re lucky. We’ll clean and dress this, get you admitted, and pump you full of antibiotics. It should heal nicely.”

“I have to stay in the hospital?”

“Afraid so.”

“Why?” Billy asked.

“This is a dirty wound. You don’t want to mess with it or it might get infected. Then, you’d have big problems.”

“Can’t we keep him over at the jail?” Wade asked.

“Jail?” Beth asked. She looked at Billy, and then back to Wade. “Why?”

“Billy’s under arrest. Suspicion of murder. Three counts.”

“I didn’t kill anyone and you know it, Wade,” Billy snapped.

“That’s for the court to decide,” Wade said. “Meanwhile, you’re in my custody.” He looked at Beth. “So, can he stay over at the jail or not?”

Beth looked perplexed, but retained her composure. “Maybe in a few days, but right now he needs to be here.”

“Guess we’ll just have to cuff him to the bed.”

“Is that really necessary?” Sam asked.

“He’s a murder suspect,” Wade said.

“But, he’s injured,” Sam said. “He lives here. I don’t think he’s going to run off.”

“He ain’t going to run off,” Wade said, “because he’d have to drag a bed with him.”

“But...” Sam began.

“I’m not going to give him a chance to get back up there in the mountains. Injured or not, he wears the cuffs.”

Beth Hartsman held up her hand. “Cuffs or no cuffs, I don’t care. But right now, he’s my patient and what I say goes.” She flashed a stern look that prevented dispute. “You two take this argument outside and let me finish here.”

“Did you hear anything from the lab about the prints or the DNA?” Billy asked.

Wade shook his head. “The DNA stuff will take a couple of weeks. I expect something on the hair samples later today.”

Billy laughed. “I can’t wait to see your expression when they don’t match.”

“We’ll see,” Wade said. He cuffed Billy’s wrist to the bed rail and turned toward the door. “He’s all yours, Beth.”

Sam followed Wade out of the treatment room. Shelby sat behind a table in the nurse’s station where one of the nurses was showing her how to listen to her own heart with a stethoscope. Alyss and Burt were standing near the ER entrance talking. Sam pushed past Wade and walked over to them.

Burt looked up and nodded to Sam, and then said to Alyss, “I better get back home and check on things. See you at Mama Rose’s tonight. About seven.” He smiled and headed out the door.

“What’s that about?” Sam asked.

“The kids are going to a movie tonight, so Burt invited us to dinner.”

“You’re kidding. After what just happened?”

Alyss looked to Sam. “What did you do up there?”

“What do you mean?”

“Burt said you interfered with him and Wade doing their job. Said you could have gotten hurt.”

“What?” Sam’s jaw tightened.

“He wanted me to talk to you. Calm you down. He said you could get into trouble with your crusade to protect Billy. He thinks Billy killed Lloyd and those other two men.”

Sam’s fists clenched at her side, heat rose in her chest, and she felt her face begin to flush. She looked around and then grabbed Alyss’ arm. “We’ve got to talk.” She led Alyss outside into the ER parking area. Burt’s Range Rover turned from the lot onto Church Street and disappeared down the road.

Sam paced back and forth, trying to control her rising anger. She stopped and faced Alyss. “First. Arresting Billy isn’t Burt’s job. It’s Wade’s. Second. There’s a lot more going on here than is apparent. Third. Billy didn’t kill anyone.”

Alyss started to say something, but Sam cut her off with a wave of her hand. She then told Alyss what had happened at the mine. Alyss’ eyes grew wider as the story progressed.

“You can’t mean Burt was actually going to use dynamite,” Alyss said.

Sam nodded. “I believe he would have if I hadn’t been there. Wade sure didn’t do anything to stop him.”

“That’s crazy. Why?”

“I don’t know, but Burt’s determined to see Billy blamed for these crimes. Or dead. I know he wants Billy’s land, but there’s more to this than dirt.”

“Like what?”

Sam shook her head. “I don’t know, but it’s big enough that they feel they have to trample all over the Fourth Amendment.”

Worry etched Alyss’ face. “Maybe you should butt-out of this. It’s not your concern.”

“Really? After Burt gets Billy’s ranch, what’s next?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe Burt wants the whole damn valley. Maybe he wants your land, too.”

“Why would he?”

“I don’t know. But that’s one of the things I want to find out.”

Alyss took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “What now?”

“I need to talk to Billy. And Niki. She knows something and I got the feeling the other day she wants to tell me.” She looked at Alyss. “Are you OK with this?”

“Of course. He isn’t getting my land without a fight. And, if Burt’s dirty, I want to know so Shelby and I can stay as far away as possible.” Alyss sighed and pushed her fingers through her hair. “I’ll cancel dinner.”

“No,” Sam said.

“Why not?”

“If Burt wants to play nice-nice, we’ll let him.”

“But...”

“It’ll be OK,” Sam said. “Just be cool. Act as if nothing has changed. Burt could make it hard for me to get to Niki since she’s staying in that castle of his. And Wade could stop me from talking to Billy now that he’s in custody.”

“I see,” Alyss said.

“Tell Burt you talked to me and I’ve seen the error of my ways. Or whatever. If he thinks I’ve backed off my so-called crusade, it’ll make sorting all this out easier.”

“OK. My role is to be Burt’s girlfriend and your role is...?”

“To be the calm, quiet, supportive friend.”

Alyss laughed. “This I’ve got to see.”

Burt snagged a Diet Coke from the refrigerator and joined Hollis and Niki on the patio. Hollis wore tailored jeans and a gray silk shirt; Niki a one-piece bright orange swim suit beneath a casually draped black silk shirt. They were having lunch, Hollis a turkey sandwich, Niki vitamins and a salad. Burt fell into a chair.

“How’s Billy?” Hollis asked.

“He’ll live. Hartsman patched him up.”

“Jail?”

Burt nodded. “A few days in the hospital first.”

Hollis leaned over and patted Niki’s bare thigh. “Baby, why don’t you finish that by the pool? Burt and I need to talk.”

Niki shook her head, and then stood and stretched. “You’re like two little boys. Always plotting. So secretive.” She gathered her plate. “I’ll go inside and talk to Carmelita. Maybe we have secrets too.” She mussed Hollis’ hair. “Be careful. I don’t want you two to strain your brains.”