Sweet Talking Lawman (30 page)

To Rafe it seemed to
take forever to reach the road that led up to his home.  He pulled the
vehicle in behind a thicket of scrub oaks and turned off the motor.

“Wait here and meet
our back up.  I’m going in on foot and check out the house.  Make
sure Uci is safe, and then I’ll let you know what we need to do next.”  Rafe’s
mind was already working out the best approach to the house.  He slipped
into the trees and disappeared.

The tree line was
pretty thick along the road, but when he reached the driveway, it was a
different story.  Crouching as low as he could, he ran the few steps to a
nearly dry creek that ran from the spring in the upper field, down behind the
house and parallel to the lane until it crossed the road through a culvert on
the other side of the driveway from the mailbox.  There was some tree cover
along the watercourse, but more importantly, the creek had eroded the land
along its path, and that lower ground would offer him cover.

Hurrying as quickly
as he could, Rafe made his way along the creek until he reached the place
closest to the house.  Peeking up over the edge of the bank, he visually
swept the area but saw no sign of a vehicle except for Uci’s little car. 
That was a ray of hope, but knowing better than to throw caution into the open,
Rafe crouched and moved quickly from the creek bank to hide briefly behind an
old oak tree that had once held a tire swing he had swung on as a kid. 
Then a few years later, he had pushed Jenny and Mesa on that same swing,
enjoying their squeals when he pushed them so high their pigtails flailed out
behind them.  He shook the memories away, clearing his mind of everything
except the job he had to do.

From the oak, he
sprinted to the edge of the house.  He dropped his hat to the ground and
eased along the side of the building, carefully peeking into each window as he
reached it, hoping to see Uci going about her daily routine.  By the time
he checked the side of the house closest to the creek, he’d seen no sign of his
grandmother and a knot of fear tightened in his gut.

He continued around
the house until he reached the back porch.  Cautiously he eased across the
wooden structure being careful to avoid the boards that squeaked.  Testing
the doorknob, he found it unlocked, and that knot in his stomach tightened yet
again.

He eased it open,
pausing to listen for sounds from the house, but silence seemed to settle
around him like an oppressive fog.  Slipping inside, he made a quick but
thorough search for his grandmother but had to accept the fact that she was not
there.

He called Levi from
his cell phone and asked that he bring Spur up to the house after he sent the
rest of their team to set up road blocks on every road approaching the ranch
from any direction.  It was clear that Cunningham had Mesa and Uci and
he’d taken them for a reason.

When the purring
motor of his SUV announced the arrival of Levi and Spur, Rafe was standing on
the porch waiting for them.  He’d spotted a set of unfamiliar car tracks
leading past the house, between the barn and the round pen and across the
cattle gap that led to the hayfield on further, to the back side of the ranch.

He’d read the signs
left in the dirt by Cunningham going to the door from his parked car and
returning.  Uci had left her small tracks beside those of her abductor
returning to the vehicle, and it was clear that she had been in the car when it
moved on.

Rafe hopped in the
SUV before Levi brought it to a complete stop and directed his deputy to drive
along the path the other car had taken.

“They’re maybe
forty-five minutes ahead of us, but I just don’t know where the hell he’s
taking them or why,” Rafe groused in frustration as they followed the tracks.

“What’s back there?”
Levi’s head bobbed in the direction the tracks appeared to go.

Rafe shrugged. 
“A couple of big hay fields, pastures for the cattle, some pine trees that Uci
talked about having cut next year.  Hell, the house sits at the front of
the acreage.  Everything else is back here.  Close to fifteen hundred
acres if my memory is right.”

“Hay barns?” Levi
asked.

Rafe nodded. 
“Several, plus a couple of machine sheds for the haying equipment, pens for
separating the cows, shelters so the animals can get out of the weather. 
You name it, it’s back here.”

“How would Cunningham
know about all this?”  Levi’s mind was in detective mode and Rafe was
thankful.

“He dated Jenny in
high school and they used to ride all over this place.”  Rafe
replied.  “He probably even knew there was a back entrance through the
pines, but if he did, why the hell didn’t he just come in that way and leave my
family alone?”

Levi knew Rafe didn’t
really expect an answer to his question.  They’d both been in law
enforcement long enough to know that if criminals thought the same way they
did, they wouldn’t be criminals.

The two lane track
that Cunningham had followed back into the pastures crossed a cattle gap into
an open field, deep in Bahia grass, and then the track ended.  It was
still easy enough to see where the grass was flattened by the weight of the
vehicle they were searching for.

The path they were
following was rough and their speed was only slightly above a crawl.  Spur
was laying down on the back seat to keep from being tossed around roughly, and
when they approached a hill, Rafe snatched a pair of binoculars out of the
glove compartment.

“Stop here. 
Let’s ease up that hill and see what’s happening on the other side.”  He
was already opening the passenger door.  Spur cleared the back of the
front seat and scrambled out onto the ground right behind him.

Rafe removed his hat
and tossed it back onto the seat and pulled the binoculars from the case as
Levi tossed his own hat back inside the car and joined him.

Hurrying, they
climbed the hill and as they neared the top, dropped to their knees and then
down to their stomachs to crawl into a position so only their heads were above
the crest and they were shielded from view by the deep grass.

Rafe had signaled
Spur into a crawl position, but ordered the dog to stay near his feet. 
Easing the glasses to his eyes, he focused them to study the surrounding area
and took his time perusing all the shadowed and shaded places within his
view.  He’d almost decided that they could safely drive further when he
saw a glint of light flash from the darkness at the edge of the distant pine
trees.  That miniscule twinkle shot adrenalin through his body, awakening
every sense to acute alertness.

“Got them,” he
muttered.  He handed the glasses to Levi.  “At the edge of the pines,
just to left of the eagle nest.”

Levi studied the area
for a full minute before he nodded.  “What do you think it is?”

Rafe shrugged. 
“But its man-made and most likely them.  Back in the trees behind that
eagle’s nest is a blind that my grandfather built so he could watch the
eagles.  It’s been there for ages, and I remember Jenny talking about her
and Cunningham coming out here to watch the eagles.”

Levi cast him a
skeptical look.  “Would a blind still be there?”

Rafe smirked at the
absurdity of the question.  “My grandfather built it.  Of course,
it’s still there.”

“Okay.  So, it’s
all open from here.  How’re we gonna get there without being seen?”

Rafe rolled over on
his back and closed his eyes against the brightness of the sun.  “That, my
friend, is the question.”

For what seemed to
grow into a long span of time neither of them spoke, both of them playing out
scenarios in their heads, trying to visualize a way to bring about a positive
outcome.

“It’d take a long
time to crawl there on our bellies,” Levi said finally.

Rafe grunted. 
“Too damn long.”  Slowly he rolled so he was again on his stomach. 
“Maybe we can set a trap for them as they come back through this way.”

“You said Cunningham
knows about a road through the pines.  He might not plan to come back this
way,” Levi considered verbally, as his eyes scrutinized the tree line.

“But he will if he
hears a lot of sirens coming from the other side of those trees.”  Rafe
paused a minute working out details of a plan that had bubbled in his mind as
he again scanned the area with his binoculars.  “We’ll set up a way to disable
his car coming back this way and tempt him with a different mode of
transportation that will only accommodate one person.  Hopefully he’ll
leave the women behind to make a getaway.”

Uci pushed the shovel
down into the dirt and lifted out another spade full, depositing it on the
growing mound beside the hole, but then she paused and wiped her
forehead.  She’d been digging for at least twenty minutes, but the ground
was wet and heavy, as well as being tightly packed.

Using only one
crutch, Mesa hobbled to her side.  “Let me dig some, Uci.  You need a
break.”

“She’s doing fine,”
Cunningham barked.  “Leave her alone.”

Mesa felt a sudden
upwelling of anger.  “Go to hell.  She’s too old for this kind of
heavy labor.”  She removed the shovel from Uci’s hands and stepped into
her place as the old woman stepped back and slumped against the side of the
sturdy blind that her husband had built so many years ago.

He’d loved to come
here and watch the eagles, especially when there were young ones in the
nest.  She’d often accompanied him and strangely, she felt close to him
now, in his special place.  A hint of a smile tilted the wrinkled corners
of her mouth.

The filtered sun
shone through in only a few places, and all the while appearing not to notice
it, Uci slouched next to one of those bright rays.

Watching to make sure
Cunningham’s attention was on Mesa, one of her wrinkled hands slipped into a
pocket and emerged with a tiny mirror concealed within it.  Her hand
dropped casually into the sun’s brightest ray and turned toward the
pasture.  Her thin fingers slowly opened, and she hoped mightily that
someone was out there somewhere to see the resulting flash.  She knew she
couldn’t risk sending the flash for long, but somehow, this felt like just the
right time.

When Cunningham
looked over at her a few seconds later, she was sitting quietly, both hands
resting in her lap, her eyes closed, and for a second he wondered if she was
dead.  Then he saw her chest lift with breathing and decided she was just
resting.

The solid thunk of
the shovel striking something hard caught his ears and he stepped forward to
look down into the hole.  The heavy plastic container was only visible on
one side, but he pushed Mesa back almost knocking her over in his
exuberance.  He bent and slowly drug the plastic tub up, out of the hole,
a smile lighting his face.

“Finally,” he
grunted, wrenching the tightly closed top away, revealing stack upon stack of
currency.  “Just like I left it, only now I don’t have to share with
Shiver or anyone else.  It’s all mine.”

He looked at Mesa,
knowing the injury to her leg would make rising difficult for her and running
extremely awkward.  “Sit down there, beside the old woman.  Neither
one of you move until I get back.”  He bent and lifted the tub, intending
to carry it to the car, but its weight was surprising.  He lowered it to
the ground again and began dragging it instead, his eyes on the two women until
he moved out of their field of vision.

The spying screen had
been built back from the nest in the thickest part of the big pines. 
Surrounded by their protecting shade and concealment if offered the watcher a
view of the nest without the birds knowing they were there, but it was
inaccessible to a vehicle.  The closest a car could get was about thirty
yards away from the back of the blind, on a small two track dirt road that led
through the pine forest, out to a small county highway almost three quarters of
a mile away.

As soon as he was out
of sight, Uci sprang to her feet with more agility than a woman her age should
possess.  “Come on, child, we don’t have long.”  She held her hand
out for Mesa and aided her to her feet, then she shoved the only crutch that
had been taken from the car into the younger woman’s hand.  “When you get
past the blind, turn left into the trees.  Move as quietly as you can, but
keep going until you reach the creek.”

“What about you?”
Mesa was surprised with Uci’s resiliency, but she didn’t want to leave the old
woman behind.

“I’ll be right behind
you.  I doubt that foolish wasicu can read sign, but I’m going to make it
harder for him, just in case he can.  Go, now.”  Uci’s previously
frail body moved with grace and strength as she helped the younger woman around
the side of the blind.  “Go,” she whispered again when they were clear of
the tiny shield.  Mesa hobbled as fast as she could, seriously impeded by
the heavy undergrowth and her unbalanced gait.  Behind her, Mesa heard
Uci’s aged voice breaking into a soft chant in her native tongue, and it sent a
shiver along her spine.

This was not a time
for singing, she knew, but instead of turning back to drag the old woman with
her, Mesa was strangely compelled to keep going forward.  The voice
followed her as she fled, but she heard no sound of the fauna behind her being
disturbed.  Everything suddenly became surreal to her, as a thick mist
began to swirl around her, cloaking the sound of movement, blocking out the
mottled sunshine, enclosing her in a shroud of bright cloudiness.

In the distance she
could hear the wail of sirens and prayed it was Rafe and his people coming for
her and Uci, but then, not that far behind her she heard Cunningham’s burst of
rage when he returned and discovered the empty screen.

“Keep going,
daughter,” Uci’s voice whispered from right behind her and one old arm slipped
around her waist, helping provide a steadier gait.  “We’re almost there,”
Uci whispered again.

A large tree emerged
from the mist as they approached, and as they rounded its bulk, the old woman
pulled Mesa to a stop.  They stood listening for a moment, then Uci pushed
aside vines and brush at the base of a tall tree and pushed Mesa through it,
ahead of her. Unbelievably, the base of the tree was open on the side,
revealing the hollowness of the tree’s trunk.  “Inside,” Uci
instructed.  “Rest against the tree and be very quiet.  He’s not far
behind us, but you’ll be safe here.”

“What about you?”
Mesa asked as she pressed into the small space and turned to face Uci.

The old woman
grinned.  “I’ll be fine.  There are many places out here to hide from
a bumbling fool.  Don’t worry about the sounds you hear, and don’t come
out until Rafe comes for you, no matter what.  Do you understand me?”

Mesa shook her head
negatively.  “There’s room in here, Uci.”

“Don’t fear,
child.  Fear makes us weak.  Have faith and pray that Rafe finds us
both soon.”  When she finished speaking, she backed away, the brush tangle
fell back into place and all was silent.

Mesa sensed, rather
than heard Uci moving away, then she heard the intrusive crashing of Cunningham
moving through an environment that was totally alien to him.  As he drew
nearer, she could hear his heavy breathing and the muttered curses that came
from him as he struggled through the gloomy thickets.  She knew he was
very near the tree that concealed her when he came to a stop.  She needed
to be silent if she hoped to survive.

Her heart pounded so
hard she was sure that’s what he was listening to, or her breathing.  She
swallowed and struggled to contain the fear that she knew was stealing her
resolve, and then felt strength surge through her as his voice broke the
stillness.

“This won’t work,” he
yelled.  “I’ll find you, you know.  How far can a cripple and an old
woman go out here?”  He paused to listen.  “When I do find you,
you’ll pay for wasting my time.”

Then off to one side,
Mesa heard a sudden crash and Uci’s scream.  Her heart lurched at the
sound.  Something dreadful had happened to Rafe’s grandmother.  She
knew it.

^^^

“Levi,” a thread of
excitement edged Rafe’s voice.  “Do you see that mist over there in the
area of the eagles nest?”  He pushed the glasses toward his friend.

The deputy nodded
without using the binoculars.  “Yeah, what you think’s causing that?”

Rafe grinned. 
“Uci.”

Levi looked at him
skeptically.  “You’re kidding, right?”

Shaking his head
negatively, Rafe got to his feet.  “There are things about my grandmother
that I don’t understand, and she can do things that we can’t imagine, but right
now, with every fiber of my being, I know she’s doing
something
and
we’ve gotta get over there fast to help.”  He was already moving back
toward the big SUV, Spur on his heels.

Levi scrambled to
follow him and within seconds they were in the patrol vehicle roaring toward
the mist, both men and the big bulldog bouncing around in the confines of the
SUV as it crossed the pitted terrain.

When Rafe slid the
patrol unit to a stop, he bailed out, gun in hand, Spur ordered at his
heel.  From the passenger side, Levi followed suit and all three advanced
with caution toward the heavy fog that still hung close to the ground beneath
the pine trees.

^^^

Her fear for Uci
over-shadowed her fear for herself and, ignoring the pain in her leg, Mesa
burst from concealment behind him, her crutch drawn back like a big league
slugger getting ready for a fast ball. Cunningham turned and met the swing of
her crutch.  It knocked him back a step as it shattered against his
shoulder, leaving Mesa precariously balanced on one strong leg.

Sobbing because she
feared for Uci, Mesa forgot about the wound in her leg and launched herself at
him, slapping and scratching, hoping to distract him from going after the old
woman.

In self-defense, he
slapped her across the face, knocking her onto her back.  Then he drug her
to her feet and pushed her in the general direction of the eagles nest.

“You murderer,” she
screamed at him as he shoved her again.  She hobbled quickly ahead of him
until he wrapped one hand in her long hair and jerked her to a stop.

“Not so fast,
bitch.  You’re my ticket out of here.”  Guiding her from behind, he
maintained his hold in her hair, forcing her to proceed ahead of him.

Having heard Mesa
screaming at Cunningham, Rafe charged in that direction, motioning for Levi to
circle around.  When he spotted them, through the mist, his heart dropped.

Having heard someone
tearing through the underbrush, Cunningham held his weapon positioned beneath
Mesa’s chin, her body in front of him, shielding him from Rafe, when he broke
out of the fog.

“Stop right there,
Storm Horse, or you get to watch her die.”  His cold voice ordered.

Rafe stopped, his
eyes meeting Mesa’s, his heart staggered by the sight in front of him. 
Her eyes were filled with fear and the leg of her pants was stained with
blood.  He knew her unexpected activity had opened her leg wound and for
that alone, he itched to kill the man using her for a shield.

“Put your gun down,”
Cunningham continued, “and back up toward the hunting blind.”

Mesa managed to shake
her head negatively.  “Don’t do it Rafe,” she gasped, tears running down
her cheeks.  “He’ll kill you.”

“And I’ll kill you if
he doesn’t,” the deranged man snapped.

Fury flooded Mesa
with courage.  “And leave yourself an easy target?  I doubt that.”

“Shut up, bitch,” he
growled near her ear.

“He’s already gonna
kill me,” Mesa’s eyes were steady as she looked at Rafe, her voice
strong.  “Raale needs at least one of us, Rafe.  Do
not
let
him kill us both.”

“I said, shut up,”
Cunningham screamed in her ear.

Her eyes closed for a
second then opened and fixed on Rafe’s.  “Kill him, Rafe.  Shoot
through me and kill this animal.”  Tears of rage dripped onto her
cheeks.  She didn’t want to die, but she needed to know that Rafe
wouldn’t.  She needed to know that their precious little girl would have
at least one parent to raise her.

Rafe’s eyes reflected
his shock and the revulsion he felt at her suggestion.  “Baby, I…”

“He’ll kill us both!”
she gasped, desperate to make him understand.  “I trust you.  If you
shoot me, there’s a chance I’ll survive.  If he does, I won’t.”

Behind her, she could
feel Cunningham’s body tense, perhaps for the first time realizing, that he
just might be vulnerable.

“Shut up,” he
screamed again, shoving the gun tighter into her chin.

Mesa gasped from the
pain, her pleading eyes locked on Rafe.  Her lips moved silently. 
“Kill him,” made no sound, but the words tore Rafe’s heart apart.

Seeing her with that
gun to her throat, that insane animal glaring at him from behind her, Rafe
shook his head from side to side.  “Mesa, baby, I love you.”

She nodded slightly,
in spite of the gun under her chin.  “Then kill this bastard,” she hissed,
from between clinched teeth, the pistol under her chin preventing her from
opening her mouth.

Cunningham recognized
the moment that Rafe made the decision to do as Mesa asked.  “I give up,”
he gasped.  “You’re both crazy,” he panted, slowly bringing the gun from
beneath Mesa’s chin, hoping Rafe had been fooled into believing him.

Mesa felt the
movement in his wrist as the muzzle of the weapon began to swing toward the man
she loved.  “Nooo,” she screamed, shoving backward with all the strength
of her fury, the back of her head connecting with Cunningham’s throat.