Dodge the Bullet (32 page)

“This is a minor set back, Tanner. Don't
count me out next season.”

Sheriff Farley cleared his throat. “I’ve got
some questions for you, Dodge.” He glanced at Sarah. “If you’d
excuse us, Mrs. Woodward. This shouldn’t take long and then I’d
like a few minutes with you.”

When Sarah stood up to leave, Dodge grabbed
her arm. “She can stay, Farley. You can question us both
together.”

Farley eyed the two of them suspiciously.
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

“Sheriff?” Sarah said as dread began pooling
in her belly. “Are we being questioned in an official capacity? Are
we suspects?”

“Mrs. Woodward, we got a dead body with a
gun shot wound and an explosion on your property. The victim's cell
phone contained some interesting numbers. Right now I’m just trying
to connect the dots. Why don’t you both start by telling me what
the hell happened last night?”

###

Dodge wished his head didn't hurt so damn
much. He needed to protect Tommy’s cousin at all costs and couldn't
afford to let something slip. If Benji was twisted enough to torch
Sarah’s barn, there was no telling what he’d do to Kimberly if he
thought she’d snitched.

“I caught a guy trying to set fire to the
barn and pulled a gun on him before he could finish the job. He
pulled a gun from his belt, so I took a shot. The next thing I know
I’m in the hospital.”

“How did you catch him? It must have been
what, three, three-thirty in the morning?”

Dodge closed his fingers over Sarah’s hand,
alerting her not to speak. “We had a hunch somebody meant to do
some harm to the ranch, thought maybe last night was the night.
Turns out we were right.”

“What tipped you off?” Deputy Tanner stepped
forward, his hat in hand.

“Well, I don’t know if you’d heard or not
but some wires had been cut on the fence line a week or so ago.”
Dodge shrugged, looked from Farley to Tanner. “Got me to thinking.
Then yesterday we found some weird tracks around the back gate of
the property, dug into the mud when it’d rained so hard. Nobody at
the ranch uses the back gate and the guy at the cabin has no reason
to stop.”

“So, some cut wires and tire tracks got you
and Miguel worked up enough to stage an ambush?” Farley asked.

Sarah had a death grip on Dodge’s hand. He
pulled it away and patted her wrist. “Ambush is an awfully strong
word.”

“Since when is it against the law to protect
your own property?” Sarah asked.

“It’s not against the law, Mrs. Woodward.”
Deputy Tanner's mild manner made Dodge think he was playing good
cop to Farley’s bad. “Like Sheriff Farley explained, we’re just
trying to figure out what happened.”

“Did you recognize the guy before you shot
him?” Farley asked.

“No, not even his voice. You identify him
yet?”

“We're running his dental records through
the system. There was a phone, probably stolen, but…our John Doe
had some interesting friends.” His eyes flickered to Tanner, then
back to Sarah. “Either of you know why the guy who torched your
place had called and received numerous calls from Senator Ben
Burwick?”

Dodge kept his face neutral. Farley had
wanted to drop that bomb since he walked in the door. “Seems to me
like you should be asking Senator Burwick that question.”

“What the hell is going on? From the looks
of it, the Senator tried to burn your barn and you two seem to be
holding out on me? What gives? And don’t bother to lie. I’m too
tired to give a damn about propriety. I’ll have you both tossed in
jail until I get answers.”

Sarah looked at Dodge.

“Burwick’s in bed with Saxton on the Cooper
deal,” Dodge said. “He promised him Sarah’s land for water rights
and he’s been trying to scare her into selling ever since. When she
wouldn’t budge, he upped the ante.”

Farley rubbed his temple. “How do you know
this? How do you know he’s working with Saxton?”

“My friend, Senator Jack Carnes, told me
about the connection,” Sarah explained.

“Are you telling me that a United States
Senator paid someone to torch your barn in order to scare you into
selling your property? Got any evidence to back this up?”

Dodge didn’t like the condescending tone
Farley used with Sarah. “You've got the phone,” he said.

“And his assistant can vouch for everything
we’ve told you,” Sarah explained.

Guilt nagged through Dodge's pounding head.
“She's still with Burwick. Until she's out of his reach, I think
it’d be irresponsible to confront Burwick with these allegations.
There’s no telling what he’d do.”

“What do you expect me to do?” Farley’s
words dripped with sarcasm. “Sit on my hands while you figure out
how to get her away from him? And how do we know she'll
cooperate?”

Dodge sat up in the bed and adjusted the
pillows behind his head. “She's Tommy Thornton's cousin and she's
the one who alerted us to his plans. Give us some time to get her
away from him before you question him.”

Farley snorted.

“The cell phone alone connects them,” Dodge
said. “Kimberly knows about Saxton. She was present at their
meetings.”

“How do you plan to get her away from
Burwick?”

Dodge ran a finger over the stitches on his
forehead. “Tommy could call her brother and ask him to invent a
family emergency. Once she’s away from Burwick, you can question
them separately.”

Farley looked at the ceiling,
considering.

“The guy’s a pansy,” Dodge explained. “He’ll
buckle under interrogation. It’s Saxton he’s afraid of.”

Farley sighed and slowly extricated himself
from the chair. “Call Tommy. Get the wheels in motion. I’ll give
you twenty-four hours to get the cousin away from Burwick or I’m
proceeding with the investigation.” He nodded toward the door for
Tanner to head out. “Keep me in the loop, Dodge. I’ll be in
touch.”

###

“I don’t understand,” Kimberly said to her
brother. “I just talked to mom last night and she sounded fine.
What happened?”

Roger Weston hesitated before starting into
the prepared speech he’d practiced with Tommy only moments before.
He wasn’t all together comfortable lying to his sister, but Tommy
had assured him it was a matter of life and death. Confirmation
from Sheriff Farley made him place the call despite his
reservations.

“She just collapsed in the kitchen this
morning. I found her and called 911. She’s in the hospital. They’re
running some tests.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Kimberly
said, her voice faltering. “I’ve got to arrange for a flight. Tell
Mom I love her.”

###

Kimberly knocked on Benji’s door and didn’t
wait for his response before entering. “I’m sorry to interrupt,
Senator, but my mom’s in the hospital. I need to get to
Westmoreland today.” She ran her hands up and down her arms. “I’ll
call Hector and let him know I’m leaving.” Benji sat up in his
chair, relieved at the distraction. “Sure, Kimberly, of course.
What happened?”

“I’m not sure. My brother said she
collapsed.”

Benji moved to the front of the desk and
touched Kimberly’s shoulder. “I’ll call and have the private plane
ready for you in thirty minutes.” He dropped his hand when Kimberly
nodded and headed to the door. “You be sure to call me and let me
know how she is, okay?”

“Yes, Senator. Thank you, I will.”

He watched her fold her suit coat over her
arm, grab her purse and dash out of the office.

Benji sat down at his desk and made
arrangements for the plane. His thoughts returned to Hailey, not an
hour's drive from Westmoreland. He contemplated going with her,
seeing for himself what had happened at the Woodward ranch, but
knew it was best to keep his distance. He didn’t need to go
sniffing around Hailey.

The longer he sat in Washington, completely
out of touch with what was going on in Hailey, the more he couldn’t
focus on anything at all. He reached for his suit coat, his cell
phone and his briefcase. Like it or not, Kimberly was going to have
company on her flight.

###

Sheriff Farley and Deputy Tanner sat in a
cruiser on the tarmac of Westmoreland’s only airport. The plane was
scheduled to land in twenty minutes and Deputy Tanner fidgeted in
his seat and checked the dash clock again. He didn’t know if he had
the jitters or if the spicy burrito he'd eaten for lunch had been a
poor choice. They were going to question a United States Senator
under suspicion for arson. This, he thought as he checked the
safety on the revolver in his holster--a revolver he’d never drawn
in the line of duty, was why he became an officer of the law. He
stole a sideways glance at Sheriff Farley and couldn’t stop himself
from asking what he knew would sound like a stupid question. “Why
are you so calm, Sheriff? Aren’t you the least bit excited about
confronting Burwick?”

Sheriff Farley sighed deeply and seemed to
study the horizon. “Son, if Burwick's responsible for the attempted
arson at the Woodward place, and I suspect he is, I’m not the least
bit excited. The man’s supposed to be molding legislation on behalf
of the state, not risking the law to pad his pockets and help
greedy land developers.” He sucked on his front teeth and shook his
head in disgust. “The whole thing makes me sick.”

Both men gulped as a jet approached from
over the mountains and made its way toward the runway. “Well,”
Deputy Tanner sighed. “Excited or not, here he comes.”

When the staircase lowered, Farley moved to
block the exit and shouted over the hum of the engine. “Kimberly
Weston. Senator Burwick. I’m Sheriff Darren Farley and this is
Deputy Paul Tanner of the Hailey Sheriff’s department.” He flashed
his badge and Paul noticed the Senator’s face blanch. “We’re going
to need to ask you both some questions. If you’d kindly follow me
to the patrol car, Deputy Tanner will make sure your luggage is
taken care of.”

“Sheriff…Far--,Farley,” the senator
stuttered. “What in the name of heavens is this about? My
assistant's mother is in the hospital. We really don’t have time
for this.” He grabbed Kimberly’s arm and tried to usher her beyond
Farley to the waiting cab.

“I’m afraid I'm going to have to insist.”
Farley blocked his path. “If you’ll both follow me, please.”

Kimberly reached for Farley’s arm. “Sheriff,
please. I need to get to the hospital as soon as…” Her words
trailed off as Roger Weston approached from the airport's terminal.
“Oh, God Roger. What’s happened? Is Mom…?”

Roger shook his head and pulled Kimberly
away from the senator. Farley patiently waited while the senator
ranted in his face, his voice booming.

“This is unconscionable,” the senator
shouted. “I won’t be manhandled. I’m a United States Senator!”

“You can either come with me voluntarily or
I’ll issue a warrant for your arrest,” Farley stated. He didn't
seem the least bit surprised or concerned about the senator's
demands. “The choice is yours.”

“Arrest? On what charges?”

“Attempted arson, for starters.”

Sarah woke to the steady beat of Dodge’s heart. Each night when she
joined him, she made sure to be considerate of his injuries and
stay on what had become her side of the bed. But sometime during
the night she’d shift, or he’d shift, and by morning their limbs
tangled and her head rested comfortably on his fuzzy chest. The
methodical whump-thump, whump-thump of his heart sounded like music
to her ears. She had to suppress a sigh of pure happiness.

In the five days since Dodge was released
from the hospital, they could wake and face each day knowing that
her land and his cattle were safe. Kimberly had been questioned and
released after backing up the information Dodge and Sarah had given
the Sheriff. The last time Sarah spoke to Tommy, Kimberly had
already arranged an interview with the small university in
Westmoreland. Burwick confessed to setting up the arson and had
negotiated a deal with police for cooperating in a federal
investigation of Fred Saxton. Life on the ranch had settled down
considerably.

The time she spent with Dodge felt natural
and made her happy. They’d wake in each other’s arms and often make
love before breakfast. Miguel rode a grumpy Dodge around in his
truck, careful to keep his leg elevated as much as possible while
Sarah continued to work on her novel between housekeeping, grocery
shopping and entertaining the frequent visitors from Dodge’s family
and various members of the community. He’d become something of a
hero in Hailey for stopping the arson and implicating Senator
Burwick. The resulting federal investigation put a halt to the
Cooper development that had threatened the valley's livelihood.
Seemingly overnight he’d gone from the town’s punching bag to its
most celebrated citizen. His newfound celebrity seemed as much a
part of his moodiness as his general lack of mobility.

Often guests would bring by meals and stay.
While Sarah enjoyed getting to know Dodge’s family and the people
of Hailey, she often found herself fighting back a wave of
resentment for the intrusion on what had become their diminishing
alone time. The boys were coming home in two days and Dodge planned
to go back and live with his dad. Sarah couldn’t imagine having to
behave as they did before, sneaking around like a couple of love
struck teenagers. Except now, in everyone’s minds but her sons’,
she and Dodge were a couple. Addressing their relationship with
Kevin and Lyle had caused her more than a little trepidation the
last few days.

Mornings spent lying in Dodge’s arms felt
like borrowed time. She nuzzled her face against his chest and felt
him stir beneath her. She wondered, as she often did, if he felt
the emotional ties between them strengthen in the past week. They'd
agreed to a casual, no-strings relationship that had slipped toward
more with the forced intimacy of living together, however
temporary. He didn't cringe when she called him A.J., but smiled
when she whispered in his ear. In the glow of daybreak, he joined
their bodies with unbearable tenderness. How in the world would she
let him go?