The Lawman Returns (14 page)

SIXTEEN

C
lay quietly rounded up a few of Wrangler’s Corner’s finest, and they all pitched in to look for Stan. Unfortunately to no avail.

They returned to the party but kept an eye out for Stan. The man had left rehab with a goal in mind. To hunt down Sabrina and finish the job? But if it was Stan, why hadn’t anyone else seen him?

Clay couldn’t spot him in the crowd.

Then again, the man knew how to hide. He knew the hills and the caves better than his own backyard. But around here? Where would he hide?

Seth crutched his way over next to him. “What’s got you so on edge?”

Clay told him about the pitchfork incident in the barn with Sabrina.

Seth’s jaw tightened. “I’ll get my rifle.”

“No, just keep an eye out for anyone who looks suspicious.”

“Like who?”

“Stan Prescott, for one.”

“Where’s Sabrina now?”

“In the house with Mom and Amber.”

“Mom came outside a few minutes ago and so did Amber and the kids.”

“But not Sabrina?”

“No.”

“Good. I don’t want her out here with Stan on the loose. I’m going to keep searching until I find and arrest him.”

“Just to let you know, Mom said Sabrina was a gift. Apparently she cleaned up the kitchen.”

Clay gave a slight smile. “Sounds like Sabrina.”

Seth raised his eyebrows. “Is it serious between you two?”

“I don’t know yet. It’s serious enough at this point I want it to be serious.”

“Uh-huh.”

Clay shrugged. “We’ve known each other all our lives, and yet I feel like I’m just getting to know her. Although we’ve spent a lot of time together lately, it’s a little soon to jump into serious.”

“Right.”

“Right.” Clay let his gaze rove the property. The partygoers looked happy and well fed. The tables were picked over and the lemonade and tea pitchers drained. And the snow was holding off. “Steven would be proud.”

“Yeah. The silent auction seems to be going well, too.”

“Wish it was as easy to find a killer as it is to put on a barbecue,” Clay grunted.

“Yeah.”

Clay made his way to the house, grateful to have Ned’s and Lance’s help in watching out for Sabrina. If he just kept enough eyes on her, maybe that would be enough to deter the killer.

He stopped when he saw his father standing alone, watching the fun with a sad look in his eyes. “Have you talked to Abe?”

“No.”

“What are you going to do about the ranch?”

His father sighed. “There’s a horse auction next weekend. I’m going to take the five horses I think will bring the most money and sell them. That’ll keep us afloat for a few weeks while I figure out what to do next.”

He squeezed his father’s shoulder. “We’ll work it out. I’m on my way in to check on Sabrina and see if she needs anything.”

His dad nodded. “She’s a keeper.”

Clay shook his head. “That seems to be the general consensus.” Lance came from around the corner of the house. “Everything all right?”

Lance shook his head. “Got a call of a domestic disturbance. Ned told me to go check it out.”

“Why you? You’re not even on duty.”

Lance shrugged. “When the boss gives an order...”

“Yeah. Yeah. All right, I’ll take over your coverage of the house.” He rubbed his hands together. “In fact, I’ll just go inside and fill Sabrina in.”

“Don’t mind spending some time with her, huh?”

Clay gave the man a small smile. “No, that’s one thing I don’t mind doing.”

* * *

Sabrina stared at the woman behind the gun. “Krissy? Why?”

“Why what? Why do we want you dead? What exactly is your question?” She shoved Sabrina toward the window. “But it doesn’t matter, does it? Out the window.”

“What?”

“Out!”

Sabrina took a step backward.

Footsteps sounded in the hall. Krissy snapped a quick glance out, then back to Sabrina. “It’s a kid going to the bathroom.”

She heard the door shut. Krissy gestured with the gun. “If you’re not out the window by the time the little guy comes out, I’ll shoot him.”

Sabrina flinched. The hard eyes staring at her left her with no doubt the woman would do as she said. She couldn’t risk the child’s life. Still, she hesitated.

The bathroom door opened, and Krissy stepped backward, just inside the bedroom door, pistol ready to swing around. “You really want to test me? I’m the one who killed Steven. I also killed Trey. One more won’t bother me much.”

Sabrina sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm her pounding heart. She would find a way out, but she wouldn’t endanger a child. She moved to the window and lifted it. She climbed onto the sill and braced herself to run as soon as her feet hit the ground.

She jumped. Her legs buckled, but she pushed herself up. She took one step. A hard hand over her mouth jolted her to a stop. Time slowed. She could hear the party going on around the corner of the house. She heard someone call her name. Clay?

She saw the big brown car idling and then the strong arms holding her against a broad chest shoved her into the backseat of the vehicle. Time sped back up. Sabrina lashed out with her right foot and caught her attacker on the chin. He cursed and caught her foot. With a hard yank, he pulled her almost back out of the car. Then his fist caught her in the side of the head.

Sabrina now understood what it meant to see stars. Daylight faded. She blinked and went limp, trying to regain her equilibrium, but dizziness hit her hard.

Darkness wanted to take over. She fought it. Felt him duct-taping her ankles. Then her wrists. Terror threatened to smother her. While Clay had been looking for Stan Prescott, Stan Prescott had been looking for her.

And now he had her.

* * *

Clay made his way into the house and stopped. Looked around.

“Sabrina?” Nothing. He headed down the hall, checking each room as he went. “Sabrina?” When an entire search of the house turned up empty, panic tried to set in. He rushed back into the kitchen just as his mother stepped inside. “Have you seen Sabrina?”

“I left her in my room looking over Steven’s things. She misses him, too.”

Clay turned on his heel and made his way back to his parents’ bedroom. His mother stayed close behind him. Sabrina had left the box on the bed, neatly packed. Clay stared as emotion wanted to choke him. He pulled the items from the box. Steven’s little black comb, two wadded up ten-dollar bills and a few coins.

“Where’s the book?” his mother asked.

“What book?”

“It was a paperback. One of the classics. Steven had it in his coat pocket when he was killed.”

“And it’s gone now. Are you sure it was in here?”

She made a sound of disgust. “Of course I’m sure. I just saw it.” She frowned. “Why would Sabrina take it?”

“Maybe she loaned it to him. She said they often swapped books back and forth.”

“But would she just take it without telling me? That doesn’t sound like her.”

“No,” Clay agreed as fear clamped down on him. “No, it doesn’t.” He bolted from the room, through the kitchen and out the front door. He looked around and found Ned talking to Aaron. “Have you guys seen Sabrina?”

“No,” Ned said. “Have you seen Krissy? Lance asked me to let her know her brother called and her mother’s taken a turn for the worse. I was just telling Aaron I may go see if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“I saw Krissy in the kitchen with Sabrina not too long ago. She said she saw Stan Prescott hovering nearby. Any chance you’ve spotted him?”

“No.” Aaron grimaced. “He knows better than to show his face around here.”

“Maybe not.”

Clay raced back to the house and into his parents’ bedroom, looking for some kind of clue. Sabrina had last been seen here. But his search turned up nothing.

He called her cell phone, and it went straight to voice mail.

“Clay? I’m getting ready to leave, but what’s going on?” Ned asked from behind him.

He turned. “Sabrina’s missing. Can you ping her phone?”

Ned didn’t stop to ask questions, just got on his phone to get the deed done.

Clay ran back out and questioned each guest, asking the same question over and over. “Have you seen Sabrina?”

Each time he got a negative answer, his despair deepened.

Until Tony Zellis pulled on his sleeve. “I saw her. They put her in that car.”

Clay knelt, doing his best to keep his desperation under control. “What car, son?”

“The big brown one.”

“Who put her in the car?”

“The lady. And the man. I was going to tell her to stop, but they left before I could.”

A lady?

A big brown car?

“They put her in, you said. Was she walking or were they carrying her?”

“She was walking kind of funny. Like my mom does sometimes when she drinks a lot. Ms. Sabrina came out of the window and the man helped her down.”

Clay pinched the bridge of his nose. “Came out of the window?”

“Uh-huh. And the man grabbed her, and the lady climbed out after her.”

Think, man.
“What did the man look like?”

Tony shrugged. “A man.” He frowned. “Is Ms. Sabrina going to be okay?”

“Yes.” Clay forced a smile. “If I have anything to say about it, she will be.”

“Okay. Good. I like her.”

“Yeah,” Clay whispered. “Me, too.”

Who had a big brown car? What lady and what man? He looked around, trying to see who was missing, but there were at least sixty people mingling in the yard, coming and going from the house, and gathered around the bonfire. Unless he called for a head count, he wasn’t going to be able to figure it out.

Had someone helped Stan snatch Sabrina with the party going on?

A cold ball of fear formed in his gut. Surely not. He moved to the back of the house. Stan Prescott stood at the edge of the trees, right where Krissy had said she’d spotted him earlier. Clay raced toward the man. “Stan!”

Stan simply looked at him, stood still and lifted his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. Clay pulled his weapon and held it on the man. “Where’s Sabrina?”

Stan didn’t speak. Clay moved closer. Stan stepped back into the woods. “Be still! Don’t move!”

Clay held his gun steady and reached for his phone, keeping his eyes on the man who might know something about Sabrina.

At the edge of the woods, he pressed the button that would bring backup.

Stan dropped his hands. Clay tensed. “Put them back up, Stan.”

Lightning pain hit the back of his head. His vision went white. Then black.

* * *

Sabrina’s head pounded, and fear nauseated her. She had done away with her sling yesterday afternoon. Working in the barn had stretched the healing area, and it had been sore this morning. With her wrists bound behind her back, pain pulsed a steady beat in the wounded area. Finding a more comfortable position was impossible. With her feet also duct-taped together, she had very limited movement. Her cheek hurt, and her ears still rang. Memory returned in fragments. Stan had punched her. She’d blacked out at some point.

She let her senses take in all the information she could process. A metal floor beneath her. That meant she was no longer in the brown car.

So where was she?

An idling engine. A metal floor. Darkness, but she could see the snow falling through two windows toward the back of the vehicle. She figured she’d been transferred to a van. Time had passed but not too much, as it was still light outside.

So now she was tied up and scared to death.

Krissy and Stan had disappeared without a word a short while ago. Sabrina knew it was now or never. She tugged and struggled and cried out until she was breathless. Her head throbbed. Panting, she wiped her tears on her shoulder. “Oh, Lord, please, help me.”

The back of the van opened, spilling sunlight into the cavernous interior. Another body landed next to her. Sabrina gasped and shrank away.

Then realized who it was. “Clay!”

The doors slammed shut once again.

Sabrina scooted on her hip closer to Clay. He lay so still, so quiet. Was he even alive? She shivered, her teeth chattering. She curled next to his warmth. The front doors opened, and the two criminals climbed in. The van rumbled to life. “Clay,” she whispered. “Can you hear me?”

Sabrina could see the snowflakes coming down fast and furious through the back windows, but soon the sun would disappear and they would be plunged into darkness.

Heat from the front started to penetrate to the back, and her shivers eased, but each jolt over the rough ground slammed her against the floor, sending shards of agony through her injured shoulder. She had a feeling any healing that had taken place had just been reversed.

She noticed Clay having a hard time, too. Every time they hit a bump, his head knocked the metal floor. Ignoring her own discomfort, she winced and maneuvered herself against him, trying to roll him next to the wall of the van without attracting the attention of those up front.

Finally, she had him trapped between her body and the side of the van. It made the bouncing a bit more bearable.

And allowed her to tune in to the conversation of the two in the front.

“...told you this was a bad idea,” Stan said.

“Shut up and drive.”

“Why am I listening to you?” The van swerved, then jerked back into the lane. Sabrina grimaced and tried to move with it.

“Because you’re a fool if you don’t,” Krissy said, her voice so low and lethal that Sabrina flinched and waited for the gunshot that would end Stan’s life.

When it didn’t come, Sabrina ignored her massive discomfort and tried to nudge Clay awake again. His unresponsiveness worried her. How hard had Stan hit him? “Clay,” she whispered.

“Quit whining and tell me if you got the pictures,” Krissy snapped.

“I’ll get them when we get to the cave. I was watching her from the window. She’s got them in that book in her back pocket.”

“Why didn’t you grab them when you tossed her in the van?” Outrage vibrated in Krissy’s voice.

“Because I was too busy trying to figure how to get Clay Starke, in case you didn’t notice. I could hear him coming and thanks to my quick thinking, he’s not going to be a problem anymore.” He snorted. “You’re a piece of work, aren’t you?”