Cold Heart (21 page)

29

Dr. Mitchell was encouraged. The dog was looking pretty good this morning. He and his assistant Marcy had stabilized and then operated on the dog. He had a bullet in his shoulder and it had been a little trickier surgery than he was used to performing. The dog had obviously lost a lot of blood and he would have liked to give him a transfusion but he didn’t have any donor dogs on file at the moment. He sent his assistant home shortly after they finished the surgery and he slept on the cot they kept in the clinic, so that he could keep an eye on the dog all night.

“Good morning, I bet you are tired,” Marcy said when she arrived.

“I did get some sleep,” he said, “But I’ll be wanting a nap later I think. Thanks again for staying.”

“Are you going to report it to the Sherriff?” she asked.

“Well I don’t know. It was probably some farmer whose hen house had been raided one too many times. Although in that case, I would have expected it to have been a rifle or a shotgun and this was definitely from a handgun. So yes, I guess I should give him a call,” Dr. Mitchell said.

He went into his office to make the call.

The Sherriff himself came on the line when Dr. Mitchell reached the station.

“Doc, how are you? What can I do for you today?” the Sherriff asked.

“Well a couple brought in a dog they picked up on the road last night. It had lost a lot of blood and turns out it had been shot,” the Vet said.

“Really,” the Sherriff said. “By any chance is this dog a chocolate Labrador retriever?”

“Why yes it is, Sherriff,” he said.

“Any idea where this happened?” the Sherriff asked.

“I don’t know, but I do have the phone number for the couple and obviously they can tell you where they picked up the dog,” he said.

“I’ll be right over,” the Sherriff said.

“Get me Carter Monroe right now,” the Sherriff said to the dispatcher.

She dialed the cell phone they had on file for him and gave the Sherriff a nod and he picked up his phone.

“Carter,” he said.

“Yes, Sherriff, you have news?” Carter asked.

“Not the news you are hoping for but maybe our first real lead,” he said.

“Meet me over at Doc Mitchell’s Veterinary Clinic at the north end of town. He’s got a Chocolate Lab in there, been shot. Think it might be Lexi’s dog.”

“Geez,” Carter said. “I’ll be right there.”

Carter had been driving around aimlessly for hours. It felt like he had looked at every empty building in town, in between trips back to the farm to check on the animals. He was exhausted. He started up the GPS and looked for the Veterinary Clinic. He headed that way. He and the Sherriff pulled in at the same time and both hurried into the clinic. The Sherriff spoke first.

“We’re here about the Lab that was brought in,” he said.

“Of course,” the receptionist said. “I’ll just call Dr. Mitchell’s assistant Marcy.”

Marcy appeared in short order.

“Hi, I’m Marcy. I’m Dr. Mitchell’s assistant. I was here when the dog was brought in last night,” she said.

“How’s he doing? Can we see him?” Carter said.

“Do you have an address or phone number for the people who brought him in?” the Sherriff asked.

“Yes, we have a phone number and I’ll take you to see him,” she said. “When we are sure he’s the dog you’re looking for, you’ll be able to call the people who brought him in.”

“That’d be great,” Carter said.

She led them into the back and over to a cage where a big brown dog was hooked up to an IV and looked to be sedated. There was a large bandage on his shoulder. The Sherriff looked at Carter who nodded.

“It’s him,” he said. “It’s Tucker.”

“I’d like that phone number now,” the Sherriff said.

He walked out to the front with Marcy while Carter stayed behind. He got close to the cage and whispered to Tucker.

“Hang in there buddy,” he said to the sleeping dog. “We’re going to find her and we are all going to be together again.”

He went out front and the Sherriff was on his phone. Carter waited for him to finish.

“They found him on Lake County Highway,” the Sherriff said. “They are going to meet us here and we’ll follow them out to the spot. We’ll concentrate our search starting there. I’m calling in all the boys that have been searching the south area and as soon as we have a location they will meet us out there.”

Carter felt encouraged for the first time since this whole ordeal had started. The fact that Tucker had been shot was very worrisome but he was not going to allow himself to think about that too much. He had to believe they could find her alive. The alternative was just more than he could handle right now.

When Gladys and Remy arrived at the Veterinary Clinic Carter was the first to reach them.

“I can’t thank you enough for stopping to help Tucker,” he said.

“Well anyone would have done the same,” Remy said.

“I don’t think so,” said Carter. “I’m really grateful.”

“This could be our best lead for finding the young lady that owns Tucker,” the Sherriff said. “Let’s get started. Carter, ride with me.”

Gladys and Remy got in their car, the Sherriff got in his cruiser and Carter joined him. The little caravan started out and for a few minutes Remy’s car drove at regular speed. It then slowed, drove a few yards more before stopping at the side of the road. Remy and Gladys got out. The cruiser stopped as well. Remy went to the other side of the road and was looking at the ground. He walked a little farther along and then waved to the Sherriff and Carter who raced across to the spot. There was a trail of blood that ended there and you could see where their vehicle had pulled over and then turned around.

The Sherriff went back to the cruiser and radioed the location in.

“Thank you so much,” Carter said. “Now we finally have a place to start looking.”

“Well we really hope you find her and hope that Tucker recovers alright,” Gladys said.

The Sherriff came back across the road.

“Thanks folks,” he said. “You can be on your way now if you like. I’ll see to it that someone calls you and lets you know how things turn out. Thanks again for your help today.”

“Happy to do it Sherriff,” Remy said and the pair walked across to their car and drove away.

It was only about ten minutes and three patrol cars joined them. The officers got out of the cars and they all talked with the Sherriff. Carter hung back and waited til they were finished.

“What’s the plan? He asked the Sherriff.

“They’ll each cover a certain amount of the area and are to call in anything that looks suspicious. They will be checking every empty or abandoned building they find.

“What about us?” Carter said. “What area can we search?”

“We’re going to wait right here Carter, until we get that call,” he said. “These bastards are armed and dangerous and I don’t want your death on my hands.”

“I can help as well as one of your deputies,” Carter said.

“No you can’t,” the Sherriff said. “You’ll try to be a hero and save your girl and maybe get one of you killed in the process. If I thought I could trust you I would send you home but I think I’d like you right here where I can keep an eye on you. The dog couldn’t have run far. She is close.”

30

Grace was really worried about Lexi. She had been gone for a couple of days. She thought it was really odd that she had run off, so odd in fact that she was inclined to believe exactly what was being said about her husband. He had been berating Lexi about selling, just as he had been berating Max. Mitch and Geoffrey had been in the winery office all day and then Mitch had taken off in an ATV for parts unknown. He returned late and Geoffrey had received a text and had left their bedroom to go downstairs to talk to him and she had followed. They were in Geoffrey’s office in the house. She crept to the door as quietly as she could and listened at the door.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” Geoffrey was saying. “If that damn dog lives not only might it lead them to her but they will know for sure that she didn’t leave town. You should have killed those people who picked him up.”

“Oh sure, easy for you to say,” Mitch said. “It’s not your ass going to jail.”

“Really have you heard of conspiracy, for Christ sake?” Geoffrey said. “You already killed Max. What difference does it make?”

“Whatever,” Mitch said. “We need to move her.”

“Then get back out there first thing in the morning, I’ll get in touch with your boss and find out where he suggests taking her. When I hear back I’ll text you and you can take her there.”

Grace had heard enough. They had Lexi and they had killed Max, her beloved Max. She was horrified. She knew her husband was no angel but this was beyond anything she could have imagined. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t done it with his own hands. He had sanctioned the killing of the only man she had ever really loved. Grace tiptoed away from the door and went back to their room as quickly as she could.

Geoffrey finally came to bed at nearly two a.m. She pretended to be asleep. When he went to the bathroom she quickly looked at his phone to see if he had texted Mitch. There was nothing. Grace decided she would be ready first thing and when Mitch went off in the ATV she would drive around to the back road and see if that was where he was switching to a vehicle and then driving to wherever he had Lexi. She had seen the surveillance vehicle out front and she knew that Mitch and Geoffrey knew it was there. That was why he was going out the back way somehow.

Grace lay awake next to Geoffrey for the next three hours and then crept into the bathroom to get ready and get dressed. She snuck out of the bedroom and managed to get downstairs without him waking. Then she waited and waited and waited. Finally, she saw Mitch heading for the garage where the ATV was stored. She raced to her car, climbed in and sank down so he wouldn’t see her. When he drove out with the ATV she headed for the main road and around to the back road. She almost missed him. Just luck really. She saw a pick up pull out of the Thomas property. So that’s how they were doing it, swapping the ATV for a truck. She followed at a safe distance.

After about thirty minutes Mitch turned off the highway. Grace slowed up. She could see a building that looked deserted. This was part of the airport property that was no longer used. It was a hangar she was pretty sure. Grace continued past the driveway and then turned around, checked the mileage on the trip odometer and then started back. She made a call to 9-1-1 and asked to be connected with the Sherriff saying she had important information about the whereabouts of Lexi Thomas. She was asked her name and then she was put through immediately.

“Grace, what do you have to tell me?” the Sherriff asked.

“I’m pretty sure that Lexi is being held in an old plane hangar out by the airport. It doesn’t look like it is being used anymore. I recorded the mileage and it was about twenty two miles north of the junction of Greenwood and Lake County Highway. You need to get there quickly. They are planning on moving her.”

“Thank you Grace, where are you?” the Sherriff asked.

“I’m heading back to the Vineyard,” she said.

“Grace, I don’t think you should do that,” the Sherriff said. “I’d like you to go down to the station, okay?”

“That bastard husband of mine had Max killed and now he has kidnapped Lexi and plans to kill her,” Grace said. “I’m not fucking going anywhere but back there.”

“Gracie, think about this. Grace, Shit,” the Sherriff said. “She hung up.”

Carter looked at him and said. “What the hell?”

“Get in,” Carter did as he was told, then balked when he saw they were turning around and heading for town.

The Sherriff got on the radio to his men. “Lexi Thomas is being held in the old hangar on the south side of the airport. That is twenty-two miles north of Greenwood and Lake County Highways. Approach with caution as the kidnapper Mitch Hawthorne is likely on site. I am headed to the Montgomery Vineyard, I believe Grace Montgomery is headed that way and there is trouble brewing.”

“Sherriff to hell with them we need to go the other way to Lexi,” Carter said.

“My men will look after that. We need to get to the Winery before Grace finally loses it and kills that bastard cousin of mine. I don’t want to see her going to jail.”

“Drop me at the vet and I will get my own vehicle,” Carter said.

“There’s no time,” the Sherriff said.

Carter was totally frustrated. He wanted to go to the location where it looked like Lexi was and now he was being forced to go to save Montgomery’s miserable life. Short of jumping out of the car there didn’t seem to be much he could do.

31

Lexi had managed to chew through the zap strap. She was elated as that meant her hands were free. The rope that had tied her to the pipe was her next challenge and it took her some time working on it in the dark but it was not like she had anything else to do. She was a little concerned about her teeth but she would worry about that later. When she was close to giving up she finally felt the last knot giving way and she was free of the rope finally. Lexi got up and fumbled her way across the room, to turn on the light. Once her eyes had adjusted to it, she tried the door. Of course it was locked. She had known it would be. She wondered what she could do to surprise and immobilise Mitch when he came back. She had no idea when that might be so she must work quickly. She untied the rope from the pipe just in case she might need it.

Now what? Lexi thought maybe she could hit him with something from behind if she got behind the door, maybe a table leg. She went over to the table and turned it on its side. The legs were screwed in. She began turning one of the legs and was rewarded a few minutes later when it came free. So now she had a blunt instrument. She needed to figure out how she would use it. She took the chair and placed it on the side of the door where the hinges were so that when it was opened he wouldn’t see her. She would stand on the chair and hit him when he came into the room. He would turn on the light, step forward, realize she wasn’t there and bam she would hit him over the head.

It sounded doable, in theory but could she actually do it? She had to try. She had nothing left to lose. They were going to kill her just as surely as the sun rose and set. She stood the table up turning it so that it wasn’t immediately apparent that it was missing a leg though Mitch would see instantly that she wasn’t tied up anymore but maybe she could hit him before he realized the chair was gone. She managed to balance the table by resting it against the wall. She put the chair behind the door. She turned off the light, not something she relished but necessary and stood on the chair and leaned against the wall to make it less tiring.

Lexi had no idea how long she would have to stand there. With no watch and no windows she had no idea what time of day it was or how long it had been since Mitch had last been there. Still it was better than sitting waiting for him to come back and kill her. She had been in this dark hole for three days and Carter would have discovered her note and he would have the Sherriff looking for her, she was sure of it.

Lexi didn’t have to wait long. She was getting tired from standing and her arm was starting to ache from holding the heavy table leg, when she heard footsteps on the other side of the door. She stood very still and waited. She heard the key in the lock and when the door opened and the light switched on there was an immediate reaction from Mitch.

“Shit,” he said and then he did the predictable thing. He looked behind the door and ‘bam’, Lexi swung the chair leg as hard as she could and hit Mitch on the shoulder, instead of the head, as she had intended but he still went down. She wasted no time. She was down off the chair and out the door in a heartbeat. She ran across the basement floor to the stairway and started up the stairs.

Unfortunately Mitch was right behind her. He grabbed her by an ankle and made her stumble and she hit her knees when she went down. Lexi shrieked. She struggled and kicked and managed to get free. She was back on the move and continued up the stairs with Mitch behind her. She ran across the warehouse floor to the door they had used yesterday. As she was pulling on the door Mitch caught up again and grabbed her. She yelled and kicked and punched at him.

He was dragging her back across the floor when the door opened and a deputy stepped in with his gun drawn.

“Stop right there,” the Deputy said.

Mitch went for his gun and Lexi used that opportunity to break free again running for the other end of the warehouse. He pulled his gun but the deputy fired first. Mitch went down. Lexi stopped running. The deputy took the gun from Mitch’s hand and checked for a pulse. There was none. He then went over to the now shaking and emotional Lexi and helped her out to his car. He called dispatch.

The message came through on the radio in the Sherriff’s cruiser so Carter heard it at the same time. The deputy called for back-up and an ambulance.

Carter was on pins and needles. The deputy gave the location and then said the assailant was dead and that the victim was fine but he would like a paramedic to check her out. Her injuries appeared to be superficial.

Carter was overcome.

“You okay there, Carter,” the Sherriff said.

“Yes,” Carter said.

“I’ll get you out there just as soon as we take my cousin into custody.”

“Fine,” said Carter. “It won’t be so bad seeing that asshole arrested.”

“We can’t be far behind Grace,” he said. “Just hope we get there before she shoots him.”

They pulled into the winery driveway. Grace’s car was pulled up close to the house, the door stood open. The Sherriff stopped the cruiser and was out of it in a second, Carter followed. When they entered the house, the Sherriff had his gun drawn. They could hear voices coming from Montgomery’s office.

“You bastard,” Grace said. “You killed Max.”

“Well technically, no I didn’t,” Montgomery said.

“You killed him just as surely as if you pulled the trigger,” Grace said. “And you were going to kill Lexi.”

“Now Gracie,” the Sherriff said as he came in the room where she held her husband at gunpoint. “You don’t want to do that. You have lots more living to do and I don’t want to see you going to jail. This scumbag is going there and one of you will be enough for this family.”

“He killed Max,” she said as sobs shook her shoulders.” Is Lexi alright?”

“Yes,” Carter said, “Thanks to you.”

The Sherriff came forward and took the gun from her hands but continued to keep his pointed at his cousin.

“Carter, put these cuffs on him would you?” he said and tossed some handcuffs to Carter who had now moved forward.

“My pleasure, Sherriff,” Carter said.

Once he was cuffed, Montgomery was led out to the car and put in the back. While they walked the Sherriff told him his rights. Carter stayed back with Grace.

“Thank you for what you did for Lexi,” Carter said. “I am so grateful.”

“I just wish I had realized what was going on sooner,” she said.

The Sherriff came back in. He had Montgomery locked in the back of the cruiser.

“Gracie, I have to get Geoffrey downtown and book him,” he said. “Would you do me a favour? Loan Carter your car so he can get out to that hangar and see the young lady he’s so sweet on.”

“Yes, of course,” she said.”The keys are in it.”

Carter was out of there in a flash and on his way to get to Lexi. He had no trouble finding the hangar once he got far enough along the highway. There were lots of flashing lights to follow.

Lexi was sitting in the back of an ambulance. The paramedic was attending to a cut on her arm and she looked tired and scared. The paramedic finished and then Lexi looked up and saw Carter walking towards her. When she saw him all of a sudden her face broke into that dimpled grin. He walked faster and she stood and started to climb down out of the ambulance. He reached her just as she was about to touch the ground and lifted her down. He just looked at her for a moment and then embraced her.

“I thought we were done, before we even got started Carter said.

“Me too,” she said. Tears filled her eyes. “Tucker ...”

“Is alive,” Carter said.

“What? How?” she said.

“He made it to the road and two good Samaritans stopped and took him to the Vet. That’s ultimately how we knew where to look for you. That and Grace Montgomery.”

“Tucker is really okay?” Lexi said. “I thought I had sent him to his death. We were outside and I told him to run and to find you.”

“Well that’s what he was doing, running down the road towards home he just wouldn’t have made it if they hadn’t come along. He was shot in the shoulder and had lost a lot of blood. It’s lucky they came along when they did.”

“Being my dog has been hazardous to his health,” Lexi said, as tears spilled over and down her cheeks.

“Well from now on everything will be fine,” Carter said.

“Can she go now?” he asked the paramedic.

“As far as I’m concerned, yes, but you might want to check with Sherriff Montgomery.”

One of the deputies approached the pair.

“Sherriff says you two can run along now,” he said. “We’ll get those suitcases back to you shortly Miss Thomas.”

“Bring them by my place Luke,” Carter said.

“Sure,” said the deputy.

“I’m not letting you out of my sight for a little while,” Carter said to Lexi.