The Maverick of Copper Creek (24 page)

B
y the time Ash reached his family's ranch, Brady and Whit had the Cessna Skyhawk fueled and had completed their preflight check.

The entire family, including Mad in his wheelchair, were gathered outside the barn that housed the aircraft. Beyond was an airstrip for easy takeoffs and landings, which they'd built years earlier.

Though they were bursting with questions, one look at Ash's face warned them to hold their silence and let him speak. He filled them in as quickly as possible.

“Brady, I'd like you to handle the controls so I can take the copilot's seat and watch for Brenna's truck.”

The foreman nodded and climbed aboard.

Ash turned to his mother and brothers. “I'd like you to take our ranch trucks and fan out to cruise some of the roads and trails. You'll be looking for Brenna's tan pickup, but check out any vehicle with a man and woman. This guy may have already tried to ditch Brenna's truck for something less conspicuous.”

“Where do you think they're headed?” Mad asked.

“That's the million-dollar question. I don't have a clue. But since everyone in Copper Creek knows Brenna, I'm sure he'll avoid the town.”

Mad slammed a hand down on the arm of his wheelchair. “I'm going up with you and Brady.”

“Mad…”

The old man shook off Ash's protest. “I know this land better'n anyone. There's nothing wrong with my eyes or my brain. Now lift me up to the seat of that plane, and let's get moving.”

Ash did as he was told, stowing his grandfather and the wheelchair in the two rear seats.

He turned to close a hand over Willow's shoulder. “We have to find her, Mom. She's in the hands of a madman.”

Willow touched a hand to his cheek. “If there's a heaven, Ash, and I truly believe there is, your father is already keeping Brenna safe until you can get to her.”

“I'll hold on to that thought.” He gave her a fierce hug before turning away to climb into the Cessna. With a roar of engines, it taxied along a strip of asphalt before lifting into the air.

Willow, Griff, and Whit checked their cell phones and chose to search in different areas in order to cover as much ground as possible.

“Check in with me at least every half hour,” Willow called before climbing into one of the ranch trucks and driving away in a cloud of dust.

Whit and Griff followed and veered off in separate directions when they reached the highway.

Brady guided the plane over lush rangeland and followed the meandering course of Copper Creek past green highland meadows and cool mountain peaks.

While he easily handled the instruments, he encouraged Ash to go into detail about what had happened, knowing it would help if he could be encouraged to talk it out.

Ash was filled with remorse. “I should have never left her alone. I should have been with her when she went to town to pick up that drifter from the clinic.”

From the rear seat Mad's voice was low with passion. “You didn't know she was in any danger, lad.”

“I didn't like him. From the moment I met him, I sensed something about the guy.” Ash shook his head. “Vern felt it, too. He kept calling him lazy. He only hired him because he was desperate for some help. But the guy was more trouble than he was worth. Always asleep instead of tending the herd. Never around when Vern needed him. The old cowboy isn't to blame. He has too much on his shoulders. But I should have caught on to this drifter sooner…”

At the ring of his cell phone, he said gruffly, “Ash MacKenzie.”

Recognizing the police chief, he turned his phone on speaker, so the others could hear as Ira's voice boomed.

“The state guys got a report on the drifter Vern hired. Noah Perkins, alias Nolan Parker, was fired from a nursing home when his background check showed a record as long as his arm. They alerted the authorities, but by then he was long gone. Now we suspect he's the same guy that's wanted, under various aliases, in four Western states for everything from armed robbery to murder.”

Murder.
It was the only word Ash heard. “Then this isn't larceny any longer.”

“That's right. This guy is a real psycho.”

“Could he be responsible for Pop's murder?”

“You know we'll be checking every move he's made to see if we can connect the dots.” The chief's tone lowered. “There's one more thing. Raleigh Crane checked himself out of that nursing home the same day that this guy was fired. Nobody has seen either one since.”

Ash's heart contracted with fear. “You think they've concocted some kind of scheme? Or is Raleigh a victim? I don't like the sound of this, Ira.”

“I know what you mean. I don't like it, either. My thinking is that Brenna Crane is in serious danger.” The chief cleared his throat. “The state police are on watch on the ground, and they'll be getting their aircraft up any minute now.”

“Thanks, Ira. We're airborne, and the rest of the family is searching the roads and trails. Do you have any idea where this guy could be heading?”

“I wish I had my crystal ball, Ash. But there was one thing. On his employment records he listed a ranch about a hundred miles east of Copper Creek as the place where he grew up. It's probably a needle in a haystack, but it might be worth checking out.”

While the chief gave directions, Brady brought it up on the GPS and pointed. “There. Really desolate land.”

Ash nodded. “Thanks, Ira. We're heading that way now.”

“I'm going up in a helicopter with the state boys. Stay on our frequency. If you spot any life there, let us know. We'll be right behind you.”

The plane made a sharp turn and the three men fell silent as they charted their course toward what they hoped and prayed was the destination of the man who held Brenna's life in his hands.

The thought twisted inside Ash's brain.

She was in the hands of a man already wanted for murder.

If a man killed once, did it matter to him how many more he added to his list of victims?

Brenna's head ached from the blow she'd absorbed from her rifle. The throbbing at her temple had her wanting to close her eyes against the constant glare of sunlight reflecting off the truck's cab. Between the motion of their vehicle, bumping along like a covered wagon, and the piercing light burning her eyes, she was forced to fight back nausea. But she continued watching every turn, in the hope that she could somehow make her way back home when this was over.

When this is over.
It played like a litany in her mind.

Right now, all of this seemed like a bad dream. But it was all too real. And she'd already seen the price poor little Sammy had paid for trying to defend her.

She watched as the scenery slowly changed from ranches and herds grazing on rangeland to uninhabited stretches of land that could have come right out of the old West. An occasional shack, timbers rotted, roof caving in on itself, was the only sign that anyone had ever inhabited this land. This isolated area looked as though it had been defeated by plagues of grasshoppers, drought, and windstorms, until nothing was left but rocks and barren soil.

Noah had long ago left the highway and was now following a dirt track, sending up a plume of dust. They followed the trail for what seemed miles until they came up over a rise and spotted, in the distance, a decaying shack.

“Very soon now you'll get to join your daddy,” Noah announced with a laugh. “The old bag of bones was obsessed with asking your forgiveness, but he was too ashamed to do it.”

Brenna blinked back tears. “That's what he told me in his letter.”

Noah threw back his head and laughed.

Brenna looked over. “Why do you find that funny?”

Instead of answering her, he began in a whiny voice, “‘Dear Brenna. My dear, sweet darling child. I'm so sorry it's taken me all these years to contact you. But even though you never heard from me, you were always on my mind…'”

Brenna's smile turned to a look of stunned horror as the truth dawned. “That letter wasn't from my father.
You
wrote it.”

“Pretty good, wasn't it? All gooey and heartbreaking. I actually stole some lines from a Willie Nelson song.”

“But why?” Brenna could feel tears welling up in her eyes and hated the fact that she was allowing him to see how deeply he'd hurt her.

“Why? That's easy. I needed some traveling money to get here.”

“You cashed the check I wrote to my father?”

“He'll never miss it.” He paused a beat before adding, “See. The joke's on you. You financed my trip here so I could steal from you.”

“Steal what? What did you take out of my ceiling?”

“Nothing you need to worry your head about. Once we get where we're going, you'll know everything you need to. And then you can join crazy old Raleigh Crane.”

“Why would my father choose such a dismal place as this to meet?”

“One place is as good as another. Especially when you're…”

She turned to him, tense, expectant. “When you're what?”

“When you're full of religion. Yeah. That's it. When you're full of sobriety and religion.” His laughter grew, high and shrill, reminding her of nails on a blackboard.

There was, she knew, a madness to his laughter. And madmen were too dangerous to trust.

She quickly dismissed that thought and concentrated instead on the fact that she was joining her father. Whatever pain he'd inflicted in the past, he was now remorseful and eager to see her. She would be able to tell him in person that her heart was filled with only love and forgiveness. And Raleigh Crane, in turn, would deliver her from this crazed drifter.

“I hope there's someone tending my dad. I can't imagine how he left a nursing home for this.”

Noah's laughter stopped abruptly. His eyes narrowed on her. “You don't think this is good enough for him? Or are you worried that it isn't good enough for you? There was a time when folks thought it was the only thing good enough for me.”

Hearing the simmering fury in his tone, she was quick to placate him. His moods changed so abruptly, she needed to keep things as calm as possible. “I wasn't implying anything. I'm just worried about my father's health.”

“Don't you worry about that.” He smiled, showing yellowed teeth. “You're like him, you know. Always asking questions. Talking. All he wanted to talk about was you. How brave you were. How good. How perfect.” He made a gagging sound and swore again. “After awhile I just wanted to stuff a rag in his mouth, or better, slit his throat and shut him up permanently.”

He turned off the ignition and opened the door, circling around to yank the passenger's-side door open. In his hand was something dull, until he touched a button releasing a long, sharp blade that glinted in the sunlight.

Even as Brenna was recoiling, he grabbed her feet and the blade sliced through the rope binding her ankles as neatly as though it were butter.

His eyes gleamed. Cold. Feral. “Thought I was going to stick you, didn't you?”

When she said nothing he smiled. “You see how sharp this is? I could cut out your heart before you had time to blink. And don't you forget it.”

He pulled her by the arm, knocking her off balance. She fell to her knees in the dirt, and he hauled her roughly to her feet. “Must have hit you harder than I thought. Or else you're just a prissy lightweight.”

Though her limbs were numb from having been bound so tightly for so long, she staggered forward and stepped into the shack. In the gloom she stared around hopefully.

“Where is he? Noah, where's my father?”

His smile was wide. It was plain that he was enjoying his little joke.

“Oh. Did I forget to tell you?” He waited a beat, drawing out the moment, clearly savoring his private little joke. “Your daddy's out back. Six feet under.”

Ash studied the land below. “I grew up here in Montana, and I don't recognize any of this. All rocks and sand and not a single sign of civilization. It looks like some kind of moonscape.”

Brady nodded. His eyes were hidden behind the mirrored sunglasses, but his tone revealed his somber mood. “I know a little about this part of Montana.”

Ash glanced at him.

“I grew up not far from here.”

“I don't think you ever mentioned that before.”

Brady shrugged. “Not something I like to talk about.”

Ash waited, but when the foreman offered nothing more, he didn't press.

From the rear seat Mad's voice was triumphant. “See that dust cloud?”

They turned to study the dust billowing upward from a vehicle moving along a rise. It was impossible to see the vehicle through the dust, but, since it was the only sign of life they'd detected, Brady kept the plane on course, while slowing their speed.

Ash pointed to a shack that was little more than a dark spot in the distance. “That could be where they're headed.”

Brady nodded and slowed the plane even more so that it didn't get ahead of the vehicle on the ground.

When at last the movement came to a halt outside the shack, the dust began to settle, and they could clearly see the tan truck.

“It's Brenna's.” Ash's voice trembled with feeling.

With binoculars trained on it, he watched as Noah circled the truck and hauled Brenna from the passenger's side.

“She's alive,” he whispered.

Those two words had all three men breathing again.

Ash continued watching through the binoculars, hungry to store up every image of Brenna that he could.

What he saw had his eyes narrowing in anger, as she was dragged from the truck so hard she dropped to her knees before being yanked to her feet and shoved roughly inside the shack. Noah followed her inside.