“I have to get back to the investigation. He’s crossed the line. He’s taken our own, and he’s going to pay this time.”
The day went downhill from there. Mrs. Westbury, Dana’s mother, walked in with a flier she’d made. Her eyes were bruised and swollen, her voice thick and raw when she asked, “Could you please hang this up somewhere?”
Katie nodded, taking the flier from the woman’s trembling hand. She dared to give that hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m very sorry about…what’s happened.”
The woman’s blue eyes were on the edge of being wild. She tugged her hand away. “If you were really sorry, you’d ask that boyfriend of yours where he has them.”
Katie backed up a few inches. “Silas didn’t take them. And he’s not my boyfriend.”
The woman’s laugh was on the verge of hysterical. “Maybe you’re both in it together. Maybe it was you who lured them to him. They would never have gone with him otherwise.”
They trusted him.
Katie tried to calm her down by touching her arm. “I know you’ve been under a lot of stress, but—”
Mrs. Westbury jerked her arm away as though Katie had burned her. “You don’t know stress until your girl is taken away from you! You can’t imagine how it rips through your heart, wondering what she’s going through, if she’s alive. He has them! And you know where he is, maybe even where they are. Tell us! Tell us!”
Katie ducked as the woman starting punching at her. She grabbed at her wrists and held them in a grip. Mrs. Westbury collapsed to the floor in sobs. Katie could only stand there and look at her. She didn’t dare put her arms around her or offer her comfort. She felt helpless and cold.
The woman looked up at Katie, then down at herself. She pulled herself up, and again Katie had to hold back from helping her.
“I don’t know how you sleep at night,” Mrs. Westbury growled, making her wobbly way to the door. “God help your soul.”
Katie stared at the door for several minutes once she was alone again. And then she leaned against the counter and started crying. When Goldie, who was allowed to roam at will, came over and licked her face, she hugged the dog closer and didn’t feel so alone.
“Mama, where does this creek go?” Katie sat next to her mama on the edge of the water, dipping their feet into the chilly water. It wasn’t a deep creek; she could see the rocks beneath the surface, could make her way across without going deeper than her shoulders.
Her mama had a funny look on her face as she watched the water splash up over the rocks at the edge and keep going. “I don’t know, honey. Maybe it goes all the way to California. Maybe even farther. At least it gets out of here.”
Katie scooted closer, having trouble imagining anything going as far as California. “Don’t you like it here, Mama?”
Mama gave her that sad smile. “Doesn’t matter if I do or not; this is the place we’re stuck at.”
She didn’t like when her mama talked like that. She was watching the water again, a longing expression on her face.
“We could leave.”
Mama laughed softly. “I wish we could. I wish I could build a raft and head down this creek, see where it takes me.”
“But you wouldn’t leave without me, would you?”
Mama folded her into her arms. She was bony, but she gave nice hugs anyway. “I’m not going anywhere without you, pumpkin. Bet on it.”
CHAPTER 14
Katie walked into the kitchen the next morning and came to an abrupt stop when she saw the box of rat poison on the counter. Her heart dropped down to her toes at the sight of the yellow box that had appeared as if by magic.
She’d put all the poisons away on her twenty-seventh birthday. But there it sat, taunting her. She called out to Ben, but he was apparently in the bathroom and didn’t answer. Goldie, her very first houseguest, watched her with interest as Katie climbed on a chair and stuck the box back in the cabinet over the refrigerator.
Ben had been surprisingly fine with the dog staying with them—temporarily, he’d emphasized—until they could find her owners. He’d come home late after helping with the search, and Katie had explained why Goldie was lying at the foot of their bed.
Resuming her morning routine, Katie walked outside to feed her animal family. Missy-Lou and No-tail chattered from their respective trees, waiting impatiently for their breakfast. “Coming, coming,” she sang out. Goldie had followed her out, however, and the squirrels were none too happy about it. “She’s only a temporary guest.” No-tail continued to make his warning noises, with twitching tail. She dumped the combination bird seed/cat food into the bin. “Oh, you had a run-in with a dog, huh? Is that what happened to your tail? Well, I can see why you’re so distressed then.”
Goldie watched the squirrels with interest. Katie had already gotten attached to the beautiful dog with bandages. Goldie walked to the corner of the house. She barked three times, looked at Katie, then barked again. The trash was once again spilled out of the can. When they’d heard the critters rummaging outside early that morning, Ben hadn’t jumped up to chase them away.
Katie was surprised to see a young raccoon sitting out in the open. More surprising was that the raccoon was looking at her as though pleading for something. Raccoons didn’t beg. Nor did they approach humans. Its little paws drooped at its chest, and its breathing was raspy. It inched closer, sending Goldie scampering cautiously back. Its little mouth gasped open and closed.
She called Goldie back into the house and found Ben sipping his coffee in the kitchen. “There’s a raccoon out there and it looks like it’s in pain.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He glanced around. “Why isn’t breakfast cooking?”
“It’s wheezing and kind of hunched over. We can’t let just let it die out there.”
His eyes were devoid of the usual compassion where animals were concerned. “Yes, I can.”
She glanced to where the yellow box had been. “You poisoned it?”
“I heard them out there before I went to bed and put some hamburger out.”
“With poison in it?”
“I’m tired of them leaving a mess for you to clean all the time. They’re just raccoons, Katie. Rodents. Don’t look at me like I’m some monster. I did it for you.”
“I’d rather clean up the garbage than kill an animal that’s just following its nature.”
Her stomach churned while she got dressed. The thought of cooking bacon didn’t help, either. She pulled out the pan and set it on the stove, but didn’t turn it on. Instead, she checked on the raccoon again. It looked in even more agony, pleading with those black button eyes.
“Ben, please put it out of its misery.”
He finished his glass of orange juice. “It’ll die soon. Come on, we’re late as it is.”
“I can’t leave knowing it’s suffering.”
He walked to the end table and pulled out the gun. Her heart lurched. This was the best way to put the poor thing out of its misery.
He handed her the gun. “I’ll meet you out at the van. Make it quick.” He left her staring at the vile weapon. For that moment, she hated him, pure, unadulterated hatred. He’d gone outside and left her to deal with his mess. She wasn’t sure she could kill a living creature. She started to put the gun away, but stopped. She couldn’t let the poor thing suffer, either.
Her hands were shaking as she loaded a bullet into the chamber. Numb, she walked out back. Her eyes were tearing up as she stared into that little bandit face.
How long had Mama suffered before dying? Could Katie have put her out of her misery? Like her mama, there was no hope for this creature now that the poison was in its system.
She held her arms straight and aimed the gun. She had to blink several times to clear the tears from her eyes. She was trembling. The weak part of her said to walk away, but she couldn’t go to work knowing the raccoon was suffering. She steadied arms.
“God, please forgive me.”
She pulled the trigger.
Ben dropped Katie at the hospital and went to the diner to pick up something for breakfast. He couldn’t understand why she was so angry with him; it was only a pesky raccoon. She’d hardly said a word to him during the drive. He couldn’t believe she’d shot it. He’d figured she’d leave it there. He didn’t want to shoot it, either.
Tate and Gary were sitting at the counter with a marked-up map spread out before them. Empty sugar packets and drops of cream littered the table, evidence of a long morning already under their belt.
“Anything yet?” Ben asked, sitting down beside them.
They both shook their head morosely. Tate said, “Between everyone who’s been looking, we’ve covered every square inch of Flatlands. Every officer within three hundred miles is looking for them.”
Gary shook his head. “They ain’t gonna find them. It’s him striking again. They never find the bodies.”
“Shut up, Gary. I don’t want to hear you talk like that.”
“What about Silas?” Ben asked. “Found him yet?”
“Yeah, he came back into town late yesterday,” Gary said. “He knows something, but he ain’t talking. We took samples of the mud and leaves from his tires, trying to find out where he went.”
The sheriff said, “He was more cooperative this time, let us check the house and surrounding grounds, even his vehicle.”
“But he wouldn’t tell us where he’d been, or how he’d gotten his truck scratched up,” Gary said.
“Whoever this killer is, he’s damn smart. I have to admit I’m impressed.”
Gary slapped his hands down. “How can you say that, Sheriff?”
“Just because I’m on the side of good doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate evil. Sometimes evil can be more beautiful than good. And sometimes it can be smarter.”
Dinah walked over with more coffee. “How’s it going, Ben?”
“I need a breakfast sandwich to go. Katie and I had a fight this morning.”
“Over Silas?” she asked.
“She shot a raccoon.” That got everyone’s attention.
“What?” Sheriff said, his cup midway to his mouth.
“That doesn’t sound like Katie,” Gary said, as though he knew Katie so well.
Ben shrugged. “Like I said, she’s been acting different lately. Raccoons have been getting into our garbage for a few months now. She’s fed up with it. This morning she shot one, then insisted on burying it before we left.”
Dinah made a face before going back to put in his order.
“My problems are nothing compared to the girls. I’ve got a couple of surgeries this morning, but I can help with the search again after that.”
The raccoon haunted Katie all morning, almost as much as those girls still being missing. Bertrice was misty-eyed when she came in mid-morning. The school had hosted a prayer session for the two girls and dismissed the students early. Yellow ribbons had been tied to street posts and trees all over town.
“Some people think they’re already dead,” Bertrice said. “They’re acting like they’re never going to come back.” She looked at Katie. “I was supposed to be with them that night, but my mom grounded me because of the detention. If I’d been there…maybe they wouldn’t have been taken. The guy never took two girls at a time before. He wouldn’t have tried to take three of us.”
Katie put her arm around Bertrice’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault.”
“No, it’s my mom’s fault. I hate her for keeping me home.”
Katie turned Bertrice toward her. “Don’t hate her. I know you’re mad at her, but don’t hate her. I said the same thing about my mom. She wouldn’t let me keep a kitten I’d fallen in love with. I told her I hated her. The next day she was dead.”
“My mom isn’t going to die,” Bertrice said, though her face had gone pale.
“I didn’t think mine would, either.”
When the door to the hospital opened, Katie almost fell over. Silas walked in with The Boss on a leash. The big dog’s head was tilted to the right, and he kept flapping his ears.
Silas was wearing baggy jeans and a denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up. At the collar she could see a white undershirt peeking out. His hair was thick and shiny, slightly damp from a shower. He looked at her as though he wanted to ask her something. Had he felt her hatred toward Ben and the shock of shooting the raccoon?
“The Boss has a tick deep in his ear canal. I tried to get it out, but I don’t want to damage his ear drum.”
“Bring him on back.” Katie led the way into the examination room. Ben was in the storage area, or at least she thought he was until he appeared in the doorway. “Tick in the ear canal,” she said to him, trying to sound casual.
Ben surveyed Silas with cool eyes. That frost remained when he tugged the dog onto the platform that would raise him to their height. He turned The Boss’s head without his usual gentleness and pulled up his floppy ear. Katie held the dog steady, wondering what had come over Ben lately. He always talked to his patients in calming tones, but he said nothing now. She handed him the long tweezers and held the tiny flashlight. As Ben lowered the tweezers into the ear canal, she had the bizarre thought that he’d poke the dog’s eardrum.
She was definitely getting paranoid. Ben had never hurt a creature in his life. Until the raccoon, that was.
“It’s okay, big fella,” she said, lowering her mouth to the top of his head. “It’ll be over in just a second.”
She met Silas’s gaze. His eyes were warm with gratitude. When she guiltily looked at Ben, his gaze was on her. He shifted it to the dog’s ear again and pulled out a fat tick. He dipped it into a dish of alcohol and its movements stilled in death.
“Thanks,” Silas said, walking closer.
Katie touched the welt the tick had caused with a swab of alcohol, then dabbed on some antibiotic ointment. She rubbed The Boss’s head, her face level with his. “That was a good boy, yes, what a good boy you are.” She needed to make up for Ben’s coldness. When she glanced at Silas, he was watching her hands caressing his dog’s fur with something akin to smoldering.
Ben lowered the dog while she was still petting him. Silas took the leash and led him out to the waiting area. Bertrice wrote up the bill, and Katie gave him a small tube of ointment and a couple of swabs for future use.
“He sure has a lot of nerve coming here,” Ben said as soon as Silas left.