Chapter 2
Except for what the nurse, Helen, had told him about Stuart Ramsey’s confession.
Yet now that they were back at the motel, seeing the bullet holes in his truck, it was impossible to ignore the fact that someone wanted him dead.
Stopping behind his truck, he turned to face Kendra. “We need to call the police, then I’ll drive back to Billings while you head back to your family’s ranch.”
She frowned. “I’m okay with calling the police, but you can’t head back to Billings. The shooter might find you there.”
“That’s my problem, not yours.” Kendra was prettier in person with her dark hair and sparkling blue eyes. Not that it should matter one way or the other. She was the innocent victim in this. Just like her parents had been killed simply because they’d been in his father’s plane. “I’ll handle it.”
She scowled. “That’s ridiculous. This guy knows what you’re driving. Get into my SUV. I’ll take you to a new hotel. Somewhere you won’t be found.”
“Shouldn’t we wait here for the cops to arrive?”
“No. Call them on the way. This guy might come back.”
He hesitated, wishing there was another option.
Greybull was a much smaller town than Billings.
He doubted they had rideshare services, so maybe getting a ride from Kendra wasn’t the worst idea.
“Okay, but after you drop me off, you need to head home. I don’t want you to get caught in the cross fire. ”
“We’ll talk to the police and go from there.” She used her key fob to unlock the SUV and to open the back hatch. “Up, Smoky.”
The beautiful furry dog gracefully leaped into the back crate area.
Kendra threw her backpack inside and lowered the hatch as he pulled his overnight case from his truck.
He tossed it onto the floor of the back seat, then folded himself into the passenger seat.
He moved the seat back to give himself as much leg room as possible.
Kendra slid in beside him, started the car, and pulled out onto the road. “There are more hotel options in Cody.”
“That’s fine.” He didn’t like leaving his truck behind, but he wasn’t even sure it would run. “Does Greybull have a police department, or will I get patched through to the county sheriff’s office?”
“Greybull has a small police force.” She offered a lopsided smile. “Smaller than Cody’s, which isn’t very big either. They get a lot of help from the highway patrol.”
“Whatever works.” He dialed 911 and waited for the dispatcher to answer.
“911, what is your address?” a female voice asked.
“Um, I’m not sure of the exact address, but I was involved in a shooting incident outside the Redwood Motel about an hour ago. A person fired at me three times until I ran into the woods to escape.”
“What’s your name, sir?” she asked.
Dom hesitated, then realized they could run his plate to identify him. “Dominic Lakeland. I live in Billings, Montana, and drove down to visit a friend. I planned to stay at the Redwood Motel.”
“And you say there was a shooting? Is anyone hurt?”
“Nobody is hurt as far as I know, but my truck is in the parking lot sporting a couple of bullet holes.” He remembered what Kendra said about the clerk wearing earbuds and watching a movie on his phone. No wonder the police hadn’t been called. “I think the gunman took off.”
“And where are you now, sir?” the dispatcher asked.
“Not at the motel.” He realized this call wouldn’t be of any help. By the time the officer responded, all he or she would see was a damaged truck. “I’ll give you my cell number. The responding officer can call me if he needs more information.”
“I have your cell number up on my screen, sir,” the dispatcher said. “But I know the responding officer will want to speak with you in person.”
“Sorry, that’s not happening.” He abruptly ended the call, tucking his phone back into his coat pocket. “I think that was a waste of time.”
“The incident needs to be put on record.” Kendra shrugged. “I’ll call my brother-in-law Griff Flannery. He’s with the FBI.”
He shot her a surprised look. “Seriously?”
“Yep. Another brother-in-law, Doug Bridges, is with the DEA. My oldest sister, Maya, is a former cop too.” She arched a brow. “If you are involved in something criminal, my family will figure it out.”
“I’m not a criminal!” The words came out harsher than he had intended. “I didn’t do anything to warrant being used for target practice.”
“Okay, but you can’t blame me for asking.” She paused, then asked, “Tell me again what the hospice nurse said. How exactly did she hear Stuart Ramsey’s confession?”
He blew out a breath, glad to move on to the real reason they were there together.
“The nurse’s name is Helen Gingrass. Stuart Ramsey was her patient, and he’d wanted the chaplain to come so he could confess his sins.
I guess the chaplain was tied up with another patient, so he ended up blurting everything out to her. ”
“What exactly did he say?” Kendra pressed.
He thought back to the strange conversation.
“Per Helen, Stuart Ramsey admitted to sabotaging a plane six years ago. He said he’d caused the deaths of three people.
Only he didn’t know there would be three people aboard.
When Helen asked if he had intended to kill them, he said he was paid to kill the pilot, not the others.
And that he did it because he needed money.
And that he wanted to confess so God would forgive him before he died. ”
“Wow. So basically my parents were collateral damage,” Kendra murmured.
“Yeah.” He swallowed a pang of guilt. It wasn’t as if he had anything to do with Ramsey taking down the plane, but he still felt bad that she’d lost her parents because someone had wanted his father dead. “I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “Don’t apologize. You’re an innocent victim in this too.”
He was touched by her comment. “If I had known some gunman would target me, I would have stayed in Billings.”
She turned to look at him. “Makes me wonder how he knew your location, especially if you weren’t followed.”
As a computer nerd, he was keenly aware of how to track people electronically. Not that it was something he’d worried about until now. He dug his phone out of his pocket, then lowered his window and tossed it away.
Kendra gaped at him. “I’m not sure that was necessary.”
“Yeah, I think that’s the only way they could have known my location.” He grimaced and held out his hand. “We’d better ditch yours, too, since I used mine to call you several times.”
A pained expression crossed her features, but she pulled out her phone and handed it over. That one, too, went out the window.
“We’ll need to get new phones,” Kendra said, after a long moment of silence. “My family will go nuts if I don’t let them know I’m okay.”
“I understand.” He couldn’t imagine what it was like to have eight older siblings.
“What about you?” Kendra asked. “Don’t you have a girlfriend or someone that you need to stay in touch with?”
“Nope.” He thought about his former girlfriend, Shari Coffen. She’d broken things off a few months ago. Not that he’d missed her as much as he thought he would. “There’s nobody special.”
Her brow furrowed. “That’s hard to believe.”
He sighed. “My girlfriend dumped me for her personal trainer, who can bench-press twice his weight. Unlike me.”
“She only cares about physical appearances?” Kendra waved a dismissive hand. “If that’s the case, you’re better off without her.”
He smiled for what felt like the first time since crossing the Montana/Wyoming state line. “I can’t disagree.”
“Okay, when we get into Cody, we’ll stop to buy disposable phones, then grab a bite to eat before finding a place to stay.” She glanced at him. “Being a Monday, we shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a hotel room.”
“That sounds good.” He relaxed a bit, relieved to have a plan. Yet he still wanted Kendra to head home after dropping him off at a hotel.
He had no idea why he was in danger, but at that point, he needed to make sure Kendra didn’t become collateral damage.
The way her parents had been.
As Kendra drove toward Cody, she kept a wary eye on the rearview mirror to make sure they weren’t followed. When headlights came up behind her, she slowed down to the exact speed limit, moving over to encourage the driver to pass. So far, every vehicle had done exactly that.
Nobody followed the speed limit in Wyoming. Highway patrol didn’t bother to pull anyone over unless they were going more than fifteen miles over the posted limit.
“I have my computer in my overnight bag,” Dom said, breaking the silence. “I know how to reroute the ISP address to hide our location so we can dig into Stuart Ramsey without raising any red flags.”
“You can do that?” She was impressed.
“Yeah. I’m all about the geeky stuff.” He shifted in his seat, and she could tell by how his knees were wedged against the glove box that he wasn’t comfortable.
“That’s a good skill to have. I would love to learn how to do that.”
He shrugged, avoiding her gaze. “I can teach you someday.”
Someday? She frowned but then slowed her speed when she saw they were heading into Cody. Her stomach was growling, and she needed to feed Smoky too. There was a general store with disposable phones across from the Hitching Post Café. And that, in turn, was a block down from the Elk Lodge.
She turned into the store parking lot. “This is where we’ll get new phones. We’ll grab dinner across the street.”
“Great.” He pushed out of the car with enthusiasm. She opened the rear hatch for Smoky, then went around to grab her backpack so she’d have her K9’s supplies. They could walk to the Post from here.
The task didn’t take long, and less than ten minutes later, they were seated in a corner booth at the Hitching Post Café.
Smoky crawled beneath the table to stretch out at Kendra’s feet.
She would feed the dog once they’d placed their orders.
Thankfully, the Sullivan K9s were well known, and nobody demanded that Smoky stay outside.