Chapter Seventeen
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Hurrying inside and into the living room with Bella at his side, Brody turned on the television set and clicked through to one of the major networks. The show airing was a soap opera, but he only needed to wait a minute or two before it was interrupted and a solemn reporter sitting behind the news desk faced the camera.
“Just in—breaking news. I’m pleased to report country music superstar Annie Baker is alive and well, but her whereabouts remain confidential, as do the reasons for her disappearance. Authorities wish to speak to her manager, Geoffrey Palmer, as soon as possible,” he continued as a photograph of Geoffrey appeared on the screen. “If you know of his whereabouts, or Mr. Palmer if you see this, please contact a local law enforcement office immediately. Once again, country singer Annie Baker is alive and well. We’ll now return you to the regular programming.”
“Damn, Bella, that should keep Geoff away from her, but I hope it doesn’t backfire. He might disappear,” Brody exclaimed, turning off the set and quickly calling Annie.
“Hi, did you see it?” she asked excitedly.
“I sure did, darlin’. Now Geoff will have nowhere to hide.”
“I hope he doesn’t disappear.He has the money to go anywhere.”
“But he might not have seen it, and even if he did he can’t exactly roll up to an airfield and charter a jet. The FBI will have sent out notifications everywhere.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
“This is almost over. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon and I’ll see you in little while.”
“Okay, and Brody,” she whispered, “I love you.”
“Hey, I love you too, baby.”
Ending the call and letting out a sigh, he strode from the house and headed to his work shed. The broken fence was directly across from the barn and he needed to replace the entire plank. Carrying it over his right shoulder with his tool bag in his left hand, he marched down the path with Bella trotting along ahead of him. The weather had been perfect, but glancing up he noticed dark clouds in the distance.
“I sure hope that doesn’t come this way,” he muttered, still staring at the sky as he reached the broken fence.
The two horses in the pasture meandered over to find out what was going on, then stood a short distance away as he began the work. He had the old plank off and was about to nail the new one in place when Bella suddenly started barking and ran towards the forest.
“Dammit! Bella, come back here,” he yelled, breaking into a run after her. “Bella, wait!”
To his great relief she did, but looked back at him and continued barking.
“What the heck…ohh…did you see the wolf?” he panted, catching up to her.
As she stopped sounding the alarm he stared into the forest. Though he saw no movement, the wolf’s presence was the only thing he could point to that could have caused her to kick up such a fuss—then it suddenly hit him. Geoff’s thugs.
“Stay with me,” he said, touching Bella’s head, then wishing he had his shotgun he walked slowly into the trees. Except for the familiar sounds of the pristine environment he heard nothing, but glancing at the ground ahead he noticed a candy wrapper.
“Damn,” he grunted, striding forward and picking it up. “I guess that answers the question. Good girl, Bella. You were right to warn me. I should—”
Bella’s low growl cut him off.
Feeling a shiver ripple down his spine, he slowly turned his head.
The big wolf was standing off to the side only about twenty yards away.
“Bella, lie down,” he said firmly. “Now.”
As she obeyed, the wolf turned and disappeared into the trees.
“That is the damndest thing,” he muttered, staring after it as he pushed the wrapper into his jeans pocket. “Come on, girl, let’s get back to fixin’ that fence.”
But as he started back to the paddocks he continued darting his eyes from side to side, looking for both the wild dog, and the human predators.
* * *
After running as fast as they could across the open field to their car parked on the side of the road, Gabe and John climbed in and tried to catch their breath.
They’d been walking through the trees towards Brody’s ranch eating energy bars when they were met by a huge, snarling dog. Instinct told Gabe to run, but John had grabbed his sleeve, told him it was a wolf and not to move.
After what felt like endless terrifying minutes the animal finally turned and galloped through the forest. In spite of John’s warning to walk quietly away, there was no stopping Gabe. As he took off running, John felt he had no choice but to keep up, and when he looked behind them he was glad he had. The wolf was back sniffing around where they’d been standing.
“I’m not going back there,” Gabe panted. “I don’t care how much money Geoff throws at me.”
“I’m with you,” John muttered. “We can just drive here and sit in this fucking car. He won’t know the difference.”
“Now, that’s a plan. I might—what the hell?” Gabe grunted as their cell phones chimed simultaneously.
As they hastily checked their messages, John read his aloud.
POLICE ALERT: Country singing sensation Annie Baker has been found. Authorities are seeking information on the whereabouts of her manager, Geoffrey Palmer, last seen in the small town of Smoky Hill between Lubbock and Fort Worth, Texas. See attached image. If you see this man please contact your local authorities.
“Thank God we checked into that camping ground under my name,” Gabe grunted, “but this isn’t good. This isn’t good at all.”
“I knew his bullshit would catch up to him,” John said angrily. “He’s been so out of control lately.”
“What do you mean, lately?” Doug retorted. “He’s always been out of control.”
“Well yeah, but he’s worse than ever. It’s Annie. She got under his skin, kind of like Patty did, but even worse.”
“Okay, Johnny boy, what do you suggest?”
“Pick up our stuff and get the hell outta Dodge.”
“Works for me. Let’s go!”