Chapter 16
CHAPTER 16
T he trucks leaving the Hollister ranch resembled a convoy. Senior took his truck, Andrew and Gen took theirs, Dusty and Greg each drove separately, and Barry drove his truck so he and Kathy would have a quiet place to escape to for a few moments to be alone. The sun was still shining as they all pulled onto the highway.
Barry glanced at his watch as they pulled into the Bit and Spur parking lot. He was ten minutes early, but the lot was almost full of trucks and cars. He recognized Tegan right away. He wore an apron that said “Groom” in big block letters. Kate was right beside him at the grill, and her apron read “Bride” in the same block lettering. Well, he didn’t figure they’d be cooking for the town, but that was what it looked like. He made his way over to the couple.
“Dude, glad you made it.” Tegan slid a burger on a bun and handed him a plate. “Grab some sides and a beer. The dancing is just starting. We’re winding down with the food.”
“Ah, thanks, but I’d thought I’d wait for Kathy.” He passed his plate onto the woman standing next to him.
“Hi, I’m Dana Kinzer.” The woman switched the plate to her other hand and offered a handshake.
“Barry Marks.” He shook her hand.
“Nice to meet you.” The woman searched the crowd and then shook her head. “Tegan, if you see Charlie, tell him I’ve already got my plate.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Tegan didn’t look at the woman but was polite, nonetheless. Kerry Ross, the manager of the Hollister meat processing plant, walked up and stood next to him. “I heard you had an eventful Saturday last week.”
Barry chuffed. “If you think rattlesnakes are eventful, then yeah.”
Kerry frowned. “Dude, I was talking about Chester being a dick. What the hell are you talking about?”
Barry laughed and hedged. “Obviously not the same thing. Chester was a royal dick. I have no idea what he has against me.”
Kerry shook his head. “I don’t think it’s against you. Everything has him going off these days. He went off on Alma, my part-time secretary. Had her in tears. I don’t know what’s happening there, but it isn’t good.”
“Damn.” Barry rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I hate that he upset her, but it’s nice to know I’m not his primary target.” Chester having an aim at other people lightened that load, too. Perspective. It’s all about perspective . And there was Doc Wheeler again.
“Yeah, I was going to talk to Ken about it. Have you seen him?”
“Ah …” Barry twisted and located Ken’s cowboy hat. “Far corner by the entrance to the Bit.”
“Thanks. Talk to you later,” Kerry said as he made a direct shot to Ken.
Allison walked by and stopped where he was standing. “Where’s Kathy?” She looked around.
Barry noticed the woman had taken time with her appearance and was wearing a summer dress. She looked nice. “I haven’t seen her yet.” Barry glanced at his watch. She should be here any minute. “We were supposed to meet at seven.”
“Unless Mitzi got after another skunk.” Doc Macy laughed as he walked up.
Barry rolled his eyes. “God, I hope not. She was excited about wearing her dress and heels tonight.”
Doc Macy grimaced. “Then I hope not. Allison, you look nice tonight.”
“You do,” Barry agreed. The redhead blushed brightly but dipped her head and said thank you. “Has anyone seen Kayla and Alex?”
Kate spoke up from behind the grill. “They were heading into the Bit for a beer and to meet someone, I think. ”
“Okay, thanks.” Allison drifted away from them, and Barry noticed how Doc Macy watched her go through the crowd. He lifted his eyebrows when Doc Macy looked back at him.
“What? I can appreciate the view. I’m only forty-five, and I promise you, that doesn’t make me dead.” Doc slapped him on the shoulder and laughed, heading into the crowd.
Barry looked at his watch again. Chill, just chill. She’ll be here soon .
His mom’s laughter caught his attention, and he turned toward the dance floor. He blinked in surprise. Corrie was dancing with Senior. And damn, the two of them could dance, like really dance, not just move on the dance floor. The music changed, and Senior guided Corrie into a waltz. Most people cleared the floor, and Senior started spinning Corrie when they had the room. Corrie’s laugh was happy and musical. He smiled and felt a pang of sadness in his chest. She’s going to be okay, Gunny. She really is going to be okay.
Barry watched along with the rest of the crowd. When the song finished, Senior spun Corrie and dipped her. The crowd applauded, and Corrie laughed as Senior lifted her back up. Her face was red, and she looked breathless. Barry smiled and shifted his gaze over the crowd. He still couldn’t see Kathy. He pulled out his phone and noted the time, ten after seven. He called her, but it rang straight through to voicemail. She was probably talking to someone. Maybe in her truck. He walked out to the parking lot and scanned all the vehicles, looking for hers. Nothing. He walked to the front of the Bit and Spur. Her truck wasn’t there either. Barry hit her number again and put it up to his ear.
“Hey, why aren’t you having fun with Kathy?” Andrew asked as he came out of the door.
“She isn’t here, and her phone goes straight to voicemail.” Barry frowned. “I don’t like it.”
Andrew glanced at the crowd. “We’ll do a recon once through with the building and then the outside. If we don’t see her, go to her house. She’s probably looking for you, and you keep missing each other.”
“Yeah, probably.” But his gut wasn’t so sure. They moved forward just as Ken came out the door. The sheriff didn’t appear to be in a good mood. “Edna just found me and showed me her phone. There’s a batch of pictures with a man in a ghillie suit. The guy was in the area earlier.”
Andrew swore bitterly and explained as Barry urgently made his way through the bar crowd to the community center behind it. He searched every table and corner until he made it through the inside of the community center. Once on the patio, he dissected the crowd and shifted through the people. Finishing by the barbecue grill, he’d asked thirty or so people if they’d seen Kathy. No one had. Andrew and Ken arrived within a minute of each other.
“No.” Ken shook his head when he looked at him. “Didn’t see her. No one I asked had. ”
“Same,” Andrew said.
“I’m gone.” Barry headed to his truck.
“What’s going on?” Tegan asked.
“Kathy isn’t here. We’ll make sure she didn’t have problems with the truck or something,” Ken said and jogged up behind Barry. “Let’s take my vehicle.” Ken nodded to the SUV, which was closer.
Barry got in, and they took off. He noticed Andrew was following in his truck. He took a breath and held it for a moment, trying to slow his heartbeat. Her truck wasn’t at the house. “Maybe we missed her,” Ken said as he slowed down.
“The dogs are out.” Barry jumped out of the still-moving SUV and sprinted to the door. Mitzi and Honey barked like lunatics.
A clip of the siren didn’t stop him. “Barry, don’t go in!” Ken was running behind him. He looked behind him and noticed Ken had his gun in his hand. “Let me clear the house.” Ken pushed past him and slowly entered the house. Fuck that . He followed Ken in the door. The sheriff glanced back at him and narrowed his eyes. Barry glared back at him.
“I’m coming.”
Ken must have seen the determination in his eyes. He relented and motioned, saying, “Stay behind me.”
The neat and tidy kitchen was a disaster. Chairs were knocked over, and a streak of blood on the linoleum flooring sent a flash of rage through him. They moved through the kitchen, and Ken entered the living room. A silver high-heeled shoe with a broken strap laid on top of a broken photograph frame. That was where the blood trail started.
Barry started constructing the events in his mind as they cleared the bathroom and entered her bedroom. He saw her jeans, t-shirt, and tennis shoes on the bed. An empty hanger and garment bag were hanging from a hook on the wall. The bedroom rug was churned up, and the chair at the little makeup table was toppled over. The makeup and bottles of potions and lotions were knocked from the table and strewn on the floor.
Ken put his gun back in his holster. His eyes darted from one item to the next. “She was taken. It started here.” Barry pointed to the mess at the table and the rug and then moved out of the room. “She lost her shoe while struggling.”
Ken nodded, motioning to the side table where photographs were toppled and the one on the floor had broken. “She put up a fight.”
“She’s injured,” Barry gritted through clenched teeth. “Her truck is gone.” He spun around.
“Her purse is gone.”
“I have to go after her.”
“No, that’s the wrong move.”
“Fuck you!” Barry roared and turned on Ken. “She’s my fucking life!”
“Barry— ”
He threw off Ken’s arm and headed out of the house. Ken’s hand on his shoulder spun him, and he swung hard. Ken dipped below his punch, and before he knew what was happening, he was up against the wall with his arm wrenched behind him.
Barry didn’t give a flying fuck. He struggled to get out of the hold, his shoulder nearly dislocating. He screamed in pain, and in a frenzied need to find her, he bowed backward and headbutted Ken.
He felt another set of hands on him and was forced to the floor. Barry bellowed in rage and lifted with all his might. “Damn it, Marks, stand down!”
Barry heard the words and recognized the voice. Andrew. He fought against the arms and hands holding him down. “Cap?”
“Yeah, it’s me. You got to stop struggling.”
Like a wheel and cog clicking in place, Barry’s mind slotted into gear. “Kathy. I need to find Kathy.”
“And we’ll do that, but you got to stop,” Andrew said from above him.
Barry relaxed, but the hands didn’t loosen their grip. “Ken, you need to get medical attention.”
“I don’t think he broke it. It’s just bloody,” Ken said. “I need to call this in.” One set of hands slowly relaxed. “You back with us?”
Barry closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah.”
“I’m letting go,” Ken said, releasing the grip. “I’ll call it in. ”
“Let me up, Cap,” Barry said. “I’m okay.”
The hands released, and Barry winced and sucked in a lungful of air as he slid his arm down his back. “Need help up?”
“No.” He pushed up with the other arm and lifted onto his knees. “It’s been months since I lost it.”
Andrew didn’t argue that point but added, “You had good reason to, today.”
“No.” Barry shook his head. That was an excuse, and he was done with excuses. “My response delayed Ken helping her. Fuck .” He glanced at the blood on his shirt. “What did I do?”
Andrew tipped his head toward the door. “Gave Ken a bloody nose.”
His gut dropped. “Great, assault on a cop.” He stood up. “I can’t go to jail, Cap. I have to find her.”
“I doubt Ken is going to arrest you. He knows what you’re fighting against, and it wasn’t him.”
Honey whined as she stood at the door. Mitzi limped over to him. “Shit. Did I hurt her, too?”
“No, she was outside,” Andrew answered.
Barry lifted the little Sheltie. “Son of a bitch.” Her leg was limp. Broken if he’d have to guess.
Andrew flipped open his phone. “I’ll call Doc Macy. We’ll let Kate and Tegan have their day.”
Barry nodded, taking the dog out of the house to Andrew’s truck, and placed her in the seat. He knew she wouldn’t get down or walk around much if she was in the truck. He put Honey in the vehicle, too.
“I got ahold of Doc Macy; he’s coming over.”
Barry glanced over at Ken, who was holding an old t-shirt to his nose. His uniform shirt was drenched in blood. He was on his phone and not looking in his direction. How the fuck had he lost it so completely?
“This isn’t on you,” Andrew said from beside him.
“My reaction is one hundred percent on me.” Barry looked back at the house. “Was it Fish’s brother?”
“I wish like fuck I knew, man. I wish I knew,” Andrew said. They stood in silence as Ken worked on the phone. He moved the shirt away from his face and then tossed it into the back of the vehicle. Obviously, he’d stopped bleeding.
A truck headed in their direction, and Barry watched as it approached. When both Tegan and Kate got out, Andrew sighed, “Fuck, man, I didn’t want to spoil your night.”
“Doc Macy was standing beside us when you called.” Tegan shrugged as Kate moved past him to the dog. “Hey, sweetie. What happened? Let’s take a look, all right?”
“Where’s Kathy?” Tegan asked.
“We think she’s been taken,” Andrew said from behind him.
Kate’s head snapped up. “What?”
“This isn’t to be disclosed to the town,” Ken said as he came up.
Tegan’s eyes widened at the blood on the front of Ken’s uniform. “Holy hell, Ken. What happened to you? ”
“I had a small accident,” Ken said, not even looking at Barry. “None of this information goes public until I can control the backlash and talk to her parents. We have a ‘be on the lookout’ issued for her truck, but if it isn’t on any main roads, it could be worthless.” He looked at Barry and Andrew as he unbuttoned his shirt. “We’ll start closest to town and work our way out. We’ll need horses, and I want every search party to have one point of contact. I don’t want a thousand people calling me as we work.” He moved to the back of his SUV and opened it.
Andrew nodded. “I’ll head to the ranch. Everyone is at the party.”
Kate looked up from looking at Mitzi. “I need to take her to the clinic and get an x-ray of the leg. Barry, you can find her.”
Barry swallowed hard and shook his head. “I don’t know how.”
“She’s wearing her running watch. It has a fitness tracker … a GPS that logs her miles.” She glanced over at Tegan. “She promised she’d wear it.”
“Why?” Ken asked.
Kate shook her head. “It’s a very long story, and I’ll explain later. You can find her that way, can’t you?”
“No.” Ken shook his head. “We don’t have that technology.” He looked south. “But I know someone who does.”
Andrew nodded. “I’ll make the call.”
Barry stared to the south. He prayed Guardian could help because, if they couldn’t, he would walk out into the field and keep walking until he found the bastard who had her. Then he would skin the bastard. Piece by piece. He’d laugh at the fucker’s agony. He wasn’t frozen and caught in his mind’s prison. Action wouldn’t be a problem. If Kathy were hurt, stopping him would be.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out. “It’s Kathy.” He slid his finger across the screen and put the phone on speaker. “Kathy?”
“No.” A man’s voice grated across the sudden silence.
Barry’s lip curled. “Where is she?”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Finally, the male voice said, “I’ll call you with a location. You will come alone. If I see anyone, I will kill her.”
“How do I know she’s alive?”
There was the sound of a struggle. “Say something, bitch.”
Kathy’s voice, tiny and strained, came across the connection. “Barry?”
“Kath—”
“Be ready.” The man cut him off.
“Why are you doing this?”
“You need to know what it is like to watch someone you love die.”