Chapter Seventeen #4
It occurred to Harlow as she parked close to the dilapidated barn, and the three women got out of the Jeep, that both Rainier and Wilder would have expected them to call on the bodyguards to accompany them.
Neither man would be happy that they went out to the property alone, not after Raine was bitten by a snake and fell from the boulder she was climbing.
On that thought, it occurred to her that Rainier had most likely made certain that Shabina’s security detail would follow her wherever she went.
She had brought her dogs, Morza, Sharif and Malik, with her, just as Harlow had Misha and Zahra had Misty.
Rainier would be happy that Shabina’s security dogs had accompanied them.
From the moment Harlow stepped out of the Jeep, she felt uneasy, as if eyes were on them.
It was an eerie feeling, one she’d had more than once when she was backpacking in mountain lion territory.
She glanced at the others, and Shabina instantly met her eyes.
Shabina had a gift for feeling danger. She’d been through so much in her past that she was very attuned to danger.
Shabina gave her three Dobermans a hand signal, and they instantly went on alert, as opposed to Misty and Misha, who began to chase each other all over the meadow.
Zahra stood for a few minutes surveying the vast view of meadow, forest, mountain and the twin boulders that they were excited to climb. She turned toward her friends and caught their expressions. Putting her hands on her hips, she regarded them through her dark sunglasses.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know,” Harlow answered honestly. “The feeling of being watched. Of danger. Shabina’s dogs are on alert.”
“Look at this.” Shabina pointed to crumbled and broken grass off the trail. “Someone’s been here recently with a very heavy vehicle.”
Harlow examined the bent and bruised stalks of grass over the very wide swath of meadow. “This looks like a machine of some sort.”
“What does that mean?” Shabina asked, taking a slow, careful look around. “No one mowed the grass down. What would they be doing?”
“That’s a good question. No one has come here for years that I could see. If they did, they were careful not to leave tracks. Hikers and climbers don’t come here. It’s remote and off the main trails. You have to know about it to find your way to this property.”
“But now someone is bringing heavy machinery out here,” Shabina said.
“It has to be the owners,” Zahra added.
It was easy enough to follow the tracks through the meadow.
The ground was sunken in various spots, and the grass completely mowed down as the heavy machine had been driven through the meadow.
The machine was headed directly toward the old barn.
As far as Harlow was concerned, the barn needed to be preserved as a historic site.
She hoped no one was planning to bulldoze it. That would be a tragedy.
Harlow found herself hurrying when she should have been cautious. Shabina put a restraining hand on her arm. “Let the dogs go around the barn first,” she advised. “We can look on this side while they’re investigating.”
That made sense, but she felt that same sense of urgency, her warning system blaring, telling her that answers were just around the corner of the barn.
The orb spiderweb was intact on the side, a fancy, intricate web of silk.
Leaves from the creeping vines were caught in the outer threads along with various bugs, some very small and others surprisingly large.
A small breeze shook the web gently, causing a ripple effect in the silk.
The leaves from the vines rustled. They could hear the crackling of the drier leaves as the slight wind shook them in the web.
It was a bit eerie to see and hear, along with the feeling of being watched.
As they went around the corner, Shabina took the lead, her gaze fixed on her dogs.
She held up her hand to halt the others as they rounded the side of the building.
Two of the dogs, Morza and Sharif, were nose to the ground, inspecting a freshly dug, very large patch of earth that had been turned with whatever machine had been brought onto the property.
The area looked as if it had been prepared for farming, but it was in such a weird spot that it made little sense.
“The spiderwebs were right here,” Harlow pointed out. “And over there were piles of various-sized rocks. Large rocks snakes could hide in. That was a huge part of my Frost and Venom picture.”
She ventured closer. Malik, the third Doberman, suddenly rushed at Shabina, herding her back, just as a bullet hit the side of the barn, inches from where she’d been standing.
“Get back to the Jeep,” Harlow yelled. She turned and sprinted, whistling for Misha and Misty as she did so.
Morza, Sharif and Malik surrounded Shabina as she raced for the Jeep. Zahra ran toward Misha, scooping the dog into her arms and then turning back just as they heard the sound of a second shot.
“Get in, get in,” Harlow yelled, starting the engine. Dogs and women piled in, and she whirled the Jeep around, fishtailing for a moment before she straightened out and raced out of there. At first, there was silence, and then they burst into semihysterical laughter.
“You always show us a good time,” Zahra said.
“Not sure how I’m going to tell Wilder about this,” Harlow admitted.
“You think Wilder’s going to be difficult,” Shabina said. “Try figuring out how to tell Rainier.”
Harlow was glad it wouldn’t be her doing the explaining.