Czytaj książkę: «Small Town Justice»

ONE

The narrow dirt track leading to the deserted farm was so overgrown, so cloaked in shadows, Jamie Lynn almost missed her turn. Seeing the decrepit condition of the well-loved house broke her heart.

Parking her mini pickup, she shivered and stared. Well, what had she expected? Nobody had lived there for almost fifteen years. Not since her family had been split apart by lies and she’d been sent to live with an elderly aunt.

The little white dog beside her whimpered.

Jamie Lynn instinctively stroked his head. “Yes, this is it, Ulysses.”

He began to pant and wiggle all over. “Okay, you can come with me while I have a look around,” she told him, slipping her cell phone into her jeans pocket. “Hold still so I can get your harness unclipped.”

He continued to strain and squirm. “I’m about to give up and leave you,” she warned. “Sit. Stay.”

He sat. He did not stay long. The moment she shifted her attention to the leash lying on the floor of the pickup’s cab, he leaped over her, using her back as a springboard, and landed on the hard-packed ground like a gymnast making a competition dismount.

“Ulysses! No!”

Jamie Lynn chased him through the tall grass and weeds, ruing the fact that her clothing was summer-light shorts, a T-top and sandals.

“Ulysses,” she wheedled, trying to sound unperturbed. “Come on, baby. I’m not mad. I just don’t want to lose you.”

Ahead, she heard him yip. “Please, please don’t catch anything bigger than you are.”

She rounded the house. The roof over the back porch had partially collapsed but she spotted a flash of white fur as her dog ducked through the half-open door.

Normally, Jamie wouldn’t have considered entering someone else’s house without an invitation. However, since her research had shown that this place had long ago been seized for unpaid taxes and didn’t belong to any individual, she figured it would be okay to venture inside long enough to catch her naughty dog.

The staccato cadence of his nails led her to the stairway, where his paws had left impressions in the dust. Jamie followed. Pausing at the top of the stairs, she was overcome with nostalgia for her childhood home.

“Marf!”

Ulysses’s sharp, single bark snapped her back to the present and drew her to her former bedroom. He was circling excitedly in front of one of the tall, narrow windows as if insisting she must look.

Below, parking behind her pickup, was a larger truck with a camouflage paint job. Two men climbed out.

They were both carrying rifles. Uh-oh.

Jamie’s heart began to pound. She tried to lift the warped wooden sash and was barely able to move it.

Before she had a chance to shout hello through the narrow opening, let alone begin an apology, she overheard one of the men speaking. His gruff words made the hair on the nape of her neck prickle.

“That’s her license number. We know she got here.”

“Yeah? So where’d she disappear to?”

The first man cursed. “Probably the house. Let’s go.”

“I don’t like it. Suppose somebody sees us hanging around and makes a connection later?”

“If things turn ugly we’ll ditch her truck. Nobody will suspect she ever made it this far.”

Jamie Lynn was afraid to breathe. These men had known she was coming to Serenity. Who, of the few people she’d contacted to ask about her family history, would send thugs after her? And why?

Easing aside so she wouldn’t be spotted from below, Jamie watched one of the men making a cell phone call. While he talked, the other began stabbing at her truck’s tires. Then they started for the house and disappeared beneath the overhang of the porch roof.

She heard wood splintering. The stomping of heavy hiking boots. They’d smashed the front door. They were coming for her!

It took only seconds to dial 911 and rasp in the address and that she was in trouble. But she knew there was no chance anyone from town could reach her in time to intervene. Not unless she hid long enough for help to arrive. But where?

Voices from downstairs sent rumbling echoes throughout the empty structure. Cracking, banging, background noises indicated that the men planned to take the old house apart, piece by piece, until they found her.

What could she possibly do?

Memories of growing up in the old house carried Jamie Lynn back to childhood and the simple games of hide-and-go-seek she and her big brother had played. The downstairs maid’s closet! Their favorite hiding place was perfectly camouflaged. Only how was she going to reach it without being seen?

So terrified she could hardly draw a usable breath, she tiptoed down the hall to the antiquated bathroom, eased the door shut behind her, then whispered to her nervous dog and held him close. “Easy, boy. Shush.”

All she could do was wait.

Aunt Tessie would have urged her to pray, she knew, yet no inspiring spiritual words came to mind. Jamie Lynn wasn’t surprised. God had quit heeding her prayers when she was ten years old.

If He had been listening to her back then, she knew she wouldn’t have lost her whole family.

* * *

Shane Colton parked his flatbed tow truck beyond the small pickup with four flat tires and hit the ground running, waving his arms to get the sheriff’s attention. “Harlan! I just saw two men in hunter’s camo run out the back.”

“Must’ve spotted us,” Sheriff Allgood replied. “Let ’em go. We’ve got their truck for ID.”

“I didn’t recognize either one.” Glancing at the old house, Shane frowned. “Aren’t you going in?”

“In a minute. Gotta radio the station so my officers know to keep their eyes peeled for two guys on foot.”

Uneasy, Shane lifted his chin. Sniffed the breeze. And instantly knew what was happening. Smoke!

Hands cupped around his mouth, he shouted, “Call the fire department,” as he raced toward the house.

“Stop! Don’t!”

He ignored the sheriff’s command. If he hurried, he might be able to put the fire out while it was small. If not, he could at least do a quick search of the premises for victims. Somebody had made the report of trouble at the old Henderson farm. That person might still be inside.

* * *

What was wrong with Ulysses all of a sudden? “Take it easy, boy. We’re safe now. I heard them leave.”

The lapdog’s tiny claws raked Jamie Lynn’s forearm. “Ouch! Knock it off,” she snapped, immediately penitent. He’d kept quiet while she’d tiptoed down the stairs and hidden them both in the maid’s cupboard. It was time to let him be himself again.

“Okay, okay.” She got to her knees and operated the panel that masked the secret opening. It slid back silently, revealing disaster. The walls and ceilings were partially obscured by layers of drifting smoke. They had to get out of there.

Startled, Ulysses twisted from her grasp and disappeared into the smoke, barking.

“No!”

She started to rise from her crawl on the floor. Thicker, acrid vapor made her gag and drop back down. Tears blinded her further. There was no way she’d be able to spot her little dog in that swirling, glowing haze. If he didn’t come back to her, the poor baby was going to die! And it was her fault.

Rasping, gagging, Jamie did her best to scream, “Ulysses?” He didn’t respond. Was it already too late?

Brokenhearted, she started to inch farther into the thick of things, moving by feel and hoping that her next reach might be long enough to touch his soft fur.

She could not give up. Not as long as there was one more breath left to keep her moving. Coughs racked her body, aching all the way to her ribs and beyond. Thoughts of her parents and brother, R.J., swirled in her mind, and confusion surrounded her, beginning to deaden the pain.

Then, suddenly, she was grasped around the waist and jerked sideways.

Fighting spirit returned. Jamie kicked and struck out at her captor. She even managed a feeble screech.

Spots of bright light flickered in her distorted vision and she felt as if she were floating. Cradled in powerful arms, she heard the strong beating of a heart.

Brightness abruptly bathed her face and she wondered if this was the phenomenon often reported by those having near-death experiences.

Surrendering, she laid her head against the shoulder of her captor and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

It had been several years since Shane Colton had practiced CPR but everything came back to him in a rush. He laid the woman on the ground, tilted her head to make sure her airway was clear, then pressed his lips to hers and delivered several rescue breaths before checking her pulse.

“Ambulance is almost here,” Harlan shouted. “Is she alive?”

To Shane’s immense relief he was able to reply, “Yes!”

“I oughta slap the cuffs on you for pullin’ a stunt like that,” the sheriff said. “What would your little boy do if his daddy went and got himself killed? Huh? You ever think of that?”

Shane shook his head. Harlan was absolutely right. A single parent needed to be extra careful. He would never purposely endanger Kyle’s future. The poor little guy had been too small to miss his mother much after she’d left them, but losing his only remaining parent would be devastating, even though he’d still have loving grandparents.

“I wasn’t thinking. I just did what I thought was necessary,” Shane said.

“How’d you find the victim in all that smoke?”

“Heard a dog barking,” Shane told him. “You got any water in your car?”

Harlan handed him a small bottle and stood back while Shane trickled some onto the woman’s face and gently wiped it with a clean bandanna.

Off to his right, trying to bark and mostly squeaking instead, was a sooty, dusty mongrel. “You may be a sorry excuse for a dog, little guy, but you did your part today.”

Still kneeling beside her, Shane gazed at the young woman. Even with reddened cheeks and soot and water streaking her face, it was clear that she was a beauty. He’d never seen hair that silky or quite that dark.

So who was she and what had she been doing inside the abandoned house? He frowned. A better question might be, what did those creeps in camo have against her?

Sirens heralded the arrival of the sheriff’s backup units and the ambulance so Shane reluctantly relinquished his place to the team of paramedics and stood aside. As soon as they had checked the victim’s vital signs, they put her on a gurney, began administering oxygen and pushed her toward the waiting ambulance.

“Is she going to be okay?” Shane asked, following.

One of the medics nodded. “She’s trying to talk. That’s a good sign. Keeps saying she’s worried about a white dog.”

“I can get him. Are you transporting to Fulton County Hospital?”

“Yeah. They’ll send her on if necessary.”

Shane approached the mini pickup and noticed the excited dog racing toward him. He opened the driver’s-side door and stood back. The dog leaped in. What a relief. Of all the things he’d tried to do that day, catching a half-wild pup had turned out to be the easiest.

Fire trucks were arriving. He hailed Harlan. “The dog’s out of the way. Want me to go ahead and haul her truck back to my place?”

“Yeah. Lock it in your service yard, then come back for this other one. I’ll stop and check them after I’m done here.”

“Gotcha. I thought I’d drop her dog by the vet’s and make sure it’s okay, too.”

“You’re the one with the kid at home. You should keep him.”

“No, thanks.” Shane was smiling more broadly. “Did you happen to hear what she called it when she was talking to the medics?”

Harlan chuckled. “Sounded like Useless to me. That name sure fits.”

Shane totally agreed.

* * *

Jamie Lynn had fought her way out of the fog clouding her brain. By the time she was delivered to the emergency room, her eyes had been bathed to soothe them and she was able to sit up on her own.

“I told you, I’m fine,” she insisted between bouts of coughing that doubled her over.

“I’ll be checking you out to be sure,” an amiable nurse said. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Jamie Lynn Nolan. I have my ID in my purse. It’s in my truck.”

“Do you remember what happened?”

Jamie touched her forehead. It felt gritty. “Yes. Two men were after me. I hid and they set the house on fire.”

“That’s pretty much the story I got from the sheriff,” the nurse told her. “I’ll ask him to bring your things to you here. How’s that?”

“Wait!” Jamie grabbed her forearm. “They have to find my little dog.” Tears began to fill her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. “Ulysses was with me inside the house and I don’t know...” More coughing interrupted her as she buried her face in her hands.

The nurse gently patted her shoulder. “Okay. Wait right here. I’ll go find out what I can.”

The weight of her anticipated loss was so burdensome, Jamie Lynn wondered how she could bear it. Poor little Ulysses. She drew up her legs, clasped them in front of her and rested her forehead on her skinned knees. Aunt Tessie had warned her against stirring up the past, but she hadn’t listened. And now her stubbornness and curiosity had cost her the life of her very best friend.

More bits of fractured memory began to drift into place and fit together. She recalled being lifted and carried from the burning house. At the time she’d tried to resist, but whoever had rescued her had continued to treat her gently. He had delivered his own air to her burning lungs and forced her to breathe again. Whoever it had been deserved her lifelong gratitude.

Jamie didn’t know how long she’d sat there, lost in thought. It must have been a long time because when her nurse reappeared she was carrying the purse from the truck.

“You found my things!”

“Sure did. All of them.”

As the nurse stepped aside another figure came into view; a well-built man about six feet tall. He seemed familiar. Had she looked into those warm brown eyes before?

“This is my friend Shane,” the nurse told Jamie. “He’s the guy who saved you.”

New moisture bathed Jamie’s reddened, smarting eyes. She didn’t try to hide it. This man was her hero and she wanted him to know how grateful she was.

As he stepped closer, she reached out. He clasped her hand, their gazes locking, their connection evident.

“I don’t know how to thank you,” she whispered hoarsely.

“No thanks necessary. I’m just glad the good Lord led me to be there when I was needed.”

“I wish my little dog had been rescued, too.”

The grin that instantly illuminated his handsome face gave her new hope. Her eyes widened. Her grip on his hand tightened. “You found him?”

Shane nodded. “Yes.

“He’s okay? I mean, he wasn’t burned?”

“That long hair got singed and he was more gray than white, but the vet says that’s basically all. They’ll take care of him until you can pick him up.”

Elated beyond her most fantastic dreams, Jamie Lynn swung her feet off the side of the exam table, threw her arms around her rescuer and hugged him as tightly as she could. Several seconds passed before she felt the answering pressure of his broad hand patting her back.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She leaned away to look into his eyes again. “I don’t know how I can ever pay you back, but I promise to try.”

He eased away and looked as if he might be blushing.

“I meant, maybe I can treat you to a nice dinner out once they spring me from this place,” she explained. “And your family, of course. The more the merrier.”

“It’s just me and my son, Kyle,” Shane said. “We’d love to go out to eat with you. If you’re well enough, how about this Sunday after church?”

“Well, I... I mean I don’t usually go to church. I used to when I was little but...”

He raked his fingers through his wavy, light brown hair. “No sweat. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Jamie was about to reply when he handed her a business card.

“I have your truck. Take this so you’ll know how to reach me when you’re ready. Are you planning to be in Serenity long?”

“I’m not sure,” she said, continuing to smile. “I’ve rented a room at the motel.”

“Great. When the doctors release you, the sheriff or I can give you a lift. He’ll need to take your statement, too.”

“I can’t imagine what I might be able to tell him that he doesn’t already know.” She sobered. “Has he tracked down the arsonists yet?”

“I don’t think so. But he will. We both grew up here, so we know everybody in Serenity.”

It was then that Jamie Lynn glanced down at the card he’d given her. His last name was Colton?

She repeated it aloud. “Colton? Any relation to the man who used to be sheriff?” she asked, wondering if her voice would have sounded so shaky without the throat irritation.

“Yeah. Sam was my dad. He was quite a guy.”

He sure was, Jamie thought, clenching her jaw and wondering what strange quirk of nature had put her in such an untenable position.

She now owed her very life to a man whose family had destroyed hers, one lie at a time.