A nurse came in and I asked if I could sit and wait for her to wake up, because I wanted the first thing she felt when she woke up to be my hand.
She smiled kindly. “I don’t see why not.”
That was what Lara felt when she came around a few hours later: Me sitting up on a chair holding her hand.
“Kit,” she mumbled.
“I’m here. I’m never leaving you again.”
“My heart and chest hurts,” she whispered.
“I know, baby. I know. I’m sorry.”
“What happened to me?”
“Shh … Rest now. We’ll talk about it later.”
I stood up and kissed her forehead, and waited for her to drift back to sleep. I watched the even movement of her chest, then I walked out of her room. It was already light outside.
In the car park I found my pickup. As we had agreed, the guys drove my pickup here and left the key behind the visor. I got into it and drove into town where I found a diner and went in for breakfast.
I ordered a big breakfast, the whole works, and I ate it like a starving man. I drank two cups of black coffee, then I went to the phone box at the side of the restaurant and called Sheriff Bradley. I told him what had happened and asked him if he could tell Elaine about the incident.
“Was there any evidence left behind?” Sheriff Bradley asked.
“Nope. None at all. You don’t have any clues, do you?”
“Not off the top of my head. Must be kids foolin’ around your place again. I’ll have to send out a stern warning.”
“I’d appreciate that, Sheriff. Mighty good of you to do that. I’ll be right here in Tapley for the next few days,” I said. “I saw a motel as I was passing, I’ll probably check in there.”
“What’s it called?”
“The Big Blue.”
“Yeah, I know it. If anything comes up, I’ll let you know.”
“Much appreciated, Sheriff. Much appreciated.”
Forty-six
Kit
As I expected, Elaine came rushing through the doors before lunch. She looked white-faced and frightened. I was waiting at reception waiting and as soon as I heard her say Lara’s name I walked up to her.
“Elaine?” I asked.
She whirled around. Pretty girl, auburn hair, big, green eyes, and one of those cupid mouths that was no longer popular, but I thought was rare and special. She was taller and curvier than Lara. She was exactly Roger’s type. If he’d been here he’d have gone for her big time.
“Kit Carson,” she gasped, clutching her chest as if I was Count Dracula himself.
I stretched my lips into the most friendly shape I could twist them into. “Yup, that’s me.”
“Ah, right. How is Lara?”
“She’ll be all right.”
She sagged with relief.
“She’s sleeping right now. Come on. I’ll take you to her.”
The lift was ancient and very slow. We didn’t speak. Once her eyes slid sideways, and then dropped away very quickly when she met my eyes. She cleared her throat and looked up at the lighted numbers above her head. When the door creaked open, slower than an old coffin, I indicated the way.
I opened the door and saw that Lara was still asleep. Elaine moved quickly towards the bed. Normally, I would have waited outside and given her some privacy, but I was curious to see her reaction.
She looked down at Lara and began to sob softly. That told me everything I needed to know. I knew then I could trust Lara with her. Quietly, I slipped out of the room. I leaned against the wall and waited for her to come out.
When the door opened, I straightened. “Can I buy you a coffee from the vending machine?”
“Yeah,” she said and smiled weakly.
We walked to the machine. “Want a candy bar?”
She shook her head. I dropped some coins into the slot and got us our coffees. They were truly terrible, but I needed an excuse and I could drink a million cups of coffee if it was going to help Lara. I guided her towards a nest of sofas.
“I can’t understand it. Sheriff Bradley said there had been a hunting accident. I dropped her off at your place. She was just fine when I left at about 7:00 p.m. What happened?” she asked, sniffing and wiping her nose with a tissue.
“When I came back, I found her with an arrow buried in her body.”
Her eyes narrowed and glinted with suspicion. This was no naïve girl. She was bristling with intelligence. “An arrow?”
“Why do you think Sheriff Bradley told you it was a hunting accident when it is not even hunting season?”
“What do you think happened?” she asked cautiously. She had just turned the tables on me.
“I think Lara has a dangerous admirer,” I said, watching her closely.
She stared steadily into my eyes. “Sawyer. His name is Sawyer Buchannan.”
“Is he engaged to be married to someone else?”
“Yes.”
“Is his fiancée from a rich family?”
“The richest.” Her voice was hard.
“Why do you think it was him?”
“Because he’s always had a thing for her, but he couldn’t resist the lure of high cotton, of being Rhett Haverbrooke’s son-in-law.”
I nodded.
“Are you going to talk to him?”
“No, I’ll leave him to Sheriff Bradley. Can’t take the law into my own hands.”
For a second she frowned. Then she smiled. A big sunny grin. “Yes, I think that is the best way forward. I like that idea. That way everybody gets exactly what they deserve.”
“Everybody gets what they deserve,” I repeated softly.
“What are the doctors saying about Lara? When can she go home?”
“Barring no complications I’ll probably be able to take her back in a week, but her recovery will take about six to eight weeks. She’ll have to take it easy during that time.”
“That’s good. I guess I better go see if she’s awake.”
“That’s a fine idea. She’ll be happy to see you.”
She nodded and walked away. I watched her throw away her untouched coffee cup into a bin, but my mind was already busy thinking of something else.
I’d say this for Sawyer Buchannan. He had the decency to make it super easy for me to hunt him down. He drank at the local watering hole.
I watched him come out of the bar swaying drunk and get into his car. Then I followed him until he got onto a quiet stretch of road. When he was nearly upon an area where the trees thinned out on one side of the road, I put on my illegal police siren.
He pulled over instantly. Very compliant.
The shock on his face when he saw, not one of his law enforce
ment friends, but me appear at his window paid for his birth certificate. I wish I had a picture.
“What do you want?” he blustered drunkenly.
I didn’t waste time talking. I punched him by the side of his face and knocked his lights out. Then I started walking back to my pickup. If anyone came by they’d think he was passed out.
I drove my vehicle into the woods and parked it out of sight. Whistling, I walked back to his car and pulled him into the passenger seat. Fortunately for me I never met a single person on the road as I drove him back to my place.
I threw him over my shoulder, carried him into the forest behind my house, and dumped him in the hole I had dug earlier. To my surprise he woke up and looked around him blearily.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. He sounded belligerent and frightened.
“It’s good that you woke up for your funeral,” I said coldly.
He tried to stand up. I took my gun and shot his kneecaps out. Two bullets. I’m a crack shot.
Whoa, what a racket. I’d seen a lot of men die in my time, but he took the cake. I stared at him curiously. I’d never enjoyed killing before, but watching him suffer actually made digging the hole worth it. Winter ground is a bitch to open and I broke my back doing it.
While he was still screaming with pain and horror, I picked up my shovel, and began to chuck cold dirt on him. You should have seen the way he clawed to get out. Every time he put his hands at the edge of the hole I smacked them with the shovel.
It was torture pure and simple.
He lay in his grave and tried to explain. Something about it being an accident. That fell on deaf ears. He started apologizing. Should have said his last rites instead. He begged, he cried, he threatened, he promised, he shouted, he cursed, but nothing stopped the earth from falling. Eventually, his mouth was filled with earth and even the muffled choking and gasping sounds were gone.
Silence was restored to my land.
Swinging my shovel, I returned to my house. I removed the plates from his fancy car and put new ones on. Ten minutes later my buddy Grayson and his pal Ted came by. Ted drove off in the car they had come in, and Grayson and I got into Sawyer’s car and drove to the spot where my pickup was hidden. He said goodbye and I got into my pickup. We went our separate ways.