Counter attack, p.25
Counter Attack, page 25
Phame
Poke the bear. He’d said those words to Alexis in her office just yesterday. Somehow, Phame had planted a bug there.
Vehicles pulled up outside, and Nathan refolded the paper and returned it to where he’d found it.
“Dylan and Taylor are here,” Carson said.
“Good. Send them in.” He scanned the room, looking for more clues. It was soon obvious the only clue was in the note.
“Find anything?” Dylan asked as he and Taylor entered the bedroom.
“I found a White pawn and a note. Phame has Alexis.” It would be a while before they got to the note, so he showed them his photo. “Does anything jump out at you?”
“Any report of a fire anywhere?” Taylor asked.
“No.” Even though he had the words committed to memory, Nathan stared at the paper as though it might tell him where Alexis was. “Where would a bear take its prey?”
“It’s lair?” Dylan said. “Like a cave?”
“Maybe. But how would Phame get Alexis in a cave? She’d fight like crazy.”
“He drugged her,” Taylor said.
“The cocoa.” Nathan nodded toward the cup. “There’s nothing inside.”
“Someone rinsed it out.”
Phame. He read the note again. Nathan closed his eyes and concentrated. “If you’re smart enough, you’ll find where the bear took her.”
He looked up. “Bear Tail Cave.”
“It’s worth a shot.” Dylan took out his phone. “I’ll get Harvey to send deputies out there.”
“I’m not waiting for them.” He dashed to the door and stopped long enough to tell the Stones where he was going. A minute later he wheeled out of their drive and pointed his truck toward Eagle Ridge, where Bear Tail Cave was located.
Years ago he and Alexis had hiked the ridge and explored the cave. He gripped the steering wheel. A quarter of a mile inside the cave was a sheer drop-off of at least twenty feet. If Alexis fell—
Nathan’s phone rang. The forestry service? “Landry,” he barked.
“This is Steven Rogers with the Tennessee Forestry Association. Your sheriff’s department ask me to call and advise you there’s a fire on Eagle Ridge.”
“Near Bear Tail Cave?”
“How’d you know?”
“Just a guess.”
56
Pain radiated from Alex’s knees to her hips. It seemed like she’d been crawling for hours in total darkness, but from her experience caving years ago, it’d probably only been half an hour at most. Once again, the wind had picked up, blowing over her. Since she was facing it, Alex was certain she was going in a direction that would lead her out of the cave. That again was from experience.
The whole time she’d been crawling, her thoughts were on her captor. She thought it was a large person, not so much from the deep voice—the speech modulator was responsible for that—but because it would take a pretty good-sized person to get her deep into the cave. Unless she’d been forced to crawl through this tunnel.
Was that even possible? Certainly, with some of the drugs out there, like GHB. Maybe her grandmother hadn’t left the cocoa on her bedside table. Alex stopped crawling and rested her forehead on the cave floor.
“Someone you love is going to die.” What if Phame had harmed her grandparents?
The thought spurred her to crawling again, and the wind brought a whiff of smoke to her nose. Surely her captor hadn’t . . .
More smoke, and stronger. Yes. Phame must have started a fire at the entrance to the cave. Alex coughed and kept crawling.
Phame must have piled brush at the entrance and set it on fire. It should go out unless he’d hung around and fed brush to the flames.
A fit of coughing hit her again. Her knees throbbed, her head ached, her wrist burned all the way to her elbow. The desire to curl up in a ball hit her. If there was room, she might do it.
No! She hadn’t come this far to give up. Think! “Lord, I need help.”
Alex felt with her good hand to make sure she wasn’t near a drop-off. Solid walls all around. Like a casket.
Wait. If there was a fire, the forestry service should see it and send someone to put it out. But they wouldn’t know she was in the cave unless she crawled to the entrance.
Alex started crawling again. The mouth of the cave had to be close. So why couldn’t she see light? Maybe the tunnel curved. Or went up. She didn’t know if she had the strength to go much farther. So tired. She rested her head on the stone, feeling the cold seep into her bones.
“Alexis! Where are you?”
Was she dreaming? If she was, she didn’t want to wake up.
“Alexis!” Her name echoed through the cavern.
Except for her grandparents, Nathan was the only person who called her that. “Nathan?”
He’d never hear her whisper. She tried again, raising her voice with the same result.
“She has to be here.”
That was Nathan, and he was looking for her.
“Let’s see if Gem can find her. Seek, Gem!”
In no time, something crawled toward her, panting. A bear? She steeled herself for the sharp teeth to rip into her.
Then a dog barked. “Gem’s found her. Hang on, Alexis, I’m coming.”
She still thought it was a dream until a wet tongue licked her face. “Gem?”
The dog barked again, and Alex reached out, her fingers finding fur. It wasn’t a dream. “Thank you, Lord.”
Shuffling and another thump, and then there was light. Alex blinked against it as arms wrapped around her. “You came,” she whispered.
“Yes. Are you hurt?”
“My wrist. I think it’s broken.”
“Lie still until I get the rescue basket in here.”
Half an hour later, Nathan, Mark and a ranger pulled Alex out of the cave and into the bright sunlight. Sunlight she hadn’t been sure she’d ever see again. After being released from the litter, she stood on shaky legs and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air that still had a tinge of smoke to it. Her deputies stood all around. Alex took another breath, and a fit of coughing overtook her.
“There’s an ambulance waiting at the road,” Nathan said.
“No hospital.” Pain shot through her wrist. Okay, that was unreasonable, but someone had kidnapped her and left her to die. Finding them was her top priority, and she did not want to waste hours at the hospital.
Nathan frowned. “You need to be checked out.”
“Maybe the paramedics can—”
“They don’t have the right equipment. Carson Stone will have my—”
She grabbed his arm. “My grandparents. Are they okay?”
“They will be now that we’ve found you.”
Alex glanced back at the mouth of the cave littered with charred branches. “Why set the fire?”
“I think Phame wanted us to find you.”
It didn’t make sense. Unless— “This was just to show how easy it was to get to me.”
“I think so.”
“I still could’ve died—there’s a drop-off in the room I was in.” She shuddered thinking about how faint the rocks sounded, dropping into the water. “We need to talk.”
“As soon as you get checked out.”
“All right.” As long as he didn’t leave her. She reached for his hand, but Gem poked her nose against her palm and whined.
“I think she’s looking for a thank-you,” Nathan said with a chuckle. “She’s the one that found you.”
Alex bent over and scratched the dog’s head. “Thank you, girl.” She raised up and nodded at Mark. “Thank you too.”
He gave her a thumbs-up and then called his dog. “Will we see you at the sheriff’s department later?”
Nathan answered for her. “Not today. She’s got to get her wrist checked out.”
What time was it? Alex checked her watch, but she didn’t have it on. Oh yeah . . . she’d taken it off to take a shower last night. At least some of her memory was coming back. “What time is it?”
“A little after noon.” Nathan pointed at the litter. “You want us to carry you, or do you want to walk?”
“You’re not carrying me.” She took a few steps toward the path. “I may have to go slow.”
“That’ll be a first,” Nathan said with a crooked smile. “Can I at least offer my arm?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she could manage. What was wrong with her? It wouldn’t kill her to accept a little help. “Thank you.”
The closer they got to the road, the more she leaned on Nathan. Her legs were like noodles, and by the time they reached the ambulance, her wrist was throbbing again. Maybe letting the ER doctor check her over wasn’t a bad idea. Might even save time if her wrist was broken, and they could set it.
When the paramedic suggested she let them transport her to the hospital, she declined. “I’d rather Nathan take me.” She laughed at the shock on his face. “That is, if you will.”
“Uh . . .” For once he looked like he was at a loss for words. “Sure,” he finally got out.
The paramedic slammed the bay door closed. “I’ll call and let them know you’re coming so you won’t have to wait.”
“Thank you.” There were perks to being the chief deputy of Russell County.
“My truck is over here,” Nathan said and helped her walk to it. After she was safely buckled in, he tilted his head at her. “You surprised me. I figured I’d have to hogtie and drag you to a doctor to get that wrist seen. But why not go in the ambulance?”
“First of all, riding in an ambulance is worse than riding a log wagon with no springs. And . . .”—she wasn’t sure how to say this—“after being in the cave, I didn’t want to be alone.”
57
Nathan paced the small ER patient room. Alexis had taken at least five years off his life today. He stopped and looked out the door. She’d been gone over thirty minutes. It shouldn’t take that long to x-ray her wrist.
Phame immediately popped into his mind, and he marched to the nurses’ station. “Where’s X-ray?”
The nurse who had taken Alexis’s blood pressure glanced up from her computer. “What do you mean?”
He repeated his question. “I want to check on the patient.”
“Chief Landry, the chief deputy is fine. There was probably a backlog and they had to wait for an available X-ray machine.”
He crossed his arms. “I still want to check on her.”
She peered at him over her half glasses and pointed. “Go down that hallway, take a left at the end. You should find her there.”
He’d made it to the end of the hallway when the orderly rounded the corner with Alexis.
She did a double take. “What are you doing here?”
“Just checking on you.” He eyed the orderly. “Why don’t I push her back to the room?”
The kid looked as though he would refuse, and Nathan said, “Please. I’ll make it okay with your supervisor if you get in trouble.”
“Well, okay.” He relinquished the handles to the wheelchair. “She’s all yours.”
Nathan caught her gaze and held it. If nothing else, today had made him realize how badly he wanted to make those words true. Alexis looked away, shifting her gaze to her hand that twisted the thin cotton gown the nurse had given her. The kid’s words must have flustered her. He wasn’t losing this opportunity, not after today.
“Thank you.” Nathan bowed but didn’t move until Alexis looked up. “Is m’lady ready to go?” he asked, winking at her. Color flooded her face, and she ducked her head.
He didn’t say anything until they got back to the small room, and he helped her onto the bed. “Alexis—”
“Don’t say anything.” She pressed the closed fist of her good hand to her lips. After a minute, she moved it and looked up at him. “I need time to process what happened today.”
“I understand, but I’m not going to let you push me away. I—”
There was a sharp rap at the door, and they both turned toward it as the hospital’s orthopedic doctor entered the room. “Nathan,” he said, nodding, then turned to her. “Alexis, I’m Doctor Mabry.”
“I think you set my arm when I was eleven,” she said.
“I don’t remember that, but I’m sure you do,” he said with a chuckle.
“What’s the verdict?” Nathan asked.
“Good news of a sort.” Dr. Mabry punched a button, and the screen lit up with the X-rays of her wrist. “I don’t see a fracture, so that leaves us with damaged ligaments.”
“How will you treat it?”
“RICE.”
She frowned. “What’s that?”
“Rest, ice, compress, elevate,” Nathan said.
Dr. Mabry smiled. “I see you remembered.”
Nathan turned to Alexis. “I sprained my ankle playing softball a few years ago, and I’m here to tell you if it’s like my ankle, your wrist will be very painful for a few days.”
“Joy,” she said dryly. “But it’s better than a broken bone.”
“Absolutely.” The doctor turned the screen off and walked to the door. “You’ll need to rest it for the next forty-eight hours. We’ll wrap it before you leave, and that should help with the pain.”
“If it doesn’t?” Alexis asked.
“Take anti-inflammatories. It’ll also help if you keep your wrist above your heart. The nurse will give you written instructions and make an appointment for a follow-up.” He started out the door and turned around. “Oh, and the tox screen should be back in forty-eight hours.”
“Forty-eight hours?” Nathan hoped it would be back sooner.
“We outsource tox screens to a lab in Chattanooga. I asked them to put a rush on it, but you know how that goes.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Alexis said.
An hour later, Nathan helped her out of the truck in spite of Alexis’s protest that she didn’t need his help. Carson and Judith were waiting for them at the back door. Judith rushed to her granddaughter and Alexis yelped when her grandmother wrapped her arms around her.
Judith jumped back. “I’m so sorry—Nathan told me about your wrist, and I forgot. And I’m sorry we didn’t set the alarm after you and Nathan left. We’ve been so worried.”
Alex hugged her with her good arm. “Stop worrying—I’m okay now.”
“If you want to blame someone, blame me,” he said. “I should’ve checked the whole house when we returned.”
The hair on the back of his neck raised, and Nathan scanned the area behind the house. Everything looked normal, but he’d learned to never dismiss his spidey feelings. “We need to get inside.”
Nathan didn’t relax until they were safely in the kitchen and he had a cup of Judith’s strong coffee in his hands. Before he left, he planned to make sure Jared continued patrolling the house on a regular basis.
He took another sip of the hot coffee. “I need to get your statement about what happened.”
“I know. I’m still trying to pull my thoughts together, but maybe your questions will help me.”
Carson stood and motioned to his wife. “You need privacy for that. We’ll be in the den if you need us.”
“Thanks.” When they were alone, Nathan opened the record app on his phone, then he took out a notepad and pen. “Can you give me a description of the person?”
“I wish. It was so dark in the cave, I couldn’t see anything.”
“Anything before the cave?”
She thought a minute and shook her head.
“Okay, start with when I left you and take me through what you remember.”
“I hopped in the shower, and I guess I was there longer than normal—after the day we had yesterday, the hot water felt so good. When I got out, the cocoa was sitting on the table. I thought Gram brought it.”
He stopped writing. “The cup wasn’t there when I cleared your bedroom. That means the person was in the house when you got home unless you didn’t set the alarm after I left.”
She shivered. “I’m 99 percent sure I set it.”
Nathan tried to picture both scenarios. He leaned toward the kidnapper hiding in the house when they returned. Otherwise, he would’ve had to break in, read the note and warm the cocoa, and get it back to the bedside table by the time Alexis got out of the shower. “No, I think they were here, observed your grandmother making the cocoa, and then read the note she left. I wonder what time Kayla left.” He texted Judith the question.
Alexis caught her breath. “You don’t believe Kayla—”
“Right now, just about everyone is a suspect.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Alexis said. “Why would she save my life and then do something like this?”
“Why would your kidnapper set a fire in the mouth of the cave? He had to know it wouldn’t keep burning and would only alert the forest rangers.” He tapped his lips with the pen. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“It does if Phame is trying to make me look ridiculous, or he’s trying to weaken me, like a cat when it plays with a mouse.”
Nathan looked around as Judith stuck her head in the door.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure,” he said motioned her inside the kitchen. “So, what time did she leave?”
“I didn’t look at the clock, but she insisted on helping with the dishes while I made cocoa, and then we shared a cup, talked about her college classes and her dad dying. She’s a sweet girl.”
“Would you say she stayed about an hour after we left?”
“Probably.”
“And you actually saw her leave?”
Judith nodded. “I remember I started to set the alarm then, but Carson called me to help him find his sleeping medicine. I keep it separate from his other medicines . . .” Tears formed in her eyes. “I never thought of the alarm again.”
“Stop worrying about it,” Alexis said and hugged Judith. “I’m fine.”
She nodded. “I’ll try. Anything else?”
“That’s all,” Nathan said. “Thanks.”
After Judith left, Nathan said, “I’ll talk to Kayla later today. See if her story matches your grandmother’s.”
Alexis ran her finger around the top of the cup. “Just because she was here last night doesn’t mean she drugged and kidnapped me.”
