Killer's Prey (22 page)

He shuffled back to his bedroom, giving only a brief thought to calling out to the Madison place. He dismissed the notion. Idiot cops who banged on doors in the middle of the night sure as hell wouldn’t hesitate to go out to a ranch.

Man, they did things different in Minneapolis. He couldn’t imagine a local cop rousting him for such a thing.

Fool. He climbed back into bed and put it all from his mind. It wasn’t important. Nora would learn soon enough.

* * *

Driving away, Langdon faced a new problem. How would he find the Madison ranch? Were they labeled? Who could he ask? He’d managed to get the information he needed from the old man, but pulling into a gas station at this hour asking for directions to a ranch might get someone’s attention.

The old man, though, hadn’t seemed at all suspicious, and had said he’d tell Nora in the morning that Langdon was back in jail. She might or might not have the cops check it out. If they did, then his time would shorten dramatically. He had to find this ranch and hide himself out there before the cops started looking for him. He doubted they’d believe a Minneapolis cop had come all this way so late at night. But the added pressure only enhanced to his excitement. A real cat-and-mouse game, eluding cops while getting Nora. He could do it. Look how long he’d managed so far.

He pulled into the empty supermarket lot and thought about it. The location of ranches couldn’t possibly be a secret. All he had to do was figure out how to find the place without arousing immediate suspicion.

But the power was filling him, and when he considered how easily he had gotten the important information from the old man, he was sure he would find it easy to get the rest.

The badge, the reasoned approach. Or maybe a more casual one. He thought about it, then smiled to himself and headed out of town.

He knew exactly what to do.

Chapter 14

T
he afternoon had turned absolutely gorgeous: cold and sparkling with fresh snow. She and Jake had come back from town only an hour before to discover that Al was concerned about a couple of the cows in a far pasture. Warning Nora to stay indoors with Rosa, Jake set out with Al, promising to be back in a few hours.

“I’ve got to look, sweetheart,” he told her with a light caress to her cheek. “Even bovines get sick, and if they are I need to deal with it quickly. We don’t need something spreading through the herd, and we may need the vet.”

She smiled, leaning into his touch, reveling in the joy he had brought to her over just the past couple of days. “Don’t worry about me,” she said. “Just hurry back.”

She watched him leave with a smile on his face, feeling an internal warmth she had never known before. Knowing Jake was becoming something like living inside a big hug all the time. His lovemaking was spectacular, but it was far more than that. He made her feel truly special, truly cared for.

But then, he was special himself. A very special guy. She almost hugged herself with happiness.

Rosa insisted she wanted no help cleaning bathrooms upstairs. Nora stood looking out at the beautiful day and decided there was no reason not to go out in the yard. If she needed help, Rosa would hear her, and she wasn’t likely to need any help.

Outside, bundled in her best Minnesota winter gear, she stood at the fence and fed carrots to Daisy, who was fast becoming the next best thing to a friend.

Before long, however, Daisy lost interest in the carrots and began to toss her head and trot around the corral as if she were disturbed.

Restless, Nora thought. Well, of course, she’d been cooped up over the past few days because of the weather, and while Al and Jake had ridden off on two of her friends, she was probably feeling neglected. Maybe even jealous.

Nora sighed. There wasn’t much she could do. Well, she could. Jake had taught her how to saddle Daisy and she’d gotten pretty good at it. But going for a ride alone was forbidden.

Daisy pawed the ground and tossed her head repeatedly before cantering in another circle. Then she came back to Nora and nudged her so hard Nora stumbled back from the rail.

Well, that was a clear demand:
Get me out of here.

She’d never seen Daisy act this way before, and when she thought about it, she wondered if the sickness Jake had gone to investigate in his herd might have infected her. Could horses and cows get the same disease?

But then Daisy cantered in another circle, tossed her head some more and came to stand right in front of Nora. Definitely she wanted to get some real exercise.

Nora hesitated, and then decided it couldn’t hurt. Out here in the middle of nowhere, she could ride around and even someone who knew where she was would have a hard time finding her.

She hesitated a little longer, but Daisy’s agitation didn’t diminish. Finally she decided to go get the tack and see if the sight of it calmed the horse. If so, they could ride just around the immediate vicinity.

She was pleased that she had enough strength now to heft the saddle, hard though it still was. With reins dangling over her shoulder, she panted her way out to the corral and slung the saddle over the top rail. Daisy’s ears perked and she came over, assuming her usual stance for saddling. Yup, that was it.

Nora started to climb the rail when the back of her neck prickled with the unmistakable sense that she was being watched.

She froze and looked around, but except for the familiar buildings, there was nothing out there except a distant line of trees and the mountains. Not a soul or animal in sight.

Probably Rosa looking out the upstairs window. She’d better hurry or the woman would be out here in just a minute to scold her.

But Rosa never came, even as Daisy stood patiently, enduring Nora’s inexperienced efforts to saddle her. Nora patted the mare’s neck. “You’re such a good girl, Daisy.”

Ten minutes later, she and Daisy were trotting out over the snow, under the golden afternoon sun. Not far, Nora thought. They wouldn’t go far.

When she felt the prickling of eyes on the back of her neck again, she was sure it was Rosa. There’d be a scolding when she got back, she was sure.

The notion brought a smile to her face.

* * *

It had been easy, Langdon thought. Amazingly easy. In the wee hours he’d stopped well outside of town at a gas station and told a half-awake kid he had a delivery for the Madison ranch but didn’t know how to find it.

He’d gotten the directions, but he’d also gotten a serious shock of unease. Madison was also the chief of police in town.

Not that it really mattered. But it settled firmly in his mind that trying to get Nora in town might be a big mistake. This guy probably had his whole crew on alert.

That left the ranch for sure.

He had found the place midmorning and had driven up and down the surrounding roads casing the place. Finally he parked out of the way and went into the woods. He had no idea what Madison looked like, but there was a guy there working around the barn. No sign of Nora.

Then shortly after noon another car had driven in and he had finally seen Nora. Sweet, sweet Nora, who was going to enhance his powers with her suffering. He was pleased to see she looked healthy again, which meant he could torment her longer.

But even in his Minnesota winter gear he was starting to feel the chill as he hid in the woods, growing increasingly aware that the house was awfully far away, and that there were two men around Nora. Two men. Finding the right time was going to be difficult. He hated thinking he might have to wait a day or two, especially under these circumstances.

But he counseled himself to patience, battering down the now nearly overwhelming compulsion to act. If he didn’t get her today, he’d sleep in his truck tonight somewhere out of the way. There’d be tomorrow. It would give him time to really plan now that he knew the lay of the land. Clearly, he needed a decent plan.

But then he saw the two men ride away to the north. He was debating whether to wait or chance striking out for the house when Nora came out and began paying attention to one of the horses. This could be it. He just had to bide his time for an opportunity.

* * *

Daisy seemed glad to be out of the corral, even though she was still being ridden in circles. But they were wider circles and Daisy could get up her speed a bit more than when she was within the confines of the fence. Nora was loving it, too, even as her cheeks burned from the cold, and slowly widened the circles so Daisy could move even faster.

With every swing around the outer arc, Nora looked in the direction from which Jake and Al should come. They were taking longer than Jake had predicted, and she hoped they hadn’t discovered something awful.

Her circles were bringing her closer to the woods, and she decided to ride along the tree line, letting Daisy open up to a gallop on the long straightaway and level ground. Then they could head back in.

She still wasn’t used to a full gallop and felt unsteady in her seat. Worse, her boots still had snow frozen on them, and her feet slipped the stirrups from time to time. She was just about to rein in Daisy and take a slow walk back to the barn when a figure jumped out right in front of them.

Daisy reared. Nora slipped backward off the saddle. Her head hit hard and she saw stars just before everything went black.

* * *

A foul mood had settled over Jake as he stood over the dead cattle. “Damn!” he swore to Al.

Al didn’t answer, but his expression was grim enough for both of them. Two cows put down because someone had baited a trap with poison, probably to catch wolves or coyotes, and somehow the cows had ingested some of it. Maybe from the meltwater. Regardless, they’d spent all that time searching to find the problem, and once they’d realized what had probably happened, there was no alternative.

They’d wrapped the bait for now in a poncho, but were going to have to go right back out and clean it up, along with the dead cattle, which were now probably almost as toxic as the bait. If he was right, he knew that poison. It was supposed to be illegal except in authorized livestock collars, but some still used it anyway, and it could get into the water. Once there, his whole herd would be at risk. They’d moved the remainder to a different pasture, but now he had his whole ranch to protect. Hell, he had hundreds of square miles to protect.

“I gotta call the sheriff,” Jake said. “Then we get a drum to put that poison in and we’re going to have to get those cows removed fast, before something moves in to eat them.”

“Okay.”

“Today.”

“Yes, boss.”

He was still moving in a black cloud of rage, wondering if his dogs had eaten any of that crap. They’d driven the rest of the herd away from the sick animals and were standing guard, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t eaten some of that bait. Hell, how could it not have tempted them?

“Dammit!” he swore. “I’m gonna have someone’s hide over this.” But even as he railed, he figured it was going to be next to impossible to find out who had done it. Bait was a lot harder to follow than traps. It could have come from anywhere. Hell, it might not even have been bait, but some animal that had died after eating the poison two days away. He swore again, wishing the USDA had never allowed the return of the poisoned-filled collars for livestock. Killing coyotes wasn’t worth this price.

It was a hellacious death. Just thinking about it made him grind his teeth. Hours of convulsions, vomiting, confusion... Oh, he wanted someone to pay.

Leaving Al to keep watch over the carcasses so that no scavenger ate the poisoned flesh and carried it even farther, he mounted up to head back and make the call. He took the dogs with him to confine them to the barn until he could get the vet to check them.

But every single thought of his ranch, his cattle and his dogs flew from his head as they rounded the barn and saw Daisy, saddled and riderless, standing outside the corral, reins on the ground.

Those reins gave him a cold chill. All his horses were trained to stay put when the reins were dropped, but Daisy still showed a faint lather. She’d been ridden hard. Maybe had fled. And where was Nora?

He slid out of his own saddle, shooed the dogs into the barn, where they started yapping about being confined, and went running into the house, shouting Nora’s name.

Rosa answered from upstairs. “She was at the corral.”

“How long ago?”

Rosa shook her head. “Twenty minutes. Half hour?”

“Did you see her saddle Daisy and ride out?”

The way Rosa clapped her hand to her mouth told him all he needed to know.

“Dammit, I told her not to go out!”

Rosa dropped her hand, still looking pale. “Just to the corral, Jake. The girl isn’t a prisoner.”

“No. But she’s missing and Daisy is outside. Call the sheriff. Now.”

Rosa nodded and went to use the bedroom phone.

“Emergency,” Jake shouted after her.

He grabbed his belt and holster out of his office, and his shotgun out of the locked cabinet. Then he grabbed a flare gun and a couple of flares.

Rosa had come back downstairs. “Jake?”

He turned to her. “I’m going to hunt for Nora. Al is out keeping a watch on the cows. Somebody poisoned them.”

Rosa gasped.
“¡Madre de Dios!”
She didn’t lapse often into Spanish, but she was upset now. “Yeah, boss.”

“First Nora,” he said. “You watch and tell the sheriff which way I go, okay? Al can handle the poison problem until we find Nora.”

Rosa nodded. “Nora first. Find her, Jake. Please.” He hated to leave Daisy saddled and lathered, but had no choice. He put her in the corral so she could keep moving without getting chilled.

He set out, following the clear path of hoof prints in the snow.

He prayed harder than he’d ever prayed in his life that he’d find her unhurt, that she had just taken a spill.

Except Daisy wasn’t the kind of horse to run off when that happened. Something had scared her.

Dread settled in his heart like icy lead.

* * *

“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

Nora knew that voice. Terror filled her until she thought her heart would burst from the panic. She didn’t want to open her eyes, didn’t want to see that face again.

She could feel that she was tied to something, her arms behind her, sitting on the cold ground. A tree trunk. God, all those self-defense lessons were useless now. She had to find away to get loose.

“Your breathing changed,” her nemesis said. “I know you’re awake. How nice to see you again, Nora. How nice that you’re healthy again. It will make my job even more pleasant.”

At that her eyes snapped open. “Your
job?
”

“My avocation, really.” He was holding a large knife, and he ran the edge of it against his leather-covered thumb. “This takes skill, you know. I apparently wasn’t skilled enough the first time. And let me tell you right now, if you try to scream or raise your voice, I’m going to shove a rag so far down your throat you’ll have trouble breathing.”

She gasped, feeling her head swim, trying to think of something, anything she could do. Thoughts raced frantically but settled nowhere. Panic ruled. Calm, she told herself. Find some calm. Panic wouldn’t help. But panic refused to listen.

“It would be such a shame not to be able to hear your cries, but I guess it would be best to gag you anyway. I’d hate for someone to hear your screams.”

She didn’t answer, but forced herself to stare into the face from her nightmares. He was oddly handsome for a man with so much evil and cruelty in his heart. He should have looked like a troll.

She found her voice with difficulty. “You don’t need to do this. Let me go and I’ll tell the police it wasn’t you.”

“Then they’ll just believe you’re trying to protect me again.” He shook his head. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

He was enjoying the anticipation, she realized. Her stomach rolled sickeningly even as she tried to figure out how to keep him enjoying these moments before he started cutting her again. There had to be some way.