Obsession Falls (43 page)

She hoped nobody was injured.

“Come here, Lacey.” Kateri lifted the dog onto the library table and looked her in the eyes. “I have an unpleasant half hour ahead. I don’t want you to feel like you have to protect me, so you need to go in your crate.”

Lacey’s head drooped.

Kateri stroked her soft ears. “Don’t pull that sad-doggie look on me. I know you. You’re a survivor, like me. Now, go on.” She put Lacey on the ground and followed her into the office.

Lacey went inside her crate, snuggled into the lambskin throw, and put her head on her paws.

Kateri covered the crate with a blanket, creating a den where the dog would feel safe during the upcoming cataclysm. Kateri wasn’t sure how this meeting with Landon Adams would come out, but she was betting on … not good. It all depended on whether he was reasonable or not. Because
reasonable
was his middle name.

She went back to the table and worked on a list of library needs—when dealing with the city council, she had to justify every broken crayon. She had just finished when Adams came through the door. “Good,” she said, “you at least can obey an order to be on time.”

His flush lit him up like a traffic light.

Ah, the travails of having a lily-white complexion.

But he was smooth, damn him. “I didn’t want to be obstructive to a woman with your physical disabilities.”

Score to him. Of all the people in the town, Adams understood how much she hated her broken body.

What he didn’t understand was that he could only strengthen her resolve. “Thank you for your kind expression of concern. Now, sit down.” She pointed at a chair where just this afternoon, Michelle DeRosa’s baby had blown out his diaper in an impressive poop. The chair had been cleaned, of course, but still, Kateri felt a petty satisfaction in watching Adams lower his strong, perfectly formed body onto the scarred red plastic. When he was seated, she folded her hands on the table before her. “As the former commander of the Virtue Falls Coast Guard unit, it has come to my attention that you lack the proper care for the lives and good health of my men.”

As she had known he would, he sputtered, “
Your
men? They are not
your
men anymore.”

“You’re not concerned about my accusation of negligence? Only that I continue to lay claim on my Coasties?”

“I don’t have to put up with this shit.” He stood and stormed toward the door.

She stood, too, and in a voice that lashed at him and spun him around, she said, “I wouldn’t leave if I were you.” She limped around the table. “In less than a year, you have permanently disabled one man, and seriously injured another.”

He looked her up and down. “Now you’re going to accuse me of causing
your
problems.”

“Not at all. I was in command, so the loss of the cutter and my injuries are my own fault. But now I must take appropriate action to deal with you—unless you promise to use due diligence in any future Coast Guard missions.” Because as much as she didn’t want to be fair about this, she had to give him the chance to straighten up.

A smirk flitted on and off Adams’s face. Mostly on. “Or what?”

“Or I will be forced to make you.”

“You’re going to go to my commanding officer and convince him to discharge me? He doesn’t dare. My uncle would make his life difficult.” He strolled toward her. “Or maybe you want to go to the newspapers and sing your sad song about Kateri, the poor broken Indian maiden, who lost her command to someone with a better pedigree?”

“Neither of those things had occurred to me.”

“Face it, you’re helpless and you’re crippled, and you can’t do anything to help your beloved Coasties.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” She wrapped her hand around his wrist. “I can do this.” Taking a breath, she grew still and quiet. She called on the earth and the wind, the sea and the power of the Frog God … and she made the earth move.

At the first tremor, Adams looked around wildly. “Earthquake!” He yanked himself free and dove under the table.

As soon as he broke the connection, the tremor died away.

She offered him her hand. “You seem spooked by earthquakes.”

He ignored her. He climbed out and dusted his knees. “Who isn’t?” He saw her still standing, coolly watching him. “You ought to do some cleaning in here. The floor is filthy. What is this white stuff? Chalk?”

“Might be. Might be the compound I spread on the floor when the children vomit.”

He blanched and held out his fingers as if they needed to be disinfected.

She didn’t laugh. But she came close.

She took his wrist again. “Will you swear that you will behave responsibly when it comes to the lives of my men?”

He looked around, scanned the walls, paid particular attention to the corners. “You’re filming this, aren’t you? You’re trying to get me to say something incriminating so you can use it against me.”

“I have no need for such cheap tricks.” In her mind, she slipped away again, touched all the elements of the earth and sky—and the ground shook.

This time he rode it out, too embarrassed to climb under the table. When it was over, he asked scornfully, “There’s a bunch of weird rumors among the Indians that you’re all woo-woo and cool with the gods.”

“Just one god,” she said, “the Frog God, who lives in the ocean, and when he wishes, he leaps up to the sun, and all the world shakes beneath our feet.”

“So you’re pretending that you made those tremors? Because they weren’t that big, so if I was supposed to be scared, it didn’t work.” He gestured and rolled his eyes.

“I’m not
pretending
to do anything.”

“Let me tell you the truth, lady.” He leaned down until they were nose to nose. “I don’t give a damn about those Coasties, and they don’t give a damn about me. They all whine about how much they loved you. They all blame me for what happened to you. And every time they do, I send them out to get killed.”

“You’re sick.”

“No. I’m in
charge
. In fact, you know what? Right now I’m going back to the station and pick out your very favorite Coasties—ooh, ooh, especially your sweetheart Luis—and send them on the most hopeless mission I can devise to bring in some hopped-up drug dealer, and if I’m lucky, they’ll all die, and I can start over with some new boys.” Adams was so pleased with himself. “What do you think of
that
?”

She kept her eyes fixed on his. She reached out and took his wrist. And she brought power up through her legs, her gut, her heart, her mind … The metal bookshelves rattled first. The glass in the windows undulated like a flowing stream. The cinder-block walls creaked in protest.

The earthquake built.

Books walked off the shelves. Children’s artwork fell off the walls.

The earthquake built.

Dust shook off the open trusses, dispersed through the air and into the whirlwind of power she had created, the whirlwind that surrounded them.

The earthquake roared like a beast.

Adams tried to break away and crawl under the table again.

She held him effortlessly.

His eyes got bigger. And bigger. He trembled—shook because the earthquake rattled him like a baby’s toy, and shook because he was afraid.

She dug deeper, deeper, bringing up fire from the center of the earth, cold from the depths of the ocean, rage from the center of her being that this man who had everything could be so spitefully, cruelly malicious. She mixed the elements into a lethal brew and in one final gesture, she tightened her fingers and sent a shot of fire and ice through his wrist and into his whole body.

He flew backward and slammed against the wall.

The power of the earthquake diminished and died.

But she was stronger than ever. She walked to stand over him as he lay crumpled on the floor. “I warned you.” Her voice sounded funny, deeper than normal. “Now, will you do as you should and have a care for my men?”

He scrambled to his feet. He looked at his wrist. A dark mark encircled it. “You did that.”

“The earthquake? Yes. I did that.”

“You burned me. Or froze me. You … made the earthquake.”

“Yes. Swear to care for my men, or I’ll make another that will take you out.”

He pointed a shaking finger at her. He backed away. “Your eyes. Your face. You did that.”

She followed. “I did that.”

He looked at his wrist again. “I … I’m going to press charges!”

She stopped stalking him. “Press charges?” It was so ludicrous, so petty, she blinked in surprise.

“I’m going to tell the sheriff that you made the earthquake.”

“I’d like to hear
that,
” she mocked him. “Do you really think anyone will believe that someone with my
disabilities
could make an earthquake?”

“I will swear out a warrant for your arrest. I’m a Coast Guard officer.” He tripped over books, kicked them aside, and continued his exodus. “I’m a gentleman from a good family. They’ll believe me. And if they don’t—I’ll show the sheriff my wrist.”

Humor curled up in her. “You’re going to tell the sheriff I hurt your wrist?”

“He’ll look at your eyes, and he’ll believe me. I will have you thrown in jail for a million years.” As Adams backed out the door, he never let her out of his sight. “You’ll be sorry you did this to me, Kateri Kwinault.” He slammed the door, leaving her alone among the scattered, worn books.

“Huh.” This was an ending she hadn’t considered. She would be interested to see how it played out. But she wondered at Adams, and at the terror on his face when he looked at her.

She walked into the miniscule library restroom and looked into the old, speckled glass. From her own face, the green and gold eyes of the Frog God glared back at her.

Whoa. That
was
scary.

As she watched, traces of the god faded, leaving her eyes the same deep brown they had always been.

She laughed softly.

This was shaping up to be a very interesting evening.

*   *   *

On the snow-covered road in the mountains, the ground shook, and shook again.

“Son of a bitch!” John pressed his foot on the gas. “Earthquake!”

The Hummer leaped forward, fishtailed, then gained speed.

Summer woke, grabbed at Kennedy’s leg and held on. “John, should we be going this fast during an earthquake?”

“We have to get out of here,” John answered.

She looked up, wide-eyed, at Kennedy.

Kennedy, of course, had drawn the correct conclusion. “Earthquakes cause avalanches.”

That made deadly sense. She said, “Drive fast, John. Drive faster.”

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Two hours later, someone knocked on the door of Kateri’s apartment.

Lacey barked, leaped off Kateri’s lap, ran to the door and stood wagging her stump of a tail. So whoever it was, was no threat.

Kateri turned off the TV, went to the door, looked out the peephole, and grinned. She opened the door. “Hi, Sheriff.”

Garik stood there, holding his ticket book and a pen.

“I feel like you’ve caught me pushing my walker too fast.”

“Ha. Ha.” He was patently not amused.

She stepped back. “Come on in.”

Garik leaned down to pet the dog, then followed them into the living room.

“How’s Margaret?” Kateri asked.

“She’s recovering. And spitting mad at Tony Parnham.”

“Between Kennedy’s beating and Margaret’s temper, I wouldn’t want to be Parnham.”

“Serves him right,” Garik said.

“How’s Elizabeth? I heard she wasn’t feeling well.”

“She’s sick. Really sick.” Garik sounded weary. “Dr. Frownfelter’s worried about dehydration. If things don’t improve soon, she’ll have to check into the hospital for intravenous liquids.”

“Oh, no! Give her my love.”

“I will.” At a wave from her hand, he sat on the couch.

Lacey joined him, leaned on his leg, and smiled smugly at Kateri.

Garik petted the dog’s head. “Kateri, do you know why I’m here?”

“You’re here because I called Landon Adams into the library, and I irritated the dear boy. He said he was going to report me, but I thought you’d be too busy to visit tonight, what with the earthquakes and all.” She thought she handled that well and without actual lies.

“I
am
too busy to visit you tonight. The quake damage is minimal, but after the big one a couple of years ago, the good citizens of Virtue Falls freak out every time the earth moves.” He scratched behind his ear with his ticket pad. “I can’t blame ’em.”

“True. Can I get you a beer?”

“I’m on official business.” Too rapidly, he recited, “According to Adams, you threatened him, then when he wouldn’t comply with your unreasonable demands, you created today’s tremors to coerce him into obedience.”

“I created today’s tremors to coerce him?” She lifted her eyebrows. “Of course I did. Anything else?”

“You burned his wrist with your freezing touch.”

“Sure. Men are always complaining about that.” She offered her arms. “Are you going to take me away in handcuffs?”

“I should. Or maybe I’ll ask you not to fry anybody else.”

Kateri flopped down on her chair. “You have to admit, if I had to fry somebody, Landon Adams is a good candidate.”

“He’s a jerk.” Garik sounded disgusted.

“There are a lot of jerks in the military.” She grew cold with rage. “The problem with him is, if he isn’t stopped, he’s going to get one of my men killed.”

Garik’s eyebrows rose. “So you
did
do something to him?”

The dog watched the two of them, back and forth, and finally decided she needed to change allegiance. So she hopped down and joined Kateri.

Kateri said, “I asked him to come to the library and I talked to him. The earthquakes rolled through. When he climbed out from under the table, he was pretty insane. Psychotic break or something. Madness run in his family?”