Rude Awakening (17 page)

Thinking fast – well, as fast as Dalton
could
think – he jumped up from his position in the middle of the spoon rack, said, ‘Gotta go pee,' and took off for the privacy of the woods.

Clovis sat in her favorite chair, a straight-backed armchair positioned on the outskirts of her living room, her toes planted firmly on the floor (the only part of her feet that could reach the ground), and made her decision. She stood up and walked to the wall phone in the kitchen and dialed the number she'd looked up in the middle of the night.

When the ringing stopped, a recorded voice said, ‘This is the Oklahoma City office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation . . .'

The phone woke me up at eight thirty in the morning. I croaked out, ‘Hello?'

‘Sheriff Kovak?' a female voice said.

‘Yeah?' I managed.

‘This is Lee Anne Carmody, Agent Carmody, with the FBI? We worked together on that bank robbery—'

‘Yeah, Agent Carmody.' Scully. The redhead with the partner who looked like Mulder. Who could forget 'em? ‘What?'

‘I got a call from a lady in your town, name of Clovis Pettigrew.'

‘Ah, shit,' I said.

‘She says her son, her daughter and her grandson have all been kidnapped and there's been a ransom demand on the grandson. Any of this true?'

‘We got a ransom demand,' I said, taking the phone and moving into the kitchen so that Johnny Mac wouldn't wake up and hear any of this, ‘but then got another call saying the victim had been killed. We haven't found a body yet, so I can't tell you anything more than that. As for her son, Dalton, you met him. He's one of my deputies, the big guy . . .'

‘Oh, yeah, the cute one.'

Cute?
I thought. Different strokes. ‘Yeah, well he's been missing for a few days, but I think he's just off with a lady friend. But as for his sister, the mother of the missing boy – man, I just don't know. She told my wife she had a family emergency and took off. Left her boy with us . . .'

‘With you?' Agent Carmody asked, her voice a little less friendly.

‘Yeah, with me,' I said, letting my irritation show. ‘The boy was with me when he was abducted. It's my fault. All my fault. Now, can we move on?'

‘I didn't say a word, Sheriff,' Agent Carmody said.

‘Look, let me check in with my people and see what's going on. I'll call you back if we need assistance. That all right with you, Agent Carmody?'

‘I'll wait for your call, Sheriff,' she said, and rang off.

Mary Ellen watched the Heavenly world beneath her, marveling at God's wisdom in making Heaven so perfect in every way. She watched as a baby bunny rabbit came out of its hole and looked around, and, even from her high perch, Mary Ellen could see its tiny nose twitch as it sniffed the air. What she didn't see until it was all but over was the large hawk swoop down and grab the baby bunny in its talons, rising again to the sky as it took its prey home for an early supper.

That's when Mary Ellen realized that she probably wasn't watching Heaven after all. She looked up at the cliff above her, realizing it wasn't exactly a cliff. More of a steep hill. She grabbed onto a root sticking out of the hill and pulled herself to her feet. Her ankle seemed stronger this morning. She found a toehold on the hillside and stepped up, finding more steps and more roots and small trees to help pull herself up the hill, until she reached the top.

She stood there looking around, trying to get her bearings. She was still in the woods. She couldn't remember exactly where she'd left the car. Oops. And Dalton. She'd forgotten about Dalton. She hoped he was OK, but then thought, ‘He's a big boy; he can take care of himself.' She was tired of being the one to take care of everybody else. Her little brother could surely fend for himself. Now that she'd gotten him out of jail, anyway.

Then she heard a small voice, a little loud and a little on the whiny side, say, ‘But I'm hungry!'

She followed the sound until she came to a small clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a fallen log. Sitting on that log was a young woman Mary Ellen had never seen before. On her lap sat Mary Ellen's son, Eli, and standing in front of them both was Mary Ellen's younger brother Dalton.

‘Hi,' Mary Ellen said. ‘What's going on?'

Emil Hawthorne lay on the ground where his killer had left him. The life had drained out of him rather quickly and there was really nothing left of him now but food for scavengers – the birds and mice and bugs that fed off human remains. His drama was over; no more revenge for the lost years, no more hatred, or envy, jealousy or even love – not that there had ever been much of that. No, Emil Hawthorne lay on the ground, very little blood flowing from the wound between his eyes. Death had been almost instantaneous; it had stopped the heart from beating and thus the blood from pumping. Without the smell of blood, some of the predators would take a little longer to get there; others had their own timetables. But really, none of that mattered to Emil Hawthorne anymore.

Anthony Dobbins was asleep on the living-room couch. A half-eaten slice of cheese pizza lay on his stomach, an open can of Dr Pepper sat on the coffee table. One leg was on the floor, the other on the couch, the one hand on his chest was the hand caressing the pizza and the other arm slung over his head, with its hand resting in his short-cropped black hair. His mouth was open and the sounds coming out of it were not exactly snores – more like little snorts and wheezes. I couldn't help wondering how Anthony's wife dealt with it.

‘Anthony,' I said, shaking the arm slung over his head.

He snorted, his eyes popped open and he sat up quickly and said, loudly, ‘I'm awake!'

‘Good,' I said. ‘We got a call from the FBI. We need to check in with our people. See what's going on. If we don't find something pretty soon, we're gonna have the Feebies up our collective asses.'

‘I'm awake!' Anthony said again, blinking rapidly.

Holly stood up, with Eli squirming in her arms. ‘Mama!' the boy shouted and Holly set him down. He ran to his mother, who knelt down and hugged him.

‘Geez, Mary Ellen!' Dalton rushed up to his sister. ‘Where have you been?' Looking at her bruised and battered person, he asked, ‘Are you OK?'

Holly stood back, a little shy about the family reunion. She had never been involved in anything like that, having been raised in various foster homes.

But then Eli grabbed his mother's hand and dragged her toward Holly. ‘Mama, this is my friend Holly. She saved me.'

Holly held out her hand to Mary Ellen, but Eli's mother just looked at Holly's hand, a confused look on her face. By the time Mary Ellen raised her hand to shake Holly's, Holly had already lowered hers. Holly raised hers again, but Mary Ellen had lowered hers. Then they looked at each other and laughed awkwardly.

‘Well, thank you,' Mary Ellen said. ‘For saving Eli.' She frowned. ‘Exactly how did that come about?' she asked.

Everyone started to talk at once, just as the black clouds closed in and the heavens opened up with a heavy downpour of rain. Lightning struck the tallest tree near the clearing and everyone stopped talking – in order to scream.

My second-in-command, Emmett Hopkins, called in at 9:05. ‘Milt, we found Mary Ellen Knight's car,' he said.

‘And Mary Ellen?' I asked.

‘Not so much. Door's open, key's in the ignition, battery's dead as a doornail. She mighta gone looking for a phone or something. Car's over here by the falls, maybe two miles from your house. You know how bad cell reception is out here.'

‘Any signs of foul play?' I asked.

‘Well, looks like some dried blood, but it's in the passenger seat,' Emmett said.

In stereo, from the phone in my hand and from outside my house, I heard the sound of thunder and through the window saw the deluge of rain that had just begun. Springtime in Oklahoma.

‘Shit!' Emmett said. ‘Gotta go!'

‘Keep me posted!' I shouted back, not sure that Emmett had heard me, but I knew that he would do it anyway. I stared out the window as the heavens erupted, the rain falling so hard that water was rushing in streams through my driveway and yard already. I wondered about little Eli, if he was still alive and caught in this, or if his little body was being washed farther away, so far that we might never find it.

As the tree struck by lightning began to splinter, large limbs began to fall. Dalton grabbed Eli, his sister and Holly, wrapping his arms around all three and pushing them to the ground, using his large body to try to shield them. A limb hit Dalton in the back, its branch catching him on the head. He passed out. It took both Mary Ellen and Holly to get Dalton's unconscious body off Eli.

Eli, who some might say had had just about enough, was crying hysterically. Seeing that his mother was not responding, Holly picked him up in her arms and found an overhanging rock to sit under, leaving Dalton and his sister behind. The lightning rent the sky, the thunder exploded around them, and the rain was coming down so hard that Holly and her small charge were actually sitting in a puddle. They shivered and held each other tight, both knowing that their nightmare wasn't over yet.

Mary Ellen was confused. It was a state she was getting used to. She was very wet, her brother was lying dead or unconscious in front of her and the girl, Holly, had taken her son and run off. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do at this point. She figured her son should probably be her priority, but then she thought he might actually be better off with the girl. Then she thought that perhaps she should try to help Dalton, see if he was still alive. But her overwhelming concern at the moment, the thing she really wanted to take care of, was the wet. She just didn't want to be wet anymore.

Dalton moaned and Mary Ellen decided that he probably wasn't dead. She tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Dalton?' she shouted over the roar of the rain.

Dalton rolled onto his side, wiping mud from his eyes. ‘Mary Ellen?' he shouted back.

‘It's raining!' Mary Ellen yelled.

Dalton nodded his head. ‘Help me stand up?' he asked. Mary Ellen stood and held out her hand, helping Dalton to his feet. ‘Where are Eli and that girl?' Dalton yelled.

Mary Ellen shrugged her shoulders. ‘They took off after the tree hit you!' she shouted over the pounding rain.

As abruptly as the rain started, it stopped – at least to a drizzle – the absence of the sound of pounding rain a miracle in and of itself. From the trees came Holly, carrying Eli.

‘You two OK?' Dalton asked.

Holly nodded. ‘I thought you were dead.'

Dalton grinned his big, lopsided grin. ‘Kinda hard to kill me,' he said.

Holly smiled back. ‘Good, because I don't know where the heck we are and I'm afraid your sister's not much use.'

Dalton looked at Mary Ellen, who was smiling kindly at one and all.

‘Maybe you're right,' he said. ‘Mary Ellen?'

His sister turned to him. ‘Yes?'

‘You OK?' Dalton asked.

She shrugged. ‘What does that really mean?'

Dalton shrugged back and picked up his nephew in his arms. ‘Let's get out of here,' he said, leading the way.

Hearing a commotion from the woods, Emmett looked up to see a band of disreputable-looking people heading towards him. He noticed Dalton Pettigrew leading the pack. Looking at his junior deputy, Emmett asked, ‘Where are your shoes, boy? And your pants?'

Dalton grinned. ‘Long story,' he said.

I got a second call from Emmett about twenty minutes after the rain stopped.

‘Milt, you sitting down?' he asked.

I thought, Oh shit, and sat down on my living-room couch. ‘Give it to me,' I said.

‘Dalton just walked up to his sister's car, with his sister, his nephew and a pretty young lady I don't know in tow. Looks like all's well, Milt.'

And, for maybe the second – OK third – time in my adult life, I cried.

PART IV

WHODUNNIT?

TEN

I
made two calls first thing; the first was to Special Agent Lee Anne Carmody, telling her all was well; the second was to the physical therapy department of the rehab center where Emil Hawthorne had been in a coma for eight years. I needed to know if he was still around and still getting his physical therapy like he should be.

The call to Agent Carmody went about as I'd expected it would.

‘So, you fucked up but it turned out OK. That about it?' Agent Carmody asked.

‘Yep, that's about it,' I answered.

She laughed. ‘I swear to God, Kovak, you've got the luck of the Irish like nobody I've ever seen.'

‘And mostly I'm Polish, on my father's side. I think.'

‘Go figure,' she said and hung up.

The call to the rehab hospital in Chicago took a little bit longer. In fact, I had to finally get Jean to do it since she'd been on the staff at the hospital that ran the rehab center and her being a doctor seemed to carry more weight than me being a county sheriff in Oklahoma. As Agent Carmody would and did say, go figure.

The gist of it was that Emil Hawthorne's physical therapist, a guy named Burt Sanchez, hadn't seen Dr Hawthorne in over six weeks.