The Doberman continued to bark, and it sounded like he was closing in. Slogging through the cold water, Cole realized he was almost spent. He needed an area of limited access with protection at his back. Maybe a cave? Too dangerous. He needed a back door for escape.
Scanning the forest in quick snatches, he took his eye off his footing for a split second. His foot slipped off a smooth, wet stone in the streambed, and his boot lodged between two rocks. Pain shot through his ankle. Shit!
Cursing himself, he pulled his boot from where it was wedged and hobbled onward. Frigid water swirled up to his calves, numbing the pain. One moment of inattention could be the difference between life and death. Now he’d be forced to find a place to hole up.
Digging deep, Cole trudged uphill. He came upon another dead and decaying animal with a bolt in its ribcage, this time a deer. A crash behind him made him whirl. He prepared for the worst but spotted a buck coming through the trees. The large deer charged past and continued uphill.
He’s running from the dog, too.
Breath heaving, Cole stopped, deciding this was a good place to leave the water. As he went up the bank, he yanked the limber pine bough out of the back of his coverall and used it to wipe away his footprints. He rubbed the branch against the deer to load it with the scent of decomposition and repeated his action. After swiping his boots over the carcass a few times, he limped across slope, finding easier footing and hoping to catch his breath.
If he could ditch the dog, he might have a chance. He doubted Carmen could track him herself, but who knew? If only he could stay alive until darkness fell, maybe he could hike out to the road overnight. But first he needed to stabilize his ankle.
Pushing himself, he limped upslope at the fastest pace he could manage.
How fit was Carmen Santiago? Could she follow him up this severe grade at the pace he’d set? Was the Doberman still on a leash, or had she turned him loose to chase Cole through the forest?
The Doberman barked again, this time from a little farther away. Buoyed by hope that the buck had distracted the dog, Cole decided to keep pushing uphill. After a while, he spotted what he’d been searching for—a rocky cliff face that led up to a ridge. It looked like something he could scale, and it would afford a vantage point. The boulders would provide shelter from both front and back, and it would be steep enough to at least slow down the dog. He would climb close enough to the top to provide a back door getaway if he needed it.
Grabbing onto a handhold, he started to climb, gritting his teeth against the pain.
Chapter 29
With blue lights still flashing, Mattie’s SUV sped down the lane toward Dark Horse Stable. Her vehicle rocked as she came to a sudden stop beside Cole’s truck. It was sitting out front with its hood up.
“I wonder why he didn’t call home to let them know he was stuck up here with engine trouble,” Stella grumbled under her breath.
Mattie withheld her own frustration as she shut down her engine and stepped out of her vehicle. Brody, who’d followed in his cruiser, pulled up beside her and climbed out.
“This is the vet’s truck, right?” he said as he went directly to Cole’s truck and peered under its hood.
“Yes,” Mattie said.
“Shit! The battery cable’s cut.”
Mattie joined him at the front of the truck, Stella beside her, to see for herself. “Someone meant to keep him here,” she said, urgency growing inside her. She scanned the front of the barn. “The dog is gone.”
“What dog?” Brody asked.
“A Doberman they keep chained up out here,” Stella said.
As Stella spoke, Mattie headed for the back of her SUV and let Robo out of his cage. He jumped to the ground, waving his tail and looking up at her for direction. “Heel,” she told him, striding off toward the barn entrance and releasing her Glock in its holster.
Brody and Stella hurried to fall in beside her, loosening their service weapons as well. “What’s the plan?” Stella asked.
“There isn’t one,” Mattie said. “I have no idea what’s going on, but we’ve got to find out.”
“We could be walking into a trap.”
“Look for cover as soon as you get inside,” Brody said. “Take it if all hell breaks loose. Otherwise, we’ll stick together and question whoever we see first.”
Getting information from the first person they saw sounded fine to Mattie, but she planned to keep going until she was speaking directly to Cole Walker.
Robo stayed close to Mattie as they entered the building. She scanned the area for places to take shelter. Scarce—a wheelbarrow here, an open stall door there, a few piles of hay and straw. Feeling exposed, she continued down the alleyway, glancing at Robo to read his body language. He was alert and scanning the area, no raised hackles.
When she reached a room that was set up as an office, Mattie could see it was empty. “Let’s check the box stalls,” she told the others. “Spread out.”
Taking the side opposite the office, Mattie headed down the alley, peering into each doorway on her way. Inside one stall, she found a black horse lying stretched out on its side. She paused, staring at its bony frame to make sure it was still breathing. Its chest rose and fell in shallow, rapid breaths. She presumed this was the very sick horse Cole had mentioned.
Going farther down the alley, she came to a closed door. Robo nosed the doorway with interest, nudging it after he sniffed. His actions made her think that someone could be on the other side. Could it be Cole? Or Juan Fiero? She decided to err on the side of caution and drew her service weapon, releasing the safety.
She heard a low moan from the other side. Pushing Robo into a covered position against the wall, she told him, “Sit. Wait.”
Taking shelter at the wall beside Robo, she threw open the heavy door and waited a split second. When nothing happened, she peered into the room and spotted a man lying on the floor surrounded by stacks of hay bales. He raised one hand weakly as if beckoning for help.
“Down here,” she shouted to the others before entering the room. “Robo, heel.”
She could already tell that the man wasn’t Cole. It was Juan Fiero. And he was definitely in trouble. He stared at her with desperate eyes. Blood saturated his shirt below where the feathered end of a short, metal arrow was embedded in his right upper chest.
Pushing away the horrible image, she stayed focused. She knelt beside him and spoke quietly in Spanish. “Who did this to you?”
He wheezed as he tried to take a breath but could achieve little more than a shallow pant. “Carmen,” he whispered.
Mattie glanced up at Brody and then Stella as they entered the room. Robo crowded in closer and tried to sniff the arrow. “Get back,” she told him, nudging him away and leaning over the injured man. “Juan, where is Dr. Walker?”
“He ran.” Fiero panted for breath, and he spoke in English. “She wants to kill him.”
“That arrow must have collapsed his lung,” Stella said, drawing her cell phone from her pocket. “I’ll call for an ambulance.”
“I saw a landline in the office,” Mattie told her. “I doubt if there’s cell phone service up here. Call Sheriff McCoy, too.”
Stella left. Brody leaned forward. “What do you know about Adrienne Howard?” he asked.