Special Agent

“You sure?”

Max laid a hand gently on the boxer’s head and stroked between her ears. “Opal is positive. That’s good enough for me.”

“Okay. Thanks. I can’t believe you were already on scene when this happened. Is that some new FBI deduction technique that we haven’t heard of?”

Max chuckled. “Not hardly. I was here to follow up with the Garwoods regarding another case my team is working. What can you tell me about Vern Kowalski?”

“Not much.” The chief paused to radio instructions to an engine crew. “Pull down that west wall. I don’t want to see a rekindle and lose another barn.”

As soon as the man turned back to him Max asked, “Had you met Kowalski?”

“Briefly. The guy wanted to join our volunteers but he didn’t make the cut. Katerina seemed to like him, though.”

“I gathered, since she was going to marry him.”

“Yeah. I hope she’s gonna be okay. Nice girl. Her daddy’s a real piece of work, though. He was hard to get along with before he got elected mayor of South Fork. Now he’s impossible.”

“Any word on her condition?” Max asked, remembering her attempt to avoid treatment and her father’s unfeeling reaction to her condition. How could any parent see his child injured and just walk away?

“Not yet. We shipped her to the hospital in Mariposa. Paramedics said she could have a concussion. Hard to say without X-rays.”

“What became of Garwood? I know he was here for a while.” Max made a sour face. “He’s hard to ignore.”

“Yeah. Sheriff Tate took him off the property in a patrol car. They’re old buddies.”

“I see. Then I’ll talk to the Garwood I can find and head for Mariposa.” Max scanned the scene. “Just make sure your people bag and tag as many clues as possible. I’ll notify Quantico and have an agent pick up the evidence for processing.”

The chief didn’t look particularly pleased to share jurisdiction but didn’t argue. Instead, he nodded and returned to the smoldering wreckage.

Max was pouring fresh water into Opal’s bowl in the backseat as he checked in with Dylan at headquarters. “The ranch owner is AWOL at the moment so I’m going to follow up with the injured daughter, providing she’s conscious.”

“The one who was engaged to one of the men arrested in the Dupree sweep?”

“Yup. That’s the one.”

“Just watch your back,” Dylan cautioned. “I don’t care how idyllic it looks up there, you’re in more danger than a gold prospector defending himself against claim-jumpers back in ’49.”

Max had to smile. “I have Opal and a cell phone and radio, and I’m armed. I’m covered.”

“The dog will always work but don’t count on electronics if you get down in some of those deep valleys. Besides, the Duprees play rough.”

“I know. Thanks,” he said, ending the call and drawing his fingers down the ridge of the old scar remaining on his left cheek as he recalled the events originally surrounding that injury five years before. Max knew that nobody lived forever, but he simply could not accept the premature death of a child on his watch. Worse, he had unknowingly contributed to that disaster by trusting the boy’s father when the man vowed he’d cut all ties with the drug culture.

Clenching his jaw, he shoved aside the painful memory. If that senseless tragedy had taught him anything, it was to be far less gullible. No one had fooled him since, nor would they do so in the future. Criminal minds were devious in myriad ways. All he had to do was keep himself from accepting anything—or anybody—at face value without concrete proof of innocence.

Take the Garwoods, for example. The young woman he was on his way to see may have looked harmless but she was so unnaturally nervous he was having second thoughts about her. It was hard to attribute all that angst to a strained relationship with her father. Yes, the man was vindictive, but lots of people experienced difficult family situations without quaking in their boots. A more likely scenario was that Katerina knew about the bomb and had miscalculated the timing.

The worst kinds of criminals were the ones who were able to fake innocence so well. Katerina might have fooled the firefighter he’d spoken with but Max would not be as naive. He had not risen to a command position on his team by letting himself be tricked by pretty faces or sweet smiles.

He didn’t care if the whole world thought he was inflexible and opinionated. He did his job. And he never lost focus. Not anymore.

* * *

Katerina was exhausted. She’d been poked, prodded, x-rayed and scanned. All she wanted to do at the moment was sleep despite the nurses who kept coming into her room and waking her to check her vitals.

The door to the hospital room made a swooshing sound as it opened. She squeezed her eyes shut against the bright overhead lighting. “I’m awake. Please let me rest.”

The ceiling-mounted curtain was pulled to isolate her bed. Someone’s latex-covered hand clamped hard over her mouth and she tasted fresh blood from the cut on her lip. Tightening her muscles sent pulses of pain shooting through Katerina’s battered back. She tore at the glove and tried to see who was attacking her but a ski mask covered his features. A harshly whispered warning came next, “Stop fighting.” She tried. Panic argued against it. All she could manage was to hold a little more still after he planted a heavy arm across her chest.

“Don’t scream.”

Although she managed a weak nod she was not agreeing. This was a busy hospital. If she could manage to shout, even once, help was bound to arrive. Hopefully, it would be enough for a rescue.

The gloved hand eased its pressure. The arm lifted. Trembling, Katerina froze and stared at the figure hovering over her bed. He seemed tall, although it was hard to tell for sure when she was lying down. What she could see of his bare arms beyond the short sleeves of the faded green scrub outfit he wore told her he was tanned but not unusually so. If she’d been able to see his hands they would have given her a better idea of whether he worked inside or on a ranch or farm.

Should she speak at all? she wondered. If he was planning to kill her, surely he wouldn’t have awakened her first. But why bother her at all? Why was any of this happening? She gritted her teeth in frustration.

“Vern sent me,” the man gritted out.

Anger mingled with her fear. So that was it. “Why?”

He didn’t answer. She could see the rapid blinking of his eyes through the holes in the mask as he swiveled his head nervously. Finally, he reached for the IV needle taped to her arm and started to pull it out. “It’s too dangerous for me here. You and I are leaving.”

Katerina pushed his hand away, took a deep breath and screamed, “No. Help!” at the top of her lungs.

Her attacker jumped away as if he’d been shot with a Taser. At that moment she wished she had one to make it real.

He lunged to cover her mouth once more, but she evaded him by rolling to the side. “Help me!”

The physical pressure lifted. Katerina continued to shriek with primal fear, no longer articulate.

A hand touched her shoulder. Voices mingled.

When she turned her head there were two nurses at her bedside, one blond, one graying and motherly looking.

Katerina peered past them. “Where did he go?”

“Who, dear?”

“The man. He had a mask on and he—”

“You’ve been through a severe trauma,” the blond nurse interjected. “We can’t give you a stronger sedative just yet, because of your head injury, but the doctor said we could take the edge off your pain. You may be having a delayed reaction to what happened to you or to the IV meds. I’ll report it to him.”

“I am not hallucinating,” Katerina insisted hoarsely. “There was a strange man right here in this room. He threatened me.” She lost hope when she saw the nurses exchange knowing glances.

“All right. Just lie back and rest,” the motherly one said, patting Katerina’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll be released soon. In the meantime, one of us will be close by. Use your call button if you need anything.”

“You’re not even going to look for the guy, are you?”

“As I said, we’ll report your symptoms to your physician, dear.”

Meaning, they still thought she’d been hallucinating or dreaming. Was it possible? No, she concluded. A trick of her brain would not have made her cracked lip bleed again. There had been a man’s hand pressed over her mouth. And he’d intended to take her away with him.

Vern was in jail. So who had accosted her?

* * *

Max knocked before entering Katerina’s room accompanied by a nurse. He’d expected to see her in bed but had not anticipated the reaction he got. She took one look at him, fisted her sheet and gathered it up under her chin like a shield. Her skin was pale, her mouth slightly swollen and her eyes reddened and puffy as if she’d been crying.

He hesitated, raw emotion churning through him. despite outward calm “The staff says you’ve been having a rough time, Ms. Garwood. Do you remember who I am?”

“FBI. You were there when the barn exploded.”

“Right. I looked after you until the ambulance arrived. How are you feeling?” he asked gently. “Are you up to finishing our conversation?”

As he watched, Katerina tried to raise herself into a sitting position and blanched. She looked ill beyond her injuries. Max beat the nurse to her bedside and steadied her. “Easy.”

With the weight of her shoulders resting on his arm, Katerina sighed. “Sorry. I forgot myself for a second. It’s been a rough day.”

Max stepped back as the nurse raised the head of her bed slightly, and then he asked, “Better now? Or do you need a few more minutes?”

“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t try to move too quickly.” She eyed the young nurse in the background. “Would it be possible for us to talk alone?”

Max nodded. “I see no problem with that. Leave the door ajar on your way out, please,” he told the nurse. As soon as she had left he took out a small digital recorder, clicked it on and renewed his interest in the patient. “What can you tell me about the incident at the ranch this morning?”

“Me? You were there, too. I don’t know any more about it than you do. One minute I was yelling back at you and the next thing I knew I was knocked off my feet.” Her voice softened a notch. “Thanks for looking after me.”

“You’re welcome. Now think. Did you see or hear anything unusual earlier?”

Her brow furrowed. “No. I wasn’t actually there for very long. I’d just stopped by to pick up the last of my clothes and things. I told you that.”

“I understand you no longer live there.”

“No. I don’t. My father was so angry when Vern was arrested for smuggling and distributing drugs he blamed me for ruining the family reputation and threw me out.”

Max struck a pseudo-relaxed pose. “And you’re surprised by that? It was pretty risky to keep company with a lowlife like Kowalski in the first place. You must have suspected he’d eventually be caught.”

“I had no idea he was a crook.”

That he didn’t believe for a second. “You were supposed to be marrying the man. How could you possibly not have known?”

“Because he was slick and because I was naive, I guess.” Her cheeks warmed visibly and his chest constricted when he saw moisture glistening behind her lashes. But he reminded himself he had a job to do. “Look,” Katerina went on, “I’m not stupid. I actually have a pretty decent IQ. But Vern wasn’t like the other men I’d met. He said all the right things at the right times and I fell for him. How was I to know he was using my father’s horse business as a cover to distribute drugs?”

“Intuition? Didn’t Kowalski ever say or do anything that made you suspicious before he was arrested?”

“No.” She broke eye contact. “Later.”

Aha! Now they were finally making progress. “When?”

“Promise you won’t look at me like I’m a horse short of a full team?”

“Yes. Go on, Ms. Garwood.”

“When I had a scare earlier this afternoon, the nurses said I imagined everything and blamed it on my injury and pain medicine.”

Leaning closer, Max listened carefully. “Is that what you think?”

“No. Well, maybe. I know I was terrified. I was drifting in and out of consciousness when somebody clamped a hand over my mouth and told me not to struggle.”

“Here?” Every instinct in him was on alert. “They told me you’d been having nightmares but what you claim is highly unlikely.”

“I know,” Katerina agreed. “The nurses who came after I shouted for help insisted I’d been dreaming. I’ve started thinking they may be right. It’s just that my lip bled and hurt more afterward and I can’t see any other reason for that much physical change, not even my screaming when I got so scared.”

“Describe your assailant.”

She huffed. “Pick up any mystery novel and you’ll know. Ski mask, hospital clothes and gloves. No prints, no ID, no nothing. He wasn’t as tall as you are and not as muscular, but...”

“Okay. What makes you think he had anything to do with Kowalski?”

“Because he told me Vern sent him,” Katerina said haltingly. “I—I thought he was going to kidnap me. That’s when I started yelling.”

Max gave her the kind of stern, menacing look he usually reserved for perps he was grilling. “You didn’t want to go with a friend of your fiancé?”

He saw her fists clench. “No.”

“Because he scared you?”

Despite the obvious discomfort of pushing herself up with her elbows, she met his severe gaze with one of her own. “No,” she almost shouted before lowering her voice, her throat raw. “Because I am an honest person and I want nothing to do with criminals, their friends or their disgusting business. When is everybody going to get that straight?”

The glistening of her unshed tears was more convincing than her insistence. Either she was a great actress or she was truly upset.

Max stood and backed away to make a call. He arranged to have the police check recent activity on the security cameras monitoring the halls and place a guard outside Katerina’s room for the night. Then he returned to her. “When you’re released from here I’ll come back and drive you home. Then, if you’re up to it, I’d like to take you back to the ranch and walk you through exactly what you did before I arrived.” He handed her a business card after jotting his private cell number on it. “Call me when you’re ready to go.”

“What if I refuse to take orders from you and arrange my own ride?”

“I don’t advise it.”

Katerina nodded. “I’ll call, but not because you’re scowling at me. And not because I’m guilty of anything and hope to fool you. I’ll call because you believe there really was a stranger in my room when everybody else insists I’m crazy.”

THREE

In retrospect, Katerina was not keen on asking the taciturn federal agent for a ride home the following day. The problem was, she had few other options. Her poor pickup truck was probably toast after the barn blew up and except for a few friends who worked in town and maybe the ranch foreman, there was nobody she felt she could call. Heath McCabe would be in deep trouble with her dad if she asked him, so she did the sensible thing and dialed Max West’s private number.

“West.”

“Um, hi. It’s Katerina Garwood. They’ve discharged me and I need a ride if your offer is still open.”

“Of course. Did you have a quiet night?”

“As quiet as it gets in a hospital,” she said with a wry smile.

“Understood. I can be there in twenty. Does that work?”

“Yes, I think I’ll last that long. I’d walk down to the cafeteria for a latte if I wasn’t still a little dizzy.”

“Are you sure you’re okay to leave?”

It was refreshing to hear genuine concern reflected in his question. “The doctor says I am so I’m going. This is not a fun place. I want out.”

“Hang tight. I’m on my way.”

She wanted to tell him how truly thankful she was that he’d made himself available but did not. Her instinct to trust had been so ravaged by Vern’s betrayal and her father’s rejection she couldn’t rely on her instincts. Not yet. Besides, considering all she’d learned about law enforcement in the past few months, Max was probably only being nice to her in order to catch whoever had menaced her or set the bomb at the ranch. Or because he still had doubts about her innocence. Given his job and her background, she figured the agent would become even more suspicious if she acted overly friendly.

Katerina let her thoughts wander as she perched on the edge of the bed in the too-big green scrub outfit the nurses had provided. Her own clothes were ruined. The back of the shirt she’d been wearing looked as if it had been blasted with a shotgun, as her tender shoulder blades kept reminding her. Jeans were tougher but hers were so dirty she’d refused to put them on. Her leather cowboy boots were about the only thing she could still wear, although they slipped without thick socks.

“I should fix my hair,” she muttered, wondering why it mattered when she wasn’t meeting anyone but Agent West. Nevertheless, she slid off the bed, took a second to steady herself, then made her way to the bathroom mirror. Nurses had helped her shower and the hospital had provided a comb but her long, wavy hair resisted efforts to tame it. Pulling on tangles made her scalp hurt unless she carefully held each portion, so the job took a while and was less than perfect. Well, too bad. If her volunteer taxi driver didn’t approve, so what?

That hostile attitude not only struck her as wrong, it made her blush. Whatever his motives, Max was no chauffeur. He was going out of his way to be nice to her. The least she could do was try to look presentable.

A knock on the door startled her. She steadied her balance on the sink and called, “Come in.”

One look at him today, when she was fully lucid and aware, took her breath away. Not only was he tall and ruggedly handsome, his dark blue uniform shirt fit the way it should, displaying a powerful form with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, unlike many men his age. How old was he? she wondered. It was impossible to tell, although her best guess put him somewhere in his early thirties. Definitely not over-the-hill. Far from it.

Max acknowledged her with a brief nod. “Ready?”

“Absolutely.” She began to move toward him, hiking up her sagging scrubs as the pants started to slip.

He eyed her. “Nice outfit.”

“The boots are mine. The rest is borrowed.”

He cleared his throat but Katerina still heard the chuckle he was trying to mask when he said, “Glad they had your size.”

“I could fit two of me and a couple of the ranch dogs in here at the same time,” she quipped, stopping and spreading her arms to better display the two-piece scrub ensemble. That was an error. The room started to tilt and she made a grab for the doorjamb. “Whoa.”

Beside her in a fraction of a second, Max caught her around the waist. “Easy. You sure you’re ready to leave?”

“I’m signed out and everything. Just had my chickens scattered, as Mom used to say.”

“Your parents are divorced?” He was guiding her toward the open door.

“No. My mother passed away when I was fourteen. That’s when I started putting all my efforts into training horses.”

“So, last year?”

Katerina knew he was teasing to try to lift her spirits and played along. “I’m twenty-two, going on forty, which my file should tell you.” Leaning on his big, strong arm as they walked, she asked, “How about you?”

Max gave her a wry smile. “Older than dirt.”

“That old, huh?”

Pausing at the doorway he looked back. “Do you have anything to take with you? Meds or bandages or anything?”

“Just that plastic sack of ruined clothing at the foot of the bed. Since I’m on a tight budget I need to try to salvage the jeans.”

Making sure she was well balanced, he fetched the bag and picked up where they’d left off. They were almost to the exit when a nurse spotted them and tsk-tsked. “You’re supposed to leave in a wheelchair, ma’am. We don’t want you falling.”

“As you can see I’m in good hands,” Katerina said, smiling and leaning her head toward her stalwart companion, genuinely glad he was by her side.

It wasn’t until they left the hospital and she saw his formidable black SUV that she sobered. Lighthearted moments aside, there was big trouble in the little towns in and around historic gold country. First there had been the drug busts and now somebody was setting off bombs. Other incidents had been reported on the local news so she knew her family ranch was not the only target. The question was, did somebody destroy the barn as retribution for her former ties to Vern? It was certainly possible, and terribly disconcerting.

She remained silent as Max helped her into the SUV. Above all, she wanted him to find the perpetrator and put him in jail.

And not blame an innocent bystander. Like her.

“So, where do you live?” Max asked casually.

She arched an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t already know? That’s not very comforting.”

“Okay, I know,” he said with a smile, flicking a brief glance across the seat at her. “I figured you might have a shortcut or better way to get there. These winding roads are hard on Opal.”

“Who?”

“My K-9 partner. She usually rides closer to me but I put her in her portable kennel box in the back when I have a passenger. You’d have met her if you hadn’t been knocked unconscious.”

“Oh, I love dogs! Is she a German shepherd?”

“No. And don’t you dare laugh. She’s a boxer.”

“A what?”

“You heard me. I get teased almost everywhere we go. She’s really great at detecting bombs but people are more used to seeing breeds with longer noses.”

“No kidding. Why in the world would they train a boxer for that? I mean, they can’t have as keen a sense of smell with such a short muzzle.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“I’d like to meet her. Dogs and horses were my best friends while I was growing up. There’s a darling black lab at the ranch that I’d adopt in a heartbeat if Dad would let me.” She hesitated, seeming sad. “So, tell me more about your dog. How old is she and how long have you had her?”

“She’s about four. My team has begun rescuing at least one pup for every mission we go on and we don’t rule out any capable canine, purebred or mutt. Opal’s a good example of hidden talent. She showed aptitude for detecting explosives and hearing or smelling electronics such as detonators, et cetera, so she was trained and assigned to work with me.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “We’re not master and dog, we’re partners. We both have badges. I just happen to be the only one with a driver’s license and a gun.”

Katerina chuckled quietly. “That’s comforting.” Pointing to an upcoming turn, she said, “May as well take 49 and double back a little. My place is between here and the ranch.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t ask more about the horses in that burning barn.” He was surreptitiously watching her expression and most likely wondering if he would find out more than she intended to reveal.

“Heath had Moonlight and her stablemates in the trailer, remember?”

“Yeah. Handy.”

“What was?”

“That that barn was totally empty when the bomb went off.”

“You don’t think Heath was responsible, do you? I mean, he’s been with the family since he was a teenager. I trust him like an uncle.”

He hardened his jaw. “What about your father? Could he have needed insurance settlement money?”

“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then you realize who that leaves.” His gaze was telling, as it was meant to be.

“Me? No way. I’d never endanger people or animals. How many times do I have to say it? I am one of the good guys.”

“Until I believe it.” Another sidelong glance caught her evident consternation.

“I don’t care if you believe me or not, Mr. Big Important Government Agent, except that you’re wasting time. Instead of harassing me you should be out looking for whoever is really behind the bombing, not to mention the lowlife who tried to grab me from the hospital.”