The Widows of Wichita County

December 18

Dawn

Montano Ranch

An icy sunrise sparkled against the windows, reflecting the shafts of dawn light. Zack jerked, reacting to the front door rattling a moment before Anna could pull fully awake. He moved while she was still trying to figure out where shc was. A warm blanket covered her and the warmth of Zack's nude body molded against her side still warmed her. He was not in her dreams; he definitely was in her house.

He turned his head into her wild hair. "Anna! Anna you are in my arms. I thought I might be dreaming."

The memories of the night washed over her groggy brain. They had made love like two awkward fools the first time She accidentally shoved her elbow into his eye, he pulled her hair, they bumped noses. They laughed and apologized and made up.

The second time, they got it right. And the third had been heaven. She knew it then, deep inside, all the way to her soul. They were meant for one another. They would be together until they were both too old to remember what they had done this night.

The door to the kitchen rattled, then opened.

Zack jumped off the couch, waking Anna fully in his haste. He had his pants pulled on by the time Carlo reached the great room.

"I made it back early. The horses were not…"Carlo stopped as he looked into the great room.

For a moment Anna's brother stood there as if he had turned to stone. Snow sparkled in his hair and two days of utubble covered his face.

Slowly, his entire body swelled in rage.

Zack stepped in front of Anna as she frantically searched for her blouse. "Now hold on, Carlo."

Anna watched anger building in Carlo like steam in a boiler. Zack looked worried, but not frightened.

"We can talk about this," Zack tried again.

Carlo did not look like he planned to reason.

"I don't blame you for being upset." Zack pulled his shirt across his shoulders. "But she's a grown woman who knows her own mind. It's time you let go of some of that brotherly guard."

Anna agreed but could not get her voice past the fear blocking her breathing. She stared at Carlo.

Suddenly, Carlo came at Zack like a wild bull in full charge.

"I will kill you!" he screamed as he landed a blow against Zack's ribs before Zack could react.

Zack was better prepared for the second blow, but only defended himself and did not strike out at the man who might soon be his brother-in-law.

After a few more assaults, Zack must have known Carlo planned to make good on his promise, so he started hitting back.

Anna screamed, knowing she had to help, had to stop this before one of the two men were dead. Begging her brother to stop, she moved closer.

Zack glanced at her. He seemed to be saying, "It's all right. I can take care of myself. Don't worry, Anna. Don't be afraid."

But before he could say anything, Carlo landed another blow hard against Zack's jaw.

"Hold on!" Zack tried reason one last time. "There is no need…"

Anna stepped between Zack and her brother as Carlo raised his fist once more. She cried, pleading with Carlo in two languages for she knew he would not stop until Zack was dead. She begged for his life.

Carlo's fist flew into the side of her face, knocking her off the ground. She tumbled against the hearth like a broken doll.

"I will deal with you later!" he yelled. The toe of his boot slammed into her middle, sending her rolling again, into the brick. "I will make it so you will never leave this house again. I will see that no one ever looks at you again."

Anna watched knowing Zack was not a fighter. He told her that, except for a few times when he had been drunk, he had never hit anyone in his life.

But he fought now. He fought for his life. He fought for Anna.

He plowed blow after blow into Carlo's stout body, paying no mind that Carlo hit him back, no pain seemed to matter. They rolled across the room, toppling chairs, breaking tables and lamps. Carlo swore at him in two languages and laughed each time he drew blood.

Zack tripped over the rug and hit the floor with a thud. He tried to stand but the fight was taking its toll.

Anna watched in horror as Carlo lifted a wrought-iron floor lamp high like a weapon.

The first blow slammed into the side of Zack's head. The second into his rib cage. Each drew blood.

"No!" Anna screamed. "N-no! Put it down. You will kill him!"

Wiping the blood from his eyes, Zack tried to block the next assault, but Carlo swung the lamp once more.

Anna pulled herself up on the hearth, feeling the hits as if they were on her body and not Zack's. Blindly, she grabbed the Colt Carlo had left for her. With shaking hands she pointed it toward her brother.

Carlo laughed without fear. "Say goodbye to your lover, Anna! You will not see him again in this lifetime." He raised the lamp higher to make sure the impact would crush his bones.

Zack fought to get out of the way but he was fading in and out of consciousness.

The lamp started toward his head.

A shot rang out.

The world shifted to slow motion with the sudden explosion. Carlo looked surprised, then turned his anger toward his sister. The lamp fell from his hands tumbling against Zack's legs.

"Anna," Zack managed to whisper before he fell backward.

The wide-open Texas land had an edge to it, never quite calm. It bred risk takers like white water breeds danger. Generations descended from desperadoes, wildcatters and gamblers.

December 18

8:00 a.m.

Sherrif's Office County Courthouse

Granger wasn't sure which he hated most: ice, or people who thought they could drive on it. He'd been on the roads once before dawn and finally found a minute to check in with the office. Inez was on the morning shift, but busy on the phone. Granger figured he'd do some paperwork and let Adam handle the roads for a while. He would send Inez home to read her spy novels on her own time.

When he walked through the door, he heard Inez scream, "911 coming in!" If her voice had been a little lower, she would have made a great extra in a WWI film. The whole battlefield could have heard her yell.

Calls to the department were common, but folks never used 911 unless it was something horrible or somebody had died. Even then it was usually natural causes or an accident so the hospital handled the call, because things like murder never happened in Clifton Creek. The last emergency call that came through had been the oil rig fire several months `go.

"Montano Ranch!" Inez yelled with her hand over the bottom half of the phone. "There's been a shooting and a rape!"

Granger grabbed the extra phone. "Sheriff Farrington…"

He didn't get time to say more before the caller was shouting.

Granger knew it was Carlo Vangetti by the accent. He had talked to Carlo enough months back to remember his voice well. "Calm down, Carlo. We're on our way. Yes, we'll bring an ambulance."

Inez was already on the other line giving the hospital instructions to send out Will, the only full-time medic in town,

"Trouble at the Montano place again. Trouble again."

Granger hung up his phone. "Get any details you can. Call Adam and tell him to back me up. The dented fend will have to wait."

Inez nodded, her spy novel forgotten.,

Hitting the lights and siren buttons, Granger sped out of the parking lot. He knew Inez would get calls about all the noise, but he didn't want to lose a second. He flew past Meredith pulling into work, her car clanking and sputtering, as always.

The roads were bad, but once he hit the Farm-to-Market cutoff, it was a straight shot to the Montano place. The ambulance lights blinked in his rearview mirror, a half mile behind.

A dozen men who looked as if they worked on the ranch stood around in front of the main house as the sheriff pulled up.

Granger jumped from his car. "What happened?"

"Don't know," one of the men said. "I thought I heard a shot, but there was no answer when I knocked. Carlo would be real upset if we bothered Mrs. Montano for no reason."

Ignoring questions, Granger ran up the steps and pounded the front door. "Carlo! You in there?" He thought he heard a yell but the place was like a fort.

Granger stormed around the side of the house and tried the door near the garage. None of the men followed. They acted as though some invisible line prevented their stepping any further.

The side door opened. Granger turned and waved the ambulance onto the driveway, then stepped inside.

He crossed the kitchen and noticed Carlo leaning against the wall with the phone clenched in his fist. Dark blood spots from his body had marked the wall in several places. Adrenaline must have been shooting like wildfire through his veins, for he talked as fast as he could in two languages.

But none of it made any sense. His normally dark skin was pale. He must have lost a great deal of blood, but a fire still smoldered in him as if he had one more battle yet to fight. "Settle down." Granger tried to stay calm, but Carlo's panic bombarded him. Blood dripped from several spots on his face and arms. His knuckles were raw, and his left pant leg was soaked in crimson.

Granger put his arm around Carlo and tried to maneuver him to a chair, but the stout man would not cooperate.

"He must have broken in sometime last night!" Carlo yelled beyond the kitchen to the huge living room as though someone else needed to hear him besides the sheriff. "He was beating Anna when I checked on her this morning. Then the bastard shot me."

"Who?"

"Zack Laison." Carlo looked like he wanted to spit the words out. "That worthless rancher from next door. Davis never liked the man. I should have been more careful about leaving Anna alone. It is my fault."

The boys from the hospital banged in through the door with supply boxes and a stretcher. Will was the only hospital employee who drove the ambulance, and Granger wonded if he didn't sleep in the back on one of the stretchers. Will had talked the nursing program at the college into requiring each of their students to volunteer shifts to help him, so there was always a kid or two with him.

Will took one look at Carlo and nodded toward Granger as if silently saying he would take over now.

"Where is Anna?" Granger tried to get Carlo to look ü him. After seeing her brother, Granger did not want to think about what shape she might be in.

Carlo did not answer. He swatted at Will and his assistants as though they were flies bothering him.

"We need to find her and get her to the hospital."Granger tried to get past Carlo. "I'll worry about Larson later."

Carlo grabbed Farrington's shirt with bloody hands.

"She is fine! Wants to be left alone. Do not touch her, or I swear I will…"

"Now settle down, Carlo. No one else is going to hurt your sister. I just need to have her checked out for injuries and get her statement." Granger pulled out of Carlo's grip.

"I will give you her statement." Carlo shouted as Will and the two volunteers moved in on him.

Granger ignored him. While the medic examined Carlo cuts and wound, the sheriff stepped into the great room.,he had been here before, after Davis Montano's funeral. The place reminded him more of a hotel lobby than a home.

Now, it was a wreck. He had seen bar fights that left a room in more order. Sunlight knifed its way through the east windows, slicing the room in sections. A quilt lay crumpled on the couch, clothes were scattered across the floor, Travis Tritt's voice echoed through the rubble from speakers, mounted high on every wall.

The smell of blood blended with the scent of a püion fire burned low.

Granger almost tripped over a body in the shadows.!`Guys, we got another man hurt in here," he shouted toward will.

"Let him bleed to death!" Carlo yelled. "He raped my sister!"

Granger knelt and touched Zack's throat. He was still alive, though judging from the wounds he wouldn't be for long if he didn't get attention.

Carlo struggled with the two young men trying to get him on a gurney. "If you put that man in the ambulance with me, I will finish killing him before I get to the hospital. I swear."

Granger saw Will jab a shot into Carlo's arm. "Just relax, friend. We're going to take care of you." Will motioned, instructing his two assistants.

Carlo jerked away with the last of his strength. "I do not want you to take care of me. I want you to hang Zack Larlon. He tried to kill me. He hurt my sister."

Will and his helpers were used to handling drunks and cowboys at the rodeo. Before Carlo could react, they rolled him onto the gurney and strapped him in.

The medic signaled for the assistants to get the patient to the ambulance while he hurried to Granger's side. "Is Larson alive?"

"For now."

While he shouted orders to the young men now outside, Will cracked open his tool box of medical supplies. He worked like a pro. "I'll get him stable and to the hospital. He's had a bad blow or two to the head. Which puts him in a great deal more danger than that Italian with a nickel's worth of lead in his leg."

"What about Carlo's threat? Can you transport them both?"

"The shot I gave Vangetti will keep him sleeping like a baby for a while." Will grinned. "We'll give him a local and take care of that leg. The only danger he's in is dying of a heart attack if he doesn't calm down."

As one assistant returned, Granger stood and looked around the room.

"Anna!" he called. "Anna!" He walked carefully, afraid he might stumble over her also. If Carlo was telling the truth she could be hurt or even dead.

He noticed the gun on the hearth and let out a long breath. If she'd been assaulted and was armed, it could be dangrous. Most of these ranches had several guns around the place.

"Anna." Granger moved through the house. "Mrs. Montaro, it's all over. You can come out now. You're safe."

He'd worked enough rapes in years past to know that the last person a victim wanted to see was a man. Anna might know him, but Granger doubted she would trust him. Maybe the uniform would help her know she was no longer in danger. The lady didn't like talking before, and after what might have happened to her, he held little hope she would give him a statement.

"Anna?"

The master bedroom was locked, but he heard her whimpering. "Anna. Are you all right?"

"G-go a-away." Her voice was so low he barely heard it.

"I'm here to help you, Anna. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Open the door." In a big city he might have been more insistent, telling her she was a witness and if she didn't cooperate she could be held in contempt of court. But in Clifton Creek that kind of thing wouldn't fly. He had to be careful.

"I-I'm all right. Go away."

"I just need to ask you a few questions."

A silence followed. He could hear her moving toward the door.

"Open the door," he said, leaning against the wood.

"N-no," she whispered from the other side.

"I can help you."

There was a long pause before the door opened a few inches. "I-is Zack still alive?"

"Yes. We're taking him and your brother to the hospital. You want to ride along with me?" Granger wanted to push the door open, but he couldn't frighten her more.

She raised her head slightly and he saw the bruises. It lurked like Zack Larson had done a thorough job of beating her. "G-go away. I-I will be fine."

Granger couldn't force Anna to cooperate. She was like a frightened animal who'd been wounded.

"If we're going to file charges on the man who did this to you, we're going to need your help."

"G-go away." She closed the door. A moment later the lock snapped in place.

Granger heard Adam's voice coming from the living room. The deputy had made good time.

He hated leaving Anna, but he wasn't sure he was doing any good.

They were rolling Zack out when Granger stepped back Into the main room. "You want me to wait for the woman?" Will asked. "We've got a nurse over in the next county that can do a rape exam."

"I'll bring her," Granger said. "Adam, see if you can get Helena Whitworth on the phone. Maybe Anna will go in with a friend by her side."

Adam stumbled over a lamp. He had been a deputy long enough to wear out several uniforms and outgrow a few.

"And be careful," Granger snapped. "We got a crime scene here, and I'm not at all sure what happened." Something bothered him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Carlo's account didn't fit the facts.

"Breaking and entering. Rape. Attempted murder. Zack Larson won't be seeing freedom any time soon," Adam mumbled as he headed for the phone on the kitchen wall. He carried an attitude that said he had seen it all during his years as deputy and already knew who was guilty.

"Thanks." Granger frowned. "Saved us a lot of time sifting through this mess. How about we just go hang him like Carlo suggested?"

"That would be too good for him, hurting a fine lady like Mrs. Montano." Adam shook his head. "I remember back several years ago when Larson wasn't even out of high school. Caused all kinds of trouble. Appears he hasn't changed his stripes."

Granger memorized the room as Adam tried several numbers to find Helena Whitworth. The gun was too far to have fallen from Zack's hand and Zack didn't look like he could have been in any condition to circle the room after he'd shot Carlo.

Will stepped back inside to grab his box of supplies.

Granger followed a hunch. "Bag his hands for me, Will."

"Which one, Carlo or Zack?"

"Both. I'll be in as soon as I can to run a powder test."

Will waved and disappeared out the door.

"No luck," Adam yelled from the kitchen. "I talked with Mrs. Whitworth's daughter at the store. She said her mommi might have taken the phone off the hook to sleep in."

"Try Meredith Allen at the courthouse." Granger frowned. "No, wait. I'll call her."

He took a breathe before saying, "Meredith, this is Granger. I need you to come out to the Montano Ranch. I want you to drive carefully, but get here as fast as you can."

Granger hung up the phone.

"What'd she say?" Adam asked.

"She said she's on her way."

Adam didn't look like he believed the sheriff. "Didn't she ask any questions? Like what was going on? Or why we'd want her out here in the middle of nowhere on a cold day like this?"

"She knew I wouldn't have asked if I hadn't needed her." Granger smiled to himself. "You'd better head to the hospital. As of right now, Zack Larson is in our custody. Don't let him out of your sight. I don't want anyone talking to him when he comes to. Understand? No one."

"You got it, chief." Adam headed out. "Do I smell overtime'?"

"Looks that way. Call Inez on your radio and see if she can get hold of someone from campus security. Maybe Phil can handle the calls coming into our office until we get this settled. With the college out for holidays he's not doing anything but circling empty buildings. And tell Inez to order lunch delivered on me. She's to stay on the desk until I get back."

"She'll have time to finish a whole book." Adam laughed an he casually saluted goodbye.

Granger watched him leave as he retrieved his equipment from the trunk of his patrol car. Using the kitchen table, he spread out everything he would need. By the time Meredith arrived, he had already taken a dozen pictures and collected samples of blood. He'd also bagged one of the iron lamps that had blood and hair on it as well as the small Colt.

Meredith took one look at the room and whispered "Anna?"

"I don't think she's hurt bad, but I need to get her examined at the hospital." Granger hated telling Meredith, but he needed her help. "Her brother said Zack Larson raped her this morning."

He wasn't sure how he had expected Meredith to act. Cry probably. Maybe even fall apart. But she didn't. For the first time, he saw it. The steel inside her. The teacher who must have wiped bloody noses and cleaned up after sick children a thousand times. The one who had to be calm, no matter what the chaos.

"You can handle this, can't you?" He met her gaze.

She nodded and he realized behind the reindeer sweater and necklace of Christmas lights was a soldier who had faced the front and lived to tell about it.

"Her face is bruised." He led Meredith down the hallway "If you suspect any other injuries, we need to deal with their first. Try not to handle her clothes any more than necessary. They're evidence. And get her to tell you what happened if you can."

Granger tapped on the door. "Anna, Meredith Allen here to see you."

The bolt clicked open.

Meredith stared at him as she turned the knob. "I'll worry about Anna first and your evidence second." She stepped into the room before he had time to say more.

He watched as she knelt beside Anna and opened her arms. Without a word, Anna leaned toward Meredith and hugged her tightly.

For a long while he heard Anna's crying and Meredith's soft, comforting words as he went about the careful job collecting details. There was no sign of forced entry, but Granger knew few ranchers bothered to lock their doors.

His pager sounded, blinking the hospital number.

"Adam," Granger said, when he finally got the deputy.

"Sheriff," Adam's voice sounded relieved. "I was afraid you had trouble with the snow and ice. I thought you'd be here by now."

Granger hadn't bothered to look out. When he glanced through the kitchen window, he was surprised to see huge snowflakes covering the ground. "We're still here. Mrs. Montano hasn't agreed to come in yet. How are Zack and Carlo?"

"Carlo is being prepped for surgery. The bullet's lodged just behind his knee. Doctor wants him to spend a night, maybe two. That's if everything goes all right with the removal.".

"Zack's too full of painkillers to say much. He took twenty stitches across his skull and another five over an eyebrow. Somebody hit him with something besides a fist to do that kind of damage. He's also got a couple of cracked ribs."

"When can we move him to a jail cell?" Granger was more worried about someone getting to Larson than Larson running away. The roughnecks, the ranch hands, someone might decide to make him pay back once word got out that Anna had been raped.

"Doctor says he can go tomorrow morning if nothing's still bleeding." Adam hesitated. "I might be able to take him out to the county jail after the sun's up, but with this snow, it's not going to be an easy drive. And you know how they hate checking people in on Sunday."

Granger knew what Adam was thinking. But taking his chances against the storm seemed easier than trying to watch all the doors and windows in a hospital. "We'll take him up to the cell on the third floor above the office until he sees the judge Monday morning. We'll make sure he has plenty of blankets and take shifts staying with him. He'll be all right up there for one night."

"Sounds like a plan," Adam voiced one of his favorite responses.

"I'll check in with you as soon as we're on our way back to town." Granger hung up the phone as Meredith walked into the great room. She stepped over and around things careful not to disturb anything. "How is she?"

"Bruised and cut a few places, but all right." Meredith looked tired. "She won't talk much, only to say she's not leaving this house. She's not pressing charges and says she doesn't want to see anyone, including you. She's frightened, truly and completely frightened. And it is more than just for her own life. I'm no cop, but I'd say she's protecting someone with her silence. Or maybe saving someone."

"What?" Granger was angry at himself for being surprised. How many rape cases had he worked over the years he was in Houston? Thirty? Fifty? And how many went to trial, one? But this one would have been easy. A woman in her own house, minding her own business. A brother who saw the act. No unknown assailant, no dark alley. This tine he had more evidence than he'd be able to sort through in a month. Only the lady wasn't talking. The state could press the charges against Zack, but without Anna's testimony they wouldn't have a chance of getting a conviction.

The phone startled him from his thoughts.

"Yes," he took the call.

"Sheriff?" Adam's voice came across the line.

"What?"

"I almost forgot to tell you, there was no powder residue on the hands. I checked between the thumb and finger. Learned two facts-Zack didn't shoot Carlo, and Carlo didn't shoot himself."

This time Granger showed no sign of being surprised.

"Maybe the gun fell and fired accidentally?" Adam guessed. "Or maybe Zack washed his hands after he fired."

"Maybe," Granger mumbled as he hung up the phone.

"Where is Anna?" He looked at Meredith. Carlo's sister was the third piece to this puzzle. The only other one in the room who could have fired the gun.

"Showering," Meredith answered.

Granger fought to keep all emotion from his face. "She just destroyed evidence."

"She figured that," Meredith answered. "There's no need fur you to hang around. I'll stay with her."

"We'll go after Zack on trespassing charges and attempted murder." Granger sounded determined. "Anna may he afraid to testify, but her brother won't be."

The new man at the rig site was called "the worm" because he got all the grub jobs. He would be called that until another new man was hired, or until he lost a finger.

December 18

9:00 a. m.

Howard House

"What do you mean, the ambulance is not available?" Crystal fought down panic so thick in her throat it threatened to choke her. "The ambulance is always available." With Shelby's life-threatening condition, it was the only safe way of transporting him. And she needed him transported immediately.

"Mrs. Howard?" The nurse yelled from the second-floor landing. "We need you as soon as possible."

"Look." Crystal nodded to the nurse then turned her attention back to the phone. "As soon as it's available, send it here. My husband's having trouble breathing. We need to get him into X ray as soon as possible."

Crystal didn't bother saying goodbye. She dropped the phone and ran upstairs. "What is it? Is he worse?"

"No worse. No better," the nurse answered honestly. "He won't calm down. He keeps asking for you."

Crystal charged through the door and into the makeshift hospital room. The scene before her would have frightened her three months ago, but now it seemed normal.

Machines surrounded a man who was more mummy than person. What skin showed was raw and newborn, or scarred and withered. Patches of fine hair dotted his head. His left ear would have to be completely reconstructed. He'd lost most of the use of his left hand, and no one knew if he would ever walk again once he healed enough to try. If he lived long enough. If infection or hypothermia or pneumemia or a hundred other things didn't kill him first.

"I'm here," she repeated as she had for months. "You're going to be all right, Shelby. I've called an ambulance. In a few hours, your breathing will be easier."

He mumbled something between short breaths, and she leaned closer.

"Don't leave me," he whispered. "Please, don't leave me."

Crystal took his right hand. "I'm not going to leave you I promise."

"You got every right." His voice was so rough no one else could have understood his words. "No one would blame you."

"We'll get through this, darling. I swear." She held his hand and waited. The nurses tried to make him comfortable. Finally he dozed off.

Crystal didn't let go of his hand. She thought about their five years together. The good times and the bad. In truth the past months fell more in the good times category thann the bad, if all she weighed was their relationship. Since the accident, she'd been more of a partner. More of a wife.

Laying her forehead on the edge of Shelby's bed, she tried to forget all the things Trent had said to her yesterday.

Shelby's son had stopped by to tell her he would not be coming for Christmas. He and his sister had agreed the children didn't need to see their grandfather in such a condition.Why have them get to know the old man now, Trent said when Dad may not make it through the winter.

The fact that Shelby might like to see the children was not a consideration.

Trent talked on of other plans they had made as he calmly walked over and closed Shelby's door when the nurse stepped out.

"Since we have a few minutes alone," he spoke as if Shelby wasn't in the room. "I've something to offer you. Cull it an early Christmas present."

He pulled out a thick envelope and spread the document over Shelby's tray.

Crystal guessed Shelby was awake, but as always when Trent came to visit, he chose not to speak.

"This is all fair. Elliot Morris made sure of that, though he didn't want to prepare the document at all. Threatened not to, until I told him I'd go to Dallas and have it done. When, he came around. I knew you'd know it was on the square if old Morris did the paperwork."

Trent straightened, proud of himself. "My sister and I are willing to offer you the value of one third of Howard Drilling. We can pay you a lump sum up front, then installments over the next thirty years. You have to agree never to contact this family again once your divorce is final or make any further claim on Howard Drilling."

"But Shelby?"

"Don't worry about him. He'll continue to have round-the-clock care." Anger fired Trent's face. "I'm almost bankrupting the company with this offer, but it will be worth it to get my father out from under your control. You may say you're talking things over with him, but it's you making all the decisions. I understand you've even taken to visiting the sites to make sure I'm following through at my end."

"I visit the sites because there are things that need checking. I'm not interested in your offer." Crystal fought to remain calm. Trent no longer frightened her.

"Think about it, Crystal." He always made her name hound cheap, on the rare occasion he used it. "My father could die any day, and you'll get nothing. Not his house, or any money or any part of the company. His will leaves erything to his children and, if you fight us, you'll bankrupt us all. This way you walk away with a fortune, and we get to keep Howard Drilling in the family where it belongs."

Trent paused, letting the last word sink in. "Even if he lives another year, you'll never have your sugar daddy back. He could never be a husband to you, not the kind a woman like you needs. It's too late for him to change his will now. There's not a court in Texas that wouldn't throw out in attempt with all the drugs he's taking. But if you play along with us, you'll be set for life. All you have to do is sign."

Crystal cried against Shelby's sheet as she rememberd Trent's words. He was right about so much. Eventually Shelby would die, maybe in a week, maybe in a year, and then she'd have nothing.

Trent reminded her that if she'd been the one hurt, Shell wouldn't have stayed with her. She knew Trent was right Shelby wasn't the type of man to sit beside a hospital bed.

Then why hadn't she signed the paper? Why hadn't she taken the money and packed her bags? No one would blame her. She'd already stayed longer than most of the them thought she would. She could have taken the money and gone someplace where no one knew her. She could start a new life without hospital runs and medicine checks, and business problems.

"Mrs. Howard?" The nurse drew her attention. "The ambulance is here. He's parking in the garage so we won't have to take Mr. Howard out in the cold."

Crystal pushed aside the last of her tears. "Good. I'll get my coat. I'll be riding in the ambulance with my husband."

A wildcatter is a man in the oil business willing to risk it all. The word probably came from the term "wildcat bank" which originally referred to a bank in Michigan that went bankrupt in the 1830s. On the banknotes was a picture of a panther.

December 18

11: 15 a.m.

County Hospital

Crystal watched the traffic in the hospital hallways as Shelby waited for X rays. She had spent so much time in the place, no one noticed her anymore. The staff was too busy to worry about her, anyway. A woman was in labor in one of the front rooms, some man was in surgery in the wing that had been set up for operating rooms, and a prisoner must be three doors down from where Shelby slept.

She helped herself to a cup of coffee at the nurses' station and offered one to the deputy on guard. Everyone in town knew old Adam. There were even some who thought he should have run for the sheriffs job a few years ago. He liked to "talk cop." No one could ever get a clue out of Sheriff Farrington, but Deputy Adam loved to impress anyone who would listen with his inside knowledge.

"What's up?" Crystal handed him the coffee.

"Nothing much." Adam grinned his thanks. "Just a shooting this morning and a rape. When all the evidence is in, it may go down as breaking and entering, assault and even attempted murder."

Crystal leaned against the hallway wall. She heard the nurses say they were going after a bullet in some guy's leg so Adam must be telling the truth and not just making up something to pass the time. "Slow morning, huh?"

Adam laughed. "You might say that. I've seen busier ones."

Crystal didn't want to get him started on some old story that he'd had years to color. If she had to waste time talkiug to him, she might as well find out what was happening so she could tell Shelby.

She nodded toward the operating room. "Anyone I know in there with a bullet in him?"

"Can't say," Adam answered. "Sheriff said to keep this one under wraps. My job is to guard the suspect, not the victim." He pointed with his head toward the door behind him. "Got the rapist in there."

"Come on, Deputy Adam, I know everyone in town. Don't you think the word will be out in a matter of hours. You might as well be the one to tell me."

"I'm under orders. No one gets in. No one talks to the prisoner on my watch." He twisted as if being tortured front inside. "But I can tell you, it'll have ranchers and rough necks all upset. Might even have an effect on Howard Drilling."

Crystal tried a few more times, but Adam would not say more. Normally, she wouldn't care what the locals were doing to one another, but he had said it might affect Howard Drilling. And if it affected Howard Drilling it would affect Shelby.

She strolled down the hall to the X-ray room and sat in the plastic chair. After a few restless minutes, she walked back past the deputy and went to the rest room. When she returned, Crystal slipped into the door between Deputy Adam and the X-ray room.

The room was empty. Crystal crossed to the connecting door that opened into the hospital's whirlpool bath. On the opposite side of the room was a side door that connected to the room Adam so diligently guarded.

Crystal told herself she would just open the door slightly and have a look at the bad guy. Because of her days in bars and running with the wild crowd, she figured she probably knew most of the men who even thought about committing a crime in this town. Or, if he worked for Howard Drilling, she might recognize him. Either way, she would be better prepared when bad news came down.

But when she opened the door, she couldn't see much. A tall, lean man lay atop the sheets. He had on worn jeans and no shirt or shoes. There was a long white patch across his Ieft ribs and another over one eye, but they could not begin to cover up all the bruises on him. The bandage wrapped around his head was stained with blood in several spots and looked like it would fall off if he moved.

Crystal stepped closer. She had a hard time believing this was the criminal. He looked like someone had tried to kill him. But he must be the bad guy. This was the room Adam was guarding.

She tried to figure out what the man would look like without the swellings, bandages and bruises. He did not appear familiar, but she definitely thought he would fit in the "finelooking" category once he healed.

As she leaned closer to brush his brown hair off his face, he opened one eye.

Crystal jumped back, expecting a monster to break out of the bandages and lunge at her. Then, she noticed one of his wrists was handcuffed to the rail of the bed. He wasn't going anywhere.

He didn't move. "Who are you?" Hatred and anger blended with the pain in his voice.

"Crystal Howard," she answered like a fool. She shouldn't have told him her name. He might be a rapist and an attempted killer now, but he'd probably escape from Deputy Adam and come after her just because she told him her name.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing." She backed away, unable to think of a lie as to why she was in his room. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"Wait."

Crystal was already at the door. What was he going to do, ask her to help him escape? "I have to get back to my husband. I cannot be talking to you."

"You know Anna?"

Crystal paused. What a strange question for him to ask.

"Anna who?" She wasn't going to give him another name so he could go on a crime spree when he escaped.

"Anna Montano. She said you were her friend."

"Yes." Crystal took one step back into the room. Afraid of what he might say about Anna. Afraid not to listen. "If you hurt her, I swear I'll…"

"Is she all right?" He snapped in frustration.

His words shattered her planned threat. He was in agony far deeper than any of the cuts and bruises could make. He was not thinking of himself. For some reason he was thinking of Anna.

"I don't know." Crystal tried to think of the last time shr had talked to Anna. Two days? Three?

The man turned his face away from her. Crystal glanced at the chart beside his bed. The name at the top read, Larson, Zack. She moved to the exit and slipped away. She hurried back to her chair in the hallway.

Deputy Adam did not look as if he had even noticed she had been gone. He was busy trying to talk the nurse out of another cup of coffee.

Crystal stood and walked as far down the hall as she could from the deputy. Making sure one of the hospital staff wasn't watching, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Anna.

No answer.

Next, she tried Meredith. Anna rarely left her ranch and if she did, she might be with Meredith or Helena.

No answer. Crystal began to panic. She tried to think of reasons they wouldn't answer. Maybe they were shopping?

"Mrs. Howard?"

Crystal jumped, dropping her cell phone.

"I'm sorry to have startled you." The nurse knelt to help pick up the pieces. "I just wanted you to know that the X rays are complete and we've given Mr. Howard a breathing treatment. He's much better and shouldn't have any more trouble for a few days."

Crystal didn't say a word as she followed the nurse to Shelby. She knew cell phones were not allowed, but for some reason the nurse had not said a word.

"How are you, darling?" She tried to sound cheery, but the bandaged prisoner's question haunted her.

"Much better," Shelby mumbled. "Tired. Can we go back home now? I'd like to get some sleep."

She took his hand. "Would you mind if I stayed in town a few hours and did some Christmas shopping? Helena can pick me up. I'll have my phone with me should you need me."

"Go ahead. I feel sure I'm out of any danger until the next time life decides to thump me. You'll probably be back long before I wake up."

Surely Helena would be home, Crystal thought. "I'll be back before it's time for your evening medication. And don't forget, I have my cell if you need me."

"Be careful," Shelby whispered, already half-asleep. "The ambulance driver said it's icy outside."

Crystal stared at him a long moment before she slipped from the room. He had actually acted like he was worried about her. Like he cared.

When a man on the rig yelled, "Duck, or no dinner," everyone needed to stay alert to live long enough to eat the next meal.

December 18

12:20 p. m.

Pigeon Run

Helena combed slowly through her silver hair, then twisted it into a neat bun as smoothly as she had every day for the past twenty years.

"I'll be careful, dear, I promise,' but when Crystal called, she sounded like she needed me."

J.D. did not comment. He had always hated her independent streak and loved it at the same time. But what frustrated him most, she guessed, was that she knew it.

Helena sighed, no longer pretending to have the energy she once had. "I'll be back before dark, maybe sooner. Once I settle Crystal down, I'll probably have time to stop by the store for a while. Not that they need me much anymore. Yesterday, Paula even called it `our' store, like suddenly my store had become a group project."

She stood and smoothed her dress. "If you have the wine chilled, I'll tell you all about Crystal's problem when I get home."

He barely looked up from his book as she waved goodbye, and for a moment, he seemed no more than a shadow in his chair by the window.

Crystal was waiting for her between the front doors of the hospital. Helena did not even have time to get out of her car. Crystal jumped in. As always, Helena did not bother with small talk. "Where to?"

"The courthouse. I want to see if Meredith's car is there She told me she works every Saturday, but no one's answering the phone in the clerk's office or at her place."

They circled by the courthouse. No old Mustang cluttered up the small lot.

"Where to next?"

"Anna's place." Crystal chewed on the corner of her lip.

"I'll fill you in on the way out."

Helena might be in her sixties, but she drove her Buick with both skill and speed. J.D. always teased her that she thought the speed limit was the minimum daily requirement for each road.

They pulled onto the Montano ranch fifteen minutes later.

Neither was surprised to see Meredith's old car parked out front.

Meredith met them at the door.

Helena gave her a quick hug and asked, "What can we do?"

"I don't know." Meredith led them inside. "Anna's been pretty beat up, but she's resting now. She won't tell me anything. The sheriff told her she could put the man who did this to her in jail if she'd make a statement, but she won't say anything. It's like she thinks her silence is protecting someone."

"Crystal said they have Zack Larson in custody." Helena circled the room, looking at the damage. "He owns the place next door." She was putting the pieces together in her mind and, as always, thinking things through.

"He was here," Meredith verified. "Carlo Vangetti says Zack shot him when Carlo tried to help his sister. They took Larson and Anna's brother to the hospital in the same ambulance."

Helena stormed suddenly. "If I get my hands on that Zack Larson, I'll kill him myself. What kind of a monster would do such a thing to Anna? She's frightened of her shadow as it is and every man she's ever known has been a bully. There is no telling the damage something like this will do to her."

"Wait a minute," Crystal whispered. "Something doesn't make sense. Let's reason this out for a moment."

The other two woman stared at Crystal in surprise, but she the continued before they could say anything. "If Zack Larson beat up and raped Anna, why would his first question be `Is Anna all right?' It doesn't make sense. He sounded like he was worried, really worried about her."

"Anna's only question was `Is Zack still alive?"' Meredith added. "She didn't even ask about Carlo and he was the one shot."

The three women froze. The only sound in the great room was the wind whistling in the fireplace.

"Do you think…" Meredith started almost afraid to say the words.

"It could be," Helena added.

"We have to be sure before we tell anyone," Crystal reasoned. "No one is going to believe us."

Suddenly, all three women talked at once. Theories flowed around the room. After an hour they agreed to collect more information, let Anna sleep, and meet back at Anna's tomorrow afternoon.

While Helena and Meredith tried to pick up the broken furnishings, Crystal excused herself and walked out the front door.

"Where's she going?" Meredith watched as Crystal ruined leather heels tromping through the snow toward the burned-out rig.

"She's going to talk to the oil field workers," Helena guessed. "And from what I hear, they'll tell her anything they know. She's built a lot of respect with them over the past months. She's not just Shelby Howard's wife anymore. She's one of them."

"But it's a half mile to those trailers."

Helena smiled. "She'll make it. She also knows our cars wouldn't. Those roughnecks might say anything on thc phone, but they won't lie with her facing them down. She's a wildcatter's woman, and my guess is they all know it by now."

"Can you stay here with Anna tonight?" Helena did not wait for Meredith to answer. "I'll try to track down the housekeeper Anna uses. She'll know where everything goes." Helena picked up a piece of a lamp. "Maybe she'll agree to come out and help. This might be a good time to gut the room and start over. None of this looks like Anna."

Meredith nodded. "I didn't plan on leaving Anna at all tonight, even though Carlo sent word from the hospital that there was no need for me to stay." She leaned close and touched Helena's hand. "And how about you? How are you feeling today?"

"Better than I've felt in a long time. There is work to do here. Crystal's right, something doesn't make sense, and wr can't depend on one overworked sheriff and a few dimwitted deputies to figure it out. I'm a workhorse. Put me out in pasture and I'll surely die."

"Randi's coming in tonight, and she's promised to stay with me," Meredith added. "Crystal's already told me, I'm to keep her away from the new poles at Frankie's. Having her with me out here should keep her far enough away from any trouble in town. Maybe Randi can talk to the hands on the place. Someone in the bunkhouse must have heard thc shot."

"It's a ways to the bunkhouse, but it might be worth a try. Tell Randi to check it out." Helena agreed, feeling like she was suddenly one part of a detective team.

"Granger told me when he got here the hands were all standing around outside, like they were afraid to come in."

"Randi probably knows most of the help." Helena dusted for hands together. "Maybe they'll tell her things they wouldn't tell us. Ask her to piece together anything she can on Zack. Someone must know him. He's lived here all his life."

"What about you?"

Helena shook her head. "I vaguely remember his mother, but she died years ago. His father drank himself to death, I think. To tell you the truth, I barely recognize Zack Larson when I see him on the street."

Helena laughed. "J.D. says I know everyone in town, but line them up and I'd miss a few."

"If Larson was here with Anna and they were friends, then who shot Carlo? Who beat them all up?"

"We'll find out," Helena promised. "If Zack Larson is guilty of hurting her, heaven help him. If he's not, then we'll have to help him."