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excitement.
Josy insisted she wasn't hurt despite the blood staining her coat. She
gathered Killer in her arms to get him out of the way and followed Adam
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into the kitchen.
"What happened?"
Tersely, she told him, stroking the excited dog. Brug joined them a
few minutes later, his face pasty, his expression devastated.
"I went after the guy, Adam. I'd only been back a few minutes. Just
long enough to send Pete and Tim to check on a broken fence post out
near the back road. When I heard the first shot, I grabbed a rifle
from the tack room and ran outside. I didn't know anyone had been
hit."
His torment was visible. Brug obviously cared about Martha. Adam drew
Josy against his side with his free hand.
"I saw the guy in that cluster of rocks above the west pasture," Brug
continued, almost to himself.
"I fired a couple of rounds and he took off running, so I went after
him, but he had too big a head start. I was going uphill, and there
wasn't any cover. When I realized there was no way I could catch him,
I decided to come back and see what he'd been firing at. That's when I
saw the helicopter and knew someone had been hit. They must have been
on a run nearby to get here this fast.
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The whole thing only happened minutes ago. "
"I know," Adam told him.
"I called Josy from the Claussen place and heard her shout at Bitsy to
get back."
Josy raised her head from his chest and smiled up at the child in his
other arm.
"Bitsy was super brave She helped me help Martha." Bitsy smiled back
shyly. Adam kissed her cheek feeling like the luckiest man alive.
Brug didn't share their smiles.
"Martha looks bad, Adam. Real bad."
The anguish in his friend's eyes was something Adam understood all too
well. He felt a pang of guilt over his own relief that Josy and Bitsy
were safe.
"Did you recognize the guy, Brug?"
Brug hesitated. He cast another anxious look toward the sounds coming
from the laundry room. T never got close enough. " Adam had the
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distinct impression he was lying, but a police siren screamed its
arrival in the front yard. With Bitsy in his arms, this wasn't the
time for questions.
"I'll go talk to them," Brug said.
"I need to do something." Adam nodded.
Brug turned away and then turned back again.
"I'm going to the hospital with Martha," he announced.
"Good. I can't leave Josy and the girls here alone. You'll call me as
soon as they know anything?"
"Yes," Brug promised.
"And afterward, I need to talk to you, Adam."
Adam felt Josy straighten in his arm.
"You want to talk now, Brug?"
An officer Adam didn't recognize entered the hall.
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Brug shook his head.
"Later."
By the time the other two girls got home, things had settled down. The
media were being kept at bay, and the investigation was centered
outside where the shooting had taken place. Josy had given her
statement several times, and the strain was taking its toll. Adam was
surprised and grateful when his neighbors Calvin and Deborah Milton
arrived. Deborah took over the kitchen while Calvin offered to take
the children for a couple of days. Adam had planned to fly them to San
Diego, but it was too late now and this seemed like a better solution.
He didn't want the girls so far away tonight. They clustered around
Josy on the living-room couch. Bitsy curled trustingly in Josy's lap
while the other two sat on either side, and a freshly bathed Killer
nuzzled next to Suzie.
Adam knew a moment of peace as he surveyed the scene. He wanted to
keep them all right there, safe, content, his. But for tonight, they
could stay with the Miltons so he and Josy could talk and plan without
interruption.
Tiny was pragmatic about spending the night with her friend's family,
but Suzie protested until Killer was included. Only Bitsy cried,
making the decision hard on everyone. Josy took her aside and talked
with her quietly. Whatever she said made a difference. Dolly and
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Bitsy went with the others.
Eventually, the house quieted. Deborah left a casserole warming in the
oven. Pete and Tim had cleaned up the dog and all traces of blood from
the floor before returning to the bunkhouse. The police stationed a
man out front, and suddenly it was just Adam and Josy in the big silent
house.
"I'm not hungry right now, Adam. What I'd really like is a bath."
"Okay. Let me check out the room first."
"Do you really think the shooter got inside with all the police
around?"
"No, but we aren't taking any more chances." He made her wait in the
hall while he checked her room and his and both sets of doors.
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