Uncontrollable (The Nature of Grace, Book 2) Page 23

Mo checks my arm for the twentieth time in five minutes.

  I watch him tend to my wound, thankful he’s still here. “You don’t have to watch me. I’m fine.”

  He mumbles as he works, “I’ll decide that.”

  When he touches the cloth, I wince, and he leans over and kisses my forehead. “Sorry, Blossom.” He ties a cloth around my arm. “Lucky for you, the bullet didn’t go in.”

  “Hm. Lucky for me.”

  Wyn sighs and shakes his head. “There’s a dead guy in the driveway. Guess he’s not too lucky.”

  Mo keeps his eyes on me. “Seriously, it could have been much worse.”

  I sit up more with Mo’s help and focus on Sweeney. His head is rested on the back of the chair and his eyes are closed.

  “Sweeney, you okay?”

  He raises his eyebrows without looking. “Never been better. My fault, though. I shouldn’t have been so careless. I didn’t think Porter would go to such extremes.”

  I think about the wolves and Seth. I’m almost positive he was responsible for both somehow.

  “Why would he do this? It just doesn’t seem like him.” Wyn says.

  “I found out Porter’s wife died. A red wolf killed her.”

  Mo shakes his head. “So he goes crazy 40 years later and kills everybody? Something doesn’t fit.”

  Sweeney sighs and explains to the group what I already know. “Well, I suspected something was going on.” Sweeney repositions himself and winces. “Anyway, something showed up on the autopsy.”

  I sit up straighter, waiting for more. “I knew it! What did you find out?”

  “They found sodium thiopental.”

  “Bloody hell.” Mo shakes his head as if he’s processing the information.

  I have no clue what they’re talking about, but Wyn asks the question before I can. “What is that?”

  Mo answers for Sweeney. “A drug used in euthanizing animals.”

  The information swirls in my head. “So those wolves didn’t die of natural causes. They were killed?”

  Sweeney coughs before answering. “Put to sleep. Yes.”

  Wyn probes more. “How would Porter get access to that kind of stuff?”

  Sweeney looks up at the shadows dancing along the ceiling tiles. “Because he was in biology at NC State. He probably knew people.”

  My mind searches through files of information. “Wait. The university hates him. He was banned from there for some unethical stuff. How would he have access?”

  Wyn shrugs. “He probably knew someone.”

  Sweeney nods. “And I guess he found out I was checking and panicked.”

  “But how would he find out? And why come after me?”

  Sweeney puts the pieces together neatly. “Easy, you found Seth. And you told Katie. She was obviously calling around looking for him. He probably assumed you told her something that incriminated him.”

  I shake my head. “She wouldn’t leave messages. She’s not stupid. And you said by the time you and Reynolds went to the hospital he was gone. No, he found out some other way.”

  Mo looks from me to Sweeney. “Maybe he’s been watching Grace closer than we realized.”

  It dawns on me that Reynolds is not here. “Where is Katie, by the way?”

  “She was still working when I left her,” Sweeney says. “Trying to track down Porter. I think she felt responsible and wanted to find out where he had gone. I tried to call and tell her we had him here, but some of the phone lines are still down.”

  Before I can ask, Wyn speaks. “But why would Porter work to protect the wolves only to kill them? Sounds like a lot of work. Why not just sneak out and pick them off? No one would have found them.”

  Agent Sweeney looks back at him. “I don’t know that yet. I was hoping to question him. I assume there was a reason.”

  “I told you, it’s his wife’s death.” I say, and everyone stares at me. “Maybe he still wanted to get justice somehow. In some sick way.” Then something pops into my head. “Did you test the syringe to see if it matched?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I gave the syringe I found to Katie to take to you.”

  Agent Sweeney shakes his head. “No. She must have forgotten. We were so busy trying to find Porter. I only saw her for a few minutes. I’ll get it from her in the morning when I see her.”

  I fold my arms in frustration.

  “Wait, I need to catch up.” Wyn rubs his forehead and faces me. “You found Seth? And a syringe?”

  Sweeney answers for me. “Grace went out looking and located Seth’s body. She found a syringe close to where he was sitting. We’re not sure it means anything, though.”

  Wyn rubs his temples. “So now we think Porter killed Seth? Seriously? Isn’t that a bit extreme? An animal is one thing, but—”

  “Killing an animal for no reason is just as horrible as a hurting a person,” I say, almost getting a whiplash looking at him. “One leads to the other if you get desperate enough.”

  He holds up both hands. “Easy, Jane. Tarzan no argue.”

  “Look, we don’t know anything about Seth yet,” Sweeney sighs. “But right now, anything is possible.” He eyes me. “Let’s hope not because you’re right. That would take this thing to a whole new level.”

  Sweeney tries to stand, but he teeters.

  Mo helps him back down into a chair. “I called this in a while ago,” Mo says. “The USFWS should be here by now.”

  “I tried calling Birdee too. The lines are down everywhere.”

  “The weather’s getting worse,” Sweeney says, closing his eyes. His face is as pale as a china doll’s. “We may have to wait it out until morning.”

  Then he pushes forward in the seat. “Before it gets too bad out there, walk me to Porter. I’d like to take a look around before anyone else gets here. See if we can get some clues as to what the hell is going on. Maybe he has something on him that’ll give us some insight into this whole mess.”

  Mo squints. “You sure you’re up for it? There’s not much to see.”

  He stands. “Never know what you can find.”

  I force myself to ask what I’ve been trying to forget. “But what about Al?”

  “Now that we know it’s Porter, I doubt Al’s around,” Sweeney says. “We would have gotten some response from him by now.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief.

  Sweeney cups my shoulder. “He’s still out there somewhere, just not here tonight.” Mo faces Wyn. “This time keep her inside. No matter what.”

  Wyn glances at me. “Won’t let her out of my sight.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Mo hands me his gun. “Keep this just in case.”

  “Hey! Why does she get the gun?” Wyn says.

  I smirk at him. “Because I know how to use it. You think I’d let you hold a gun? You couldn’t even make it up the stairs without an injury.”

  He gives me a dirty look. “That’s because it was dark.”

  “Still is, and I don’t want to get shot again.”

  Mo can’t help but laugh on the way out. “I’ll be right out front. Shouldn’t take long.”

  Ten minutes later, Wyn is already snoring on the couch.

  I shake my head. “Some bodyguard.”

  I stand and walk to the back window. The lawn is covered in a blanket of snow as if Mother Nature has swaddled the earth for a cozy night. There’s not one blemish in the white sheet. The moon looks down on me, and the blackness of the forest is dotted with white polka dots of snow hanging off the sagging branches.

  The snowflakes make the world a little blurrier than usual, reminding me of a Van Gogh painting we studied in art class last year. As I watch the peaceful world drifting to sleep outside, I suddenly feel claustrophobic, like I need fresh air. The events of the day have made my brain fuzzy, and I glance at the back door. If Sweeney and Mo think it’s safe to check out Porter, I wonder if I could just pop outside and breathe for a second.

  “Wyn, I’m going
outside. Is that okay?” I glance back at him, and he’s now lying on his back with his mouth open.

  He snorts his response.

  I smile. “I take that as a yes.”

  I open the back door, and a rush of cold air pierces through my body. I grab my jacket off the rack and slip into it, pulling up the hood. As soon as I step onto the back steps, I smile.

  Snowflakes drop from the sky like glimmering sparkles in the moonlight. They land on my jacket and disappear into thin air like magic. The white trees are stiff, frozen like statues. The snow has been perfectly laid down by nature, no imperfections or blemishes except for its own markings.

  I take one step into the thick snow and sink a few inches. The crunch under my foot is one I can never get sick of. I take another step and look back at my footprints blemishing the white carpet. One small step toward a fresh beginning.

  I smile as I walk along the back of the house, letting the frigid air swirl into my lungs. I follow the white cotton puffs of my breath as they float away into the night sky. The air is quiet. Still. Peaceful. For the first time since Dad died, I feel like me again. A new me with a new normal. The person I used to be is coming back, and my world feels safe again.

  Porter is dead, and even though Al is still out there, I have hope that my luck is changing. I can’t help but wonder what the wolves are doing tonight.

  In the distance, one howls as if on cue. I smile, wondering if Bandit and his family have moved to another den for the night to snuggle with their young and wait out the nasty storm.

  I look up at the puffy clouds forming in the sky. I should do the same. Last thing I need is to be stuck out here again. I turn and head back to the house, following my tracks along the makeshift path to avoid ruining any other space. As I approach the deck, I see something tied to the post, flapping in the light breeze.

  I take a couple steps forward and freeze.

  A green bandana.

  Survival Skill #32

  As with many attack moves, recognizing the move that's about to happen is a big part of defensive strategy.

  Panic rushes through my body in a wave.

  My legs won’t move, and my feet are plastered in the snow as if cement has been poured around my ankles. I hear footsteps behind me, but I keep my eyes forward. I’m afraid to turn around, fearful of who I will see. As long as I’m facing this way, my world is still peaceful and quiet. The winter wonderland I love so much is still mine.

  I grip the bandana and inspect it.

  “Hello, Grace.”

  I spin around and face Katie. Then I smile and grab my chest. “Jeez, you scared me!”

  She smiles and cocks her head. “Did I? I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m glad it’s you. Trust me.” I eye the forest and stuff the bandana into my pocket.

  Her voice is stern and curt like she’s stressed. Then again, aren’t we all? “I’ve been looking for you,” she says. “You need to come with me.”

  “Why? What’s happened? Is Birdee okay?”

  She smiles and takes a few steps away from the house, looking back over her shoulder. “She’s fine. But Agent Sweeney and Mo think Al is back. They want me to get you out of here. Now.”

  I look around. “Where are they?”

  Katie points to the woods. “They went off to track him. Found some footprints. Guess you found something too.” She points to the green cloth hanging out of my pocket. “Scared?”

  “Yes.” I panic that Mo has left me again and scan the woods, looking for movement.

  She touches my shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. They’re good at what they do. You just have to trust them.”

  I glance up at the window. The lights are back on in the house. “Okay. Let me tell Wyn where I’m going so he doesn’t freak out again.”

  She keeps her voice down. “I tried to, but he’s still sleeping.”

  “Ha. Slacker.”

  Katie walks ahead of me, and I follow her closely, constantly checking over my shoulder, half-expecting Al to come charging up any minute and snatch me from behind. I should have stayed inside. No matter how many things I try to think through, I tend to make the dumbest decisions sometimes. I curse myself. Dumb. Dumb.

  “You know, you’re a very smart girl,” Katie calls out over her shoulder.

  I watch the back of her head as she glides through the snow. “Really? Why do you say that?”

  She keeps talking, but I struggle to hear because she’s facing away from me.

  “I don’t think I gave you enough credit in the beginning. Now I’m wishing I would have paid more attention. It would have been better for business.”

  I stop in my tracks. “What do you mean?”

  Katie faces me and looks a little surprised. “You mean you haven’t figured it out? Really?” She looks amused. “I thought you had for sure.”

  Suddenly my heart races. Something is wrong. I take a step back. “I think I should go back.”

  As I spin around to leave, Katie grabs my sore arm and squeezes tight. “Not this time, Grace.”

  “Ow!” I almost collapse in pain, but I manage to stay on my feet. I look into her eyes. They’ve darkened in the dim light, and her mouth is drooping into a sneer.

  That’s when I notice the green bandana hanging out of her pocket and the gun in her hand. And the fact that she’s dressed in all black.

  “You aren’t here to save me.” Fear fills my body like water being poured into a glass. “You’re here to kill me. This is all connected to you, isn’t it?”

  She raises her eyebrows. “Keep going. You can piece this together. You’re smart.”

  Sentences run through my head. Articles I’ve read. Slowly, the important facts bob to the surface.

  “You’re behind the wolf killings, not Porter.”

  She laughs. “See. I have faith in you. Porter was a necessary sacrifice. I needed someone to do the work for me, and he was the only one I could pay off.”

  My legs start to tremble and my wound throbs. I think about all I know and realize it was there the whole time.

  “You know vet medicine. Your dad was a vet, and you worked for him. I saw the picture. You’ve been helping euthanize those poor wolves. But why?”

  She pokes the gun into my side. “You can talk, but you need to keep moving. We don’t have much time.”

  She pushes me forward so hard I almost trip in the thick snow. My breath quickens. Why would a beautiful and powerful woman like Katie Reynolds sabotage a conservation program of which she’s the head? Then it hits me.

  “You have a lot to lose, don’t you?” I stop and feel the gun bump into my back. I muster up the nerve to turn and face her. The gun is now pointed directly at my chest. “Mandy.”

  She frowns. “How did you know that?”

  I clutch my head as the information all falls into place. “Oh my God. You own Cardinal, Inc. Katie Amanda Reynolds, or should I say CEO-at-large Mandy Smith. You’ve been going by Katie Reynolds because that was your dad’s name. But your mom remarried, changed her name, and you were adopted by your stepdad. So your name changed, too.”

  She pushes me again. “Shut up and keep walking.”

  I stumble backward. “You’re pretending to support conservation and the red wolf program, but the whole time you’ve been sabotaging it. Then eBuild can start developing again.” I point to the forest we’re walking through. “This is prime real estate.”

  Her voice is hard. “A few wolves aren’t worth millions. Not to me.”

  “So this is about money?”

  “Isn’t everything?”

  I turn and start walking again, but I move a bit slower, letting her get closer to me, waiting for her to get within range of my back kick.

  “So what now?” I say. “You think someone won’t figure this out? I did. Sweeney will find me.”

  “He’ll find you dead. And he’ll think Al got to you. That’s what they’ll all think — that Al is back. They’ll never think I
did it. I’ll get rid of you and slip back to work with an alibi. And by the time they find you, your body will be cold, and Al will be gone.”

  I think over everything. “That’s why you didn’t give the syringe to Sweeney.”

  She kicks my heel. “That was where Porter went wrong. The fool. If he’d done what I asked and not gotten careless, everyone would have suspected Seth died of hypothermia. You weren’t supposed to be out there anyway. No one was going to find Seth until spring. Until you had to continue butting in. You never know when to stop.”

  I laugh. “Guess you don’t know me as well as you think.”

  “True. I will give you that.” Katie huffs in frustration. “I never expected you to volunteer after all the things your family went through. That was where I went wrong. But then I thought you wouldn’t last a day after you found that wolf.”

  “I don’t scare off easily.”

  She pushes me again. Hard.

  I fall forward in the snow and land on both arms. I scream out in pain as my right arm turns to fire.

  Katie grabs my hood and yanks me to my feet. Tears are streaming down my face now.

  I stand and face her, teeth gritted. “I told Sweeney about the syringe. He knows you have it. He’ll come for it, and he’ll know you’re lying if you say you don’t have it.”

  She holds up a syringe. “You mean this one? Or the fake one in my office I’ll give him in the morning when he comes to tell me of your unfortunate death.”

  I clutch my arm. It’s wet and warm. My fall started the bleeding again.

  “So Al was never here? This whole time you’ve been pretending?” I hunch over a little in pain.

  “Perfect, isn’t it? Al is long gone from this place. He’ll never be found. But I had no idea how well it would work. I didn’t realize the power he had over everyone around here.”

  With that stupid comment, I swing my leg up and clip Reynolds right under the chin. She is so taken off guard, the gun pops out of her hand, and she falls backward on the ground. I bend over to grab the weapon, but she charges at me, practically growling. She tackles me to the ground, and I yelp in pain. But before she can pin me, I flip her off and struggle to my feet. Even though my legs are wobbling and my stance is far less than steady, at least I’m up. I shake away the stars in my vision.