Page 95 of Three-Inch Teeth

*

CATES WATCHED AS the shadow of a figure approached the front window to his right, but he couldn’t see a face. He didn’t need to. Nate Romanowski was seared into his memory.

The knob turned on the front door and it opened a crack.

Johnson rushed her words. “I’m sorry to bother you …” as the door swung in.

*

A BRIGHT RED light hit Liv in the eyes followed by a blur of open steel jaws and yellow teeth.

*

TWELVE MINUTES LATER, Sheridan drove along the gravel road through the sagebrush toward the Yarak, Inc. compound. She was tired and wrung out because it had been a long day in every way. The falcons were restless inside the vehicle and they were ready to eat. Feeding the Air Force was her first priority and then she could leave them in the mews overnight.

She was surprised to encounter a vehicle coming the other way, especially in the dark. She assumed it must be either Nate or Liv, since visitors on the road were rare at any time of day.

Sheridan eased her SUV to the shoulder to make room in case the other driver wanted to stop and chat. She whirred down the side window and let the cool evening air rush in. It felt refreshing on her face.

But the approaching vehicle, which turned out to be a white extended-cab pickup with a topper and County 6 plates, didn’t slow down. Instead, it accelerated as it passed by. All of the windows were tinted and in the darkness it was difficult to see the occupants clearly.

Sheridan caught a glimpse of what she thought were two figures inside the cab, but when it flashed by she could only see one. A man was at the wheel and he either deliberately or inadvertently turned his head away from her at the last second. The second occupant, if there had been one there at all, either ducked down or leaned away so as not to be seen.

She quickly closed the window before a roll of dust washed over her. Then she watched the red taillights recede in her rearview mirror until they blinked out when the truck took a turn in the road and entered a grove of aspen. She thought she saw a glimpse of red light through the tinted back topper hatch window, but she thought it may have been a reflection of her own taillights.

Wyoming folks weren’t usually so rude, she thought, especially on an isolated road. If they didn’t stop to say hello and state their business, they’d at least wave or nod as they passed by. County 6 was Carbon County in the south-central part of the state. What were they doing up in Twelve Sleep County? Maybe hunting?

Nevertheless, Sheridan eased back onto the road to the compound. After feeding the Air Force, she knew she had a decision to make. Both Liv and her mom had invited her for dinner. She wasn’t sure which invitation to accept, or to punt on both and pick up something on the way to her apartment. As always, she wished DoorDash existed in her little town so she could order in.

If she accepted Liv’s invitation, they’d inevitably discuss business and her first remote assignment. That was fine, but Sheridan was still sorting the experience in her mind and especially how it had ended. She wasn’t sure how much to reveal and how she felt about it. Discovering that she had a second grandmother was hard to wrap her mind around. One nasty grandmother was enough, she thought.

Dinner with her parents was even more fraught. Sheridan wasn’t sure what her dad’s reaction would be to the discovery of his mother at the Never Summer Ranch in Colorado, and what she’d said. Sheridan didn’t want to upset her father, who had more than enough on his plate at the moment.

She took the turn into the compound and drove past the outbuildings toward the mews. As she did, she glanced over at the house and slammed on her brakes.

The front door was wide open, and a human form was crumpled at the base of the threshold. Dark splashes were flecked against the light-colored exterior of the house as if someone had flung a mop through the air. A stream of what looked like blood flowed down the concrete steps of the porch.

Then she saw the flowing black hair, the pale reflection of an outstretched hand, and Liv’s unique tooled cowboy boot flung aside and sitting upright on the top step of the porch stairs.

Sheridan screamed as she hurled herself out of the SUV and ran to the lifeless body in the open door. Beyond Liv, she could see Kestrel inside the kitchen near the table in her high chair. The two-year-old was struggling to get out and crying, “Mom, Mom, Mom …”

*

“WELL,” SOLEDAD SAID to Cates through gritted teeth over his shoulder as he sped onto the county road, “you really fucked that up.” Soledad had to shout over the rat-a-tat cadence from the compressor, which was in the process of refilling the tanks. They’d pulled over to the side of the road to allow for the recharging of the tanks, and the wait time was excruciating.

“What?” Cates yelled back. He leaned closer to the slider.

“You heard me the first time. I said you really fucked that one up,” Soledad repeated. Then he mumbled something to himself that Cates genuinely couldn’t discern.

Cates turned in his seat at the controls and nearly shoved his entire face through the opening so he could see and hear inside the cab.

Bobbi Johnson was curled up in the passenger seat, holding her bent knees to her face. She was crying and rocking from side to side. “That woman had a little girl in there,” she wailed.

“Tell her to shut up,” Soledad said to Cates. “I can’t hear you over this compressor.”

“You heard the man,” Cates said to Johnson. “Keep it down.”

“We didn’t have to shake her like that,” Johnson said. “And LOR didn’t have to hit her with that bat.”

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