Page 75 of The Killing Plains

Russ glared at her, then banged out of the door.

Avery started to follow but instead said, “Can I use your bathroom?” and trotted up the stairs without waiting for an answer.

Colly went into the living room. Satchel was on the sofa, balancing his ant farm on his knees and watching TV.

He looked up. “Is Uncle Russ mad at you?”

“Everything’s fine. We’re going to talk outside. Stay here, okay?”

“It’s scary by myself.”

“I’ll be on the porch. Tonight, we’ll have pizza and a movie, just me and you.”

“No, we won’t. Something’ll happen.”

Colly ruffled his hair. “Not this time, buddy. I promise.”

When Avery came downstairs, the women went outside. Russ was sitting in a wicker armchair, balancing his hat on his knee and drumming his fingers impatiently on the crown.

He jumped up when he saw them. “Y’all want to tell me what the hell’s going on?”

“You said to run the investigation as I see fit,” Colly said.

“Yeah, but I thought you’d have some common sense about it. The turbine plant—”

“You never said the plant was off-limits. Denny hung out there. It had to be checked. I thought I’d streamline things and send Avery while you and I went out to the bluffs.”

Russ turned to Avery. “Get anything useful?”

She shrugged uneasily. “No one would talk to me out there.”

“Well, okay. But it would’ve been nice if y’all had asked me first, that’s all.” Russ’s shoulders had relaxed, but his voice was still peevish. “The company’s had enough bad press lately. If word got out—”

Colly lost patience. “Oh, for God’s sake, Russ, let me do my job, or send me home. I don’t have time for PR bullshit. You drove all the way out here to gripe aboutthis?”

Russ sighed and scratched his jaw. “No. Brenda phoned a few minutes ago. Carmen Ortiz called her, hysterical. She ran some errands, and when she got back to the Hoyers’ trailer, Jolene was unconscious. Looks like she took a bunch of pills and washed them down with a bottle of vodka. Carmen was scared to call 911, afraid we might change our minds and arrest Jolene for assaulting you. Brenda talked her into it, but Jolene’s in rough shape.”

“Will she make it?”

“Don’t know. She’s being medevacked to Abilene.”

“I’ll get the car—we can be there in an hour and a half.” Avery started down the porch steps.

Colly checked her watch. “I can’t, I promised Satchel.”

“What if she dies? You said yourself she was hiding something.”

“Jolene’s unconscious,” Russ said. “No point going tonight.”

“We could talk to Carmen.” Avery looked at Colly. “Can’t you get a sitter?”

“Carmen won’t be in a fit state. Hopefully, Jolene will be awake tomorrow.” Colly turned to Russ. “Any word on Jace?”

“Nothing yet. I alerted the Abilene police, in case he shows up at the hospital.”

“He might go home. Let’s set a guard on the Hoyers’ place,” Colly said. “And see about getting a search warrant. Maybe there’s something on the property that’ll tell us where he went.”

Colly awoke the next morning to a dull headache. A strange, ruddy light filtered through the bedroom curtains. She stumbled, bleary-eyed, to the window. Over the farmhouse scudded dark, ragged clouds, stained blood-red with the coming sunrise.

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