Page 50 of Devil's Due

It’s less than an hour’s drive to get to the cabin, though with the backtracking I’ve done it takes a good sixty minutes more. While Stevie’s content to be alone with her thoughts, I use the time to think. No one should have discovered where she was. If she moved on, what guarantee is there that the same rat won’t resurface? She’s escaped two attempts on her life. Would she survive a third? I doubt it. Unlike a cat she probably doesn’t have nine lives. Three is a stretch for any human.

She’s blind, and while I know that doesn’t make her completely helpless, the thought that there’s someone after her must be terrifying, but at least she hadn’t seen the car heading toward her. She might have smelled smoke, felt the heat of the flames, but hadn’t seen how close her escape from the fire had been. On the other hand, I had. Maybe watching her face death twice explains the strange urge I have to protect her. I’m glad Demon hadn’t suggested anyone else. Or maybe he just thought I would have a better chance of getting her to open up.

If I’d been back in Tucson I could have reassured her any of my brothers would look after her. Here? I’m sure the brothers are good men, but I can’t personally vouch for them. Not yet.

Did Demon take the opportunity to get me out of the way? So I wouldn’t be able to do the job I was sent here for. Hmm. Something to ponder.

Then it hits me. Sally and I are over. There’s no longer a reason for me to stay away from Tucson.I could go back.

But I can’t. For starters, I haven’t done what I came here to do. Have been so tied up with the woman in the back seat, I haven’t had a chance. Need to get that sorted for Drummer.

Then there’s Stevie herself. What would happen if she contacted her handler? Something tells me they wouldn’t give a damn about her dog. While we haven’t discussed it, there’s a chance he might not make a full recovery, that he won’t be a working dog any more. Would the marshals just put her in line to get a new service animal? Would they understand the bond that’s grown between woman and canine? To them she’s not a person, she’s a commodity, her only use the information she carries with her, the evidence that will maybe break their big case. What would they care of her mental wellbeing? Their job simply to keep her alive, until she has her day in court.

Chapter Eighteen

The road has been fairly flat for a while after we left Pueblo, but then it starts to climb. I follow the directions, a couple of times checking what’s written on a piece of paper I have resting on my lap. As I turn off the freeway, it’s like I’m driving into a different world.

I’m no stranger to mountains, Tucson is surrounded by three ranges, but here the vegetation seems different. Evergreen trees start to close in rather than open desert. I begin to anticipate some time to simply chill out. Since moving in with Sally I’ve had a tension inside me, it would be nice to enjoy some down time and relax. I crack the window an inch, breathing in the smell of spruce and pine.

“That’s nice,” Stevie murmurs from the back seat. “Are we in a forest?”

“Getting there,” I reply.

“Is it much further?”

“Don’t think so. Looking out for the track now.”

Demon warned me it wasn’t particularly easy to find. He was right. When the milometer shows me I’ve clearly overshot the turning, I find a place to manoeuvre the car around and go back. I’m not surprised I missed it. There are tire tracks from the vehicle the prospects had brought, but the gate is almost invisible with a fallen tree in front of it, and only possible to spot if you’re watching for it. I stop the SUV.

“Just got to open the gate,” I explain, remembering to voice everything.

The barbed wire fence and gate are hidden by the dead branches of a tree. It looks impossible to move but is actually easy. Taking a leaf from the prospects’ book, I drive through, stop, relock the gate, and swing that tree in front again. Anyone passing without knowing it was there would never notice it. I’m pleased with this first level of security.

The road climbs steeply for another mile or so, and around us the forest becomes dense. The road divides, but I’m prepared, taking the right-hand fork. Another few hundred yards and there’s another gate. I’m surprised to find it opens automatically on my approach, then closes behind me.

Cad’s standing on the other side, nodding with satisfaction.

I hang my head out of the window. “Didn’t expect to see you here?”

“I came up with Sparky to check everything out.”

“That gate electric?”

He both nods and shakes his head. “Yeah, solar powered. This time of year should work okay, as long as the panel’s kept clear. That SUV you’re driving has the trigger to open it. It’s easy enough to pull aside manually if needed though.”

I’m surprised at the sophistication, it’s not what I expected.

“Mind if I hitch a ride?”

“Be my guest.”

“Hi Stevie.”

“Cad.”

That she recognises his voice doesn’t surprise me.

It’s about a quarter of a mile from here to the cabin. As Cad points out the potholes to avoid, I mention my surprise, “Thought this was going to be a primitive escape.”

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