Page 64 of Colorado K-9 Rescue
If Mckenna hadn’t been so close to Rex, she might not have been able to hear him. “Don’t waste your energy. I’m going to get out of here. I’ll get help. I promise.”
“It’s…a…trap.” Rex wheezed harder.
“How do you know? Are you working with him?”
“No, I’m not working with him,” Rex answered. “He killed Toby and then tased me. I tried fighting back, but he got the upper hand while I was down from the shock.”
“Save your energy,” Mckenna said, but then she realized this could be her one chance to get some answers. “I do have one more question.”
“What?” he asked, this time a little more clearly.
“If you’re not working with Keith, then why have you been following me? It was you, wasn’t it?”
Rex nodded his head yes. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Mckenna could tell it was hard for him to talk, but she wanted answers. Sheneededanswers. “You did scare me, why did you do it?”
“I always knew Toby was set up. My brother wouldn’t have done that to you. He wouldn’t have hurt a fly, but I didn’t know who had taken you.” Rex stopped, catching his breath, and then continued. “We just wanted to clear Toby’s name. He might have been out on probation, but he’d lost his life too in a sense. Those years in prison changed him. When he first went in, he thought someone would figure it out. He asked his lawyer to get a PI and keep working on his case, but his lawyer dropped him and told him to serve his time. He’d get out on good behavior. So that’s what he did.”
“So why follow me?”
“Because the day Toby ran into you and spoke with you, we watched you leave. Toby started freaking out. He’d just seen Keith. He knew if Keith had spotted him talking to you, he’d be in big trouble. Maybe even have to go back to prison. I told him that Keith hadn’t seen him, but we watched you leave and then Keith started following you…”
Rex stopped speaking, gasping for air. Mckenna figured he wouldn’t be able to continue talking, but then he took a deep breath and spoke up again.
“We started wondering if there was any way Keith had done this. I mean it was a leap, I suppose, but it was the first leadwe’d had. Then the next day those girls were taken, and I heard about the one dying. I knew that Toby would be the number one suspect.” Rex attempted to inhale and groaned in pain, but then continued.
“When the FBI agent showed up with Keith to question us, I knew I had to catch Keith following you. I had to do something because this time, with the death involved, Toby would go to prison much longer. Maybe even life. I didn’t think he’d survive. I had to do something. I was desperate. Especially because Keith would be happy to lock Toby up again. He’s that kind of person. Vindictive. That’s probably why he took those girls after Toby was released. He wanted payback.”
“For what?”
“He sometimes hung out with Penny Gardner. I think he had a major crush on her. The little prick even barged in once during a, uh, you know, a moment. Flew into a jealous rage. I’d always suspected him of setting up Toby but could never prove it.”
“What else do you remember about him? When he lived here?” Mckenna asked.
“He was a weird, loner type. I thought if I kept following you, I’d see him again. Find a pattern of sorts and start gathering evidence against him. I know, you don’t have to say it, dumb idea, but we were desperate. We were tired of people harassing us and Toby wanted a life. He wanted to move away, which would be difficult due to his probation. I still couldn’t believe that the judge made Keith the PO for Toby. Toby even told the judge there was a conflict of interest, but I guess the probation office is short-staffed, so it didn’t matter.”
Rex took short, ragged breaths. Mckenna felt bad asking him to talk, but she needed to know the truth. The next time Keith returned, he’d probably kill them.
Mckenna could tell talking was taking a toll on Rex. She was able to undo the ropes around his hands and started working on the ones around his feet that tied him to the chair. “When did you know for sure that it was Keith?”
“First, I found old pictures from one of the parties at Penny’s house. It was the night you went missing. I didn’t remember him being there. I don’t think Penny knew he was there, but then again, I didn’t remember much from that night. We were all drinking a good amount. But when I found the pictures with Keith in the background, I called him. I told him what I had and that we needed to meet. I wanted to hear his version of the story. Toby and I had planned on secretly recording the conversation. Keith wanted those pictures. I could tell. I figured I would try to get him to confess to what he did and give him the photos. I had better ones at home, but I didn’t tell him about those. I was keeping those for evidence. But my plan backfired on us. He met us down by a tree, out of sight of the parking lot. That should have been our first clue that he wasn’t going to talk. He shot Toby and before I could get away, he nailed me with the Taser.”
“You didn’t go armed?” Mckenna asked.
“I did, but everything happened so fast I couldn’t pull my gun.”
“I’m so sorry, Rex. I’m sorry about Toby and everything. I know it’s been hard and I’m going to make it up to you by helping you escape.”
“Get out of here,” Rex said again, through harsh breaths.
“I’ll leave once I get these off. It gives you more of a chance if Keith comes back.”
Rex gave a laugh that created a little bit of a coughing fit. Mckenna thought he might have a punctured lung. “I don’t have a chance. Save yourself. It looks like you found an opening in the side of the wall or something. Go. It’s what Toby would want too.”
“I think Toby would want me to try to save you too,” Mckenna said, changing her mind about leaving Rex behind. He had tried to stop Keith. He’d done what he could and Mckenna didn’t know how, but she’d get him to a safe place where he could hide until she could get help. If she left him here, Keith would certainly kill him since he’d already killed Autumn and Toby. She’d heard an agent say once that when someone killed, it became easier to do it again.
Mckenna believed that statement—especially with Keith. She had to get Rex out of here. The final rope came undone, Mckenna’s fingers were raw and bleeding from both searching for the hole in the wall and undoing the rope. She was about to go back to the loose board, slide it back and slip through, when she heard the front door creak, its hinges giving a warning.
