CHAPTER 20
Morgan Jameson’s instincts told her this was going to end badly. If there was any question about something foul going on, it was just confirmed. Even with few details and nearly no facts yet, it was obvious the fire was no accident, and she’d bet her badge none of the events leading up to this point were accidents either. No, someone had it in for Sam. Someone wanted her dead, but who?
Blake rolled through the details of the morning as he sat in the security office that was just within the entrance of the emergency room, waiting for word on his friends. He outlined the chain of events and didn’t like what he saw. It was blatantly clear someone was trying to hurt Sam, which also meant Ellie, Lou, and Everly were possibly at risk too. The shitty part was they didn’t have a single fucking clue. The most likely suspect in a case like this, where there aren’t any known conflicts, would be Ellie’s father, who had already been ruled out.
Sam insisted he wasn’t a threat, but they did their due diligence and checked him out anyway. Despite what he did to Sam and Ellie, he was a respected doctor back east, from a well-to-do, prominent family, with a new trophy wife, and expecting their first child—a real scumbag but not after Sam. Until they had a report from the chief and a chance to talk to Sam, he would go back over the timeline until something caught his eye. He knew there was a clue there, and this ended…today.
Morgan passed through town but didn’t see Evie’s car at any of the likely morning breakfast spots, which meant she and Ellie were already at Sugar Pine Stables. When she pulled in, she quickly found them, saddling up what would be Ellie’s horse for the day.
“Hey squirt, how’s it going? You taking Blue out today?” She needed to talk to Evie but clearly not in front of the little one, so small talk it was, as not to alarm her.
“Yes, Morgie! Blue’s my very favorite, and Butterscotch, but Jenna gets Butterscotch today ’cause we have ta take turns, but I get Blue, and he’s a good boy! He loves apples, but I’m not allowed to feed him them anymore ’cause last time I gave him so many he got the bad gases!” Ellie earned herself a chuckle from each of them, as usual, with her colorful stories, including Rene, who had just walked up. This girl was a riot. Morgan didn’t want to ruin her spirit. She needed to protect Ellie from all of this.
“Hey Morgan, you riding with us today? Not really dressed for it.” Morgan paid close attention to Rene’s friendly demeanor—was there anything to worry about? She was here, at the stables, which meant something, didn’t it?
“Nope, actually, I’m here working, looking for these two,” she replied, referring to Everly and Ellie as she nodded to each of them.
Not wanting to have this discussion in front of the child, Morgan called for Cal. “Hey, Cal. Can you help Ellie and Blue here out to the ring with the others?” He quickly obliged, as he always did, and got Ellie out of there.
“High five, squirt; have fun. I’ll see you later, okay?” Putting her hand out for a high five, Ellie complied.
“Can you come with us and ride, Morgie? Aunt Evie, you too? We can have a girls’ only club, except for the horses, and it’ll be fun! You can ride Mittens and Bulldog!” Her enthusiasm was contagious, and had there not been a problem in town, Morgan would have happily joined the club!
Everly sensed something was wrong the minute she saw Morgan in uniform. There wasn’t anything scheduled for Search and Rescue, and she wouldn’t show up to ride in her uniform. Taking her cue from Morgan, Evie tried to keep calm and help get Ellie out of ear shot; that must’ve meant something happened to Sam. “Not today honey. Morgie and I have some work to do, but we will real soon, promise!”
“Yep, I’m in too! Aunt Evie is riding Bulldog though, deal?”
“Yippee!” Ellie cheered and pocketed that victory, a promised girls only
riding club day! With a leap and skip in her step, her horse in tow, and Cal at her side, she continued to plan her future outing. “We will go on a very longest ride, all the way to the cabin on the tallest mountain just like Miss Rene talked about! We’ll make s’mores and paint. It’ll be the bestest day ever!”
There was a change in the air as Ellie wandered closer to the other kids and was out of hearing range, and the three women found themselves standing there, alone. Smiles faded, tensions heightened, as the two women waited for Morgan to start talking. This wasn’t going to be a good meeting; Everly could feel it. Fun loving Morgan was absent. There was a seriousness about her, a hardness that Evie rarely saw. Morgan the cop stood before her. That left an anxious feeling all around, even in Rene who had wide eyes and a panicked look as well. Everly was nervous; where was Sam?
“What happened, Morgan?” Evie didn’t ask if
something happened. She asked what
had happened because trouble was written all over Morgan’s face.
Fists clenched, posture tense, anger was overwhelming her initial fear. This was her friend, her dear friend, and she was pissed. “There was a fire. Sam’s at the ER right now. Looks like she will be okay, but, Everly, this looks intentional.”
“So she’s alive? She’s fine? How did she get out?” Rene’s quick reaction was full of surprise and what sounded like irritation. “Oh, my gosh, poor Sam. This is awful!” A quick recovery, or so she hoped. She didn’t intend to sound so crass.
Morgan paused, odd struck by Rene’s response. What the hell was that? She seemed shocked that Sam was alive, not that there was a fire. Given recent conversations and the fact that they were looking into her past, Morgan was just shy of taking her in for questioning. But she was already here, at Sugar Pine, so she couldn’t have been involved. Jessie must have been right. She is just strange, maybe jealous. How did she miss this about Rene before?
“Dawson got to her in time, broke through her bathroom window. She was trapped in there.” Keeping her eyes on Rene, she continued to deliver the story. “He is cut up pretty bad. He’s up at the ER, too; he needed stitches, a lot of them.”
“Morgan, this shit is out of control. Who the hell would do this? She doesn’t have any enemies. She helps people, doesn’t hurt them. What the hell?” Everly questioned with tear filled, angry eyes. “How can I help? How do we catch this asshole?”
“I’d like you to come to the hospital with me. We are using it as an HQ of sorts. Give a statement; let us know if you saw anything out of place this morning. We’re putting it all together there. This is over, today!” Morgan said, full of heat and determination.
She kept her eye on Rene, wanting to rule her friend
in or out, as it may be. She started to settle on relief as Rene’s demeanor seemed to change, and genuine worry and concern came over her, apparent in her expressions and body language. On high alert maybe, Morgan thought Rene’s initial response was more lack of tact and social etiquette than menace. Rene was at Sugar Pine anyway; she was still odd but out of the equation, for now.
Everly pulled Morgan from thought with her response. “Of course, anything. I should grab Ellie…”
“NO!” Rene shouted, catching both Evie and Morgan off guard. “I mean, she’s been through enough. The hospital is the last place she should be right now. I can watch her until you are done. We are running an extra hour today anyway, a long trail ride up the foothills for working so hard.” She paused and plastered on a bright confident smile before finishing. “I am helping with the ride today. I’ll just keep her with me until I hear from one of you. Please let me help; it’s the least I can do for Sam. I won’t let her out of my sight.”
“I don’t know…” Morgan’s hesitation was interrupted by more pleas to help. Maybe she was just an awkward introvert, and this was her way of helping a friend.
“Please, let me help. It will keep her busy and give you all a chance to be together and sort things out, Morgie.” Rene used Morgan’s nickname, used only by her friends. Was this her way of assuring her sincerity? “I really don’t mind, anything to keep her safe and protected from everything going on—it’s sure to start affecting her.”
“Shit, Morgan. She has a point. She already spent most of her summer in the hospital, watching her mom.” As much as Evie wanted to keep Ellie close, she had to think of the child and how this could affect her long term; Rene was right. Ellie was tough as nails, like her mama, but she was still just a kid, and this could take its toll on her if they weren’t careful. “So camp is running later? I don’t remember that on the schedule?”
“It wasn’t. Cal and Angel told everyone at pick-up last meeting. The kids are progressing faster than anticipated, so they promised a longer trail ride as a reward.” She laughed and looked over to the crowd of kids, full of pride. “None of us expected them to achieve their goals only weeks after we set them, a bunch of hard working hustlers over there.” Her enthusiasm and genuine delight for those kids put both Morgan and Evie at ease.
Morgan, fighting the damned if you do, damned if you don’t tug of war, relented. Ellie was safer away from the situation, at least for now. “Okay, I’m okay with it if you are Ev, as long as nobody picks her up but us, or of course, Dawson and Lou. Got it? We have no idea what this asshole is capable of or what his intentions are.”
“Agreed, this psycho is out to hurt Sam, kill her even. With this many failed attempts, he is sure to figure out the only way to truly hurt her, and that’s Ellie.” Evie was sure of this; Sam’s heart was right there in front of them, riding her horse. The equestrian center was safe, armed even, as Search and Rescue headquarters.
“Then it’s settled. Ellie stays with me. I’ll protect her with my life if I have to. No mother should have to go through the pain of losing her child; I imagine it’s as close to death without actually dying. No decent
person deserves that. I’ll do for Sam what she would do for me,” Rene said, pain laced in her words. With a nod and empty smile, Rene turned and walked away.
“Sounds like she knows that sense of loss, Morgan.”
“Might explain the mystery around her that has had us all distracted. No wonder she wanted to help; she gets it,” Morgan said with a bit of guilt for questioning Rene in the first place. She had not given any one of them a reason to doubt her.
“I think you are right. She’s good people. Ellie adores her. She’ll be fine.”
“One less thing to worry about. Something still feels off, and I can’t put my finger on it. Let’s go see what the gang has uncovered. Maybe it will settle this chill I can’t shake. My instincts say this case is about to bust wide open, but it’s far from over.”
Dawson sat at the all too familiar hospital bedside, watching Sam sleep. It felt like déjà vu. She was going to be fine this time, sleeping only as a result of a few pills that helped her relax. He scanned her body, not a scratch on her, thank God.
He took the pain for her this time with several stitches – he lost count at around 100 or so – to close the deep gash to his side and forearm, as well as a few on his forehead. The rest of the cuts, and there were plenty, would heal on their own, no stitches needed. He would bear those wounds again and again to protect her, without hesitation.
He replayed their phone conversation over and over in his mind—first, how angry she was, then, the fear in her words as she asked for help. In one minute, she was pushing him away, faulting him for his actions, the next, screaming for his help. Neither did he ever wish to hear again.
Sure, going behind her back, settling her debts the way he did, wasn’t his brightest move, but he knew she wouldn’t accept his help any other way. He’d do it again in a heartbeat; he’d do anything for his girls…anything.
“Hi.” Sam’s raspy voice startled him, bringing him back to the present and away from his less than desirable memories.
“Hi, how do you feel? Should I call the nurse?” he said, not sure what else to do for her.
“I am a nurse, and I’d say I feel about as rough as you look, handsome,” she delivered, raising her hand to his wounded face as she began to cry. “I’m sorry Dawson; I’m so sorry…”
“Hey, there’s nothing to be sorry for. None of this is your fault, you hear me?” His words were full of truth and honor. She didn’t have a thing to be sorry for, not a single thing.
“I’ve dragged you into something I don’t even understand, and you’re hurt! I was awful to you. I didn’t mean what I said. Oh, my God, I couldn’t stand it if that was the last thing I ever said to you,” she replied, realizing just how close she came to not being able to right her terrible wrong.
“I’m fine, honey, just a few stitches. Looks worse than it is; I promise. I deserved some hard truths. I probably should have done things differently.” His head hanging, his admission was heartfelt, and his regret evident in his words.
“I know it came from a good place. I shouldn’t have said all that, Dawson. I let my past get in the way, and I…” She tried to finish, but he cut her off, not wanting an ounce of guilt resting on her shoulders. What was done, was done.
“Sam, baby, please, it’s okay. Everything, it’s going to be okay. I promise you. I would do anything for you and Ellie. Somehow, at some point, you two became my whole world, and nothing can change that, not now.”
“Ellie! Where is she? I can’t have her see me here, not like this, not again!” she frantically said as she began to get up, wanting to be anywhere but there, when she began to cough, a deep, painful cough.
“Whoa, hold on there; she’s fine. Evie and Morgan are taking care of her,” he quickly assured her while placing his hands on her shoulders to gently lay her back against her fluffed pillows. “Slow down; you took in a lot of smoke. That’s going to hurt for a few days.”
She collapsed into his arms and surrendered to all that was going on around her. Conceding in the fight she was having with herself, she let Dawson take over, doing what he had been doing all along, taking care of her. And it didn’t just feel good; it felt right.
The quiet was short lived as everyone began to file into Sam’s room, which was now a makeshift headquarters. Granny arrived first with coffee and baked goods. It was supposed to be their weekly “girls only” day, where the three women—Lou, Everly, and Sam—got together and gossiped, over whatever the drink of choice was that day and Granny’s delicious treats. Not today, though. Today, those treats and coffee were there to fuel a team of friends who were determined to bring justice for one of their own.
Blake was the last to arrive, notebook in hand and wearing a knowing look. He waited to deliver his findings until the others shared what information they had found, taking notes and piecing things together. The answers were here, in this room. He felt it, and he was waiting for that one simple clue to tie all the various elements together.
Jessie started, irritation streaming through her words. “Sparks and I just got final word; it was arson. They have Crime Scene out now, assisting, but whoever did this was pretty clean. Not sure what they will find. Not a fucking thing turned up in our initial walk through. It looks like the fire started right outside your room. So far, it looks like this wasn’t just any old arson; someone had you pegged.” She was angry. They all were, and this jackass was still one clue ahead of them.
“Jessie and I are headed back over, but we wanted to check in and let you know what our initial analysis revealed—jack shit,” followed Colton. His heart was always on his sleeve, and this time, it was nothing short of anger and fear for his friends, and maybe a little hero worship for Dawson. “That was a crazy rescue, bro!”
“How about next time, let us do our job, asshole. It was hard enough rolling up for one friend. Pulling out both of you would have made for a bad fucking day. I would have left your ass in there a few extra minutes; teach you a lesson for acting like a Neanderthal caveman.” There she was – Jessie the smart ass was back. Knowing her the way they did, they knew that was her way of showing affection and thanks for her friends being safe. Asshole, to her, was like sweetheart to the rest of the world. If you were a jackass, you were usually her friend.
“Not a chance, but thanks for the sentiment, Jessie. I’m glad to see you too,” Dawson joked, poking fun, lightening the mood.
Blake ended the playful banter with a declaration that left the room silent. “Okay, gang, we aren’t just looking at a fire. This started with the accident.”
All eyes were on Sam as she stared blankly, pale as can be, like she had seen a ghost. She began to shake her head and mumble gibberish when Dawson moved back to her side.
“Sam? Honey? What’s going on? Lou, go grab the doctor, Evie?” Dawson asked, confused by her current state.
“No! No doctor! Headlights, I remember headlights,” she replied, adding confusion to an already perplexing situation.
“What headlights, girl. C’mon, help an ol’ lady out; tell me honey. What do you see? What do you remember?” Granny asked, somehow understanding Sam was remembering the accident.
She felt the blood drain from her face and a chill strike her core—it was fear. A shiver took over as it all began to play back like a movie, a dark frightening movie, starring her. As the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, a clear picture emerged. She scanned the room, making eye contact with each of her friends, their surprise laced with concern when she relieved them of the suspense she held them all in. “It wasn’t an accident.”