She touched her heels to her horse’s side, and Calamity spurted forward, Allegro right behind her.
Anna heard Jeremy yell something at her, but she didn’t try to understand the garbled threat.
For all of her bravado, she knew she was in serious trouble. Jeremy had come after her for the murder of the man at the computer. She’d pretended to be ignorant of the killing, but she wasn’t. She was innocent, but not ignorant. And eventually, if anyone asked the right questions, she’d have to answer with the truth.
The problem was that she knew the workings of the law. She had publicly threatened Jeremy. Once they placed her at the scene of the crime with motive and opportunity, they wouldn’t look any farther for the real killer. She would be a convenient suspect; the case would be closed. Chances were good that she’d be convicted. Jeremy Masterson was an influential man, and it was clear that he was determined to blame the murder on her. She’d publicly embarrassed him, and now she was going to pay.
Her only hope was to put as much distance as possible between herself and the writer. With a little luck, she’d be deep into the wild country before he got out of the knots she’d tied. Her ace in the hole was her friends. She knew people all over the area. And they’d help her. If she could just get to Maria Gonzalez, she knew her childhood friend would loan her a vehicle and help her cross the border to Mexico, just until things calmed down.
The idea of running irked Anna, but she was a realist. After a week or so, if he didn’t catch Anna first, the sheriff would be forced to look for another suspect in the murder.
Perhaps even Jeremy.
Anna played out a series of possibilities. Perhaps Jeremy’s editor hadn’t liked the new book. Perhaps they’d had a fight and the editor had refused the book. Jeremy’s ego was so big, he might have lost his temper and killed his editor.
It was possible, wasn’t it?
JEREMY STRUGGLED until he felt the ropes rub his wrists raw. Anna had ridden off and left him with his feet pulled behind him and tied to his hands and neck. Every time he tried to free himself, the ropes pulled tighter. It was a classic hog-tie—something Anna must have been taught by an old cowboy or a rodeo rider. Or perhaps her grandfather.
Well, it might take him a little while to get free, but when he did… He twisted his hands and, losing patience, pulled at the ropes. His only reward was that the loop around his neck tightened a little more. Now the rope was a constant pressure. He was furious. He knew that if he didn’t get free, someone would eventually find him—and the humiliation would be worse than dying.
As he tried to calm down and work the ropes, he focused his mind on images of what he would do to Anna when he caught her. That he’d underestimated her was obvious. He’d sneaked up on her as if she were an average female. For all his research and all his savvy, he’d failed to consider that Anna Red Shoes might be as good in the wilderness as he was.
He felt the rope on his left wrist loosen slightly and he concentrated on getting his hand through. But despite the millimeters of progress he made, he couldn’t get free of the ropes. This was going to take a long, long time.
Three hours later he finally shucked the bonds off his hands. In a matter of moments his feet were free and he rolled and stood. When the circulation began to come back to his feet and hands, he felt as if he’d just escaped a bed of fire ants.
Hopping and cursing, he headed for his truck. He didn’t even bother to utter an oath when he saw the four flat tires. Anna had done him one better.
But he had a secret weapon. Unless she’d taken it.
He went to the pack he’d stowed in the truck and opened it. Everything was there, including the cell phone. He dialed the number he knew by heart.
“Ellie?”
“Do you know what time it is?” Ellie asked, more amazed than upset.
“I need your help.”
He could tell that his words and tone had awakened her completely.
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry, this is going to be a shock. Henry’s been murdered—in my house. I’m after the killer. Remember that woman who came to the signing?”
“Oh, my Lord,” Ellie said, coming fully awake. “She threatened to make you pay for what you’ve written.”
“That’s her.”
“Why would she kill Henry?” Ellie’s voice contained the shock and grief that Jeremy hadn’t allowed himself to feel. Tender emotions were for women. Anger was what he wanted to feel. And he wanted it now more than ever.
“It looks like she sneaked into the house and stabbed him. There was some kind of struggle. I can only guess that she thought he was me, and that once she started she couldn’t stop herself.”
“Was there evidence it was her?”
“A knife. Just like the one she left in the bookstore. I found it in the room. It’s still there.”
“What did the sheriff say?” Ellie asked.
“I haven’t called Lem. I’m on the woman’s trail. I want to bring her in myself.”
“Jeremy, this isn’t one of your books. This is real life. Oh, my heavens, I can’t believe Henry is dead.”
“Ellie, the important thing is catching this woman and making her pay. I almost had her…” He hesitated and decided against giving any more detail. It would only shake Ellie’s confidence if she knew he’d been hornswoggled by Anna Red Shoes. And it wouldn’t do much for his reputation, either.
“I need a couple of horses,” he continued. “A good riding horse and something to pack some supplies on. I need a week’s worth of food.”
“Jeremy, I’ll get you the horses and supplies.” She took a deep breath. “What about Henry’s body?”
“Give me a few hours’ lead. Then call Lem.”
“Where are you, and why don’t you take some of your own horses?”
There was no way around the truth here, but Jeremy knew he’d tell only as much as he had to. He gave her directions first. “I’m stranded. She slashed my tires.”
“You already went after her alone—and she got away?”
He could hear Ellie’s panic building. “This is between me and her.”
“Even you’re not macho enough to believe this makes anything up to Henry, are you? Henry’s dead.”
Jeremy scowled, though he didn’t try to deny the truth of her words. He heard the echo of Anna Red Shoes’s comments and it only made him madder. At this point he was after one thing—revenge.
“I have to do this,” he said.
“You don’t have to. You want to.”
He took a breath. Arguing was senseless. “Are you going to help me?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“No. I’m going after her, one way or another.”
“I’ll bring the horses. But when I get home I’m calling Lem. You can have that much of a headstart on the law.”
It was all he was going to get, and Jeremy knew it. Once Ellie made up her mind, there was no changing it. “Bring me some fast horses, then.”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
WHEN THE FIRST LICK of pink brightened the horizon, Anna pushed Calamity into a trot. She’d walked during the night, afraid of the potholes and stumps that could easily cripple a horse and kill a rider. But with day breaking, she picked a level pass between the hills and began to cover some ground.
She