Page 17

CHAPTER 17

Lorissa sighed heavily as she lowered the horse’s foot to the ground and nodded when the horse didn’t favor it like she had when she had first arrived. It had taken her two hours to get to her destination, she’d worked for three hours on the horse, now she had another two hours to get home. She cleaned and sterilized her tools, packed them up, then looked up when Jared joined her.

“She should be okay now, I’ll swing by in a couple of days to check on her. I don’t know if you’re going to like this, but I have a suggestion.”

“What’s that? Because I’m going to tell you right now, if I have to call you out for another horse with the same problem, I won’t be able to afford your services.”

“Okay, now hear me out. You have two horses in a span of about a month that have the same problem. Based on what I saw of their feet, there is something in their pasture that is tearing them up. If you can, I suggest you move them to a different pasture, then walk the area and see if you can’t find what they’re stepping on, or even get one of those metal detectors to help you look.” She shook her head sadly when he went to speak. “Or keep them in their stalls. There’s something out there that is hurting your horses.”

“I agree, and I think I’ll leave them in their stalls until I can get that detector. I ordered one online a few days ago and should be here by tomorrow or the next day at the latest.”

“Good, at least you care enough to do something about it. I wish you luck and I’ll be back out in three days. Now, I’m going to head home, but I’m going to sit in my truck and call the person waiting for me at home that I’m leaving here. I don’t want them to worry.”

“Good, do you have a travel mug with you?”

“I do, why?”

“Because I have a fresh pot of coffee on. Let me at least fill the mug for your ride home. It was after four when I called you, and it’s almost ten at night.”

“That would be heavenly.” She picked up her bag and carried it to the truck. As she handed him the mug, she grinned. “Black, please.”

“Coming right up.” Jared left and after Lorissa climbed into her truck, she picked up her phone and dialed .

“Stolls,” came the deep reply after the second ring.

“Tom, it’s me, Lorissa.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m done. Jared’s filling my travel mug with coffee for the ride home. If you haven’t eaten already, go ahead and do so.”

“I did, and I’ll wait until you get home, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t. I don’t think I’ll run into a lot of traffic this time of night, maybe through town, but other than that, I should be home by midnight.”

“I’ll be here.” He reassured her and they hung up. She looked up and rolled the window down when she spotted Jared still a few feet away.

“It’s not much, but here’s a package of crackers to hold you over.”

“Thanks, I had put a roast in the crockpot at seven this morning. I think it might be done by now.” They shared a laugh, then Jared stepped back as Lorissa got underway. It was a long, dark, no moon night, and the roads were empty. She drove with her high beams on, and never encountered another vehicle. When she entered the town of Fool’s Gold, she lowered her lights, drove the speed limit, and sat at the one traffic light in the entire town. As soon as it turned green, she passed Gunny’s bar, and still driving at the lower speed limit, she drove through town. About two blocks down from Gunny’s in the center of the business district, bright lights appeared in her rearview mirror blinding her. She didn’t jerk the wheel, but reached up to adjust the mirror, then screamed as she was hit from behind and lost control of the steering wheel. The last thing she remembered was screaming as she spun out from being hit again in the rear of her truck, then the side door where she sat came crashing in on her leg. She felt extreme pain and screamed louder than before. She would never remember doing it, but when she’d reached up to adjust the rear mirror, she’d hit the button to call for help. She never answered them, but they heard what happened, and called for help.

Tom jerked awake at the feel of someone shaking him and he looked up to see Duane’s concerned face only inches from him.

“What’s wrong? What time is it?”

“It’s a little after six in the morning.”

Tom jumped up from the couch and caught Rose just before she hit the floor. “Is Lorissa home?”

“When was the last time you talked to her?”

“Around ten, she called me and said she was leaving Jared’s place as soon as he filled her travel mug with coffee. She reassured me that she would be home by midnight. I thought she would have woken me when she got home.”

“Shit,” Duane said as he ran his hands through his hair. “Sparrow called us about twenty minutes ago. There was an accident earlier, and when they got there, there was a three-car accident.”

“Lorissa?”

“She’s alive, but pretty banged up. We have to go to the hospital in Colorado Springs. I saw your truck and wondered what was up. Are you dating Lorissa?”

“Trying to,” Tom admitted as he took the cup of coffee Laurie handed him. He took a sip then excused himself to use the downstairs bathroom. When he rejoined them, they made their way outside, he noted the animals had been let out and they had fresh food and water.

“What happened?”

“Do you want to ride with us?” Duane asked as he pointed at Laurie and Lois as they climbed into his vehicle.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll drive myself.”

“That’s fine, all we know is that one of those on-board call centers called 9-1-1 when they heard of an accident. Sparrow said that there were two cars, and one truck involved. That’s all she’d tell me, well, that’s not right, she said all this to Laurie. She said we needed to get to Colorado Springs ASAP.”

“Follow me.”

“Why?”

“Because I can cut thirty minutes off our time if we take the back roads. ”

“Got it.” Duane didn’t argue and climbed behind the wheel.

Tom started his truck and instead of heading into Fool’s Gold, he went in the opposite direction and nodded when he saw Duane following him. As he drove, he used his Bluetooth to call Sparrow.

“Sparrow, it’s Tom Stolls, you called Lorissa Gibson’s mother about an accident.”

“I did, and no offense, Stolls, but what concern of it is yours?” The voice on the other end of the line was cold. Cold enough to make Tom shiver.

“What did I do to you.”

“Sorry, it’s just a mess here. There are more questions than answers. Where are you right now?”

“Heading to the hospital. Duane Manchester woke me.”

“Where were you?”

“Sleeping on Lorissa’s couch.”

“You two dating?”

“Trying to, she was called out on a job yesterday afternoon. She called me before she left, said she’d be home, to her place, around midnight.”

“Okay, where was she calling from?”

“Jared Coleman’s ranch, he had a problem with a horse.”

“Why didn’t you go there?”

“Because I knew I couldn’t help, so Lorissa was called in. I don’t know if you know this, but she’s a veterinarian as well as a farrier. ”

“What’s that?”

“She works on the horses’ hooves.”

“Ah, so that might be why we have these strange tools at the accident site.”

“Yes, if they look like sharp knives and hooks, that’s what she uses to trim the hooves.”

“Thank you for clearing that up. I’ll finish up here and one of us will meet you at the hospital to tell you what happened. I can’t say anything more. Oh, just one more thing, where were you last night?”

“I was at Erin’s Way until sometime between seven and seven-thirty, I drove the fifteen miles to Lorissa’s home, which is The Old Atherton Place. I fed her cat and dog, checked on their litter, used the bathroom, then dished up the food in the crockpot. I worked on paperwork until I got the call from Lorissa between ten and ten thirty. No, no one can confirm it. I fell asleep on the couch with Rose and Baby snuggled up to me.”

“Who are they?”

“Rose is a Yorkie, Baby is a Himalayan cat. They belonged to Mrs. Bickers.”

“Shit, okay. I’ll see you at the hospital.” She hung up and Tom stared at the screen on his dash. He hung up the phone and settled into the rest of the drive. As soon as they arrived, he parked, and waited for Duane to do so too. While Duane helped Laurie, Tom helped Lois. Together the four of them walked into the emergency room .

“Help you?” A security guard stopped them.

“My daughter was brought in a couple of hours ago, we only got the call, and it took us some time to get here. We live over in Fool’s Gold.”

“Name of patient?”

“Lorissa Gibson.” Laurie answered and Tom swore she aged right before his eyes.

“She’s up on the fifth floor. Who is everyone here? Only family will be allowed in to see her.”

Duane took up the conversation then, and labeled everyone as he pointed at them, starting with himself. “Step-father, mother, grandmother, fiancé.”

“Okay, you can go up. Do you know where the elevators are?”

“I do,” Tom said, and with his hand still on Lois back, he led the way. They exited the elevators and after giving them their information, they were told they had to wait until at least eight when visiting hours would start. The most frustrating part was that no one would tell them anything. Both Duane and Tom looked at their watches and saw it wasn’t quite seven thirty, so they went to look for some coffee. A nurse had brought some papers for them to fill out and Laurie started doing that. Because Tom had been there several times before, he knew right where to go, and they were back in the waiting room in under ten minutes. The four of them sat there in silence as they waited. There was no activity until a little after eight, the door opened, and a nurse and Sparrow walked in at the same time.

“Gibson?” The nurse called out and they all rose to their feet. “I can only allow two people at a time back.”

“Laurie and Lois,” Duane said, and kissed the side of Laurie’s head. “We’ll go in when you get out.”

As soon as they left, and the door closed, Duane turned on Sparrow with his hand out. “Duane Manchester, former FBI.”

“Scott Gould’s brother? Working for Erin Riceman?”

“Yes. What can you tell us?”

“It’s not pretty.”

“We figured that, but what happened?”

“We’re still piecing it together, at first we thought it was a drunken hit and run, but then we started digging into the drivers of the other vehicles.”

“And?” Tom demanded impatiently as Sparrow pulled her notebook from her pocket and only glared at him as she flipped through the pages.

“First, let me tell you, even though I don’t know the extent of Ms. Gibson’s injuries, I do know that she was the only survivor. There were three vehicles involved, and though this is all speculation right now, I think this all stems around you, Stolls.”

“Me? What the hell did I do? I’m trying to establish a relationship with Lorissa. I can assure you I had nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, to do with her accident.”

“And I believe you.” She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. Since they had been distracted, he and Duane had ordered an extra coffee and he handed that to her now.

“It’s black, but still warm.”

“Thank you.” She took it and took a healthy sip. “Okay let’s sit down, and I’ll try to piece together as much as we have so far. If you answer all my questions now, you won’t have to come into the station.”

“Okay, I guess.” Tom looked at Duane and they both exchanged confused looks.

“Okay, based on witnesses, traffic cameras, and cameras on the side of the businesses in town this is what Jim, and I have come up with so far. Two women were seen and heard drinking together in Gunny’s. It was bad, I’m mean bad enough that RJ cut them off and Jake threatened to kick them out.”

“Who’s RJ?” Duane asked.

“Jake Cogburn’s wife. Gunny’s daughter.”

“Okay, please continue.”

“Anyway, Jake said he overheard these two women saying that how you, Stolls, treated them, you needed to pay for not dating them.” She shook her head and held up her hand. “I’ll get to it. One of them left, drunk, and it wasn’t five minutes later when witnesses said she came running back in and grabbed the other one and dragged her out of the bar. Less than twenty minutes later the call from that on-board service called it in.”

“Who were the women?” Tom asked, and clenched both his teeth and hands into fists.

Sparrow wouldn’t look at him as she looked at her notes. “One was Melissa Gallagher, the other was the woman you know as Leslie Warren.”

Tom sucked in his breath, and he looked at Duane in wide-eyed shock. “Those are the two women I had you run the names of. Do you remember? From that dating service?”

“Shit, now I do.”

“Do you still have the reports?”

“Probably on my computer at work, which happens to be at Erin’s Way. I remember that I told Tom to contact the police and have his date with Leslie with plenty of witnesses. I was the one that told him she had at least seven warrants out for her arrest for identity theft.”

“After I arrested her, it turned out to be eleven. All felony charges. I have no idea how she got out on bail.”

“What about Melissa?” Tom asked as he pulled out his phone and accessed the text messages from her. He passed the phone to Sparrow. “This is the only interaction I had with her before you arrested her at Kora’s after she assaulted me. You’ll see at the end, the day is different, and she said she would hunt me down. What I did next was probably cowardly of me, but maybe that’s why this accident happened.”

“Enlighten me,” Sparrow barked out as she did something with his phone, and as she passed his back, said, “I just sent that conversation to my phone.”

“Okay, I have nothing to hide.”

“Good, now enlighten me to what happened that day she was arrested.”

“You just saw the text where she was coming to find me. I was on my way to Kora’s anyway, I needed to fuel up before heading to a ranch. I saw Lorissa in the bakery, she was leaving, but Melissa found me, somehow, and she opened the door and started screaming my name. Lorissa was right there, and I thought I could prove I wasn’t interested by taking Lorissa in my arms and kissing her. Then all hell broke loose.”

“How?”

“As I kissed her, Melissa dug her nails into my arms and spun me around, slapped me across the face, the fire truck pulled up outside, Seth Falco rushed in demanding I come to him because he had animals from a fire.”

He shook his head sadly and sipped his coffee. It was hard to swallow due to the lump in his throat. “He had Baby and Rose from the Bickers fire.”

“Fuck me,” Sparrow said and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I worked that fire. What happened next? ”

“Lorissa stepped up to the plate and rushed after Seth while I dealt with Melissa. I had called Jim the second she slapped me, and Jake and Stone were in the bakery and stood by so she couldn’t get away. I saw through the window Lorissa take the boxes with the animals, put them in her truck, and drive way. As soon as she pulled out, the fire truck left, Jim arrived, and I pressed charges. Jake and Stone were my witnesses, along with Kora Falco.”

“Good, I’m sure Jim got their statements. Can you tell me how you met them?”

Tom shook his head sadly. “My office workers think I’m alone and lonely. They took it upon themselves to sign me up for a dating app. I never knew about it until they told me I had a date. Melissa Gallagher was the first one. The text messages I showed you was in regard to our first date. After the text exchange, when I told her I wasn’t interested, I figured it was over. It was two weeks later that they, my workers, set me up with Leslie Warren. You know how that ended.”

“Yeah. Have there been any more dates from that site?”

“No, and I told my office manager that if it doesn’t work out, she had to take my profile off the site. I don’t know whether she has or not. I haven’t had time to ask. Anyway, before I tried to avoid Melissa by kissing Lorissa, that’s when Lorissa and I started dating. No, that’s not right. I asked her out on a date, but we went to talk to Mrs. Bickers, then when we were at the steak house for our date, I got the call that she had passed.”

“Why did you go see Mrs. Bickers. It has nothing to do with this case, but I’m curious.”

Tom told her what he thought about telling her that her babies were safe, and it would give her the initiative to fight to live. He shrugged, then sighed. “Then she passed away. Lorissa and I haven’t been on an official date yet, but I’ve been hanging out with her a lot lately. I enjoy her company, and we have a lot of things in common.”

“Thank you for being honest with me, Tom. I will now tell you that Melissa Gallagher was driving one of the vehicles that hit Ms. Gibson. Leslie Warren was driving the other one. From the cameras, we believe Melissa hit her from behind. Not once, but possibly three times. Again, we’ll have to have a better view, but it looks like Melissa hit her once, and the truck Ms. Gibson was driving barely moved. Then Gallagher stopped, waited for Ms. Gibson to get further away, and actually spun her tires to hit her again, that spun the truck out, and all of a sudden, another vehicle, driven by Leslie Warren slammed into the driver’s door of Ms. Gibson’s truck at the same time Gallagher hit her the third time. The truck spun, but then bounced up onto Gallagher’s car, and Warren’s car slipped beneath the truck. All three women were pinned. I was told by the firemen that all three were checked for a pulse, and they extracted Ms. Gibson first, because she had a pulse and was breathing.”

“Damn.” Duane shook his head as he pictured what had happened.

“Yeah, both Gallagher and Warren were pronounced at the scene. We’ll do a full tox screen at the autopsy. I know I won’t be charging Ms. Gibson with anything, but maybe her insurance company would like a copy of the report to prove she was hit by two drunk drivers.”

“Why didn’t RJ cut them off sooner?”

“She did, but we found several bottles of liquor in each of their purses. They gave it to themselves. With the cameras Jake has in that place, I’m sure we’ll see them doing it.”

They paused when the door opened, and Duane jumped to his feet and held out his arms as Laurie hurried as fast as she could into his arms. After she hugged him, she looked at Tom.

“Lorissa is awake and asking for you.”

Tom looked at Sparrow with a raised brow. “Can I go?”

“Yes. I’ll go in and talk with her when you’re done.” She watched him go and stood off to the side to give the family some privacy.