John Saul by Guardian Read Free Book Online Page A

on his face. “What’s happened?”
    “Don’t know,” Rick replied. He took a swallow of coffee and, balancing the mug on the edge of the night table, turned to pull on his boots. “Joey was so upset he could barely talk, but it sounded like they were out looking for Sheika, and Audrey disappeared.”
    Gillie’s mouth dropped open. “But that’s—” She fell silent, floundering, trying to make sense out of Rick’s words.
    “It’s nuts,” Rick said grimly, finishing her sentence for her. “Why the hell were they out looking for a horse at this hour? And how could Audrey have just disappeared?” Strapping on his holster and picking up the mug of coffee, he started out of the bedroom. “We sure as hell aren’t going to find out till we get there, are we?”
    Less than ten minutes later the black and white Jeep that served as Rick’s squad car drove through the gate of El Monte. Rick had to slow down as the paved road gave way to the narrow graveled drive that wound through the woods, to open out in the large clearing that held the Wilkensons’ big house, the barn and sheds, and the field. A squad car was already parked in front of the house, and as Rick pulled his Jeep up next to it, the front door opened and Tony Moleno stepped out onto the porch.
    “Joey’s in the kitchen. He doesn’t know what happened, but he—well, he thinks his mother’s dead.”
    “Dear God,” Gillie whispered, brushing past Moleno and hurrying inside to do what she could for Joey Wilkenson.
    “What’s he told you?” Rick asked, putting out a hand to restrain the assistant deputy as Moleno, too, started into the house.
    “I told you—not much. Pretty much what you told me. They were looking for the horse, and they got separated, and he heard his mother scream but couldn’t find her. So he came back here and called you.”
    “Okay,” Rick said, his mind already working. “I want you to get up to Bill Sikes’s cabin and see if you can find him. He didn’t answer the phone, but that might just mean he got drunk and passed out.”
    “Sikes hasn’t had a drink in ten years—” Moleno began, but Rick cut him off.
    “And today his boss died, so who knows what he’s up to? Anyway, I want you to find him, and then start rounding up some men. If something’s happened to Audrey, and she’s out there with a broken leg or something, I want to find her as soon as possible. After you’ve checked Sikes’s cabin, come back here. I’ll see what I can find out from Joey.”
    Nodding his acceptance of the other man’s orders, Moleno trotted down the steps toward the squad car as Rick Martin went into the house, closing the front door behind him.
    “Joey?” he said a moment later, as he stepped into the large kitchen where the boy was huddled on a stool at the breakfast bar, watching Gillie start a pot of coffee. “What happened? Can you tell me about it?”
    At Joey’s feet, Storm growled a warning to the deputy, but calmed down when the boy reached down to pat him on the head. “I don’t know,” Joey wailed, wiping his tear-stained cheeks with the sleeve of his shirt, then blowing his nose on a piece of Kleenex he fished from a box on the countertop. “I saw Sheika, out in the field, and Mom and I were trying to catch her. But Sheika went into the woods, so while Mom was getting a rope, I sent Storm to follow her.” Slowly, his voice quavering, he pieced the story together. He and his mother had gotten separated, and then he’d heard something in the woods. His dog had been with him, and whatever was out there had frightened Storm, so when he heard his mother calling him, he hadn’t answered. “I was too scared,” he admitted. “I mean, it was like something was hunting for me, and if I answered Mom, it could find me.”
    “But didn’t you think your mom would worry if you didn’t answer her?” Rick interrupted.
    Joey’s eyes shifted nervously toward Gillie, as if seeking help.
    “For heaven’s sake,