Excerpt of SPECIAL AGENT
“For You have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from falling.”
Psalm 116:8
CHAPTER
ONE
FBI agent Max West squared his shoulders and
forced himself to walk away from the latest
scene of destruction. His job there was done –
his and Opal’s, his K-9 partner. Unfortunately,
the Dupree family crime syndicate, at least what
was left of it, seemed determined to keep him
and his team scrambling by randomly setting off
bombs. Opal, his explosives detection dog,
worked very well but it was frustrating to be
called in after the fact.
He paused in the shade of an enormous oak and
phoned Dylan O’Leary, the team’s computer guru,
on his cell. “I’m done with this one. Just the
usual leftover components and a lot of jumpy
people.” Max sighed. “At least there was no loss
of life this time. That family caught in the
blast zone on the last one nearly made me turn
in my badge.”
“So, what now?” Dylan asked. “You thinking of
leaving Northern California and heading home to
Billings?”
“Maybe soon. I thought I’d look into the
backgrounds of some of the Dupree underlings
we’ve scooped up while I’m in the neighborhood.
See if we missed anything on the first sweep.”
“Little fish in a big pond,” Dylan reminded him.
“We got Reginald Dupree, the real brains behind
the drug operation.”
Max nodded. “While his uncle Angus kidnapped one
of our best men and escaped. Has there been any
word on Agent Morrow’s whereabouts?”
“Sorry. No.”
“Okay.” Max opened the rear door to his black
SUV to air it out before letting Opal get in. “I
checked our files last night and was on my way
to the Garwood Horse Ranch when I got diverted
to this call. Vern Kowalski, one of the Dupree
drug runners, had ties there. When we arrested
him he insisted he was working alone but it
won’t hurt to check. I can use a break and so
can Opal.”
“You’re the boss, boss.”
Max barely chuckled. Being SAC, Special Agent in
Charge, of the classified K-9 unit was no
picnic. A lot of responsibility rested on his
shoulders, responsibility that weighed heavily.
Yes, he considered this job his calling, but
that didn’t mean he never felt the pain of loss,
never wished he’d been more successful and had
prevented every explosion, every injury. Every
death.
Closing his eyes for a moment he reminded
himself that he was just a man, giving his all
in terrible situations. Then he loaded his dog,
climbed behind the wheel and continued his
interrupted trip to the nearby ranch.
*****
Katerina Garwood was halfway between one of the
stables and the house, heading for her old
suite, when she saw an imposing black vehicle
pass beneath the ornate wrought iron arch at the
foot of the drive. Unexpected company was all
she needed. If her father came outside to see
who it was and caught her trespassing on his
precious property he’d be furious. Well, so be
it. There was no way she could run and hide in
time to avoid encountering the new arrival – and
perhaps her irate dad, as well.
Chin high, she paused in the wide, hard-packed
drive and shaded her eyes. The SUV reminded her
of one that had assisted the county sheriff on
the worst day of her life. The day when all her
dreams of a happy future had vanished like a
puff of smoke.
Darkly tinted windows kept her from getting a
good look at the driver until he stopped, opened
his door and stepped partway out. Prepared to
tell him to go to the house if he needed to
speak to someone in charge, she took one look
and was momentarily speechless. The blond,
blue-eyed man was so imposing and had such a
powerful presence he sent her usually normal
reactions whirling. When he spoke, his deep
voice magnified those unsettling feelings.
“Katerina Garwood?”
“Do I know you?”
“No, but I know you. I’m Special Agent West. I’d
like to talk to you about Vern Kowalski.”
“I have nothing to say.” She started to turn
away.
“This is not a social call, Ms. Garwood.” He
flashed a badge and blocked her path. “I suggest
you reconsider.”
“FBI? You have to be kidding. I am so normal, so
boring, that until recently people hardly
noticed me.”
“They do now, I take it.”
She blushed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah.”
“Then you’ll understand why I need to speak with
you.”
A quick glance toward the house told her she and
the agent had not yet been noticed. That was too
good to last. As soon as one of the hands or the
foreman, Heath McCabe, spotted her, word would
get to her father and he’d be on the rampage
again.
“Not here. Not now. We can meet in South Fork
later. I work at the Miner’s Grub diner, on
Main, near where the American River forks.”
“What’s wrong, Ms. Garwood? You seem nervous.”
“It’s personal.”
“Everything is when you get right down to it.”
He reached for her arm as a familiar white
pickup truck pulling a matching horse trailer
rounded the nearest of three identical,
rectangular stables and came to a stop.
She jerked free. Backed away. Her sky-blue eyes
had widened and she was trembling. “I have to
go. Now.”
“Care to tell me why?” Max’s gaze was
unwavering. “Perhaps you’d better come with me
and wait in the car while I have my K-9 partner
check this place.”
“What? No. I’m not going anywhere with you. I
haven’t broken any laws. All I did was believe
Vern’s lies and fall in love with him. It’s not
my fault I was duped. And I don’t know anything
about his secret life as a crook, okay? Despite
all the nasty rumors, I’m a good person.”
“Then why are you so jumpy?” Max continued to
crowd her until she was ready to literally shove
him away.
Unable to help herself, Katerina darted glances
back and forth between the immense house and the
complex of stables where the foreman had stopped
with the horse trailer. Was he on the phone to
her dad already? There was no way to tell. And
no way to avoid another terrible scene once
Bertrand was notified.
There was only one sensible course of action.
She had to plead her case in person, and to do
that she had to reach Heath McCabe despite her
determined adversary. Staring into the distance
on the agent’s opposite side, she used that
momentary distraction to slip away.
Max was on her in a flash. Grabbed her arms and
held fast. Katerina began to thrash. If her
father saw her now he’d be even more positive
she was worthless. Tears of frustration filled
her eyes.
I will not cry, she insisted to herself. I’m
through letting any man make me cry.
Nevertheless, a few drops escaped and trickled
down her flushed cheeks.
Suddenly, she was pulled free. The middle-aged
foreman had come to her rescue. His arm was
drawn back, ready to deliver a punch, and the
agent’s hand was reaching for his sidearm.
Katerina intervened. “Stop!” She gestured at
McCabe. “This is just a misunderstanding. I
wanted to keep you from telling dad I’m here and
Agent… West? Agent West must have thought I was
running away.”
The adrenaline in her system had bolstered
Katerina’s courage and she faced him as boldly
as she could while her insides quaked.
Max met her gaze head-on. “Your father? Why
didn’t you just say so?”
“I did. You weren’t listening.”
“No, you were acting guilty, behaving like a
scared kid trying to make a run for it.”
“I’m not a child. I’m twenty-two.”
“I know. I read your file.”
She was thunderstruck. “There’s a file on me? An
FBI file?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Why am I not surprised?” She felt the starch go
out of her like a sigh lost on the wind. Her
concentration moved to the foreman. “Please
don’t tell Dad I’m here and make him mad all
over again. It was bad enough when he threw me
out the first time because of my horrible love
life. I just want to pick up a few of the
personal things I left behind. I know he always
works on the ranch books around noon on Tuesdays
and Thursdays and I thought I could sneak in
while he was busy in his den.”
McCabe doffed his cowboy hat. “I’d never do you
that way, Miss Katerina. You know I wouldn’t.”
He gestured back at the truck and trailer. “If I
didn’t have to get these horses to the vet for
checkups I’d stay here and help.”
“Do you have Moonlight with you? I looked for
her in the stables when I got here and she
wasn’t in her usual stall. That whole section
was empty.”
“Your horse is safe and sound with me.” The wiry
foreman eyed Max. “All right if I leave or are
you plannin’ to shoot me?”
“I just came to talk to Ms. Garwood. If she had
explained the reasons for her reluctance in the
beginning we’d probably be done already.”
“You gonna be okay if I go, Ma’am?”
Katerina smiled. “The horses come first with me.
You know that. I’ll be fine.” She noticed both
men staring at the house across the driveway.
“If Dad catches me here and starts yelling again
I’ll just do what I did before. I’ll leave.”
“Okay then. You and this cop goin’ into the
house now?”
She looked to Max for confirmation.
“I do need to speak to Bertrand Garwood. If
that’s a problem for Ms. Garwood I see no reason
to confront her father while she’s present. She
and I can talk out here.”
“That’s really nice of you,” Katerina said. “You
can go, Heath. Take good care of Moonlight and
the others.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Watching him drive off, Katerina turned to Max.
“All right. If you want to ask me questions
let’s get it over with. There’s nothing I can
tell you that I haven’t already told the local
police and the agents who arrested Vern but I
suppose it won’t kill me to go over it again.”
She made a face. “I learned a hard lesson.”
“Oh? Did you?”
Her grimace grew and her eyebrows arched. “Yes,
mister agent, I found out that my loving father
will disown me and throw me out if I make a
mistake. I also learned to never trust a glib
talking man, and that includes you.”
She would have been happier if he hadn’t seemed
to find that final statement amusing.
*****
“Let’s sit in my car,” Max said, gesturing with
his arm.
“After you.”
“Can’t I go get my clothes and stuff first? It
took a lot of courage for me to drive back out
here and as long as Dad hasn’t noticed me yet,
I’d like to finish what I came for.”
“I take it you expect me to just hang around
while you do as you please.”
“Why not? I’m no criminal.”
The unwavering look she was giving him as she
spoke demonstrated determination. And she was
right. Law enforcement had nothing on her,
personally. He’d merely hoped that some small
fact she didn’t even think was important would
point the way to more of the Dupree associates,
perhaps even to herself, although at this point
he viewed the young woman as more of a pawn in a
crooked chess game than a true player.
Max conceded. “Okay. Do you want any help?”
“No. The less noise I make, the less likely I’ll
be noticed. It’s a big house and when my father
works on his accounts he always shuts the den
door.”
“All right. I’ll wait in the car.”
As soon as she started toward the garden leading
to the nearest door of the ranch-style home, Max
turned back to his SUV. There was something
appealing about Katerina Garwood; something he
couldn’t quite put his finger on. She was far
too young for him, of course. It was too bad she
hadn’t been born ten years earlier.
Max’s thirty-three wasn’t exactly ancient but
there were times when he felt like Methuselah,
particularly when he and his team failed to
prevent mayhem.
Movement at the edge of his peripheral vision
snapped him around. Now what was she up to?
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he
called.
Turning to walk backwards, Katerina waved. “I
left some empty boxes in my truck. I’ll be right
back.”
“Sure, you will,” Max muttered. He wasn’t taking
any chances that she’d try to flee so he fired
up his SUV, made a U-turn and headed for the
main gate to block it. If worse came to worst he
could always call for backup.
*****
Katerina paused to watch his maneuvers. The man
was paranoid. What did he think she was going to
do, try to outrun a powerful vehicle like his in
her little pickup truck? Talk about David and
Goliath.
“Yes, but David won,” she mused, happy to have
been reminded of a Bible story where the
seemingly weaker combatant triumphed in spite of
everything.
Before she had time to pivot and continue on her
previous path toward the stable, an intense
light flashed.
She instinctively ducked and covered her head
with her arms.
Her eardrums felt as if she had plunged to the
depths of the sea.
Debris hit her as the blast concussion sent her
– and pieces of a barn - flying.
Landing on the hard-packed dirt with the
realization that a building had exploded, her
last conscious thought was for the wellbeing of
her favorite mare, and others. “Thank You, God.
Moonlight is safe with Heath.”
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