When they reached the creek, Fair again took a breather, sweat pouring over his forehead, little icicles forming.
Cooper picked up Harry again and struggled through the creek, as there was no way to jump it. Some water crept into her boots where the soles had worn. The shock of the frigid water energized her for a little bit, although her legs had begun to weaken. Her back was holding up, but her quads burned. She knew she couldn’t make it too long, and she hoped she could get back to the farm on her own steam.
Ten minutes seemed like a lifetime. Cooper faltered, lurched, and slowly sank to her knees so as not to drop Harry.
“You okay?” Fair knelt beside her.
She nodded, gasping for breath. “You hear stories,” she gulped again, “about guys carrying wounded buddies for miles in wartime.” Gulped again. “Heroes.”
In a quiet voice he said, “Love comes in many forms.
Sometimes I think it’s disguised as duty. Are you sure you can make it?”
“I’m sure. Get her back. I’ll get there.”
“I’m not leaving you. This will turn into a real whiteout. You could be one hundred yards from the barn and not know it. We’ve got to stick together or we might not make it.”
“Okay. Let me see if my cell will work now.” She knew she usually couldn’t get a signal on the mountainside.
Fair handed Mrs. Murphy to Cooper, who put her in her coat, and Fair hoisted up Harry again.
Finally Cooper got a signal and called an ambulance. The line crackled, but she could hear and so could they. She told them to come to the Haristeens’. Next she called Rick.
Twenty minutes later, after Fair and Cooper took more breaks, they finally stumbled through the back door.
The ambulance arrived a few minutes after they did. Fair hadn’t even taken his coat off before the attendants bounded the gurney into the living room, where he and Cooper had placed Harry on the sofa.
“I’ll go with her,” Fair said.
“I’ll follow you with the truck,” replied Cooper.
“Don’t do that. You’ve done enough.”
“Won’t be long before the roads are treacherous and the only thing out there will be emergency vehicles. Also, I have my badge just in case.With any luck you can bring her home.”
Too tired to argue, he gratefully acceded. “I’ll see you there.”
Given the weather and the wrecks on the road, they made it to the emergency room in fifty minutes. Normally the trip would take thirty minutes.
Rick met Cooper there.
Back at the house, a warming Mrs. Murphy licked her paws. “Thanks, Pewter.”
“Don’t think I’ll do it again.” Pewter was feeling sufficiently relieved to sass.
Tucker and Murphy looked at each other, then the tiger cat rubbed across the dog’s broad chest, thanking her.
“Let’s pray that Mom is okay,” Tucker said.
“Take more than a crack on the head to keep her down,” Mrs. Murphy said, and the other two hoped she was right.
22
Since it was December 23, the staff at the hospital functioned at skeleton level. Fortunately, Dr. Everett Finch a friend of Fair’s, was on duty in the ER. He X-rayed Harry’s skull and, to be safe, ran an MRI.
Fair, worn out, slumped on a bench in the corridor, Cooper beside him. She’d fallen asleep from the tremendous effort of getting Harry down from the walnut stand.
The doors swung open and Everett walked up to them. “She’s fine. No cracked skull. A concussion, sure enough, but she’ll be okay.”
Tears welled up in Fair’s blue eyes. “Thank God.”
Cooper, awake now, also misted up.
“She’s coming to. She may be nauseated, throw up. And there is some chance her vision will be blurred. You never really know with these things. And I can just about guarantee you that she will remember nothing, maybe not even the pain of being clobbered.” He paused. “Any idea who did this?”
“No,” Fair answered. “We don’t know why she walked halfway up the mountain with a storm coming. She can read the weather better than the weatherman, so you know whatever happened up there, it was important. I hope she can tell us something.”
“I suggest we keep her overnight and you pick her up in the morning.”
Alert now, Cooper asked, “You’re at bare- bones staff, right?”
“Holidays.” Everett smiled.
“Fair, we can’t leave her here. We know whoever attacked her is at large. And whoever attacked her risked a blizzard as much as she did. Our numbers are down, too.” She meant that most people in the sheriff’s department were home for Christmas. “She can be better protected at home.” Cooper stood up to face Everett. “Doc, this is a dangerous situation.”
Upset by this news, he quietly inquired, “You really think someone would come into the hospital?”
“I do. And they will be armed. I’m pretty sure this may be connected to the murders of the two monks.”
What she didn’t want to say was that, if someone came in unarmed, given low staff numbers and part- time help, they might easily slip by a police guard. Also, the animals proved a good warning system at home.
“Jesus.” He whistled.
“You would help us if you’d instruct anyone who has seen Harry, and this includes the ambulance driver, not to tell anyone. They might actually keep their mouths shut if you inform them they could be in danger themselves if the perp finds out they had contact with her today.” Cooper breathed in. “We’re dealing with someone who is both twisted and ruthless, someone who arouses no suspicion.” Cooper thought to herself that Everett had no idea how ruthless.
“I’ll see to it.” Everett compressed his lips, then turned to his friend. “Keep her quiet.”
The ambulance crawled on the way back to the farm.The snowplows worked, but there weren’t enough of them to adequately deal with the weather. Virginia, blessed with four distinct seasons, benefited from mild winters compared to Maine. But winter did arrive, and Crozet rested near the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, so it was colder there. Often the mountains and the close foothills got more snow than even Charlottesville.
Fair sat next to Harry, as Cooper followed in her squad car. Her feet felt like ice blocks since her pants and socks remained wet. The department allowed the officers to take their vehicles home. Cooper used the car for work, obviously, but when Fair had called, suspecting trouble, she prudently drove over in the squad car. She talked to Rick as she drove.
“We don’t have anyone to spare to set up a guard.”
“I know, boss. I’ll take turns with Fair. By December twenty- sixth, we might be able to round someone up or maybe I can find personal security. Fair will spare no expense.”
“Harry won’t stand for it.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid of that myself. I don’t know who’s out there and I don’t usually worry. I mean, we deal with thieves, con men, assault and batteries all the time, plus the occasional murder, usually fueled by alcohol or infidelity, but this—this is different. And I’m scared.”
“I know what you mean. I don’t think the killer is going to come after her, but we sure could find ourselves surprised.”
“Yeah, I know. I think this is someone who is acceptable to the community, someone we see most every day,” she replied.
Rick sighed. “Yeah. We’re lucky Harry didn’t have her throat slit.” He stopped. “I think the storm saved her. That and Mrs. Murphy and Tucker.”
Cooper had already told him about the animals. “Could be right. Keep me posted.” She clicked off, concentrating on the faint taillights in front of her. Initially, she’d been disappointed when Lorenzo went home to Nicaragua for the holidays, but now she was glad, because she wouldn’t have been able to spend much time with him. She liked him—more than liked him— cherishing every moment they could be together. He’d be with her for New Year’s. That was a happy thought.