Page 37 of Holding On to a Hero
“Well, I’ll be sure to get that on the priority list straight away.” Sarcasm.
“Sure, that’d be great. Say, are these calls recorded? Because if something happens to Cole Washburn, I’d just like to be able to tell TMZ that they can ask for a copy of the call and hear the care and consideration that the Nelson County Sheriff’s department has for its residents.”
“You have a good day now.” Click. Fucker.
But at that moment my phone rang. Unknown number.Please be Cole!My hand was shaking so hard I could barely answer the phone.
“Hello?”
“Will? This is Brian Shelton, Jason’s brother.”Thank fuck. “We got your voicemail. I’m so sorry, we were in a meeting and had the phones on silent. Jason is calling Cole right now.”
“Good. Thank god.”
“Okay, so it looks like Cole isn’t answering his phone.”Fuck, fuck, fuck. I heard Jason talking in the background. “Will, stay on the line. We’re heading for the car, and if I lose you in the elevator or the parking garage I’ll call you back as soon as I’m able.” Brian seemed cool under pressure. I wish I could say the same for myself.
“Okay.”
“Right.” More talking from Jason. “Jason’s calling Arturo now. We’re getting in the elevator, just fyi.” Jason spoke again. Hopefully he’d gotten hold of Arturo.
“Okay, Will, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Okay, I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Will!” It was Jason. “Oh, my God. The one time I didn’t take my phone into a meeting. I amsosorry. Arturo is going to check on Cole, but he was out walking the fence, so it’s going to take him a good fifteen minutes to get back to the house. How far away are you?”
“I just got off the highway so I’m about ten minutes away.”
Jason heaved a sigh of relief. “You’ll get there first, then. Arturo did say he saw Cole in the kitchen at about 7:30am and he hasn’t heard any gunshots. So that’s good at least. Okay, Brian and I are getting in the car.”
I waited while Brian’s phone transferred to the car’s Bluetooth connection. Then Jason asked me to tell them what I’d seen in the photos, so I told them about the holes in the barn.
“Also, just so you know, I did try to call the Nelson County Sheriff’s office, but they basically patted me on the head and told me I was making up a story.”
Brian’s voice was low and intense. “Who did you speak to?”
I told him. “Thanks. I’ll follow up on that later.”
“Okay, I’m on Pattinson Road. Almost there.”
“Thank fuck,” Brian whispered.
“Will.” Jason sounded urgent. “We don’t know whether the shooter is around or not, but you need to act as if he is.” Wasn’t that why I was driving like a bat out of hell toward the ranch right now? “We think he’s after Cole, but you need to protect yourself too. When you get to the ranch, I want you to pull around back. Don’t get out of the car until you are behind the house. Go in the back door.”
“Okay. I don’t have a key though.” Stupid! I was just now realizing this?
Jason’s voice steadied me. “Arturo said he left the back door unlocked after he got some coffee this morning. If it’s locked, just knock out the glass and open it.”
“Okay.” I tried to focus on driving. “I don’t see anyone on the road.” Finally I was at the ranch. “Okay, I’m turning in the driveway. I can see the house. No one’s outside.” As I started to swing the truck past the house, I caught the front door opening. “Wait!” I slammed on my brakes.
“Shit, he just came out on the front porch!” I put the truck in park and opened the door. “Cole! Go back in the house!” I tried to jump down but my seat belt was still fastened. As I fumbled with it, Cole came down the steps. “No! Shit!” I managed to get out of the truck, remembering to grab the phone at the last minute.
Cole, who had –dammit!—made it almost all the way to my truck, looked concerned and confused. “Will, what’s going on?” I rushed toward him.
“Back to the house! The shooter!” He gaped at me as I shoved him around and pushed him back toward the stairs to the porch.
“I’ll explain when we’re inside!” I could hear Jason yelling something through the phone but I couldn’t focus on it.
