In Harm’s Way - Ch. 47

From rough draft of In Harm’s Way by Pat Otterness

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

????????????The longer I waited, the more creeped out I got. My ears were hyper-attuned to every sound, which is why I heard the crunch of gravel outside. Footsteps on gravel held their own threat at this time of night. I tried to peek out the window, but my eyes were unaccustomed to the darkness. All I could see was a hazy figure pacing up and down the road in front of my house.

????????????Good grief! Not now!?I yanked the door open a crack and called out in a loud whisper: “Harm! Get in here right?now!” Oops! I had forgotten to lock the door after my last visitor left. Not a good move.

????????????Startled, he turned to face me. “I was worried about you,” he said, looking embarrassed.

????????????Of course he was. Keeping watch. This was not the first time he had kept an eye on my house, when danger threatened me. “Get in here right now,” I repeated, as I yanked him inside. “Killers may be coming any moment.”??This time I locked the door.

????????????“Killers? Chat, what have you done?” said Hiram, eyes wide. My unflappable friend was suddenly very flappable indeed. He paled as I recounted my phone call.?

????????????“What on earth were you thinking?” he said. “We need to call the Sheriff.”

????????????“Noooo!” I cried. “Not yet! I need to see who turns up. Someone, maybe someone we know, killed Inspector Vaughn, and I want to catch him.”

????????????“Do you have a weapon?” asked Hiram. “A gun?”

????????????“Well, not exactly,” I said. “Actually, no.”

????????????“So you’re going to tackle them with your bare hands, then? Take them down with force? How many can you manage?” Sarcasm was something I rarely heard from Hiram. He seemed to be swelling up. Getting bigger, somehow. He was becoming someone I didn’t know.

????????????I stepped back a little and just looked at him. He wasn’t exactly turning into the Hulk, but he was different. More manly. A little scary. “Are you okay, Harm?” I said. He didn’t answer. He was looking around, and after a moment I realized he was looking for weapons.

????????????“My son has some bow-hunting arrows,” I offered.

????????????“Get them,” said Hiram. “Hide them around the room.” He was all business. I did what he said. I pocketed a few things from the kitchen, too. Better to be prepared than not.

????????????Hiram was stockpiling anything with a long handle. Brooms, mops, a shovel I had brought inside for some unknown reason. I made my own selection. The cats’ litter box, uncleaned. Hairspray. Insect repellent. I would go for the eyes and nose.?

????????????We both knew, if the killers had guns, we were toast. Maybe they would just take the diamonds and leave. I fetched the box from its hiding place under my mattress and put it in my shirt pocket for safekeeping.

????????????In the distance, we could hear the old man, still calling his dog. “Sophie! Here, girl,” he cried. The dog would have to be deaf or stupid not to have heard him and come by now if she was nearby.

“Who’s that?” asked Hiram, straining to hear better.

“Some old fool who’s looking for a lost dog,” I said. I began to wonder about the man himself. He must be senile. Maybe I should have told him where she was. I hardened my heart. She was better off with Fletch’s kids. I missed Wolf, though. Wolf would even have been welcome in my house right now. After a moment’s thought, I opened the door and invited Demon to join us. You can’t have too many weapons when killers come to call.

????????????Harm cast an approving glance my way. “Bringing out the big guns, then?” he said. He remembered his own first meeting with Demon.

“We need a plan,” Hiram said. “ I think at first I should stay out of sight. Make them think you’re on your own. Then I can surprise them.”

????????????“What if they shoot first and ask questions second,” I said. Surely Hiram wasn’t going to wimp out on me now.

????????????“ You should have thought of that before you invited them,” said the Harm I didn’t really know. “You should have let me call the Sheriff. Now you’re going to have to take your chances.”

Yikes! I didn’t like his tone of voice. Where was the mild-mannered man who had??been my constant companion all summer? This was weirding me out.

“When they come in, move around with your back to the kitchen door, so they’ll be facing away from where I’m hiding.” Hiram indicated where I should stand, and how I should gradually move to position myself.

As we stood there, the door suddenly opened and there stood Hope, with Chance right behind her.?Oh no!?This whole thing was going from bad to worse. I shut the door behind them while Hiram explained what was going on. There was a yelp from Hope, and I saw Demon stalking off with a satisfied look on his face.?Right action, wrong target.

Chance had a funny look on his face. I hoped his personality wasn’t going to change, too. He was casting wary glances at Hiram, and?that?I could understand. “I have brass knuckles,” he offered, pulling them out of his pocket like it was show-and-tell time.

“Good,” said Hiram. “Keep them handy.” His take-charge attitude made me feel like I was part of a combat team instead of a rag-tag group of unarmed civilians. I almost saluted, but thought better of it. This was no time for playing around.

None of us saw the doorknob turn, but suddenly the door crashed open to reveal two faces we had seen before.

Unlocked again.?I sighed.

“Hello, Hope,” said the not-so-charming Mr. Barr as he twisted her arm behind her back and held her captive in front of him. He looked at the rest of us one by one, assessing us. His companion, the bearded man, stood ominously beside him. He was apparently unarmed, but looked threatening. “Where are the diamonds?” Barr asked me.

“ I have them hidden, “ I said.

“Get them. Now!” he replied.

“ It’s a kind of unusual hiding place,” I said.

“Just get them. Bring them to me.” He released Hope, who moved over to hide behind Chance.

“ They’re in here,” I said, picking up the filthy kitty litter-box. With one swift movement, I flung the contents directly into Barr’s face.

His cry of outrage rang out loud, and before any of us could react, the door was flung open once again, and two men I had never seen before crashed in, guns pointed right at me.