The Space Invader (The Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mysteries Book 7) by Nortman Karen Musser

Author:Nortman, Karen Musser [Nortman, Karen Musser]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-10-10T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Thursday Afternoon

Jane Ann screamed and dived for the motorhome. Badger stood his ground, but dropped the knife in reaction to the blast. The woman had fired just past him into the surrounding rock. When he bent to retrieve the knife, she said, "Don't move."

He straightened and looked her in eyes, waiting.

"What's going on here?" she demanded.

"Just trying to defend myself," Badger said. "Nuthin' wrong with that."

Mickey, on the other side of the motorhome, had also taken cover as best he could but now stood up.

"He took us hostage. He's an escaped convict. He was holding that knife on my wife. We need to call the police."

"No!" the woman shouted. "Don't want no cops here!"

Badger relaxed and started to reach for the knife again.

The woman swung the muzzle of the gun back at him. "I said don't move. We got our own law enforcement here, and this is it." She waggled the gun slightly. "Y'all walk ahead a me. We're goin' back to the ranch to sort this out. That way." She motioned them toward the disappearing lane.

Mickey went first, followed by Jane Ann and Badger. The lane twisted around the rocks and down into a gorge. Jane Ann stepped carefully, trying to avoid a sprained ankle or worse. At the bottom of the gorge, a rambling structure sat surrounded by small buildings, fences and green patches. Smoke drifted up from the chimney, and a few people went about their tasks.

Faces turned up as they neared and spotted the woman brandishing the gun at her captives. No one looked alarmed. They all wore jeans, although the women wore loose flowing shirts that reached to their knees and most had on heavier jackets. As they were pushed along, Jane Ann examined the buildings for signs or some indication of where they were. A rough carving of a planet with rings topped the door of the biggest building, but that was about it.

The woman spoke to a young man working in a garden patch. "Tobiah, come with me. We need to confine these people, until we figure out what they're doing here." She directed them to one of the outlying sheds.

Inside the shed, only one small window let in any light, and they stumbled on the rough floor as their eyes adjusted to the dimness. The wall studs were exposed, and a variety of tools hung from nails around the room. Dust in the air caught at Jane Ann's throat, and she cringed at what appeared to be an old snakeskin crumpled along the wall.

The woman grabbed a coil of rope hanging on the wall and tossed it to Tobiah.

"Each of you take a chair. Tie that guy up first." She indicated Badger.

"Can you tell us where we are?" Mickey asked. He was looking pale and spent, and Jane Ann worried about his heart.

"Mickey, sit down," she said. "You look like you're about to drop."

His shoulders drooped, and he fell, more than sat, in the chair.

The woman continued to brandish the gun but seemed slightly less threatening.

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