QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
ONE
Nicolette Johnson was about to leave for her night-shift job at The Truck Stop Diner when her cell phone rang.
She slipped it out of her jeans pocket and hesitated while she listened to the ringtone playing “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” Most of her recent callers had been nosy reporters or curious neighbors wanting to ask what she knew about her cousin Arianna Munson’s recent murder.
“That would be nothing, just like I told the police,” she muttered. But since her curiosity was aroused, she gave in and answered. “Hello?”
“Hello, Nicki, darlin’.”
The slow, deep drawl was dripping with menace, sending chills up her spine. “Who is this?”
“Never mind who I am. You need to stop holding out on us,” the man warned. “Remember, we know where you live.”
Nicki swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Leave me alone.”
“That’s not going to happen, lady. That idiot Murke blew it the other night, but we can still get to you, just like we got to the Serpent.”
“Who?” She rued the telltale tremor in her tone.
“Arianna Munson.” He gave an evil-sounding chuckle. “That was our pet name for your dearly departed cousin.”
There was a pause while the caller laughed as if he’d just told a great joke. “We eliminated her, and we can do the same to you. If you think you can run or hide, just ask the Sagebrush cops what happened to one of their wives a few years back.” He chortled again then shouted, “Boom!”
Stifling a tiny shriek, Nicki immediately ended the call. Many of the specifics of the man’s threats had already become a confusing muddle, but one fact stood out. The way he had barked boom left no doubt that she was dealing with a deadly enemy, one she should not try to defeat on her own.
Shaking, Nicki managed to punch in the phone number from the business card the police officers had left with her a few days before. She held her breath and counted the number of rings while she waited for someone to answer.
“Sagebrush Police Department. How may I help you?” a friendly sounding woman asked.
Nicki had intended to report the sinister warning calmly and with little emotion. When she heard the dispatcher’s voice, however, she blurted, “I need help. Somebody just threatened to blow me up!”
* * *
“K-9 unit 463, your position?” the patrol radio broadcast.
Jackson Worth keyed the mic. “Sagebrush Boulevard and Main, headed north.”
“We have a possible bomb threat at 3274 Lost Woods Road, apartment 210. See the woman.”
“Affirmative. On my way. ETA approximately ten.”
“Copy. Advise if you need backup.”
Jackson flipped on his light bar and spun the wheel of the SUV. In the backseat, his black Labrador retriever, Titan, was panting rapidly, knowing they were about to go to work.
The big dog’s enthusiasm made Jackson smile. They were so much a team it was as if Titan could read his mind. He could certainly tell what that dog was thinking. When they were on duty his canine partner was all business, even when he acted as though he was still battling the negative effects of their previous assignments in war zones.
“We both came through the fire okay then, didn’t we, old boy?” Jackson said affectionately. “And we’re still doing it.”
Titan wiggled, but remained disciplined enough to stay seated and not fight the restraints that kept him safe when he wasn’t riding in his portable kennel. Jackson hated to cage the tractable dog so he used every excuse not to.
They pulled to the curb in front of the apartment building on Lost Woods Road, and stopped. Jackson barely had a chance to climb out when a slim, young woman in jeans and a pink T-shirt raced over and grasped his sleeve. Her wide eyes were as blue as a summer sky, and her coppery-brown hair fell softly around her face, its silky length brushing her shoulders.
“Are you the party who placed the call for police assistance?” Jackson asked.
“Y-yes. I thought they’d send the same officers who were here before.”
He politely touched the brim of his cap, then opened the rear door to leash Titan as he explained, “I’m Detective Worth, ma’am. You must have mentioned a bomb threat when you contacted the station or they wouldn’t have sent us.”
“I did. That’s really the only thing I can remember clearly. The man who called me said I should ask about a policeman’s wife getting blown up and then he hollered, ‘Boom!’ Just like that.” She tried to catch her breath. “I didn’t know what else to do so I called the number on the card those other officers left when they were here a few days ago.”
“You did the right thing by waiting outside, Ms...”
“Nicolette Johnson.” She pointed to the upper story of the poorly maintained apartment building. “That’s where I live. I was about to leave for work. After I got the threatening phone call, I didn’t know what to do.”
Jackson straightened with Titan at his side. “Okay. Let’s start from the beginning. Tell me your version of the trouble you had here recently.”
“Okay. A man broke into my apartment. I hid in the closet and called 911. When the other officers got here there was a fight and some shooting. That’s when a police dog was wounded. It was awful.”
Jackson nodded soberly. “I understand how upsetting that must have been. A fugitive named Derek Murke was arrested.”
“Right. He was an ex-boyfriend of my late cousin, Arianna Munson. That’s another reason I got scared. The man who called me today mentioned her. Only he called her a snake or something.”
“You mean Serpent?”
Nicolette nodded, her eyes wide. “That was it. Serpent. He said that he had killed her.”
“In those exact words?” Jackson knew that the Munson woman had died during a shoot-out with the police, so why would anyone claim murder as a threat? He had to make an effort to control his excitement. Any clues, no matter how obscure, that brought the department closer to finding the gang of killers and drug runners causing mayhem in and around Sagebrush were definitely top priority.
“I—I don’t know. I’m sorry. I can’t remember his exact words. I guess I was too scared.”
Or up to your eyeballs in the whole criminal mess, he thought, keeping that notion to himself for the time being. “Suppose we get off the street and go check your apartment before we do anything else?”
“Okay.” She was wringing her hands. “I feel silly causing such a fuss, but he sounded really serious about hurting
