LuAnn planted a wooden crate next to Joy, swung up, and reached out a hand for Riggs. “Step on the crate and hold on tight to me.”
Riggs managed to struggle up in this fashion, clutching his arm as he did so. He planted his good arm around LuAnn’s waist.
“I’ll go as slow as I can, but it’s going to jostle you a lot regardless. Horseback riding does that.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll take a little pain to having to try and explain everything to the FBI.”
As they started off on the trail LuAnn said, “So that’s who it was? Your old friends?” Riggs nodded.
“At least one old friend in fact. Used to be a friend anyway. George Masters. He’s the one at the Bureau who said I was too valuable in the field, who wouldn’t let me enter Witness Protection until my wife was dead.”
“Matthew, it’s not worth it. There’s no reason you should be running from them, you haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Look, LuAnn, it’s not like I owe those guys anything.”
“But if I’m caught and you’re with me?”
“Well, we just won’t get caught.” He grinned.
“What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking how bored I’d been the last few years. I guess I’m not really happy unless I’m doing something where I have a reasonable shot at getting my head blown off. I might as well own up to it.”
“Well, you picked the right person to hang with then.” She looked up ahead. “The motel’s probably out of the question.”
“Yep, they’ll cover every place like that. Besides, riding up on a horse might make the motel manager suspicious.”
“I’ve got another car back at the house, fat lot of good that’ll do us.”
“Wait a minute. We do have a car.”
“Where?”
“We’ve got to get to the cottage, pronto.”
When they arrived at the cottage, Riggs said, “Keep a sharp eye out in case you know who decided to come back.” He opened up the doors to the rear shed and went inside. In the darkness, LuAnn couldn’t see what he was doing. Then she heard a motor turn over and then die. Then it kicked over again and this time it kept running. A moment later, Donovan’s black Honda, torn-up front bumper and all, appeared in the doorway. Riggs pulled it to a stop outside the shed doors and climbed out.
“What do you want to do with the horse?”
LuAnn looked around. “I could send her back up the trail. She’d probably go back to the horse barn on her own, but in the dark like this, she might miss the trail or wander off and fall in a hole or maybe the creek.”
“How about we put her in the shed and then you can call somebody to come get her?” he offered.
“Good idea.” She swung down and led Joy inside the shed.
She looked around and noted the watering trough, tack wall, and two small bales of hay stored in the back of the shed.
“It’s perfect. The tenant before Donovan must have kept a horse and used this as a stable.”
Lifting off the saddle and slipping off the horse’s bridle, LuAnn tethered Joy to a hook on the wall with a piece of rope she found. LuAnn scrounged up a bucket and, using water from the outside tap, she filled up the watering trough, and laid out the hay in front of Joy. The horse immediately dipped her head to the trough and then started to munch on the hay. LuAnn shut the doors and climbed in the driver’s seat of the Honda while Riggs eased in the other side.
There was no key in the ignition. LuAnn glanced under the steering column and saw a bundle of exposed wires hanging down. “They teach hot wiring at the FBI?”
“You learn a lot of things going through life.”
She put the car in gear. “Tell me about it.”
They were silent and still for a moment and then Riggs stirred. “We may only have one shot at getting out of this relatively intact.”
“And what’s that?”
“The FBI can be accommodating to people who cooperate.”