Jodi Thomas: The Widows of Wichita County

"Wait."

Crystal was already at the door. What was he going to do, ask her to help him escape? "I have to get back to my husband. I cannot be talking to you."

"You know Anna?"

Crystal paused. What a strange question for him to ask.

"Anna who?" She wasn't going to give him another name so he could go on a crime spree when he escaped.

"Anna Montano. She said you were her friend."

"Yes." Crystal took one step back into the room. Afraid of what he might say about Anna. Afraid not to listen. "If you hurt her, I swear I'll…"

"Is she all right?" He snapped in frustration.

His words shattered her planned threat. He was in agony far deeper than any of the cuts and bruises could make. He was not thinking of himself. For some reason he was thinking of Anna.

"I don't know." Crystal tried to think of the last time shr had talked to Anna. Two days? Three?

The man turned his face away from her. Crystal glanced at the chart beside his bed. The name at the top read, Larson, Zack. She moved to the exit and slipped away. She hurried back to her chair in the hallway.

Deputy Adam did not look as if he had even noticed she had been gone. He was busy trying to talk the nurse out of another cup of coffee.

Crystal stood and walked as far down the hall as she could from the deputy. Making sure one of the hospital staff wasn't watching, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Anna.

No answer.

Next, she tried Meredith. Anna rarely left her ranch and if she did, she might be with Meredith or Helena.

No answer. Crystal began to panic. She tried to think of reasons they wouldn't answer. Maybe they were shopping?

"Mrs. Howard?"

Crystal jumped, dropping her cell phone.

"I'm sorry to have startled you." The nurse knelt to help pick up the pieces. "I just wanted you to know that the X rays are complete and we've given Mr. Howard a breathing treatment. He's much better and shouldn't have any more trouble for a few days."

Crystal didn't say a word as she followed the nurse to Shelby. She knew cell phones were not allowed, but for some reason the nurse had not said a word.

"How are you, darling?" She tried to sound cheery, but the bandaged prisoner's question haunted her.

"Much better," Shelby mumbled. "Tired. Can we go back home now? I'd like to get some sleep."

She took his hand. "Would you mind if I stayed in town a few hours and did some Christmas shopping? Helena can pick me up. I'll have my phone with me should you need me."

"Go ahead. I feel sure I'm out of any danger until the next time life decides to thump me. You'll probably be back long before I wake up."

Surely Helena would be home, Crystal thought. "I'll be back before it's time for your evening medication. And don't forget, I have my cell if you need me."

"Be careful," Shelby whispered, already half-asleep. "The ambulance driver said it's icy outside."

Crystal stared at him a long moment before she slipped from the room. He had actually acted like he was worried about her. Like he cared.

When a man on the rig yelled, "Duck, or no dinner," everyone needed to stay alert to live long enough to eat the next meal.

December 18

12:20 p. m.

Pigeon Run

Helena combed slowly through her silver hair, then twisted it into a neat bun as smoothly as she had every day for the past twenty years.

"I'll be careful, dear, I promise,' but when Crystal called, she sounded like she needed me."

J.D. did not comment. He had always hated her independent streak and loved it at the same time. But what frustrated him most, she guessed, was that she knew it.

Helena sighed, no longer pretending to have the energy she once had. "I'll be back before dark, maybe sooner. Once I settle Crystal down, I'll probably have time to stop by the store for a while. Not that they need me much anymore. Yesterday, Paula even called it `our' store, like suddenly my store had become a group project."

She stood and smoothed her dress. "If you have the wine chilled, I'll tell you all about Crystal's problem when I get home."

He barely looked up from his book as she waved goodbye, and for a moment, he seemed no more than a shadow in his chair by the window.

Crystal was waiting for her between the front doors of the hospital. Helena did not even have time to get out of her car. Crystal jumped in. As always, Helena did not bother with small talk. "Where to?"

"The courthouse. I want to see if Meredith's car is there She told me she works every Saturday, but no one's answering the phone in the clerk's office or at her place."

They circled by the courthouse. No old Mustang cluttered up the small lot.

"Where to next?"

"Anna's place." Crystal chewed on the corner of her lip.

"I'll fill you in on the way out."

Helena might be in her sixties, but she drove her Buick with both skill and speed. J.D. always teased her that she thought the speed limit was the minimum daily requirement for each road.

They pulled onto the Montano ranch fifteen minutes later.

Neither was surprised to see Meredith's old car parked out front.

Meredith met them at the door.

Helena gave her a quick hug and asked, "What can we do?"

"I don't know." Meredith led them inside. "Anna's been pretty beat up, but she's resting now. She won't tell me anything. The sheriff told her she could put the man who did this to her in jail if she'd make a statement, but she won't say anything. It's like she thinks her silence is protecting someone."

"Crystal said they have Zack Larson in custody." Helena circled the room, looking at the damage. "He owns the place next door." She was putting the pieces together in her mind and, as always, thinking things through.

"He was here," Meredith verified. "Carlo Vangetti says Zack shot him when Carlo tried to help his sister. They took Larson and Anna's brother to the hospital in the same ambulance."

Helena stormed suddenly. "If I get my hands on that Zack Larson, I'll kill him myself. What kind of a monster would do such a thing to Anna? She's frightened of her shadow as it is and every man she's ever known has been a bully. There is no telling the damage something like this will do to her."

"Wait a minute," Crystal whispered. "Something doesn't make sense. Let's reason this out for a moment."

The other two woman stared at Crystal in surprise, but she the continued before they could say anything. "If Zack Larson beat up and raped Anna, why would his first question be `Is Anna all right?' It doesn't make sense. He sounded like he was worried, really worried about her."

"Anna's only question was `Is Zack still alive?"' Meredith added. "She didn't even ask about Carlo and he was the one shot."

The three women froze. The only sound in the great room was the wind whistling in the fireplace.

"Do you think…" Meredith started almost afraid to say the words.

"It could be," Helena added.

"We have to be sure before we tell anyone," Crystal reasoned. "No one is going to believe us."

Suddenly, all three women talked at once. Theories flowed around the room. After an hour they agreed to collect more information, let Anna sleep, and meet back at Anna's tomorrow afternoon.

While Helena and Meredith tried to pick up the broken furnishings, Crystal excused herself and walked out the front door.

"Where's she going?" Meredith watched as Crystal ruined leather heels tromping through the snow toward the burned-out rig.

"She's going to talk to the oil field workers," Helena guessed. "And from what I hear, they'll tell her anything they know. She's built a lot of respect with them over the past months. She's not just Shelby Howard's wife anymore. She's one of them."

"But it's a half mile to those trailers."