Temptation Trails - Page 125

I walked carefully around the stacks and piles, the ground littered with random debris—screws, an old pencil, bits of string and other odds and ends. If someone had been there, they were probably long gone. I didn’t hear anything. And it would be impossible to tell if someone had been there stealing things. I doubted Rich had an inventory of all the crap he owned.

Knowing Tilikum, it was just a squirrel colony, and whoever had called it in had just seen the movement of dozens of squirrels.

The hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stood on end. I hadn’t heard anything. Not a creak of metal or the shifting of wood. Not even the sound of squirrels or other critters.

So what was setting me off?

With my senses on high alert, my body tense, I made my way around another outbuilding. I still didn’t see or hear anything unusual, but my instincts were lit up like a patrol car in a high-speed chase.

Something was wrong.

Half expecting to come across an armed trespasser lying in wait—or maybe a wild predator stalking me—I turned the corner to the back side of the outbuilding.

Nothing.

I let out a breath. Maybe my instincts were off.

A creak was all the warning I had.

I turned in time to throw my arms up over my face as a pile of junk fell toward me. Trapped between a wall of stuff and the back of the outbuilding, I threw myself to one side, hoping I didn’t get buried—or stabbed by something rusty.

My forearms took the brunt of it, but the weight of the pile knocked me to the ground. Searing pain tore across my upper arm and it felt like I was being pummeled with bricks.

A few seconds later, it was over. I lay on the ground, covered in rubble, blood dripping from my arm. My eyes were gritty with dust and I could already feel the beginnings of about a dozen bruises.

Moving carefully so I didn’t dislodge whatever had fallen on me and make things worse, I tested my arms and legs. I was going to be banged up, but nothing seemed to be broken. Thankfully, nothing had hit my head.

Grimacing, I worked my way out of the fallen pile. What the hell had happened? There was a lot of junk, but none of it had looked precarious enough to fall on its own.

I got to my feet and checked my arm. Something sharp had slashed a long gash across my biceps. It wasn’t deep, but it was bleeding enough that I needed to at least get some gauze on it.

The sense that something was off didn’t go away. Warily, I picked my way back around to the front of the property and went to my car. I didn’t see anything. No sign of someone sneaking around the piles or taking off into the woods. No sound of a car, even in the distance.

But why had that pile fallen on me? No wind. No animals around, not even a squirrel. Was it just coincidence that I happened to walk by right at the moment gravity had its way with one of Rich’s stacks of junk?

Was it the trespasser Rich Pine’s friend had called about? Who would have been out there?

I got some gauze out of the first aid kit and mopped up the bleeding. Fortunately, I’d had my share of tetanus shots, so I wasn’t worried about that. I checked in with dispatch and let her know I hadn’t found anything unusual, but a pile of junk had fallen on me. Brenna made sure I was okay and said we might need to find some local help for Rich to make sure his property wasn’t hazardous.

But that was the thing. It wasn’t exactly organized, but it shouldn’t have been dangerous. None of it had looked as if it were on the brink of falling over.

Another patrol car pulled up and Kade got out.

“You okay, man?” He gestured to the gauze I was holding on my arm.

“Yeah. Nothing serious. What are you doing here?”

“I was nearby. Heard the chatter on the radio, figured I’d swing by and see if you’re okay.”

“I’m all right.” I glanced back at the property. “It was weird, though.”

“What?”

“Seemed like someone was out there.”

He shrugged. “Trespassing call.”

“I know, but something feels off. Like it was more than just a random trespasser. I can’t shake the feeling that it was intentional.”