Blood Orchid (Holly Barker 3)

“You shouldn’t,” the cop replied. “You’ve had a blow to the head.”

Holly relaxed and let them put her onto the litter. “Ginny, you get the airplane off the beach before the tide comes in.” Holly dug into a pocket with her free hand and came up with her car keys. She handed them to the cop. “My car’s at the Orchid airport; get somebody to drive it to the hospital, will you?”

“I’ll come to the hospital after I get the airplane back,” Ginny said.

“Don’t bother, I won’t be there,” Holly replied. “I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

The ambulance took Holly to the Orchid Beach hospital, with Daisy lying on the floor alongside her cot. In the ER a young doctor performed a neurological examination and ordered an X-ray. When a radiologist had checked it, the doctor came to see her and gave her two Tylenols. “There’s no fracture, and I don’t think you’re concussed,” he said. “The blow was cushioned by your hair and didn’t break the skin. You’ll have some bruising, but it will mostly be under your hair.”

“Where’s my dog?” Holly asked.

“The vet’s with her in another room. She’s coming around, I think.”

Holly hopped off the table and went looking for Daisy. She found the Doberman lying on the table, panting. Daisy lifted her head when Holly came into the room, then lay down again. “How is she?” Holly asked the vet.

“She’s all right, just a little groggy.” He held up a small dart. “It’s a veterinary tool,” he said. “The sort of thing they use for small animals at a zoo.”

“Can I take her home?” Holly asked.

“Sure. I’ll help you carry her out to the car.”

A cop was waiting and handed Holly her keys. “You want me to drive you, Chief?”

“No, thanks, I can manage.”

“I had a look around your house. As far as I could tell, nothing was disturbed, but your burglar got at the alarm box in a closet and cut some wires. I checked with the station; they never got a call.”

“Make a call for me, will you? Phil Sweat at No Sweat Locksmiths. Tell him I’ve had a break-in and ask him to come out to the house ASAP.”

When Holly arrived back at the house, Daisy was awake enough to hop out of the car, although she moved a little unsteadily. Holly opened the door and let her in. “You go get in your bed,” she said, and Daisy dutifully walked over to the soft bed next to the fireplace and lay down. In a moment, she was asleep again.

Holly felt surprisingly well for someone who had been hit on the side of the head with a gun. She walked around the house, looking for signs of anything disturbed, but there was nothing. She pulled down the ladder to the attic, walked upstairs, and took the videotape from the VCR that Phil had installed. She put a blank tape in, then went back downstairs. As she arrived in the living room, Ham walked in, followed closely by Phil Sweat.

“You all right?” Ham asked.

“Nothing that a couple of Tylenol couldn’t cure.” She put a hand to her head. “I’ll be a little sore tomorrow, probably.”

Phil Sweat was already looking at the alarm control box. “The guy knew what he was doing,” he said. “If you find him, tell him I’ll give him a job.”

“Ginny called me and told me what happened,” Ham said.

“I should call her,” Holly said, heading for the phone.

“Don’t bother; she’s flying with another student. Come sit down.”

Holly put the videocassette into the living room VCR and sat down next to Ham on the sofa, picking up the remote control. “Let’s see what my camera got,” she said, pressing the play button. “Phil, come and look at this.”

They watched as a snowy image appeared on the screeen, then locked into place. It was a good picture, clear and in color. At the bottom of the stairs, the coat closet was open, and they could see a man’s back.

“He’s disabling the alarm,” Phil said.

“Daisy’s already down,” Ham said, pointing to a black lump halfway offscreen.

“She must have met him at the door, but he was ready for her,” Holly said.

“So he knows you’ve got a dog, and he knows how to disable your alarm,” Ham said. “This guy sounds very competent and well prepared.”

“He’s a regular cat burglar,” Phil said, “right out of the movies, or the CIA. You got any jewelry, Holly?”