“That’s how I feel. We all have these strange backgrounds. I thought all of you would look at me differently knowing I have a serial killer for a father, but instead, all of you showed me why you’re my friends. I’m kind of ashamed of myself for thinking you would look down on me.”
“It would make sense to want to walk away from your past, Stella,” Shabina said. “I never talk about what happened to me. We all came here for various reasons, and thankfully we’ve formed our own family of sorts. It’s been good for me and I appreciate it. I’m okay with whatever any of you want to share or not share. I’m just grateful I discovered the Sierras were right for me and that all of you accepted me into your circle.”
Shabina picked up one of the sketches. “What did the vet say about Bailey?”
Stella instantly smiled. “He’s stronger today. I can go see him. She wants to keep him another few days so he’ll stay quiet. He’s on antibiotics and pain meds. Once I bring him home, he won’t be allowed to move around other than to do his business. He’ll need to stay on his meds and wear the cone of shame.”
“That was one frightening night,” Shabina said. “I kept thinking it could have been one of my boys. We all love Bailey. He’s such a sweet boy and he was protecting Sonny.”
“Sonny was on his rounds. He’s very thorough. He never saw his attacker. Griffen Cauldrey, the deputy sheriff— you know him, right?” At Shabina’s nod, Stella continued. “Griffen thinks Sonny came up on him, the attacker heard him coming, hid, and knocked him out. I just happened to text Sonny right then and he didn’t answer, so Bailey and I went looking for him. Bailey charged and the man stabbed him with the knife.”
“Bailey must have bitten him,” Shabina said. “There’s no way that dog didn’t get his teeth into his attacker, not if he was stabbed four times. Even if he isn’t a trained attack dog, Stella, he’s big and powerful. He’s not afraid. He’d fight.”
Stella hadn’t thought of that. She should have. Bailey had been trained by a professional, not the way Shabina’s pack had been trained, but he’d certainly had lessons with a trainer. He knew his commands and he had good instincts. She’d heard that roar, that challenge. Of course he would have managed to get his teeth into his opponent.
“Whoever attacked Bailey and Sonny had to have been bitten, and probably severely. No way would they go to the local clinic or hospital, but they might contact one of the nurses. You might talk to Vienna and have her put out the word at the hospital to everyone,” Shabina said, tapping her finger on the tabletop.
“I wondered why he didn’t stick around and just kill me and then kill Sonny. It didn’t make any sense to me at the time, but if he was hurt …” She broke off. “He couldn’t have been too hurt. Later, he tried to break into my house.”
“How much later? Do you know what time it was? You had to get Bailey down the mountain, right? What about Sonny? Who took care of him? Did an ambulance take him to the hospital? How long did it take before he was out of there?”
“That’s a good question. I didn’t think to ask. I was so involved with Bailey and then came home to that. It was pretty awful. I should have considered how much time had passed before the break-in and everyone had left.” She frowned. “No doubt Sam did. He’s always one step ahead of me in that kind of thing.”
“He thinks differently, is all,” Shabina said. “That’s good. The more people thinking about this and coming at it from different directions, the better. I also think it’s a good thing everyone is used to the way we women get together often. So, if we’re together to throw out ideas, no one else in town is going to think anything about it.”
“Sam really thinks differently,” Stella conceded. “And he stays calm. After these nightmares and Bailey and this horrid man watching me all the time, I need that calm. You know me, I don’t get creeped out, but this person has managed to do it. I’m not just afraid for me, I’m afraid for Sam and for all of you.”
“I thought a lot about Jason giving you that warning. I go hiking every single day with the dogs. They need it and so do I. It’s made me very leery. I always put the dogs on alert now, where before, it was their fun time. Now they’re working. I hate having to do it, but I know it’s necessary. It’s also made me consider Jason might know more than he’s saying.”