Shotgun, Shovels & Troubles

By Trena Redding

Here I am, still stuck in Shotgun, Colorado dealing with mountain folk who live by different rules and take pleasure poking around in everyone’s private business.

My boss at the DEA won’t let me return to D.C..

The leader of the drug cartel is still hunting me.

Fine, I don’t want to die. Trouble is, I think I’m going soft. Someone shot at me. Instead of shooting back, I escaped inside an abandoned coal mine. What a place to hide, dark cave, neck deep in pickaxes and shovels. You’d think I would know better. I’m not interested in bunking with bears or other wild creatures.

Worse yet, the handsome town doctor is making me miss D.C. less and less, with his chiseled chest and charming ways. He even took me on a date to the Hot Pots—boy, did my mind come up with some interesting ideas about what a hot pot was. And when I’m not on a date? I dodge the sheriff. So I helped my friends break into a few storage units. I couldn’t let them down could I?. The sheriff’s mother thinks I would be a fantastic Mrs. Sheriff, and isn’t shy about shoving me at her son every chance she gets. Add in a dose of shameless flirting at a campground, spinning in circles in the middle of a love triangle, and another dead body.  I’m beginning to wonder if hiding in this town is worse than letting the cartel’s goons track me down.

How many murders does it take to change a sheriff? Every corpse makes it harder to convince the sheriff I’m just an innocent, every day, medical professional. Then again, I am masquerading as one. Maybe the sheriff’s instincts are a bit too good.

I better get busy solving this mystery before the sheriff kicks me out of town for stepping on his toes. Or worse, thinks I’m somehow involved in the murder.

Again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: KSA Publishing Consultants, Inc.
• Release date: May 2, 2023

Book preview

1

As I set out on the West Ridge Trail with Janie and my dog Beano in the beautiful mountains of Shotgun, Colorado, I couldn’t have been more excited. After the stress of the previous week, I needed a break. The sun’s rays peaked between the branches of aspen trees, and the birds sang as we made our way up the trail, their voices competing like the instruments of an orchestra during a warm-up. The path began with a charming wooden bridge, barely wide enough for two people walking side by side. The water of the stream below slipped through the rock paths and meandered haphazardly down the mountain. The fresh air filled my lungs, and I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin.

Beano trotted beside me, his tail wagging in rhythm with his wiggling body.

I climbed a nature-made stairway of terra-cotta-colored rocks and watched Janie approach the path ahead with a level of expertise I admired. Her shimmering blonde hair flowed across her muscular shoulders, and the definition in her legs became more pronounced with each step. Why must I bring this canister of bear spray? I have my nine-millimeter tucked in the back of my waistband. If a bear or mountain lion tries to attack us, I’ll whip my weapon out faster than you have ever seen. Since we just met last week, you only witnessed my skills once when I took down your evil step-mother.

Janie stopped walking and faced my direction as she put one foot on a large boulder. You make it sound like we are in a classic American fairy tale. First, the residents of this region prefer not to kill our wildlife unless we are hunting for food to feed our families. Second, a gun the size of yours will probably make a three-hundred-pound bear angry rather than stopping him from charging. An excellent shot of pepper spray in the face will deter him long enough for us to get away. Trust me, the stuff works. Just don’t make the mistake of aiming the cannister the wrong direction. Your eyes will burn for days. She winked, pivoted, and continued up the trail. I’m not sure why a physical therapist needs to carry a gun, anyway, especially a redhead as fit and muscular as you. Around here, you shouldn’t need one to protect you when you go to your patients’ houses. You’re in your forties, like myself, and can outrun them without trying.

You are fit too, after working on your dad’s farm. I guess, between the two of us, we could give an animal a decent fight.

Orange, yellow and purple wildflowers lined the trail, and the scent of pine filled the air. Dangerous looking cacti scattered the hillside and displayed stunning red flowers.

Beano halted and sniffed the air. He spread his feet wide, the black, brown and white fur on his back stood up, and his tail sprang towards the sky.

My ears registered a loud bang immediately after the small boulder to my left shattered to pieces. Clouds of dust filled the air. Get down! I sprawled on the path, pasting my body to the ragged ground and yanked my nine from the back of my shorts. A faint awareness of sharp sticks and jagged rocks digging into my stomach and legs presented itself, but only for a few seconds. My training as a DEA agent taught me to ignore details unless they help me maintain my survival.

Beano barked and chased after the gunman, leaping over boulders and bushes and bobbing through trees. My furry protector disappeared into the woods faster than a rabbit running from a fox.

Crap, is Beano chasing one of Adbul’s men who finally found my hideout? What if he gets shot? I’ll blame myself for encouraging him to hang out at my house instead of sending him home to his owner. The circumstances riddled my mind with fear as I realized members of drug cartels or hired goons don’t care about other’s lives, especially those of a beloved pet.

Janie crawled down the path a few feet and sprang to her feet. Follow me! I know where we can hide.

Her hands yanked my arm and startled me from my thoughts. Stay low. The shooter probably ran off with Beano on his heels, but we don’t know for sure.

Janie jogged about twenty-five feet farther up the path and veered off to the left, weaving through oak bushes, sagebrush and multi-colored ground cover. She smacked branches from surrounding trees to the side, which rebounded and snapped back.

Feeling like a teenager navigating her way around a cluttered bedroom in the pitch dark, I grimaced after leaves whipped my cheek. I stuck my arms out barely in time to keep from falling on my face and steadied myself with the trunk of a tree. Relieved when I saw a break in the terrain, I noticed Janie standing at the opening of a cave. You think I am going in there? No way. This looks exactly like the place a giant bear would use as a bedroom.

Relax, Ally. This is an old coal mine abandoned over thirty years ago and bears hibernate in the winter. We can hide in here until we figure out what to do, which beats getting shot.

As I approached the entrance to the mine, another shot rang out, followed by a distant yelp. I froze and stopped breathing in order to hear over the sound of my heart pounding in my chest. I’ll never forgive myself if a sweet dog got shot trying to protect us.

He is a clever animal and has survived with little supervision so far. Let’s head into the mine and wait to see if he finds us.

I felt a cool breeze on my skin coming from within the mine and shivered. I took two steps forward before I halted. The darkness enveloped me as a feeling of dampness moistened my skin. I stuck my hand in front of my face and realized I couldn’t see anything. The thick air smelled like coal combined with a musky odor. I would much rather be back in D.C. running through the streets of dangerous neighborhoods than in this death trap.

My feet advanced several more steps, my stance wide. Something brushed against my shoulder and I performed a karate chop instinctively.

Ouch! Geeze, Ally, it’s just me. I didn’t realize you stopped.

I can’t see anything and I’m afraid to go in farther. My feet slid along the cave floor, traveling forward with my arms stretched in front of me like a zombie.

Janie turned on a flashlight and shone the beam around the cave.

A split second before I advanced my left leg, the light illuminated a drop off inches from where I stood. My legs instantly felt like dead weights and my heart rate quickened. Freeze! Janie don’t move! Give me the flashlight.

Janie extended her arm and tapped my elbow with the hard plastic. What do you see?

Shining the light in the hole, I estimated the distance to the bottom to be about thirty feet. Didn’t you say you used to come to this mine as a kid? There is an enormous drop here!

Janie slid to my side and gazed down at the darkness. That’s new. A seismic event must have caused this section to break down.

My head whipped to face her. That’s all you have to say? We almost plunged to our deaths! If you didn’t bring this industrial strength light, I wouldn’t have seen this. Why didn’t you tell me to bring one?

Janie took the light from my hand and used the beam to shine around the walls of the mine surrounding the hole. I’m sorry. I guess since I’m a native of this area, I don’t always remember what advice to give newcomers. What I want to know is why someone took a shot at us? This land belongs to the Bureau of Land Management and hunters get permits to shoot elk, deer, and bear. They warn them to watch out for hikers, bikers and anglers.

Maybe what they were hunting was me. I knew I couldn’t share my idea with Janie without changing our new friendship.

The sound of leaves crunching caused my senses to go on high alert again. Beano’s sharp bark made me jump just before his nose nudged my crotch. You are alive! Thank goodness. I reached down and stroked his satin fur and scratched behind his ears. I rubbed my hands over his body, hoping not to find a wound. Beano wagged his tail, darted around me and disappeared into the darkness.

Janie shined her light in the direction Beano traveled. Beano, wait! She stepped forward several feet. Where do you think he is going?

I’m not sure I want to find out. I think I’ll stay close to the entrance.

Listen, Ally. I used to visit this mine when I was younger. There is nothing to be afraid of except for a few bats hanging from the roof, and they’re harmless. They use sonar waves to find their way around places because their vision is poor. The only surprising thing is when they fly straight for your head and then change directions last minute.

Janie’s idea of comforting banter needed a lot of work. I wish I could wait for you here. Uncontrolled flying objects make me nervous. A muffled barking sound came from deeper in the mine. If he is barking at a bear and the creature runs in our direction, I am out of here. Let’s go see what is riling him. I put my hand on the small of Janie’s back and pushed her in front of me.

Beano stood near the wall of the mine staring down at a mound on the floor and barked. He looked up for a few seconds, wagged his tail and turned in circles.

What did you find, boy? Janie trained the flashlight on the ground, turned to her right and bent over, placing her hands on her knees.

The sound of Janie’s gagging didn’t make me feel encouraged to move closer, but my agent instincts did. Beano had discovered a man’s body lying face down, his left arm pinned under his body and dried blood on the back of his head.

I’m wondering if this place is a suitable location to hide after all. Thankful Janie could not see my face, I internally chastised myself for referencing the decision Director Sanchez made when he chose Shotgun, Colorado, as the place to keep me safe from Abdul and his brother, Fahid.

How would I know we would end up in the same place with a dead body? Janie shivered. Maybe the shooter wasn’t a hunter. Do you think he could be the reason this guy is face down in a cave dead? He probably saw us coming and didn’t want us to find this body. Janie gasped. What if he is still out there and is waiting for us to come out of the mine? There is no cell service here, so we have no way to call for help. I usually carry a satellite communication device, but I didn’t bring one for this hike. I didn’t think we would need it for a trail I’ve hiked for years.

"Calm down, Janie. First, this body has been here for probably two weeks. He didn’t die in the last twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The person who shot at us obviously had a reason, but this body may have nothing to do with his motive. He knows we have a dog who is likely to alert us to his presence, so he won’t get close. We’ll proceed with caution when we exit. Let me go first and I’ll keep my