Читать книгу Babe in the Woods - Caroline Burnes - Страница 8

BRETT AND THE rest of the crew were drinking the last of the iced tea from their lunch break when Rebecca got back to Blackthorn.

“How is Joey?” Brett asked, and there was an odd tone in his voice.

Rebecca felt a sudden chill. Brett hated Joey, but surely not enough to try and injure him.

“He’s going to be okay. He’s very lucky. The fall from the barn could have killed him.”

“I know you think I’m a hard man,” Brett said, “but Joey shouldn’t be out here. This is a dangerous place and he’s going to get hurt.”

Rebecca locked her gaze with Brett’s and spoke softly. “Joey didn’t trip and fall. Someone hit him with a board and tried to kill him.”

Brett’s face drew into a frown. “That’s nuts. Who would want to hurt the simpleton?”

“That’s a good question,” Rebecca said. “And I’m sure Sheriff Colson will find the answer to it.”

“Who would want to hurt Joey?” Brett repeated almost as if he were talking to himself.

“Don’t repeat that information to the rest of the crew,” Rebecca cautioned him.

“Because you’re afraid they’ll quit?”

“Because one of them may have done it,” Rebecca said, once again watching Brett for any sign of guilt.

“I’ve worked with these men on two other digs.” Brett was having no difficulty working himself into indignation. “They have no reason to injure Joey.”

It was interesting that Brett defended his men. Rebecca took it as a good sign. “Nonetheless, it’s best if they don’t know that Joey was attacked. The construction workers are also going to be questioned. If someone on the estate is guilty, it’ll be easier to find out who it is if they don’t think we’re suspicious.”

“Except it puts my workers in some jeopardy,” Brett pointed out. “They have a right to know that someone is on the loose at Blackthorn, whacking people in the head.”

Rebecca felt her throat close. She hadn’t said that Joey was hit in the head. “Brett, don’t argue with me. Just do what I tell you. In the end, I’m the one responsible, not you.” She walked away, hoping that her little act of bravado had covered her intense concern about Brett and his involvement with what had happened to Joey. As soon as she got a chance to talk to Dru, she’d repeat the entire conversation.

Although she was tired, she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest. She went up to the shell of the house. Progress was being made, but it seemed slow to her.

The contractor had built a makeshift staircase to the upper floor, and though she’d given strict orders to all but the carpenters not to venture to the upper levels, she climbed up herself.

The vista was incredible. The house Aurelia and Marcus were building wasn’t huge—at least not like the former plantation that had stood on Blackthorn. But it was an imposing structure that seemed to rise from the high bluff overlooking the river. The exterior walls would be made of cement blocks poured in specially designed molds to give the appearance of limestone. Once finished, the house would be indestructible. Those inside the walls of Blackthorn House would have the most spectacular view of the Mississippi in the whole area.

Leaning against a four-by-four support, Rebecca gazed down at the early sunlight on the “father of waters,” as the Indians had called the Mississippi.

Movement at the base of the cliff caught her eye. Probably a deer. She leaned out, trying to get a good look. She caught only a glimpse, but something about what she saw troubled her. There was too much white for a deer. The animal she saw moved in a jerky fashion, not with the smooth, bounding grace of a whitetail.

The man burst out of a clump of shrubs and darted into another. He was almost at the river, and when he got there, he looked in both directions before dragging a small boat out of the bush and jumping into it. In a matter of moments, he was swirling away in the current.

“Damn!” Rebecca watched as he disappeared in the tree-covered lee of the river. She left the window and hurried back to the caretaker’s cottage. It was too late to catch whoever was on Blackthorn property illegally, but maybe they’d left some clues behind.

DRU WAS pleasantly surprised when the telephone rang on his desk at three forty-five and he heard Rebecca’s breathless voice. He’d just been thinking of her. But when she reported what she’d seen, he told her to hold on, he was on the way.

The two deputies who’d worked the assault on Joey were off duty, so Dru called two others to work the physical evidence at the riverbank, if there was any.

He didn’t wait for them to get their gear. He got in his car and drove straight to Blackthorn. Rebecca looked both excited and tired, and he had to stop himself from the impulse to put his arms around her.

“It was directly below the house,” she said, starting toward the river.

Dru didn’t have to wait long for his men. They pulled up and began to ease down the steep bluff that overlooked the powerful river.

“Should we go with them?” Rebecca asked.

Dru shook his head. “The best thing we can do is stay out of their way. If they find something, they’ll let me know.”

“I can’t help but wonder who’s trespassing so freely on Blackthorn,” Rebecca said. “I saw him. He’s slender with sandy-brown hair. And he seems to know his way around here fairly well.”

“I talked to Joey,” Dru said. “He just didn’t see anyone. He’s eager to come home, though.”

Rebecca rubbed her right eyebrow with her finger. “Brett says it isn’t safe for Joey here. He says Joey’s going to get hurt.” She met Dru’s gaze. “And that it would be my fault if I allowed him to stay in a dangerous place.”

Dru shook his head lightly. “Joey’s a grown man, Rebecca. He’s a little slow, but he knows Blackthorn better than anyone else. He’s as safe here as anywhere else.”

“What about last night?”

“The person who struck Joey wasn’t lying in wait for him. Joey interrupted something. And in all likelihood saved the lives of those three horses.”

Rebecca couldn’t deny that. “I just don’t want him hurt. He’s such a kind man….”

“And one who knows how to keep his eyes open now that he’s aware of danger.”

Rebecca’s smile was like the sun slipping out from behind a cloud. “You make me feel better, you know.”

“You don’t deserve to feel bad,” he said simply.

“I wonder what’s going on here?” Rebecca said. “The treasure has been found. There’s no reason for anyone else to be slipping through the woods, causing trouble.”

“But someone is—or at least someone is slipping through the woods,” Dru pointed out, wondering himself if there were two separate incidents—the attack on Joey and some kids trespassing on Blackthorn for a thrill. He wasn’t so certain the “trespasser” was harmless.

The two deputies came up from the bluff. “We got a cast of a footprint,” one said, “but that’s about it. A male. About a size 11, worn running shoes. It’s distinctive if we can find the shoe. There’s a small place on the bank where someone’s been tying up a boat. It’s been used more than once.”

Dru nodded. “Good work.”

“Can you recommend a good security agency?” Rebecca asked. “I’ll hire a watchman to guard that landing.”

One thing Dru liked about Rebecca was her ability to land on her feet. When something happened, she figured out a way to fix it. But he wasn’t ready yet to post a guard.

“If we’re lucky, the intruder isn’t aware that he’s been seen. He didn’t see you in the scaffolding, did he?”

Rebecca shook her head, her expression showing curiosity about where he was going.

“Then he may believe he hasn’t been discovered at the landing. If that’s true, he’ll come back.”

“Which is exactly why I want someone down there to stop him.”

“But it may be our best opportunity to catch him,” Dru said with a grin. “If we’re waiting for him up here.”

He saw the two deputies look at each other. The glance was covert, and in an instant they were impassive again. Rebecca obviously saw it too.

“I doubt the Adams County Sheriff’s Department will stake out my property to prevent a trespasser,” she said.

“I couldn’t assign one of my men,” Dru agreed. “But I could stay myself. I think a night watch will be sufficient.”

He saw the unexpected rush of gratitude on Rebecca’s face and realized she would never have asked for special favors. That was another thing he liked about her. She didn’t assume anything.

“I’d rather catch him than scare him off,” Rebecca admitted. “I’m afraid if he gets scared off the river, he’ll just come in from the road.”

“I suspect you’re right about that,” Dru agreed, meeting his deputies’ amused glances.

“I’ll volunteer to help, too,” one of the deputies said with a wicked grin at Dru. “Me, too,” the other chimed in.

“All I can say is that the Adams County law enforcement is the most accommodating I’ve ever heard about,” Rebecca said. “Perhaps I could offer you gentlemen some coffee and breakfast?”

“If you’re sure it’s no bother,” Dru said, shaking his head in amusement at his two officers.

As he and Rebecca led the way to the cottage, he glanced back toward the river. Who was on Blackthorn property and what were they doing there? With the recovery of the treasure and Marcus’s confession that he’d been playing the role of Andre Agee, the mysterious horseman, to thwart development of the property, Dru had hoped that all of the rumors and odd events at Blackthorn would stop. Now it looked as if he’d been more than a tiny bit optimistic.

REBECCA SLIPPED into her riding breeches with a sigh of guilty anticipation. She’d brought Joey home from the hospital with a knot the size of a goose egg on his head, but the doctor had assured her he was perfectly fine. She’d left him sitting in the shade of a big pecan, watching over his garden.

She’d talked to the contractor, Eugene Batson, about the wiring, repeating all of the things Marcus had written on a list for her. One thing she’d learned from this experience was that she never wanted to build a house. The details were endless, and there were times she simply had to guess what Marcus and Aurelia would want. Perhaps the experience would be more enjoyable if she weren’t serving as absentee owner. Then again, how many people got to participate in the construction of what was going to be one of the most architecturally innovative houses ever built. She grinned as she laced her paddock boots.

For the time being, though, she could simply put all of that aside for an hour and enjoy a ride on Cogar.

Joey was drawing another diagram of a garden in the dirt, but he promised her he wouldn’t get hot working. She winked at him as she went on to the barn and saddled the big gray. Cogar was so tall, she almost needed a mounting block to get on. Almost.

When she was in the saddle, he moved out willingly, as eager for the ride as she was. As soon as she was in the woods, she let her troubles slip away. They walked until he was warm, moved into a trot, then eased into a ground-covering gallop. Her mind slipped to fantasy.

As a young girl, she’d often fantasized about Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest. That’s what the woods around Blackthorn reminded her of. At any moment the band of merry robbers could step out of the woods.

She smiled at a childhood memory: she’d been torn between wanting to be Robin—or Maid Marian. Robin seemed to have the most fun, but Marian was certainly beautiful. Those thoughts led her to Dru. He was a handsome man with a casual grace and easy confidence that she found delightful. Since he was so secure in who he was, she didn’t feel any pressure from him to change who she was. Of course, they were just getting to know each other. In the beginning, Mike had been easygoing, too. It was only toward the end that he began to act as though her hopes and dreams didn’t matter. What he wanted was the only important thing.

As if her thoughts precipitated it, a dark cloud covered the sun, casting the woods in shadow. Cogar had slowed to a walk, and Rebecca felt a little foolish as chill bumps danced over her arms.

Cogar’s head lifted, his ears pricked forward. Then she heard it. The sound of a baby crying. It was the eeriest thing she’d ever heard, rising and falling in desperate bursts from somewhere in the woods. Everything that Aurelia had told her came back to her.

Yvonne Harris and Randall Levert had been playing tape recordings of a crying baby in the woods of Blackthorn in an attempt to frighten Aurelia off the estate. And then Yvonne had taken it several steps further. She’d murdered Randall’s mother, Lottie, and tried to pin the murder on Aurelia by planting evidence. She’d also betrayed her co-conspirator by planting evidence against him, too. She’d intended to get both Aurelia and Randall out of the way.

Fortunately, Yvonne’s plans had been foiled. Aurelia, though charged, had been found innocent of Lottie Levert’s murder. Yvonne had been found guilty of Lottie’s death and was in the state penitentiary.

Randall, shocked that his partner in crime had murdered his own mother in an attempt to frame him, had turned state’s evidence against Yvonne. He, too, was serving time.

So why was a baby crying in the woods at Blackthorn, in some eerie repetition of past events?

Cogar stepped forward, as if he wanted to go into the woods. Rebecca reined him in. She sat and listened, the sound of the baby almost breaking her heart. But she wasn’t going into the woods. There were trespassers on Blackthorn and she was smart enough not to walk into a trap. If someone was playing tricks on her, she wouldn’t fall for them. Instead, she’d go straight back to the cottage and call Dru.

She had no belief that the baby crying in the woods was real. Therefore she didn’t feel it necessary to try and find it. Nudging Cogar into a trot, she headed back to the cottage and a telephone.

DRU FROWNED as he hung up the receiver. It wasn’t what he called justice, but then, he’d learned that when a witness cut a deal, lots of things were possible. He stared at the notes he’d made on a pad.

Randall Levert had been released from prison two days before based on the deal he’d cut with the prosecutor in testifying against Yvonne.

Dru wasn’t happy with that information, but he knew that Randall hadn’t been involved in his mother’s murder. What he’d done was attempt to frighten Aurelia into selling Blackthorn. And he’d used poor judgment in teaming up with Yvonne Harris.

And it would seem that he was using poor judgment once again. Dru stood up. He had no doubt that the sudden “intruder” at Blackthorn was none other than Randall Levert. But why Randall would risk losing his probation was what troubled Dru. He was either stupid or crazy, and both of those mindsets could be very dangerous under the right circumstances.

Dru drove out to Blackthorn and caught sight of Rebecca trotting out of the woods on a huge gray horse. The sight was breathtaking. He’d never been overly interested in horses, but the sight of Rebecca astride the gray made the sport seem infinitely more fascinating.

The expression on her face, though, told another story. He was out of the patrol car and at her side in a flash. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a baby crying in the woods,” she said, her voice trembling.

Dru realized she was more unnerved than she wanted him to know. His hand went to her knee in a gesture of comfort. “That stands to reason. They released Randall Levert on probation two days ago,” he said, “just about the time someone started trespassing on Blackthorn property. What surprises me is that he’s stupid enough to try the same stunt twice in a row.”

“Why is he doing this?” Rebecca asked, and Dru was relieved to hear anxiety beginning to turn to anger.

“That’s a good question. He’s risking real jail time for this stunt.”

“You’re positive the person doing this is Randall Levert?”

Dru considered the question. His gut told him it was Randall, but there wasn’t any evidence. “Fairly certain, but that doesn’t mean I’ll rule out other possibilities. What I am going to do is pick Randall up for questioning. If this is his idea of revenge, I’ll make him understand he’s playing a foolish game with severe consequences.”

“I’m sorry this thing has just…exploded,” Rebecca said. “First the man in the woods, then Joey, then the boat thing, and now the baby is back. I feel responsible for this in some way.” She started to swing from the saddle.

Dru found his hands around her waist steadying her as she dropped to the ground. He half expected her to step away from him. Instead, she turned so that she was in the circle of his arms. Her blue eyes held his, and he let his hands remain on her waist.

“You have nothing to do with Randall and whatever sick plan he’s hatched,” Dru said, his gaze slipping to her mouth. It was full and looked soft. He imagined what it would feel like to kiss her. He wanted to. He watched her swallow and realized that she, too, was thinking of a kiss.

“Will you really come by tonight?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I’d feel better if I kept an eye on things.”

“I’ll make dinner for you,” she said. “I’m a pretty good cook.”

“A woman with endless talents,” he said, knowing that the moment for the kiss had passed. But there would be other opportunities in the coming night, when he wasn’t on duty and when Brett Gibson and the Batson girl weren’t standing at the edge of the clearing watching them.