She didn’t wait for the men to try to talk her out of her decision. Eve followed her, and Bree rushed through the door. She left it open behind her and hurried past Ruby. The air-conditioning cooled her hot face.
“You handled that well,” Eve said.
“Thanks to you. I was clueless in there. They could have drugged him and I wouldn’t have known about any alternatives.”
“I was glad to help. Let’s go see your dad.”
Bree nodded and led her friend down the hall to the last room on the left. “Hey, Dad,” she said, pushing open the door.
He sat in an armchair staring out the window. Tall and distinguished still, Bernard had the kind of face that aged well. His disease shrouded the intelligence in his eyes, but Bree still saw glimmers of the man he used to be.
“Did you see the swans, Cassie?” he asked.
“It’s Bree, Dad.” She touched his shoulder, and he looked up at her.
“Of course it is,” he said. “You were only a baby when I saw you last.”
Bree choked back a sigh. How long had it been? Two days? Yes, just two. She touched his cheek. “I heard you got some swans. What kind?” She squinted out the window and saw the white birds gliding along the pond’s surface. “Black bills. They’re trumpeters. You’re lucky. The mutes are more common.”
“Lucky,” he agreed. His chin touched his chest, and his eyes closed.
Bree sighed. “I guess we’d better go get the kids.”
They left Bernard sleeping and went back out into the sunshine. The traffic was bumper to bumper all the way to the downtown area. “The geo-cachers are going to have to camp out,” Eve said. “There aren’t enough rooms to house them.”
“A bunch of them are staying at the forest campground,” Bree said. “Looks like we’ve got a great turnout. But I’m still uneasy about you being bait.”
“It may end up being a bust. When he called, he said he wouldn’t break into the house again.”
“And you believe that?”
“No. I think he was talking in riddles. I’m just trying to make myself believe it. It’s the only way I can function.”
“I’m afraid for you.”
Eve shrugged. “Nick got me a little gun that I’m going to start carrying.”
“If you’re not familiar with handling it, that’s not going to do you a lot of good.”
“It fit in my hand like it was made for me.” Eve’s brief smile came. “I’d almost like a chance to shoot him. Almost. I just want it to be over. I might as well be a target while everyone is watching and can help.”
“I don’t like it.”
“It will be over soon.” Eve got out of the Jeep and followed Bree to the store.
Several customers were at the checkout. Bree smiled and chatted with the customers a minute, then the women went back to the break room for some cardamom bread and tea. Bree watched Anu put the kettle on to boil, then get down the Arabia cups and saucers.
“I’ll get the tea.” Bree opened the tin and peeked inside. “You’ve got Nordqvist.”
“Yes, a fresh shipment came in two days ago. I knew you’d love it.”
Bree lifted out four tea bags and inhaled the aroma of China Rose tea. “I would have come over sooner if I’d known you had this.”
With the tea and bread on the table, Anu pulled out her chair and sat down. “Now tell me,” she said.
Bree and Eve settled at the table with her, and Bree explained what had happened at the nursing home. “He’s such a gentle man,” she said. “I never expected him to be violent, not ever. It seems so unfair for a sweet and godly man to have to go through this.”
Anu stirred sugar into her tea and didn’t answer at first. Her gaze was soft and faraway. “I, too, was surprised at first, kulta,” she said finally. “This morning, a woman brought back a lace tablecloth she bought two weeks ago.”
Bree frowned, unsure why Anu changed the subject. But the older woman usually had a purpose in her rabbit trails, so Bree said nothing.
“I knew at once she had used it. She said it was stained when she bought it, but several times I had opened that cloth and admired the pattern before folding it back up. I knew she did not tell the truth.” Her gaze locked with Bree’s, and she smiled. “And you think, This crazy woman, where is she going with this story?”
Bree chuckled. “Go on, I’m listening.”
“I was angry, very angry. I wanted to call the woman a liar, to throw her out of my store. All the ugliness of my inner person wanted to rise up and scream at her. This is what surprised me. But I didn’t, kulta. The control I have learned as a Christian helped me, and I held my tongue. Your father’s disease has stripped away that control. If there was ever proof that man is evil at his core, just as the Bible says, it’s when we see a man afflicted like your father. With his control gone, the natural man that is at the heart of all of us is revealed in all his deformity and vileness.”
Bree thought about the times she raged inside and subdued it, the way she bit back unkind words, the way she often didn’t feel like helping her neighbor but did anyway. “I see what you mean.”
“There, but for God’s grace, are we,” Anu said, lifting her cup of tea to her lips.
27
PERSPIRATION DRIPPED DOWN NICK’S BACK AS HE HEAVED another shovel load of dirt onto the growing pile. They’d gone down two feet and found nothing. Maybe whatever was buried here had already been moved.
Then his shovel clanged on a metallic surface. “Found it,” he said to Kade. Nick wiped perspiration out of his eyes and redoubled his efforts.
His shovel kept clanging on whatever was down there. Shovelful by shovelful, the men uncovered their find. Kade swiped the last of the dirt from the top to reveal a long metal box.
“Looks like ammunition or guns,” Kade said, brushing dirt off the green metal.
“I suppose we should call Montgomery,” Nick said. “I’d guess they belong to Job’s Children.”
Kade tried to pry up the lid, but it resisted. “Yeah, good call.” He flipped open his phone and dialed.
While Kade spoke to the deputy, Nick meandered around the clearing looking for more disturbed dirt. Leaves from last autumn lay in drifts around the edge of the clearing and crunched underfoot as he kicked through them. The place was peaceful, and he was beginning to think his intuition was off when he stepped into soft dirt under the leaves.
Brushing them aside, he found another burial spot. “Here’s another one,” he called.
Kade joined him. “Montgomery is on his way. I wonder how many other sites they have out here? And what’s the point?”
“So they wouldn’t be found with the weapons. And they like to sprinkle their stuff in different locations in case they have to bug out. They can find these caches quickly.”
“Let’s try that box again,” Kade said, heading back to the one they’d already dug up.
“What will Montgomery say?”
“He probably thinks we already opened it.” Kade put the shovel blade under the lid and pried. It popped open this time, and he used the blade as a wedge.
Nick began to pry the other end. Adrenaline pumped through his body at the find. He hated these kinds of groups. If it were up to him, he’d pass a law forbidding them. He jabbed with his shovel again, and the lid popped loose. He and Kade lifted it off and stared down.
Cans of food. Green beans, corn, sweet potatoes. Tomato sauce, soups, ravioli. No weapons, no ammo.
He kicked at his shovel. “Crap. I thought there would be guns.”
Kade leaned on his shovel. “Me too. Bree and I went to listen to that group. There were bearskins on the walls, and Bree found them poaching.”
“I know they’re involved with Gideon somehow. He had a hand in the last group I broke up, and he’s here now. I can smell him.”
“Maybe. Don’t forget to have your dad check on that woman who was injured in the ballet. There might be a connection there,” Kade reminded him.
> Nick nodded and called his dad. He doubted an accident so obscure could be connected to a serial killer, but it wouldn’t hurt to check. His gaze went back to the metal chests.
He just might have to scout around the headquarters of Job’s Children this weekend. The forest would be thronged by people out for the geo-caching event. No one would notice him wandering close to the compound. If there was a connection, he would find it.
EVE JUMPED AT NICK’S OFFER TO TAKE KERI FOR A “DATE.” A little time to herself before Bree got home was just what she needed. Kade was there, and Nick’s partner Fraser was parked in an unmarked car across the street, adding more security.
She fertilized the plants and grabbed the new Denise Hunter book. Just having time to lose herself in a good book was heaven.
Kade came into the living room. “Hey, Bree’s got a flat tire. Would you mind going with me? I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“Oh, go ahead. Fraser’s still out there. I’ll be fine. I think I’ll go down to the beach and read.”
“I shouldn’t be gone more than fifteen minutes.”
With Kade gone, Eve went out outside and told Fraser she would be on the beach reading. He nodded and told her he’d keep watch.
Carrying her book, Eve went down the steps to the sand. A stone bench perched just past the sand at the base of the hillside where the lighthouse looked out over the water. She got situated, then dug her bare toes into the cool sand. The sun was an orange ball dropping into the endless blue of the water. She sat there watching the sun go down.
She heard a footstep behind her but didn’t turn. It was probably Kade back already. “You’re back early,” she called. Her smile faltered when she realized it wasn’t Kade.
“Mind if I join you?” Oliver stood with a half smile just behind her.
“I suppose Nick called you to come check on me.” She smiled and moved over on the bench. “It’s sweet of you to worry, but I’m really okay, Oliver. There’s a policeman out front.”
“I saw. But the guy is sleeping. There was little protection he could offer.” He paused. “Listen, I’ve got something I need to show you. I think it might be important for the investigation. Can you come to my van?”
“Now? Don’t you want to wait until Nick gets back so you can show him?”
“He’s seen it already and doesn’t know what to make of it. I think you might be able to shed some light on it.” Oliver rose and held out his hand.
She took it and rose. “Okay.” The book tumbled to the sand, but she left it there, knowing it would be a good excuse to leave Oliver and come back to the beach.
The stone steps to the water had crumbled over time, and Eve was careful as she went ahead of Oliver up the cliff. The lighthouse beam blinked, and she walked toward the car in the dusk. She heard Samson barking inside the house. She’d have to let him out when she got back.
Oliver was right. Fraser’s head lolled back, and his mouth was open. Some help he was. But then, he’d been on duty all day. Oliver’s van was parked across the street under a tree. He went to the back and opened the doors. Climbing inside, he turned to offer his hand to her. She reached up and grasped his fingers, then stepped into the vehicle.
Eve glanced around at the various containers and busts. “How many victims have you brought home to their families?”
“Oh, upwards of two hundred, I think.” Oliver’s back was to her, and when he turned around, he held a set of handcuffs. One end was clasped around a hand rest on the back of the front seat.
“Where did you find those?” She stepped closer to look at them, but they seemed much too ordinary to be the reason he’d brought her here.
His hand snaked out and caught hers, then slapped the other end of the handcuff around her wrist. “I bought them for this moment.” His fingers bit into her arm.
“What are you doing?” She figured it was some kind of stunt he wanted to show her. Until he brought a red cloth toward her face. She jerked on the handcuff, but it held fast. His calloused fingers grabbed the back of her head while his other hand forced the cloth into her mouth.
She tried to spit it out, but it was wedged in too tightly.
“I see by your eyes you’re finally afraid,” he said. “Good.” He bent down and flipped on a recorder.
The Daffy Duck voice that came out made her shudder. Gideon? Oliver was Gideon? His work had been praised all over the country. Nick trusted him. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
He slammed the van door closed, then brushed past her to clamber into the front seat. The van engine sprang to life.
The lurch of the vehicle threw Eve to her knees. She crouched there and looked for some tool to unlock the handcuff, but none lay within reach. Only tubs of clay. She thumped on the side of the van with her hand, hoping someone would hear her.
Oliver turned around, and the malice in his eyes made the last of the spit in her mouth dry up. “You don’t want me to come back there,” was all he said, but it was enough.
Eve dropped her hand and huddled on the floor. She would never see Keri or Nick again. The thought made her eyes sting. All the petty reasons she’d given Nick for not going home with him blew away.
She gritted her teeth and pulled on her cuffs. If she kept her wits, there would be an opportunity to escape. She’d outwitted him twice already, and Gideon was no longer a faceless, unknown attacker.
He was driving too fast for the rough road. The van lurched and kicked like a failing ski boat. Night had fallen with the suddenness common in the North Woods. Darkness shrouded the landscape, but the glow from the dash illuminated Oliver’s profile enough for her to see his narrowed eyes and set mouth.
Tree limbs brushed the side of the van, so she guessed the road was a private lane. It seemed to go on forever. At one point a larger branch screeched across the frame and made her jump.
Oliver slammed on the brakes, and she slid into the back side of the passenger seat. He said nothing as he switched off the engine and got out.
Eve scrambled to her feet and tried to peer around the seat and out the window, but it was too dark to see with the forest blocking out the moonlight. The metal door clanked as Oliver wrenched it open. He stepped inside, but she was too blind even to make out his features.
Eve worried the gag with her tongue, but it still refused to budge. Something metallic jingled, and she felt Oliver’s cold hands on her arm, then the handcuff came free from the seat. She tried to spring away from him, but his hand forced her back to her knees. He brought her hands in front of her, slapped the other side of the handcuff onto her free wrist, and dragged her to her feet.
Battling with her in silence, he tossed her out the van door. She fell hard, her chin slamming into the dirt, her palms scraping across some rocks. She didn’t understand, couldn’t figure out how this could have happened.
She should at least have a fighting chance.
Her right knee screamed when he dragged her to her feet again. Brush tore at her exposed skin as he propelled her forward. The lashes from the vegetation seemed to come out of nowhere in the utter blackness.
Then her foot banged against something, a ledge maybe.
“Step up,” he growled.
The cloth in her mouth was soaked now, and choking her. She desperately wanted it gone. Her foot sought and found the step up, and Oliver pushed her about three steps, then stopped.
She heard something creak. A door? He pushed her across the threshold and into a building that smelled of damp and mouse. A light flared, and she saw his face thrown into sharp relief by the match flame. He bent over a lantern. Adjusting its wick, he got the light going and held it aloft.
Eve got her first good look at the place. A one-room cabin with a dirt floor, it had only a cot, a chair, and a wooden table. No indoor plumbing or kitchen.
Oliver pushed her onto the end of the cot with one hand and ripped out her gag with the other. It felt like half her tongue went with the cloth, but the relief was exquis
ite.
He pulled up the chair and straddled it with its back toward Eve in a casual gesture that confirmed his command of the situation.
She wet her lips. “I don’t understand, Oliver. I liked you. I thought you were my friend.”
“Don’t bother using any psychobabble on me. I’m too intelligent for it to work.” His smile held no humor.
“What did I do?”
“It angers me a great deal that you’ve dismissed your sin so completely. I’ve given you space to repent of it, to make amends, but you’ve ignored it.”
“Ignored what? I really don’t know.”
He pulled a picture from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it with her wrists chained together. In the dim light she could make out her own face smiling back at her. Dressed in a white tutu and feathered tiara, she looked so happy and carefree. Everything had changed that night.
“Ah. I see by your expression, you’re finally understanding.”
She handed the photo back. “No, no. I really don’t. Were you in the audience?”
“I was there. Watching my wife dance.”
“Your wife danced that night? Which part? What was her name?”
“Miranda.”
The single word was enough. Eve shrank back in her chair. “You—you’re Miranda’s husband?” She didn’t remember his last name. Nick always just called him Oliver.
His gaze never left her face. She shuddered. “I . . . I lost track of Miranda. How is she?”
“You never paid for your sin that night. Never even said you were sorry.”
Eve wet her lips. “I did, but she was . . . was unresponsive by then.”
He frowned then. “You went to the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t believe it. I would have known.” He shook his head. “No, you’re trying to make light of what you did, and there was no excuse.”
“You’re right, there wasn’t. I still think of it with shame.”
Eve could sense he was barely hanging on to his composure. Maybe silence would be the best option here. Her hands were small, and she wondered if maybe she could wiggle them free from the handcuffs.