Deadly Intentions (11 page)

“Why come back now?” Jake asked. “It seems like strange timing is all I’m saying. An odd coincidence she’d appear out of nowhere and insinuate herself in the house when there is a threat against you girls. And in my line of business, there’s no such thing as coincidence.”

“Maybe you should do a little investigating on her,” Luke suggested.

“Investigate our aunt?” Celeste bristled. “That doesn’t seem right. She’s a Blackmoore and we don’t investigate our own people.”

“But aren’t you the least bit curious as to why she left and what she’s been doing all this time?” Jake asked.
 

“Maybe.” Celeste pressed her lips together. “But that still doesn’t mean I condone investigating
family
.”

The arrival of the pizza suspended the conversation and they all took a gooey slice and sat around the kitchen island with paper plates and a roll of paper towels.
 

Jolene picked a pepperoni off her slice and popped it into her mouth. The salty grease tickled her taste buds. They ate in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds an occasional nummy noise.

“So where
is
Eliza tonight?” Jake asked as he picked out his second piece of pizza.

“She said she was going to visit friends,” Jolene answered.

Jake raised a brow. “Really? Did she say who?”

“No,” Morgan cut in. “And we weren’t about to give her the third degree.”

“Of course not. It just seems funny that after being gone for twenty years without contacting any of you, she’d still have friends back here.”

Jake had a point. Eliza sure did seem to have a lot of people to visit in town and she never once mentioned who any of them were.

Jolene looked around the kitchen at her family. A feeling of foreboding spread in her stomach, making the pizza weigh heavy. Usually it was Morgan who had the premonitions, but tonight, Jolene had one herself.
 

Shoving aside her plate, she swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump that was forming in her throat as she wondered if this might be their last supper together.
 

***

Eliza Blackmoore pulled the key out of the old truck’s ignition and listened to the engine sputter out. Clicking off the lights, she stared into the depths of the darkened woods. It was dusk and the dense forest was cloaked in shadow.
 

She’d better hurry. Soon it would be totally dark.

Eliza hurried down the path, the dark trees looming beside her like silent sentinels. The hazy dusk gave the woods a dream-like quality. The forest was almost silent except for the sound of her own heartbeat and a few birds letting out their last chirps before bedding down for the night. To her left, a chipmunk rustled in the dried leaves on the forest floor, pulling her startled attention away from the path.
 

When she looked back at the path, a dark figure stood just ahead.
 

“Did you find it?” the woman whispered as Eliza drew closer.

Eliza sighed, her heart sinking. She hung her head. “No.”

A pale, wrinkled hand reached out and tilted her chin up so she was looking into the clear amber eyes of the old woman. Her skin was as pale as centuries-old parchment, which made her eyes appear to glow with an ethereal light.
 

Or maybe they really
were
glowing?

No, it’s probably just a trick of the lighting
, Eliza thought as she studied the small woman in front of her. She was dressed in a long black cloak, the hood pulled up over her silver hair, making her small face appear to float inside its dark shadow.

Eliza looked into her eyes, but instead of the disappointment she expected to see, she saw only understanding and wisdom.

“Never fear. I know you will succeed.”

“I think I know where to look. I got close today, but was interrupted.”

“It’s critical you find it, or all may be lost. It could be the difference that keeps our opposers from gaining the upper hand.”
 

“I know.” Eliza felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I still have a few places to look.”

The woman nodded, pulling her cloak closer as a breeze kicked up the dried leaves on the path causing them to swirl around their feet. “You must be alert. I feel the wind of change is close.”
 

“I will.”

“Good, then.” The amber eyes narrowed. “And what of the girls?”

“They seem to be virtually unaware.”

The woman simply nodded. Lowering her voice she said, “Don’t forget your mission—more than one life hangs in the balance.”

And then she stepped backward and turned, melting into the shadows of the trees. Eliza stood there blinking at the empty forest.

Had the woman vanished into thin air?

No, it probably just
seemed
that way. Night had fallen and Eliza could barely see more than ten feet in front of her. The old woman had simply walked out of her line of vision.

Eliza turned, her stomach jittery with nerves, wondering if she’d be able to make her way back to the truck now that it was dark. As if by divine intervention, the three-quarter moon appeared from behind the long thin cloud that had been hiding it, illuminating the woods enough for Eliza to see the path in front of her.

She started back toward the parking lot, sucking in a startled breath when something appeared directly in front of her.
 

A deer blinked at her with its large eyes. Its dark, velvety nose twitched. Eliza could hear it exhaling puffs of breath as the two stood frozen, staring at each other. Then it turned and silently bounded off into the woods.

Eliza quickened her pace. She had to get back home and find what she’d come to find before things turned for the worse. She wondered how much she should tell her nieces.
 

How much did they know already?
 

She had no idea, but if she had to lie to them, then so be it. Her mission was most important. She’d left town for a good reason all those years ago, and she wasn’t about to let all that sacrifice be for nothing.

Chapter Fifteen

Jolene and her sisters had given in to Luke, Jake and Cal’s pleas for them to ‘buddy up’. So, the next day, Fiona and Morgan went to
Sticks and Stones
together, as usual, which left Jolene and Celeste to keep each other out of trouble.
 

Since Celeste didn’t have to work until later that day, she accompanied Jolene on her stakeout of Gail. Jolene usually preferred to work alone, but at least bringing Celeste along was better than having to drag Jake, Luke or one of Luke’s minions with her.
 

A lot of the work Jolene did involved sitting in her car waiting for someone to go somewhere so she could follow them. She had to admit, it could get kind of boring, so having Celeste along today wasn’t that objectionable.

“Eliza sure spends a lot of time in her room,” Celeste said as they sat in the Subaru along a side street near Gail and Steve’s house. “I pictured that she’d be doing more stuff with us.”

“Maybe she’s a loner and likes to keep to herself.”
Like me.
 

“Maybe. We have been busy, too, and we do spend all day at work. I’d just like to get to know her better.”

“Maybe we can plan something for all of us to do together this weekend,” Jolene offered.

“Good idea.”

“Here she comes.” Jolene kept her eyes on the side mirror where she had spotted Gail’s green Subaru motoring down the street toward them. She waited for it to go by, then pulled out a few seconds later. “The key is to follow along behind, but not so close so that the person suspects they are being followed.”

“Hopefully she won’t be looking for anyone tailing her,” Celeste said. “Do you expect her to be up to something?”

“Yep. Steve said he heard her make a date for this afternoon.”

“Oh. Gosh, that’s terrible. He must feel awful.” Celeste stared out the window. “I don’t know how you can do this job sometimes.”

Jolene shrugged. “It’s not bad all the time. Besides, someone has to do it. I’m just sorry you have to tag along. It’s probably boring for you.”

“Well, I like the company.” Celeste smiled. “I just wish Luke would give us more information. The place he works for can’t really be keeping him as much in the dark as he pretends.”

“You think he’s holding back on us?” Jolene asked. She hadn’t considered that. But why would he?

“I don’t know. The whole thing is strange.”
 

Up ahead, Gail pulled off onto a less traveled street and Jolene slowed down so that she wouldn’t be too close before she took the same turn. She glanced uneasily in her rear-view mirror after she turned down the road.

“Is someone following us?” Celeste half turned in her seat to look out the back.

“No. I don’t think so. I’m just nervous about it, I guess. Luke has me all spooked now.” Jolene didn’t mention the part about getting knocked out at the storage facility—no sense in getting Celeste all worried.
 

“Have you found out anything more about Mom?” Celeste’s tentative voice at the mention of their mother made Jolene’s stomach lurch.

“Well, I’m not sure if it’s about Mom, but I did find something strange at Jeb’s the other day.”

“At Jebs?”

“Yeah. I was out there asking about the traps that he thought Gordy had taken and he showed me something he found in one of the remaining traps. He thought it was a whale jaw, but it was a human jaw!”

“What? Gross.” Celeste scrunched her face up and then her eyes widened. “And you think it might be from …”

“Her body was never found,” Jolene cut in so her sister didn’t have to say the words.

“Oh.” Celeste stared out the side window and the two girls fell silent as Jolene followed Gail further into the boonies.

“Where the heck is she going?” Celeste said after a few minutes.

“Maybe to some out-of-the-way motel?” Jolene felt her heart sinking for Steve. It looked like he was right. She was off to meet her lover at some remote destination.

“I don’t know of any motel down here,” Celeste said as they watched Gail pull off onto a narrow dirt road.

“You know all the motels in the area?” Jolene raised a brow at her sister and pulled over. It would be too obvious if she followed Gail down that narrow road. “What do you think is down there? It looks almost like it could be a driveway.”

“You never know out here.” Celeste opened her window and craned her neck to see down the road. “I think there is a mobile home at the end.”

“That’s weird. Maybe that’s where the professor lives.” Jolene reached into the back seat and pulled out her camera and telephoto lens. “Come on, let’s go see what she’s up to.”

The two girls closed their car doors softly and crept through the woods, taking care to stay off the road and out of sight of the house. They hid behind a large bush about two hundred feet from the well-kept mobile home.

“What are all those cars?” Celeste pointed to the yard where six cars were parked at various angles. “If she was meeting him for an affair wouldn’t there be only one other car?”
 

Jolene brought the camera up to her face and aimed it at the mobile home. “Maybe it’s some kind of swingers club or something?”

“Wait. I think I see movement in the living room,” Celeste said.
 

“They left the curtains open?” Jolene focused the lens so that she could see straight into the living room, gasping as she scanned the group of people, recognizing some of the objects she saw in their hands.

“What is it?” Celeste danced on her tiptoes squinting with her hand shading her eyes trying to see all the way to the mobile home.

Jolene snapped a few shots as proof for Steve, then handed the camera to her sister. “Look for yourself. You won’t believe it.”

Celeste grabbed the camera and plastered it to her face, adjusting the lens. Then Jolene heard her breath whoosh out. She lowered the camera and stared at Jolene. “A Pampered Chef party?”

Jolene shrugged and the girls giggled as they turned to go back to the car. “I’m kind of glad we didn’t catch Gail doing anything. I hate to have to be the one to give Steve the bad news. He’s really stuck on her.”

“Hmmm…” Celeste’s distracted nod set Jolene’s nerves on edge. Celeste was looking to the left, scanning the woods. Jolene squinted in that direction. The hairs on her neck tingled.
 

Someone was out there. Watching them.

She turned her head forward and kept walking, focusing on the energy of whoever was watching, honing her senses like a torpedo zeroing in on an enemy vessel. Then suddenly she turned and thrust her palm out in the direction where she thought the watcher was.

A ball of bright blue electricity shot out of her hand, zinging through the woods and crackling against a tree. Sparks flew out, falling to the ground like the sparkles of a firecracker. The electricity was a little off target and a lot stronger than Jolene had intended—maybe she
should
have been trying harder to hone her skills.

“Jeez, I guess you’ve been practicing.” Celeste’s face was pale. “Was someone out there?”

Jolene frowned into the woods. “I’m not sure. I
felt
like someone was, but I didn’t hear a yell and don’t see anyone running.”

“Maybe you missed.”

Jolene scowled at her sister and Celeste laughed.

“Anyway, the important thing is that you have been practicing and you can fend off a bad guy. Luke and Jake were worrying for nothing … at least about you.” Celeste glanced around uneasily. “My skills seem to be more geared toward the energy of the past. I don’t really have any paranormal ability to defend myself.”

“Aww, don’t worry, sis.” Jolene put her arm around Celeste. “I’ll protect you.”

She was rewarded with Celeste’s warm smile. “I appreciate that. But what am I going to do when you’re not around?”

***

Jolene dropped Celeste off at her yoga studio. Cal would pick Celeste up after work and bring her home, which was where Jolene was supposed to go now as Luke had some of his minions watching the house to make sure nothing bad happened.