Fear Familiar Bundle (47 page)

Ducking through the branches of the trees as she headed home, Cassandra knew she was escaping from her memories as much as from the idea of an intruder. She had a terrible image from the day after her father died. The dream of his fall, and the emotional turmoil that was a result of that horrible incident, had put her in bed, unable to utter a word. She'd awakened the next morning before anyone could stop her and gone running to the orchard. She'd gone looking for her father, hoping that it had all been a nightmare and that she'd hear him whistling in one of the trees.

The apple orchard had been as calm and peaceful as she'd ever seen it. Morning birds were chirping and the hint of frost had been on the ground. There had been no sign of the accident— except for the impression of the ambulance tracks in the orchard grass. She'd known then that he was really dead.

She felt a lump in her throat and broke into a jog. The past was nothing to think about now. It was over and done. Blake McBeth had been dead for nearly twenty years. It was the future that she had to worry about. The present.

As soon as she got to the house, she was going to…what? She could only pray that Adam was there waiting. The next step was to find Bounder. He could answer a lot of questions.

When she broke through the last of the trees, she was delighted to see Adam's car at her house, along with her own little convertible. Adam was standing at the fender of the Miata, examining the paint job.

"The mechanic followed me here," Adam said by way of greeting when he saw Cassandra jog into the yard. "He said it was repaired, and he put the bill on your account. It must be nice to live in a town where you can charge bills without a piece of plastic."

"Adam…" Cassandra was breathless from her run. "I found…"

"Cassandra, I found the girl I think is Ellen."

She stopped just out of his reach. "Ellen? Really?" The emotion that struck her was something akin to relief mixed with fear. "She's alive?"

"Very much so. And badly shaken."

"Did she tell you who she was seeing?" Cassandra felt as if the ground had shifted under her feet. Edges in the puzzle that didn't fit were close to dropping into place.

"I didn't have much of a chance to really talk with her. Beaker showed up and she ran away like a startled deer. I came up here to get you. I thought maybe we could look for her. If we can find her and get her to talk, maybe we can actually begin to solve some of this."

"Oh, Adam." Cassandra took a seat on the top step. "I was going to suggest we look for Bounder."

"Look for him?"

"He's missing, and Running Stream is afraid he's in danger." She told him about the second earring Running Stream had found in Bounder's room.

"That's hard to believe," Adam said. "I never suspected that he could be involved in anything illegal."

"I don't think he is. I'm more concerned that he might be in danger."

"What should we do?" Adam sat down beside her.

"We could split up. You could hunt Ellen, since you've seen her. I could begin to search for Bounder."

"No!" Adam was emphatic. "I don't like that at all. If we hunt, we hunt together. And Ellen's real name is JoAnn Reed."

"We have to split up— we don't have much time." Cassandra thought of the tire marks. Someone was watching her. It would be wiser to stay with Adam, but what if Bounder was in danger? What if he'd stumbled onto something because he was trying to protect her? Time was the enemy, and she knew she had to do everything she could to find the young man and the woman whose life she'd clearly seen in danger. She made her decisions— to keep her knowledge of the tire marks secret awhile. No point in upsetting Adam further. He was already overprotective.

"Adam, it couldn't be too dangerous if we both went around asking questions. You've got Ellen's real name. Find her, get the man's name who she's been seeing and then meet me at the trading post at the Cherokee reservation. Or leave a message there."

Adam started to protest, but he knew what she was saying made sense. He also knew by the look on her face that nothing he said would change her mind. For a woman as beautiful as an enchantress, she had the tenacity of a pit bull. "What do you think you can do there that Running Stream can't?"

"I knew some of Bounder's friends. Some his mother didn't know or didn't want to know." She smiled. "As close as those two are, there are still secrets a young man has from his mother."

Adam allowed a rueful grin. "I suppose. These friends, are they troublemakers?"

"It depends on whose perspective you see them from," Cassandra said with a sigh. "I don't think they'd bother me. After all, I may be a white woman, but I'm not accepted by the local community. I have a lot in common with them." She pushed her long hair back from her face and stood abruptly. "It isn't so different, you see. Bounder's friends understand that I'm an outcast, too."

"You wouldn't be if you moved somewhere else." Adam rose also and put his hands on her shoulders. "Anywhere else in the world, you'd be accepted for the bright, interesting, and beautiful woman you are."

"Anywhere except my hometown?" There was an edge of bitterness in her voice.

"You could make a new home. Any place can be home as long as there's someone there who loves you."

"I've never been one to run away." Cassandra held her chin up and met Adam's gaze. She knew it would come to this conversation, this hurdle. She simply hadn't expected it so soon.

"Wisdom is knowing the difference between running and starting over. There's no shame in taking a different path, Cassandra."

"No, there's not." She had to find the right words. "But I'd have to know in my heart that I wasn't running away. If I wasn't certain of that, I wouldn't have any respect for myself." She placed her hands on his chest, where she could feel the beating of his heart. "Besides, I don't know if I could live anywhere but this old mountain. It's part of me, Adam. I'm part of it. The plants and animals and the way the seasons come here…"

"There are other places, other ways of living to experience." He'd reached a wall with her, one that he was going to have to be very careful in how he scaled it. She was so much a part of her surroundings; did he even have a right to suggest that she leave them?

The bigger question was whether he could leave without her, if it came to that.

She saw the struggle in his eyes. He, too, was confronting the vast differences that stood between what they felt for each other and reality. His heart beat strong beneath her palm, and she felt the longing build inside her to step into the safety of his embrace. She remembered too well the sense of security she could share in his arms. When their bodies touched, reality was pushed away.

"We both know we can't make any decisions until we find out about these young women. And Bounder." She spoke so softly that he inclined his head to her. "Let's not talk about this now, Adam. Not now. Neither of us is ready for that kind of decision."

"Come with me to hunt JoAnn. Then we'll go to the reservation." He wasn't inclined to premonitions. Maybe it was living with Cassandra that made him more attuned to his senses. For some reason, though, he didn't want to let her get away from him. Not even for an hour.

"Give me two hours. If you get tied up, call the trading post's main number and leave a message for me. I'll check there if you don't come."

"Be careful." Adam pulled her into his arms and held her. She was so delicate. How was it possible that she had so much strength?

"Hey, I'm going to be a television star tomorrow. I wouldn't risk a hair on my head." She put her arms around his neck and clung to him. It was a second of pleasure. She pushed herself away. "See you in a while."

Adam watched as she swung into her little red convertible. She waved as she pulled out of the yard.

The nagging sensation of impending doom settled on his shoulders with a vengeance. He had an irrational impulse to follow her, even if he had to do it clandestinely. But Cassandra would deeply resent such an action. And JoAnn Reed's life might rest on his taking the proper action. He got into his car and started down the long, tree-lined drive.

He'd just rounded the first curve when he saw the man dash out in front of the car. He had only a brief glimpse of the stooped old man in a hat before he put all of his attention into stopping the car. Adam hit the brakes and cut the wheel sharply.

There was a thud as he struck something and the car skidded into a tree.

The sudden impact jarred him with such force that a groan escaped his lips. His seat belt took the full force of his body flying forward, and then he was thrown back into the seat with a back-jolting whiplash. Stunned, Adam sat in the seat for several moments.

When he finally got out, he hurried to see what he'd struck. Beneath the front wheel of the car was a scarecrow. It looked as if it had been pulled from one of the tobacco fields anywhere along the road. Straw escaped from the tattered body and spilled beneath his car.

"Son of a…" Adam looked around the woods. His mind was working clearly again, aware now that danger was imminent. Someone had thrown the dummy out of the woods in an attempt to wreck him. Why?

"Cassandra!" He knew then.

The front of his car was totaled. Fluids dripped onto the leaf-filled ground. He tried the key, but the motor only sputtered. Slamming the steering wheel with his hand, he swore.

He'd fallen right into the trap. In dodging the scarecrow, he'd wrecked his car and now he was trapped on the mountain with a good two-hour walk ahead of him. Two hours when Cassandra might need his help.

He slammed out of the car and started jogging. At least it was downhill. Ducking low limbs and concentrating on establishing his breathing, Adam set his course toward the highway. With any luck, he might catch a ride. If his luck ran against him…if he had to crawl, he'd get to Cassandra.

About ten miles from the Cherokee reservation property, Cassandra waited in the shelter of an old chestnut tree. Perched in the branches, several small finches sang, unafraid of her presence. She was so taken by the brave songsters that when she heard her name called, she jumped.

She swung around into the handsome face of Billy Buckeye Tanner. He'd stolen silently through the woods until he was only six feet from her. She'd never even heard a twig snap.

"I heard you wanted to see me," he said softly.

The tree's shade put Billy's eyes in shadow. Cassandra searched them, but she could see nothing, not a hint of anger or fear or remorse.

"Where's Bounder? When I asked around with some of your friends, they were all reluctant to say anything."

"He's a grown man. I don't keep tabs on him." A flicker of contempt touched Billy's lips. "You and his mother are so afraid he's going to grow up. You're smothering him."

"I care for Bounder, and for his mother. I don't want to see him make a mistake that could ruin the rest of his life. I don't want to see you do that, either, Billy."

"I don't need a baby-sitter!"

Anger only intensified the handsome angle of Billy's jaw. Cassandra couldn't help the ghost of a smile that touched her lips. Those were exactly the same words she'd spoken to Adam when they were with Sheriff Beaker. "Bounder could be in serious trouble. Please help me," she said. "If he isn't with you, then he's disappeared."

Billy's face gave nothing away. "What do you want to know?"

"Has Bounder been in my upper orchard?"

This time she struck pay dirt. Billy's reaction was split second, but it was there nonetheless. "Has someone been in your orchard?" He tried to act as if he wasn't surprised by her question.

"I found the car tracks. All I have to do is follow them."

"We put some things up there." He gave up the pretense. "For safekeeping. Bounder didn't think you'd mind."

"Basically, I don't mind if Bounder uses my property." Cassandra felt her pulse quicken. "I would like to know what things."

Billy shrugged. "Stuff we needed for later. Nothing important."

"I'm going straight home and find whatever you've put there." She started to move past him, back to the path that led to the highway.

Billy's hand gripped her arm. "You don't want to see that stuff."

Cassandra met his gaze in the shade of the tree. "It's illegal, isn't it? What? Guns? Money?" She couldn't believe it.

"Wire and stuff." Billy was vague. "Leave it alone and we'll get it tonight."

"Whatever it is, Sheriff Beaker and his men were all over my place," Cassandra said. "They might have already found it."

Billy shook his head. "No, they would have arrested you if they had." He smiled. "If they'd known what it was."

"Don't touch it." Cassandra felt her anger build. "Whatever it is, leave it there and I'll take care of it later. Whatever plan you had, forget it, Billy. No matter how right you think you are, violence is no solution. Now where is Bounder? Is he up there guarding that stuff?"

Billy shook his head. "We haven't seen him since yesterday. He said he had something he had to do. He wouldn't tell anyone. Not even me. What do you think he's up to?"

Cassandra hesitated. This latest development made her almost certain that Billy was not involved with the murders of the women. "He found something. An earring. I think it belonged to one of the murdered women, but I can't prove that."

"Where?"

"That's the question we all want answered."

"We're supposed to meet tonight at nine," Billy said. "If Bounder doesn't come, then you can be sure he's in trouble."

"I'll wait until tonight. I won't go to the orchard until I've heard from you. But Billy," she warned, "don't try to pull anything on me. Whatever you have up there, I'll have it removed later, when no one will be blamed."

"Tonight." He stepped back. In five strides, he'd disappeared as silently as he'd come. Cassandra was left in the woods, wondering what plot the young men were involved in. And if Bounder wasn't with his friends, where was he?

She took the long path back to the place where she'd parked her car. She'd been gone more than the two hours she'd told Adam. He'd be worried.