Scrapped (21 page)

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Authors: Mollie Cox Bryan

Tags: #Cumberland Creek Mystery

BOOK: Scrapped
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Chapter 52
By the time the four women found the center of the police search, it was close to midnight. Vera was glad for the coffee she had downed on the way to the hollow. She’d forgotten both how tiring it was to drive these windy roads and how dark it was in the hills. There were no streetlights. They passed the middle of the Nest, where the church sat, and there was one streetlight in its parking lot.
“There’s some lights up ahead,” DeeAnn said. “I bet that’s where the search is.”
“The question is, what’s taking them so long? They’ve been up here for days,” Paige said. “A bunch of cops can’t find one man? Something is wrong with that.”
“Maybe they are looking in the wrong place,” Annie said as they approached a roadblock.
“Jesus,” Vera said under her breath. “Now what?” She rolled down her car window as a fresh-faced police officer approached. “What’s going on?” she said and smiled sweetly.
“Don’t I know you?” the officer said, looking at Vera. “Aren’t you Beth’s dancing teacher?”
“Why, yes, I am.” She flashed her best smile. “Your daughter is just the sweetest thing. And talented, too.”
Impatient sighs from the backseat.
“What are you doing up here?” the officer asked.
“We brought Annie Chamovitz, you know, the reporter. She needed a ride.”
He looked over at Annie, and his smile faded. He nodded. “Nobody’s allowed past this point, I’m afraid. Not even reporters. We’re on a manhunt. Can’t have you underfoot.”
Annie pulled out her identification and showed it to him. “Can you get Detective Bryant? Is he here? I’m sure he can vouch for me.”
The officer’s face hardened. “Detective Bryant gave me orders. You ladies need to turn around.”
“Now, hold on,” Annie said. “Here’s my press pass, my ID. This is my story. I’ve been working on it for weeks. I have high-security clearance.”
“Ever hear of obstructing justice?” the officer said. “Ladies, I can’t let you through.”
“It’s okay,” Paige said from the back. “I’m tired and want to go home.”
Vera knew Paige was lying through her teeth just by the tone of her voice.
“Sounds good to me,” Vera said. “Sorry to trouble you, Officer.”
“But—” Annie began to protest. DeeAnn reached up and pulled her hair. Annie whipped her head around and looked at her. “What the—”
“I’m warning you,” the officer interrupted. He looked at Annie. “No shenanigans.”
Vera started pulling away to turn the car around. Annie mumbled in her seat after they had pulled far enough away.
“I ought to whip your butt for pulling my hair,” Annie said to DeeAnn.
“I’d like to see you try, honey,” DeeAnn said, and they all laughed. “Besides, you may want to be a little more respectful of me. Since we’re here, I’m going to show you a place where we might be able to look down over everything. All the police hubbub. I doubt they know about it. And if you’re lucky, the stars will be out tonight. Now, it won’t take long. I know the back roads.”
“Back roads? You mean
this
road isn’t a back road?” Annie said.
“No,” DeeAnn said. “It does have a little pavement to it.”
Annie rolled her eyes. “Good God.”
“Turn left up here,” DeeAnn said.
“Left?” Vera said, straining to see. “Oh yes, I see. Are you sure? It looks like a cow path.”
“It is,” DeeAnn said. “But you can drive it.”
“I hope so,” Vera said, looking over at Annie, who was holding on to the dashboard to keep from sliding around but had a huge grin on her face.
The road bumped and twisted. Trees, bushes, and grass barely made way.
“Thank God I filled up the tank,” Vera said.
“We won’t be driving much longer. You see that old barn up ahead? That’s my husband’s Uncle Josh’s barn. Um, er, at least it used to be,” DeeAnn said. “You can pull up right there. We need to get out and walk the rest of the way.”
“Walk?” Paige said, pulling her blond hair behind her ears. “I’m not sure I’ve got the right shoes for walking far.”
“We may not have far to go,” DeeAnn said, unbuckling her seat belt. “Just up the hill a little ways there’s a great view.”
“What on earth would we do if we ran into one of the murderers?” Vera spun her head around to look in the backseat.
“What are the chances of that?” Annie said. “I’m more concerned with bears and bats and God knows what else. This doesn’t seem very safe.”
“Of course it’s not,” Sheila said. “It’s an adventure. You in?”
Annie grinned. “Do you have a flashlight?”
Vera couldn’t believe it. “Annie, are you crazy? You know what these people are like. Why would you go out in the mountains this time of night, in the middle of what is a dangerous manhunt, surrounded by a group of weirdos and bears? What on earth is wrong with you people? I’m not going anywhere. And I suggest you don’t, either.”
“I’m with you,” Paige said, crossing one of her long legs over the other one. “I’m not dressed for a midnight mountain hike. My feet are already killing me from these new shoes. Lunatics, all of you. I think we should go home.”
But even as she said those words, DeeAnn, Sheila, and Annie were getting out of the van.
“Listen, if we are not back in an hour, just follow that dirt path right there. You see?” DeeAnn pointed to a barely there trail surrounded by undergrowth and looming trees, which cast long shadows. “And be quiet if you come up the trail. You don’t want to scare the bears,” she said, pulling out a flashlight.
Chapter 53
Annie’s heart was pounding so hard that she could hear it in her ears and she wondered if the lumbering DeeAnn could. Evidently not. She pushed on through the brush and the weeds, with a fit Sheila right behind her. The moon was shining brightly, and they could see their way through the shadows of the trees and rocks, saving their flashlight batteries in case.
The rock path snaked ahead of them at a steeper grade. An owl screeched into the night, and Annie jumped at the sound of thrashing leaves. She grabbed on to Sheila, who was right in front of her on the narrow path.
DeeAnn turned and looked at her. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “Just an owl.”
Annie swallowed hard.
Just an owl. Okay.
“The caves are not much farther,” DeeAnn whispered. “Just up around that hillside. Can you see it? I tell you, the cops don’t know their way around up here.”
“Yes,” Annie said, looking up and suddenly feeling off balance, though she kept going. Her feet tangled beneath her, and she fell on her knees, narrowly missing Sheila as she plummeted to the rocky ground. “Damn,” she whispered. “Ow!” She sat on her behind.
“Annie, are you okay?” Sheila said.
“I took a bit of a fall,” she said. Her jeans were torn, and her knees were stinging and bleeding.
“Can you get up?” DeeAnn asked and leaned over to help her stand.
“Oh yes, I’ll be fine,” Annie said, but she struggled to stand and, man, it hurt to walk. She’d just have to take it a little slower.
“Shh!” DeeAnn suddenly said, crouching down. “I hear voices.”
She pulled Annie and Sheila behind a large boulder.
The only thing Annie could hear was animal sounds—the owl again, night birds—and she thought she smelled something like smoke. Was it smoke?
DeeAnn still held her finger up to her mouth. Sheila looked at Annie, wide-eyed, wild haired.
First, Annie heard the soft thump of a foot on the ground, then the definite rattling of rocks sliding around underfoot, then the voices. Definitely male. Definitely coming closer. From the same direction in which they were heading. The hair on the back of Annie’s neck stood at attention. Maybe Annie’s clumsiness and aching knees had saved the day. Maybe. But these men, now just visible, coming down the hillside, dark figures outlined in the simple lines of Mennonite hats and coats, were heading straight for the van if they kept on the same path.
Shit. Now what?
The men stopped a few feet from the boulder.
“I can’t believe how well the calcite boulders are working,” one man said. “I mean, you hear about these theories, but to see it working like that? Unbelievable.”
“I just wish we could’ve gotten this side of the caves done before all the sacrifices were made and the law came up here. I hated that we had to do that.”
Sacrifices?
Did Annie hear that right?
She looked at DeeAnn’s wide eyes, noting that the rest of her face was wrapped in a green wool scarf, her eyebrows lifted, holding back panic. The men were heading down the path. They didn’t speak as they went by the women crouched behind the boulder. Annie didn’t breathe. DeeAnn didn’t move. Sheila was biting her lip. It was as if time stood still. Each of them was thinking the worst and afraid to make a move.
DeeAnn whispered, “They are definitely not cops.”
“No,” Sheila said.
Annie had tried to get a good look at the men’s faces, but it was too dark—even with the moonlight so bright. The trees all cast long, menacing shadows, and the men were dressed in black, with hats on their heads. Too shadowy. It seemed like they were not far from where the police actually were. How could these men be so close and not be found by them? What were the calcite boulders they were talking about?
Annie turned and leaned back quietly on the boulder. Her knees were killing her.
“What are we going to do?” DeeAnn said.
Annie thought a moment. “We are going to have to follow them back down the hill. They are heading for the van. Who knows what they will do if they see Vera and Paige?”
“
If
they can actually see,” Sheila said, pointing to the clouds moving across the moon. A gentle breeze was circling and shaking the leaves on the trees. Leaves scattered around them.
DeeAnn stood up and offered Annie her hand. “Let’s go,” she said, pulling Annie to her feet.
Annie marveled at DeeAnn’s strength.
Bakers and their arm strength,
Annie mused.
Sheila was already up, with her hands on her hips.
They walked as slowly and as carefully as they could, mindful of the noise level. The wind blowing around leaves helped. Annie tightened her scarf around her neck and buttoned her hood for more warmth. Was it getting colder, or hadn’t she noticed the mountain chill before?
Annie had learned a few tricks over the years to keep her mind calm and cool and thus prevent herself from panicking. She took some deep breaths and looked around. So many of the trees had already shed their leaves that twisted branches were all that she could see as she headed down the path. Such interesting shapes, too. A nearly perfect five-pointed star. A pointy witch’s hat. The outline of a bird.
All of a sudden, DeeAnn’s arm snapped in front of Annie as she heard a loud sound, like a rocket or a single firework, and something stung her and rippled through her back. Sheila flew off to the side of the path and into a bush as Annie’s body lurched forward onto DeeAnn, who cast her off like she was nothing more than a kitten. Annie, lying facedown in the dirt, waves of searing pain moving through her back, tried to lift her head but could twist it only far enough to see, through blurring, heavy eyes, DeeAnn knocking someone to the ground. What was going on?
Don’t pass out, Annie told herself.
Don’t pass out. You need to write about this.
Chapter 54
It was 4:00 a.m. when Beatrice’s phone rang.
“This better be good,” she said into the phone.
“Mama,” Vera’s raspy, tired voice said. “I’m in jail.”
Beatrice sat straight up in bed. “What?”
“Bill’s not answering his house phone or his cell phone. He needs to come down here to the jail.”
“He’s here,” Beatrice said. “I’ll get him up. We’ll both be there.”
“No, you need to stay with Lizzie. Please.”
Beatrice could hear voices in the background.
“All right, all right,” Vera said haughtily. “I’m getting off the phone.”
“What on earth?” Beatrice said.
“It’s DeeAnn, Sheila, and Paige. They need to call their husbands, and these police are just the most impolite group of people I’ve ever seen. Obstruction of justice, my hind end,” Vera said.
“Where’s the fifth musketeer?” Beatrice suddenly wondered out loud.
“Oh, Mama. She was shot. She’s in the hospital.” Vera’s voice cracked. “They won’t tell us a thing.”
“Shot?” Beatrice said. “Annie was shot? What nonsense were you into tonight?”
“I have to go. Bye.”
Click.
Beatrice struggled to get her old body out from the tangle of blankets. She reached for her robe. Never thought she’d see the day that she’d be waking up her ex-son-in-law to go bail her daughter out of jail.
Obstruction of justice?
So, that was why they’d all left the crop. They were out messing around with the investigation.
Good for them.
The police didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. But then again, apparently, neither were they.
Bill awakened quickly and was out the door before she knew it.
“Now, don’t dawdle,” she yelled after him. “I need to get over to the hospital and see Annie.”
He turned and looked at her. “What?”
“Annie was shot,” Beatrice told him.
“What were they all doing last night?” He flung his arms out in exasperation.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” she said and shut the door to keep the cold air from getting into the house.
She walked into her kitchen and went straight for the coffeepot. After she wrestled with it and got the coffee brewing, she sat at the table. There was Cookie’s scrapbook of shadows, with its shiny metallic cover gleaming in the dim light.
Damned thing.
Now Beatrice had to figure out how to get it to the mountain, to the cave, to the exact rock—the diamond-shaped rock inside the first passage.
She still considered Cookie’s story. Wasn’t sure she believed it. But just in case, she’d do her part. In the meantime, she remembered she had some egg custard pie in the fridge and decided to finish it off. Fortification and comfort all in one smooth, sweet, creamy pie.
She knew she had a hell of a day in front of her. Her daughter was in jail. Annie was in the hospital, and her nephew was coming to pick her up around noon. She’d called her cousin Rose to ask her to help her out with the scrapbook. Rose never came off the mountain, but her sons did, and one of them would happily come and get her for a visit. She’d packed her bags before going to bed last night.
She could trust Rose. She’d promised Cookie that she wouldn’t tell anybody. She knew that Rose would help her and not ask many questions. After all, Beatrice had done the same for her. They were family. The bonds were long and deep.
By the time Bill came back, Lizzie had eaten her breakfast and was watching
Sesame Street
. Beatrice was pacing the floor when her daughter walked in. Of course, she went right to Elizabeth and loved her up.
“Mama, miss you,” Lizzie said. “Dad, miss you,” she said, lifting her arms to her father.
“Want to go in the backyard and swing?” he said.
She squealed in delight.
“There’s some muffins on the table,” Beatrice told her daughter. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks for staying with Lizzie,” Vera said and wandered into the kitchen. “Thank God you’ve got coffee.”
“Of course,” Beatrice said. “Have a cheese muffin. Want me to make you some eggs?”
Vera sat at the table and drank her coffee, reached for a muffin. “Mama, what’s that doing here?”
“I wanted to look at it,” she replied. “Now, what happened last night?”
Vera told her mother what she knew. “Paige and I were sitting in the car, and we heard the shot. We took off up the path and ran smack into Zeb and Luther. The next thing we knew, the cops were there—”
“Where?” Beatrice asked.
“They followed us.”
“What about Annie?” Beatrice said.
“I called the hospital on the way home, and she’s in critical but stable condition. Some man shot her. Nobody knows who he is. Not Zeb. Not Luther. But they do have him.”
“How did they get him?”
“DeeAnn strong-armed him, knocked him down, and he hit his head on a rock.”
Beatrice couldn’t help but smile at the thought of sweet, round-faced DeeAnn pushing the shooter to the ground.
Well, if that don’t beat all.

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