She Can Run (31 page)

He nearly passed out from the intensity and literally collapsed onto Beth’s body.

Holy Christ
. What just happened to him?

Exhausted, drained of every ounce of tension, his body went limp. Breathing hard, he rolled off Beth and dragged her to his chest. He lay in the pale morning light, speechless, as his lungs caught up and his head stopped spinning. Beth’s fingertips stroked his biceps. A heaviness settled over him.

Beth stroked Jack’s chest as it rose and fell evenly. While he was exhausted from their lovemaking—no wonder considering the Olympic effort he’d put into the event—she felt charged up, as if he’d somehow transferred all his energy to her. There was no way she’d be able to go back to sleep now. She needed to move. She slid out from under his arm and left the warmth of his bed. After dressing quickly, she let herself out of the silent house and strode toward the barn. She’d stay close to the house and keep the ride short, but if she didn’t get out of the house, she’d go mad.

Twenty minutes later, Beth adjusted her seat in the creaking saddle. Mist hung over the meadow, like smoke, in the gray dawn. Dampness muffled the sound of Lucy’s hooves as she ambled across the field toward the forest path. A soft sucking sound accompanied each hoof as it lifted from the soggy ground. Beth held the mare to a walk, lulled by the gentle swaying of the horse’s back.

Her early morning ride was all the solitary time she had each day, since she and the kids hadn’t left the estate since the accident. It had been nearly two weeks since Wes’s visit, and they’d heard nothing from him. There’d been no sign of the black sedan. Jack theorized that Richard’s men were holding back because of the increased police and federal agent presence in the area due to the waitress’s disappearance. Beth knew it was only a matter of time before Richard’s men came back to finish the job. They were out there, waiting for an opportunity.

There’d been no sign of Mary Ann Spencer, either. Beth felt as if her world were hanging in a state of limbo. All of these terrible events were hovering over her, over the whole town, like a storm gathering force.

The clean scent of pine filled her nose as they neared the forest path. The trail changed from soggy grass to a thick carpet of pine needles, and Lucy’s hoofbeats were reduced to a faint rustle.

The only positive emotion rolling through her head was her love for Jack, still not proclaimed verbally, but in her heart just the same. He hadn’t said it either, but the passion in his lovemaking this morning told her he returned the feeling.

The kids loved him, too. They’d been so relieved to learn they no longer had to conceal their real identities.

The sound of water rushing over rock soothed Beth’s ragged nerves. She relaxed in the saddle with a deep, cleansing breath.

The breeze shifted. Lucy’s head snapped up. Her nostrils flared as they entered the shadows of the woods. The scent of something decayed drifted past Beth’s face for a second before the wind shifted again and it was gone. The mare neighed, shrill and lingering in the morning silence. Beth gathered up the slack reins, her bowels knotting with apprehension.

Beth stroked the base of Lucy’s neck. The horse’s skin twitched, and she chomped nervously at the bit. Although spirited, Lucy wasn’t normally skittish.

“Easy, girl. What’s the matter?” Big ears swiveled back to listen to Beth’s voice. The creek appeared as they rounded the bend in the trail. Lucy stopped short, long legs splayed, nostrils and eyes wide-open.

Something was wrong. Something was out there. The knot in Beth’s belly tightened as she pulled the mare’s head around, preparing to turn back, when she saw the form in the water. The breath rushed from her lungs as if she’d been struck. Although obscured by thick foliage, Beth knew exactly what it was.

The woman’s body lay facedown, tangled in tree roots and partially covered in organic debris at the water’s edge. There was no need to look for signs of life. The skin was gray and bloated. Dark hair floated in the muddy water like a soft, brown halo around the woman’s head. Flies buzzed around the corpse. In the gentle current, a dry leaf drifted off the shoulder, revealing a small butterfly tattoo.

Lightheaded, Beth grasped the pommel of the saddle. The trees spun. The woods closed in upon her, abruptly claustrophobic.

The wind shifted once again. Beth could smell it again, more pungent this time, the putrid scent of rotting flesh. Bile rose in the back of her throat and she gagged. She dug in her pocket for the cell phone Jack had given her, praying she wouldn’t drop it. Turning on the phone, she held down number two with shaking fingers, speed dialing the house.

She heard the phone ring, then Jack’s voice, still raspy from sleep, a few seconds later. “Where the hell are you?”

“I’m all right, so don’t get upset.” She tried to steady her voice, but it caught and quivered anyway. “I’m in the woods. I think I found Mary Ann Spencer.”

“Beth, I want you to get out of there. Come back to the house. I’m on my way.”

Beth hung up and turned Lucy’s head to point the mare toward home. Tears gushed hot from her eyes, and she blinked to clear her blurred vision. Luckily, Lucy knew which way to go and headed back down the trail at a brisk trot. Beth concentrated on maintaining her balance as her head swam with grisly images. The sound of buzzing flies echoed in her head.

The mare broke into a canter when they broke free of the forest. Beth pulled her to a stop as soon as she saw the Explorer bumping across the meadow toward her. Sliding off of the horse’s back, she leaned against the big animal for support. She stood there wobbling until she felt Jack’s strong arm around her waist, catching her as she slid toward the ground. The reins dropped from her grip. Her body was cold from the inside out. Breathing hard, she gasped for air to fight the increasing dizziness.

“You’re hyperventilating. Take a deep breath and hold it.” Jack opened the tailgate of the truck and helped her into the back. He pushed her head down to her knees. She didn’t seem to have any control over her trembling extremities.

“Exhale. Again. Deep breath, hold it.” Once she had her breathing under control, he handed her Lucy’s reins. “Can you hold on to her? If not, I’ll let her go. She’ll head for the barn, right?”

“I’ll take her,” Beth whispered and wiped her forearm across her eyes. He cupped her cheek with his hand, stroking a tear off the side of her face with his thumb. The sorrow she saw in his eyes was a reflection of her own.

“I’ll be right back.” He turned away, using his cane to limp toward the trees.

Freezing, Beth clenched the leather reins in her fist. Her uncontrollable shaking faded to shivers and left nausea in its place. She pulled her knees up to her chest in an upright fetal position, and rested her forehead on her jeans. Good thing she hadn’t had breakfast yet. Lucy, in tune with her mistress’s moods, butted her head against Beth’s legs.

Jack reappeared, his face hard, his mouth set in a grim line as he sat next to her on the tailgate. “I called Mike.”

She only nodded in response. Her initial hysteria subdued, an overwhelming sadness filled Beth. Seeing that young girl dead, discarded naked in the slime and mud, filled Beth with more despair than she had felt even at the peak of Richard’s torment. She thought of Robert Spencer, whose entire world was going to come crashing down on him this chilly, damp morning. She knew from experience he would want to see his spouse before he would believe it was Mary Ann.

Brian had suffered mostly internal injuries in the accident that killed him, and his face had looked normal, too normal, when she saw him on the viewing screen in the morgue. She remembered that moment with a stab of renewed loss. How would Robert possibly view Mary Ann’s bloated, rotting body, see what some animal had done to the woman he loved, and survive?

Death was final. There was no time for a final kiss or caress, to apologize for a harsh word or argument. The world imploded with no warning. Beth knew what it was like to experience the loss of your spouse, your best friend, your lover, all at the same time. To be alone, dealing with the worst event of your life without the one person you always expected to have at your side to help you through the rough patches. The sheer weight of the emptiness was enough to suffocate a person.

Her brother’s and parents’ deaths had nearly been the end of her. Thank God she’d met Brian. He’d given her new hope. When Brian died, Beth had a baby to care for, and Ben’s grief to worry about, which took precedence over her own despair. At least during the daylight hours, she was busy, her mind occupied with formulating coping strategies for Ben, her body dealing with the demands of an infant. At night, though, the loneliness nearly crushed her.

Robert had no children to distract him, to force him to rise and face each day. Adding to his trauma was the cruelty and horror inflicted upon his wife. How would he ever close his eyes again without seeing the wounds on the body he’d made love to, feeling the pain and terror she suffered? The media would make sure the public knew every detail of his wife’s horrific death. He wouldn’t be able to escape it.

Jack’s arm came around her shoulders, breaking both her trance and the thin layer of numbed control she’d been sustaining. Blood roared in her ears. The chattering of her own teeth echoed in her head. Her brain briefly registered flashing lights before all sights and sounds faded to black.

She opened her eyes to find herself flat on her back in the bed of the Explorer, her feet propped up against the window. A fleece blanket was tucked around her body. She could hear Jack’s voice and turned her head toward the sound. He sat on the tailgate next to her. She felt the weight of his hand on her thigh. Lucy was tied to a nearby tree.

“It’s her.” Chief O’Connell was standing a few feet away. He’d removed his hat and was running his hand through his short red hair. “You better get her up to the house. I’ll need a statement from
Ms. Markham
later. I have to wait for the crime scene van, so I don’t know how long I’ll be tied up here.” The cop turned and stalked back to his car.

He knows
.

Beth blinked a few times to clear her vision. Images came rushing into her head with painful clarity, the grotesque shock rising in her throat, choking her. She felt Jack’s arm around her. He helped her onto the passenger seat, and then drove back to the house.

“Easy. I don’t need you fainting again.”

Fainting? She had never fainted in her entire life, not even when she’d found her father. She’d gone numb instead.

By the time they made it back to the kitchen, the kids were up. The smell of freshly baked biscuits turned Beth’s stomach. Mrs. Harris took one look at her face and handed her a glass of ice water while Jack delivered the bad news. Beth hated for the children to have to hear about it, but she wouldn’t be able to conceal the police activity at the house today.

“Is it the lady that’s missing?” Ben asked tentatively. “The waitress?”

“The person hasn’t been identified yet, Ben,” Jack explained. “Chief O’Connell is down there now, and he’s waiting for a whole lot of other policemen who are going to help him find out.”

Katie’s eyes were troubled. She climbed up in Jack’s lap instead of her mother’s and took his face between her palms. “It’ll be OK, Jack. The bad men never catch us. Mommy’s too smart for them.”

Mike O’Connell walked into the kitchen as those words left the child’s mouth. Beth knew she should have been nervous, but her brain and body were utterly depleted. The big man stood still in the entryway for a minute. He glanced at Jack before accepting a cup of coffee from Mrs. Harris and taking a seat at the table.

She patted his broad shoulder as he glanced backward at her. “There’s a fresh pot of coffee for anyone who needs it.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Mrs. Harris retreated from the kitchen. Jack met the chief’s gaze and stood, lifting Katie with him. “Come on, Ben. We’ll all go down and feed the horses.” They went out the back door, leaving Mike and Beth alone.

Mike sipped his coffee, eying Beth over the rim. “Feeling better?”

“Yes.”

“OK, then. Who are you really?”

The police chief wasn’t going to beat around the bush, which was good. Beth had no energy for verbal sparring either. “My name is Elizabeth Baker.”

Chief O’Connell’s red eyebrows shot up. “As in Congressman Baker?”

“Yes.” Beth met the chief’s gaze straight on.

“Let’s start with your statement about this morning and work our way back to your vanishing act.”

Beth didn’t leave anything out. She’d already told her story to Jack and Wes. Each time the retelling seemed to get easier.

The chief took notes in a small notebook. “Jack’s a good man, and he’s my friend. You’re not going to run out on him are you?”

“If I was planning to run, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Beth summoned strength from deep within, strength she didn’t know she possessed, and looked Mike straight in the eye. She didn’t feel like the same woman who’d fainted out in the field. “I’ve gotten very good at disappearing.”

The big cop sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I bet you have. Unless I find out any of this relates to my case, I’ll keep it quiet. But you need to understand that I can’t withhold information from the FBI.”