The Doctor's Choice (30 page)

“What about the caves, Eldon?” She moved closer and felt his pulse. Weaker, but steady. “Eldon?” He’d passed out again.

What about the caves?
Cami stood and pointed her flashlight into the depths of the cave. Was he talking about this cave?

Suppressing a shiver, she took a few steps toward the back of the cave and found that t
he shaft turned, forming an almost right angle before a slight decline. She looked back in the direction where she’d left Eldon, but couldn’t see the glow of the campfire anymore. The utter blackness was suffocating but, unable to resist, she pressed deeper.

Her curious nature
was, once again, drawing her into something her brain told her to stay out of. Another turn brought her into a cavern with quartz crystals studding the walls. Large formations of quartz and limestone had formed columns many millennia ago when water had covered this part of the earth.

She stood rapt, casting the light around the
walls, fearful yet thrilled by the beauty of the formations. Several openings led out of this void. Cami was afraid to venture further lest she become disoriented and lose her way.

Panic skittered down her spine when her foot slipped on the loose rock. She steadied herself, breathed out in relief. Turning
to go back the way she’d come, Cami saw that one section of the cave floor fell away sharply. She leaned over and shone the light around, drawing in a sharp breath when she illuminated two human forms in the depths of the well-like structure.

The flashlight slipped from her hand
, plunging her into total darkness.

T
he blanket of blackness enveloped her, suffocated her. She squatted, groping to find the flashlight. She recoiled when she realized she was rummaging through bat guano. Her fingers grazed the metal cylinder, grasping it before it rolled away down the steep grade.

Her heart pump
ed so fast it seemed to pulse her entire body. She switched the flashlight on, breathing a sigh of relief that it hadn’t shattered when she dropped it.

Cautiously, she sh
one the light back down on the bodies, side by side at the bottom of the grade. One appeared to be a woman and the other a man. Their skin had developed the appearance of parchment stretched over the skulls. A shock of blonde hair stuck like dried corn silk to the side of the woman’s skull.

Swallowing hard,
Cami shivered and backed away. She turned and picked her way carefully back to the place she’d left Eldon Kincaid.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Cami ventured outside
the cave to search for more dried grasses to fuel the fire. She shivered as the cold wind bit her exposed skin. Conversely, she relished the fresh air in her lungs after the claustrophobic experience in the cave.

She
gathered a few twigs and handfuls of dried grasses before returning to the rank-smelling cave. She removed every scrap of paper she could find from her medical bag and twisted it into tight wads. By the time Eldon opened his eyes, she had built the fire back up.

She gazed at him steadily.
“I found your relics. Who were they?”

His eyes narrowed as though assessing her. He coughed, a wet rattle in his chest.
“I didn’t mean to kill him. It was an accident”

She
bit back the hoard of accusations poised on the tip of her tongue. “How did it happen?”

A hiss of air escaped the tube draining his chest.
“Young fool was a drunk. He signed his land over to me one night if I’d settle a bar bet for him. The next day he sobered up and came after me. We fought. It wasn’t my fault.”

“I see,”
she said. “And the woman?”

He
shook his head slowly. “I couldn’t leave her. She knew, don’t you see? I went to their house and killed her. I brought the bodies up here and dumped them in the cave. I’d found this place when I was a Landman thirty years ago. I had an oil lease on Silky’s land, so it wasn’t odd to find me poking around.” He turned to gaze at her, imploring her to understand. “I thought I was safe. For thirty years I was safe.”

She forced air into her lungs.
“What happened?”

“That fool Scoutmaster approached Silky about letting the Scouts explore the caves. I might never have known until it was too late, but he took it to the local newspaper that she was going to let them have access in the spring. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“What did you do?” She kept her voice level, concealing the revulsion churning her gut.

“I had to stop her. I couldn’t let E.J. find out.”
His eyelids drooped and closed.

She thought he’d passed out again
, but in a moment, his lids fluttered open and he looked around as though surprised to find himself there.

“What happened to Silky?”

His gaze focused on Cami’s face. “It had to look like an accident. Everyone knew that big Paint stallion was too much horse for Silky.”

Cami’s stomach roiled
. She fought to keep her expression neutral. “How did you do it?” Her voice was just a whisper.

“I took the handle from the jack in
E.J.’s Jaguar. I remember thinking it looked like a toy, but it did the job. Silky went riding around the same time almost every morning. Her young lawyer usually rode with her, but I had one of my hands call him into his office early one morning and I joined her on her ride. That little woman had quite a spirit. She ordered me off her land and that devil of a horse tried to step on me. I hit her with the jack handle. The horse ran off.” He met her stricken gaze. “Don’t you see? I had to do it.” His eyes rolled up in his head, but he seemed determined to stay conscious.

“You killed my aunt to keep the boy scouts from finding the bodies in the cave?”

“I couldn’t let E.J. find out.”

“Find out about the bodies?”

“The Atwaters. After I hid the bodies, I went back to their house to see if I’d left anything that might incriminate me. That’s when I found him. Only a couple of weeks old and screaming his head off. Cutest little fellow you ever saw.”

“The Atwater’s baby!”

“I took him back to Dallas and gave him to my wife. She couldn’t have kids so, when I told her I’d won him in a poker game, she wanted to believe me. I raised him as my own son and she devoted her life to the boy. Spoiled him a bit, but he turned out fine.”

Cami stared at the man who had just confessed to murdering three people and kidnapping an infant.
She cleared her throat and swallowed against the cold, hollow feeling inside her. “Yes, E.J. turned out just fine.”

#

The search party found them a little less than an hour later. The fire had almost burned out and Cami couldn’t feel her feet anymore. She’d covered Eldon with her jacket and marched around the interior of the cave, clad in insulated underwear, jeans and a flannel shirt. Chafing her arms to keep warm, she stomped her boots, hoping to reconnect with her toes.

Hearing shouts, she ran to the entrance and yelled
in response. Waving the flashlight, she jumped up and down, shivering as her teeth chattered together.

She recognized the voices of the men scrambling to
ward her and sank to her knees.

Now she could give up. Now she could quit her task and let someone else take over.

Breck’s strong arms embraced her, lifted her, held her close. When she opened her eyes, she was inside the cave. Someone had built the fire up to a warming blaze and wrapped her in a blanket. Another blanket swathed Eldon Kincaid, who seemed to have shrunk from his former size. He blinked but hadn’t spoken to his rescuers.

Breck held her in a firm grip, cocooned against him.
“The medical helicopter is on route from Amarillo. They’ll have you out of here soon.”

“I just want to go home,” she
whispered against his neck.

“Me too, but you’re going to be checked out first. People die from exposure in weather like this.”

“The police,” she stammered. “You have to tell the police that Eldon killed Silky. He admitted it to me.” She stared up into his eyes, relieved that she’d unveiled her aunt’s killer.

Breck frowned at her. “The D
istrict Attorney won’t bring charges without proof. Kincaid will have to make a formal confession to be charged.”

Frank poked at the fire and came over to squat down beside them. “You
okay, boss lady?”

She
nodded. “I think so. How’s Eldon?”

“Weak.
He hasn’t said a thing since we got here.”

She
gazed across to where E.J. held Eldon in the crook of his arm, holding him upright. Eldon stared into the fire, glassy-eyed.

S
he heard the thwup-thwup of helicopter rotors in the distance and Frank went outside to signal them. In a short time, Eldon and Cami were loaded into the helicopter with E.J. riding along to act as Eldon’s responsible party.

Breck promis
ed to meet her at the hospital.

Cami stared into Eldon’s eyes. No hint of his thoughts
. No trace of emotion. He appeared to be an empty vessel.

As soon as she’d been checked out in the emergency room and
been given prophylactic antibiotics, she peeked into the cubicle where E.J. waited with Eldon.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

E.J. stepped out of Eldon’s earshot. “They’ve sent for a thoracic surgeon. He’s in pretty bad shape.”

“He’s a tough guy.” She placed her hand on his forearm. “He’ll pull through.”

He covered her hand with his. “I have to thank you for saving his life. I don’t know what happened between the two of you out there, but he’s still my father and I’m grateful to you for keeping him alive.”

She
nodded. “Can I talk to him alone? There are some things I need to say to him.”

E.J. gave her a surprised look. “I’ll get
us a cup of coffee.”

She
stepped behind the cubicle curtain. Eldon looked pale and waxy under the fluorescent lights, an oxygen mask in place. The staff had installed a new drain into his lung and had hooked up an IV with fluids feeding into his hand.

She
leaned closer and placed her hand on the one at his side.

His eyes opened with a snap. Looking far more alert than before, he fixed her with a hard glare.

“Eldon, you’re going to live.” She let that bit of information sink in. “And you’re going to be punished for your crimes, but which of your crimes you’re punished for is your choice.”

Sinewy
fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her closer.

She leaned against the side of the gurney, her lips close to his ear. “I think you’re a horrible man
, but your love for E.J. may be your only redeeming quality.”

His eyes softened
as he released her wrist from his cruel grip.

“If you confess to killing my Aunt Silky and attempting to kill me, I’ll seal the cave and never tell E.J. the truth. Otherwise, I’ll lead the authorities to the Atwaters and let them prosecute you for their murders and the attempt on my life. It’s your choice
, but I need an answer now.”

“Protect my boy,” h
e whispered, nodding his head, then closed his eyes.

When E.J. returned, two cardboard containers of coffee in hand, she was standing beside Eldon,
stroking his arm.

“I brought this for you. I don’t know how you like it so I added everything.” He offered the coffee and his
infectious grin.

“Thanks.” She sipped the hot brew and looked into E.J.’s
eyes. Other than his large frame, she realized he looked nothing like Eldon Kincaid, yet he bore his name and was heir to everything Eldon had been willing to kill for.

“You look like there’s something you want to tell me,” he said.

“Some things happened between your dad and me. When they come out, I hope it doesn’t affect our friendship.”

He
shrugged. “I don’t have that many friends, Cami. I treasure the times we’ve spent talking together.”

She grinned. “Me too.”

At that moment, Breck pulled back the curtain. “I should have known I’d find you two together.”

“We’re friends,” they said in unison, then laughed.

#

A few months later, on a beautiful afternoon i
n June, the church was filled with flowers and townsfolk.

Cami felt a stirring of sadness on what should have bee
n the happiest day of her life.

Milita helped
her slip her great-grandmother’s re-designed antique satin and French lace wedding gown over her head and smoothed it down all around. Milita had used the fabric in the long satin train to add a tier below the hem and inset a tucked waistband to lengthen the bodice.

Cami gazed at her image in the mirror. The soft glow of satin reflected back into her face.
She fingered the strand of pearls that had belonged to Aunt Silky.