The meadows stretched endlessly; some seemed to go all the way to the mountains in the distance.
After a few miles, the terrain became hilly, and we saw more of the sagebrush and tall pines that cover much of the northern Nevada high desert.
Shelby pulled over to the side of a grassy rise. We could not see much from the road, but birds circling above and a flight of geese suggested a body of water nearby. Shelby and I got out of the car. I waited by the side of the road. I had put the picnic basket of medical supplies in the backseat. Shelby walked up the hill and gestured to Joe and Wynan to follow. I followed a few minutes later and found the three men at the top of the rise in front of a tall steel fence.
The men removed a pile of tree branches from in front of the fence and Shelby tugged at the fence section until it opened wide enough for all of us to pass. Shelby kept looking around but no one else was near. “This is it. But I think I should lead the way. I know this land better than you, and it’s a long way to the top of the lake where the house is…or used to be. It’s a lot of land for just the three of us to cover before dark.”
“You and Red are going to go back down to the road and stay in the car,” said Joe. “Neither Wynan nor I are willing to risk the lives of two civilians going in after this bastard. Red’s brought along medical supplies in that picnic basket, so if the watchman comes by and challenges you, just say you are hikers looking for a way into the lake.”
Joe and Wynan looked at each other. Shelby protested. “But you guys don’t know where the house might be, and I know this land better than either of you.”
Joe sighed and shook his head.
Wynan cut in, “Listen, Shelby, I’m deeply grateful for the help you have given us so far. And, yes, you do know the land, but you don’t know this guy or what we’ll run into.”
It was then that I saw the rifle propped up against the fence. Wynan picked it up. “Shelby, give us the best directions you can based on your memory.”
Shelby grunted. “Go in this way until you reach the lower edge of the lake, then your best bet will be to turn left and go up the west side until you reach the top, the north shore side of the lake,” said Shelby. He pulled a pair of leather gloves and a pair of long clippers out of his pocket and handed them to Wynan. “There’s high grass and shrubs on the way and thicket when you get there, so these will be good if you need to cut through some of the dense stuff.”
Wynan accepted the clippers. “How long do you figure it will take us to get to where you think the house is?”
Shelby looked at his watch. “Two hours or so, unless you run into problems.” He scanned the landscape again. “You should get to the top of the lake by six-thirty. It will still be light, but you won’t have much time to search for the house. It would be a lot faster if we could widen that fence opening and drive my Jeep in.”
“We don’t want to alert anyone to our presence,” said Joe. “Your Jeep would make too much noise. If the watchman is still on the property, he’ll hear it. Worse, the kidnapper would hear it and try to make a run for it. No, we can’t take that chance. We have to move on foot, find that house, and get in before whoever may be inside knows we’re there.”
“Then let’s get moving,” said Wynan, patting his chest pocket where he had put the search warrant. The exhaustion in the older man’s face had been replaced by fierce excitement. We knew we were all were out of options, but Wynan was invigorated by the idea that he was on the verge of finding his granddaughter. Alive.
Joe checked his cell phone. “I haven’t seen a tower for miles, and there’s no reception up here.” He put down his backpack and opened it up. Inside were four satellite phones, thicker and slightly larger than conventional smartphones. He gave one to each of us. “I rented these this morning. Don’t drop them. They’re expensive.”
“How does it work?” I said, turning the unfamiliar phone in my hand.
“Just like a cell. I’ve programmed the number of my sat phone into the others so all you do is push this button here at the base and you’ll get to me. But don’t call unless you absolutely have to.”
“And if you call us?”
“That means Wynan and I need reinforcements. Call the station if you get a text on the screen. They know to be on alert if we need them. There should be a patrol car and two officers stationed about a mile down the road.”
I pulled Joe away from the group. “Please take good care of yourself,” I whispered.
“Red, honey, I do this for a living.”
Wynan came over to us. “Let’s go. We’re losing light.” And then the two of them were up the ridge and through the fence and gone.
Shelby fidgeted. He kept rubbing his thumb across the top of the sat phone. His other hand ran back and forth across the steering wheel. Joe and Wynan had been gone for ten minutes. He opened the driver’s door.
“I can’t stand this,” he said. “Those guys don’t know this part of the country that well.” He shifted out of the car and leaned in to grab his backpack from the back seat. “Stay here, Red. I’m going to catch up to them.”
I watched Shelby climb the rise to the fence opening, his big body lumbering up the incline. As he grasped the edge of the fence opening, I could see his hand was trembling. Something bothered me.
After a minute, I got out of the car. Shelby’s nervousness preyed on my mind. I decided to check it out and climbed up the rise to call him back. But he had moved fast and was several yards ahead of me. He reached the lake and turned, not left as he had instructed Joe and Wynan, but right, going to the east side. Something was wrong. I decided not to call after him. I pocketed the phone and put on my gloves. Now I worried that Joe and Wynan had a problem at their backs as well as ahead of them.
Keeping well behind him and as much out of sight as possible, I followed Shelby. I was soon pushing my way through tall grass as high as my shoulders. The leaves of the grass were narrow and sharp-edged, and swayed and cut back and forth, denying me progress as well as offering me concealment. Sometimes I could only see the top of Shelby’s head. Finally he broke into a clearing where the grass was shorter and sparser. I stayed behind for a moment, using the tall grass as cover. The day was still warm enough to make me sweat in my heavy sweater, but I knew that as the sun went down I would be grateful for the wool that made me sticky.
The clearing led to a stand of cottonwoods. Tall and graceful, the leaves glowed. It had been cold enough at night to turn the sturdy trees to huge globes of yellow. I waited a moment and then followed Shelby’s path into the stand of trees. Birds flew over my head from the direction of the lake, and a late afternoon wind came up as it often does in this part of the world. My legs were starting to ache just as I saw Shelby cross another small clearing and go into another grove of trees. He stopped and looked around and then looked at his watch. I looked at mine. Almost five o’clock. He picked up his pace, moving with surprising speed for a man of his weight.
I also turned east and speeded up to keep Shelby in my sights. The sun was behind us, but as it hit the lake, it sent blinding glints into my eyes.
The land turned hilly, and I had to climb slopes to get from one grassy meadow to another. In the valleys between the slopes, more thick groves of trees kept me from seeing very far ahead. As I cleared each ridge top, I looked for some suggestion of a building, but saw nothing but miles of meadow, and further away from the lake, more sage and short pines. The water had taken on a murky look and seemed more swamp than lake.
Shelby had slowed some and the light was dimming but I could still see him ahead. He seemed to know where he was going. And the longer I followed him, the surer I became that my trust in him had been misplaced. He had sent Joe and Wynan off in a different direction, probably the wrong direction. But Shelby moved as if he knew exactly where he was going and was determined to get there.
As I came through yet another stand of trees,
the lake widened and turned watery again. “It’s really two lakes, connected by a swamp,” Shelby had said in the car as we drove from his ranch. “The bigger lake is called Morgan’s Lake. I don’t know if the other one has a name. Morgan’s Lake once belonged to the family of Emily Morgan, who married old man Lassiter’s father. She inherited the land, and I think they put their joint property under the name Morgan-Lassiter on the map that you found.” Shelby had seemed to know a great deal about the history of the property.
I stopped to catch my breath and wished I had thought to bring a canteen of water. I looked around. If Jamie Congers were being held captive somewhere near here, she would have had one hell of a time escaping without sturdy shoes and heavy clothes to protect her from the grass and thickets.
It was still light but the sun was low in the sky when Shelby pushed into a thicket. I followed as closely as I could. The brambles tugged at my sweater and scratched my face. Then I saw the top of the lake up ahead and a clearing that stretched for what I guessed was a mile or more. Shelby turned inland away from the lake.
I waited in the thicket until I was sure he could not see me, then ran across the clearing and into another shallow valley with trees on either side. I was sure I could still see Shelby ahead, but a tree branch brushed across my face. I pushed it away and rubbed my face with my gloved hand. When I looked up again, Shelby had disappeared.
Where had he gone? That bastard. He had deliberately misled Joe and Wynan. What was his plan? To get to the house before us and make sure no sign of Jamie remained?
I still found it hard to believe Shelby was a kidnapper or a seducer. Froman might be. Maybe he and Froman were in this together somehow. Shelby knew Froman had bought the land. Maybe he knew Froman had brought her here. He had maneuvered Joe and Wynan to the other side of the lake so he could get to the house and warn Froman?
That’s stupid. He could have just telephoned.
Maybe there was no house. This was just a diversion.
Damn. I had to call Joe, but first I had to figure out where I was, so Joe and Wynan could join me.
I scanned the scene, turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees. No sign of Shelby. Then I noticed what seemed like a reflection through the trees. The sun was setting and the last light had illuminated something. Possibly a glass window. Still keeping a lookout for Shelby, I kept my head down and walked cautiously a few yards toward where I had seen the reflection. I saw the glint again and went up to the crest of a small ridge and looked down the other side.
A road appeared below me. A dirt and gravel road that looked like it could be the driveway to the house. I looked around. No house. I walked down to the road and followed it a few feet as it curved around. This must be the way to the house. I pulled my satellite phone from my pocket and punched the button Joe had shown me.
“What is it?” Joe’s voice sounded distant but clear.
“Joe, Shelby left the car and went in another direction, I followed him to…”
“God damn it, I told you to stay in the car. Where the hell are you?” His voice was a low hiss.
“I told you,” I tried to whisper, unsure of where Shelby might be.
“I can’t hear you. Speak up.”
“Shelby was acting strangely and he went to the east of the lake, not the west. I’m on the east side, a little ways in from the top of the lake and Joe, I found a road that might go to a house.”
Jamie
The man sipped on his water. “I said no more talking about Alice.”
Jamie put her hands on the back of a kitchen chair and braced herself for his anger. “You scare the hell out of me. How do you expect me to ever get used to being in this house when I’m terrified, when I break into a cold sweat every time you come near me?”
The man looked weary. “I know you’re afraid, but I am not going to hurt you. I am not going to force myself on you. Please understand that.”
Her hands gripped the chair back. “And yet you make me feel as helpless and trapped as if you had already raped me and might again.”
“Nonsense.”
“No. Don’t you realize, that’s exactly the way a woman feels when a man tries to overpower her, to control her. That’s what rape is about.”
The man rose from his chair and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He rocked back and forth on his heels. “Perhaps we should go into the parlor and read some scripture. Maybe that will calm you down and make you feel better.”
She ignored the familiar pinpricks in her neck and pressed on. “No more Bible reading. I was raised knowing the Bible, and much of it is about compassion and kindness, not oppression and obedience. You’ve perverted the Bible to suit your own ends. You don’t use it for worship, you use it for mind control.”
He frowned. “That’s absurd. You’re a deeply religious woman, Jamie. I know that about you. You go to church every Sunday.”
Something clicked in Jamie’s mind. “How do you know that about me? How do you know about my religion, or the size of my clothes, or the brand of shampoo that I use?”
“Let’s just say I have done research on you. Now, please, let’s go to the parlor.”
“No. No Bible reading. It won’t work. Not on me any more than it did on Alice.”
Spittle appeared at the corners of his mouth. He slammed his fist down on the table. “No more about Alice. I told you that,” he shouted.
Jamie took a deep breath and pulled the driver’s license out of her pocket.
She put it on the table face up so the man could not avoid seeing Alice’s face. “I found this in the parlor sofa. It’s been there a long time.”
He reached for the license.
His face flushed and his eyes watered.
Jamie stepped back from the table and crossed her arms in front of her. Her shirt felt sticky across her back. But something told her this was her chance to prevail. “What really happened to Alice? She did not drive away from here without her license.”
The man swallowed hard and shook his head. A tear ran down his cheek.
“And you never found a death certificate for her in Louisiana, did you?”
He made a choking sound. “No.” The license trembled in his hand as he stared at it.
Jamie licked her lips. Her mouth was as dry as cotton. “Would I be right if I said your father killed Alice after he had nearly beaten you to death?”
More tears streamed down his face. He bent over the back of a chair, nearly choking. Foam appeared on the corners of his mouth. “She wasn’t as strong as I was. She couldn’t take the whipping.”
“Where’s her body?”
His chest heaved, his voice choked to a rasp. “I don’t know.”
Jamie slammed her fist on the table. “Where is Alice’s body?”
His tall body was trembling from head to foot. “She’s buried on a hill overlooking the lake. About a half-mile from here.”
“You must know now why I can never stay here, never be with you.” She tried to steady her voice. “I know what you want, but it’s not going to happen. I am never going to be able to bear living in this house. I hate it here.”
His eyes returned to her, his hand clutching his chest.
“I care for you, Jamie. I really do.”
“No, you cared for Alice. You loved her. But you can’t transform me into Alice. I’ll never be her, and I’ll never be yours.”
“You keep saying never. You don’t know what more time with me might…”
Jamie leaned toward the man and slammed her hands on the table. “Never. Never. Never!” she shouted.
He shuddered. A loud moan parted his lips. He raised his head and opened his mouth wide.
The sounds of a large wounded animal reverberated around the room. “Please, Jamie. You have to stay.”
“No. I can’t stay. You have to let me
go.”
His shoulders fell and his head hung over and nearly touched the plate of unfinished food. Then, he pushed the chair away and moved toward her. “I know. I want you to be free. I do.”
She walked backwards toward the kitchen door. He staggered and broke his fall by putting his hand on the wall. He leaned against the wall, then turned toward her, but his legs no longer supported him, and slowly he slid down until he was sitting on the floor. He stopped with his back against the wall, his shoulders shaking and his head buried in his arms.
Jamie strode to the kitchen door and reached for the padlock. “What’s the combination?” Her voice was hard and firm. She knew he was defeated.
“I’ll tell you in the morning,” he murmured to his knees. “It’s going to be dark soon. You can’t leave in the dark. We are miles away from anywhere. You’ll get lost and hurt yourself. In the morning, Jamie, in the morning.”
Jamie strode to where he sat against the wall and squatted down until she was no more than a few inches away from his bowed head. “What made you think you could force me to love you?”
He looked up with bloodshot eyes. “You’re so young, so lovely, and I’m so much older now. I thought this would be the only way. I thought that after you got to know me better…”
“Not going to happen.”
“I can take care of you, Jamie.” His voice became firmer. “I have money. I can give you anything you want.”
She stood up. “I want the combination.” She walked over to the back door.
No response, just a shaking of his shoulders. Jamie raised her voice. “The combination. Now.”
His head rose and the look on his face told her all she needed to know. Jamie reached for the padlock, and punched in the first digit of Alice Lassiter’s birthdate.
Chapter 34
“Drop the phone, lady.” The voice came from the right and I looked over. Through the gloom of dusk I saw a Jeep parked under one of the trees. A short, stocky man was standing in front of the Jeep. There was still enough light to see he had no hair, small eyes set far apart, and a flat nose—the face of a pit bull.
Red Solaris Mystery Series Boxed Set: Books 1-3 Page 44
