Appalachian Prey (Lavender Mountain Book 1; Appalachian Magic)

by Debbie Herbert

  Her uncle was the Hillside Strangler. And he’d also killed his own brother. Lilah’s entire body trembled and she couldn’t control the shivering. A bone-deep cold settled in her heart. But past the horror of it all, another question remained. “But why did Uncle Thad kill Darla?” Lilah asked. “Could she have stumbled on the truth somehow and so Thad had to kill her, too?”

  Vi made a strangled sound in her throat. “Maybe Thad didn’t kill nobody.”

  “What do you mean? Vi, all this jewelry was taken from murder victims. The fact that you found them here, hidden in your house, means—”

  “Could have been Lavon. I’m almost one hundred percent certain it’s not, but I can’t rule it out neither. And that, Lilah, is the worst thing ever for a momma to experience.”

  “You aren’t thinking straight. Lavon’s too young to have committed those old murders. It has to be...” She started to say Uncle but the word died on her lips. She would never refer to him as that again. “It has to be Thad.”

  “Maybe Thad killed those women. Could be Lavon killed Darla, and maybe your dad, too,” Vi pointed out.

  “What reason would Lavon have?” She racked her brain. “Maybe Lavon overheard something and thought my dad was a threat to Thad?”

  It still didn’t explain Darla, unless Lavon thought Darla knew something incriminating about Thad or their business.

  Lilah hurriedly stuffed the jewelry back in the pouch. It made her skin crawl to think of her sister and the other two women who’d been killed. And almost as sickening, it made her cringe to imagine Thad fondling the pieces of jewelry while reveling in the memory of their death at his hands. “I need to take this to Harlan straight away.”

  Viola’s tears started anew. “I hope I done the right thing.”

  “You did what any decent person would do,” Lilah assured her. “Thank you.”

  “Maybe you can just tell Harlan you came to visit me and found it on your own? Leave my name out of it?”

  “I always tell Harlan the truth,” she said gently. “But if he sees fit, maybe he can fudge over this part of how I got the jewelry.”

  “I don’t know what’s to become of us all now,” Aunt Vi said with a moan.

  “Hopefully, we’ll all be a little safer,” she said drily. Lilah felt sorry for her aunt, but her sympathy only went so far. If Viola had come forward earlier, she might not have been almost killed on two occasions now. She’d been lucky that she and the baby and Harlan had escaped unscathed.

  “I’ve got to go.” Lilah rose and dug her car keys out of her purse, eager to get to the sheriff’s office. An ironic smile ghosted across her lips. All those officers swarming to get to the bottom of the murders today, and here she was going to walk in there with the physical evidence they needed to actually make a case.

  She walked to Vi and patted her shoulder. “Do you want to stay with us a few days? Or I could take you wherever you’d like. Maybe stay with someone until this blows over? I don’t want Thad to hurt you.”

  Vi shook her head. “He don’t scare me none. Never has. Not even now.”

  A car sounded in the driveway, a door opened and shut and then heavy footsteps started up the porch steps. Could Thad be home already? Had to be either him or Lavon.

  She glanced at Vi. “Sure you’re going to be okay?”

  The door flung open with a bang.

  “What are you doing here?” Thad asked.

  His hair was more disheveled than normal, and his eyes darted back and forth between her and Viola.

  “I invited her over,” Viola said, lifting her chin a fraction.

  “After the way her boyfriend’s treated me and our son this morning? Who else is here? Looks like a damn undercover police car’s parked in front of the house, too.”

  He glared at Lilah and she nervously clutched at her purse’s shoulder strap. “I’ll be going now.” She faced Aunt Vi one last time, offering a silent invitation for her to leave as well.

  Vi shook her head.

  Thad stared at the couch, incredulity written on his face. “What’s this?”

  He brushed past her and went to the couch.

  Sunlight streaming through the open front door cast a spotlight on the diamond solitaire set of Darla’s wedding ring. Sparkling prisms of colored light glittered like a beacon, mesmerizing Lilah like a trance.

  Thad carefully picked it up and turned to them. “Where are the others?”

  The quiet, calm voice frightened her in a way his earlier belligerence had not. She took a step backward.

  “Stop,” he commanded in that same smooth low tone. “Not another step.”

  “Leave her alone,” Aunt Vi said. “It’s over.”

  He didn’t spare his wife a glance. “Where’s the rest?”

  Lilah spun toward the door and he was beside her in a flash, painfully gripping her forearm.

  “Give me my things,” he said with a hiss.

  “Okay, okay.” With her free hand, she dug the pouch out of her purse.

  Thad let go of her arm and snatched it up. His body was tense, his focus on the pouch all-absorbing.

  Run now.

  Lilah scrambled across the den to the back door. A strong pull on her purse ripped into her shoulder and she started tumbling forward. She clutched at the wall with one hand and righted herself.

  “Thad, stop it!” Aunt Viola threw herself between Lilah and Thad. She glanced back at Lilah. “Go!”

  She didn’t need to be told twice.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “You lost her?” Harlan yelled into the office phone. “How the hell did you manage that? Never mind, I don’t want to hear your excuses. When did you last see her and how long ago?”

  He checked his cell phone. Lilah had texted him thirty minutes ago she was going to visit her aunt. He should have insisted they hold Thad until Lilah had returned home. So much for trusting another person to keep an eye on her. If anything happened to Lilah, it was on him.

  “Is there a problem?” Sammy asked.

  “Yeah those agents that were tailing Lilah called. Apparently, she’s gone missing. I’ve got to go.”

  Sammy grabbed his cruiser keys. “I’ll drive. Where to?”

  “Thaddeus Tedder’s.”

  They hightailed it to the cruiser. Thunder rumbled in the distance and already a few fat drops started falling. Sammy put on the blue light through town. Once they hit the main county road, he shut it off. “Fill me in on what happened.”

  “All I know is that Lilah texted me that her aunt had called and wanted her to visit. Lewis assigned an undercover cop to tail Lilah, so I thought all would be fine. But the guy called and said that Thad had returned home and he heard screaming from inside the house. He knocked on the door to investigate, and was told that Lilah had run out the back door and into the woods.”

  Sammy frowned. “Here we go again. But if the cop’s with Thad, she should be safe.”

  Harlan held on to that thought for the ten minutes it took to arrive at Thad’s. He strode up the porch and marched inside, not bothering with a knock.

  Thad was sprawled on the sofa, head in his hands, while his wife sat at the far opposite end, as if trying to keep the farthest distance possible. The undercover cop sat across the room. He rose and nodded. “Brian Forney, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.”

  Harlan dismissed him with a quick nod.

  “I’ll take a look around out back,” Sammy offered, standing in the doorway. “See if Lilah’s hiding close by.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lilah knew Sammy. If she was near, she’d go to him. Harlan faced Thad. “What happened?” he demanded.

  “It’s time to do the right thing,” Viola said. “Lilah knows the truth and so do I. Might go easier on you if you tell it.”

  Harlan pinned him with a stare.
“Spill it. I need to find Lilah.”

  “It was me,” Thad said, staring down at his feet. He drew a loud, unsteady breath. “I killed them hookers.”

  “Their names were Raylene Rucker and Amzie Billbray,” Harlan corrected. “They had names and friends and families.”

  Forney spoke up. “After all these years, we’ve captured the Hillside Strangler.”

  We? The man hadn’t done anything except lose Lilah and plop his ass in a chair. But whatever.

  “What did you say to Lilah?” Harland continued, focusing on Thad. “Officer Forney heard shouting.”

  Thad reluctantly lifted his head. “She had my things. I lost my temper.”

  Harlan’s own temper threatened to snap. “Did you—”

  “Nah, I didn’t lay a hand on her. Vi came between us and made me listen to reason. Lilah ran out the back door—she was scared.”

  Forney unlocked a pair of handcuffs from his belt and started toward Thad. “I’ll handcuff Tedder and take him in.”

  “I’m not done talking to him yet,” Harlan snapped. The officer was champing at the bit to take Thad in and claim he’d had a hand in capturing the murderer. Not that it mattered to him, but he wasn’t finished with Thaddeus.

  “You confess to killing Raylene and Amzie. What about Chauncey and Darla? Did you kill them as well?”

  “Nope. I didn’t do it.” Thad picked up a leather pouch in his lap and cradled it in one palm. “I couldn’t kill my own kin. Takes a special kind of sick to do that.”

  As if there was much of a distinction. As if Thaddeus had a moral imperative higher than any other murderer. Those kinds of hypocritical rationales were the sort spouted by hard-core inmates from inside a state penitentiary.

  “Save it for the judge,” Harlan barked. He needed to break Thad now while his wife was encouraging him, and before he got locked up in the county jail and had time to worry about saving his ass from the death penalty.

  Yet every second that ticked by, he was aware that Lilah was alone and frightened in the woods. He hoped any moment that she and Sammy would walk through the door.

  Viola sniffled and spoke up. “What’s going on with Lavon? Is he coming home tonight?”

  Poor woman. She was fixin’ to have a lifetime of lonely nights in an empty house. “No. He’s confessed to distributing drugs and has been charged.”

  “He’ll be locked up for years,” Forney added.

  Harlan shot him a warning look. That comment wasn’t necessary and did nothing but waste valuable time. “Perhaps you can visit him tomorrow,” Harlan said to a sobbing Viola. He turned his attention back to Thaddeus. “What’s that in your hands?” Harlan asked.

  A spark of nearby lightning lit the room, followed closely by a clap of thunder. Sheets of rain assaulted the walls and windows. Damn it, Lilah was out in this storm.

  Thad didn’t respond to the storm or the question.

  Viola jumped up, her thin body trembling. “Give that damn thing to the cops,” she screamed at Thad in a high, shrill wail. “What the hell kind of monster did I marry?”

  She snatched the pouch out of Thad’s hands. No doubt, the man would have put up a fight if he hadn’t been so startled by his wife’s uncharacteristic outburst.

  Viola thrust it at Harlan. “He’s ruined my life and Lavon’s life. Our boy thinks the world of his daddy. Wanted to be just like him. But at least Lavon’s not a killer.”

  Harlan opened the pouch. It was all there. All the missing evidence. “How did you get the bracelet back? J.D. give it to you?”

  Thad nodded.

  The depths of J.D.’s despicable behavior stunned Harlan. He’d suspected his boss of turning a blind eye on the drugs and marijuana trade—but murder? That was a whole new level of low.

  Harlan picked up the diamond ring and held it to the light. “Darla’s?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t kill her. I swear!”

  “Then how did you get possession of her wedding ring?”

  Thad clamped his mouth shut.

  “These are all related,” Harlan insisted. “Lilah found the jewelry taken from the strangled women in her dad’s cabin. Chauncey was killed. She gave the necklace to Darla, and then Darla was killed. Lilah wore the bracelet for a time—now someone’s after Lilah.”

  “You want to serve time for all the murders?” Forney cut in. “Maybe we can cut a deal for the old murders, but not for two members of your own family.”

  Damn Forney. The last thing Harlan wanted was for Thad to start thinking about arranging deals. He wanted the name of the second killer. And he wanted it now.

  To hell with protocol. Harlan grabbed a fistful of Thaddeus’s shirt and hauled him to his feet.

  “Who is it?”

  * * *

  LILAH TORE THROUGH the backyard and into the woods without a backward glance. It was like the earlier chase—except this time she knew the face of the killer. And instead of heading down the mountain, this time she’d be fleeing upward.

  “Lilah! Get back here!” Thad’s voice boomed from behind.

  Fat chance.

  The familiar pine-strewn path was narrower than she remembered from her childhood days. The needles were slick with rain and mud slushed her sneakers. Her feet sank into the ground that had instantly turned to a sticky, sludgy mess. It slowed her progress and strained her calves, but the good news was that it would be much more difficult for her heavyset uncle to sludge his way through the muck.

  She was going to make it—unless he returned to his house and got his gun. She was fit and fast, but she couldn’t outrun a bullet.

  No, no. Aunt Viola would stop him. Focus on one step at a time. That was the way to get through this.

  Low-lying branches slapped at her face, chest and arms. Her T-shirt and jeans clung to her body and her teeth chattered. Her right shoe stuck in the mud and she stopped to grab it. Leaning against an oak, she slipped it back on and paused to catch her breath. Not too much farther to go to reach safety.

  A burst of thunder roared and she cringed. The danger of getting hit by lightning might be better than the chance of Thad lumbering nearby. Rain continued pouring and she sighed. Time to get moving again.

  She crossed a small wooden bridge over a swollen creek and knew she was close. Squinting through the downpour, Lilah spotted the cabin and the welcoming warmth of light from a window. She sprinted to the porch and peered through the foggy glass pane.

  Uncle Jasper was seated on the sofa with the family bible open in his lap. A shotgun hung over the fireplace mantel. Here she’d be safe and protected.

  It was surprising that he hadn’t heard her clumsy stumble onto the porch, but the storm must have drowned out the noise. He enjoyed solitude and met visitors on the porch, usually not inviting them into his inner sanctum.

  Lilah rapped at the window. She must be a sight—as wet and as muddy as a stray dog left to fend for itself in the harsh elements.

  Jasper dropped the bible and half rose from the sofa, squinting his eyes at her form. Bedraggled as she must have appeared, she was recognizable and the startled consternation in his gray eyes morphed to one of surprise.

  He disappeared from view a moment and then the back door screeched open.

  “Lilah? What are you doin’ out there in the rain? Everything all right?”

  “I—I think so.”

  She wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around her uncle’s quarrelsome old neck, but he would have hated that. Lilah took a quick glance over her shoulder. Past Jasper’s junky backyard, the tree line to the woods loomed large and foreboding, as though it contained ancient dark secrets and harbored beasts both animal and human.

  But no Thad emerged, wielding a gun.

  Jasper waved her toward the door. “C’mon in.”

  She hugged her elbows at the waist and entered as
Jasper shut the door from behind.

  “I was running from Thad. I was afraid he’d hurt me.”

  Jasper tugged at his beard, regarding her calmly. “I tried to warn you. He’s a dangerous man.”

  “I didn’t know how dangerous. Not until Aunt Vi handed me the jewelry she found. Did you know—”

  Jasper walked to the window and drew the curtain closed.

  “Did you see him? Is he out there?” she asked breathlessly.

  “It’s just the two of us.”

  Her shoulders drooped in relief and she sank down onto the sofa. The cushions were still warm from Jasper’s body. Her uncle settled in the rocker across from her.

  “He’s a murderer, Uncle Jasper. The Hilltop Strangler. He killed those two women and...and I think he might have killed Dad and Darla.”

  His brows rose. “That so?” he asked, as though she’d commented on the weather.

  “You don’t believe me?” She waved a hand dismissively. “It’s true. There’s proof. We’ve got to call Harlan. Tell him to arrest Thad.”

  “You haven’t already called?”

  “No. I left their house without my purse or anything. He wanted to kill me, Uncle Jasper. It was in his eyes. I ran out the back door and Aunt Vi got between us. I ran straight here.”

  “So you did.” He picked up his pipe from the side table, filled it with a pinch of tobacco and proceeded to light it.

  “Don’t you get it?” she asked, frustrated by his wall of calm. “I was chased through the woods. Thad could be here any moment.”

  “Not likely. He’s too lazy for that.”

  She shook her head, disappointed and hurt at his lack of concern. She would take care of this herself. “Where’s your phone?”

  “Ain’t working.” He drew on the pipe and then exhaled cherry-scented smoke. “Storm must have knocked out the line.”

  Damn it. Lilah buried her head in her hands and fought against the urge to scream in frustration. Instead, she jumped up. Action was the antidote to get through this ordeal. “We’ve got to lock the windows and doors.”

  Luckily, there were only three windows. She latched the front door and eyed the shotgun. “That thing loaded?”