Castle Rock

by Carolyn Hart

  Jed faced her then. “I might not be handy next time.”

  “Next time?”

  His arm fell away from her. He rocked back on his heels. “Serena, you damn fool, I told you to stay out of this, but, no, you bull ahead . . .” He stopped, too furious to continue.

  Yes, she thought miserably, he had warned her, hadn’t he? Last night Jed told her to quit playing detective. That was what he said. Today, a rattlesnake lay in wait in Hurricane’s stall.

  If it hadn’t been for Danny . . . Jed couldn’t ignore Danny’s shouts for help, not even if he knew the rattler was there.

  Serena stared at Jed. Had he known? But surely his shot would have missed if he arranged the trap. Surely the fact that he killed the snake in the very act of striking proved his innocence?

  Serena buried her face in her hands. She wished she could believe in his innocence. She wanted to believe it. Oh Jed, she cried to herself, it wasn’t you. Don’t let it be you. But, and she knew she must face it, Jed would have no choice once Danny screamed. Jed would have to come to the rescue. Anything else would betray him.

  Serena’s hands dropped from her face. Slowly, painfully, she began to get up.

  Jed reached down and helped her stand.

  “Ouch.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked sharply.

  “Nothing bad. Just my hip. I tripped over something.”

  They both saw it then, lying at an angle to Hurricane’s stall, a garden rake.

  “How strange,” Serena said slowly. “I suppose someone forgot to put it up . . .”

  Jed shook his head. Then he bent and picked up a limp burlap sack lying in the shadows.

  “Hey Jed,” and Danny’s voice was high and thin, “do you think somebody brought the rattler in here?”

  “Yes,” Jed said grimly.

  “I’ll bet it was Peter,” Danny burst out. “He’s the one who . . .”

  “The one who what?” Peter’s voice sounded lazy and casual, but it shocked the three of them into silence.

  He walked nearer. “You all look like . . .” He broke off when he saw the snake’s body. “My God, where did that come from?”

  “It was in Hurricane’s stall,” Serena said quickly. “Jed shot him.”

  “How the hell do you suppose he got in here?” Peter asked in amazement. “First time I ever heard of a rattler crawling in among a bunch of horses.”

  “It is a little strange, isn’t it?” Jed agreed.

  Peter gave the snake’s body a kick with his boot. “Five feet long if he’s an inch. I wouldn’t have cared to meet up with him.” He looked down at Danny, “What was it you were saying about me?”

  Danny’s chin jutted forward and he looked like a small stubborn edition of Uncle Dan. “I was going to say . . .”

  “That you might have been the one who left the rake out,” Serena interposed smoothly.

  “The rake? No, that wasn’t me, though I did use it to rake out Victory’s stall this morning.” He looked intently at Danny. “Why did you think I left it out?”

  “Because you always leave things for other people to pick up,” Danny said bluntly.

  “I’ll have to do better,” Peter said lightly, but his pale eyes were cold and angry.

  Serena plunged in, hoping to distract Peter’s attention from Danny. “Peter, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Will you and Julie present the trophies at the rodeo?”

  “Rodeo?”

  “You remember. Castle Rock always hosts a rodeo on the Fourth of July. Danny and Joe have made almost all the plans for this year.”

  “Ah yes,” he drawled, “Silver cups for the cowboys. We will look forward to it with pleasure.”

  Danny glowered and Serena wished she hadn’t asked Peter. His patronizing tone insulted all of them. She almost told him to forget it, but she didn’t want an open breach between herself and Julie’s husband. They all lived on Castle Rock and it was important, especially for Danny, to keep things as pleasant as possible.

  “Well, I’m glad you are none the worse for your meeting with the rattler,” Peter said agreeably. Then, before any of them could object, he bent, picked up the rake, and lifted the snake’s body up on the prongs. “I’ll clean this up.” He turned and looked at Danny. “Guess I have to show I can do my part, too.”

  If there had been fingerprints on the rake, they would be smudged now. She read the same thought in Jed’s eyes.

  Peter was looking around the stables when he spotted the burlap sack in Jed’s hand. “That’s just the thing. Here, let’s drop this fellow in there.”

  Silently, Jed held the sack open. Peter dropped in the snake’s body. “Now, if you’ll get rid of that, I’ll get out Victory and Mademoiselle.”

  “Right,” Jed said expressionlessly.

  After Peter led the two horses out, Jed handed the sack to Danny. “Think you can get rid of this for us, Danny?”

  “Sure.” He hesitated, then asked, “Serena, do you think somebody put him in Hurricane’s stall?”

  “No,” she said quickly, “it must have been an accident, Danny. Nobody would do something like that. The sack could have been there for a long time. As for the rake, well, things get left out all the time. Besides, no one could have known I would step back on it.”

  Danny frowned. “Snakes don’t come around horses,” he said stubbornly.

  Serena managed a wry smile. “Maybe it was a dumb snake.”

  Danny laughed. “Yeah, a dumb snake.” And he left, still smiling.

  It was awkwardly quiet when Jed and Serena were left alone.

  “Do you believe that?” Jed asked finally.

  She shook her head.

  “Why did you lie to Danny?”

  “It wasn’t exactly a lie,” she said quickly. “It’s just . . . Danny’s so little, Jed. I don’t want him to be frightened.”

  “Maybe it would be a good thing if he were a little scared . . . and you, too.”

  “I’m scared enough.”

  “Are you?” he asked harshly. He stepped closer, reached out and gripped her arms. “Serena, be careful.”

  She felt a rush of joy. He cared. He did care. It couldn’t have been Jed who tried to hurt her . . .

  Then he spoke again, his voice cold and rough. “Don’t you know, Serena, accidents always come in threes?”

  After the rope broke, Serena blamed herself. Why hadn’t she expected something like this? Once it happened, the pattern seemed clear, the objective obvious.

  The first “accident” happened to Uncle Dan to prevent him from following up on the story told by the Burnt Hill hand of the plane that lifted off from Castle Rock.

  The second “accident” happened to her after she told all of them about the plane and Uncle Dan’s fury, and after she’d started trying to find out more about those who were on the ranch at the time, Jed and Will, and those lately come to the ranch who might be involved in future smuggling, the Minters and the professors.

  She should have seen the pattern, the determination to prevent investigation, but only through apparent accidents, never overt violence.

  She had, it was true, been cautious, keeping her bedroom door locked at night, checking the stables when she returned, watching out for any hint of danger on her morning rides to Castle Rock.

  But she’d never expected what happened.

  She and Danny started breakfasting together every morning. Serena knew their time together gave him a sense of security. They talked about the ranch and what Joe planned for the week. And, of course, every morning they talked about the Fourth. Serena knew the coming rodeo had grown to glorious stature in Danny’s imagination and she hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed. It would, after all, be only a pick-up rodeo, even though the cowboys from the surrounding ranches and from Castle Rock were among the best in New Mexico. There would be some good rides, perhaps even some great rides. The bulldogging was always exciting, and Danny still hoped to be allowed to compete in the calf-roping. The barbecue would
be superb, Millie would see to that. The fireworks—Serena reminded herself that she must get into Santa Fe and buy fireworks that would make Danny proud of their show. Later in the week, she would do that.

  Their breakfast on Thursday, the week before the Fourth, followed the routine they had established.

  When Serena finished her second cup of coffee, she said, “I’d better get to the office now.”

  Danny nodded. “Will we ride out about ten?”

  That, too, was part of the routine.

  “Sure, Danny.”

  “I’ll bring Hurricane up.”

  But Danny never reached the stables that morning.

  Serena was adding a long column of figures, thank God for calculators, and half-listening to the morning sounds of the ranch, the whir of the vacuum cleaner down the hall, the soft slap of a paint brush as one of the men put fresh white wash on the hitching post past the gate, and, high and steady like a windmill, the creak as Danny swung higher and higher on his rope swing.

  She heard the creak, a summer sound, a part of her own growing up, a cheerful constant rhythmic sound. Suddenly the creak stopped. She could see Danny in her mind, high in the air, the rope swinging like a pendulum.

  She knew before she heard Danny’s high shrill scream. Her chair toppled over backward she moved so fast. She slammed out of the office door, ran to the French windows and out onto the patio, then stopped, her hand pressed against her mouth.

  Danny lay in a crumpled heap amid the debris from the swing, the broken rope, and the stuffed gunny sack.

  He didn’t move.

  Serena ran, shouting for help as she raced to that still figure. She dropped down beside him. Thank God, he was breathing. She put a hand gently on his chest, felt the slow rise and fall though his face was waxen and still. She didn’t dare move him. His back, his neck . . . She held his hands and prayed and waited for help.

  Jed came, and he was wonderful, checking Danny gently. “His neck is all right, Serena. But . . .”

  Danny stirred, making a low moan of pain.

  “Don’t move, Danny,” Serena said quickly.

  Danny’s eyes opened. For a moment, they were blank and empty, then they were wide and staring with fear.

  Her grasp tightened on his hands.

  Jed fashioned a stretcher and supervised the careful move to the jeep. Serena stayed beside Danny. “I know it hurts, Danny.” One leg was obviously broken. “We’re going to fly into Santa Fe. Dr. Burris is waiting at the airport.”

  “I won’t be able to ride Buster in the rodeo,” Danny said faintly.

  “Not this time. Next time. ”

  He didn’t cry. Not once. Not even when they jolted the stretcher unloading him at the airport. In the ambulance, he struggled to sit up.

  Serena tried to push him down. “Danny, don’t move so much. Not until they’ve done the X-rays.”

  “But Serena, I’ve never ridden in an ambulance before. Hey, listen to the siren.”

  That was when she started to relax, though she didn’t feel really certain until Dr. Burris held up the X-rays. “There’s a break in the femur but it’s clean. I don’t think he’ll be in a cast more than a couple of months.”

  “A couple of months,” Danny wailed.

  “Listen, Danny,” the doctor retorted, “you aren’t made of rubber. Anybody that fell from the height you did should be thanking his lucky stars it wasn’t far worse. What’s a couple of months when you’re going to be good as new?”

  Danny slept on the flight back to the ranch. Serena felt uncomfortably aware of Jed’s nearness in the quiet cockpit.

  She would wait for him to speak first.

  He stared out at the flat countryside, silent.

  Finally, she could stand it no longer. “Jed, how do you suppose it happened?”

  He didn’t look at her. “The rope broke.” His voice was colorless and unemphatic.

  “Uncle Dan put the rope up. In May.”

  Jed checked the altimeter, adjusted his flight path. “What are you saying, Serena?”

  “I don’t think it was an accident.”

  He stared straight ahead, his face grim. “We’re almost there.”

  Serena looked away. He wasn’t going to talk to her about Danny’s fall. She felt tired and confused, sick at heart.

  Jed landed the plane easily, as he did everything. The wheels touched, the plane lifted a little, touched again, rolled swiftly down the runway.

  Will was there, waiting for them.

  As the cockpit door opened, Will called out, “How’s Danny? Is Danny . . .” Then he saw Danny. “Hey pardner, you sure had us scared. What were you trying to do? Pretend you were Batman?”

  Danny grinned up at his big cousin as he and Jed maneuvered the stretcher out of the back of the plane.

  Will carried Danny upstairs. Serena turned to thank Jed for flying them into Santa Fe, but he was gone. Wearily, she climbed the stairs.

  Will was showing Danny how to use his crutches. “Put the weight on your hands, there in the crossbars, or you will get real sore under your arms. I know. I broke my leg in three places when I was a senior in high school.”

  “Gee, Will, how did you do that?”

  “Playing football.”

  “I didn’t know you played football.”

  “I didn’t for long,” Will said wryly, and Danny laughed.

  Serena leaned against the door. She realized suddenly how tired she was and how frightened she had been. But everything was going to be all right. She still remembered with dreadful clarity the waxy blue look on Danny’s face when he lay unconscious on the patio. Dr. Burris had reminded her to keep a close watch on him for a few days. “It looks like a mild concussion, but you can never be sure. If he starts to sleep too heavily, if you can’t rouse him, call me at once.”

  Will helped Danny to the bathroom. “Come on, pard, let me get some of that dirt off your face.”

  “Aw, Will.”

  Yes, Serena though grimly, she certainly did intend to keep a close watch over Danny. A very close watch.

  It was probably a combination of exhaustion and pain pills, but Danny was asleep almost before they finished tucking him in.

  Will smiled, gently patted Danny’s cheek, and turned to lead the way out.

  Serena hesitated at the door.

  “It’s okay, Serry. He’s sleeping like a log.”

  “I hate to leave him. The doctor said we need to keep a close watch, make sure he doesn’t sleep too heavily.”

  “Oh. Well look, I’ll put up a cot and spend the night with him. I’m a light sleeper and I can check on him through the night.”

  “Would you, Will?”

  “Sure. But now let’s go down and have a drink. You look all in.”

  As they went down the stairs and passed the ormolu-framed mirror in the foyer, Serena saw what Will meant. Her face was as white as the flowers on the magnolia tree. Dark smudges beneath her eyes made them look huge. In the den, she sank gratefully into a soft leather chair and watched while Will fixed drinks. He was squirting soda from a siphon when he looked up in concern. “Did you have dinner?”

  She nodded. “Jed and I ate a sandwich at the hospital snack bar while they were putting the cast on Danny.”

  “Are you hungry? I could fix something up. I’m a pretty good cook.”

  She shook her head, smiling. It was funny to think of Will, so huge and muscular, busying around a kitchen.

  He smiled down at her as he handed her the scotch and soda. Serena drank deeply, welcoming the smoky taste of the Chivas Regal. Then she looked around the empty room.

  “Where is everybody tonight?”

  Will pulled up a chair next to hers. “I don’t know where the dudes are. I guess they just went back to their cabins after dinner. They knew Danny had been hurt.”

  “Where are Peter and Julie?”

  “In Santa Fe. They were invited to a party at the Holmans.”

  “Oh.” That was all Serena said. />
  “When the plane was still gone by mid-afternoon, they decided to drive into Santa Fe.”

  Not waiting, Serena thought coldly, to find out anything about Danny. A party at the Holmans was more important.

  “Jed called back and said Danny was going to be okay,” Will said quickly and Serena knew he had read her thoughts.

  “I didn’t know that. That was nice of him.”

  “Yeah.”

  Serena looked at him gravely. She hesitated, asked bluntly, “Will, don’t you like Jed?”

  The lamplight shone on Will’s flaming red hair, but his face was in shadow. He turned toward her and she could see his strong jaw and firm chin. He was, she thought with a little shock of surprise, even handsomer than she had realized. Perhaps she had not really looked at Will these last years.

  “It isn’t so much a question of liking or disliking,” Will said slowly, his face solemn. “It’s just . . . what do we know about him?”

  Serena felt a fleeting pang of guilt. She knew that Jed had lied when he told her he received a degree from the University of Texas. There was no record of his graduating when he had said. No record at all. She should tell Will. She could confide in Will. He was part of Castle Rock, part of her life.

  But she didn’t.

  Abruptly, she reached out and took Will’s hand and held it tightly.

  Will looked surprised, then delighted.

  “Oh Will, I wish . . .”

  “What do you wish, Serry?”

  “I wish things could be the way they used to be.”

  “Maybe . . .” and he spoke with painful slowness, “maybe we can make things even better than they used to be.” He was looking at her with so much love, so much concern.

  Serena squeezed his hand once more, then let it drop. “I don’t know, Will. I don’t know what’s going to happen to any of us. But I know you mean so much to me. I can trust you.”

  But even as she said it, she remembered Will’s refusal to tell her what was worrying him at the start of the summer and his weak explanation for having drunk too much the night before Uncle Dan died and the day of the funeral.

  Wasn’t this the time to clear it up, to ask him to tell her truthfully what was wrong? To tell him of her suspicions? She started to speak, then stopped, slumped against the chair, staring into the amber liquid in her glass.