'Til Death (A Rebel Ridge Novel)

by Sharon Sala

  This man was so tall he had to bend over to look out. His hair was short and black, and considering his feet and chest were bare, Marlow could safely say he had the biggest hands and feet he’d ever seen. And he had no idea who the hell this guy was.

  He killed the floodlight but left his headlights on as he got out, then moved toward the trailer with his hand on his pistol, just in case.

  “You’re trespassing, mister. State your name.”

  “No, sir, I am not trespassing, but I might ask you why you’re on my property?”

  Marlow froze. When Wayne Fox died, except for his sister, Tildy, he was the last of the family on Rebel Ridge. Then it hit him—there was another Fox, but the last time he’d been seen, he was on his way to prison.

  “Lincoln Fox...is that you?”

  “Sorry, Sheriff, but you have me at a disadvantage. I don’t believe I caught your name.”

  “Sheriff Marlow, Mel Marlow. I’m investigating a break-in that happened earlier at a house down the road.”

  Linc’s attitude shifted. “Oh...I heard a security alarm go off just after I pulled in here for the night. I was out looking at the old bomb shelter when I heard a gunshot, then the alarm, then more gunshots. Is everyone all right?”

  “Mrs. Lewis is all right, but I was hoping to find me a stalker lying bleeding somewhere up here.”

  Linc remembered a Lewis family, but they’d lived much farther up the mountain and deeper into the woods. However, he wasn’t going to ask for details.

  “It’s a little cold to be visiting out here. You’re welcome to come inside.”

  Marlow took his hand off his pistol and headed for the trailer. Even though Linc stepped aside to let him in, Marlow was dwarfed by the man.

  “Have a seat,” Linc said as he closed the door.

  Marlow moved toward the small sitting area, then took off his hat and set it on the sofa beside him as Linc lit a candle, pulled a chair from the dinette set and faced him. That was when he saw the burn scars on Fox’s chest.

  “What happened there?”

  Linc ran a hand over the scars. “On-the-job accident.”

  Marlow nodded. So Fox wasn’t interested in sharing. Fine. “I have to say, I’m surprised to see you. What brings you back?’

  Linc fingered the scars again. “Let’s just say I had a life-altering experience and decided to come home.”

  “Why now?”

  Linc’s eyes narrowed as a muscle jerked along his jawline. “Cops always want the details. Fine. I work in construction. Earlier this year I was electrocuted on the job, which is where the scars came from, and when they brought me back to life, I came with a message from my daddy.”

  Marlow frowned. Lincoln Fox had been convicted of killing his father.

  “What kind of message?”

  “To go home and find out who killed him. Now you know why I’m here, and I have something to tell you that might help you.”

  “Like what?”

  “After I heard that alarm go off down the mountain, I pulled a little farther into the trees here for the night. A herd of deer had just come up to bed down, and I was watching them from inside the trailer when something spooked them and they ran. I thought it would be an animal, but it was a man, and he was running at a good clip heading west, up the slope.”

  Marlow’s heart skipped. Could he actually have another witness? “What did he look like?”

  “He was too far away for me to see his face, but there was enough moonlight to see that he was about average height, maybe five-ten or so, and his hair was kind of shaggy. He was wearing a dark leather jacket. The kind bikers wear. I don’t think he saw my rig, because he kept running through the clearing and up into the trees. A few moments afterward I heard a bike start up and then he rode away. It sounded more like a dirt bike than a motorcycle. Then I went to bed, thinking that was my last visitor for the night. I had no idea the official Rebel Ridge greeting committee would show up so soon.”

  Marlow was taking notes as fast as he could write. “Is there anything else?” he asked.

  Linc stood up. “Yes. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell the world why I’m here. The fact that I’m back is going to be trouble enough without everyone taking sides all over again. Although to be honest, I don’t think there was a damned one of you who was on my side to begin with except Grandpa and Aunt Tildy. Grandpa’s gone, and I haven’t seen Aunt Tildy in years. Don’t even know if she’s still alive.”

  “I wasn’t working for the law when all that went down, but for your information, your aunt is still hale and hearty and dispensing her herbs and salves to all who ask.” After that Marlow stood up, too intimidated by Linc’s size to stay seated. “I’ll be going now. Thank you for your information. If you happen to see or hear anything more, give me a call. This is my card. Got my home and office numbers. Use either. My job is twenty-four/seven. If I have any more questions...”

  “Then you know where to find me,” Linc said softly, and opened the door.

  Marlow walked down the steps, then turned around to say good-night, but Linc had already closed the door behind him.

  He stood for a few moments, watching as the candle was snuffed. It was as good a signal as any that his presence was not appreciated. He didn’t know what to think about Lincoln Fox’s reason for returning, but he began to wonder if finding Meg Lewis’s stalker would become the least of his troubles. He got back in his cruiser and drove away.

  * * *

  Linc stood in the dark, waiting until the sheriff was gone, then opened the door and stepped out. He was shaking with anger and had to get past it. He couldn’t react like this to everyone he came in contact with or he would fail in his quest before it began.

  The blast of cold air on his face chased away the last of the rage as he gazed out at the wreckage of the old house. He felt sorry that it had come to such ruin, but sometimes it was better to start fresh than to try to patch up something that was beyond redemption. He didn’t know whether he was thinking about himself or the property, but either way he was here to stay.

  There was a frost on the grass. In the moonlight, it looked silver. The deer he’d seen earlier had not come back. It was quiet. Unlike Dallas, the quiet in this place was almost holy. No streetlights, no sirens, no traffic noise from a freeway like the one near his apartment. He looked up at the sky, slightly stunned by the vast array of stars. One thing he’d forgotten was that up this high on Rebel Ridge, it was that much closer to heaven. He took a deep, shuddering breath, a little shocked by the fact that he felt like crying.

  * * *

  Meg slept fitfully, half-afraid the man would come back. By morning she was in a mood, and tended to the chickens and feeding Daisy without the usual bounce in her step. Even Honey stayed back, sensing her turmoil.

  As luck would have it, before she had a chance to tell her family what had happened, Quinn stopped by on his way to work.

  She heard Honey barking in the front yard and, when she went to look, saw her brother getting out of the car. She hurried to the door.

  When Quinn saw the expression on her face, the smile he was wearing disappeared.

  “What’s wrong? Did your stalker come back again?”

  She nodded.

  “Damn it, Meg! When were you going to tell us?”

  “Eventually.”

  He followed her in, checking the sensor on the door as he went.

  Then she began to explain what had happened.

  “He didn’t make it to the door, thanks to the security light in the yard, which startled him. When he fell, the pistol he was carrying discharged, which sent Honey into a fit. When I looked out and saw him getting up, I set Honey on him, then followed with a couple of shots, which unfortunately missed again.”

  Quinn shoved a hand through his hair in frustration. “He was armed. Why didn’t you call?”

  “I did. I called the law. It’s their job to take care of this stuff, not you.”

  “But—”
/>
  “No buts, Quinn.”

  His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t argue. “So you saw him. Did you recognize him?”

  “No. I saw an average-size man with shaggy brown hair, wearing a black leather biker jacket. It had a Confederate flag patch on the sleeve, and Sheriff Marlow found a toy in the grass. It was a little black car with a number 3 on the side...like something that would hang on a key ring.”

  “That’s Dale Earnhardt’s crash car,” Quinn muttered, more to himself than to her. “What else?”

  “When Honey gave chase and disappeared into the trees, he shot at her.”

  She watched Quinn’s face pale. “Son of a bitch.”

  “There’s more. Sheriff Marlow asked me if there was anyone who might have a grudge against a member of the family, who would try to get back at one of you by hurting me.”

  Quinn’s eyes widened.

  “I told him I’d ask,” she said.

  “I’d have to think about it,” he said. “I’ll talk to the others and get back to you.”

  “Just call Sheriff Marlow and talk to him if you come up with a name. It will save me the trouble.”

  Quinn had been watching the muscle jerking at the side of her right eye. “Come stay with Mariah and me.”

  Her chin came up. “No.”

  Growing up with Meg, Quinn had seen that look a thousand times and knew the discussion was now over.

  He hugged her. “I’m so sorry this is happening.”

  She rested her cheek briefly against the soft fabric of his goose-down jacket and then hugged him back.

  “Thanks for that. You’re a good brother. I’m sorry, too, but we’ll find out who it is and then it will be over.”

  “So what are you going to do?” Quinn asked.

  “Wait and see what happens next. And, Quinn, don’t tell Mom. I do not want her and Jake moving back in. Please.”

  He shrugged. “It’s your call. Is there anything you need?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh...I don’t know...if you happen to run across a great big hero-type guy on the loose up in the park, I might be interested in making his acquaintance.”

  He laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  She pushed him toward the door. “Go to work. I’m fine. It’s all good.”

  She watched him walk out, shaking his head and muttering beneath his breath about hardheaded women, but her mood had changed. Just telling him what had happened had shared the burden. She would remember that for future reference.

  * * *

  He woke up in Boone’s Gap in a hooker’s bed with vague memories of getting drunk off his ass after last night’s debacle, then took one look at the woman in the bed beside him and frowned. She didn’t look so hot in the light of day. He reached for his boots.

  The mattress shifted as he rolled out of bed, waking the woman.

  “Hey, sugar, don’t you want a little quickie before you leave? I’ll do it for free?”

  He frowned. “No. I got places to be.”

  She rolled over on her back and parted her legs, then cupped her breasts, rolling the nipples between her fingers in what was supposed to pass for a come-on.

  He grabbed his coat and walked out without comment. She was cursing as he shut the door.

  “Same to you, bitch,” he muttered, then got in his truck. Just as he started to put the key in the ignition, he noticed the Dale Earnhardt token was missing from the key ring.

  “Well, hell.”

  He thrust his hand back into his pocket, expecting it to be there, but it wasn’t. He searched between the seats and the floorboard, but to no avail, and had to face the fact that it was gone. It was just a little doodad and didn’t amount to anything, but he liked it. Maybe he could find another one next time he went to the races. His belly growled, reminding him of where he’d been going, and he started the truck and drove to the other end of town to Frankie’s Eats. One thing was for certain; he was going to have to rethink his plan for Meg Lewis.

  * * *

  Linc was up at daybreak. He cleared the brush from in front of the shelter door and began dragging debris from inside, anxious to see what he had to work with. The first thing he would need was power. He couldn’t do the work he needed on just his generator. The utility poles were still in place where the old house once stood. All he had to do was have the power company add a pole here by the shelter, string new lines and install a meter. He went inside, pulled out his cell and found the number for the local power company. Within the hour he had a work order in place for a pole to be set and line to be run.

  Over the next few days he burned rubbish and dug trenches to lay pipe from the old existing water well, and then he replaced the pump. Every time he drove down the mountain he thought about the Lewis woman and wondered if she was okay. It was weird, this odd connection of having seen her assailant without knowing who she was, but he wasn’t ready for the world to know he was back.

  The few times he stopped in Boone’s Gap to get gas or pick up a few groceries, he made sure to wear a cap and sunglasses. It wasn’t all that much of a disguise, but he was counting on the change in his size and appearance as backup to make sure no one recognized him. For the time being his focus was getting a winter shelter set up.

  He had a new propane tank installed, and ran pipe inside the shelter for future heating and cooking use. He rented a tractor and brush hog down in Mount Sterling and cut down the weeds and brush in the clearing. When the power company arrived they set a new power pole, strung the wire, set a new meter and just like that he had power and water. Once he got the interior walls and floor clean, he could start construction on the house.

  He went to bed that night satisfied with his progress, and he was sound asleep when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of an approaching dirt bike. He immediately thought of the prowler and bailed out of bed, grabbing his pants, coat and boots as he ran. Within moments he was out of the trailer carrying his rifle. If the little bastard thought he was going to take a shortcut through this place again, he had another think coming.

  The night was dark. The new moon cast few shadows between trees and ground as he darted across the clearing. Within moments he heard someone coming toward him at a jog, making no attempt to hide his presence. If this was the stalker, the last time he’d come through here he’d been armed. Linc didn’t want to get into a gunfight with the man, but he wasn’t going to have him using his land as a freeway, either. He waited until he could see him coming, wanting to get a look at his face, and then, when he finally saw him, he was stunned to realize that he knew him. Taking care to stay concealed behind a trio of pines, he fired the rifle into the air, taking quiet pleasure in the shock on Prince White’s face.

  “This is private property!” Linc yelled. “The next time you set foot on it without an invitation, the shot I fire won’t be a warning,”

  He watched Prince grab his pocket as he scanned the trees and knew that pistol he’d been carrying before was probably in the leather jacket. Then he watched Prince rethink the notion and put both hands up in the air as he called out, “Whoever you are, I didn’t mean nothin’. This place has been vacant for so long I didn’t know that it sold. I’m right sorry. Okay? I mean you no harm. I was just—”

  “Just what? Going to mess with that Lewis woman again? If that was what was on your mind, then I advise you to change it, understand?”

  All of a sudden the man spun on his heel and started running back through the trees the way he’d come. That was when Linc knew for sure he was the same man. Just to mess with him, he fired the rifle again, then waited until he heard Prince start up the bike and speed away.

  “Sorry little bastard,” Linc muttered as he made his way back to the trailer. He started to go back to bed, but the thought of a woman alone in her house somewhere down the road, afraid to close her eyes for fear that her stalker would return, was too strong to ignore. He picked up his cell phone and, after digging up the card Marlow had given him, made a quick call
.

  “Sheriff’s department,” the dispatcher said.

  “I need to speak to Marlow,” Linc said.

  “He’s working a fender-bender down by the bar. Is this an emergency?”

  “No, just passing on some information he needed.”

  “Oh. Well, if it’s confidential info, then call his cell phone. I’ll give you the number.”

  “I have it,” Linc said, then disconnected and called the other number on the card.

  Marlow sounded preoccupied when he finally answered.

  “Sheriff, this Lincoln Fox. I know who your stalker is.”

  Marlow froze. “And how do you know that?”

  “I heard him ride up on his bike again tonight, and I went out and confronted him. Told him he was trespassing on private property and not to do it again. Even though I recognized him, I wasn’t sure he was the one who’d been threatening the Lewis woman until I threw out a warning. I told him if his intent on crossing my property was to go mess with her again, then I advised him against it. The moment I said that he turned tail and ran. I fired a shot up in the air just to punctuate the suggestion and waited until I heard him ride away.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Marlow said. “Who was it?”

  “Prince White.”

  “Prince White. I’ll be a... Uh, wait, that’s your stepmother’s younger brother, isn’t it?”

  “Lucy is no longer my stepmother, and so what?”

  “So are you sure it was him? You know if I arrest him you’ll have to identify him, which is going to reveal your presence. You also know that there will be some who’ll say you just named him because of your history with the family.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have a past with the Whites.”

  “They are your stepmother’s brothers, and she testified against you at the trial.”

  Linc was getting angry. “Well hell, Sheriff, everyone who got on the stand testified against me at the trial, despite my grandpa Fox’s claim that I couldn’t have set the fire because I was at his house all afternoon, and I didn’t accuse any of them of stalking Mrs. Lewis.”

  “Well, a body could understand Wayne Fox’s need to alibi you,” Marlow said. “You were his grandson.”