by Marta Perry
“I’m fine.” His fingers tightened on hers and then released. “Better us than a stranger.” He moved on in Trey’s wake.
Was it? From her perspective, yes, but Jessica had probably understated the police reaction should they actually find what they feared.
They emerged into what at first seemed a clearing in the woods. Then her eyes adjusted to what she was seeing.
The quarry had probably been a harsh scar on the landscape at one time, but now the trees and scrub growth crowded in on it, softening its edges. It was an irregular oblong, probably less than a hundred yards wide at the widest point. The trees on the opposite side wore their autumn colors.
“They quarried here in my husband’s grandfather’s day,” Geneva said. “It’s been closed a long time.”
Trey, holding onto a tree, leaned forward. “A little water at the bottom, but that’s all. It’s not too steep down to the cave, but the path is almost entirely gone. We’ll need the ropes.”
Be safe, she found herself saying silently over and over as the two men rigged up the ropes around a sturdy tree and put on safety helmets. Please, be safe.
Geneva’s hand closed over hers. “I know,” she said softly. “But Trey won’t let him take any risks.”
She nodded. Was she that obvious? It seemed so.
There couldn’t be a relationship, she reminded herself, watching as Link prepared to go over the edge. Too many things stood between them. But he had held her when she wept for her lost childhood, and she had known then that she cared, maybe too much. It wouldn’t be easy to say goodbye.
Trey raised a reassuring hand and then followed Link over the edge. Marisa heard a sharp intake of breath from Jessica, but then Jessica smiled and shook her head.
“I’m being foolish. It’s just a simple rock scramble, and they have the ropes on if they should miss a step. There’s nothing to worry about.”
They’d both keep telling themselves that, but Marisa didn’t know how much good it was doing. A sharp breeze tugged at her windbreaker, and she zipped it up. She’d been warm walking up here, but now she felt the autumn chill in the air.
Geneva moved cautiously to one side of the spot where they’d gone over. “I think we can see from here, unless you’d rather not watch.”
Better to know, she repeated, and edged into position next to Geneva. She was right: the two men were visible from here. She fixed her gaze on the top of Link’s helmet, as if she could reach out across the space between them and keep him safe.
“The top part is the worst,” Geneva said. “The path is completely gone. Once they get down another twenty feet or so, it should be easier going.”
Now that it had been pointed out, Marisa could pick out the spot where the path had led downward. The top part was a steep drop, but they were nearly past that already. What had that been like for a child when Link had tried to climb down? She couldn’t imagine. Geneva must have been terrified when she’d found out. But apparently the path had been there then.
Marisa followed the remnants of the path with her gaze. There was the cave they’d spoken of…a dark shadow surrounded by rocks. They’d made a guess that if someone were trying to hide a body, that would be the easiest place. But not the only place. A shudder went through her. There must be a couple of acres of tumbled rocks and brambles. How could they possibly search every bit of it? A body could lie there for a long time without being found.
Her hand was pressing into the tree trunk so hard that the bark was scoring her hand. She rubbed her palm, not daring to take her gaze off Link.
He was ahead of Trey. He reached the cave mouth and stopped, waiting for his brother. They seemed to confer for a moment. Then they turned on flashlights, bent over and disappeared into the cave.
Disappeared. Her mouth was dry. Vanished like Mammi.
She shook her head, not letting the thought take root. That was stupid. Link was safe. She knew that. He was fine.
“Why is it taking so long?” She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until she’d heard the words. “I thought Trey said the cave was quite small.”
“It narrows down back quite a ways,” Geneva said. “Unless it’s changed since the last time I was in there…but of course that was over thirty years ago. It may have changed in that time. The rocks may have shifted.”
Could they shift while the men were inside? That was yet another possibility to fear. The safety helmets were probably meant to protect them from that.
She clasped her hands together. Surely they were taking too long. Did that mean they’d found some thing? Or that they’d found nothing and were care fully searching for any sign?
Please, please…
The quarry was still, as if even the birds had stopped singing to wait in silence with them. The breeze rustled faintly in the trees. An orange leaf fluttered down, brushing her face before it drifted over the edge of the quarry and disappeared.
Something stirred in the blackness of the cave mouth. Shadows broke and re-formed, and Trey and Link came stumbling out into the sunlight again.
Link looked up, as if he searched for her. When she saw his face, she didn’t have to ask. She knew. He would only look that way if they’d found her mother’s body.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
TREY WAS PULLING OUT his cell phone almost before the men reached the top of the quarry. His conversation with the police was just background noise to Marisa, with all her attention focused on Link.
He stood for a moment, leaning against a tree as if for support. Then he came toward her, his face drawn.
“I’m sorry,” he said simply.
She nodded, pressing her lips together, wanting to be sure her voice was under control before she spoke.
“Could you tell if…if it was my mother?”
Pain tightened his face. “There was no way to be sure. I guess the forensics people will have to tell us. But…”
“But who else could it be?” She felt oddly detached, as if she floated above, looking down on the woman who was coming to terms with the fact that her mother had been murdered.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. He reached out to her. Maybe he intended to hold her again, as he had the previous day.
But Geneva hurried over to her just then, putting her arms around Marisa. “I’m so sorry, my dear. I know you half expected it, but even so, it’s a shock. We should get you back to the house.”
“Adam said everyone should stay right here,” Trey said. His face was nearly as ashen as Link’s. “He’s furious, of course. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to disobey him at this point.”
“Well, I don’t think we have to stay glued to this spot,” Geneva said tartly. “At least let’s get away from the edge.”
They settled on a fallen tree trunk, worn almost smooth by the weather. “Are you all right, my dear?” Geneva sat next to her.
“I think so.” She watched Link, who’d propped himself against a tree again as he talked to his brother. “I hope Link didn’t hurt himself. He’s moving stiffly.”
“I noticed,” Geneva said softly. “But he won’t thank either of us for mentioning it. I imagine Adam will get here quickly, and we can get back to the house.”
That proved to be overly optimistic. They heard the police siren in a few minutes, but nothing seemed to move fast after that. She sat in a haze of misery, trying not to think as Adam, his temper seemingly under tight control, went over and over the situation.
After he’d had everything they could tell him, a lengthy discussion ensued over how to get men and equipment to the scene.
“Your best bet might be to bring what you need on ATV’s or at least four-wheel-drive vehicles,” Trey said. “You used to be able to drive right down the railroad bed, but it’s grown over a lot since then. You can pick it up down at Mausteller’s Corner.”
“Near your uncle’s place,” Adam said.
“That’s right.” Trey’s voice was even, but his fists were clenched.
Near
Allen Morgan’s place. Well, that wasn’t so surprising, was it? That house was the last place her mother had been seen that day.
She tried to close her mind, not letting herself visualize what might have happened. But it was useless. The images crept into her mind anyway.
Link stretched, hand on his back, and grimaced. Her heart contracted. He’d hurt himself climbing down there. They should have realized he wasn’t up to that yet.
Adam turned to him. “Link, how about taking the others back to the house? You can call Leo Frost, if you want, but don’t talk to anyone else. Trey will stay here in case we need any directions for the state-police boys.”
So Adam had noticed that grimace of pain. He was being tactful about it.
Link gave a quick nod and came toward them. In moments they were walking back the way they’d come.
The trip down went faster than the walk up had. Even so, Link was dragging by the time they reached the house. He slumped into a chair in the kitchen as soon as they walked in the door.
Geneva and Jessica exchanged glances. “I’ll go and call Leo,” Jessica said. “Come along and talk to him, Geneva. Maybe you can keep him from overreacting. He’s not going to be happy about this exploit. I can just hear him. ‘And you, an officer of the court.’”
Geneva nodded. “I’ll tell him I dragged you along, protesting the whole way.” They headed toward the living room, apparently having decided that she was the one to deal with Link.
She wasn’t. He didn’t look up when she sat down next to him.
“You’re hurting. Can I get you something?”
He did look at her then, and the torment in his eyes cut her to the heart. “Nothing that will help.”
Her heart twisted at the words. “Pain medication, or—”
“No.” He snapped off the word. “I’m all right. You’re the one who must be hurting. I hoped we wouldn’t find anything.”
She took a breath, trying to steady herself. “I’ve been given comforting lies for the past twenty-three years, and it hasn’t helped. Please, just tell me what it was like.”
He looked down at his hands, clasped on the table. He didn’t speak. She put her hand over his, feeling his tension.
“Please,” she whispered.
He moved then, wrapping her hand in his, giving her a bit of his strength and warmth. “The cave is smaller than I remembered.” His lips twitched without humor. “Or maybe I’m bigger. We had to crawl back into it.” His grip tightened painfully. “She…the body was clear at the back.”
She forced herself to think of it rationally. “After all this time, there wouldn’t be much.”
“No.” He sounded relieved that she understood that. “Just…bones. We didn’t touch anything. The forensics investigators are going to have a fit as it is.”
“You didn’t see anything that would tell if it was my mother?” Her voice quavered on the words despite her best efforts.
Link shook his head. “Nothing. Just…whoever it was, they didn’t die naturally. Even without touching it, we could see that there had been a blow to the head.”
She took a shaky breath, and it caught on a sob.
“Marisa…”
She shook her head. “I’m glad you told me. Honestly.”
He nodded, but still he gripped her hand so fiercely that she felt the bones might crack.
“Is there something more?”
“No.”
She put her free hand on his shoulder, and he winced away from her touch. “Link, you are hurt. You should see a doctor.”
“Leave it alone.” He let go of her suddenly, and her hand was numb. He shoved his chair back, lurching to his feet. “This isn’t anything a doctor can help.”
She rose, facing him, her mind stumbling through possibilities. “Something is obviously wrong. If you—”
She stopped, realizing what it was, what it had to be, and berated herself for a fool not to have seen it.
Say something, or let it rest? Instinct told her to get it out in the open. She reached a tentative hand out to him.
“It reminded you. The cave, the body… It was like being trapped in the wreckage again, knowing your friends—”
“Don’t.” He knocked her hand away with a sudden, violent movement. “Don’t, Marisa. I don’t want your help. I don’t want anyone’s help.”
He turned, nearly stumbled and righted himself. He walked away. He didn’t look back.
She pressed her palm against her chest. Could you actually feel your heart breaking? It seemed so.
She cared so much. Too much. Maybe even loved him. But he was using his grief and guilt as a shield to keep everyone out, and if there was a way past that, she didn’t think she’d be the one to find it.
THE STUDY DOOR HAD been closed for nearly an hour, blocking Link out of Adam’s questioning of Marisa. What could they find to ask her? She didn’t know anything about how that body came to be in the cave.
He crossed the living room to the archway and glared at the closed door. Closing him out, just as he’d closed Marisa out earlier.
What else could he have done? Crawling into that cave, feeling the weight of rock and earth pressing down on him from above—it had brought back all those feelings, amplifying them until it had been all he could do not to panic.
And convincing him that backing away from her was his only choice, for both their sakes.
He yanked his thoughts from that to focus on the closed door. This was outrageous. The only comfort was that Jessica was in there, as well. When the DA arrived, she had quickly announced that she represented Marisa as well as the family, ensuring that she be present for any questioning.
Putting a hand on the archway eased the pain in his ribs, but not the pain in his heart. Everything would come out now. He couldn’t protect any of the people he loved from whatever ugliness was headed their way.
The door opened. Marisa emerged, looking spent. She started toward the living room but checked when she saw him.
He suppressed the words of concern that sprang to his lips. Far better that he not express the caring he felt.
“You were in there a long time. What on earth did they suspect you’d know about this?”
She shook her head, giving a small sigh. “You’d think there wouldn’t be anything left to ask me, but they seemed to find things.”
“You look as if you’d better sit down.” He gestured toward the sofa.
She hesitated, as if she’d make some excuse to escape, but then crossed the room and sat down. “Same questions about my father. About anyone else who might have been around my mother at the time she…disappeared. ‘I can’t remember’ isn’t the answer they want to hear.”
“They can’t be sure that…well, that the remains are those of your mother.” He took a chair at a safe distance from her.
“Apparently the tests will be rushed through, so they’ll know quite soon. The initial exam confirmed what you thought—a blow to the head, severe enough to kill.” Tears filled her eyes, and she dashed them away impatiently. “I’m convinced, and I think Adam is as well, that it’s my mother. This isn’t going to go away soon, is it?”
“I guess not, unless they discover some physical evidence that points to the killer.”
“He’s gotten away with it all these years. He must have felt safe, until I came back.”
“Your father—”
“My father had nothing to do with it.” Her temper flared in an instant. “How can you even think that, with all that’s happened here when he’s been miles away?”
“That’s not what I was going to say.” He kept his voice even, although he wasn’t as convinced of her father’s innocence as she was. “Much as I hate the idea of publicity, this story is strange enough to be picked up by the national news, I’d think. So hopefully your dad will see that.”
The anger drained from her face. “Yes…yes. I think you’re right. I hope so.”
“I know you’re worried about him.” They wer
e talking like two polite strangers. He hated that, but it was better that way.
The study door opened again, releasing Adam and his cohorts into the hallway. Jessica followed, ushering them toward the door like a hostess whose guests have stayed too long.
“My clients will be available whenever you want to see them. As long as either Leo Frost or I am present, of course.”
The DA gave her a frowning look, seemed about to speak, but then turned and went out. Adam, face somber, followed, trailed by a patrolman.
Jessica waited until the door had shut behind them before she joined them in the living room.
“I’m glad they’re gone.” Marisa clasped her hands in her lap. “I was beginning to think they’d never leave.”
“They’ll be back.” Jessica shrugged. “They’re just doing their jobs. Obviously Adam is embarrassed that his predecessor didn’t take the situation seriously enough. And Connelly senses a big case to get him in the public eye.”
“You’re looking at it more rationally than I am,” he said. “We’re lucky to have you in the family.”
“I’m the lucky one.” Jessica’s face softened, as it always did when she thought of his brother.
The doorbell rang, and Jessica’s expression changed to one of annoyance. “If that’s a reporter already, I’d better handle it.” She went quickly out of the room, and he heard her heels click on the hall floor.
“She’s amazing,” Marisa said softly. “I don’t know how I’d have held it together in there without her.”
“If Connelly tries to bully you—” He didn’t get that finished, because Jessica came to the archway.
“Marisa, there’s someone to see you.” A figure loomed behind her.
Marisa shot from the sofa, raced across the room and threw herself at the man whose arms spread to receive her. It looked as if Russ Angelo had turned up at last.
A few minutes later, Angelo was seated on the sofa, one arm around his daughter. Link looked him over, trying to decide what he thought of the man. Angelo was stocky, heavily muscled, like a lot of men who spend their lives working outdoors. His dark hair was still thick and crisp, his eyes keen when he glanced at Link as if he knew that Link was assessing him.
