“Gorgeous, aren’t they?” said Katy, pulling out her phone.
She stepped closer to the roadside ditch and picked an Instagram-worthy red leaf from the ground and snapped a picture. Before I could reply, she jumped over the ditch to take another photo of another leaf.
Then another.
I was about to tell her to come back and get in the car when I saw it.
There was a shadow among the trees.
Chapter Three
“Katy?” I whispered.
But she didn’t hear me, her focus on getting the perfect picture of that red maple leaf.
The shadow was moving away from her now, heading deeper into the woods. I wondered if they’d spotted us.
I glanced behind me.
Tetyana was by the car, head down, busy with the tire. Katy and I were several yards away, along the side of the road where the tree line began.
The shadow kept moving, slowly but surefooted, with their back to us. It was like they knew their way. Suddenly, the silhouette started waving at someone in front of them.
I jumped over the ditch and stepped up to Katy.
“Hey,” I whispered, pulling on her shoulder. “Do you see that?”
She didn’t look up, her fingers trying to zoom in on the image.
I shook her lightly. She swiveled her head around to give me an annoyed look.
“What?”
“There’s someone in the woods,” I whispered.
“What?”
I looked up, but the shadow had disappeared.
“I swear I saw someone about fifty feet from us.”
“Are you sure?”
I peered through the trees, wondering if the twilight was playing with my eyesight. I was about to shrug and return to the car, when the shadow appeared again, farther away.
This time, there were two silhouettes.
“Oh, my goodness,” whispered Katy as she spotted them too.
The shadows were standing in a small clearing in the woods. One was small, a woman with her hair tied back into a long ponytail. The second was a larger person, tall and thin and slightly hunched, possibly an older male.
We watched in silence.
“What are they doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” whispered Katy.
The two silhouettes were so absorbed in their conversation, they didn’t notice us watching from afar. One jabbed a finger at the other. The other leaned in and said something. It didn’t look like a cheerful conversation.
Snippets of their heated voices faded in and out with the wind, but we couldn’t make out the words.
“Looks like a fight,” said Katy.
Without any warning, the smaller figure pulled something from their pocket and pointed it at the bigger figure. The man jumped back.
Katy clutched my arm. “Is that a knife?”
We watched in shock as the small figure jabbed the pointy thing at the bigger person, who threw his arms up to protect his face. He looked like he was imploring her to stop.
I spun around to see where Tetyana was. She was now on her back, checking something under the car.
I turned back to the sparring couple in the woods. If that was a knife, this would not end well.
I had to do something. I couldn’t just watch in silence.
At five feet with heels on, I knew strangers often called me the little baker behind my back. But after ten years of Krav Maga, I’d finally got my black belt. And David and Tetyana had trained us well on how to wield any weapon, from a pen knife to a machine gun.
Even if I didn’t have my trusty Glock on me, I knew how to fight a good fight.
But before I could do anything, the smaller figure jumped forward and stabbed the man in the face. The man let out a surprised yell and covered his cheek.
My instincts propelled me forward without me even realizing it.
“Oi!” I shouted, leaping over a dead branch and rushing toward them. “Stop that!”
The two figures jumped back, startled to hear my yell.
As I ran through the woods, they whirled around and dashed off in opposite directions, crashing through the underbrush.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Get back here!”
“Asha!”
I stopped and spun around to see Katy running after me, dodging around the trees. “What are you doing?” she called out.
I turned to the clearing where the figures had been standing only seconds ago. They’d disappeared into the thicket now. It was no use running after them.
I waited for Katy to catch up.
“There’s something weird about this place,” I said to my friend, gesturing her to stay back. “I’m going to check it out.”
“Be careful,” she said.
“Watch my back, okay?”
I stepped up to the clearing, keeping my eyes and ears open for any peculiar sights or sounds. But there wasn’t much to see now.
It was a small, natural opening that had formed among the densely populated trees. The ground was uneven and covered by fallen foliage. I stared at the tall pine trees huddled around the clearing. They stood silent and stiff, like they were hiding a secret from me.
A rustle in the nearby bushes made me swivel around.
“Hello?” I called out. “Is anyone there?”
Another rustle.
“We can help you if you’re hurt.”
It was coming from my left. As soon as I took a step toward the tree line, I heard someone running, crashing through the woods.
“Hey!” I hollered. “Stop!”
I was about to dive after them when a familiar yell in the distance made me stop.
I whirled around.
“Tetyana!” said Katy.
“Over here,” I shouted, waving. But she’d already seen us and was stomping toward the clearing.
Tetyana walked up, her gun in one hand, and an annoyed scowl on her face.
“What the heck do you guys think you’re doing, taking off like that?”
I liked to think that when I hit thirty, I became older and wiser. But there were still days when, in the heat of the moment, I ran into the fire, rather than away from it.
“Hey, sorry,” I said sheepishly, “didn’t mean to alarm you.”
“We saw two people arguing here,” I explained. “One had a knife and I’m sure she stabbed the other guy.”
Tetyana swiveled her head, scrutinizing the clearing.
“Where are they now?”
“Bolted like rabbits.”
Katy jabbed me in the waist.
“Oh, my god, guys, do you see that?” she said.
“What?” Tetyana and I asked at the same time.
“Look over there,” she said, pointing at something in the distance beyond the trees.
I followed Katy’s finger to see what got her so excited.
“Wow,” I said, as I spotted the white colonial mansion set on the mountain slope.
“It’s beautiful,” said Katy in awe.
“That must be Cedar Cottage,” I said.
“That’s Cedar Cottage?”
“It’s the only house for miles around here,” I said. “We could hike from here. Guess the road winds through the mountain pass so it takes longer.”
“That’s no damn cottage,” said Tetyana. “Someone was smoking when they named that place.”
“It’s so romantic,” said Katy, “like a lost castle in the forest.”
A strange sensation came over me as I stared at it. Something told me things weren’t right there.
“It’s an old-fashioned manor,” I said, thinking it looked more creepy than dreamy, but I didn’t want to burst Katy’s vision.
“Now that’s what I’d call a cottage.”
I turned around to see Tetyana had stepped a few feet away and was peering through the tree branches at something else. Katy and I joined her.
A hundred yards from us, and nestled in between the trees, was a small blue shack. A deep gully separated us from the structure. I
t was the river I’d heard from the road.
“A hiker’s cabin,” I said, staring at it.
“It looks so lonely,” whispered Katy.
Below us, the river rushed through the gully. My eyes followed it as it meandered its way through the woods, like a giant moat defending the mansion on the mountains from outsiders.
Thunder rumbled from far away. A storm was on its way. As we watched, the sky lit up with a brilliant flash of lightning.
We were going to get cold and wet, or dead at worst, if we didn’t get back to our car soon.
Chapter Four
I took a step closer to get a better look when a warning hand came on my shoulder.
“The bank isn’t stable,” said Tetyana. “The mud is crumbling. A bad storm came this way recently.”
I looked over at the cabin. “I was sure the man took off that way.”
“How did he get across the gully?” asked Katy.
I swept my eyes around the riverbank. “There must be a bridge somewhere to the cabin.”
“This place is spooky,” said Katy. “I prefer the big house on the mountain.”
“I don’t like the idea of a knife fight in the woods,” said Tetyana. “Who knows what else they’re armed with?”
“This isn’t the Russian militia,” I said. “They were two people having a domestic dispute or a neighborly spat of some sort. Granted, it got out of hand.”
“Not our business,” said Tetyana with a shake of her head. “You already have a job lined up at the house. Let’s get to our destination. It’s not a good idea to be running around at night without a spare—”
A loud bang from the road made us all jump.
I whirled around.
“Our car!”
“Sounded like a gunshot,” said Katy, her eyes widened in shock.
“A vehicle backfiring,” said Tetyana. “I locked ours up, but that doesn’t sound good. Stay behind me.”
Katy and I followed Tetyana as she threaded her way quietly around the trees.
I had no idea why we were being so cautious, but this place instinctively put me on guard. Even the normally logical Tetyana, it seemed, was feeling it.
When we got closer to the road, Katy and I stopped in our tracks and waited for a signal from our friend.
Tetyana stepped up to the edge of the woods, slid behind a large oak tree and peeked out. Then, to my surprise, she slipped her gun into her holster and zipped up her leather jacket.
She turned around and gestured for us to join her. Katy and I walked over, trying not to crunch the leaves under our feet.
As soon as I looked out on the road, I realized why Tetyana had been so quick to conceal her weapon.
A large black all-wheel drive was parked behind ours. Splashed on its side was a decal that read Falcon Hills County Sheriff. A lone police officer was standing next to our car, hands on his hips, a baffled look on his face.
There was no sign of an accident or him crashing into our parked car. It must have been his vehicle backfiring, we heard.
“What’s a cop doing here?” whispered Katy.
“Routine ops?” said Tetyana, but I could hear the suspicion in her voice.
I turned to my friends.
“I’ll handle this.”
I stomped my feet on the spot to make walking noises before stepping out from behind the trees. The last thing I needed was to startle a local police officer.
“Hello, Officer,” I said, emerging from the tree line, rustling up a smile.
He looked up and stared at me like I was an alien from another planet. From behind me, I heard Tetyana and Katy come out of the woods and flank me.
“What are y’all doing out here?” he said. His hands were now on his utility belt, one dangerously close to his sidearm.
Next to me, Tetyana stiffened. I saw her hand hover near her jacket.
Tetyana could be a dead ringer for Furiosa from Mad Max on a good day, and that could intimidate anyone. Even a cop. Especially a small-town cop. I hoped she knew this was when she needed to step back and let me do the talking.
“Got a flat tire,” I said, walking up to our car. “It’s the back one on the right. I think I hit the edge of a pothole a few yards back. They really need to fix this road.”
The man took his cap off, scratched his head and put it back on again. With another suspicious glance my way, he bent down to examine the tire.
I stepped closer. The name tag on his jacket read Jensen.
I’m the type of person who brakes hard whenever I hear a siren in the distance, even when I’d been cruising at the speed limit. And right now, the scowl on his face said he wasn’t about to entertain strangers.
“We just got the spare on, a few minutes ago,” I said.
The man’s frown deepened.
He was in his mid-twenties, at the most. If I had to guess, he was a rookie cop sent to police a small town in the middle of nowhere. He was possibly the only law enforcement for miles around.
But we had to be careful.
Though we were naturalized citizens now, our pasts would always cling to us like a bad smell. Between the three of us, we’d blown up buildings, killed thugs, and taken their money. But our actions had always been in self-defense, to save a life, to stop a rape, to rescue a child, or to set up an orphanage for the children they’d trafficked.
But that was a decade ago.
We were normal people now, living normal lives. Except that Madame Bouchard had sent us on a goose chase through the mountains of New Hampshire to solve a mystery we couldn’t yet explain.
“What were y’all doing in the woods?” the officer asked, squinting at me.
I hated lying to law enforcement unless absolutely necessary, but something about his face told me it would be best to stay quiet about what we saw in the woods.
I glanced back at Katy, who still had her phone in her hand. I smiled at her, hoping she’d catch my drift.
“My friend wanted to take pictures of those red maple leaves for Instagram. We thought we’d snap a few before it got too dark. This area isn’t restricted or anything, is it? There weren’t any signs, so we didn’t think it was a problem.”
The officer turned and squinted at Katy. She gave a start as she realized his attention was on her now.
“Would you like to see them?” she said, coming toward him, her phone held out.
She started swiping through the photographs.
“Aren’t these beautiful? Everyone’s going to love them.”
The cop peeked over her shoulder.
While Katy kept the officer occupied, Tetyana took a few steps toward his squad car and peeked inside. I turned and peered into the woods to see if I could spot anyone among the trees again, but there was no one.
“See this one?” Katy was saying. “It’s a real beauty, isn’t it? Didn’t know they could get blood red like this. Look at this gold color....”
The man’s hands had dropped from his hips, his shoulders were relaxed, and his face had softened.
I sighed in relief.
“Where are you ladies from?” he asked.
I noticed the officer’s tone was almost friendly now.
“New York,” I replied. “We took a break from work to get some fresh mountain air. This is a mini vacation for us.”
“Most people come to hike in the summer.”
I looked at Katy and gave what I hoped was a rueful smile.
“One of us just went through a separation, so we thought some time away from the city would do us good.”
“How do you ladies all know each other?”
“Best friends since college,” I said. After what we’d gone through, we were more than friends. We were family—family who’d take a bullet for one another. But I didn’t tell him that. “They work with me now.”
“What do you do in the big city, ma’am?”
“I own a shop in Harlem. The Red Heeled Rebels bakery. We make wedding and birthday cakes and such.”
“I’m afraid there’s not much for city ladies like you up this road though,” he replied, taking his cap off and scratching his head again. “You must have taken a wrong turn.”
“We’re actually heading up that way.”
“But it’s just woods and an old house. Town’s the other way. You want to turn around and head back.”
“We just came from Falcon Hills, Officer. We’re on our way to Cedar Cottage.”
He jerked up, startled.
Something changed in his face. Was it a flash of fear or a flicker of surprise? Either way, he no longer looked friendly.
Chapter Five
“From what I know,” said the officer, that hostile squint coming back on, “visitors aren’t welcome at Cedar Cottage.”
“We were invited,” I said, keeping my smile intact. “They asked us to come over and stay a few days.”
That was the truth. At least part of it.
I wondered if Mrs. Robinson had informed the police of her letters. She had asked me for complete discretion over the phone. Her tone of voice suggested I was the first and only person she’d shared this news with.
“Oh, yeah?” said the officer. “Strange that. These folks aren’t much for visitors. Especially from out of town.”
He glanced at each one of us, a frown on his face, his eyes settling on Tetyana for a second longer than on Katy and me. Then he looked up and sniffed the air thoughtfully.
“A nasty storm’s coming this way. These roads aren’t in great condition, as you’ve already found out. Not good to be out here at night. My recommendation is for you ladies to head back to town.”
Why is he so keen for us not to go to the house?
There was a woman up there who called me for help. When I made a promise, I kept it. I would not abandon her now.
“There’s a small motel in town,” the officer was saying, “it’s not that full this time of the year. Happy to escort you over there, if you’d like.”
“We’re big girls,” said Katy in her sweetest voice, “we can take care of ourselves. Besides, Mrs. Robinson said she was going to make a lovely supper for us tonight.”
The last bit wasn’t true, but I kept my face straight.
Merciless Legacy: Merciless Murder - A Thrilling Closed Circle Mystery Series Page 2
