“What do you mean real?”
“For the last three years, the only people who were nice to me or talked to me were dead.” She turned from the window and gazed into Loki’s eyes. “They couldn’t help me, so if you were dead too, you couldn’t help me.”
Loki sat on the bed, the enormity of what Grace was saying knocking the air from her lungs. No wonder she was afraid to talk. If she’d told anyone else this, they would immediately have institutionalized her. Loki breathed in deep and let it out slowly. “These spirits who were nice to you, were they Husband’s other wives?”
Grace nodded. “Mostly it was Isabella, but occasionally there were others. I guess you think I’m crazy.” Her thin shoulders lifted and fell. “I think I am too, and if you call the police, they’ll take Hope away from me.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy, Grace. I don’t see the spirits, but I sense their presence, and sometimes they talk to me.”
Grace turned to stare out the window, her voice filled with sadness. “He killed the new girl too. I saw her in the kitchen earlier when you were talking about going to the cabin. She was with an old man. I don’t know who he was, but he seemed concerned about you.”
“My grandfather. This was his home until he died last month.” Loki knew there was something else Grace wasn’t telling, but she would tell them what she knew, or what they needed to know, in her own time. She’d been through enough, and Loki simply didn’t have the heart to question her anymore tonight. “I promise you, Grace, I won’t let anyone take Hope away from you. You should get some rest. We’ve all had a long day, and I’m sure Hope will wake bright and early.”
Grace turned from the window, her eyes huge, her face devoid of color. “Please don’t go to the cabin, Loki. If you do, you’ll die. You and Jake will both die.”
CHAPTER NINE
Jake rubbed a hand over the stubble on his face and stared at the blood-soaked steps covered with the carcass of something no longer identifiable. “Any idea what kind of animal we’re looking at?”
“A dead one.” Dadron stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans. “And one that suffered horribly before it died.”
“And how the hell would you know that? And don’t tell me you’re Choctaw and you know things.”
“See this leg tendon?” Dadron pointed at what appeared to be a thigh. “Animals, like humans, react similarly to pain. We tense our muscles. There’s significant blood and bruising around the area, which tensing up due to pain would cause. Most likely a large dog, and if I were guessing, I’d say the bastard skinned the poor beast alive.”
“We need to find this sick son of a bitch.” Jake growled, wrenched a pair of gloves from his pocket, and slipped them on. “Let’s get this cleaned up. I don’t want Grace or Loki to see it if they don’t have to.”
Thirty minutes later, they stood together staring down at the large bloodstain. “Any ideas?” Dadron asked.
“Bleach and sawdust or straw, but we’ll still have to explain. There’s really no way to hide it.” Jake picked up his rifle and the kerosene lantern they’d used for light. “I’ll go to the barn and grab some straw. There should be some bleach in the washroom.”
“We should wait until daylight. He could still be out there somewhere, and that lantern makes you an easy target.”
Jake peered into the darkness. Even with the lantern, he could see only a few feet in front of him. How did he get this close without one of us hearing him? If Bruiser hadn’t whined to go out, Loki would have found this when she woke.
“Jake?” Dadron interrupted his thoughts.
“Let’s get inside. We’ll come back at first light, check everything out, and do what we can to cover this up.”
~ ~ ~
Loki woke to the smell of fresh coffee and muted voices coming from the kitchen. She’d barely spoken to Jake since their confrontation yesterday afternoon, and everyone had already gone to bed when she left Grace’s room. She’d lain awake for hours, trying to come up with a way to tell him what Grace had revealed. I can’t even tell him about Grandpa, so how the hell am I going to tell him Grace sees and hears dead people?
The sound of the back door closing startled her into action, and she tossed off the covers and dressed quickly. He had better not leave without me. She grabbed her hiking boots, stopped only long enough to run a brush through her hair, and hurried to the kitchen.
Her pounding heart quieted when Jake glanced up from the notes he was writing at the kitchen table. “Good morning. Would you like a cup of coffee, Loki?”
“Don’t be a smart-ass, Jake.” Loki pulled out a chair and sat. “And yes, I’d love a cup of coffee.”
Jake set a cup in front of her and returned to his seat. “I did some research this morning, and your fake officer told the truth about one thing—a ten-year-old girl went missing from Selma, Alabama, two days ago.”
Loki slouched in the chair and sighed. “If that’s the girl he took, she’s dead. Grace told me she saw her here last night when we were talking about going to the cabin.” She eyed him over the rim of the cup, waiting for the stony face and sneering disbelief. “She also told me if we go to the cabin, we’ll be killed.”
“We may have to put off our trip, unless you want to walk.” He avoided her eyes, and once again her heart began to pound.
“Where’s Dadron and Jules, Jake?” She reached for her boots and slipped them on, not wanting to know the truth but knowing she had to face it.
“Outside. I’m sorry, Loki. He killed Midnight and Fawn last night.”
Loki stood and headed for the back door only to find him blocking her way. “Move!”
Jake pulled her into his arms, pressing her head against his shoulder. “Don’t go out there. You can’t do anything for them now. Let Dadron and Jules bury them before Grace wakes up.”
Loki beat her fists against his back. “Let me go!”
“I can’t. Maybe if someone had held me when Cara died, I wouldn’t be such a damn mess now. I’m not going to let that happen to you.”
Sobs shook her body, and her hands stopped beating as she gave in to the pain and held onto him. “I hate you, Jake Savior,” she whispered.
CHAPTER TEN
Loki pushed aside a tree branch, a sharp coldness touching her chest. She’d been numb since finding out about Midnight and Fawn, and the two-hour walk beside Jake had been silent. Not the uncomfortable silence she’d expected but a mutual respect for each other’s need to be alone, at least with their thoughts.
Jake touched her arm and pointed toward the cabin on the opposite bank of the creek. “That must be it.”
Loki studied the ground in front of her. She didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but she felt it. A coldness pushing her back.
“What’s wrong?” Jake came to stand beside her.
“I don’t know. I don’t see anything, but something doesn’t feel right.”
He knelt and gently brushed the leaves and snow from the ground in front of them. A thin wire ran along the ground. “Trip wire.”
“For what?”
Jake followed the wire, slowly pushing away the leaves and snow, careful not to move the wire. “Grenade.”
A cold sweat broke out on her face, and Loki licked her lips as images of the bomber’s victims tore through her mind like a tornado. “Can you disarm it?”
“Maybe. Give me your knife and move back a safe distance.”
Loki removed her knife from the sheath on her belt and handed it to him. “We could go around it and get someone out here later to remove it.”
Jake was concentrating on the wire and grenade as he carefully dug around it and lifted it from the ground. “We could, but you and I both know Grace isn’t stable. What if she decides to run and comes this way with the baby?”
She watched as Jake placed the grenade on the ground and followed the wire in the opposite direction. “Another one here. Bastard wasn’t taking any chances someone coming from this direction would get cl
ose.” He dug it out and walked a semicircle, bringing the two grenades together. “Don’t suppose you carry metal cutters?”
“Just so happens I do.” Loki reached into her pocket. “Dadron always makes me carry a Boy Scout knife for luck if I’m going on a dangerous mission.”
“I can’t say I ever imagined Dadron as a Boy Scout.” He snipped the metal at the edge of the pins and sat back on his haunches. “They’re safe now.”
Loki studied the distance between them and the log cabin at the edge of Mr. Tatum’s property. She hadn’t been here in years, and she doubted anyone else came this way, either. She shivered at the thought of Dadron or Jules walking this way to hunt. That bastard. What if Grace had come this way with the baby when she ran away? “Do you think there are more?”
“I doubt it”—Jake picked up his rifle—“but just in case, we’ll take it slow and watch where we’re stepping.” He pointed toward a bridge crossing the creek. “That must be the bridge Grace was talking about.”
Loki retrieved her rifle and came to stand beside him. “Please don’t fight me on this, but I want to go first. Someone or something warned me about the wire. Maybe if we’re lucky, they’re still around.”
His nostrils flared for a moment, and his voice was hard and cold as he waved an arm in front of him. “Take it slow.”
Damn his manly pride. It’s better to have your ego hurt than your body spread out all over the forest. Loki followed his advice and proceeded down the hill at a slow pace. Grandpa’s right, I’ll have to tell him about the spirits eventually. She broke the silence between them, keeping her voice low. “You didn’t say anything when I told you Grace saw a spirit in the kitchen last night. She also told me she often saw and talked to the previous wives of this maniac.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. From what she told me earlier, she spent the last three years locked up with no one to talk to, no TV, no books, no mental stimulation, and constant abuse. The mind finds a way to cope, and that’s what she did.”
“So you don’t think it’s real?”
“I didn’t say that, Loki. Trauma can open up parts of the mind we know little about. I think she thinks it’s real, and that’s all that matters. She needed them, and they came to her. Maybe in time, she won’t need them anymore.”
“I promised her I wouldn’t let anyone take the baby from her. I intend to keep that promise, Jake.”
He didn’t answer, and they crossed the tiny wooden bridge and approached the log cabin. It appeared empty, and Jake motioned for her to take the back. The closer she came, the colder she felt until finally an icy hand halted her progress. A breeze carried the smell to her, and she ran to the front of the house. “Jake, don’t open the door!”
His hand was already on the knob, and he turned toward her. “What?”
She bent at the waist, breathing hard. “It’s a trap. Let go of the knob and run.”
For once Jake did exactly as he was told. He came off the porch at a dead run, tackled Loki, and took both of them to the ground, covering her with his body as the house exploded into flames and debris pelted them.
Jake rolled over and groaned. “Damn, that was close.”
“Couldn’t you smell the kerosene?” Loki struggled to a sitting position and slapped at the embers clinging to her coat. So this is what it feels like to be body slammed on frozen ground. She was feeling it now but dreaded what she was going to feel like later.
“No, but I’m glad you did.” Jake stood up and dusted off his jacket, which was covered with pieces of dirt and wood.
“Oh my God.” Loki raised a trembling hand and pointed at the creek bank.
The blast had shook the ground hard enough to loosen the fresh dirt along the edge, exposing a small white hand.
“I guess Grace was right.” Jake offered her a hand up. “We could follow the road and see where it comes out.” He glanced at the burning rubble. “I don’t think he’s coming back, and we need to give the police a way to get in that’s easier than coming through the forest.”
“What about Grace and Hope?”
“The last little girl was taken across state lines. Which makes it an FBI case, even if the locals do get involved. Now that I’ve got my head out of my ass, I’m going to call a friend at the FBI, get them out here, and see if we can keep it under wraps until we find a safe place to take Grace and the baby. So do we follow the road or head home?”
The pain surrounding her heart since he’d told her coming here was a mistake lifted. His “head out of my ass” comment wasn’t an apology, but knowing Jake, it was pretty close to being one, and he’d called her grandfather’s farmhouse home. “I think we should leave the road for the FBI. Maybe there’s tire tracks or something they can find to help us.” She brushed off her jeans. “I’m sorry I said I hated you.”
“I knew you didn’t mean it.” His gaze traveled to the small white hand on the creek bank. “But hate can be a good thing. It keeps your anger focused in the right direction.”
“I’ve got my focus.” Loki picked up the rifle she’d dropped when Jake had tackled her. A new determination closed in around her, putting a spring in her step. The FBI can do their job, but I’m not quitting until I find this bastard.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Grace alternated between the living room, where Jules was happily playing with Hope, and the kitchen, where she could stare out the window and watch for Jake and Loki’s return. What if they don’t come back? What will I do then? She rung her hands together and glanced at Isabella standing near the back door. I should have told them about Mother.
The front door opened, and Grace swung around, her hand going to her throat. Dadron smiled at her, took off his jacket, and hung it on the rack. “Didn’t mean to startle you, Grace.”
“It’s okay. I wish they’d come back.”
He came into the kitchen. “You shouldn’t worry about them. Loki has been in some pretty rough situations in her life, and Jake was a police officer for years. I doubt there’s much he hasn’t seen or he’s not prepared for.”
Grace sat at the table. “So they do this all the time? How do you stand it? Don’t you worry about her?”
Dadron chuckled. “Loki can take care of herself. They should be back in about an hour. Want to help me fix supper?”
“I don’t know how to cook.”
“Good time to learn. Soup or chili?”
“Which one do you like?”
“Chili sounds good to me, and it’s fairly easy to make. There should be some ground beef in the refrigerator.”
Grace took the package from the refrigerator. “So what do I do with it?”
Dadron handed her a skillet and turned on the burner. “Wash your hands, then crumble the meat into the skillet. You can brown it while I fix the rest.”
Grace followed his directions, her gaze straying to the window as the meat started to sizzle. “Why doesn’t Jules talk?”
Dadron turned away from her and lowered his voice. “We don’t know. It happened a long time ago. He talks to me sometimes, and Loki, but never to anyone else.”
“You mean he can talk, but he doesn’t want to?”
“I guess. I don’t know. The doctors say there’s nothing wrong with him.”
“Did he ever talk to other people?”
“When we were kids. We were always playing games, and Jules would laugh and yell at me. How’s the beef coming?”
Grace knew he was trying to change the subject, but she needed to know. She wanted to be normal, like Dadron and Loki, but if she couldn’t be normal, she wanted people to like her. If Jules wasn’t normal and they still loved him, maybe they could love her too. “What happened to him?”
“We were five, and we got lost in the forest. It was dark, and I fell into a well. Jules tried to get me out, but he couldn’t. I told him to go for help. He left me and tried to find his way to the camp. My father found him wandering around the next morning. Jules led my father to where I was, but he’s never spoken
a word to anyone but me and Loki since that night. The doctors said it was some sort of psychological trauma.”
“He’s sweet, and he loves the baby.”
“He’s perfectly normal in every way, Grace, except he doesn’t talk. He can write, read, and do everything anyone else can do.” Dadron took the skillet, drained the meat, then poured it into the large pot he’d been stirring. “Go ahead and set the table. We’ll be ready to eat in a few minutes.”
Grace rummaged through the cabinet for bowls. Isabella was still standing in the corner. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. She’s right. Everybody knows something but me. “Why didn’t Jake and Loki take the horses this morning?”
Dadron’s back stiffened, and his hands stopped stirring for a moment. “Maybe you should wait and ask Loki that question.”
Isabella raised a hand and ran it across her throat.
Grace knew the answer, but she needed him to tell her. It was a matter of trust, and if he wouldn’t tell her, he didn’t trust her. “He killed them, didn’t he?”
“Yes.”
Dadron’s answer was short, and curt. She could feel his anger as he stirred the chili viciously. Something inside her snapped, and her hands began to shake uncontrollably. She dropped the bowls on the table, crumpled to the floor, and pounded her fists on the wood, screams erupting from deep inside.
Strong arms clasped around her, lifting her from the floor, and the screams grew louder as she clawed at the hands around her waist.
“Grace, stop fighting me! You’re going to hurt yourself.”
I have to stop screaming, or I’ll wake Mother. Hysterical laughter bubbled up around the screams, choking her. Mother’s dead. I killed her. Grace could see the darkness ahead of her, just out of reach. Sleep. If she closed her eyes, she couldn’t feel. The dreams would take her away from the pain. If I can go to sleep, when I wake up it will all be better. Her body relaxed, her mind closing down as the darkness claimed her.
~ ~ ~
Loki applied an antibiotic cream to the deep gashes on Dadron’s hands then wrapped them in bandages. He nodded toward the door of the bedroom where Dr. Coomer was still examining Grace. “I’m sorry, Loki. I didn’t know what else to do.”
The Forgotten Page 5
