by Marnie Perry
He said, ‘they’re nervous of strangers, and some of them are dangerous wild animals. You’d be best off staying in here with Dante.’ He turned to Dante saying, ‘stay boy.’
The look of eagerness was replaced by disappointment and he wanted to be irritated with her but instead he felt guilty and before he could stop himself he’d said, ‘all right, but don’t pet any of them, okay?’
Her face cleared, ‘okay.’
He narrowed his eyes for a moment as if contemplating retracting his offer then said, abruptly, ‘well come on then.’
She smiled well pleased and turned to go towards the door but hesitated as he turned to his right instead. She thought he was going to do another chore in the barn first so waited but was amazed when he opened a door she had not seen situated in the side of the barn. He turned to her and said and snapped, 'are you coming or not?’
She almost ran to his side and he pushed open the door and stepped in Adela following close behind him. She stood awestruck as she had been the last time she had been in here. She whispered, ‘it’s like a secret door to another world.’
He turned and gave her a strange look then rolled his eyes as if impatient with such romantic nonsense.
She looked around her, her eyes wide taking in the wonderful scene before her. As previously she noticed the varied and differing array of animals and birds. It was a strange and beautiful sight as was the sight of Lando checking the bandage’s on the hind leg of a fox which lay in a box of straw.
Once again she wondered about this man. What compelled him to live out his life here alone and isolated, away from civilisation and human contact? What compelled him to bring these injured animals to his home and take care of them? She ducked her head as a bird flew over her head then jumped back letting out a small squeal, looking down she saw a big black rabbit. She laughed with relief and pleasure and bent down to stroke the rabbit, then recalled what he had said about petting the animals and, her hand in midair, looked up at him. He was watching her closely and said, ‘you can touch the rabbits, any everyday house pet you see but not the wild animals, the deer and fawn and fox etcetera. Understand?’
She nodded and fondled the rabbit’s ears enjoying the velvet silkiness of its fur. She said, ‘oh, you’re so cute aren’t you bunny.’ The rabbit endured her caresses for a moment longer then as Lando began to open buckets obviously containing food, the rabbit left her not wanting to miss out on the goodies. Adela, her hand still outstretched chuckled.
She stood and asked, ‘what can I do?’
He turned his head slightly but didn’t look at her as he enquired, ‘I don’t know, what can you do?’
She was getting used to his sarcasm so ignored it, ‘well as I said, I could help with the feeding.’
This time he turned round to look at her, she held his gaze until jerking his head to his right he said, ‘there’s a bucket of feed there for the squirrels and birds.’
She had begun moving towards the bucket he had indicated even before he had finished speaking. He added, ‘but don’t go mad with it, they’ve been injured or sick and too much food will make them ill.’
She turned to look at him a handful of nuts and seed in her hand. He had said pretty much the same thing to her earlier; she wondered if that was how he saw her, as a sick and injured animal.
She asked, ‘do you find these animals in the woods?’
Without looking at her he said, ‘no, in the street.’
Once again she ignored his sarcasm and pointing down at a small deer said, ‘this one looks like he’s been caught in a trap.’
‘That’s because he has.’
She threw some seed and nuts to a cockatoo, ‘and you rescued him.’ It wasn’t a question so he didn’t answer so she went on, ‘so you brought him here and treated him, and all these others sick animals and birds.’ Again it wasn’t a question so again he said nothing. ‘It’s seems to be your mission in life to rescue and take care of creatures in trouble, both of the four and two legged variety.’
He said, ‘yeah, but some I go looking for and some just drop into my lap.’
She couldn’t help it she said cheekily, ‘I thought you said it was at your feet.’
His head snapped round to look at her knowing she was making fun of him because of the grin she was not quick enough to hide. He looked at her for a moment then said simply, ‘huh.’
She coughed to hide the laughter she felt coming on. She considered briefly how odd it was that after the horrendous ordeal she had endured she still had the capacity to find amusement in something, even to laugh.
She didn’t know it of course but Lando was thinking the same thing. He was amazed at her stoicism. But then as a cop people had often surprised even shocked him by what they could endure, he just never saw her as one of them. But then he didn’t know her did he? He had been basing his judgement on what she had said and done the few times he had met her, and he had to admit she had not impressed him with her common sense. But she had impressed him with her feistiness, particularly during their encounter after those two pretend P. I’s had come calling and again when he had almost left her in the woods to find her own way home. But what she had suffered since and how she had fought back, how she had used initiative and courage to execute her escape that had amazed him. And now here she was amused and laughing, that it was at his expense he chose to ignore for now.
She was speaking again, ‘but that time I saw you when I was lost, you were carrying a dead rabbit.’
‘So?’
‘So you save them and kill them too. It seems rather, well, hypercritical.’
He turned his dark eyes on her, ‘to quote your earlier words you don’t know me or anything about me, except what you’ve heard on the rumour mill. But F.Y.I, I don’t eat meat and I didn’t kill that rabbit, it was already dead when I found it, in a trap, must have taken hours to die. I only made use of it; I gave it to the foxes, that’s the natural process. And talking about being hypercritical, you fawn and moon over these animals but you wouldn’t baulk at eating them would you, maybe with a nice sauce in one of those fancy restaurants you frequent.’
There it was again that reference to her lifestyle, she should have been annoyed but he was right, she was the hypercritical one here. One day she might not say the wrong thing to this man. She said sincerely, ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Lando, you’re right I don’t know you. We know very little about each other.’ But she had to add, ‘but I don’t listen to rumours and I have no time for gossips.’ She kept his eye giving credence to her statement.
He narrowed his eyes surprised by her comment but more so by her apology.
He was the first to drop his gaze wondering why he had felt the need to defend himself but his head shot up again as she mumbled, ‘anyway, I don’t eat horses or dogs.’
He watched her as she worked clucking and cooing to the birds and squirrels, then to his surprise he felt the corners of his mouth turn up in a small smile. He turned quickly away lest she see it.
Adela and Lando worked silently side by side, Adela almost forgetting why she was there in the first place and Lando wondering why he had acceded to her request to accompany him, he had never let anyone into his sanctuary before. He did not let his mind dwell on why it did not seem strange to him.
Suddenly they both started and both heads turned quickly as they heard Dante growl. Two heads turned towards the door that separated the barn from the animal hospital, then two pairs of eyes turned and fixed on the door as a loud knock came to them from the other side.
CHAPTER 36.
It was Lando who moved first, Adela was frozen just staring at the door in horror her face ashen. Lando picked up his rifle grabbed her arm and pushed her behind some crates and buckets. He hissed, ‘stay there and don’t come out for any reason, understand, any reason.’
She didn’t answer but kept her gaze riveted on the door. He shook her arm roughly, ‘lady, are you listening to me.’
She came out of her trance with an effort an
d nodded. He said more gently, ‘look, if it is Hennessey he wouldn’t knock would he? He’s a guy who likes to sneak around and take his prey by surprise.’
She looked at him her brow furrowed but saw the sense of what he had said. She nodded again and he said, ‘keep still and stay very quiet, I’ll get rid of whoever it is.’
Just then the sound of a lock being rattled could be heard obviously the person knocking was trying the padlock’s strength. Lando pushed Adela further behind the boxes as a knock came to them again this time from the barn side of the building. Lando turned and walked to the door that led to the barn and Josie and her foal.
She heard him speak to Dante who was still growling loudly and ferociously. Then she heard a loud click as Lando cocked his rifle then the sound of the barn door being opened. Lando partly opened the door just enough to see out.
Adela heard someone say, ‘Mr. Jon…the voice broke off abruptly and then continued sounding half placating and half threatening. ‘Whoa, now let’s all stay calm shall we.’
Lando said, ‘I am calm. Raise your hands. Now.’
Adela’s heart almost stopped beating as the other man answered, ‘I’m detective Ellis Leyton and this is Detective Patrick Sullivan, we’re with the Mississippi P.D. Are you Jonas Lando?’
Lando didn’t answer that but said, ‘show me some I.D.’
There followed a silence in which they were obviously showing him their I.D.’s. She wondered why she could hear so well, since there were two doors between them. She looked up and saw that there was a loft in the roof space where he stored food, hay etcetera. So the space must stretch across the entire building making the place acoustically sound.
Lando looked first at Leyton then at Sullivan. Yeah, they were cops all right, he could tell by their eyes, cops eyes, eyes that had seen too much and too often. He had that look too, but his wasn’t only from his time as a cop. He lowered his rifle, ‘you’re a long way from home, Detectives.’
‘Yes,’ Leyton said sounding relieved, ‘our enquiries have brought us to Alabama. We’d like to ask you some questions if we may.’
‘I’m busy, ‘said Lando simply.
‘I know you must be a very busy man,’ Leyton said in a conciliatory tone, ‘but it won’t take long.’
‘You’ve come to the wrong place if you want information; I don’t know anything and don’t want to know anything.’
‘Don’t you even want to know what we want to ask you about?’ This from Sullivan.
‘No.’ Lando said bluntly. Any other time Adela would have laughed at his directness.
Sullivan said, ‘now look here, Lando…
But he was cut off by his partner saying, ‘it really won’t take long, Mr. Lando, only we’re looking for a woman, an English tourist who’s gone missing, feared kidnapped.’
She heard Sullivan make a sound like he was choking and then there was a small silence until Leyton said ‘as I was saying, she’s been missing since the night before last and we’re very concerned for her welfare.’
‘I’m mighty sorry for the woman,’ Lando said not sounding in the least sorry, ‘but you won’t find her here. You won’t find anyone here but me.’
Sullivan moved almost imperceptibly trying to see over Lando’s shoulder but Lando moved too blocking his view.
‘We think you might know the woman we’re looking for,’ Leyton said, ‘she stayed close by in a rented cabin in the woods. Her name is Adela Faraday.’
Lando said, ‘I knew there was a woman staying there, but never knew her name ‘till a few days ago.’
‘Who told you her name and why?’ This from Sullivan.
‘Sheriff Lomax, he was talking about her.’
‘Why?’
Lando sounded deeply impatient now, ‘just in passing, said she was staying at Old Cartwright’s cabin for a while, but that she’d now left and gone some place else.’
‘Mississippi.’ Leyton said.
Lando shrugged as if not at all bothered where she’d gone.
‘Would you mind if we came in and looked around?’ Sullivan asked.
‘Yeah, I would.’
‘As a cop yourself I’d think you’d want to be a bit more helpful, Mr. Lando, a little more concerned that a woman has gone missing. A woman you knew at that.’
There followed a silence but Adela knew it was a silence filled with tension, ‘well let’s see, one, I ain’t a cop no more, two, it ain’t no business of mine if a woman goes wandering off by herself and gets herself in all kindsa trouble, and three, I didn’t know her. So I was you I’d go ask the folks in the town, they probably knew her. Go see Sheriff Lomax and stop bothering me.’
Sullivan sounding really angry now growled, ‘some cop you musta been, Lando. And how about I go get a warrant and search this place, maybe find something that ain’t oughta be here, maybe something an ex -cop turned con could make a living from,’ he looked around, ‘if living is what you can call this shit hole. And while I’m at it, maybe we’ll see if you have a permit for that, ‘he nodded down at the rifle in Lando’s hand, ‘so why don’t you quit stonewalling and tell us what you know about this English piece.’
‘Shut up, Pat.' Leyton snapped.
Lando never moved just held Sullivan’s stare with those steady, unflinching eyes but Adela could imagine what impression he was making. He said, ‘why don’t y’all go and get your search warrant and when you come back I’ll be here. But you know as well as I do, Sullivan, no judge will grant you a warrant because I wouldn’t grant you access to my property.’
‘Then how about I take you in and charge you with obstructing an investigation.’
‘And just how am I doing that exactly?’
‘By refusing to answer our questions, by refusing to allow us access to your premises to search for a missing woman, who just happened to stay very close by here and who we have reason to believe might be back in the state.’
‘I answered your questions, and I told you I’m busy, got a mare with a new foal to see to.’
Sullivan said, ‘so your animals are more important than a woman’s life?’
‘Yep.’ Lando said bluntly.
Sullivan said, ‘well maybe your wife might know something, oh no, sorry, she won’t no nothing, her being dead and all.’
Adela gasped then covered her mouth with her hand.
Leyton barked, ‘Pat!
Lando curled his lip and said calmly, ‘can’t you Mississippi boys come up with something a little different, or do you just swap old insults and lame jokes with your counterparts here in Alabama?’
Sullivan stepped forward but Leyton got between them and said sternly, ‘enough now. This is getting us nowhere.’ He turned to his partner, ‘and that was uncalled for, Pat, he turned to Lando, ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Lando.’
Lando stared at him thinking, I’ve done this a thousand times, good cop, bad cop. But somehow Leyton seemed genuinely shocked by his partner’s outburst and his apology sounded sincere.
‘Mr. Lando.’ Leyton said quietly, ‘Sheriff Taylor of Eden town in Mississippi tells us that a cop, a detective from Montgomery, called him enquiring about a man wanted for conning people out of money, who might be in the Eden area. This cop gave his name as Dan Rivers, but Detective Rivers is on vacation and cannot be contacted at the moment.'
Lando felt his stomach drop but let none of his apprehension show in his face as he said, 'what does that have to do with me?'
It was Sullivan who answered, 'you knew Dan Rivers didn't you, he was your partner, ' he sneered, 'when you were a cop of course.' Lando merely shrugged. 'It seems odd to us that a cop on vacation should be asking a town sheriff to watch out for felons.'
Lando said, 'I can't answer for Dan Rivers. But he was a dedicated cop, sometimes he went above and beyond in his quest for justice.'
Sullivan smirked, 'that might make sense if he hadn't told Taylor that he was on stake out for a while so couldn't be contacted. But he's been phoning Taylor every day in case th
e conman turns up in Eden. Every day that is except yesterday and today.'
For the first time Lando was glad of his time in prison, it had enabled him to keep his feelings well hidden. He said, 'I don't know what to tell ya, 'cept speak to Rivers when he gets back. Now, as I said I got work to do.'
He made to close the door but hesitated as Leyton said, 'if there is anything you can think of that might help us locate Miss. Faraday, Mr Lando, we’d be mighty grateful.’
Lando studied him and thought this is the guy who, from what she had said, seemed to want to help her, even going as far as telling her about Hennessey’s fake identities, probably believing that it would help her in some way. From what she had said, albeit inadvertently, he had the feeling that Leyton had a thing for her. But he also remembered what she’d said about there being a spy in Eden, and although Leyton wasn’t an Eden cop he could very well be in Glissando’s pay, either he or his asshole partner. Fuck, now he was getting as paranoid as she was.
He exhaled sharply, ‘look, Detective, I live here because I don’t want to get involved with the troubles and problems of others, I left all that behind a long time ago. I don’t bother anyone and all I ask in return is that they don’t bother me. I didn’t know the woman. I saw her occasionally in the woods, she seemed friendly enough, but I never spoke to her but once when she was lost and I showed her the way back to her cabin, after that I never saw her again. As I said, I didn’t even know her name until she’d gone.’
Sullivan mumbled something that sounded very much like bullshit but Leyton and Lando ignored him.
Adela’s heart hammered against her ribcage as Leyton asked, ‘Mr. Lando, do you know a man by the name of Sterling Hennessey?’
Lando answered without hesitation, ‘no.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yep.’
Leyton sighed, ‘well, thanks, we appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Lando.’ Leyton was either very good at masking his sarcasm or he meant what he said. But Sullivan made no secret of his feelings as he made a disparaging sound in his throat which the other two men ignored.
Leyton said, ‘here’s my card, please call if you think of something that might help or if you see Miss. Faraday again.’
