by Rita Herron
Elsie’s heart thumped wildly. “You killed Hattie Mae, didn’t you?”
He stepped closer to her, so close she smelled his fetid breath. His body also reeked, as if he hadn’t bathed in days. “She shunned me after the fire, threatened to expose me if I ever returned to the manor. Then she took the girls away. And at the end, she grew a conscience.” His depraved voice thundered through the room. “She had to die.”
He was truly mad, Elsie realized. Completely demented.
“Why did everyone cover for you?” Elsie demanded.
His laughter shot through the dark room. “Because they wanted the babies,” he said. “The doctor adopted one, then took one for his sister and the sheriff arranged one for his girlfriend, Donna. Even that social worker lady who thought she was so high and mighty adopted one.” His hideous laughter reverberated through the room. “Ain’t it amazing the price some people will pay to get a kid?”
He twisted a strand of her hair around his finger, and Elsie’s knees grew weak, nausea climbing to her throat.
“You know, Elsie, I always wanted you. And it’s been a long time for me.” His sinister smile revealed yellowed teeth.
A cold sick dread washed over her. She would not let him touch her, not after knowing the sweet, loving touch of a real man. She’d rather die first.
He inched closer, the gun dropping to his side, and she seized the moment. She jabbed her nails at his scarred face, and he bellowed in rage. She threw her foot up, and kicked him in the face, then turned and ran. He fired the gun, but the bullet pinged off the floor near her feet, and she ran out the door. Rain splattered her face and body as she tore down the steps. She jumped in the car, but he’d taken the keys.
God, what now? She couldn’t wait!
Frantic, she climbed out and ran toward the woods. His shout rang out behind her, and another shot pinged off the ground. The third one caught her ankle and sent her flailing to the ground. Pain ripped through her foot and ankle. She tried to get up, but he caught her by the hair then jammed the gun into her back again.
She held her breath, knowing she was going to die.
DEKE AND THURMAN RUSHED to the lawyer’s office, but Thompson’s desk looked as if it had been up, and he was moving out. He wasn’t at home, either, so Thurman issued an APB, and alerted the airports, buses and train stations nearby.
“Almost everyone connected with the orphanage is dead,” Deke said in frustration. “Let’s try the coroner. He lied before about deaths at the manor. Maybe he knows more.”
Five minutes later, they cornered the man at the morgue.
“I told you I didn’t autopsy any infants.”
“All that means is that Hodges buried the baby without one,” Deke snapped. “Now, who has been trying to kill Elsie?”
The man rubbed sweat off his forehead. “Dr. Mires and Burt Thompson were aware of the adoptions and assisted Hodges. Dr. Mires was really a nice man. He sincerely wanted to help the girls, and his sister, Eleanor, desperately wanted a baby, so he arranged the adoption. Before he knew it, he was in so deep, he couldn’t get out.”
“And the sheriff?”
“The same. He helped Donna. But I don’t think he knew about the murdered girls in the basement. Hodges hid things up there pretty well.”
“How about you?”
“I told you the truth.”
“Then who the hell is covering things up? And who killed Mires and the sheriff? Did Thompson do it?”
Franks glanced at the equipment in the autopsy room. “I’m not sure.”
Deke jerked him by the collar. “You’re keeping something from us, and if you don’t tell me now, I’m going to lock you up.”
“I swore to Hattie Mae, I’d never tell—”
Deke tightened his hands into a choke hold. “Tell what?”
Franks’s eyes bulged. “That Hodges didn’t die the night of the fire.”
“What?”
“He was burned severely, and spent a long time in a rehab hospital. I fixed it so he was a John Doe. Hattie Mae shut down the center, and promised him she wouldn’t reveal that he was alive as long as he left her alone for the rest of her life.”
“Where has he been all this time?” Deke asked.
“There’s a deserted cabin in the woods, not too far from Wildcat Manor.”
Deke shot Thurman a desperate look. “Elsie’s worst nightmare, Hodges. My guess is he’s got her now.”
His blood ran cold as Franks gave him directions, then he and Thurman sprinted to the car to find her.
A few minutes later, they’d located the cabin, but no one was inside. The gunshot in the floor, a man’s muddy boot-prints that matched the ones in the orphanage and another set of footprints confirmed his suspicions. The woman’s feet were bare.
Elsie’s. Dear God, what had he done to her?
“Her car’s still outside. They must be on fo Thurman said.
Deke nodded. “Let’s go.”
As they jogged into the woods, a gunshot rent the air. Panic zinged through Deke as he raced toward it.
Elsie had to be alive….
HODGES DRAGGED ELSIE deeper into the bowels of the forest. It was so pitch-dark, she couldn’t see his face, only the shadow of his black cape billowing behind him as he hauled her away from the cabin. She glanced through the dense foliage, wondering if the creature that had saved her and Deke might resurface.
“Where are we going?” Elsie shouted.
He yanked her harder. “Satan’s Falls.”
Of course. He was the devil reincarnate.
She panted for air, her lungs throbbing, her ankle aching. Blood streamed down to the ground, creating a crimson pool. A wild animal howled in the distance. An owl hooted. And the brush near them rustled with the sounds of a pack of wild dogs. He fired a shot at the animals, then shot again and again into the bushes.
She was going to die tonight. At the very hands of the man who had stolen part of her life.
No. She had to fight him. She had a chance with Deke. If she got loose, maybe one of the wild dogs or bobcats would attack Hodges.
He paused, brushing his forehead. His hood slipped down. Lightning struck nearby, and he turned to look at her. She gasped at the full view of his scarred, ugly face. Red, pocked, purplish skin that had been burned away and could never be replaced. But it was the vicious look in his eyes that terrified her the most. He was a man without a soul.
Thunder clapped above her, and the wind whirled leaves at her clothes and legs. He reached back his hand as if to slap her, but she kicked and lashed out at him instead. He loosened his grip for just a second, and she shoved free, then fled into the night as fast as she could.
But he was on her tail. She felt his footsteps, his cold searing eyes, his hand as he snatched her hair and dragged her to the ground. Then he tore at her like one of the wild animals from the woods. She screamed and bit at him, kicking violently and struggling to reach a tree limb or something for a weapon. Just before she raised the limb she’d snatched in her hand, he slapped her across the face. Stars swam in her eyes, and pain exploded in her temple.
She closed her eyes as the world turned black.
Chapter Eighteen
Howard Hodges paced the ground beside Satan’s Falls. Back and forth, back and forth in front of Elsie’s body. But the voice in his head wouldn’t be quiet. He jammed his hands over his ears, trying to drown out the incessant chatter but the trill of her commands echoed in his head, making his temples hurt and the skin beside his eyes stretch with tension. That brought even more pain, and he turned his head up and howled at the starless night.
“Shut up, Hattie Mae. Shut up ad leave me in peace!”
“Tell Elsie about her baby,” Hattie Mae whispered. “She has a right to know, Howard. You shouldn’t have lied to her before.”
He threw his hands toward the sky, cursing her with every ounce of his being. It was bad enough she’d nagged him all his life, then forced him to turn into a recluse, to
give up the girls and his life, but now she’d been haunting him from the grave.
He imagined her decaying in the ground, pointing a bony finger at him, and he wanted to kill her all over again.
Elsie Timmons would have to do.
He studied her unconscious form, the way her robe had opened to reveal the curve of a creamy breast, her slender thighs, her parted legs and wanted to bury himself inside her one time before she died.
Then he’d throw her in Satan’s Falls and watch the devil suck her soul down to the mossy depths of the icy water. It was so crystal clear he’d be able to see her body lying on the floor, see her eyes wide-open in death.
And then he’d be free.
Free from hiding out. Free of Hattie Mae’s spirit. Free of Elsie and his past forever.
If only he could free himself of the scars. But that bitch Elsie had ruined him for life.
Now it was her turn to pay.
ELSIE FINALLY SUMMONED the courage to open her eyes. Water from the falls crashed over the rocks only a few feet away.
She’d listened to Hodges ranting and was frightened. She shuddered, weak and numb from the cold, and blood loss. Her ankle throbbed relentlessly. Lightning lit the sky, splintering the darkness, and she thought she saw the shadow of a hawk soaring above.
Deke. Was he on his way? Maybe following the falcon. She was so disoriented she was almost hallucinating. Maybe he was the bird….
Hodges touched her bare skin, and she shivered in horror.
“That’s it, little Elsie. Wake up now. We have lots to do before you die.”
She had to stall. “I heard you talking to Hattie Mae.”
Rage tightened his jaw. “She won’t leave me alone. Haunts me all the damn time.”
“Maybe she’s your conscience,” Elsie said, grasping.
“Hogwash,” he said crossly. “But she wants me to tell you something.”
His finger brushed her jaw, and she barely resisted the urge to strike out. But if she convinced him to talk about Hattie Mae, maybe she’d learn if he killed any more girls. And maybe Deke would find her by then. If she fought now, he might push her over the cliff. “What does Hattie Mae want you to tell me?”
His nasty chuckle reverberated in her ears. “That your baby is still alive.”
Elsie gasped. He was even more cruel than she’d imagined. “You are truly evil,” she hiss
“What?” He pretended to cower, but he was laughing at her. “You don’t believe me?”
“No,” she said. “I saw my daughter’s grave.”
“That doesn’t mean there’s a body in it,” he said in a singsongy voice. “We only dug a grave so you wouldn’t ask questions.”
Her heart pounded. Was he lying now just to torment her, or could he be telling the truth? Was it possible…?
“Too bad you’ll never get to see her.” He unbelted the robe at her waist and cold air assaulted her as he looked down at her body. “But at least when you die, you’ll know she’s in a happy home. Not that she’ll ever know anything about you….”
DEKE’S STOMACH CLENCHED when he caught sight of Elsie lying on the ground, Hodges perched above her. Hodges gripped a gun in one hand, the other one on Elsie’s robe. Bile rose in his throat, and he motioned to Thurman to move to the left and create a diversion. Seconds later, the brush on the left side of Hodges rattled. As if the animals in the forest heard his call, a loud roar that sounded familiar, like the werecat or lion that had saved him and Elsie earlier, pierced the night. Hodges shifted slightly, then stood over Elsie waving his gun toward the direction of the sound.
Deke leaped forward through the clearing and pounced on Hodges from the rear, knocking his weapon to the ground with one whack to the man’s wrist. All the pent-up anger and rage he’d felt toward Hodges since he’d heard Elsie’s story exploded inside him, and he unleashed it, pounding the man with his fists, slamming his head against the hard-packed ground repeatedly. He wanted to kill him. To make him suffer.
“You will never hurt Elsie or anyone else again,” he growled.
Hodges hissed, scratching and kicking, but Deke was part animal himself. He felt an incessant urge to tear apart his prey, piece by piece, limb by limb. He’d leave nothing but bare bone for the other animals to feast on.
Hodges kicked him in the shin, and they rolled several times until they lay at the edge of the cliff overlooking the waterfalls. Deke shoved him closer, until his head dangled over the precipice. Hodges deserved to be thrown into the pit and left to rot.
But Elsie’s voice brought him back to reality. “Don’t, Deke. Let him go to jail.”
Thurman gripped his arm. “Come on, Deke, let me handcuff him. Go take care of the woman.”
The woman?
His woman. Elsie. She was all that mattered.
Reality weaved its way through his irrational need for revenge. Hodges could rot in jail. Death was too quick and easy.
He dragged the sick bastard to his feet, then shoved him toward Thurman. The agent handcuffed him while Deke raced to Elsie. She was shaking and cold, fumbling to tie her robe closed. He gritted his teeth and tied it for her.
Blood stained the ice below her foot. He cupped her face in his hands. “Are you
Her teeth chattered. “I am, now that you’re here.”
He jerked off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, then examined her wound. The bullet had missed the bone around her ankle but hit the surrounding tissue. He tore off his shirt and T-shirt and tied the T-shirt around the wound, then jerked his shirt back on and lifted her in his arms.
Hodges cursed and shouted, making empty threats, his words almost incoherent. Thurman shoved Hodges toward the path that led to his car, then into the backseat.
Deke followed, hugging Elsie to him, grateful she was alive. Although part of him still wanted to kill Hodges….
THE NEXT TWENTY-FOUR HOURS passed in a blur. Elsie relayed Hodges’s declaration that her baby was alive, and Deke promised to check it out. She wanted to be there when he dug up the grave, but he insisted on taking her to the hospital first. Thankfully, the bullet hadn’t lodged too deeply, and they removed it and bandaged her foot. They’d also cleaned up the scratches on her body, treated her for frostbite and forced her into bed to rest because she’d suffered a slight concussion.
The medication and head injury made her woozy and weak. But as she drifted to sleep, she thought of Deke. He had been quiet on the ride to the hospital, almost withdrawn. He was probably thinking about ending the case and going back to Colorado and his family. Was there any place for her in his life?
When she woke up two hours later, Deke sat at the foot of her bed, an odd expression on his face. Not a smile. And he didn’t move to touch her.
“Elsie, I did as you asked.”
Oh, God…her baby. “And?”
He cleared his throat, then glanced down at his hands where he gripped them. Although they looked clean, dirt particles were embedded beneath his nails. He had dug up the grave, partly with his bare hands.
“It’s okay, just tell me the truth, Deke.” She inhaled for courage, glad he’d spared her the ordeal of watching. She couldn’t have stood seeing the tiny grave open, and her baby’s bones inside.
He squeezed her hand. “The grave was empty.”
Relief poured through her, as well as anger toward Hodges, Hattie Mae and that social worker. “I told them I wanted to keep my baby,” she whispered, tears flowing down her face. “I told them and they took her anyway.” Her voice broke. “How could they have been so cruel to make me believe she died?”
Deke shook his head as if he couldn’t understand the cruelty, either. “Hodges will face charges of kidnapping along with murder.”
“I don’t know what to do now,” she said honestly.
Deke stroked her cheek. “I’ll help you look for your daughter if you want.”
She tugged the sheet around her, a million questions racing through her head. Should she track down her c
hild and let her know that she loved her? What if her daughter wanted nothing to do with her? What if she uprooted her happy life? What if she was’t happy, what if the family she’d been given to hadn’t been good to her?
Elsie had to know the truth.
She couldn’t have her daughter go through life thinking her birth mother hadn’t wanted her, that she’d abandoned her, that she was unloved. Not the way Elsie had.
But it wouldn’t be fair to Deke to drag him into another mess.
“I need some time alone, to think,” she whispered.
DEKE HEARD THE WORDS and tensed. She needed time alone. Just as she’d said in her note to him. He’d tried to make himself believe that Hodges had forced her to write that goodbye letter, but the words had been hers.
“You’ve done so much for me already, Deke. I can’t ask you for anything more.”
He hesitated, a sharp pain stabbing his heart. Elsie had no idea what digging up that grave had done to him. He’d been a wreck himself, praying the baby was still alive. He hadn’t wanted to come back and relay more bad news. But the fact that Hodges had robbed her of her own child for all these years had nearly driven him crazy with anger. His hands shook now just thinking about the injustice. And wondering where her little girl was… How could Elsie stand the deception? And now the uncertainty…
“I want to take you back to see Deanna,” he said in a gruff voice. “That is, unless you’re still hell-bent on opening that center at the manor first.”
She shuddered. “I’m glad Hodges is in jail,” Elsie said softly. “And that we know the truth. But I think it’s time to put the past behind me.”
Except for the little girl…he knew she couldn’t let that go. And neither could he. “What about the teen center?”
“I still intend to build a teen center, but not there, not with all the sordid history. The children, they don’t need to have the legacy of death, the ghosts around them. The scent of bodies in the wall.”
“I think you’re right.”
“I’m ready to move forward now,” she said. “To meet my mother.” A look of courage lit her face. He’d never known a woman as brave as Elsie.
