Blind Faith (36 page)

"I had the feeling something was up, it just didn't feel right." His face twisted into a wry grin. "Not even to a Mayberry hick like me. So when I saw Sam running from his house and Richland following, waving a gun, I went after them. I saw Richland shoot Sam, Sam fought back, hit Richland on the head, took his gun and got away.

"While Richland was out, I searched his pockets, found ten thousand in cash. I was waiting when Richland came to. Told him I could find Sam for him if he told me the truth and cut me in on the deal. He was woozy and angry but he told me everything. Said he'd give me the ten thousand if I'd help. I held out for twenty and when he agreed, I knew there had to be a lot more cash. It was my chance to save the house—all that I had left of Lily."

"So you took Richland up the mountain?"

"Yeah, it was easy. Man didn't know his way around the woods at all. Kept whining the whole way. It was a pleasure to shoot him, put him out of his misery. I dumped him into Snakebelly, hiked back down to the clearing, stashed the camera card I'd taken from Damian Wright's room there, and kept going down to Richland's car. In the trunk I found 90,000 cash. I drove the car over to the quarry in Merrill, ditched it in the deep water where no one would find it, and came back here."

He shook his head. "My only regret is that I didn't make it back in time to stop Damian Wright from running. He must have realized someone had been in his motel room, messing with his camera, skipped out before I could get back. I was just starting a search for him when Logan and you showed up that first time, throwing around orders like we were a bunch of buffoons. Then the rains came..."

He shrugged, still smiling. "Lily sent them, I'm sure of it. Without the rain messing with the crime scene evidence, I might not have got away with it."

"It was you. The lights by the dam, that was you?"

"Had to find the right spots. Lily led me to them." He looked down at her with fondness that made Caitlyn's stomach roil with disgust. "Just like she led me to you. Everything is in place."

The radio at his belt squawked. He ignored it, his gaze centered on hers, both palms framing her face as if she was the center of his universe. Caitlyn held her breath, trying to decide if she should break the spell or not. He had obviously just used, was twitching with the meth, what could she say to convince him to let her go?

The radio squawked again. "Come in, Chief. We have an urgent situation at the station."

He grabbed the radio, his gaze never leaving hers. His hand moved to cover her mouth, squelching any sound she could make. "I'll be there in ten," he said into the radio. He touched one finger to her lips, a bittersweet smile twisting his mouth. "Afraid I'm going to have to leave you for awhile, Caitlyn. You look tired." He stroked her forehead. "Wouldn't want to risk another migraine. Don't worry, I've got something that will put you right to sleep. You won't feel a thing."

JD looked up in relief when Hal Waverly came storming into the police station, breaking up the knot of people who had crowded inside. Martin Fletcher, the officer on duty, was trying to write down what the Colonel was telling him while also fending off questions from the Colonel's wife and JD's father. Julia's folks worked down in Merrill and Martin had decided to hold off on notifying them until he knew what was going on.

Which would take him till about next century, JD decided after getting fed up with the officer's stupid questions. In the meantime anything could be happening to Julia.

But Chief Waverly would fix everything. He came in, took control, got the vital information from JD—actually listened to JD instead of blowing him off like Martin had. Hal had immediately begun to dispatch his men as well as the Sheriff's deputies and sent out a call for volunteers from Search and Rescue to accompany them.

"I'll need a few people to stay here and coordinate things," he said as he prepared to leave to coordinate the search himself. "Any volunteers?"

"I want to go with you," JD said as all eyes turned to him.

"I need you here, you're my only witness. Can the rest of you stay with him?" Hal asked.

"Of course we will." As usual the Colonel's wife spoke for both of them. JD's dad just nodded, his face paler and tighter than JD had ever seen it before.

"All right then. We're all on Channel 4 if you need or hear anything."

The search for Julia had begun. JD sank down to sit on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest. Outside, in the afternoon sunshine kids were playing hopscotch, riding bikes, wasting time. But just like two years ago when he realized he'd let a killer go, JD had no interest in any of those childhood activities. He squeezed his fingers around his knees, tight enough to leave furrows in his jeans, but he felt nothing.

Grigory licked his lips after finishing a delicious lunch of leftover pasta courtesy of Sarah Durandt. She kept a well-stocked kitchen, had an admirable set of well-used but sharply hone cutlery and a cache of climbing equipment that created a myriad of interesting possibilities.

"I don't think she's coming back," Max said as he entered the kitchen.

"Why not?"

"Alexi's monitoring the police scanner. Some kid is missing and everyone's going out to look for her. She'll probably be with the rest of the others."

Grigory considered that. "All right then. Let's go speak with her father."

The drive to the café took less than ten minutes even though the SUV never made it out of second gear on the twisting road. "Looks empty," Max observed as they idled in front of the Rockslide. "Whole town does."

There was a sign on the café's door. Grigory rolled down his window and peered out. "Says they're closed for some kind of emergency—searching for a lost kid."

"What do we do now, boss? Want us to see where the searchers are based, try to find her there?"

"No need. We'll go straight to the top."

"How's that?"

"We'll ask the police." He ignored Max's look of panic and gestured for Alexi to continue driving. The squat, ugly building that housed the police station and the post office was only two blocks away. "I'll handle this. You two stay out of sight."

Without waiting for their answer, he jumped out of the Tahoe. Before he could reach the building, he spotted the police chief inside the post office. He turned the Open sign to Closed, stepped outside, then pulled the door behind him, jingling it to see if it was locked. The door stood fast.

"A little early to be closing, isn't it Chief?"

Waverly jerked up as if he'd been caught doing something illegal. Or worse. "There's been an emergency. Can't be helped." He strolled towards Grigory, one hand resting on his gun. Grigory took no offense. Police officers had a tendency to respond to him that way. "Do I know you?"

"Korsakov, Grigory Korsakov. I believe you may have done some work for one of my associates a few years ago. Jack Logan."

Waverly squinted, then nodded. "Yeah, I know Logan. Why are you here?"

"I'm looking for a few old friends. Sarah Durandt for one."

"Sorry. Can't help you there. She's gone for the weekend. To Montreal with a friend. Who else you looking for?"

Grigory gave a casual shrug as if it didn't matter if he found Sarah or not. "A few other members of her family. I believe her father owns the café down the street?"

"The Colonel? Sure. He and his wife are inside. You got business with them?"

"I was hoping they could lead me to Sam Durandt. I believe he may still be alive."

That got a reaction. Waverly's squint narrowed until his eyes were barely visible while his mouth stretched into a warped grin. "So you know Sam's alive?" A breathy whistle escaped his lips. "That changes a few things."

"How so?" Grigory was totally improvising, ready to gun down the lawman if he posed a threat, but this conversation was becoming more interesting by the minute.

"I got a grudge to pick with Sam. As well as the folks inside." He jerked his head in the direction of the building behind them. "Be nice to flush him out. Before tonight."

"I might be able to help with that."

Waverly scrutinized him and gave a slow nod. "You might at that. But I want to leave Sarah out of it. Deal?"

Grigory extended his hand. "Deal."

"We have to do what he wants," Sam was insisting as they hiked the last hundred yards to the Colonel's cabin.

Sarah ignored him, trying to puzzle out alternative options. She wanted so badly to stop Alan and Logan that she dreamed up scenarios more fanciful than any Hollywood could ever devise.

For once, Sam had been the voice of reason, pointing out each of her plan's flaws.

"How can you be so calm?" she snapped.

"Josh is safe. If I get them their money, you and Julia will be safe too," he said in a confident tone. "That's all I care about anymore."

She stopped short, grabbed his arm. "You'd better care about more than that. You'd sure as hell better care about getting out of this alive." She swiped away unbidden tears as he stared down at her with a sorrowful expression. "Damn you, Sam Durandt, don't you give up on me, not after all the shit you've put me through. It's going to take me a lifetime to pay you back for the hell I've gone through and I want you to suffer every minute!"

He threw his head back and laughed. "That's my Sarah. You sure know how to make me an offer I can't refuse."

"If you won't fight for me, then fight for your son. To see Josh again."

"I am fighting for Josh," he said, one finger tracing her cheekbone, wiping the single tear that escaped her eye. "And you. No matter what happens, promise me you'll remember that? And maybe tell Josh that his old man wasn't as bad as everyone says."

He left her, began walking past the two cars and his truck to the cabin. Sarah ran after him. "Sam, no! Wait."

The cabin door opened and Alan emerged, aiming a gun at them. "Just in time, Sam. Come on in."

The stench of vinyl overwhelmed Caitlyn, gagging her. She opened her eyes to absolute black. She was being carried, lifted by someone. Hal.

He laid her on something hard. She struggled, but her arms felt leaden, her hands distant, as if they were floating in space, unattached to her. She flailed, kicked, trying to will her stubborn limbs to obey her.

He'd drugged her, the thought came through a veil of scarlet panic. Said he was going to kill her—was going to kill everyone.

She took a deep breath and a clammy sheet of material clung to her face. She kicked out. Heavy vinyl was wrapped all around her.

Then her fingers found a small seam of metal.

A body bag. He'd put her in a body bag.

Panic reunited her body and mind. Her fingers still tingled but she forced them to follow the zipper, find its origin.

A weight clamped down over her chest, holding her in place. A harsh sound grated through the darkness. Then a flap of the black material fell aside and cool, fresh air streamed over her face. Hal straddled her, his face filled with concern as he stroked the sweaty strands of her hair away from her mouth and nose.

"I was hoping you wouldn't wake up until the end," he said. Brilliant ribbons of crimson and purple streamed through the sky behind him. Caitlyn realized the rushing sound that filled her head was real. The sound of a waterfall.

"That's where she went in," he was shouting above the sound of the falls, pointing downstream. "I can't carry you that close, but this will do just fine." He looked past her to the churning water and a small smile twisted his face. "Yes, this is all going to work just fine."

"Hal, don't do this." Her words slurred, her tongue still thick with the after effects of the drugs. "This isn't what Lily would want."

"Sure it is," he said, his voice dreamy as if he weren't really talking to Caitlyn but to a ghost. "This is exactly how she wants it. How it was meant to be, foretold in the ancient legends. That's why she sent you to me—there has to be a maiden sacrificed. Just like there needs to be a god to save her." He looked down at her, touched a finger to her lips before she could protest. "This is how it must be."