Carol Cox (30 page)

Melanie’s head swam, and she tried to make sense of his words. “You pushed me?”
Of course.
She should have known. “But I didn’t see you with the searchers.”

“As intended. With everyone coming out from town, no one would question my joining the search party, but that wasn’t the reason I came. I was hoping to find a chance to get either you or Caleb alone, and I did . . . but it didn’t work out quite the way I’d planned.”

Melanie squirmed against the arms that encircled her body. “Meaning I didn’t die?”

He grunted. “If he hadn’t come along to pull you out, it
would all be over now. They’d have been fishing your body out of the creek half a mile downstream.”

Melanie gasped, and her stomach roiled at the thought of him standing on the bank, watching her drown.

“It would have been so much easier that way,” Doc lamented. “After the boy was found, I was ready to head back to town with the others when I saw you coming out here alone, and I realized I’d been given a second opportunity. This time I won’t leave anything to chance.”

Doc laughed, his chin rubbing against the back of her neck. “This time I’m going to hold your head under the water and make sure I’ve finished the job. I was really hoping all the killing was over, but after Caleb showed me that book last night, I knew the two of you were going to figure out what happened with Charley and Alvin. A drowning will be perfect. There will be nothing to connect it to a poisoning, and no one will question something that’s so obviously an accident.”

Fear clutched at Melanie, threatening to choke her. She swallowed against the knot in her throat and screamed as loudly as she could. “Help! Somebody help me!” Her cry echoed off the walls of the cave.

Doc’s rumbling laugh sent another puff of alcohol into the air. “No one can hear you out there, not with that wind. If there’s anyone left to hear. They’ve probably all started back to town by now. That’s what I’ve been waiting for.”

Melanie shook her head violently. “Caleb wouldn’t just leave. He’ll come after me.”

Doc chuckled. “But he won’t find you . . . not until after it’s too late.”

A sob ripped from Melanie’s throat. “Even if you do kill me, Caleb will know you’re the one who did it. We already
knew that you’re the one behind the other murders. If you kill me, he’ll come after you.”

Doc’s voice hardened. “He won’t have time to do that. I’ll get to him first . . . just as soon as I’ve finished with you.”

“But it isn’t just Caleb and me.” Melanie’s voice quavered so much she could barely form the words. “The marshal knows, too. He’s the one who told us.”

Doc’s harsh laugh echoed off the cave walls. “Don’t think you can lie your way out of this. You aren’t the first lying woman I’ve dealt with.”

W
ill shot an incredulous look at Caleb as they neared the caves. “You’re telling me that Doc is the one behind killing Charley Weber and his brother?”

“That’s right.” Caleb didn’t break his stride. “I have a suspicion he may have killed my uncle, too. And unless I miss my guess, he’s the one who pushed Melanie into the creek today.” He stopped when they reached the storage caves and looked around. “Where is she? She said she was coming straight here.” Worry gnawed at him at the thought of Doc being in the area.

“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Will said, reading the cause of his anxiety correctly. “It doesn’t necessarily mean Doc has done anything to Melanie. Maybe we just missed her.”

“Where else would she be?” Caleb demanded. “She said she was coming up here to get her shawl.” Cupping his mouth with his hands, he shouted for her. Will joined in, the two of them calling Melanie’s name over and over again.

Only the wind answered.

From somewhere outside the cave, Melanie heard faint voices calling her name. “Caleb!” she shrieked. With a strength borne of desperation, she jabbed her elbow into Doc’s stomach and wrenched away, scrambling for the cave opening on her hands and knees.

She had only moved a few feet before Doc’s hand closed around her right ankle and jerked back, yanking her leg out from under her. Melanie slammed flat onto the ground, facedown on the hard dirt floor. Before she could move, he grabbed her other foot and held it fast.

Melanie clutched at the ground for a handhold. Her fingers raked across the dirt, and she felt her skirts ride up to her knees as he dragged her all the way back to the farthest cave wall.

He released her for an instant, then he seized her by her waist and hauled her backward like a sack of potatoes, catching her up against his chest again. He wrapped one arm around her body, pinning her arms to her sides, and planted his other hand over her mouth.

She heard Caleb call her name again and tried to scream but could only produce a muffled wail. Her chest heaved and tears clogged her throat. Caleb was out there, looking for her . . . and she could do nothing to let him know where she was.

Doc’s chest heaved and his voice grated in her ear. “Don’t try that again.”

Melanie heard Caleb call once more. His voice sounded farther away this time. Tears stung her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. He wasn’t going to find her. She was going to die. And she would never have a chance to tell him how much she cared for him.

Sobs overtook her, shaking her whole body. Doc tightened
his arm around her chest and pressed his hand closer over her mouth, his fingers digging into her cheeks.

Melanie strained against the increasing pressure on her mouth and ribs, fighting to draw in a breath.

Doc moved his hand upward a bit, keeping his palm over her mouth while he pinched her nose shut between his thumb and forefinger.

Melanie’s eyes flared wide and her lungs heaved, trying to draw in the slightest breath of air.

Doc clamped his hand down even tighter. “Calm down,” he ordered. “This will be easier on you in the long run than drowning. It’ll all be over in a minute. You won’t feel a thing.”

Caleb tried to fight down the despair that threatened to overwhelm him. “She can’t have just disappeared, Will. She has to be here . . . somewhere.” Worry clawed at him like a wild animal. What if Doc had found her before she got to the caves and dragged her off into the woods, or down by the creek?

Or maybe Will was right and they had just missed her somehow. Even now she might be down at the wagon, waiting . . . and worrying about him.

God, help me! Show me what to do.
He turned to Will, trying to keep his voice even. “It looks like she isn’t up here. We would have seen her by now. Why don’t you go on back to the wagon and see if she returned without us seeing her. I can’t keep the thought of Doc grabbing her out of my mind. I’ll check down by the creek.”

“Right.” Will nodded and started to trot off, but he stopped after taking a few steps. “What’s that?”

Caleb looked in the direction Will pointed. “It’s Melanie’s shawl. She never made it back this far.” The realization hit him like a blow to the chest. “Forget the wagon—she won’t be there. I need you to check the trees behind the creek while I look along the bank. We don’t have any time to lose.”

“You’re right.” Will flinched as a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. “And that storm is nearly on us.”

M
elanie arched her back and writhed like a snake, jerking her head from side to side, desperate to free herself from Doc’s oppressive hold. Her lungs cried out for air as she put every bit of strength she possessed into this last-ditch effort. She wouldn’t get a second chance.

Doc cursed, wrestling her into submission. “Don’t make this any harder on yourself,” he panted.

She managed to open her mouth a fraction and felt the skin of Doc’s hand against her teeth. Sending a quick prayer heavenward, she caught the flesh between her teeth and clamped down.

Doc yowled and yanked his hand away, long enough for her to suck in a lungful of the blessed air.

“Stupid woman!” Grabbing her by the hair, he yanked her head back hard, pressing it tight against his shoulder. He squeezed his hand over her mouth again, redoubling the pressure.

Melanie fought for her life, scrabbling against the cave
floor in a futile effort to gain enough purchase to get away. Her violent struggle pushed her back against Doc, knocking him off balance. She heard him grunt when he came up hard against the wall.

She curved her fingers into talons and tried to claw his arms, but she couldn’t raise her hands high enough with her upper arms held captive. Her hands beat against the ground, feeling around for a handful of dust to fling into his face. Her fingers closed over a fist-sized rock.

What could she do with it? With Doc holding her from behind, she couldn’t see to aim, but she could feel his chin digging into the top of her head. She gritted her teeth and lunged, trying to raise her arm enough to bring the rock around behind her and hit him in the face.

“It’s no use,” Doc panted. “You’re as good as dead.”

Despair washed over Melanie in a crushing wave.
He’s right. I’m going to die—right here, right now
. Maybe it would be easier to accept the inevitable and just give in. Her painful struggle would be over that much sooner. The light filtering in through the cave’s opening began to dim, and she felt her fingers loosen on the rock.

The next instant, a blinding flash of light burst through the opening, accompanied by an explosion of sound that reverberated through the cave.

Doc flinched, and his hands loosened their hold. Melanie gulped in air and tightened her grip on the rock. She swung her arm up with all her might, aiming at a spot just behind her head.

A solid
thunk
told her she’d connected with her target. Doc’s arms grew limp and fell away. Melanie spun around, still clutching the rock, and raised her arm to strike again. At
the shadowed sight of Doc’s still form, she let the rock slip from her fingers and clawed her way to the exit.

Caleb picked himself up off the ground and stared around, dazed. “What was that?”

A few yards away, Will got to his feet and pointed to a spot a hundred feet up the hillside where a massive oak looked like it had exploded. “I’ve been around when lightning struck before, but that one was too close for comfort.”

Caleb looked with awe at the riven tree, its trunk still smoldering. Limbs of all sizes lay strewn across the clearing where he and Will stood.

The rain started coming down in earnest, pelting them with stinging drops. Caleb stooped to pick up his hat. He had to find Melanie and get back to Levi so he could take them both to safety.

He looked at Will. “I think we need to start searching lower ground.” The rancher nodded and set off at a brisk pace. Caleb started to follow, then turned back to get Melanie’s shawl. He
would
find her. And when he did, she would need it.

As he reached for the shawl, the clump of sagebrush it lay on began to shake. A moment later, Melanie appeared behind it. Caleb stared open-mouthed, feeling like he’d just been witness to a conjuror at work.

A radiant light spread across her face when she saw him, and the next minute he was holding her in his arms. Rivulets of water streamed down her cheeks. Tears or raindrops, Caleb couldn’t tell.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She clung to him as though she never wanted to let him go,
and Caleb had no intention of turning her loose. Bending his head, he lifted her chin and pressed his mouth to hers. The touch of her lips sent a surge of energy through him, every bit as electrifying as the lightning bolt.

When he pulled away, Melanie cupped her hands around his face and stared up at him with a look of wonder. Caleb looked at her, taking in every aspect of her appearance as she stood before him in her sodden dress, her hair in tangles, and water streaming from her skirts. She had never looked more beautiful to him.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.

A shadow dimmed her happy look. “You nearly did.” Without leaving the circle of his arms, she turned and pointed at the rough fissure behind the bush. “Doc is in there.” Her voice faltered. “I think I killed him.”

Will came up behind them in time to catch her remark. “Did I hear right? Doc’s around here?”

Melanie nodded and pointed again. “Right over there, in that cave.”

Fury darkened Caleb’s vision. “He tried to hurt you?” He stepped away from Melanie and started toward the cave.

Will stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Let me take care of Doc. Melanie needs you right now.”

Looking back, Caleb saw her tremble. He retrieved the shawl and spread it over her shoulders. “I’m not sure how much good it’s going to do. It’s almost as wet as you are.”

She looked up at him with a trace of a smile on her face.

Will crawled from the cave, using his pistol to prod Doc along in front of him. Doc stood and stumbled, holding his hand against a bloody gash on his head.

Melanie shrank back against Caleb. “I thought he was dead.”

Will’s eyes held a glint of steel. “No, but when he faces the music for everything he’s done, he may wish he was.”

Rage of a sort he’d never known filled Caleb as he stared at the man who had murdered his uncle and tried to take the life of the woman he loved. More than anything at that moment, he wanted to exact justice on his own, make the murderer feel the kind of pain he had caused to so many. He wanted vengeance.

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
The Scripture he’d heard more than once from Uncle Alvin blazed in his mind.

All right, Lord. But I sure hope you hurry.

He tightened his hold around Melanie’s shoulders. “Let’s move. We still need to get across the creek and back to town.”