Garden of Secrets (33 page)

“It’s no use. Just stop.” Pamela said.

“Dammit, Pamela—”

“Take this.” Pamela handed her the bag with the jewelry. “If I don’t get out of here, give them to my sister and tell her I’m sorry.”

“I’m not leaving you—”

“You don’t have a choice. I’m stuck, and unless you have a chain saw, I’m not going anywhere. Cover me up with the branches. With any luck, if Mitch comes by, he won’t see me, and he’ll keep on running.”

Charlotte quickly grabbed as much loose brush as she could find, covering Pamela as best she could. “I’ll come back for you later.” Then she raced through the woods.

A wisp of white caught her eye, and anticipation raced through her as Mary Katherine’s ghostly figure took shape, beckoning her to follow. And she did. Because right now, she really needed a miracle—and who better than an angel to provide one?

“They’re gone,” Andrew said with disappointment as they searched the cabin.

“But they were here, and not long ago,” Joe replied,
having more trouble keeping the fear away now. “The car out front is still warm. Stay here. Backup is on the way.” He headed out the kitchen door, pulling out his gun.

“I’m going with you,” Andrew said, right on his heels.

“No, you’re not. I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“Fuck my safety. I’m going after Charlotte. And you can’t stop me.”

“Then stay behind me.” There was a rough path through the trees; maybe it would lead them to Charlotte.

They ran quickly and silently through the woods, listening acutely for any voices. But it was hard to hear anything over the roar of wind, the cracks of thunder and lightning.

Joe didn’t know how long they’d been running, but they didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. And there was no sign of anyone.

“We could be going the wrong way,” Andrew said breathlessly. “Maybe they went in the other direction.”

“You said the beach was this way.”

“I thought it was, but we should have hit it by now.”

Joe slowed down for a moment, scanning the woods, and flash of white caught his attention. “Over there,” he said.

“What?” Andrew asked.

“I saw someone.” He sped up, seeing another glimpse of light in the shadows.

“I don’t see anything,” Andrew said, running behind him.

“It’s a woman, I think.”

But as the figure appeared again, he thought it looked more like a girl. He blinked rapidly, wondering if she was some sort of a mirage. “Do you see her?” he asked.

“I don’t see anything but trees.”

“She’s right up ahead.”

The girl was motioning for him to follow her, and as he ran, her words rang through his head.
“Charlotte’s in trouble. She needs you.”

He was either having a hallucination, or he’d just seen an angel. Either way, he was going to follow her. She was the only lead he had.

She’d ended up near the garden, Charlotte saw with amazement, the flowers the only color on the black, stormy landscape. She was still yards away when she glanced back and saw Mitch come out of the trees after her. He raised his gun.

Oh, God!
She ran as hard and as fast as she could, zigzagging to the right and the left so he couldn’t take a clean shot at her, but any moment, she expected a bullet to take her down.

When she reached the garden, she panicked. What to do now? Keep going? There was nothing but open land for the next half mile. Try to get down to the beach? There were plenty of boulders to hide
behind, but could she make it down the steep, slippery hillside?

Mary Katherine seemed to have disappeared, so she was going to have to save herself.

A blast went off, and she instinctively ducked. As she did so, she tripped, her stumbling feet ripping up the beautiful flowers. She felt a momentary regret as she scrambled over the edge of the bluff.

It was a terrible mistake. The hillside was steeper than she’d thought. The tide was coming in, so there was no beach. The waves were huge, hitting the coast with tremendous force, and the pounding was stripping away rocks and dirt from the surrounding cliffs. She’d gone only ten feet when a large chunk of ground a couple of yards ahead broke apart, the dirt and rocks sliding into the sea.

She froze, uncertain of the ground under her feet. If she went farther down, there was a good chance she would die in the turbulent sea and screaming whitecaps. But if she went back up to the bluff, where Mitch was looking for her, she could die as well. She was trapped

It didn’t take him long to see her in her bright clothes. There was no escape. She was caught. Mitch lifted the gun, taking his time since she had nowhere to go.

Desperate, Charlotte pulled the baggie out of her pocket and held it up, the gold and diamond sparkling in the lightning flashes. “If you kill me, you won’t get these back!” she shouted over the storm.
“We can work something out. I won’t say anything. No one has to know.”

“Where’s Pamela?” he asked, looking around.

“Headed to the police department to turn you in,” she lied. “You won’t get away.”

“Neither will you,” he said, aiming the gun at her.

She instinctively dropped to the ground, making herself as small a target as possible. A blast filled the air. A gunshot? Lightning? She was too afraid to look. Holding her breath, she waited for the bullet to hit her.

Another blast followed, but there was still no pain. He’d missed her again.

Or was he even shooting?

The ground around her was shaking as lightning streaked across the sky like fireworks. Lifting her head, she saw the bluff splitting apart, huge chunks of ground falling down the hill in a torrent of mud and flowers. The garden was falling into the sea.

And along with it was Mitch.

She saw the stupefied expression on his face as he landed on his back, as he struggled to find something to hold on to against the pull of nature. But the elements were too strong for him. With a scream of fury, the sea roared up and swallowed everything within reach.

She was on an island now, and she clung to the sodden grass. There was at least five feet of nothingness between her and the remaining bluff. Down below, the waves were churning. She had to find a way out.

“Charlotte!” Joe yelled.

His voice shocked her to the core. How on earth had he found her? And Andrew was right behind him.

“Hold on!” Joe yelled, looking around for something to bridge the gap.

But she knew he would find nothing. There was no branch to hold out, no rope to toss.

Joe soon came to the same conclusion. “Go back to the cabin,” he told Andrew. “Get rope, a pole, a board—something.”

“Don’t give up, Charlotte!” Andrew called to her. “It’s going to be all right. Have faith.”

She wanted to have faith, but the earth was falling all around her.

Joe moved to the very edge of the bluff and eyed the distance between them.

“I’m running out of time,” she said. “I don’t think this bit of ground I’m on is going to last.”

Joe met her gaze, his jaw rock hard. “Don’t give up, Charlotte.”

“There’s nothing we can do. If Andrew doesn’t get back in time . . .”

He climbed a couple of feet down the hillside.

“What the hell are you doing?” she screamed in fear and anger. “Go back!”

He was at eye level now. “You’re going to have to jump, Charlotte.”

Was he out of his mind? “No way. I can’t make it.”

“You can. It’s not that far.”

It looked impossibly far, and down below, the angry sea waited.

“You have to trust me, Charlotte. I’ll catch you.”

He was asking the impossible. He wanted her to put her life on the line for him.

Isn’t that what love is all about?

If she didn’t go for it, there was a good chance she wouldn’t make it, anyway. Her island was growing smaller with each slide of dirt and rocks, each waving hitting the bottom, the ocean taking back some of the earth. If she jumped, she had a chance—a small one.

“You can do it, Charlie. You just have to believe in him. Believe in love.”
Mary Katherine stood on the bluff, encouraging her.

“Jump, Charlotte,” Joe urged.

She slowly stood up, hoping her shift of weight wouldn’t take her choice away. It was only a few feet, she told herself. She could do it. She closed her eyes and pictured herself landing in Joe’s arms. She could feel his strength, his purpose, his courage flooding through her.

Drawing on every last bit of strength she had, she jumped.

For a moment, she kicked at nothing but air, but Joe’s powerful grip pulled her in tight. She couldn’t breathe, afraid he’d lose his balance, lose her, but Joe wasn’t letting go.

He dragged her up to the top of the bluff, not stopping until they were a few yards away from the edge. She fell to her knees on the solid ground, her hands still locked in his.

Joe knelt in front of her, his gaze searching hers. “I told you I’d catch you.”

“I knew you would,” she said, rain and tears streaming down her face as the adrenaline rush hit her hard.

He gathered her up, holding her close, pressing his lips against her forehead. “You’re okay. You’re safe now.”

She breathed in and out, letting the storm swirl around them. It seemed less intense now, or maybe it was just because she was no longer in danger of falling into the sea. She pulled away slightly so she could look into Joe’s eyes. “Thank you.”

“God, Charlotte, don’t ever scare me like that again.”

“Mitch was going to shoot me.”

“I saw,” he said grimly. “I was about to shoot him, then suddenly he wasn’t there anymore.”

“He went into the sea. His face was shocked, and he reached out to me. I almost thought he’d take me with him.” A flicker of white made her turn her head, and she saw Mary Katherine by what was left of their garden. The girl gave her a wave, then faded into the darkness. “She’s gone,” she murmured sadly. When she looked back at Joe, she saw an odd expression on his face. “Did you see her?”

He nodded slowly. “She came to me in the woods. She led me to you, Charlotte. And you’re safe now. It’s over.”

“It
is
over.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out the baggie with the jewelry. “Look what I have.”

His eyes widened in amazement. “Where did you get those?”

“Pamela.” She stopped. “I buried her underneath some tree branches! We have to go get her.”

“You killed Pamela?” he asked in disbelief.

“No, I hid her. She helped me escape from the cabin, but when we were running through the woods, a tree came down, and her foot got stuck. I couldn’t get her out, so I covered her up, hoping Mitch wouldn’t find her.”

“Clever.”

“It was her idea. She gave me the jewelry and told me to give it back to her sister in case she didn’t make it. If she hadn’t helped me, Mitch would have killed me, Joe.”

“How did you even get involved with them? I thought you were going home. I thought you were going to meet me. I went to the tower; I searched all over town for you.”

“It was a complete accident. I pulled over to talk to you, then I saw Mitch hit Pamela. They were right in front of the inn. I got out of my car to help her.”

“You jumped into the middle of their fight.”

“He was beating her up.”

“You don’t even like her,” he said in wonder.

“I wasn’t thinking. I just acted. But Pamela didn’t want my help. After I got her to her room, she told me to get out. I was about to drive away, but I thought I should at least give her a bandage; she was bleeding. When I went back to her room, Mitch was there with the jewelry. He hit me over the head, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up on the floor
of the cabin.” She put a hand to the back of her head and winced. “It hurts.”

“You need to go to the hospital.”

“It’s not that bad—”

“Don’t even try to persuade me otherwise,” he said firmly, just as sirens split the air.

Charlotte slowly got to her feet. The rain had stopped, and the clouds were parting, allowing moonlight to shine down. Her gaze went to her garden.

It was almost completely destroyed, only a few flowers clinging to life. She carefully moved closer, Joe’s arm still around her shoulders as if he was afraid to let go of her. “The garden is disappearing. It’s sad.”

“Maybe it was only meant to be here as long as you needed it.” He leaned down to pick up a droopy rose. “For you.”

She held the flower for a few moments, then laid it back down with the others. “It belongs here.” She was about to stand up when her gaze caught a sparkle of gold. “What’s this?” She dug her hand into the soft, muddy earth, touching something hard and rectangular. She pulled it out with some effort; it was heavier than she expected. Rocking back on her heels, she stared at it in amazement. “Oh, my God.” She stood up, looking at Joe. The same shock was on his face, for in her hand was a solid bar of gold.

“It was here,” she said in wonder. “Worthington buried the missing gold in the garden he planted for his wife and Mary Katherine. It was here all along.”

Joe shook his head in disbelief. “It really exists. Who would have thought?”

She couldn’t speak, too caught up in amazement. Had Mary Katherine known the gold was here? And would she ever see her angel again?

A clatter of shouts and footsteps distracted her. Cops, firemen, and paramedics were coming from two directions; Joe had called out the troops for her.

Then Andrew was back with rope and what looked like a shower rod. He ran over to her. “Thank God,” he said, dropping his supplies so he could hug her. “I was so afraid that I’d never see you again.”

“I’m okay,” she reassured him.

He stepped back, looking at Joe. “How did you save her?”

“She saved herself. She jumped,” Joe said with a proud smile. “
And
she found the missing gold.”

Charlotte held up the gold bar in her hand. The crowd gasped, throwing out a dozen questions that would have to be answered, but not right that second.

Joe gave her a loving smile. “All in a day’s work, right, Charlotte?”

She hugged him around the waist. “And just think, you didn’t want me to get involved.”

“Next time, I’ll save my breath.” Joe looked over at Jason and Andrew. “We need to find Pamela. She’s trapped under a tree in the woods.”