Lie Down in Green Pastures (15 page)

"You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry," Cindy said. "It sounds like you've got everything under control."

"Yup. You just concentrate on healing up."

Cindy promised and then hung up. She grabbed a banana and scarfed it down as she headed for her computer. She dragged the mouse over to the left-hand side and after a few minutes was able to retrain herself with that hand.

"Okay, Max Diamond, no one else might think you're capable of murder, but I do. And I'm going to prove it."

Six hours later with her left hand cramped from working the mouse and doing all the typing she shut down her browser in defeat. The only thing that she could find even remotely linking Max Diamond to murder was the rancher's wife. Maybe she had been the first, or maybe she was just the only one that had been mentioned in the same article as his name.

Or maybe it's a coincidence and he didn't kill her,
she thought.She was out of options and there was only one way to find out the truth. Her shoulder was a little stiffbut it was her hand and the pounding in her head that forced her to take some Tylenol, shovel a few forkfuls of leftovers in her mouth, and hit the couch, calling it an evening.

She slid her arm out of the sling and moved it slowly. So far, so good. She had heard the doctor say when he put it back in that it wasn't the dislocation that was so much the problem as how long it had spent that way with the tissues swelling around it.

I should have paid attention to what he did so I could put it back myself if it ever happens again,
she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Jeremiah packed his backpack slowly, cautiously. He felt like he was retraining himself. So many of the things that he wanted to pack by instinct were no longer necessary nor were they even remotely appropriate.

They're going to feed you,
he reminded himself as he shunned the box of protein bars. Finally, just to help himself let it go, he slipped three of them in the bag anyway.
Midnight snacks,
he reasoned, though he did not indulge in such things at home.
Or really lousy camp food,
though he knew there was nothing they could serve that would be worse than things he had eaten before.

They're going to house you, inside, and give you bedding,
he thought as he discarded a blanket and a tarp he could sleep on.

And there will be heat in the cabins,
he told himself as he discarded a few heating packs.

He picked up the camp packing list that Marie had provided him with, the same one they sent home with all the kids to help them prepare for camp.
Don't add to the list,
he chanted to himself as he reread it.

Nowhere on the list did it say to bring a survival knife, compass, fishing hook and line, waterproof matches, or rope.Which meant all of that had to stay behind.

He ran down the list one final time.

Clothes. Check.

Underwear. Who could forget that?

Socks. Dangerous to forget that.

Jacket or sweatshirt. Jacket, Norwegian, thin but very warm.
The Norwegians know cold.

Swimsuit. Packed, and it will stay that way if I can help it.

Towel. Ditto.

Hat. Check.

Sunscreen. Got it.

Mosquito repellant. Absolutely.

Pajamas. Check, but would rather sleep in my clothes.

Notebook. Got it.

Pen. With the notebook.

Toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant. Travel sized for convenience.

$5 (optional). Why do they have this on every list for every trip the kids ever do? What could they possibly be buying and do parents actually send the money? Nine kids and me. Better make it $50.

His bag was packed, but he couldn't bring himself to zip it closed.

"It's just a trip to sleepaway camp. It's like a motel but with bunk beds. You don't need anything else," he said out loud.

Captain whined and Jeremiah scratched the German shepherd behind the ears. Marie had agreed to stop by to feed and walk him while he was gone.

"Wish you were going with me," he told the dog. "I think I'd feel safer."

10

C
INDY HAD HER FIRST PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION ON THURSDAY MORNING, and it went well. Afterward she had Joseph drop her offat her car, which was still parked by the coffee shop.

He followed her home. After they parked, he asked, "How does the shoulder feel?"

"Good as new," she lied. "The therapist said there was no reason I couldn't drive, but I should take it easy."

"Do you need anything before I go?"

"No, I'm all set. Thank you for taking me."

"You're welcome."

After Joseph left, Cindy came to a decision. She needed to talk her theories through with someone, someone who was on the outside who might be able to give her a fresh perspective.

She headed for her car and minutes later found herself in the lobby of the Courtyard.

"I'd like to call up to Gerald Wilson's room," Cindy said.

The agent at the front desk picked up a phone and called."Sir, there's a woman named—"

"Cindy Preston."

"—Cindy Preston here to see you. Okay, I'll send her up."

The agent hung up. "He's in Room 514."

"514," Cindy repeated.

The agent nodded toward the elevators and Cindy shortly found herself knocking on the door to Room 514.

Gerald opened the door and welcomed her in.

"You're leaving?" she asked, noting the suitcases packed and next to the door.

"Actually, you just caught me."

"But have you finished gathering all the information for your book about Pine Springs?"

"All that I intend to gather here, yes."

"Were you going to leave without saying anything?"

"Yes, my dear, I'm afraid so. Terribly rude of me, I know, and I do apologize."

"Why?" she asked, sensing that something more was going on beneath the surface.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and folded his hands over his knee. "I had planned to stay for another week or two, but something happened last night that changed my mind."

"What?"

"A man broke into my room in the middle of the night, held a gun to my head, and told me that my time here was finished.I believed him, so I'm going now."

Cindy was stunned. "Someone broke in here and ordered you to get out of town?"

"Very Old West theatrics, but that's the size of it."

"And you're going?"

"Did I mention the gun?"

"But don't you want to find out who did this to you?"

"Not as badly as I want to keep on living," he said.

"But that's one mystery you can't walk away from!" she said, sinking into the chair near him.

He reached out and grabbed her hand. "My dear Cindy. I'm not you. When someone threatens to kill me I have less of a desire to find out 'who' and more of a desire to avoid discovering 'how' the hard way. I did all my work in a laboratory, not the field. I'm not used to being threatened and frankly my life is too precious to me to risk it on trying to find out who was behind it. It's enough for me to know that it's not safe to stay.So, I'm going."

She was deeply disappointed. For some reason she had expected more from him. Maybe it was because when he had said he enjoyed solving riddles she had felt like she could finally explain her own fascination with the mysteries that had come into her life. She cleared her throat and fought the urge to cry."Do you even have a clue why?"

He shrugged. "I guess I asked questions of someone who didn't want to be asked."

"About me?"

He smiled. "I'm nearly done with your chapter, but I suppose it could be linked to you."

"It's either me or the cult."

"Like I said before. Some people find the past too painful to talk about. Apparently someone here finds it very, very painful."

"But I was hoping to get your perspective on the recent happenings, see if you thought I was totally crazy."

"You might be a lot of things, but crazy is not one of them," he said. He glanced at his watch. "I was going to call a taxi to take me to the airport. If you're willing to drive me, I'd be happy to hear your theories and give you my opinions."

"Deal."

"Then let's get going. I don't want to stay a moment longer than I have to," he admitted.

Mark was frustrated. It had been two full days and they were no closer to finding whoever had attacked Larson and Cindy. Nor had they had any success in figuring out exactly where Dr. Tanner had been the morning he was killed. The only places they had successfully eliminated were his house, Randall's house, and the donut shop across the street from the police station.

"We finally got something," Paul said, hanging up the phone.

"What?"

"A neighbor of Dr. Tanner's remembers seeing him driving downtown two hours before he crashed into the rabbi's car."

"Downtown is not on the direct route between the doctor's house and the church."

"And since the poison was lethal in an hour and most businesses downtown are closed that time of morning odds are good he was stopping somewhere to get some breakfast or some coffee."

"Let's start canvassing the local eateries, see if anyone remembers him. It's a long shot, but it's at least a reasonable area to search," Mark said. "And let's start with Joe's since that's where Cindy and Larson were attacked."

"It would be nice and neat and clean if it turned out to be where the doctor was poisoned," Paul noted.

"Yeah, probably too neat and clean the way our luck's been running on this case."

"We can always hope."

Maybe it's time we started doing a little more than hope,
Mark thought grimly.
Maybe it's time we started praying.

Driving Gerald to the airport was probably not what Cindy's physical therapist had in mind when she said to take it easy. Still, at least it was the local airport and she didn't have to drive him all the way to Los Angeles. Her arm really was feeling a lot better, too, and she began to think that everyone was being overly cautious.

He listened intently while she explained what had been happening and what she thought it all meant.

"What do you think?" she asked at last.

"While I agree that clearly it is all connected and that Max Diamond would seem to be some sort of instigator with his proposed purchase of Green Pastures all the evidence you have against him is completely circumstantial. I truly don't believe that in the end he's your killer."

"That's not what I wanted to hear."

"I know. And it's possible I'm completely wrong. It wouldn't be the first time."

"What am I going to do?" Cindy asked.

Gerald laughed. "I don't know, but I can't wait to find out."

"Thanks."

"I can tell you one thing. Whatever you do, it won't be what I would do in your shoes."

They had pulled up to the terminal and Cindy turned to look at him. "Promise to call and tell me how it all turns out," he said.