ShadowsintheMist (35 page)

Grant looked down at me and, seeing my distress, wrapped me
in his arms. “Cats have a sixth sense when it comes to these things,” he said. “He’ll
probably show up without a mark.”

I knew he was trying to comfort me and though I wanted to
believe him, I had grave doubts. But I didn’t have time to worry about Kong.
One of the police launches was making its way toward the pier at top speed. It
pulled up too quickly, sending a huge bow-wave arching over the boards.

“Stay here, Suzie. I’ll see what’s up.”

I watched wearily as Grant strode to meet them. I could make
out one of the figures as Darla—or Pauline—looking decidedly out of character
in a plain black sweater and black trousers. Her hair was whipped into tangles,
her face pale in the dark. She was flanked by two burly men. As they met Grant,
they all began gesturing extravagantly, their faces grim. Grant listened,
nodded, ran a hand through his hair, turned to gaze up the beach, then spoke
again. Seconds later, they separated. Pauline and the two men ran up the beach
toward Spindrift while Grant turned back to me.

“I want you to go up to the house, Suzie,” he said. His face
was tense.

I shivered and pulled the blanket tight around my throat. “What
is it, Grant? What’s gone wrong?”

He crouched down in front of me and took one of my cold
hands in both of his. “I don’t want you to worry,” he said. “It’s just a minor
hiccup. He can’t get far. They’ve got police patrols all up and down the coast
roads and…”

My body went rigid. “Who can’t get far? David? Are you
telling me that David got away?” My voice shook.

He pulled me to my feet and hugged me tightly but I still
felt a chill that went beyond comforting. “Go up to the house, Suzie. Go to
your room and lock the door. You’ll be fine there. I’m going to help them find
him. He slipped overboard just as they were making the arrests. He’d have a
tough swim in this icy water. He won’t be in very good shape. We think he’ll
head for Spindrift.” He kissed me quickly, passionately, then put me away from
him. “Will you do as I say?”

I looked at him—his fierce eyes, the set of his jaw—and I
nodded. He turned to go but I put a hand on his arm. “Please,” I said, my
whisper reflecting my fear, “he’s killed two people already, Grant. Please, be
careful.”

He smiled, that clear beautiful smile that I loved, nodded
and was gone. I watched as he disappeared down the beach, then I turned to go,
having lost any desire to involve myself further.

* * * * *

The wind had picked up, blowing in cloud cover to blot out
the stars and moon. With the flames from the lighthouse dwindling to flickering
embers, there was very little light left. Most of the guests had dispersed. The
few who remained were being rounded up and escorted to their waiting limousines
and cars by Alicia, Colin and two security guards. No one protested. None of
these people would want their names linked to headlines describing a large drug
bust. There were plenty of reputations still in their infancy and any hint of
impropriety could destroy them altogether. I didn’t worry about Dirkston
Enterprises. It had already survived enough scandal to test its mettle.

I didn’t feel like speaking to anyone, so I hurried up
through the dunes, avoiding the steps, following a path through the reeds and
grasses that zigzagged up. This path would bring me out closer to Beacon’s west
boundary. From there, I could skirt the grounds quickly, enter the house
through the servants’ entrance and go straight up to my room without running
into anyone. All I wanted was to soak in a hot bath and crawl into bed. The
cuts on my knees and arms were throbbing and my head was dizzy from delayed
shock.

I took off my shoes to make better progress in the shifting
sand and it felt soothing on my bare feet. I worried about Grant. If he found
David first, there’d be a showdown. I didn’t doubt Grant’s ability to take care
of himself but I didn’t trust David. He might be armed. Even if he wasn’t, I
knew how desperate he would be—and desperate men resort to desperate measures.

I reached the top of the dunes without incident. Here there
was a gap in the iron fence behind a clump of heavy evergreen shrubs, so
well-hidden that anyone unfamiliar with it would never find it. It was one of those
little chinks in security that Leo never knew about. If he had, he’d have seen
the fence fixed immediately.

I pushed my way through the tangle of boughs, bruising the
needles so the heavy scent of pine filled my nostrils. I felt for the gap in
the rails and, finally finding it, squeezed gingerly through. It wasn’t as easy
as I remembered and my shirtfront caught and ripped. At this point, however, I
didn’t care. The thought of familiar surroundings and a tub full of warm,
soothing bubbles left no room for trivial concerns.

After struggling through more bushes on the other side, I
came out in the clearing, only steps from my parents’ graves. It was too dark
to see much of anything but I was able to find the two markers without much
searching. I paused there—drawn—wanting comfort but finding only cold marble. I
was relieved that the mystery was solved but I still struggled to accept that
the man I once intended to marry murdered my father and his own father,
seriously injured my friend and contributed to the death of my mother. I took a
gasping gulp to stem rising tears. If I let myself cry, I was afraid I’d never
stop.

I turned to go but a small sound caught my attention and I
hesitated, listening. There was only the incessant rustle of wind in long grass
and the dull rush of distant surf. It might have been an owl or some small
night creature scouring the underbrush. I scanned the forest beyond. The trees
rose black against black and I remembered the dark figure I’d seen silhouetted
against the edge of the tree line the day Rudy told me of his dream. I
shivered. The sooner I got back to the house, the better!

I took only one step before I heard footsteps running up
behind me. I whirled just as a huge, shapeless hulk burst out of the bushes. I
opened my mouth to scream but it launched itself at me and drove me backward. I
fell and, as I hit the ground, my neck snapped back and lights exploded in my
head. Blackness descended.

I made my way down to the lighthouse. I stood at its base
and looked up. The moon shone brightly and the clouds skidded recklessly across
the sky. At the top, a woman leaned over the parapet. She was wearing a long
white gown and her hair streamed out in the night wind. I felt a desperate
urgency to reach her but I looked down and discovered my feet were sinking
rapidly into the sand. I tried to pull them out but they sank even faster until
I was mired up to my knees.

I looked at the woman and she lifted an arm to hail me.
At the same time, I saw a dark figure come up behind her, arms outstretched. I
opened my mouth to scream but it was too late. The woman tumbled out and over
the low wall, falling in slow motion toward the black, glinting rocks.

But it wasn’t my mother tumbling to her death. This time,
the woman was me.

I must not have been unconscious for long. When I woke, it
was still pitch dark and I could feel damp grass under my back. My head
throbbed and I groaned involuntarily.

“Get up!” The command was hissed but I knew who it was. My
heart began to beat wildly.

“David?”

“Get up,” he insisted again and this time he pulled me
roughly to my feet. I swayed and would have fallen but he caught me and held me
against him, propping me up like a lifeless puppet.

He was wet. I could feel the cold moisture of his clothing
and water dripped from the end of his nose as he peered into my face. I tried
to focus but his features were blurred and distorted.

Without further hesitation, he dragged me over to the deeper
darkness of the forest and dropped me with a thud onto the hard, prickly
ground. He squatted down beside me and waited as my head slowly stopped
spinning and the throbbing behind my eyes abated to a dull ache. When I was
able to focus properly, I could just make out his face. It was pale, too pale.
His hair was matted and his lips were blue. His eyes flicked about wildly and I
knew right away it would be useless to try to reason with him. This wasn’t a
man. This was a cornered animal.

He must have seen my expression, for he grabbed me by the
hair and thrust the cold barrel of a gun hard against my throat. “Not a word!”
he said. “You scream and you die. Understand?”

I nodded dumbly, unable to summon enough saliva to swallow.

He released me but kept the gun pointed steadily at my head.

“You were very lucky to have escaped my little fire,” he
said. “You must be more resourceful than I’ve given you credit for. But I’m
glad you did, Suzanna, because now you’re going to help me get out of here. If
you do everything I say, you may even live to tell the tale. Do you understand?”

I nodded again.

“Good,” he said. “First of all, we’re going to get your car.
I’m going to hide in the back while you drive me to the marina. Once I get to
the plane, I’ll be as good as free. If anyone stops you or asks any questions,
you’ll tell them you’re going to the hospital to have those nasty cuts better
tended to. Any questions?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t speak. I was shivering
uncontrollably and my throat had constricted.

He smiled, a cruel grimace. “I like you like this,
Suzanna—nice and obedient. If you’re a real good girl, I might even take you
with me. Now, get up!”

He jerked me roughly to my feet. I reeled dizzily but
stumbled forward where he shoved me, concentrating only on putting one foot in
front of the other, feeling the icy eye of the gun staring at the point blank
target of my back.

It wasn’t too difficult making our way to the garage without
being seen. We followed the topiary maze, keeping well away from any sounds of
voices or footsteps. Once or twice, he pushed me roughly to my knees when
something sounded particularly close but it took relatively little time to gain
the shelter of the hedgerow behind the house, then the shadows at the rear of
the garage. If I’d been able to think clearly, I’d have realized no one would
be looking for him here. Grant, Pauline and the rest of the FBI would be
scouring the beach and dunes around Spindrift, assuming he would head there
first. The security guards we hired were helping Colin and Alicia round up
guests. As it was, my mind was a blank. I did as he directed and that was all.

We entered the garage from the rear. It was dark but I could
see all four vehicles lined up. I got into the driver’s seat of my own car and
waited, shaking, as David climbed into the back. He curled up on the floor and
pulled a tartan travel rug over himself. I didn’t bother to wonder what would
happen if my keys weren’t in the ignition. I merely waited until he told me to
start the engine and did so. I pushed the remote button to open the garage door
and backed the car out.

I wasn’t prepared for the glare of floodlights. They made my
head begin to spin again and I fumbled with the gear shift, trying to find
first, hearing the cogs grind painfully. Suddenly, there was a tap at the
window.

“Remember what I said,” David hissed.

I rolled down the window and tried to smile at the guard’s
face peering in at me.

“You goin’ somewhere, Miss…er…Mrs. Fenton?”

“Yes,” I croaked. I coughed. “Yes,” I said, more clearly. “I’m…
uh…going to the hospital. Just want to get a tetanus shot. The paramedic
suggested it.”

He peered at me, his brows furrowed, then he nodded. “Probably
a good idea. You don’t look too good. Would you like someone else to drive you?”

“No!” The word came out too high-pitched. “Sorry, uh…John,
is it?”

“Roger, ma’am.”

“Oh. Roger. Sorry, I’m a bit on edge, that’s all.” I
laughed, a sick, grotesque parody. “I’ll be fine. Thanks anyway.”

I didn’t give him time to say any more but put the car into
gear and drove off. The blood was thumping so loudly in my ears I barely heard
the hammer of David’s gun click back into its resting place.

The guard at the gate waved me through and, without further
delay, we were on the road, flying toward Ludington. David threw the blanket
off and sat up. I glanced at him in the rearview mirror and saw that his shirt was
torn and his right arm was bloodied at the shoulder.

“You’ve been shot,” I said dispassionately.

“Yeah. That woman, Darla—bitch! I should have known.” He
flexed the shoulder and I saw him grimace. “Nothing serious. Just keep driving.”

I turned my eyes back to the road. There were no other cars.
I put the headlights on high beam and…he was there, right in front of the car,
standing stock-still in the middle of the road. Without thinking, I slammed my
foot on the brake and the car screeched out of control. With tires squealing,
we careened sideways. The steering wheel jerked in the opposite direction,
snapping my wrist and throwing my hands off. As if in slow motion, the trees
loomed up. The car rose on one side and flipped onto its roof. The headlights went
out and darkness engulfed us.

I was conscious. My seatbelt saved me from serious harm but
I couldn’t move. I hung suspended in the vehicle, aware of the whir of the
tires and the unusual angle of the sky. Inexplicably, through the cracked
windshield, I saw Kong. He was upside down and his yellow eyes bored into mine
as though trying to tell me something.

“Get out, Suzie!” It was Grant. He had the door open and was
grappling with my seatbelt. Still, I couldn’t move. I was frozen. My limbs
weren’t my own. I felt the belt come loose and Grant pulled me out. Then, I was
in his arms and we were moving away from the car, out onto the road.

I was aware of red and blue lights and fuzzy figures dancing
at the corners of my eyes. I was being cocooned in soft blankets and closed my
eyes to savor their warmth.