The Night Is Forever (13 page)

“Wow!” Joey whispered.

“Let’s go around. Maybe they won’t bolt,” Olivia said.

They skirted the high pines, giving the doe and her fawn a wide berth. The doe looked up and stared at them. For a moment, her instinct and fear were visible. But she didn’t move. She studied them, then went back to her nibbling. They guided their horses around her.

Dustin didn’t see exactly what happened next. He heard something—a whizzing sound in the air.

Shiloh let out a snort of terror and reared up. Olivia calmed him quickly, and turned to look at Dustin and Joey.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Fine,” Joey said. “What was that?”

“I don’t know. The world’s biggest bee, maybe.” Olivia was in control, but Dustin saw that she was shaken. He heard rustling. It seemed to come from behind them.

He turned Chapparal. The horse could whirl around on a dime—good thing for him at the moment. The trail was narrow here, but led back to the trees. The doe and her fawn were no longer there; they’d obviously been spooked. He kept moving, inspecting the trail on the other side. He didn’t see anything, but when he dismounted, he discovered that the ground had been disturbed and a number of low-hanging branches were broken. He continued to follow the trail, leaving Olivia and Joey behind. He heard Joey call out and paused, wanting to take his investigation all the way to the road—but afraid to leave the two of them alone in the forest where something had, apparently, flown through the air with the speed of a bullet.

Had
it been a bullet?

And had Olivia been a target?

Frustrated, he rode back to where Olivia and Joey waited for him.

“Nothing,” he said with a shrug.

“Weird!” Joey said. “A small bird. That’s what it looked like from here. A dive-bombing bird.”

“You saw it?” Dustin asked.

“Well, not exactly. I just
heard
something.... And I thought I saw something whiz by close to Liv and Shiloh—a really fast bird, like I said—but I don’t know for sure. Maybe—”

“We’ve got to head back,” Olivia broke in. “I have another session this afternoon.”

“Not riding?” Dustin realized his tone was sharper than he’d intended.

“No, just in the pasture. A group session.”

“We get to stay until five,” Joey said. “Double with me against Sean and Matt at Ping-Pong?” he asked Dustin.

“Okay. I’ll hang around,” Dustin said, looking at Olivia. She showed no reaction, and he couldn’t decide whether he was disappointed or relieved.

As they rode back, Dustin kept watch on everything around them, still uneasy about the flying object that had whizzed by them all.

It hadn’t been the world’s biggest bee.

Or a dive-bombing bird.

But neither, he thought, had it been a bullet. So what the hell...?

True to her word, she allowed Joey and the horses their time to run. Then they returned to the stables. As good “guests,” he and Joey took care of their mounts. Joey was happy to give Trickster the promised apple. Dustin enjoyed watching him with the horse as he assured Trickster that it was
much
better to have an apple at the end of a ride than munch on lousy grass during it.

He was still at the stables when Olivia went out with her next group; he wanted to keep an eye on her. But since she was surrounded by several people, he determined that she was going to be all right.

If something was going to “happen” to her it wouldn’t be here—in front of others.

Joey was waiting impatiently for him to play Ping-Pong. He decided he might as well oblige now.

Matt and Sean were there, too, eager to take them on. Dustin played the game, paying heed to what was going on around him, as well. Sandra Cheever swept by, telling them all, in her usual curt tones, to play fair, and marched into Aaron’s office.

He thought he heard the two of them arguing.

When he and Joey took the game by a single point, he went to get coffee, trying to listen to what was being said in Aaron’s office.

Sandra was speaking heatedly. Aaron was arguing with her in a soft, restrained voice.

“Boy, and they’re supposed to be teaching
us
to get along!” Matt said sarcastically, coming up beside him.

Dustin grimaced. “Have they been at it all afternoon?”

“No.” Matt frowned. “I don’t think they were here. In fact, I know they weren’t. Aaron showed up about an hour ago and said hello to all of us. That was odd, ’cause usually there’s someone in the office all the time—when it’s open, I mean. Hey, rematch?”

“Sure, just give me a minute,” Dustin told him. “I’ll meet you in the games room.”

Matt nodded and sauntered off, and Dustin moved closer to the door. “It’s wrong. It’s just wrong!” Sandra Cheever was saying.

“Look, it is what it is,” he heard Aaron reply.

“Not necessarily,” Sandra said. “You’re going to have to take steps.”

He didn’t get a chance to hear any more. Mariah Naughton came breezing in. “Hey, there, Secret Agent Man. I’m thrilled you guys are coming on the camping trip. Liv sometimes comes along, and I love it when she does. I guarantee that you’ll have a good time.”

“I hear you tell great ghost stories.”

She waved a hand. “Oh, well, the area’s full of them. I don’t tell anything new. You know all about the general, I take it, since you’re from around here.”

“I’m certainly familiar with him.”

“Nashville has great ghost stories, too!” she said enthusiastically.

He nodded in response and she grinned. “Well, I hope we’re giving you the rest and relaxation you were looking for.”

“Definitely. I’m falling in love with horses all over again.”

“Well, that’s great, but...you have to fall in love with yourself again, too. That’s part of it.”

“I’m on my way to finding out what I need,” he assured her.

The door to the office flew open. Sandra Cheever burst out, looking somewhat flustered. Seeing the two of them, she regained her composure quickly. “You’re finished with your sessions for the day?” she asked Mariah.

“Yes, all done.”

“Well, good.” Sandra turned to Dustin. “As soon as Olivia comes in, we’ll close the office.”

“Where’s Mason?” Mariah asked.

“He had some business in Nashville this afternoon.” Sandra shook her head. “I’m ready to go home! This has been a long day and I’m exhausted.”

She turned abruptly and left them. A minute later, Olivia came in. Before she could speak, Aaron hurried out of his office. “Hey, Liv. I’ve got the keys to Marcus’s house, if you want them. You don’t have to take them today, but I was thinking you might want to get those locks changed. Who knows how many keys Marcus might’ve had made to give to friends—or strangers!—who needed a place to stay.”

“Thanks, Aaron. I will take them. I—I...think I’ll go by and just take a look at the place,” Olivia said.

While she was with Aaron, Dustin sent a text to the office in Virginia, asking for Marcus’s address and directions to his house. He didn’t want to head out with Olivia.

But he’d be damned if he’d let her go to that house alone. The Ping-Pong rematch would have to wait.

* * *

Marcus Danby’s small ranch house really had no historic significance. It was little more than an extended log cabin with only one floor.

The front door opened into a small hallway; immediately to the right was the kitchen and beyond that a spacious living-dining area. Marcus had furnished it with quilted throws and handcrafted furniture. There was Native American art on the walls and various sculptures; he’d loved dream catchers and there were a number of them scattered about.

Olivia stepped into the living room, switched on a light and looked around. “Marcus?” she said aloud.

There was no answer.

A fine layer of dust was beginning to form on the furniture and objects. Other than that, it was just as Marcus had left it. Or so it appeared. Olivia glanced at the hall that led to the three small bedrooms. One he’d kept as a guest room, one was an office and one was his own.

She walked into the living room and sat on one of the sofas. A quilt—hand-stitched by the grandmother of one of their guests who’d proven to be a success story—was draped over a sofa. The sofa had also been handcrafted by another former guest who’d started a furniture-making business. Marcus had always helped out, not just with his talks and the Horse Farm, but also by supporting those who were trying to make a new life for themselves.

She looked at the coffee table, carved from the trunk of an old tree. There were a number of colored pages on it—drawings done by some of the boys who’d stayed at Parsonage House.

“So, you’re being a jerk as a ghost, but you were one hell of a good guy, Marcus,” she said. She studied the drawings. She knew the boys were sometimes asked to draw what they saw as the demons of their pasts, and sometimes they were asked to draw what they saw as their futures.

She picked up one that Joey had done. It was actually a good drawing. He’d portrayed a gaping black hole with demon eyes and razor-sharp teeth reaching into a sunlit room where he sat at a desk. Emptiness. Joey feared the emptiness of his life, she thought.

Hearing a sound behind her, Olivia started, jumping to her feet and whirling around in one motion.

It was Dustin. He still wore his casual tweed jacket over a denim shirt and the jeans he’d been wearing earlier.

Somehow, she’d known that he’d come. He would come because Malachi had sent him here and because protecting her was part of his job description.

She was glad he was there. He seemed to fill a room—an area, even in the midst of a forest or pasture—with confidence, with strength, like an invulnerable bastion.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked her, clearly irritated.

So much for being glad to see him.

“I’m looking around Marcus’s house,” she said. “My house,” she added.

“You didn’t even lock the door!” he admonished.

She flushed. She hadn’t thought to lock the door; she wasn’t accustomed to being worried about her every move.

“I knew you were coming,” she told him.

“You didn’t know who else might be coming,” he said, still aggravated. He started walking into the house.

To her amusement, he suddenly tripped. A corner of the rug stretched out on the hardwood floor had curled back.

Straightening, he swore softly.

“He has no right to be rude to you!” Olivia heard.

Turning around, she saw that the ghost of Marcus Danby had decided to join them.

“Rude!” Dustin snapped. “What the hell? I’m trying to keep her from getting killed, and you don’t seem to be helping a whole lot!”

Olivia turned again to look at Dustin, who was staring at Marcus.

“You see him,” she breathed.

“Of course I see him. And hear him. And, Mr. Danby, under the circumstances, it’s about time you stuck around to meet me,” Dustin said. “I need to know everything about you and everything you did on the day you were killed. Your memory might be the only thing that can keep Olivia alive.”

Marcus, startled—and offended—made his ghostly way across the room to stand in front of Dustin. “You—you’re FBI.
You
have to find the truth of this.
I’m
not the one putting Olivia in danger.”

“You put her in danger the minute you dragged her into this!” Dustin snapped.

“Hey, someone killed me! It’s not just Olivia’s life that’s at stake. The Horse Farm itself is.”

“So, you’d get her killed, as well?”

“She could hear me. I had to tell someone the truth.”

“Excuse me,” she began.

But neither seemed to hear her.

“You need to be worried about her safety before anything else,” Dustin was saying.

“And you have to find my killer,” Marcus countered. “That’ll keep her out of danger.”

“But you obviously have the information we need.”

“No. You’re the one with all the advantages. You’re the one—”

“Yeah?”

“You’re the one who’s...alive.”

7

M
arcus’s final statement apparently won the argument. Within minutes, he and Olivia were seated on the sofa, while Dustin was in a wing-back chair across the coffee table from them.

Olivia and Dustin had coffee—black. Marcus had told them the coffee was fine, but since he’d been dead for a while now, the milk probably wasn’t so good. Olivia should throw it out.

Marcus went over the day of his death with Dustin; Dustin asked for details but Marcus really couldn’t tell them anything they didn’t already know. Dustin pressed him, anyway.

“Okay, you heard the dog from the woods and you went to find him. That’s the last you remember?” Dustin asked.

“Yes, I just said that,” Marcus replied in an exasperated tone.

“Which woods? Where were you
exactly?
”

“I don’t know
exactly
.... There’s a riding trail—the only real
trail.
You’ll see little paths here and there, but if you were on horseback, you’d have to take the trail. That’s where I was.”

“And it was daylight, correct?”

“Yes. Although it was a little overcast. The canopy of the pines and the other trees can create this green darkness that’s almost surreal. When we have fog, it’s like being in a fantasyland,” Marcus said.

Dustin ignored his lyrical description. “How far had you gone in?” he asked briskly.

“A hundred yards or so? I’d reached the copse.”

“And then?”

“Then I don’t remember.”

“Did you feel a pain in your head? A prick in your arm? Anything that would explain how you lost consciousness?”

“No... Yes! Maybe. I thought I’d been stung by a bee...or gotten a spider bite. Something like that. Something you don’t even pay attention to,” Marcus said.

“The medical examiner has released the information that there were drugs in your system. We have to figure out how they got there,” Dustin said.

“Well, there’s nothing in this house, I can assure you of that,” Marcus responded indignantly.

Dustin looked at Olivia. “And tomorrow, at work, you should say that you searched all over the house and you didn’t find anything—but that you’re resigned to the fact that Marcus must have suffered a relapse and hidden his stash in the forest somewhere,” he said.

“What?” Marcus demanded indignantly.

“Someone tried to get into Olivia’s home last night, Marcus,” Dustin told him.

“Oh. Oh, no!” Marcus said, giving Olivia an anguished look.

“I thought you were coming back,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, I meant to, but...”

“But what?”

“I made some discoveries.”

“Like what?” Dustin asked.

“I never knew Aaron and Sandra were sleeping together,” Marcus said.

“You were
spying
on them?” Olivia shook her head in disgust.

“Not the way you think. I...went to the Horse Farm and Aaron was still there. I went—” He paused. There was an air of sadness about him that seemed palpable. “I went out to see the horses. Big Orange Cat was hanging around in Zeus’s stall, and I swear that animal could feel me there, feel me pet him. That’s a great cat, Agent—if you’re thinking of adopting.”

“He’s a great mouser, too, Marcus. Good in the stables,” Olivia pointed out.

“But he’s special. Ah, hell, they’re all special.” Marcus sighed.

“Marcus,” Dustin said, steering him back. “When you were at the stables last night, did you see Sydney or Drew?”

“No, but they were in their apartments,” Marcus answered.

“Both apartments are upstairs. Sydney’s is above the stable office and Drew’s is over the tack room,” Olivia clarified for Dustin’s benefit.

“How did you know they were in their rooms? Did you go up?” Dustin asked.

“I could hear Drew playing an old Beatles album. Sydney was watching that reality show about people who own wildly expensive collectibles and don’t even know it,” Marcus said.

“But you didn’t actually
see
either of them.”

“No, because when I was in the stables, I heard noise over at the main office, so I went there.”

“And did you see Aaron and Sandra?”

“Yes. I’m not sure where Sandra came from. She might have stayed there after closing. Maybe she was just doing paperwork in the peace and quiet and fell asleep on one of the sofas. I’ve seen Sandra stay over to do paperwork and reports occasionally. Aaron drove in.”

“Sandra said she was going straight home,” Dustin said.

Marcus shrugged in response.

“What time?” Olivia asked him.

He looked at her curiously. “Time...” he repeated slowly.

“Yes, what time was it?”

“I don’t really know. It’s really not much of a concept to me anymore.”

“Does that explain why you didn’t come back to my house last night?”

Marcus seemed stricken by the reminder. “I am so sorry.”

“You really can’t help her, Marcus,” Dustin said.

“I beg your pardon? I can warn her—”

“Yes, but, you’re right. The responsibility falls to me. As you pointed out, I’m the one who’s living.”

Olivia wanted to pat Marcus’s leg and remembered that she couldn’t. “A warning is always helpful, Marcus. And I would’ve appreciated one last night,” she muttered under her breath.

Dustin leaned forward. “Marcus, when you walked into the woods, do you remember hearing anything?”

“I walked in because the dog was yelping—crying. I knew Sammy was hurt,” Marcus explained. “Did I hear anything else? Yes, actually. Something like a...flying sound. A buzzing? Sort of like a mosquito next to your ear. But then I...”

“But then you lost consciousness,” Dustin finished.

Marcus nodded in a dazed way. “You’re really not safe, are you, Liv? I
have
put you in danger.”

“She’s my responsibility now,” Dustin said.

“Stop it!” Olivia exploded. “I’m not anyone’s responsibility. I’m an adult. We’re all here to discover the truth behind Marcus’s death, not to treat me like...like an infant.”

Both men stared at her.

“Do you want to get killed?” Marcus asked fiercely.

“No, of course not!”

“Hmm, let’s see. He’s a trained FBI agent and you’re not. I say you need to let him take responsibility,” Marcus told her.

She threw up her hands. “Can we not make it sound so...pathetic?”

They both looked at her again and then at each other. Dustin resumed his questioning. “Okay, Marcus, this is important. You believe—but you’re not certain—that Sydney and Drew were in their rooms last night?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t know where Sandra Cheever was, but Aaron drove back to the Horse Farm.
And
you believe they’re having an affair?”

“Yes. Discreet, of course. But...”

“It would explain today,” Dustin murmured.

“What about today?” Olivia asked.

“I think they were arguing. This was before Sandra left—she said she was going straight home, by the way—then you came in. I didn’t have a chance to find out what the argument was about, though. My, uh, eavesdropping was interrupted by Mariah, who started talking about the camping trip tomorrow night.”

Marcus nodded. “The camping trip. If you’re together, then Liv will be safe. But what about tonight? Someone could come looking for her here—or at her own house.”

“I thought about that. I figured we’d go into Nashville. There’s a small chain motel on the outskirts. Actually,” he said, glancing at Olivia, “I was going to suggest a break. We could go in for dinner and get a couple of rooms at the motel. Olivia can leave her car at her place in case anyone’s watching. It’s more plausible that I might be in the city, since people know I have a sister who lives there. She’s not in town at the moment, but no one knows
that.
”

“Sounds good,” Marcus said approvingly.

“Wait a minute.” Olivia decided she had to put a stop to the way they were assuming control—or at least get them to acknowledge her rights in this situation. “I truly appreciate all the
responsibility
you two feel you need to take, but I’d prefer to be involved in these decisions,” Olivia told them.

“Okay. Olivia, I would like us to have dinner in Nashville. Would that be all right? And in the interests of keeping you alive—without me sleeping in your living room, which will certainly elicit an eternal round of gossip—would you like to stay in that lovely little motel off I-40?”

“Yes, that sounds lovely, thank you,” she said primly. “I just need to be kept in the loop, okay?”

Loop? The two of them were talking to a ghost.

Yet, even as she spoke, she saw that Marcus seemed to be fading.

“Be safe, kiddies,” Marcus said, his voice growing as faint as his image. “I can’t seem to stay around that long.... Still getting the hang of this....”

He was gone. They were talking to an empty space on the sofa.

For a moment, Olivia felt awkward. She was so intensely aware of being there alone with Dustin. There was something about him, a quality that made him the focus in any room. And it was attractive and seductive.

She cleared her throat, trying to concentrate. “You’re really afraid for me to stay by myself?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she admitted.

“You’ll need a few things. Just pack an overnight bag. We’ll go to your house, so you can deal with the dog and collect your things. I’ll follow you and keep watch from a safe distance.”

“What about you? Don’t you need to pack a bag?”

“I have extra clothes in the rental car.”

“So, we’re going to dinner?” she asked. “Shouldn’t we be doing...something to solve this?”

“Tomorrow I intend to search the woods until I find what flew by you.”

“You think that someone’s—”

“I think someone’s afraid of you. I think you’re in danger. You have to make sure you’re always with a group of people—or with me.”

“That’s not going to be easy.”

“We’ll take it day by day,” he said. “I’ll let Malachi and Jackson know that we have to get some members of the Krewe units out here. In fact, I’ll call Malachi while I wait for you.”

She smiled. “So where are we going for dinner?”

“A place my sister loves. F. Scott’s.”

“But you said your sister’s not in Nashville right now.”

“True. She’s in London on tour.”

“Tour? What does she do?”

“She’s a country music singer.”

Olivia stared at him, bemused. “Really? That’s fascinating.”

“I might be prejudiced, but she’s pretty good.”

“What’s her name?”

“Rayna Blake.”

“Wow! Rayna Blake’s your sister?”

“You’ve heard of her?”

“I saw her as the opening act for the Band Perry. She’s
extremely
talented.”

She kept smiling.

“What?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. Country music star, federal agent. Your parents must be very interesting people!”

“Oh, they are,” he assured her. “Historians. Very interesting.”

“Too bad she’s not here doing a concert. I’m sure you could get really good tickets.”

“We’d have to go to London for that—which is where my parents happen to be. And...”

“No London.” Olivia laughed. “Way too complicated. Just Nashville,” she said. “Wanna do a ghost tour?”

“Really?”

She shrugged. “We’ll be in a group.”

“Sure. Why not?”

He stood and she did the same. She felt strange, awkward, yet somehow exhilarated and even a little frightened. That fear wasn’t about the threat of death or attack, but the thought of an evening with him.... She quickly turned and headed for the door. None of this was real, she told herself.

Only, Marcus’s death had been real.

* * *

Dustin parked down on the road while Olivia drove up to her house. Although she lived in an area where every home had acreage around it—whether that was owned by the household, pasture belonging to nearby farmers or land owned by the park service—the front of her house was clearly visible from the road. No large bushes provided hiding.

The hiding places lay to the sides and the rear, where forests flourished.

In this section of the countryside, “neighbors” were far away.

He watched, trying not to smile as she came out. He’d given her a small bag of dirt to scatter on the front porch. He wanted to know if anyone tried to drop in on her that night.

She was actually pretty good at being unobtrusive as she spread the dirt around. He didn’t think anyone was watching the house at that time. He kept a careful eye on the front; he doubted that anyone hiding in the woods would be able to see exactly what she was doing.

He didn’t believe they were dealing with a master criminal, although he was equally certain the killer wasn’t stupid.

She hurried down the dirt-and-stone drive to the street where he was parked and slid into the car. She carried a large backpack rather than a suitcase, and he found himself pleased that she’d evidently realized a backpack might go anywhere while a suitcase would advertise the fact that she was going away.

“
Is
this the right thing to do?” she asked anxiously, fastening her seat belt. “I mean, shouldn’t we be doing more to pursue the killer?”

“I can’t burst into homes and demand that people let me interrogate them,” he said. “At the moment, we’re doing what’s most important.”

“What’s that?”

“Making sure the killer doesn’t strike again.” He drove in silence as they headed for the highway.

“You do know exactly where you’re going,” she murmured.

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I’ve told you—I really am from Nashville.”

“That was convenient for us all.”

He couldn’t quite tell what the tone of her voice meant so he didn’t respond. It was already growing late so he drove straight to the restaurant. F. Scott’s was a casual place where some dressed up and some dressed down and the music and food were good. Their table was in a corner by the wall; when they were seated, it seemed intimate. He couldn’t help marveling again that she could look like her cousin—and be so beautiful.

“Why are you staring at me?”

He grinned. “Honestly? I was finding it incredible that you could look so much like Malachi—but be so attractive.”