The Night Is Forever (16 page)

“And,” Joey added, “it’s said that General Rufus Cunningham still rides these hills, watching out for those who are in danger, trying to save lives.”

“Yeah, well, he failed with Marcus, huh?” Matt said. His words were followed by silence.

“I’m sure he would have helped if he could,” Olivia said.

Brent rose and sat next to Matt. The tough guy smiled at the Down syndrome boy and placed an arm around his shoulders.

“Hey, there’s a romantic story, too,” Olivia quickly offered. “The beautiful stream we can hear trickling. Know how that was formed?”

“Someone’s tears?” Joey asked.

“You bet,” she replied. “There was a beautiful maiden called Little Deer. She was in love with a warrior named Soaring Eagle. This was during a terrible time in our history when we were land grabbers—and we forced all the eastern Native Americans west, toward Arkansas. The two of them were torn apart because Soaring Eagle was with a peace delegation sent to argue out terms. He should’ve have been back before Little Deer was forced to leave. But the army was determined to get this done. There was a horrible mistake in communications. Soaring Eagle was only trying to reach Little Deer, but he was shot down because an army lieutenant thought he was trying to create an uprising. Little Deer heard the shot from miles away. She cried this stream that runs from the river down to the hills and plains. Sometimes at night you can hear the two of them calling to each other.”

“And,” Aaron said, rising, “sometimes at night, people go to bed. I say we call it a day and we’ll get an early start tomorrow. Then we’ll argue with the black rock!”

Dustin glanced over at Olivia. She wished she didn’t feel herself tense every time he looked at her now. Or that, in the middle of a group of people, she could tell him she didn’t give a damn what happened in the future, she’d like one night with him. Just one...

“The black rock is a natural boulder stuck out here, and it’s black because it’s aged,” she explained. “Okay, maybe it’s more of a dirty gray. The kids tell it everything they’re angry about—and throw water balloons at it. Believe it or not, it actually seems to help.”

“And it soothes the old soul,” Mason said. He stood, yawning. “I do have to say it feels great to be out here, huh?”

“Yes, and may I remind you all...bathroom visits demand clothing of some kind,” Mariah said sternly. “Boys’ bushes to the left—girls’ to the right!”

“Who wants to help rinse off the plates and pots and pans?” Olivia asked. “You can grab your toothbrushes and we’ll get water for face washing at the same time.”

Joey, Matt and Brent said they’d come with her.

Sean no longer seemed willing to be by himself and refused to leave a crowd.

The boys helped her with the dishes. When they returned to the camp, everyone was settling in. Brent, Sean and Joey were in a large tent with Dustin, whose sleeping bag was closest to the entrance—closest to where she was, in the second tent with Mariah and Sandra. Aaron, Matt, Nick and Drew were in the third.

“You think this was too soon?” Mariah asked worriedly as she lay on her cot. “I mean, too soon for one of these trips—after Marcus died?”

Sandra, ready to turn down their lantern, sighed. “Mariah, we have to go on as usual. You’re just telling stories that you grew up with. It’s fine.”

“I guess,” Mariah murmured. “What do you think? Did they all like the little cemetery?”

“They seemed to,” she said.

“No one ‘saw’ the general?” Mariah asked.

“Oh, we all see him one way or another, don’t we?” Olivia said.

“No,” Mariah told her. “I never have. I wish I
could
see him. I
should
see him. You can trace my family back in this area for two hundred years! You’d think he’d appear to me.”

“He’s an image in people’s minds!” Sandra said impatiently. “Let’s get some sleep!”

The tent went dark. The night was lit by an almost-full moon and the remnants of the fire in the clearing. Olivia lay still, listening to chirping of insects around them. There were coyotes in the hills, but they’d never bothered them, not here at the campground. The cows were sometimes in danger—the Horse Farm dogs occasionally came back with a piece of beef that hadn’t been processed. But there was really nothing to fear at their campground during the night.

She’d never felt edgy before.

That night, she lay awake in her sleeping bag.

Through the canvas walls of the tent she could see the shapes of distant trees, making giant shadows that waved and moved in the breeze, looking like monsters that might reach into the tent and drag someone out. She told herself that was a childish fantasy, but couldn’t quite dispel her nervousness....

She was just staring at the trees when she became aware of something moving outside—coming toward the tent.

She bolted halfway up, glancing over at the other women.

Neither Sandra nor Mariah was in the tent. She hadn’t heard them rise; maybe she’d dozed off, after all.

Whatever was coming toward her seemed to grow large with menace—as if a tree had uprooted itself and become a monster stretching its skeletal fingers toward her....

She jumped to her feet, ready to rush out and scream an alarm. But even as she did, she heard someone speak sharply. She recognized Dustin’s voice.

“Aaron!”

There were no monsters and trees didn’t uproot themselves to attack.

She hurriedly left the tent to see what was happening.

Aaron was out there.

And Dustin was right behind him.

“What’s wrong?” Dustin asked.

“Nothing—I think,” Aaron said. He looked at Olivia. “I heard something rustling over here. I wanted to see if you three were okay. We should’ve put the women in the middle tent.”

Sandra came walking out of the woods. “Aaron Bentley! You employ extremely capable women. I had to make a dash to the powder room, so to speak.”

“Where’s Mariah?” Olivia asked.

“Well, she must have taken a bathroom break, too,” Sandra said.

“I don’t like this,” Aaron muttered. “I want to make sure she’s in her tent before I go back to sleep. I thought...”

“What?” Dustin demanded.

“I don’t know. I thought I heard someone prowling around.”

“You did! Us. So much for privacy,” Sandra said, shaking her head.

“How long can a break in the bushes take?” Aaron asked.

He probably meant it as a rhetorical question, but Joey emerged from the tent, saying, “Um, it takes as long as it takes, doesn’t it? Especially for women...”

Aaron ignored that and walked toward the bushes. “Mariah!”

She didn’t answer.

“Mariah!” he shouted louder.

“Hey!”

They heard her call back to them. Her voice didn’t come from the bushes. Olivia saw that she’d been down to the stream; she’d apparently filled her canteen. Her face was damp and she was smiling. “What’s wrong?” she asked quickly, her smile fading.

“Nothing.” Aaron let out a sigh. “I was just worried about you.”

“Oh, Aaron, I’m sorry,” Mariah said. “I went down to the stream for some more water. And it was so beautiful in the moonlight! I was looking across the water—hoping maybe I’d see the general on his horse on the other side.”

Somewhere, far in the distance, a coyote howled at the moon. The sound was so forlorn, so chilling—and foreboding.

“Well, we’re all here now,” Sandra said with a shrug. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“Dustin, you’re going back in the tent, right?” Joey asked. As he spoke, Brent, too, came out. He looked frightened. Brent was a joy to be around, always loving, but he was also easily frightened when things weren’t precisely as they were supposed to be.

“Livia?” he said worriedly.

“I’m here, Brent. We’re all here. Everything’s fine,” she assured him, going over to give him a hug.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Sandra said. “We’ve got to get some sleep!”

“Okay, okay, everyone back where they belong.” Grinning, Aaron joined Olivia and put his arm around Brent. “It’s all good, buddy.”

Brent nodded solemnly. “The general is watching over us,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s right, Brent.”

“He
is
watching us. I saw him. I saw him—he was on the other side of the stream. I saw him with Livia when we were washing the plates,” Brent said.

Sandra shook her head. “I’m not so sure we should’ve brought him,” she whispered.

“He’s fine,” Olivia said. “Half the world sees the general.”

“He thinks he really saw him,” Sandra snapped.

“Come on, buddy, back to bed,” Aaron said.

“Yeah, come on, we’re all going in,” Joey added kindly.

“Good night, all,” Aaron said, and, ducking through the entrance, escorted Brent back into the tent. Joey followed.

“I’m going to sit by the fire awhile,” Dustin said. “You all go back to sleep. Sorry. I’m just restless. I like to watch the dying embers—helps me sleep.”

Sandra went back in. Mariah waited for Olivia, then returned to the tent. Olivia fell into a deep sleep.

She awoke to early daylight—and the sound of a high-pitched scream. Bolting out of bed, she collided with Sandra as they both tried to get out at the same time.

Drew was already outside, looking around wildly, trying to ascertain where the scream had originated.

“Stay here!” Olivia ordered Sandra. “Watch the boys. Drew, come with me!”

It wasn’t really her place to give instructions, but Olivia hadn’t thought it out. She started running into the bushes, assuming the scream had come from the women’s side of the “bathroom” area. But when she saw a glimmer of light through the trees, she realized it must have come from farther back. Olivia kept running, with Drew on her heels. They burst into a little clearing. The gray skies of dawn made it hard to see clearly.

To her astonishment, Olivia found Dustin there—bending over Mariah, who was crouched on the ground. His small flashlight didn’t reveal much detail but did show her horrified expression.

“What’s going on?” Olivia shouted.

Drew barely managed to stop himself before colliding with her; she felt his hands on her shoulders.

Mariah rose, shaking, clinging to Dustin. “Oh, Lord, I am sorry...again!”

Olivia frowned at Dustin.

He shrugged. “I wake easily and run fast,” he said.

“What’s going on?” Olivia demanded a second time.

“I—I thought I saw...oh, this is so stupid!” Mariah apologized. “I thought I saw the general when I went to use the, uh, bathroom, and I tried to follow him and I got here and...” She stepped aside, displaying what she’d stumbled on.

The torn remnants of cow’s hindquarters lay there, blood trailing off into the bushes.

“A coyote got a cow,” Olivia said calmly. “Unfortunately, it happens.”

“I know, I know. I just wasn’t expecting it!” Mariah groaned.

“Let’s get the hell back now,” Drew suggested. Olivia could feel him close behind her—and she could tell that he was shaking. “The others are going to be worried.”

“Yes, let’s go!” Mariah said. “Oh, Lord, I’m going to have to apologize to the kids and tell them what an idiot I am!”

They walked back. By then, the others were milling around by the fire, waiting wide-eyed.

“What happened?” Sandra asked anxiously.

“Freakiest camping trip ever!” Mason said.

“Cool,” Nick murmured.

Sean jabbed him with an elbow. Mariah went into her explanation, but before she’d finished Dustin interrupted.

“Where’s Aaron?”

They looked around; Aaron wasn’t among them.

“He must be...I don’t know, in the bushes, too?” Mason asked.

“With this much commotion going on?” Dustin demanded.

“We’ll all go look for him,” Joey said.

“No, you boys stay here. Drew, you, Sandra and Mariah stay. Mason, check out the bushes. I’ll try the stream. Liv...” His eyes were on hers.

He didn’t want her alone with any of them, she realized.

“I’ll go with you,” she said. “We can cover most of the stream that way.”

They headed off together.

When they reached the stream he stood dead still for a few seconds. Then he swore and ran straight in.

Olivia saw why.

They’d found Aaron.

He was floating facedown in the water.

10

D
ustin was afraid that Deputy Sheriff Frank Vine simply didn’t like him. Vine arrived with Jimmy Callahan, but Vine did most of the talking. Callahan was younger, more sympathetic, more concerned about those who’d witnessed the event, especially the boys.

Dustin knew damned well that he’d done everything right, performing artificial respiration competently and with determination.

And he’d gotten Aaron Bentley breathing again, although not conscious, before the rescue crew made it to the campsite via helicopter.

The med techs had commended him. Everyone around him had been in shock; they’d watched helplessly, holding one another while he brought Aaron out of the cold water. Olivia had run back for blankets, and the others had followed her to the stream. They’d carried him back to the campsite, where Drew had gotten the fire going again.

But Frank Vine... He and Callahan had arrived on the medevac helicopter, then stayed behind at the campsite.

Now Vine stared at him as if he were the Antichrist.

Dustin had watched as Frank tried to find out what had happened. The group had mostly talked at once, trying to explain where they’d been, how no one had any idea that Aaron was down at the stream. Mariah was nearly hysterical, certain that it all was her fault. If she hadn’t been startled and screamed, they might have found Aaron earlier.

No one could say just how long he’d been in the water. The med techs didn’t know if he’d live. If he did, they didn’t know if he’d suffer brain damage. He was breathing; he was alive. That was all anyone knew. He might walk out of the hospital, perfectly fine, the next morning.

Or he might live for years in a vegetative state.

They’d find out when they got him to a hospital.

“So, no one saw Aaron get out of the tent and walk to the stream?” Frank demanded.

Sandra was sobbing. “No. We heard Mariah scream from the other direction. Some of us stayed right here...some of us went to look for her.”

“It’s all my fault!” Mariah said again and again. “All my fault. If I didn’t want to see the general so much...”

“That’s right. You were chasing a ghost,” Vine said sarcastically.

That made Mariah cry harder. Olivia went to slip an arm around her. So did Deputy Callahan.

Olivia looked at Deputy Sheriff Frank Vine and spoke evenly and clearly. “None of us was anywhere near the stream. The fact that Mariah was in the bushes had nothing to do with Aaron. Even if we hadn’t run after her and she hadn’t screamed, Aaron was still at the stream. He probably thought nothing of being down there. We’ve all been camping here dozens of times.” She turned to her friend and coworker and said, “Mariah, there’s no reason you should feel guilty. What happened was
not
because of you. Aaron was already there when you screamed. And think of it this way—we were all up, and Dustin found him at the stream because of you. If it hadn’t been for you, we might not have known he was missing. We might not have searched for him until it was too late.”

“Really, Liv?” Mariah whispered. “You think so?”

“Definitely,” Olivia said.

Frank Vine looked at them and shook his head. “There’s something not right with you people. How can so many bad things happen in one group? Pretty careless if you ask me. First Danby and now this... How could Aaron have such a ridiculous accident?”

“Accident?” Dustin asked, entering the fray despite the look Vine had given him. “A grown man, Aaron’s size, accidentally falls face-first into a stream, knocks himself out and nearly drowns?”

“If it wasn’t an accident, what
did
happen, Agent Man?”

“I don’t know. That’s why law enforcement investigates such situations,” Dustin said flatly.

Frank Vine scowled at him. Everyone was quiet. Dustin almost felt as if they were on some dusty street in the Old West—about to have a shoot-out.

“And you’re going to investigate and figure out what happened, is that it? When
you’re
under suspicion?”

“Of causing an accident?” Dustin raised his eyebrows.

“You found him, didn’t you?”

“And saved his life. Before that, I was the first one to dash into the forest when I heard Mariah scream,” Dustin told him.

Mason cleared his throat and said, “Hell, Dustin wasn’t even around when Marcus Danby died.”

Callahan stepped into their group, looking shy and young—and yet speaking with a soft calm that belied his years.

“We need to get these kids out of here.”

Vine spun on him but held his temper. He let out a long breath and Dustin realized the man was frustrated.

“Fine. We’ll get the kids out of here,” Vine said. He looked at the boys again, his eyes narrowing. “And not one of you saw anything?”

Joey spoke up. “I saw Aaron get out of his bedroll, but I was still half-asleep. I didn’t jump out myself until I heard Mariah scream. Then...we stood around with Mama Cheever—Sandra—waiting.... Drew, Olivia, Dustin and Mariah came back from the woods and that’s when we noticed Aaron wasn’t with us.”

Frank Vine studied him suspiciously. “So everyone knew where everyone else was—except for Aaron?”

“Yeah,” Drew said, gesturing around at all of them. “Sandra’s not here now because she went in the helicopter with Aaron, but I was with her, so I know exactly where she was. I mean, all of us were here, except for Mason, who was searching in the bushes, and Dustin and Liv—who rescued Aaron.”

“I’m not sure where everyone was when Mariah first screamed,” Dustin explained. “But when we found Mariah and returned to camp with her, we did know. That’s when we discovered that Aaron was missing. None of us necessarily knew where everyone else was before that,” Dustin said.

“Nor do we know if anyone else was in the area,” Olivia added.

Mariah suddenly started sobbing again. “Aaron!” she wailed. “Oh, my God, Aaron.” She sank onto the ground and Olivia crouched down beside her. With everyone upset, Brent began to cry, as well. Dustin went to him, trying to offer some comfort. Brent was extremely susceptible to the emotions of others.

“It’s all right,” he said soothingly. “Aaron’s gone to the hospital. They’ll see what they can do for him there. He might be fine by tonight, Brent.”

“I like Aaron,” Brent told him between sobs. “I liked Marcus.”

“I know,” Dustin murmured.

“All right, let’s move along,” Frank said. “Jimmy, get these people moving. Who’s in charge now?” he demanded.

Drew cleared his throat. “Um—Olivia. If Aaron’s out of action, Olivia is in charge.”

“Liv,” Frank ordered, “get your stuff packed and take these boys back to the Horse Farm. I’ll get on the horn and see that someone from Parsonage House shows up and that Brent’s mom knows to come for him.”

“Have them ride back as they are—don’t pack up. Leave the campsite as it is. There might be something here that can give us some explanation...or at least a hint,” Dustin said.

“This is
my
jurisdiction,” Frank Vine told him. “You’re not going to find anything that might cause a man to walk to a stream and fall in. You want to investigate? Fine, walk down to the stream. Olivia, you get the others packed up and out of here!”

Short of doing something that would land him in jail or get him shot, Dustin was afraid his options were severely limited. So he took the risk of sharing the one piece of information he’d hoped to hold back—until he had the lab results, anyway.

“We need to look for a dart gun,” he said bluntly.

“What?”

It wasn’t just Frank who stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. Everyone did.

“Ask Joey. We heard something whizzing by us in the woods the other day. Later I was out here walking and found a dart.” He decided this might be their only chance to discover the truth; he had to get Frank to at least consider the possibility. Coincidentally, he’d be able to observe the others’ reactions....

“I think Marcus Danby might have been hit by a dart, one that might have been tipped with horse tranquilizer. It would have knocked him out—and then heroin could’ve been administered. And down at the stream, Aaron could have been hit with a dart, causing him to nearly drown when he pitched forward. Someone could’ve put together a cocktail of acepromazine and barbiturates—just enough to knock someone out. Something that would dissolve quickly and not show up in the standard blood tests done at an autopsy.”

They all looked at him incredulously. “That’s kind of a stretch, Mr. Agent Man,” Vine said. “You’re kidding me, right? Someone’s running around with a dart gun? This is twenty-first-century Tennessee! We’re not in Africa or worrying about some ancient tribe on a Pacific island.”

“I’m talking about drugs and tranquilizers readily available on any farm in the area,” Dustin said.

“Still...” Frank protested.

“I found a dart in the woods.”

“Why didn’t you report it?”

“Was I supposed to report a dart?” Dustin asked with mock innocence.
To you? So you could say some kid simply got a new dart gun for his birthday?

“You should report everything to local law enforcement—and that happens to be me,” Vine growled. “Even if you are a federal agent.”

“All right. I know that now. I know you’re open to anything that might be out of the ordinary. So, Deputy Sheriff Vine, why
not
investigate?” Dustin demanded. “Are you trying to hinder an investigation or carry one out?”

For a moment, he thought he’d gone too far—that Frank Vine was going to order Callahan to put handcuffs on Dustin.

Maybe the man was even in on it. He’d been involved with the search the day Marcus was found dead; he’d been one of the first to arrive at the scene.

Why would a cop do such a thing? An old ax to grind? Maybe Marcus had refused to give him the dog he’d wanted. Murder over a rescue pup? Seemed unlikely. He wondered what other reasons the deputy sheriff might have to obstruct the inquiry.

But to his amazement, Vine seemed willing to listen to him. He looked at Dustin for a long moment, his jaw tightening. Then he looked down at the ground for an equally long moment. Finally he raised his head. “Believe me, I don’t want to hinder an investigation.”

Dustin did believe him. Vine was trying to be a good officer. He just had trouble accepting that something so absurd and devious could be going on.

“Olivia, you get everyone going,” Vine said. “The agent and I are—”

“Wait!” Matt broke in. “Is that legal? Don’t you need a search warrant? I mean, what if you catch a killer, but your evidence turns out to be tainted?” He looked around worriedly. “My, uh, dad’s an attorney,” he added. “Fruit of the poisonous tree, and all that.”

“You have my permission to search all Horse Farm property,” Olivia said. “There. That handles the tents.”

“You can search all our personal property, as well. Does anyone have any objections?” Drew asked. “Matt, I’m pretty sure that if you say it’s fine, it’s fine. There are a lot of witnesses who’ll hear you give your permission.”

“You can search anything of mine. Hell, we have our blood and urine tested all the time. What do I care about a backpack?” Matt said. “Guys?” he turned to the others.

They all murmured that they had no objections.

“Then, Olivia, if you’d please get everyone mounted up? We’ll return everyone’s property later,” Vine said. “Deputy Callahan’s going to ride with you.”

“Wow. I finally got to use my iPod again,” Matt moaned. “And you’re taking it away.”

“We’ll get it back to you by tonight,” Dustin promised.

Olivia helped Mariah to her feet. “We just leave everything?” she asked Dustin.

He nodded, speaking to her privately as the others went to get the horses saddled and ready for the ride back. It was decided that Callahan would be riding Aaron’s horse.

“And stay with the deputy,” Dustin emphasized. “Get the kids back where they belong, and you stay with Callahan. I don’t like you being without me. I’d thought the answer might be here, but...no one reacted when I brought it up.” He shrugged. “So, I just don’t know.”

“You didn’t tell me anything about a dart gun,” she accused him.

“It’s a long shot.” He grimaced. “If you’ll pardon the bad pun.”

She nodded distractedly. “But who could have struck him? We were all at the campsite together.”

“None of us was at the stream when he went down there,” he said. “We didn’t realize Aaron was missing, there was so much commotion over Mariah.”

“You suspected Aaron,” she said. “You thought he killed Marcus.”

“I never put that into words.”

She took a deep breath. “Do you think he’ll make it?”

“He’s breathing, and they can keep him breathing. How long he was out, I don’t know.”

Drew had the kids saddling the horses. All the saddlebags—everything else—was left behind.

A dart could easily be hidden. And even though a dart gun was small, Dustin hoped he could see if anyone was carrying anything that looked suspect. He surveyed the riders and saw cell phones pressed against pockets, but nothing in the shape of a dart gun.

But, he figured, the dart gun could’ve been tossed in the forest somewhere.

When the riders were all mounted and ready to head back, he stood close to Olivia for a moment. She appeared to be calm and in control. She also looked drained and weary.

He wanted to rebuff the whole concept of searching for the dart gun—which he didn’t think he was going to find, anyway. He wanted to head back with Olivia, take a steaming shower and fall into bed with her. He’d never in his life regretted trying to be noble as much as he did now. And he hated the idea that she was riding away while he stayed.

When they were gone, Vine turned to him. “Listen, we’re not idiots or incompetent. Nor are we close-minded. We
are
a small department, though, and we don’t get a lot of murders out here. When something bad happens, I’m afraid it’s usually a domestic situation. So, G-man, what’s your plan?”

“Methodical and boring,” Dustin told him. “We search everything. And, to be honest, I don’t think we’re going to find what we’re looking for.”

“So why are we doing this?”

“In case we do find something.”