We'll Never Tell (Secrets of Ravenswood) (15 page)

****

Ethan stared at the
computer screen and blinked. “Are you shitting me? Bob—the asshole is Bob
Harris!”

The information
practically slapped him in the face. One John Robert Harris had played
linebacker on the UC Davis football team seventeen years ago. A search for John
Robert Harris’s in the Ravenswood area turned up a John, a Jack, and a Robert
Harris. All three had graduated from out of state schools. It was sheer luck
he’d noticed a reference Bob made in a local newspaper interview about
transferring schools his senior year to the University of Colorado, where his
interest in Nordic skiing had turned from a hobby to a passion. The photo of
John Robert Harris, football player at UC Davis, was definitely the same guy as
Robert Harris, Nordic skier in Boulder, Colorado. Neither photo resembled the
man Ethan knew as Bob. The years had definitely taken their toll.

He dialed Sam’s cell phone
number and frowned when it immediately went to voice mail.
Why isn’t she
picking up?
After shutting down the computer, he grabbed his keys and
headed out the door. When Sadie followed and turned a sad-eyed look his way,
Ethan held the door of his pickup wide.

“I’d sure as hell better
not need a search and rescue dog, but you can come along.” The happy canine
jumped onto the seat, and he climbed in after her. A three minute drive to the
park where the festival was being held seemed to take a lifetime.

He squeezed his truck
into a spot too small to hold it and slammed the door. Following Sadie, he
crossed the parking area to a clearing where a number of workers were packing
up the booths. Juliette charged towards him, her eyes wide.

“Is Sam with you?” she called.

A knot of cold fear
tightened his gut. “No. I thought you two were working a booth together.”

“We were. I went to the
restroom a few minutes ago, and she was gone when I got back. I tried her cell,
but it went to voice mail.”

He forced himself to breathe.
“How many minutes ago?”

“Ten at the most. I’ve
been looking all over for her, but she isn’t anywhere.” Tears sprang into big,
brown eyes. “Please tell me nothing’s happened to Sam.”

“Let’s hope she got
distracted talking to someone. Where’s the booth you manned?”

“Over there.” She walked
quickly toward an open structure with a row of scarecrows across the back wall.
Several had toppled to the ground. “I was away for maybe five minutes. There
was a line at the restroom.”

Ethan squeezed her arm.
“Sam can’t have gone far, not in this crowd. We’ll find her and then go after
the asshole who killed that woman and threatened the three of you.”

She spun around on the
flat soles of her leather sandals. “You know who did it?”

“Bob Harris. He owns…”

Juliette turned whiter
than the gazebo and clamped her hand over her mouth.

“What’s wrong?” He
reached out to steady her. “You look like you’re going to faint.”

She swallowed, throat
working, chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. “Bob was walking toward
me and Sam when I left for the restroom.”

Ethan swore. “Well, at
least we know where to start looking.” He strode the last few yards to the
booth and put Sadie in work mode with a sharp command. “Find Sam.”

The dog sniffed all
around, barked once, and then pushed under the canvas wall at the back of the
booth, knocking over two more scarecrows. Ethan lifted the loose flap and
followed. Stepping over a maze of extension cords leading from a power pole to
the backs of several other booths, he hurried after the dog. Sadie stopped near
a half dozen parked cars and whined. A dirt service road led into the trees at
the edge of the clearing.

His heart pounded, and
red hazed his vision. The bastard had driven away with Sam. He couldn’t imagine
she’d gone without a fight, which meant… He forced down rising panic and turned
toward Juliette. “Somehow he talked her into leaving with him.”

“Why would she do that?”
Her voice shook.

Ethan took a deep
breath. “You’re right, but people would have noticed if she struggled. Did you
ask around?”

Juliette nodded.
“Everyone was busy taking down the stalls and didn’t see anything out of the
ordinary. No one noticed Sam leave.”

“That’s because they
went out the back.” He lifted the canvas flap again, ducked inside, then
scanned the ground for scuff marks. Some evidence Sam had fought. His search
revealed nothing. Hands fisted, he turned in a slow circle. A ray of dying
sunlight glanced off something shiny beneath one of the scarecrows. He kicked
it aside. A short syringe lay half buried in the hay.

His breath came in
short, hard pants. “That’s why she didn’t yell. Harris drugged her.”

Grabbing the counter for
support, Juliette held on so tight her knuckles turned white. “We have to call
the police.”

“Yeah, we do.”

“They’ll have a lot of questions.”

“I’m not going to stick
around to answer them, not when every minute Sam’s gone—” He ran his hand
through his hair. “Here comes Darby.”

With a cry, Juliette
slipped under the counter and ran to her friend. The two women clutched each
other while she spoke, the music from the country-western band drowning out her
words.

Darby’s string of oaths
was clearly audible. “I’ll kill him!”

Ethan shook his head as
he approached them. “You two call 911 and then find Ken. He’ll get faster
action from the authorities than anyone else. I’m going after Sam.”

Juliette’s eyes were
dark pools of fear. “Where do you think she is?”

“If they aren’t at
Harris’s house, I’ll try the ski center. The two aren’t far apart.”

Darby gave a curt nod.
“Find her, Ethan.”

“I will.” With a sharp
whistle for Sadie, he sprinted toward his pickup.

****

Sam slowly opened her
eyes and blinked. Dark shadows shifted and moved in the vacillating light.
Disoriented, she struggled to get her bearings. Her head pounded, and her
stomach rolled as she bumped against something both hard and soft. Flesh over
bone—a shoulder. Kicking out, her knees sunk into a flabby belly. Her captor
grunted and dropped her. She hit the ground with a thud that left her gasping
for breath.

A scowling Bob Harris
loomed above her. “Why’d you do that?”

“You drugged me! Are you
crazy
?” Of course he was crazy. Only someone certifiable would—

“I wouldn’t have done it
if you’d kept your word. Do you think I want to hurt you?”

She scrambled to her
feet, wondering if she could outrun him.
Probably not.
Temples pounding
even harder than her heart, she swayed as the effects of the drug made her
lightheaded. “Let me go, then,” she said in what she hoped was a reasonable
tone. Screaming at him wouldn’t help her cause.

“Too late for that. If
you and Ethan had minded your own business, I wouldn’t have to resort to
violence.” He hunched one shoulder, a genuine look of regret sliding across his
face. “You brought this on yourself.”

“It isn’t too late,
honestly. I won’t tell anyone you abducted me. Ethan doesn’t know you’re the
one who…who…” She bit her lip. Her heart pounded. “I’ll convince him to quit
looking.”

He sighed and shook his
head. “Nope, can’t do it. I don’t trust you anymore. I’m really hoping your
friends keep their mouths shut when you don’t come back. Self-preservation can
be a strong motivator.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m something of an expert on the
subject.”

Overhead, trees swayed
in the strengthening breeze. What daylight remained was fading fast. The
thought of being alone in the woods after dark… “Turn yourself in, Bob. I’ll
testify that you didn’t mean to hurt that woman. So will Juliette and Darby.”

“Her name was Iris.” His
voice was eerily soft.

“Iris. You didn’t want
to hurt her. It was clearly an accident. But if they find my body, no one will
believe you were innocent of that murder.”

Too late, she realized
it was the wrong thing to say.

“Oh, they won’t find
you. I’ll do a better disposal job this time.”

Chill crawling across
her skin, she tried one more attempt at reason. “Your plan isn’t going to
work.”

His face hardened. “Yes,
it will work.”

“Ethan won’t stop
looking until he finds me.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

Arguing was getting her
nowhere, plus it was growing darker by the minute.
Please, God, let me run
faster than him.

She kicked out,
connected with his groin, and nearly unbalanced herself. Without waiting to see
if she’d done any damage, she took off. Lungs straining with exertion, she
sprinted full out. Branches slapped against her face. Her foot caught on a
root, and pain shot up her leg. Ignoring it, she ran on. Ahead the trees
thinned.
Please let there be a road, a house…
She raced out of the
forest, and the weight of disappointment slammed her in the chest. The ski
trail above the lodge descended in a gentle slope, the bulk of the building a
darker shadow in the evening gloom.

Footsteps pounded the
earth behind her. For a big man, Harris was surprisingly quick. Whimpering as
pain shot through her ankle, she forced herself to run faster. Beyond the
parking area was a road. If she could reach it… She tripped and sprawled flat
on the ground then scrambled to her knees. A hand clamped around her upper arm.
With a shriek of rage, she lashed out, scratching his face.

“Damn you, little hellcat!”
He smacked her on the side of the head.

Ears ringing, she kicked
at his legs.

“Bitch.” Crushing her
chest with his arms, he lifted her off her feet.

Headlight beams flashed
through the darkness as a pickup roared into the parking area below. Sam screamed,
and kept screaming until a hand clamped hard over her mouth.

A car door slammed.
“Sam, Sam!”

She bit down on Harris’s
fleshy palm, but his grip didn’t ease. Heart pounding wildly, she squirmed and
twisted in his arms. A blur of snapping, canine fury hit him at the knees. With
a shout of pain, he dropped her. White fangs gleamed as the dog growled low in
its throat.

Sam rose on shaky legs.
“Sadie?” Her throat clogged with tears. “Good girl.”

Breathing hard, Ethan
ran up and pulled her into his arms. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head but
couldn’t tear her eyes away from the shiny knife blade in Bob Harris’s hand.

“Drop it, Bob.” Ethan’s
voice was calm and cold. “With or without a weapon, this dog will take you out
on my command.”

Harris’s hand shook, and
the knife fell to the ground. He covered his face. “I didn’t want to hurt her.
I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

In the distance, sirens
wailed, breaking the stillness of the night.

****

Sam leaned against the
seatback of Ethan’s pickup as they rolled through the dark streets of
Ravenswood. Exhaustion weighed on her like a suit of armor, and her ankle,
encased in a blowup splint, throbbed. She’d given her statement to the police
and been checked out by paramedics, refusing a trip to the emergency room.

“You okay?”

“Just tired. And
thankful. So very thankful.” She stroked Sadie’s silky fur. Muscles quivered
beneath her hand as the dog leaned against her. “Your girl was the heroine
tonight.”

“She was pretty
spectacular, but then so were you. You fought like a champion, Sam.”

“I wasn’t going to let
him win.” She turned in the seat and smiled. “I have way too much to live for.”

“Damn right.” He wheeled
onto his driveway and drove to the end to park by the house. Outdoor lights
shone on either side of the front door. A few half-hearted woofs of greeting
came from the kennel in back.

Sam opened the door and
slid off the seat. Ethan was there to steady her as shaking feet touched the
ground. Wrapping his arms around her, he leaned his forehead against hers.

“I was scared to death I
wouldn’t find you in time.”

“I knew you’d come. I
just kept praying you’d arrive before Bob completely lost it.” She sighed. “I
kind of feel sorry for him.”

Incredulity lit his eyes
as he looked down at her. “Why?”

“I really don’t think
he’s violent by nature. He might lash out in anger, but premeditated murder is
beyond his capabilities. His plan to get rid of me wasn’t very well thought
out. Threats were more his thing.”

“I think I’ll save my
sympathy for someone more deserving.” He scooped her into his arms and carried
her up to the porch.

“I can walk, Ethan.”

“Humor me.” Turning the
knob, he shouldered open the door. Sadie padded along behind them as he headed
toward the back bedroom. With care for her injured ankle, he lowered her to one
side of the unmade bed. Dropping down beside her, he held her in his arms.