Chapter Thirty-Two

Kate pulled into her driveway, wondering what Ellen’s excuse would be this time. In a way, Kate felt sorry for the woman. It couldn’t be easy to be a caregiver for someone like the countess, who was spry and at the same time confused and obviously memory impaired. On the other hand, there had to be a way to make sure someone like Claire couldn’t escape and put herself in harm’s way.

Running across the street and toward the path where she’d seen Claire, Kate weighed her options. There were laws protecting the elderly. Neglect was a form of abuse.

But Kate hesitated to go that far. Maybe Ellen was doing the best she could with the resources she had. Unfortunately, Kate couldn’t rule out abuse. She’d seen firsthand how frustrated Ellen had been with her mother at the house the other day.

By the time Kate reached the path, there was no sign of the elderly woman. After a moment’s panic, Kate willed herself to settle down and think clearly.

“She can’t have gotten too far,” she murmured. “Just stay on the path. You’ll find her.”

After walking for ten minutes and finding no trace of Claire, Kate turned back. She’d noticed a number of narrower trails branching off the main one. Claire must have taken one of those.

She took several of the smaller trails but found nothing. Claire could be anywhere in those acres and acres of woods. She could have fallen and been injured.

Kate couldn’t give up, but she needed to let Paul and Aleeda know where she was. Unfortunately, her cell phone was still in the car. Kate hurried back to the car and retrieved her phone. She called Paul. When he didn’t answer, she called the church. Millie told her he was visiting housebound parishioners. Kate left a message with Millie to have Paul call her. She then ran into the house to deposit her handbag and scribble off a hurried note for Paul and Aleeda, in case Paul came home instead of going back to the office.

Kate quickly switched her dress flats for tennis shoes. She planned to walk the path all the way over to Smith Street, and if she hadn’t found Claire by then, she would call for backup and instigate a search.

The doorbell rang, and Kate hurried to open it. There stood Renee in a puffy pink jacket and designer jeans. Kisses, looking regal on his jeweled leash, barked a greeting.

“I’d love to visit, Renee, but I’ve got a bit of an emergency.” Kate told her about Claire.

“You mean the countess?”

“You know her?” Kate stared open-mouthed.

“I met her briefly. Mama and I picked her up on the way to the Bristol for our Red Hat Ladies tea almost two weeks ago.”

Aha! “So that’s why Claire disappeared so quickly that day. You had tea with her?”

“She was part of our group. Why does that surprise you?”

“I...No reason. Anyway, I don’t mean to rush you, Renee. I saw her go into the woods, and I’ve got to try to find her.”

“I’m coming too,” Renee insisted.

“All right.” Kate explained her plan to walk the trail.

“How about I come in on the other side, and we’ll meet up in the middle.” Renee headed toward her car.

Kate nodded. “Good idea. Just be careful.”

Renee smiled. “I walk that trail once a week.”

A few minutes later, Kate was back on the trail again, equipped with her cell phone, wondering why Claire seemed so fixated on the woods. She’d pointed in that direction several times when Kate asked where she lived. Was she, as Kate had surmised, confusing the woods around Copper Mill with those she had on her estate in England, or even the home in Nashville?

But suppose that wasn’t the case. Suppose Claire and Ellen really did live out there? She and Ellen could be camped in these woods. Homeless?

“That makes no sense,” Kate muttered. Claire’s fur cape was a little worn but had to have cost a fortune at one time. The jewelry looked authentic, and she had some impressive clothes.

“On the other hand, I suppose it’s possible,” she said. “That would explain why Ellen evades my questions and hasn’t given me a phone number or address.”

About ten minutes later, something purple caught her eye. Stuck in a branch just above her head hung a feather as purple as the plume on Claire’s red hat. Kate plucked the feather off the branch. The trail veered off at that point, and Kate opted to go in that direction. She thought about calling Renee to tell her she was going off the trail, but decided not to unless she found Claire.

She pressed forward along the narrow, almost nonexistent trail. She’d gone only a few yards when she came across an old cabin. The dilapidated porch had been cleared of moss, and it looked as though someone had recently propped it up with a couple of two-by-fours.

In her mind’s eye, Kate could see Claire pointing toward the woods when she’d asked where she and Ellen lived. Kate shook her head. She couldn’t have meant here, could she?

Kate bent to pick up a piece of rotting, moss-covered shingle similar to the one she’d found at the pharmacy. She ducked under the eaves. The door stood slightly ajar, and she pushed it open all the way. She hesitated at the threshold. Someone had been living here, and she was trespassing. The cabin looked surprisingly well kept. Claire wasn’t there, but Kate suspected that both Claire and Ellen had been staying in the dilapidated structure.

Kate stepped inside for a closer look. A baggie, containing an assortment of pills, lay on a small oak table. Pills stolen from Fred Cowan’s pharmacy?

Kate laid the feather she’d found on the trail on the table, along with another one she’d picked off one of the cots. In the closet, Kate discovered several pairs of colorful shoes that matched Claire’s dresses. She also recognized the brown knit top Ellen had worn on her first visit.

Kate lowered herself onto one of the small folding chairs to process her discovery. As she looked around the room, her gaze landed on a photo. Upon closer examination, a huge piece of the puzzle fell into place. This wasn’t at all what she had expected. Kate’s heart thudded at the find. As she hurried back to the main trail to continue her search for Claire, Kate placed a call to the sheriff and left a message for him to get in touch with her as soon as possible. Kate reached the main trail and had walked at least a half mile when she spotted Claire’s red and tan cane just off the trail about a foot down a steep ravine.

Kate scrambled down the ravine, grabbing roots to keep from falling. She held her breath and prayed. Please, God. Let Claire be all right. Claire’s hat lay just beyond the cane. Oh, Lord, please, please.

Kate moved slowly now, taking care to steady herself and secure her grip as she descended. She ducked under some low-hanging branches and spotted Claire lying at the base of a tree, several more feet down. To Kate it looked as though she’d fallen about twenty feet. Claire’s pallor, the bloodstained clothes, and ripped stockings gave evidence to the gravity of her condition. And worse, she wasn’t moving.