Chapter 19

F ew cars were on the surrounding roads, and they were able to follow several hundred yards behind the Chevy with no difficulty. They were both silent for the first few miles, until the car turned into a small RV campground. Cody drove past the entrance and pulled off near an abandoned barn.

“I suppose we have a decision to make here.” He eyed her nervously, already knowing her answer. “Do we follow him into the park or go call the sheriff?”

“I think we should at least find out where he’s staying and try to get his name from the office. He may be gone by the time the sheriff could get here.”

Cautiously, Cody agreed. “That makes sense—but then we find the nearest phone. No heroics, right?”

Hailey’s answer was anything but convincing. “Of course.” She turned to stare out the back window, straining for a glimpse of the maroon car.

Cody backed out and turned into the park. He pulled in front of a two-story farmhouse that was designated as the camp office. Hailey ran up onto the porch and knocked, waited, and knocked again.

There was no answer. As she got back into the Jeep, Cody said, “Well, you got the license number, didn’t you?” She showed him her hand. “That should be enough to go on. There’s a pay phone around the corner.”

Hailey looked at him as if he’d sprouted horns. “Co-dy! We have to find out where he’s parked!”

Mimicking her tone of voice, he said, “Hai-ley, the guy’s already seen you! If he sees you here, he’ll know you’re following him!”

She slunk down in her seat. “Okay. Is this better? You drive; I’ll hide.”

Cody stepped on the accelerator slowly. As soon as he rounded the first corner, he saw the car. “There he is,” he whispered.

“Drive past so we can get a good look at the trailer.”

Cody eased the Jeep over the speed bumps in the road. Hailey tried to make herself as invisible as possible while still peering out the window. “He’s sitting outside! Behind the trailer! Turn around and drive past him again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

His voice had an edge of irritation that made Hailey scowl at him, but an idea hit her before she could comment on his attitude. She felt around on the floor until she found her purse, never moving her eyes from the window. She unzipped the outside pocket and fished inside for a folded paper. “Stop!”

Cody slowed to a stop. “We can’t just sit here. He’ll get—are you crazy?” She had opened the door and stepped out before he could grab her. Cody pulled over to the side and parked, then jumped out to follow her, seething, but knowing he had to keep a cool front.

The man was sitting behind his trailer on a lawn chair, with one leg elevated on the bench of a rickety-looking picnic table. Beside him, on a Styrofoam cooler, was an open can of soda; an open book lay in his lap. He looked up and smiled as Hailey approached. “Hello! Looking for another train?”

This guy is cool, Cody thought, too cool. The anger that rose up in him was sudden and unexpected. He was face-to-face with the man who had destroyed his mother’s final dreams. A cold fear quickly followed. He put his hand on Hailey’s shoulder, wanting to grab her and run.

“No. I’m afraid I’m guilty of following you.”

Oh, Lord, Cody prayed, shut her mouth!

“You mentioned that you didn’t live here, so I thought maybe you hadn’t heard about this, and I wanted to invite you.”

She held out the flyer she had taken off the table on the lodge patio. “I don’t know if you’re interested in such things, but there’s an outdoor Christian concert in the park tonight.”

The man stared at the paper with interest, then smiled nostalgically. “Haven’t been to one of these in years.”

Hesitantly, she asked, “Are you a Christian?”

“Since I was ten years old.” He pointed to the flyer. “I used to sing at these things, back in the days when I still had a voice. Played a pretty mean guitar, too.”

“Really?” She sat down on the bench of the picnic table.

Cody stood rigidly beside her, tugging slightly at her shoulders, but she ignored him. “Where are you from?”

Cody almost smiled, thinking again that she had missed her calling.

“That’s a hard one to answer,” the man said. “I’ve been all over. You live around here?”

“No, we’re from Wisconsin.” She held out her hand, “I’m Hailey Austin.”

Cody’s fingers pressed into her shoulder. He cleared his throat. “We really need to be going. Hope we see you at the concert. Nice meeting you, sir.”

The man held out his hand to Hailey, shook it, and then offered his hand to Cody, who bent forward reluctantly to return the courtesy. “Thank you for inviting me. My name’s Richard Wingreen, and I hope we—are you all right?” Cody’s hand had gone limp in his.

Cody stepped backward as though he’d been hit. He used his hands to steady himself on the table behind him. Hailey jumped up to put her hand on his back. “Cody, are you all right? Are you sick?”

Cody sat on the bench, stunned, and raked his hand through his hair.

Richard bent forward. “It must be the heat. Can I get you a glass of water or something?”

“I’m okay.” He took a deep breath, stood, then sat back down again.

“Cody?” Hailey whispered. “What is it?”

His eyes searched the face of the man in the chair. “My name’s Cody Worth, Dakota Wingreen Worth. I—I think I’m your son.”

The man looked confused. “I’m sorry, son, but you’ve got the wrong man. I don’t have—”

Cody interrupted him. “My mother was Kwanita Dover Wingreen.”

The shock that registered on the man’s face was all the confirmation Cody needed. “I was born six months after you were reported killed in action.”

Richard stared, his mouth slightly parted, the color drained from his face. The book slid from his lap as he lifted his leg from the bench and eased it to the ground, then leaned closer, his eyes never leaving Cody’s face. Tears streamed down his face, into his beard, and he wiped his face with both hands. Finally, he spoke, just above a whisper. “You have her eyes.”

He laid his head back and remained quiet for several minutes before going on. “I was shot down over Cambodia, spent some time running and hiding before I wascaptured, then the prison camp. . . I’d been officially reported as KIA-BNR, ‘killed in action, body not recovered,’ so no one was looking for me. . . .” Hailey felt tears spring to her eyes at the despair in his voice.

“I was in the VA hospital for five years, much of that in a coma.” The short account gave no details, but the horror of those years was clearly etched in the lines on his face.

“I tried to reach Nita.” His face contorted, and he lowered his head. “Her parents told me she had died, but I didn’t believe them. Not till I saw the death certificate. I asked them about her paintings, and they told me they had all been stolen from a store in Edgewater. I didn’t believe that either, so I checked with the sheriff’s department. . . . My health wasn’t good for years, or maybe I would have started this earlier.” Suddenly, his head snapped up. Anger rang in his voice. “Did her parents know about you?”

Cody nodded. “Yes, they knew, but they never acknowledged me.”

“Because of me.” The pain that shadowed his face made Cody long to comfort him. He reached out and laid his hand on his knee. Richard took a deep, shaky breath and went on. “They hated me. But to deny me the knowledge that I had a son. . .”

He laid his hand on top of Cody’s. “I’m so sorry. If only I had known.”

Hailey would have felt like an intruder if Cody hadn’t been holding her hand in a vicelike grip the whole time. Gently, she leaned forward and laid her hand on Richard’s arm, completing the circle. The gesture seemed to trigger something deep in both men, and the full impact of what they had just gained registered slowly on their faces as they leaned forward to embrace. Cody hugged his father with one arm, still holding tightly to Hailey’s hand. As they pulled apart, Richard was smiling through his tears. “God is so good,” he said softly.

❧

Hailey sat quietly listening as she watched the cloud shadows move across the mountaintops. For the last half hour, Cody had supplied Richard with every detail he could remember about his mother and what had happened to him since her death. They were only now coming up to the present.

“I own a bookstore in Agoura Hills, California,” Richard was saying. “It’s near the ocean, not far from Malibu. My employees are all Vietnam vets—mostly friends from the hospital. They all knew about Nita.” He looked deep into Cody’s eyes. “The Lord saved my life over there, but it was thoughts of her that kept me putting one foot in front of the other. Even after I knew she was. . .gone, I talked about her incessantly for years.

“A few weeks ago, one of the guys ran across a magazine article in some arts publication about Southwestern art. There was a picture of the self-portrait Nita had given me as a wedding gift! I started making phone calls. My only goal at the time was to find that picture; I had no intentions of starting a full-fledged investigation, but that’s what it’s turned out to be. I’ve spent more money than I care to think about just on faxes and phone calls. It’s become an obsession.

“Last month I finally located one of Nita’s paintings in a gallery in Sausalito. I’d never seen it, but I’d know her work anywhere, and of course it was signed. The price they were asking was beyond my resources, but I left my card and told the owner I was interested in other work by the same artist. He’d already made it clear that he couldn’t give me any information on the party he was selling it for. Two weeks later I got a call from some guy who says he has some of Nita’s paintings, telling me to meet him on the third of July on the side of a mountain just outside of Edgewater, Montana! Seems strange the guy would be right back where the stuff was stolen in the first place.”

Cody nodded and rubbed his chin. “Have you talked to any authorities yet?”

“Not yet. I had no idea it would lead to anything like this. I’ve been a bit of a crime buff for a long time. I guess I’ve fancied myself an amateur Sherlock Holmes or something, but it’s finally getting close enough to be dangerous.” He looked from Cody to Hailey and then back again. “I think it’s time to let the police in on this.”

Hailey had been peculiarly silent for several minutes, but Cody could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. He was not surprised when the questions began to fly.

“Doesn’t it sound like he’s subconsciously trying to get caught, or like he gets some kind of kick out of flirting with danger, coming back to Edgewater? Does he actually have the paintings with him? Did it sound like he was working alone?”

For the first time, Richard laughed, holding up his hands.

“Wait! I think it’s my turn to ask questions again!” He smiled broadly at Hailey, and she suddenly had no doubt about the vague sense of familiarity she’d had when she met him in town; his smile was the same as Cody’s.

“I’ll make a deal with you, Mr. Wingreen. We’ll answer all your questions if you promise to take us along when you meet with that guy this afternoon.”

“Hailey. . .” Cody’s voice held a warning.

“I’m not sure that would be wise,” Richard said. “We don’t want him to think there’s a posse after him!”

“I think we should call the sheriff,” Cody added.

Hailey gave a compromising smile. “Okay, the sheriff can go with us.”

Richard smiled at Cody and shook his head. “You know, they say a man chooses a woman like his mother.”

“My mother was never this stubborn!”

There was a glint of tears in Richard’s eyes. “You never knew her the way I did. She was as headstrong as they come.” He winked at Hailey. “Frankly, I like that in a woman.”

With an air of triumph, Hailey turned her back to Cody and faced Richard squarely. “Well, Mr. Wingreen, let’s see if we can’t sweeten this deal. You mentioned you were trying to find Nita’s self-portrait.”

Cody grabbed her shoulder. The look on his face was of amused disbelief. “Hailey Austin, that’s bribery! Besides, it’s rightfully his anyway!”

Richard leaned forward. “You know where it is?”

With a haughty lift of her chin for Cody’s benefit, Hailey turned back to Richard and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. “Take us along and it’s yours.”