He followed me to the freezer. I pulled out the vanilla dessert, scooped up a hefty spoonful and dropped it in his dish. “Eat up.”
He needed no encouragement. He tucked his tail around his legs, crouched over this yummy treat and dug in.
Zack had told me that Gary would be out of town for a few days on a cattle-buying trip. That, coupled with the fact that my mother did not know of my intentions made this the perfect time to take a little hike through the woods in the direction of Gary Worth’s ranch.
“Now I’m going to do what I’ve been wanting to do,” I told Jethro. He ignored me. “I’m going to do my best to find that shortcut to the Worth ranch. The weather is cooperating and it’s a long time ’til night and, best of all, Gary isn’t going to be home. So I should be okay.”
Thank goodness Mom was occupied with Sophie and Charlene. She would raise a fuss about my trip or want to go with me. Neither of which was going to happen.
I went into the front room, slid open the bookcase drawer containing Dad’s old pistol, and stuck it in my purse. This time I was going to be prepared in case I got into trouble. Would the gun be lethal if used on a panther? Hopefully, I wouldn’t have reason to find out, but if one of those beautiful but dangerous cats threatened me, maybe the noise of a gunshot would scare it away.
As I was about to go out of the door, I noticed Jackson Conner’s pocketknife. It still lay on the table where he left it. If I had to wade through tangles of briers or sumac, the blade on that knife might be very useful.
The knife fit nicely into a small zippered compartment inside the lining of my purse and, feeling a bit like a pioneer woman about to brave the wilderness, I left the house and climbed into my Ford Escape.
The countryside of Ventris County closed around me once I turned off the road that led to Granny Grace’s acres and inched along the dim wagon ruts. A big gray limestone rock marked where I had parked my car the day of the thunderstorm. A faint and little traveled path led away from the rock through a dense growth of scrub oak, black jack, and sassafras. I slung my purse over my shoulder, grabbed the flashlight from the glove compartment, and slid out onto a carpet of dead brown leaves.
What did I think I’d find at the Worth ranch? I didn’t actually know but sometimes putting myself in the place of somebody else helps me see things more clearly. From all accounts, Andrea’s home was the last place she had been seen. Something might turn up; I might have some insight as to how Gary had caused Andrea to vanish if indeed Gary was the culprit.
Every clue that came to light pointed in that direction. If he was responsible for ending the life of Sophie’s daughter, I wanted no better reward than to see him behind bars.
Full sunlight on the autumn leaves made the trail show up better than the last time I had tried to follow it.
The trees around me, the silence of the forest, and the fresh scent of damp leaves welcomed me. Did Cherokee people use this path a long time ago? Maybe Gary’s ranch had been built on what was once a Cherokee settlement, more than 150 years ago. I remembered hearing that there were springs of water that fed a crystal-clear creek running through his pastures. Gary Worth had chosen well; his place was prime land for raising cattle.
The cawing of a crow broke the stillness as I trudged along, my eyes to the ground so that I wouldn’t miss the indistinct track. At times, the limbs of the bushes and trees met overhead, creating a false sense of twilight. I had to duck down under this woodsy canopy. A four-wheeler could navigate this path, or a horse if the rider bent down low over the saddle horn. But in no way could a car, no matter how compact, get through.
The trees drew back from the trail now so maybe I was nearing Gary’s pasture. I glanced up to see if a building were in sight. Gary Worth, his arms folded across his chest, his legs straddling my path stood six feet away, staring at me.
His lips drew back in a smile completely devoid of mirth. “Well, well, if it isn’t little Darcy. The intrepid reporter hot on the trail for a news story. And this time she’s really on the trail. That’s a joke. Get it, Darcy?”
A surprised yelp escaped me before I clamped my lips shut. This man was supposed to be gone from home. How had he known that I would be here? Did he regularly patrol this back way to his ranch? Judging from his face and voice, he was no happier to see me than I was to see him. If I needed any proof that appearances can be deceiving, it came in the form of Gary Worth. How could someone who was so good to look at be such an evil person?
Sometimes subterfuge comes in handy. This was one of those times.
My mouth suddenly felt dry. I cleared my throat. “Gary! Am I glad to see you! I was out in the woods, um, looking for mushrooms and I’m afraid I got lost. If you’ll just point the way back to the road, I’ll be going. I sure didn’t mean to trespass on your land, if that’s what I’m doing.”
He shook his head and started walking toward me. If I had ever seen hatred in someone’s eyes, it glittered in the green eyes of Andrea’s husband. “No, I don’t think so, Darcy. You’re too nosy, too stubborn. I can’t have you messing up things now.”
I turned and ran. And bounced off the broad chest of my cousin Zack Crowder. The relief that washed through me left me weak. I grasped his arm.
“Zack! Am I glad to see you! Zack, this guy . . .” I turned and pointed at Gary who stood much too close, “this guy threatened me. I’m afraid he knows what happened to Andrea.”
My babbling would have put Pat Harris to shame but I didn’t care. I just wanted Zack to get me far away from Gary Worth, immediately if not before.
But Zack was not behaving as I wanted him to behave. He stood stock still, gazing down at me and slowly shaking his head.
“I’m afraid that I’m not here to rescue you, Cousin Darcy.”
I rubbed both hands over my eyes. What was he saying? Zack didn’t even look the same. I had never seen his face set in those lines and he kept shaking his head.
Behind me, Gary laughed. That low, throaty noise sent chills racing down my backbone.
“Zack, what are you talking about? Don’t you know that this man,” I jabbed a thumb toward Gary, “this guy probably killed Andrea? Didn’t you hear about her body being found at Pat Harris’s? He’s evil, Zack. Don’t you know that? What’s wrong with you?”
“Sure, I knew that Andrea had been found. That loudmouth Pat phoned Mom, and Mom likes to tell everybody just how much she knows. She didn’t know about me and Gary though. She’d never have guessed that I helped Gary get Andrea off the ranch and put her body under that floor. And, she’s not going to know, Darcy. By the time your wonderful Grant Hendley finds you, everybody is going to believe that poor old Jasper Harris killed Andrea and you, too.”
This nightmare was far too real. When would I wake up? I felt as if I were in a different dimension where people looked sane but were actually as crazy as bedbugs. My purse was in front of me, slung there when I bumped into Zack. Gary was behind me. Slowly, I eased open the clasp and reached for my dad’s gun.
But Zack saw the movement. “No, you don’t, Cousin.” He grabbed my purse off my shoulder and tossed it to Gary.
“That takes care of your cell phone and whatever else you might have had in there. Turn around, Darcy.”
Gary rummaged through my purse and came out with Dad’s gun. He pointed it at me. “Lookee here. The little lady is armed.”
My stomach knotted.
“Put that thing down,” Zack snapped. “We’re not quite ready for that yet. Her purse will be useful when we put some evidence on Jasper.”
For the first time I noticed that Zack had a length of rope. He grabbed my shoulders and spun me so that I faced Gary. I felt the rope go around my wrists behind my back. I shook my head to clear it. This was happening too fast. This hallucination felt real. Surely it must be a bad dream. Zack, my cousin, however how many times removed, but still a relative. And his mother Earlene. Why, she and Mom visited sometimes and Earlene took an active role in the upkeep of Goshen Cemetery just as Mom did. When had Earlene’s son begun to change?
“Zack,” I said, “think about what you’re doing. Think about your parents. This is not like you. Nobody in the family has ever been mixed up with murder. It’s not too late. If you turn Gary in to Grant, you’ll be a hero.”
“Shut up, Darcy.” He gave the rope around my wrists a yank.
Zack had made the mistake of stepping too close to me while he was tying my hands. I twisted out of his grasp. Lowering my head, I rammed it as hard as I could into his stomach.
“Ow! You’ll be sorry for that, Darcy. I’ll make sure you are good and sorry.” A thousand stars exploded somewhere behind my eyes and thick blackness closed in around me.