As far as Selena was concerned, this chance to speak privately with Finn was a blessing in spite of their predicament. Not that that conclusion made sense in the overall scheme of things, she reasoned. However, life and faith had taught her that sometimes things that appeared to be bad could end up being surprisingly beneficial. This was such a time.
“How did you end up being accused of murder in the first place?” she asked, striving to sound as nonjudgmental as possible.
“It would be easier to explain if I knew what had actually happened,” Finn said.
“Just tell me your side of it.”
He huffed. “Right. I thought Zeb and I were getting along really well. I had finally gotten up the courage to confront him, hoping he wouldn’t throw me out, and instead he’d welcomed me like the long-lost son I was. I think Edward had figured it out before that, because he’d accused me of theft and fired me. I knew I was about to lose easy access to my dad and decided to approach him directly. He was friendly even before I told him who my mother was and that he and I were a close DNA match.”
“Wait. Back up,” Selena said. “How did you get his DNA?”
“I didn’t. Edward had a sample in the police database, and I managed to tap into that. He and I were very close but not an absolute match. That told me I needed to retest, and while I waited to explore his relatives, that’s when I found out he had a male sibling. My dad.”
“Okay, go on.”
“Zeb looked shocked when I first approached him, then grabbed me in a bear hug and started to cry. He told me he’d always wanted an heir and I was the answer to his prayers.”
“An heir? He said that?”
“Yes. He said he was going to see his lawyer and make a new will in my favor.”
“What did you say to that?”
“I told him not to. I mean, Edward had been running the family ranch while Zeb managed their other business interests in Idaho. I didn’t want him to give me the ranch, and I said so.”
“Is that when you argued?”
“I guess you could call it that,” Finn said. “We did discuss it.”
Selena wished she could see his face because he sounded so emotional but figured it was probably better to let him speak as if he was not being watched. Finn had been—was—a proud and strong man who would be embarrassed to let anyone see him showing his feelings. What she was picking up in his tone of voice was revealing enough.
“And Zeb was fine when you left him that night?”
Finn sniffled. “He was great. All excited about getting to know me better and maybe even letting me reintroduce him to Mom now that she was a widow. I mean, he looked and acted like a young man again. It was a joy to see.”
He paused. Selena waited. Blinked back tears of her own.
“Why would I kill him? I’d just found him again.”
“What else? I mean, they can’t have convicted you without good evidence.”
“Yeah, well, that’s exactly what they did.” Another sniff. “What destroyed me is the way Zeb died. He had to have suffered terribly. It was awful. Somebody dosed him with strychnine. Only they didn’t give him enough, and it worked too slowly. The convulsions had to be agonizing.”
Selena was confused. “I thought Zeb was shot?”
“That would have been overkill if the poison had worked the way they apparently thought it would. It’s a horrendous way to die, and it takes hours, even if the proper amount is given. My attorney presented testimony from expert witnesses at my trial, and I felt even worse when I heard how much it takes to kill a man.” Finn paused. “That has to be why whoever poisoned him came back and finished the job with his own gun.”
“So, they killed him twice.”
“They tried. And not only was I at his house when he could have been poisoned, I had no alibi for the time he finally died.”
“There was a witness?”
“The ranch foreman. Ned Plumber. I know he heard me talking to Zeb about an inheritance, but nobody seemed to think I’d be smart enough to wait for him to make a new will before I did something so unspeakable.”
“Your attorney brought that up, right?”
“Sure he did. I think jurors remembered my bad-boy past and convicted me on that basis. I can’t imagine any rational person would be dumb enough to do what they convicted me of doing.”
Selena was doubly convinced. “You’re absolutely right, Finn. Even if I didn’t know you, I’d be able to tell you’re too smart to make a critical mistake like that. If you were going to murder a benefactor, you’d make sure the steps for inheritance were in place.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I’ve never believed you were guilty of a crime. I’m just saying that your conviction is ridiculous.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Because he fell silent, she probed deeper. “So, what happened to change things? Why were you back in court?”
“Ned Plumber. He’s the ranch foreman, remember? Witnesses heard him bragging about how much money he was paid to lie about me under oath. His testimony was the only concrete proof the prosecution had that Zeb and I had argued. My prints were in the ranch house. I’d admitted to being there. And my DNA was on a ceramic cup because Zeb and I had been drinking coffee in the kitchen while we talked that night.”
“I can’t believe that’s enough for conviction.”
She heard Finn sigh. “Yeah, well, the cops found traces of poison in a plastic bag in my truck, too. I have no idea how it got there.”
“Fingerprints?”
“None,” Finn said firmly. “They insisted I was wearing gloves, and that was enough for the jury.”
“Well, it’s not enough for me. Let’s hope your new trial turns out better for you.”
“Hope and pray,” Finn said. “We’re asking for a change of venue and no jury this time.”
Selena couldn’t think of a comment more positive than “Amen,” so that’s what she said.
Finn knew he’d dozed off after Selena had cleaned the wound on his head and had convinced him it wasn’t serious. She’d checked his pupils with the flashlight, had found a fairly dry spot for the two of them to rest and had encouraged Finn to get some sleep and recuperate when what he’d wanted to do was explore further.
He peeked out with one eye, saw nothing, and shifted position to ease stiff muscles. At his side, Scout growled.
“Easy, boy. I’m not getting up.”
Selena laughed, sounding farther away.
“Where are you?”
A beam of light illuminated the small grotto, pointing at a spot on a far wall. “Over here. I was waiting for you to wake up. Scout is sure we should go this way, and I’m inclined to listen to him.”
“Okay if I get up?” Finn asked.
“Yes.” She kept the light averted. “Scout, come.”
Moving cautiously at first, Finn put a hand on the rock wall to check his balance. Thankfully, he seemed fully recovered.
“How’s the head?”
He gingerly touched his scalp. “Much better. My headache’s gone, too.”
“Good.” Selena left the flashlight on the ground to provide ambient light and returned to him. “Help me pack up this gear and we’ll go exploring. I don’t want to leave it here in case we don’t come back.”
Bending to help her, he chuckled softly. “That’s one way to put it. I’d rather say we’ll find another exit.”
“That’s what I meant.”
“I know. I guess I’m so relieved to be better I felt like joking about all this.”
“We used to have fun pretending we misunderstood, didn’t we?”
What Finn wanted to do was keep reminding her of the good times during their long-ago relationship. He didn’t do it. Being stuck out here with Selena and Scout was bad enough without digging up old sentiments and risking everything she’d accomplished as a regular officer and then a K-9 cop. A close association with a convicted murderer would not look good on her résumé.
Instead, he said, “Do you mean being chased by a couple of gunmen and trapped in a cave isn’t entertaining enough for you?”
“Something like that.”
“So, what’s plan A?”
“I think we’re already past that. Plan B was avoiding being shot, plan C was recuperating in the safety of this cave, and plan D is letting Scout lead us out another way.”
“You’re forgetting the cave-in.”
Her soft chuckle echoed inside the chamber as she leashed her K-9 again. “Let’s just concentrate on getting out of this mess alive, okay?”
“Works for me.” What Finn could not help worrying about was the size of the passageways the dog would choose. Selena was a lot smaller than he was, and Scout would need even less room to wriggle out. If she had to make a choice, what would it be? He immediately dismissed the idea that she might choose to save herself, although sending Scout out might work to everyone’s benefit.
“Listen,” Finn said, following Selena and her K-9 closely so he could take advantage of ambient light from her flashlight, “If you can get out, I want you to do it, even if you have to leave me behind to go get more help.”
“Not happening,” she said over her shoulder.
“We’re the Three Musketeers? All for one and one for all?” He smiled before he saw her shaking her head. “No?”
“No,” Selena said, all business again. “I’m a sworn officer of the law, and it’s my duty to make sure a convicted felon is returned to custody as soon as possible. How I manage to do that doesn’t matter as long as I complete my assignment.”
She was right, of course. Finn knew that. It was just hard to hear her state the obvious in such clinical terms. Sharing this predicament had caused him to temporarily forget who and what he was compared to who and what Selena was. The best thing, the smartest thing he could do was keep reminding himself that they were no longer even friends, let alone more.
Ah, but that was hard, wasn’t it? The young woman—who he’d once loved enough to distance himself from when his reputation wasn’t nearly as bad as it was now—had become a formidable twenty-nine-year-old police officer who, at this moment, was the only thing that stood between him and a charge of attempted prison break. She’d been quick to assume that the wreck was a failed attempt to free him, hadn’t she? And she knew more about the good elements of his character than anyone, so if she’d originally assumed the worst, others would likely jump at the chance to deny his retrial and lock him up for the rest of his life.
A narrow slit between rocks caused him to ask, “Is there room on the other side for me? This looks like a tight fit.”
Selena turned sideways, protected her holster with one hand and followed Scout through the rift. Finn saw the light growing dimmer before it brightened again.
“Plenty of room here. Can you squeeze through?”
“I think so. Hang on.” By standing tall and holding his breath, he managed to slither between the rocks. The only damage was to his prison jumpsuit when a pocket caught and tore. He emerged beside her. “Whew. I hope there aren’t any more tricky passages. That one was tough.”
Selena turned to shine the flashlight on Scout. He was panting and wagging his tail, apparently waiting for instructions to proceed.
What Finn saw beyond the canine turned his blood to ice. The next obstacle wasn’t a vertical opening, it was a crawl space—dark, forbidding and small. If his shoulders got wedged in there and he wasn’t able to proceed, there would be nobody behind him to pull him back out.
Scowling, he began to shake his head. “Oh, no. No way. I’ll never fit through there.” He eyed her. “I’m not sure you will.”
Turning off the light, she waited a few moments for their eyes to adjust, then said, “Look now. See that light? Feel the breeze? Scout’s done it. He’s found us another way out.”
Finn had to admit she was right, at least as far as she and the dog were concerned. However, his worst fears had been realized. An exit was almost within reach, yet so far away for a big man like him it may as well have not existed.
“Okay, you go,” he said with a sigh. “Bring back help. I’ll be right here waiting.”
“Oh, no. You’re coming, too,” Selena insisted.
“I’ll never fit.” He swallowed hard. “Besides...”
“I know.” Her voice sounded tender. “I remember your hang-ups. But this is absolutely necessary.”
So, she did recall his quirky aversion to tight places, Finn mused. The good thing about that was that she’d believe him when he declared he wasn’t going to take the chance of becoming wedged in. “Not happening,” he said.
“Tell you what,” Selena countered. “Scout and I will go first, make sure there’s a way outside that we can all use, then I’ll come back for you.”
“You’d do that? Go through that space first and do it again?”
“Yes. It’s my—”
Finn interrupted. “Your duty. I know.” Earlier queasiness was returning, only this time he knew it wasn’t caused by the lump on his head. What choice did he have? If she was willing to do something twice, how would it look if he feared trying it even once? “If you’re on this side with me, at least you can grab my feet and pull me out if I get stuck.”
“Or you can start through with your arms over your head, and I can pull your hands.”
“Convince me it’s passable at all and we’ll talk,” Finn said. “I don’t think I can get through.”
“Where’s your faith?” Selena asked.
“It took a hit when I was sent to jail for a crime I didn’t commit.” And, truth to tell, was not improving since he’d deduced that somebody was out to kill him. Still, circumstances had placed him with the one person who might actually care. “It’s more people that I distrust than it is God.”
“I don’t doubt that.” Unbuckling her duty belt, she offered it to Finn, gun and all. “Hold this for me?”
“Me?”
“Yes. I can’t take a chance on getting hung up on it shinnying through that hole.”
Of all the things Selena had said and done since they’d been reacquainted, this was the most poignant. Yes, she’d reminded him that she was a cop and he was a felon, but she was proving her trust beyond any doubt by asking him to hold her weapon. No way was he going to refuse.
Finn wiped his hands on the muddy, wet jumpsuit before accepting the belt and holster. “Please tell me you don’t treat all your prisoners this casually.”
Laughing, Selena dropped to her hands and knees, preparing to start through the horizontal opening. “I’d leave it with Scout, but he hasn’t passed his firearms training yet. Be right back. I hope.”
Listening, Finn held his breath. Selena’s legs kicked and her boots passed from view. In seconds, he heard her cheer. “Made it. Lots of room over here. Honest. The initial opening is deceiving. There’s plenty of space. You can do this.”
“Yeah, so you say. I thought you were going to come back for me just in case I get stuck.”
Her arm and a muddy hand waved through the opening. “Hand me my belt and then shove the emergency pack through, too. This is a piece of cake.”
“What about your dog?”
“He’ll follow you.”
“And nip at my heels if I don’t move fast enough?”
Laughter filled the cave. “That can be arranged. Don’t give me grief, Donovan. Suck it up and get over here.”
What could Finn do? He shoved the pack through after her gun belt and dropped onto his stomach. Selena had proved that she trusted him completely. Now it was his turn to do the same for her.
His breath was shallow and rapid, perspiration gathering on his brow in spite of the chilly dampness of the underground. Three strong pushes with the toes of his boots, and his shoulders were through to the other side.
Behind him, Scout barked, the pitch high as if this was a grand game, and he wanted to keep playing.
Levering himself the rest of the way, Finn got to his feet. His hands and face were muddy and the jumpsuit barely orange anymore thanks to the cave crawl. Joy at emerging, however, overshadowed any and all discomforts.
Selena was strapping on her gun while he did his best to clean off the gooey dirt. The only thing clean about her was the belt of equipment he’d tended. Even the already brown canine looked filthy.
Excited and tugging at the leash Selena clipped on, Scout was barking at a much larger opening. Finn thought he could hear the hum of passing cars. “Is that traffic I hear?”
“I sure hope so.” She led the way with her K-9 partner. “Let’s go see.”
Following, Finn continued to have misgivings. He didn’t know why he wasn’t as overjoyed to be back out in the open until he remembered why they’d hidden in a cave in the first place.