Buried Truth (19 page)

A
s soon as Oscar got out of the car, Tank went crazy, barking and clawing at the window. Bill did not try to quiet him. The dog behaved exactly as Bill would have if he wasn’t so afraid for the women in the car. Emotions raced through him as he sought Heather’s eyes behind the windshield and saw them rounded in terror, her face pale as milk.

Tina’s and Margot’s expressions were concealed by shadows and he was grateful. They were alive for the moment and that’s all he could ask for.

His heart hammered inside and he felt a bead of sweat slide down his forehead. He needed only a moment, a way to get Oscar off guard for a fraction of a second. Al Crow was concealed somewhere and he prayed Al would find a way to buy him that time.

Oscar stepped out and closed the door behind him, gun leveled at Bill. He ordered Heather out of the car and told her to bring the car keys. She obeyed. Bill wanted to reassure her, to tell her he would get them out of this mess, but he couldn’t. He’d never lied to her and he wasn’t going to start now.

Oscar positioned Heather close, her back to the driver’s door, and retrained the gun on her.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, Cloud-man.”

“Me, too,” Bill said, his mind whirling. With Heather so close, Al would be afraid to take a shot for fear of hitting Heather or the two people still in the car. He had to keep Oscar talking and hope for an opening.

Tank’s frenzy increased and he slammed at the truck window.

“I didn’t expect to have so many extra bodies around, but life is unpredictable and you’ve got to roll with the punches.” Oscar grinned.

“They have nothing to do with it. You want me because I am responsible for Autie’s death, isn’t that right?”

Heather gasped as the words hit their mark. Oscar stiffened. “Yes, and you will die like the cowardly dog you are, but not until you see them die first. I want to see the suffering on your face.”

“First, tell me. Why did you kill my sister?”

He shrugged. “She was too close to finding it.” He laughed. “Now that I know she was your sister, I should have found a more painful way for her to die instead of a blow to the head and an injection to make it look like she overdosed. A quick push over the cliff and it was done.”

A red mist filled Bill’s vision as he struggled for self-control. “She was close to finding what?”

“My chance for the big payoff. My one chance to make sure my son had everything he deserved. I could have made it all happen, but your sister was close to figuring it out. She was nosy, just like you and just like Hazel.”

“I still don’t understand. What was the payoff?”

Oscar hesitated a moment. “Doesn’t matter. You don’t get to know all the answers. I do. I know all the secrets and I choose not to let you in on them.” Oscar’s gloating distracted him from two important details—the faintest squeak of metal from the warehouse roof and the slow movement of Heather’s hand as she slid her fingers into her pocket.

It was an innocent gesture and Bill had no idea what she planned, but he caught the look on her face, desperate yet determined. With a Herculean effort he kept his eyes fixed on Oscar. “So I’ll die never knowing why you killed my sister.”

Oscar laughed. “Exactly.”

The next moment unrolled in a frantic haze. Heather pulled something out of her pocket and threw it into Oscar’s face. Whatever it was, it caused him to jerk back just as Al Crow dropped down from the roof of the warehouse and Bill lunged at Oscar. There was a shot fired, but Bill didn’t have time to track where it went.

They tumbled over and over on the dusty ground, Tank barking viciously until Bill heard the sound of breaking glass and the dog smashed his way out of the truck, grabbing the back of Oscar’s jacket between his teeth.

It was all Bill could do to hold on to Oscar, whose fury gave him the strength of a much bigger man. They grappled, Bill desperately trying to keep Oscar’s gun from firing in the direction of the women.

Tank continued to savage Oscar’s coat.

“I’ll kill you,” Oscar hissed between grunts.

Bill didn’t answer. He was not going to let this man go unless it was to a prison cell. The gun fired again.

“Heather, get down,” he shouted.

He wasn’t sure if she did as instructed, because Oscar got a hand loose and struck him in the face. The stinging pain made his eyes water and he felt Oscar roll on top of him. Another shot rang out, followed by another sound of breaking glass.

Bill felt the tide turning. He knew if he didn’t rally, Oscar would win.

All he could think of was Heather’s chocolate eyes on him, trusting him, loving him. With a muttered prayer and a savage
effort he wrenched Oscar’s arm to the side. The impact of Oscar’s hand striking the car caused the gun to come loose and skitter across the ground. He forced Oscar onto his back and knelt on top of his shoulders, pinning him.

A surge of triumph powered through him and he wiped the sweat from his face. Panting heavily he looked up, stomach dropping when he saw Heather kneeling on the ground.

As soon as she’d seen Al Crow jerk backward after he dropped down from the roof, she knew he’d been shot. Mind a whirl of terror, she shouted to her mother to keep Tina down and ran to the stricken man. While she desperately tried to find the source of his injury, her mind was on Bill. Did Al have a gun that she could use to help fend off Oscar?

Al groaned and Heather was reassured. He was alive at least. Where was his gun? It must have come loose in his fall. Patting him along the sides, she felt the armored vest under his shirt. Kevlar. She exhaled, keeping one eye on Bill as he struggled with Oscar.

She saw the hole where the bullet had entered near his ribs, but it had not penetrated the Kevlar. She sighed in relief as he began to stir, her heart leaping when she saw his rifle a few feet away in the bushes.

Bill was yelling something and she saw with a surge of dizzying relief that he seemed to have gotten Oscar under control. His stricken face told her his thoughts.

“Al’s okay,” she yelled. Then she found a pair of elastic restraints in Al’s pockets and tossed them to Bill before she grabbed the rifle.

Bill managed to get Tank off long enough to tie Oscar’s hands. Then he stood slowly and peered into the car.

Heather kept the rifle trained on Oscar as her breath caught. Her mother and Tina. Had they been hit? Visions of
what Bill might find in the car made her tremble. She started toward the car, her whole body shuddering in terror.

Then the door opened and Margot and Tina got out.

Heather nearly cried at the sight of them, Tina clutched tightly in Margot’s arms.

Thank You, God.

Thank You.

Al was trying to stand and she gave him an arm to help. He cursed and moaned as he got to his feet, blinking the grit from his eyes. “Did we get him?”

Heather wanted to shout the news. “Yes. We got him.”

Al nodded and took the rifle out of her hands. “I’ll cover him.”

She handed the weapon over and ran to Bill.

He folded her in his arms and whispered words she could not make out.

It didn’t matter. He was safe and it was over.

His arms were tight around her and the thud of his heart on her cheek was the sweetest thing she’d ever felt.

“Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” Bill whispered.

“No,” she said, pulling away to look in his face. “I’m okay. And you got him, Bill. You brought down Oscar Birch.”

His voice broke once as he answered, “I had help. What did you toss in his face?”

She fished a tiny object out of her pocket. “Tina’s pink beads.”

He laughed then, a sound she had not heard in a long time.

They turned to find Al pulling Oscar to his feet as flashing lights began to make their way onto the property, accompanied by the wail of sirens.

Margot waved a handheld radio. “I found the portable radio stuck under the seat. Tina and I called for help.”

The look Oscar gave them was pure malice.

“It’s a long way to prison, Cloudman. This isn’t finished.”

“You’re right,” Bill said. “It won’t be finished until you’re tried for my sister’s murder and the abduction of these three women.”

“Not to mention trying to kill off the two of us,” Al said, sweat trickling down his face. “I think he should get a nice hefty sentence for that.”

Oscar didn’t answer and Heather was glad when Al turned him away to greet the arriving police cars.

She noticed Tina was watching Oscar, fingers jammed in her mouth.

The child shouldn’t witness the hatred written all over Oscar’s face. She went to Tina and turned her away, calling Tank over to distract the girl.

Tank finally left his watch over Oscar and approached Tina for a wet lick to her face.

Heather laughed.

A sound exploded through the air.

She caught a glimpse of Oscar crumpling to the ground, a dark spot visible on his forehead. Then everything was a blur. Officers shouted and took cover. Bill and Al pushed the women toward the shelter of the car and shoved them inside.

“What is it?” she gasped at Bill. “What’s happening?”

Bill pressed his body over hers on the backseat while Al did the same to Tina and Margot in the front.

“Somebody just shot Oscar Birch.”

“Wh-who …?” she stammered.

His arms tightened on her shoulders and he spoke quietly into her ear. “I don’t know. Stay in the car until the scene is secured. We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can.”

“Bill—” She grabbed at his hand as he pulled away. “What does this mean? I thought it was over.”

He cupped her cheek, warm fingers stroking her tearstained face. “I did, too.” He moved closer, until his face was so close to hers her breath grew short. He traced his lips along her cheekbones. “At least you’re okay. That’s all I need to know right now.”

He pressed a kiss to the spot where her pulse hammered in her temple. Nerves sparked inside, arcing through her like a jolt of electric current. More than anything, she wanted him to stay here, with her.

“I wanted to tell you …” he whispered.

A Tribal Ranger rapped on the door. Bill got out.

“Shot came from up there,” the Ranger said, pointing to a crest of rock fifty yards away. “We saw a motorbike take off, so I think the shooter’s gone, but we’ll cover the grounds, see what we can find.”

Bill nodded. “I want these women taken to safety. Tina needs to stay with them until we know what happened.”

He nodded. “Feds are on their way, but we’ve only got a half dozen guys here right now.” He shot a slightly hesitant look at Crow. “Can you drive them back? You can take my car.”

Crow nodded. “Okay. Get my horse back, would ya? He’s tied under those trees.”

Heather didn’t want to go anywhere, but she didn’t seem to have any choice in the matter. Al instructed them to stay low as he drove the car as quickly as he dared off the property. Try as she might, she could make no sense of what had just happened. For a moment it had been over, Oscar in custody and everyone safe. Then the shot had come out of nowhere, and clearly Oscar was the target.

The memory of Bill’s embrace clung to her mind. There was something different about him, but she hadn’t had the time to examine things closely.

“Al? How did you happen to be there with Bill?”

“He called me. There was no way to get a car in or out without Oscar knowing, so I rode my horse.”

“He called you?” After seeing the rage on Bill’s face when he’d found out about Al’s failure, she didn’t think it was possible.

Al caught her eye in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, surprised me, too. He said if he was ever gonna be forgiven for his mess-ups, he’d better start extending the favor.”

Forgiveness? Was Bill finally going to be able to forgive himself for Johnny’s death? And would he ever be able to forgive her for her colossal failure? There was no way of knowing until she had a chance to talk to him. What she did know was that in his arms she’d found the happiness that her heart had sought for so long.

After what seemed like an eternity they arrived back at her cabin. It was late, but Heather knew she would not sleep. Not with Bill still out there and some new threat on the loose. Choo Choo greeted them with a wagging tail and slobbery licks. The old dog brought a smile to Tina’s face.

Al left to check the property when a federal agent arrived. Heather suspected it had more to do with Al’s shame at being relieved of duty than anything else. Margot took Tina to the back room with Choo Choo while Heather met with the agent.

“How’s Rudley?” she asked before he had a chance to start the questions.

“Holding his own. Lost a lot of blood, but the bullet didn’t hit anything vital.”

She sagged in relief. The grief she felt at leaving him there alone and bleeding eased a bit. The agent ran her through the events of the evening down to the last detail.

“Who was Oscar speaking to on the phone after the crash?”

Heather shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Was it a male or female voice?”

She knew if she could help figure out who the caller was, it might tell them who killed Oscar. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know.”

She could see the disappointment on his face before he asked her to fetch her mother for her side of the story. Heather found them in the back bedroom, watching a cartoon on the small TV.

“I don’t have any idea what this ridiculous show is about, but it calmed her down,” Margot whispered as she returned with Heather to meet the agent.

What followed was another half hour of questioning, with the same result. Margot was no more help in solving the mystery than Heather had been. The agent finally excused himself and went to his car to make phone calls.

They found Tina asleep in front of the television, fingers jammed in her mouth. Heather took off Tina’s shoes and they tucked her into the bed. Her face was so small against the pillow, so delicate and innocent. She should never have had to endure what she’d been through that day.

Heather saw in her mother’s face that she felt the same way. They tiptoed out of the room. Before they closed the door, Choo Choo heaved himself up onto the bed and curled up next to the girl. Heather gaped. “I didn’t know he could even do that.”