Babe in the Woods

“Another drink?”

She looked at the empty Long Island iced tea glass. The drinks were delicious, but potent. She’d never been one to deliberately set herself up for a headache. “Better not.”

“Coffee?”

“That would be great.” She found she wanted to linger on the restaurant’s dock with Dru. They’d spent the entire evening talking about Natchez and Blackthorn and the mound-building Indians who were now the focus of Brett Gibson’s research in Natchez.

As the waitress placed the coffee on the wrought-iron table, Rebecca refastened the elastic band around her honey-colored hair. She’d begun the evening with it down on her shoulders, but the wind whipping off the water had sent it flying. The only solution was scissors or restraint.

“This has been the most relaxing evening I’ve had in months,” Dru said.

“Me, too. Thanks for asking me. Maybe Joey will let me borrow his newfangled kitchen to cook a meal for all of us.”

“I’d like that,” Dru said.

They sipped their coffee and let the warm night sounds drift around them. It was unusual to spend only one evening with a man and feel comfortable enough not to force the conversation. But Dru was different from most men she’d known. He had a quiet confidence that allowed her to relax—to drop the role of hostess and caretaker that had been hers since she was a child.

“Why don’t we leave here and go under the hill?” Dru asked with a grin.

“Under the hill?” Rebecca wasn’t certain what he was talking about. “A cave?”

“It’s a part of town that used to be wide open. Sort of the French Quarter of Natchez,” he said, “like the older part of New Orleans. Back in the days when Natchez was a booming river town, all of the best bars and gambling dens were located ‘under the hill’ or down on the water. It was a rowdy place known for its lawlessness and danger.”

“Until you were elected sheriff?” she asked innocently.

“I’m not quite that old,” he said, pretending to be wounded. “But if I can use my cane, I think I can dance a few numbers with you.”

“I haven’t danced in…a long time,” Rebecca admitted. How long had it been? College? Surely not, but she couldn’t recall another time.

“You don’t forget,” he said. “I have a dirty little secret to tell you if you agree to go.”

“My, my, a lawman who bribes,” she said. “Okay, let’s go. You’ve got my curiosity working overtime.” It was true. Just the hint of a secret was enough to whet her appetite. Dru was only jesting, but it was very effective.

They drove down a street that seemed to drop almost to the water’s edge. As Dru parked the car, Rebecca could already hear the music and laughter coming from several restaurants and bars.

“Sounds young,” she said, a little nervously. She wasn’t thirty, yet she often felt much older.

“Not where we’re going. That’s my dirty secret. When I broke up with Celeste, I was so depressed the deputies got together and paid for some ballroom dancing lessons. I discovered that I liked it.”

“No!” Rebecca was shocked. Dru, in his cowboy boots and jeans didn’t look a whit like someone who would tango or rumba. But then, what, exactly, would someone who could do those things look like? “I don’t know how to do those dances,” she said.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I learned that the man’s job is to make the woman look good.”

They entered a restaurant and Dru led her down a flight of steps to a small bar where a woman in a sequined gown sang as a half dozen couples danced.

Before she could muster a protest, he pulled her into his arms and began waltzing her around the floor. “Relax,” he said. “Just relax, feel the music and let me lead.”

“Easier said than done,” she said, trying so hard to relax that she made herself stiff all over again. But in a few moments, she picked up the rhythm. When she did so, Dru began to move more freely around the dance floor with her. After one or two faltering steps, she adapted to his lead. In only a few moments, they were dancing like old partners.

“See, I told you it’s easy,” he said, putting her into a turn and bringing her back into his arms.

“Only because you make it easy,” she said, grinning widely. “This is great.”

Dru ordered drinks, and they sipped them in between dancing each number. Rebecca was shocked when she looked down at her watch and saw that it was after two in the morning. “I should go home,” she said a little breathlessly.

“Me, too,” Dru said reluctantly. “The night just got away from us.”

He was paying the tab when his cell phone rang. Frowning, he answered it, waving to Rebecca that he was going outside to talk. She should collect his change.

The expression on his face had her worried as she accepted the bills from the cashier and hurried up the steps and into the warm night.

“Ms. Barrett is with me,” Dru was saying. “I’ll escort her home and check it out. No, don’t worry about it. You did the right thing by calling.”

He put the phone away and turned to face her. “There’s been some trouble at Blackthorn,” he said. “I’ll take you there right away.”

DRU SAW the flashing lights of the ambulance and pulled up behind it. Beside him, Rebecca looked alabaster she was so pale. She didn’t even wait for the car to stop. She got out and ran to the back of the ambulance where two attendants were loading Joey Reynolds.

“Joey,” Rebecca said, grasping his hand. The young man was unconscious. “Joey!”

Dru put his hands on Rebecca’s shoulders and gently moved her out of the way of the paramedics as they prepared Joey for transport to the hospital.

“What happened?” Rebecca asked two officers who were standing nearby.

They looked at Dru, and he nodded.

“We got a call that Mr. Reynolds had fallen from the loft of the barn. It seems he may have been haying the horses when he tripped. I can’t guarantee it, ma’am, but he was breathing good and all. Once he regains consciousness, he’s probably going to be okay.”

Dru wanted to thank the man for his kindness. No one could guarantee Joey’s condition, but the deputy had seen enough accidents to be able to deduce a little something to set Rebecca’s mind at ease.

“Who called the ambulance?” she asked.

“I did.” Brett stepped into the circle of light thrown by the patrol car headlights.

“Thanks, Brett,” Rebecca said.

“Now maybe you’ll listen to me and get that…Joey off the property. He’s not responsible. He never should be allowed around those horses. Up in that barn fiddling around, nearly killing himself.”

“Mr. Gibson,” Dru stepped in. Now wasn’t the time to rant and rave about what should have been done. “How do you know Joey tripped and fell?”

“I don’t know for certain. Maybe Joey was trying to fly,” he said sarcastically. “Either he tripped or he jumped, officer. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I should go to the hospital,” Rebecca said. “When he wakes up, I want him to see someone familiar.”

“I’ll drive you,” Dru offered.

“No, stay here and do what you can to find out what happened. I’ll take my own car.”

Dru didn’t like her pale complexion, but he knew it was pointless to argue with her. He’d known enough women in his day to realize that trying to stop one on a chosen path was about as effective as stepping in front of a train. “I’ll check with you as soon as I’m finished here,” he promised and watched her hurry off into the night.

With his two deputies, Dru began to look around the barn area. He found where Joey had fallen, and when he looked, it did appear as if perhaps Joey had stumbled and fallen from the loft into the center aisle of the barn. That raised several questions, one of which he asked Brett.

“What was Joey doing in the hayloft at two in the morning?” Dru didn’t mention that he’d known Joey all of his life. Joey was honest, hardworking and he slept the sleep of the innocent. He went to bed at ten and got up at dawn. He wasn’t inclined to wandering around in the dark.

“I don’t have a clue,” Brett said in a snappy tone.

The anthropologist had a sharp tongue and an acid disposition. If he’d ever been taught any manners at all, he’d forgotten them. “What were you doing wandering the premises at two in the morning?” Dru asked easily.

There was a pause as Brett considered the subtle implication that his early-morning wanderings might have some impact on Joey’s. “I heard something,” he said. “I was asleep in my tent and I heard someone rustling around in the bushes. I got up to see who it was. Then I heard this moaning sound and I went to investigate. Instead of questioning me, you should be thanking me. If I hadn’t stumbled on Joey, he’d have lain out there all night.”

Dru didn’t point out that it wasn’t his job to thank someone for acting like a civilized human. “Do you think maybe Joey heard something, too?”

Brett rolled his eyes. “Joey’s only interested in those damn horses and his plants. If the horses or plants were talking, he was probably out in the barn listening.”

“Thank you,” Dru said. He was tired and he had had just about as much of Brett Gibson as he could take. He spoke with the two deputies, and they began marking off the area. It looked like a simple accident, but where Blackthorn was concerned, Dru knew he couldn’t be too careful.

Rebecca had seen someone in the woods that very morning. It was possible someone was on the property with the intention of making trouble.

WHEN JOEY OPENED his eyes, he blinked and focused on Rebecca. “I knew you’d help me,” he said. “My head hurts.”

“I know,” Rebecca answered, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking his hand. No matter that the doctors had assured her he was fine. Now, with his gentle blue eyes focused on her, she could believe it. “You scared me half to death, Joey. You’ve been asleep for nearly twelve hours.”

“Twelve hours?” he said, his forehead furrowing. “I’m sorry. I was scared.”

“What happened?” Rebecca eased back, giving him some space.

“I was in my apartment,” he said, “looking at some seed catalogues. I think snapdragons by the foundation of the house, don’t you?”

“Perfect. What happened?”

“I heard someone in the barn.”

The words chilled Rebecca so effectively that she had to remember to draw in a breath. “Who? Did you see anyone?”

Joey shook his head. “I slipped out of the apartment, hurried down the stairs, and then I thought I heard some one in the loft. So I went to the feed room and climbed the ladder there. I was afraid they’d try to hurt one of the horses, so I was really careful.”

There was only one ladder into the loft. If someone was up there and Joey went looking, he’d essentially trapped that person.

“Did you see anyone?” Rebecca asked again.

“No. Someone hit me on the head with something. I lost my balance and fell.”

Rebecca forced herself to take a deep breath. The worst thing she could do would be to frighten Joey with her own panic. “Are you sure someone hit you?” she asked gently.

Joey nodded. “Feel.” He reached for her hand and put it on a big knot on the side of his head. “There.”

“Joey, do you know who did this?”

He shook his head. “I didn’t see who it was.”

“Did you notice anything else?”

“There was a red can in the loft. It looked like the can that goes with the tractor.”

“Diesel?” Rebecca couldn’t hide her fear any longer. Was it possible someone intended to set the barn on fire and that by some fluke Joey had prevented it?

“Yeah, the diesel for the tractor. It looked like that can, but it shouldn’t have been in the barn. It belongs in the equipment shed.”

“That’s right,” Rebecca said, eager to get to the court house and check with Dru to see what he’d found.

“Did I do the right thing?” Joey asked, a frown on his face. “I don’t want to disappoint Aurelia and Marcus. They said I should watch out for the horses and all the animals at Blackthorn.”

“You did exactly right,” Rebecca reassured him, squeezing his hand. “You did perfect, Joey. Now I’m going in to talk with the sheriff. Will you be okay?”

He nodded. “Can I go home soon?”

“As soon as they release you,” Rebecca said. “I’ll be back for you.”

Before she was at the door he had closed his eyes and had drifted into sleep. She watched from the doorway for a moment, wondering just how lucky he’d been to escape with his life.

WHEN SHE ARRIVED at the courthouse, she wasn’t surprised to see that Dru was in his office. It wasn’t quite noon yet, but the courthouse was emptying out. She walked into the sheriff’s office and saw Drew, backlit by a large window in his private office.

“How’s Joey?” he asked, his gaze lingering on her.

“He’s going to be okay. He said someone hit him.”

Dru stood up and walked around, assisting Rebecca into a chair. “I wish I had better news. We found a piece of lumber with blood and hair on it that I’m positive will be Joey’s. Someone struck him with that lumber.”

“And deliberately knocked him out of the loft? They could easily have killed him.”

“I can’t speak to their intention, but they surely meant to knock him out.”

“Joey said there was a can of diesel in the loft.”

Dru’s eyebrows shot up. “We searched the loft but we didn’t find any diesel fuel.”

“Maybe Joey frightened them away.”

“If he did, he’s a very lucky man to be alive. And so are those horses.”

“What’s going on, Dru?” Rebecca asked, trying hard not to let her voice tremble.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”

CHAPTER THREE

BRETT AND THE rest of the crew were drinking the last of the iced tea from their lunch break when Rebecca got back to Blackthorn.

“How is Joey?” Brett asked, and there was an odd tone in his voice.

Rebecca felt a sudden chill. Brett hated Joey, but surely not enough to try and injure him.

“He’s going to be okay. He’s very lucky. The fall from the barn could have killed him.”

“I know you think I’m a hard man,” Brett said, “but Joey shouldn’t be out here. This is a dangerous place and he’s going to get hurt.”

Rebecca locked her gaze with Brett’s and spoke softly. “Joey didn’t trip and fall. Someone hit him with a board and tried to kill him.”

Brett’s face drew into a frown. “That’s nuts. Who would want to hurt the simpleton?”

“That’s a good question,” Rebecca said. “And I’m sure Sheriff Colson will find the answer to it.”

“Who would want to hurt Joey?” Brett repeated almost as if he were talking to himself.

“Don’t repeat that information to the rest of the crew,” Rebecca cautioned him.

“Because you’re afraid they’ll quit?”

“Because one of them may have done it,” Rebecca said, once again watching Brett for any sign of guilt.

“I’ve worked with these men on two other digs.” Brett was having no difficulty working himself into indignation. “They have no reason to injure Joey.”

It was interesting that Brett defended his men. Rebecca took it as a good sign. “Nonetheless, it’s best if they don’t know that Joey was attacked. The construction workers are also going to be questioned. If someone on the estate is guilty, it’ll be easier to find out who it is if they don’t think we’re suspicious.”

“Except it puts my workers in some jeopardy,” Brett pointed out. “They have a right to know that someone is on the loose at Blackthorn, whacking people in the head.”

Rebecca felt her throat close. She hadn’t said that Joey was hit in the head. “Brett, don’t argue with me. Just do what I tell you. In the end, I’m the one responsible, not you.” She walked away, hoping that her little act of bravado had covered her intense concern about Brett and his involvement with what had happened to Joey. As soon as she got a chance to talk to Dru, she’d repeat the entire conversation.

Although she was tired, she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest. She went up to the shell of the house. Progress was being made, but it seemed slow to her.

The contractor had built a makeshift staircase to the upper floor, and though she’d given strict orders to all but the carpenters not to venture to the upper levels, she climbed up herself.

The vista was incredible. The house Aurelia and Marcus were building wasn’t huge—at least not like the former plantation that had stood on Blackthorn. But it was an imposing structure that seemed to rise from the high bluff overlooking the river. The exterior walls would be made of cement blocks poured in specially designed molds to give the appearance of limestone. Once finished, the house would be indestructible. Those inside the walls of Blackthorn House would have the most spectacular view of the Mississippi in the whole area.

Leaning against a four-by-four support, Rebecca gazed down at the early sunlight on the “father of waters,” as the Indians had called the Mississippi.

Movement at the base of the cliff caught her eye. Probably a deer. She leaned out, trying to get a good look. She caught only a glimpse, but something about what she saw troubled her. There was too much white for a deer. The animal she saw moved in a jerky fashion, not with the smooth, bounding grace of a whitetail.

The man burst out of a clump of shrubs and darted into another. He was almost at the river, and when he got there, he looked in both directions before dragging a small boat out of the bush and jumping into it. In a matter of moments, he was swirling away in the current.

“Damn!” Rebecca watched as he disappeared in the tree-covered lee of the river. She left the window and hurried back to the caretaker’s cottage. It was too late to catch whoever was on Blackthorn property illegally, but maybe they’d left some clues behind.

DRU WAS pleasantly surprised when the telephone rang on his desk at three forty-five and he heard Rebecca’s breathless voice. He’d just been thinking of her. But when she reported what she’d seen, he told her to hold on, he was on the way.

The two deputies who’d worked the assault on Joey were off duty, so Dru called two others to work the physical evidence at the riverbank, if there was any.

He didn’t wait for them to get their gear. He got in his car and drove straight to Blackthorn. Rebecca looked both excited and tired, and he had to stop himself from the impulse to put his arms around her.

“It was directly below the house,” she said, starting toward the river.

Dru didn’t have to wait long for his men. They pulled up and began to ease down the steep bluff that overlooked the powerful river.

“Should we go with them?” Rebecca asked.

Dru shook his head. “The best thing we can do is stay out of their way. If they find something, they’ll let me know.”

“I can’t help but wonder who’s trespassing so freely on Blackthorn,” Rebecca said. “I saw him. He’s slender with sandy-brown hair. And he seems to know his way around here fairly well.”

“I talked to Joey,” Dru said. “He just didn’t see anyone. He’s eager to come home, though.”

Rebecca rubbed her right eyebrow with her finger. “Brett says it isn’t safe for Joey here. He says Joey’s going to get hurt.” She met Dru’s gaze. “And that it would be my fault if I allowed him to stay in a dangerous place.”

Dru shook his head lightly. “Joey’s a grown man, Rebecca. He’s a little slow, but he knows Blackthorn better than anyone else. He’s as safe here as anywhere else.”

“What about last night?”

“The person who struck Joey wasn’t lying in wait for him. Joey interrupted something. And in all likelihood saved the lives of those three horses.”

Rebecca couldn’t deny that. “I just don’t want him hurt. He’s such a kind man….”

“And one who knows how to keep his eyes open now that he’s aware of danger.”

Rebecca’s smile was like the sun slipping out from behind a cloud. “You make me feel better, you know.”

“You don’t deserve to feel bad,” he said simply.

“I wonder what’s going on here?” Rebecca said. “The treasure has been found. There’s no reason for anyone else to be slipping through the woods, causing trouble.”

“But someone is—or at least someone is slipping through the woods,” Dru pointed out, wondering himself if there were two separate incidents—the attack on Joey and some kids trespassing on Blackthorn for a thrill. He wasn’t so certain the “trespasser” was harmless.

The two deputies came up from the bluff. “We got a cast of a footprint,” one said, “but that’s about it. A male. About a size 11, worn running shoes. It’s distinctive if we can find the shoe. There’s a small place on the bank where someone’s been tying up a boat. It’s been used more than once.”

Dru nodded. “Good work.”

“Can you recommend a good security agency?” Rebecca asked. “I’ll hire a watchman to guard that landing.”

One thing Dru liked about Rebecca was her ability to land on her feet. When something happened, she figured out a way to fix it. But he wasn’t ready yet to post a guard.

“If we’re lucky, the intruder isn’t aware that he’s been seen. He didn’t see you in the scaffolding, did he?”

Rebecca shook her head, her expression showing curiosity about where he was going.

“Then he may believe he hasn’t been discovered at the landing. If that’s true, he’ll come back.”

“Which is exactly why I want someone down there to stop him.”

“But it may be our best opportunity to catch him,” Dru said with a grin. “If we’re waiting for him up here.”

He saw the two deputies look at each other. The glance was covert, and in an instant they were impassive again. Rebecca obviously saw it too.

“I doubt the Adams County Sheriff’s Department will stake out my property to prevent a trespasser,” she said.

“I couldn’t assign one of my men,” Dru agreed. “But I could stay myself. I think a night watch will be sufficient.”

He saw the unexpected rush of gratitude on Rebecca’s face and realized she would never have asked for special favors. That was another thing he liked about her. She didn’t assume anything.

“I’d rather catch him than scare him off,” Rebecca admitted. “I’m afraid if he gets scared off the river, he’ll just come in from the road.”

“I suspect you’re right about that,” Dru agreed, meeting his deputies’ amused glances.

“I’ll volunteer to help, too,” one of the deputies said with a wicked grin at Dru. “Me, too,” the other chimed in.

“All I can say is that the Adams County law enforcement is the most accommodating I’ve ever heard about,” Rebecca said. “Perhaps I could offer you gentlemen some coffee and breakfast?”

“If you’re sure it’s no bother,” Dru said, shaking his head in amusement at his two officers.

As he and Rebecca led the way to the cottage, he glanced back toward the river. Who was on Blackthorn property and what were they doing there? With the recovery of the treasure and Marcus’s confession that he’d been playing the role of Andre Agee, the mysterious horseman, to thwart development of the property, Dru had hoped that all of the rumors and odd events at Blackthorn would stop. Now it looked as if he’d been more than a tiny bit optimistic.

REBECCA SLIPPED into her riding breeches with a sigh of guilty anticipation. She’d brought Joey home from the hospital with a knot the size of a goose egg on his head, but the doctor had assured her he was perfectly fine. She’d left him sitting in the shade of a big pecan, watching over his garden.

She’d talked to the contractor, Eugene Batson, about the wiring, repeating all of the things Marcus had written on a list for her. One thing she’d learned from this experience was that she never wanted to build a house. The details were endless, and there were times she simply had to guess what Marcus and Aurelia would want. Perhaps the experience would be more enjoyable if she weren’t serving as absentee owner. Then again, how many people got to participate in the construction of what was going to be one of the most architecturally innovative houses ever built. She grinned as she laced her paddock boots.