Scent of the Roses, page 35
“Where’s Scout?” he asked, looking around the nearly deserted waiting room.
Was there a hint of worry in Marsha’s voice as she answered him, or was he only imagining it? “Well, she, uh… She went home. A little while ago. I called her a cab.”
“You did what?” He turned back to stare at her. “She was supposed to stay here. With you.”
Marsha nodded. “I know. But being here wasn’t doing her any good. Her emotions are a little too volatile right now.” She smiled apologetically at Lucy. “You might have been right about the chamomile.”
“I told you,” Lucy said as she adjusted her seat, clearly settling in to wait. “She could barely focus on anything as it was. Oh, hey, what happened with the vet? Was it her dog?”
Marsha sighed. “Yes, but it’s pretty badly injured. Besides being hit by a car, it was also shot.”
“What?” Lucy recoiled. She stared at Marsha in alarm.
“Where was the dog found?” Nick heard himself ask, in a voice that sounded far calmer than he felt.
Marsha shrugged. “Not very far from Scout’s house, apparently. Just a few blocks away, in fact.”
“And Robyn?” Lucy asked. “Was there any sign of her?”
“No,” Marsha answered shortly. As her eyes strayed back to Nick’s face. He felt a deep sense of unease grip him.
“I need to go,” he said abruptly. “Lucy if you want a ride—”
“I’ll give Lucy a ride.” Marsha smiled at him, reassuringly. “You just take care of Scout. She said something about expecting you. And I know you don’t want to keep her waiting. She was a little shook up by everything that had happened. Probably didn’t even think to lock her door.”
Nick turned and hurried for the exit, his mind racing ahead of him. Well, he’d wanted a pattern, and here was another piece. He had two women missing – Lisa and Robyn. And two more women strangled – Celeste and that teacher who’d been murdered the same day Lisa disappeared. And two car accidents, one this week and the one twenty years ago that had killed Scout’s father. Both of which – why hadn’t he seen this earlier – had involved cars ordinarily driven by Scout.
And now the dog. He didn’t understand where the dog fit in, but he couldn’t worry about that right now. He had enough other things to be worried about. By the time his car flew out of the hospital parking lot, his mind had been all but shut down by the surge of adrenaline through his veins.
“Oh, Lord, what a day.” Lucy shook her head. “Marsha, can I get you anything—tea or something from one of the vending machines? I can’t believe you’re so calm.”
A small laugh escaped from her friend’s lips. “Oh, I’m not calm at all. Unfortunately,” Marsha said, looking suddenly, very, very tired. But her voice was unexpectedly firm. “But I don’t need anything here. In fact, we should go now.”
“You want to leave? But…shouldn’t we stay? Don’t you want to be here if anything…happens?”
“Nothing is going to happen,” Marsha said roughly. “Not yet. And there are things we need to do elsewhere. I’m going to need your help on this one Lucy.”
Lucy looked at her friend then—really looked at her. She took in the grim certainty on Marsha’s face, the unexpected flash of steel within her eyes. She saw the helpless fury mixed with pain. Understanding dawned inside her, she nodded gravely. A small smile lifted one corner of her mouth as she reached to clasp Marsha’s hand. “All right, Cailleach. I’m with you. Lead on.”
Nick made the trip to Scout’s house in record time, afraid to even think what he might find when he got there. He noticed how badly his hands were shaking as he tried to light a cigarette, and spared a fleeting thought for how annoyed his daughter would be with him. Very seriously annoyed. Because for as long as this thing was going on he was bound to be living on cigarettes. On cigarettes and coffee. He couldn’t even remember when he’d eaten last.
And he couldn’t believe he was even thinking about something like food right now, but it was probably good that he was. It kept his mind off where he was going. What he might find when he got there.
His mother, for instance, he thought, determinedly steering his mind back on track, would be particularly appalled by his current diet. No self-respecting Italian American should ever pay so little attention to what he ate. She’d be saying Novenas if she knew how bad the situation had become. He’d had only a few bites of the sandwich Lucy had brought him today, and before that?
Oh, yeah. Last night. The pizza. Thinking of that, and the events that followed, brought him too close to his fears, but he was almost at her house by then, and could no longer keep his mind from sliding into terror.
The house was ominously dark as he pulled up in front of it. Adrenaline propelled him out of the car at a flat run. The front door couldn’t be unlocked, could it?
Damn Marsha for putting that idea in his head. Because it wouldn’t mean a thing, even if it was. There were a lot of people in Oberon who never locked their doors at all. He knew this for a fact, but still a shudder of fear went through him when he tried the knob and felt it turn in his hand. He entered the house in a state of cold dread.
The hallway was dark, still and empty. There was not a sound to be heard other than his own breathing and the panicked racing of his heart. A flicker of motion on the second story landing made him look up. And there she stood, at the top of the stairs. Her eyes were wide and watchful in her pale face, but she was here. And alive. And that was all he cared about.
For a moment, Nick just stared at her, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. He’d been so sure he’d lost her, again. Then he was crossing the hallway, quickly, intent on reaching her and holding her, as if she were still in imminent danger of slipping away from him.
* * *
Scout had been alone in the house for what seemed like hours. Curled on her bed. Too lost in her own inner darkness to notice the way that night had swallowed up the house. Only the sound of Nick’s car in the drive, and his footsteps in the hall had been reason enough to propel her up and out of the room.
She knew the instant he sighted her. He’d looked up, and she’d seen his body tense, and then he was crossing the hall with a predator’s sure, purposeful strides. Her own body tensed in response as she watched him take the stairs two at a time with graceful, effortless speed.
As he reached the top of the stairs and wordlessly folded her into a close embrace, she was conscious of an overwhelming sense of relief. All the pain and fear and tension dissolved. They stayed that way, locked together and unmoving, for what seemed like a very long time.
Scout couldn’t remember ever having felt so safe, so comforted, so cherished. This is what it means to come home. This – what she was feeling right now – was everything she had craved her whole life. Everything she had needed and had only ever come close to finding. She neither sobbed nor shuddered, but tears coursed, unchecked, in rivers down her cheeks.
* * *
After a while Nick stirred. He dropped kisses on her head, and gently pulled away so that he could look at her. “I was so worried,” he breathed, his eyes taking in every detail of her face, anxiously reassuring himself that she really was all right.
“Were you? Why?” Scout smiled up at him. A faint, flickering smile, her eyes still bright with tears.
“What do you mean, why? When Marsha told me you’d gone home, that you were here alone, I—”
“You were worried…about me?” She sounded surprised, he realized with a shock. And something more. She sounded almost pleased by the idea.
“Of course, I was worried about you,” he growled. “What did you think? After what happened to Celeste—”
She cringed. “No, don’t! Please, don’t talk about that. It was so awful; I can’t even stand to think about it. But, Nick, why would that have anything to do with me?”
He considered telling her about some of the things he’d been thinking, some of the fears that had consumed him for the better part of the day but decided against it. There was no sense in frightening her, not until he knew more, until he had his facts straight.
“I don’t know,” he said at last. “I don’t know what it is you do to me. I feel like I’m half out of my mind all the time now.”
She smiled at him, then. Really smiled. That lustful, luminous look he always found so hard to resist.
“Hmm,” she purred. “Only half? Seems to me we should be able to do better than that. Why don’t you come back to bed with me and let’s see if I can’t find some way to drive you completely crazy?”
He was tempted. God, was he tempted. But he had to keep his head. He had to get her out of here, take her far away. Get her someplace safe. The thought seemed to originate from somewhere outside his mind, but it resonated deep within his soul. I need to protect her. To save her. Whatever the cost.
His cousin was forever on his case about how insensitive he was to things like atmosphere, but tonight even he could feel the hints of terror and grief that lurked in the enveloping shadows. There was little that was seductive about the darkness filling the house tonight. He only wondered how it was she failed to sense it, too.
“Listen,” he said urgently. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, right now. I want to get out of here. Do you think you can get some clothes together?”
“Where do you want to go?” she asked, eyes widening in hurt surprise.
“My place. C’mon,” he urged, ignoring the hurt, and his own incipient claustrophobia, as well. “Let’s go get your stuff.”
“Your place? But—” She stared at him. “I don’t know if I— Why, Nick?”
He sighed; his mind grasped wildly at straws. “Honey, when’s the last time you ate something?”
“I don’t know. I had something earlier today with Marsha and Lucy— This morning, I guess?”
“Uh-huh. Well, I think we ought to fix that. Also, it’s late and I’ve still got I lot of thinking to do, and I won’t be able to do it on an empty stomach.”
* * *
He was still smiling, and his eyes were warm and dark and reassuring. Scout could think of no reason why she should feel uneasy right now, but she did, just the same. Cold trickles of fear ran down her spine. Nothing was making sense anymore.
“Why can’t we just stay here?” she protested. “I’m sure we can find something to eat. What is it you have to think about, anyway? It’s been such a long day and I’m so tired and you…you just got here. Now you want to leave again?”
“It’s like I told you,” he repeated, stubbornly. I’m hungry. And whether you feel like eating or not, you probably should. I know you’ve had a really stressful day.”
“But I don’t—”
“And, this is just a guess, but you didn’t happen to go food shopping today, by any chance, did you?”
“Did I…shop? No, of course I didn’t! For God’s sake, Nick. How’d you expect me to think about anything like that when I—”
“Right. So, like I said. I’m gonna take you home and feed you. And then… Well, then maybe we’ll see what else we feel like doing, okay? Maybe I’ll take you up on your offer to drive me crazy, after all.”
“What’s going on, Nick?” she asked feeling suddenly very, very frightened.
“Oh, hell.” Sighing, he gave in to the inevitable. “Look…let’s just get moving now, okay? I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”
1 Just and FYI. We do find out what Marsha’s power animal is at the end of the next book, A Sight to Dream Of.
2 I love that Marsha remains ruthlessly manipulative to the end. No matter how often it blows up in her face. Hopefully it’s not a spoiler to mention that she continues in this vein throughout most of the series.
30
Lucy breathed deep, inhaling the pungent scents of the herbs she was wrapping into bundles, and felt herself instantly refreshed. Her lips moved in a silent incantation as she carefully wound the colored yarn around wands of lavender, sage, sweetgrass and cedar. So absorbed was she in her task, she barely noticed when the door opened.
Marsha entered, carrying a large box which she put down on a bench inside the door. She sighed wearily as she joined Lucy at the table. “Well, I think we’ve got just about everything.”
Marsha’s face was drawn and pale and there was a bleakness in her eyes that made Lucy’s heart ache.
“You look terrible,” Lucy told her. “Here, have some tea.” She nodded at the pot that sat on the table then watched as Marsha poured herself a cup. She knew a sense of relief after Marsha had taken a few sips and some of the strain left her face. “I sure hope you’re right about this.”
Marsha nodded. “About Scout, you mean? So do I.”
Not just about Scout, but yeah, that, too. “And you really think you can talk her into cooperating with us?”
Marsha’s lips quirked. There was an odd glimmer in her eyes, not amusement, exactly. Confidence, perhaps? Lucy couldn’t be sure. “I don’t just think it, Lucy; I know I can. Although I’m hoping it won’t come to that. I think she’ll want to do it. Don’t you?”
“Ha.” Lucy shook her head. No, not even. Not if she has any sense at all. “Have you met the woman?”
“I just wish the timing were better,” Marsha fretted. “I mean…honestly, she’s pretty fragile right now, emotionally. And if anything were to go wrong—”
Fragile? Was she still talking about Scout? “Well, that’s where I come in, isn’t it?” Lucy felt herself smile for the first time all evening. She gestured at the pile of herbs on the table. “Don’t you worry about that, Marsha. I’ll take care of Scout. She and I have some old debts to settle too, you know. And it looks like tomorrow, they’re all coming due.”
The first wave of fatigue hit Scout just as Nick turned into the driveway of his apartment building and pulled smoothly to a stop. He cut the engine, and they sat silent and still for a moment. Scout tried to fight back her exhaustion, as well as the overwhelming sense of isolation she’d been feeling – more strongly every minute – during the ride from her house.
The things Nick had told her on the way here, the ideas he had planted in her imagination, were too frightening to think about. She yearned desperately for the feeling of safety she’d experienced earlier when he’d held her in his arms at the top of her stairs.
Somehow it did not seem wise, or even possible to retreat to that safety now. She shot him a quick, nervous glance. He stirred then, and smiled at her, but she thought his smile seemed oddly strained.
When he bent to kiss her, she did not resist but only closed her eyes so he would not see the tears that had sprung into them. The touch of his lips was soft and sweet, but the driving need that had always marked his kisses before now was absent.
What’s happened to change that? What else has gone wrong since this morning? What is it he’s not telling me?
She could not shake off the feeling that he’d kiss her in just this same manner when he finally kissed her goodbye.
“I’m not sure it was such a good idea, coming here,” she murmured when he ended the kiss.
He smiled, and kissed her again, lightly, on the forehead. “We’ll feel better when we get inside,” he said, but she doubted whether she would ever feel better again.
She’d followed him into the kitchen, where she’d slumped in one of his chairs, barely noticing when he brought her a glass of wine, before disappearing into his bedroom to shower and change.
Now, she watched as he went to work fixing them a meal. He was barefoot, wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, and he seemed relaxed and casual, completely in his element. It was a side of Nick she’d only ever glimpsed before, and she liked it a lot. Even tired as she was, she couldn’t help imagining what it might be like if she could actually have this life – the life she’d always dreamed of having.
What would it be like to live here in Oberon, with Nick. To always have his warm, comforting presence filling her life. Only this morning, it had seemed like anything was possible. But this morning had been a lifetime ago. Tonight, it was hard to imagine that this happiness could be hers, that this dream had even the smallest chance of ever coming true. It was hard to believe, and it became progressively harder, as exhaustion fed her growing despair.
Her mind was a roiling mass of thoughts and emotions—all of which seemed to wriggle out of her grasp, the moment she tried to catch one. The only thing clear to her was the distant wariness in Nick’s eyes. She’d asked what was wrong, and he’d claimed he was hungry. But surely there had to be more to it than that?
Desperate to distract herself, she wrenched her thoughts away from the small, cluttered kitchen and forced herself to think instead, about what he had told her on the ride from her house…
* * *
As they’d sped through the empty streets, Scout had tried hard to feel exhilarated by the speed, by the darkness, by the danger that had always before caused adrenaline to run like a thrill through her veins. Tonight, however, she wasn’t thrilled by any of it. She was scared. And everything Nick told her only scared her more.
“Look,” he’d said. “Twenty years ago, your sister disappeared. And a short while later a car that you were in the habit of driving was involved in an accident, right? It was your car your father was driving when he went over that cliff—isn’t that what you told me?”
“Yes.”
“Right. And then now, just this past week, another woman has disappeared from the same house. And once again, your car was involved in an accident with suspicious similarities. And about the only connection I can figure between then and now, is that you were in Oberon on both those occasions. And during all the time in between – you were gone.”
