Part 42 (1/2)
”We were at the castle maybe fifteen minutes ago. Toni is gone, the door to the castle was standing wide-open and the door to the crypt is open!”
Ryan paused for breath, and Gina continued. ”And the constable's car is upside down at the bottom of the slope!”
”We just came up the road--Toni isn't on it. Did you find Bruce?” David asked anxiously.
They both shook their heads.
”Neither did we,” Kevin ventured.
They stared at one another for several seconds. Then they looked to the dark green canopy of the forest. Kevin groaned.
”She had to have run in there!” Gina whispered.
”All right, all right, let's go!” David said. He and Kevin exited the minivan. The four of them stood together, looking at the forest. Then they walked in.
When they came to the brook, David said, ”Kevin and I will follow it this way.. .you two go that way.”
And they parted.
He couldn't possibly have the strength to hurt her, Toni thought. But she dared not take that chance. She stared at him a moment, then turned to run again.
”Toni, wait! For the love of G.o.d, la.s.s, wait!” he cried.
For the love of G.o.d!
She ran. She thought she was leaping brush and dodging trees in a race to go deeper into the forest, but she came back to the water instead. Standing dead still, trying to think of her next move, she heard a groan. Her eyes darted to the water...to her left. Farther to her left.
There was someone in the water. Someone. Not a body, since the person was groaning. Male, or female? She couldn't tell. She couldn't even see clearly, the branches were so low, the green darkness so vast...
The groan sounded again. The ma.s.s was moving.
”Oh, my G.o.d!” she breathed, and rushed forward.
He rode Shaunessy hard down the hill, reining in when he saw the cars. The two of them, almost touching. The constable's car, down the slope.
He dismounted, leading Shaunessy quickly toward the entry and the brook.
Eban came out of the forest, shaking his head. Bruce strode quickly to him, catching him by the shoulders. ”Eban, where's Toni?”
”In there!” Eban said, waving a hand. ”But the la.s.s won't come to me!”
”Eban, you're certain? Who else is in there? All of them? You've got to answer me, Eban. Thayer? Thayer...he struck Jonathan. He's in the woods now, right? Eban, listen carefully. There's a body in the crypts. Do you know how it got there?”
Eban stared at him, then frowned. ”Laird MacNiall, there be lots o' bodies in the crypts.”
Bruce prayed for patience. ”One of the murdered girls is in the crypts, Eban. Do you know how she got there?”
Eban stared back at Bruce, shaking his head. ”Y'don't keep up the place, Laird Bruce, if y'll forgive me sayin' so!”
”Get to the castle and call Detective Inspector Robert Chamberlain. Please. Quickly, Eban. Get him out here.”
”Aye, Laird Bruce. Aye!”
Eban hurried toward the castle. Bruce cursed himself for not carrying his cell phone, slapped Shaunessy's haunches so he'd head back, as well, and plunged into the forest himself.
”Constable!”
Toni rushed to Jonathan Tavish's side, trying to help him up.
He leaned on her heavily to gain his footing. ”Toni.. .Miss Fraser.. .I'm sorry, but he's a bad seed, that one, he is! Slammed me in the head, wrecked the car! And he's loose.”
Toni swallowed hard. ”Come on. We'll get out of here. There's much worse, Constable Tavish. The body of that last missing girl.. .I'm almost positive I know where it is.”
”Oh, aye?”
He found some strength, straightening to look her in the eyes.
”In the crypt. The castle crypt,” she said. ”I--I don't know what it means. I can't believe that Bruce MacNiall... No, others had access, too.”
”Aye, and who would that be? Your cousin, Miss Fraser?”
”Anyone had access to the castle,” she said. ”It wasn't locked when we reached it, before we knew about Bruce. And there's Eban Douglas, as well. He's a local, and your friend, but he's a strange little man. Think about it! Anyone had access.”
”Aye, anyone had access,” he agreed.
The sound of a twig snapping suddenly alerted them to another presence. They both looked ahead.
Thayer had found her. He looked steadier, and he stared at Jonathan with loathing.
”Toni.. .you need to get away from him.”
She sighed. ”Thayer, we'll still help you. We'll see that you're represented. We'll--”
”Toni! You've got to get away from him. He clubbed me in the side of the head! Law enforcement officers don't do that!”
”You b.l.o.o.d.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” Tavish roared. ”You clubbed me!”
”You're not right, Tavis.h.!.+ You're not right!” Thayer shouted.
That caught Jonathan's attention, and gave him back his full power. He rushed Thayer, slamming him down against the ground. She heard a grunt, saw that the wind was knocked out of Thayer, and that Tavish was about to slug him hard in the jaw.
”Constable, no!” she cried, running through the water toward him.
The blow landed. Thayer's eyes closed. Toni's heart leaped to her throat. Despite all that she had seen, something in her heart was denying it.
”We've got to get him help. You might have killed him!” Toni said angrily.
Jonathan Tavish straightened again and stared at her, brus.h.i.+ng his muddied blond hair from his forehead. ”Ah, la.s.s!” he said, coming toward her. ”Poor, wee, beautiful la.s.s! I'd envisioned so much more for you!”