Part 34 (1/2)
Those intense brown eyes fixed on her face. ”Among other things, yes.”
”What are we going to do, Zach? Maria's still in the hospital. We can't just stop looking for answers, not after we've gone this far.”
”No one said we were going to stop.”
”Maybe we should go to the police, tell them our suspicions, see if they'd be willing to help.”
”They won't believe us. Even I don't believe it half the time.”
”We have to try. We have to find out if Carrie Ann Whitt was murdered in that house. We have to see if we can find her body.”
”We can't go to the cops without proof.” His gaze grew more intense. ”Then again, if Carrie Ann is there and we can find her bodywe'll have all the proof we need.”
Her eyes widened. ”Are you saying we're going to search for her ourselves?”
Zach raked a hand through his wavy dark hair. ”I've given this a lot of thought, and I don't see any other way.”
”Do you really think we can do this on our own?”
”Maybe I can find us some help.”
She sat up a little straighter. ”Who are you thinking of?”
”Sam offered,” Zach said. ”Let's see if he meant it.”
Zach picked up the telephone, began to punch in the numbers to reach Sam Marston out at Teen Vision. As soon as Sam answered, Zach briefly explained what had happened on the way home from the hospital after their visit with Maria.
”d.a.m.n, Zach. Is Elizabeth, okay?”
He glanced at her over his shoulder, saw her sitting there propped up on the sofa. Every time he noticed her shattered lip and black eye, he felt a fresh surge of fury at his brother.
”They knocked the h.e.l.l out of her, Sam. She spent the night at Community, but the doc says in a few days she'll be good as new. The reason I called, I was hoping If I remember right, you have a friend, a guy who took early retirement from the sheriff's department. I think his name is Donahue?”
”That's right, Ben Donahue. Took a bullet during a robbery at one of the local minimarts. Tall blond guy. You met him out at the farm once or twice. He works with the kids in his spare time.”
”Yeah, I remember. Seemed like a decent sort. I was hoping maybe you could get him to listen to what we have to say, maybe go in with us when we dig. Then if we find anything, Donahue can bring in the authorities. The house is in the county. That means it's the sheriff's jurisdiction. Ben's word is bound to hold more weight than mine.”
”Won't you be trespa.s.sing? I don't think he'd go for that.”
”Legally, the farm belongs to my father. Carson's the conservator, which gives him control, but it's a very fine line. If we had more time, I could get some kind of access through the court, but time isn't something we have.”
”Carson's a powerful man in San Pico. You sure you want to take him on?”
An image of Liz's battered face returned to mind and his hand tightened around the phone. ”I've been b.u.t.ting heads with Carson since I was eight years old. Besides, this isn't about my brother. It's about what's happening in that house. Maria Santiago's lying in a hospital bed because of that place. Her husband has been acting more and more strangely. I have no idea what might happen to him if he stays there much longer. Do you think Donahue might agree to at least hear us out?”
”Ben's a good guy. And I've got to admit this whole thing is d.a.m.ned intriguing. I'll call him, see what he has to say.”
”Thanks, Sam.” Zach hung up the phone and turned to find Liz smiling at him. There was something in her eyes that made his chest feel tight.
”You're amazing, you know that? I bet you really are an incredible lawyer.”
Zach smiled, too. ”I'm good. No doubt about it.”
”But we don't have time to do this by the book.”
”Not if we're worried that something might happen to Miguel.”
Liz s.h.i.+fted one of the pillows behind her back. ”I'm worried about him, Zach. He's been acting strange for weeks, more so lately. I'm convinced that whatever's in that house has incredible power. And I sure as h.e.l.l wouldn't want to be living there. When do we do this?”
”Wait a minute! You aren't goingyou just had your head bashed in. You've got to take it easy.”
She pinned him with a glare. ”I'm going. You might as well accept it. There is no way in h.e.l.l you're keeping me away.”
Zach almost smiled. He looked at her and thought how beautiful she looked even with her bruised face and cut lip. If he closed his eyes, he could still see her lying there on that gurney, still recall the way he felt when he thought she might die. Now he knew the gut-wrenching pain he would feel if he lost her.
Better to leave now, before he fell for her any harder, before the pain of losing her became too much to bear.
Zach turned away from those beautiful blue eyes that seemed to look inside him. He felt like running, felt like getting in his car and driving away without looking back. He couldn't. Not yet.
”All right, fine, you can go.”
”When?”
”The sooner the better.”
Elizabeth pa.s.sed the rest of the day sleeping lightly off and on. She was stiff and sore all over, her body battered and bruised. She was taking some sort of pain medication for the soreness but it made her drowsy. She wasn't taking it tomorrow. She had too much work to do.
She looked over at Zach, who got up to pace off and on, restless in a way she'd never seen him. Since he'd brought her home, he'd been even more distant than he had been before. She knew he was worried. She told herself it was nothing more, but deep down she was afraid it had something to do with her.
It was early that evening that Sam Marston phoned the apartment. Elizabeth answered and handed the phone to Zach.
”That's great,” he said, nodding though Sam couldn't see. ”So we'll talk to him tomorrow evening.”
Sam said something else she couldn't hear.
”All right. Thanks, Sam.” Zach hung up the phone and Elizabeth waited anxiously to find out what had been said.
”Donahue's agreed to hear us out. He and Sam are coming over at seven o'clock Monday evening. If we can convince him we're not just a couple of kooks, he'll go in with us Tuesday night.”
Tuesday night? Elizabeth bit her lip, then winced at the soreness. ”You don't think we could go in during the day?”
”If Carson sees us, he'll sic his two-legged rottweilers on us.”
”Even with an ex-cop there?”