Adrian's Eagles: Book Four (Life After War) (13 page)

“
Ain’t
got no cream left, but there’s sugar. Find a quart of milk and make your own.”

Luke grunted. He usually did that anyway, but the trade-off of… milk with the maid at Baxter’s was over now that he had Kendle.

As if she’d heard the thought, the woman glanced over at him. “Mora was here yesterday, asked about you.”

Luke glared. “I’ve told her.”

“Aye.”

The woman began stuffing things into one of her net bags. “Coffee’s long gone for town folks, but I might still be able to find a small amount for ya.”

“In exchange for?”

The woman pointed upward at Luke’s question. “Got a hole and no man help.”

“That’s worth a lot more than coffee,” Luke protested and the woman gave in reluctantly. “Guess I could feed ‘n house ya for the night too.”

”Saves us the trouble of making camp in the dark,” Luke stated, looking at Kendle.

Kendle shrugged. “Whatever you want to do is fine.”

“The wood’s under the porch. You’ll find the rest already up there,” Jenna instructed.

“You’ve had someone working on it?” Kendle’s question was drowned out.

“Hello in the hut!”

Jenna gestured at Luke. “You watch her. Make sure she don’t touch
nothin
’.”

They stayed inside as the woman went out to greet another customer, and Luke moved from his place in the doorway, giving Kendle an apologetic smile. “I told you she’s not all there, didn’t I?”

Kendle wasn’t offended. “I’m not a resident. It shows.”

Luke wasn’t sure what to say to that and was saved a response by the conversation going on outside.

“Won’t tell you
nothin
’! Get off my property.”

Luke went to the door and when he moved outside, Kendle followed.

“I’m not here for your traps, Jenna. I’m searching for… There you are.”

The sheriff’s eyes ran over them both with a knowing smirk. “Figured you two would be heading this way after what happened in Baxter’s.”

“How long have you been in town?”

 
The man’s weather-beaten face went cool at Kendle’s question. “That’s none of your concern, Ms. Roberts. I’m interviewing everyone on the island. What have you two seen?”

The sheriff clearly wasn’t a friend and Kendle added little as Luke told him about the things that had been happening.

“And you say the Mayor seemed upset or jumpy?”

“Scared, shocked.”

“What about the shack? Any tracks in the blood to go with that handprint and hair?”

“I didn’t stay to do your job. I got her out of there and we headed for town,” Luke snapped, angry the man would spill something so awful in front of the two females. “That’s when we stumbled across the Mayor.”

“Stumbled upon Mayor Kraft
…” The sheriff was writing in his little notebook. “You see anyone new on the island?”

Kendle waited for the wide man to walk toward her, but he didn’t.

“I thought I heard an engine on the way here. Faded too fast to be sure.”

“You
buyin
’ something or
gettin
’
outta
here?”

The crazy woman had either forgotten she’d told the Sheriff to leave or changed her mind, and the uniformed man didn’t remind her.

“You got any of that fly soap left? Damn bugs are worse than last year.”

“Got half a bar some dumb tourist tried to steal and broke when I chased him off.”

“That’ll do.”

The woman moved inside and Kendle followed, not caring for the way the lawman’s eyes were all over her red skin when Luke looked away. He was a sleaze, she’d bet on it.

“Can I do anything while he’s working on the hole?”

“You read?”

Kendle wondered if the woman’s sight might be going bad. “Yes. Would you like me to recite you something?”

The woman snorted, handing her a thick book from a nearby shelf. “Read yourself that and then come back here and we’ll make our plans.”

It was the Holy Bible.

“Is she staying with you permanently?”

The insinuating question drew Kendle’s attention back to the men outside.

“Yes.”

“You know her from the mainland?”

“No.”

“You’re giving me very short answers.
Wanna
tell me why that is, Mr. Johnson?”

Luke glared at the man. “Well you’re
askin
’ some real stupid questions. Unless you think she’s the person responsible for those missing women, she’s none of your concern!”

The sheriff’s face filled with satisfaction. “I can see the rumors are true. Have you told her about your past?”

Luke flushed with anger. “Yes, she knows it all,” he ground out.

The lawman frowned at him coolly. “I’ll check into that.”

Luke’s fist locked into place to keep from hitting the bastard. “You do your job while you’re at it, and find out who’s causing trouble or October’s elections could include a new peacekeeper. Won’t take much after the way you’ve handled things.”

That struck a nerve and the man snapped his pen in and put away his notebook, suddenly finished. “I’ll stop by the shack next. If I need to talk to you again?”

Luke hedged, not sure why, but willing enough to lie now. “We’re leaving tonight.”

He heard the woman and Kendle come out onto the porch, and waited for one of them to give away his bluff, but there was silence.

The sheriff stepped by to get his package, neatly covered in a sheet of plastic wrap. He handed the woman a stack of coins. “Put the rest of that on my bill, mother.”

“I will, Cole. Be safe.”

He moved out of their sight quickly, leaving Luke and Kendle both speechless. He was her son!

The woman cackled, heading for the side yard. “Love that one. It never gets old,” she snorted in amusement, hopping up the stairs. “Usually only works on mainlanders.”

Kendle and Luke shared a rueful grin at the joke that had been played on them, and followed the woman inside to begin their assigned chores.

6

“They’re calling a town meeting,” Luke told the two women as they ate supper, thinking that Jenna probably didn’t care one way or the other.

“The Sheriff said one of the items being voted on is whether or not we should draft a crew and supplies to go back to the mainland and find out what happened.”

I might be on that ship,
was Kendle’s first thought, and she looked up to see Luke staring at her with knowing eyes.

“I told him we’d be there for the meeting.”

Kendle managed not to say anything, swallowing her fear of seeing Ethan again.

“Well, I won’t,” the woman stated firmly, “As long as those
Krafts
are in charge, won’t
nothin
’ good be done no matter what way you vote.”

“You’re not the only one who thinks so.”

Jenna’s voice was grim, “That won’t matter neither. They’ll rule this island until they die, like their
murderin
’ relatives did.”

“How long has their family been in charge?” Kendle asked curiously.

The woman made a crude motion. “They’re from those that came in 1790, the Mutineers.”

“You mean the legend of Bounty Bay?” Kendle had studied it for a book report in high school and been fascinated. “I’ve read about that.”

“Weren’t no legend. Those pirates settled this island and their offspring’s been
rulin
’ ever since.”

Kendle thought quickly, sensing the woman had a piece to the puzzle she’d found earlier on the tree. “Have they always been so…”

“Evil? Deranged? Yes. They get or take what they want. Always have.” Jenna gestured at their mostly untouched plates. “How’s them cricket balls? It’s a new recipe.”

7

The sheriff had no trouble finding the creek shack, and the ladder still hanging there gave him a slight chill. No one on Pitcairn ever left rope or the like behind unless they were in a hurry. Something up there had spooked the Vietnam vet and that was a problem. LJ was one of the toughest people on this Island and, like him or not, Cole was glad the hard-ass would be at his mother’s place tonight. No way Jenna would let them head out after darkness fell.

The sheriff looked up, seeing the shadows moving in as the sun started sinking below the haze of clouds. Maybe he’d hang around and see if someone came back here during the night to clean things up. If so, he would have some answers. If not, he’d go up and try to fit new pieces into the puzzle with a fresh eye.

The choice made, Cole swept his tracks into the couple’s scattered markings and settled himself in a low tree half a dozen yards away. With his gun in his hand and a pouch of extra bullets, he felt confident that he could handle whatever came up. He was wrong.

8

Luke worked on the roof well into the evening. Kendle sat in a chair and went back and forth from watching him, to reading the book Jenna had given her. Instead of the laughter she’d expected, the woman’s face had lit up in satisfaction at the sight of her opening it and that had been enough to get Kendle to keep going. Now that she had, the world of life’s creation was dazzling her with all the possibilities. What if man wasn’t created in God’s image at all, but in that of…

“There’s a page further on you might care for,” the woman muttered as she went by, being careful not to let Luke hear. “But you mind what comes between just the same.”

Kendle began flipping through the pages, curious, and found a tucked corner near the very back. It opened to Revelations and held a single sheet of dingy yellow paper. Sensing the way Jenna wanted it handled, Kendle first glanced up to be sure Luke was out of sight before opening it. The contents were chilling.

“The Mutineers rushed upon our beach like a sand storm, the Leader killing my dad and taking his place. He wasn’t a ghost, I saw him bleed, but he was a Demon and he possessed my father. Brought back from a saber to the heart, he has become the evil that stalks this island. Not only does he rape and pillage, he also takes free women and natives, selling them into slavery. My beloved little sister has met this fate and I’ve no choice, but to try to kill him. Please God, help me! There’s no one I can trust, not even mother, whom I fear is also possessed. My heart mourns the life I once knew.”

Kendle felt tears in her eyes and blinked them back. She had questions flying through her mind, but Jenna was nowhere in sight. Was it the Kraft family? Where was this girl now? Was it Jenna? Was she a Kraft?

Not thinking to tell Luke she was stepping outside, Kendle moved that way with the slip of paper in her hand.

“Kendle?” Luke looked around the kitchen before stepping onto the porch. “Kendle? Jenna?”

There was no answer and he moved down the steps slowly, identifying her tracks. He followed them around the side of the house, aware of the lack of normal jungle noise. He drew up short at the voices.

“He wouldn’t tell and I won’t either.”

“You’ve given your word.”

“And I’ll keep it, but I don’t understand why you’ve told me…”

“Because you have to take my place.”

Kendle’s voice sounded shocked. “Are you kidding me? You are crazy.”

There was no response to that and Luke stepped around the side of the building to find them both thumbing through stacks of books they’d pulled from crawl-space boxes.

“Here it is.”

The woman handed a sheet of paper to Kendle. “That’s my dad.
Before
.”

Kendle pretended she hadn’t seen Luke watching them and he slowly faded into the jungle when she subtly waved him back.

“Do you have one of him after?”

The woman shook her head. “Not even a town picture on the wall. Cameras can’t capture images of the Devil.”

Luke’s mind raced. Someone in town was her father, someone who didn’t have any photos of themselves on the community walls. His eyes widened in discovery. Only one person didn’t have pictures up and it was a big joke between the shopkeepers to see if they could surprise him into one. The crazy lady’s father was Mayor Kraft.

“And your brother?”

Jenna flinched back violently. “That thing is not my baby brother! The mutineers dragged him into the jungle and when he came back, he weren’t Ethan no more, but some slobbering pile that lay on our floor and wet himself. He calmed down after a year or two and started acting right again, but the light was gone. They got my whole family!”

She turned to Kendle with wild eyes. “And they’ll get you, too, if he’s not careful. They’re already
watchin
’,
waitin
’ for the chance to possess you, movie star.”

The woman moved back toward the house and Luke waited for her to be out of sight before joining Kendle by the firelight of the heat-can that also served as an open store sign.