At Risk (15 page)

They headed off to the right, circling around the house.
He saw slow-moving water behind the building and also the dock. The speedboat was still moored there.

“The Windfall?” Eugenia asked.

“Yeah.”

When he spotted the shack from the vision, he stopped short.

“That’s it.” He turned. “Stay back.”

She gave him a fierce look.
“I want to see it.”

“Wait until I make sure it’s all right.”

He stepped to the edge of the vegetation and looked out at the cleared area. Then, cautiously, he approached the shed that he thought was being used as a voodoo shrine.

The door wasn’t locked, and he carefully pulled it open.
His breath caught. The shed was empty, except for the wooden shelf.

Movement behind him made him glance around.
Eugenia had come up beside him

“There’s nothing here.”

“It
was
here. Someone’s cleared it away.”

He’d just closed the door again when the crack of a rifle shot broke the silence.

Chapter Fourteen

Rafe pulled Eugenia behind the shed, crouching down and dragging her with him.

“Who?” she whispered.

“I don’t know.
But we’re getting out of here.”

“You have your gun?”

“Yeah, but shooting someone while we’re trespassing might be a bad idea.”

As she made a sound of agreement, he looked back the way they’d come, not liking the stretch of open ground between them and the cover of the thick vegetation.

With the shed blocking the shooter’s line of sight, he pointed toward a tupelo tree that had been left when the land was cleared.

“I’m going to create a diversion.
You crouch over and run to that tree.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll follow.”

He looked around and found a couple of baseball-sized rocks on the ground.
Picking them up, he heaved one into the underbrush.

Immediately the shooter aimed at the sound and fired.

“Go,” he whispered to Eugenia.

She took off for the tree.

He heaved another rock, then followed Eugenia, making it to the tree before the shooter realized he’d been suckered and fired toward them again.

Eugenia gave him a panicked look when he joined her behind the trunk.

Turning, he saw a dark-haired man holding a rifle. The guy was dressed in camouflage pants and a jacket.

Eugenia followed his gaze and gasped.

“You know him?”

“He was here when Villars had the party.
He didn’t have a gun then. And he was wearing a nice golf shirt.

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know. What are we going to do?” She gulped. “I could stand up and say “Hi.” Maybe he remembers me.”

“And what are you doing sneaking around now?”
Rafe searched the vicinity for an escape route. The bayou was twenty yards in back of the tree. “We’re going into the water.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“You have a better idea?”

“No.”

He took her hand, ducking low as he led her toward the dark, slow-moving water.

When she hesitated on the bank, he pulled her in, staying close to the side where the weeds were thick as he moved farther from the house, hoping the tall grasses hid them.
He’d thought they’d gotten away until a shot hit the water about a foot from their hiding place.

“Take a breath and hold it, then get the hell under.
Go with the current.”

When she did, he followed her underwater, moving away from the Villars property.

He stayed below the surface as long as he could, then came up. Beside him, Eugenia was already gasping for air, her hair streaming around her face. They kept moving, and after about five minutes, Rafe lifted his head just enough to see if the man was following.

He’d stopped along the bank and was staring in their direction, but this time he apparently didn’t see them through the weeds.

Praying that they weren’t going to run into an alligator or a cottonmouth, Rafe kept putting distance between himself and the shooter.

When he reached another dock, he went under it, coming up on the other side.

“I guess we made it to someone else’s property,” he said.

“Thank God.”

He was about to climb out of the water when he spotted a gator gliding toward them.

“Get behind me.” As she complied, he picked up a piece of driftwood floating under the dock and whacked the creature on the snout.

The reptile turned around and swam in the other direction.

Eugenia stared at him, wide-eyed.
“Good thing you saw him coming.”

“Yeah.”

“Could you have shot him?”

“My gun would have fired, but that guy who’s after us would have heard.”

“Right.”

He started to hoist her out of the water, then looked up to see the man he’d just mentioned hurrying along the bank.

“Stay down,” he whispered.

She followed his gaze and did as he asked, huddling under the water.

Rafe drew his Sig and shook the water out of the barrel, waiting tensely, but their pursuer kept going along the bank. When he was a hundred yards farther on, Rafe motioned to the underbrush about thirty feet from the water.

“I’ll go first.
If I make it, you come on.”

She made a muffled sound as he climbed out and sprinted for cover, his shoes squishing so loudly that he was sure the guy would turn around.
But the man with the gun kept walking, scanning the weeds and the surface of the water.

When Rafe motioned to Eugenia, she pulled herself up and made the same trip he had, flopping into the underbrush.
They both lay still, watching the guy continue in the opposite direction.

Rafe reached for Eugenia, hugging her to him, thankful that they had both made it out of the water.

Praying that they weren’t going to run into anyone else, he looked toward the house—hopefully, another vacation retreat. Cautiously, they both skirted the dwelling, and when nobody else came out with a gun, Rafe let out the breath he’d been holding.

“You look like a drowned rat,” she said.

“Likewise.”

It was getting dark by the time they reached the two-lane highway, then followed it back toward the Villars’ property.

“You stay out of sight here,” he said to Eugenia. “I’ll make sure he’s not guarding the car and come get you.”

“What if he is?”

“I’ll think of something.”

He walked back toward the Villars house, once again staying in the trees to minimize being seen.

When he drew parallel with the car, he stopped short. In the gathering gloom, he could see the guy with the rifle about a hundred yards away, coming around a curve in the road.

Rafe had half a second to make a decision.

This time he wasn’t so fussy about defending himself. He fired a warning shot, sending the guy ducking back around the curve in the road. Thinking he wasn’t going to take a chance on another shot with a wet gun, he sprinted out of the trees, pushing the unlock button on the key as he ran.

By the time the guy poked his head out again, Rafe was already speeding away.

He heard shots behind him, but as far as he could tell, none of them hit the vehicle.

Eugenia had started up the road.
She stopped short when she saw him, and he lurched to a halt, throwing open the passenger door.

“Get in.”

She jumped into the vehicle and slammed the door as he took off down the two-lane highway.

“I heard gunfire,” she gasped out.
What happened?”

“The guy was coming down the access road,” he answered as he put distance between himself and the Villars house.

“And you did what?”

“Fired once in his direction, then made a dash for the car.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “You could have gotten hit.”

“But I didn’t.”

“Do you always take that kind of chance?”

“Only when I’m out in the bayou country with a rental car anyone can trace if they get a look at the license plate.”

“I didn’t think of that. Could he identify you?”

“At that distance when it was almost dark?
Probably not. He saw us closer up back at the shrine.”

“You think it’s his?”

“I don’t know,” he answered as he pulled into a strip mall.

“Where are you going?”

“Drugstore. Wait for me.”

Inside, he ignored the stares of the locals as he bought a couple of towels and a couple of tee shirts and sweatpants. His next stop was a nearby gas station, where he handed Eugenia a towel, a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt.

“Go in the ladies room, dry off, and change your clothes. I’ll be in the men’s room.”

They separated, and he stepped into the adjacent room, where he locked the door and got out of his wet clothing.
Then dried his hair and body before putting on the dry clothing.

“Can you hear me?” he called to Eugenia through the wall.

“Yes.”

“Don’t leave your wet stuff.
We’ll put it in the drugstore bag.”

They both emerged five minutes later, looking more presentable.

She stuffed her wet clothing into the bag along with his, and he headed back to the city.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“Not your fault.”

“I should have considered that the place might be guarded.”

“Why should it be?”

He shook his head.
He didn’t know, but he was going to find out.

She cleared her throat.
“That guy—I thought he was one of the guests when we catered the party out there. He didn’t look quite so creepy the last time I saw him.”

“Yeah.”

When they reached her street, he pulled around back. As they’d driven into town, he could feel her withdrawing from him.

“Thanks for the . . . adventure,” she said as he pulled up by the door to the courtyard.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to stay?”

“No.”

“Let me check your apartment before you go in.”

She answered with a tight nod, and he made a quick run through the rooms, seeing the bed where they’d made love.

When he came back out, she was standing stiffly by the door.

“All clear.
You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes.”

“If you have any problems, you’ve got my cell number.” He stopped as he remembered the phone was ruined. “Well, as soon as I replace it.”

“Yes.”

There was nothing more to say at the moment. She disappeared inside, and he returned to his car. He understood why she might not want to spend time with him. But he wasn’t planning to let her fend for herself. He was going to be around here—watching her place. From a distance. Because he wasn’t going to give into temptation again the way he had earlier. He’d had no business climbing into bed with her. As far as he was concerned, he’d taken advantage of a woman who was emotionally off balance.

Maybe that impromptu swim had helped him get his priorities straight.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to protect her.

Rafe went back to his B&B to take a quick shower and clean and oil his gun.
Then he replaced his phone and also bought a couple of burner phones that couldn’t be traced. Finally he told Eugenia that his phone was back in service.

Next, he scoped out the vicinity of Chez Eugenia and decided his best move was to station himself in the courtyard of an empty building across the street.
From there he could use his portable hot spot to do some research while he monitored the surveillance cameras he’d installed.

When he was finished with his preparations, he called Pete Grady.

“You want an off-duty job?” he asked.

“Doing what?”

“I don’t want to leave Eugenia home alone. I’m camping out in a courtyard across the street, but I can’t be here all the time.”

“And you want me to spell you?”

“Yeah, if you can do it.”

“What are you paying?”

“How about thirty dollars an hour?”

“That’s fine.”

Rafe considered asking if there was any more information on Cumberland’s witch hunt but decided against it, figuring that if there was anything new, Pete would tell him.

As soon as he’d secured his friend’s services, he pulled out one of the burner phones and called the Villars country retreat, waiting with his breath shallow to find out who would answer.

After two rings, someone picked up.

“Villars residence.”

“Who am I speaking to?”

“Who wants to know?
This number says it’s unavailable.”

“Because I’m making confidential calls. This is Mr. Villars’ lawyer, and I’m trying to locate some of the people mentioned in his will.
Who are you?”

“Carl Fortuna.”

“Well, you may be in luck. I’ll get back to you shortly. Can I have an address?”

Fortuna gave the address of the Villars property.

“You live on the Villars premises?”

“Yes.
I’m the caretaker.”

“I tried to call a few hours ago.
Where were you?”

“At the store getting groceries.”

Too bad, Rafe thought. If he’d known the guy was there, he could have kept Eugenia away.

The man was speaking again.
“You think there’s something for me?”

“Mr. Villars was very generous with his bequests. There may well be something for you.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m wondering if there’s been any trouble out there.”