Blood in the Marsh (13 page)

He nodded and she climbed out of the car. “If anything happens, get to Michael and tell him,” she whispered to Chelsey.

She ran up to the owner’s shed and got their things. The man wanted to know where the boat was so she lied and told him a friend was using it for a couple of days. Then she dug the keys from Chelsey’s purse and ran to the car. She didn’t see anyone around as she drew near. Unlocking it, she threw their bags and purses in and jumped in.

The boys were waiting on the side of the road when she stopped. The driver got out at the same time Chelsey did and Lyra pulled two twenties from her billfold. “Here I really appreciate it.”

Before he had a chance to respond Chelsey got in the car and Lyra pulled away. She flew through the village, not stopping until she had turned off the causeway in Brunswick. Then she slowed down and looked over at Chelsey who was shaking and pale.

After a few moments, Chelsey looked over at her. “You know, Lyra, I think I liked you better when you were plain and dull. It was a lot safer.”

Lyra said nothing. She was still too shaken up to respond to Chelsey’s attempt at humor. Seeing the man in black made visions of what had happened in the marsh return.

When they pulled up in front of Michael’s house, the yard was packed with police cars. They looked at one another and got out of the car. “I’m sorry, miss.” A uniformed officer stopped them. “You can’t go in there.”

“But…” Chelsey looked from him to Lyra. “But we have to.”

“I’m sorry, miss, I can’t allow that. This is a crime scene.”

“Michael!” Chelsey suddenly screamed and pushed by the police officer, running toward the door. “Michael! Oh god, Michael!”

Michael heard the screams from inside the house and ran out the door. “It’s okay!” He yelled at another office who grabbed Chelsey. “Let her go.”

The police officer released her and she threw herself at Michael, crying and talking at the same time. “Oh, god! I thought something had happened to you! Michael, it was so awful! They were chasing us and the boat turned over and we were running and…”

Michael pushed her back, holding her by the arms. “Slow down.”

She wiped her eyes and sniffed and he looked at Lyra. She looked around at the police officers then at him. “What’s going on, Michael?”

“Someone kicked the back door in and tore up the house. When I got here and saw you weren’t here, I thought you two had been grabbed. Where the hell were you and what’s this about a boat turning over and someone chasing you?”

Lyra looked down at the ground, feeling a little like a child who has just been caught misbehaving. “Well…”

Michael took her arm in one hand and Chelsey’s in the other and marched them to the house. “You can cancel that APB, Sarge. Seems like our little kidnap victims were out on a joy ride. The boys finished going over things?”

The Sergeant nodded. “Yeah. We’ll let you know if anything turns up on the prints.”

Michael nodded and led Chelsey and Lyra into the den, ordering them to sit down. He left the room and returned once all the police officers had left the house. “Okay, you want to tell me what the hell you were doing?”

Chelsey looked over at Lyra and grimaced so Lyra spoke up and told him everything that had happened since they left his house earlier. He listened without comment then sat down and rubbed his hands over his face.

“And you couldn’t see his face?”

Lyra shook her head. “I told you, he was dressed all in black with a ski mask. Just like the other ones were.”

“Where did you leave the boat?”

She told him and he got up to call and have someone go check it out. Then he sat back down and looked at them. “It’s starting to look like what happened the other night was planned.”

“What do you mean?” Chelsey asked in a trembling voice.

“I mean, it looks like someone’s after one or both of you.”

Lyra looked at Chelsey and saw the fear in her face, knowing that her own eyes carried the same expression. Then she turned to Michael. “So what do we do?”

He leaned back and blew out his breath. “We try to figure out who it is and what they want.”

“And just how do we do that?” Lyra asked with a shaky voice.

Michael just shook his head. “I don’t know. Yet.”

The Next Day

Chelsey got up in a bad mood and it got steadily worse as the day progressed. Michael stopped by at lunchtime to check on them, and as soon as he walked in she started in on him about being a prisoner and not feeling safe.

He tried to calm her down but only succeeded in making her mad. She stormed out of the den and locked herself in his bedroom. He turned and looked at Lyra who was sitting on the couch not saying a word.

“What did I say?”

“She’s just upset and that’s her way of getting it out of her system. It’s not you, Michael, it’s just the situation. Chelsey’s not the type to stay confined for more than a couple of hours. She gets stir crazy. Besides, it does make it hard to think of anything except what happened when you’re cooped up like this. Don’t take offence, though.”

He took off his jacket and sat down across from her. “How about you? How’re you doing?”

“Okay, I guess.”

Michael leaned back and propped his legs on the coffee table. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure, what?”

“I couldn’t help but notice the tension between you and the Count. And if you don’t mind me saying so, you and your mother don’t seem exactly close. She didn’t even seem to notice you when we took you home.”

Lyra sighed and curled her feet up under her. “Lexi isn’t like a normal mother. She’s…well, she’s different—and she’s not really my mother. She’s my adoptive mother. See, she was sort of on her way up when my parents died. According to what I know, she adopted me out of…well, out of greed, I guess. Lexi’s family had more or less disinherited Lexi long before I was born. My mother, Lei, was the only surviving member of the family. When she died, she left everything to me. According to her will, since Lexi was her only living relative, if Lexi agreed to adopt and raise me, she would inherit quite a lot of money. If she refused, she got nothing. Apparently, she didn’t stand a chance of contesting the will, so she agreed.

“But having a baby didn’t exactly fit into her lifestyle. She bought the house here and hired a staff and I grew up on the island. I didn’t really see much of her when I was growing up. Just occasional visits when she’d bring her new boyfriends. After her career started to fade she’d come around a little more, usually to entertain and I think to surround herself with local people who still thought she was some big deal. But mostly she just flitted from one place to another, living with one man then the next. It’s not that she’s a bad person or anything. She’s just too in love with herself to pay anyone else much attention.”

“Must have been hard for you.”

“It wasn’t really. The staff were kind and caring and I had my friends, and then there was Lucius.”

“Lucius?”

“I guess I should have said Abubakar.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about him, he’s the magician? The Black Arab?”

Lyra nodded and told him about being friends with Lucius and the time they spent together. “He made me feel good about things, like there really was magic in the world. I used to pretend he was my father and that was why he wanted to spend time with me, to be close to his secret daughter. It was a fantasy, but it was a nice one. He was the closest thing I ever really had to a family.”

Michael got up and moved to sit down beside her. “Sounds like your life hasn’t been a bed of roses.”

“Whose has? How about you, Michael? Do you have a family?”

“Yeah. My parents live in Miami, where I grew up. My dad’s a retired police officer and my mother teaches part-time. I have two sisters and a brother who all live in Florida.”

“How did you end up here?”

“Seemed like a nice enough place—pretty quiet. I used to come here a lot in the summer when I was a kid. My uncle, my dad’s brother, Miguel, lives in Brunswick. I spent almost every summer with him, helping him on his farm. As much as I love my dad, there’ve been times when I felt more in touch with my uncle than my father.”

“Is he still alive? Do you see him?”

“Yeah, he’s still right here in Brunswick. He has a farm in the county. He’s a pretty cool old man. Still doing his thing and taking care of the farm. I don’t see him as much as I should.”

“You really should visit him more, you know. No one lives forever, and once someone is gone, you never have a chance to tell them how much they meant to you. You should do it while you have the opportunity.”

Michael stared at her for a moment. Lyra was never what he expected. Sometimes she was like a timid child, afraid of everything and everyone, so unsure and shy. Other times she was like an old person trapped in a young body. And all times she was so beautiful and compelling. He was surprised some man hadn’t married her. He hoped Nick would not be the man to do just that.

He had no desire to think about Nick. That only brought conflicting emotions he didn’t want to deal with. Nick would be back soon enough and there would be no more time for him to spend with Lyra.

His eyes brightened as he had an idea. “How would you like to go visit my uncle? It’ll get you out of the house and you’ll be safe there.”

“I’d love to.”

“Great. Let me see if I can coax Chelsey out of the bedroom.”

It took a little persuading but finally Michael talked Chelsey into going. They all got in Michael’s car and drove out to the farm. When they pulled up in front of the house, Michael blew the horn and got out.

Lyra and Chelsey got out of the car as an older man, dressed in overalls and a short-sleeved, striped shirt walked out onto the front porch. His face lit with a smile as he saw Michael.

They followed Michael to the porch as he bounded up the steps and gave his uncle a hug. “Uncle Miquel, I brought some friends to visit. If that’s okay?”

Miguellooked at Lyra and Chelsey and smiled. “Sure, it’s okay. It’s still your home. And who are these pretty girls?”

Chelsey and Lyra looked at one another and Lyra stepped forward. “Hi, Mr. Santera. I’m Lyra Seville and this is my friend, Chelsey Quarterman. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” he replied and turned to Michael. “How’d a clod like you end up with two pretty women on a fine afternoon?”

“Well…Lyra and Chelsey are…”

“Are what?”

Lyra walked up the steps and stopped in front of him. “We’re in trouble, Mr. Santera, and Michael’s trying to help us. Some men grabbed us and one of our friends the other night. They raped and killed her but I got away. Then they tried to kill Chelsey and me when we were out sailing.”

She paused and looked at Michael. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. Maybe we should leave. I don’t want to bring any trouble here.”

Miguel reached out and stopped her as she started to turn away. “Hold on, Ms. Seville. You don’t have to worry about that. Nobody’s gonna hurt you while you’re on my land. You stay here as long as you want.”

She smiled gratefully at him. “Now I know where Michael got his big heart and compassion.”

Miguel smiled at her. “He got that from his mother’s side of the family.”

Lyra chuckled and looked around. “Well, you sure have a nice place here. Would it be okay if I looked around? I’ve never been on a farm before. How about you, Chels?”

Chelsey shook her head. “I think I’d rather just take a nap or watch TV or something. I’m not much into nature.”

Miguel opened the door. “Well, I was just gonna have a beer and a sandwich. Want to join me?”

“Sure,” Chelsey agreed and walked inside.

Miguel looked at Michael. “How ‘bout you?”

“I think I’ll give Lyra the guided tour. We’ll be back in a little while.”

Miguel pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “Here, give her a real thrill and let her drive the tractor.”

Michael grinned and started down the steps. Lyra smiled at his uncle. “Thank you.”

He nodded and watched them walk around the side of the house then opened the door for Chelsey. “So, you like roast beef or ham on your sandwich Miss Quarterman?”

Lyra was quiet as Michael took her through one of the pastures, past the barn and toward the orchard. She looked at everything with curiosity but didn’t speak.

They walked out into the orchard and she looked up at the fruit laden trees. “Can I pick one?”

“Sure.”

She reached up and plucked a peach from a low-hanging branch and wiped it off on her shirt then smelled it. “Smells good.”

She took a bite and wiped at the juice that ran down her face. “Ummm, good. Have a bite.”

Holding the peach up, she offered it to him. He took a bite and she smiled and wiped juice off his chin then stuck her finger in her mouth. “Does your uncle just grow peaches?”

“No, this isn’t his cash crop. He’s got about three hundred acres. He grows soybeans and raises cattle. And his own garden, of course.”

She nodded and gave him another bite of peach then wandered back through the orchard. After a few minutes Michael reached out and touched her arm. “Come on, I want to show you something.”