Blood Ties (19 page)

He grinned. "Tawes pays my salary and for my uniform. The fridge and contents are all mine. Help yourself. There's lunchmeat and cheese in there if you're
hungry."

"Sounds tasty." Harry dug out a loaf of bread and a
jar of pickles. "I could eat something. How about you,
Abbie?"

"No, thanks." She sat on the edge of Buck's desk.

"Do you want to go back out to the site?"

"No, it's too late. I'll go out first thing in the morning. I need to order a new tent and some tools to replace the ones that were stolen. Trowels, a roll of
twine, notebooks. Luckily, I didn't leave my camera or
Mom's notes in the tent."

"You can probably get some of the stuff at Dori's."
Harry paused in the construction of his sandwich.
"Got any tomatoes?"

"No tomatoes. Sorry." Buck met Abbie's gaze.
"There are some great sporting-goods stores in Salisbury. We could take the boat over to Crisfield and
drive up-"

"No, thanks," Abbie said. "It's probably just as fast to
order what I need on the Internet. The company I
deal with offers overnight shipping."

"This is Tawes, babe. You'll be lucky if they can find
the island, let alone deliver in less than a week. If you
want to replenish your stock, I'd suggest you take me
up on the offer."

She adjusted her sunglasses and peered at him.
"And you can just walk away from the office? Aren't
you on duty?"

He grinned. "It's the nice thing about being chief.
The good citizens of Tawes aren't likely to complain,
so long as I put in a full week's work."

"He-heck," Harry corrected. "It's not like we're
having a crime wave here." He realized his mistake
and blushed again. "I mean here on Tawes. Haven't
had a fight at the local pool hall since I was fifteen."

"The communal billiards played on this island are
mostly in Emma's barn. Not many people want to risk
getting on her bad side. She can crack some heads."
Buck gestured toward the door. "I know some good
restaurants in Salisbury just down the highway from
the sporting-goods store."

Abbie looked uncomfortable. "I need the supplies,
but I'm not really in the mood for-"

"Supper?" He shrugged. "You can't work without
your equipment, and if we're in Salisbury, you still
have to eat."

"It ..." She hesitated. "My mother is-"

"Abbie, she wouldn't expect you to go hungry. If
you want to start excavating first thing-

She nodded. "All right. Supper. But ... nothing
else."

Buck glanced at his brother. "Let the answering system pick up any messages. If there's an emergency,
you can reach me on my cell. And lock up when you
leave."

The cell phone rang and rang. After the eighth or
ninth ring, a computer voice declared that the number was temporarily out of service "Damn." Bailey
must be already out at the dig site. Daniel snapped his
cell shut and wondered if the wisest thing was to join
her there or to simply contact his former superiors at
the agency and tell them that Lucas had attempted to
blackmail him.

After he'd left Bailey's, he'd been too frazzled to
work on the cabinets he was replacing for Emma. Instead, he'd gone into the Tawes market and bought
honey for his tea and a few other necessities, such as
toilet paper and a newspaper. While he was there, lie
checked his post office box in the back room of Dori's
Market. His bank statement was several days overdue,
but still hadn't arrived, typical for mail delivery on the
island. His only mail was an envelope marked with the
logo of a company that printed checks, business cards,
and labels. He nearly tossed it in the trash, but at the
last minute he had a hunch and decided to open it.
He ripped the end of the envelope just as Phillip Love
strolled into the room.

"Need any stamps today, Daniel?"

"No, thanks," he replied. "I've still got that book of
twenty you sold me last week. It's not as though I have
a lot of pen pals."

"I suppose not," Phillip said. "Would you tell Bailey I ordered some of that fancy cheese she's been asking
for? Emma and Miss Maude said they would buy it too.
Guess it would be worth my while. I'm not runnin' a
supermarket. Just plain staples. Crab nets. Bait.
Canned soup. Stuff folks can't live without."

The bell on the front door tinkled. As Phillip hurried out into the main store, Daniel exited by the side
post office entrance and walked to the back of the
building near the dock where he'd moored his skiff.
There, sheltered from curious passersby, he examined
what was inside the envelope. Plain tan cardboard cut
from a carton was folded and taped around two 5 x 7
black-and-white photographs.

His stomach knotted.

The first picture revealed a small dark-haired boy
sitting on a bed. The child wore nothing but a diaper.
Bruises showed on the crying toddler's arms and legs.

The second 5 x 7, smeared with a black, sticky substance, had been torn into four pieces. When Daniel
laid the ragged sections together on the grass, he saw
that it was a photo of Bailey leading a horse out of her
stable. Scribbled across the picture in block letters were
the words LOOSE ENDS, followed by a question mark.

Daniel stared in disbelief at his finger. Not black,
but red.

Blood.

He ran for his boat.

"You have a nice place here," the man said.

His speech was precise, without accent or inflexion,
the speech of one whose native language was not English. Bailey guessed who he was-who he had to be.
"Lucas."

Her knees felt as though they were made of water.
She wasn't certain she could stand, let alone run, but
she couldn't let him know how frightened she was.

"Smart lady."

She swallowed. If he took a step closer with that
knife, she'd vomit all over him.

"So he's told you about my little proposition. About
his bastard."

She nodded.

"It wasn't easy, you know. Smuggling the boy out of
Afghanistan. I expected Daniel to leap at the chance
to get to know his son."

She didn't answer. She clamped her teeth together
and tried to keep her balance. Lucas stood between
her and the door. She'd have to get past him to have
any chance of escaping, and she was so light-headed
she could hardly stand.

"Wouldn't you think a man's son would be worth a few
hundred thousand dollars?" His thin lips curved into a
semblance of a smile. The smile didn't reach his eyes.

Bloodsucker, she thought. Waves of nausea caused a
buzzing in her ears. She couldn't keep her gaze off the
knife. The six-inch blade was blue-black and thin.
"What do you want with me?"

"I thought we could get to know each other better.
Since Daniel and I are such good friends. Comradesin-arms, really. If you know who I am, you must know
what Daniel did for a living before he retired to"-he
motioned with his free hand-"this backwater."

"If you touch me, Daniel will hunt you down and
skin you alive," she said, trying to hide her terror behind bravado.

"Tut, tut, such talk from a beautiful woman like
you." He frowned. "And foolish. I don't imagine
you've ever seen a man skinned alive, have you?"

"Get out of my house."

"I don't mean you harm. I'm a reasonable man. Do
you think I run around invading people's homes for
pleasure? I'm a professional, Bailey."

"Professional what? Assassin?"

"Harsh words."

Pins and needles numbed her hands. He was going
to kill her. She had to do something or he'd cut her
throat and leave her to bleed to death on the floor.
And if she died, her baby would die with her. She knew
there would be no chance to get past him, but if she
could run into the bathroom ... He couldn't know
there was a second door leading out into the hall.

Abruptly she lunged to the right as though attempting to dodge past him. Lucas slashed at her with the
knife, but she'd already turned and dashed into the
adjoining bathroom.

She threw her weight against the door in an attempt
to close and lock it against him, but he was too fast for
her. He was strong. Inch by inch, he shoved her backwards. Knowing she couldn't hold him, she ducked
aside. The door swung inward, and Lucas came with it.
The force of his rush carried him past her and over
the rim of the raised tub.

"You son of a bitch!" Seizing the loose towel rack,
she ripped it out of the bracket and slammed it against
Lucas's head. He screamed, fell, and tried to claw his
way out of the tub.

Bailey smashed the heavy metal bar against his head
a second time. Lucas tumbled back, blood streaming
from his forehead where the loose screws had cut into
his face. Bailey brought the bar down again. He
slumped down in the Jacuzzi, arms flung wide, legs
sprawled over the edge of the tub.

Bailey fled out of the bathroom into the hall and
down the front staircase. She ran out of the house.
Puzzle barked from her dog run, and Bailey glanced
back over her shoulder. If Lucas wasn't critically injured, he would come after her. The gate was at the far
end of the fenced yard. As much as she cared for the little dog, she couldn't stop. She ran for the boat and
reached the dock just as a bloody Lucas staggered out
the front door.

Puzzle saw him, skidded to a stop, and turned to
face him, snarling.

Lucas looked at her, then glanced at the dog run.

Bailey flung herself onto the boat and climbed into
the captain's chair. When she looked back, she saw
that Lucas had opened the gate to the dog run.

"Nice doggy," Lucas said. "Come. Come here."

The pup's hackles rose, and she growled as she
crouched down.

Lucas walked toward the dog.

"Puzzle! No!" Bailey shouted. "Leave her alone, you
bastard! You bastard," she wept. The key was in the ignition as always. With shaking fingers, Bailey turned it
and the engine roared.

Lucas moved closer to the corgi. "Good boy."

Puzzle wiggled uncertainly.

"Come here, doggy."

Sunlight gleamed off the blade of Lucas's knife.

Lucas lunged for Puzzle, but the corgi was too fast for
him. The little dog darted away, staying just out of
reach. Lucas looked at Bailey and wiped the blood out
of his eyes. From the deck of the boat, she could see
that he was bleeding profusely. She cast off the mooring lines but kept the motor in idle, ready to pull away
from the dock if Lucas came toward her.

The rumble of a boat motor caught her attention,
and Bailey glanced toward the bay. Daniel's skiff appeared around the wooded point. He was moving fast.
He steered into the shallower water near her sand
beach and cut the engine. "Bailey?"

"I'm all right!" she shouted, gesturing toward the
house. "There!" Lucas was gone. He'd obviously heard
the approaching boat motor and fled around the far
corner of the house. Puzzle had darted out of the
fenced yard but had run toward the dock instead of
chasing Lucas.

Daniel waved to Bailey, and she eased the throttle
into reverse, backed away from the dock, and then moved forward toward the mouth of the creek that
opened into the bay. Daniel brought his boat up
alongside hers. "Are you hurt?"

"That bastard! That sneaking son of a bitch!" she
yelled. "It was Lucas! He was in my house! And he had
a knife!"

"Did he touch you? What did he say?"

Puzzle yipped and ran toward the path that led to
Will's place. Will's dogs burst out of the wooded lane.
Seconds later, Will appeared, striding hard, shotgun
cradled in one arm.

"I asked Will to watch over you," Daniel said. "I
never thought Lucas would come here." He glanced
toward the house and orchard. "I'll kill him."

"No! We need to talk." She put the motor in gear
and turned the boat in a wide circle, returning to the
dock. By the time she reached it, Will was there to secure the lines. Puzzle was in her glory, circling Will's
dog Blue and the big Chesapeake retrievers.

"I thought you were going to look after her, Will,"
Daniel shouted as he approached Bailey and Will on
the lawn.

"And I thought you were still here with her." Will
scowled. "You spent the night. How was I supposed to
know that you left her alone?"

"Leave Lucas to Buck Davis. He's the police on
Tawes." Bailey's fear had turned to anger. "Lucas came
in my house-threatened me with a knife. I'll press
charges against him. I don't care who he works for."
Daniel reached to embrace her but she stepped away.
"I want the truth-all of it," she demanded.

"He didn't come here to harm you. He came to
scare me into paying him three hundred thousand
dollars for my son. I've been stalling because I don't
know if it's a ruse. I've got no proof the child exists, let
alone that Lucas has him."

"Let me set the dogs on his trail. Nothing like a shotgun blast to the knee to set a fellow to talking." Will's
thin lips tightened. "On Tawes, we take a dim view of
mainlanders threatening our women."