In the Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23 Mysteries) (14 page)

Wayne and Junior were both busy digging in their own bags looking for whatever it was they were needing for the morning. She still didn’t trust either of them.

A few seconds later Liz and Norman appeared heading back from the direction of the bathroom area. Liz was walking with a bounce in her step that Cindy couldn’t help but envy. Then again Liz had probably had the luxury of sleeping through most of the night. Liz stopped at her bed and stuffed her pajamas into her bag. Norman kept walking, heading for the chuck wagon.

That left only Hank and Mark unaccounted for.

Well, and the missing Roddy
, she reminded herself.

“Where do you think Mark is?” she asked Jeremiah quietly.

He stood slowly to his feet, his face a mask. “Why, you think something’s wrong?” he asked, equally quiet.

“I hope not. I’m just getting...worried.”

Apparently Traci was too. The other woman was standing up now. Still wearing her pajamas she cupped her hands around her mouth. “Mark!” she shouted, an edge of panic in her voice.

A moment passed then another.

Cindy was just about to start shouting his name as well when she heard an answer. “Coming!”

She sagged in relief and a few moments later Mark appeared from the direction where the horses were, Hank walking beside him.

Traci ran to him and threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Cindy could feel the other woman’s relief and fear as though it were her own and she glanced at Jeremiah, grateful he had been the first person she’d seen when she woke and that she hadn’t had to wonder where he was.

“I’m here,” Mark said his voice tired and a little gruff. “Don’t worry.”

With their arrival everyone seemed to gravitate around the campfire as though by some unspoken command.

“Where’s Norman?” Mark asked. “I want to go over some of yesterday’s footage with him.”

“That’s going to be impossible,” Norman said, face grim as he walked up to them with a camera in hand.

“What do you mean?” Mark asked.

“It’s gone.”

“Yesterday’s footage? Someone is sabotaging it?” Mark asked.

Norman shook his head, a muscle in his jaw quivering. “It’s far worse than that. This time someone stole all the batteries, even the backup ones. I’m assuming they erased the footage while they were at it, but until we can reach civilization and get some new batteries I won’t be able to tell.”

“Well, then we need to get to town as soon as possible,” Liz said.

“She’s right,” Wayne added. “The way I see it we have to abandon everything and get to town as soon as possible. Maybe the footage is still there and the police can figure out the killer from that. If not, though, we’ll still be a lot safer there. Out here we’re just sitting ducks.”

“It’s going to be a dangerous ride with a killer among us,” Hank said. “We might not want to risk it.”

“We can’t very well send someone else to town, look what happened to the last guy,” Junior snapped.

“The safest thing to do would be to put our heads together and try to figure out who did this,” Cindy said.

“Cindy’s right,” Traci spoke up. “We need to be able to keep an eye on each other until we can figure this out and that’s what we should do. It’s a long ride to town and who knows what will happen along the way.”

“What do you think?” Cindy asked Jeremiah.

“I think we should make a try for town,” he said.

She stared at him in surprise. Somehow that wasn’t the answer she’d been expecting.

“Don’t you think it’s too dangerous to make that trek, especially with a desperate killer in our midst?” she asked.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” he said.

She turned to Mark. “Mark, what do you think?”

“I think we sit tight until we have the killer in custody and then head for town.”

“But how are we going to figure out who did it?” Zack asked.

“Oh, I’m certain I already know who the killer is,” Mark said.

All eyes swiveled toward him.

“Who?” Cindy asked after a moment, feeling somewhat breathless as she waited for him to point the finger. She was stunned that he hadn’t already shared the information. He must have just discovered something or put the pieces together in the last few minutes.

“The only person who had the ability to pull all these things off, one who most of you wouldn’t even think twice to question.”

“Who is it?” Traci urged, eyes wide.

Mark turned and leveled his gaze across the campfire.

“The killer among us is Jeremiah.”

Cindy was thunderstruck. She couldn’t have heard Mark right. The two men stood, eyeing each other across the dying fire in the early morning light with everyone else gathered around. For a moment no one moved, no one spoke. No one even seemed to blink.

It was the most absurd thing she’d ever heard. She couldn’t have possibly heard Mark accuse Jeremiah of being the murderer. She turned her head slightly, just enough so that she could see Traci. The other woman was staring at her husband, a look of bewilderment on her face.

“The rabbi?” Norman asked, breaking the silence first.

“I don’t believe what I’m hearing,” Jeremiah said, his voice low.

Cindy wanted to jump in, say that neither did she, but her throat seemed to seize up and she couldn’t get a word out. It was all a mistake. A huge, terrible mistake. That was all there was to it.

“Yes, the rabbi. Of course, he’s only been a rabbi for a few years. I think the real question is how much do we know about you, really?” Mark demanded.

Jeremiah clenched his fists. “Enough to know that I’m not the bad guy here.”

“I’m not so sure of that. You’ve been acting twitchy ever since you found out this whole thing was going to be filmed. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that you’ve been
the one sabotaging the cameras.”

His camera was never turned on the whole first day
, the thought came unbidden to Cindy’s mind.

“You’re insane.”

“Am I?” Mark asked. “I think I’m thinking clearly for the first time in a long time. The evidence has been there, right under my nose. You’re the only one here clearly capable of doing these things.”

“How do you figure?” Jeremiah asked.

“You had means, opportunity, motive and you’re a murderer.”

“That’s a lie,” Jeremiah countered.

No, it isn’t
, Cindy realized as she pressed a shaking hand over her mouth. She knew he’d killed at least one man, she’d seen it. He’d killed a serial killer to save her. But that was self-defense, he had to do it to save them both. That wasn’t murder. She felt her heart begin to pound. She had never shared her suspicions about that with anyone. It had all happened so fast there were times even she doubted what she had seen that night.

“I know you killed the Passion Week serial killer,” Mark accused.

Something changed in Jeremiah’s face.

“And I don’t think you stopped there,” Mark continued. “I think there’s a long trail of bodies stretching out behind you and that’s just in the last couple of years. Heaven only knows what you did before then.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Jeremiah growled, his voice taking on an edge.

“Don’t I? You never talk about your past, not ever, to anyone. I bet even Cindy doesn’t know anything about you.”

He had a dog
. She wanted to speak up, to defend Jeremiah, to tell Mark about the dog. But even as she fought with the lump in her throat she realized that the bit about the dog was the first thing she’d really learned about his past other than that he was born in Israel and had served his mandatory time in the military.

“And that dead guy who showed up on your lawn last year? We could never tie him in with the other murders. The guy behind all that finally confessed to every other crime but that one. He’d never even heard of the guy. So, who was he? Why did you kill him? Was it because he knew who you really are?”

“Stop talking now,” Jeremiah hissed, his face contorting.

“And another thing. You have no web presence. Like zero. No pictures online, and your full name isn’t even mentioned on your synagogue’s website! You know how much effort it takes to keep that far off the radar? A lot! And the only people who do are those with something to hide,” Mark continued. Spittle was flying from his mouth and he was gesturing wildly now, his eyes bugging out of his head.

“I don’t do social media, so what?”

“It’s more than that! It takes concerted effort, frequent effort to wipe yourself away as though you didn’t even exist. You’ve been hiding something from the day we met and now you were afraid Kyle here with his stupid little show was going to bring your entire house of cards crashing down. And just how long was I asleep this morning? Long enough for you to sabotage all the cameras I bet. You were the only one who could have done it, the only one who would have been alone since we turned them all off yesterday.”

Cindy blinked. If Mark had really fallen asleep on guard duty then that was true. The few people who had gotten up in the middle of the night had headed for the bathroom in the opposite direction of the chuck wagon and she was sure no one could have gotten in there and done that much damage without being heard.

“And what about Tex? I don’t exactly have a gun,” Jeremiah said, his voice dripping sarcasm.

“You didn’t need one,” Mark said, calming slightly. “Zack said it could easily have been a knife that killed Tex.”

Mark turned suddenly to Traci and Cindy. “What exactly did you find when you searched his bag?”

Cindy could feel herself turning red as Traci stammered, “We...we didn’t actually check his bag.”

“What!” Mark barked, eyes bulging again. “Well, go get it now and let’s just have a look at whatever the good rabbi might be hiding.”

Jeremiah started forward as if to stop them and Mark pulled his gun. “Don’t even think of moving,” he said, his voice low and dangerous.

Traci ran over, grabbed Jeremiah’s bag, and ran back. All around them everyone else was beginning to stir and mutter.

“Okay, go ahead and dump it all out and let’s just see what he has in there,” Mark said.

Traci unzipped the backpack, pulled out some clothes and dumped them on the ground. Next she pulled out a first aid kit, some fishing line and hook, matches, a small bit of rope, a compass, heating packs, and more protein bars.

At the last she pulled something out of the very bottom of the bag. It was a rolled up T-shirt, but by the look on Traci’s face there had to be more to it than that. Slowly Traci unrolled the T-shirt. There inside was a massive hunting knife.

Cindy gasped and took an involuntary step backward. It wasn’t Jeremiah’s, it couldn’t be. Why else, though, would he have objected to them searching his bag just now? She felt dizzy, like her whole world was caving in around her.

Circumstantial evidence
, that’s all it is, she told herself over and over again.

Traci looked stricken. “I never dreamed...” she whispered, breaking off in mid-sentence. “I’m so sorry,” she said at last, although who she was apologizing to Cindy couldn’t tell.

“And I’m willing to bet that when we get that knife to town they’ll be able to find trace evidence of blood on it,” Mark said, his voice shaking slightly.

His face was flushed, but whether with anger or triumph she didn’t know.

“Are you saying he killed Tex?” Curly asked, his voice quivering with rage.

“Tex. Brent. Martin. All of them. Likely Roddy too. Was this all to keep your secret? Or did you just keep missing Kyle?” Mark asked.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Jeremiah hissed.

“You know, I shouldn’t have been surprised that you were right there to pull Cindy off that horse when the strap broke. After all, you knew it was going to happen so you were riding close enough to look like the hero when it did. It must have really galled you that she and Kyle changed horses at the last minute.”

Jeremiah rattled off a string of unintelligible words under his breath that she assumed were curses. He had the look of a man caught in a trap.

Mark picked up the piece of rope that had come out of Jeremiah’s backpack and tossed it to Hank.

“Tie his hands, make it good,” he ordered. “Jeremiah Silverman, I’m arresting you for the murders of Martin, Brent, and Tex; for the suspected murder of Roddy; and for the attempted murder of Kyle Preston.”

“You’re making a big mistake,” Jeremiah said, “and you will live to regret it.”

The tone in which he said it sent a chill down Cindy’s spine.

“You have to be wrong,” she turned, pleading with Mark.

He stared her straight in the eyes. “I don’t think I am,” he said. “I’ve known there was something off about him from the beginning. And, if you’re being honest with yourself, I’m guessing you’ve known it, too.”

He turned back to Hank who was just finishing binding Jeremiah’s wrists in front of him. “Put him in the wagon until we can figure out what to do next.”

Cindy watched helplessly as Hank hauled Jeremiah over to the wagon and practically threw him inside. She had to fix this. She had to find the right killer.

She glanced over at Curly. The man looked like he was capable of murdering Jeremiah right there.
Revenge for his friend’s death
, she realized with a shudder. Wayne also looked like he had murder in his heart and she couldn’t help remember how Jeremiah had confronted him over revealing the contents of his pockets.

She glanced around at all the other angry, hostile faces and the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach just got worse. Everyone there had lost a friend or a coworker and they wanted blood. On top of that, they were what felt like a
million miles away from civilization. With everyone busy blaming Jeremiah, it would also give the real killer plenty of time to dispose of evidence or even fabricate some. By the time they made it to town Jeremiah would look plenty guilty to everyone.

If someone hasn’t killed him by then.

Jeremiah was sitting in the wagon, having been shoved into position by Hank before the big man left. Outside the others were no doubt beginning to mull his fate as well as their own. Mark was smarter and a lot more observant than Jeremiah had given him credit for. That had been a mistake, one that he wouldn’t be repeating any time soon. The detective had gotten a lot of things right, too close for comfort certainly.

Jeremiah inspected his bonds. The knots on the rope were solid, but he should be able to work himself free in a couple of minutes, even without the help of any of his tools. His Swiss Army knife was currently underneath his pillow. It was probably only a matter of time before they found that as well.

Outside he could hear voices raised in the distance. No doubt they were trying to decide how to proceed. At this point the only real choice they had was to press on. The question was, would they be abandoning the herd? The truth was, they would know they couldn’t trust him on horseback so they could only really travel as fast as the wagon could go. After what had happened to Tex they were unlikely to risk sending someone out alone again, even if they thought they had their killer locked up all safe and secure. That gave him more than enough time to escape.

He heard a light footstep outside and he tensed. The wagon moved ever so slightly and a moment later Cindy appeared, pushing through the canvas and letting it fall back in place behind her. Her face was pale, but her eyes were clear. No sign of tears.

“Are you okay?” she whispered.

He took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. “I’d be better if you said you brought something to cut me loose with,” he said tersely, watching her facial expressions closely.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have anything like that,” she said.

“Then I’m not doing too well.”

“Mark is wrong, I know you can’t possibly have done all this,” she said.

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but seriously, I’d appreciate more help getting out of this.”

“Wait! I just realized something,” she said, her voice strained.

“What?”

“This is the chuck wagon. There have to be knives in here somewhere. I just have to figure out where Brent is...was... storing them. Then I can cut you free.”

He blinked, nearly unable to contain his surprise. “You’d do that for me?” he asked.

She turned and looked at him. She was so close, a hair’s breadth away. “Of course I would. I believe in you,” she said. There was a light shining in her eyes and she had never looked more beautiful to him than in that moment.

“And what do you think is going to happen after you cut me loose?” he asked.

“I think you’re going to make a run for it. Get clear of here until I can figure out who the real killer is. It’s the safest thing given the circumstances.”

She was right about that. He was pretty sure there were at least a couple people outside who wanted him dead.

He took a deep breath. “And what if I am the real killer?” he asked.

She stared at him for a moment that seemed to last forever. Finally she knelt down in front of him so that they were face-to-face. She swallowed hard, but she met his eyes. “Then I’m sure you had your reasons,” she whispered at the last.

It was the last thing he had expected her to say and it changed everything. Suddenly the very air around them seemed charged. “Run away with me,” he whispered.

She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. It was trembling. “Why?”

“Because I can protect you from the evils of this world. Really protect you, not the shadow of effort I’ve put in so far.”

She sucked in her breath. “That’s not your job.”