Misplaced (119 page)

“
V
ictoria?
”
sh
e
calle
d
ou
t
softl
y
afte
r
enoug
h
tim
e
ha
d
passed.
She
crept
from
the
corner
and
called,
“
Are
you
there?
V
ictoria!”

“Here!
”
Risin
g
fro
m
behin
d
a
ro
w
o
f
saddles
,
no
t
more
than
an
arm’s
length
from
where
the
stranger
had
stood,
w
as
V
ictoria.

“Did you see who it
w
as?” Khara asked.

“
I
didn’
t
ge
t
a
goo
d
look,
”
sh
e
responded
,
“bu
t
I
thin
k
it
w
as Mieley.”

“Are you certain?”

“He must ha
v
e planned to meet Elias here.”

“P
erhaps he’s been here all along.”

V
ictoria
shook
her
head.
“I
doubt
it.
He’s
only
guessing
that
w
e
’
re here; otherwise he wouldn’t ha
v
e left.”

“O
r
Kingsfor
d
frightene
d
him
.
Miele
y
play
s
a
gam
e
of
ner
v
es with us,” Khara whispered defiantly.

“He’
s
comin
g
back,
”
V
ictori
a
state
d
throug
h
chattering
teeth
.
“I
f
w
e
stay
,
w
e
’
r
e
dead
.
W
ai
t
here
.
I
f
I’
m
no
t
bac
k
in
t
w
enty
m
inutes,
take
a
hor
s
e
and
lea
v
e
without
m
e.”
She
s
poke
wit
h
a
sm
al
l
bu
t
d
eter
m
ine
d
f
ir
e
i
n
he
r
vo
i
c
e
,
an
d
alth
o
ugh
Khara
knew
it
w
as
a
temporary
stay
of
grief,
her
heart
rejoiced.
Sixtee
n
minute
s
passed
.
Sh
e
w
a
s
tempte
d
t
o
tr
y
t
o
spot
Kingsfor
d
Charcoa
l
throug
h
th
e
window
,
bu
t
th
e
intruder
migh
t
se
e
her
,
s
o
Khar
a
sta
y
e
d
wher
e
sh
e
w
as
,
ba
t
tlin
g
the
notio
n
tha
t
sh
e
ha
d
mad
e
a
hug
e
mistak
e
b
y
lettin
g
V
ictoria
lea
v
e.
By
now,
they
could
ha
v
e
taken
the
horses
and
been
out
of sight and impossible to follow, except on foot.

Th
e
spu
r
du
g
a
t
th
e
fles
h
bet
w
ee
n
he
r
knuckles
.
When
she
touched
the
cavity
with
her
tongue,
she
tasted
blood.
She
concentrated
on
the
image
of
Father
Donato
lighting
a
candle
for
her,
repeating
the
rosary
he
had
taught
her
until
at
last
her
fear
began
to
recede.
When
she
heard
tires
moving
on
gra
v
el,
she crept cautiously outside.

A
long,
slow-moving
shadow
approached
in
the
darkness.
“Get in,”
V
ictoria said softly.

“Ho
w
di
d
yo
u
manag
e
it
?
Celest
e
al
w
ay
s
kep
t
th
e
garag
e
locked.”

“There are a few things you don’t know about me
y
et.”
The green leather of the seat creaked as Khara jumped in.

“Think
about
it,”
V
ictoria
continued.
“They
focused
almost
entirely
on
the
inside
of
the
house
and
barely
ga
v
e
the
garage
a
look
.
B
y
th
e
tim
e
anyon
e
notice
s
it’
s
missing
,
w
e
’
l
l
b
e
lon
g
gone.
Y
ou know what this means, don’t you?”

“Is this another of your rhetorical questions?”

“W
e’
v
e
adde
d
aut
o
thef
t
t
o
ou
r
lis
t
o
f
crimes
.
W
ell,
technically
two
crimes—breaking
and
entering
and
auto
theft.”

Khara
pointed
to
a
moving
shadow.
“Kingsford
w
ants
us
to
follow him.”

They
did
not
head
for
the
farm’s
main
road,
which
ended
at
the
entrance
to
the
high
w
ay.
The
cat
led
them
to
a
side
road,
one
used
for
bringing
in
cattle
from
the
hay
fields.
There,
the
cat
s
o
f
th
e
Square-4
ranc
h
w
aite
d
i
n
a
nea
t
lin
e
a
t
th
e
gat
e
to
blink their goodb
y
es.

A
t
last
,
the
y
w
er
e
o
n
thei
r
w
ay
.
A
sudde
n
flas
h
o
f
ner
v
es
caused
her
to
turn
abruptly
and
stare
past
the
house
and
into
th
e
trees
,
wonderin
g
i
f
Miele
y
w
a
s
w
atching
. A shiver passed between her shoulder blades and for some time after they left the
Square-4
Ranch,
Khara
alternated
bet
w
een
looking
in
the
small
rectangular
mirror
on
her
visor
and
the
rearview
mirror to satisfy herself that he had not follo
w
ed them.