“At night?” Not that there was much difference between day and night inside the cave.
“It was closer to morning. I had my flashlight and I found that this cave leads into another one and then another one. That’s when I saw it.”
“Saw what?” She had to admit her curiosity was piqued.
His hand closed more tightly around hers. “You’ll see.” He led her a few steps and stopped. “Just promise me you won’t freak out.”
“I won’t.” She wasn’t the type to faint because she saw a spider or even a bat. She figured his big find was something along those lines, since she knew bat colonies lived in caves.
“Good.” He kissed her and his lips were cold against hers.
When he broke away, he said, “Sometimes…” But he let the rest drop.
“Sometimes what, Shaw?”
He shook his head. “I’ll tell you later.”
“Tell me now,” she urged, wrapping her arms around him.
He exhaled, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against hers. “Sometimes when I’m drawing, I think about the two of us working together. Both of us artists…”
The image blossomed in Tanni’s mind. At first being inside the cave had felt a bit frightening. It didn’t when Shaw kissed her. “I’d like that,” she said warmly.
He kissed her again.
This time Tanni broke it off. “You were going to show me something, remember?”
“Oh, yeah, I remember.” He was breathing hard.
“First tell me—is it good or bad?”
He grimaced. “Bad.”
“Bad,” she repeated. “How bad? In what way?”
“You’ll see.” He paused. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone. But I called Anson and he said I couldn’t ignore it. I decided he’s right.”
Tanni was beginning to feel anxious; his tension was definitely communicating itself to her. Why was he being so mysterious?
“You ready?” he asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” she said, with no idea what to expect.
“Don’t be afraid, okay?”
“There’s no one else here, is there?”
He hesitated before he answered. “No.”
He pulled a flashlight out of a heavy plastic bag in the corner. Then he took her hand, fingers tight around hers, and led her deeper into the cave’s interior. The light bounced against the sides, creating eerie shadows that seemed to loom over them.
As they moved forward, her feet made splashing sounds, and she began to tremble. If it was from the cold or from anxiety, she couldn’t tell.
They ducked around a corner and into a smaller cave, and Tanni stopped.
“How’re you doing?” Shaw asked.
“I…I don’t know. How much farther is it?”
“Not very far.”
A sense of foreboding filled her. Her heart started to race and despite the cold, sweat broke out across her forehead. They crept forward and suddenly Shaw came to a halt.
Then she saw it. For an instant she assumed it was a dead animal. Mere seconds later, she realized she was standing next to a human skeleton—probably that of a man. He sat propped up against the side of the cave, a baseball cap on his head. It had slipped to a jaunty angle, which looked grotesque—there was no other word—and she could see clumps of hair that clung to the skull. His clothes were in shreds and he wore a pair of tennis shoes.
She gasped and turned to Shaw.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“We have to tell the sheriff,” she said, trying to quell the hysteria that wanted to rise.
“He’s been here a long time.”
“It doesn’t matter how long he’s been here—he was a human being, Shaw. He died in here alone and…afraid.” She wasn’t sure how she knew that but she did. “We’ve got to call the sheriff.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “You’re right. But I almost don’t want to disturb him, you know?”
Frankly she didn’t. This man had not died peacefully, and he deserved some kind of justice, a decent burial, some acknowledgment. “Come on,” she said urgently. “Let’s go. My cell’s in the car.”
An hour and a half later the road by the forest was lined with law enforcement vehicles, their red lights flashing. Tanni counted four different cars. The deputies had hauled out several large lights and carried them to the cave once Shaw had shown them the way.
Shaw and Tanni sat in Sheriff Davis’s vehicle, holding hands. After a few minutes, the sheriff opened the door. He’d spoken to Shaw while a deputy questioned Tanni; apparently their stories aligned because he’d allowed them to stay together.
“How long have you known about the body?” Sheriff Davis directed his question to Shaw.
“Three days,” Shaw said. It was the same answer he’d given earlier.
“Let me ask you again—you didn’t move the remains? You didn’t touch anything?”
Shaw said he hadn’t.
Sheriff Davis wrote that down on his pad.
“Who is it?” Shaw asked as two uniformed deputies carried out a body bag and brought it to the waiting ambulance.
The sheriff shook his head. “I can’t say.”
Tanni exchanged a look with Shaw. “Does that mean you’ve identified the body and can’t tell us?” she asked. “Or that you don’t know, period?”
The sheriff frowned. “Don’t know, period.”
“What about your missing persons file?” Tanni suggested. Surely there was some explanation.
The sheriff closed his pad and placed it inside his shirt pocket. “We’ll find out what we need to know soon enough,” he informed them. “There hasn’t been an unsolved murder in this town since I became sheriff, and this one’s not going to be the first.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Christie knew something was wrong the instant she heard her sister’s voice mail. She stood in the store lunchroom, her cell phone pressed against her ear to block out the other employees’ chatter.
By the time she’d taken her break, Teri had left her three messages, each one more cheerful-sounding than the last. Something was definitely up. Christie wasn’t that easily fooled.
“Can you stop by after work this evening?” Teri asked when Christie finally returned her call.
Christie exhaled slowly. “The article’s out, isn’t it?”
“I’ll explain everything when you get here.” Christie suspected all these frantic calls had to do with James and that reporter, but maybe not.
“The pregnancy?” she asked next, almost afraid to finish the thought.
“The babies are fine,” Teri assured her. “All three. In fact, they’re currently in the middle of a soccer match.”
Despite her concerns, Christie smiled. “Whatever it is, you can’t tell me now?”
“No. Just get here as soon as you’re off work, all right?”
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
This was making her nervous. She was already a little depressed that she wouldn’t be seeing James until Christmas. He’d phoned and left a message on her cell Tuesday afternoon, explaining that he’d be out of town for at least a week. That was just as well, since the article would hit the stands any day. Christie had tried to find out when, but the reporter either hadn’t known or wouldn’t tell her.
James hadn’t given her much information or even told her where he was going, only that he’d get in touch. But Christie had listened to his message several times, closing her eyes and savoring the sound of his voice.
Their Saturday night had been magical. After a perfect dinner, they’d sat in front of the fireplace, her head on his shoulder, his arm around her. It’d been so…so beautiful. So intimate. She’d never experienced this kind of closeness with a man. She had a list of ex-lovers, a fairly long one, but none of them had made her feel like this.
Everything was different with James.
He could have made love to her ten times over and she would’ve let him. He wanted her. She felt it w
ith every cell of her body, and she wanted him, too. And they would make love soon; she was sure of it. But their relationship was more than that. It was deeper. Truer. It wasn’t just about her body or what she could do for him. He loved her. They loved each other.
In every previous relationship, Christie had felt insecure. Every time she was away from her lover of the moment, she’d wonder if he was with some other woman. Would he come back? And when—if—he did, she’d wonder if he still wanted her. Or was he thinking of someone else when they made love?
It wasn’t like that with James. Although he’d left town, she wasn’t worried that he’d stray or that he’d abandon her. He’d be back soon and they’d spend the holidays together. Maybe he’d help her deliver gift baskets on Christmas Eve. She’d already checked with the Salvation Army in downtown Seattle and arranged to serve meals to the homeless on Christmas Day. James would join her and afterward they’d have their own Christmas dinner at her place. She looked forward to cooking it herself. All week she’d occupied pleasant hours studying cookbooks and considering her menu. Christie was more domestic than anyone realized—even Teri.
As she drove through Cedar Cove to her sister’s, Christie examined the decorations and the multicolored lights with new eyes. She usually felt sad over the holidays, but not this year. She hadn’t been so excited about Christmas since early childhood. Of course back then it had always ended in tears.
Christie hoped that whatever was troubling Teri didn’t have anything to do with the pregnancy. Despite Teri’s reassurances, she couldn’t help worrying. Triplets! Teri always seemed to do things in a big way.
By the time Christie drove through the gate and into the yard, her sister was standing at the front door, waiting for her. Christie parked and hurried to the house.
Teri’s somber face frightened her. She reached for Christie’s hand and pulled her inside.
“What’s going on?” Christie asked.
“The article’s out. You were right about that,” she murmured, drawing her into the family room.
“Where’s Bobby?” Christie asked.
“In the library. He’s dealing with the phone calls. It seems as if every reporter in the world wants to talk to James. And since they can’t reach him, they’ll settle for Bobby.” Her lips thinned in obvious disapproval. Clearly she felt that James should be fielding his own questions instead of leaving it all to Bobby.
Christie understood Teri’s reaction, her desire to protect Bobby, but she didn’t think it was entirely fair. James couldn’t stay here now that a reporter had tracked him down, now that everyone knew who he was. Then it hit her. “Something’s happened to him, hasn’t it?” No wonder her sister hadn’t been willing to tell her over the phone. “He’s been in an accident?” Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“Christie…”
She grabbed her sister’s arm. “How badly is he hurt? Tell me!”
“James wasn’t in an accident,” Teri said calmly.
Relief flooded through her and she sank into the nearest chair. “Thank God.” On the heels of her relief came another realization. If he wasn’t hurt, then something else was wrong.
“I made coffee,” Teri said.
Standing, Christie followed her into the kitchen. “Just tell me.”
Teri exhaled noisily. “He resigned.”
“What do you mean, he resigned? Resigned from what?”
Teri met her gaze. “His job, Christie. James is no longer employed by Bobby.”
It took her a moment to grasp Teri’s words. As she stared at her sister, Teri poured a mug of coffee and handed it to her.
Christie accepted it automatically. “So he doesn’t want to drive Bobby around anymore. That’s not the end of the world, is it?” Okay, fine, the word was out that James had once been a chess prodigy, the same as Bobby. Big deal. It would be news for a couple of days, and then interest would fade and life would go back to normal. And if James decided he was finished with working for Bobby, it shouldn’t be held against him.
Teri continued to watch her. “You haven’t heard from him, have you?”
“No…” Christie hadn’t worried about it, though—until now.
“What did he say the last time you spoke?”
Christie reviewed his brief voice mail. “Basically he told me he was going away for a little while.” He hadn’t said exactly when he planned to return. The assumption that he’d be back by Christmas was hers, and hers alone. She took the first sip of coffee and realized her sister had made it extra-strong. The bitter taste jolted her.
“Bobby’s devastated,” Teri told her. “What James did is a stab in the back.”
“Isn’t that a bit extreme?” Christie’s hackles went up.
“No, it’s not,” Teri said in a sharp voice. “Bobby’s been his friend all these years and then James turns tail and runs, and Bobby’s stuck dealing with all the reporters. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Christie hadn’t thought of it that way.
“To quit like that, too,” Teri muttered angrily.
“Like what?”
“He didn’t even speak to Bobby. He wrote a letter, in which he said his resignation was effective immediately. Then he walked away without a word to either of us. We don’t even know where he is. Bobby’s been worried sick. He’s afraid James might’ve had another breakdown, but I doubt it. His actions are too calculated, too planned.”
Christie straightened. Her inclination was to defend James—but her sister had a point. It occurred to her that James had purposely phoned when he knew she’d be at work. He hadn’t wanted to talk to her—and now…
“James will be back,” she said. The alternative was impossible. Unbearable.
“I don’t think so,” Teri murmured.
“Why would you say that?” Christie asked, finding it hard to hold on to her temper. James was hiding somewhere, until everything was quiet again. She refused to believe he’d simply walk out, just disappear from their lives. He wasn’t like that. Other men were. Not James. He loved her. He loved Bobby and Teri, too. They were his family. He’d said as much.
Not only that, she’d bared her soul to him. She’d told him things she’d never told another human being. He’d shared a little of his own life, too. He’d told her about the trauma in his childhood, the pressure he’d endured from his parents and chess coach. The breakdown that had ended his career. Again and again he’d told her of his deep gratitude to Bobby.
“James would never leave Bobby,” Christie declared.
Even if he could walk away from her, he wouldn’t forsake his dearest friend. James was intensely loyal to both Bobby and Teri.
“I used to think that, too,” Teri admitted hoarsely.
“He’ll be back,” Christie said again. “He might need a few days or weeks to sort everything out, but in the end he’ll realize this is his home and we’re his family.” She included herself, unable to accept that he’d turn away from her like so many other men had. He wouldn’t. He just wouldn’t. Not after everything she’d told him. Because James wouldn’t intentionally hurt her that way.
Teri didn’t respond.
“You don’t believe he’ll be back?” Christie challenged.
“I wish I could.”
“Listen, this might come as a shock, but I think I should tell you. James and I are in love.”
“I know,” Teri said without any enthusiasm.
“You know?”
“Good grief, Christie, I’ve known it for weeks, even before the kidnapping.”
That was interesting, because Christie hadn’t been aware of her own feelings until recently.
“It was so obvious,” Teri went on.
Christie put her coffee on the counter. She wasn’t really in the mood for it, anyway. When she turned back, she saw that Bobby had come into the kitchen.
“Hi, Bobby,” she said, greeting him in a cheerful voice.
He blinked at her as if he couldn’t quite place who she was.
“It’s Christie,” she said, bringing her hand to her throat. “Teri’s sister.”
“Yes, I know.” He seemed puzzled that she’d felt the need to identify herself.
“James will be back,” she said once more, trying to inspire confidence in Teri and Bobby. “I don’t understand why he resigned. That seems a bit drastic, but I’m sure he didn’t mean it.”
“He meant it,” Bobby said dispassionately.
“This must be a knee-jerk reaction. It might even be a joke and he’ll be home by morning.” She couldn’t imagine that, but felt she had to suggest it.
Bobby immediately discounted the possibility. “James doesn’t know how to joke,” he said. “James is like me.”
“Oh.” Christie couldn’t figure out quite what to say to that. “Where would he go?” she asked instead.
Bobby shook his head.
“We’ve wondered the same thing,” Teri told her. “Bobby’s known him practically his entire life and James has never done anything like this.”
“Why are you so sure he won’t be back?” she asked.
Neither Teri nor Bobby seemed inclined to answer.
“See?” she cried with a sense of triumph. “You’re not sure at all. I think we’re overreacting here. James loves us. Give him a day or two, and once this has blown over, he’ll be back in his apartment as if nothing happened.”
Bobby stared at her. “He took everything with him.”
“What…what do you mean, everything?”
Bobby and her sister exchanged a look.
“He’s taken all his personal stuff—his computer, clothes, books,” her sister explained. “He’s gone, Christie, and we’re guessing he’ll never show his face in Cedar Cove again.”
Gone. For good. Took everything. Won’t be back.
Bobby knew James better than anyone, and if he thought James had left for good, he was probably right.
“Why would he do something like that?” Christie managed to croak out.
Bobby didn’t answer.
Men never stayed in her life. She’d told herself he was different. Special. She’d trusted him, and at the first sign of trouble James had fled.
8 Sandpiper Way Page 29