The Dark Side Of The Moon

by Margaret Watson

  “I’m getting Tory to a hospital. Do you think you can handle him?”

  “No problem. He’s not going to be giving anyone any problems for a long time.”

  Nestling Tory against his chest, Holt tried not to jostle her as he headed out of the woods. “Do you think you could tell me what happened, or do you want to wait?”

  Her eyes had been closed, but she opened them to look at him. “I want to tell you,” she said. Swallowing once, she tightened her arms around his neck and whispered, “He killed all three of those women. He told me all about it.”

  Her eyes clung to his. “He planted that vision in my head to get you out of the house. I’ll tell you later how he did it. As soon as you left, he came in through a window. When I went downstairs he was waiting for me. I tried to get away, but he dragged me into the woods.

  “He told me a lot of things. I was trying to stall him, and told him you’d found his fingerprint. I thought it would scare him, but instead it made him mad. He was just about to cut my throat when you shot him.” She touched her left arm with her right hand. “That’s why he missed and cut my arm instead of my throat. Then Spike got hold of him.”

  Rage turned Holt’s vision red, and he knew if Barber was in front of him right now he wouldn’t hesitate. He’d kill him without a second thought for the fear and terror he’d inflicted on Tory.

  She held her gaze steady on his, but couldn’t hide the glaze of pain. He cursed Barber again. “He won’t hurt anyone again, Tory. It’s all over.”

  “I knew you would save me,” she whispered. “I called you, and you came.”

  He stepped over a log and into the clearing around her house. “We’re not at the hospital yet,” he muttered.

  He eased her into his car and buckled her in. Leaning her head against the seat, she closed her eyes. When they turned onto the main road, she turned and looked at him. He could see her pain and the way she tried to hide it. “It’s a long way to the hospital, Holt.” She tried to make her voice light, and failed miserably. “Do you think maybe you could break a few speed limits on the way there?”

  “You bet,” he said, keeping the rage out of his voice and trying to sound reassuring as he turned on his siren and pressed his foot to the floor. “I’ll break the sound barrier if that’s what it takes.”

  Chapter 16

  Tory sat up in the hospital bed, the sutured and bandaged cut on her arm throbbing painfully. She had refused to take any painkillers, wanting to be alert when Holt came to visit her.

  And she knew he would. She’d heard the nurses talking about him. Apparently he had refused to leave her alone, even in the emergency room when they were examining her and suturing her arm. A smile curved her lips as she thought about the tone of the nurses’ voices as they discussed Eagle Ridge’s chief of police. Holt had apparently made quite an impression on the staff of the small community hospital.

  One of those nurses bustled through the door, holding a tray with a tiny paper cup and a fresh bottle of water. “Are you ready to take your medication, dear?” she asked.

  “What is it?” Tory replied.

  The nurse’s lips compressed slightly. “It’s a painkiller for your arm. You don’t have to sit there and suffer, you know.”

  “I just want to be alert for a while longer.”

  The nurse’s expression softened as she set the tray down next to the bed. “I guess I’d feel the same way if I had a guy like that coming to see me.”

  “A guy like what?” Tory asked carefully. She’d been half-unconscious when they’d arrived at the hospital, and she wanted more information than she’d gleaned from the nurses’ overheard conversations.

  “He just about tore this place apart, you know.” The nurse stood by her bed, finally letting a smile crack her lips. “He wouldn’t leave until you were in this bed and he could see you weren’t going to die.” Her smile widened as she looked at Tory. “He had a few choice words to say to our supervisor when she told him to leave. Her ears are going to be burning for a while.”

  “Oh,” was all Tory could say.

  The nurse fluffed her pillow, then straightened. “He’ll be back, honey, and he’s not going to mind if you’re a little groggy. Take those pills and ease some of your pain.”

  “Maybe later,” Tory murmured, suddenly anxious for the nurse to leave.

  The nurse eyed her sternly, then sighed. “It can wait ten minutes, no more,” she said as she walked out the door.

  Tory tugged the thin hospital gown over her shoulders and pulled it together behind her, struggling to straighten it with one hand. A voice from the doorway said, “Need some help with that?”

  “Holt!” Her heart began to pound as she watched him walk toward her. He wore jeans and an old shirt, and the lines of weariness and worry weren’t completely gone from his face. But the light in his eyes glowed steadily as he pulled up a chair and sat next to her bed.

  “How are you feeling?” he said softly.

  “I’ve had better days,” she admitted. Reaching out, she took his hand. “But I’m lucky to be alive, so I don’t care how much it hurts.”

  “The doctor said you’ll regain full use of your arm, although you’ll have to have physical therapy for a while. Apparently no vital nerves were severed.”

  “That’s good,” she said, not taking her eyes off his face. “Did Barber survive?”

  “Barely, but he’ll make it. And he’ll stand trial as soon as he’s mended enough.” Some of the light went out of his eyes as he stared at her. “What the hell happened? What was going on between the two of you?”

  “First tell me what happened with Bobby Duvall.”

  Holt’s face darkened. “He’s sitting in a jail cell in Eagle Ridge, and he’s going to stay there for a while.”

  “Even though he wasn’t the murderer?”

  “He broke into your clinic, Tory. That’s a crime.”

  “He didn’t get a chance to steal anything.”

  “Are you defending him?” Holt’s voice rose in disbelief.

  “Of course not. But right now I mostly just feel sorry for him.”

  He stared at her, then shook his head. “He would have stolen everything in your clinic. And you feel sorry for him?”

  “I can afford to feel sorry for him. His life is ruined. He’ll never be a big shot in Eagle Ridge again, and that was the only thing that mattered to him.”

  “He told us he needed money to keep up his image in town. That’s why he broke into your clinic. But how did you know that?” Holt continued to stare at her, surprise in his eyes.

  “It was obvious,” she said gently. “Especially once I moved back here. That’s all a bully ever really wants. To be important, to be somebody. Bobby won’t ever frighten me again. He’s too pathetic for that.”

  “And Barber won’t have the chance to frighten you again. The only way he’s ever going to see the light of day is through the bars of a prison cell.” His voice was rough with concern.

  “I know. The cloud over my life is gone. I can’t feel it anymore.”

  “What does that mean? What was going on, Tory?”

  Shifting her fingers in his, she gripped his hand. “It all started when he attacked me in Chicago.” She took a deep breath. “Remember I told you he bit me? Well, apparently when he tasted my blood he thought it gave him some sort of power over me. He was so sure about it that it actually made him able to forge some sort of link with me. That’s why I had those vivid dreams, the ones of the accident and later the ones where I saw the scenes in the woods. I guess when he started thinking about me, reliving what had happened, I started seeing it, too.”

  “What about the last one, when you saw the woman being murdered?”

  “He did that on purpose to get rid of you. He knew that as long as you were with me, he couldn’t do anything to me. So he did that to lure you away.”

  “And I bought it, hook, line and sinker.”

  His voice was filled with disgust, and she ti
ghtened her hand in his. “Neither of us could know that was what he was doing. Until he told me, I had no idea why I was having those visions.”

  “And what about the trees?” he asked.

  She could feel her face getting paler. “That wasn’t the trees, that was Barber. He was always there, in the woods, watching me. He was using his mental hold on me to try to lure me into the woods. I just interpreted it as the trees calling me.”

  Holt shifted in his chair. “What happens now? Is he going to creep into your mind for the rest of your life, whenever he wants to?”

  “No.” She spoke with absolute certainty, knowing that she was safe from Barber forever.

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because his power over my mind has been replaced with one much stronger and more potent.” Smiling, she loosened her hand from his and touched his face. “You heard me calling to you, didn’t you? That’s why you came to the house and went into the woods. You knew I was in trouble.”

  “How did you know that?” He leaned forward and watched her intently.

  “Because I heard you when you were looking for me. I heard you telling me to hold on, that you were coming, that you would find me.” She grabbed his hand again and squeezed tightly. “You blocked him out completely. All I could hear was you.” Watching him steadily, she said, “The power of love is a thousand times stronger than the power of evil.”

  He shifted in his chair again. “Tory...”

  She touched his lips with her hand. “You don’t have to say anything, Holt. I know you’re not ready to hear this, and you might not ever be, but I need to tell you. I love you. That’s what saved me last night. That’s what gave me the strength not to despair, not to give up. That’s why I could hear you so clearly.” She watched him through the mist in her eyes. “I had to live so I could tell you that I loved you. You have a right to know.”

  He watched her for a long time, then he slowly picked up her hand and turned it in his. “Why do you think I heard you so clearly last night?” he whispered. “Why do you think you were able to hear me? It isn’t one-sided, Tory.” He paused, swallowing, then looked at her. “I love you, too.”

  The raw truth stared at her from his eyes. His love was there, steady and real. But it was shadowed by fear. And as she watched him, she suddenly understood. He loved her, and he was terrified. Terrified of failing her.

  Slowly she leaned forward to take his hand in both of hers. Her stiff, painful arm shrieked in protest, but she ignored it when she felt the tremor ripple through him.

  “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Holt,” she murmured.

  “There’s everything to be afraid of,” he retorted. “What if I fail you like I failed Barb? I couldn’t bear it if I hurt you like that.”

  “That’s the chance we both have to take. There are no guarantees in life, no promises that everything will be happily ever after. We can’t control everything that happens to us.” Her fingers entwined with his, and she looked at him, her eyes swimming. “All we can do is take the hand we’re dealt and shape it into the best hand for us.”

  She held his eyes with hers, determined to make him understand that the past couldn’t control their lives. It was a lesson it had taken her too long to learn. “It’s up to us to make what we want of life, Holt. Both of us have baggage from our past, but if we work hard enough and love each other enough, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters except how much we love each other.”

  He slid onto the bed and drew her into his arms. “If that’s true, then we’ll have a deliriously happy sixty years or so together. But that doesn’t mean I’ll ever stop being scared of failing you.”

  “You will fail me sometimes, Holt,” she said gently. “And there’ll be times when I’ll fail you, too. Neither of us is perfect.” She felt her lips curling into a smile. “It would be pretty boring if we were. But because I love you, I’ll forgive you, and you’ll forgive me. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together. And as long as we do, nothing can separate us.”

  “I can’t believe how lucky I am to have found you, Tory.” His hands cupped her face and his thumbs brushed over her cheekbones.

  “I’m the lucky one, Holt. You helped me face the demons that have ruled my life for too long.” She touched his hands. “We faced down death together, Holt. And we won. Surely we’re not going to let life defeat us.”

  His thumbs stilled as he stared at her, his gray eyes softening in the harsh hospital lighting. Then slowly he drew her into his arms. “Not a chance. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for as long as you’re willing to put up with a cop.”

  “I don’t think I could accept anything less than a life sentence,” she murmured, laughter in her voice.

  “Hey, that was supposed to be my line.” He leaned back and gave her a mock frown.

  “I was just trying to prompt you,” she said. Joy bubbled through her veins and swelled in her chest until it felt like it would burst.

  “All right, Dr. Falcon,” Holt said, sliding onto his knees next to the bed. “I pronounce myself guilty of loving you to distraction. Will you put me out of my misery and say you’ll marry me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, “yes, yes, yes.”

  Epilogue

  The wind sighed through the trees as Tory stepped through the door of her clinic into the warm red light of the setting sun. Spike darted between her legs and disappeared into the woods as Tory pulled the door shut and leaned against it.

  It had been a year since she’d come back to Eagle Ridge. A lot had changed in that year, she thought with satisfaction.

  Spike barked in the distance, and Tory pushed herself away from the door and headed for the trees with a smile. He must have spotted a rabbit again, she thought as she stepped into the woods.

  “Spike! Come back here,” she called.

  After a moment he came bounding to her, a grin on his face and his tail flagging in the air. “Come on, fella. We’ve got big plans for tonight.”

  The dog followed her to the house, but before she could unlock the door and go inside she heard the roar of a familiar car engine behind her.

  Her husband jumped out of the Eagle Ridge police car and came striding toward her. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a thorough kiss. Then, holding her shoulders, he leaned away from her and looked her over with a frown.

  “You’re still supposed to be working. Is something wrong?”

  Wrapped in the safety of his arms, she reached up and brushed his hair off his forehead. “I’m fine. I closed the office early because I had a surprise in mind, that’s all. What are you doing home so early?”

  Reassured, Holt slowly smiled. “I had something in mind, too.”

  She felt the answering grin tugging at her mouth and struggled to keep her face straight. “What a coincidence.”

  “Isn’t it, though? Do you want to tell me what your surprise was?”

  “You go first.”

  “Well,” he began, “there’s this little restaurant in Escanaba. The ambience isn’t much, but it holds a special place in my memory. I thought you might want to visit it tonight.”

  Tory felt her mouth tremble as a sheen of tears filled her eyes. “That sounds wonderful. Do you think I could have an extra large order of fries to go with my burger?”

  “You’re crying. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong.” The tears spilled out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

  “Tory, you’re crying.” Holt’s voice was infinitely patient.

  “Everything makes me cry lately.”

  He laid a hand over the gentle swell of her abdomen. “So this is the kid’s fault?”

  She threw herself into his arms. “No, it’s your fault for being so romantic.”

  “I hardly call taking you to a fast-food restaurant romantic.” But his arms tightened around her.

  “It is when it’s the place we went on our first date, the day you picked me up from the hospital. It is when it’s the first annivers
ary of the night we met.”

  His hand skimmed down her back. “We could go somewhere nice in Escanaba,” he said.

  “Don’t you dare even think that. There’s no place I’d rather go tonight.”

  “What about your surprise?”

  She wiped her eyes and smiled at him. “I was just going to vary my usual routine of falling asleep on the couch by fixing you dinner. I thought that would be a real shocker for you.”

  Concern clouded his eyes. “If you’re too tired we can go another night.”

  Tory shook her head. “Tonight will be perfect. I’ll just fall asleep in your lap on the way home.”

  “And I’ll carry you into the house and up to bed.”

  Tory stretched and twined her arms around his neck. “I like the way your mind works, Mr. Adams.”

  “I like everything about you, Mrs. Adams.”

  Holt kissed her, then leaned back and looked at her, his face serious. “I wasn’t sure if you would want to be reminded about the night we met.”

  “What happened in Eagle Ridge last year was horrible, but something wonderful came out of it. I love you, Holt.”

  “And I love you.”

  Tory melted into her husband’s arms as the sun dipped closer to the horizon. Orange, purple and pink exploded across the sky, and the wind murmured through the woods. The scent of pine curled around them, and they smiled as they looked at the trees.

  And the trees smiled back.

  ISBN : 978-1-4592-7221-7

  THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

  Copyright © 1997 by Margaret Watson

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.