Krewe of Hunters, Volume 3: The Night Is WatchingThe Night Is AliveThe Night Is Forever

by Heather Graham

  Frank sat on the edge of his table and shook his head. “How did this person lure Mariah out—and hit Aaron Bentley with a dart at the same time?”

  “It could’ve been done,” Dustin said. “The plans would have had to be laid the night before. And then the killer had to count on luck, as well. But most people know that Mariah is the local historian and ghost-queen. An eerie sound would definitely have caught her attention. Not a rebel yell or anything like that—too loud. A whisper? A distant bugle? Whoever this was came prepared.”

  Frank shook his head again. “You still think Sandra?”

  “At the very least, I think she knows something.”

  “What’s your plan?” Frank asked.

  “I’ll take a group riding—retrace our steps again, see what we can discover,” Dustin told him. “I particularly want to check out the stream.”

  “My partner and I will be at the Horse Farm,” Jane told him quickly.

  Frank looked at Jimmy. “Go pay Sandra Cheever a visit. Tell her you’ll be watching over her so that she can get some rest. See if you can stay inside at her place, rather than out in the car.”

  “Yep, you got it.” Tipping his hat to Jane, Jimmy left the room.

  “Is this crazy, or what? Is everyone at that place supposed to die in some kind of presumed accident?” Frank asked.

  “Could be. What’s still eluding us is the reason,” Dustin muttered.

  “You’ll be watching over Olivia, right?”

  “A killer would have to get to her over my dead body,” Dustin assured him. “And you know that Malachi Gordon—Olivia’s cousin—is here, too.”

  Frank nodded. He walked around to his desk and rummaged in his bottom drawer, then handed Dustin an outdated walkie-talkie. “You can reach the station with this. Keep me apprised of your movements.”

  Dustin agreed to do that. As they drove back to the Horse Farm, he asked Jane, “There was nothing else you could get from that image of the general?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve just spent a couple of hours with Frank Vine. We’re working with the facts, sir, just the facts. Like I said, the artist was decent. The rendering seems relatively accurate, judging by some of the Civil War photographs I looked at online. And some of the shading was really nice. This artist probably does have a career in his or her future.”

  “So, you’d say a young artist?”

  “I think so. Although art is—no pun intended—a sketchy field. It might be an older artist who’s a better technician than he or she is at finding a personal style. That’s my opinion. I work with reconstruction a lot. Or doing sketches from someone’s description. This seems to be along those lines. There must be a portrait of the general like that somewhere. I didn’t come across it in my online research but I’ll keep looking. The artist almost certainly copied the painting—or maybe even a photograph. I asked Frank, but they weren’t able to lift any fingerprints, nor did they find hairs or fibers or anything that might help.”

  “So, we have to locate the artist.”

  “We have to locate the artist,” Jane agreed.

  * * *

  It wasn’t that she’d been away for any length of time, but Olivia was glad to be at the Horse Farm. Everything was in good shape, just as it always was. Stalls were clean; horses were well fed and watered. Drew told her that Sydney had even gone on a cleaning binge in the office.

  The two of them knew Malachi from other visits he’d made over the past several years, and they seemed to like Abby Anderson when they met her, as well. While they waited for Jane and Dustin to return, Drew and Sydney took them by the stalls, introducing them to each of the horses, the cats prowling around and the Horse Farm dogs. By the time Jane and Dustin returned, they were ready for their ride. Olivia, of course, would be on Shiloh. Dustin would take Chapparal. Malachi would ride Zeus, the big paint—a horse he’d ridden before—and Abby, who hadn’t been on a horse all that often, would be on the palomino mare, Carina. Carina could move when needed; she was also extremely gentle.

  But while Olivia rummaged around in the cupboards below the coffee machine in the office, gathering supplies, Jane told them about the rendering of the general she’d studied.

  Olivia paused. “You think it was a copy of another work?” she asked.

  “Yes. The general appeared to be posed—as if for a picture,” Jane said.

  “I think I might know the painting, then. Of course, I haven’t seen this particular rendering. But there’s a Civil War picture of the general in the county archives. It was actually taken by Matthew Brady—according to local lore. And it’s possible, since the general had been assigned to different fields of battle during the war, although legend has it that Brady did take the picture of him somewhere in Tennessee. Both he and the general were at Chattanooga. I’m sure there are copies of the picture here and there. I only know of one, but it’s in a coffee shop near Vanderbilt University.”

  “So it’s likely any art student might see it?” Jane asked. “And copy it...”

  “Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery and all that. Plus, kids come out here to camp. A lot of this land is public access and public park. It’s possible that some students recently decided to scare their friends—and left their artwork behind.”

  Dustin had entered the office. “And it’s possible someone bought, borrowed or stole it. As you mentioned yourself back at the office,” he said to Jane. “While you and Sloan are keeping watch here, can you get on the computer and look up the different universities in the area and the art departments? It’s a long shot, but you might find something.”

  “Will do,” Jane promised.

  “We ready?” he asked Olivia. “We’ve got a tent packed, matches, lanterns, all the fixings. Did you find any food?”

  “We’ll be having hot dogs, canned grits and soup,” she told him. “Oh, and some muffins for breakfast. They don’t taste too bad when heated over a fire. And we have lots of coffee and water.”

  He grinned. “Then we’re good to go.”

  “I just wanted to check in with Mariah and Mason before we leave. Is that an okay thing to do?”

  “It’s a very good thing to do,” he said.

  * * *

  When she reached Mason, she wondered if it had been a mistake. He went on a rampage for what seemed like several minutes, horrified about Aaron, worried about their lives—and then worried about her. She managed to calm him down and ask him, “Mason, where are you now?”

  “Still at the Hermitage,” he told her.

  “Oh?”

  “Well, I’d planned to come, and when I heard about Aaron, I almost changed my mind, but I couldn’t stay home. So I’m here. And I’m glad I came. Andrew Jackson was really an interesting guy. Yeah, he was a bastard as far as the Native Americans went, but he could be kind, too. And he loved Rachel—and Rachel was so reviled! But he didn’t give a damn. He loved her. She didn’t live long enough to go to the White House with him, but—”

  “He was definitely an interesting man, Mason,” Olivia broke in. “And I’m glad you’re out and enjoying the day.” Dustin made a motion indicating that he wanted her phone for a minute. She handed it to him.

  “Mason, you should keep on doing what you’re doing,” he said. “Seeing Nashville. Can you stay in the city tonight?”

  Olivia couldn’t hear Mason’s response, but he must have agreed because Dustin continued with, “Good. Just to be on the safe side. Do something else that includes a lot of people tomorrow. Visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, for instance.” He said goodbye and gave the phone back to Olivia. “Mariah?”

  She punched in Mariah’s number. Mariah answered almost immediately. She was upset, as well; she was whispering, but she sounded calmer than Mason. “I’m fine. One of the deputies came in with me to see Sandra. She’s sleeping no
w, so I’ll hang here for a while. Maybe I’ll just stay, since he’s still here.”

  Olivia lowered her cell and told Dustin what Mariah had said.

  He took the phone from her again. “Keep in touch, Mariah. And when you leave, see if they can send another deputy with you. Just call Frank Vine. He’ll make sure it happens. Callahan’s with you now, right?”

  Mariah had obviously said yes, because Dustin nodded and handed the phone back to Olivia.

  “Take care,” she started to say. But Mariah had already rung off.

  “We should get moving,” Malachi said. “We’ll keep Sammy at the Horse Farm.”

  It was nearing dusk; one of those beautiful evenings when the moon, although not quite full, rained down a glorious opaque and ivory light.

  Dustin and Olivia led the way as the group set out on horseback. When she neared the ravine where Marcus had died, Olivia glanced over at Dustin and asked, “Do we stop?”

  “Probably a good idea,” he said. “Let Malachi and Abby take a look around—see who or what appears. If anyone does, of course.”

  Olivia dismounted and walked the few feet back to Malachi and Abby.

  She didn’t have to say anything. “This is where Marcus died?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  Dustin, down from Chapparal, joined Malachi at the ravine’s edge.

  “It’s obvious, even at night—and Marcus died during the day—that this ravine is here, that there’s a drop. And,” Malachi said, hunkering down at the edge, “if you did fall in, you’d roll and brace yourself and—”

  “But Marcus had been knocked out and then shot up with heroin,” Olivia reminded her cousin. “He wouldn’t have been able to stop his fall.”

  Malachi nodded. “Someone could have died under those circumstances, even if he was trying to save himself, but...”

  “The general came. He looked down at me when Marcus was in my arms and tapped me on the shoulder at the same time, and...and I passed out,” Olivia said, embarrassed.

  Dustin was glad that Abby laughed. “Trust me!” she said. “That kind of surprise would get to the most hardened of us.”

  “She’s right,” he concurred. “We learn that we see and hear what others don’t. Doesn’t mean we can’t be startled as hell. That really never changes. Ghosts. Sometimes they show up when you least expect them—and hide when you’re trying to reach them!”

  “It’s just the right time,” Abby said quietly. And it was. The moon was rising; the sun had almost fallen below the horizon. The hills, the plains, the landscape—all had that magical quality of twilight.

  They were still for a minute, until Dustin cleared his throat, and the sound roused them from their trance.

  “Maybe the general’s at the cemetery,” Malachi suggested.

  Olivia nodded. “Let’s forge ahead.”

  They rode on and eventually came to the clearing that led to the small cemetery.

  “This is one of Mariah’s favorite places,” Olivia told them. “The stories, of course, that go with the cemetery are tragic.”

  “Ghost stories often are,” Malachi said

  Dustin dismounted, lifting his lantern high. “Liv, do we leave the horses and walk along the trail?” he asked.

  “No. There are coyotes in the area. We don’t want spooked horses. If we had to walk back, it would be a very long walk.”

  “All right, this is your terrain, Liv. I’ll stay with the horses,” Dustin offered.

  “No, I’ve been to the cemetery plenty of times,” Malachi said. “Olivia’s house belonged to our uncle when we were growing up,” he reminded Dustin. “I came out here—” he paused, grinning “—to the frontier often enough. You show Abby.”

  Dustin didn’t argue. Olivia raised her own lantern high and led the way along the trail.

  They came to the graves, and the old lichen-covered stones were haunting and sad in the moonlight.

  “I’m surprised the general has been allowed to rest here—that someone hasn’t decided to dig him up for a memorial,” Abby said. She knelt down by the grave, dusting it off. “It’s nice here, though. Lonely.”

  “Seems to be a Tennessee thing, respecting his right to this place,” Olivia said, getting down on her knees beside Abby. “There’s never even been any vandalism out here, nor do we ever find beer cans or any hint of frat kids fooling around. Not here, not in the cemetery.” She glanced up at them. “There’s an urban legend about the place—that in the 1960s or ’70s, some kids came out here, but there was a coyote prowling the area and they got scared and started to run. One of the boys got tangled in some vines. He was in a panic and he swore afterward that the general came and helped him. People believe that this cemetery is haunted—by more than coyotes. I guess it’s been tacitly accepted through the generations. The cemetery is maintained by local restoration groups, and no one interferes with it.”

  “It’s a little forlorn,” Abby said. “And definitely out of the way.”

  Olivia shrugged. “Maybe that’s why the general keeps riding.”

  But the general wasn’t riding.

  He was leaning against a tree, arms crossed over his chest, watching them. Dustin watched him for several minutes without moving or speaking. He didn’t warn the women. At last he spoke, very quietly. “General Cunningham, we could really use your help.”

  Neither Abby nor Olivia started. They looked over at him, where he stood by the trees. Olivia rose, wiping her hands on her jeans. “Sir,” she said. “I know you tried to save Marcus. We desperately need your help now.”

  Abby rose slowly to her feet beside Olivia. The general stared back at all of them. He lifted his hand in a dignified greeting.

  But then he disappeared.

  Abby sighed. “I hope it wasn’t me,” she whispered.

  “He just—he just isn’t a talker,” Olivia told her.

  “Maybe he will be when he has something to say,” Abby suggested.

  “Let’s get going. We have to pitch a tent for the night and then I want to go over everything that happened when Aaron fell into the stream,” Dustin said. “Every single thing we can recall....”

  They returned to the horses, and Malachi instinctively seemed to know something had happened.

  “We saw the general,” Dustin explained.

  “And?” Malachi asked.

  Abby shook her head.

  “Well, we know he’s been here—watching,” Malachi said.

  They rode on. When they broke into the clearing by the rocky hills, the sheer beauty of the area made them pause in unison. “We should get the tent pitched,” Malachi said once they’d reached the campsite. “Hey, Liv, this has been fixed up nicely over the years. The rocks around the fire pit—great! You can keep embers going at night without worrying that you’ll start a forest fire.”

  “If it’s windy, of course, we still douse it completely,” Olivia said, dismounting. She untied the saddle pack she had on Shiloh. “Who has the tent supports?”

  “I’ve got ’em,” Malachi called out.

  They went to work erecting the tent. Soon it was done; Dustin was glad they’d chosen to bring one—it was getting too cold for sleeping bags alone. They’d take turns being on guard duty during the night.

  They gathered firewood and got a blaze going. By then they were all famished and eating became the next order of business. Even the canned food tasted delicious at that point.

  While they ate, Dustin and Olivia relayed everything that had occurred when Aaron had nearly drowned. Malachi and Abby nodded, asked questions and, after they’d finished eating, were shown the routes taken by the different players during the event.

  “Tomorrow we should act it out. Count the seconds each movement takes, and so on.” Abby yawned. “I wouldn’t mind if I got to s
leep first,” she said.

  “Everyone go ahead. I’ll take this shift,” Dustin told them.

  Olivia rose with Abby, obviously feeling a little awkward. She turned to face Dustin; he gazed back at her, meeting her eyes.

  It’s up to you, he tried to tell her silently. I’m not afraid of Malachi. He’s sleeping with his partner—well, beside her, anyway. In separate sleeping bags.... So I think it’s okay if we do the same thing!

  She didn’t say anything, but joined Abby and they entered the tent.

  Malachi studied him across the fire. “Don’t underestimate my cousin’s strength,” he finally said. “She may not carry a weapon, but she’s a powerful personality.”

  “I never doubted that for a minute.”

  “And she’s beautiful. She might be my cousin, but she’s still one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen.”

  “I agree. I... Well. Hell. I care about her. A lot.”

  Malachi said nothing further, but he grinned. Maybe that was what he’d wanted to hear. “Okay. I’m going to get some sleep.”

  He got up and went into the tent. Dustin shifted, wrapping his arms around his chest. It was chilly. He didn’t want a blanket, though; he wanted to stay awake.

  The flames grew small. The embers barely burned anymore. There was still light above him from the moon, and in the distance, a coyote howled. A branch snapped on the fire.

  He stared out into the dark woods, but saw nothing.

  He could hear the trickle of the nearby stream.

  And then, walking toward him out of the trees, came the general.

  General Rufus Cunningham.

  He stopped across the fire from Dustin, then sat down to join him.

  His voice was gruff when he spoke. “I’d help you—God knows I’d help you. But I didn’t see enough!”

  “Thank you. I understand,” Dustin told him. “But, please, tell me whatever you did see. Anything— anything at all might help.”