5 The Ghosts in the Audience

by SUE FINEMAN

  I’ll die if I don’t find shelter soon.

  The cat stayed close to her, just a kitten really, and Tess welcomed the company. She moved slowly through the dark woods, feeling her way along step by step, from tree to tree, slipping on the icy leaves and stumbling over roots and rocks. Her entire body hurt, especially her feet, but she forced herself to keep moving.

  Larry drove by slowly, the spotlight on the road this time, and she knew he was searching for footprints. Did he really think she was that stupid? Yes, of course he did.

  A dim light up ahead drew her on. A car had passed by Larry’s cabin two or three times in the past few days. There must be someone in the cabin down there.

  Please, God, let someone be there.

  <>

  In the cabin down the road, John Paul Thornton packed his duffel bag and carried it outside as another car pulled up behind his Lexus. A uniformed cop stepped out. John hadn’t seen another car in days, but then his cabin sat at the end of the road.

  “Can I help you, officer?”

  The cop swaggered toward him. He was about five-eight or -nine, unshaven, and the uniform didn’t look like it had ever been pressed. No uniformed cop he’d ever seen had looked that unkempt.

  “I’m looking for a young woman, long blond hair, green eyes, about five-six.”

  “Did she do something wrong?”

  The cop tapped his head and smiled, but the smile held no warmth. “She’s not all there, if you know what I mean.”

  John shrugged. “I haven’t seen anyone.” Not in the five days he’d been there.

  The cop waved toward the cabin. “Mind if I look around?”

  “Help yourself.” While the cop searched the cabin, John glanced in his car, an old Ford. It didn’t look like a police car. No bubblegum machine, no radio, and it was so grubby the guy probably couldn’t see through the windshield. He didn’t know what the girl’s story was, but this guy was no cop.

  A minute later the man came out. He looked around the outside and peered in John’s car, then climbed in his dirty car and drove off.

  John scanned the thick, dark forest surrounding the cabin and went inside. He loved exploring the forest in the daytime, but he’d never venture into it at night, especially tonight. The temperature had dropped below freezing. With snow in the forecast, that lost girl wouldn’t make it through the night without some kind of shelter. Maybe she was running from the phony cop. It wouldn’t surprise him.

  The guy was downright creepy.

  John carried in an armload of logs from the stack behind the house. As he set them beside the fireplace and turned to go close the back door, someone knocked on the front door. He peeked out the window beside the door, surprised to see the man in the wrinkled uniform again. John cracked the door. “Look, I told you she wasn’t here.”

  “I’d like to look around again, if you don’t mind.”

  “I mind.” The uniform, the car, and the slovenly appearance of the man didn’t inspire trust. He smelled like he’d been drinking. Whoever in the hell this guy was, John didn’t want him around.

  “Your missing woman is not here.” He pushed the door closed, leaving the guy standing on the porch. Twisting the lock, he turned to close the back door when he spotted a flash of blond hair in the kitchen. Someone, the woman in question he assumed, had ducked through the open back door.

  After he heard the car door slam and the engine start out front, John locked the back door and called, “He’s gone. It’s safe to come out now.”

  A young woman with long blond hair and frightened green eyes stepped slowly from behind the kitchen wall. Her face and clothes were streaked with mud, and she shivered like she was freezing. She probably was, since she wore no coat or shoes.

  “Help me,” she whispered. “Please help me.”

  John rushed to her side, but she stepped back, as if afraid of him. Not wanting to scare her, he backed up a step. “You must be freezing. How about a hot shower?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  As they walked toward the stairs, he nodded toward the front door. “Who’s the guy in the phony cop suit?”

  “His name is Larry and he’s crazy.”

  “That’s not hard to believe.” John followed her upstairs to the bathroom. “I’ll find you something warm to put on, then you can take a hot shower and thaw out.”

  Relief swept through Tess’s body even as she shivered. “Thank you.” She didn’t know this man, but she had to be safer here than with Larry.

  The man ducked into a bedroom and returned seconds later with a thick terry robe. “Take your time. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

  The hot water in the shower soothed her bruised, sore body. Larry never allowed her over ten minutes in the bathroom at a time and the water in Larry’s cabin was tepid at best. This felt like heaven.

  She hated to endanger anyone’s life by asking them to help her, but she’d never get out of these woods without help. The hilly terrain had logged patches on the hilltops and thick forest down around the cabins, and she was miles from any town.

  It felt wonderful to be clean and warm and free again. She pulled the robe on and wrapped her wet hair in a towel, then walked downstairs to thank the man. He was about six feet tall, with longish light brown hair that curled around his ears, dark brown eyes, and pleasant features, although he looked like he hadn’t shaved in several days. The whiskers gave him a bad boy look, but the warmth in his eyes revealed kindness.

  He handed her a cup of hot tea. She didn’t know whether to drink it or just hold it to warm her hands. “Thank you.”

  He sipped from his cup. “Well, you look better.”

  She smiled and winced as the cut on her lip, one of her minor injuries, opened. “Cleaner and warmer.”

  He set his cup on the counter, his brows knit in a worried frown. “Your lip is bleeding.”

  Her fingers explored the cut and came away with a streak of blood. “So are my feet. I hope I didn’t get blood on your rug.”

  He pointed to the sofa in the living room. “Sit by the fire and let me look. What’s your name?”

  “Tess.” She sat on the sofa and set her tea on the coffee table in front of her. “What’s your name?”

  His eyebrows raised in surprise. “You don’t recognize me?”

  Staring at his face, Tess asked, “Should I? Have we met before?”

  A wry smile touched his lips. “No, I don’t believe so. I’m John.” He lifted one of her feet and examined it, then did the same with the other one. The robe crept up her legs. “Looks like you bruised your legs, too. Why were you out there without shoes?”

  “Larry burned them. I don’t know what he did with my coat.”

  John lowered her foot and propped his hands on his hips. “How long were you there?”

  “A week.” A lifetime. “I got lost and stopped for directions. I should have locked myself in my car, because once I stepped inside his cabin, he wouldn’t let me leave.”

  “Did you call the police?”

  She shook her head and John grabbed the phone from the kitchen counter. “Damn! He cut the phone line, and there’s no cell phone coverage out here.”

  Tess wasn’t surprised by anything Larry did. There was a sickness in him, in his mind, but he wasn’t stupid by any means. It was a frightening combination—intelligence and insanity.

  John checked the door locks again, then piled bandages and medicine on the coffee table. He spent the next few minutes with a pair of tweezers, pulling tiny twigs and debris from the cuts in her feet. Peroxide washed out more. By the time he finished, her feet throbbed with pain. He slathered antibiotic ointment on them, wrapped them in bandages, and pulled on a pair of thick socks.

  “You’re a good doctor. Thank you.”

  He flashed a broad smile. “I learned everything I know about doctoring in high school. I played a doctor in my class play. Dr. Dreadful.” He wiggled his eyebrows and pretended to stroke a handlebar mustache.

&nb
sp; “Sorry I missed it.” His gentle teasing gave her a sense of relief. He was obviously trying to make her feel safe and comfortable, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever feel safe again.

  He gathered the things off the coffee table and stashed them in the kitchen as he talked. “I wrote it myself. Worst play ever written.”

  She moved slightly and winced with pain. John’s eyes clouded with concern. “What’s wrong, Tess?” He pushed the coffee table aside and dropped to his knees in front of her. “What hurts?”

  What didn’t hurt? “Everything.”

  “You have bruises all over your face and legs. What did he do to you?”

  She looked away from the pity in his warm brown eyes. “He was training me to be his wife. He had some bizarre marriage ceremony planned for tomorrow night, during the full moon.” Thank God she got away before he put her through that. Her body would heal and Larry hadn’t touched her sexually. She assumed he was waiting for the marriage ceremony. “If you can help me get away from here, I’ll file a police report.”

  John gazed into her eyes, then stood. “My sister’s clothes are in the bedroom on the left upstairs. Dry your hair and find something warm to wear. I planned to leave in the morning anyway, so we’ll go tonight. There must be a police department or sheriff’s office in Cooper’s Corner.”

  Upstairs in John’s sister’s room, Tess pulled on jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt with a flannel shirt hanging loose over the top. The clothes were all a size too big, but they were clean and dry. A pair of athletic shoes almost fit and a down jacket looked warm. She dried her hair and brushed it out, wishing she had some of her own things, like her hairbrush and toothbrush.

  John watched Tess step gingerly down the stairs dressed in Lindsay’s clothes. Her long blond hair draped over her shoulders and framed a face that must have been pretty before that crazy bastard beat on her. Poor girl needed to see a doctor.

  “Tess, how many other cabins are in this area?”

  “None that I found. Of course, I was totally lost when I found Larry’s cabin, and the only lights I saw tonight were the ones from this cabin.”

  That’s why the crazy cop came back. This was the logical place for her to come, the only shelter from the bitter cold. Was he still out there somewhere, watching? John felt helpless without weapons, and he couldn’t call for help without a phone.

  With all the lights off, he walked through the darkened house, looking out the windows, searching for movement or light or anything unusual outside. Moonlight broke through the clouds, but the shadows stretched deep into the forest. Anyone or anything could be out there and he wouldn’t know it. He had to get this girl to safety. He used to keep a small handgun in his glove compartment, but it wouldn’t do him any good now. He’d loaned it to his agent months ago, and Syd never returned anything.

  He shoved a stocking cap in Tess’s hand. “Tuck your hair inside this and wait behind the door, just in case.” As soon as she’d tucked her hair under the cap, he handed her a scarf and gloves. “I’ll move the car close to the porch and come back for you, in case he’s watching. We’ll leave the lights off.”

  Her hands shook and she looked pale and scared. He tipped her chin up to gaze into her frightened eyes. “Trust me, Tess,” he said gently. “I saw this in a movie once.”

  She wrapped the scarf around her neck and tucked the ends inside the jacket. “Did it work?”

  “Uh…” Hell, no, it didn’t work. “We’ll make it work this time.” If that guy was as crazy as she said, and John had no reason not to believe her, they had no choice. They had to make it work.

  <>

  Larry knew the guy in the log house had lied to him. He knew in his gut that Tess had hidden in that house, and he knew they’d panic and run tonight. They wouldn’t get away, because he’d be waiting for them. He wouldn’t let anyone steal his woman.

  He backed his car into the driveway of his cousin’s old burned out cabin and turned off the lights. Minutes later, he had collected enough branches to cover the front of the car. He didn’t want that guy to spot him, not yet anyway. He grabbed a small tree that had fallen in the last storm and tried to pull it across the road, but the tree, still attached to the roots, wouldn’t budge. He’d need the axe to cut it loose.

  Streaks of light from car headlights approached. He’d run out of time. “Damn!” If he hurried, he could use one of the logging roads and stop them down the road somewhere. The main road was at least seven miles away, and the guy in the fancy car would never get that far.

  The Lexus passed by and Larry waited a few seconds before following. Branches dropped off the car as he drove. The moon shone bright enough to see, so he drove without headlights. He knew these roads better than anyone alive, and he knew exactly where to go. He’d take the old logging road and cut the Lexus off up ahead, in the area that had been logged last summer. They couldn’t hide out in the open.

  After he put his mark on Tess, no other man would want her. She’d belong to him for the rest of her life. “You’re mine, Tess. Mine. And don’t you forget it.”

  <>

  “Tess, are you all right back there?”

  “Fine.” Tess lay on the backseat, covered with a blanket.

  John watched his rearview mirror. He didn’t see the dirty Ford or the phony cop, yet he had an uneasy feeling, like something crawling on the back of his neck. By helping this woman, he’d made himself a target, too. The sooner they got out of these hills, the better. He flipped his cell phone open, but it didn’t work. They were still in the dead zone, the area without cell coverage.

  Fat snowflakes began to fall, splatting on the windshield and coating the hood. He flipped on the windshield wipers. “Hey, Tess, it’s snowing.” She would have frozen to death if she’d stayed outside all night. She must have been desperate to run outside without shoes and a coat, without knowing if she’d find someone to help her. Gutsy woman.

  The snow thickened. It came down so heavily the windshield wipers could barely keep up, and the road before them turned white. He didn’t want to stop with Loony Larry out there somewhere, but the car started to slide. “Tess, I need to stop to put on the chains.”

  “Is it really necessary?”

  “I’m afraid so.” The narrow road had a steep drop-off on one side, and he didn’t want to slide off the road. If they rolled down the hill, they’d both turn into popsicles before anyone found them.

  He stopped the car and opened the trunk. It took several minutes to find the chains and figure out how to put them on. There was still no sign of Larry, but the snow grew deeper by the minute.

  “John, do you need help?”

  “No, I got it covered.” Maybe. He hoped he was putting them on right. “No sense in both of us getting wet and cold.”

  And it was cold. Freezing cold.

  <>

  The snow made it harder to see and drive, but Larry left the lights off so he didn’t lose the element of surprise. He stopped on the crest of the hill and scanned the curve in the road below. Where in the hell had they gone? They should be right below him by now. Unless…no, he wouldn’t drive a Lexus that fast in the snow, would he?

  The thick snow swirled around, biting into his face and obscuring his vision. With each minute that passed, he became more sure that he’d missed them, that they were halfway to the highway by now. He shook off the snow, got in the car, and turned the key, but the damn thing wouldn’t start. The battery was dead. A stream of profanity poured from his mouth and he pounded on the wheel.

  “This is all your fault, Tess.”

  <>

  John finally got the last chain fastened and the trunk repacked. As he drove down the road, Tess poked her head up and peeked out the window. A man walked toward them, hands shoved in his pockets, head lowered against the blowing snow. “Tess, do you see—”

  “Oh, my God. Is that Larry?”

  “I hate to leave the poor bastard out here in the snow by himself, but—”

  “Don�
��t stop, John. Please don’t stop.”

  The man stood in the middle of the road and held out both arms, waving for the car to stop. John checked the door locks and slowed down. They were almost on top of the man before Tess said, “Oh, God! It’s him. It’s Larry.”

  John pushed on the gas and Larry swung his arm around to hit the windshield as they passed by, shattering a spot in John’s line of vision. “Aw, shit. He had a rock in his hand.” He couldn’t drive all the way home with a broken windshield.

  “There’s his car, up on the hill on the left.” Tess sat up and leaned on the seat in front of her. “John, would you mind if I came up there?”

  He moved his cell phone out of her way. “Come on up and put your seatbelt on.”

  Tess crawled between the seats and settled in the front passenger seat. John glanced at the relieved expression on her face. They should be home free. Larry was on foot. He couldn’t catch them now.

  As they drove past the logged area and into a patch of forest, John spotted a big tree that had fallen across the road just ahead. He slammed on the brakes and slid sideways into the tree. The airbags went off and the car died. “Shit!” He didn’t try to start it again, because they couldn’t move the big tree off the road, and he couldn’t go around it. They had nowhere to go but back where they came from, and that wasn’t an option with Larry back there.

  Tess pointed out the side window toward the main road. “I see lights up ahead. It can’t be more than a half-mile. We can walk that far.” She pulled up her collar and pulled down her hat. “We have to walk that far.”

  They couldn’t stay here and wait for Larry to find them, and with no other traffic on the road, they couldn’t expect help. John zipped his coat to his chin and pulled on his damp gloves. “Okay, let’s go.” Seconds later, they climbed over the tree and pushed their way through the snow toward the main road. He must have been crazy to try to drive out of here at night in a snowstorm, but what other choice did he have? Tess needed to speak with the authorities. She needed to see a doctor, too.

  If he’d known a crazy guy lived in these woods, he wouldn’t have been out there in the first place. He glanced at Tess and knew if he hadn’t been out there, this girl would have died tonight. Anyone with that much courage deserved to live.