Buried Truth

by Dana Mentink

  Tank continued to savage Oscar’s coat.

  “I’ll kill you,” Oscar hissed between grunts.

  Bill didn’t answer. He was not going to let this man go unless it was to a prison cell. The gun fired again.

  “Heather, get down,” he shouted.

  He wasn’t sure if she did as instructed, because Oscar got a hand loose and struck him in the face. The stinging pain made his eyes water and he felt Oscar roll on top of him. Another shot rang out, followed by another sound of breaking glass.

  Bill felt the tide turning. He knew if he didn’t rally, Oscar would win.

  All he could think of was Heather’s chocolate eyes on him, trusting him, loving him. With a muttered prayer and a savage effort he wrenched Oscar’s arm to the side. The impact of Oscar’s hand striking the car caused the gun to come loose and skitter across the ground. He forced Oscar onto his back and knelt on top of his shoulders, pinning him.

  A surge of triumph powered through him and he wiped the sweat from his face. Panting heavily he looked up, stomach dropping when he saw Heather kneeling on the ground.

  As soon as she’d seen Al Crow jerk backward after he dropped down from the roof, she knew he’d been shot. Mind a whirl of terror, she shouted to her mother to keep Tina down and ran to the stricken man. While she desperately tried to find the source of his injury, her mind was on Bill. Did Al have a gun that she could use to help fend off Oscar?

  Al groaned and Heather was reassured. He was alive at least. Where was his gun? It must have come loose in his fall. Patting him along the sides, she felt the armored vest under his shirt. Kevlar. She exhaled, keeping one eye on Bill as he struggled with Oscar.

  She saw the hole where the bullet had entered near his ribs, but it had not penetrated the Kevlar. She sighed in relief as he began to stir, her heart leaping when she saw his rifle a few feet away in the bushes.

  Bill was yelling something and she saw with a surge of dizzying relief that he seemed to have gotten Oscar under control. His stricken face told her his thoughts.

  “Al’s okay,” she yelled. Then she found a pair of elastic restraints in Al’s pockets and tossed them to Bill before she grabbed the rifle.

  Bill managed to get Tank off long enough to tie Oscar’s hands. Then he stood slowly and peered into the car.

  Heather kept the rifle trained on Oscar as her breath caught. Her mother and Tina. Had they been hit? Visions of what Bill might find in the car made her tremble. She started toward the car, her whole body shuddering in terror.

  Then the door opened and Margot and Tina got out.

  Heather nearly cried at the sight of them, Tina clutched tightly in Margot’s arms.

  Thank You, God.

  Thank You.

  Al was trying to stand and she gave him an arm to help. He cursed and moaned as he got to his feet, blinking the grit from his eyes. “Did we get him?”

  Heather wanted to shout the news. “Yes. We got him.”

  Al nodded and took the rifle out of her hands. “I’ll cover him.”

  She handed the weapon over and ran to Bill.

  He folded her in his arms and whispered words she could not make out.

  It didn’t matter. He was safe and it was over.

  His arms were tight around her and the thud of his heart on her cheek was the sweetest thing she’d ever felt.

  “Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” Bill whispered.

  “No,” she said, pulling away to look in his face. “I’m okay. And you got him, Bill. You brought down Oscar Birch.”

  His voice broke once as he answered, “I had help. What did you toss in his face?”

  She fished a tiny object out of her pocket. “Tina’s pink beads.”

  He laughed then, a sound she had not heard in a long time.

  They turned to find Al pulling Oscar to his feet as flashing lights began to make their way onto the property, accompanied by the wail of sirens.

  Margot waved a handheld radio. “I found the portable radio stuck under the seat. Tina and I called for help.”

  The look Oscar gave them was pure malice.

  “It’s a long way to prison, Cloudman. This isn’t finished.”

  “You’re right,” Bill said. “It won’t be finished until you’re tried for my sister’s murder and the abduction of these three women.”

  “Not to mention trying to kill off the two of us,” Al said, sweat trickling down his face. “I think he should get a nice hefty sentence for that.”

  Oscar didn’t answer and Heather was glad when Al turned him away to greet the arriving police cars.

  She noticed Tina was watching Oscar, fingers jammed in her mouth.

  The child shouldn’t witness the hatred written all over Oscar’s face. She went to Tina and turned her away, calling Tank over to distract the girl.

  Tank finally left his watch over Oscar and approached Tina for a wet lick to her face.

  Heather laughed.

  A sound exploded through the air.

  She caught a glimpse of Oscar crumpling to the ground, a dark spot visible on his forehead. Then everything was a blur. Officers shouted and took cover. Bill and Al pushed the women toward the shelter of the car and shoved them inside.

  “What is it?” she gasped at Bill. “What’s happening?”

  Bill pressed his body over hers on the backseat while Al did the same to Tina and Margot in the front.

  “Somebody just shot Oscar Birch.”

  “Wh-who …?” she stammered.

  His arms tightened on her shoulders and he spoke quietly into her ear. “I don’t know. Stay in the car until the scene is secured. We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can.”

  “Bill—” She grabbed at his hand as he pulled away. “What does this mean? I thought it was over.”

  He cupped her cheek, warm fingers stroking her tearstained face. “I did, too.” He moved closer, until his face was so close to hers her breath grew short. He traced his lips along her cheekbones. “At least you’re okay. That’s all I need to know right now.”

  He pressed a kiss to the spot where her pulse hammered in her temple. Nerves sparked inside, arcing through her like a jolt of electric current. More than anything, she wanted him to stay here, with her.

  “I wanted to tell you …” he whispered.

  A Tribal Ranger rapped on the door. Bill got out.

  “Shot came from up there,” the Ranger said, pointing to a crest of rock fifty yards away. “We saw a motorbike take off, so I think the shooter’s gone, but we’ll cover the grounds, see what we can find.”

  Bill nodded. “I want these women taken to safety. Tina needs to stay with them until we know what happened.”

  He nodded. “Feds are on their way, but we’ve only got a half dozen guys here right now.” He shot a slightly hesitant look at Crow. “Can you drive them back? You can take my car.”

  Crow nodded. “Okay. Get my horse back, would ya? He’s tied under those trees.”

  Heather didn’t want to go anywhere, but she didn’t seem to have any choice in the matter. Al instructed them to stay low as he drove the car as quickly as he dared off the property. Try as she might, she could make no sense of what had just happened. For a moment it had been over, Oscar in custody and everyone safe. Then the shot had come out of nowhere, and clearly Oscar was the target.

  The memory of Bill’s embrace clung to her mind. There was something different about him, but she hadn’t had the time to examine things closely.

  “Al? How did you happen to be there with Bill?”

  “He called me. There was no way to get a car in or out without Oscar knowing, so I rode my horse.”

  “He called you?” After seeing the rage on Bill’s face when he’d found out about Al’s failure, she didn’t think it was possible.

  Al caught her eye in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, surprised me, too. He said if he was ever gonna be forgiven for his mess-ups, he’d better start extending the favor.”

  Forgiveness? W
as Bill finally going to be able to forgive himself for Johnny’s death? And would he ever be able to forgive her for her colossal failure? There was no way of knowing until she had a chance to talk to him. What she did know was that in his arms she’d found the happiness that her heart had sought for so long.

  After what seemed like an eternity they arrived back at her cabin. It was late, but Heather knew she would not sleep. Not with Bill still out there and some new threat on the loose. Choo Choo greeted them with a wagging tail and slobbery licks. The old dog brought a smile to Tina’s face.

  Al left to check the property when a federal agent arrived. Heather suspected it had more to do with Al’s shame at being relieved of duty than anything else. Margot took Tina to the back room with Choo Choo while Heather met with the agent.

  “How’s Rudley?” she asked before he had a chance to start the questions.

  “Holding his own. Lost a lot of blood, but the bullet didn’t hit anything vital.”

  She sagged in relief. The grief she felt at leaving him there alone and bleeding eased a bit. The agent ran her through the events of the evening down to the last detail.

  “Who was Oscar speaking to on the phone after the crash?”

  Heather shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “Was it a male or female voice?”

  She knew if she could help figure out who the caller was, it might tell them who killed Oscar. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know.”

  She could see the disappointment on his face before he asked her to fetch her mother for her side of the story. Heather found them in the back bedroom, watching a cartoon on the small TV.

  “I don’t have any idea what this ridiculous show is about, but it calmed her down,” Margot whispered as she returned with Heather to meet the agent.

  What followed was another half hour of questioning, with the same result. Margot was no more help in solving the mystery than Heather had been. The agent finally excused himself and went to his car to make phone calls.

  They found Tina asleep in front of the television, fingers jammed in her mouth. Heather took off Tina’s shoes and they tucked her into the bed. Her face was so small against the pillow, so delicate and innocent. She should never have had to endure what she’d been through that day.

  Heather saw in her mother’s face that she felt the same way. They tiptoed out of the room. Before they closed the door, Choo Choo heaved himself up onto the bed and curled up next to the girl. Heather gaped. “I didn’t know he could even do that.”

  “I think he knows where he’s needed right now,” Margot said, turning on the hallway light and leaving the door to the bedroom open. “If she wakes up, she won’t be in the dark.”

  Heather stared at her mother and suddenly everything came crashing in. The kidnapping. Her terror at seeing the grenade rolling down the hill. Tina’s scared face. Bill standing unarmed to defy Oscar’s hatred. And finally her mother’s words when Heather had failed to contact help.

  I’m proud of you.

  It was too much. Rivers of tears began to flow down Heather’s face and she sank to the floor, curled up in a ball, stifling her sobs on the back of her hand. Then she felt the incredible comfort of her mother’s arms around her.

  TWENTY-ONE

  The agent let Bill into Heather’s house before sunup. He’d already called Aunt Jean to come and give whatever comfort possible to Tina, and now, as Heather lay on the sofa on her side, face scratched and bruised from the horror of the previous night, he gently stroked her hair. He wished he could be perfectly at ease about the situation, but the fact of the matter was there was still a killer on the loose. It didn’t seem as though there was any more direct threat to Heather, but he was never going to forget the sheer terror of knowing she was in the hands of a murderer. Margot appeared in the kitchen and he nodded at her as he moved away.

  He wondered how matters stood between Heather and her mother. It was the most important relationship in her life and he knew he needed to stay out of the way while they worked it out, or didn’t. That was fine. His own emotions were still a jumble of uncertainty. What should he do now that Oscar was dead? What was his life supposed to be now? It seemed as if something had changed.

  “What should I do, God?” he found himself whispering. “Show me.”

  Margot handed him a cup of coffee and they sat until Heather woke abruptly.

  “What?” she gasped.

  Bill put a hand over hers. “No news. The gunman, whoever it was, has probably taken off. Could have been a vigilante, or a random shooter.”

  She blinked. “But you don’t think so.”

  “No. I don’t think so. For the moment, though, everything is quiet. That’s all I came to tell you.”

  Was it all? Was he ready to walk out the door again?

  Margot raised a hand. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about, which may be nothing at all.”

  Bill gave her his attention. “I’m listening.”

  She pulled a crumpled envelope from her pocket. “These are lab test results from the water samples we took at Mr. Brown’s place. I had Agent Rudley stop at the post office on our way—” She shook her head. “Last night.”

  Heather’s mouth fell open. “But Dr. Egan ran the tests at the lab, didn’t he?”

  “One thing I learned as a scientist is never trust someone else with your data. I took another set of samples and sent them to be analyzed myself. There is evidence of slight uranium contamination in the aquifer. Not high levels, but enough to warrant some attention. The strange thing is that Dr. Egan said the samples were clean, no trace contamination.”

  Bill frowned, mind turning. “Why would Egan get different results?”

  “That was my question precisely.”

  Bill put the facts together in his mind. “Egan was the one who showed me Oscar’s hideout.”

  “Dr. Egan?” Heather gaped. “You don’t think he shot Oscar?”

  “I don’t know. But it bears looking into. I’ll talk to the Feds.” Bill took out his phone and dialed, quickly passing along the strange information. He disconnected, facts still whirling in his mind. “Why would Egan want to hide the contamination? Because he didn’t want any cleanup teams poking around? What would he need to hide? He doesn’t even live in this town.”

  Heather locked eyes with his. “A cleanup of the aquifer would involve my property and Charlie’s. I can’t think of much worth hiding in either place.”

  “But the night I drove you home, there was a trespasser here. Remember? He rode a motorbike. Guys think Oscar’s shooter did, too.”

  Sometimes people get in over their heads and one small choice ensnares them, Egan had said. Had he somehow fallen into an arrangement with Oscar Birch?

  “But what in the world is worth killing for here?” Heather murmured.

  Margot’s face suddenly lit up. “I think I know.” She hurried into her room, and returned with the box of Tina’s treasures. Quickly she selected a white chunk about two inches long. “I thought it was strange at the time, but with everything that’s happened I forgot.”

  Bill took it from her. “What is it?”

  “I have a feeling it’s what Dr. Egan will kill for, the big ‘payoff’ that Oscar talked about. Can you show me the spot where you found the trespasser?”

  “I don’t think you two should be out in the open until the shooter is caught.” He almost laughed at the identical looks of determination on mother and daughter.

  “We’re going,” they both said at once.

  Aunt Jean arrived to stay with the still-sleeping Tina. Bill hugged her tight and endured the half dozen kisses she pressed on him. She also kissed Heather and gave Margot a squeeze as well for good measure.

  “Lovely to meet Heather’s mother,” Aunt Jean said. Bill caught the blush on Heather’s cheeks and the look of pleasure she could not fully hide.

  When he finally disentangled himself, he called Tribal Rangers and told them where they were he
aded and why. They promised to send a unit to check on things when they could and run a search on Egan. He loaded the ladies up in the truck, leaving Tank with Aunt Jean just in case.

  They bumped along until they came as close as they could and then continued slowly on foot, with Heather holding on to her mother’s arm, supporting her when the ground became uneven.

  “So you’re not going to tell us what this treasure is Egan is after?” Bill said.

  “I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up if I’m wrong.”

  “Are you wrong?” he said.

  She gave him a sly smile. “Not usually.”

  He sighed as they continued, glad that the morning temperature was still tolerable, the trail unwinding beneath them.

  Heather pointed to the gorge to their left. “That’s the dividing line between this property and Charlie’s, I think.”

  “So we’re officially trespassing now,” Margot said, a cheerful smile on her face.

  Bill chuckled. “Your mother has become quite the rebel.”

  Heather smiled. “Trouble, just like her daughter.”

  He couldn’t argue with that. “The guy on the motorbike was rounding this bend,” Bill said as they passed a sharp turn. The cliff walls rose up on one side, sharp and stately. Past the turn in the distance rose a hill covered in brush with exposed patches of yellow earth poking through, like scalp through pockets of thinning hair.

  Margot took out her binoculars and trained them across the hillside. “There,” she said, stabbing a finger at a spot just below the midline. “That’s it.”

  She handed Bill the binoculars. He squinted until his eyes burned. “What? I don’t see anything but bushes and a bleached-out log.” He handed the binoculars to Heather.

  Margot laughed, sounding like a much younger girl. “That’s not a log, Mr. Cloudman. It’s a fossilized bone. More specifically, the bone of a woolly mammoth.”

  Heather would never have been able to identify it without help. In disbelief she found the spot her mother pointed out.

  “You see, this area was a sinkhole,” Margot said, “probably formed when an underground spring dissolved an underlying layer of limestone, causing it to cave in. Eventually it filled with water. This used to be a much different climate, remember. Mammoths came to drink here, but once they got in, they couldn’t get out. They were trapped and eventually became fossilized, invisible until the surrounding shale ultimately eroded and exposed the fossils.”