by Connie Mann
But that didn’t stop the nagging feeling that she was missing something, something important. Otherwise, why would someone have left her that threatening stuffed cat the night she arrived? Who would have known she was investigating?
She snorted. Please, this was Safe Harbor. One did not question how news traveled, only appreciated the speed at which it did. Which meant someone was worried. Maybe the contamination had been deliberate. Or, maybe, it had been an accident and now someone felt guilty.
She glanced at the clock. After midnight. She slipped into a pair of jeans, a dark T-shirt, and black shoes, grabbed her camera, and tiptoed downstairs, carefully avoiding the creaky steps. She eased out onto the porch and carefully closed the screen door behind her. She started the car, grateful for the hybrid’s battery start, because you couldn’t hear it running. The last thing she wanted was to wake anyone or cause them a moment’s worry.
When no lights flicked on in the house, she slowly rolled up the long gravel driveway and out to the road. First stop, Blackwell Farms. She headed down the quiet streets until she came to Sutton Ranch. There were security lights around the house and barn, but she couldn’t make out lights in any of the windows in the house. The barn was too far away to get a good look.
She passed the driveway to Celia’s cottage and didn’t see any signs of life there, either. Confidence building, she drove on until she got near the entrance to Blackwell Farms. This whole stretch of road was beautiful, with giant live oak trees lining both sides of the road and creating a canopy. The Spanish moss that draped the stately trees gave the area a ghostly, otherworldly feel. For her purposes, it was perfect, as it made her harder to spot.
She pulled off into the shadows of one of the huge trees and cut the engine. No stranger to covert surveillance, she turned off the dome light in the car before she opened the door, stepped out, and eased it shut behind her. Camera in hand, she walked along the high fence that lined the perimeter. Farther in the distance, she could make out the shapes of the outbuildings, silhouetted by the security lights on and around them. She thought she heard voices, and she paused, straining to hear. Just snatches flitted by on the night breeze. Enough to know people were talking, probably male, but not nearly enough to get a sense of what they were saying. Right now she wished she’d brought the sound amplifier she’d ordered online a few months ago. It allowed her to pick up voices from far away. But she hadn’t thought to throw it into her bag when she left home.
She stopped at a fence post and braced her shoulder against it. She zoomed in as close as she could get and saw a group of men clustered in front of a long, low building. She slowly panned the group, searching the faces, not surprised to recognize two of them from the welcoming committee when she’d tried to see Blackwell. So what were they doing outside this late at night?
She heard laughter, but then the group went silent. She strained to hear, but she couldn’t tell who, if anyone, was still speaking. Suddenly there were raised voices and arms waving, men shoving each other as though a disagreement had broken out about something.
Eve crouched behind the camera and started snapping pictures, zooming farther here, trying to capture a face there.
In the blink of an eye, things escalated, and it looked like a bar fight you might see on television: guys throwing punches, people flying through the air. She’d never seen anything like it.
Then she heard a shout, and just as quickly as the violence had erupted, it ceased. No one said a word; no one even seemed to move. Next, everyone simply turned and left.
All but one, who remained lying on the ground. Unmoving.
Eve gasped. How badly was he hurt? She held her breath to keep from moving as she tried to zoom farther in and get a good look at the man’s face. He was turned away from her, so she couldn’t see him clearly.
Wait a minute. Were they just going to leave him there? What if he needed medical help? She should call an ambulance. Or the police. She pulled her cell phone from the back pocket of her jeans, finger poised to dial, then stopped.
What if the men heard her? But she couldn’t do nothing, either. What if he died?
While she wrestled with her conscience, a flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned back and saw two of the cowhands grab the other man under the arms and drag him off toward another building, which now had lights on in most of the windows. Bunkhouse, she guessed.
The man woke up and struggled to free himself, but they didn’t let go—simply marched him between them and out of sight. Then Eve spotted another man, off to the side, holding a long-handled shovel. He followed the others. Were they going to bury him?
Her heart pounded and fear coated her tongue, but more than that, fury burned through her. She wouldn’t let them get away with it.
Wait. Calm down. Her imagination had run amok again. The man was conscious. Someone holding a shovel did not mean they were going to kill anybody. Sheesh. She had to get a grip.
She ducked down and used her body to shield the light as she scrolled through her photos. None of the faces showed up well, but she’d know more once she got home and enhanced them on the computer. For now, she had to get out of here.
Eve eased back into her car and dialed Nick’s number. It went right to voice mail. “Hi, Nick, it’s Eve. I was out at Blackwell Farms and saw a fight, a bunch of guys beating up another guy. It was bad. Then they hauled him toward the bunkhouse and a guy with a shovel went with them and . . . well, I’m worried about the guy. Could you swing by and check on things? Thanks.”
Eve hung up and pulled onto the road. Nick might call and lecture her, question what she was doing out here, but he wouldn’t blow her off. He’d go by and check it out. She’d rather be wrong than have something terrible happen while she’d done nothing to try to stop it. She didn’t need more guilt in her life. She already had plenty.
Still worried about the guy, she drove back toward Cole’s ranch. Once she got within a quarter mile, she pulled behind another giant live oak and slid out of the car.
She walked toward his property, unsure where to start looking. Everything seemed still and quiet. And very dark.
A jagged fork of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a crack of thunder that made her jump. She glanced up, surprised to see a storm rolling in. The wind picked up speed, and the feeling in the air changed, filled with the smell of rain.
She didn’t have much time to investigate. She’d spent enough years in Florida to know you didn’t want to be under a tree during a thunderstorm. She’d just take a quick peek into a few of his storage sheds, see what kind of fertilizer he kept on hand.
She crossed the road, though the trees were farther apart along this stretch and afforded less cover. Still, unless she got closer, she’d never be able to see a thing.
Technology to the rescue. Eve propped her camera on a fence post to steady it and zoomed in on each of the ranch buildings. It was like the night before Christmas at Cole’s place—not a creature was stirring.
Another bright flash of lightning had her scanning the sky. The storm was moving fast. Thunder rumbled through the ground under her feet. She looked back at the silent ranch and lowered her camera. She’d have to look in his sheds another time, though even if he had barrels of nitrate fertilizer, she knew it didn’t prove a thing. It was too much of it that made it a problem. She sighed. The water tests would be the best indicator.
Time to go home and get a better look at her photos. She’d call Nick again, too—see what he found out.
She turned to go, but stopped short at the sound of someone chambering a round in a shotgun.
“Hands in the air and state your business.”
Chapter 6
Eve let out a shaky breath when she recognized Cole’s voice. She raised her hands and slowly turned to face him, her best smile in place. A good bluff worked in most situations. “Hi, Cole. Crazy storm that’s blowing in, huh?”
Cole stepped closer and lowered the gun. “What are you doing out here with
a camera in the middle of the night, Eve?”
Shoot. The man didn’t miss a thing. “Ah, taking pictures of the lightning?” Her voice shook, and she knew she sounded ridiculous.
“Nice try. Why are you really out here spying? What are you hoping to accomplish?”
She kept her smile in place. “I wouldn’t call it spying, exactly.” She folded her arms over her camera as the first drops of rain began to fall. “Look, we’d both better get going before the sky opens up.”
“I want to see those pictures first.”
More rain spit from the sky, and Eve seized the opportunity. “It’ll have to wait. I need to get this camera inside.” Without waiting for a reply, she turned and dashed back across the road to her car and hopped in, locked the doors. She didn’t really expect Cole to climb in and force her to show him the pictures, but she wasn’t taking any chances with this evidence.
She shoved the key into the ignition, turned it, and got nothing. Not a click. No lights on the dashboard. Nothing.
She tried again. Still nothing. Outside, the rain came down harder.
Cole tapped on her window, so she hit the switch to lower it, but nothing happened. He leaned closer and shouted, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. It won’t start. I’m thinking battery because there are no dash lights and the engine won’t even turn over.”
“I’ll take a look. Pull the hood release.”
He disappeared, and Eve fumbled under the dash until she found the right lever. Seconds later he had the hood up and produced a flashlight to look around. “Try again.”
Still nothing. Less than a minute later, he tapped on the passenger door and slipped inside after she unlocked it, water dripping off his hat brim. Outside, the rain drummed on the roof.
“Somebody cut the battery cables.”
“That doesn’t make sense. I drove over here.” Eve hoped he would let the why-are-you-here part slide for now.
“How long have you been here?”
She shrugged. “Not long.”
“Did you stop anywhere else first?”
She chewed the inside of her lip. “I made one stop before I got here.”
“Celia’s place or Blackwell Farms?”
Her eyes flew to his. “Blackwell Farms.”
“What kind of trouble did you cause there?”
“Who says I caused any kind of trouble?” Now, that was just irritating.
“Eve, you’ve done nothing but cause trouble since the minute we met when we were teenagers.”
“How can you say that? You didn’t know I was alive!” The minute the words slipped out, Eve clamped her jaw shut. Where had that come from?
She sneaked a peek at his face and saw him shaking his head. “Oh, I knew all right. And I vowed to stay far, far away from whatever crusade you were on.” He flexed his right arm. “Especially after, what was it the Gazette called it? The calf caper.” The little half smile that flashed over his face gave her hope. And made her admire him even more. He had every right to be bitter.
Eve looked away and bit her lip as she searched for words. Realizing there weren’t any that could fix the past, she met his gaze head-on and went with gut honesty. “I’m truly sorry, you know. I never, ever wanted to hurt you. I just couldn’t stand the thought of all those calves being butchered.” She shuddered at the memory. “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
“I think I always knew that, even back then when I was furious.” He rubbed a hand over his stubbled jaw. “What are you trying to accomplish tonight, Eve?”
“I just wanted to look around. See if anything was going on.”
“And was it? See anyone dumping toxic waste? Burying radioactive materials?”
“Stop making fun of me. This is what I do. Keep people from destroying our water supply. Believe me, people do stuff like that all the time.”
He sighed. “I know. But I’m not one of them. So somebody must have seen you tonight, followed you, and when you stopped here, they cut the battery cables.”
She wrapped her arms tighter around her middle, not sure if it was because of the chill of her wet clothes or the thought that someone had snuck up on her. “No. I would have heard them.”
He eyed her steadily. “With the storm, probably not.”
She narrowed her eyes, looking for a reaction. “How do I know you didn’t do it?”
He had the nerve to laugh. “What? So I could play the hero? You’ve been watching too many sappy movies. Stay put and I’ll go get my truck, take you home.”
Before she could protest, he stepped out and slammed the door behind him, rocking the little car. She hated, absolutely hated, being at his mercy. With just a few words, he could rob her of years of hard-won confidence. The man treated her like she was a complete idiot. Or too dumb to find her way out of a paper sack. She wasn’t chasing unicorns here.
She shivered as she glanced around. As much as it creeped her out to know someone had followed her, it was yet more confirmation that she was on the right track. Someone had something to hide. All she had to do was figure out what it was.
The woman grated like a burr under his saddle. One minute the absolute honesty and vulnerability in those big brown eyes made him want to kiss her senseless. And the next she was spouting some wacky environmental nonsense and he wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled. And sometimes, he wanted to do both. He sighed. Yeah, that would help things.
It struck him as funny that in her mind, he’d never noticed her in high school. What she didn’t know was that it had taken every ounce of his former cockiness to make sure she’d never known the effect she had on him. Eve was passionate and gutsy and rushed in to defend those she cared about without hesitation. Even when he didn’t agree with her, a part of him wanted to let the fire that burned so brightly inside her warm the cold places in his heart.
Right. He jammed the key into his truck’s ignition. Even thinking in those ridiculous, touchy-feely terms made his skin itch. This was what the woman did to him. The faster he could get her back home—and ultimately, back to DC—the easier he would sleep nights. Not that he slept much now, but it surely couldn’t hurt.
He pulled up behind her car and raced through the downpour to yank open her door. She gasped in surprise and almost fell out of the car. “Come on.” He took hold of her arm, but she jerked out of his grasp. But then she must have tripped on something because he barely caught her before they both ended up in the mud.
Without thinking he scooped her into his arms, strode around the truck, and dumped her on the passenger seat. By the time he sprinted back to his side and hopped in, he was soaked to the skin.
He took a minute to catch his breath and remove his dripping Stetson. Beside him, she’d pulled off one muddy shoe and was trying to figure out how to get the mud off it. He reached behind the bench seat and handed her a rag. She took it with two fingers and started wiping away the mud.
“I can’t believe you came out here to spy on me in those shoes.” He shook his head as he adjusted the temperature. The last thing he needed was for her to catch a chill and blame it on him.
“I didn’t come out here to spy on you.” He expected the instant protest, but he could tell even she didn’t believe what she was saying.
He simply raised one eyebrow and started the engine.
He watched as she checked her cell phone, then slid it back into her pocket, looking near tears. “That baby could die. I have to find out who caused this.”
“Maybe you’re not looking for a who, but a what?”
She pierced him with those amazing eyes. “Contamination always, always has a source.”
“I’m not arguing that, Eve. I’m saying sometimes the source is accidental, or intentional, or sometimes, it happens and people don’t even know it’s happening. You know enough to have already considered all that. Why are you so quick to blame it on someone? Calling it deliberate?”
She turned back to look out the window, and for a whi
le, he didn’t think she’d answer. Then she speared him with another one of those accusatory looks. “Someone also left a threatening note on my windshield and a stuffed kitty with a noose around its neck. That tells me someone has something to hide.”
“Wait. Back up. When was this? Did you call the police?”
“Yes, I called the police, filled out a report.”
“What did the chief say?”
“Officer Stanton said he’d look into it.” She raised her chin and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Bet he told you to stay out of his way, too, didn’t he?” He could practically see the steam billowing out of her ears, but he couldn’t resist.
“I told him to stay out of my way, too.”
He grinned at the typical Eve response, then sobered. “I’m sure getting used to the fact that he’s Tony Martinelli is an adjustment for everyone.” Cole, along with everyone in Safe Harbor, was still reeling from the news that Nick Stanton was really the Martinellis’ long-lost son. Even harder to swallow was that one of the local captains had set up the boy’s kidnapping when he was three, and his cousin or somebody had taken him and raised him as their own. For all the craziness in Cole’s own family, he couldn’t imagine waking up one day to find out his whole life had been a lie. It boggled the mind.
Eve shrugged, but he saw through the nonchalance. “We’re getting used to each other. It’ll take some time.”
They fell into silence the rest of the ride home. When they pulled into the driveway, Eve gasped. Every light in the house was on.
“Mama Rosa!” She hopped out of the truck and raced onto the porch.
Chapter 7
“Where have you been?” Blaze was demanding as Cole walked in behind Eve.