Shadow in the Pines

by PJ Nunn

  “Well, you take care. I better get back to work,” he said.

  Dani nodded, but didn’t bother to answer since he was already striding away from the table. She turned back to her notes, but put them away a few moments later. Her concentration was shot.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Snuggled close to Noah on the couch, Dani sighed as she looked into the fireplace.

  “What’s the matter? You sound sad,” Noah said softly, tugging a strand of her hair with the arm he had draped around her shoulder.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Holiday let-down I guess,” she sighed again.

  “I thought we had a pretty good time,” he murmured, nuzzling her ear.

  Dani smiled. “We did. That’s the problem. Reality starts again in the morning.” The past three days had been nearly perfect. Crisp, cold days and long, cozy nights. Noah had taken the weekend off from work and they’d spent the whole time together – laughing, reading, playing games, talking. Doing everything Dani wanted to do and loving every minute of it. Although she knew he was watchful, Noah had taken great pains to help her forget the skeleton in the cellar and everything else that had happened.

  “Well, I’m real and I didn’t think you had a problem with that,” Noah suggested.

  “You know what I mean,” she nudged him in the side with an elbow.

  “I know what you mean,” he smiled. “There’s always Christmas.”

  She smiled again. “Yeah. There’s that. Assuming I get my students and my self through finals.”

  An odd expression flitted across his face as she glanced up at him.

  “What?” she asked.

  He made a face. “I want you to be careful on campus.”

  Dani leaned away from him to get a better look at his face. “Why?”

  “Well…it’s probably nothing,” he seemed reluctant.

  “Noah,” she prompted.

  He sighed. “I didn’t know whether to say anything or not…”

  Dani felt a twinge of alarm. “What?”

  “Your boss.”

  “Dr. Abraham?”

  He nodded. “I looked into the files about his wife’s death.”

  “And?”

  “There was some question that maybe it wasn’t an accident,” he admitted. “No proof, just questions.”

  Dani didn’t know what to say about that. “But it was ruled an accident, right?”

  He nodded again.

  “So there’s really nothing to worry about, right?”

  This time, he didn’t nod. “Maybe it was an accident,” he conceded finally, “but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  “Noah,” she twisted around on the couch so she could face him. “So what am I supposed to do?”

  “Just watch your back.”

  She looked at him blankly.

  “You know, be careful. Don’t be alone with him.”

  Dani frowned then dropped her head on his chest and he circled her with his arms.

  “I’m not trying to scare you and I’m sure you’re careful. I just don’t want you to take any chances.”

  Dani raised her head and looked into his eyes with tears glistening in her own. “You really think he might have done that?” She thought of the expression on Joe’s face as he told her about his wife’s death. He looked genuinely distraught – she couldn’t believe he would have killed his own wife.

  “I don’t know. Maybe someone else killed her. She worked at Ophidian.”

  Dani exhaled slowly. “You sure know how to take the festive out of a holiday, don’t you?”

  ***

  So much for the holiday, Dani thought, racing across campus as fast as she could with a twenty-pound book bag weighing her down. A cold front had moved in the day after Thanksgiving, making it all the more difficult to return to campus Monday morning. Trying in vain to hold her coat closed against the frigid wind, she wished she’d taken time to button up before venturing out of the warm lab. At least she’d taken heed to the howling of the north wind this morning, dressing in her heaviest jeans and tucking the tapered ends into thick slouch socks before buckling on her hiking boots. If this was a preview of weather to come, she might regret leaving Austin. The idea of a white Christmas was one thing, the reality might be something else altogether.

  When the storm clouds rolled in late Thanksgiving night, it made for a cozy evening in front of the fireplace, snuggling with Noah, thinking about the holidays still to come. Today, with no fireplace and no Noah, it just felt cold. She tugged hard to open the door against the wind, then jumped out of the way as it hit her backpack slamming shut behind her.

  Dropping her backpack beside the desk, Dani shook her head after removing her stocking cap and shrugged out of her coat. Just two more weeks until the semester ended, then a whole month of nothing but puttering around the house, getting ready for Christmas and Noah. A sigh escaped her lips as she sat down at the desk and wondered where to begin. She was older and wiser enough not to put off all her major projects until the end of the semester like so many of the students did. So, while they felt the panic of getting everything done on a two-week countdown, she just wished it was over.

  The closeness she’d shared with Noah over the holiday stirred up a lot of things inside that needed some undivided attention. Maybe it was her naturally suspicious nature, coupled with the bizarre events of the last two months, but she’d always believed if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was. And, as much as she hated to admit it, Noah seemed too good to be true.

  With another sigh and a glance at her watch, she reached for the files that needed typing and reluctantly got started. Tedious, but necessary work that did little to stop her mind from wandering. Everywhere she’d turned for answers about the missing students, she’d run into a brick wall. Even talking to Noah about it didn’t help much anymore. If he’d learned anything from his end of the investigation, he wasn’t talking and bringing the subject up with him caused a noticeable emotional distance. If there were answers to be found, he’d either find them on his own and let her in on it later, or she’d be the one to uncover them. A team effort seemed out of the question.

  Dani jumped when the phone rang, piercing the silence. “Ophidian,” she said.

  “Whatcha doing?” Noah’s warm voice caused her heart to flutter.

  “Nothing that can’t be interrupted,” she smiled into the phone and spoke softly. “What are you doing?”

  “Calling you, silly,” he teased. She heard the smile. “What time do you get off?”

  She glanced at her watch again. “In about an hour. Why?”

  He sighed loudly. “I’ve gotta work tonight. I thought if you were off we might have time to grab some grub before I go. Guess not, though.”

  “Noah!” she whined. “Every night this week?”

  “More shoppers, more shoplifters,” he explained. “It’ll be like this till Christmas, I’m afraid.”

  “But you’re a detective!” she argued.

  He laughed. “Investigator. And they think I blend into a crowd real well.”

  “Well that sucks,” she chuckled despite the slight pang of disappointment. The idea that he could blend into anything was amusing.

  “I’ll call you when I get in tonight, okay?”

  “I guess that’ll have to do,” she said, smiling even after she’d hung up the phone.

  She’d finished the reports and sat wondering if she should look for something else to do or go ahead and sign out early when she heard a door slam down the hall. The sound of stomping footsteps preceded Mike into the office. The expression on his face was even more dark than usual.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, watching him flip through the stack of reports she’d just placed in the file basket.

  “I’m surrounded by idiots, that’s what’s wrong!” he snapped. When he got to the paper he was looking for, he slammed the others down on the basket and turned to stomp out of the office, then stopped at the door. “Where’s the
original of this?”

  “Which one is it?” she asked, grateful his irritation wasn’t directed solely at her.

  “Copperhead,” he waved it at her like she should be able to read it from across the room.

  Dani fished the original notes out of the trashcan, hoping she hadn’t made a typo and handed it to him. “What’s wrong?” she asked again, studying his face as he compared the forms. “Did I type something wrong?”

  “No,” he shook his head, still reading, “and I didn’t count anything wrong, either.” With sudden determination, he strode purposefully from the room, his angry footsteps echoing down the hallway.

  Deciding she’d had enough for one day, she shut down the computer and gathered her things, then pulled her coat on and buttoned it. She had a gloved hand on the doorknob and her cap snug on her head when she realized what he’d said. A chill ran down her spine. The brown snake they found in her house was from the lab. Now a copperhead was missing? Brown snakes were scary, copperheads were deadly.

  Immediately she turned and headed for the hall and the copperhead lab. She’d never sleep unless she talked to Mike first. As she approached the lab, she was distracted by the sound of heated male voices coming from inside Dr. Crane’s office. She stopped, not sure she wanted to walk in on that, when the door burst open and Mike stormed across the hall and into the copperhead lab. She was still standing there staring when the door opened again and Emil emerged. He shot her a glare without speaking, tossed a knit scarf over his shoulder and stomped down the hall, hitting the bar on the exit door without a backward glance.

  Dani exhaled, wondering what kind of argument had prompted the scowl that contrasted so vividly with the red scarf. Somehow, Emil seemed the least likely person she knew to get caught up in holiday spirit to the point of wearing a cheery scarf with a snowman on the tail.

  Bracing herself, she proceeded to the copperhead lab and eased open the door.

  “Mike?” she hesitated just inside the door. Mike was in front of one of the nursery tanks, examining it closely.

  He looked surprised to see her, but not annoyed. “Whatcha need?”

  She shrugged. “I was just checking…” Suddenly, she was afraid to ask.

  He raised himself from a crouching position and turned to face her with a strange expression on his face. “I’m missing a baby.”

  Dani’s stomach sank. “Are you sure?” From the nursery tanks she’d observed, it was hard to tell how many of the little buggers were in there all piled and coiled together.

  He nodded. “I thought I was missing one about a week ago, then I told myself I’d just miscounted. I didn’t miscount again. It’s the same tank and there’s another one missing now.”

  A shudder caused her to cross her arms and squeeze. “What do you think happened to it? Could it have crawled out somehow?” Just in case, she cast a quick glance around the floor at her feet.

  “No,” he shook his head. “No way.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” she asked helplessly.

  He looked completely discouraged and shook his head again. “Don’t say anything about this, okay? I’ve gotta figure something out.”

  “All right,” she agreed. “See you later.”

  He nodded but didn’t speak again as she backed out of the room.

  The thought of the missing copperhead haunted her all the way home. Just because it was small, didn’t mean it was any less deadly. In fact, the opposite might be true, both from venom potency and the ability to hide in smaller places. Feeling a little foolish, but determined nonetheless, Dani examined every crack and crevice in the house with a flashlight as soon as she got home.

  Convinced she’d done all she could, around eight she gave up the effort, parking the flashlight on the night stand beside her bed. With a bowl of hot soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, she sat down at the dining room table and doodled on a nearby notepad. How did everything get so complicated?

  As she dabbled in her food, her mind wandered over the facts as she knew them. Even when she started jotting them down on the notepad they were sketchy, with too many gaps to tell a story. Try as she would, she just wasn’t good at speculation and half-truth. When the subtle pulsing in her head turned into a persistent throb, she abandoned the dining room in favor of a seat on the couch in front of the television. Low lights and a cup of hot tea aided by a couple of Advils would surely bring relief. Unfortunately, the sitcom she watched only encouraged her to trade one line of thought for another. Watching the single working girl agonize over a potential boyfriend’s commitment wasn’t the best choice for TV viewing in her present state of mind.

  Her head hurt too much to pursue any scholastic endeavors. Besides, she was pretty much done for the semester. A few quick flicks of the remote assured her there was nothing there to keep her, so she reluctantly shut everything off and moved upstairs for a long, hot bath and a good book.

  When darkness wrapped around her as she climbed into bed, sleep was elusive even though she felt exhausted. Not from lack of sleep, but from lack of peace. Like she’d been running and hiding from someone or something for too long. Was it only a few months ago she’d moved here, satisfied that at last, her life was moving in the direction she’d been destined to go?

  Rolling over on her side, she pulled the comforter up over her ears as if that would stop the relentless questions that pounded her psyche. She was just drifting off to sleep when she realized that Noah never called.

  ***

  Bandit’s loud bark propelled her out of the bed and she was half way to the bedroom door before she fully woke up. With her mouth open to call his name, she stopped. Bandit never barked at things outside the house, especially after bedtime. As usual, he’d been curled up on the foot of the bed when she went to sleep. What if he was barking at something inside the house? With her mind racing back to the missing copperhead at the lab, she quickly slipped on her shoes, then turned back to the bedside table to retrieve the gun Noah left her. Of course, hitting a coffee can target in the back yard might not be as difficult as shooting a slithering snake with the diameter of a number two pencil. Taking time to assure it was still loaded, a flash of light caught her eye as she passed the bedroom window on the way to the door. Bandit’s barking had stopped, but her heartbeat took up the rhythm and sounded nearly as loud in her ears. Creeping to the edge of the window, she peered out, scanning the woods across the road from her house. Nothing was visible.

  The clock on the bedside table said 4:39. She must have done a little more than drift off to sleep. What would cause Bandit to leave her room and start barking downstairs at this hour? Her eyes fell on the phone and she was tempted to call Noah, but didn’t. She had to be able to stand on her own two feet.

  Slowly, hugging the wall, she eased her way down the stairs in total darkness, expecting to feel something slither beneath her feet at every footfall. She made a mental note to move a flashlight upstairs. Moonlight shining through the front windows illuminated Bandit, wide-awake, wiggling and sniffing at the front door like he wanted to go outside.

  Dani turned on the lights, scanned the floor for signs of movement, and sank down on the couch, staring at the door while Bandit danced around her feet. She really shouldn’t open the door, she told herself. “What is it Bandit?” she asked softly, wishing like hell he could answer. Finally, curiosity got the best of her and she turned the deadbolt and eased the door open a crack then slammed it shut again. Shit! Well, at least she knew where the missing snake was.

  With trembling hands, she dialed Noah’s number. So much for independence.

  “Russell!” his groggy voice barked.

  “Noah?” her hesitancy was quite a contrast.

  “Dani! What’s wrong?” She imagined him sitting straight up in the bed, suddenly alert.

  “I really hate to ask this, but could you come over?”

  Silence. “Now?”

  “Well, yeah…” The dial tone was his answer.

  Dani was in th
e kitchen filling the coffee pot with water when she heard him on the porch. She crossed the living room and stood just inside the door, waiting.

  “Can I open the door?” she called to him from the entry.

  “Please,” his voice sounded calm and sure. “I don’t want to touch it out here.”

  Grimacing as she saw that the little snake still dangled from the doorknob, she moved aside to let him enter.

  “What happened?” he asked, moving swiftly toward the phone, bringing a wave of cold air inside with him.

  She waited as he notified dispatch to send a forensic team and wondered if she was their sole business these days. “I woke up when Bandit started barking then I came downstairs and he was sniffing at the door. So I opened it.”

  He sank down on the couch beside her and frowned. “You should have called me and not touched the front door.”

  “Sorry,” she sighed. “I didn’t want to wake you for nothing.”

  “Dani! What if whoever left that was still out there when you opened the door?”

  That reminded her. “You know, I saw a flash of light across the road right before I came downstairs!”

  His frown deepened.

  “I stood there and watched but I never saw it again. I thought I must have imagined it,” she tried to explain.

  From the expression he wore, her explanation wasn’t good enough and she got up to go make the coffee. A squad car arrived just as she emerged from the kitchen with cups in hand.

  “I want to see that,” Noah spoke in low tones as the officer removed the snake from the doorknob with some kind of tongs.

  “Hold your horses,” the man told him, slipping the snake into a bag.

  Dani scooted closer to the door, curious to see what it was Noah was so interested in. There was a slip of paper, folded and wrapped around the doorknob with a rubber band. She hadn’t seen it because the snake was draped over it.

  With gloved hands, the officer gingerly removed the rubber band and caught the note before it fell to the ground. He unfolded it carefully, then held it out for Noah to read. Dani read around his shoulder. The paper was clean aside from one typewritten line. “This one is deadly. The next one won’t be dead.”