Run, River, Run

by C. F. Francis

  Suddenly, the beam of light jerked upward as a shot rang out. Unseen wildlife could be heard scurrying deeper into the forest. A few seconds later Troy shouted, “Clear."

  “You stay here,” Kevin told her as he headed toward the sound of Troy’s voice.

  “The hell I will. I have more right to know what’s going on than anyone.” She sidestepped the fallen tree trunk Kevin had easily vaulted over.

  “Then stay back until I make sure the situation is secure,” he told her.

  She wasn’t one for taking orders, but under the circumstances, she’d default to the man with battle experience.

  The distant voices became a clear litany of hate filled profanity as they approached.

  “Goddamn bitch,” Aunt Amy squealed.

  River’s agreement to Kevin’s request didn’t last long. With a mixture of anger and pain, she turned toward her aunt who continued to sling insults. Troy had her in an armlock. Her weapon was in his waistband. Her flashlight lay on the ground casting long shadows of the rough landscape.

  “Why?” She verbalized the question that had been running through her head. Fury leapfrogged over the pain. “Why, damn it? Anger filled the hole where her heart had been. She wanted to slap the shit out of the woman who’d help raise her. “Answer the damn question. Why do you want me dead?”

  Kevin pulled River against his chest, holding her a safe distance from her aunt. River wasn’t sure who he was protecting. River or Aunt Amy.

  “Because you’re not.” She spat out the words. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t run away that day, you’d have died with the rest of your family.”

  River didn’t think she could be anymore shocked. Her head snapped back as if she’d been hit. The words were a blow to her heart. “I thought you loved me.”

  “That just proves how naïve you are. I loved the money you brought with you. How the hell do you think I built my kitchen? Catering ladies’ lunches and tea parties?”

  “You stole from my trust fund?”

  Her aunt quieted. Had it just dawned on her that she was speaking too freely?

  “Then River took over the accounts and you lost your money tree. Right?” Kevin prodded when her aunt didn’t answer. “So, you thought you’d inherit from her.”

  River didn’t recognize the woman struggling to get away from Troy. It was as if she had dual personalities. She was stunned. Hurt, livid, and stunned.

  “You killed Dan.” Kevin made the statement in a cold harsh tone.

  “Why would she kill Dan?”

  “To get you back here,” Troy answered for her.

  There was no response, other than the steely, tight-lipped expression filled with hate. She’d already said enough to incriminate herself in kidnapping and attempted murder. Had she killed Dan for the sole purpose of luring River back? River stumbled over to a fallen tree and vomited. She continued to wretch even as Kevin pulled back her hair.

  She wiped her mouth on her sleeve. She didn’t seem to have much control over her tears or stomach these days. As she straightened, Kevin stepped up and brushed the hair from her face.

  “Colt’s waiting for us near the car,” Troy said, raising his voice as he jerked the arm of his squirming captive. “He’s called the sheriff. They should be there by the time we meet up with them.”

  “Roger,” Kevin responded. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Over with. Was it? There were so many questions to be answered.

  “You’re safe,” Kevin said. “We’ll get this sorted out.”

  How did he know what she was thinking before she verbalized it? When was the last time someone understood her? The answer shrouded her in sadness. Her mom and dad had always been able to read her, but no one else had possessed the ability to see inside her soul. Not her aunt. Not Dan. Not even her therapist. But she had a bond with Kevin—a bond that would soon be broken.

  40

  As the sun rose, Kevin sat on the couch with River tucked up next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Neither of them had slept since returning to the cabin. River was too pent up over the events that had unfolded last evening. Once home, she’d been on a mission to erase all evidence that a forensic team had ever been in the cabin. Kevin scrubbed tables, floors, doorknobs and whatever else River pointed to, all the while keeping one eye on her to be sure she suffered no ill effects due to the knock on the head. Troy and Colt were currently outside on the phone with Rick.

  He thought back to last night’s trek down the mountain to the abandoned SUV. The hike had been filled with tension. So much tension, Kevin had half expected a tree branch to snap as they passed by. River had trudged down the hill like a cast member of The Walking Dead.

  When they reached the vehicle, they’d been met by Colt, the sheriff and a contingent of deputies. A forensic team had already started on the abandoned car. Amy Scott was immediately taken into custody. There were enough witnesses and evidence to warrant the arrest. Statements were taken, adding to the physical evidence that had been collected. Contact information was exchanged before they were dismissed and told to remain available for additional questioning.

  Despite River’s objections, Kevin had insisted she be checked out at the hospital after they’d left the scene. He was concerned there were wounds hidden under the layers of dirt that cover her. He hadn’t known until they’d reached the hospital that she’d been unconscious again. He waited with Troy and Colt as the ER staff cleaned her up and checked her injuries which were, thankfully, mostly scrapes and bruises.

  In spite of consuming copious amounts of hot coffee, River was still cold. Shock. It wasn’t surprising considering the night she’d had. He pulled the throw from over the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders. It tore him up to see her in so much pain. With all the tools in his medical pack, there were none he could pull out to fix this. She was grieving at the loss of another family member—her last family member—not from death, but from betrayal.

  And it wasn’t going to get any easier any time soon. Sheriff Chamblee had called at the crack of dawn. He wanted them all in for questioning sooner rather than later. They’d been lucky to have some time to decompress. If Rick hadn’t interceded last evening, giving his word as a fellow officer that his friends would show up when requested, the four of them would have, in all probability, spent the night at the county jail answering questions.

  Troy and Colt had arrived early, bearing bagels and breakfast sandwiches. Kevin had managed to get River to nibble on some food. She needed something in her stomach to absorb the caffeine. It was going to be a long day and there was no way of telling when they’d get the chance to eat again.

  Tucking a leg beneath her, River repositioned herself.

  “You okay?” Kevin asked. The question was automatic. How could she be?

  “Do you think Aunt Amy had anything to do with the murder of my mom, dad and Billy?”

  “I can’t see that angle.”

  “I know it’s a long stretch…” River paused as the front door opened.

  “What’s a long stretch?” Colt asked.

  “River’s afraid her aunt may have had something to do with her family’s murder,” Kevin explained.

  “You can rule that fear out,” Colt said, dropping into one of the empty chairs. Troy headed for the coffee maker.

  “How?”

  “Rick has been in touch with both the Sheriff and Warden Brandley. I think we can fill in a few blanks now. The rest will come in dribbles and drabs.”

  “What did Rick have to say?” Kevin asked, taking River’s hand.

  “There is a tie in between your aunt and the Engleharts,” Colt said, steepling his fingers, “but it’s not what you were thinking. The way we figure it, she was using them to set Roxbury up to take the fall. When something happened to you, she would be able walk away scot-free, no pun intended.”

  “I don’t understand. She knew the Engleharts and Roxbury?” Nails dug into Kevin’s palm.

 
; “It was a convoluted plan. Your aunt must have invested a great deal of time in it. Years.” Colt shook his head. “Not to sound cold, but the amount of patience it took to attempt to pull this off is amazing.”

  “Did they get along?” Troy asked. He leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping a cup of coffee.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Were your aunt and mom close to each other?” Troy clarified.

  “They got along well, at least in my presence,” she said, cocking her head to look at Troy. “We spent holidays and birthdays together, but other than those special occasions, they both had their own lives. Mom trusted her enough to make her my guardian in her will.”

  “Other than custody of you and the administrative costs of caring for you, she didn’t get a dime, did she?” Kevin asked, understanding the direction the conversation was taking.

  “What are you trying to say?” River asked, her brow furrowed.

  “It looks like your aunt expected a financial windfall from the death of her sister. When she didn’t get it, she directed her anger at you.”

  “I didn’t pick up on that.”

  “You were her meal ticket. She’d be careful not to alienate the fatted calf. You’d best have a forensic accountant go over your books. I’d bet she did some skimming from your trust funds. I assume you had her removed from everything when you turned twenty-one?” Kevin asked.

  “Yes,” River huffed, “which would explain her objection to the change. She said she didn’t want me carrying too large of a load while I was in college. I figured she was trying to be helpful, but I wanted to stand on my own.”

  “You need an expert to look into that aspect,” Kevin suggested.

  River sighed. “I’ll contact my attorney and have her recommend someone. If Aunt Amy did siphon off money, my current accountant didn’t catch it, assuming he wasn’t involved.”

  “An easy way would be to pad the expenses she submitted. In seven years, that could add up to quite a bit,” Troy suggested.

  River glanced from one man to another. “My brain is swimming in questions. How were the Engleharts and Roxbury involved in all this crap?”

  “I think they’ll confirm your aunt, not Roxbury, was the one doing the harassment last year—leaving the mutilated animals,” Kevin said. “You mentioned she used local products in her catering business. Did that include local game?”

  “Yes. In addition to getting meats from local ranches and hunters, she did some of the hunting herself. She enjoyed it.”

  “So, not only is she familiar with this place, she’s also skilled at hunting and dressing her prey.” Kevin paused. “Do you remember the drawings you made in Sanibel? The drawings of the animals and the knife as it slashed you?”

  “I was upset that night.”

  “That was obvious from the sketches. The drawing of the knife has been nagging me. I couldn’t figure out what it was until now. The hand you drew holding the knife belonged to a woman.”

  “I must have subconsciously known that. You think it was Aunt Amy?”

  “It’s just an educated guess, but a good bet,” Troy confirmed. “She might have been there to leave you another present, but you interrupted her. The incident pushed you over a line she hadn’t intended for you to cross. In setting up Roxbury, she scared you away.”

  “I moved because I was concerned about them—not me. She and Dan were worried sick about my staying there.”

  “I’m sure Dan’s unease was real,” Kevin said, “but your aunt had no choice but to put on an act and pretend to be upset. If she didn’t it would look odd. She overplayed her hand and you left.”

  “Which screwed up her plans. She had to get you back here,” Troy continued. “She’d spent months setting up Roxbury to take the fall. Your death on Sanibel would have raised too many alarms. Especially with Dan. He would have become suspicious since only the two of them knew your location.”

  “We’ll have to look into it more closely, but I also think your aunt was in Sanibel for a while,” Colt said, pushing to his feet and stretching his muscles. It had been a long night for all of them.

  “What? Why? When?”

  “You said there were times you felt someone had been in your condo, but you couldn’t prove it. Then there was the snake. Somebody put that thing in your unit.”

  Kevin felt River shiver. He remembered her terror as he pulled her from the bathroom. He’d also never forget her naked form wrapped around him.

  “We’re big on going with our guts here,” Colt added, pacing as he spoke. “But if she could chase you away, maybe she could chase you back home. That idea would have fallen apart when the SATG showed up on the scene looking for that stone. Amy had to think of another way to force you back here.”

  “Josie uncovered a developer who plans to build a resort nearby,” Colt said. “Did you know about that?”

  “I’d heard some talk before I received a letter asking if I was willing to sell to them. But what’s that got to do with this?”

  “It’s all pieces of the puzzle,” Kevin explained. “You told them no. Right?”

  “Of course. This is my home. My family died here. I don’t want anyone digging up this place and putting a swimming pool where their bodies were found.”

  “Rick plans to check into the developer to see if they contacted your aunt and she perhaps had some sort of understanding with them. It would have been another incentive for her to get you back here as soon as possible. Here, she had control over your demise.”

  “There’s any number of things that could have gotten me to come home. She didn’t have to kill Dan,” River argued. She left Kevin’s side and went to stand by the window. Her gaze locked on the world outside her cabin.

  “Jacob said his dad went back to the cabin the night he was killed.” Kevin glanced at his friends. They were skilled in the art of solving mysteries, but they remained silent, letting him take the lead.

  “Dan may have spotted something the day before which made him curious,” he said, joining her at the window. “He might have called your aunt to tell her or question her about it. The other, less likely, option is she asked him to meet her here. I’m guessing he’d have questioned that. You said she never came out here. Dan might have thought that request strange.”

  “What could he have seen?” River asked, turning back to the room.

  “Any number of things. Stakes left by a surveyor. Something as simple as a window blind being open which he’d left closed on his last visit. We’ll eventually find out why he returned that night and why she was here. He may have been getting too curious or she needed an excuse to bring you home. Whatever the reason, she took that opportunity to kill him.”

  “That’s evil. I can’t believe she’s that evil.”

  “Too many people are twisted inside. We don’t always see it.” Colt snatched his mug off the coffee table. “You loved Dan. The lure made perfect sense to her.”

  “And Roxbury and the Engleharts? How do they play into this?” River asked.

  “I think we can connect most of the dots on that one, too,” Kevin answered. “The warden said the Engleharts were encouraged to contact Roxbury by someone who called herself Grace. Based on information the warden shared, I think we can safely assume that your aunt is Grace.”

  “For what reason?”

  “When she started gaslighting you, she needed someone to take the fall for the harassment and your eventual death. She reached out to this odd-ball, fire-and-brimstone preacher and hooked him up with the Engleharts, keeping in the shadows as she did.”

  “How did she manage that?”

  “Rick will request copies of the letters,” Colt said, “but Amy’s been writing the Engleharts and even called them. By connecting the Engleharts with Roxbury she accomplished one of her goals. The authorities would immediately latch onto the relationship between the preacher and the Engleharts when something happened to you, which suited your aunt’s purpose. The Engleharts looked at the relations
hip as a way to exact some revenge on you from behind bars. You didn’t just mar their perfect record but were instrumental in putting them away for life.”

  “What, exactly, did Roxbury do?” River looked at each of the men.

  “Roxbury was a pawn of both your aunt and the Engleharts. He was picked up this morning for questioning again. When faced with the possibility of being implicated in Dan’s death and your attempted murder, he spilled everything he knew,” Colt said.

  “None of it would have been believed if it hadn’t been for last night and your aunt panicking,” Troy added.

  “Roxbury never met your aunt. She was just a voice at the other end of the line. It looks like the Engleharts had him convinced to take her word and orders as gospel.”

  “When we searched Roxbury’s property last night, we found a burner phone. There were two numbers in the contact list,” Kevin said. “One belonged to the prison. It’s the number someone would call to set up a visitation with one of the prisoners. I’m betting the second number will be traced back to your aunt.”

  “I’m still confused.” River massaged her brow. “What are you seeing that I’m not?”

  “Try not to view it as a complete picture,” Kevin said, kneading her shoulders. “We don’t have one yet. Think of it as a puzzle with some pieces still missing. You know what the outcome should be, but it will take time to get there.”

  River returned to the couch. She crossed her legs, yoga style. Her back, once again, was straight as if a steel rod had replaced her spine. Her curiosity was overriding her sadness.

  “Correct me if I’m headed in the wrong direction,” Kevin said. He stood behind River, his hands once again on her shoulders. “Here’s my theory. Amy purchased two burner phones and sent one to Roxbury after he started seeing the Engleharts. His instructions were to check on you while you were here and report back to the Engleharts and to her via the number she gave him. Her sole purpose was to have a fall guy—to set him up as your stalker and, if she’d succeeded, your murderer.”