By Request Collection April-June 2016. Оливия Гейтс

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       14

      DON’T PANIC. PIPER REPEATED the phrase in her head, keeping the pace fast as the path wound upward to the cliffs. The sun was behind them, casting long shadows in front of them, so she knew just where Deanna was without looking back. She’d given some thought to running. But as fast as she was, a bullet was faster. And if she did outrun it, crazy Deanna might decide to go back and shoot Duncan while he lay helpless on the ground.

      Talk. That was her safest alternative, Piper decided. It might save both of them from panicking. At the very least, it would keep Deanna from wondering why she and Duncan had decided to leave a priceless earring in the caves.

      “Why were you visiting the library?” Piper asked.

      “Because there had to be something there. Some clue to the whereabouts of the Stuart Sapphires. Anyone could have figured that out once the Times ran that picture of Mary Stuart wearing them side-by-side with Eleanor Campbell MacPherson’s wedding portrait. And there hasn’t been a trace of them since Eleanor died. They have to be here. We just needed more time. Your sister found the first one and cut off our access to the library.”

      “You’re sure that Eleanor’s dowry and the jewels Mary Stuart wore at her coronation are the same?”

      “I’m sure. We’ve seen the original of the picture the Times ran, and we’ve seen the portrait of Eleanor. And the Stuart Sapphires were never Eleanor’s dowry. They were a gift to our family. And she stole them. Just as you’re trying to steal them now.”

      They weren’t Eleanor’s dowry? Could that be true? Or was crazy Deanna just spinning a fantasy? Piper had to hope that Daryl was getting everything down. They’d reached the part of the path that cut deeper into the woods. The light around them dimmed and the scent of pine filled the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a flash of movement about fifteen feet to her left. Not Duncan. He couldn’t possibly have gotten here this quickly. Daryl?

      Whoever it was, she had to keep Deanna’s attention totally focused on her. So she stumbled and fell.

      The sound of the gun discharging was so loud it made her ears ring, and she felt the heat of the passing bullet on the skin of her arm.

      “Get up,” Deanna said. “And don’t try that again.”

      “I won’t.” But Piper took as much time as she dared shoving herself to her feet while she scanned the areas in her peripheral vision. To her left, and much closer to the edge of the woods and the cliff face, she saw exactly what she was hoping for—another shadow moving from tree to tree. She purposely led the way on a slant to the right, saying, “The cliff face isn’t far, and the caves should be right where we come out through the trees.”

      Then she prayed that Daryl would have time to get there first.

      DUNCAN FELT HIS HEART STOP WHEN the sound of a bullet exploded in his earpiece. If he hadn’t just dropped into the small cave behind Tinker’s Falls, he might have raced into the woods. As it was, the instant Daryl dropped beside him, he moved to grab the edge of the opening, intending to climb out again.

      Daryl grabbed his arm. “She’s okay.”

      Through the ringing in his ears, Duncan made out the voices again.

      “If you try to trick me again … if you try anything, I won’t miss the next time. I wanted you to come up here so that I could eliminate you. And I will if you don’t take me to the sapphires.”

      “I’m not going to trick you, Deanna. We’re only about a hundred feet away from the cliff face, and I’m going to show you where the sapphires are.”

      Duncan let out a breath. She was not only okay, she was letting them know exactly where they were and she was refocusing Deanna’s attention on what she was after.

      “You okay?” Daryl asked.

      “Yes.” If Piper could keep her head, so would he. She’d lead Deanna to the third cave, the one where she’d found the earring. In his mind, he pictured their climb down the cliff face and the route they would have to follow to get to the third cave. He and Daryl had a shorter distance to cover, but the narrow tunnel would slow them down.

      Quickly, he gave Daryl an overview of the terrain. “Watch your head,” he warned as he dropped to his knees and led the way into the first tunnel.

      “YOU CLIMB DOWN FIRST,” Deanna said. “When you get to the cave, step to the side of the ledge, but keep in sight. I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

      She might not have to waste a bullet, Piper thought as she looked down and gauged the distance to the ledge.

      “Now,” Deanna urged.

      Piper took as much time as she dared sitting down on the edge of the cliff and dropping her legs over. There’d been no sign of the figure she’d seen in the woods. Daryl, she was hoping. Maybe he’d had time to climb down to the cave.

      Best-case scenario, he was waiting inside right now, and all she had to do was get to the ledge. In her mind, she tried to remember the instructions Duncan had called up to her. Was it only yesterday? Turning onto her stomach, she searched for and found her first toehold.

      Think. If Daryl wasn’t there, she was good at finding solutions. She’d figure a way out of this. She searched for and found another place to set her foot. First she had to get down to the cave. Pushing fear and everything else aside, she focused her full attention on the climb. One minute, two minutes went by. Every muscle was straining, and she could feel sweat dripping down her back, but she reached the point where the stones had cascaded down on her.

      There wasn’t far to go. If she could just reach the ledge, she knew the caves and tunnels. She might be able to get away. Deanna had followed Duncan and her to the third cave, but Piper knew the way out. Deanna didn’t. Clinging to the rocks, she twisted her head and made herself look down. Too far. She couldn’t drop yet. She had to get closer.

      Glancing up, she saw Deanna start down. The woman was both agile and fast, and Piper didn’t dare rush. When she was finally within jumping distance of the ledge, she glanced up again and saw that Deanna was only a few feet above her, braced against the cliff face with her gun out.

      “Drop to the ledge, but stay where I can see you,” Deanna said.

      Holding her breath, Piper let go of her death grip on the rock she was holding and dropped. She had time to glance into the cave, and her heart leaped. She’d been right. Someone was indeed standing in the darkness just inside.

      When Deanna landed lightly on the balls of her feet, her gun hand steady, the shadowy stranger moved quickly, striking Deanna on the head. She fell like a rock, her camera smashing on the rocks, her gun sliding over the ledge and clattering down the cliff face. Then Piper found herself looking into Patrick Lightman’s blue eyes.

      Her mind began to race nearly as fast as her heart. Details registered in flashes. The gun in his hand, blood oozing from Deanna’s head and staining the stones. She had questions—so many that her head ached with them. And Lightman could answer some of them. “Patrick, what are you doing here?”

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