To Die For. Sharon Green

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СКАЧАТЬ “Whoever killed Don and the detective I hired would be stupid not to keep an eye on me, and I don’t think he’s stupid. We’ll have to look around carefully before we start.”

      Tanda took Robby along the tar road leading to Old Stage Road at a pace close to strolling, and once they reached the blacktop she casually headed them left. The side of the road was muddy from the rain, but it wasn’t so bad that they had to leave the shoulder and walk either on the blacktop or in the grass and bushes. That area had a small number of houses like Tanda’s, each of them isolated with woods all around, and from the blacktop they were hard, if not impossible, to see.

      It was still overcast and very humid, especially under all those trees, but Tanda moved along as if enjoying a simple walk. While pretending to give the neighborhood a pleased and casual inspection, she tried very hard to see if anyone was watching her. If they were it would have to be from the woods, so she kept an eye on Robby. A watcher might be able to hide from her, but her dog would know immediately if someone was there. He might not do anything about it, but he would certainly know.

      Half a mile isn’t far to walk for someone used to working with tracking dogs, and it also didn’t take very long. The place where Don had been found was a small, cleared area just off the road, half again as long as a large car, wide enough for two cars to park side by side. It was a place for someone with car trouble to stop, or someone who simply wanted to sit for a while and look at the woods. It was also a place where people could meet secretly, especially at night, when the normally light traffic turned to nothing coming by at all.

      Tanda stopped a few feet away and stared at the spot, searching inwardly for the strength to go nearer. That was where her brother, Don, had been killed, the place where his body had been found by the police. She hadn’t come this way since the murder, and now she knew she’d been wise. It was almost possible to picture the murder, Don suspecting nothing until the knife appeared, then—what? Did he scream and try to get away? Did he beg for mercy? Try to fight?

      “Stop it!” she whispered to herself, struggling against the need to shudder. “You can’t change what happened, but you might be able to help keep it from happening again. You came here to do something, so go ahead and do it.”

      Robby stood watching her as he waited patiently, and he paid no attention to the surrounding woods. That should mean they weren’t under observation, so there would hardly be a better time. It was more than possible that Don hadn’t gotten out of his car to go somewhere on foot, but if he had and there was anything of a trail left…

      After taking one final look around, Tanda reached into her shoulder bag. While taking out Don’s shirt, she walked Robby into the center of the clearing, then bent to give her dog the scent and the command, “Find him!” Robby seemed to have no trouble taking the scent, and then he began to cast around, searching for a matching scent on the ground. Oh, please let it be here, Tanda prayed silently as she watched. And if the scent is here, please let it be enough for Robby to find…

      And then, with his usual baying bark, Robby announced that her prayers had been answered. After a full week of time, through the scents of dozens of people, and even after a rain, her dog had found enough of a scent to follow. Filled with incredible pride and an ocean of relief, Tanda let him take the lead to follow the trail.

      Robby immediately led the way into the woods, back in the direction from which they’d come. Tanda looked around as they went, remembering that section of woods from the time of her childhood. She’d played and explored all through it, just as Don had before her. Could he have used the woods as a shortcut to wherever he’d been going? Could he have had an idea about what would happen, and managed to leave a clue of some sort hidden in the woods?

      Question after question filled Tanda’s mind, but they didn’t keep her from continually looking around when she wasn’t watching Robby. She’d stuffed the shirt back in her purse once it had served its purpose, mostly to get it out of the way. If anyone saw her, they’d hardly need sight of the shirt to figure out that she was meddling. Oh, hurry, Robby, please hurry…

      And Robby didn’t disappoint her. At one point he lost the trail, but casting around let him pick it up again beyond the point it had been lost. With full confidence he led her on, and when Tanda knew their destination for certain, she was stunned.

      “But how can that be?” she whispered aloud, staring as they approached her own house. “He didn’t come to see me that night, I know he didn’t. What’s going on?”

      Robby, the only one within hearing, didn’t answer, but he also didn’t stop. He led her directly to the house and around to the back on the right, avoiding the runs to the left. Once in the back he hesitated momentarily by a tree, then went directly for the closed wooden doors leading to the cellar. The doors were still closed, which stopped Robby and made him bay with frustration. Obviously the trail led through the doors, which were usually kept locked. When Tanda leaned closer, she saw that the lock had been ruined with metal cutters.

      “And I never even noticed,” she muttered, disgusted with herself for having missed something so obvious. She might have had other things on her mind during the past week, but still… “All right, Robby, calm down. I’ll open the doors for you.”

      Once she did, the dog went unhesitatingly down the stairs. Now Tanda was busy wondering what Don could have wanted in the cellar, the possibility of his having taken something a strong one. It would have to have been something Tanda would never have parted with if she’d been asked, so what could it be? She didn’t keep anything valuable in the cellar, not even things of sentimental value. So what—

      Her churning mind quieted a second time, but now with a guess bordering on certainty. Robby had led her to the shelves her mother had used for preserves, still filled with the empty jars that had been there for years. The dog was casting around to find where the trail would pick up again, but Tanda knew they’d reached the end of it. After stopping here Don had retraced his steps, unknowingly reinforcing the track his sister would follow after his death.

      Dropping the leash and her purse, Tanda walked slowly up to the shelves. It would be on the shelf at eye level, she knew, the place her mother had decided was safest for hidden money. Easily reached but not easily seen, at least for adults. Two children, one after the other, had had no trouble spotting the hiding place. The shelves were so well built and solid, they’d been perfect for rainy-day climbing on…

      It was dark in the cellar even with the doors open, but pulling the cord of the hanging light took care of the problem. The next step was gently pushing aside the jars in front, dust-covered jars with lids protecting their insides. Behind was the one jar standing alone, this one without a lid. At first glance it looked empty, which brought stabbing disappointment to Tanda. But then she lifted the jar—

      And heard the clank of metal on glass! Inside the jar was a key, and when Tanda spilled the key out onto her palm she knew it was one she’d never seen before. Don must have left it, in the spot he’d once stolen money from, but what did it mean? What was it a key to, and why hadn’t he told her he was going to leave it? And, even more importantly, did his murderer know she had it?

      The chill that came with that thought was immediate, and then Tanda jumped at the sudden pounding on her front door. Had the murderer seen her tracking something, and decided she was a loose end that needed eliminating? But it couldn’t happen now, not when she’d just found an important clue! Robby growled while Tanda trembled and tried to decide what to do. She would first see who it was, and then—and then—

      Would she still be alive to have to worry about it…?

      Chapter Three

      Mike СКАЧАТЬ