He pushed through a thick tangle of deer brush. A few feet in, he stopped. This section of the hill had slipped, and erosion had further gutted the section. If she"d been buried here, her bones could be exposed somewhere below, or buried beneath tons of dirt and rocks.
"d.a.m.n. I was four years old and it was dark, but I think he was digging right about where this part slid off the hill."
Mandy came up beside him and took his hand again. "Could he have been closer? Where we"re standing now, maybe?"
"Possibly. It"s been over thirty years. A lot of these plants might not have even been here then." He"d been so sure they"d find something. "We"ll let Ted know, see if he"s got any ideas." He pushed the brush aside so Mandy could get through, and then followed her back to where Jeb waited in the shade of the oak.
"Jeb, I"m working with an investigator who mentioned using cadaver dogs if we could get close to where she might be. They"re able to find old bones that have been buried even longer than my mother"s been missing. Ted, the guy who works for me, is ex-FBI, definitely a professional. If he thinks there"s a chance of finding her body, would you be willing to give us permission to search the slide area?"
Nodding, Jeb added, "My only concern is liability. I can"t guarantee the stability of this area."
"We"ll get it covered, put it in writing in a way that will absolve you from anything stupid we might do, or pay for any damage, however unlikely." He dug in his pocket for his wallet, grabbed a business card and handed it to Jeb. "Is your number listed?"
Jeb grinned. "Got a website." He walked back to the truck and grabbed a card of his own, handed it to Marc. "My wife and I don"t live here on the property. We"ve got a place a bit farther out Rockpile Road. I"d feel more comfortable with something in writing, though I"m certainly not going to stop you from looking."
"Thank you. I"ll be talking to my guy tonight, find out about using a dog. I"ll also get the paperwork to you before we do anything. I"ll definitely be getting in touch with you in the next few days, once I have a little more information."
"Sounds good. I"ll look forward to hearing from you."
It was a quiet ride back to the house, but only because Marc"s mind was spinning. He"d felt his mother"s presence today, as if her spirit approved of his search. All those years and he"d never thought of her, almost as if she"d never existed. Rather than live with hatred for a woman he didn"t want to remember, he"d consciously pushed her out of his thoughts. His memories of her were growing stronger each hour, as if he had to make up for so much time wasted.
Maybe he felt her closer for a reason. He hoped it was forgiveness. Did her essence still exist, if only in spirit? He"d never know for sure, but he liked the sense of her nearness. Loved the fact he could now bring those good memories back, and in some small way, bring her back as well, if only in his heart.
Now, if he could just get that same spirit or even his own memories to point the way to her remains, it would certainly make their job a whole lot easier.
Marc was quiet on the ride back. Mandy held his hand, doing her best to imagine what was going through his head right now. She was terribly relieved he hadn"t insisted on climbing down that slide to search for his mother. She hoped someone else would find her bones. He was so strong, but in this respect she felt as if he were almost fragile, so deeply ashamed of the way he"d viewed his mother for all those years.
How did you convince a man who had been lied to all his life that he wasn"t at fault? He was so open and loving with Mandy, with his friends. His mother"s love for him must have been powerful; it had to be her influence that had shaped him and not his father"s twisted mind.
She wondered if Ted had found out anything else, if he was getting along okay with Theo. Marc tended to surround himself with really neat people. She liked that he was choosy. Loved that he appeared to have chosen her.
They pulled into the driveway at the cottage and parked under a tree. Marc still hadn"t spoken, but he got out of the car and stood there, staring across the vineyard. Gazing up beyond the valley to the hills beyond the dam. The place where Mandy knew he was certain they would one day recover his mother"s remains.
She stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, felt his ribs expand with his sigh. "Hey, darlin"," she drawled. "Did you throw in any athletic shoes?"
He turned his head, stared at her. "No. Why?"
"Well, I think we need to get you some so we can go for a run. It always clears my head. Helps me think. Might help you organize your thoughts."
"It does. I might have an old pair of running shoes in the apartment above the tasting room. C"mon."
They sneaked in through the back entrance-the tasting room was already busy, but Josie was there helping Ca.s.sie and it looked like they had things under control. Marc found a pair of shoes, ratty but still serviceable, and they went back to the cottage. Mandy had brought running shorts, a sports bra, and tank top along with her shoes. Marc had an old pair of what looked like high school gym shorts, and she was really pleased when he decided against a shirt. He had an absolutely beautiful body.
"Traffic is bad out here-the road is just too narrow. Let"s run the service roads in the vineyard. Okay by you?" He finished lacing up his shoes.
Mandy had been so busy watching the bunch and flex of his muscles that she barely registered what he said. "Yeah. Works for me. I don"t want to go too far. We"re taking Nate and Ca.s.sie out tonight, aren"t we?"
He stood and held out his hand, pulled her to her feet. "Yep. I really don"t want to have to pull your face out of your plate when you hit the wall at dinner."
"Bad visual." She opened the refrigerator and grabbed a couple of water bottles, handed one to Marc and followed him out the door.
It had been foggy this morning, but the sky was clear now with the temperature in the mid-seventies. Absolutely gorgeous. They took off down the driveway to the tasting room and cut off to the left, following a trail that ran north along the creek. Mandy had run a few times with Marc, and he maintained an easy, steady pace that she thoroughly enjoyed. He didn"t seem to have that need to show her how great he was, how much stronger or faster. That was a given-he was taller, his stride longer-so it made the runs more fun when he easily accommodated her shorter legs.
After about five minutes, they reached the end of the property and turned left toward West Dry Creek Road. The neighbor just to the north of them had pulled out this section of vineyard and would be replanting before too long. Mandy heard the distant sound of cars on the road and the steady thud of their feet on the packed gravel service road, but essentially it was the rush of the creek and now birdsong that filled her senses. Marc ran behind her, which was all the incentive she needed to pick up the pace a bit.
No pressure, just the knowledge that he was back there, running in time with her steps, teasing her with his nearness. Would she ever grow tired of him? Their love was so new, and they"d been under so much pressure from the beginning. What would it be like when there wasn"t some sort of crazy going on in their lives?
They made another turn, and now they were running along the road. Vineyard to the left of them, the road and a vine-covered hillside to the right. Traffic was light, the occasional sound of voices or distant music a reminder that this area was a popular tourist destination.
Mandy noticed a number of cars in front of the Intimate Wines tasting room and a few people out looking at the grapes already hanging heavy on the vines. Marc came up alongside her. "You okay to do another couple of laps?"
"I am. This feels so good, and it"s beautiful out."
This had been an excellent idea. After driving all the way out Rockpile Road, finding the address he"d recalled during Alden Chung"s session, recognizing the tree in the rock-all of it had been exhilarating. On the flip side, walking to the spot where he was sure his mother"s body was buried and finding that the hillside had collapsed into a pile of rubble had been horrible.
Until then, everything had gone too well. He wasn"t sure what he"d expected to see, but he"d been so certain he would find something to tell him it was the place where his mother was buried. Now it seemed impossible they"d ever be able to recover anything. He needed to get in touch with Ted, ask him about getting a cadaver dog out here to search the area. He"d also have to get paperwork drawn up to absolve Jeb of liability.
And just like that, with the steady cadence of their shoes against the hard-packed dirt road and Mandy"s cute b.u.t.t in front of him, he felt as if he was back on track. How did she know what would help him focus this way?
Mandy maintained a steady pace and they completed one loop of the property and were nearly through the second, running along the section of service road that paralleled West Dry Creek. They were halfway to the next turn that would loop them back toward the creek when a weird p.r.i.c.kling between his shoulder blades had Marc on alert. He"d noticed a few cars pa.s.sing, thought he"d heard someone turn in at the Intimate tasting room, but he caught up to Mandy so he could run beside her.
"When we get to that big oak up ahead, let"s stop in the shade, okay?"
She turned and smiled at him. "What? Don"t tell me I"m wearing you out?"
"Dream on," he said, but his attention was faltering. Something was wrong, and he had no idea what it was. His heart rate picked up and his senses seemed more acute, but he slowed his pace as they reached the tree and he pulled Mandy close to him beneath the branches.
"I"m probably totally paranoid, but I"ve got a feeling someone is watching us."
Her head snapped up, her eyes narrowed and she leaned close. "I"m feeling the same thing. I just thought it was me. That is so weird. And scary, too."
He turned and looked back in the direction they"d come. An older, dark green Ford Bronco was parked alongside the fence, facing toward them, against traffic. There wasn"t anyone near the vehicle, no sign of the driver, but he knew it hadn"t been there when they"d run by a moment ago. He shoved the paranoia aside. The parking lot to the tasting room was probably just full. That was it.
Still, he"d rather move forward than have to run back by that green Ford.
"Must be an overactive imagination. Let"s finish out the loop, okay?"
Mandy nodded, but he noticed she was checking out their surroundings just as carefully. They"d stopped near an older section of the vineyard. The grapes here were dry-farmed without the trellising used in the younger, drip-irrigated section. These vines were gnarled and full, with trailing stems and heavy bunches of grapes, a setting both idyllic and peaceful.
He"d actually been feeling pretty relaxed up until a few minutes ago, but there was still that uncomfortable p.r.i.c.kling along his spine, an anxious, uneasy sense of danger without any focus. Mandy shoved away from the tree, turned, and smiled at him. He kissed her quickly and then followed her along the dirt road. She ran a steady pace that he knew the two of them could maintain for at least a couple more miles-if not for that uneasy feeling. He shook it off.
The service road curved back toward the creek another hundred or so yards ahead, but he focused on Mandy. She had a beautiful stride, long and fluid, especially considering her pet.i.te size but her legs seemed so long when she was stretching them out like this. Her arms were sleek and tanned, and she"d tied a folded bandana around her forehead and knotted it in the back as a sweatband. It sent her blond hair bouncing with each step.
His anxiety faded with every step they took. He"d have to let her know she was doing great things for his blood pressure.
The sharp crack of a rifle and the almost simultaneous whiz of a bullet flying by his left ear sent him leaping forward. Marc tackled Mandy without thinking, rolling her to the dirt and covering her body with his as a second shot echoed around the valley. Fire slashed across his left shoulder, his arm went numb, and he tugged Mandy behind a grapevine that wasn"t nearly big enough to hide the two of them.
"What happened?" She spun around in his arms, grabbed his shoulder and brought her hand away covered with blood. "Did you get shot? Good G.o.d, Marc, somebody shot you! How bad is it? Are you okay?" She went up on her knees so she could see. "It looks like it just grazed you, I think, but d.a.m.n, Marc. Who?"
They both reacted to the sound of spinning tires, turning toward the road. The Bronco spun away from the shoulder and raced past them. The windows were tinted, but Marc tried to get a good look at the license plate before it sped out of sight.
"Could you see who that was?" Mandy spun around and watched as the vehicle raced away, not an easy feat on such a narrow road. She grabbed her phone out of her pocket and, with her hands visibly shaking, dialed 911.
Marc had gotten a good look at the plate. Mandy quickly reported what had happened to the dispatcher. Then she handed the phone to Marc and he recited the plate number he"d seen, that it was an older, dark green Ford Bronco. He a.s.sured the dispatcher they would be at the house in front of the tasting room to meet with the deputies. Slowly he pushed himself to his feet. The adrenaline was wearing off as quickly as it had hit, and his shoulder hurt like a son of a b.i.t.c.h.
"Marc? What happened?" Nate came rolling up in one of the vineyard 4x4s as Marc handed the phone back to Mandy. "I thought I heard a couple of gunshots. Sounded like a rifle." He jumped out of the rig and ran around the front where Mandy stood with her hands wrapped around Marc"s right arm. Holding him up, actually. He wasn"t sure she realized how shaky he was.
Nate skidded to a stop. "Geezus, man, you"re bleeding like a stuck pig. You got shot? d.a.m.n!"
"Sure feels like it. You got any clean rags with you?"
Nate rummaged around in the utility box on the back of the rig and came up with a roll of paper towels. Mandy grabbed them, wadded up a stack and pressed them to the burning divot across Marc"s back.
"s.h.i.t!" He tried to laugh. Groaned instead. "What are you doing back there?"
"Trying to apply some pressure so it"ll quit bleeding." She kissed him. "Don"t whimper. It"s unmanly."
"Don"t whimper?" He loved that she was teasing him. He"d been so afraid for her. "C"mon, Mandy. I just got shot."
"I bet Jake didn"t whimper."
"That"s a low blow." He waited for her snarky comeback. Silence. "Mandy? You okay?"
Turning around, he caught her staring at the blood-soaked paper towels in her hands. Her face was white as a sheet. "Aw, babe..." He reached for her, but with one arm all he could do was keep her from landing in the dirt.
Nate came up behind Mandy and grabbed her around the waist as she toppled. Marc wasn"t much help, but Nate got her to the pa.s.senger seat of the 4x4, sat her on it sideways, and had her put her head down between her knees. "Deep breaths, Mandy. C"mon. We need to get Marc to the house."
He went around to get into the driver"s side.
"I know you"re the one who"s bleeding here, but can you ride on the back?" Nate had gotten into the driver"s side.
"I"ve got a better idea. Mandy? Honey, can you sit on my lap. Nate"s going to take us back to the house."
She nodded and covered her face with her hands. "I am so embarra.s.sed."
She got blood all over her cheeks. He kissed her anyway. She stood while he slid onto the seat, and then she carefully sat on his lap. It wasn"t all that far to the house, and he probably could have walked, but he wasn"t about to admit he was feeling a bit lightheaded himself. He hugged Mandy with his good arm. She had a fresh wad of paper towels pressed against his left shoulder.
When they pulled into the driveway in front of the main house, Ca.s.sie came flying down off the porch. "What happened?"
"Some guy shot at Mandy and Marc," Nate said. "I saw Marc tackle her to get her out of the way, but the bullet grazed his shoulder."
"OhmyG.o.d. Are you okay, Marc?" When he nodded, she said, "I hear sirens. Sounds like the deputy"s car." She focused on Mandy. "Did you request an ambulance?"
"No," Mandy said. "Just the sheriff." She pressed a clean handful of paper towels against Marc"s shoulder, but at least the bleeding was slowing down. "I was so freaked out when I called 911, I"m glad I could remember the name of the winery." She kissed Marc"s forehead. "It looks like the bullet just grazed your shoulder blade. I can"t see a hole like you"d get if the bullet went in anywhere. I"ll take you into the hospital in town." Then she rolled her eyes. "Kaz said they were really great when Jake got shot."
Nate started laughing, and Marc glanced around to see what was so funny. He was sitting on the top step to the porch, while Mandy held a b.l.o.o.d.y handful of paper towels against his shoulder. "So," he said, "what"s the big joke?"
"Think about it. It was your turn." Nate kissed Ca.s.sie. "I am so glad you weren"t one of their roommates, babe. I think they"re all cursed. First Kaz and Jake. She gets beat up and he ends up with a divot taken out of his arm. Then Lola and Ben, only in his case it was a back full of buckshot, and now you."
Ca.s.sie burst into laughter.
Nate glanced her way. "What?"
"How quickly we forget, Nathan." She kissed him. "Bullet? Chest? Saved by the cellphone case?" She turned to Mandy. "When that whole thing with my father"s papers. .h.i.t the fan, the guy trying to steal his briefcase shot at me. Nate jumped between the bullet and me, and he went down hard. I thought he was dead. When the deputy helped me roll him over, he was trying to get his breath, and his cellphone-in a metal case that he"d stuck in his shirt pocket-had a big dent, right in the middle."
"Actually, that"s one I"ll never forget. The only reason I didn"t mention it is because I didn"t end up bleeding all over my woman." He looked pointedly at Mandy"s blood-stained hands. "Ca.s.sie"s dad tackled the bad guy. Eighty-six years old with Alzheimer"s and he still managed to save both our lives. Hopefully, you and Mandy will be safe from here on out."
Marc raised his head and looked into Mandy"s eyes. She shook her head. "I don"t think either of us will be safe until Marc"s dad is behind bars."
"You think he did this?"
"Who else, Nate?" Marc sighed.
"I can"t believe any man would try to kill his own son." Ca.s.sie wrapped her hands around Nate"s arm and hung on. "That"s horrible."
Marc shook his head. "See, that"s what scares me the most. I don"t think he was aiming for me. I think Mandy was his target." He grabbed her hand and held on. "Ted"s right. He really is psychotic." He glanced up as the sheriff"s deputy pulled into the yard. "He needs to be stopped, and this is as good a place to start as any."
CHAPTER 10.
Theo stood in the doorway watching Ted as he got his first glimpse of his new office. Marc had given Theo carte blanche with the set-up, and Theo hadn"t taken any shortcuts. It still smelled of paint and sawdust, but the crew had worked through the past two nights and they"d done a wonderful job.
The room had originally been intended for storage, yet they"d never stored a thing inside.
Now the walls had been painted a deep gray-blue with non-glare overhead lighting. Blinds covered a window with the same view as Marc"s office of Yerba Buena Island, but the computer equipment appeared to be what had Ted"s eyes glazing over. Theo had chosen a curved wall that now held two thirty-inch computer screens-also curved-across the upper half, and three twenty-inch screens across the lower.
There was a color laser printer, copy machine, desktop computer with a six terabyte hard drive, and all the high-tech toys any one man could want. A laptop was set off to one side, synced to the main system so that Ted could take everything with him when he did fieldwork. The office even had its own gun safe.
Ted turned and stared over his shoulder at Theo. "This is all for me?"
"It is. Those top two screens will give you the same views Ben has in his office-the different screens on the grid are security cams at all of our properties, including the winery in Dry Creek Valley. Use the mouse, click on the screen and in many cases you can get audio, but only if the person on that end enables it. Marc doesn"t want anyone to think he"s spying on them. This is all about safety."
"Wait a minute. This is real time? That"s the winery? Aren"t those sheriff"s vehicles in front of the house? How can I pull this in closer?"
Theo was there in a heartbeat, grabbed the mouse, and tapped a couple of onscreen icons before bringing the winery image full screen. "s.h.i.t. That"s Marc, and it looks like he"s covered in blood. I"m going to call Mandy." As he reached for his phone, Ted pulled the image up closer.
"Looks like Mandy"s holding a cloth to his back, but he"s still bleeding. Where the h.e.l.l"s an ambulance? Try Marc"s phone, Theo. He"s talking, doesn"t look like he"s hurting too badly, but h.e.l.l. This is not good."