Fear Familiar Bundle (58 page)

"That'll have to wait. Adam may be in danger." She buckled the seat belt. "I need to get to Clingman's Dome as soon as possible."

"Sure," Martin said as he wheeled the car around in a circle in the grass. "We're off." He smiled at her. "Where's your little convertible? I love those cars. I usually drive mine, but I decided against it." He made light conversation as he drove.

"I thought you'd be upset." This certainly wasn't the hard-hitting talk show host of a few hours before. He actually seemed like a nice person.

"Not at all. It can wait." He glanced at her. "I'm a very patient man. You'll see."

"Thanks, Martin. You're being a lot more decent about this than I expected." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the headrest for just a moment. If the throbbing would only let up for five minutes, she might be able to think.

A
GENTLE BREEZE
ruffled the new green leaves, shimmering over the valley like a whisper. Adam was at the scenic overlook JoAnn had indicated. He paced the overlook. She was already ten minutes late.

Several cars had passed, all with families. For some reason, the sight of the parents and their smiling children made Adam feel anxious. Would he ever have a chance to vacation with Cassandra and their children? For the first time in his life, he saw something he wanted and wondered if it might be out of his reach.

The sound of a car approaching halted his pacing, and he assumed his position by the door of his car. This had to be her. She could kick or squeal or fight. He intended to get her in his car and get her back to Cassandra's house. She could sue him later. This time he was going to hem her up and keep her safe.

There was a sharp bend in the road that blocked his view of the oncoming car until it was almost on top of him.

The sound of the tires gave him his first clue of impending danger. The rubber squealed as the car attempted to hold the road on the sharp curve. It was coming at a fast pace. Instinct made him react. He had started away from the car, heading for the safety of a big boulder, when the black Towncar whished around the curve and into sight. The darkened windows completely hid the driver, but Adam didn't have time to look. The car was headed straight at him. Caught in the open, he had no place to go.

The heavy car was barreling down on him when he made the decision. Stretching as long as he could, he threw himself over the edge of the overlook. For a span of time that seemed an eternity, Adam felt as if he flew. When his body struck the first treetops, he clutched desperately in an effort to break his fall. A million thoughts whirled through his head, but the one he remembered was Cassandra's description of the day her father had fallen and died. So, this was what she felt, this total loss of control.

Adam's head struck leafy branches and then a trunk. He felt nothing else.

"W
E SHOULD HAVE
done this a long time ago." Ken Simpson leaned his hands on the low stone wall that had been built to keep drivers from flying off the overlook. There was no sign of Adam Raleigh's body. With any luck, he'd be halfway down the mountain where not even the buzzards would be able to find him.

Now there was only the woman left. Cassandra. Mountain witch. It was almost over.

"H
EY
,
YOU MISSED
the turn to the road," Cassandra said. She'd opened her eyes when she felt the car bump off the driveway and into the undergrowth.

When Martin didn't respond, Cassandra sat up. "Martin, you're off the road." She couldn't tell if his vision was poor or if he was deliberately maneuvering the car.

"Don't worry, Cassandra, I know a shortcut."

The taste of tart apples suddenly filled her mouth, a taste she hadn't experienced since her father's death. Her head turned slowly, slowly as she looked at Martin. For the first time, she saw his hands on the steering wheel, and she knew them from her dream.

"It's you," she said.

"Don't sound so shocked, Cassandra, I thought you knew all along. That's what you said on television." He gave a charming, practiced laugh. "You shouldn't make claims you can't fulfill. From what I hear of local gossip, that was something your mother did, too. I think it drove poor Ken Simpson to complete madness. She caught him stealing tools from your shed. Of course, your mother couldn't let it go as simply that. She had to imply that she knew he was stealing through her psychic powers. And she threatened to expose him as a common thief. Name and honor are important things to a young man, especially one with political aspirations. How unpleasant it would be for Ken if the people of Gatlinburg found out that his career as a thief began in grade school."

Cassandra was too startled to ask the obvious questions. Sylvia had never mentioned the incident to her. Never.

"I see by your face that you don't believe me. Well, that really isn't the issue, is it? The people believe me, and Ken is very susceptible to public opinion. Poor Ken, I know all of his secrets, and those early years are only the tip of the iceberg."

"What are you saying?" Cassandra asked.

"Ken has a talent for thievery. Contracts, bids, that kind of thing. As mayor, he has opportunity. See, when the city lets a bid, Ken makes sure his favorite contractor is low. Together, they see to it that they both make a lot of money." Martin chuckled. "The best part is that Ken thinks you told me about it. See, he thinks you and your mother can actually know what crimes people are committing. Haven't you ever wondered why he hates you so?"

"That's incredible." Cassandra couldn't believe Ken Simpson could be such a chump. "So you've blackmailed him over the years into doing your bidding."

"At the moment he's performing a little errand for me. He believes your Mr. Raleigh knows about his illegal activities. He's taking care of Adam now."

Cassandra felt sick. "The call from JoAnn."

"Exactly," Martin agreed. "Clever, eh? Ken gets Adam out of the way for me, and I get you to myself."

Cassandra struggled for control. Now, of all times, she had to be calm and alert. Don't show fear, and react in an unexpected manner— those were the rules she had to live by, if she wanted to live.

The car had picked up the tracks that she and Familiar had explored. Martin knew the area well. He drove steadily and without any hesitation. They were going to the rock formation, to the lookout.

"My God," Cassandra whispered. It had all become so clear to her. "You brought the women up here, to my property, to kill them. They were looking out over the view from the apple orchard, weren't they?"

"Give the woman an A. You finally put it all together."

Cassandra absorbed the information. That was why the dreams had come to her, because of the location. That had been the trigger. "And poor Sarah, you ran her down."

"That was your fault completely, Cassandra. She didn't have to die. Her hair was dry and coarse from all that bleach. I didn't want to kill her, but you had to meddle. You told her to warn JoAnn, and she was going to do it. Her death is on your shoulders."

That's why she hadn't gotten any dreams about Sarah's death. It had taken place far from the apple orchard. Her psychic link came from the location. "Poor Sarah," she whispered.

The car rocked across two deep ruts. Martin didn't have on a seat belt, and the motion threw him forward. With a cry of triumph, Cassandra slammed his head into the steering wheel and threw open the door.

He was quicker than she. His fingers caught the material of her blouse, and with a quick jerk, he pulled her back into the car. He slammed on the brakes and kept the motor running.

Instead of the anger, his voice was calm and assured. "That wasn't very smart, Cassandra. You're going to die very slowly. Think about that as we drive to Eagle's Roost."

Dying slowly was the one thing Cassandra didn't want to think about. "Why do you call it Eagle's Roost? That lookout has been in the McBeth family for generations. It's never had a name."

"The first time I came up here, I saw…a vision." He laced his fingers tighter in her hair to hold her. "Looking out over the view, I realized that I could be a national personality. The networks were considering me. The whole world was out there, below me, waiting. It was intended to be mine. LeAnne had promised that we would be stars together. She used me, though. Used my show to get her precious modeling career going." His fingers tangled in Cassandra's hair with a vicious jerk. "My mother was a fine person. She was devoted to me. She gave her life to me. She wasn't a lesbian and you'll pay for saying that on television. Mother gave me everything. She spent hours each day helping me to look my best, to talk properly, to prepare for my future as a television personality. She coached me night and day. It was LeAnne who betrayed me."

He threw Cassandra into the car door.

"I killed her first. In New York. Just after the network passed on taking my show last fall. It wasn't right that she was going to become a star just because she was pretty. I'd worked harder. All my life I'd worked to prepare. And the networks passed me by because I was upset over LeAnne leaving me. They said I was not ready. She was to blame— and she paid. Just like you're going to."

Cassandra pulled air into her lungs. Martin had knocked the breath from her when he slammed her into the car door. "What are you going to do?"

"We're going to the lookout. I want you to see something."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him.

"You said you knew. You said I was sick, egotistical, that I envied the women I killed. You're so wrong, and you have to pay for that. You made me sound weak and despicable."

"You love their hair, their skin. You want to be loved like they are, isn't that true?"

His fingers clutched and gently released her hair, then clutched again. "You're the prettiest yet, Cassandra. I've watched you. Your hair. I wanted to touch it yesterday."

He drove the car to the edge of the apple trees, and then dragged her across the seat and out the driver's side door.

"Have you dreamed this?" he asked. He pulled her toward the edge of the mountain. "I want you to look out to the view. Count the stars, Cassandra. There's no escape. This is your destiny."

He had her shoulders in his hands and he forced her to look out toward the night. Inch by inch, he moved her toward the precipice. "Don't get in a rush to jump," he said. "I have to have my souvenir. One thick strand of golden hair. Maybe two, to replace the one you stole from the rock."

"You'll never get away with this." Don't show fear; keep control. That's what he thrives on, seeing the woman collapse and yield to the fear he creates. "Adam will find you and kill you. I've told him that I suspect you."

"Adam is dead." His hands caressed her shoulders, moving up her throat to feel the sensitive skin there. "You have such wonderful skin. All of those health-nut products, no doubt."

"Adam isn't dead. He's too smart to fall for your tricks."

Martin laughed. "You're so easy to deceive." He laughed again, almost a giggle. "I was going to kill you first, but it might be more interesting to show you something."

"What could you possibly have to show me?" She decided to challenge him. There was a slim chance she could force him into doing something stupid. He was much stronger than she was, and while he had her standing on the lip of the mountain, there was nothing she could do to agitate him. One tiny slip, and he might send her cascading to her death.

"Come with me, Cassandra. Remember the cave? Oh, I took that cache of toys and threw what I didn't want over the side of the mountain. Little boys playing at politics. They almost ruined my plans. But the bomb in your house was a masterpiece, wasn't it? You were groveling in fear."

His fingers kept a tight grip on her, and as soon as they had enough room to maneuver, Cassandra looked for a route of escape. With a little luck, she thought she could outrun him.

He pushed her into the total blackness of the cave, and for a split second, she was without the pressure of his hand on her arm. She ducked backward, striking a hard wall with a walloping impact. The jarring collision sent her headache to new heights of misery.

"Look who's come to pay you a visit." Martin snapped on a flashlight. The searching beam found the body of a young girl lying prone on the floor. She turned her head toward the beam and blinked.

JoAnn Reed was tied hand and foot, and a gag was in her mouth. She blinked rapidly a few times as if she'd been without any light for several hours.

"Lucky for that Indian man that he was gone. I was going to throw him over the cliff to make room for my new guest," Martin said. "Little JoAnn. She loves me, Cassandra. She wanted to live with me, until she found out about the others. She's a jealous woman, aren't you, JoAnn? Jealous, and a liar. That's too bad, because liars have to be punished, don't they?" He turned to Cassandra. "You lied when you said you knew who the murderer was."

He nudged JoAnn with his toe. "I put a little sleeping potion in her wine and brought her up here. She was in the cave when you found that Indian. There's another small chamber." He nudged her harder. "Such an easy mark," he whispered.

"Adam's too smart to fall for such an obvious trick." Cassandra drew Martin's attention away from JoAnn. She was afraid he was going to hurt her there, tied on the floor of the cave.

"He already did. He went to the meeting place."

"But he isn't dead, yet." Cassandra smiled a defiant smile. "I'd know it if he were dead."

"Then you better pray he dies soon, because I'm sure he's in tremendous pain. A fall from one of those overlooks can do a lot of damage. Actually, strangulation is a far quicker, kinder death. And it's time we got on with it." He grabbed Cassandra and pushed her down to the floor. "Get JoAnn up and bring her with you."

When they were standing, Martin roughly thrust them out of the cavern entrance.

"Remember, keep your eyes on the stars," Martin whispered, and his lips were only inches from Cassandra's neck.

Goose bumps fluttered across her skin as she walked slowly toward the precipice. She had to do something. Each step she took moved her that much closer to death.