Murder in Plain Sight (19 page)

“He bought it. She had it. If he didn’t…” She stopped, unable to finish the thought.

“If he didn’t, then I must have?” He said it for her, acid lacing the words. “Nice to know you think so highly of me.” He spun and walked to the door, purpose in every determined line of his body.

“What are you going to do?” Her heart throbbed with apprehension. Pain. Doubt.

He paused, hand on the knob, and gave her a dark look. “I’m going to find Bobby. I’m going to look at this so-called evidence. And I’m going to find out the truth.”

T
REY LEANED BACK IN
the desk chair that had been his father’s and rubbed his eyes. Had he slept at all last night? It seemed unlikely, unless he’d dozed off in the chair while searching through Dad’s credit-card records.

He’d been trying to reach Bobby since he’d left Jessica last night, with no success. Anger surged. Bobby should have come to him with this information, not Jessica. And where was he? By this time he ought to be in his office, but he wasn’t answering there, just as he hadn’t answered his cell or responded to the messages Trey had left.

Trey clipped receipts together and returned them to a file folder. The anger he’d felt at Jessica had dwindled in the long hours of the night to sorrow and pain. Given Jessica’s background, it was already difficult for her to trust anyone, and he’d certainly given her no reason to believe she could rely on him. If he felt anger at anyone, it had to be
himself. He’d handled this whole situation badly, and he didn’t see any way it was going to right itself without a lot of people getting hurt.

The truth, Jessica had said. The only thing to do was find the truth. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension. Well, he’d spent the night looking for truth, and he hadn’t found anything even remotely suspicious anywhere in Dad’s records.

Of course, Bobby would be the one with access to the business end of things. Bobby’s scrupulous care of financial records was an asset, since that sort of thing bored Trey to tears. If the vendor said the charge was on Dad’s card, Bobby would have checked the records. But there had to be an explanation.

The tile pendant had been in the locked drawer of the desk since the night they’d talked about it. He took out the pendant and held it in his hand. Such an insignificant thing to be the cause of so much trouble.

The phone rang, and he dropped the tile on the desk to snatch up the receiver. “Bobby?”

An open line crackled, and then Bobby’s voice, sounding as if he was in a well. “…didn’t get back to you…couldn’t…”

“You’re fading out. Where are you?”

“…back from Pittsburgh…decided to talk to the dealer…”

Excitement rippled through him. He pressed the receiver hard against his ear, as if that would make Bobby’s voice clearer. “What did you find out?”

“…not what…meet me at the cabin…”

“Did you say the cabin?” His voice was sharp. “Why?”

“…almost there…something…” The connection faded away to nothing. Frustrated, he hung up, then tried Bobby’s cell again. Nothing.

He shoved his chair back and stood. Bobby had sounded excited, and they couldn’t afford to ignore anything that might help to clear up this mess. Snatching his keys, he headed for the door.

He reached it to find his mother coming in, the dog at her heels. He tried to arrange his face in an expression that wouldn’t arouse her instinct for trouble.

“It’s a beautiful day.” She kissed his cheek. “The kind of day when anything seems possible.”

That was certainly the kind of day he needed. “I have to go out for a while, Mom.”

“Without your breakfast?” Her hand on his arm stopped him. “Surely you have time—”

“I’ll grab something later. I’m running out to the cabin to meet Bobby. He claims to have found something that might help Thomas’s case.”

“He has? That’s wonderful.” Hope bloomed in her eyes. “What is it?”

“I won’t know that until I get there.” He detached her hand. “I have to go.”

“Take Sam with you.” At the sound of his name, Sam stood, tail waving. “You know how he loves to ride in the truck.”

As always with his mother, it was faster to agree than to argue. He patted his leg. “Come on, Sammy boy.”

The dog trotted alongside him, giving an excited woof when he saw they were headed for the truck. Trey had to help him up to the high seat, but there he settled happily, head out the window, breeze ruffling his fur.

Trey swung onto the main road with a squeal of the tires. This was probably a wild-goose chase, but it was better than concentrating on his regrets. He’d have plenty of time to do that.

No matter how this turned out, Jessica would go away, eager to see the last of him. He couldn’t blame her for that. He just wished…well, he didn’t
know what he wished. No point in longing for the impossible, was there?

Twenty minutes later he pulled into the narrow lane that led to the cabin. Branches brushed the sides of the truck, and Sam drew his head in, looking at Trey reproachfully.

“You can do it on the way back,” Trey assured him.

The brush thinned out, and there was the cabin, with Bobby’s car backed up to the porch. Trey pulled up next to it and forestalled Sam’s move to get out with a hand motion.

“Stay, boy. Stay.” No point in letting the poor old guy go through the ordeal of getting down and up again.

The cabin was quiet. Too quiet. Why hadn’t Bobby come out to meet him? He must have heard the truck.

The porch boards creaked as he stepped on them. He moved toward the door, apprehension lifting the hairs on the back of his neck.

“Bobby?” He opened the door. “You here?”

He stepped inside. Something moved, beside and behind him. Before he could turn, pain crashed into the side of his head, exploding in a display of sparks. Blackness.

“J
ESSICA, WHAT IS IT?”
Leo stood when she walked into the office, concern filling his face. “You look as if you’ve lost your last friend.”

She felt as if she had, but that was neither here nor there at the moment. “I’ve just come from seeing Thomas.” She touched the still-tender bruise around her eye. “I thought I looked bad, but Thomas is ten times worse. One of the other prisoners got at him.”

Leo let out a wordless exclamation. “Is he all right? How could that happen?”

“He’s been seen by a doctor, and they’ve moved him into a cell away from the other prisoners. They say they’re taking every precaution, but…” She let that trail off, the weight of responsibility hanging on her. “That poor boy. He wouldn’t lift a hand to defend himself. I have to find a way to clear him.”

“I know.” He clasped her hand briefly. “We’re doing the best we can.”

A spurt of gratitude went through her at Leo aligning himself with her. Would he still feel that way when she’d told him?

She took a breath, steadying herself. “There’s something I have to tell you. I don’t know how you’ll feel about it, or if it’s something we can use,
but I’ve reached the point that my mind is going in circles, and I need your opinion.”

“Of course. You know I’m here for you.”

Leo had known her a matter of weeks, but he was here for her. The gratitude deepened.

“Bobby managed to trace the pendant. He found that it had been purchased nearly two years ago from a dealer in Pittsburgh. The credit card used to pay for it was a business card belonging to Trey’s father.” She rubbed her temples, trying to wipe away the pain. “You see how it looks. If Trey’s father gave the pendant to Cherry—”

“He wouldn’t.” Leo sounded sure. “Jessica, I knew the man all my life. I know what he was capable of, and believe me, he couldn’t have been involved with that girl.”

“That’s what Trey said, too. But if he didn’t give it to her, then who did?”

Leo frowned. “Wait a minute. Didn’t that friend of hers, the McGowan woman, say that she had received it fairly recently, and from a boyfriend she was keeping secret?”

Jessica struggled to recall that conversation. So much had happened since then. “That was certainly the implication she gave,” she said slowly. “But if Trey’s father bought the thing, how did someone
else get it to give to her? It could only…” She stopped.

“Be Trey?” Leo finished for her. “That’s what you’re really worrying about, isn’t it? That’s what’s clouding your judgment.”

“I suppose it is.” Leo was right. Her mind had been spinning in useless circles because of her fear that Trey had been involved.

Leo gripped her hands firmly. “Stop and think. If the person who gave Cherry that pendant is the same person who left the threatening note for you, the person who ran you off the road, the person who killed her…can you seriously tell me you think Trey is capable of that?”

“No.” Her heart answered without any doubt at all. “No, he’s not. But maybe…”

“Maybe what? Someone killed Cherry and left that symbol behind, so subtle that it almost wasn’t spotted. I find it hard to believe that it’s not the same person who gave her the pendant. The long arm of coincidence just won’t reach that far.”

“You’re right. Of course you’re right.” She shook her head, shaking off the negative thoughts that had been paralyzing her. “So someone else had to have access to that pendant.”

Leo frowned, leaning back in his chair, fingertips
drumming on the desk. “You said that Bobby came to you with the evidence. When was that?”

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“After the television interview ran.”

“Yes. Why? What connection could that have?”

“I’m not sure, but… Did you actually see the record of that sale?”

She shook her head. “Bobby just told me about it.” What kind of lawyer was she, anyway? Why hadn’t she asked to see the material for herself?

Because she was emotionally involved, that was why.

“So it all depends on Bobby’s word,” Leo said slowly, as if he were turning it over in his mind. “Bobby handled all the financial records for Trey’s father, just as he does for Trey.”

“You think Bobby…?” Quiet, unassuming Bobby, with his dogged devotion to Trey—how could that be?

“I’m not accusing anyone,” Leo said. “But I think we ought to have a second check on this.” He picked up the phone. “Let me give Trey a call. See if we can get access to those business-card receipts. Then we can move forward from there.”

It was what she should have done, if she hadn’t been so tied up in knots over her feelings for Trey.
She could hear Leo’s voice, talking to Geneva, apparently, but it was Trey’s face that filled her mind. Even if nothing could come of the feelings she had for him, she had to admit them to herself.

There was a click as Leo hung up the phone. She looked at him, to find him staring back at her, his face so devoid of any expression that it shocked her. “What is it?”

“Geneva says Trey’s not there. He had a call from Bobby. He’s gone to the cabin to meet him.”

Fear gripped her heart—instinctive, primal fear. She bolted from her chair. “We have to go there. If Bobby—”

She didn’t finish the thought. She didn’t have to. Leo was close behind her as she rushed to the door.

T
REY’S HEAD THROBBED.
He sagged forward, something cutting into his wrists. He fought to open his eyes, but his eyelids refused to cooperate. It was a dream, a nightmare…

He jerked his head back, earning a fresh stab of pain. A nightmare, maybe, but only too real. He forced his eyes to open, attempted to focus.

The cabin. He was at the cabin. He’d come…The darkness threatened to sweep over him again, and he beat it back. He’d come to meet Bobby. When he walked in the door, something hit him.

Not something. His mind worked sluggishly, like the truck’s motor on a below-zero morning. Someone.

Bobby. Bobby had been waiting for him.

He struggled against the realization. Bobby couldn’t have, wouldn’t have—

The door opened, letting in a shaft of light that hurt his eyes. Bobby walked in, carrying a metal
gas can in each hand. Trey couldn’t argue with himself about it, not when the truth was in front of him.

“Bobby.” His voice came out in a harsh croak. No point in asking what he was doing. That was only too obvious. “What—why are you doing this?”

Bobby didn’t answer. He busied himself with the gas cans, setting one on one side of the room, the other opposite it, in the precise, fussy manner that kept everything he touched in perfect order. Then he straightened and looked at Trey.

“Poor Trey. He asked me to meet him at the cabin where his father committed suicide. But when I got there, the place was already on fire. I could see him, slumped over. I tried to reach him. Maybe I even got some burns on my hands.” He held his hands up, inspecting them. “But I was too late. He’d killed himself, just like his father.”

Bobby looked the same. That was the thing that turned Trey’s stomach. He looked like the same Bobby they’d all taken for granted for the past fifteen years. That mild facade—Trey could see now what it hid. Hatred.

“Except that my father didn’t commit suicide, did he?” The truth seemed clear now, when it was too late. “That never made sense to me. You killed him. Why? Did he catch you cooking the books?”

It was a shot at random, but he saw the truth flare in Bobby’s face. “He made it almost too easy. You and your father were so trusting. ‘Bobby will take care of all the dull, boring, financial stuff.’ Too bad he got suspicious. It really was the cancer that killed him, you know. Because of that, he suddenly decided he had to get his financial house in order—started looking through the books and stumbled on my little deception.”

“So you killed him.” Bile came up in Trey’s throat. “He wouldn’t have sent you to jail. He wasn’t like that.”

“Oh, no. He told me that, in such a pitying way. He was being magnanimous, letting me go quietly, promising never to tell anyone.” Bobby’s mouth twisted. “That was thoughtful of him. Made it easy to arrange his suicide.”

“I thought we were friends.” Trey twisted his hands, trying to loosen the knots. He couldn’t just sit here and let Bobby kill him. He had to fight.

“Friends?” Bobby’s eyebrows lifted. “Because the golden boy who had everything condescended to stop his little buddies from bullying me? That made a nice story, didn’t it? I could see Jessica just lapping it up.”

Jessica. Pain lanced Trey’s heart. He was never
going to see her again, never have a chance to tell her what he felt for her…

“I don’t get it. Why did you do all those things to chase her away? You were the one who brought her here.”

“Only because your mother insisted. I told Henderson we didn’t need his high-powered talent—just some lowly young attorney who could plead the case out quickly. He sent Jessica. Who would have guessed she’d turn out to be such a fighter? I’ll be doing something about that, you realize.”

Bobby turned away, walked to the closest gas can and unscrewed the top. With a swing of his arm, he began splashing the gas across the floor—over the rag rug, on the wooden planks that would burn so easily…

The acrid scent filled Trey’s nostrils, choking him. From outside, he could hear Sam start barking. He must smell it, too. Someone might hear him, might come. But the Miller place was the closest house, and it was nearly a mile away.

“You couldn’t resist leaving your signature, could you?” The ropes were loosening, Trey could feel it. Say something, anything, to buy a little time. “That raven symbol. What was the idea behind it?”

“Don’t talk about that!” Fear flashed in Bobby’s eyes, jerked his hand so that the gasoline spilled
on his shoe. “Never mention that.” He gave a furtive glance over his shoulder at the open door. “I shouldn’t have done that. They wouldn’t like it.”

“They?”

“The brotherhood,” Bobby’s voice dropped to a whisper. “They mustn’t know.”

Fear trickled down Trey’s spine. The brotherhood, an organization that had been dust for two hundred years? Bobby was crazy. That was the only answer.

“Was that why you killed Cherry? Because she knew about the raven?”

Bobby picked up the second can, splashing the gas on the other side of the room, over the table where Trey’s father died. Trey jerked at the ropes, fighting them.

“She was too greedy. She thought she could use the things I told her against me. So she had to go.” Bobby looked at him then, dropping the empty gas can on the floor. “Like you.” He pulled a gun from his pocket, shifted it to the other hand, fumbled with a box of matches. “Goodbye, Trey.”

J
ESSICA’S CAR BOUNCED OVER
the ruts in the lane. Please, please, let us be in time.

They burst into the clearing, and Jessica hit the brakes to keep from running into Trey’s truck. Sam was in the front seat, lunging at the window,
barking furiously. Beyond the vehicle, the cabin door gaped open.

Bobby stood in the doorway, his back to them. Her heart stopped. He held a gun. He lifted it, aimed, she couldn’t be in time, she couldn’t—

She shoved the car door open, raced the few steps to the truck and yanked its door wide. Sam exploded from the front seat. As she ran after him she could hear Leo shouting into his cell phone, could see Trey beyond Bobby in the cabin, tied and helpless, the gun—

Sam flew into Bobby, snarling. Bobby fell, the gun going off. A small flame arced through the air. It hit the floor, flames blossoming in its wake.

Trey—she had to get to Trey. She plunged into the cabin, feeling heat already from the flames. The whole place would go up, Trey with it. She had to get him out. She veered around man and dog, stumbling, nearly falling, surging forward.

The smoke was choking her. Coughing, blinking away tears, groping forward an endless time until her feet hit something that moved. She dropped to her knees, fighting to see.

Trey’s chair had tipped over. He squirmed, struggling with the ropes around his wrists, trying to get free, coughing and choking. She grabbed his hands,
yanking at the rope, feeling it give. In an instant it fell away.

“Go.” Trey gave her a push. “I’m all right.”

She didn’t argue, just grabbed his arm and pulled with all her might. Trey lurched to his feet. He tried to push her away. She pulled his arm across her shoulder, put her arm around him. Through the flames she could see the oblong of daylight that was the door. She propelled him toward it.

A few more steps, the room on fire behind them…and then they were out, stumbling across the porch, and hands reached out, helping her. Leo, Jonas Miller…the wail of a siren from the lane.

“Sam!” Trey rasped the dog’s name. Sam came bounding out, leaping off the porch as if he were a pup. He barreled into Trey, nearly knocking him over.

“Bobby.” Trey tried to push away their hands. “We have to get him out.”

Tires shrieked behind them as the township police car skidded to a stop, doors flying open.

“Put the gun down, Stephens.” Adam had his own weapon out, pointed at the doorway where Bobby stood against a background of flames. “It’s no good. Put the gun down and come out.”

For a moment Bobby stood there, gun waving
as if he couldn’t decide what to do. Then, before anyone could move, he put it to his head and pulled the trigger.

J
ESSICA SAT ON A BACKLESS
bench in the rear of the Miller barn, Geneva next to her, row after row of Amish women and girls in front of them. Across an aisle between the benches, men and boys sat, with Trey and Leo directly across from her and Geneva.

Elizabeth, on her other side, patted her hand. She had been appointed to sit with them during the worship service, explaining in whispers.

It was no easy thing to sit on a backless bench for close to three hours, especially when you didn’t understand a word of the language. But they had been honored with an invitation, because Thomas was finally free, completely cleared of all complicity in Cherry’s death. By craning her neck just a little she could see him, sitting next to his father and brothers about halfway up the aisle, looking just like every other man here in his plain black suit, except for his battered face. Thomas was restored to the spot where he belonged.

How long would it take him to heal? Not just physically, but emotionally? It was hard to tell. The
boy was probably still in a state of shock. Still, the old clichés were probably true. He’d be all right, given time.

They’d been fortunate, and the thought was sobering. If Adam Byler and Jonas Miller hadn’t arrived in time to see what had happened at the cabin, would they have been believed? Certainly the process would have been far more complicated. As it was, a conference in the judge’s chambers had brought out the truth, as well as a decision as to how much of that truth would be revealed to the public. As long as Thomas was completely cleared, it didn’t matter to her how much dirty laundry the D.A. wanted to hide.

So the case was completed, and she was out of a job. The future looked blank, but strangely, that didn’t terrify her. She’d come to terms with her lack of a relationship with her father. She might always regret that, but she could move on.

Elizabeth leaned over, compressing them to the squashing point. “Bishop Amos is going to speak to all of us in Englisch.” Her awed whisper made it clear that this was unprecedented.

The bishop stood in front of his people. No platform, no pulpit, no stained-glass windows proclaimed this a church. It was simply a barn that
would be restored to its normal purposes tomorrow. Today it was a house of worship.

“We cannot conclude our time together without thanking God for the deliverance of our brother Thomas Esch. And we must thank Him, too, for those Englischers He sent to be His servants in this matter.”

He raised his hands, looking like an Old Testament prophet with his long white beard.

“Father God, we praise You for your faithfulness to each generation of those who follow You. Thank You for delivering Your child Thomas from the hand of evil, and restoring him to those who love him. Thank You for sending us gut friends from among the Englisch to accomplish this act of your power. We will not forget to praise You.”

Jessica discovered that tears were dripping on her clasped hands. She never cried in public. Never. Until now. But now tears of thanksgiving seemed only right.

“I
STILL THINK THE FACT
that Bobby had me trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey while he tossed gasoline around would have convinced a judge, even if Adam hadn’t been there in minutes when Leo called,” Trey said.

Geneva paled. “I called Adam, too, you know. That’s why he was so close. I just…after I heard Leo’s reaction to Bobby’s calling you, I just knew.”

After the lengthy worship service and still-more-lengthy lunch, they’d finally come back to Geneva’s place to relax. Jessica hadn’t argued the point. If Trey found it awkward…

The truth was that she had no idea how Trey felt at this point. The past twenty-four hours had been busy, but he could have found time for a moment alone with her if he’d wanted that. He hadn’t.

“I’ll trust your instincts from now on.” Trey, sitting next to his mother on the sofa in the family room, gave her a quick hug. “And don’t look so worried. I’m fine, thanks to Jessica and Leo.”

“And Sam. Don’t forget him.” The dog came to nose against Jessica’s hand, and she stroked him.

“And Sam,” Trey added.

Geneva clutched her son’s hand as if she’d never let go. “I feel as if we’ve hardly had a chance to talk since all this happened. I still don’t understand what all that business was with the hex sign.”

“I doubt anybody ever did, except Bobby.” Bleakness shadowed Trey’s eyes. He’d be blaming
himself for not seeing what was happening with Bobby, probably.

“The Brotherhood of the Raven doesn’t exist nowadays except in his imagination,” Leo said. “I’m sure of that. A psychiatrist would probably say that it made him feel important, thinking he was part of some powerful secret society.”

“It was such a foolish thing to kill that poor girl over. As for Blake, he’d have forgiven in a minute.” Geneva held Trey’s hand tighter, and the diamond in her ring winked in the light.

At least Geneva had her faith back in her relationship with her husband. She was hurting, but eventually this nightmare would fade, and she’d be left with the knowledge that her husband hadn’t willingly left her.

“He said something about Cherry being greedy.” Trey frowned. “I don’t suppose we’ll ever know exactly why he killed her, but she knew too much about him.”

“Or why he decided to frame Thomas. At least he’s safe now.” Leo glanced at Jessica over the top of his glasses, eyes twinkling. “How does it feel to win a big case in such spectacular fashion?”

“I’d just as soon win them less dramatically,” she
said. “In fact, I’d settle for some nice, boring land disputes. Or writing wills. That would be safe.”

“It’s funny you mention that.” Leo exchanged looks with Geneva. “You know, I’ve decided I’m not quite ready for the scrap heap yet. I’d like to go on with the practice, if I could get a bright young partner to work with me. What do you think, Jessica? Would you like that?”

“Please say yes.” Geneva reached across the space between them to clasp Jessica’s hand. “I can’t stand the thought of you going out of our lives. You’d like it here, really.”