RAVEN'S HOLLOW (5 page)

* * *

H
E
SAT
IN
the dark, with the storm shrieking around him, and he breathed. In and out, in and out.

It was all about making the right moves at the right time. He wanted Sadie. He needed Sadie to know he wanted her. But he also needed her to know she’d hurt him.

Love and fear and anger fought a bitter, three-way battle in his head these days. Twenty years ago, he’d discovered that a sleeping monster lived deep inside him. What if the monster woke up and consumed him? He might kill Sadie the way he’d killed Laura.

Would he, though? Could he? He loved Sadie so very, very much. He saw himself spending the rest of his life with her. Was it possible this newer, deeper love might stop the monster from clawing its way out?

Possibly, but one thing he’d learned tonight was that accidents could happen when you carried a gun.

The raven should have been a symbol of his love. He hadn’t meant to kill it, but at least the bullet hadn’t wound up in Sadie’s head. He could take comfort in that.

When he started to shake, he dropped his face into his hands. He was tired, so damnably tired. Should he try to sleep? Did he dare? Or would the monster know and seize the opportunity to go on a rampage?

To go on a witch-hunt?

Chapter Seven

“The battery in her cell phone died.”

Twenty minutes after they walked through her cousin’s front door. Sadie returned to the thickly shadowed room Molly called a parlor.

“She stayed in town to have dinner with a friend who’s afraid of thunderstorms. Neat, tidy, logical. Mystery solved, Lieutenant.”

“One mystery, anyway.” Eli held up and examined a double-edged dagger. “Any reason she collects and displays lethal weapons?”

“Witch’s tools,” Sadie corrected. “That dagger you’re holding is an athame. Its white-handled counterpart is a boline.” She swept a hand along the sideboard. “Chalice, ritual candles, tarot cards, protective crystals—dog.”

Eli regarded the tiny, ratlike creature at the far end. Its pointy ears quivered as the animal stared back.

“His name’s Solomon.” Sadie bit back most of a smile. “He and Cocoa don’t get along. Seeing as Molly’s coming with us to my place, it should be a lively gathering.”

“Especially if Cocoa’s in the mood for a midnight snack.”

“I’ll make sure she’s well fed. By the way, you might want to put that dagger down before Molly sees you. She’s proprietorial about family heirlooms.”

“Seriously? These things belonged to your ancestor?”

“Most of them did. Molly’s a buff. She’s searched the manor from subcellar to tower peak. If you look closely, you’ll see Nola Bellam’s initials inscribed on the larger items.”

“So Hezekiah Blume really did marry a witch.”

“Depends on how you look at it. Nola possessed the implements of a witch, but then Molly currently possesses those same implements, and no one’s ever accused her of witchcraft.”

“I’ll let that one pass.”

“And I’ll light a metaphorical fire under my cousin.” But Sadie paused in the doorway. “Do you have any ideas, theories, even vague thoughts on tonight’s intruder?”

“Having seen this house, I’d say he doesn’t believe in curses.”

“Oh, well, if that’s true, you can take almost every male in both towns out of the running.”

“There you go. Should be an easy solve.”

“Five minutes.” Giving the molding a double tap, she left Eli alone with the lash of rain and wind outside and a tangle of thoughts in his head.

He was a cop, he reminded himself. Solid facts and cold, hard evidence were his life. What was screwing it all up for him at the moment was his inability to slam a mental door on the welter of Sadie-related emotions he didn’t want to feel.

She’d been a beautiful child, with her wild mass of red-brown hair and her amazing storm-gray eyes. Fortunately, back then—kid. Unfortunately, now—woman.

His own eyes shifted as wind whipped through cracks in the ceiling and rattled the window glass.

“No one’s going to rob you, Molly.” Sadie returned a few minutes later with her cousin in tow. “And the more people under one roof tonight, the better.”

Yes, no, maybe. Eli managed not to grind his teeth as he watched Sadie bend to pick up her black trench coat. “Could you bring Solomon?” Her expression solemn, Molly dragged her Bellam red hair into a ponytail. “He doesn’t bite.”

Did he even have teeth? But Eli tucked the dog under his arm and followed the women into the storm.

Confusion reigned from the moment they entered Sadie’s plant-filled home. As predicted, Cocoa chased the Chihuahua under a tall cabinet. The lights flared and died three times, and in spite of the fact that he’d draped a sheet over the sinister message, on one of his trips through the foyer, he found Molly easing a corner up for a look.

“Morbid curiosity?” he inquired from the shadows.

She jumped back a full foot before finding him in the dark. “I was just—I wanted to see. It’s not that I don’t believe what Sadie said, I’m only surprised anyone would come into Bellam Manor to do it. A lot of people are afraid of this place.”

“But not you.”

“No. I mean—why would I be?” She touched her ponytail. “The house wouldn’t turn on one of its own.”

Okay, that was weird. But, as he recalled, so was Molly. Or had been back when he’d lived in the Cove.

With a small smile, she and her flickering candle more or less melted into the darkness. Unsure what to make of her, Eli checked the writing behind the sheet, listened to the storm for another moment, then made his way to the kitchen.

He saw Cocoa sitting calmly on the windowsill while Sadie rummaged in a high cupboard. “No offense,” he said genially, “but your cousin hasn’t gotten any less strange with time.”

“I’ve heard that before. Yet people keep coming into the pharmacy to have their prescriptions filled. Not to worry, her plan for the rest of the night is to lock herself in my guest room with her tarot cards, her laptop and, I’m pretty sure, since it appears to be missing, my grandmother’s carving knife.”

Eli straddled a hard chair while she continued to rummage. “Am I responsible for that, or does Molly generally sleep with knives?”

“I think you unsettle her.”

“Makes us even.”

Sadie laughed, and the sound of it was a punch of pure lust in his gut. “You are not afraid of my cousin, Eli.”

“No? I heard a story in my junior year. A girl who humiliated her wound up with a bad case of warts.”

“Where do you get this stuff? Never mind.” She held up a hand. “Rooney. Ah, good, found them.” She set a taper and three pillar candles on the table. “Your great-grandfather is leaning as heavily on our witchy legend as he is on the Raven’s Tale in order to entice tourists to visit
your
town.”

Warily fascinated, Eli tracked her movements. “Nola Bellam married Hezekiah Blume, Sadie. That’s a fact. The legends are intertwined and fair game for anyone wanting to use them as an enticement.”

She aimed the taper at him. “This is why my great-grandfather went to live in the north woods.”

Sadie had a hypnotic way of moving, Eli noted. By the glow of a single taper, she appeared to float around the kitchen. Her still-damp tank top and skirt clung to her in a way that made his lower body burn and brought him right to the edge of begging.

Common sense and a hard slap of memory would keep those reactions in check, but it would still take every scrap of restraint he possessed not to jump her.

When he realized she was watching him, he shrugged off her last remark. “You want to talk fear factor, your great-grandfather’s got it all over Rooney. What is he now, ninety-five?”

“Ninety-nine.” Sweeping around behind him, she ran a teasing finger over his hair. “Hot on Rooney’s colorful heels.”

With a silent curse, Eli caught her hand. Coming smoothly to his feet, he murmured, “This sleepover thing actually might not be such a good idea. We’re standing here talking about weird cousins and Hezekiah, a man people think is a ghost, and what I’m really wondering is why the hell we’re talking at all.”

She resisted ever so slightly as he drew her toward him. “We agreed back at your truck not to do this.”

“I remember the conversation.” He held her gaze. “And you can stop me any time. We both know there’s nowhere for it to go. Cops and relationships don’t work. Trust me, I’ve been there and back again.”

With his thumb and fingers, he captured her chin, tipping her head up until he saw the glimmer in her eyes. He recognized the challenge in them, but right then he didn’t care. He wanted his mouth on hers, and screw the consequences. The moment for any last chance objections came and went as he brought her lips slowly up to meet his.

He’d keep it brief, he promised himself, hot and fast, a flash of desire satisfied.

It would have worked if she’d been another woman. Any woman other than the one he’d met and danced with in Boston.

Her fingers curled into his hair, and she moved against him in a kind of sinuous samba. He let his hands roam over her ribs, then around them so his palms cupped her breasts. He breathed in the scent of her while his tongue explored her mouth. She smelled like wild roses. She tasted like sin. She felt like the answer to a prayer.

If there were answers.

If he’d had prayers.

Easing back a tempting inch, she regarded him through her lashes. “I can feel the conflict in you, Eli. I know what it’s like to want but know you can’t or shouldn’t have. I think.”

“That’s part of our problem, isn’t it?” His eyes traveled over her face. “We’re always thinking.”

Her smile widened. “Not sure I’d say that, Lieutenant.” And yanking his mouth back down onto hers, she blasted everything that didn’t have its roots in need from his head.

It might have been lightning or the glow from the taper that caused the darkness to shift. Whatever the source, when he spotted a shadow that shouldn’t be there, his body stilled.

Sensing the change, Sadie drew back. “What is it?”

“Not sure.” He scanned the spread of black rocks that led to the edge of the cliff. “No, don’t look.” He held her in place when she started to turn. “Pretend we’re talking.”

“We are talking.” But she gave the ends of his hair a playful flick with one hand, and skimmed the fingers of her other across his cheek. “What do you see?”

He kissed her forehead. “Unless Molly’s taking a late night stroll, someone’s out there.”

“Wonderful. Can you tell if ‘someone’s’ carrying a gun?”

“I’ll need more than a glimpse for that. The light’s pretty much nonexistent.”

“I am so getting a generator.”

Ten seconds ticked by. “There it is.” He drew his own gun from the back of his jeans. “Considering its remote location, Bellam Manor’s a busy place tonight. Is there a side door?”

“Through the pantry. Eli, are you sure...?”

“Dead raven,” he reminded her, and she held up her hands in surrender.

A feeble streak of lightning flashed as the storm limped grudgingly out to sea. With his gun pointed skyward, and his eyes alert, Eli inched the pantry door open, waited a beat, then stepped out into the gusting rain.

“Come on,” he muttered to the shadowy caller. “Give me a target.”

He got one ten seconds later in the form of a barely there movement that indicated the caller was creeping along the back of the house.

Whoever it was wore a long coat and had one hand pressed to the outer wall. The other hand—he couldn’t tell. Might be carrying a weapon, might be holding something else. Like another dead bird?

Able to just make out the flat rocks ahead, he jammed the gun in his waistband and went for a takedown. When the shadow lost its balance on the slippery ground, Eli knew it was over.

One solid tackle was all it took. Surprised by the ease of the capture, rather than plant a knee, he flipped his quarry over. And found himself face-to-face with a writhing, swearing female.

Even fully pinned, she bucked, thrashed and squirmed, twisting her head from side to side. At length, she settled for spitting at him.

“Stop fighting me,” he shouted above the wind. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

She either didn’t hear him or didn’t care, and spat again. Cursing now, Eli released her left hand. It flew straight up toward his face, but he blocked the blow with his elbow and snatched her hood back.

Bared teeth and furious eyes greeted him. In that same split second, she succeeded in freeing a knee and immediately aimed at his groin.

“Not tonight, lady.” He knocked it off to the side. “Who the hell are you?”

She tried to heave him up and off. “None of your business. Get—off—me!”

They shot wildcats in Maine, didn’t they? “Calm down,” he said again. “I’m a cop.

“Screw that, pal. I know Ty Blume and his deputies. You’re not one of them.”

Firming his hold on her wrists, he focused on her face. “You know Ty?”

It didn’t surprise him when Sadie dropped down beside him and squeezed his arm. “She knows Ty, Eli. And I know her. You can let her go, but do it carefully. She has a spiteful temper.”

The female snorted. “Pot, kettle, Sadie.”

“We mostly tolerate each other,” Sadie continued in an unruffled tone. “You remember my cousin, Orley, Eli. She’s a veterinary assistant by day and, I’ll assume, Ty’s watchdog by night.” Nudging his shoulder, she added an amused “Good thing you know your job, Lieutenant, because Orley here is also a former state champion in mixed martial arts.”

Chapter Eight

“We’ve been over this, Sadie,” her cousin maintained the following morning. “Yes, Ty sent me. But the word ‘spy’ never came up.”

“Implied’s as good as stated.”

Arms folded, Orley slumped down in the passenger seat. “The guy was worried about you. He couldn’t leave the station house, and he couldn’t get through to Deadbeat Molly, so he called and asked me to spend the night at the manor. Easy breezy.”

“There’s no easy in Ty’s world.” Sadie shoved her four-by-four into a lower gear for the descent to Ben Leamer’s farm. “He didn’t want me to be alone with Eli, and he had no idea if and or when Molly might show. Solution? Recruit a stand-in.”

Orley thrust up her bruised forearms. “You’re bitching, but I’m the one who got mowed down and pinned by Officer Sexy.”

“Lieutenant Sexy,” Sadie shot back, then made a growling sound. “If you think Eli’s so hot, why aren’t you with him instead of me? A tow truck was waiting with a new tire when we dropped him off at the fallen pine.”

Her cousin snorted. “News bulletin, sunshine. The überhot Lieutenant Blume only has eyes for you. He also only didn’t insist on going with you to Ben’s farm because he needs his truck back, and I’d already agreed to ride shotgun. He might have liked it better if Molly had done the honors, but her being totally anal and all, that wasn’t going to happen. The pharmacy must be unlocked precisely at eight a.m. She has OCD, you know. Undiagnosed, but even you can’t deny she’s peculiar, and getting worse every day.”

Amusement rose as Sadie spied the farm. “I can deny a lot of things, actually. It’s the curse—or the gift, your choice—of a vivid imagination.”

“Do not use the word ‘curse’ in any conversation that involves Molly. If it pertains to the Cove or the Hollow, it’s under an evil spell as far as she’s concerned. Now, using that as our segue, talk to me about the messages you’ve received.”

Sadie pulled into the driveway and, with the park brake set, regarded the sky. Angry black clouds threatened another deluge, but so far so dry. “I know you love ghoulish details, Orley, but I’ve given you all there are, so bury your curiosity and back off. I have pictures to take of what I’m told is a truly spooky corn maze.”

Her cousin made a dubious face at the high field of corn that spread out forever from the side of a secondary barn. “The maze is an okay deal, but the rest of Leamer’s farm creeps me out. Animals die, you cremate or bury them. You do not set up a side business to stuff them for people who are as icky-minded as you are.”

“I’m not here to watch Ben preserve someone’s dead pet. Getting lost in a cornfield has snowballed into a popular October event. Kids love it.”

“Kids are easy marks.”

Sadie grinned. “You weren’t.”

“Neither were you. Face it, kid, we’re Bellams. Nobody expects us to be normal.”

“Then why do you have a problem with Molly?”

Hopping out, Orley zipped her coat. “Partly because she and I are both a few years shy of forty, and while I can see her not being married, I haven’t figured out why it’s never happened for me. I’m not an anal fusspot that people avoid because they’re afraid they’ll wake up with a face full of warts.” She blew at her long red bangs. “That sounds small-minded and mean, doesn’t it?”

“A little.”

“Do you understand why?”

“Because Molly was a straight-A student, and you weren’t?”

“Well, hold the phone, cousin—neither were you.”

Sadie regarded her over the Land Rover’s roof. “How did this get to be about me?”

“It didn’t. It isn’t. I just can’t figure Molly, and I hate it when people compare me to her. She’s a freak, even by Bellam standards.”

“She’s an introvert, Orley, but before we bite each other’s heads off over this, let’s change the subject. Otherwise, you’ll challenge me to a kickboxing match where I’m sure to wind up on my butt, in what I hope, but seriously doubt, is mud.”

“Awkward sentence, excellent call.”

After tugging a short red jacket over her T-shirt and jeans, Sadie crawled into the backseat to hunt through her camera bag. When her cousin didn’t speak, she rolled her eyes. “I can feel your curiosity from here.” Crawling back out, she looked around. “Come on, Ben, I haven’t got all day.... And no, Orley, we didn’t have sex.”

Her cousin strolled closer, smirking. “Does that mean he’s a lousy kisser?”

Sadie sent her a guileless smile. “If you mean Ben Leamer, I wouldn’t know. If you mean Eli, it’s none of your business.”

“Why not? You’re a public figure, he’s a public figure.”

“Eli defends the public, he’s not a figure of it.”

“Public’s public. Also please note, I said kiss, not sex.”

“You’re working up to sex. And what makes you think I’ve kissed him—as if I can’t guess?”

“You have a big kitchen window. No blinds, easy pickup.”

“Yeah, for anyone creeping around the manor.” Sadie made a shooing motion with her fingers. “Creep over to the maze entrance, will you? I need a point of reference.”

Orley’s shoulders hunched. “I don’t like having my picture taken. And I wasn’t creeping. I didn’t get an answer at the front door, so I went around to the back, and there you both were, getting hot and bothered in the kitchen. Being a considerate sort, I opted to retrace my steps to the front. You saw how it went from there. FYI, your sexy lieutenant’s very strong.”

“Know it.” Sadie crouched for a better angle. “Move left.”

“I’m freezing. Where did the stupid heat go?”

“South. Stop fidgeting.”

Her cousin snarled out a breath. “Any chance we’ll be done by noon? Brady and I are supposed to do a dental on a Doberman—assuming the road to the Cove gets cleared and he makes it to the clinic with the anesthetic we have almost none of. While we’re on the topic, have you thought about...?”

“Adding a veterinary procedure of the month column to the
Chronicle?
You’ve asked me that twenty times already.”

“Animals are cute, Sadie.”

“Animals are adorable. Procedures aren’t. Will you please stand still?”

“I’m cold. I’m also trying to normal things up around here. People are talking, and not just about Rooney Blume’s birthday.”

A chill that had nothing to do with the dipping temperature skated along Sadie’s spine. “I don’t want to talk about Laura.”

“Neither do I. I was referring to the Hezekiah Blume, Nola Bellam story.”

“Legend.” Sadie snapped three quick shots. “Based on historical fact.”

“Fictionalized fact.”

“Only certain aspects. A record of the marriage between Hezekiah Blume and Nola Bellam exists. We also know, via the family Bible, that the union pissed off Hezekiah’s brother, Ezekiel, to the point that Ezekiel got drunk and raped Nola while Hezekiah was out of town.”

“What a sweetheart,” Orley muttered.

“Yeah, really sweet. To cover his butt, little brother branded Nola a witch—not a difficult thing to do given the strange nature of her family and the grim state of the Hollow in those days—whereupon, he and several fearful residents of Raven’s Cove proceeded to hunt her down in the woods. He thought he killed her, but, oops, he missed.” Sadie adjusted her camera lens. “When he returned to the Cove, Hezekiah, also believing Nola was dead, went on a rampage and murdered not only Ezekiel but every one of the townspeople who’d been involved in the hunt.”

“After which—enter fiction.” Orley wiggled her fingers. “Hezekiah recanted the evil spirit he’d taken into himself, and was ultimately transformed into a raven. The whole witch thing might have faded into folklore if Nola hadn’t popped up again or, as the locals saw it, returned from the dead.”

“That was just her outsmarting Ezekiel and his nasty compatriots.”

“Ezekiel loved Nola, Sadie. He was willing to take her daughter as his own. And don’t forget he met her before she and Hezekiah ever laid eyes on each other.”

“Meaning what? First come, first served? Nola was in love with Hezekiah and vice versa. The order of meeting is irrelevant.”

“Little bro was head over heels. From his perspective, big bro screwed him around. Guy went a little crazy is all.”

“Right, because witch-hunts are only a
little
crazy.” Sadie’s gaze touched on a pair of rusted-out tractors and a wooden plow from the early twentieth century. “Doesn’t look like Ben’s going to show, does it?”

“Nope, ergo he must have had one whopping big emergency, because he was strutting around the Hollow yesterday, pleased as punch, telling anyone who’d listen that his corn maze would be getting a full page spread in next Sunday’s edition.” Blowing on her balled hands, Orley moved away from the entrance. “You know, Sadie, with all this talk about Hezekiah, Ezekiel and Nola, it occurs to me that you and Eli and Ty have a kind of parallel story happening here. Except you don’t have a daughter, and Nola did.”

“And Ezekiel was insane, and Ty isn’t. Not to mention that Eli wouldn’t turn to the dark side and wind up damned no matter what the inducement. Otherwise, though, absolutely, parallel story.”

“It was an idle observation, cous. Tell me we’re ditching this spook farm, and I’ll zip it.”

“We’ll leave.” Sadie grinned at her. “Right after I try out the maze.”

“Damn, I knew you were going to say that.”

“You can play with my iPad in the Rover. It shouldn’t take me more than twenty minutes to work my way through.”

“Okay, but word of caution. Ben’s got jumping things in there. Scarecrows and ravens, and pitchforks and supersized spiders that drop from webs.”

“Consider me warned.”

She’d have done this in any case, Sadie thought, but with Orley determined to explore in detail a legend that had haunted her sleeping mind for more than a week, the idea of getting lost in a cornfield took on added appeal.

They hadn’t been close as children. Orley, Molly and Laura had all been a full decade older than her. And with her parents’ marriage being about as crappy as it got, family gatherings had been few and far between.

The child she’d been hadn’t thought much about the lack of contact with her relatives—until her aunt Cordelia had married Eli’s father. Then she’d paid attention. Because little girls developed big crushes. And she’d tumbled hard for dark-haired, green-eyed Eli Blume.

Had it ever worn off? she wondered, as she pushed through the rustling stalks. Difficult to say, but her dreams had certainly taken on a different flavor with Eli at the manor last night. The tension inside her had been less bloodcurdling and more sensual. Which might mean that her heart was in as much danger as her life.

As Nola’s had been when she’d chosen Hezekiah over Ezekiel?

Don’t go there, Sadie,
a voice in her head ordered. Far less terrifying to think about Eli’s kisses than the dead bird on her doorstep. And better not to do either thing since navigating the maze required more than a little concentration.

She dead-ended twice and had to backtrack to forks that arrowed off in multiple directions. Ravens circling overhead emitted rough, taunting caws. The wind whistled eerily through the stalks. And, as Orley had predicted, all manner of things jumped out at her.

She made it past the swinging brooms easily enough, but gritted her teeth when a spider the size of a dinner plate dropped down five inches from her face. Half a step later, its eight-legged mate shot down to join it.

Okay, arachnids were definitely worth a pause.

With the tarantulas on steroids still bobbing in the breeze, Sadie glanced back down the path. It wasn’t fair to blame Ben Leamer for the raw state of her nerves, but even setting that aside, she thought this portion of the maze might be a little too realistic for kids under ten. Not being under ten herself, however, she told the spiders to smile and snapped a close-up shot.

Did she only imagine the tarantulas were leering at her through the lens?

“Get a grip, Sadie,” she muttered, and pushed past the pair of them.

She chose her next path at random. A scarecrow holding a wooden ax leaped out as she rounded a corner. She handled that one, but when a much nastier version burst out ten steps later, a laughing scream escaped.

Score one for Ben, she decided, and proceeded with greater care. So what if fat drops of rain were beginning to plop on the stalks? Unless it flooded the maze, a little water wouldn’t hurt her.

Neither would a human-sized raven wearing a black cloak, but having one swoop into sight while she was glancing skyward sent her heart into her throat and stopped her in her tracks.

“Okay.” She said it slowly, then took a moment to gather her wits. “Hezekiah Blume, I presume.” Red eyes shone from the folds of a bulky hood. “Did not see you coming at all.” Releasing a cautious breath, she lowered her gaze.

And spied an envelope fastened to the front of his cloak.

Everything inside her turned to liquid. But that was an automatic first response. Her second was to spin in a stationary circle. “You are not going to frighten me.” She kept her voice even and her senses alert. “I won’t let you.” Then a twig snapped directly behind her and her muscles went rigid. She whirled, blew out a breath. “Jesus— Orley.”

“Yes, Orley. Who did you think?” Clearly out of sorts, her cousin brushed at her coat and short hair. “I felt like a coward sitting in your Jeep, plus Ben’s hired hand showed up, and I did not want to hear about his six and a half kids, so I sucked it up and followed you. All was well until a damn bat attacked me in one of the...” When her eyes locked on the envelope, her voice trailed off. “What’s that? No, sorry, obvious answer. But—” she ticked a finger “—don’t think I’m liking the white thing with your name on it.”

“Tell me about it.”

Although she would have preferred to burn the envelope, Sadie yanked it free and ran her thumbnail along the sealed flap.

Inside she discovered a card with a jagged red heart just beginning to crack. “Hell,” she whispered. And bracing for the worst, opened it.

While I love, the monster sleeps.

Orley offered a breathy “Holy crap” while Sadie reread the fractured scrawl.

When several wet drops of rain landed on her head, she shot a dangerous look at the clouds. “Stop raining!”