The Night Is Forever

“What?” Aaron demanded incredulously.

“I believe Marcus Danby was murdered, struck with a like dart laced with a similar cocktail of drugs. When he was unconscious, he was injected with the heroin and ‘helped’ to fall into the ravine.”

“Uh—” Aaron said, staring from one to the other. “Why?”

“I don’t know the answer to that yet,” Dustin said.

Aaron turned to Frank Vine. “That’s crazy,” he said. “Why kill Marcus? Why kill me? All he had, really, was the Horse Farm and it’s tied up in trusts and it’s nonprofit, so...”

He broke off. His eyes fell on Olivia—not with accusation but with confusion. “Why?” he asked again.

“I don’t know,” Dustin said. “We were hoping you might’ve seen someone, heard someone... Been able to help.”

“I—I’m sorry. The thing on my head must be a bite. Not a prick from a dart gun. Dart gun! Come on! Who the hell runs around the hills of Tennessee with a dart gun?”

“That’s what we have to find out,” Dustin said.

“And you’re sure?” Aaron asked in a trembling voice.

Olivia glanced at Dustin, then turned back to Aaron. “I can’t believe Marcus suddenly went mad in the woods and started shooting up. You knew him. Did you believe that when you heard it?”

Aaron swallowed. “No,” he admitted. “But...dart guns?”

“Whatever the exact composition of the poison, it causes an instant knockout,” Dustin said. “But it doesn’t remain in the system. Or it’s difficult to identify—and requires special tests at autopsy. The kind that aren’t usually done unless poisoning is suspected. I think that same person tried to attack Olivia in the woods, and then went after you at the stream.”

Aaron looked at Frank Vine. “This is crazy—crazy,” he said.

Frank shrugged. “You wanna live, Aaron? Crazy or not, you might want to listen to him.”

“So what do I do? How the hell do you hide from a dart gun?”

“You watch your step,” Frank told him. “Stay with people at all times. It’s hard for someone to pull off an ‘accident’ when you’re in a group.”

“How close are you to catching whoever is doing this?” Aaron asked.

“Not very close, I have to admit,” Dustin said.

Aaron let his eyes drift shut. “May I please see Sandra? I figure most of you realize by now that we’re seeing each other. Olivia, you know how to manage the Horse Farm. You take over. I’ll do my twenty-four hours in here. After that, I’ll rest at my place for another twenty-four. Then we’ll see where we are.”

Olivia inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Aaron, there may not be a lot to manage. We’re starting to lose clients —guests.” Aaron stared at her.

“What do we do?” he asked thickly.

“Find whoever is doing this,” Dustin said.

“There had to be someone else in the woods with us,” Aaron insisted.

“That is a possibility,” Frank said.

“Will you let Sandra come in now? Please?”

“Yes, fine, we can do that,” Frank told him.

Olivia gave Aaron a kiss on the forehead. He looked up at her and smiled. “You’ll fix it, kid. I know you will.”

I don’t know, Aaron! I don’t know.

She didn’t say the words out loud. She offered him what she hoped was an encouraging smile and followed Dustin and Frank out of the room. As Frank spoke to the deputy who’d been assigned to watch the room, Dustin told Sandra she could go in.

She walked by Olivia, looking as if she’d like to scratch her eyes out. Olivia didn’t believe Sandra would harm Aaron in any way. But, at that moment, she thought the woman would have gladly strangled her.

12

“We’re going to reschedule all our weekend appointments,” Olivia said.

They’d returned to the Horse Farm and she was speaking to Mason, Mariah, Sydney and Drew. Dustin leaned against the wall, watching as she spoke.

Sammy had taken up a position at her feet.

She’d announced that the police suspected the situation that plagued them might have nothing to do with a relapse and an accident.

The room had already buzzed with protests and disbelief. But now, the group was subdued and concerned.

“If they’ll reschedule. If anyone even comes back,” Mason said glumly.

“We’ll hope for the best,” Olivia responded. “If they don’t reschedule, we’ll be understanding, and we’ll tell them we hope they’ll come back in the future. We’ll explain that we don’t know what’s going on, but—” Olivia paused, looking over at Dustin “—but the authorities will discover the truth very soon.”

“So, what do you want us to do, Olivia?” Drew asked.

“You and Sydney do what you always do—tend to the horses. And the cats and dogs and...I think that’s all we have right now.”

“If we close down, though,” Mariah said, “don’t we look like we’re guilty of something?”

Olivia shook her head. “No. We look like we’re concerned about all our guests and we want to make sure we’re providing an entirely safe environment for them.”

“Maybe we should start looking for work,” Mariah said.

“If you feel you need to move on, everyone here will understand,” Olivia told her.

“I’m not jumping ship! I’m just thinking about it,” Mariah added quickly.

“The Horse Farm is all right for now. We can make it for a while with all the trusts and provisions in the will. I’ll call the attorney and let him know where we are,” Olivia said. “I’m expecting Aaron will be back in the office by Tuesday. We can try to reschedule our sessions for next week.”

Mariah excused herself as her cell phone rang. She stepped into the games room to take the call.

“What should we be doing?” Mason asked Olivia. “I mean—no offense, guys—but this is easier for Sydney and Drew. They just keep looking after the place and the animals. But for you and me and Mariah...”

Olivia smiled at him. “Mason, why don’t you get some new modeling shots done? See if there’s any extra work in the area for the next few days.”

Mason looked back at her and then laughed. “You know what I’ve never done? Visited the Hermitage. It’s almost anti-American to be this close to Nashville and not have visited the Hermitage. Old Hickory’s homestead! I think I’ll do that tomorrow.”

“Good plan!” Olivia said.

Mariah stepped back into the room, her eyes wide. “You’re not going to believe this.”

“What?” Olivia asked.

“I just got a call—”

“People want to support us, right?” Mason interrupted. “They’re trying to book sessions, anyway!”

“Uh, no, I’m sorry,” Mariah said, frowning. “That was the agency that sets up ghost tours for me. They say they’re getting constant calls from tourists who want to come out here and go on ghost tours!”

“Great,” Mason said.

“No, not great,” Sydney said, frowning. “Sounds like people just want to see where Marcus died, along with Civil War ghosts. That’s ghoulish, not great.”

“Oh, Sydney, I wouldn’t tell stories about Marcus!”

“And you don’t think it would come up? That people wouldn’t ask you where Marcus Danby died?” Mason demanded.