Death By a Dark Horse

It was after six o'clock. What kind of shape would Delores be in if she hadn't taken her meds on time or eaten a regular meal? That would have been the good news. Greg had killed Valerie. What would he do to Delores? No, stop thinking like that.

A pickup truck obeying the speed limit slowed me to a crawl. I pounded the steering wheel and honked repeatedly. He tapped his brakes at me.

'Move, dammit!' Use the pedal on the right!'

I passed him on a curve on a double yellow line and got a severe horn blasting for my heroics.

'Screw you,' I muttered to my rear-view mirror, leaving him in a cloud of exhaust.

Once on Carpenter Road, I found an overgrown lane just past Valerie's property. I hoped it wasn't someone's private drive. Still, I'd rather risk that than pull up to the house and announce my presence to Greg. I wedged my car into the bushes then, not bothering to conceal myself, I ran as best I could up the long, steep driveway to the estate. I halted when I reached the top of the hill and bent double, my hands on my knees, sucking air into my lungs. The middle of the driveway was not a good place to recover from the dash. A small cedar tree stood a short distance to my left. I darted to it, and dropped into a crouch, hiding myself in its wide, aromatic branches.

As I caught my breath and the burning left my calves and thighs, I peered through the damp foliage. Before me lay an empty expanse of lawn, dotted with a few specimen plants and evergreens. The driveway angled to my right before it divided, one branch curving to the house, the other skirting around back to the barn.

The only car I could see from my hiding place was Valerie's BMW, and it hadn't moved since last weekend. I didn't see Greg's car or Delores's, but that didn't mean anything. She'd probably parked behind the house and gone to the kitchen door. Greg's car might be in the garage on the far side of the house.

Shouldn't you check for vehicles first before you look for Delores?

But what if he's gotten rid of her car? The absence of her car wouldn't mean anything.

Hey, the house is dark. It doesn't look like he's here.

Could I be so lucky?

Maybe. But there was no way to know without ringing the doorbell, so I waited and watched and listened, trying to pick out any sound beyond the tree frog cacophony, any movement through the darkened windows.

You should have been planning on the way over instead of driving like a mad woman. How are you going to fins Delores? Come on, think.

Right. A systematic search was called for – systematic but stealthy.

And for God's sake be smart. Don't do anything to draw Greg's attention – if he's here.

The barn would be the quickest to search and my best bet for avoiding Greg. How was I going to cross that huge lawn without being seen?

Impatience and dread plucked at me, demanding a decision. I couldn't hesitate any longer so, good plan or not, I chose to circle to my left and come at the barn from the route that afforded the most opportunity for cover. I pulled off my light colored jacket and stashed it beneath the wet branches. My dark cotton shirt soaked up the dampness as I brushed against the foliage. I shivered. The cold went right through me.

I kept low and snuck from shrub to shrub, watching the house for any sign of Greg, until an open portion of the lawn was my remaining obstacle. Then I swallowed my fear, broke from my cover, and pelted toward the house. I reached the foundation plantings and fell to my knees, panting. As by breath steadied, I heard the soft sound of hurried footsteps on the grass. They were coming toward me. Terrified, I dove behind a bush and fell headlong into a window well. Instinct caused me to grab at anything within reach to arrest my descent, but I landed in a heap among the wet, rotting leaves anyway. Holding my breath and willing my heart to stop pounding so hard, I listened from my uncomfortable, contorted position.

Silence.

Except for… tapping. What of? A faucet dripping into a sink?

I stopped breathing again.

The tapping didn't stop, but became louder and more insistent. I turned my head toward the basement window. A face, in deep shadow, peered at me through the dirty glass. Hair stuck out in all directions and the mouth opened and closed like a puppet. One hand made weird gestures. I drew a sharp breath, but before I could scream recognition hit me full force. It was Delores.

My exhale would have been a sob of relief, but the decomposing leaves I'd stirred up at the bottom of the window well provoked a sneeze. Delores had her finger to her lips. Yeah, yeah, quiet, I got that. The words she mouthed, however, were incomprehensible. I shook my head and she closed her eyes with an expression of labored patience and tried again, slower. This time I understood. Greg had been there, but she thought he wasn't there now. If she was right, he would come back soon. Considering I'd landed in the window well looking for a place to hide from pursing footsteps, chances were good he'd returned. I had to hurry and be very cautious.

Then she added something more. Her mouth seemed to form Sarah's name. Sarah was there, too? That couldn't be right. I shot her a quizzical look then sneezed again. She rolled her eyes. What she said next I understood: Be careful. Be quiet.

I heaved myself out of the well and crawled under the bushes, listening. Soft footsteps came rapidly toward me and I froze like a rabbit.

'Thea? Thea? I know you're here somewhere. It's me, Juliet.' She whispered so loudly, she might as well have stood in the middle of the driveway with a bullhorn. I edged out of my hiding place, startling her.

'Oh, Thea, thank God!'

'Shh,' I hissed and grabbed her arm, pulling her down next to me. 'How did you know I was here?'

'I followed you.' She picked dead leaves out of my hair. 'Eww.'

'What? Why?'

'I was worried about Delores and came to look for you.' She brushed at my shoulder, her nose wrinkled in distaste.

'Stop that.' I pushed her hand away.

'When I went to your house and you weren't home I thought you might be at the farm, so I went out that way and caught sight of you careening down the road. When you didn't turn to go to the farm I followed. I left my motorcycle by your car. I figured if you were being cautious I should be, too.'

I had to give her credit for clear thinking. 'Delores is here,' I whispered.

'You found her!' She clapped her hands and bounced.

'Shhh!'

'How did you know?' She hugged me, then turned me loose, her nose wrinkled again.

'I'll explain later.' Or not at all, to avoid looking like an idiot. 'Do you have your cell phone?'

'No. It's at home, charging.'

'Damn.' I took a breath. 'Okay, look, we have to hurry. Greg may be back soon.'

'Greg?' She blinked in confusion, then her eyes widened. 'Shit. You mean he's the one who killed Valerie?'

I nodded.

'Why didn't you say anything earlier?'

'Maria's harangue interrupted me.' Fortunately.

'Why's Delores here?'

'I don't know. I'm guessing she came to talk to Greg. Maybe he called her. We'll ask her about it later. Right now we've got to get her out of here.'

We ran to the back door of the house and cautiously tried the knob. Locked. We tried the front. Locked as well. Remembering the keys I'd found, I sprinted to the outbuilding with Juliet close behind. The key ring was back on its nail, but the only key remaining was to the tractor. In frustration, we went back to the window well and Delores.

'Does this window open?' I mouthed to her.

She looked at the frame and nodded. The latch was inside at the bottom of the small window, but she had difficulty with it, and used only her right hand. After a moment she disappeared from view. Sarah took her place. Juliet and I exchanged stunned looks

Sarah glanced at us before setting to work on the latch. If the look on her face was any indication, she was straining hard. She stopped and looked over her shoulder then moved aside. Delores replaced her and grabbed the latch with her right hand and yanked. Her expression tightened as if she was in pain, but even so she managed