The Outcast

his eyes. Lifting the large brass vase, Claire brought it down on top of Kenny's head. He fell sideways, unconscious. The brass vase thumped silently onto the floor; the peach silk roses scattered across the sea of blue carpet.

Claire knelt beside Kenny, feeling for a pulse. 'He's fine. I just knocked him out.'

'You most certainly did,' Elizabeth said, slightly stunned by the other woman's actions.

'Reece, you have to get away as fast as you can,' Claire said. 'I'll have to call the police before Kenny comes to, but I'll wait as long as I can to give you a head start.'

'Claire?' Reece stared at B. K. Stanton's secretary.

'I'll tell the police everything. The truth about Kenny's quarrel with his father, the fact that he threatened to kill B.K. And... and I'll tell them that you were here tonight. I'm through with lying. For Kenny or for you.'

'That's fair enough,' Reece said. 'Thank you, Claire.'

'Go on. Get out of here.' Bracing her hand on a recliner at her side, Claire lifted herself up from the floor.

Slipping his arm around Elizabeth, Reece led her out the front door and to Sam's T-Bird.

'Get in the back and lie down,' Elizabeth told him. 'I'll drive us to Spruce Pine as quickly as possible.'

Reece opened the car door. 'We need to talk to Sam before we go back to the cottage. He should know what happened here, that Kenny's going to tell the police you're helping me. And I need to find out if Sam was able to persuade Tracy's lover to admit the truth.'

'It's too dangerous to go to Sam's motel. Once Kenny comes to-'

'We're going to the motel,' Reece said. 'And Sam's going to get you out of Newell as fast as he can.' 'No! I won't go. I won't leave you.' 'Dammit, Lizzie. This time you'll do what I tell you to do.'

Chapter 11

'Dammit, what a mess.' Sam Dundee paced back and forth at the foot of the bed in his motel room. 'You should turn yourself in, Reece. Tonight.'

'I don't know,' Reece said. 'My gut instincts tell me that now isn't the time, that we aren't any closer to finding the real killer.'

'Look, you've got Claire Roberts willing to admit that she lied under oath because Kenny Stanton threatened her, and I persuaded Neil Colburn to tell the police that Tracy Stanton paid him to keep quiet about being with her when your father was murdered. That shoots holes in Kenny's alibi.'

'We have no proof that Kenny killed B.K.,' Reece said. 'If I turn myself in, they'll pack me off to Arrendale, and appeal or no appeal, my chances of ever being set free are slim if we can't prove who really shot B.K.'

'The real murderer is going to reveal himself or herself.' Elizabeth's gaze softened when she looked at Reece. If only he would allow her to comfort him. No matter how close he let her get, he kept a barrier between them-a barrier of fear and distrust.

'Is that a psychic prediction or just a wild guess?' Reece knew he wasn't being fair to Elizabeth, but, dammit all, he'd had just about enough. He didn't know how much longer he could withstand the temptation to lower his guard completely, to let Elizabeth inside his head and inside his heart. He'd be a fool to keep her with him; she'd be an even bigger fool to stay.

'Neither prediction nor guess.' Elizabeth swallowed the tears trapped in her throat. Even knowing where Reece's anger and bitterness came from, she couldn't keep herself from being hurt by his words. 'Whoever killed B.K. knows you're innocent, and he or she will soon know that I'm helping you and I've claimed to have a psychic vision of the murder. I don't think they'll wait too long before they make their move.'

'She's right,' Sam said. 'If the real murderer finds you and Elizabeth, he'll do whatever it takes to silence both of you.'

'Don't you think I know that.' Reece narrowed his eyes, giving Sam a hard look. 'I want you to get Elizabeth out of Newell as fast as you can. Tonight, if possible.'

'I would agree with you, except for one small problem you've overlooked,' Sam said. 'The sheriff will be looking for Elizabeth as soon as Kenny Stanton tells them that she's aiding and abetting you. There's no way I can get her out of Newell once that happens.'

'What the hell are we going to do?' Reece hated the thought of Elizabeth being in trouble with the law because of him.

'Turn yourself in tonight.' Sam nodded toward the telephone. 'Call Gary Elkins and tell him to meet you at the sheriff's office. I'll go with you and Elizabeth, and we'll see if we can hoodoo them into believing that Elizabeth isn't involved, that Kenny Stanton is lying.'

'I'm not ready to give up my freedom.' Reece couldn't bring himself to put his life in anyone else's hands. Not Gary Elkins's or Sam Dundee's. Not even Elizabeth's.

'Wherever you go, whatever you do, I'm going with you.' Elizabeth walked over to Reece, clasping his arm in her strong grip.

Reece jerked away from her. 'Don't be a fool, Lizzie. You've done everything you can do for me. I don't want you following me around like some lovesick puppy. Just because I'm the first man you ever-'

'Shut the hell up!' Sam bellowed, punching Reece in the chest with his index finger.

Elizabeth placed her hand on Sam's shoulder. 'It's all right, Sam. Reece's bark is a lot worse than his bite. He's tried this tactic before and it didn't work. Obviously he doesn't learn from his mistakes.'

'Obviously,' Sam said.

'How you've been able to put up with her all these years, Dundee, I'll never know.' Grinning sheepishly, Reece shook his head. 'You can't tell her anything. She knows too damn much. She can look through a guy like he's made of glass. And no matter what you say to her or do to her, she just keeps on caring.'

'That's called love and loyalty.' Sam placed his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders. 'A couple of qualities that were obviously missing in your life, Landry.'

'Yeah, so it would seem.'

'If you don't intend to turn yourself in tonight, then I suggest that you and Elizabeth go back to Spruce Pine for the time being,' Sam said. 'If you don't get out of Newell pretty quick, you'll be trapped here.'

'You want Elizabeth to go with me?' Reece asked. 'I thought you, of all people, would see how dangerous her being with me is.'

'I've known since the day she called and told me she was hiding you in her cabin that she was in danger because of you. But she didn't listen to my warnings then. And now it's too late to take her away from you.'

'Keep her here. Take her to the police. Make them believe that Kenny's lying, that her only involvement with me is through her visions.'

'That won't work,' Elizabeth said. 'Claire Roberts will tell the sheriff the truth. Besides, Sam is right. I won't leave you. He believes me when I say that somehow, some way, I'm the only person who can save you.'

'How?' Reece asked. 'By having the real killer come after you?'

'Perhaps. I'm not sure.'

'Time's a-wasting,' Sam said. 'You two go back to Spruce Pine. In the morning Gary Elkins and I will meet y'all at the Burtons' cottage. Be prepared to turn yourself in to the sheriff, Landry, or be a hundred miles away from here.'

'I don't like ultimatums.'

'And I don't like Elizabeth's life being in danger.'

'All right,' Reece agreed. 'You get in touch with Gary. Give him all the information we've uncovered, and meet us at the cottage first thing in the morning. That will give me all night to sort through things, to decide what to do.'

'If you leave, don't take Elizabeth with you.'

'She'll be waiting for you at the cottage, whether I'm there or not.'

'Hold on just one minute,' Elizabeth said. 'Nobody's making any decisions for me.'

Reece grabbed Elizabeth's arm. 'If I run, Lizzie, I'll be running for the rest of my life, and you won't be going with me.'

Elizabeth wanted to protest, to tell Reece that she didn't care where he went, she was going with him. But she realized that Reece was right. If he didn't trust her enough to accept her help, to believe that Sam and Gary Elkins and Chris Stanton were all on his side, then there was no hope for Reece and her. She couldn't force Reece to trust her or to love her. There was no way she could reach his mind or his heart if he continued denying her entrance.

Elizabeth turned to Sam, pulling free of Reece's hold on her arm. 'I'll be waiting for you in the morning. We'll