Buried Secrets

Zach didn’t say anything. For the next fifteen minutes he went over the details of the accident with a police officer who had arrived and parked at the side of the road. The policeman had a few questions for Maggie, which she answered.

She held her arms close to her chest, but still the cold seeped into her bones. In the middle of the conversation, Zach walked to his trunk and withdrew a jacket. He placed it over Maggie’s shoulders, rubbing her arms up and down for a long moment. She wanted to lean back into his strength, to wipe the last hour from her mind, but the officer still had questions for them.

By the time Ray Parker pulled up, followed by the tow truck, Maggie was freezing even with the jacket on. Her teeth chattered, her body quaked. Finished with the police, Zach dealt quickly with the driver of the tow truck, then marshaled Maggie into his friend’s Ford Ranger. Zach introduced her to Ray, an associate at the college. She smiled her greeting, still too upset to say more than what was necessary.

In the front seat, Zach drew her against him, his arm about her. His warmth slowly chased the cold away the farther from the accident they went.

“What happened back there?” Ray slanted a glance at Zach.

“I’m not sure, other than the brakes failed at a crucial time.”

“You don’t think this has anything to do with Red’s death, do you?”

“Yes.”

That one word brought back all the distressing thoughts that Maggie had had over the past twenty-four hours. Robbery. Attempted murder. Murder. She wasn’t equipped to deal with those kinds of things. She was a healer. Caught between denial and seeking answers, she didn’t know what to do next. She needed time to think, to figure out how best to proceed.

Gramps murdered? Over the diary? Why now?

As Ray pulled up in front of what she assumed was Zach’s house, her head felt as though a jackhammer pounded against her skull. Her muscles ached, especially her neck, as if she had climbed the stairs to a fifty-story building. And the second Zach disengaged himself from her, the cold burrowed deeper into her bones. That reaction scared her. His presence was taking over her life. She didn’t give up control easily, if ever, to another human being. Even with the Lord she’d struggled with that.

“Come in, Ray. I need a favor.” Zach slipped from the cab. He offered Maggie his hand. For a long second she stared at it, almost afraid of what it would symbolize if she put hers in his. She’d always stood on her own two feet and not depended on another person, not even Gramps. She couldn’t allow herself to do it now, because the situation was complicated, possibly dangerous and definitely unusual.

Resisting his assistance, she climbed from the truck and pulled the jacket about her to ward off the cold. Zach stared at her for a moment, his arm dropping to his side.

As she trudged up the walk toward Zach’s adobe-style house, disquiet crackled in the air. Her knee throbbed where she’d hit the dashboard. Pain radiated from her neck, across her shoulders and down her back.

Inside, Zach flipped on a switch and light flooded his large, open living room, with its high ceiling. Masculine touches stamped the place, with Indian artifacts on the walls and tables. More like a museum, she thought as she surveyed the area before her. Any other time she would have appreciated his beautiful Indian art—collected from around the world, not just the United States—but at the moment the only thing she wanted to do was sleep for a week and forget what had happened.

Zach waved her toward a brown suede couch. “Sit. Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Soda? Tea?”

“No, I’m afraid I’d never go to sleep if I had any caffeine.” She wasn’t even sure she could fall asleep if she didn’t have it. But she knew if she didn’t sleep soon she wouldn’t be able to function for long, let alone figure out what was going on.

“Ray, anything to drink?”

Zach’s friend shook his head.

Zach took the chair across from Maggie while Ray sat at the other end of the sofa. Silence ruled for a few minutes. Maggie laced her fingers to keep them from quivering. As a doctor, she’d dealt with emergencies before, but they had always involved others. This one she was very much in the middle of. Memories of a time when she was thirteen taunted her. She pushed away thoughts of the past. She couldn’t go there.

“You’re safe here.” A hardness entered Zach’s gaze as it found hers. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Safe? I’m not sure what that word means anymore.” But his declaration had for a moment alleviated what panic and fear still resided in her.

“Are you sure you want to be alone tonight?”

“I have a friend I can call. Don’t worry about me.” I’ll do that enough for the both of us. “She lives down the street from me.”

Zach turned his attention to Ray. “May I borrow your truck to take Maggie back to Santa Fe?”

“Sure. You can just drop me off at home. It’s on the way.”

“We were lucky tonight.” Although Zach’s comment was directed at his friend, his gaze fastened on Maggie.

Ray frowned. “This is getting serious. Have you talked to the police?”

“We did tonight, but there isn’t much to go on. We won’t know why the brakes failed until tomorrow, when a mechanic looks at them. But I don’t need a mechanic to tell me they were tampered with.” His hard tone underscored each word of his last sentence.

“You aren’t thinking of going after these guys yourself, are you?” Ray sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“You have a better suggestion?”

“Yes. Let the police do their job. Stay out of it.”

“I would, but someone is after the codices, and the police don’t have the time to look for whoever it is.”

“And you do? What about the expedition you’re planning for next month when the semester is over? We have the backers coming into town in a few days. They want to meet with you. There’s still a lot we need to do. Besides, you’ve got classes to teach.”

“This is important. I’ll make the time. You could always cover for me if the need arose. And I won’t miss the reception for the expedition backers.”

“Yes, but—” Ray snapped his mouth closed. “Forget it. I know that look. You aren’t going to give up until you learn the truth.”

“No, I’m not. Granddad is dead because of the codices. They are the key to what’s going on.”

The steel determination in Zach’s voice sent a tremor down Maggie’s spine. This man across from her was very capable of taking care of himself—and her, if she let him. She hoped they were on the same side, that he didn’t have a secret agenda concerning the Aztec codices and treasure. It was even possible there were three sides to this—Zach’s, hers and someone else’s.

“The expedition to the Amazon is important. Don’t forget that. I’ll do what I can to help, but you’re still the one heading it. The backers are funding it because of that.” Ray rose. “I think I do want something to drink.” When Zach made a move toward the kitchen, his friend said, “Sit. Rest. I know my way around. I’ll get it.”

When his associate left them alone, Maggie said, “He knows about the codices. Who else have you told?”

“He was with me when I discovered the break-in at my grandfather’s. I never told him about the diary.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. “Nor the fact I have a copy of the map.”

“Before you take me home, let me look at your head.” She needed to put space between them, but the doctor in her wouldn’t let her not offer to check out his cut.

“I’m fine.” Zach waved her off and started to stand.

“I seem to remember you telling me you’d let me look at you later. Well, for your information, later is here. Now.”

Coming to his feet, Zach towered over her. His gaze trapped hers. She found herself rising and standing so close to him that his scent surrounded her. Her heartbeat surged.

“Are you all right? I noticed you limping a little,” he said.

His tender look trekked down to her parched throat. She swallowed several times before answering, “I’m fine, and this little diversion won’t change my mind. I want to check you out before we leave.” She forced a lightness into her voice, even though the situation between them was quickly becoming serious, the connection they shared strengthening.

He smiled. “You can’t blame a guy for trying. I’ve never been fond of going to the doctor.”

“I’ve heard that before,” she said with a laugh. “Doesn’t change my mind. Do you have a first-aid kit?”

“Yes, I’ll get it.”