Field of Danger

With that thought, the drive to see April strengthened. Giving in, Daniel reached for the keys. He’d help April deal with what she’d seen. And then, freed from fear, her memory would come back, allowing Daniel to catch his father’s killer. She had to know more then she thought she did.

She had to.

Aunt Suke pushed a bowl full of fresh mint leaves toward April. “Have some. It’ll help.”

April reached for a leaf and twisted it several times, releasing the sweet scent and gentle oil, before dropping it into her iced-tea glass. “How did you know? I mean, what was happening in the field.”

“I heard the shotgun blast when he killed Levon—that was what brought me to the window. And then I saw him chasing you, firing that gun.” She waved her hand idly toward the kitchen’s ceiling. “We have four floors here, counting the cellar. Sixteen-foot ceilings. And the house is on top of a rise in the ground. From the top, I can see all the way to Robertson County. I called 911, and then went to get you.”

She paused, glancing with annoyance at a splintered hole in the floor near the stove. “Can’t believe that wretched buzzard blew a hole in my floor.”

“Just be glad it wasn’t us.” April frowned. “Why did you hide us downstairs?”

Aunt Suke cleared her throat. “He had to have known that I’d called the police, and that his time was running out. Folks in a hurry usually see only the obvious.”

“The stairs.”

“Right. That’s why I sent Polly upstairs to make noise.”

April glanced at the complacent dog lying on the floor beside the table. “Wouldn’t that put her in danger?”

“Trust me. The shooter was in a lot more danger than Polly.”

April shuddered. “He called my name.”

“Hmm.” Aunt Suke watched her a few more moments, then asked softly, “How close were you?”

April shook her head. “Not close. Like I told the officer, I couldn’t see who shot Levon. He had his back to me. But I could see Levon, see the—” Her voice broke. “I can’t.” Her gaze focused on the wooden table that had been polished to a silky finish by years of use.

Aunt Suke sipped her tea. “The sheriff will be back here shortly to take us both to the station for our complete statements. They’ve started clearing the scene. You need to get ready to talk to them. Ray Taylor is a good man, but it’ll be all business.”

April frowned. “You sound like you’ve been through this before.”

Aunt Suke pushed a long strand of white hair behind one ear. She usually let her hair hang freely, and April had often seen her working in the garden, the wind swirling her hair around her head like a cloud. Only on Sundays did she neatly contain it with a thick barrette clasped just below her neckline. “I may not get out much these days, but there still isn’t much I don’t know about how this town runs.”

April smiled, and Aunt Suke joined her, reaching across the table to grasp one of April’s hands. “That’s better. You can’t let this shake you to the core.”

April heard the plaintiveness in her own voice. “I saw a man get killed!”

Aunt Suke tightened her grasp. “I know. It rips you. But you have to hold it together. They have to find out who did this. If you let it shake you, you won’t be able to help them.”

“I’m not sure I can anyway.”

“You may know more than you realize.” Aunt Suke suddenly stood. “You need some snicker doodles.”

“Cookies?” April asked weakly.

Aunt Suke paused and looked at April steadily. “Trust me. It’s going to be the normal, everyday things that get you through this. Cookies. Tea. Friends. Family. What about your sisters?”

“June’s not back from that conference in California yet. I haven’t called her because I know she’d want to come home early, and she doesn’t need to. She flies home next week.” April sighed. “I love my sister, but to be honest, I don’t know if I can handle June right now. She’ll want to take over everything. Tell me what to do and tell Ray how to run the investigation.”

“You don’t think Ray could rein her in?”

April shook her head. “They’re not close enough yet. He’d just irritate her.”

“What about Lindsey?”

April paused, not really wanting to cross into this territory and talk about her other sister. “Lindsey and I aren’t on good terms right now. We talk, but we’re not what you’d call close. Besides, she’s still at a culinary school in D.C.” April shook her head. “No. I don’t have many friends here in Caralinda. And I lost my closest friend today.”

Raising an eyebrow, Aunt Suke reached out to clasp her hand. “Well, you found a new one, as well. Two, if you count Polly.” After one last squeeze to April’s hand, she stood.

As Aunt Suke went to the cookie jar, Polly perked up, and April looked around the industrial-size kitchen. High-ceilinged and filled with dark woods and polished bronze appliances, it was a practical combination of old and new. She sighed. There was such a romantic nature about a house this old and historic. Levon had spent many an hour talking about the Stockards when April first moved to town, especially the house, which was one of the oldest in Caralinda.

Levon had said…

April pushed the thought away and brushed another tear from her eye.

The plate of cinnamon-laced cookies added a pungent aroma to the air, and Aunt Suke tossed one to Polly, who caught it neatly with a powerful snap of her jaws. Aunt Suke sat, waving a hand at April. “Stop thinking about Levon and my house and eat a cookie.”

April sighed. “How did you know?”

Aunt Suke shrugged. “You’re going to have flashing thoughts about Levon for a long time to come. It’s natural. Part of grieving. Part of the questioning. As time goes by, you’ll want to think about anything but what happened in the field. Your mind will wander, especially to those normal things.” She smiled. “As to the house…happens every time someone sees inside for the first time. When this is over, I’ll give you a tour.”

“I’d like that. I love old homes. I was raised in one. But you’re right, the tour should wait until later, when my mind is clear again.” April focused on her tea again. “I can’t believe Levon is dead. He was a good friend. It just doesn’t seem real.”

“Which is why you’re not grieving for him yet. You will. It’ll be real all too soon.”

The doorbell stopped April’s reply, sending a long series of melodic gongs echoing through the house. Polly stood with a soft woof and bounded out of the kitchen. April flinched, almost involuntarily, and the two women looked at each other a moment.

Then Aunt Suke straightened an already stiffened spine. “Probably just the sheriff. That turkey buzzard murderer may be determined, but even he would have better sense than to just ring my doorbell.”

Both stood and April followed Aunt Suke from the kitchen through the connecting rooms, down a hallway to the front of the house and into a long, elegant entrance foyer. Polly waited at the door as Aunt Suke looked through the peephole then unlocked and opened the massive oaken door to her home.

Daniel Rivers stepped inside without invitation, immediately spotting April. At the sight of the devastation on his face, Levon’s death abruptly became real.

She took one step toward Daniel, then burst into tears.

THREE

Anger drained away from Daniel as he closed his arms around April’s shoulders. His shoulders dropped as he held her, whispering into her hair. “I’m sorry. I know you loved him, too.”

April pushed back and looked up at him, a tinge of red returning to her skin, brighter because the rest of her face remained so pale. She nodded and stepped away from him, looking away, her gaze suddenly distant. “Like a father.”

Aunt Suke tugged at his arm, and Daniel looked down at her.

“Does Ray know you’re here? He’ll have your skin on his wall if he doesn’t.”

Daniel heard the truth in her words and looked down at April again, wishing she’d let him hold her, comfort her. Comfort each other. But April would not look at him, even though tears still streaked her face.