Stuart Woods - Under the Lake

McCauliffe looked at him narrowly. “I don’t know, but I think he may suspect.” He turned and left.

Howell went to the pay phone at the back of Bubba’s and called the sheriffs office. Scotty answered.

“Bo still out at Sutherland’s?”

“Yes. What happened out there, John?”

“I’ll tell you later. Now, listen to me. Say ‘Oh, no!” as if you mean it.“

“Oh, no!” Scotty changed her voice to a whisper. “What’s going on?”

“All right, now hang up and tell Sally your father is sick and you have to drive to Atlanta right now.”

“I can’t do that. It’s going to be crazy here when Bo gets back.”

“Just do as I tell you. Leave, but don’t go home, and don’t go to the cabin. Go out to the Kelly place, and when you get there, park your car behind the house so it won’t be seen from the road. I’ll be waiting for you. Got that?”

“All right; whatever you say.”

Howell hung up and started for the Kelly farm. He drove fast, and when he turned in the drive, he continued until his car was out of sight, behind the house. Leonie came out the back door to meet him.

“What is it?” she asked, and she didn’t sound very hospitable.

“A lot has happened,” Howell said to her, “and a whole lot more is going to happen.” He took her arm and walked her into the kitchen. “First of all, I’m sorry about the scene at the shopping center. I apologize. I think I understand, and I want to help.”

“I don’t need your help,” she said, icily.

“Yes, you do,” he said, “but let’s not argue about that, now. Eric Sutherland is dead, and I have a feeling Bo Scully may be looking for me before the day is out. Can I stay here until after dark? I don’t think he’ll come here.”

She looked as shocked as he had expected her to. “Well, all right, sure. What’s – ”

“Later. First there’s something I need to know, and I hope you can help me. Do you know why Bo’s engagement to Joyce O’Coineen was broken?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Do you know why the younger girl, Kathleen, was taken out of school?”

“No, I was only about eight when all that happened. There was a lot of whispering going on in the house, but I never understood what was happening.”

“Then I’ve got to talk with your mother.”

Leonie shook her head. “You can’t, she’s asleep, and I don’t want to wake her. She’s in a bad way, John.”

“I know that, but I think this may be more important to her than to me.”

“Leonie?” The call came, weakly, from the direction of Mama Kelly’s room.

“Just a minute,” Leonie said. She went to her mother.

Howell fidgeted in the kitchen. A moment later, Leonie came back.

“All right, you can go in, but just for a minute. And please don’t get her excited.”

“I hope I won’t. Listen, Scotty is going to be here in a minute. I hope you don’t mind if she stays awhile, too.”

Leonie shrugged. “Oh, hell, why not?”

Howell took a deep breath and headed for Mama Kelly.

Lorna Kelly stopped talking and closed her eyes. Howell watched her anxiously for a moment; her breathing was shallow, but peaceful. There was something like a smile on her face. Finally, he understood why Donal O’Coineen had taken Kathleen out of school in Sutherland, but the information didn’t seem to help him very much. It simply added another twist to the mystery of the family’s disappearance.

Lorna opened her eyes again and gazed levelly at him. “She is in danger,” the old woman said quite clearly. “Little Kathleen is in danger, and so are you.”

Howell took her hand. “Do you really believe she’s still alive?” he asked. She had said something like this before, and after all that had happened to him since, it made less sense than ever.

“She is as alive as you are,” Lorna Kelly replied. “I can feel her presence at this moment. You must protect her. You are all she has to save her.” She closed her eyes again and seem to sink into unconsciousness, her jaw becoming slack.

Howell didn’t wish to tire her; he placed her hand under the covers and walked back into the living room. Scotty had arrived; she and Leonie sat on opposite sides of the room, eyeing each other warily.

“Your mother is sleeping,” he said to Leonie, looking from one woman to the other. “I take it you two have met.”

“Did you find out what you needed to know?” Leonie asked, ignoring his question.

Howell smiled. “Well, she says I know all I need to. You know how she is. I’ve still got some things to figure out. She also says this is her last day on earth.”

Leonie nodded. “Then it is,” she said. “I’d better ring Father Harry.”

Scotty suddenly spoke up. “Why am I here? What’s going on?”

“I think Bo is going to want you and me out of circulation tonight, and he has an excuse, now.” He told Scotty and Leonie about his visit to Eric Sutherland’s house that morning. “Since I found the body, and since you and I are associated, he might use that as an excuse to hold us for questioning while he conducts his business. Tomorrow, when he’s all done, he’d release us, and if he’s planning to quit, then it would be just about impossible to pin anything on him after tonight.”

“He’s really going to be annoyed when he comes back and finds me gone,” Scotty said.

“I hope he thinks you’re on your way to Atlanta,” Howell said.

Scotty still looked worried. “That office is jumping,” she said. “People have been calling in for the last hour wanting to know what’s happening out at Sutherland’s.”

Howell laughed aloud. “Good God, Scotty, I think you’re worried about getting fired! Well, you’ve worked your last day for the Sutherland County Sheriffs Department, whatever happens.”

Scotty brightened. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what’s going on here,” Leonie said.“

Howell explained who Scotty was and what she was doing in Sutherland. “We think Bo’s going to be up to something at the county airport tonight, and if we can catch him at it, then Scotty has her story, and Sutherland County will get a new sheriff. By the way, can we get to the landing strip from here on foot?”

Leonie nodded. “Sure, but it might be slow going. There’s no path or anything. I suppose it’s about half a mile. Maybe less.”

“Good. I don’t think we can risk it in a car.”

“What time will you go up there?”

“I think just before dark.”

“Then you’ll have supper with us.”

“Sure. Thanks.”

“Well, I’d better look in on Mama, then I’ve got some things to do in the kitchen.” Leonie left them.

“Listen,” Scotty said, “if we go up there before dark, aren’t we more likely to be seen, if there’s somebody there already?”

“Maybe, but we’re more likely to see somebody else, too, and I don’t want to be thrashing around a patch of strange woods at night, making a lot of unnecessary noise and waving a flashlight around.” Howell saw Leonie leave her mother’s room and head toward the kitchen. Now seemed like a good time. “Excuse me, I’ve got to talk to Leonie about her mother.”

Howell walked to the kitchen and found Leonie shelling peas. He sat down at the kitchen table next to her and picked up a handful. “I’ll give you a hand.”

“I expect you’re wanted out there,” she said, coolly, nodding toward the living room.

Howell ignored the gibe. “I’ve found out a lot of things, today,” he said, cracking open a pod and emptying the peas into a bowl along with hers. “I found out, for instance, why you were shoplifting.”