Beverly Barton - The Outcast

Tracy stood in the doorway, Jeffie directly behind her, both of them looking into the bedroom.

"Is there anything we can do?" Tracy asked.

"Yeah, go back outside and make sure Harry doesn't come to."

"I'll handle that," Jeffie said.

"I don't know what to do to help her." Reece sat on the side of the bed, holding Elizabeth's hand to his chest. "If it was the other way around and I was lying there, she'd know what to do. She'd go outside and pull up some weeds and grass and perform a miracle."

"You really care about her, don't you?" Tracy walked over, standing by the bed.

"She believes in me." Reece lifted Elizabeth's limp hand to his lips. "She's gone through hell for me because she wants to help me. Me," Reece said with a laugh, the sound an anguished cry, "B. K. Stanton's worthless bastard."

"She loves you, Reece. She risked her life to save you." Tracy laid her hand on Reece's shoulder.

Reece jerked away from her touch. "Where the hell is that ambulance?"

Reece looked up to see the medics carrying a stretcher into the bedroom. Sheriff Bates walked in behind them, two deputies following.

Reece kissed Elizabeth, then moved out of the way. The medics lifted her gently onto the stretcher and carried her outside to the waiting ambulance. He stared at Simon Bates, who aimed his automatic directly at Reece.

"You won't need that." Reece held his hands over his head in a sign of surrender.

The deputies cuffed him, both young men moving quickly to accomplish the task. Reece heard the sheriff speaking, talking to him, barking out orders, but he couldn't distinguish the words. All he could think about was Elizabeth. She filled his mind and heart completely.

Elizabeth opened her eyes to see Sam Dundee looking down at her. She smiled at him. If Sam was with her, then she was safe. Her mind felt fuzzy, her body weightless. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel so strange?

With sudden clarity she remembered the events that had brought her here. She was in a hospital. She glanced around the room, a private room, her bed the only one.

"Hey, kiddo." Sam brushed her hair away from her face with a gentle hand.

"Reece?" Was he in jail? Yes, of course, he had to be. He ad promised he'd turn himself in to the sheriff.

"Landry's in jail," Sam said. "They took him there yesterday morning while they were bringing you to the hospital."

"He's all right, then?" Elizabeth tried to lift herself up in the bed.

"Stay calm, honey." Sam laid a restraining hand on her shoulder. "You've got a pretty big hole in your side. The doctors stitched you up, but it'll take a while for you to recover. You'll probably be in here for a few days, maybe a week."

"Is Reece all right? Y'all told the sheriff that he planned to turn himself in, didn't you?"

"Gary Elkins is taking care of everything, so stop fretting."

"What about Harry Gunn?" Elizabeth could see Harry's warped smile, could visualize the gun he'd aimed at Reece, could feel the bullet enter her body. She trembled.

"Are you all right?" Sam took her hand in his.

"Reece didn't kill Harry, did he?" Elizabeth looked up at Sam with pleading eyes. "I can't sense anything. I can't get a handle on... Oh, Sam, please tell me. I... I..."

"Harry Gunn is under guard here at the hospital. He's got a broken nose, a concussion and several fractured ribs, but he'll live."

"Harry hated B. K. Stanton enough to have killed him." Elizabeth held tightly to Sam's hand. "And he is capable of murder. I sensed that about him. And he hated Reece enough to have framed him. That way he could have destroyed the two people he hated most."

"Yeah, you're right, kiddo." Sam stroked the back of Elizabeth's hand, making circles around her knuckles. "The only problem with that theory is that I don't think Harry Gunn was smart enough to have planned the frame-up. Whoever framed Reece was as shrewd as he was devious."

"What about Kenny Stanton? He has no alibi, and we can prove he threatened to kill his father the day of the murder."

"Elizabeth, will you stop upsetting yourself. It's not good for you. You've done all you can to help Reece. Leave the rest up to me and to his lawyer."

"I want to see him."

"Honey, you can't. He's in jail and you're in no shape to go traipsing over there."

Elizabeth read the worry in Sam's mind, picking up on his fear that she would do something irrational when she found out about-

"They're taking Reece to Arrendale today, aren't they? Why? Couldn't they wait a day or two?"

"Reece was arrested yesterday morning. Although the sheriff is willing to reopen the investigation into B. K. Stanton's murder, the fact remains that Reece was convicted of the crime and sentenced to prison."

"Reece will go crazy locked up in a cell." Elizabeth swallowed her tears. "Sam, we've got to find the person who really killed B. K. Stanton."

"We will. I promise. You know you can count on me." Sam released her hand, then sat in a chair beside her bed. "As soon as you're released from the hospital, I'll drive you up to Alto, to Arrendale for a visit with Reece."

"Isn't the sheriff going to arrest me for aiding and abetting a criminal?" Elizabeth asked.

"Looks like the sheriff is going to buy Tracy Stanton's story that she brought you out to her parents' summer house yesterday morning. She said that you were a psychic who'd had a vision about B.K.'s death and you'd come to the family with the news that Reece was innocent. She and Christina decided you should stay on in Newell in case you had any more visions."

"The sheriff didn't actually believe her, did he?"

Sam grinned. "Hell, no, but he's not about to call Mrs. Bradley Kenneth Stanton, Jr., a liar."

"I see. Reece was right about the Stantons' power in Newell, wasn't he?"

"In this case, let's be thankful. You can rest easy now, kiddo. Just get better so I can take you home."

Elizabeth placed her hand on her stomach, reminding herself that she was responsible for the new life inside her. She relaxed against the pillows, breathing softly, suddenly aware of the pain in her bandaged side. She closed her eyes, concentrating on Reece, trying to transmit a message of love and hope to him. As she lay there sending love out into the atmosphere, a dark sense of foreboding surrounded her.

Someone was afraid of her-afraid she knew the truth about B. K. Stanton's murder. He wanted to prevent her from helping Reece, but knew he couldn't risk coming to the hospital.

"Are you in pain?'' Sam asked.

"No... not really. Why?"

"You're frowning."

"The person who killed B. K. Stanton is a man." Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at Sam. "He's afraid I'll be able to identify him."

Sam leaned over the bed, gently grasping her face in his hand. "Turn it off, honey. Shield yourself. You're not strong enough for this right now."

She raised her head, nodding, knowing Sam was right. But without any warning the vision came. She could not stop the flow of color, the formation of images, the whirling, spinning sensation that enveloped her mind.

A huge crowd of people lined the sidewalk. Flanking Reece, two deputies brought him outside the building, hurrying him through the throng of observers.

Someone's thoughts screamed inside Elizabeth's head. Reece Landry must die. He's caused enough pain. Even if I must sacrifice myself, I won't allow Landry to inherit any of his father's estate. I'll protect...I'll protect...I'll do whatever it takes.

Bracing her body with her hand, Elizabeth pushed herself into a sitting position, then reached out and grabbed Sam's arm.

"He's going to kill Reece. Today. When they bring Reece out of the jail. He'll be hiding in the crowd."

"Calm down." Sam tried to make Elizabeth lie back down, but she refused.