River Lady Read online

The women began throwing rocks with both hands.

  Stunned, John ducked, grunting as stones hit him. When he fired, both women flattened themselves on the ground, bullets whizzing overhead, yet they never stopped throwing their rocks.

  Kimberly sent one with force, hitting John on the side of his head, blood running immediately.

  Almost staggering, he backed away from the entrance and quickly scrambled out of sight. “So, you bitches think you’re smart, do you? Let’s see how long you can last in there with no food or water. When you’re ready to give up and die a quick death, let me know. I’ll be here waiting.”

  Kim sat up behind what was left of the pile of rocks. “We’re going to die, aren’t we?”

  “Of course not!” Leah snapped. “Kim, you have to have courage.”

  “Courage?” Kim said despondently. “Leah, I have no idea where you’ve gotten the idea that I want to be anything but a coward. Your bravery gets you in all sorts of trouble while my cowardice keeps me safely at home.”

  “Safely at home married to a murderer and thief,” Leah pointed out. “You let yourself be blackmailed into that marriage, too, because you were afraid of being found out that you’d tried to kill me. And if you weren’t so sneaky you’d never have found out about that hidden closet of your husband’s and if you’d never found that out we’d not be here now. And furthermore—.”

  “Leah, I really think you’ve made your point. Perhaps we both should change. When Justin and I get married, we’ll—.”

  “Justin,” Leah said, putting her hand on Kim’s arm, “is dead.”

  “No he’s not,” Kim said with simple conviction. “I’d know if he were dead. He may have looked as if he were dead but he wasn’t.”

  There was something in her tone that made Leah believe her. “Kim,” she said softly, “what John doesn’t know is that we left the note for Wesley. And if Justin is still alive that makes a witness. Even if John kills us he won’t get away with his murders.”

  “Let’s tell John,” Kim said, rising. “He’ll have to let us go now.”

  Leah pulled Kim back down. “I’m sure your honorable husband will smile and let us go and everything will be solved. Maybe he’ll even shake hands with us.”

  “You’re right. John has a dreadful temper,” Kim said glumly. “He’s already killed lots of people, so maybe he’ll kill us just to keep in practice. Leah, what in the world are we going to do?”

  Leah stood and walked to the far wall of the cave. There was water trickling down. Wesley, she thought. What would Wesley want her to do? She remembered all the times Wesley had said she just ran off and did things rather than asking for help. At least this time she’d thought of asking for help from Bud and Cal, but when they weren’t available she’d just gone ahead, dragging Kim behind her, and tried to rescue Justin and capture a murderer all by herself. And now, because of her vanity in thinking she could do everything alone, both she and Kim might die.

  “What would Wesley want me to do?” she whispered.

  “Wait for him,” Kim answered. “He wanted you to wait for him at the farm until he returned from Lexington, but since you wouldn’t, I guess waiting in this cave is the next best thing. Could we please just stay here and not do one single brave thing, Leah? Please?”

  “But what if—,” Leah began but stopped. “We have water but no food and it’s going to get awfully cold in here.”

  “I think graves are probably colder,” Kim said. “Leah, someone’s bound to find the note I left and when Justin wakes up he can tell them John is a murderer. Someone will come after us.”

  “But even if Justin is alive it could be weeks before he can speak. He looked badly wounded to me.”

  It was at that moment that a rock came sailing into the cave.

  “Looking for this, ladies?” John said with a laugh.

  Leah could see that a piece of paper was tied to the rock. With trembling hands, Leah untied it. “It’s the letter you left, isn’t it?” she asked, tears in her voice.

  “One of them,” Kim said without much concern.

  “One of them?” Leah exclaimed.

  “Leah, you just have no idea how mean my husband is. Someday I’ll tell you the things he did to me at night. And, too, I knew that if I was going somewhere with you I’d end up in trouble. If you and Wes go out to deliver food, to do a good deed like that, you nearly get killed. I heard how the dogs nearly got you. And it was your fault, Leah. You collect more trouble than a piece of glass collects dust.”

  “How many notes did you leave, Kim?” Leah whispered.

  “Three. One in plain sight, one under the dirty dishes—I knew John would never touch a dirty dish—and one under a pillow in the bedroom.”

  “But I didn’t see you,” Leah said. “How…?”

  Kim stiffened her back. “As you’ve pointed out, I can be secretive. Now, Leah, this isn’t easy for me to say because I know you can be persuasive, but if you leave this cave, I’m not going with you. I’m staying right here until a real live man, one with muscles and, I hope, a gun, comes to rescue me. If you go, you’ll have to go alone.”

  Leah looked around the ugly, cold little cave. “It could be days before anyone comes.”

  “I’d rather spend a week in here than arrive dead in Sweetbriar four days early.”

  “Me too,” Leah said, her eyes sparkling.

  “You know exactly what I mean. Leah, how long can a person live without food?”

  “Maybe we’re going to find out,” Leah said softly.

  Dawn came and with it no sign of help. John Hammond found a perch exactly opposite their cave, across the deep ravine, and at random fired shots into it, making it impossible for the women to rest or even relax.

  “Maybe we should try—,” Leah began a hundred times, but Kim gave her such quelling looks that she subsided.

  When night came they were utterly exhausted. John stepped up his firing and, once, he let go a volley that hit the ledge of the cave.

  “Is he trying to shoot it off?” Leah cried out.

  “Here!” came a faint voice. “While he’s reloadin’, help me.”

  Kim and Leah exchanged quick looks before hurrying to the mouth of the cave.

  “Mac!” Leah said, dropping to her stomach to reach out to him. Between the two women they managed to pull him inside.

  Mac leaned against the wall of the cave. “It’s my leg. It’s not too bad, but it’s bleedin’ a lot so if you ladies have anythin’ to wrap it with, I’d sure appreciate it.”

  Both women tore their petticoats away as they fired questions at him.

  “How did you find us?”

  “Is Justin hurt badly?”

  “Where’s Wesley?”

  “How are we going to get out of here?”

  “Do you have anything to eat?” This was from Kim.

  “Hold on a minute,” Mac said. “Let me look at my leg. I thought so. Bullet went through. It stunned me so bad I nearly fell off that ledge.”

  “Does it hurt much?” Leah asked.

  “A mite. The worst thing is I don’t think I’ll be able to walk on it very much. Here.” He handed Kim a piece of jerky from a pouch on his belt. “Now, ladies, as for your questions. You were easy to find because you couldn’t have left a bigger trail if you’d used a broad ax. I don’t know nothin’ about Justin. Lynna and me visited the Stanford farm and she found your letter. I sent Lynna back to Sweetbriar to spread the alarm and sent somebody after Wes. I been outside all day but had to wait until dark to get in here to you.”

  “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but why didn’t you go after John?” Leah asked.

  “He’s holed up in a little cutback in a rock wall across the ravine. To get down there without him knowin’ it I’d have to come down from the top with a rope and I ain’t got a rope with me, but more’n that I wasn’t real sure that maybe he wasn’t shootin’ at a bear.”

  “Bears don’t live in caves,” Kim said, looking around her su