Cradle Of Secrets (13 page)

T
he moon was sitting behind thick clouds, making it impossible to see anything without strong headlights or a flashlight. Dylan's eyes were good, though. He'd been on many ops where the moonlight, although pretty, was his team's downfall, making it harder to search for what they were looking for.

Or to remain unseen by those he didn't want to know he was there.

Tammie had said there had been someone lurking in the garden last night. It had frightened her, and Dylan couldn't say he liked the idea of it, either. After today's near miss at the auction grounds, he wasn't going to leave it to chance that it wouldn't happen again.

When he'd seen her splayed out in the dirt, he couldn't breathe until he saw her moving. Then he'd held her in his arms, felt her heart beating as strongly as his own and known she was all right.

Although there was no proof, he saw the accident as a message of some kind. Whether it was from someone at Aztec Corporation or if they were merely the messengers, he didn't know. What he did know was that someone wasn't happy they were asking questions.

And he didn't want Tammie to get caught in the crossfire. She had her own reasons for being here. He didn't know what had made the pastor and his wife take her from Eastmeadow and move clear across the country without anyone knowing about it. Or why they'd kept the fact that she had a whole family in Eastmeadow a secret from her all these years.

But Dylan was sure that it was all connected with the reason Cash had disappeared. He was waiting for Sonny to e-mail him with the information he'd asked her about earlier. If his suspicions were right, he'd have his first lead about Cash's disappearance since he'd gotten to Eastmeadow.

He'd parked the car down the road a ways, so as not to rouse the suspicions of anyone in the house. Tall maples lined the street and stretched over the road, keeping the moonlight from revealing his presence.

Eastmeadow was so unlike the streets he worked as a cop. Unlike here, he knew what kind of trouble lurked in the shadows in a big city. He'd have to draw on his years in the Marines tonight. He was used to dealing with all kinds of situations, changing course on the fly, and moving unnoticed until he was ready to reveal himself. If there was someone out here tonight, he'd find him.

Keeping his breathing steady, Dylan moved slowly around an overgrown arborvitae to the back of the house. It was nearly midnight, and the windows on the second floor of the mansion were dark.

He sat at the edge of the woods, watching the moon move across the sky for another hour or so. The wild animals were on the prowl for food. A large wood owl hooted and screeched high in a tall pine tree behind him, letting Dylan know he didn't like the intrusion in his world. Dylan stayed anyway, and eventually the owl flew away.

It was nearly two-thirty when he heard someone digging in the side yard. Dylan moved toward the sound. Someone was crouched down on the ground as he approached. If it was a man, he was slight of build, but Dylan wouldn't underestimate his strength by his size. He crept up behind him.

“Stand up and turn around slowly. I want your hands where I can see them.”

The only weapon Dylan had was a tree branch he'd cleaned off while he was looking around earlier. But he could use it to defend himself, if need be.

The man rose slowly from the ground.

“Whatever you have in your hand, drop it!” Dylan said, his voice commanding.

Something fell to the ground. “It's just a spade,” the man said. “I don't have a weapon. Just garden tools. Don't hurt me.”

Dylan kept his distance from the man. He picked up the item the man had dropped to the ground. It was
indeed
a small garden spade. “What are you doing out here?”

“I work here.”

“Nice try. Want to give me another? This time, something believable.”

“It's true. Ask Aurore. I've worked here since before Mr. Davco was taken to the nursing home. Going on ten years now.”

Dylan took a step closer. “If you work here, what are you doing out in the yard in the middle of the night?”

“I always work at night. I can't take the sun, and the mosquitoes aren't as bad this time of night.”

“Just what do you do?”

“I'm the Davcos' gardener.”

“Gardener, huh? Doesn't look like you're doing such a hot job, by the looks of it during the day.”

The man shrugged. “I do my best. They have a limited budget, you know?”

“Right.”

“Are you a cop or something?”

Dylan eyed him. The
something
part was right. He was a cop, although he wasn't here in any official capacity. “I don't think you're in a position to be asking me questions, when you were the one caught out here.”

“I'm telling you the truth. I have nothing to hide. Just ask the staff here.”

“What's your name?”

“Sam. Sam Watson. I live over in the next town.” Sam had his hands in the air and was starting to shake. “Ask Aurore. She'll tell you. I've been working here for years.”

“Okay, Sam Watson. Why don't we do just that?”

 

Aurore stood in the foyer, staring at Dylan and Sam in the doorway. “Was it necessary to wake up the
whole
house for this?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Dylan saw Tammie coming down the stairs, wrapped in a blue terry bathrobe.

“What's going on?” she asked. Then her eyes widened when she saw Sam Watson.

“He claims he's your gardener.”

“He doesn't claim anything,” Aurore said with an impatient sigh. “He
is
the gardener. This is why you felt the need to wake us all up?”

“What is he doing out in the yard at this time of the night?” Dylan asked.

“He prefers to work that way. Mr. Davco approved of it, and I didn't see any reason to change things once Mr. Davco was no longer here. The way I see it, you're the intruder. Not Sam.”

“You're the man I saw in the garden last night,” Tammie said, coming into the foyer and addressing the gardener.

“I didn't know anyone saw me. I thought everyone was asleep. I don't usually wake anyone when I'm working.”

“You're sure this is the man you saw?” Dylan asked.

Tammie nodded.

“Sam has been a loyal employee for years. I sometimes make him breakfast before he goes home.”

Dylan pushed aside the weirdness of this arrangement. “Has he ever taken anything from you?”

Aurore's eyes flared with fire. “You mean steal? Never!”

“Check his pocket,” Dylan said.

“No, I will not.”

“Sam, are you going to come clean about the noise your pocket was making as we walked to the front door? Now, I'm not real good at the sounds a garden spade makes when it's shoved in a pocket, but I did see you stuff some thing in there, and it made an awful racket rubbing up against something else. How about it?”

“What are you talking about?” Looking at Sam, Aurore asked, “Sam, what is going on?”

The remorse on the gardener's face said it all. He pulled out the contents of his pocket and held them in his hands for everyone to see. Wide-eyed, Aurore picked through the tangle of chains and rings and found a diamond pendant and necklace encrusted with dirt from being buried in the ground. A ring was tangled in the chain of the necklace and wouldn't pull free. Aurore spread the jewelry out in the palm of her hand and examined it.

“Why, these were Eleanor's. They were lost in the fire,” Aurore said, moving the pieces in her hand and brushing away dirt.

“Are you sure?” Tammie asked.

“Of course I'm sure.”

“You want to explain how you came by these?” Dylan said.

The hurt on Aurore's face was unmistakable. “Sam, I don't understand. How did you get these? How could you have these?”

Sam hung his head.

Tammie looked at the pieces of jewelry in Aurore's hand. One of the rings had a large stone, but Tammie couldn't make out what it was. “How can you tell they are the same pieces of jewelry?”

“Eleanor had a lot of jewelry. Mr. Davco was very generous that way, as was her father. But most of it was lost when the house burned. I remember this piece well,” Aurore said, fingering the pendant. “This is the diamond pendant that Mr. Davco gave her when Serena was born. Eleanor loved it. She wore it nearly every day. She even wore it when she posed for the portrait.”

As if on cue, everyone turned to look at the portrait hanging on the wall of the staircase.

Recovered from the betrayal, Aurore lashed out. “How did you get these?”

“I started finding jewelry and old coins a few years back,” Sam admitted. “They must have been turned over by the tractor when the house was rebuilt.”

“You mean, there's more?” Tammie asked.

Aurore eyed him suspiciously. “How come you never said anything?”

“What happened to the rest, Sam?” Dylan pressed.

Sam sighed and shook his head. “They're gone. I'm sorry, Aurore.”

“What do you mean, gone? If you've found more of Mrs. Davco's jewelry, you need to give them back.”

“I can't,” Sam said. “You don't know how sorry I am.”

“Let me guess,” Dylan said. “You've got a friend down at the auction site who fenced them for you. It's been a sweet little deal for you all these years, so you haven't felt the need to say anything. What was it you said to me in the garden when I mentioned the state of the yard work? Oh, right—they're on a limited budget. Was this your way of getting a raise for yourself without anyone knowing?”

A small gasp escaped Aurore's lips. “Sam, how could you? And after Mr. Davco has been so good to you? I can't believe it. We kept you on after Mr. Davco went away. I should think you'd have been grateful.”

“I didn't think anyone would mind a few pieces. Everyone thought they were gone, anyway. I didn't think anyone would miss them.”

“That doesn't make it right,” Tammie said.

Aurore straightened her back and pulled her robe tighter. “I won't press charges, Sam. That'd only upset Serena. And I won't tell her about this. It'd only break her heart. But I do expect you to get your things and leave this house this instant. We don't require your services any longer.”

“I'm real sorry about this, Aurore. You have no idea.”

“I am, too.”

Sam left, and Aurore continued to look at the jewelry in her hand. “Serena will want these,” she said.

Then she turned to Tammie. “Unless you thought they'd go to you…?”

Tammie's eyes widened, the hurt in them unmistakable. “You said that pendant was a gift when Serena was born. I think it's only right she get it, and the rest of the jewelry.”

Aurore nodded and sighed. “Forgive me. It's no excuse, but I'm a little tired. And this is…upsetting.”

“Apology accepted.”

“I'll see to cleaning these pieces tomorrow morning. I suggest we turn in, and…Mr. Montgomery…what were you doing out there this late at night, anyway?”

“I was checking on Tammie.”

Aurore nodded, and to Dylan's surprise, she didn't challenge him. “Good night.”

She was halfway up the stairs when Aurore turned and said, “Make sure you lock your bedroom door.”

“I will. Good night.”

Tammie waited until Aurore was upstairs before she spoke to Dylan. “Do you believe Sam's story?”

Dylan made a face. “I don't know what to believe anymore.”

Fatigue was pulling at him. Dark, puffy shadows were under his eyes, and his shoulders had a slight droop, as if he could barely keep himself standing.

“You should go back to the campground and get some rest.”

“I know, but…” He stared at her as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.

“I'll be fine here.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “Now that I know there won't be any other strange men lurking outside tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“About what? Strange men, or that I'll be okay?”

He gave her a half smile that made him look completely…adorable. Why, she didn't know. He was wearing army fatigues and a black T-shirt that hung loosely around his frame. His hair was a mess, most probably from him rubbing his hand over his head to try to stay awake while he'd been outside. There was nothing Keanu Reeves-ish about Dylan Montgomery, and yet…

“I'm fine,” she said.

But she wasn't. Sam Watson's midnight rounds in the garden had put her on edge. She wondered if he would come back tonight. What would keep him from digging up more valuables in the garden? It wasn't that she cared so much about him stealing. It was the creepy feeling that someone was always watching.