Before she could consider it more, Levi opened his eyes and sat up straight. Maria drained the last drop of water from her bottle.
“All set?” he asked.
She nodded. “I feel much better, thanks. Where should I put this bottle?”
“Just throw it in the back. I’ll get rid of it later.”
She tossed it over her shoulder and turned back to him. “So, what do we do now?”
“Well, first of all, we should probably get out of here before we attract attention.”
He grabbed the reins and flicked them. Dee trotted forward on command. The buggy started to roll.
“Where are we going?” Maria asked.
“I’ve got to get a few things. If you want to catch a nap or get something to eat, now would be a good time. We’ve got several hours to kill.”
He pulled alongside her car. “You should probably move your car, as well.”
“What’s the plan?”
Levi shrugged. “Like I said, you’ve got some free time. I’ve got to go home and retrieve a few things we’ll need. We’ll meet back here after dark. See that line of trees behind the hospital?”
Maria nodded.
“We’ll meet there,” Levi said. “Let’s say ten o’clock. It should be dark enough by then.”
“It’ll be dark by six or seven.”
“But the facility will have quieted down by ten, as well. The night shift will be on hand.”
“Okay. And then what?”
“Then, we meet with Adam Senft.”
“But how?”
“Simple,” he said. “We just open the door and let him walk through it.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Russ and Tina Farnsworth finished lashing together a stack of dried cornstalks and then stood back to admire their handiwork. The air was cool in the shade between the trees, but their clothes were soaked with sweat. They’d worked hard all morning on last-minute preparations. The visit from the police, and the subsequent delay while they were questioned, had set their schedule back an hour, and now they rushed to complete everything.
“I wish some of the others would get here,” Russ complained. “Seems like we’re doing all the work.”
“Wait until tonight,” Tina said, wiping her hands on her jeans. “We’ll take a break while everyone else busts their ass. We’ve earned it.”
“Yeah.” Russ fished a crumpled pack of cigarettes out of his shirt pocket and lit up. “Still, it seems quiet today. Hard to believe tomorrow is opening night.”
“I know.”
“Wonder what happened with those kids?”
“Rhonda and Sam? They probably just skipped town. Ran away together.”
“Maybe,” Russ said. “Or maybe something else happened to them.”
“What?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. You see stuff on the news all the time. Boyfriend kills the girlfriend, buries her in the woods, and then tries to run. Like that Scott Peterson guy.”
“You think Sam killed Rhonda? I don’t know, Russ. Isn’t that a little far-fetched? I mean, sure, he had some anger issues. We saw that here, while he was working. He could be hotheaded and arrogant, and sometimes he was belligerent to Ken and Terry, but that doesn’t make him a killer. I never heard that he beat her or anything like that.”
“Yeah, but who really knows these days? Look at all those people that got murdered right here in these woods a few years ago.”
“They were a witch cult, Russ.”
“Well, still. You wait and see. I bet you she’s buried right out here in these woods.”
“Terry said that Ken saw her leave last night, you dork. They found Sam’s car in a grocery store parking lot across the river.”
“You never know, Tina.” He took a deep drag off his cigarette and smiled. “You just never know.”
“I know one thing,” Tina said. “You promised me you’d quit those things.”
“Don’t start that again. I’m going to. On New Year’s day.”
“That’s three months from now.”
“Well, I can’t just quit cold turkey. Got to wean myself off them.”
Grinning, she playfully smacked him. He reached around and tapped her ass.
“Love you,” Russ said.
“I love you, too.”
Russ and Tina had been married for twenty-eight years. Graduating the same year but from rival high schools, they’d met in Ocean City, Maryland, during Senior Weekend and had been together ever since. They’d had two wonderful children together, owned a nice home nestled deep in a secluded valley in Red Lion, and had no major debt. They stayed involved with their community. Decorated their house for Christmas and Halloween. Kept their lawn mowed. Were kind to their neighbors. Bought Girl Scout cookies every year. Life was perfect. They were happy and still in love. They shared everything.
Still, they had their ghosts, unknown to each other.
When her mother was in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease, Tina had faced a tough decision. The assisted care home her mother was in was expensive, and her mother’s money had run out. Russ and Tina didn’t have the funds to keep her there, not even with a second mortgage. Although her mother’s mind was gone, her body was still in fine shape. The doctors said she might live for several more years. Tina cried as she pressed the pillow over her mother’s face and held it there. She did it with love. When her mother was gone, she leaned over and gently kissed her cheek one last time.
Russ had a gambling addiction, bordering on obsession. There were weekend trips to Atlantic City, long hours spent at the off track betting parlor on Route 30, and many late nights spent online at various gambling sites. The problem—and his debts—both grew to enormous proportions. He’d eventually broken free, put it behind him after months of secretive counseling without Tina or his family’s knowledge. But he had to hit bottom before he got the help—bottom being burglarizing his own home and pawning Tina’s jewelry, including her great-grandmother’s diamond ring, just to satisfy his debts. He’d called the police and reported it as a break-in. Russ had watched enough cop shows to know how to make it look like a real robbery. The regional cops never suspected otherwise. But when Russ saw the pain that he’d caused his wife, and the fears he’d stoked in his family—fears that their home was no longer safe—he’d shed the habit once and for all. Sadly, shedding the guilt was much more difficult.
Hand in hand, they double-checked the cornstalks one more time.
“Perfect,” Russ said. “No way will people see behind them as they walk down through here.”
“Whose hiding place is this?”
“Doug’s. He’s going to be dressed as a werewolf. He’ll hide here and let folks walk by, unchallenged. Then, Shane’s going to be hiding a little way up the trail. Doug will creep out behind the last person in the group and follow them. Then, when Shane jumps out, Doug will scare them from the rear. It’s gonna be—”
Tina held up her hand, abruptly silencing him. Frowning, she tilted her head and listened.
“What’s wrong?” Russ asked.
“I heard something.”
“Russ? Tina? Somebody help me!”
Tina gasped. “That sounds like Rhonda!”
“Come on,” Russ urged. Still clasping her hand, he led Tina forward, off the trail and into the woods. Their quick pace turned into a run as Rhonda called out for them again. Low-hanging branches tugged at their clothes, and Russ almost tripped over a root jutting from the soil. They followed Rhonda’s shouts until they found her.
“Jesus,” Russ breathed. “She doesn’t look very good.”
Rhonda leaned against a tree. Her clothes were tattered and dirty. Her face and hands were caked with mud. Dried blood covered one cheek, directly beneath a shallow, untreated cut. The most shocking aspect of her appearance, however, was the tremendous amount of weight that she’d apparently lost in the last twelve hours. Her arms and legs were rail-thin. The flesh hung off them like sallow curtains. Her face was sunken. Much of her hair was missing, revealing raw, glistening red patches on her scalp.