I straightened to see Belle Bramble staring at me across the horse’s back.
“Boy! You sure sneaked up on me.’’
“I photograph a lot of wildlife in the woods, Mace. It’s taught me to move quietly.’’
“I spend a lot of time in the woods myself. And I’ve never heard anyone that quiet.’’
Belle’s camera dangled from a neck strap. The afternoon sun glinted off the lens. A tiny alarm pinged in my head, though I wasn’t quite sure why.
“I saw your Mama’s boyfriend dragging Trey off,’’ Belle said. “Is everything okay? Where was he taking Trey?’’
What was it with these two?
“I don’t know, Belle. Trey went kind of loco on me when I told him I wanted to talk to you. Sal came along and figured he’d take him away for a little cooling-off.’’
“Will he hurt him?’’
“No.’’ I grinned. “Sal’s not as sinister as he looks.’’
She seemed relieved, but awfully jumpy. She looked around the field like she was waiting for someone.
“What did you want to talk to me about?’’ Belle asked.
I was done treading carefully. “Why’d you lie to me about Carlos and the photos?’’
She tucked her hair behind her ears, and then rubbed her hands up and down the front of her jeans. Her eyes darted in every direction except to mine.
“Well?’’
No answer; just more fidgeting. She ran a finger under the strap of her camera, easing its weight from her neck.
It was that camera that was bothering me. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Belle. What happened to the nice leather case you had before?’’
She looked down like she’d never seen the camera before. She seemed spacey again, like she had that night we’d found her in the cypress stand. I almost felt sorry for her. Belle had issues.
“What?’’ she asked.
“Your camera case.’’ I pointed at her chest.
She took her time before answering, “I must have lost it.’’
“What’s wrong with you, Belle?’’ I could hear the exasperation in my voice. “Did Doc Abel give you some kind of drugs?’’
Her eyes jerked toward mine. “Don’t say that!’’ she nearly shouted. “Doc didn’t give me anything!’’
“Okaaaay,’’ I said slowly, wondering why she sounded so defensive.
“What about this morning then?’’ I asked. “Why’d you have me show up like a fool?’’
She bit her lip and studied the parade staging area. A CD of Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink” ended, mid-song. A truck door slammed. Aside from some whooping trick-riders at the far end of the field, nearly everyone had left for the barbecue.
I felt a prickle of nerves at the back of my neck.
“Can we go somewhere to talk, Mace? I feel awful about misleading you this morning.’’
“We can talk right here, Belle.’’
“Fine.’’ She sank, cross-legged, to the ground. “I guess this’ll have to do.’’
I looked down for a moment to check the grass for horse paddies before I sat, too. When I glanced again at Belle, her green eyes burned into mine. She wasn’t fidgeting anymore.
She held a firm grip on a .22-caliber pistol. When she fired, it sounded like the crack of a whip.
“That was to get your attention,’’ Belle said.
“You got it.’’
After shooting once in the air, she’d lowered the gun. It was now aimed directly at my gut. I swallowed a couple of times, forcing my fear back down my dry throat.
“It was you,’’ I said. “You shot Doc.’’
She nodded. Her eyes, hard as jade, showed no remorse.
“You’ve known him since you were a baby, and you left him in a pasture to bleed to death. How could you do that, Belle?’’
She shrugged one shoulder, like I’d asked why she chose scrambled eggs over fried.
The black lens of her camera was like a magnet, drawing my eyes in. Suddenly, some of the disjointed images in my head clicked into place.
“The bees were you, too, weren’t they? Mama heard leather slapping before they swarmed. You had them in your case. You must have smacked it against something to rile them up.’’
She nodded, with a crazy smile. “I used a broken bottle to scrape at Brandy’s frog. I thought the bruise would sideline your mama, and maybe the rest of you, too. But then I got lucky when Wynonna suggested she ride Shotgun instead.’’
“Because he’s terrified of bees.’’
“Right.’’ Another smile. “Beekeepers have boxes all over our orange groves. All I had to do was scoop some out and trap them in my case until the time came to make them swarm.’’
An image of Mama lying still in the dirt flashed into my head.
“You could have killed her.’’ My voice sounded small.
“I didn’t want that to happen, Mace. I like Rosalee. I just did what was necessary to get you to leave. I thought the rattlesnake would be enough, but y’all don’t scare easily.’’
All the questions I wanted to ask felt trapped in the parched gully behind my tongue.
“So now you plan to shoot me?’’ I managed to choke out.
She didn’t answer, just rested her wrist on her crossed leg, keeping the gun low and trained on me. It wasn’t big, but at this range it was deadly. “I’ll scream and yell.’’ I swallowed. “You’ll get caught.’’
She tilted her head toward the far end of the mostly empty staging area. Whistles and hollers came from the riders showing off fancy moves.
“Between that noisy bunch and this gusty wind, no one will hear you, Mace.’’
I weighed that, knowing she was probably right. I decided not to press my luck. If I made no sudden moves, maybe I could talk Belle out of whatever she had planned. Or, I might overtake her, if I got the chance.
“Was all of this to cover for killing your daddy, Belle?’’
“You’d never understand.’’
“Try me.’’ I looked deep into her eyes, trying to appeal to whatever feeling might be there. They looked empty, cold as green ice. I pushed away the thought that if Belle shot me, those might be the last eyes I’d ever see.
She gave a little sigh. “Doc betrayed me, Mace. He helped me get rid of Daddy, and then he wanted me to confess. I couldn’t do it. If I went to prison, who’d take care of our land?’’
I didn’t answer. My mind stalled on what Belle said about Doc and her daddy.
“We argued and argued about it. You heard me with Doc that night in camp, near your tent. I ran off before you could find us fighting.’’
“But what . . .’’ I started to say.
She interrupted, words rushing out like a dam had burst. “Doc kept pushing me, Mace. I had to shoot him, before he told and ruined everything. I learned something, though. It wasn’t smart to leave Doc out in the open like that.’’
“Wynonna found him.’’
She nodded. “So, this time, you and I are going to take a walk. You stick real close. Pull anything, and I’ll shoot you where you stand. You know I’ll do it, too.’’
I had no doubt she would.
“Get up.’’ She lifted the gun’s barrel, gesturing at me to rise.
“You should do like Doc said. Turn yourself in. He survived, and he’ll talk. What will Trey think of his little sister then?’’
Something flickered in her eyes.
“Trey doesn’t know, does he?’’
She shook her head. “No. But I did it for both of us. Trey couldn’t have done it. I love my brother, but he’s weak. Daddy always said so. And Trey’ll be the first to agree. Now stand up.’’