Authors: Sandra Leesmith
“I want you, Autumn.” Pain knifed through his heart, but love demanded honesty. “I can’t live in both worlds again. You have to understand.”
Wrapped up in the turmoil of his emotions, he almost didn’t hear the whispered shout. Another voice growled, and its authoritarian ring cut through him. He sat still and listened.
A footstep sounded nearby. He couldn’t see. He pulled Autumn down beside him. His body tensed for action and his heart raced. “Don’t move or we’ll shoot,” as raspy voice growled from the direction of the kiva.
He recognized that voice. It belonged to one of the killers—the scar-faced man. An alarming cackle came from the left of him. His partner, Jess surmised. A flow of animal fury surged through him. How dare these scum threaten Autumn? The flare of anger helped stem his fear for Autumn’s safety.
“Put your hands up in the air and come on out here, real slow.”
“Get the light out of our eyes, then. We can’t see.” He could barely control the sound of fury in his voice. These men would be foolish not to watch him. Perhaps he could create a distraction. Would Autumn catch on?
He pretended to slip. Autumn slid with him in a mad scramble. A silenced bullet thudded into the sand at his feet, its impact spraying the small granules into his flesh. Autumn jerked her legs under her and stood in a flash with arms upraised.
“Try that again and the next bullet will be in your head.”
The man meant it. Jess eyed the gun with wary respect. Its barrel jutted from the shadows. Silencers! No one would hear the shots fired from these guns.
Clothing rustled as one of the men stepped closer—the scar-faced man. He appeared more menacing in the shadowy light. The odor of nervous sweat drifted by. Anxiety sounded in the high pitch of his voice.
“About time you broke it up.” He leered at Jess while he trailed the tip of his gun down Autumn’s cheek. It took enormous effort not to reach for the cold metal, but he managed. If he reacted, Autumn would be shot.
The scar-faced man reached with his other hand and grabbed the collar of her shirt. Jess saw her automatic reflex to strike, but the barrel of the gun pressed into her cheek. With a flick of his arm, the thug ripped open her blue chambray shirt. Autumn sucked in her breath as night air hit her exposed skin.
Blind fury raged within Jess. He started toward Autumn until he felt the cold metal of the blonde man’s gun press into his back. He remained still, but he did not take his eyes off Autumn.
“Let’s get a look at what you got.” He held open the shirt flap so Jess could see, too. Her abdomen flinched as the nugget bounced against her taut flesh. Jess’s glance flew to her eyes. She stared at him, silently begging him to stay in control. He would—but only if they didn’t hurt her. He returned the stare, trying to transfer his strength to her.
“Quit playing around and get it over with. We’ve got work to do,” the man’s partner finally spoke from the shadows.
“No. I want to enjoy watching these two croak.” He waved the gun in Autumn’s face. “You’ve gotten out of this once. This time we’ll do it right.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Jess growled between clenched teeth. “We’ve got this place surrounded.”
“Didn’t have much trouble getting in,” the scar faced man leered.
Enrique was out there. Sick dread washed through Jess as he watched the man’s swagger. “Did you kill the men?”
The man’s loathsome grin not only confirmed Jess’s suspicion, it served to sharpen his senses. The minute the man’s attention slipped, he would attack. He kept on talking to them—determined to undermine their confidence.
“We’ve also arrested your inside man…”
“Inside man?” the blonde gunman interrupted with a sneer. “We work on our own.”
“You had help from somebody.” Jess kept control and persisted. “You had to get info from an inside source.”
The scar-faced man moved away from Autumn, his scuffed-up boots shuffling in the sand. Jess almost sagged with relief, but he couldn’t afford the luxury. The man waved the gun in his face now and sneered. “You must mean the
boss man
.”
Jess shrugged. “He’s in Winslow now, being questioned by the sheriff.
“Ha,” the gunman laughed, a hollow, ugly sound.
“Didn’t you hear the chopper lift off?” Autumn asked. “We caught him red-handed, tampering with the kiva.”
For a brief second, they were silent. The two men stared at each other. Jess sensed their doubt more than saw it on their faces. But instead of backing off, the scar-faced man pointed the gun back at Autumn.
He jabbed her with the blunt end of the silencer and snarled in anger. “You’re a lying sack of…”
Jess took a step toward her assailant. The man spun on his heel and backed up. An ugly laugh escaped his curled lips. “You think you can trip me up. I’m no fool.”
“Kill ’em,” the blonde man urged.
“Naw. Maybe we’ll wait till the boss man shows up. Then he can watch ’em die.”
Autumn’s heart slowed its wild thumping. She had thought for sure Jess would get shot that time. She even began to feel hopeful. It would be a long time before Wayne could put in an appearance—time that would give her and Jess a chance to escape. She risked taking her eyes off the gunman to glance at Jess. Messages flashed between them. The scar-faced man saw them and became wary.
“I ain’t taking no chances with you two. Move it now—over to the kiva.”
Autumn waited while Jess moved and then followed as they made their way to the kiva. Once there, the blonde started giving orders.
“Lie down—face in the dirt where you belong.”
For a moment she balked. She glanced at Jess. He glared at her, his eyes demanding she follow directions. She closed her lids and shut out the messages.
Urges tore through her to fight this out. Her nerves screamed for release while her muscles tensed for action. Suddenly the scar-faced man swung around and shoved her to the ground. The breath was knocked out of her as she landed with a thud.
In a flash of movement, she rolled over to see the blonde standing over her, death in his eyes. Her reaction was swift and immediate.
“
Autumn! Don’t!
” Jess’s voice penetrated her concentration.
She ignored it and braced her body. She kicked out and scissor-gripped the blonde’s legs. He was too fast for her attack and launched his own.
Stunned, Autumn lay on her back. The pressure of a heavy boot weighed on the bare flesh of her abdomen. She shook her head to clear it and tried to focus her vision. Shapes blurred in and out as sand ground through the mass of her hair and into her scalp. She concentrated on the pain. It cleared the fuzziness.
She stared skyward and finally saw who had hit her. Her opponent stood over her with a leer of satisfaction and gloating.
“I know those tricks,” he sneered at her. “The army trained us to kill.”
“You’re no soldier,” she spoke after spitting sand out of her mouth. “You’re a murderer—scum.”
His boot sank deeper into her belly. Pain tore through her bare midsection as she fought for breath.
Jess shouted a warning.
She shifted her gaze from the loathsome figure above her and stared at Jess. The barrel of another gun poked deep in his back as the scar-faced man waved the flashlight about. She saw Jess’s eyes in the instant of illumination. The look in them ordered her to back off. She resisted the command. She wouldn’t give in and let these men kill her. Nor would they hurt Jess.
Before she could react, the gun was jammed farther into Jess’s back. “Lie down,” he was told between obscene curses.
Jess stretched out beside her, never taking his eyes from her. He willed her to follow suit and obey as he did. She couldn’t still the defiance and rebellion. Her eyes glittered with her refusal to give up.
“That’s more like it,” the scar-faced man smirked. “Look at ’em—groveling in the sand.” He nudged Autumn with a rough kick. “You gonna beg for mercy?”
She glared at her assailant and curled her fingers in the sand to prevent herself from reaching up to strangle him.
Vile laughter echoed in the surrounding silence as the blonde man finally lifted his foot and backed away. She watched him closely. Both men stared at them, the guns still pointed at their heads.
“What’s he paying you for doing this?” Jess asked, evidently deciding that a little talk might buy them more time.
“Plenty.”
“Your share isn’t worth a murder rap.”
“We got more than that from the old boy,” the blonde man bragged. “Don’t worry about us. We made sure we got ours.”
Warning bells rang.
Old boy?
Wayne was too young to be called an old boy. Did they mean his father? She took a chance and turned her head to glance at Jess. She read the same question in his eyes.
Autumn’s gaze shifted back to the two men. The blonde sat down on a rock, draped his arm across his knee, and pointed the gun in their direction.
“Sit down.” He gestured to his partner. “Might as well be comfortable while we wait.”
“Yeah,” the scar-faced man agreed. Before he sat, he came to stand over Jess. “One more and I blow your brains out.”
Autumn knew she had to get out of this. She must think of a way.
Her fingers curled into the sand and an idea formed. “Did you hear a coyote?”
Jess shifted his head to see her. The two men straightened.
“No.”
“Shut up.”
“Must be too early,” she said in a clear voice. “There aren’t any stars out yet.”
She sifted sand through her fingers until she found the larger stones. Did Jess understand her message? She closed her eyes and willed mental images to form.
“They’ll come out later,” Jess spoke with the same controlled air that she had.
Her heart raced. He understood. The faint sound of sand being displaced reached her ears. Jess searched for stones in the coarse sand as she had. Good. She’d give him a few minutes to find the larger rocks and then she’d attack.
Suddenly a twig snapped several feet behind her. She tensed and noticed the murderers did also. Now was their chance.
“Wait,” Jess whispered in harsh command.
She paused to look at him. He rolled his eyes toward the approaching figure and willed her to hold off. The man was walking into a trap. She started to shout a warning, but another voice rendered her speechless.
“What’s going on here? What are you doing?”
Dismayed, Autumn realized it was too late to warn him. Dr. Davidson had walked right into the line of fire. Two silenced guns pointed at his stooped figure while the breeze tossed strands of his hair about his surprised face.
She didn’t dare risk an attack with Dr. Davidson here. He might get caught in the cross fire. She looked at Jess and saw the same thoughts in his expression. Then the scar-faced man spoke, and Autumn stared with disbelief.
“Boss man. It’s about time you showed up.”
CHAPTER 20
In a trance, Autumn watched the guns lower. Smiles formed on the faces of her enemies. Dr. Davidson? Boss man? Her mind scrambled to comprehend. Her body tensed as cold awareness washed over her.
Impossible. Dr. Davidson could not be the instigator of this nightmare. He had too much to lose.
Anger overwhelmed her and she threw sand into the faces of the two gunmen. Bullets thudded. She rolled toward the men and came to her feet in one smooth motion.
A part of her brain registered the fact that Jess acted with her, but no feelings of camaraderie interrupted her flow of action. There wasn’t time for fear. She moved like a machine with precision slices to the vital parts of the scar-faced man.
Knuckles cracked on impact with flesh and Autumn knew Jess had attacked the other man. In a matter of seconds the two murderers were in the sand where Autumn and Jess had been. They lay there, unconscious and immobile, no longer a threat.
Autumn straightened to find herself looking down the barrel of an automatic pistol. She stretched out her arms to caution Jess to their new danger. He paused beside her.
“Why did you do this, Professor? What’s this all about?” Her voice quavered with dismay while she fought for breath. She unconsciously retied the loose ends of her blouse.
“It doesn’t matter. It’ll be over soon.”
“No. It’s just begun,” Jess said, his voice calm and sure. “Killing us won’t help you now.”
Autumn glanced at him for a second and sensed the assured confidence he exuded. Puzzled, she returned her gaze to the professor.
Dr. Davidson turned threatening blue eyes on her. “I’m sorry, girl. Truly, I didn’t want you harmed.” She could barely see his sinister smile in the faint glow from the flashlight. “But now—you understand—I have to do this.”
“No, I don’t understand.” Autumn struggled with the harsh reality. “It doesn’t make sense for you to destroy your discovery. How can you justify the loss to your field? At least tell me that before you murder us.”
He laughed, the sound more like a grunt. His voice was gravelly with emotion when he spoke.
“I had to. They were going to fire me. Can you imagine? Fire a man with my fame?”
“Who? The university?” She tried to make sense of his words. How could these events prevent the university from firing him?
“I hadn’t published anything, you see. I hadn’t…” He paused as his thoughts seemed to turn inward. Then he gave himself an irritated shake and continued. “I was up for tenure, and they told me they were going to replace me unless I made a major contribution. No more resting on past laurels. Who the hell did they think they were talking to?”
“So you set this whole thing up,” Jess inserted, his voice calm and reflective in the darkness.
Autumn swung her gaze to Jess. She impatiently brushed strands of hair from her face. It couldn’t be possible. Was Jess saying this whole discovery was a giant hoax?
“I’ve been planning this for years. Do you realize how difficult it is to carve solid rock? That took up the most time. Figuring out the details was the fun part.”
“The tablets weren’t real?
You
made them?” Her jaw tightened with understanding making it difficult to speak.
“Yes. I carved them myself.” Pride sounded in his voice.
Autumn’s stomach churned. The professor had blown up the ruins. “Carbon dating would show they were forgeries. That’s why you buried them under tons of rock.”
“But you have the photographs,” Jess continued. “They were enough, along with the testimony of the witnesses, to give your story credibility.”
“They won’t uncover the truth in my lifetime.” A smile crept across Dr. Davidson’s features. It appeared sinister and evil. He gestured toward the kiva. “With that and the money from the artifacts I have left, I’ll enjoy my fame and security at the university.”
“Are the artifacts a hoax also?”
“No. I got them off the black market. I’d planned to have them stolen—you know, make it look like the Indians got indignant about me having them. The flash flood was unexpected, but served the same purpose.”
“Where are the artifacts?” Jess asked. “Did your cohorts here take them?”
“No. They moved ’em. I know where they are. It will be a simple matter to resell them and gain back some of the capital outlay.”
“You painted the kiva, too, didn’t you?” Autumn exclaimed. “That’s what Wayne was trying to show me. He was scraping off paint samples for evidence.”
Dr. Davidson shrugged. “That was his misfortune. If he’d kept his nose out of this, he wouldn’t be in the bind he’s in.”
She stared at the man she thought she knew. True, the university system was cutthroat and competitive. It had shocked her to see the cruel things people had said and done to their colleagues. It had killed her desire to become part of the system. Yet this elaborate hoax…
“How did these men fit in?” Jess asked as he steadily shifted closer to Autumn.
“They were into drugs. Unfortunately, I had to work with them. I needed money to finance my project.” Dr. Davidson snorted. “I thought I was done with these two jerks, but I needed their help to get rid of the kiva before anyone else noticed the paint job.”
“You’re rid of them now,” Jess muttered, but the professor paid no attention.
“Sorry about Ross.” Dr. Davidson directed the apology to Autumn. “I didn’t want anyone hurt, but he died protecting you. I’ll give you that before I send you to join him.”
He waved his gun, but Autumn barely noticed. The reminder of Arlo’s death and the shock hit her. Jess stepped to her side, but she barely noticed.
“Don’t move.” Dr. Davidson waved his pistol. Jess stilled. Autumn remained where she was, stunned. The professor’s harsh laughter bit into her consciousness. He gestured toward the two on the ground. “They’ve served their purpose. Now I’m going to have to kill you—all of you.”
Her head came up and her glance locked with his. “You lied to me. All these months, you pretended to be searching.”
“Everything was set up before you arrived. I hired you to give credence to my claim. You would verify the long, grueling hours of searching.” He waved the gun. “The university doesn’t give a damn about fieldwork. All they want is published material that makes them look good.”
Jess interrupted his tirade. “You also figured Autumn and Wayne would be the fall guys if something went wrong.” For the first time since the professor had arrived, she heard a trace of anger in Jess’s tone.
“That crossed my mind,” Dr. Davidson agreed.
Jess started to take a step, but Autumn grabbed his arm. His muscles were rigid, but after he took a breath, they relaxed. Realizing he’d regained control, she eased her hold.
Dr. Davidson waved the gun and told Jess to toss the two murderers into the kiva.
“What do you plan to do with them?” Jess eyed the professor closely as he moved to follow the instructions.
“I’m blowing up the kiva, with you four in it. No one will be able to contradict my claims.” He’d slipped beyond reason. Autumn wondered if the pressure of the last few days had made him crack. Surely he was insane.
Jess motioned with a toss of his head for Autumn to help him. She rose and grabbed the legs of the nearest man. The limp body was heavy and awkward to lift, but they managed to stumble across the uneven ground to the opening of the kiva. Jess hoisted the man by the shoulders and lowered him into the dark hole. They returned for his partner.
Autumn’s effort was automatic. Her mind still churned with turmoil. She grappled with the legs of the scar-faced man, but her heart pounded with betrayed outrage. She was past the point of fear for her own life.
They lowered the man below and then paused at the entrance, still kneeling and puffing to catch their breath. Autumn gathered her inner strength and shifted her feet beneath her. She must attack this madman.
A hand pressed on her shoulder and she couldn’t move. “Stay still,” Jess whispered as he pushed on her quivering flesh.
She jerked her arm out of his reach and stood. The professor stepped forward and aimed his gun. Autumn paid the deadly chunk of metal no mind. Red fury blinded her vision to the danger. Her only thought was to get to the professor and stop this insanity.
Suddenly lights lit up the wash. At the same instant, they heard the click of metal as hammers cocked on a ring of rifles. Autumn stood stock still. Jess and Dr. Davidson froze. A portable loudspeaker jarred their senses as a voice cut through the night.
“Put down your gun, Professor. You’re surrounded.” The sheriff’s men stood in a circle, ready and alert for the professor’s next move.
Autumn worried that he might try to shoot his way to freedom through the band of men. She held her breath.
Silence roared in the dark canyon.
The professor moved and in an instant, Jess shoved Autumn to the ground. A gun fired, its echo reverberating against the canyon walls. Jess tumbled to the ground and landed beside Autumn.
Autumn struggled to roll Jess over to see if he was shot. Her heart pounded with desperate fear. “
Jess
,” she shouted as she eased beside him and framed his face between her palms.
His eyes opened and gleamed in the faint light. He was alive.
“Step over to the rock and place your hands on its surface.” The sheriff’s order to the professor stilled her movements.
She shifted her head to peer over Jess’s broad shoulder. The professor stood in slumped defeat, the pistol at his feet in the dust.
Autumn sat upright. It took several seconds for her confusion to clear. When it did, she realized the professor had not fired the shot—it had come from the ledge. One of the deputies must have shot a warning bullet over Dr. Davidson’s head to make him drop the gun.
Relief washed through her—and joy. Jess was all right. She glanced down at him where he lay on his back, staring upward.
“It’s over,” she whispered.
He pointed to the sky. She followed his gaze and saw the millions of stars twinkling in the night. The star-studded sky stretched beyond the dark and sinister cliffs. She understood what he wanted her to see. The immensity of infinity made the two of them seem small and insignificant. It helped to lighten the horror of the last few minutes.
She was vaguely aware of the sounds of booted feet as the sheriff’s posse scrambled toward the professor. No wonder Jess had been confident these last few seconds. He’d known the men where there. She closed her eyes to block out the reality as long as she could.
When she opened her eyes, the sheriff stood at their feet. The protective shell cracked the sound of his hearty voice. “You two gonna spend the night here?”
Jess sat upright and placed his arm around her. “They said they killed Valdez and the other men posted on watch…”
“We know.” The sheriff returned to his serious demeanor. “Valdez is alive.”
She shared Jess’s relief at the news.
“He’s hurt, but not badly. They just knocked him out.”
“The other two?”
The sheriff shook his head and Autumn realized there was no need to comment. Three lives had been lost.
“How’d you know what was going down?” Jess asked as he struggled to his feet and then turned to help Autumn.
“Valdez managed to hit the warning device we rigged up. When we left camp we heard their voices over here.”
“Glad you did,” Autumn said as she steadied herself on her feet.
Cold air chilled her skin. It was then that she realized how damp she’d been with nerves and exertion. Her knees trembled but she managed to appear calm and collected. Only the whiteness of her knuckles as she gripped her nugget gave away her delayed reaction.
“You were right last night,” the sheriff was saying when she finally could focus on his words. “How’d you figure it was Davidson?”
Jess shifted and she noticed the breeze lift a strand of chestnut hair across his forehead. “I had no idea until he found Carson in the kiva. I had the strange feeling he wanted to shoot the kid.”
“He did,” Autumn agreed. “But I thought it was because he was upset about Wayne destroying the painting.”
Jess buttoned and tucked in his shirt. “If we hadn’t shown up, Carson would be dead, and you, too, Autumn.”
“More than likely,” the sheriff agreed. “The kid did make sense with his claims of checking up on the paint samples. I didn’t think Davidson would make a move that soon, especially with all my men about.”
“I don’t think he planned to,” Jess explained. “His men showed up. I don’t think they realized how bad their timing was.”
Autumn shook her head in disgust at her lack of insight. Jess saw the movement and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “You were too close to him to see it.”
“I still can’t believe he went to such extremes for a position at the university,” she told the men.
“Most professors don’t get so extreme about tenure.”
“Maybe it was his former fame,” Autumn mused. “It must have torn at his ego to be treated like that when he’d been so prominent years ago.”