Nightchild

Chapter 48

Heath Conners was about to go in search of his employer when Duke burst breathlessly into the house, crying so hard he gasped for air. Running to him, his powerful hands gripped the young man's trembling shoulders. "My God, boy, what is it?" Gulping back tears, Duke tried to speak but no words came, only a thin shaky finger pointing to the west. The older man was patient as he tried to pull the kid together. "The stable? Did something happen to one of the horses?"

The boy's head swayed back and forth. Afraid he was going to pass out, Heathe helped him into the clubroom and eased him into an armchair. Duke was not easily shook. Heathe knew that, knew that something horrible had to have happened for him to be this upset so without waiting, he rushed outside and ran headlong down the path to the stables.

As he approached, he saw that the horses had been let into the corral, except for Thunderboomer who pranced excitedly outside the open stable doors. He called to the stallion but the horse was spooked and backed off several yards, raising his magnificent head and snorting. Going after him, Heathe saw a shaft of light, gleaming through the building and realized the door at the opposite end had been carelessly left open as well. It was a wonder all the horses hadn't gotten loose, he thought angrily. Exasperated, he went into the building to slide the heavy planked door shut when an object protruding from Thunderboomer's stall caught his eye.

The gate hung ajar and Heathe hurriedly swung it out of his way to peer inside. His eyes had barely adjusted to the dim light but he could make out the nude body of Joseph Tupelo, hogtied in the shadowy corner, his hands and feet lashed together with the leather thongs of a bridle. Dead eyes stared into eternity from the head lying on the ground in one of the puddles of blood that had begun crusting on the wounds which covered him.

Slung face down next to Joey was Rene Sanders, naked, her hands tied behind her back, blood in sickening patches over her body. One leg had been strapped to a post of the stall, and it had been her protruding foot that had first caught Heathe's attention. Without warning, he tasted the salty bile that had risen in his throat and he dropped to his knees in an effort to fight back the queasiness that engulfed him.

"No, not again," he moaned over and over, his eyes stinging with bitter memories. He'd seen things like this in Nam but the horrifying images had stayed buried until now. He had prayed never to witness such atrocities again. But there he was, reliving his worst nightmares.

Casting his eyes on the ground, Heathe was suddenly aware of the blood, a path of it, as if the bodies had been dragged there from some other place. He was running tremulous fingertips across the dried trail when a groan from the stall stirred him from his stupor. Held in a moment's confusion, he hesitated then hurriedly reached out to check the pulse of the mangled woman. His fingers trembled, yet he was sure he felt a slight throbbing in her neck and turned her head to catch the light. She was ashen but her skin held none of the bluish death-tint of Joey's. The eyes were closed and restful.

"My God!" Heathe exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He ran as fast as he could to the house, throwing the door open and going to the clubroom, he grabbed the phone and dialed nine-one-one, spoke briefly with a dispatcher then flew up the winding stairs to rumble about in one of the storage closets. In seconds, he returned downstairs to the clubroom and began shoving clean blankets into Duke's numb arms. The boy sat there and looked dumbly at his load while Heath roughly hauled him to his feet.

"Come on, boy, pull yourself together! Miss Sanders is still alive," Heathe ordered, thrusting his keys in Duke's sweaty palm. "Take the Jeep. It's out front. Get her covered up. I'll follow you down as soon as I find Nate."

Duke stared at him blankly, tears welling in the hazel eyes. Heathe shook him. "Listen to me. An ambulance is on its way. You're wasting time. She's still alive! Do you understand?" The boy nodded. "Good, then hurry down there, cover Ms. Sanders but don't move her. We don't want people seeing her like that. Can you do it?" he asked with urgency.