Mary Alford

Chapter One

 

The rain that had followed her from Louisville came down harder as she reached the Appalachians. The mountains have a way of attracting weather. Today was no different. Dark gray storm clouds gathered atop Darlan Mountain, obscuring it from view, spreading spindly fingers of fog throughout the valley below.

Still, even in the growing darkness, the beauty of the mountains drew Jamie Hendricks in, filled with memories that were mostly good…until that horrible day. In spite of everything she’d done to deny it, this was home.

Yet nothing about this trip was the heartwarming homecoming she’d longed for throughout the past ten years.

I know who killed Charles Dalton…

Her uncle’s chilling words were her constant companion. She wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for Uncle Paxton’s call.

As soon as Jamie reached the city limit’s sign for Darlan, Kentucky, she grabbed her cell phone. Once more, she tried to reach her uncle like she had periodically since leaving Louisville. The lack of service surrounding the mountains did little to reassure and her uneasiness grew. Their last conversation dominated her thoughts as did the fear she’d heard in his voice.

“Where are you, Paxton?” Frustrated, Jamie tossed the cell phone on the seat beside her.

As she drove down Main Street, the ugliness of the last year she’d spent here was everywhere around her. From Givens Grocery, where she’d first heard the whispers about her father’s guilt from patrons of the store, to the cold stares she’d received from her classmates at Darlan High School at the end of the road. Her father was convicted even before a jury of his peers passed judgment.

Losing her mother to cancer at five had been difficult, but watching her father being hauled away to prison for something he didn’t do was devastating. As an only child, Jamie and her father had become inseparable after her mother’s death. Back then, she couldn’t imagine her life without him in it. 

It took everything inside Jamie not to turn the car around, ignore Paxton’s concerns, and head back to Louisville where she’d tried to keep the past buried for so long.  

Help me, Lord. I have to stay strong for Paxton.

Even though she was exhausted beyond belief Jamie didn’t make a single stop in town. Paxton needed her. She headed toward the county road that would lead up the mountainside to her family home where he was waiting for her.

A part of her prayed Paxton had finally found the evidence needed to clear her father’s name, while the other part knew that no matter what, the damage was written in stone. Her father’s conviction had destroyed so many lives, his included. It had been the death knell for her and Gavin’s future.

As she headed up Darlan Mountain, the rain seemed determined to play its part in the story of her return, just as it had the day long ago when she’d left town for good. Back then, it had been as if the skies themselves were weeping right along with Jamie.

Jamie switched the wipers on high as the downpour made it difficult to see. Fog descending from the mountaintop took away the rest of her visibility. It was as if she were driving blindfolded.

Growing up, there had been half a dozen families living up on the mountain. With the decline of coal mining in the county in recent times that number shrank to only two.   

Forced to slow the car’s speed to a snail’s crawl, Jamie passed the last house up the mountain before her family’s home.

Don’t look, her heart urged, yet Jamie couldn’t help it. The Dalton home was dark save a single light that appeared to be coming from the kitchen. Gavin was home. His reasons for returning to Darlan far worse than hers. He’d come back to bury his Grandmother Ava.

When Paxton had first told Jamie about Ava’s passing, she wanted to come home for the funeral, yet her last conversation with Gavin stood in the way. Ten years might have passed, but she hadn’t been able to get those ugly parting words out of her head. She’d pleaded her father’s innocence. Gavin hadn’t believed her. Her seventeen-year-old heart had broken into a thousand pieces. In her heart, Jamie believed Gavin would not welcome her presence at Ava’s funeral.

Edging around the side of the mountain past the Dalton place, Jamie focused her entire attention on the limited view before her. Gavin was her past. She was here for her uncle.

Jamie barely cleared the curve when a set of headlights came from seemingly nowhere, taking her by surprise and temporarily blinding her. Up until now, she hadn’t seen a single soul since she’d reached Darlan.

Squinting at the rearview mirror, the lights continued to grow bigger. The driver appeared to be speeding up in spite of the road conditions. What was he thinking going so fast around such a dangerous corner?

Beyond the Dalton place, her family home was the only other home up on the mountain, and yet the vehicle continued to come on strong.

By now, the driver should have seen her and slowed down…or maybe they had seen her.

I know who killed Charles Dalton…Paxton’s final words inserted themselves into her thoughts unwelcome.

From the driver’s side mirror, she was able to make out what appeared to be a monstrous SUV mirroring her every move. It wasn’t Paxton’s vehicle. He drove a truck. Someone was following her.

Jamie reached for her cell phone again. Even though the service was nonexistent, she still wasn’t sure whom she planned to call. Paxton wasn’t picking up, and the text message he’d sent soon after their final conversation warned her not to trust anyone from the sheriff’s department.

Fear slithered into the pit of her stomach. She was on her own.  

The vehicle quickly closed the minuscule space between them to within a few feet of her car, the lights turned on bright. The driver was deliberately trying to intimidate her.

Jamie struggled to shut down the panic. If she wanted to survive, she’d have to figure a way out of this.   

Uncle Paxton’s worried declaration continued to niggle at her thoughts. “I’m in real trouble, Jamie. I know who killed Charles Dalton and because of it, they’re coming after me!”  

What had her uncle uncovered that had sent him into such a panic and how was it connected to the person tailing her now?

Jamie moved as close to the edge of the road as safely possible hoping she’d misunderstood the driver’s intent and the vehicle would try to pass. It continued to be right on her bumper. She increased her speed. The SUV did the same. This was no misunderstanding.

If what Paxton said were true, she couldn’t lead them up to the house. His life would be in danger.

Red Plume lane was just up ahead. If she could make it there, she could turn around and head down the mountain. Hopefully get away before the driver tried something deadly. She didn’t dare take Red Plume as it dead-ended not too far past the intersection.

Jamie’s hands tightened on the wheel. She spotted the road up on her left.

Please, Lord, help me…

It was now or never. With all her strength, Jamie whipped the steering wheel to her left and spun the car around, sliding on the wet road and almost losing control.

Somehow, she managed to keep the car from slipping off the road. Once it was straightened out, Jamie floored the gas and glanced in her rearview mirror. She caught a glimpse of the vehicle turning around. The SUV was coming after her still. The driver hadn’t bought her diversion.    

The vehicle’s powerful engine raced closer. There was only one option left. If she could reach Gavin’s house, she knew no matter what their past might be he would help her.   

Jamie watched in horror as the vehicle lurched forward, its headlights growing huge before it rammed into the back of her car throwing her forward.

She clutched the wheel tight to keep the car from veering off the road. Her heart flew to her throat. The driver was deliberately trying to run her off the road.

Even with the gas pedal on the floor, her car was no match for the powerful SUV. Before her brain had time to process what to do next, the vehicle smashed into her again. This time harder than before. Her head slammed against the steering wheel. For a second, Jamie thought she would black out.

Her car swerved to the left and spun around. She fought to keep it on the road, but her efforts were futile as the plunged nose first into the rain filled ditch and the world around her blurred.

While Jamie held onto consciousness by a thread, she was vaguely aware of the SUV rolling to a stop beside her. The driver’s door opened and then she saw a man in khaki pants heading her way.

With her heart pouring adrenalin through her body, Jamie squeezed her eyes closed. If she pretended to be unconscious, maybe he wouldn’t hurt her.

The man stopped next to her and opened the door. He leaned down. She could feel him studying her and was terrified he’d finish what he started and kill her right then and there.

“She’s out cold. Check the back. Maybe she has some of it with her.” He hit the trunk button and Jamie could hear it opening.

“There’s nothing here,” a second man said, then closed the trunk with a slam. “Doesn’t look like he was ever with her. He’s still out there somewhere. We’d better find him and the stuff before they arrive.”

The man hovering over her still hadn’t moved. Was he debating on whether or not to kill her?

“Let her be. We don’t need the hassle of getting rid of another body. She didn’t see anything and we need to get out of here. There’s a house down the mountain. They could have heard the noise.”

After what felt like a lifetime, the man near her finally spoke. “Yeah, well, I hope you’re right about that because I know her.”

It took everything inside of Jamie not to react to those terrifying words. She had thought she’d recognized the man’s voice. He had pretty much confirmed her right.  

Keeping as still as her heart would allow, the man finally moved away. With her eyes shut tight, she heard the SUV turn around and head up the mountain. They were going to her house!

We don’t need the hassle of getting rid of another body. They’d killed someone else. Her thoughts went to Gavin’s father. Were these the men responsible for killing Charles? If so, then they were coming after Paxton.

Even with the noise of the engine fading in the distance, Jamie was terrified to move. It was the thought of what would happen when those two came back and decided to finish the job that finally forced her into action. She had to get out of here. Had to find Paxton.    

Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her head ached. The world around her spun and her stomach threatened to heave. Squeezing her eyes closed, she waited until everything stopped spinning. 

Smoke billowed from the wasted engine of her car. She was stranded out here on this secluded stretch of road and she had no idea when her attackers might return.

Struggling to free herself from the seatbelt, blood oozed from an inch long gash on her forehead. Her body ached from the jarring impact of the vehicle slamming into her.

Once she’d freed herself from the seatbelt, Jamie grabbed her cell phone and scrambled out of the car. She fought to keep from passing out as she waded through the almost knee deep water in the ditch up to the road.

The isolation of the area was far worse than she remembered. Her home was still a good five miles up. With the vehicle out of commission, there was only one option left. She’d have to walk out.

The no service indicator on her phone did little to ease her mind. Without knowing what those men would do to her when they came back down the mountain, she couldn’t risk keeping to the road. She had to stay out of sight.

While she thought about her best route to stay hidden, another set of headlights rounded the bend in the road some distance down from her. Someone else was coming!

Jamie’s heart slammed against her chest. She searched the surrounding darkness for someplace to hide. The mountainside was covered in trees. She raced across the road and into the woods there.  

The vehicle continued to advance at a much slower pace than the one following her. As she watched, a beat up truck came to a stop behind her car. She couldn’t see who was driving and until she knew who it was, she wasn’t about to come out of hiding.  

It took a second for Jamie to regain her bearings. As a child, she’d played in these woods and knew them all by heart. As much as the idea of going to Gavin for help didn’t appeal to her, there was no doubt that she needed it. Those men had been looking for Paxton and something else. He’d told her he’d be waiting for her at the house. If those men found him there, she couldn’t imagine what they’d do to him.