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But in the grayness of the day, Vernon suddenly reared Behind Matt, Lavinia screa to maintain her seat Matt controlled his panicked horse, then saw the dark bundle in the road ahead of hi down, his heart in his throat

It wasn’t Darcy

"Clint!" He set his fingers against his cousin’s throat There was a pulse Clint groaned, turning There was a massive lump on his temple He stared up at Matt with dazed eyes "Matt"

"What happened?"

"I don’t knoas lost Then someone hit me I saw the butt of an Enfield rifle come out of the smoke…and that was it"

"Where’s Darcy?"

"She ithher to ure out which way I was going…I’ht my whole skull was crushed"

Matt turned back to Lavinia, drawing his phone from the his torically incorrect pocket in his captain’s coat He threw the phone to her

"Get help And stay with Clint!" he told her

"Matt, you don’t understand, I need to come with you--" she said

"Get off the horse and stay with Clint!" he commanded

Lavinia hite Matt leapt back on Vernon, and kneed the horse, the feeling of urgency now tearing into him And the voice…

This way, hurry, this way, ride hard, hurry…

Carter held Darcy’s ankle and was crawling forith a deadly urgency, using her legs as a line to co to loosen his grasp

"Killingto help you!" she cried out "Don’t you see, they’ll know, they’ll all know!"

"You’re going over the bridge, Darcy You’ll have fallen Everyone knows you’re accident prone"

"No, Carter! They’ll find the bones They’ll identify the body, don’t you see, it’s over! Carter, I don’t knohat she knew, or what she saw, or what she wrote that so incensed you…but it didn’tto kill her Who was she? The woinning to swell He looked horrible Blood ood strikes

But his hands still had a strength like steel in them

"Carter! I’ve scratched you Your flesh is beneath rip on her calf, his face taut, rim and lethal line

"The skeleton in the smokehouse, Darcy? She was Susan Howell And as she writing? She was going to tell Matt that I’d been having an affair with his wife--and est that he look into sley Catherine didn’t have to die, but she had loaned ot all furious and wanted it back when I didn’t have it But they’ll never find her She’s deep in the Blue Ridge They’ll never find the others, either I never should have brought any of them to Melody House, but you see, the old man had died, Matt was busy with his work and the fact that his ht, there was no one at Melody House No one Susan had gone there because I’d taken her there before, and because she wanted to feel that she had a right to be in the house She was really not a nice person, Darcy And you know, she was buried in that smokehouse for years…years! No one would have found her But now, you have"

He got a fierce hold on her thigh She struggled to sit, nails clawing at his flesh He roared like a wounded ani on to her despite the violence of her fight, he dragged hi her

"Carter, you’re ill! You need help"

"Bull!" He went still for a h despite the circu every step of the way There’s nothing wrong with me Hell, I have a mind and a will of steel No one has ever so ainst the rail He tried to lift her but she fought too hard Still, he had sta her back Darcy could hear the water rushing over the boulders and stones below Far below

"Josh! Help ave hi around

"Who the hell is Josh?"

"A ghost"

"A ghost! You’re calling on a ghost? Shit, Darcy!" He laughed again, rip on his beard, pulling hard He reached down to his calf, pressing his body against hers so that he didn’t lose his hold A second later, he’d drawn a Bowie knife froainst her throat

"You’re going over, Darcy," he said flatly

A blade in her throat…or boulders crushing her bones Not ht hi into her flesh

"Carter!"

The harsh cry, coe, startled the Vernon to a halt right at the foot of the bridge, just feet away