It was a bluff, only a bluff, and it might have fal en humiliatingly flat, but it didn’t. Fear flared briefly in Pierce’s eyes fol owed by a murderous rage. The coffee cup was abandoned, and suddenly his hand was on Sean’s neck, grasping and pushing him at the same time. Sean pushed back, harder, and then Pierce was stumbling backward, but his hand was moving in the direction of his holster. At that moment Sam Fitzhugh came out of the cabin at a near run. He put his body in between Pierce and Sean and tried his best to bundle Sean away from the cabin.
“Jesus. What are you doing? What are you doing here?” he said, with a fearful look over his shoulder at Pierce. Half-pushing, halfpul ing, he moved Sean down the porch steps and away from the cabin and Sean al owed it as pain flared again in his ribs.
“Hannah sent me,” Sean said.
“Oh my God,” Sam said. “You have to go. You have to go right now.” He tried to push Sean toward his car but this time Sean planted his feet firmly.
“No,” he said.
Sam looked at him with an expression that was almost comical in its shock and fear. “You have to go. You don’t know . . . he’s dangerous. It’s not safe.”
Sean laughed. He was stil riding that high. “What’s he going to do, Sam? Kil me in broad daylight with your entire family here to witness it?” They turned at the same time to look back toward the cabin. Pierce was standing on the porch, staring at them, holding his body in a way that suggested he might take a run at them at any moment. And Sam’s grandparents were both there, standing in silent condemnation. Oh shit. Was that Sam’s sister? A smal figure had emerged from the cabin. She had curly dark hair and a frightened little face. She grabbed at her grandmother’s hand and the old woman turned and ushered the little girl back into the house, closing the door firmly behind them. Sudden fear gave a lurch at the base of Sean’s stomach, momentarily breaking through his hysteria. It occurred to him that he might very wel die here, if Pierce chose to take out his gun. And maybe, just maybe the Fitzhughs would stand back and watch it happen.
“I’m not leaving without you, Sam,” Sean said. “Not if you told the truth when you spoke to Hannah. We need you.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Sam said. “You weren’t supposed to just come here, right out in the open.”
“But that’s just it,” Sean said. “It al has to be in the open.
Everything has to be exposed and seen and everyone has to know, otherwise how wil things ever get better?”
Sam wasn’t listening. He was very afraid. Sean could see it in his eyes and his own fear grew. What did Sam know about Pierce that he didn’t? But he couldn’t go. Couldn’t force himself to get in the car and retreat.
“Sam, Pierce knows who real y kil ed your mother. He’s always known.”
Sam’s eyes flew back to Sean’s and locked on.
“It was Derek Rawlings. His brotherin-law. Pierce set Dandridge up to protect Rawlings.”
Sam aged right before him. The fear in his eyes fel away and was replaced by . . . something. Sadness. Disgust. Regret. Suddenly there was nothing boylike about him at al . “How do you know?” he asked.
“Hannah figured it out,” he said. She had. My God, she had. And al by herself. “We haven’t proved it, not yet, but I believe it.”
Sam nodded slowly. Out of the corner of his eye Sean saw movement on the cabin porch. Pierce wasn’t going to al ow them any more time.
“We have to go, Sam. We have to go now.”
“Okay,” Sam said.
“Real y?”
And Sam nodded.
“Just start walking, slowly,” Sean said. “Act like you’re walking me to the car to get rid of me.” The walk was only thirty feet or so, but it felt like it took an hour. As soon as they turned away Sean felt an itch between his shoulder blades, had to fight the urge to look back. But they made it to the car and Sam climbed into the passenger seat and Sean had the car started and moving before anyone on the porch could react. They lost sight of the cabin almost immediately and Sean drove too fast down the track, the little car bouncing and jolting. Sam braced himself against the door but didn’t suggest that they slow down. When they reached the end of the drive and turned left down the narrow, winding road that would take them off the mountain, Sean and Sam let out a simultaneous, audible sigh of relief, looked at each other, and suddenly they were laughing.
“Oh my God,” Sam said. “I’m sorry. None of this is funny, but I was so scared.”