Free Hatfield and McCoy by Heather Graham

and marinated artichokes and sweet-and-sour pickles.
    â€œI’m going back for an omelet and red meat later,” McCoy assured her, pulling back her chair. And at that moment, she had to smile.
    The meal progressed. Brenda Maitland’s children were charming and very well behaved. There was a closeness to their family group that she found herself enjoying.
    Maybe the Hatfields had won the feud, but it hadn’t done much for her. She was an only child, and her mom had passed away over ten years ago, her dad a year ago last spring. She did have aunts and uncles and cousins, but they had slowly moved toward the big city, Washington, D.C. She saw them as often as she could.
    But then, McCoy lived in Washington, she remembered. And he would probably be going back there. Soon.
    â€œTell us more about Tracy Nicholson,” Brenda said suddenly. “She really wasn’t much help to the police after she was found, was she?”
    Julie shrugged and glanced at Robert. “Your brother knows more about that than I do. I wasn’t there when they questioned her. Tracy had been taken to the hospital immediately, and they questioned her there. I wasn’t needed anymore, and there were plenty of people who were.”
    â€œShe didn’t see anything,” Robert said. “Nothing at all. She couldn’t even tell us what kind of car it was.”
    â€œI know,” Julie murmured.
    â€œYou know?” McCoy said.
    Julie gritted her teeth to hang on to her temper. “When we were at the house, when I was coming down the steps, I saw the ball go into the road. Then I saw the car. But it was—it was in a mist.”
    â€œHow convenient,” McCoy said dryly.
    Brenda elbowed her brother. “Did you see the man, Julie? Was it a man?”
    Julie shook her head. “Yes, I think so. I mean, I think it’s a man. But no, I didn’t see him. He must have been …” She paused, her voice breaking off. She had a sensation of …
    â€œA stocking!” she exclaimed suddenly.
    â€œWhat?” McCoy demanded.
    â€œThat was it!” She stared at him. “He scared Tracy right from the start because his face was so strange. He had a stocking pulled over his face. He wanted to make sure that she didn’t see him!”
    â€œBut she would have run right away,” Brenda protested.
    â€œNo, no,” Julie said excitedly. “She was already in the road, remember? She was smart, but she was scared. And he realized just how smart she was quickly, so he jumped out of the car to take her.”
    â€œBut what a dangerous thing to do!” Brenda exclaimed. “For the kidnapper, I mean. Anyone could have seen him. And he wouldn’t have looked normal in the least. How recklessly brazen—”
    â€œBrazen and smart, and laughing at the pack of us all the while,” McCoy muttered. “Brenda, somehow this guy walked to the cemetery, dug a hole, planted a box and then a little girl. I have no problem seeing him as brazen or reckless.”
    â€œWell, Julie has just explained to you why Tracy Nicholson can’t help you.”
    â€œWhy can’t she tell me about the car?” he demanded. He stared straight at Julie.
    â€œTracy doesn’t know cars,” Julie said softly. “And there—there was mist around it.”
    McCoy sat back. His gaze was an open challenge. “What mist? There was no fog that day. Nothing. Unless a little cloud descended right around the kidnapper’s car.”
    â€œNo, of course not—”
    â€œThen why can’t you tell me about the car?”
    Julie sighed. “I can only tell you what Tracy saw. My connection always seems to be with the victim.”
    â€œThat’s convenient, too,” McCoy commented dryly.
    â€œExcuse him for being so rude,” Brenda said with a long sigh. “He can be such a pest.”
    â€œI’ve noticed.”
    â€œMaybe he knows that,”