Free Season of Fear by Christine Bush Page A

pain.
    It was later that evening, after the children had all retired for the night, that Alex tapped softly on Robin's door. With a gray face, he brought the news that she had known would come. The beam had been sawed through—the incident had been planned in a most meticulous way. Only a stroke of fate had prevented a cold-blooded murder.
    "I think you should leave here, Robin," said Alex as he stood in the doorway, much more reserved than she had ever seen him. She longed to put her arms around his neck, to stroke his tousled hair. Instead, she stood calmly facing him.
    "I'm not one to run away from trouble, I'm not going anywhere," she heard herself telling him, and her heart soared to see relief spread across his face. Leaving now would only point another accusing finger at the man beside her in the eyes of the town.
    "There's a part of me that's glad to hear you say that, Robin. It's good to have you here. But I must admit I'm afraid it's too dangerous. I've called the police chief to report this and he's on his way. No matter what gets stirred up about the past, keeping you all safe has to come first. If you stay, we have to take precautions. I'm going to look into that. Meanwhile, please, stay close to the house and take care of yourself."
    From the window, a flash of headlights coming down the drive announced the arrival of the police chief. She followed Alex to face him, and to face the Pandora's box that had been opened at Ridley Ranch.
    Chief Douglas listened with concentration, his brow furrowed, writing occasionally into his notebook as they related the incidents that had occurred, from the barn, to the brake cable.
    "Well, we'll check these things out," the older man said with a scowl. Can't be sure what's related to what, or what is accidental. One thing's for sure, this little lady's arrival in this town has sure stirred things up. And they most probably aren't going to settle down until we get the answers to the death of your late wife, Alex. You know there's some who are never going to accept the accident theory. But talk is just talk. So I'll take this information, and we'll keep our eyes open."
    "The last thing I want to do is make the gossip worse for the kid unnecessarily. But I needed you to know. If there's a real danger.." Alex said, face drawn.
    "You did the right thing. And I'll keep it quiet as I can, as I check it out. But if this little lady is staying," he motioned to Robin, "You'd best keep a sharp eye out here."
    And then he was gone.

 
     
     
    Chapter 9

     
    Robin had made the decision to remain at the ranch, at least for a while, but she couldn't shake the apprehension that had been nagging at her about her Cousin Herman and his unexplained absence from the Chicago resort. The young girl at the switchboard patiently gave Robin the same news each day when she placed her calls to Chicago. Herman was out of town, and for some terribly strange reason, no one seemed to know where he was.
    Robin tried constantly to calm the knotted lump that had once been her stomach. And life went on at Ridley Ranch.
    Sara hobbled around on her cast, initially white, but quickly becoming flamboyantly colorful as Jacob artistically decorated it each evening as they sat around the game room. The twins and young Gregory seemed totally unbothered by the tense atmosphere that Robin felt hovering over the house. But then Alex had not told them about the findings in the barn, and they had lived with shadows for quite some time.
    Alex was not around much, in fact, almost not at all. He missed most of the family meals and rarely appeared at the house before it was time to retire each evening. His absence was a kind of relief to Robin, actually. The anxiety she felt when she was in his presence only emphasized the stress she was under with Herman's disappearance and her own involvement in the unexplained accidents at the ranch.
    There was no one she could turn to, no one to whom she could pour out the pain and fear in