Free Bring Back Her Body by Stuart Brock Page A

alone, is that it?”
    “Yes. I guess I made it worse than it was because of that.”
    Cain said, “I’m not sure you made it out worse, Honor. Just because Paula hasn’t really disappeared doesn’t mean everything is all right, you know.”
    “I know, Cain. Because something is making her hide. Something besides her fear of Daddy.”
    “That’s true, then, what you said about her being afraid to come home?”
    “Yes.”
    Cain thought about it. He didn’t want to worry Honor unduly but neither did he want her to think everything was taken care of. He said, “Munger shows too much interest for everything to be all right, Honor. If you get a chance to talk to Paula again, try and find out if it’s he she’s worried about.”
    Honor got up and went to her runabout. “I do want to help, Cain. I’ll do all I can.”
    “Keep your eye on your telescope then.” He watched her putt out of sight around the point. He was still standing, looking at the spot where he had last seen her when a sound like an owl with bronchitis turned him.
    In a moment Lisa came on deck. “Well, Romeo?”
    “I got the information,” Cain told her. He gave her the gist of what Honor had told him. He did not describe the method he had used to get it. When he was done, Lisa did not comment. Instead, she headed for the galley.
    “What now?”
    “If you’re going back to Toby’s madhouse,” she said, “we’ll need some warm food inside us.”
    “Am I going to Toby’s? I’d thought of starting from Munger’s this time and working in another direction.”
    She shrugged. “I guess my evening gown can take one more outing. But you’ll need food anyway.”
    “I couldn’t eat his,” Cain agreed. “It’s liable to be seasoned with strychnine.”
    “You poor idiot,” Lisa said. “But I know better than to argue with you.” She went off to the galley and Cain set a table on the deck. She didn’t argue with him but she did talk and by the time they were through eating, she had made out a better case for going to the farm than to Munger’s.
    Cain grinned ruefully. “You win. And maybe you’re right. I would like a better look at that wax image of Paula. And I’d like to know the reason for it. It was too much work for just a party gag. But that doesn’t mean you have to get tangled up any more than you are.”
    She mimicked Honor’s piping voice. “Do you think I want to lose you now, Cain?”

CHAPTER EIGHT
    FOR
the second time in as many nights Cain found himself on the Peninsula. Only this time he took his car via the ferry. From the highway, Lisa directed him along the narrow black-top road that twisted around and ended in front of the farm. From there they went on rough gravel through a thin grove of timber. Cain cut the motor and coasted down a slight slope to the garage beside the house. There was only one light showing from an upstairs window.
    Cain sat quietly with his hands on the wheel studying the big, sprawled place. It was a two-story house with a one-story wing off the rear. The night was clear with a fairish moon shining whitely down on the buildings, giving them a softened look. The one light was all Cain could see.
    “The caretakers live in that wing?”
    “Yes, when they’re home.” Lisa pointed to the lighted window. “That looks like the bath between the two bedrooms.”
    “Two?”
    She smiled. “It isn’t as big as you think. There are just two bedrooms upstairs. Toby has one and the other is huge and full of bunks. He likes his guests to be uncomfortable and embarrassed when they stay with him.”
    “Damn Toby,” he said. “I wish I’d hit him harder.”
    “You may get a chance to hit him again,” she said. “Shall we go see?”
    They went together to the porch and Cain pressed the doorbell. There was a chime from inside but no answering footsteps. He listened a moment and pressed the bell again. He thought he caught a faint sound but nothing came of it. There was only