Kim, flattened against the cave wall, gave a quick look at Leah.
“But my wife,” John continued, “disappointed me. Now your lover—oh yes, I know about him—lies dead at our house. What a tragedy everything will seem when the town hears how Justin was killed and two women died all in one night. I’ll be the bereaved husband.”
“Help me gather rocks,” Leah whispered. “Let’s make a pile of all we can find. Maybe we can hold him off for a while.”
Obediently Kim began to pile rocks near the entrance.
“He can’t come in by the side, only from the front. We’ll have a clear view of him. If he shoots, fall flat to the floor. Understand?” Leah commanded.
Kim nodded.
With a smile on his face and a pistol in each hand, John stood before the cave entrance, his body outlined in the moonlight.
“Now!” Leah ordered as he took a step forward.
The women began throwing rocks with both hands.
Stunned, John ducked, grunting as stones hit him. When he fired, both women flattened themselves on the ground, bullets whizzing overhead, yet they never stopped throwing their rocks.
Kimberly sent one with force, hitting John on the side of his head, blood running immediately.
Almost staggering, he backed away from the entrance and quickly scrambled out of sight. “So, you bitches think you’re smart, do you? Let’s see how long you can last in there with no food or water. When you’re ready to give up and die a quick death, let me know. I’ll be here waiting.”
Kim sat up behind what was left of the pile of rocks. “We’re going to die, aren’t we?”
“Of course not!” Leah snapped. “Kim, you have to have courage.”
“Courage?” Kim said despondently. “Leah, I have no idea where you’ve gotten the idea that I want to be anything but a coward. Your bravery gets you in all sorts of trouble while my cowardice keeps me safely at home.”
“Safely at home married to a murderer and thief,” Leah pointed out. “You let yourself be blackmailed into that marriage, too, because you were afraid of being found out that you’d tried to kill me. And if you weren’t so sneaky you’d never have found out about that hidden closet of your husband’s and if you’d never found that out we’d not be here now. And furthermore—.”
“Leah, I really think you’ve made your point. Perhaps we both should change. When Justin and I get married, we’ll—.”
“Justin,” Leah said, putting her hand on Kim’s arm, “is dead.”
“No he’s not,” Kim said with simple conviction. “I’d know if he were dead. He may have looked as if he were dead but he wasn’t.”
There was something in her tone that made Leah believe her. “Kim,” she said softly, “what John doesn’t know is that we left the note for Wesley. And if Justin is still alive that makes a witness. Even if John kills us he won’t get away with his murders.”
“Let’s tell John,” Kim said, rising. “He’ll have to let us go now.”
Leah pulled Kim back down. “I’m sure your honorable husband will smile and let us go and everything will be solved. Maybe he’ll even shake hands with us.”
“You’re right. John has a dreadful temper,” Kim said glumly. “He’s already killed lots of people, so maybe he’ll kill us just to keep in practice. Leah, what in the world are we going to do?”
Leah stood and walked to the far wall of the cave. There was water trickling down. Wesley, she thought. What would Wesley want her to do? She remembered all the times Wesley had said she just ran off and did things rather than asking for help. At least this time she’d thought of asking for help from Bud and Cal, but when they weren’t available she’d just gone ahead, dragging Kim behind her, and tried to rescue Justin and capture a murderer all by herself. And now, because of her vanity in thinking she could do everything alone, both she and Kim might die.
“What would Wesley want me to do?” she whispered.
“Wait for him,” Kim answered. “He wanted you to wait for him at the farm until he returned from Lexington, but since you wouldn’t, I guess waiting in this cave is the next best thing. Could we please just stay here and not do one single brave thing, Leah? Please?”
“But what if—,” Leah began but stopped. “We have water but no food and it’s going to get awfully cold in here.”
“I think graves are probably colder,” Kim said. “Leah, someone’s bound to find the note I left and when Justin wakes up he can tell them John is a murderer. Someone will come after us.”
“But even if Justin is alive it could be weeks before he can speak. He looked badly wounded to me.”
It was at that moment that a rock came sailing into the cave.