Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Eden Moore 1)

Cursing all the way, I sat on the ground and lifted my jeans enough to see that I wasn't bleeding so badly that I should worry. I rolled my pants leg back down and felt around in the grass until I located the source of my pain.

The weeds were high outside the family plot. In the dark, there was no way I could have seen and avoided the little stone. This was another marker, a grave set beyond the elitist dead of the Dufresne clan. I held the grass away and ran my fingers over the worn carving. With a bit of patience, I made out the inscription.

UNKNOWN SEMINOLE MAN

WHO CAME TO THE HOUSE ON

OCT 22, 1906

AND ASKED FOR JOHN GRAY

GOD HELP HIM

WE COULD NOT

Bizarre. Just bizarre.

I got to my feet and dusted myself off, then limped to my car.

Down at Tatie's, much havoc had broken loose. The unmarked cars had emerged from their hiding places, interior blue lights raging. I drove by without stopping to see if they'd caught Malachi. If they hadn't yet, I was pretty sure they would get him before long. I squeezed forth a few drops of pity for the lad and went back out to the main road.

He was my brother, after all.

Eliza had told me everything she was going to for now—not that I could expect to get any more out of her while her nephew was busy getting rearrested under her roof. For lack of any better ideas, I returned to the hotel to pack up my things.

Dave was waiting for me in the lobby.

"Lu's worried sick about you. She called me in Atlanta and told me to come and get you. " His hands were folded in his lap, an overnight bag beside him, bulging with his camera equipment. A Styrofoam cup of brew, still mostly full, steamed on the coffee table before him. He hadn't been waiting long.

"How'd you find me?"

"Called around. It's not like you were using an alias or anything, and you've got that Visa card on my account. "

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. "

I sat down next to him on the white plush couch. "Next time I should come incognito, eh?"

"Wouldn't have done you any good to hide. I can't come home without you. Lu'd kill me first. I wasn't too worried for you until I started watching TV a few minutes ago. Check that out. " He pointed at the screen that the night clerk was listlessly paying half attention to.

I looked in order to humor him. I could have guessed what it was without seeing the rolling captions.

A police helicopter was combing the ground with a spotlight, circling and scanning the area around Eliza's homestead. If they were still looking that hard, he must not be in custody. "They haven't caught him yet?"

"No. But they know he's there. They'll get him. "

"Yeah. " I should have hit him on the head when I had the chance. Lounging there next to Dave, I suddenly couldn't remember why I hadn't done so.

My uncle didn't take his eyes away from the television, so I didn't either. "Did you find your way out there? Well, I guess you must h

ave—since you recognized the place on TV. "

"Yeah. I found it. "

"How? Lu didn't point you there, did she?"

I shook my head. "Good God, no. I did it the old-fashioned way, with a phone book. "

"Learn anything good?"