"The birds living on this property are particularly vicious," Jonas observed dryly. "This isn't the first time someone's had a problem with them."
"He shot at us," Levi continued, ignoring the comment. "I can show you where one of the bullets hit."
"Just once? One shot?" Jonas asked.
Levi shook his head. "Three at Vincent. Two at me. Five all together. His gun's over there."
"I'll need to swab your hands for residue. You know the drill. I've got the GSR kit in the car. Let's get it done and then I'll talk to Vincent."
"Shariton has a camera with a lot of pictures of Judith on it," Lev added.
The expression on Jonas's face changed. He walked with Lev to the car, pulling out his kit. "My partner will swab Shariton's hand and get his story."
While he was talking, he was looking Stefan over. Stefan was very grateful he'd taken after his mother in coloring. While he had his father's height and bulk, a fighter's solid muscular build, his eyes and hair color differed significantly from Lev's. The sheriff's eyes were just a little too sharp.
He seemed satisfied with the results of his test and removed Levi's cuffs. "Wait over there while I talk with your friend here."
He opened the door, allowing Stefan to step outside the vehicle. Pushing down the need to remove the cuffs, Stefan complied, breathing in the night air.
"Your name?"
"Thomas Vincent."
"Tell me what happened here."
"It all happened fast. I was visiting with Judith Henderson and when I went to leave, I ran into Levi Hammond there. He lives on the farm and is married to one of Judith's sisters. We got to talking and he was showing me a little of property, just walking really while we talked, and there was a man in a grove of trees just above Judith's house."
"Who spotted him?"
Stefan frowned and shook his head. "I don't honestly remember. We were talking and then a bird called out loud, and he screamed. Maybe that's what drew our attention. In any case, Levi shouted something, and the guy took off running. We separated, trying to come at him from two positions and he shot at me."
"How many times did he fire his gun?"
"Three times. Well, at me. He shot at Levi a couple more times."
"You've got a few splinters in your face."
"It happened so fast," Thomas reiterated. "I didn't have time to think. I just reacted. I tackled him when he was shooting at Levi. I thought he was going to kill me."
"Not the smartest thing in the world, tackling a man with a gun," Jonas observed. "You're lucky he didn't kill you. I need to check your hands for gun residue."
Jonas unlocked the handcuffs. Stefan noticed his eyes never shifted away. The sheriff was ready for anything. He dutifully held out his hands for the swab.
Aleksandr Volstov approached, using a small hand gesture to summon his partner for a conference. "His name's Mike Shariton. He lives in Point Arena. I read him his rights. He tested positive for gun residue. He said he gets paid for taking pictures of Judith and has for the last five years. This is only the second time he went over the fence and onto the property. He admits to shooting at both men. In fact, he didn't hold anything back."
Jonas cast a suspicious glance back at Lev. "He confessed to shooting at them?"
"The way he tells it, he was scared and trying to just frighten them enough to back off."
"He's stalking Judith."
"He claims he gets paid to take the photographs for someone else. He was contacted and offered money to do the job and the pay is good and comes immediately when he sends the pictures over the Internet."
Distaste crossed Jonas's face. Stefan could see the idea of anyone stalking a woman and sending her pictures over the Internet bothered the sheriff on a very personal level.
"The pictures are sent to a guard at a prison in France. That guard delivers them to Jean-Claude La Roux." Volstov said the name expectantly.
"That name mean something to you, Aleksandr?" Jonas asked with a small frown.
"He was convicted of running guns some five years ago, but was suspected of everything from espionage to murder. Anyone in his way disappeared. Twice, Interpol agents investigating him disappeared, but no one could connect him."
Jonas shook his head. "I'll finish up here and talk to Judith. See if she knows this man or if she has any idea why a criminal in France would want her photograph. Take Shariton to the hospital and get him help for that wrist. Book him on felony assault with deadly a weapon and felony negligent discharge of a firearm. We can add anything else we need to later."
It took what seemed like forever to answer all the questions and recover two of the five bullets fired. One was in a tree trunk, the second in the branch of the same tree. The others were impossible to recover, although Jonas made a thorough inspection of the area. He interrogated them again, both separately and together, dropping seemingly inane questions into the conversation designed, Stefan knew, to trip either of them up. He had interrogated more people than he'd ever want to admit to and knew the tactics.
Stefan just wanted everyone gone. He had no problem maintaining his role as American businessman Thomas Vincent, but all the same, he was happy enough that the sharp-eyed Volstov had left before he could inspect Stefan too closely.
Aleksandr Volstov had quite the reputation as a police detective and Interpol agent. What was the man doing in Sea Haven? Had he been friends with Ilya? There would be no talking with Judith tonight, not with the sheriff heading to her house to interview her.
What would she tell him about her relationship with Thomas Vincent? Any way he looked at it, she wasn't going to welcome him with open arms again. He was going to have to crawl back and find a loophole or two to get her to even listen to him.
13
JEAN-CLAUDE La Roux.
Judith stood at the door watching Jonas walk back to his squad car, her entire body numb, the color draining from her face. For the longest time her mind refused to work. She just stared out into the night, shocked, guilt-ridden and afraid. She'd put everyone she loved in danger. Jean-Claude was capable of anything.
She had never really been rid of him, not when he haunted her every night, invading dreams to turn them into nightmares. She would never truly be rid of him, but to know he was keeping tabs on her . . . paying someone to send him pictures for the last five years was truly frightening.
And Thomas. What about Thomas? She was crazy about him. It had happened too fast. Burned too hot. Of course it wasn't real. And if it was real, if there was a good explanation for everything, she couldn't risk him. She wouldn't risk him.
She couldn't risk her sisters either. Jean-Claude had ordered the torture and murder of more men than just her brother and he was certainly capable of striking at Judith through her sisters. What was he planning? What did he want? She would have to leave. What else could she do? Her mind refused to answer questions, just ran everything together until nothing at all made sense to her.
A sob welled up and she pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from crying.
"Judith?"
Blythe's voice effectively shredded any control she might have had. Judith flung herself into Blythe's arms almost before her sister managed to reach the top of the stairs. Blythe caught her, steadied them both and just held her while she sobbed. Judith had no idea how long she cried, but when she looked up, she was surrounded by her sisters--all of them. Her heart expanded, landed in her throat and she cried more.
Blythe smoothed her long hair, murmuring soothing noises. "We'll deal with it, honey. We will. All of us together."
"How did you know?" Judith managed to get ahold of herself long enough to lift her head and looked at them, her eyes still swimming with tears.
"Rikki called us. Levi told her about the pictures and Jean-Claude. Of course we would come," Blythe said. "Airiana is going to make some tea for us and Lexi brought a few things for a late night snack. We're going to need energy to figure this out."
Blythe sounded like,
well, Blythe. She was always practical, the mother of all of them, big sister, the boss without being bossy. Blythe always made everyone feel better just by her steady presence alone. Or maybe it was her touch. Judith already felt a little lighter, the waterworks slowing enough to allow her some semblance of control.
Blythe caught Judith's arm and firmly led her back into the house. The others filed in after her, with Lissa dead-bolting the door and setting the alarm system.
Judith looked around her at the circle of women. These were the people she could count on, the ones that always--always--stood for her. They weren't sisters by blood, but her heart had chosen them and they were every bit as close as a blood relative. These women had saved her life, had supported her when she was at rock bottom with nowhere to go. They'd made her believe in herself again and now, once again, when her world was crashing down around her, here they were, standing with her.
Judith took a deep breath and let it out, watching as Lexi began taking candles from her bag and placing them around the room. Following Lexi, Lissa blew on wicks, and flames sprang to life, dancing merrily, the healing aroma filling the room.
Water filled the kettle at Rikki's command and Airiana set the kettle on the stove where Lissa had the flames already burning.
"You're such a show-off," Airiana teased her.
It was a show of power for Judith, the women coming together bound to the elements, bound together by the love they shared.
Judith's heart eased, the terrible ache threatening to crush her lessening. She let Blythe lead her to a chair and she sank into the soft cushions.
"Jonas put Levi in handcuffs," Rikki announced.
There was a collective gasp.
"Levi let him?" Lissa asked.
"Yes." Rikki sounded proud, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice. She took the chair closest to the door. She always had to fight her reluctance to sit in a house with all the doors closed, filled with those she loved.
"How come he isn't here with us?" Judith asked. "He's usually glued to your side."
"Well . . ." Rikki's mischievous grin lit her eyes. "I told him no."
That brought another collective gasp, more astonished this time, and then the women burst into laughter--even Judith. The thought of Rikki telling Levi no, when he was so protective and male, had them all howling.
Judith wiped the last of her tears away. "How did he take that?"
"Not very well actually," Rikki admitted. "He's prowling around your house like a wounded hound dog, but this is women power. He can be all macho and sulk outside."
Another round of laugher restored Judith's natural balance. She sent her sisters a loving smile. "Thanks. I'm better now. At least I can think. I panicked when I heard his name. I barely heard anything Jonas said after he told me where the pictures were going."
"I was afraid, when I first got the message, that maybe this man had installed a camera in your bedroom and you were the latest sensation on the Internet," Airiana said. "It's crazy that anyone can do that kind of thing now."
"No, not the Internet, but I'm the poster girl for the prisoners in France," Judith said, with a small, broken smile.
"Just for the one man, I hope," Blythe said. "I doubt if he's sharing your picture."
Judith swept a hand through her hair, shoving it from her face in a quick, restless gesture. "I don't understand why he's keeping track of me. Five years, Jonas said. I've never heard of Mike Shariton. He evidently lives in Point Arena, and he's made quite a good living sending photographs of me--and my work--to Jean-Claude."
Airiana turned from where she was pouring tea, leaning one hip against the kitchen sink. "Shariton? That's an unusual name. I remember it. He came in and bought one of your scopes. I think it was a sea-scope, the one with the waves and shells and interchangeable cells. He was in about a month ago."
"Great, he can play with it in jail," Judith said.
"At least you made money off of him," Lexi pointed out with a quick grin, settling onto the floor across from Judith's chair. "That's something."
"I suppose I should be happy about it," Judith said. "Seriously, maybe it will help him figure out what he was doing was wrong."
"Airiana, I take milk in my tea," Lexi said.
"I don't," Rikki said hastily.
Airiana rolled her eyes. "You two always say the exact same thing. You've been saying it for five years. I think I've got it by now."
Teacups floated from the sink to the living room, one after the other, a parade of them, making their way into the hands of each of the women.
"Talk about showing off," Lissa said.
"I'm practicing," Airiana defended. "Did you notice I was a little weak holding back the wind in the redwoods while I was attempting to keep a lighter touch over the vegetable garden. I still haven't gotten divisions down very well. I felt so much power tonight when Judith wove us all together and the wind was a little harder to control."
Rikki nodded. "I'm getting used to it. But your strength really increased tonight, Judith, which is a good thing, but when I pulled water from the clouds, the water in the ground wanted to respond as well. I had to work a little harder on control."
"I didn't realize I was boosting everyone so much," Judith said, a touch of alarm in her voice. "I guess I let myself go a little more tonight than usual without realizing it."
"A little more?" Lissa asked. "You're always so contained and under control, but tonight you felt different. Although, yes, it was harder to control the power at first, it was awesome. Does that mean you can amplify our abilities even more?"
Judith felt the weight of all of her sister's stares. The rule was they didn't lie to one another. Sins of omission might be okay, but outright lies were not okay ever between them. She hesitated. Inhaled. Exhaled. "Yes."
"Wow," Airiana said, slipping onto the floor beside Lexi. "Just wow, Judith."
"I imagine it must be very difficult for you to control all that power at times, Judith," Blythe said, getting straight to the heart of the matter.
Judith nodded. "Until Levi pointed out that each of us was bound to an element, I didn't even realize there was something useful and good I could use all that power for. I've suppressed it the best I could. By weaving it with yours, I feel good about it for the first time. I've been doing it all along, since we moved here, but not consciously, not using spirit to bind all the elements into one tapestry to work for us improving the farm. Before, when I could feel the water, or the wind, I just tweaked them a little, the same with the soil calling to me."
"It's easier to understand after Levi explained why I needed to have my hands in the soil," Lexi agreed. "And how we were all intertwined. Don't you think it's strange that we all have an element we're bound to, basically a tremendous gift, yet we all suffered some terrible violent, tragedy in our lives? Do you think there's a correlation?"
There was a small silence while they thought it over. As usual it was Blythe who tackled the big questions. "There's a balance in everything, we all know that. Good and bad. Happiness and heartbreak. You never have one without the other. All of you carry a great gift, very powerful, and the balance of that might be difficult. Whatever the reason, this is our here and now. Nothing has changed that. We all agreed we wouldn't live in the what-ifs. We have our lives and we all made a vow we'd live as best we can. Jean-Claude rearing his ugly head hasn't changed that. It will serve to unite us and make us stronger. Not knowing what he wants, but knowing he's looking over Judith's shoulder, gives us the opportunity to explore the talents we have and how we can better use and control them. His presence in our sister's life will only make us stronger."
"He's very dangerous," Judith pointed out. "You know what he did to my brother. And Paul wasn't the only one. It's very possible he'll attempt to strike at me through one of you."
"No one ran away when I brought danger here," Rikki said staunchly. "And no one's going to now. If that man is planning something--anything at all--you're not alone, and he's goin
g to get the surprise of his life."
"My brother was strong," Judith said softly. Her heart clamped down hard, a vise grip of pain at the thought of what he'd gone through because of her.
"That's true," Blythe said. "But this is different, Judith. You're not a young girl anymore. We've all gone through the fire in our own way and its honed us, made us stronger, and we're together now. I believe that together, there is no possible way for this man to harm us. You have to believe that too."
"Levi is helping all of us with security and personal self-defense," Lissa said, "but we can be a little more proactive in that department as well as working on our ability to control our elements. Practicing a craft always perfects it and I know we've just started tapping into our strengths together as a unit."
The women nodded.
"What made you release so much energy tonight, Judith ?" Blythe asked.
"Not only was it powerful," Airiana said, "but happy. You felt happy to me."
"Me too," Lissa agreed. "Real happiness."
Judith took a sip of tea, allowing its familiar soothing properties to help calm her suddenly pounding heart. "Thomas. Thomas Vincent. That's why."
Her sisters exchanged long, shocked looks.
Again it was Blythe who took the bull by the proverbial horns. "You might elaborate on that just a little, Judith."
Judith put down her teacup, to keep from betraying that her hands were shaking. "I thought a lot about this. When I'm with Thomas, I feel alive, truly alive--my spirit does. It's hard to explain, but I'm not afraid of that power inside of me. I feel as if--" She broke off, took a breath and tried again. "When I'm with him, I feel as if I'm totally free to be me, yet safe at the same time--that everyone around me will be safe as well."
Her eyes met Blythe's. "I know it makes no sense. When I'm not with him I tell myself all the things I'm certain you'll tell me. It's too fast. Physical attraction isn't something to rely on, but all that goes out the window when I'm with him. He just . . . makes me happy--with who I am. I'm not afraid and I don't have to hide from him. Even the worst in me, I think he can handle."
Blythe looked at Rikki. "What does Levi say?"
Rikki shook her head. "Levi hasn't said much because I didn't give him the chance. I knew Judith needed us and that took precedent."