question them, but all that’s going to do is tip them off. And if there hasn’t been a crime committed... well, not much more I can do ‘cept keep my eye on ’em.”
Doug leaned back in his oak swivel chair. He looked at Lockey and gave the child a big grin. “Lockey, darling, why don’t you go see if Acomb is at the front desk. I bet he’d find a nice snack for you. You appear to me to be a mite hungry.”
Lockey looked at her mother.
Honor nodded her consent.
When the girl was gone, Doug leaned forward, elbows resting on his desk, his face lined with concern. “Tell you what, we’ll come and watch the Retreat. You head home and tell those two when you see ‘em that something’s wrong with their rooms and they’ll have to find other ‘comodations. I don’t like you girls staying out there alone with a couple of hoodlums.” He leaned back in his chair once more.
“When they pack up and leave your place, I’ll take them to the station here and question them, check out their identification. That’s the best I can do until something’s been done wrong.”
Honor wondered if her blood pressure would ever be the same. “You’ll have a car outside while I tell them?”
“Yes, ma‘am. I’ll go with Acomb myself.”
“I’ll drop Lockey off with a friend first. Just in case there’s anything ugly. May I use your phone?”
Doug shoved it to her side of the desk. “I don’t think there’ll be any trouble. The child could just be imagining things. Or these guys might really know Griffin and want to rob the house, but until they do, there’s no crime, and hell, they might just move on once they know we got an eye on ‘em.”
Honor nodded, but still the sick feeling wouldn’t leave her stomach.
“Doug, Lockey did get Mr. Griffin’s name right. I don’t think she’s making up stories. And...and... well, I can’t help but think someone should warn Mr. Griffin that someone wants to rob him and Blackbird Hall.”
“Hell the guy ain’t even there yet.” He grunted. “But hey, I’ll go talk to the workmen, see if they can get a message to him.”
“Thanks,” she said as she dialed, relieved that she wouldn’t have to warn her neighbor of the would-be thieves. After all, if she and Mark met during his stay in Natchez, they were going to have enough to talk about.
“Vergie says they already checked out. They’re gone,” Honor said to Doug as she stood in the Retreat’s drive. The traffic on the dead-end road had diminished to one solitary van, and even those workmen were packing it up.
“I sent Acomb to talk to someone at the Hall. I don’t think Griffin’s arrived yet, but we’ll get the word to him eventually.” Doug sat in his squad car, putting down notes on his clipboard.
Honor sighed. “I wonder if maybe Lockey tipped them off somehow.”
Doug patted her arm. “Sometimes crooks just chicken out, darlin‘. If they’re gone, then I say good riddance. Go get your little girl back and have a peaceful night’s sleep.”
Sergeant Acomb, tall and gangly, walked up from the road after talking to the workmen. He nodded to the sheriff and slid into the passenger seat of the car.
“We’ve done all we could. You want me to send Acomb, here, over for night patrol? Don’t mind, if that’d set your mind at ease.” Doug looked at her questioningly.
Honor shrugged. Everything seemed like a nonevent now. Just an hour ago her life appeared to be careening back into Mark Griffin’s. Now, when Mark was finally going to arrive at the Hall, there would be no reason for them to see each other. Because she sure as hell wouldn’t seek him out. She’d tried for that whole first year to reach him in the corporate maze of Griffin Industries, but no matter how many phone calls she’d made to Zurich, no matter how many letters she’d sent, he’d never called back, never gotten in touch with her. By now he probably didn’t even remember her.
A strange knot of tears formed in her throat.
Quickly she said to Doug, “No, you guys go home to your families. This is over with. Thank heavens.” She waved them on, then disappeared into the house to get her car keys, so she could go pick up Lockey.
“G‘night, Mommy.”
“Good night, love,” Honor said, tucking Lockey into her bed.
“I’m glad those guys left.” Lockey peeked at her from beneath the pile of homemade quilts that had been sewn by Shaw women throughout the years.
Honor released a deep dramatic breath. “So am I!” she exclaimed, kissing Lockey on the nose.
“Mommy, remember when I told you they were using scary words?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I remember now why they scared me.”
“You do? What did they say?” Honor leaned down closer to her daughter for comfort.
“They said they were here to kill Mr. Griffin, not to rob him.”
Honor knew her face had frozen into a false mask of calm. “That’s terrible, honey. Is that really what they said?” Her mind raced, checklisting and crossing off dangers. Another bout of horror and panic threatened her, but she fought it back.
“Uh-huh.” Lockey stared at her. “They were just going to take his stuff because they figured nobody else would want it after Mr. Griffin was dead.”
“How awful.” Honor wondered if she were fooling her daughter or not with her false bravado.
“They scared me, Mommy. They’re going to bring a tiger here, and they said maybe the tiger would get him, too.”
“They won’t bring any tigers here, Lockey. Now I don’t want you to have nightmares. Those bad men will never come back here. I’ll make sure of that. And Doug will make sure of it, too.” Honor hugged her as if nothing could ever part them. “I promise you, they’ll never come back here.”
She finished tucking in her daughter, her mind racing all the while.
“It’s over now, honey, so go to sleep. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” She kissed Lockey again, more for herself than for her daughter’s sake, and closed Lockey’s door.
After racing silently down the back stairs to the kitchen, Honor picked up the phone and called the sheriff at home.
“Doug, I just talked to Lockey, and she said that not only were those guys talking about robbing the Hall, they were talking about their real reason for being here—to kill Mark Griffin.”
“To kill him? Not in my county, they won’t,” Doug said angrily. He’d obviously been in the middle of dinner. Honor could hear him swallow.
“What should you do? Go over there?” she asked.
“First I’ll call Griffin Enterprises again and give them this news. But I’ll
