Chapter Seventeen. I'm going to look by the lake," I said quickly

I'm going to look by the lake," I said quickly.

"We'll check the front," Mac said and then was gone.

Charlie and I split up and I went down the path that led to the lake. The moonlight easily led my way and, when I got to the lake, I heard Maggie and Allison talking. I stood still and could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

"Why don't you listen to your aunt, Mags? She knows what she's talking about, and you know it, too. All this happened right after she came here. She knocked you off your horse for Christ's sake. How do you know she hasn't been doing these things all along? Did you see an intruder? No. Did Hannah? No. Now, miraculously she finds your mother's jewelry. C'mon Mags, use your head. You don't even know her or where she comes from, or who she knows."

As I listened, I had to admit it was a compelling scenario. Looking at it objectively, I could see where someone would believe her.

"Allison, I care a great deal for you, but unfortunately you're a liar. You've lied to me continuously for the past two years and I don't trust you. You lied to me about Charlie, Allison."

"You're making a big mistake, Mags," she said angrily. "Okay, I admit about Charlie, but this is different. I believe your aunt."

"I'm sorry you do. This discussion is over, Al," Maggie said, ending the conversation.

"No, it's not. I can't let you be taken in like this!" Allison said. It sounded threatening to me.

"Don't Allison, don't make it worse."

As I walked down the path, they came into view. Allison was close to Maggie and I wondered how I'd get in between them.

"There you are. Hannah's looking for you, Maggie," I said as I walked toward them.

Allison held her ground, not letting Maggie by.

This could get nasty. It's been a while since I've been in a good cat fight.

"I might as well let you know, I don't trust you, Miss Ryan. I think you are a big part of the problem. You may have turned Maggie's head, but I know what you're doing," Allison said with an air of confidence.

"Well, thank you for letting me know," I said evenly then looked at Maggie. "Ready?"

Unfortunately, Allison was not.

"You think you're smart, don't you? You don't know the situation as well as you think you do," Allison said, angrily.

"That's possible," I agreed simply, looking right at her.

"And you certainly don't know Mags as well as you think."

"Oh, now that's quite possible," I agreed emphatically on that point and sported a wide grin. That did it.

Allison was fuming as she stormed passed Maggie. We watched her make an angry retreat.

"What does Aunt Hannah want?" Maggie asked as she started to walk away.

I grabbed her arm to stop her. "Hannah doesn't need you," I said, heatedly. I was angry because she'd scared the daylights out of me. "What's the big idea of coming out here alone in the woods with that woman?"

"What in the world...?"

"After telling me that none of us were to go anywhere alone anymore, you go off with her and don't tell anyone." I was steaming and my heart was pounding.

Mac, Teri and Charlie had come down the path. I barely knew they were there.

I continued angrily, "Are you crazy? Do you want to get killed?"

"Look, don't yell at me. It would have seemed pretty unusual if I didn't go with her."

"Did you have to go into the woods, for Christ's sake? Don't ever do that again," I said vehemently. "I can't figure this out and watch out for you, too."

"Well, who the hell asked you to watch out for me? I can take care of myself," she said.

"Oh, really, is this how you show it? Going into the woods, with her? Crap!"

"Stop yelling, the whole town will hear you, for God's sake!" She put her hand to her forehead and sat on the bench.

I turned to see the three others standing there gaping at us.

"I found her," I declared sarcastically and started back to the house. Teri stopped me.

"Kate, go back there. You can't leave her sitting on a bench."

"Watch me," I said childishly.

"Katie..."

I looked at Mac; he gave me that disapproving look I just loved to ignore. I took a deep breath and Charlie put his hands on my shoulders.

"We'll meet you back at the house," he said, turning me around and giving me a gentle push.

Dammit, she was crying. I put my hands in my pockets and stood next to her, my detached loop screaming for me. I coughed nervously and she sat up and dried her eyes.

"Boy, that hanky is getting a workout," I said stupidly. What an idiot. I cleared my throat and cautiously sat next to her. "Look, I was scared when we couldn't find you. I thought all sorts of horrible things. I-I'm sorry I yelled at you. You just scared the bejesus out of me," I said truthfully and continued, "and, after this weekend, I'm not sure how much bejesus I have left."

She sniffed and dried her eyes. "I'm sorry too. You were right. I made a point of telling you not to go anywhere alone and then I did it." She put her head back and stared at the sky.

We said nothing while watching the moon. It was gorgeous...full and yellow...a beautiful harvest moon.

"Handsome moon," I offered.

"Yes it is," she said with a quiet sigh. "When will this be over?"

"Soon, Maggie, I promise."

"I believe you. You have a way about you, Miss Ryan, that's very reassuring," she said and sniffed again.

She then cautiously reached out her hand. Instinctively, I took the small, cold hand in mine.

"You have warm hands," she whispered.

I swallowed hard as I stared at our laced fingers but said nothing.

"Thank you, Kate. I'm not sure I could do this alone."

I gave her hand a reassuring pat. "I'm glad to do it, Miss Winfield. Now, let's get you back."

For a moment, I could hear my heart pounding as we sat there in the moonlight, in a somewhat tender moment. I tried to remember what that was like.

I stood and promptly tripped on a boulder and smacked my knee on the corner of the bench. I grunted in embarrassment more than pain. Geez, I just wanna go home.

"Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," I said, through clenched teeth. "Go ahead, laugh. I can almost hear the peal of laughter."

"Good grief, you are accident prone," she said, as I limped back.

"Kate, Steve is getting ready to go. Where are the bags of evidence?" Tom asked.

I heard the worried tone in Tom's voice as I looked over at the desk. "We were in the library, and we left the room. Don't tell me they're not there?" I ran to the library.

We searched the room. They were missing.

"Dammit!" I bellowed.

"Okay, hang on. Maybe Doc or Hannah took them," Tom said, firmly.

No such luck; they were missing.

I ran my fingers through my hair. I was upset with myself to say the least. I had been so careful up until now. Dammit.

Steve put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over this, we'll find them. Let's split up and search the house room by room."

We split up into twos. Maggie and I took the library and den. Mac and Teri helped Hannah with the rooms upstairs. Tom and Steve checked the yard and Sarah and Doc took the cellar. Charlie and his date took the kitchen and living room. This was one time I was grateful for so many people.

It took the better part of an hour and we found nothing. The evidence was gone. We all sat in the kitchen. Hannah put on a huge pot of coffee while we sat in disgusted silence.

"It's my fault," Steve said. "I had them in my hand and put them back on the desk. I went to see Mom. We talked for a while then, when I went back, they were gone."

"It's no one's fault," I said, then a thought occurred to me. "But it does add a new wrinkle."

I could tell by the look on Tom's face, he knew what I meant.

"What? What new wrinkle?" Hannah asked.

"Whoever took the evidence obviously didn't want any testing done on it," Tom said looking around the room. There was an unbelievably heavy silence.

What I was about to say was unnerving, to say the least. "Hannah, one of your guests this evening was a murderer."

An eerie silence blanketed the room as we all looked at one another. Then, Shirley, her eyes wide with terror, leaned into Charlie.

"Why would a sweet lady like your aunt invite a murderer to her party?" She was completely serious.

Once again, we all looked at one another.

Charlie stared at her, with his mouth wide open. He then shook his head. "I don't know, darling. We're an eccentric family," he offered affectionately and kissed her forehead.

"Oh."

The only sound that could be heard was the snapping of her gum.