Night of Shadows by Marilyn Haddrill, Doris Holmes

Mac,"
Preston said. He looked directly at Melinda. "Roy Finch is a — friend — of
mine. That's all. He owns the Eagle Ranch, the spread next to us. Joan hardly
knew him."
    Answers. But not very satisfying
ones. By the testy silence that again fell, Melinda knew it was best not to
push her luck with more questions. After a lingering silence, both brothers
seemed relieved when she excused herself early before dessert and coffee were
served to go up to her room.
    Melinda didn't remember falling
asleep. But sometime during the night she was awakened by the muted sound of a low-flying
airplane, followed by the shrill chirping of the disturbed mockingbird.
    Puzzled, she checked the clock by
her bed. It was just after midnight. She stood, reached for Joan's robe, and
wrapped it around her. Then she stepped out onto the veranda to see if she
could catch sight of the plane. But the only movements she saw at first were
from the quivering stars and a spurt of brightness from a short-lived meteor.
    At last, she spotted the swooping
shadow of an unlit plane drifting across the sky like a sinister omen. The
noise of its sputtering engine faded into the distance, and she lost sight of
it.
    Melinda folded her arms as a
protective shield against the cool night air and stared toward the direction of
the noise. A full moon hovering on the horizon provided generous illumination.
    Then, a stealthy movement caught
her eye as a shadowy figure on horseback drifted away from the stables. The
horse and rider moved in a slow walk, passing quietly below her on a dirt path.
Then they disappeared from sight toward the right side of the house. Horse and
rider clearly were headed in the direction of the airplane noise. All at once
the engine's roar ceased.
    The plane must have landed nearby.
    The mockingbird, no longer agitated
by the burst of sound, itself became silent. The only thing Melinda could hear
now was a chorus of crickets and the yipping of a coyote far away.
    Then a sharp noise, like a boot
scuffing gravel, rang out. She thought she saw a dark figure move in the
vicinity of the corral and then duck out of sight behind a building. If so,
then the person clearly had seen her where she was standing in the full glow of
the moon.
    Shaking now with more than just the
cold, Melinda stepped back into the safety of her room and closed and carefully
locked the sliding veranda door.
    When she slipped back under the
covers, Melinda was too troubled to sleep.
     Could someone at this ranch be
involved in some type of illicit activity? But it made no sense to suspect the
McClure brothers. They were prominent, successful ranchers. What possible
motive could they have?
    Yet this night had triggered a
memory of another time and place, when she had been ill and stranded. She had
heard a plane then, too, when Mac had slipped outside and driven away.
    Melinda reluctantly admitted to
herself that the phantom horseman she had spotted tonight looked a lot like Mac.
What was he up to? And why would he feel compelled to meet the occupants of
that plane only when he was hidden by the shadows of the night?

5
     
     
    Melinda had little to do the next
morning as she awaited the Ruidoso trip the following day. In her restlessness,
she wandered the upstairs hallway with the idea of finding Harriet and
requesting some paper and pencils for sketching.
    First, she stopped at her room to change
from her robe and gown into casual clothes of Levis and a red pullover top. After
wrapping a bandanna around her long hair, she walked down the hallway and
spotted the open door to Mac's room.
    That's when she saw the painting.
    Melinda glanced around. The hallway
was empty. So she hesitantly walked inside to take a closer look at the commanding
pose of a long-legged black colt captured in the frame hung above the bed's
rumpled covers. The artist had outlined the magnificent animal against the
backdrop of a red, bleeding sunset.
    Melinda moved even closer, almost
pressing her nose