Heather Graham - The Night Is Forever

There he was, Marcus Danby, dead in the ravine.

His eyes were open and he stared up at heaven. His limbs were twisted at odd angles, making him look like an image created by a mad artist.

Marcus! Olivia Gordon cried his name as she dismounted and swiftly scampered down the rocks to his side. Like an idiot, she hunkered down by him, touching him, speaking, praying that somehow he was still alive as he lay there.

But, of course, he wasnt. She studied his faceweathered, worn, beautiful with characterand silent tears slid down her cheeks.

Marcus, she whispered, closing his eyes. Maybe it was the wrong thing to domaybe the medical examiner needed to see him exactly as hed been found. But she wasnt leaving him now and she couldnt bear to see his eyes open. Hed been staring up at the heavens, she thought. Staring up at the sky above him.

Ironically, the sky was exceptionally beautiful tonight. It was one of those twilights when the moon rose before the sun set completely, and as the sun continued its fall, sinking lower and lower into the horizon, a soft, opaque glow seemed to settle over the landscape. The hills here, just outside Nashville, Tennessee, appeared to be part of some kind of fairy-tale kingdom. Their rich shades of autumnthe gold, orange and crimson leaves on the treeshighlighted the emerald-green grasses. A slight coolness touched the air, making it clear and comfortable to breathe.

The sky and the landscape were what Marcus had seen as he died, Olivia reminded herself. It was why Marcus had loved this area so much, this place where hed been born. Maybe there was something fitting in that, something poetic.

And yet... No question, Marcus had loved this countryside. Hed known it intimately. For that very reason, it seemed impossible that hed fallen into this rocky ravine when hed followed these same paths, on foot or on horseback, almost every day of his life.

Olivia heard Shiloh paw the ground. She looked up at her horse; he was obviously sensing her emotions, the change in her energy.

Easy, boy, easy, Olivia said softly. We have to wait here. Fresh tears stung her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. She wanted to rise up and throw her arms around Shilohs neck, feel the warmth of this living creature.

That, she knew, would be life-affirming.

Like all the animals at the Horse Farmthe therapy center Marcus Danby had founded and where Olivia workedShiloh was a rescue horse. Near starvation, hed been found in the Florida Redlands. Animal activists from the state had arranged his transport to the Nashville area and there was something about him that had made him special to Olivia from the first time shed seen him. Hed been a pile of bones, wild and terrified of people; hed tried, more than once, to run her into a building to get her off his back. While the focus of the Horse Farm was teaching people to trust againthrough their relationships with animalsShiloh was, to Olivia, one of her best success stories.

Marcus had always told her that what shed done with Shiloh was impressive, but what she managed with people was equally beautiful.

Oh, Marcus, what did you do? she whispered. Hed probably been missing long before any of them realized he was gone, because Marcus kept no set hours, didnt see patients and came and went as he chose. Hed founded the Horse Farm; it was his passion and his life. But while he loved to make sudden appearances and engage with patients, he did so in his own time and on his own terms. Hed been a wreck of a man himselfbipolar, an addict, homeless and an ex-conwhen hed found a horse on the small farm hed, for some reason, been left through a family inheritance. Like Shiloh, the animal had been starved and beaten by a cruel master and was terrified. In earning the horses trust and love, Marcus had learned to care about himself. Hed told Olivia once that hed been so afraid something horrible would happen to the horse without him, hed become determined to live.

In saving that horse, Marcus had saved himself. It wasnt that he hadnt grown up around animals; he had. His father had raised some of the finest racing horses in Tennessee. Maybe because hed had money as a child, Marcus had known that happiness had nothing to do with wealth. When he inherited the family land, he had no interest in racehorses. He cared about peopledamaged people. Hed been miraculously fixed by a horse and he went on to find out how to help others in the same way.

Olivia adored Marcus.

Had adored him, she told herself. No, she did adore him. All that hed been and all that hed taught her would stay with her forever.

Hed lived in a small house on the property, about a quarter mile from the stables, and the staff at the Horse Farm only knew he was gone because Sammy, his golden retrieveranother rescue animalhad come to the stables, wet, tail between his legs, anxious. Hed been limping because hed managed to gash his left leg quite badly.

Aaron Bentley, managing director of the Horse Farm, had tried to believe that Marcus had driven somewhere and Sammy had hurt himself trying to catch up with him.

But Marcus hadnt driven anywherenot on his own, anyway. His old Ford pickup was still in the driveway. And Olivia knew Marcus wouldve died before allowing any harm to come to his beloved Sammy.

So theyd all become extremely worried. Aaron had called in the local authorities and theyd set up a search; Olivia had the backwoods acreage, while others had been assigned the pond area, the pastures and the adjoining farms, businesses and residences.

They had now been out searching for hours in their designated areas. She and Aaron, plus the other two therapists from the Horse FarmMason Garlano and Mariah Naughton. As well, the stable bosses, Drew Dicksen and Sydney Roux, had joined the search. And so had Deputy Sheriff Vine and his partner, Jimmy Callahan. Only Sandra Cheeverknown as Mama Cheeverthe house manager for the offices, had remained behind. There were miles of pastureland and forest out thereenough to keep them riding and searching for many more hours. But dusk seemed to be coming on fast.

Twilight. Twilight in these hills.

A dangerous time up hereif you didnt know your way.

But Marcus hadnt fallen in the twilight. Hed had his accident, if accident it was, in the brightness of day....

He was cold now, stone cold. Olivia didnt have many skills in forensics, but she was certain that hed been here for some time. He hadnt fallen in the duska time when a tourist might become disoriented among the rolling hills, forested slopes and rocky dips.

This time of day frightened many people here. Kids told scary tales over campfires about the Civil War soldiers who continued to haunt the rugged terrain. Marcus had loved the legends; hed once told her with a wink that the soldiers were his friends. In fact, hed confided that Brigadier General Rufus Cunningham had been a big help when hed decided to clean upbut hed hoped his conversations with the long-dead man might cease once he was off the rum and heroin.

She was down in a ravine with a dead man whod been a mentor to her, and it was getting dark. This wasnt the time to mourn him. Only a few minutes had ticked by since shed found him. There was no point in wishing him alive. Death was unmistakable.

She dug into her pocket for her cell phone, praying it would work. Satellite communication here wasnt always the best.