by Karen Black
I staggered a bit as I stood up, stood still until I felt steady, then brushed myself and looked around. I walked over to the forest’s edge to take a much-needed leak, surprised I hadn’t peed my pants during the fall. I could see the building directly above me. That told me I had fallen perhaps thirty-five or forty feet, luckily most of it was through a slippery-walled narrow shaft that kept my body from tumbling around until near the end. I still had no idea what that shaft had been used for, but I didn’t care; it had provided a way out.
I weighed my options…walking through the forest up a long slope that brought me out quite a ways east of the cabin or climbing up the steep rocky incline. I opted for the latter. Thankful I had the strength in my arms and legs from my life-long hobby of rock climbing, I started scaling the rough terrain. As soon as I hoisted myself onto level ground, I called out. “Corky, I made it out.”
“Oh, Greg, thank God.” I could hear the relief in her voice. “Are you okay?”
“A little bruised, but okay. Now we’ve got to figure out how to get you out. I’m not sure I want you to try the same way. It’s a long drop; you could easily break a bone, so let me see if I can find anything out here to use to break in. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just see what you can find to get me out of here.”
“First thing I want to do is find something to hold some snow to get you some water. Just hang tight while I scout around.”
Near the edge of the cabin, I found a small rock that had been hollowed out so that it looked almost like a bowl, probably the result of years of water dripping off the roof. I filled it with snow, and was just able to reach the bottom of the window sill since the ground was several inches lower than the floor of the cabin. “Honey, here, take this carefully.”
Corky grasped the rock, and after a moment, said, “Oh, thank you. That really tasted good. Would you get me some more, please?”
I filled the rock twice more before she said, “Okay, that’ll do for now. Thank you; thank you.”
“Honey, I’ll be back in a few minutes. There’s got to be something around here I can use to pry open that door.”
Except for the steep drop down to the creek right at the eastern side, the cabin was located on an almost level ridge top, with trees to the north and west; a wide swatch, almost like a meadow to the south where the cleared level pad for the helicopter to land was located, then toward the east, the land dropped down almost forming a gully, with a slow gentle rise on the other side that was just a little higher than the pad. Somewhere in all these trees, I should be able to find something I could use to break into that cabin.
First, I ran out to the pad and picked up Corky’s purse, where she had dropped it when Jack pulled a gun on us. “Honey, here’s your purse; I’m sticking it through the window.”
“Got it. Thanks. I’ll see if I can find anything to help from inside.”
“Okay. Yell at me if you’re able to pick the lock, or better still, just open the door and walk out into the beautiful sunshine.”
“Don’t I wish!” But, she was laughing.
Since the cabin was put together with logs–truly a “log cabin”–they likely didn’t use nails, at least I wasn’t finding any on the ground. Obviously, they had used screws, because the door was securely bolted to the logs using heavy hinges embedded in the wood and secured with large screws. I examined each hinge; I would need some heavy tools to even make a dent. The door lock might be the most vulnerable, but again I needed something strong to try to pry it off.
“Honey, how you doing?” I called. “Any luck opening the door from inside?”
“Wouldn’t you know, I changed purses when we went to L.A., and I never put all my “stuff” back in this one, not one thing in there I can use to pick a lock. Greg, I’m sorry.”
“Honey, stay strong. We’re going to get you out.”
Searching alongside the west and north sides of the cabin, and checking under the trees, the only thing I found was a broken handle to what might have been a shovel at one time. I picked it up and studied its possibilities. Then, positioning the handle behind the door knob, I placed both hands on either side of the knob and yanked as hard as I could. A crackling sound, and I fell backwards. Dammit, the handle broke. The door knob remained firmly in place, like it was mocking me. Maybe I could knock it off with a big rock.
“What are you doing?” Corky asked.
“Still looking for something to use to get you out,” I replied, not wanting to highlight my latest failure, hoping my voice didn’t reflect my vexation. And just getting her out didn’t actually solve our problem.
“Greg, even if we are both outside the cabin, then what?” Obviously Corky was thinking the same thing I was. “We’re out in the middle of the Alaskan wilderness; we don’t know where to go to find help and we haven’t eaten in two days. Are you good at killing your own food? Can you catch and skin one of those snowshoe hares with your bare hands, and build a fire to cook it over?” I heard her nervous laugh. “And if we get stranded overnight while trying to walk out, what about the people-eating animals out there? Just the sound those coyotes made last night scared me. Plus, we could actually freeze to death.”
“Okay, honey, getting out doesn’t solve all our problems, but it solves one. So let me see if I can break this lock. And by the way, about eating, I can make a fire by rubbing sticks together. I was a Boy Scout! I’ll leave the catching and skinning to you. As my old granddad used to say–that’s woman’s work!” I heard a dismissive snort. I was glad we were able to do a little teasing, keep things as light as possible helped ease the heavy tension.
Walking across to the east side, I went deep into the woods and found a couple of large rocks. I took the larger of the two rocks, and pounded on the lock. All I did was succeed in breaking off the handle; the door remained impenetrable. But now the locking mechanism was exposed. Exasperated, I picked up that smirking knob and threw it as far as I could, knocking snow from the tree branch it hit. Jezz, McGegor, that’s not very bright. Inanimate objects don’t express emotions! You’re losing it. Pull yourself together, man.
Cupping my chin in my hands, I shook my head in disbelief, deeply breathed in the cold air and allowed a lungful of air to whistle over my teeth. Coming unhinged at a time like this was not smart. As soon as I felt I was back in control of my emotions, I called, “Corky, I’ve knocked the door handle off; see if you can open it from inside.”
I heard the door knob rattle, then a sound of something hitting the floor. “Are you okay,” I asked, concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just fell on my butt. The door handle on this side gave way. I can almost see the latching mechanism, but I don’t have anything small enough to stick inside.”
“What about the screws we took out of the hook on the back of the door? I put them on one of the chairs.”
“Here they are.” I thought I heard a bit of optimism in her voice, then the sound of metal scratching against metal. “Damn!” she shouted, “they’re too big to fit into the opening.”
“Umm, I wonder if I could dig under the flooring.” I questioned, picking up the larger portion of the broken shovel handle.
“The floor appears to be made of strong logs, just like the walls and I’ve looked all around the edges, so I doubt it. Whoever built this did a good job, the logs all seem to lock into one another.”
Great! We had to get locked in a cabin made by talented craftsmen. “Okay, I’m going to see if I can get up to the roof to see if the logs were as carefully secured together.”
“Be careful,” she warned.
I climbed up a large tree on the northwest corner of the cabin. You’d think since I’d been good at rock climbing, it would carry over to tree climbing. It didn’t. Several scrapes and bruises later, I was able to drop down from one of the overhanging branches onto the snow-covered roof. I brushed the snow off sufficiently to determine that the craftsmanship of the roof matched that of the floors and walls. Dammit.
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br /> Getting down was much easier than getting up the tree. I climbed out, away from the cabin, grabbed a smaller limb that I thought would droop with my weight, and jumped. Luckily, it wasn’t a high building. And luckily, the limb did bend a little, so my unexpected fall was a short one, but it still hurt when I landed on my right hip and shoulder.
Corky called, “Greg, what happened, did you fall off the roof?”
After picking myself up and dusting myself off, as Frank Sinatra used to advocate in one of his many records I collected, I walked around to the east window and expressed my frustration. “Honey, I’m okay; perhaps a little disappointed in my “outdoorsman” skills, but we need to come up with plan B or maybe it’s C or D, I don’t know. I’ve lost track. We can’t get you out through the windows; we can’t open the door; I can’t dig under the building to gain entrance; and I can’t get in from the roof. Even though there is one way out, I really don’t want you to have to drop through that shaft. It’s dangerous, and I’m afraid you would be hurt, maybe a broken bone that would mean you couldn’t walk out of here.”
“So what are you proposing?” I could tell from her voice she suspected but really didn’t want to hear my suggestion.
“We can’t be that far from a highway because Jack was flying right up the main highway until he veered off. I know he landed west of the highway, so I could head east, maybe that creek or that gravel road down below will lead to another shack or a store or something resembling civilization.” I knew it sounded like a harebrained scheme, but I was fast running out of ideas, and Corky needed food; she needed to get out of that damn prison. “What do you think?”
“Greg, that’s so dangerous. You’ll be outside when it gets dark, you actually could freeze to death if the temperature drops. And it seems to me it’s colder today than it was yesterday. Plus you have no idea where that gravel road or creek lead–maybe just further into the forest …,” she hesitated.
Of course she was right. Although I knew I needed to go east, I had no compass or anything I could use to gauge which direction I would be going. I’d spent some time “outdoors,” but I had never even thought about learning to navigate by the stars. I wasn’t willing to admit, at least not to Corky, how risky this plan was. Sometimes the line between being brave and being stupid is blurry. If we were going to die, I’d prefer it be together, holding each other, but I couldn’t even get back into the extremely well-built cabin. At that moment, I wished Charley had never found that damn rhenium mine, or at least had not decided to give it to me and Corky. Regret and wishing wouldn’t cut it. As before, I didn’t see an alternative!
“Corky, if I start right now, I’ll still have a few hours of daylight. I’ll leave some sort of trail…maybe rocks, or perhaps break branches as I’d seen the scouts do in the movies…so I can retrace my steps to get back here.” Just then, her earlier joking comment hit me. I’d have one less worry. Like I’d told her, I can rub sticks together to start a fire, so if I get stuck out in the wilderness tonight, I won’t freeze to death.
I piled high the bowl-like rock with another batch of snow and stuck it through the window. “Here’s a little more water to hold you over. Use that rug to cover you tonight; it should keep you warm. But if I’m not back by tomorrow morning, you might want to consider dropping down through the shaft, feet first. Oh, and cover your face with your hands. At the bottom, you’ll at least have water, even if you’re hurt, and I’ll get back here, one way or another, as soon as I can. And I can’t help but think that Buddy Lee is going to send the Cavalry out to look for us.”
She was crying softly, but she put on a brave front, “You’re right; we’ve got to do something. Please, please, be careful. I love you.”
“And I love you too.” I swallowed nervously and immediately headed east into the heavy growth of trees…before I lost my nerve.
CHAPTER XXXIII
Saturday, Wilderness/Talkeetna
I’d only gone a few yards into the forest when I heard the sound of a helicopter. I froze. Damn! Jack was coming back to finish the job. He’d either convinced his partners shooting us was the best thing to do, or he was disobeying them. I looked around for weapons, found a couple of thick tree branches and one large old weathered tree root surrounded by a large dried-on clod of dirt I could use as a club. Then I dug up more rocks, larger rocks and walked back out to the edge of the trees. Jack wouldn’t expect me to be outside, so I should be able to surprise him and knock him out. I hid under the branches of a big tree. Despite the cold, I was sweating. My heart was pounding. I could almost feel the adrenalin pulsating through my veins. And I was breathing so heavily I was afraid the sound would give me away when he got close.
The helicopter didn’t land. As I watched from my sheltered hiding place, it appeared to be going in circles, like it was searching for something. My fear turned to excitement. Maybe Buddy Lee had sent someone to search for us. But, should I step out and wave and try to get their attention? What if he had sent Jack! Jack could have given him some plausible story about why he left us somewhere, like we found the property, it had a house on it, and we decided to check it out.
The copter was circling back. It would be close soon. I had only seconds to weigh my options and make a decision. Why would they be looking for us if they knew where we were? Jack would know where we were. I had to take a chance. Still sweating despite the cold weather, I wiped my forehead, swallowed hard, stepped out from beneath the trees and started waving my arms and yelling. In the copter, they wouldn’t hear my yelling, but I did it anyway. Somehow, at that moment, the two just went hand in hand.
“Greg, what are you yelling about?” I heard Corky call from inside.
“Honey, there’s a helicopter, and it seems to be looking for us.” What I didn’t share was how I hoped to hell it wasn’t Jack coming back.
“Oh, thank God.” She started crying, this time not even trying to hide it.
I ran out to the landing pad, partially covered with the dusting of powder snow from the night before, and continued waving my arms and yelling.
The helicopter headed for the pad; they had spotted me. I retreated to my supply of rocks. Here’s the moment of truth. My hands were shaking.
Buddy Lee jumped out of the passenger side, and shouted above the sound of the rotors. “Gracias a Dios! I wasn’t sure we would find you. It’s a good thing you waved, because I don’t think either one of us spotted that building from the air, the roof is covered with snow and it just blended in. But I spotted movement and when I looked through the binocs, I saw you jumping up and down.”
I still held back, near the rocks, wanting to see who brought him. About that time, the pilot shut down the engine and stepped out where I could see his face. I almost collapsed. It wasn’t Jack!
My chest heaved as I exhaled fiercely, releasing a lot of pent-up tension, willed my body to move forward and rushed out to hug Buddy Lee and thank the new guy, whom Buddy Lee introduced as John Washington, a local Athabascan, one of the native Alaskan tribes.
“Where’s Corky?” Buddy Lee asked immediately.
After briefing them on what had happened, and the problem getting Corky out, John ran back to the copter. With the tools he brought, we were able to remove the hinges from the door and free Corky. She hugged Buddy Lee first, “Oh, thank you, thank you for finding us,” hugged me and gave me a kiss, and then turned, “Excuse me, guys, I’ve got to pee. Really, really bad,” and darted off to hide behind the building.
“Careful, there’s a steep drop-off just past the building,” I called out as she disappeared. I grabbed Buddy Lee’s arm, “Can you get hold of anyone in L.A.? Hennie’s in danger, Jack’s partners have a hit out on him, and what about Jack?”
Buddy Lee quickly conferred with the pilot. “He’ll call the tower and ask them to call the Sheriff and pass on the message. Jack’s been taken into custody, which I’ll explain once we get you two back to civilization.”
*
After a hot shower
in Buddy Lee’s motel room, followed by a hearty breakfast, we sat down in his office to hear how he had known to look for us. I was surprised to see Max still there; clearly he had found a new home. He came over, nudged my arm, and dropped his head on my lap. I immediately started rubbing his head and ears, and his cold nose. I’m not sure why, but I just love to rub a dog’s cold nose.
“I knew something was up when you didn’t show up for our dinner date. I knew it, because Corky had promised me a dinner last night and she wouldn’t disappoint me.” He gave her an affectionate hug. “I checked the airport and they said Jack had returned without you. I’d been a little suspicious of him for some time…too many things he should have known that he professed not to know anything about. Plus, he wasn’t answering his phone. I called the Recorder’s office. They said no one had been in looking for a deed in your names, and that clinched it. Then, Hennie called, all concerned. You were supposed to let him know what you’d found. So, I…”
“Have they made contact with Hennie?” I interrupted, anxious to know if he received the warning in time.
“I’m sure the Sheriff will call me as soon as he hears anything. He contacted the L.A. police. But I’ll check with him in a few minutes.” He paused, to make sure I was comfortable with that, and when I nodded, he continued, “So, I went over to see my drinking and hunting buddy, the Sheriff, told him the story and voiced some of my concerns about Charley’s death which I’ve had since you told me about the rhenium. He called Detective Swanson of the Anchorage Police Department who in turn called the FBI, and they all showed up about an hour later. Apparently, these Chinese “businessmen” have been on the FBI’s radar for several months. They were able to tie Stella Johanssen’s death to Jack. Remember that ‘appointment’ he had in Anchorage the other evening when he couldn’t join us for dinner. Apparently it was to kill her. He was arrested at the Anchorage airport, trying to get airline tickets to some country I never heard of…and he’s singing like a songbird.”
