“Fantastic, Ron.” She could hear the appreciation in her voice. “I’ve got some conduit for you to install before we have anyone in here. Great job. I know you’re not properly licensed, but if can you get the conduits all run before the electricians get here tomorrow morning, that would be absolutely fantastic. Feel free to say if you are unsure. I don’t want to get on their wrong side.”
“Sure, I’ll take care of that right now. Where’s the conduit?”
Miranda told him where she had it and was happy that he seemed to take her direction with ease. Must have something to do with being an employee and also having a place to live with running water, heat, and light.
The situation between Ron and her mother was worrying and increased the unease already in her mind. The fact still remained that Ron had a drinking problem. It might be complicated if not impossible for him to live in a moonshine distillery.
Was the risk too much for her mother to handle?
Chapter 35
Tuesday Morning, the Farmhouse
The electrician arrived in a vintage black Ford pickup at seven in the morning, just as he had promised. She led him into the main distillery area. She avoided any issues in the supply room by making sure the padlock was secure.
The electrician was ancient in Miranda’s eyes. His walk was bowlegged and his back was bent over. He was the color of worn leather. and his hands were knotted and veined. He must be over ninety.
“Now, don’t you worry about me, Miss Trent.” His eyes twinkled at her reaction to his appearance. “I’ve been wiring things up in the country since before your mama was born.” He carried a well-used open-topped toolbox that was organized as tidily as a shop window display.
“Yes, sir. The equipment supplier will be here at ten to finalize the installation and start my training. Will you be done by then?”
His face crinkled in a smile. “Now, don’t you worry. I’ll be clear out of here.”
Without another word, he sat his box by the circuit breaker box and began wiring in the fermenter. As she turned to go back into the house, Ron appeared at her side.
“Do you want to see what I’ve done so far?”
Oh, he’s never going to have a good sense of timing. He will always want my attention at the worst possible time. Never mind that, I still need a security guard.
Miranda tilted her head and smiled. “Absolutely. I would like to know what you have in mind.”
They climbed up to the loft area, and Ron had started to frame out one end as the bathroom. “I figured this was the best place to start. That way I won’t have to bother your mama when I want to clean up. I don’t mind the outhouse, but a warm shower is mighty nice.”
Miranda looked at the taped-off area. “It looks rather small. Can you get a toilet, sink, and shower all in this small space?”
Ron shifted his head back with a quizzical look on his face. “Do you need a sink?”
“Absolutely, yes.” She looked down at the masking tape. “If we move the tape over, say about a foot, there’s room for a shower stall. Then you can put the toilet and sink across from each other. Still tiny, but it will look good in the online photos.”
Ron twisted his lips sideways. “Yeah, I can do that. It will take more pipes, you see. I would be happy to use the kitchen sink for washing up.”
Miranda shuddered from her chin to her toes, “No, no, no. The kitchenette sink can face the back wall of the barn and still be close to the other pipes. We’ll have to find an old farmhouse window at a salvage place.”
“I know several sites where folks dumped stuff when they fancied up their houses. If you want an old-timey claw-foot tub, I know where there’s one that was tipped out the back of a truck.”
“Sorry, there won’t be room. A walk-in shower would be better. Anyway, I’m good with you living here while this place is under construction, but the long-term plan will be for it to bring in more cash.”
She left him to reconfigure the plumbing and went into the farmhouse for more coffee. She sat down to her computer to attack her online work. By the time she had gotten down to the last cold dregs in her cup, she heard a knock on the front door.
“I’m all finished, Miss Trent.” Her elderly electrician stood out on the porch. “I can take payment in cash or a check. None of them fancy plastic cards work for me.”
Miranda smiled. “No problem, I’ll bring out my checkbook.”
She had no sooner ripped out the check and handed it over when she heard another truck making its way down her gravel road. It was her equipment supplier with, for once, perfect timing.
It looked as if she would finally be finished with the installation of her distillery and move on to the actual making of her uncle’s moonshine.
The supplier was careful, deliberate, and meticulous in checking each piece of equipment. He checked the wiring, stability, gauges, and safety features of everything. He was patient with her questions, approved of the quality of her ingredients, and seemed excited that she was attempting to commercialize her uncle’s famous recipe.
By the time he left several hours later, Miranda had a notebook full of notes as well as all the installation and instruction manuals for her new distillery. The instructor declared her to be more than ready to start up her first batch of moonshine.
That was exactly what Miranda wanted to do, but she resisted the urge. She was overwhelmed by the amount of information that she had just been given. It would be far better for her moonshine if she waited a day or two to make sure her first batch was perfect. You couldn’t go back in this part of the country if your first batch was terrible. It would ruin her reputation beyond recovery.
“Whee-hoo! It’s finally done.” Miranda hollered out to her mother when she went back into the farmhouse. “We need to celebrate.”
Dorothy was in the rocking chair by the window working on some embroidery with Sandy asleep in her lap. “That’s a great idea. Let’s go get our favorite pizza from Miguel’s Mystic Pizza. I’ve been hankering for that since I got here.”
“Perfect.” Miranda lifted Sandy high into the air and twirled around the living room. “We’re gonna be making moonshine. We’re gonna be making moonshine.”
Sandy yipped and licked her nose.
In no time, they had gathered a few essentials and were in the van and on their way. Miranda and her mother sang all the verses they could remember for “Mountain Dew” at the top of their lungs. Sandy joined in with his crackly puppy howls, which left the women in tears of laughter.
Miguel’s Mystic Pizza was a rustic part-diner, part-camping-ground for the many expert and beginning climbers that came from all over the world to tackle the Red River Gorge’s famous cliffs. What had started as a free pasture for backpackers had grown to a modern camping complex with showers, laundry, grocery, and, of course, the best pizza ever.
Miranda ordered while Dorothy and Sandy scouted around the outside to nab a picnic table. The place was packed for lunch, and they were lucky to get a small table close to the parking lot. Dorothy pulled Sandy’s travel water dish out of her enormous hobo bag and poured a bit of water in it from her ancient thermos.
Miranda walked up while Sandy was slopping water everywhere. “Thrifty habits run through our family, don’t they?”
“Well, I could never see the sense of buying water when we have a wonderful spring on our farm. Don’t get me started on those expensive water bottles. No need for any of that with just a little planning.”
“That spring is the basic reason for Uncle Gene’s great moonshine. Fingers crossed that I can pull this off.”
“Just as good as I remember,” said Dorothy as she polished off the last of the pizza. “I’m so glad some things never change.”
They cleaned up their table and were standing by the van when the Wolfe County Fire & Rescue truck came speeding down the road deeper into the forest, lights flashing and siren blaring. Miranda was startled to see Austin sitting in the passenger front seat.
&
nbsp; “Mom, look! Austin in the fire truck? There must be a forest fire, right?”
“That would be one reason, but it could just as well be a rescue mission. He’s one of the leaders and usually gets called out as soon as an alarm comes in.”
Several climbers and hikers gathered in front of Miguel’s, and Miranda picked up the mumbling that raced through the growing crowd.
“I heard he fell.”
“Where is the rescue?”
“Somebody fell!”
“Who was it?”
“A lawyer. His name is Ben.”
Chapter 36
Tuesday, Indian Staircase
Miranda and her mother drove out to the Gladie Learning Center and parked next to the Wolfe County Fire & Rescue truck. Austin and the volunteers were unloading climbing gear and a wire litter.
Miranda walked over. “I heard that the fallen climber is Ben DeBerg. Is he all right?”
Austin turned to Miranda, his face stiff with concentration. “No one so far has spotted him. He went down into some dense undergrowth.” Austin hefted a large pack onto his back and grabbed on to one end of the litter. “We’ll know soon. I’ll call as soon as there’s news.”
Miranda watched them trudge up the trail that led to the Indian Staircase. She turned to her mom. “There’s so much that doesn’t make sense. Ben was considered to be an expert climber.”
“Do you think it’s got something to do with Howard’s death?”
“Yes. It can’t be a coincidence that one of the Risky Business Adventurers has an accident where Howard was killed.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I think I’m going to tag along, I really want to know more about this.”
“That’s the right thing to do, honey.”
Miranda grabbed her backpack from the van. “Well, no matter how this turns out, they’re gonna need some coffee and sandwiches. Can you handle that?”
“Of course. I’ll take the van and have Ron help me load up the fixings and set up one of our folding tables. We’ll have everything ready when you get back off the trail, hopefully with your curiosity satisfied.”
Miranda kissed her mother on the cheek. “Thanks for understanding. I’ve got my emergency pack, just in case the weather traps everyone up there again.”
She raced up the trail. It took much less time to reach the spot than when she led the tour. She heard the rescue team on top of the cliff.
Pleased with her speed, but completely out of breath, she slung off her pack, sat down, and leaned against the Indian Staircase rock face. She didn’t want Austin to see her gasping for breath. A stray thought rushed by. Am I safe? Could I be in danger from whoever wanted to hurt Ben?
As she recovered, she resolved to be more careful and make smarter decisions. She turned her head a fraction, and a glint down by the trail’s edge caught her eye.
More trash, she thought, shaking her head in frustration. Why couldn’t people pick up after themselves? As soon as she felt ready to tackle the climb, she bent over to pick up the litter.
It wasn’t litter. It was a climbing piton. Chips around the base indicated that it was freshly installed. Miranda wasn’t sure why it would be in this unlikely spot overlooking, well, not anything.
Puzzled, she put on her pack and carefully climbed the ancient carved steps up onto the clearing. The rescue team of two stood by the litter, and Austin was talking to a pair of day hikers.
“Again, you’re sure you heard a scream?” His voice was higher pitched than normal, thought Miranda. He was frustrated.
The taller hiker folded his arms. “Look, this was not in our plan for today to abandon our hike to call you guys out on a goose chase. We heard a god-awful scream that sounded like it came from right here. We were only a few yards down the back trail.”
“How did you know it was Ben DeBerg?” Austin asked.
“We met him at the trailhead and he asked us where we were hiking today. He seemed chatty and not that anxious to start. I thought it was because he said he was going to go solo cliff climbing and maybe he wasn’t sure of his skills. He started out ahead of us. He knew the trail because we didn’t pass him until we climbed the Indian Staircase.”
“How long after you left him did you hear the scream?”
The hiker looked over to his buddy. “Maybe about five minutes. No longer than ten. I had stopped to tighten my bootlaces so we were pretty close.” His buddy smiled his agreement.
Miranda joined the group. “What’s wrong?”
Austin’s eyes lit up. “Miranda, why are you here?”
“I thought I might be able to help. What’s wrong?”
The hiker spoke quickly. “We’ve told you everything we know. Can we go now?”
Austin scrunched his mouth sideways and looked at his rescue partner, Andrew Perry, who gave a tiny nod. “Sure, we can always reach you at Hemlock Lodge if anything else comes up.”
The hikers turned to go, but the taller one stopped just before they rounded the next bend. “I hope you guys find him. If I ever get in trouble, you’re the ones I would want to be looking for me.” Then they disappeared down the trail.
Miranda approached Austin and Andrew. “What’s happened? You found Ben, haven’t you?”
Austin huffed and looked over to Andrew. “That’s what’s wrong. We can’t find any sign of Ben either falling off or climbing down.” Austin walked over to the edge of the overlook. “There would be signs of a fall through the trees, and you can actually see an outcropping just below here. If he’s unconscious or injured, we should see his gear.”
“But I don’t understand. I thought it was illegal to rock climb within the boundaries of this park?”
Austin frowned. “That only keeps the climbers who obey the rules from trying these cliffs. It does nothing to prevent the rogue climbers.”
“Wait,” said Miranda. “I saw something on the trail down below the Indian Staircase. It was a fresh piton. Could Ben have fallen from there?”
“Absolutely, the echo effects of these cliffs and canyons makes determining the direction of sound unreliable. Show us.”
“Great.” Miranda took them down to the piton.
Austin squatted down to finger the stone chips around the piton. “That’s fresh.” Austin stood up and rubbed his hands together. “I think I see a glimmer of another one, but it’s shrouded by that pine limb.” He raised his eyebrows. “Would you be willing to take a look?”
“Me?” Miranda’s voice squeaked. “I can’t climb. What about either of you?”
Austin and Andrew exchanged a look. “It’s just that you’re so much lighter. If you don’t, we’ll have to wait until someone arrives who can climb down that cliffside.”
“How dangerous is this?”
“Nothing is without some risk, but if I didn’t feel confident that the both of us can handle any problem, I wouldn’t suggest this. We’ll use a rescue harness on you and make sure you don’t fall. It’s not really as steep as it looks, and I’ll be down right here with Andrew. We only need to eliminate that this might be a possible location. It won’t take long.”
“If you’re sure I won’t break my neck.”
Austin started to laugh, but suppressed it when he saw the look on her face. “I’m sorry, but you’re so adventurous. A little climbing seems like it should be a piece of cake for you.” He lowered his voice. “I promise I won’t let you fall.”
Reassured, Miranda followed their instructions and was guided down the cliffside as safely as a baby in a carrier. She felt elated when her foot landed on the ledge at the base of the cliff.
Austin spoke to Andrew. “She’s down. Keep everything in place. I’ll let you know if we need to come right back up.” Austin went to Miranda. “Where is this piton?”
She led him to the far side of the trail and pointed to it. “It’s pretty well hidden. If the sun hadn’t caused it to glint right when I was passing by, I don’t think I would have seen it.”
Austin bent over the hardware. “Y
ou’re right. This has been put here just a little while ago.”
Miranda pointed. “There are trace remnants of rope left in it. Could he have fallen from here?”
Austin looked down over the cliff. “I don’t see any sign of a fall. No broken branches, but there are some faint marks. Let me get my binoculars.”
“I’ve got a pair also. The two of us looking should cut down the time. You take the left of the piton and I’ll take the right.”
They both got binoculars from their packs and lay down flat in the trail to focus on the trees farther down the cliff.
Miranda felt her heart thudding in her chest, willing them to find something that would indicate that Ben could be down there. Not only down there, but alive.
“Okay. I’ve got it.” Miranda lowered her binoculars and pointed to a tree. “There’s where things went wrong. You can see a bright splash of yellow right over there where that branch has been broken.”
Austin followed the direction of her outstretched arm. He refocused his binoculars. “I see it. That’s where he started to fall. We’re going to need a lot of help. The terrain here is brutal.”
Miranda laid her binoculars down and cupped her hands around her mouth, “Ben! Ben DeBerg! Are you there? Please answer.”
The only sound that came back was the echo of her calls.
Austin repeated calling out Ben’s name, but again, nothing.
Miranda felt a sickening clutch at her gut. Ben was a superb climber. If he wasn’t moving with all this commotion, she didn’t think he was alive.
“What’s going on down there?” said Andrew.
Austin got up, then pulled Miranda up as well. They dusted themselves off, and Austin yelled up the Indian Staircase, “We found where he fell. Gather everything together, then I’ll come up and help you bring down the equipment. This is where we’re going to stage our search and rescue.”
Miranda put her hands on her hips and scanned the area. “There isn’t much trail space, but at least we’ve found the right spot.”
Draw and Order Page 20
