Wild Keepers

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Keeley felt her blood run cold. This place sounded sinister. Was it possible that her father had been investigating it, all those years ago? The lure of such a place would be irresistible to a reporter. Maybe her father had thought that it could be his lucky break.

  Should she ask the old man about her father? It was not likely he would have ever seen him. But he had already helped them with the building. Perhaps he might remember. It was worth a shot.

  She fished the old photo out of her wallet and handed it to the man. “This is my father,” she said. “He came to Farrow Valley fourteen years ago. Did you ever see him?”

  The old man studied the photo. He handed it back to Keeley slowly. His eyes were sad.

  “Yes,” he said. “I remember him.”

  Keeley gasped, feeling her heart start to race in her chest. “You do? How did you know him? Do you know why he was here?”

  The old man smiled slightly. “I never spoke to him. But I did drive him all the way back home. To Coyote River, or thereabouts.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Thad watched Keeley carefully from across the other side of the old rickety table. She looked like a person who had just suffered a great shock. She was pale, and he could see her eyes darting from side to side.

  An old woman who had been introduced as Daisy, Josiah’s wife, placed two steaming cups of coffee on the table in front of them. Thad smiled his thanks, picking up the tin mug. Keeley glanced upwards at the woman and smiled slightly but seemed beyond saying anything at the minute.

  Josiah sat down on another chair slowly. He looked troubled. Well, he was probably in as much shock as Keeley, Thad thought. Most likely he wasn’t expecting this blast from the past when the old truck had pulled up. At the most he had probably been expecting that he might sell some squash.

  After Josiah’s revelation that he had driven Keeley’s father back to Coyote River on that fateful night all those years ago he had suggested that they convene in the shack to discuss it further. Inside, the smell of something freshly baked wafted in the air. Daisy was just taking some cinnamon buns out of the old woodfire stove oven. Her eyes had widened in surprise when she had seen Josiah come in with two strangers, but she had been hospitable, brewing coffee and offering them a bun each.

  Thad glanced at the woman. After seeing that they had refreshments, she was busying herself with more baking. Josiah picked up his own mug of coffee and sipped it thoughtfully.

  “How?” Keeley whispered, staring at him. “How was it that you brought my father back to Coyote River that night?”

  Josiah took another long sip of his coffee. “I’ve always wondered what happened to him,” he said slowly. “He was in such a state that night that I did wonder if he would ever recover.”

  Keeley’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Please, just tell me.”

  Josiah sighed. “I didn’t know him,” he said. “I was just out wandering the desert, gathering some firewood, when I saw him stumbling towards me.” He took a deep breath. “He was obviously distressed. Torn clothes, torn shoes. Sweating and mumbling.”

  Thad leaned over and silently placed his hand over Keeley’s on the table. She glanced down at it and smiled slightly but didn’t say anything. This must be so difficult for her, he thought. Even though it had been her life’s ambition to find out what had happened to her father, the reality of finding out at last would be hard.

  Josiah frowned, remembering. “I tried talking to him, asking him what he was doing, but he wouldn’t answer. He just kept muttering under his breath.” He paused. “It was obvious he wasn’t in his right mind, but I had no idea if that was normal for him, or if something had happened. The state of him told me that he was lost. He looked like he’d been wandering for a while.”

  “What happened then?” Keeley’s voice was tremulous.

  Josiah took another deep breath. “Well, I couldn’t leave him like that, could I? He was parched, and sunburnt. If I let him just wander off again, he mightn’t have made it. So, I led him to my car, and brought him back here.”

  “To this shack?”

  Josiah nodded. “I kept asking him where he lived, or where he was staying, but he couldn’t answer me. I thought that I would get him some water and ask again at home.” His eyes flickered to his wife. “I thought Daisy might have an idea what to do as well.”

  Daisy’s eyes rested on her husband briefly as she stirred batter with a wooden spoon in a big ceramic bowl, but she didn’t interrupt the story.

  Josiah took another sip of coffee. “He drank some water, and we were able to clean him up a bit,” he continued. “But he still couldn’t tell us anything of who he was or where he was from. But he had been carrying a bag over his shoulder, and I examined it. It had his address on it. That was how I knew he was from Coyote River.”

  Keely’s bottom lip trembled. “So, you decided to drive him back home?”

  Josiah nodded. “Our intention was to bring him to your home,” he said. “But we didn’t have a map, or any of that fancy GPS stuff, and we got a bit lost in the dark. Ended up on some back road. I pulled the car to the side of the road and Daisy and I were conferring on what to do—we were thinking we might knock on someone’s door and ask—–when he suddenly reefed open the door and ran off into the night.”

  Keeley’s eyes filled with tears. “He just disappeared?”

  Josiah nodded. “We scouted the roads, but we couldn’t find him.” He sighed. “Eventually we found our way into Coyote River, and we saw the sheriff’s car, its lights flashing. The sheriff was standing there with your father, trying to get him into his car. So, we headed home.”

  Keeley took a deep breath. “Why didn’t you stop and tell the sheriff what had happened?” she demanded. “We have never had any idea! We didn’t even know where he had been in the days before he was found.”

  Josiah was silent, staring down at the table.

  “You can blame me for that,” said Daisy suddenly. She walked towards the table, gazing down at Keeley. “I told Josiah to keep driving. Seeing the sheriff panicked me. I thought that he might think we had something to do with the state that your father was in.”

  Josiah stared up at his wife. “It wasn’t just you, Daisy. I’m the one who was driving. I could have stopped and told the sheriff, but I didn’t.” He turned his gaze to Keeley. “I’m mighty sorry for that. It’s something I’ve regretted over the years, but it was a spur of the moment decision.”

  Keeley stared at them both. “But why wouldn’t you have stopped? No one would have blamed you, especially if you had been kind enough to try to get him home.”

  Josiah gazed at his wife again. Daisy sat down at the only other vacant chair at the table, sighing wearily.

  “We were going through a hard time,” she said slowly. “Our only daughter had died three months before, and we were fighting to get custody of her baby son from his deadbeat father. We didn’t want to draw any attention to us.”

  “No,” said Josiah, his eyes swimming with tears. “We just panicked when we saw the sheriff. Thought that we would be taken in for questioning about the state he was in and why we were driving him, and so on. It seemed easier to just head home. We knew he was safe, and that was all that we cared about.”

  Keeley took a deep breath. “Well, for that I am grateful,” she said, her eyes wet. “If it wasn’t for you, Josiah, he could have died out there. At least you brought him home.”

  Josiah nodded. “I would never have left him,” he said. “He wouldn’t have lasted another two days out there. But like I said, I had never seen him before in my life, and had no idea if he had always been like he was. I thought perhaps he had run away from his caretakers or something.”

  Daisy gazed at Keeley. “Has he never got better, honey?”

  Keeley shook her head slowly. “No. Ever since the sheriff brought him home, he’s been the same. In fact, he’s gotten worse.” She took a deep breath. “He can barely walk now. But before he came to this place, he wa
s normal. A normal, loving, vibrant man who loved his family.”

  “I’m so sorry, honey,” said Daisy, her old eyes wide. “Believe me, I am. You say you never found out why he was here, or what happened to him?”

  Keeley shook her head again. “That’s why I am here now. I only just discovered an old motel receipt in his satchel, matching the dates he was away. I’m here for answers.”

  Josiah sighed. “I’m sorry I can’t give you any more information about why he was here.”

  Keeley smiled slightly. “That’s okay, Josiah. You did what you could.” She paused, gazing down at the table. “I’m just grateful that Thad decided to stop here and ask. We could have just kept driving.”

  Thad drained his coffee, then turned to the old man. “Josiah, did you find Gil anywhere near that building?”

  Josiah frowned, thinking. “Maybe the general area, but not close,” he replied slowly. “But he could have wandered a long way. Like I said, he looked shocking with his torn clothes and shoes. Like he’d been out there a while.”

  Thad took a deep breath. “Could I ask you another favour?”

  Josiah nodded. “Of course. It’s the least I can do after what happened.”

  “Would you be able to take us to where you found him?”

  Josiah sighed, but stood up, picking up his hat. “It’s been a long time, but I gather firewood in the same places, usually,” he said slowly. “Why don’t you both finish your mugs and we’ll take a ride out there.”

  ***

  Keeley stared out the window of Josiah’s old truck, gazing at the undulating red sands of the desert. It seemed to spread out as far as the eye could see. She pictured her father wandering here, lost and confused, and her heart contracted with pain. Why on earth had he been out here?

  She sighed, looking to the front. She was sitting behind Josiah, who was driving. She could see the back of his wrinkled neck, and the line of dirt on his shirt collar from the sweat. On his head he wore an old battered felt hat that looked like it had seen better days.

  She turned her gaze to Thad, who was sitting in the passenger seat beside him. He was staring out at the desert, an unfathomable look in his eyes. Almost against her will, she felt that same sharp, almost poignant, connection with him that had been growing since she had first laid eyes on him.

  She took a deep breath, trying to quash it, but it wouldn’t be denied. She found him wildly attractive, and the fact that he was sitting in this old truck determined to find out what had happened to her father just as much as she was warmed her heart even more.

  He was beside her on this quest. He was the only one who had taken her seriously when she had been determined to find out what had happened all those years ago. Yes, he was obsessed with the strange building and there were still those crazy stories that he stubbornly believed, but at least he was beside her.

  She gazed back out the window. They had already been travelling at least half an hour through the desert, and there would be no way she could remember which way they had gone. Josiah had headed out over the dunes with the practised skill of someone who had lived here forever and knew this area like the back of his hand.

  He had laughed at Thad’s suggestion that they follow him in their own vehicle, telling him that it was a different way of driving through the dunes. Thad had said he could do it, but Josiah had insisted they travel with him, and so they had.

  Keeley was grateful for it now. Josiah had been right. It took skill to drive through this terrain. You could easily misjudge a dune and career off the edge, ruining your vehicle. It was off-road driving after all; they had left behind even dirt roads miles ago.

  Eventually, he pulled up in an area surrounded by dead jojoba and Joshua trees. As they climbed out, Keeley was almost bowled over by the heat. It was relentless. The thought of her father wandering out here all alone, parched and weary, twisted her heart again.

  “This is it,” said Josiah, gazing out over the landscape.

  They slowly walked the area, then Thad turned to Josiah. His eyes were narrowed.

  “What direction was he coming from?” he asked.

  Josiah pointed towards the east. “I didn’t see him at first,” he said. “I was busy cutting up wood and throwing it in the back of my truck. Then I turned and saw him staggering over the dune towards me.”

  Thad nodded. “The building is that way too?”

  Josiah paused. “Roughly,” he said. “North-east, I would say.” He turned to Thad. “You are thinking that he came from there?”

  Thad nodded again. “It would make sense,” he said. “We don’t know much about why he was here, but he was found with a book that I believe links to this building. My theory is that he was checking out the building when he became lost.” He paused. “Or maybe he was escaping from it.”

  Josiah’s eyes widened. “What do you know about the building?”

  Thad sighed. “I know enough that it’s a dangerous place,” he said. “And everything that you have told me about it backs that up. If there have been rumours of people disappearing that says enough.”

  Josiah nodded. “I’ve always had a bad feeling about it, which is why I’ve kept my distance.” He paused, seemingly struggling with something. “Old Fairley talks about it a lot, but no one listens to him. They just say that he’s stark raving mad.”

  Thad’s eyes narrowed further. “What does he say?”

  Josiah stared down at the sand. “He claims that he was abducted and taken there. That it’s run by aliens that do experiments on people.” He smiled slightly, staring up at Thad. “You can see why he has a reputation. No one takes any notice of him. They just leave him alone.”

  Thad stilled. “Where does he live?”

  “In a shack in the desert,” Josiah replied. “All by himself. He’s been there for years.”

  Keeley stared at Thad, her heart pounding. She knew where his mind was going. He wanted to speak to this Fairley character and find out more about what went on at this building. Even though he was stark raving mad, apparently.

  She felt a chill go through her, despite the heat. Anyone would say that her father was mad, too. And he had been in this same place. Was there a connection?

  Thad turned to Josiah. “You’ve been a great help,” he said. “Could I push it a bit further and ask if you could take us to see this man Fairley?”

  Josiah scratched his head beneath the hat. “It mightn’t be wise,” he said eventually. “Fairley is mad, like I said, and he doesn’t like visitors. He might just decide to come out shooting.”

  Thad took a deep breath. “We are going to have to take that chance,” he said. “But I understand if you don’t want to risk it. Could you at least give us directions to his place?”

  Josiah sighed. “I’ll take you there,” he said. “He knows me, at least, even if he claims he doesn’t remember me. I have a fair idea of how to calm him down if he’s riled.” His gaze turned to Keeley. “You don’t want to be putting the lady in harm’s way.”

  They walked back to the truck, climbing in. Keeley felt a stab of apprehension. What exactly was this Fairley man like, and why was Josiah so worried?

  ***

  Thad could see the little shack perched high on the top of a hill. It was surrounded by a rickety wooden fence, with palings falling haphazardly.

  As they drove slowly towards it, he could see skeleton heads of cattle hanging from the palings. Their bleached white faces, with blackened eye sockets, seemed to follow them as they travelled the path towards the shack. Despite himself, Thad shivered. It was a foreboding place. No wonder Josiah hadn’t been eager to come here.

  They pulled up at a distance. Thad’s gaze wandered over the place. It seemed to be an informal junkyard, scattered with rusty old cars, old mattresses and the like. A cornucopia of rotting furniture and car parts, spreading out as far as the eye could see.

  His gaze flickered to the tin roof of the shack. An elaborate tower of antennas reached towards the sky, almost as
big as the dwelling itself. He was surprised that the shack didn’t collapse entirely beneath the weight of it. Obviously Old Fairley liked to watch some cable television, or maybe he enjoyed picking up distant radio signals?

  There was still no sign of the occupant. The shack’s door remained firmly closed.

  “This is how we’ll do it,” said Josiah, turning to them both. “You two stay here, and I’ll approach the house. He’s more likely to hear me out if it’s just me. When I signal it’s safe, you can get out and I’ll introduce you.” He chuckled slightly. “If it’s safe, that is. You might just see me hightailing it to the car with gunshots ringing above my head.”

  Thad nodded, turning to Keeley to see how she was handling this. She was pale, but then she had been pale pretty much this whole time, since they had discovered Josiah’s connection to her father.

  She’s a strong woman, thought Thad, his heart turning over in his chest as he gazed at her. A strong, beautiful woman, who was determined to see this through.

  “You okay with that, Keeley?” he asked gently. “Because we can turn around and head back if you’re not. Just say the word.”

  Keeley took a deep breath. “I’m okay.”

  Josiah nodded, taking a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.”

  He opened the truck door and climbed out, slowly heading towards the shack. Thad and Keeley were silent for a moment as they watched him go. Then Thad turned to her again.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” he said, his eyes trawling her face. “You’ve been so quiet.”

  Keeley nodded. “It’s just all happened so quickly,” she said slowly. “Stumbling onto Josiah and Daisy, and them knowing about Daddy. And going to where he was found.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “I guess I’m still just trying to process it.”

  Thad nodded, too, his eyes never leaving her face. “It’s hard for you, I know. But at least we have found something out, Keeley. It’s not everything yet, but it’s a start.”

  Keeley gazed at him. “Thank you for doing this with me. It means more than I can say.”