by Cassie Miles
“Look at me,” Anna Rose said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Your personal relationship to Baer and Slocum is a problem. The FBI already suspects you, and the deeper connection makes it worse.” She frowned and leaned closer to her computer screen, as if that would improve her vision. “I see that look in your eye, Noah. We don’t have time to indulge in angst. Do you understand me?”
Ruefully, he nodded. He and Gennie lived at opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to pain. She didn’t feel a thing while he tended to wallow in the sadness. “Don’t worry. I won’t go off the rails. My angst—as you call it—is motivation. I renovated this cabin while I mourned my brother. Gennie and I will solve this thing and restore ARC’s stellar reputation.”
“I’m sure you will. Right now, I want you to go to Baer’s property and search. Though I’d like to hold this information close to the vest, I’m obligated to tell the FBI investigators.”
“How long have we got?”
“I’ll make that call in a few hours, around nine o’clock,” she said. “Take extreme security precautions. Disable any device that might be used to track you. If you’re getting close to a solution, the murderer will be threatened.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Be careful, dear. And take care of Gennie. Something is developing between you and this young woman.” Anna Rose beamed. “I approve.”
He was a grown man and didn’t need anyone’s blessing. Still, he appreciated her opinion. He and Gennie were good together.
Chapter Eighteen
Gennie believed the information collected by Anna Rose. More importantly, she believed the threat. She and Noah were in danger.
Before they left his house, she dressed for battle with her Beretta, her second gun in the ankle holster, a stun gun and a double-edged blade in a belt sheath. Maybe a bit of overkill, but she wanted to be prepared. Her hiking boots provided ankle support but were still lightweight. In the pockets of her cargo pants, she had various items, including extra ammo clips, zip ties to use as handcuffs, bungee cords, a lighter and granola bars in case her energy dipped low. If she’d been wearing her army camo jacket, she would have had even more pockets to fill. But she hadn’t thought far enough ahead to bring it. Her jean jacket fit neatly over a thin custom-made bulletproof vest.
Riding in the passenger seat, she experienced a familiar surge of adrenaline. They were embarking on a mission that required her to be alert and observant, engaging all her training and skill. Before Noah started the car, he’d disconnected the internet and the GPS so they couldn’t be tracked. He gave their cell phones a similar treatment. Out of touch with any other communication or unwanted surveillance, they were in stealth mode.
A few minutes before seven o’clock, they drove away in his SUV, which had been locked in the garage at his cabin. She wished she could say it was a beautiful morning, but rain clouds draped across the skies like a heavy curtain. The gray fog was thick enough that Noah had to use the headlights.
As he drove, she studied his profile. His brow furrowed as he stared straight ahead through the windshield. His jaw was tense, and he gripped the steering wheel with both hands. His intensity spoke more than words. From Anna Rose’s report, Noah had learned that his brother’s death might have been part of a larger scheme that Slocum was running. Though not a proven fact, the information was enough to send Noah into a downward spiral.
In the military, she’d learned more than she ever wanted to know about death and sorrow. There was no magical wand she could wave to take away his sadness. Her only option was to accept his pain and be there for him.
“If you want to talk,” she said, “I’ll listen.”
“Not right now.”
“That’s cool.”
His house was about six miles off the highway on a narrow road that wove through forest and canyon as it followed the path of a creek that was usually a trickle. Rainfall and spring runoff from melting snow had swelled the rushing water. In some places, it gushed over the banks. In spite of poor visibility, Noah raced along. He must have driven this route hundreds of times. She wouldn’t presume to tell him to watch where he was going, but she couldn’t help noticing that his gaze was fixed intently on the rearview mirrors.
She turned in her seat and peered through the back window. Far behind them, she caught a glimpse of headlights. “Are we being followed?”
“I can’t tell,” he said. “It’s almost seven, not too early for someone to be on the road for legitimate reasons.”
“You’re driving extra fast,” she said. “Are the headlights keeping up?”
“Yes.”
“How far is it to Baer’s property?”
“According to the directions from Anna Rose, we’ll be there in less than half an hour. I have no idea what we’ll find.”
“Didn’t you go there with your brother and Baer?”
“That was a lifetime ago. I was a dorky teenager, totally impressed by these two manly men. I hardly noticed where we were, but I’m sure there wasn’t a cabin on the property. Baer had to hold off on new construction until paperwork cleared. There was a problem with water rights and Baer wanted to drill a well, even though the property is near a good-sized creek.”
As a Colorado native, she knew that building in the mountains could require tons of permits and appearances at water board meetings, which was a difficult prospect when the owner was in the army, stationed on the other side of the world. “So there might not even be a house?”
“Or the whole area could be a thriving development. Who knows what could have happened in thirteen or fourteen years.”
At the stop sign on the intersection with the main road, he halted and waited for the vehicle that had been behind them to appear. Two minutes passed, and there was nothing.
“I saw the headlights,” she said. The other vehicle had either turned off before reaching the main road or remained in the shadows, lurking. “I know he was there.”
“I’m hoping he doesn’t have a way to trace us.” His dire expression lightened with a grin. “This is like the good old days when drones and satellite surveillance couldn’t watch every move we make.”
She guessed at his plan. “You’re going to drive like a maniac and lose the tail.”
“Hang on.”
He whipped a left onto the highway, headed away from Baer’s property. The road was damp but not icy. In April, it was usually too warm for snow. Hail was more likely, but Noah wasn’t thinking about the weather. They were flying, swooping around the curves and accelerating on the straightaway.
Gennie loved to go fast, whether in a car or motorcycle or boat. Her favorite sport was downhill skiing with the wind in her hair. For her, speed was a full-body experience that elevated her to a different level, almost like sex. And she could tell that Noah felt the same way. When she glanced over at him, his fire and excitement were obvious.
Centrifugal force threw her against the passenger door when he made a sharp left onto another two-lane road. Before she could catch her breath, they rocketed up a steep ascent, took another left and another right onto a gravel road, which immediately forked. Noah steered the SUV to the right. His skill at mountain driving was the only reason they hadn’t skidded off the road and plummeted down a steep cliff.
He killed his headlights, turned into a driveway and parked. “Let’s see if he kept up.”
She gave a little whoop. “Can we do that again?”
In a few quick moves, he unfastened his seat belt, drew his weapon and slipped out of the car. “Are you coming?”
“You bet.”
With her Beretta clenched in her fist, she joined him at the right of the SUV where they hid in the shadows of tall pine trees and waited. There were no lights from the house behind the driveway and no other vehicles on the road, but the forest wasn’t silent. Raindrops splatte
red on the leaves and branches. The wind rustled.
She tugged the brim of her baseball cap, pulling it lower on her forehead. How long should they wait? If the vehicle that had been following them appeared, what should they do? An exchange of gunfire seemed like a really bad idea, especially since she and Noah didn’t know who was in pursuit.
He shrugged. “I think we lost them.”
“Not surprised. Where did you learn to drive like that?”
“I’d like to say that I trained in evasive driving techniques, but I learned the old-fashioned way—being a teenager who liked to go fast and take risks. Most of the time, I got it right.”
“What happened when you got it wrong?”
His sheepish grin was a relief from the tension that had been tying him in knots. “On one memorable occasion, I drove my mom’s car halfway across a frozen lake. The ice cracked. I almost made it to shore before the Toyota went Titanic.”
“You were a troublemaker, a bad boy.”
“Wait, I’ve heard you use that phrase to describe Warrick. I’m not like him.”
“Definitely not,” she said. “Warrick is truly bad. He’s evil. You’re just...naughty. Anyway, I’m glad to hear you joking around.
“Not much of a joke,” he said. “Mom didn’t let me off the hook for the drowned car. The repairs cost every penny I made at my after-school job for six months. I learned my lesson.”
“And that,” she said, “is why you aren’t like Warrick. He does awful stuff, gets away with it and never feels guilty. Not like you.”
“If you say so.” His tone resonated at a deeper, more intimate level. He wasn’t joking anymore. When she looked up at him, peering through the morning mist, his gaze locked with hers. “Thanks, Gennie, for putting up with me.”
“That’s what friends do.” She was accustomed to treating men like buddies, but Noah was more than a friend. “I’m here for you.”
“That goes for you, too.”
“Me? I’m fine.”
“Yes, you are.”
He reached for her through the morning mist and pulled her into an embrace. Though layers of clothing and two bullet-proof vests separated them, she felt his heart beating in time with hers. She wanted to tear off all these clothes, race back to his cabin and snuggle up in a warm, cozy bed. But they had a job to do.
His kiss was quick and perfunctory, but it still felt good.
Back in the SUV, he fired up the engine and set out for Baer’s property. The rain had picked up, and they needed the windshield wipers. Thick clouds made the outlook gray and dismal, but the atmosphere inside the SUV was a hundred times more cheerful. Not only had his kiss lifted her spirits but she was glad to be taking action.
“This is so much better than staring at computer screens and reading documents,” she said. “When we get to Baer’s property, what should we do?”
“It depends on what’s there.” Noah drove with the confidence of someone who was familiar with the territory. “We’ll explore, check out the area and try to find the originals that Loretta was searching for.”
“Then what?”
“We’ll contact Anna Rose and figure out how to pass the information about Baer to the FBI investigators without putting my neck in a noose.”
“Do you really think they consider you a suspect?”
“In their shoes, I would. Check the facts—I was alone in the library with Slocum’s body. I had reason to blame him for my brother’s death, and that reason got deeper when we discovered that Slocum stole this land from my brother’s friend. I had motive.”
“So did all the other people he was blackmailing.”
Among the guests at the fund-raiser, Anna Rose had identified two, possibly three, victims of Slocum’s extortion schemes. If they could find the original documents and read the redacted names that had been crossed out, Gennie was certain there would be more suspects—wealthy, influential people who could lose everything if their secrets got out.
“We’re almost there,” he said as he turned down a rutted gravel road. “We follow this for two-point-seven miles, and then we’re at Baer’s property.”
“Does the area look familiar to you?” She pointed through the rain at a jagged granite formation on the other side of a meadow. “That could be a landmark.”
“I hate to say it, but piles of stones aren’t real unusual.” The SUV jostled and bounced over the ruts, forcing him to slow to a crawl. “That’s why they call these mountains the Rockies.”
“Nice geography lesson, smart guy.”
The land on either side of the road was rugged and undeveloped. She didn’t see cabins or structures of any kind. The directions Anna Rose had given them came from a BLM property map, not a postal address. Without a signpost, how would they know when they had arrived?
Noah must have been thinking the same thing because he said, “I’m guessing that there’s no house on the property. And that means no search. I’m not going to dig under rocks, trying to find buried treasure.”
Though she agreed with him, she wasn’t ready to abandon hope. “Loretta was sure that the mountain property would provide the key. Maybe Dean told her something.”
“Or she could be totally nuts.” He guided the SUV onto a wide spot at the shoulder of the road. “This is two-point-seven miles.”
Peering through the rain, she scanned the forested area. “There’s a path leading through the trees. It looks like somebody drove a car that way.”
“I’m not going to go down that so-called path with my SUV.” He patted the dashboard. “She’s a good car, and I don’t want her to get stuck.”
“As long as we’re here,” she said as she opened her car door, “we should check it out.”
“In the rain,” he muttered as he pulled up his hood.
As far as she was concerned, he had no room to complain. His weatherproof anorak would keep him nice and dry while she sopped up water like a sponge in her denim jacket. She darted into the trees, seeking shelter along the path.
About twenty yards into the forest, she spotted a small trailer camper with wheels that had gone flat a long time ago. At one time, this rusty unit had been white with blue trim. Painted in bold letters beside the door was a simple sign: Baer’s Den.
She marched up to the door and yanked on the handle. “Do you remember seeing this when you came here with your brother?”
“It wasn’t here. I would have remembered a nifty little hideout like this, which is probably why my brother didn’t tell me about it.”
The door handle was loose, and it took some jiggling to get it open. Finally she flung the door wide. The interior of Baer’s Den smelled like mildew and sweaty socks. Holding her nose, she stepped aside. “You first, Noah. You said you liked the nifty hideout.”
Stepping over the threshold, he barely reacted to the pungent stink. She wasn’t surprised. Living in close quarters with men had led her to a theory that guys had an ability to turn off their olfactory senses. To be sure, they enjoyed pleasant fragrances, especially food aromas. But they didn’t seem to be bothered by smells that made her gag.
Trying not to breathe through her nose, she followed him inside, leaving the door open. Baer’s Den was a compact room with a disgusting mattress on a wooden platform, an armchair and a table that could double as a desk. Noah wasted no time going through the built-in drawers and cabinets. Without electricity, there wasn’t much point in the mini-fridge or the microwave on the narrow counter beside a basin.
“Finding anything?” she asked.
“Plates, glasses and canned food,” he said. “There’s a bunch of raggedy old clothes in the drawers.”
She bent down to peer under the platform that held the mattress and saw some half-rotted cardboard boxes. No way would she touch that stuff.
“Over here,” Noah said.
In a corner
under a stack of filthy pillows, there was a combination safe. Solid steel, it stood about three feet tall. She leaned down to take a closer look. “Moving this thing could be a problem. I’d estimate the weight at a hundred or a hundred and twenty pounds, and it’s bolted to the floorboards. We might want to open it here. Given time, I might be able to crack the combination.”
“How did you learn to do that? Were you a bank robber before you joined the military?”
“After I got good at lock-picking, I tried other stuff.” She rubbed the tips of her fingers together. “I might have taken a class with a reformed burglar.”
He squatted beside her and touched the face of the safe. “It doesn’t look as old as the rest of the stuff in here. The trailer belonged to Baer, but I’m guessing that Slocum has been up here. He’s been using this as his hiding place.”
How could he stand being here? The stench was making her dizzy. “What do we do?”
“If we tear out the safe, I’m going to look even guiltier.” He stood and took his cell phone from one of his many pockets. “I’m going to activate this thing and call Anna Rose.”
She couldn’t think of a single reason why she needed to stay in Baer’s Den. She scampered past him to the door where she came to a halt. The rain had picked up. Her choices were to stay inside and deal with the stink or get drenched. She compromised by sticking her nose outside. “Hurry up, Noah.”
He joined her. “It’s ringing. I’ll put her on Speaker.”
Anna Rose popped onto his screen. She looked worried and her voice trembled. “Stop whatever you’re doing. You need to find somewhere to hide until this blows over.”
“We found a safe on Baer’s property,” Noah said.
“Listen to me. I’m more convinced than ever that this was an inside job. You can’t trust anyone. My poor dear, you need to disappear.”
“Explain.”
“Loretta was shot. She’s in critical condition.”
Gennie tensed. Loretta was a difficult little woman but not someone who deserved to be attacked. “What else?”
