Alaska Secrets

by Sarah Varland

  Me, too.

  While the trip had just started, it was only a few days long. Would they be able to find anything out in such a short amount of time?

  Ellie had envisioned people sitting around the fire longer, getting to know the employees of Raven Pass Expeditions, but there hadn’t been much time for aimless chatter, or for listening for it. Maybe tomorrow night would allow for more of that. At the moment she still didn’t know what to think.

  She wasn’t sure she trusted any of them. Actually, scratch that. She was completely sure that she didn’t.

  Ellie stared at the phone for another minute, then decided to try again to get some sleep. She took a deep breath and laid her head down again.

  She’d just drifted off, or at least it felt that way, when she woke up suddenly.

  The night was cold and quiet. She frowned. Why had she woken up, then? Was she that tense?

  Then she heard it. Something was moving outside. One of her dogs whined. Ellie sat up straight and swallowed against the knot of fear growing in her chest.

  Footsteps on the snow. Slow. Deliberate.

  Ellie reached for the zipper.

  Stuck. Her zipper was stuck. Panic snapped in her brain, like electricity overloading. She’d had a friend in college play a practical joke on someone by zip-tying their tent shut once. But this was no joke, and unless she cut herself out of the tent she was stuck.

  Was her knife in here with her? Or in the sled bag?

  She thought it might be the latter.

  Ellie heard something splash against the side of the tent. Smelled gasoline.

  No. No. No.

  Should she yell? If she yelled, would whoever was out there just shoot her?

  She pressed the phone buttons quicker than she ever had.

  Hoped Seth would see it.

  Help.

  * * *

  Ellie’s text came through, and panic surged in Seth’s heart. He went for the zipper of his tent, found it wouldn’t give and reached for the fixed-blade knife he kept in his vest pocket, then sliced it open. The noise it made, cutting through the vinyl, was loud and dramatic.

  All at once his senses were overwhelmed. He heard the sound of footsteps running away, and as he pushed his way out of the hole in his tent, he saw a shadow moving far away in the woods.

  Then came the overwhelming smell of gasoline. Smoke.

  Ellie.

  Her tent was on fire, flames just licking up the sides, her screams echoing in the night. Seth hurried to the tent, reached for the tent zipper.

  It was zip-tied shut. Like his must have been, also. “Ellie!” he yelled.

  “Hurry!” she screamed. Then coughed. Smoke inhalation was as real a danger as the flames. Either would be a horrible way to go. Seth reached in his pocket for a knife.

  “Back up. I’m going to cut it.”

  “There’s nowhere to back up. Seth, hurry!”

  Seth grabbed his knife, sliced open the end, pulled the tent fabric until the hole he’d made was big enough to climb through.

  Ellie stumbled out, sobbing.

  She was still in danger. They all were if this fire spread. Seth reached back inside his tent for the water bottle he kept in the bottom of his sleeping bag and threw it on the flames, then reached for loose snow and kept throwing and throwing it till the flames were more under control. Ellie joined him, throwing piles of fluffy powder. Then Seth grabbed a large water jug and poured it over the flames that were still licking at the fabric. They sizzled and died.

  Ellie was sobbing and stepped outside. “I thought I was going to die.”

  He held his arms out, and she stepped into them. He pulled her tight and then let her go. “Let’s get your things out.” Much as he’d like to just stand there forever, being thankful that she was okay and calling himself every kind of idiot for not doing more to protect her, they needed to save what they could of her belongings.

  He pulled her sleeping bag out, which was fine, and her backpack. The tent itself still smoldered, and the smell of gasoline had rendered it a loss. They’d pack it and throw it away.

  Movement to their left drew Seth’s attention. Wade was climbing out of his tent. It was not zip-tied. “What happened?”

  “Someone set her tent on fire.”

  Wade’s eyes widened. For a second, Seth wondered if they could have this all wrong. What if someone like Wade was running the drugs, in his sled bag, maybe, and had just used the Wi-Fi at RPE, and that was why Liz’s friend had given her that location for the computer messages?

  “Is she okay?” He came closer.

  He didn’t smell at all like gasoline.

  Would he have been able to douse her tent without some part of him having the smell linger? Seth was inclined to say no.

  “We’re short a tent,” Ellie said with a sniff. “But I’m okay.”

  “I can bunk with Wade and you can have my tent,” he told her, glancing at Wade for confirmation that was okay with him. The other man was nodding, his expression guileless.

  Ellie just continued to cry.

  Had he ever heard her sob like that? They’d seen each other once after Liz’s death. Well, twice, but one of the times, Ellie was breaking up with him and was so much not like herself, completely guarded and careful, that it hardly counted. The time he’d seen her was right after and she had cried then, but it had been a silent cry. This was not quiet. It was anguish, plain and simple.

  Seth hated that he couldn’t make her pain go away.

  “I want this to be over,” she whispered.

  Seth looked up. Blinked as he realized that it could be. If they could figure out which of the staff members hadn’t been in their tents at the time of the fire, they’d know who had likely been responsible.

  “Come with me.” He grabbed her hand and moved toward the tents. Brandt’s first.

  “Watch the other tents,” he said to Ellie. “Brandt?”

  Movement inside, like someone getting out of a sleeping bag. But that could be easily faked.

  “What happened?” He seemed to be taking in their appearances, and as he did so, the look of concern on his face grew. “Is everyone okay? Do I smell smoke?”

  Ellie opened her mouth to speak, but Seth could see she was about to blow their cover and end this.

  They couldn’t do that if this wasn’t really over, not without giving up on solving the case.

  “Someone set Ellie’s tent on fire.”

  “Someone...” His frown deepened. He seemed to be trying to wake up and process what Seth had said. After a few seconds the frown turned to an expression of shock. Maybe anger. “Someone what?”

  Seth walked him through the events of the last few minutes.

  “Let me get the rest of the team.” Brandt pulled his boots on and started out of the tent toward the other two support-staff tents.

  He walked to the first one as Seth and Ellie watched. Halley came out, looking tired. The next tent. Jared came out of it.

  So was Peter, the partner who had gone home, the one who had set the fire? But how, if he wasn’t on-site? Had he stayed nearby to sabotage them, rather than returning home like he’d said?

  Had one of these three people done it and managed to get back into their tent before Seth had realized he should investigate?

  Or was someone here calling the shots and had told an outside party where they’d be? That made the most sense. It would be too risky for any of the support staff to do it themselves. But there was no reason one of them couldn’t be working with someone else and providing locations.

  “Someone set her tent on fire,” he explained. “We’ll need to adjust our plans, shuffle sleeping arrangements around some for tomorrow night.” He checked his watch. “And the rest of tonight apparently.”

  Seth glanced at his watch. Just past three in t
he morning. “She’s using my tent for tonight. I’ll stay awake just to keep an eye on everything.”

  “The clients are fine, correct?” Brandt looked like he’d aged ten years in the last few minutes, and the worry lines around his eyes and forehead seemed genuine. Could that be faked? Seth supposed so, but the man didn’t seem to be manufacturing his anxiety over the entire situation. Still, Seth would think that as the CEO, Brandt’d want to cancel this expedition. Things were clearly not going smoothly and they could all be in danger. The fact that he didn’t suggest this as an option raised Seth’s suspicions. But he didn’t want to suggest canceling. He hated that Ellie had been in danger, but some part of him hoped that meant they were getting closer.

  If the trip ended now, how would they go about investigating? This was still their best option. Seth kept quiet about those thoughts, answered the question Brandt had asked instead.

  “I didn’t notice anything wrong over in their camp. And it’s separated enough that no one woke up.”

  Brandt nodded, seeming to consider the situation. “Good, good.”

  “Should we call the police?” Halley asked, nervousness in her voice.

  “No,” Brandt cut her off so quickly that Seth’s suspicions rose again. “No police right now. We can file a report when we get to town, but we need to finish this expedition.” His eyes went to Ellie. “Is that all right with you? I assure you that I believe a report should be filed, but as the clients are innocent in this, I don’t see the point in ruining their trip.”

  She looked at Seth. She considered it from his perspective and finally nodded slightly.

  She looked back at Brandt. “We can wait. I would like a report filed when we get back to town, though.”

  “Of course, of course.” The man seemed to be gathering his bearings and reminded Seth more of the person he’d met who had set up this trip. He was far more in control of the situation than he had been a minute ago. If he was acting, he had impressive skills. But Seth had been fooled by people before.

  “We should look for footprints in the woods leading to my tent.” Ellie spoke up, seeming to be getting her confidence back, also. “But they’ll still be there in the morning. For now I think we all need to go to sleep.” She glanced back at Seth.

  They all nodded their agreement. One by one, they returned to their tents. Brandt stayed outside after the others had left.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” He seemed uncomfortable. “I don’t only pride myself on these trips being a good experience for our clients. I try to ensure that guides have an enriching experience outside, also, and this hasn’t been that for you so far.” He frowned. “This doesn’t have to do with you getting lost, does it?”

  “They don’t seem obviously connected,” Seth stated, because it was the truth, though he and Ellie knew they likely were.

  As sincere as the CEO of RPE seemed, Seth wasn’t ready to discount him as a suspect, not yet.

  “You’ll be okay?” he asked Ellie.

  She nodded. “My throat hurts. But that’s nothing compared to what could have happened.”

  Seth nodded. The flames incinerating the tent had irritated his throat, also. But thankfully neither of them had been burned.

  “Try to get some sleep,” he finally said and watched her as she climbed into the tent. His heart was still pounding hard due to awareness of the fact that he’d come so close to losing her.

  He’d intended to stay awake keeping watch from inside Wade’s tent. Instead he found himself walking toward the burned shell of Ellie’s. The area around it was covered in footprints. His. Ellie’s. Wade’s. They’d destroyed any evidence of someone walking around it in the middle of the night to tamper with it.

  But that didn’t mean there wouldn’t still be tracks in the woods. And Seth didn’t want to wait till morning. Instead he walked into the woods himself, careful to look behind him and keep an eye on the camp. All seemed quiet.

  There were no footprints.

  Whoever had set Ellie’s tent on fire had come through the camp. So either someone had been quiet enough not to wake the other staff—not hard to imagine since they all apparently slept hard enough that it had taken so long for Ellie’s screams to wake them up.

  Or one of the staff had done it, and then crept back to the safety of their tent.

  The second option made his blood hot with anger. The concept that one of them could try to kill her in such a gruesome way and then pretend innocence...

  It made him feel like they were facing more than danger here. They were facing evil.

  FIFTEEN

  Ellie slept harder that night than she had in days, even after everything that had happened. Or maybe because of it. The next morning, all of her was exhausted, from her tense shoulders to the muscles in her back. Anxiety felt like a heavy coat she didn’t want to be wearing, but no matter how hard she tried to shrug it off, she couldn’t quite do it.

  Helpless. She’d been completely helpless last night. She’d needed Seth to save her and while she was grateful he had, she didn’t like being someone who needed saving. That wasn’t going to happen again. Maybe Ellie couldn’t control her circumstances while investigating this case, but she could sure control her responses to them and her preparedness level. Game on.

  Except it wasn’t a game.

  She blew out a breath as she checked her watch and saw it was almost time for her to start getting ready. Seth had entered his tent and was sitting by the door.

  “You haven’t been in here long, have you?” she asked, almost embarrassed if he’d been watching her sleep. There was something vulnerable about not being awake and in proximity to someone else. But it felt right with Seth. The admission that she loved him had broken down the last remnants of a wall between them.

  He shook his head. “No, and I’m sorry if I shouldn’t have come in. It’s just I wanted to make sure you woke up on time. You slept really hard.”

  She nodded. “I did.”

  Seth gave a little nod also and then stood, backing out of the hole in the tent. “I’ll fix this when we stop for the night tonight,” he promised her. “So don’t worry or anything.”

  “Okay. Let me finish getting ready and then we can look for footprints.” She smiled. She was fully dressed, had dressed before she’d fallen asleep for the second time, so she was ready for the day, just needed to brush her teeth.

  “I checked last night.”

  “Without me?” She felt a flicker of frustration but then realized Seth wasn’t trying to take over. He’d just been trying to let her get much-needed rest. She was part of a team now, she needed to remember that. Ellie recovered quickly and asked, “What did you find?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing good. There are no footprints from the woods to your tent. Nothing that stood out on the trail nearby. It was either someone from the camp, or someone sneaked right through the camp.”

  Ellie nodded slowly. She’d not held out much hope that footprints would tell them anything in this case, but it had been a hope. Now it was just a deadend.

  “Thanks.” She let out a sigh. “Let me brush my teeth and I’ll join you outside.”

  He nodded, stepping back out of the tent.

  Ellie brushed her teeth quickly and then pulled her boots on. Today was a new day. Seeing Seth this morning had bolstered her courage. She wasn’t investigating alone. He had her back, she had his, and it felt like they were a team. And no, her situation hadn’t changed, but she was ready to face it. Twice she’d been caught off guard. She couldn’t afford for that to happen a third time. There could only be so many near misses before whoever was after her got lucky.

  “Seth?” she called as she stepped out of the tent. The day was dark still; winter darkness tended to linger, and the air felt colder than it had the night before. She rubbed her arms to warm them.

  He walked over from where
he’d been doing something near the dog sleds. “Yes?”

  She lowered her voice. “I don’t think it’s Brandt.”

  He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

  “You agree?”

  “I do. He seemed genuinely concerned last night, and not like a man who had something to lose in a criminal sort of way. He seemed actually bothered by how this was going to impact the trip for the clients and for you.”

  “Could be that he isn’t used to one business endangering the other,” she pointed out with her cynical side.

  Seth seemed to consider that. “It’s possible. But that’s not the only reason I don’t think it’s him. He seemed to have been genuinely asleep last night. I think he was actually out cold when the fire was set. Either that or he’s the best actor I’ve ever met.”

  Ellie didn’t, either, which was why she’d told him her opinion in the first place. But if it wasn’t Brandt...

  She looked toward the fire, where Jared was already cooking something and Halley was laughing at something he’d said. Brandt wore a frown and was looking at something on his SAT phone.

  Who else could it be, if not the CEO?

  Clearly, they had options right in front of them. But neither Jared nor Halley was what she would have expected.

  Then again, there was still Peter, the partner they’d only met briefly. Had he given up the trip because he saw them on it?

  Or was it just a coincidence?

  She wouldn’t stake her life on any of her suspicions right now, but that was exactly what she was going to have to do eventually.

  “I just don’t know. I just hope today goes better. No incidents.”

  Seth put his hands on her arms, turned her toward him. “If the smallest thing happens, let me know. I’m not planning to let you out of my sight today.”

  She nodded, reassurance filling her at his words. “I’d feel better that way.” She laughed. “Todd probably would, too. He wasn’t very happy that his wife took a little detour yesterday. And he doesn’t even know...” She trailed off. “You don’t think I’m endangering her, do you? Staying on this trip?”