Payback

by Jonnie Jacobs

  “I sure hope so.” Cassie stretched her arms. “We did good today. But now I’m hungry. And tired. Can we call it quits?”

  “I’m ready for a break, too.”

  Rather than head back into Trout Creek, they stopped at a small roadside bar closer to the motel called the Hungry Coyote Saloon. The blinking neon sign above the door advertised “Food,” although Marta had no idea what sort of food.

  As she suspected, the bar offered burgers and chicken wings, and, oddly, grilled scallops, along with three kinds of fries. They both ordered hamburgers.

  “You going to call Gordon?” Cassie asked.

  “Later.”

  Cassie gave her a quizzical look. “You haven’t talked to him since yesterday.”

  “There’s nothing new to report. And I’m sure he’d call me if he learned anything useful.”

  “You two are on the outs, aren’t you?”

  Marta no longer knew what they were. The man she’d married was not the man she was married to now, but until recently, she’d had faith that everything would work out. The tension in yesterday’s phone call only added to her doubts.

  “We’re going through a rough patch,” she agreed.

  “All because of me.”

  “You talking about Todd?”

  “Yeah. I feel so guilty.”

  “You should. But it’s not just that. Losing his job changed Gordon. He’s been withdrawn and detached and negative. Besides, you told Todd I’d be in Minneapolis, you didn’t force me to sleep with him. And you didn’t tell him to seduce Jamie.”

  “God, no. Never.” Cassie played with the salt and pepper shakers on the table. “You believe me, don’t you?”

  “Of course.” It surprised Marta to find that she actually did.

  “You know how Mom used to tell me, ‘Why can’t you be more like Marta’? It did make me resent you, but deep down I think I really wanted to be like you. I just never knew how.”

  “And now you know that was all a load of crap. I’m not a role model for anyone, not even my own daughter.”

  “You’re being a bit hard on yourself, don’t you think?”

  “No. I screwed up and hurt everything and everyone I hold dear. It’s my fault Jamie’s in jeopardy.”

  “But we’re close to finding her,” said Cassie, playing cheerleader again. “Remember, we passed that trailer park Jamie saw?”

  “As you pointed out, the name wasn’t what Jamie remembered. It might mean nothing.” Marta’s earlier optimism had deserted her. She ate a pickle slice. “Let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?”

  “If that’s what you want.”

  Marta looked toward the bar. There were a handful of people seated there—a couple of male construction workers and a young blond who kept giggling at everything they said. At the far end of the bar, an older woman in trousers and a flannel shirt sat by herself, drinking a beer.

  “We should leave a flyer here, too,” Marta said. “I’ll go ask the bartender.”

  She angled into the empty spot next to the lone woman. The bartender came over right away. “What can I get you?”

  “I have a favor to ask.” She showed him the flyer and gave him the short explanation.

  “Sure, I’ll post it. Never had kids myself, but my sister’s oldest is a real hellion so I can imagine what you’re going through.”

  The older woman picked up the flyer and examined it. Marta began a second recitation of her explanation when the woman interrupted.

  “I heard what you told Harlan.” She nodded to the bartender.

  “You recognize either of these two, Maggie?” he asked her.

  She shook her head. “Nope. But there was an old guy named Winslow had a cabin here years ago. My father and him were fishing buddies. Funny guy. ’Course Winslow’s not an unusual name so it don’t mean much.”

  “Do you remember where the cabin was?” Marta asked.

  “I was only there a couple of times, a long time ago.” She turned back to her drink and Marta thought that was the end of it. A few moments later, the woman said, “Out by Porcupine Ridge, I think. Off a road that came right after a creek crossing.”

  “Porcupine Ridge, where’s that?”

  The woman called to the bartender. “Hey, Harlan, you got a pen I can use?”

  Harlan pulled a pen from his pocket and handed it to her.

  The woman took the paper napkin from under her beer, turned it over, and sketched out a crude map. “Wasn’t but one road up that way back then. Not so sure about now.”

  “And there was a bridge?”

  “More of a creek overpass.”

  Marta could barely contain her excitement. “Thank you. You’ve been a big help.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  Marta hurried back to their table and told Cassie what she’d learned. “Hurry up and finish your burger,” she urged.

  “What? We’re going out there tonight?”

  “I can’t sit still and twiddle my thumbs.”

  “Shouldn’t we wait for morning? We don’t even have a flashlight.”

  “We’ll see if there are any cabins that appear to be occupied. We’ll go back in the morning, but taking a look tonight will save us time.”

  Chapter 49

  Gordon had been playing phone tag with Simon Jennings, the business blogger, since yesterday afternoon. They finally connected as Gordon was finishing the tuna sandwich that passed for his dinner.

  He had explained the situation in general terms in his email, which allowed him to get down to business early into the conversation.

  “I was hoping you might be able to tell me about the family,” he said. “Particularly Travis Winslow.”

  “Happy to try, but I’m not sure any of it will help find your daughter. You said she ran off with Travis?”

  “Right. At least I’m fairly sure it’s the same man. He told us his name was Todd Wilson.”

  “Interesting.” Jennings seemed to think about that for a moment before continuing. “Travis is the youngest of three. Youngest by far. The product of a second marriage. His father, Eric Travis, divorced wife number one, mom of the two older kids, and married Jacqueline Henderson, who by all accounts was some bimbo he knocked up while still married to wife number one. The older kids were in their late teens by then. Understandably, they resented the hell out of her, and if I had to guess, their new half-brother.”

  “That marriage lasted?”

  “Despite predictions to the contrary, it did. Right up until the happy couple was killed in a private plane crash some time in the late eighties. Travis would have been about fifteen or so at the time.”

  “And the bank?”

  “The three siblings inherited equally. The older two kids were already being groomed to take over, so in terms of the business, the transition wasn’t as jarring as one might expect. At first it was quite smooth, in fact. Citizen’s Choice had four branches at the time of the senior Winslow’s death, and it’s grown to six at the present. But the bank is in trouble financially. The mortgage crisis took a toll, made worse by some bad business decisions.”

  “Where does Travis fit in? Is he involved with the bank?”

  “Good question. He’s a key player, at least on paper. Nominally he’s got some title, but I get the impression his main job is laying low and staying out of trouble, something he’s managed with limited success. In fact, his inheritance is controlled by the family attorney, a man named Conrad.”

  That explained the cell phone account.

  “The bank is in talks with AG National,” Jennings continued. “It’s looking to expand into the Texas market. The brother and sister can’t afford to retire, so they’re hoping to structure a deal that gives them a continued role at the new, larger entity.”

  “Bigger pond and all that?” Gordon didn’t understand the world of high finance, but he was all too familiar with the concept of getting ahead by moving on to bigger and better.

  “Exactly. I think their
biggest concern now is that Travis will screw up the deal. Seems he’s a bit of a loose cannon. He’s been in trouble pretty much his whole life.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “That’s not entirely clear. The family has tried to keep it all hush-hush. I do know he was kicked out of prep school as a teenager, but given that it was around the time his parents were killed, I’m not sure it means much. There are rumors that he broke a woman’s arm in college, and he was involved in the death of another. No charges were filed in either case. There does appear to have been a restraining order filed against him by an ex-girlfriend but it has since expired.”

  “Serious stuff.”

  “If it’s true. There were also some drug charges that led to a couple of stints of rehab.”

  “Sounds like a prince,” Gordon noted with sarcasm.

  “Probably not the kind of guy you want your daughter hanging around with, but I don’t know any of this firsthand. Travis Winslow isn’t the focus of my reporting. On a personal level I find the family story fascinating. I mean, here’s this kid, part of a wealthy, prosperous family. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Except his father is an older man, probably not much involved in his young son’s life. He has older siblings he doesn’t really know, and they hate him. Then his parents are killed, and, boom, he’s all alone.”

  “But still rich.”

  “Absolutely. Some people rise to the occasion and develop character. Others . . . Well, I get the sense that Travis is one of the others.”

  Gordon didn’t share Jennings’s empathy with Travis, but then his knowledge of the guy was personal. “One last question. Do you know anything about a family cabin in the woods of northern California?”

  “Can’t say I do. But the old man, not the father killed in the crash, but his father, Lincoln Winslow, who founded the bank, was a big outdoors guy … hunter, fisherman, all that stuff. And he grew up in California. So I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a cabin there somewhere.”

  Gordon was practically vibrating with excitement. Although he wasn’t sure what he’d accomplished in terms of finding Jamie, it had to be a step in the right direction. He tried calling Marta, but the phone went directly to voice mail. He left a message asking her to call him as soon as possible.

  Next he called the assessor’s office for Siskiyou County where Trout Creek was located.

  “Can you give me the location of a property?” Gordon asked.

  “Do you have a parcel number?”

  “Just a name.”

  “A name?” The clerk seem perplexed.

  “I’m trying to get the address of a property owned by someone with the last name of Winslow,” Gordon explained.

  “Maybe you should try the phone book.”

  “I don’t have a phone book.” Gordon took a deep breath. “Don’t you have a list of properties by owner’s name?”

  “Parcel number, address, and assessed valuation.”

  Gordon’s phone pinged indicating an incoming call. “Thanks,” he told the clerk, adding silently “for nothing.” He clicked to the second call, hoping it was Marta.

  Instead, it was Detective Phillips. “I got a call from the authorities in California,” he said. “One of the interviews your wife gave there prompted a report from a woman who thinks she saw your daughter last week.”

  Gordon’s heart skipped a beat. “Where?”

  “In the East Bay. A town called Emeryville. She saw a girl who looked like Jamie in the condo building where she lives. What’s more, the owner of a condo in that building reported that strangers were living in his unit while he was out of town. They were gone by the time the police did a security check.”

  “Right, they’ve moved on,” Gordon reminded him. “Remember, Jamie called us from a cabin somewhere in northern California.”

  “I’m aware of that. But I thought you might like to know your efforts are generating some response.”

  If Jamie’s photo had prompted one call, maybe there would be others. “There’s a chance my daughter is near a town called Trout Creek. At a cabin that was at one time owned by Lincoln Winslow, grandfather to the man who’s holding her captive. Is there any way to get a location for the place?”

  “Let me make a call to local officials out there.”

  “Thanks. You’ll keep me posted?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Gordon tried reaching Marta again, and when the call again went directly to voice mail, he tried Cassie. Her phone did likewise. They had to be in an area without cell coverage, but couldn’t they find someplace to make a call?

  Or was Marta intentionally ignoring him? Possibly, he thought, remembering the angry words they’d exchanged yesterday. But surely Marta would put finding Jamie before marital acrimony.

  He was three thousand miles away. Cut off, out of touch, and hopelessly isolated.

  To hell with it! Gordon went online and booked a flight to San Francisco. Then he cancelled his classes for the remainder of the week, left another message for Marta, and packed a bag. He was tired of feeling like a fifth wheel.

  Chapter 50

  Jamie was having trouble thinking about anything but the padlock on the outside of the front door. Todd had explained that it was to keep people from breaking in when the cabin was vacant. That seemed reasonable, but it didn’t mean that he hadn’t locked her in. Why wouldn’t the door open yesterday?

  She’d been playing the night over in her mind all today. On the surface, everything had been nice. The steaks were delicious, the fire warm and cozy, and Todd cheerful. He teased her about being panicked at finding herself alone, but it was a sweet sort of teasing. He was so loving and attentive, she suspected he probably felt guilty about leaving her, even though he wouldn’t admit it.

  She’d slept fitfully. Every time she woke, it was with an edge of fear. She wanted to trust Todd, but she couldn’t stop the doubts from hovering in the back of her mind.

  In the light of morning, she decided she was letting herself get worked up over nothing. When Todd suggested they take a drive, she’d flown into his arms with excitement. They had taken a ride through the countryside. Todd showed her a waterfall he’d loved as a child, a spot high in the hills were you could see almost forever in every direction, a berry patch thick with ripe berries, and he told her repeatedly how beautiful she was and how much she meant to him. They laughed a lot and she found it easy to remember why she loved him.

  But when she again broached the possibility of calling home to let her parents know she was okay, he’d grown quiet and sullen. She hadn’t pushed it.

  She wondered if they were looking for her. Did they miss her or were they angry with her? Would they even want her back?

  It had been a wonderful day, but now, as she finished washing tonight’s dinner dishes, she was again thinking about the lock. Was she being paranoid? Imagining the worst for no reason? It made total sense to padlock the door when the cabin was vacant. Up here with no one around, vandals and burglars could pretty much come and go as they pleased. But she couldn’t remember Todd unlocking a padlock when they’d first arrived. In fact, she didn’t recall seeing a lock at all. And it seemed newer and shinier than anything else on the cabin’s exterior.

  Todd patted the couch beside him. “Come sit with me.”

  Jamie put away the last of the dinner dishes and curled next to him, working to push the troubling questions from her mind.

  “I’m thinking maybe it’s time to move on,” he said after a moment.

  “Where to?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to decide. I mean it’s nice here. I’ve always liked it. But we can’t stay forever.” He smiled at her. “Roughing it gets old after a while.”

  Jamie’s heart leapt with joy. She didn’t hate the cabin as much as she had at first, but she didn’t like it, either. It was still dark, dingy, and isolated. The sooner they left, the better.

  “We need someplace we can settle in and get on with our lives,” he added. />
  A real life with Todd. That’s what she’d wanted from the start. Jamie experienced a rush of excitement. Then felt it dim with the shadow of sadness. She thought of her parents. And her friends. She missed them all so much.

  She longed to see her mother’s smile, hear her dad’s laugh. She even missed their nagging, which she understood now showed they cared. She wanted to hang out with Alyssa and walk to English class with Oliver. She wanted to listen to music she liked and sleep in her own room.

  “How about Hawaii?” Todd asked. “Have you ever been there?”

  Jamie shook her head.

  “Sunshine, beaches, warm weather. I could teach you to surf. And buy you a bikini.” He winked at her. “We might think about getting a boat, too. What do you think? Sounds good, doesn’t it?”

  It did, and it didn’t. “Isn’t Hawaii more of a place to vacation than to live?”

  Todd laughed. “For some folks, yeah. But lots of people live there, too.” He ruffled her hair, teasing her like a child. “We’re on the West Coast, halfway there already. We could get a condo near the beach and you could finish school.”

  The idea of starting over in a new school held no appeal at all. “What about your job?”

  He laughed again. “That’s my problem, not yours.”

  Todd wanted a life with her. That’s what she wanted, too. So why did she feel herself resisting? “What about my parents?” she asked.

  “What about them?”

  “Could we tell them?”

  “It’s probably best to wait until after you turn eighteen.”

  “But—”

  “You’re acting like a child, Jamie.” He pulled away and looked at her sharply. “People grow up and leave home. That’s the natural order of things. You want to stay with Mommy and Daddy forever?”

  Jamie swallowed hard. Tears stung her eyes. Why did he have to talk to her like that? Like she was some infantile idiot. Like what she wanted or felt didn’t matter at all.

  Suddenly, Todd stood and went to the window. “You hear that?”

  “What?” And then she picked up the soft hum of a car in the distance.