by Becki Willis
“Are you sure we’re going the right way?” Kenzie questioned.
“According to the GPS, we have about thirteen miles of gravel road to get there.”
“I bet this is fun during the winter.” She wrinkled her nose at the thought. “But look at all the trees. I love the pines. When we get to the top of this hill, I want to stop so I can take a picture. I’ll be able to get the snowy mountains in the background, with the cattle and the antelope and green pasture in the foreground.”
Another twenty minutes, and they crested a curve. Travis let out an appreciative whistle at the stunning view of the rolling green meadow at the base of the Laramie Mountains. Signs told them they were in the Medicine Bow National Forest and the tiny community of Esterbrook.
“Is this it?” Kenzie asked in confusion. There were more signs than structures. “Where’s the church?”
“I think that’s it,” Travis said, pointing toward the small log structure sitting on the edge of the vast meadow. “We’ll get closer and see.”
A simple rail fence sectioned off the one-room log church building. At a distance, the tiny structure looked lost in the majestic setting, but up close, it was impressive in its own right, with its neatly chinked hand hewn logs and rustic steepled bell. Kenzie quickly became enchanted with the simplistic beauty of the old mountain church, almost forgetting about their mission.
“Feel the air up here.” She breathed in the fresh mountain air, chilled with a stiff breeze off the snowy peaks of Mount Laramie. “Do you think we can just go in?”
Travis tried the door, which opened easily to his touch. He motioned her forward, allowing her to step inside the simple foyer.
“Oh, wow, look at those stained glass doors!” she breathed. Something about the blue work of art demanded reverence, even before stepping inside the sanctuary.
A hush fell upon the couple as they crossed over the threshold. Even though Kenzie rarely attended church, she felt an overwhelming peace move into her soul. The sheer simplicity of the church was breathtaking, adding to its beauty and sense of awe.
The once-varnished floors were worn smooth from years of foot traffic over the narrow planks. Ceiling fans dangled from exposed rafters, where peeled logs spanned overhead in an occasional crisscross pattern. Electric lanterns hung from the log walls, interspersed with the four unadorned glass windows along each side of the church. Seven simple rows of seats lined the center aisle, constructed of log frames and straight board backs. Their only claim to comfort was the three-inch foam cushion that stretched their length. At the front of the church was the pulpit. An old pump organ sat against one wall, a potbelly stove against the other, with the podium in the middle.
But the true centerpiece of the room was the huge plate glass window covering most of the church’s rear log wall. Five feet tall and twelve feet wide, the window flooded the tiny sanctuary with natural light and a breathtaking panorama of the snow-capped Laramie Mountains and their 10,000 plus foot peak.
Almost blinded by the brightness, Kenzie was drawn to the front of the church. A simple log cross sat in the windowsill and was the only obstruction to the majestic beauty beyond.
“Can you imagine worshiping here, looking out at that sight?” Travis murmured from beside her. Even the hardened lawman was moved by the beautiful setting.
“It must be amazing,” she whispered. For some reason, tears pricked her eyes.
Travis placed both hands on her shoulders and allowed her to lean into his chest. No words passed between them as they stared out at the awesome sight, moved by a force greater than mankind.
After a long moment of reverence, Kenzie gathered her thoughts and turned to survey the room behind them. “This place is so perfect,” she said. “It’s like a moment frozen in time, almost untouched by the modern madness we call life.”
“I can see why your mother wanted you to come here. I’ve been to a lot of churches before, but none like this.”
Kenzie frowned as an uneasy sensation slithered down her spine. With the serenity of the moment shattered, she moved from his touch and paced to the front pew, where she sat heavily upon its cushion.
“What’s wrong?” Travis asked sharply, sitting beside her in concern.
“I-I don’t know. It can’t be that simple, Travis. My mother was not a religious person. If she wanted me to come here, it wasn’t to save my soul. There was another reason she sent me here.”
“It’s not possible that somewhere in her soul, she could be touched by God’s creation and feel His power?” he asked gently.
Kenzie sadly shook her head. “She had no soul.” Her words were flat and guttural. “Believe me, the woman was made of stone.”
“You speak of her in the past tense. Is she -?” he let his words linger with a frown.
“To me she is.”
The silence that surrounded them now lacked the peace and tranquility of just moments ago. Kenzie stared unseeingly at the narrow floor planks, until something in Travis’s voice brought her head up with a jerk.
“Kenzie, do you have the letter with you?”
“Yes, why?” She was already digging in her ever-present camera case for the envelope.
“Look at these placards,” he said, touching the brass plate with his thumb. “Several of the pews have them, dedicated in the memory of loved ones. This one is dedicated to Earl and Anna Hechenbeck. Wasn’t that one of the names in your letter?”
Kenzie whipped the letter out and scanned through it. “Yes! Right here. ‘Be sure and look up our good friends the Hechenbecks and the Wielers while you are there. Remember to sit and visit with them. Your favorite game with Anna and Truman was to lay on your back right under their feet and look up at them. That was always you, searching for answers to life’s mysteries in the strangest of places’.”
Travis was already up, reading the names on the other plaques. He found the one he wanted on the other side of the aisle. “This one is in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Truman Wieler.”
“Okay, so there’s something about these two benches. … ‘sit and visit with them’…”
“They both have a perfect view of the mountain,” Travis said thoughtfully. “Then again, so do all the other benches.”
“I don’t see anything so different about them, other than the plaques,” Kenzie murmured, running her hand over the upholstered cushions. “The backs are different,” she noted. “These have solid backs. The others have split backs.” When Travis swung off the bench and lowered his long frame to the ground, she cried, “What on earth are you doing? Have you lost your mind?”
“‘…lay on your back right under their feet and look up at them’.” His voice was muffled as he spoke from beneath the front pew. He fished in his pants pocket and pulled out his key ring, thumbing through the keys to find the gadget he was looking for. “There’s a piece of wood screwed to the bottom of the pew.”
Kenzie glanced around the room. “Now to find a screwdriver…”
“Got one.” He grunted a couple of times before sliding back out from under the bench and sitting up, holding a folded piece of paper in his hands.
“What is that?” Her eyes were wide as she breathed the question.
“We’re about to find out.” He lifted himself from the floor, somehow making the action look graceful. “See if there’s something under your bench.”
Kenzie scrambled to look under the seat. A rectangular piece of wood, thin as paneling, was secured in place with four screws. To the casual observer, it looked like re-enforcement, which was probably why it was still there after twenty something years. “Yes!”
Travis scooted under the bench beside her and worked his tiny tool round and round until the wood cover fell off, along with a small computer disk. The 3.5” floppy hit Kenzie in the torso and bounced off, hitting the floor with a thud.
“I haven’t seen one of these in years,” she murmured, bringing the disk with her as she crawled from beneath the bench and sat down. “How will we ever
find out what’s on it?”
“We’ve got the resources,” Travis assured her.
“Meaning the Rangers,” she frowned. “You know how I feel about that.”
“Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s see what’s on this paper.” He unfolded the single sheet of copy paper, turning it so they could both see the jumbled words written upon it.
“More code?” Kenzie groaned. “We keep finding more questions than answers!”
“We’ll look at this later. Here, keep it and the disk in the envelope with everything else.”
Doing as he instructed, she asked, “So what now?”
“Why don’t you take several pictures? Document the scene. The details may prove useful later on.”
Kenzie took numerous photos. She even included Travis in several of the shots. It was almost easy to imagine they were a couple on vacation, discovering an enchanting roadside treasure. Only the road was in the middle of nowhere and this treasure led straight to danger.
Her final shots were of the old pump organ at the front of the church. It was a beautiful antique, maintained with obvious love and care. The heavily scrolled wood glowed from furniture oils applied by hand, its red velvet insets all in good condition. Two oil lamps sat on either side of the residing hymnal. As an afterthought, Kenzie moved aside the velvet-topped bench to take a close-up picture of the foot petals. As she zoomed in on the slate pumps, she gasped as she read the fancily raised words ‘Story & Clark Organ’.
“Travis! This is another clue. The letter said I liked to hear her play the organ. ‘And remember how you would pump her to tell you another Story? Clark was always right beside you.’ I bet there’s something under the foot petals.”
“But how do we get to it, without damaging them?” Travis was already down on his knees, feeling along the edge of the metal frames.
Working the foot pieces carefully in his hands, tilting and pressing and lifting ever so gently, Travis maneuvered his fingers behind one petal until he found the telltale edge of a piece of tape. It took several minutes and a fair measure of finesse, but he finally handed Kenzie a small scrap of paper. He repeated the same process on the other petal, producing the same result.
“Numbers,” she murmured in exasperation. “Great. One list of letters, one of numbers. Neither tell us anything.”
“Add them to the envelope,” Travis said, moving the stool back into place. He dusted himself off as he took a last lingering look at the mountains. “We need to be going. We’ve already been here quite a while.”
“I know,” Kenzie said reluctantly. She stepped up beside him, slipping her hand into his as they soaked in one last dose of tranquility and peace offered by the little mountain church.
She knew once they stepped out its doors, all sense of peace would be whipped away in the wild Wyoming wind.
Chapter Thirteen
“So where are we headed?” Kenzie asked as they bounced along the gravel road carrying them away from the church.
“I want to put some distance between us and the church before we stop. I don’t want the mafia anywhere near here.”
“Isn’t that the truth.” Kenzie studied the navigation system on her phone. “Looks like the city of Casper is less than two hours from here.”
“Look up the public library there. With any luck, we’ll make it before they close.”
“And why am I doing this?” she asked, even as she typed in the request.
“Hopefully they’ll have some computers that still read floppies.”
“Okay, it says the city library is one hour and forty three minutes away.”
Travis glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “We’ll be cutting it close, but hopefully we’ll make it in time.”
Once off the gravel road, they were able to drive faster. But after traveling for an hour, the estimated time of arrival at the library was over fifty minutes away.
“Can’t you go any faster?” Kenzie complained.
“I’m driving a mile over the posted speed as it is.”
“A whole entire mile? Do you think it’s safe?” She batted her eyes dramatically.
“I guess you think those signs are merely the suggested speed?”
“This highway is flatter than your abs. It’s not like there’s a dangerous mountain curve up ahead.” When he threw her a piercing frown, she muttered, “You and Makenna. Sticklers for the law.”
“You do know I’m a member of the Department of Public Safety?”
She ignored the wry tone of his voice. “Exactly! If we get stopped, you can always pull out your bright shiny badge.”
“As an officer of the law, I’m obligated to observe the rules, not break them.”
“So look at that speed limit sign coming up, make your observation, and then floor it. This is Friday afternoon, you know. The library is probably closed tomorrow.”
Travis made no reply. After a mile or so, Kenzie felt the gradual increase of speed. She stole a glance at his stony expression. He did not appear happy about it, but they were finally speeding down the highway.
***
They made the library with just minutes to spare. The librarian led them to the back, where an older model computer was set up among the latest technology. As Travis booted up the system and inserted the disk, Kenzie asked if they could have their findings printed. The librarian balked, glancing pointedly at the clock on the wall.
“We close in five minutes. You’re lucky the door wasn’t locked.”
“Please?” Kenzie coaxed. “This is extremely important.”
“I don’t even know if there’s a printer hooked up to that computer.”
“It looks like it has a printer cable.”
“We charge by the sheet, you know. How long is your document?”
“I have no idea, but money’s not a problem. Would you prefer cash or a credit card?”
“The cash drawer is already closed,” the librarian sniffed. Kenzie guessed her to be in her early forties and bored with her job.
“That’s fine, I have a credit card.”
Busy on the computer, trying to locate the correct program to open the disk, Travis was of no help in the argument. Sensing she was losing the battle, Kenzie was not above using his Ranger credentials to get her way. She gave her own persuasive skills one more chance.
“Ma’am, I know it’s late on a Friday afternoon. We’re all ready to call it a day. If you could just indulge us, we’ll be out of your hair as quickly as possible. Please.”
The woman huffed, still unconvinced. “The doors are on an automatic timer. That printer doesn’t even have paper in it. By the time –”
Kenzie did not wait for the woman to finish. “Travis.”
The blond man looked up from the computer. Instead of pulling out his badge, he used a much more effective weapon. “Please, ma’am. We’d greatly appreciate it.” His deep baritone somehow made the request sound sensual. And the smile that slowly transcended his handsome face could melt the coldest of hearts.
The librarian was all a-twitter as she hurried to fill the paper tray. After that, she could not have been more helpful. With the blushing woman hovering over Travis’s shoulder, Kenzie had to distract her as information from the disk flashed across the screen. Travis printed the files without taking time to read them.
“Will you need to come back tomorrow?” The now-friendly librarian asked as she placed the thick stack of papers in a box. “We’re open until noon, but I could give you my home phone number. I’d be happy to make special arrangements to meet you here if afternoon works better for you.”
You little hussy! Kenzie fumed. I just bet you would! Inwardly she was seething, but outwardly, she smiled sweetly, slipping her hand through Travis’s arm. “That won’t be necessary, will it, sweetheart?”
Looking totally confused, Travis frowned. “I think this will do it. But thank you anyway,” he glanced at her nametag, “Brenda.” He slipped a five-dollar bill from his wallet. “For all y
our trouble.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary! It was no trouble at all,” she gushed.
“I insist. You have a good day, ma’am.” He tipped his cowboy hat and Kenzie could have sworn she saw the woman swoon.
“What was that all about?” he asked as they left.
Kenzie cocked her head. “You really have no idea, do you?”
“Idea about what?”
“You are a very handsome man, Travis Merka, even with your stern Ranger face. But when you smile… let’s just say few women are immune to the devastating effects of your smile.”
He looked appropriately embarrassed. He helped her into the truck without saying a word, shutting the door on her amused laughter.
He got behind the wheel, setting the box of papers on the seat between them. “So what was on the disk?” she asked.
“I didn’t take time to read it. As an extra precaution, I purged the computer’s memory and erased any footprints the files might have left behind. I may have also infected it with a virus.”
“Oops,” Kenzie grinned, duly impressed.
“That’s what the next person who uses the computer will think. But I didn’t want to take any chances.”
Kenzie’s cell phone buzzed with a text message.
“That thing went off a dozen times in the library,” he accused.
“Hey, I’m a popular girl,” she grinned, glancing down at her phone. There was an assortment of text messages and voice mails.
“Who has to talk to you so badly?”
She scrolled through the names on the screen. “My editor, Makenna, my friend Marci, Makenna again, Craven, a number I don’t recognize, Craven again, Makenna again, and yes, Makenna one more time.”
He merely grunted, his face grim at the mention of the other man’s name. “Do one of your searches for a hotel.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were pulling up in front of a small motel parking lot. “I cannot believe this is the only half-way decent place left with a vacancy,” she muttered, eying the aged structure with trepidation.
