The Lumberjack

by Erik Martin Willén

  Frank handed Peter a cup of coffee. He accepted, but never drank from it. Next to Peter sat Hunter, who stared at him. “You’re armed,” Frank noted.

  Peter nodded. “Legally. I can wait outside if you like.”

  “No, no, any friend of Tom Billing is a friend of ours. Will you be around much?”

  “No. My partner and I will check out the property to see if the bear that attacked Christina is still there, and if it’s made a den on her property. If it has, we’ll consult with the ranger on what to do.”

  “I think the park ranger and some of the police have been there already. You might want to talk to them, too.”

  “Will do.”

  Frank turned to Christina, who was talking with Claire about some furnishings for the house and the company that custom-made them.

  “So, you’re still shopping for a vehicle?”

  “I will, Frank, but not for a few days. Can’t drive with my medicine and all. Besides, Peter and his friend will take me around where I need to go. So, are you and Robert coming up to show me the lay of the land?”

  “You bet we will. Let me call Robert and see what’s on his agenda. I know he’s been working overtime, clearing a lot of dangerous trees after the storm for a lot of people. When is a good time for you?”

  “This afternoon, if you can. I can’t wait.”

  “It’s a date.”

  Christina took advantage of Peter and Kevin to carry her around town, doing some shopping. Neither Peter nor Kevin helped her with the bags, to some people’s surprise, not knowing who they were. Christina, being used to security and having used bodyguards from time to time, didn’t think much about it. She purchased food and toiletries at one of the local grocery stores, then walked down the street to a liquor store a block away. She was happily surprised to see the wide selection of wines they had to offer. So far, no one seemed to have recognized her, and she started to relax as she continued her shopping.

  After picking out her favorites, she stepped outside; and suddenly her heart jumped. Inside a coffee shop across the street, by the window, sat Robert and a tall, attractive blonde woman, laughing and drinking coffee. She put her hand on his. When he turned his head and saw Christina across the street, he smiled and waved. She immediately turned away, pretending she hadn’t seen him. Strange; she hadn’t felt this jealous for a long time. She hurried to the waiting SUV, hoping Robert would see Peter opening the door for her.

  As they drove past a Western clothing store, she asked Kevin to pull over. She needed some clothes for the barn fest. It was a large, typical Country/Western store filled to the brim with clothing for men, women, and children alike. The place was fairly busy, with over a dozen customers browsing the shelves and racks. Over by a long counter stood several women discussing the big event at the barn, their conversation sprinkled with the normal talk about men. Christina ignored everyone there, focused on what she was looking for. She really didn’t have any idea of what to wear, but then again, she’d never been a major player in the fashion league. She glanced at the women her age by the counter and tried to see what they had purchased, and what they wore. Suddenly, her eyes met one woman’s, who immediately stopped talking to her friends and then turned back, starting to whisper. All her friends glanced at Christina, who ignored them.

  “Hi, my name is Sandra, can I be of any help?” A short, friendly young woman stepped up.

  “Yes you can, thanks. I’m going to the party at the Old Red Barn, and I have nothing appropriate to wear.”

  “Then you came to the right place. Just follow me.”

  Sandra was very professional, and treated Christina like any other customer. She gave Christina several options for pants and skirts. There was some giggling from the counter, and some stares bordering on the rude.

  “Don’t mind them,” Sandra said in a low voice. “They’re all pretty nice but a bit bitchy, and all of them like your friend Robert.”

  “Robert…? Oh yes, Robert. He’s a nice guy…how did you guys know about…” Christina trailed off, realizing this was a very small town.

  “Yep, and all the loose skirts around here hunt him like a trophy buck.”

  Christina bit down on her lower lip, whispering loudly through her teeth, “I’ll do my best not to join in on that hunt, then.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t hear you?”

  “Oh, nothing important, Sandra. But I have to say it almost feels like being back in high school again, when all the popular girls talked behind my back.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. Most people in town are pretty nice, though, and I’m sure you’ll find that out with time.”

  Christina liked this forthright young woman. With Sandra’s help, she bought some matte brown cowboy boots with a matching Stetson, a few blouses, several pairs of jeans, and a couple of skirts—one long, and another short. Very short. She also got a couple of pairs of denim shorts, neither of which her mother would have approved of. As Christina walked up to the counter carrying her purchases, Sandra said goodbye and hurried up to another waiting customer.

  The woman Christina took her stuff to might have been Sandra’s mother, because they looked very much alike. She scanned the items through the register, giving Christina a friendly smile—then shot a scowl towards Peter, who stood a few yards behind Christina. The talkative women stood further away, still gossiping.

  “You don’t have to put up with that, you know,” the clerk muttered.

  Christina gave the woman a very confused look. “The gossiping…?”

  “Not that. You know, him hitting you and such.”

  It took Christina a moment before she realized what the woman was talking about. She did have quite a few bruises, though most were covered by bandages and clothes; her former black eye was now more reddish-blue, but still swollen, and was there for all to see. “Oh, no, you don’t understand. Peter hasn’t hurt me.”

  The clerk leaned forward, placing her hand over Christina’s, and whispered, “Denial, my friend, is the first thing you have to overcome.”

  Christina tried to get a word in edgewise, but the woman interrupted her by shaking her head firmly. So Christina just rolled her eyes and, after paying for her purchases with her black American Express card, left the store.

  Just as they stepped out the door, the clerk shouted, “DENIAL!”

  “What was all that about?” Peter asked as they left the store.

  “Hah! Well, Peter, she thinks you’re my boyfriend, and that you, well, you know.” She pointed at her swollen eye. Peter looked calmly back, and then his eyes went round as he realized what the woman had thought of him.

  He opened the SUV’s door for Christina, muttering, “Stupid old cow, thinking I would hurt women.”

  They told Kevin what had happened in the store, and he thought it was funny. So did Christina, and soon they were both laughing. Peter wasn’t. “Guys, it’s not funny. A lot of women and more men than you’d think are hurt by their spouses.”

  “Not why I’m laughing, partner.”

  “Then why the hell are you laughing, Kevin?”

  “Client laughs, I laugh.” He winked at Christina in the rearview mirror.

  “Hey, don’t blame it on me, you two. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I did try and explain to her, but she just kept saying ‘denial.’ Must have had some bad experiences herself.”

  “Yeah, well, if we’re going to stay over the weekend and go to this fall fest thing, you might want to wear your body armor, Peter. Rumors have a tendency to travel very fast in these small towns.”

  “Fuck you. I’ll be in Africa by then, or down south looking for a nice, peaceful war.”

  “You guys never change, do you?”

  The two men looked at each other and smiled. Christina didn’t know for sure, but she suspected that both were more than just working buddies. She kept her thoughts to herself, though, because it wasn’t any of her business. Both men were in their mid-fifties, and their eyes reflected hard experi
ence that no one should have, as did their many scars.

  When they pulled off the main road into Christina’s driveway, Kevin stopped the SUV by the first entrance. Peter jumped out, went to the back of the SUV, and opened the hatch. Moving quickly, he removed his shirt and put on a sand-color combat vest, then locked and loaded what Christina, from a guest-starring role on Stargate SG-2, recognized as a P-90 bullpup machine gun with a scope and a few other gizmos. He then altered his pistol holster from a waist to a leg holster, grabbed a bottle of water, and vanished into the forest.

  When Kevin continued driving, Christina couldn’t help herself, letting out a loud “Wow!” Many more tree branches had been scattered through her property by the renewed storm, and in some cases whole trees had been blown over. She hadn’t noticed, since she hadn’t been in through the front way during the day since before the incident with the bear and the river. By the second gate entrance, Kevin had to get out and remove a huge branch blocking the road.

  “Might want to have the caretaker check out the grounds,” he noted. “That branch wasn’t here yesterday. I’ll drop you off at the main house, and then I’ll join Peter. It’s a really nice place you have here, by the way.”

  “You guys have been here before?”

  “Come on, you know the Old Man. He doesn’t mean to pry, but he is very protective, and—”

  “Hold it, Kevin, I know. He’s like a father to me, so yes, I know. Some people would be pissed off, but I’m not one of them. I’m only sorry for you guys having to babysit me for a while.”

  “You kiddin’? This is like a vacation for us.” They pulled in and parked outside the main entrance, underneath the carport. Kevin leaned back and looked at Christina. “We go way back, don’t we, kiddo?”

  “We do, Kevin.”

  “You might have a big bear problem here, and if you ever need anything from us, don’t you dare hesitate to call. You mean a lot to both Peter and I. Probably why the Old Man wanted us here.”

  “Thank you, Kevin, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Here, take this.” He handed her a necklace and a bracelet. “You can reach us anywhere on this side of the planet with these. I’ll show you how they work. It’s like the jewelry alarms you get when you go to a major Hollywood function, but these are better, with a much longer reach via satellites. You push the button, and an alarm will go off. Someone will come to your location; they both have a GPS in them.”

  “Waterproof?”

  “Yes, and they’re very resilient and durable.”

  Christina went inside with Kevin, who needed to use the bathroom—at least, that was his diplomatic excuse to check out the place. Later, he joined Peter in the forest, while Christina unpacked the groceries and her new clothing. When she finished, she returned to the kitchen and made some tuna sandwiches, sour cream dip with a handful of salted pickles, and a pot of fresh coffee made from ground beans. Then she prepared a table on the back porch.

  When Peter and Kevin returned, the three of them enjoyed a simple, quiet lunch, listening to the sounds of nature while enjoying the view. “You’re planning to get that cat?” Kevin asked.

  “Yes I am, unless the real owner shows up.”

  “Might want to keep it on a leash for a while if you let it outside.”

  “Why?”

  “A lot of predators around these parts. Eagles, hawks, falcons, and I saw the owl in front of the house.”

  “Oh, you mean my own private peeping tom.”

  “Your what?”

  “The bastard and I have a morning routine. He peeps, and I scream.”

  Peter changed the subject. “We checked out your security system and it’s okay, but we can install a better one if you like.”

  “I’d like that, if you think it’s necessary.”

  “Well, you know us, a bit paranoid, comes with the job.”

  Kevin added, “We can go over different options. Some are a bit pricy, but I’m sure we can find what you need without going overboard.”

  “Fine. I just want to be able to be alone in my home without any crazies causing trouble. Then again, I doubt there will be any here.”

  “True, but there are a few men and women still stalking you, and you might consider getting a guard dog.”

  “Well, I’ve always loved having my own dog, but with my work schedule, I’d hate leaving the dog in a kennel.”

  “Just a thought.”

  They were interrupted by a loud sound from a speaker inside; it sounded like a doorbell.

  “Looks like someone just passed the first entrance. I’ll check it out. Kevin, you’re with Christina.” Peter went inside and examined the monitor by the kitchen, and then he shouted, “Two civilians, and from the looks of it, one is a photographer. I’ll be back in a few.”

  A few minutes later, Kevin touched his earpiece and looked a bit annoyed. “A news reporter with a photographer. Wants to talk to you about you. Not locals.”

  Christina lowered her head into her hands, leaning on the table. “Oh, no. Tell them to get lost. I really don’t want them to see me bruised up. Besides, Peter might get the blame again.”

  Frank shook his head, grinning, and related the instructions from his wrist microphone. Peter returned a few minutes later. “I told them to please stay away, and that they could contact your manager with an interview request. Don’t worry, Christina, I was as nice as I could be.”

  She frowned and rolled her eyes, knowing very well that Peter and Kevin’s “nice” could be a tad less than diplomatic.

  There came another knell from the “doorbell.”

  Peter got up from his comfortable lounge chair. “Now what?” He went back into the kitchen. “Okay. It’s a uniform this time, a policewoman.”

  Kevin asked her, “Want to go greet her?”

  “Sure.”

  “Christina, you might want to get another security entrance that you can open from here.”

  “I very well could, Kevin, but that would take away the rustic look of the one I have.”

  “We can get you one that looks almost identical, but that’s made of much more durable materials.”

  They went inside, and soon Peter escorted in a local officer. “Hello, ma’am. My name is Adrianna Vasquez, and I’m with the Sheriff’s Department. My boss asked me to drop by. We’re asking everyone if they’ve seen this type of truck.” She placed a picture of an older model pickup truck on the kitchen island. “This isn’t the actual truck, now. We got this picture off the Internet. But a similar one belonged to a victim or a friend of a victim, and this is the registration number.”

  She pointed at the picture; below it was the license plate number, written in large, bold letters.

  “The color was originally red,” Adrianna continued, “but I’ve been told it was very rusty, and the hood was replaced with a white one. It kinda stands out.”

  Christina looked at the picture and shook her head. “Sorry, I can’t say whether I’ve seen it or not, because most vehicles here are trucks, and they all look the same to me. I probably would have remembered the white hood, though.”

  “And what about you guys?”

  Peter and Kevin both looked at the picture, and also shook their heads. Neither asked any in-depth questions.

  “Well, thank you for your time. Here’s my card, in the event you see or remember anything.”

  Christina walked her to her car, and in that short time she and Adrianna talked as if they had known each other for years. “Nice place you got here, Ms. Dawn.”

  “Thank you, Deputy Vasquez.”

  “Please, my name is Adrianna. Small town, everyone knows everyone.”

  “Well, I’m new, so I’ve only met a handful so far. But I have to admit, everyone I’ve come across has been nice, and I feel like I’ve known them forever. Well, except for the two idiots by the river.”

  “Yeah, I saw the report. We’re looking for them too. Shitheads always comes in pairs. I never met them, because I’m fairly new he
re myself, but from what I hear and have read about them, they’re both bad news.”

  “Well, I’m not going to let them change my opinion about Skull Creek.”

  “Don’t worry, I think you’ll find most folks in these parts really are very nice. There’s a get-together this weekend at the Old Red Barn, a fall fiesta. Great chance to meet the locals.”

  “Yes, I heard, but I’m not sure I’ll go.” Christina felt a stab of jealousy as she thought about Robert with the tall, attractive blonde.

  “Oh…”

  Christina noticed the hesitation and body language coming from Adrianna. “Oh, you misunderstand me. I would love to go, but look at me! Covered with bruises.” She pointed at her swollen and bruised eye.

  Adrianna smiled. “Your call, but I know there are a lot of people who would like to thank you for what you did at the big car accident the other day. Nice job, by the way.”

  “About the accident—how are all those people doing?”

  “Most of them came out well, but there were a few broken arms and legs. The truck driver and…”

  “I know. I was sorry to hear about their deaths.” Christina thought for a moment. “The woman—did she make it?”

  “Which woman?”

  “The one that who caused the accident.”

  Now Adrianna looked puzzled. “No woman caused the accident. It was a reporter in a black Lincoln who was at fault. He was in too much of a hurry to get up to Harris camp to get the story about the body they found. Like so many other people, he forgot about Deadman’s Curve.”

  “Strange. I thought someone told me that it was a women who ran across the road and caused it. Oh well, can’t really remember it too well…bumped my head on a few rocks going ‘river rafting’ the other day.” She pointed at her bandaged head with a sarcastic grin.

  “No, that’s not what happened, but it’s so typical of a small community like Skull Creek. Before the truth has left the building, there are hundred rumors floating around. Just be careful when you drive on that curve; they’re putting up a huge guard railing for now.”

  “Yes, I saw that when we passed earlier on.”