“I’m sure she’s fine,” Hal said to Diana. “Our little girl is stronger than you think.” But his worried glance to Mandy belied what he was saying to his wife.
The boatman fired up the launch engine and pulled slowly away from the shore.
“Better hold onto the raft,” Mandy said to Diana and Hal. “There will be a jerk once he gets underway.”
The three captives rode in the motor launch under the watchful eyes—and gun—of the ranger, while the rest of the clients and guides were scattered among the rafts for the two-hour trip to the marina. The Nortons and the three girlfriends had readily agreed to skip the last planned hike into Dark Canyon so they could get to the Hite Marina as soon as possible. Plus, Diana and Hal were obviously anxious to be reunited with Amy.
Mandy spent the whole ride back fretting about Amy—her leg injury and possible dehydration and hypothermia—while trying to seem unconcerned in front of her parents. Finally, as they crossed under the high arch of the Route 95 bridge across northern Lake Powell, their first sign of civilization in days, the boatman got a call from the National Park Service dispatcher on his radio. He cut the engine so Mandy could hear him while he relayed what the dispatcher had to say.
The park ranger who had spent the night at the Confluence had just called in that he had found Amy and examined her. She was awake and in some pain. But she was glad to see him and asked for water. He was going to load her on the launch and bring her to the marina. Mandy whooped and shouted the good news to the others in the rafts behind hers.
Diana and Hal beamed and hugged each other while everyone else clapped and hollered with joy. Everyone, that is, except Alice, Les, and Cool. Alice’s face was twisted in an angry scowl and Les’s eyes were shooting fire. Cool’s pale forehead, though, was lined with fear. Mandy was sure he was regretting throwing his lot in with the two conspirators.
Then the flotilla rounded a bend, and the Hite Marina boat ramp and white support buildings came into view. Another cheer went up from the rafters.
Mandy spotted their vehicles, the fifteen-passenger van and the pickup truck and raft trailer, sitting in the parking lot. On the road between the parking lot and the boat ramp sat a coroner’s van and three Utah State Police cruisers with their lights flashing. The officers from those cruisers stood on the dock with arms crossed and sunlight flashing off their dark shades.
_____
A couple of hours later, Mandy and Kendra packed up the remains of the last meal they had served the clients in the parking lot of the marina—a smorgasbord lunch of sandwiches and whatever leftover food would get thrown out if it wasn’t eaten. Mandy glanced at Rob and Gonzo securing the rafts on the trailer. They had already loaded all of the gear onto their vehicles other than the trash the women were bagging.
“Looks like we’ll be able to leave soon,” she said to Kendra.
“I can’t wait to jump in a hot shower,” Kendra replied and rolled her shoulders.
“Me, too.” Mandy smiled at the thought of her aching muscles melting in the hot steam. “But we’ve got the long drive back to Moab first.”
Kendra nodded. “Makes me wish I could hop on the sightseeing plane with the clients.”
“I don’t think I want to ever see Cataract Canyon again, even from the air,” Mandy replied.
The Nortons and the three girlfriends had opted to take the forty-minute flight back to Moab in a small plane over the Canyonlands. They had already said their goodbyes to Rob, Mandy, Kendra, and Gonzo, and pressed generous tips into their hands. They would see and be able to take photos of the route they took on the river from above. And, they would be snug and clean in their motel rooms by the time the guides arrived three hours later with the vehicles and gear.
It would be dark by the time they pulled in, but the delay hadn’t been up to them. After sending two cruisers with Alice, Les, and Cool in the back seat to the jail in Monticello, Utah, the remaining two Utah State Police investigators had insisted on interviewing everyone in turn before they left.
Mandy’s session with one of the investigators had taken almost an hour, the longest of everyone’s by far. He took her camera and promised to mail it back to her after he had made a copy of the photos she took of Alex’s death scene. When he wrote down her contact information, he assured her there would be more questions later and she would be called to testify if the three captives didn’t plead out and the case went to trial. Though she wouldn’t be on the Colorado River again anytime soon, Mandy figured she would be seeing a lot more of Utah.
She slung a trash bag over her shoulder and gazed down at the boat ramp, where an ambulance sat waiting for Amy. Hal and Diana stood nearby, shielding their eyes and scanning the entrance to the long, skinny finger of Lake Powell that stretched into Cataract Canyon. After making plans to meet later with the coroner, they let the van with Alex’s body in it leave without them. Instead, they both planned to ride with Amy in the ambulance to the hospital.
The ranger who had picked up Amy had radioed the marina that he was close. Mandy could see from the tense set of the older Andersons’ shoulders that they were anxious to see their youngest daughter.
She was, too.
A faint hum sounded in the distance. Mandy scanned the water and spotted a launch approaching the marina. She dropped the trash bag she was carrying on the ground.
“Can you finish here?” she asked Kendra. “I’ve got to see Amy.”
Kendra gave an understanding nod. “No problem.”
Mandy trotted down to the boat ramp, arriving in time to help the ranger tie up at the dock. Diana and Hal hovered close by, peering into the boat. Amy lay pale and still atop a bench seat on the launch, her eyes closed.
“Can we get on the boat?” Hal asked.
“Oh, sure.” Mandy tore her gaze from Amy and turned to help Diana climb aboard. Then she gave Hal a hand up.
Diana leaned over her daughter. She reached a hand out to gently swipe a lock of hair off her brow, then bent down to kiss Amy’s forehead.
“Amy? How are you, honey?”
Amy’s eyes fluttered open. She squinted at her mother. “Not great. I’m a little seasick, and every time the boat bounced, I felt it in my leg.”
Hal caressed Amy’s shoulder. “We’ll get you fixed up soon. We’ve got an ambulance to take you to the hospital in Monticello.”
“Not Moab?” Amy asked plaintively.
“Monticello’s an hour closer, and I talked to the emergency room physician,” Hal said. “He assured me that they can take good care of your leg.”
“But what about our car and stuff ?”
All of that was in Moab, except for what they had taken on the river trip. Having climbed aboard, too, Mandy felt relief washing over her that Amy was feeling well enough to complain.
She stepped up next to Hal. “Don’t worry. We’ve arranged to get everything to you.”
Rob and Hal had been busy making calls from the marina office while Mandy was being interviewed by the police. They changed the Andersons’ motel reservation, and Rob had found someone to drive their car from Moab to Monticello.
Mandy patted Amy’s arm. “You just focus on healing.”
Amy grasped Mandy’s hand in hers. She squeezed it hard and stared at Mandy. “I’m so happy to see you. I spent the night worrying about you—having to swim across the river in the dark and cold, then fighting it out with Alice and Les.”
Mandy smiled. “And I spent the night worrying about you! I’m glad to see you here safe and sound.”
“Only because you left me all your survival gear. While I lay there wrapped up in the space blanket and nibbling on the granola bar, I thought of you, wet and cold and hungry, with nothing.”
Mandy felt her face flushing while Hal and Diana stared at her. Anxious to get the spotlight off herself, she straightened and stepped away from the boat. “I cou
ld walk, though, and you couldn’t. Speaking of which, let’s get you on this thing.” She waved over the EMTs, who had wheeled a stretcher down the dock.
While the two EMTs worked to get Amy moved and strapped on the stretcher, Hal pulled Mandy aside. “Will you be in Moab tomorrow, or are you heading straight back to Salida?”
Mandy thought about all they had to do and said, “I doubt we’ll leave before noon.”
Hal nodded. “Good. I want to talk to you and Rob before you leave.”
Before Mandy could ask him what he wanted to talk about, he said, “Gotta go.”
The EMTs were wheeling Amy up the dock and Diana was walking alongside her daughter with a hand on Amy’s arm. Hal strode after them.
Mandy watched them go. At least part of the story had ended happily.
nineteen
He who postpones the hour of living rightly is like the rustic
who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.
—horace
“And that’s why Cool’s in jail,” Mandy said. She had just finished telling the long story about their trip to the outfitter whose building they had borrowed, and who employed Tom O’Day.
The man’s coffee had grown cold while he listened in awed silence, perched on a stool across his check-in counter from Mandy. When he realized she had stopped talking, he scratched his day-old salt-and-pepper beard. “I still can’t believe O’Day would do such a thing. How stupid can a guy get? What the hell was he thinking?”
Mandy looked at the dregs in the bottom of her coffee cup—her third that morning. The four guides had shared a room after returning to Moab past midnight the night before. After taking hot showers and gulping down aspirin, they had all collapsed into bed and conked out. It had taken a lot of caffeine to get them moving again. Especially Mandy, who woke up feeling like an arthritic old woman with all her bumps and bruises.
“I have no idea,” she said, then peered at the outfitter. “You going to bail him out?”
The man made a face and waved a dismissive hand. “He’d just skip town and leave me in debt to the bondsman. Nah, I think that asshole needs to sit and stew in his own juices.”
He tapped the inventory sheet that Mandy had prepared, showing what gear they had borrowed and returned. “As for you and Rob, you two have been total professionals. Anytime you want to use my building again for a similar trip off-season, I’ll be happy to rent it to you. And hopefully you’ll trust me to loan you another climbing guide.” He shook his head. “Though I would have sworn Cool was reliable. He was one of our best. I’m real sorry about that.”
Mandy smiled. “Not your fault, not at all. He fooled everyone. But I think we’ll bring our own climbing guide next time.” She nodded at Gonzo, who was walking past them with an armload of rinsed-off PFDs. “Gonzo should be fully trained and experienced by next fall.”
Gonzo smiled and gave a bow. “Just call me a Renaissance guide —a man of many talents.”
Mandy snorted. “Modesty not being one of them.”
With a hearty laugh, Gonzo went outside.
Rob came in the door soon after, rubbing his hands together. “We’re about ready to leave. Paperwork all set?”
The outfitter slid off his stool and held out a hand to Rob. “All set. Pleasure doing business with you.” After they shook hands he did the same with Mandy. “Now you two better skedaddle before the reporters come looking for you.”
Mandy rolled her eyes. “Too late. One cornered us as we were checking out of the hotel. He wanted an exclusive, said he’d be willing to pay us for it.”
While she had been talking, the door opened and Betsy, Viv, and Mo walked in.
Betsy held up a hand, palm out. “Whoa, hold it right there. I hope you didn’t make a deal with him.”
Mandy shook her head and glanced at Rob. “Not yet. This is all new to Rob and me. We need to figure out what we want to do.”
“I hope you’ll consider an offer from me, first,” Betsy said. “I write for an adventure magazine myself.” She gave the name, and Mandy recognized it.
“I contacted the editor-in-chief last night,” Betsy said, “and told him what happened. He wants me to write an article for the magazine, and he authorized me to pay you for an exclusive. I hope we can match the other guy’s offer.”
The outfitter winked at Mandy and Rob. “Looks like you two stand to make quite a profit from this trip.”
Rob looked at Mandy. “What do you think?”
“I’d rather talk to Betsy, no matter what her offer is. After spending so much time on the river with her, I feel like I can trust her.”
With a nod, Rob said, “I agree.”
Betsy smiled and clapped her hands. “Great! I’ll get a contract to you in a day or two. And we’ll throw in free ad space for your business. I’m sure the article will provide lots of exposure for RM Outdoor Adventures.”
“Exposure of the right kind, I hope,” Mandy said. “I don’t want anyone thinking that people die all the time on our trips.”
Viv came up and put an arm around Mandy’s shoulders. “More people would have died, if not for the bravery you guides showed. If Betsy doesn’t make that damn clear, she’ll hear from Mo and me.”
Mo mimed punching her hand into her palm, and Betsy laughed. “Don’t worry, Mandy! I’ll make sure our readers know how safety-conscious you and Rob are.”
The three women gave out hugs all around, said their goodbyes and left. On their way out, they said hello to someone just outside. It was soon obvious who it was when Diana, Hal, and Amy walked in. Amy was leaning on crutches, her lower leg in a cast.
Mandy ran over to hug Amy, then pulled out a chair and helped Amy ease into it. “How are you?”
“Pretty good, considering,” Amy said. “The doctor said the bone should heal pretty quickly, and there wasn’t much muscle damage. He said you did a great job on the splint. Said that if you hadn’t splinted it and I had tried to move it, the damage could have been a lot worse.” She squeezed Mandy’s hand. “I owe you so much. I don’t know how to thank you!”
Mandy blushed. “Any guide who was with you would have done the same thing.”
“Well, I know how to thank you.” Hal moved forward and placed a check in Mandy’s hand.
She looked at it and gasped. “We can’t accept this!”
Rob came up and looked over her shoulder at the check. He let out a low whistle. “I agree. That’s way too much for a tip.”
Hal put up his hands, palms out. “It’s not just a tip. It’s a lot more. Think of it as an investment in a business that we believe in and a thank you for saving our daughter’s life.”
Mandy glanced at Diana and wished that she had been able to save their son’s life, too.
Diana gave her a nod, as if she knew what Mandy was thinking. “Yes, and it’s also a wedding gift from us to a beautiful, strong, and dependable couple we’ve come to admire and love.”
That brought a tear to Mandy’s eye, and she gave Diana a hug. When she could trust her voice, she pulled back and said, “Thank you. Very much.”
She hugged Amy and Hal, and Rob joined in the hug fest.
Finally Hal cleared his throat. “We also thought you should know something else. We’ve made a decision about what to do with my estate after this cancer has its way with me.”
An involuntary moan escaped Diana’s lips, and Amy reached out to take her mother’s hand.
Hal glanced at his wife. “Diana and I talked it over with Amy, and she agrees with the decision. I’ll be cutting Alice out of my will, obviously.” He pursed his lips in a thin, hard line then continued. “Diana and Amy will split half of the estate. The other half will go to a river preservation nonprofit that has pledged to fight to save the Colorado River.”
He named the organization, and Mandy smiled. She sent a small donatio
n to the organization each year herself.
“After traveling a hundred miles down the river on this trip with you,” Hal continued, “we all fell in love with its beauty and power, just like Alex thought we would.” He paused for a moment, while Amy and Diana bowed their heads with him in a brief silent remembrance of their departed son and brother.
“We want to take an active part in protecting the Colorado River,” Hal continued. “The nonprofit will open a special account to receive the money from the estate, and Amy and Diana will share the responsibility of administering it.”
The outfitter gave out a cheer and started clapping. Rob and Mandy joined in.
“That’s wonderful news,” Mandy said.
Gonzo and Kendra came in hand-in-hand and looked around. “What’s the celebration about?” Gonzo asked.
In an excited jumble of voices, everyone jumped in to explain. Soon the two of them were thanking and congratulating the Andersons, too.
Mandy held up their check. “And you two are getting a big piece of this, too.”
“Oh, no,” Hal said, shaking his head.
Momentarily confused, Mandy opened her mouth to speak, to say that Kendra and Gonzo deserved a tip, too. Then she saw Diana draw two more checks out of her purse.
With a smile, she handed them to Kendra and Gonzo. “You get your own checks.”
When they saw the amounts, Kendra’s and Gonzo’s eyes grew wide. “Ohmigod,” she said, while he whispered, “Jesus, this is way too much.”
Hal grinned and rocked back on his heels. “I think there’s an echo in here.”
Mandy laughed and explained. “We said the same thing when he gave us our check.” And she knew that Hal appreciated their appreciation. His chest was swelled with the accomplishment and pride of doing something meaningful before he passed away. She wasn’t about to take any of that thunder away from him. “Just take it and say thanks.”
Gonzo and Kendra didn’t disappoint her. They were effusive in their hugs and expressions of gratitude.
Fatal Descent Page 23
