The Dog Who Ate The Flintlock

by Edward Coburn

  Carinda called Adam late Saturday evening. She had heard that Phillip was dead before she saw it on the evening news. She explained to Adam that she wasn’t in the office as she could retrieve messages from Phillip’s answering service from home, but she would meet him in the office Monday morning at nine. She gave him directions, and he went back to work on his column for Monday’s paper.

  Jenny and Amy met at the strip center as arranged. Jenny got out of her car and walked over to Amy’s.

  “I don’t think he followed you. I don’t see his car. It’s green with a slightly crumpled front fender and, of course, it’s got California plates. I’ve got the plate number if we actually need it.”

  “I didn’t see any green car when I left the parking lot, so I guess we’re safe. Why don’t you follow me? I’ll try not to go too fast so you won’t lose me. I got this,” she handed Jenny a cell phone, “from work. I can call you on it if we get separated. I put my number in it as Amy in case you need to call me.”

  “I already bought a new one,” Jenny said. “How else do you think I called you?”

  “No matter. You can use that one anyway since my number’s already in it.”

  Jenny examined the phone and scrolled through the phone numbers until she found Amy’s number. She dialed it, and Amy’s phone rang. Jenny smiled and put the phone in her pocket.

  “There’s a grocery store a few miles from here in the direction we need to go. I thought we could stop there and get a few things for the cabin. We will need Milk and other things that don’t keep, and we can get whatever else you might want for this weekend. Does that sound okay?”

  Jenny shook her head. “That sound’s good, but I really think I should just hit the road. You won’t be completely safe as long as I’m around.”

  Amy slapped the hand Jenny had rested on the window. “Now cut that out. We’ve been all through this. I want to help. And we will be perfectly safe at the cabin. You said yourself your guy didn’t follow me. How the heck would he know where my folks have their cabin? You didn’t even know about it.” Amy really wished she believed all she had just said. She certainly hoped they’d be safe at the cabin, but there was actually no way to know for sure. After all, the stranger found her work place. But for her best friend she would continue to put on a happy face. “Now get back in your car and follow me. And put that notion of leaving out of your mind. I simply won’t hear of it. You’re going with me to the cabin, and that’s the end of it. Is that understood?” Amy gave her best impression of a marine drill sergeant.

  “Yes, ma’am. Will do. And I’ll call if I somehow lose you.”

  “Good. Like I said, I’ll go slow.”

  “You won’t make the rush hour commuters happy.”

  “Screw them. I’m worried about us, not them.” With that, Amy rolled up her car window and waited for Jenny to get in her car before she pulled out making sure Jenny was close behind.

  When Amy pulled out of the parking lot at her work, Carl didn’t immediately follow her. He didn’t want to give himself away, and he knew he couldn’t lose her. The tracker was supposed to have a range of about twenty miles so he’d let her get a few miles ahead before he started out. He watched the blip on the screen that indicated where Amy’s car was. The car stopped for a few minutes before it started out again. When she was sufficiently far ahead, and he felt there would be enough traffic between them, he headed out as well. He was stuck in the far lane when they stopped again. With nothing else he could do, he stayed in his lane and drove past where they had stopped. He glanced over and saw them going into a grocery store. They must be stocking up for the weekend, he thought. Let them spend their money. They won’t get the chance to eat any of the food.

  He had to force his way into the right lane so he could pull off and stop to wait for them. He was used to driving in LA traffic so this rush hour was easy enough for him to manage. He was watching a hot chick go into a video store, and when he moved his gaze back to his display, Amy’s car was going in a different direction then he expected. Her workplace was on the west side of town, so he expected them to go east or maybe even north but west? Why would they be going west? Perhaps they were going to go into the mountains. That was probably it. They were going to try to hide from him. Fat chance of them doing that as long as he had his tracker. He could follow them anywhere, and they didn’t even know it. He smiled to himself knowing his assignment would soon be over, and he would have his revenge on Jenny.

  Chapter 31

  Jenny followed Amy’s car for almost an hour before Amy turned off the paved road onto a dirt one. Jenny hoped her car would be able to handle the dirt road, but the road actually seemed mostly smooth. They did hit a couple patches of washboard surface, but the spots were short, and there were no big holes in the road. Before long they stopped in front of a log cabin that seemed reasonably modern with a large deck in front. It was almost hidden by pine trees, but any trees that used to be in front of the cabin had been cleared to leave an unobstructed view of the mountains from the deck. The cabin was raised slightly from ground level, and there were two steps down from the deck to the ground. Jenny stopped her car behind Amy’s, and they both got out.

  Amy took a deep breath. “Don’t you just love the smell of pine trees?”

  Jenny breathed in a lung full of air as well. “It is nice. Beats the heck out of the LA smog. But this is a little remote isn’t it.”

  “Yes, but that’s good, isn’t it? Javier’s friend will never be able to find us now.”

  “I certainly hope not. No way could I have ever found this place. As a matter of fact, I’ll probably get lost on my way out.”

  Amy took another deep breath. “You want to leave already?”

  “Come on. You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “I do. But enough chit chat, we should unload the cars.” Amy opened her door and grabbed a couple of the grocery bags.”

  Carl followed the girls at a discrete distance and stopped when they stopped. He sat on the side of the road for five minutes before he decided they must have reached their destination. He pulled out and drove a little farther until he found a turnout from the road at a trailhead. There were several places to park so he didn’t think anyone would wonder about his car while he was gone. He was sure he wouldn’t be gone long. It should only take him a few minutes to take care of these troublesome girls. He pulled out his pistol and checked to be sure it was loaded. He’d already checked it several times, but it was a habit. He always checked his weapon before he slipped it in his pocket. Now he was ready to do what needed to be done.

  He got out of his car and scanned the area. They were no other cars in sight. He walked through the woods on the side of the road always keeping trees between him and the road while still keeping the road in view. If he heard a car on the road, he could stop behind a tree, and no one would know he was there. He couldn’t afford to be seen.

  “This is really nice,” Jenny said as she surveyed the cabin’s living room. The logs were visible on the inside of the cabin which gave the cabin a distinctly rustic look. Two large windows faced the front and shared the wonderful mountain view with the deck. The curtains on the three side windows were made of the same red and white checker-board fabric as was on the front windows. There was a couch and two comfortable-looking, overstuffed chairs facing the fireplace. Two of the windows on the left were either side of a massive wood-burning fireplace. A large pile of firewood was stacked beside it ready for burning. The appliances were not the least bit rustic, however. The kitchen was occupied by a two-door refrigerator, a smooth-top electric range, a microwave, and even a dishwasher. The two doors on the first floor were open, and Jenny could see into a tastefully furnished bedroom and a full bath including a shower and a Jacuzzi tub. She noticed a door on the back wall of the bedroom. She pointed into the bedroom. “Does that door go out?”

  “It does. There’s a smaller deck out there with two stairs to the ground. And there’s a path from there
that goes into the trees for about a mile before it meets another trail that comes back around to about a quarter of a mile in front of the cabin.”

  “Oh, fun. Can we walk on the trail tomorrow? I assume it’s too late to do it tonight.”

  “Absolutely to both questions. It’ll be dark before we could get very far this evening and I’d love to show you around the area tomorrow. This is a beautiful part of Colorado. By the way, there are two more bedrooms upstairs, a half bath, and a reading room slash living room. You can have one of the bedrooms, and I’ll take the other.”

  “Oh, Amy. This is absolutely wonderful. Do you come up here often?”

  “Not often enough. I frequently have to work on the weekends. I was supposed to work tomorrow, but I told my supervisor this time I couldn’t.”

  “Will you get in trouble for not going in tomorrow?”

  “Absolutely not. I’ve worked the last three weekends, and it was important that I help you out. You had to get away from the guy who broke into my apartment.”

  “I did indeed. But, what did you tell your boss?”

  “Just that I had a family emergency. I also told him I might not be in Monday. He didn’t seem to be bothered too much but told me to be sure and let him know if I wasn’t going to make it on Tuesday. By the way, I wasn’t even lying. You’re having an emergency and, as far as I’m concerned, you’re part of my family.”

  “Aw shucks,” Jenny said as she put her hands behind her back and kicked at an imaginary stone. “I love you too.”

  “Let’s unload the cars before it gets too deep in here. I don’t know where my dad keeps the shovel.”

  “Good idea,” Jenny said as she followed Amy out the door.

  Carl was shielding himself behind a tree watching the girls empty the cars into the cabin. He didn’t see Jenny’s stun gun, but he wasn’t worried about it anyway. He wasn’t planning on getting anywhere near her so she wouldn’t be able to touch him with the stun gun. He knew it had to be in contact with his body to work. He would let the girls finish their job before he did what needed doing. He might want to fix himself a meal before he left so he would let them do the dirty work of unloading the cars. He thought he’d burn down the cabin with their bodies inside. That would get rid of any evidence of his being there though he’d wipe down anything he touched to make sure nothing could be tracked to him.

  The girls were finally finished unloading the cars, and they sat down to rest.

  Amy stared longingly at the fireplace. “What do you think?” Amy asked. “Should we build a fire?”

  “Based on how you’re staring at the fireplace; I’m guessing you want to. And it is getting a bit cool so a fire might be nice. I didn’t realize we were going to be so high in the mountains or I would have bought a heavier coat.”

  “Not to worry. I have several coats in the closet upstairs.”

  “Can I wear one?”

  “Of course. I’m sure one of mine will fit you. We’re still almost the same size.” When there were friends earlier in their lives, they frequently switched clothes including when they raided their mother’s closets. “Remember the time when we made each other up with your mother’s makeup. Boy was she mad.”

  Jenny giggled a little. “She sure was. And as I recall, your mother had a fit about how you got makeup on the gown she had planned to wear out that evening.”

  “Yeah. I’m still sore from that spanking.”

  “Yeah right.” Jenny could still remember how upset both their mothers were. It was a long time before either of them messed with their mother’s makeup or clothes. It didn’t completely stop them, however. They borrowed Jenny’s mother’s sweaters to wear to a freshman dance. But, that time they had asked permission.

  Jenny stared at the fireplace wistfully. “You remember the campfire and the smores?”

  “And the camp songs.” Amy smiled at the memory.

  “Have you learned to carry a tune yet?”

  “Want me to show you?”

  “Oh, please don’t.” Jenny got up from the couch covering her ears. “This is a really great view from these windows,” she said stepping to the windows with the unobstructed view of the mountains. “Oh my God,” she said as Carl stepped from his hiding place at the same time she was gazing out the window.

  Amy was instantly alert. “What’s wrong?”

  “The guy who broke into your apartment must have followed us somehow.” She turned from the window and hurried up the stairs.

  “Where are you going and what are we going to do?” Amy was starting to panic as she turned to the window and saw a man she didn’t know drawing close to the stairs. She locked the front door before she hissed, “Get down here.”

  “I’m coming,” Jenny said as she descended the stairs two at a time. She had grabbed a coat for each of them, but that isn’t why she’d gone to her room. She thought she should have the stun gun.

  Amy caught the coat Jenny tossed to her and then grabbed Jenny’s hand and led her into the bedroom and out the back door. They were down the back stairs before Carl began pounding on the door and hollering to be let in.

  “Jenny. I know you’re in there,” Carl shouted as he beat on the door. The door was solidly made, and he didn’t know if he would be able to break it down. He went over to one of the windows and peered in. He didn’t see either of the girls. Where could they be? He knew he had seen them go in. Could there be another way out of the cabin? The typical cabin had only one door, but maybe this cabin wasn’t standard. He thought he’d go around the cabin to see before he hurt his shoulder knocking down the door or maybe cut himself going in through one of the windows. Besides, maybe he could go in the backdoor himself.

  “Come on. This way,” Amy said pulling Jenny forward. Together they ran through an opening in the dense grove of trees. Jenny could tell they were on a maintained trail because rocks had been removed, the brush trimmed, and a few trees cut down. The surface was uneven but not enough to slow them down as they fled in a panic. Both girls kept their head down so they could see where they were stepping.

  “Do you think we should stay on the trail? Won’t that make it easy for him to follow us?” Jenny asked.

  “Maybe, but I know several trails off this one that lead further into the forest. They’re not far.”

  Jenny let herself be led since she didn’t have an option. She’d never been here and knew enough to know that blindly wandering through a forest was a sure way to get lost. Maybe their antagonist wouldn’t figure out where they went for a while. Though she hadn’t heard him pounding or hollering for at least a couple of minutes, she didn’t know if that meant he had broken into the cabin or figured out they were not in the cabin. She couldn’t envision him just giving up and leaving. She dropped Amy’s hand to make running easier. When Amy looked at her, she winked and sped up. Amy sped up as well.

  Chapter 32

  Carl went around the cabin and found the rear deck. He looked through the windows on the door but didn’t see either of the girls. “Why those dirty little…” he said to himself. It took him only a few seconds to see the trail and start jogging toward and onto it. He stopped for a moment but knew he was on their trail when he saw fresh footprints in the dirt. He smiled to himself. If they thought they could get away from him, they were sadly mistaken. He had learned how to track from a friend when he was in the Army. That was before his sargent made him so mad he decked his sargent and got a dishonorable discharge. Yes, he knew he could follow them anywhere. They couldn’t hide from him.

  He increased his speed. They might be ahead of him for the moment, but that wouldn’t last for long. He would catch them and do what he had to. He stumbled when he tripped on a rock hidden by some fallen leaves. Fortunately, he didn’t fall, but the episode spoke to the fact he would have to slow down a bit and be more careful on the unfamiliar terrain. He did slow down but only slightly. He had to avoid letting the girls get too far ahead. He had to get his hands on them. He couldn’t afford to tel
l Ronald that Jenny had eluded him again. He knew if he was to stay healthy and maybe even alive, he had to find Jenny. Ronald wasn’t one to be trifled with. The other girl hadn’t seen him and, thus, couldn’t identify him, but since the girls were together, he would have to take care of her too. He couldn’t afford not to.

  Jenny saw a branch from the trail they were on and headed straight for it.

  Amy reached out and grabbed Jenny’s arm. “Don’t,” she said.

  “But I thought you said we would get off this trail.”

  “We will. But let’s go a little ways past and then double back through the trees. That way our footprints will go past the branch, and maybe he’ll think we’re still on the main trail.”

  Jenny nodded. “So you think he might be tracking us?”

  “I have no idea. He may not even be on this trail. He may not have figured out where we went, but I don’t think it’ll hurt to be cautious. You never know. Who is he anyway?”

  Jenny fell into step beside Amy. “I have no idea. I never saw him before he broke into your apartment and I zapped him.” That was the truth. She hadn’t seen him before, but she knew a low-life like Ronald would no doubt know lots of people who would do whatever he wanted if the price was right. After all, isn’t that was she did. Even though she’d felt she had no choice, she still did what he wanted for money.