My heart broke at this. I remembered when Twila told me he was a player. She wasn’t just telling me; she was warning me. I’d said I was okay with it. Now I had to live up to those words.
I could wish all I wanted but it wouldn’t change things. Rory wasn’t the kind of guy who’d settle for one girl. Since he was finally telling me straight-up what happened, maybe I could get answers to those other pesky questions.
“Why didn’t you tell me that one of your friends owns the truck that hit me?”
He never missed a beat. “It was no big deal. No harm, no foul. And I fixed your lousy bike for you.”
This stung. I thought he liked my old Indian.
“Come on, baby girl, let’s change the subject.”
Rory reached for me, but I pushed him away. I wanted answers. “Who had the pickup the night of the robbery?”
This got his attention, and he turned on me as fast as a rabid dog. “What business is it of yours?”
No surprise, no shocked denial. A bad feeling slithered up my spine. “The cops said a green step-side truck was seen leaving the hostel parking lot.”
“Yeah, so?”
A light flickered in his eyes, a light I’d seen once before when a clerk had given him the wrong change. Rory went ape, yelling and cursing. I thought he was going to punch the kid.
I kept on. “I think the truck was used in the robbery. The odd thing is that, at the time it was spotted, the Goon Squad had already been run in for groping some girl. So they had to have an accomplice.”
Rory took out his gold lighter and began flicking it on and off, on and off.
My mind worked through the details and everything became clear at last—the truck, the questions about cashing out, the unexplained hangover. With a flash of clarity, I knew what had happened. “I saw a guy who works at the Root Cellar hanging with those three creeps and thought he was the missing element. I figured the creepazoids supplied the truck, the staff dude supplied the key, and the party gave them all an alibi. They’d leave, steal the money, and be back before anyone knew they were gone. I tried really hard to fit all this together so it made sense.”
He flicked his lighter again.
“Rory, have you ever heard of Occam’s razor?”
“Can’t say I have.” His voice had that edge again.
“It basically means that the simplest explanation is usually the right one. You know, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Don’t go looking for elephants.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he snapped.
“I made up this complex scenario with the Goon Squad and the staff guy in on it together, lots of cloak-and-dagger stuff. What a load of crap.”
“Where are you going with this, Robin?”
“I was right about one thing. The person with the key was at the party.” I took a deep breath. “It was me. I supplied the key and the information. You did the rest.”
My stomach tightened when I thought of how Anne had trusted me. “The morning after the party, I felt so hungover, but I hadn’t been drinking, so I chalked it up to not getting enough sleep. The thing is, that wasn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been to some nasty bashes and know what a roofie is. It’s called ‘the forget pill.’ You drugged me, Rory. You put Rohypnol in my drink, and when I passed out, you took my key. You used the truck so if anyone saw it, the goons would be blamed, and who would believe them when they claimed to be innocent? After robbing the hostel, you returned the truck to the garage and came back to the party. On your fast bike, you weren’t gone long, and staying with me until morning made me your alibi, just like you were mine. I was so out of it, you could have asked me to take a ride on a flying carpet and I’d have bought a ticket.”
“You’re not as dumb as you seem.” His words were carved from ice.
“You must have freaked when you discovered your three friends had been picked up by the cops. Kinda shot down your plan to have them take the fall.” I turned to him. “Rory, why’d you do it?”
“How could I pass on a sweet deal like that? All I had to do was get you to cooperate. The problem was, you’re such a goody-goody, you’d never have gone along with my plan. I had to put you out of action while making you believe we were together all night in case the cops asked. I was just going to get you drunk, and it would have worked, except for your stupid rule about not drinking when you’re on your bike. Something else was called for. I always carry some ‘persuader’ with me in case my dates are uncooperative. Once you were out of it, things got simple.”
I was shocked and disgusted. He was a monster. Rory clicked the lighter again and gazed into the flame. There was something about his expression that scared me. If I were to draw a picture of pure evil, that look on his face would be my model.
Watching him, hypnotized by the flame, another bell chimed in my brain. I remembered Mike talking about a truck leaving the scene of one of the wildfires. “Oh my God. There’s been a rash of wildfires and the forestry service thinks careless campers are accidentally starting them. But that’s not true. You’re starting the fires!”
“Right again, baby girl. That’s why I can’t stay too long in one place. Eventually someone would put it together; I show up and fires happen. Buildings burn, cars explode, houses mysteriously go up in a blaze of glory. Fire is magic. It’s so . . . alive.” He chuckled, a sound like teeth scraping on bones. “When I heard you’d been questioning everyone about the night of the robbery, I knew my time here was done. It was a totally disloyal thing to do and you’ll pay for your crime, Robin.”
“Is that why you bought me the flame necklace? Because you get off on fire?”
“Who said I bought it? I said I picked it up for you. It’s too bad you aren’t more into this, then you’d truly enjoy what I’ve got in mind for this afternoon’s entertainment.”
The guy I was seeing now was a stranger. He was insane, and I had no idea what he was going to do next. Glancing around, I gauged the best way out of there.
“I’m going to give Banff something to remember me by.” He got up and walked to his motorcycle. “I’m such a good Boy Scout, I came prepared!” He picked up the can of gasoline he’d brought and must have seen the alarm on my face. “I bet you thought this was in case we ran out of juice for our bikes. Wrong! I figure with this wind, the fire should funnel down the valley like a red-hot tsunami. You noticed the dead pines we rode through on our way here? Each one is like a stick of dynamite.”
I was terrified now. “You’re not serious, are you?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be long gone. I’ve got plans for us. You and I are going to spread fire from coast to coast. You’re my flame, baby girl.”
As I watched, he undid the cap on the gasoline can.
“Rory, don’t do this,” I pleaded. “I’ll go with you. Sure, we can travel together, you and me. Just put the gas down! No fires, okay?”
“You don’t understand, baby girl. You going with me isn’t optional. We’re a team now.” He poured the volatile liquid onto the trees below the cliff edge where we’d eaten our lunch. The smell of gasoline filled the air.
I glanced at my bike. If I could make it back to Banff, I could warn . . . warn who? Who’d believe I wasn’t in on it? A runaway teen who parties with a wild bunch and whose boyfriend is a thief and a pyromaniac?
I thought of Mike and Anne and how much I liked them. They were what Gran called salt-of-the-earth folks. I’d messed up with Rory and he’d taken advantage of me. He had to be stopped before he turned this place into an inferno.
I ran at Rory. Hitting him hard, I shoved him toward the edge of the cliff. The wind exploded out of his lungs as I drove him backward.
He stumbled before regaining his balance. I’d underestimated his strength. He dropped the gas can and lunged for me, screaming his rage. “I’ll kill you, you worthless bitch!”
I kneed him as hard as I could in the groin, and he roared again. Grabbing my hair, he snapped my head b
ack.
Pain hit me like a hammer blow, but still I didn’t give up. I couldn’t. Too much was riding on my stopping him. I drove my elbow into his solar plexus. He buckled and let go.
Stumbling, Rory teetered on the edge of the cliff, his arms windmilling as he tried unsuccessfully to regain his balance.
I saw him fall. I heard him scream. All that remained afterward was silence.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Fire Fight
It was a long way down to the valley floor. Rory couldn’t have survived the fall. Slowly, I walked to the edge of the cliff. Steeling myself, I peered over.
Twenty feet below, a rocky shelf jutted out from the cliff. Rory lay sprawled on the ledge, one leg twisted at a grotesque angle. This was the guy I’d fantasized about and thought was so cool. How could I have been so blind? I stared down at his crumpled body.
Suddenly, Rory opened his eyes!
Slowly, his mouth gaped and a bloody gash grinned up at me. I saw his hand move to his pocket as he took out his golden lighter.
“Did you think it was over, baby girl?” he rasped. “I’ve always wanted to be inside it, watching, enjoying the total destruction. Soon, the beast will eat this whole valley!”
The lighter flared to life and with a strangled laugh, Rory dropped the torch into the gasoline-soaked pines far below.
“Noooo!” My scream echoed off the rock walls as the lighter gracefully arced toward the waiting trees.
With a loud whoosh! the pines exploded into flame. The fire leaped up the trees, hungrily devouring the branches in bursts of bright light and instant heat.
In seconds, the fire gained strength. Rory had been right; it seemed eerily alive! Trees blazed as the fire jumped from one pine to the next. The wind grabbed the smoke, swirling it into fantastic shapes of black, gray, and an ugly, bruised-looking purple.
The fire sped down the hill, following the trail of gasoline. The wall of flame raced toward the area devastated by the pine beetles. Those dead trees were like bombs waiting to explode.
Unexpectedly, something strange happened. The wind changed direction.
The fire now clawed its way back up the hill toward us. Within minutes, we’d be engulfed! I saw Rory on the ledge below, his eyes dancing as he watched the flames.
Mike’s words crowded into my head.
Rule number one: Get away from the fire as fast as you can. My bike was waiting, but I couldn’t leave Rory to be burned alive. The thought made me sick. Even he didn’t deserve to die like that.
Next: Find a zone with no fuel. Impossible! We were surrounded by trees.
Maybe I could submerge myself in a lake? I’d noticed water seeping out a rock face nearby. But that was no good; it was too little.
I also remembered what Mike said about updrafts. They burn faster than fires moving downhill. The canyon below, like a chimney, would create an updraft.
Faster and faster, the wildfire raced up the hill toward us. There was very little time left.
The day I’d gone with the rapattack crews, I’d watched them practice with their fire shelters. Was there anything I could use to rig one now?
Searching the picnic site, I didn’t see anything. Then I spotted our leather jackets and the sleeping bag. I bundled them up and took them to the small pool of water I’d seen below the seepage from the rock wall. While they were soaking up the water, I moved my motorcycle into the clearing, as far from the trees as possible. No way would I abandon the old girl without a fight, even if the odds were stacked against her.
I was about to go for the jackets and sleeping bag when I thought of something else Mike had said. “If all else fails, be a gopher. Dig a hole and climb in.”
I grabbed a screwdriver from the small tool bag strapped behind the seat of my bike.
Unfortunately, when I picked up the jackets and sleeping bag, they weren’t so much soaking wet as mildly damp. It would have to do. Thick, choking smoke made it hard to breathe as I ran to the cliff’s edge.
Throwing the jackets and sleeping bag off the cliff, I was happy to see them land beside Rory. Carefully, I shinnied over the edge and worked my way down the steep rock face. I’d almost reached the bottom when my foot slipped and I lost my grip.
I felt myself falling but didn’t have the breath to scream.
With a bone-jarring thump, I landed on the rocky shelf. Scrambling over to Rory, I scratched at the thin layer of earth with my screwdriver, making a shallow depression.
“We’re going to burn, burn, burn!” Rory said gleefully.
He sounded insane. “Not if I can help it!” I said through gritted teeth.
I rolled him into the shallow trench, face down, and got in beside him. Pulling the wet sleeping bag and leather jackets over us, I put my face in the dirt and prayed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Into the Black
The fire roared over us like a freight train. The heat was unbearable, and I imagined my skin blistering. I was sure we’d explode into flame, just like the trees I’d watched moments earlier. Choking, I tried to breathe, but the air seared my lungs. Ashes filled my mouth. Our leather jackets gave some protection, and I remembered seeing something on the sleeping-bag label about it being fire retardant.
Agonizing minutes crawled by as the fire incinerated everything around us. I kept praying.
Finally, the noise lessened. The heat was still so intense; I waited precious minutes longer before daring to lift the edge of my jacket to peer out.
Blackened spires were all that was left of the beautiful pines. The fire was now burning its way up the mountain. As I watched the embers rise high into the sky and fall, I knew we weren’t out of danger yet. All it would take was one of those sparks to hit the dead pines below and the whole thing would start over again.
“Are you okay?” I asked, not sure if Rory had made it.
He groaned as I threw off the smoldering jackets and scorched sleeping bag. His leg was still twisted awkwardly, and I knew it was badly broken.
With no cell phone coverage, there was only one thing to do.
“I’m going for help.” As I struggled to my feet, Rory gripped my arm.
“You can’t leave me here!” he shrieked. “What if it comes back?”
I wrenched myself free. “Well, I guess you’ll have a front row seat to your handiwork.”
Scrabbling up the cliff, I fought my way to the top.
The first thing I saw was my little Indian, untouched, sitting there surrounded by ashes. It was as if the old girl had been caught in an unexpected snowstorm.
Running to the bike, I crossed my fingers. I turned the key, cranked the kick starter, and as if by a miracle, the old girl started! Whooping for joy, I spun out of there and began the long ride to Banff.
Mike’s words, “stay in the black,” came back to me. Stay in the area already burned. I figured that wouldn’t be too hard since the whole place was toast.
Rounding a corner, I skidded to a stop. The road was blocked by downed trees, still smoking. I’d been on the same road years ago and remembered a shortcut I’d used. With any luck, it was still passable. If I were caught on those trails, there’d be no way out. I took a deep breath and headed into the brush.
The detour was grueling, and it was a miracle I made it through. It dumped me out not far from Banff. The first place I went was the hostel. I needed Mike, and Anne would know where to find him.
Racing into the main building, I barged into the office. “Anne, I need Mike. There’s . . .” My words trailed off. They were both sitting and having coffee.
Mike took one look at me, scorched and sooty, and leaped to his feet. “Where?”
“South of town, past the Goat Creek Trail, near the Spray Lakes turnoff.”
“I’ll call dispatch and get a crew out there.” He picked up the phone and dialed.
“Are you all right?” Anne asked, wrapping her arms around me.
“I’m fine. It’s Rory. I left him back there. He’s got a bro
ken leg.” The tears started before I had a chance to stop them. “Anne, he started the fire. He’s been starting all the fires, and he stole the money!”
Mike put the phone down with a slam. “The crews were assigned to a wildfire near Jasper. They’re on their way back in the big helicopter, but it will take a while. Robin, can you take me to the fire?”
I thought of my old Indian. “It will be slow with two riders.” My throat tightened as I spoke. “There’s a stand of dead trees not far from Rory, and if the wind shifts . . . Mike, it was terrible. I made a fire shelter and it blazed over us. I was sure we were going to die.”
Mike turned to Anne. “We have to get him out. The small chopper is at the heliport. We could take it.”
Anne shook her head, desperation in her voice. “No, Mike, don’t ask me, please.”
He gently took her hands in his. “Robin’s right. If the fire circles back, we’ll have a major blaze to deal with. If I can get up there, I can cut a firebreak. Vince and the crew will be here in two hours, but we can’t wait. A lot can happen in a couple of hours.”
“I haven’t flown in over a year, and you know why,” Anne argued.
I had to say something. “Rory’s not a good guy, Anne, but he has mental problems, real ones, and needs help. We can’t leave him to die.”
She hesitated. “If I’m flying the chopper, who’s going to rescue this boy?”
Good question. With Mike working the firebreak, there was only one other person who could do it. I thought of dangling from the underside of a helicopter and all the things that could go wrong. Then I remembered the fire and how terrified I’d been of being burned alive. Rory might be facing that horror right now. “I can do it. I had a lesson from the rapattack crew and know all the basics.” This was what Gran would have called a fat white lie.
I thought Anne was going to say no again. Instead, something shifted, and she smiled. A small smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Let’s go.”
It was a tight squeeze to get all of us in the little helicopter, especially with Mike’s gear. There was a modified Sky Genie winch, and Mike showed me how it worked. It was simple and I knew it wouldn’t be a problem to operate.
Fire Fight Page 6
