Escape From the Badlands

by Dana Mentink

  Shane stiffened. The locals, he knew, were his brother, Todd, and Olivia. A shadow crossed Chenko’s face. “Nice folks helped us out. I was really sorry the gal was killed.” Chenko shook his head. “You’d think that kinda thing wouldn’t happen out here in God’s country.”

  Shane imagined what his brother would say. It’s all God’s country, but anywhere there are people, bad things can happen. He wondered how his brother was doing, locked in a cage, the threads of his faith loosening like a flag fraying in a vicious wind. “Did you have the same team working for you then?”

  Chenko raised an eyebrow. “Team?” He laughed. “By team, I suppose you mean Devin. Yeah, been with me for a couple years now. He’s great with people, but he could use some schooling in business. It’s all about connections and keeping your eye on the goal. He’s got his sights on something else most of the time. As my daddy used to tell me, if you don’t keep your eyes on the prize, someone else will take it.” Chenko noticed a newcomer to the group, a mustached man with a bald head toting some serious camera power. “Speaking of which, if you’ll excuse me, I smell publicity in the air.”

  Kelly arrived with a bright-eyed Charlie in her arms. Shane opened his mouth to call to her but closed it abruptly when Devin gestured her over. He whispered something to Betsy, who frowned for a moment before leaving the table.

  Kelly sat next to Devin with Charlie on her lap. She looked rested, in spite of the harrowing night, slim and strong in the pair of jeans she must have popped in the camp dryer and a race T-shirt. He watched the three of them chatting, laughing, and his heart sank. Man, woman and child. A family. Though Kelly had echoed his desire to not have children, she seemed to have fallen into the mother role so naturally, so willingly.

  And Charlie, the little boy with the wide brown eyes, put his hand up and rested it on her cheek.

  The gesture knifed through him. Charlie needed Kelly, depended completely on her protection and care. Relied on her to keep him safe.

  The terror he’d felt when he’d run down to the river flooded back into his gut.

  Please…please don’t let me see him there, face down in that water. Please…

  He’d offered the plea automatically, like an ignorant child.

  No one up there, Shane. No one for you.

  He downed another slug of coffee, relieved when Kelly led Charlie away to prepare plates of food. Devin rose and hopped onto the tiny platform at one end of the lodge, tapping a cordless microphone.

  “Good morning, racers. Today is your last day to back out before the official torture begins in the morning.”

  The racers responded with laughter and good-natured heckling. Devin turned on a small laptop computer and pulled down a screen. “The race is divided into three legs.” He grinned. “You cowboy types were no doubt disappointed that we’ve eliminated the horseback part of the trip.”

  Shane stiffened, fighting the urge to stand up and ask Devin to explain in front of everyone about the mishap and the ensuing visit to his brother’s ranch the year before. He stayed put, though, and Devin’s presentation flowed smoothly on, covering the particulars of the equipment and route. Someone settled into a chair next to him, and he was surprised to find Kelly and Charlie there.

  Kelly’s cheeks pinked. “Sorry. This was the only spot with two chairs, and Charlie does better when he’s not sitting on my lap for breakfast.”

  Shane managed a smile. “Sure.”

  Kelly brushed some hair out of Charlie’s face. “Charlie, this is Mr….Shane. He’s a…” She flicked a quick look at him and then back to Charlie. “He’s a racer, like the others.”

  And that’s all he was to her. Just like the others. Like the mom who let her down and the other nameless faces that went in and out of her life. He forced a cheerful tone. “Hello, Charlie. Good to meet you. Do you like to ride bikes?”

  Charlie nodded. “I gotta trike for Christmas.”

  “That’s great.” He watched Charlie tuck into his scrambled eggs, the fork seeming too large in his small fingers.

  Kelly eyed Shane over the top of her coffee cup. She lowered her voice to a near whisper. “Shane…” Her words trailed off for a moment. “I was thinking about the reason you came here. It seems like a long shot to find a way to crack Ackerman’s alibi.”

  Shane winced, wishing he hadn’t been forced to tell her about the plan. “It’s the only thing I can do to help my brother.”

  “My uncle Bill is back with the Tribal Rangers. Maybe he can help you.”

  Shane shook his head, surprised at the offer and fairly certain he would not get much help at all from Kelly’s uncle after what had happened between him and Kelly. “I appreciate that,” he said, looking around to be sure no one had overheard. The group was hanging on Ackerman’s every word. “There’s nothing he can do that the cops haven’t already done.”

  “Don’t be too sure. He’s very persistent.”

  He couldn’t hold back a smile. “Really?”

  She returned the smile for a moment before the humor was replaced by a cool expression. “Anyway, it was just a thought. But you’re not giving up—I can tell.”

  “Must be a family trait.”

  “I wouldn’t have thought so.”

  The words stung. He looked away. She busied herself wiping Charlie’s hands and face, looking around, he imagined, to find another spot to sit. She’d just finished her cleanup when Ackerman announced from the microphone, “Let’s introduce you to our new race medic, Kelly Cloudman. Come on up here, Kelly.”

  Kelly flushed and walked to the platform. Charlie watched her. “That’s my mama. I’ve got two. Mama Rose is on a trip.”

  Shane found himself unable to answer.

  Charlie waved and knocked over his orange juice in the process. Instinctively, Shane threw the nearby napkins down on the spill and said in his best John Wayne voice, “No worries, Cowboy Charlie. We got the flood under control, partner.”

  Charlie laughed. “You’re funny.”

  Funny. A memory of his little brother’s laughter rolled through him.

  Funny Shane. The goofy big brother who could always get a laugh.

  Lonnie, whose laughter was swallowed up by Shane’s carelessness in a moment that would change everything.

  One horrible moment.

  His reverie was broken at the sound of applause for Kelly. She waved, and Ackerman hugged her around the shoulder. Just a friendly gesture, a warm greeting that nonetheless made Shane want to launch himself at the platform and knock Ackerman away from her.

  He gritted his teeth as Kelly detached herself and made her way back to the table, cheeks flushed.

  “Embarrassing,” she said.

  Shane couldn’t stop himself. “Stay away from him, Kell. He’s not what he seems.”

  Her eyes flashed. “Ironic, coming from you.” She helped Charlie from the chair and made her way to the back, holding him in her arms as Ackerman started up a computer presentation.

  Shane felt like breaking something. She was stubborn and she would not listen to reason, especially when it came from him.

  Do what you need to do to find Ellen.

  He watched the handsome man, so at ease in front of the crowd. Hard to believe he could be a murderer. What if Kelly was right and he wasn’t? The whole thing was some desperate effort that made no sense.

  His hands balled into fists. No. Todd was right about people, and he’d pegged Devin as trouble. Todd’s cop friend felt the same way. Pictures began to scroll across the screen of prior Desert Quest races. The first had been in Utah, the last two in South Dakota. Smiling, dirt-covered racers, engaged in everything from biking to kayaking to spelunking, waved back from the screen to the hoots and hollers of the audience. He saw a quick shot of Gleeson on horseback, which surprised him. The man had said nothing about participating in other Quest races.

  The music swelled and filled the small trailer, the excitement palpable. Another picture materialized.

  Shane’s
heart hammered to a stop.

  It was a picture of Olivia, arm in arm with Betsy, smiling for the camera as vibrant and full of life as he remembered her. Just behind them was a slender blonde whom Shane knew was Ellen Brown from the news coverage of the murder.

  Shane stiffened, locking eyes with Ackerman, whose smile faded. The picture quickly dissolved into the next one, and Ackerman’s face was once again a portrait of charm.

  Shane looked across the room at Kelly, who was staring at him. She’d seen Olivia’s picture, too.

  Had she seen Ackerman’s reaction to the photo?

  Kelly answered the question by turning away, swinging Charlie into her arms and applauding with the rest as the slide show ended.

  FIVE

  Kelly took Charlie outside and watched him play in the watery sunshine, collecting pine needles and small bits of rock. She could not get the picture of Olivia out of her mind. She’d never met her, but it was impossible to believe the smiling, vibrant woman from the photo had been murdered, especially by Devin Ackerman. She’d seen Devin’s expression when the photo was shown, the flicker of unease, but it was likely because he had inadvertently left her picture in the slide show, a tasteless error in view of what had happened a few days before the race last year had commenced.

  She’d seen the shock in Shane’s face too, the grief etched there before anger took its place. When had he become so suspicious, so seized by the certainty of Ackerman’s guilt? In the long months they had been apart, where had the happy, fun-loving Shane Mason gone? She remembered the haggard face that greeted her in the mirror that morning. Shane wasn’t the only one who had changed in their time apart. Where had her enthusiasm gone?

  Her thoughts were interrupted as a rickety pickup truck wheezed into camp. Kelly’s spirit lifted as the sturdy gray-haired lady hopped out. Her wrinkled face was tanned and beaming.

  “Aunt Jean,” Kelly called, wrapping her arms around the woman who seemed much younger than her sixty-eight years.

  Aunt Jean squeezed her and planted a kiss on each of her cheeks. “Hello, sweetie. You look as pretty as a sunrise.”

  Kelly smiled, feeling herself relax for the first time in days. “I am so glad to see you.”

  “Glad you asked me to come. Delighted to be invited to take care of that precious boy. I’ve been counting the moments. Now where is my angel?”

  Kelly called Charlie over. He smiled shyly and hid behind her leg. “You remember Aunt Jean, don’t you, Charlie? We saw her…” Kelly trailed off. The last time Charlie had visited Aunt Jean was on his third birthday, the day that Rose had promised to visit.

  The day she hadn’t come. Another in a string of disappointments.

  Now it was only a few days until Charlie’s fourth birthday, and Kelly was desperate for the phone to ring, to know that her sister would come and see Charlie before he could no longer remember her at all. Kelly hadn’t told Charlie his mother was going to visit. She could not stand to see the disappointment in his eyes again.

  With a start, Kelly remembered that her phone had been destroyed. Had her sister tried to call? Kelly suppressed a groan.

  “What’s the matter?” Jean said, wiggling her fingers at Charlie.

  “Nothing. We had a little accident on the way up and I lost my phone. I’ll have to get a new one.”

  Charlie edged over to Jean, and the two solemnly shook hands before Jean swept him up and swung him around. His squeals of delight danced through the air, and Kelly momentarily forgot her troubles.

  Charlie has a family. Maybe it didn’t look quite the same as other families, but she had done her best to make sure he felt loved and cherished, in spite of his absent mother. We’re a family, she repeated to herself fiercely, just me and Charlie, Aunt Jean, and Uncle Bill and Heather.

  And hopefully Rose.

  She heard the racers start to stream out of the lodge. Shane would be among them, the man she had thought would become family and stand by her always, through anything.

  How wrong she’d been. How utterly wrong.

  Jean fished out a plastic car from her pocket and gave it to Charlie. “It’s from your uncle Bill.”

  Charlie’s face lit, and he scampered away to roll it along the bench of a nearby picnic table.

  Jean squeezed Kelly around the shoulders. “So tell me about this accident. Your uncle will grill me when I get back, you know.”

  “Oh, everything’s okay. I’m so glad you’re here for Charlie. Monday’s his birthday.”

  A shadow passed over Jean’s face. “Yes. I brought some special things so we can have a little party. Bill will come if things are okay at home.”

  Kelly’s uncle Bill and his new wife, Heather, were foster parents to young Tina Moon until her guardian recovered from a stroke. Tina had been a handful for the two of them. “I’d love to see them.” She lowered her voice. “I haven’t told Charlie that Rose is supposed to come.”

  Jean nodded. “I think that’s wise.”

  Kelly caught Jean’s frown as she watched Charlie play. “What’s wrong, Aunt Jean?”

  She opened her mouth to answer when Martin Chenko approached. “Hello, ma’am. You must be Miss Cloudman’s aunt.”

  She shook his hand. “Call me Jean. Everyone does.”

  “Pleasure to meet you.” He turned to Kelly. “Don’t want to interrupt, but I heard your phone was swamped.” He handed over a satellite phone. “Here’s one you can use until the race is over.”

  Kelly thanked him profusely.

  “It’s nothing at all. I’ll need to keep in touch throughout the race, and your family will want to talk to you, I’m sure.”

  Kelly gripped the phone. “I’m hoping to hear from my sister.”

  Chenko must have caught the urgent tone in her voice. “Problem?”

  “No. It’s Charlie’s birthday on Monday, and she’ll want to talk to him.”

  The strange expression crossed Aunt Jean’s face again, and Kelly thought she might cry. Chenko must have noticed it, too. “Are you feeling well, ma’am?”

  “Fine, fine,” she said, walking over to Charlie.

  Kelly frowned. Chenko gave her a puzzled look. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No, no. Thank you very much for the phone.”

  “No problem.” He watched Charlie for a minute. “He likes cars, I see.”

  “Yes, he went through a train phase, but now it’s nothing but cars.”

  Chenko laughed. “A boy after my own heart. When I was a boy, I had a Mustang that made me feel like the biggest man in the Dakotas.”

  “Do you have children?”

  “No.” He chuckled. “Not sure I’d be much good at it, even if I got the chance. Maybe I’ll give it a try someday.”

  He was about to leave when an impulse struck her. “Mr. Chenko, are a lot of the racers repeaters from last year?”

  “A couple dozen, I’d say. Some people are just addicted. Good thing for me.”

  “Like Betsy?”

  He blinked. “This is her first race, but she hung around last year.”

  “Oh, that’s why I saw Betsy’s picture in the slide show from last year. And another woman, a young blonde.”

  He considered. “Can’t remember who the blonde was. Betsy was involved in helping unofficially on the last Quest because she and Devin had started dating. She didn’t want to let him out of her sight, I guess, so she was around all the time.” He sighed. “Good thing she was helpful and didn’t ask to be paid. That’s my favorite kind of volunteer.” He ambled away.

  Kelly joined her family and escorted Aunt Jean to the trailer so she could get settled in. “Do you want to lie down for a while? We have to leave for the race site at noon, so you’ll be on kid duty then.”

  “I’ve never napped in my life. I want Charlie to show me the campground. I saw a little play area as I came in, didn’t I?”

  Charlie did not need any further urging as he dragged a laughing Aunt Jean away. Quickly she sent a text to her sister:
Here’s my new phone number. Starting a different job and want to tell you about it. Where are you? Getting worried. K

  Kelly locked the door of the trailer and headed to the playground, wondering when she would be able to find out the real reason for the worry on her aunt’s face.

  Shane found himself loading the bikes after checking them carefully. Perfect condition. He wished he could say as much for himself. Since he’d seen the slide of Olivia and Betsy, he couldn’t get the unsettled feeling out of his gut. Added to that was the sight of Ackerman schmoozing the crowd, and Kelly, too. The guy was a menace.

  “Easy there,” Gleeson said as Shane yanked on the ropes, securing the bikes to the truck bed. “What’s eating you?”

  “Nothing.”

  Gleeson slid behind the wheel, and Shane took in the passenger seat. They fell in line in the caravan of racers, right behind the SUV with MEDIC lettered on the side, and in front of Gwen and Betsy’s dented pickup. Kelly nodded to them as she passed, carrying her backpack filled with medical supplies, and got into her own vehicle. Shane felt his nerves tingle as they always did when he caught the swish of her dark hair, the hint of that impish smile. When would that longing go away?

  Ackerman strode along easily, cameras and lenses dangling from his neck. He waved a hand at them before stopping at Kelly’s car.

  “Can you give me a lift? I’ve got so much gear I can’t fit it all in Chenko’s car.”

  Shane did not catch Kelly’s reply, but Ackerman nodded and got in next to her.

  The guy was a murderer, and Kelly was giving him a ride. Shane realized that he was grinding his teeth. He snuck a glance at Gleeson, who didn’t seem to notice. “What do you know about Ackerman?”

  Gleeson looked surprised. “Devin? Nice guy. Good with the girls. Probably because he’s the only son, with three older sisters. Parents are highbrow, plenty of dough. Don’t get the sense they’d be too happy about him slumming with a bunch of endurance racers. Why?”

  “No reason.”

  Finally, the cars began to roll out toward the racecourse. He tried to enjoy the scenery as they went. The first leg of the race was a looping trail in mountainous country with long draws, high ridges and spectacular overlooks.