Into the Wilderness

by Traci DePree

  Eli moved next to Marcus, as if to comfort him or at least to ask what was wrong. But Marcus grunted something, then stood and walked into the dark night. When Eli rose to follow him, Paul shook his head and motioned for him to sit back down.

  Paul could sense that something was happening in the young man’s heart, though he had no idea what.

  “Let him go,” Paul said. “Give him some time.”

  About fifteen minutes later, Paul went to seek the young man out. He found Marcus sitting on a rock overlooking the valley. Paul dimmed the Coleman lantern so its glare wouldn’t blind him.

  “Can I sit with you?” he asked.

  Marcus turned toward him, and Paul could see the twist of emotion on his face. Paul took a seat beside him.

  “We didn’t offend you, did we?” Paul asked. “I know we aren’t the best singers...”

  Marcus shook his head and gave Paul a crooked smile. But he remained silent. His gaze was fixed on the night sky. A few tiny spots of light flickered in the distance. Coyotes howled somewhere to the east.

  “What was that?” Marcus asked, lifting his head at the sound.

  “Coyotes,” Paul said. There was a long awkward moment of silence before he said, “Are you okay? You seemed to be having a hard time back there. Anything I can help with?”

  “I seriously doubt that,” Marcus said. He turned to meet Paul’s gaze. He looked thoughtful yet troubled. “You all have been so...nice to me.”

  “I don’t know how nice we are,” Paul said. “Kind of goofy is more like it.”

  “No. I’m serious. I haven’t always deserved that kind of kindness, you know?”

  “What do you mean you haven’t deserved it?” Paul rested his elbows on his knees and turned his gaze to the night sky as well, waiting for Marcus to go on.

  “I’ve done a lot of things...,” he began, then paused. “I struggle with things I can’t talk about,” he finally said.

  “We all have our struggles, our secret fears,” Paul said. “That’s what grace is all about.”

  Marcus gave him a puzzled look.

  “We don’t have to keep beating ourselves up when we fail,” Paul explained, “because we’ve already been forgiven.”

  Marcus let out a humorless laugh. “You don’t know...” He paused again, as if gauging his words. “If you knew some things about me...” He shook his head.

  Paul placed a hand on the young man’s back. “Whatever you’ve done, you have to forgive yourself too.”

  “That’s not easy,” Marcus said.

  “You’re telling me. I don’t know what you’ve done, Marcus, but no matter how bad it is, God’s grace and forgiveness are always available to you. The only thing he asks in return is a humble and repentant heart.”

  Marcus sighed. “You guys. All of you. Today. I’ve had such a great time.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?”

  Marcus laughed. “No. Not bad at all. I’m just not used to it. I guess I should’ve expected it from you. Becky’s that way too.” His gaze returned to the expanse. “Forgiving me, I mean. But I don’t know if she could forgive me if she knew the truth about who I really am.”

  Chapter Nine

  Kate wanted to believe that everything was fine, just as she’d assured Rebecca. And logic told her that she was right, but the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach told her otherwise.

  When Rebecca went to get ready for bed, Kate grabbed her laptop and set it up at the kitchen table. She wanted to do more research, but didn’t want to overwhelm her daughter with suspicions about Marcus, and she wasn’t exactly sure where to start. The only thing she really had to go on was Marcus’ name and the fact that his family owned a moving company in New Jersey.

  Within a few moments, the laptop hummed to life, and she plugged the landline cord into the phone jack. Normally she did Internet research at the library, where she had access to a high-speed connection, but it was late at night, so dial-up would have to suffice. After several long minutes, she finally connected to the Internet and opened Google. Then she keyed “Marcus Kingsley” into the search engine, hoping for the sake of her daughter that something helpful would come up. But other than a couple of references to his roles in various Broadway productions, there were no matches.

  Then she tried “Kingsley Moving.” Still no matches. When she keyed in “New Jersey” and “Moving,” that brought up plenty of moving companies, but nothing with a name that looked as if it might be the Kingsley’s business.

  “What are you doing?” Rebecca entered the room wearing a bathrobe and drying her hair with a towel. Her sudden appearance startled Kate.

  Kate caught her breath, then said, “Well, I just couldn’t get those men off my mind, or the name they called Marcus. So I’m looking for information on him, and I thought I might get some clues by researching moving companies in New Jersey.”

  Rebecca pulled a chair alongside her mother and gazed at the screen. “What have you found?” she asked.

  “Nothing so far...Wait a second; I have an idea.”

  Rebecca looked at her mother. “Mack Kieffer?”

  “Exactly.” Kate nodded, then looked up at her daughter after typing in the name and waited for the page to load. “I wish I could have you around for all my sleuthing adventures.”

  Rebecca laughed. “Yes, I think we’d be a pretty good team...although I probably wouldn’t be able to follow in your baking-while-puzzling footsteps.”

  “Maybe you could sing while puzzling.” The two giggled, and then Kate returned her focus to the computer.

  “‘Mack’ has to be Marcus’ real name,” Rebecca said as the page continued loading. “There’s no other explanation for the coincidence, right?”

  Kate sat back in her chair to think.

  “What I don’t get,” Rebecca went on, “is why he wouldn’t tell me something as simple as his real name. How hard can it be to tell the person you love your real name?”

  “He could have changed it,” Kate pointed out.

  “But still, he didn’t tell me.”

  Two pages of results appeared on the screen. Most were local newspaper advertisements for high-school plays he had participated in, many with photographs of a younger Marcus Kingsley. Yet all of them bore the name “Mack Kieffer.”

  Rebecca exhaled a pent-up breath.

  Next Kate typed in “Mack Kieffer” along with “Moving” and “New Jersey.” This time a business popped up. Kate clicked on the link. It read “Kieffer and Sons Moving Company, West Orange, New Jersey.”

  Kate glanced at her daughter, then scanned the home page.

  “That’s them,” Rebecca said. “I’ve seen their pictures before.”

  The names of the sons—Marcus’ brothers—and his father, Bill, appeared under a picture of the men. Kate clicked on the Contact page and waited for it to load.

  After what seemed an eternity, an address and phone number came up.

  “I’m going to write this information down,” Kate said. “I have a feeling we’ll need it.”

  AFTER REBECCA EXCUSED HERSELF to go to bed, Kate yawned and thought about doing the same. But tired as she was, she wasn’t ready to go to bed. First, she tried Paul’s cell number again, still to no avail. No doubt he was out of signal range in the middle of the vast mountainous wilderness. Then she called Livvy. She suspected her friend would still be awake, enjoying her uninterrupted reading marathon as she often did when Danny and the boys were on one of their adventures.

  “Livvy,” Kate spoke in a low voice, hoping not to wake Rebecca, when Livvy picked up the phone.

  “I’m so glad it’s you, Kate. I’ve wanted to talk to you all day, but I didn’t want to interrupt your time with Rebecca.”

  “Liv, you know you can call me anytime. What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, it’s just James’ band buddies. They’ve been trying to get ahold of James about the concert. I told them James would be back on Tuesday night, and they’d just have to work their plans ar
ound that. After dealing with his attitude this morning, I’ve had enough of this nonsense.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Livvy said, “and I shouldn’t be unloading on you. Anyway, why are you up so late? Anything wrong?”

  “I need your help with something.”

  “Okay, fire away.”

  “Today, when Rebecca and I were at the diner, we saw two men snooping around her rental car. Then when we got home from an afternoon drive, they were waiting for us at the house.”

  “What men?”

  “I’d seen them last night at the Bristol. Marcus, Rebecca’s boyfriend, practically came unglued when he saw them, and he bolted for the restroom. They had East Coast accents and New Jersey license plates.”

  “This is sounding a little spooky.”

  “I know.”

  “What did they want?”

  “They were looking for Marcus. They claimed he was missing and called him Mack Kieffer. They even had a photo of him.” She paused. “The weird thing, Liv, is that I’ve had a strange feeling about Marcus since the moment I met him. And this just confirms that I was right.”

  “Wow, Kate.”

  “Tell me about it. And on top of that, when we searched the house after the men had gone, we discovered that the ring Rebecca inherited from her grandmother was missing.”

  She heard Livvy take in a sharp breath. “Do you think they knew that Rebecca is Marcus’ girlfriend?”

  “I’m not sure, though they never said anything about it.”

  “Did they say who they were?”

  “No. But they tried to give the impression that they were police officers or private investigators. Rebecca said they looked familiar to her, but she couldn’t place them.”

  “So how can I help?”

  “I did a little online research this evening and discovered that Mack Kieffer is likely Marcus’ real name. Is there any way you could look into his record?”

  “You mean police records?”

  “I know that sounds awful,” Kate said. “After all, this is someone my daughter cares for deeply...but I just know something’s terribly wrong.”

  “Kate, you and your sixth sense!” The women giggled, then Livvy said, “But I don’t have any way to tap into official police records, though I can search the library database for newspaper articles that list his name. And newspaper articles often include police reports.”

  “That would be very helpful.” Kate would take anything she could get at this point. “I’d focus your search on papers from back east.”

  “Do you know what city?”

  “Marcus is from New Jersey. His family lives there and runs their moving company out of West Orange,” Kate said. She felt guilty for asking the favor, and yet she had to know the truth about this young man. Her daughter deserved the truth.

  “I’ll look into it first thing,” Livvy promised.

  KATE TUGGED THE COVERS up to her shoulders and glanced at the clock. It was 1:14 Monday morning. Images of the East Coast strangers filled her thoughts. The door creaked open, and Rebecca’s silhouette filled the doorway.

  “Mom,” she whispered. “Are you sleeping?”

  “No, honey. You okay?”

  “I had a bad dream.”

  Kate moved over in the bed and patted the empty space next to her. Rebecca scooted to the bed and slid under the covers.

  “Just like when you were little,” Kate whispered. She brushed the long hair from her daughter’s face.

  They lay there in silence for a while, then sleep finally came for both of them, restless though it was. Kate dreamed that Rebecca was on a faraway island, though she couldn’t say exactly where. Rebecca was crying inconsolably, and Kate kept calling for her in a panic but couldn’t find her. Then the trees on the island grew arms and pulled Kate into a tangled embrace. She awoke, breathing hard, glad it had only been a dream.

  Chapter Ten

  As soon as Kate and Rebecca finished breakfast the following morning, they climbed into Kate’s black Honda Accord and headed to the Copper Mill Public Library. Kate filled Rebecca in on her conversation with Livvy the previous night.

  “You told her about Marcus?” Rebecca said, her voice rising.

  “She’s my best friend. She’s not going to go telling anyone about this.” Kate glanced at her daughter. “You can trust her, really.”

  Rebecca sighed, then stared out the window in silence the rest of the way into town.

  A canopy of colorful leaves fluttered in the light breeze as they drove down Smoky Mountain Road to Main Street and pulled into the library parking lot.

  When they entered the building, they spotted Livvy in her office. She was staring at a computer screen, so engrossed in her work that she didn’t look up when they came in. Kate tapped her fingers on the counter, and Livvy raised her auburn head.

  “Hi! I’m glad you’re here.” She smiled sympathetically at Rebecca. “Have you heard from Paul or Marcus?”

  Kate shook her head.

  Livvy signaled for them to join her behind the counter.

  “See here,” she began. “I found a few articles in the Star-Ledger, but no police reports.” She clicked on a link as Kate pulled a stool alongside her. Rebecca stood behind them, reading over their shoulders.

  “Here’s a birth announcement for Mack Kieffer.”

  Kate glanced through the short blurb that was basic baby stuff—weight, time of birth, length, names of the proud parents and siblings.

  “Then, see here.” Livvy clicked on another link. “A few articles about some plays Marcus was in during high school.”

  Sure enough, the same photos they’d seen the night before of a young Marcus popped up on the screen, with the name “Mack Kieffer” appearing underneath. He’d had the role of Othello in Shakespeare’s famed play and Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music during his senior year of high school.

  “But there’s no mention of him by that name after 2003. I’ve looked and looked.”

  “That would’ve been right after he graduated high school,” Rebecca offered. “When he left for New York.”

  “He must have changed his name when he moved to New York City to become an actor,” Kate said. “Marcus Kingsley has to be a stage name.”

  “So, whoever those men are,” Rebecca said, “they knew Marcus before 2003, before he became an actor.”

  ALL DAY, REBECCA was a nervous wreck. Kate had rarely felt so helpless. She’d prayed about it during her quiet time that morning, and yet the feeling persisted. She called the visitor center at Elkmont to see if she could get ahold of Paul that way, but the ranger informed her that he could only try to pass along her message. He warned her that if the men were out hiking in the backcountry, there was no way to know if or when the message would reach them.

  Kate sighed in frustration as she hung up the phone.

  “I just don’t understand why those men would travel hundreds of miles to look for Marcus,” Rebecca said for the umpteenth time. She was shredding a paper napkin as she sat at the kitchen table. “It’s not like we aren’t coming back to New York later this week. I just don’t get it.”

  “I’m sure that when Dad and Marcus get home, Marcus will be able to clear all this up.”

  Rebecca’s expression told Kate that she thought her mother was insane. “He lied to me, Mom.”

  The hurt those words put on her face sent a barb to Kate’s heart.

  “There’s a reason he kept his real name from me, Mom, and it can’t be a good one. I thought he wanted to come to Copper Mill to get to know you and Dad. But it’s clear that I was wrong. He came here to run away from something bad, something he’s been intentionally keeping from me.”

  Kate had thought the same thing, though she hadn’t wanted to admit it. It opened a Pandora’s box of questions: If Marcus hadn’t told Rebecca that he’d changed his name, what else had he been keeping from her? Why was he so afraid of those men at the restaurant? What did he think they w
ould do to him? A chill snaked down her spine. She took a deep breath and managed a forced smile.

  “I know, honey.” She stroked Rebecca’s hair, then picked up the pieces of napkin and threw them in the trash. “I wish there was something more we could do.”

  Just then the doorbell rang and Rebecca turned around so fast, Kate thought she might topple her chair. Kate made her way to the front door, and Rebecca trailed behind. As Kate approached the door, she could see Renee Lambert peering through the side windows. Her Chihuahua, Kisses, stuck his chin out over the edge of the seventy-something woman’s designer tote and fixed his doleful gaze on Kate. Renee may have been in her seventies, but she worked hard to maintain a youthful appearance. She frequently smelled of Estée Lauder’s Youth-Dew, flaunted perfectly French-manicured nails, loved dressing in pink velour warm-up suits, and near single-handedly fueled Copper Mill’s gossip chain.

  Kate was actually relieved to see Renee at her door instead of those scary men from New Jersey. Then she noticed Livvy Jenner and Betty Anderson standing behind Renee. Kate could hear Livvy saying, “Renee, come away from the window. You’re being rude!”

  “Oh no!” Kate whispered to Rebecca. “I totally forgot about the tea party. I’ll just apologize, and tell them I’ll have to reschedule.”

  “Don’t do that,” Rebecca said.

  Kate turned to look at her daughter. “I don’t think we have time or energy for a tea party, honey.”

  Rebecca shrugged. “What else do we have to do? We’re kind of stuck...at least until we can talk to Daddy.”

  Kate studied her daughter’s face. “Are you sure?”

  Rebecca nodded and gave her mother a weary smile. “I’ll just go freshen up while you play hostess.” She retreated to the guest room, where her large black suitcase was, and shut the door behind her while Kate reached for the doorknob. She checked her reflection in the mirror, fluffed her hair, and pinched her cheeks before opening the door.