Into the Wilderness

by Traci DePree

  “Most fathers are the same way,” Kate assured her.

  She led the way to the motel’s outdoor corridor and Joe Tucker’s room. After several long minutes, Joe answered their knock, looking as if he’d been asleep for quite some time.

  “What’s going on? Did someone find Paul?” he asked.

  “No. I’m sorry to wake you, Joe,” Kate said. “We’re wondering if you might have seen James.”

  The wizened old man looked at Livvy, an eyebrow raising in worry. “That boy of yours took off?”

  “I don’t know,” Livvy said, shaking her head.

  “I saw him down by the pop machine,” he said, confirming what the manager had already told Danny.

  Kate said, “Why don’t you head back to bed, Joe? You’ve had a long day already. We’ll find him.”

  “Are you sure?” Joe said. “I’d be happy to get my duds back on and come look with you.”

  “No, that’s okay,” Livvy said. “We’ll ask if any of the others have seen him.”

  But nobody else had seen James either. Sheriff Roberts headed out in his squad car to search the immediate area, while Kate and Livvy returned to the Jenners’ room, where Justin was still sleeping. The fourteen-year-old had gone to bed early. He roused when they came into the room.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, lifting his head from the pillow and opening bleary eyes.

  “Is Daddy here?” Livvy asked.

  Justin rubbed his eyes and said, “I don’t think so. Why?”

  Livvy sat on the edge of the bed and touched his hair. “We can’t find James. We think he might’ve tried to find a way to get back home, but—”

  “Oh no!” Justin said, interrupting his mother. “I didn’t think he’d actually do it!”

  “Do what?” Livvy asked, glancing at Kate.

  Justin looked as if he didn’t want to tell his mother what his brother had confided to him. Finally he asked, “It’s okay to break a promise if it’s something really important, right?”

  “You have to tell us what he told you,” Livvy said. “He could be in danger, Justin. You need to tell us.”

  Justin thought about it for a moment, then said, “He said something about taking the Greyhound out of Knoxville and going back home. You don’t think he’d actually do that, do you?”

  “Knoxville?” Kate was stunned.

  “Yesterday,” Justin said, “when it was raining so hard and we were all stuck in the visitor center waiting to go look for Mr. Hanlon, he went online and looked up bus information. He said the nearest Greyhound station was in Knoxville.”

  “But Knoxville is over forty miles away. Did he mention how he planned to get there from here?” Kate asked.

  Justin shook his head. Kate and Livvy exchanged a worried look as Danny came into the room, his expression frantic.

  “Any word?” Danny asked.

  “No,” Kate said, “but Justin says he thinks James is on his way to Knoxville to take the Greyhound home.”

  “Where would he get the money for a bus ride?” Danny said, looking to his younger son.

  Justin’s gaze turned to the bedspread. “He...uh...he took it from Mom’s purse.”

  Kate saw Livvy’s face fall and placed an arm around her friend’s shoulder. Danny was already on the phone, first to Sheriff Roberts and then to Information to find out the number for the Greyhound station in Knoxville.

  “What did the sheriff say?” Livvy asked when he hung up.

  “He’s radioing ahead to Knoxville. The police and sheriff’s departments will be on the lookout for him, and Sheriff Roberts is going to head toward the highway to see if he can spot him.”

  Just then a knock sounded on the door. Kate opened it to see Rebecca and Eli standing there, looking confused.

  “I was wondering where you were,” Rebecca said to her mother.

  “I’m sorry,” Kate said. “I should have left you a note.”

  Rebecca glanced at Livvy and said, “What’s going on?”

  She and Eli came into the room, and Kate filled them in about James.

  “I’m so sorry,” Rebecca said to Livvy. “This is awful.”

  Kate glanced at Justin, who looked as if he was about to cry. He was still in bed in his pajamas, sitting up and looking just like a little boy.

  Danny had been talking on the phone with the Knoxville bus station. When he hung up the phone, he said, “There isn’t a bus leaving for Chattanooga until seven o’clock in the morning,” he said, “and so far they haven’t seen anyone matching James’ description.”

  “Did they say they’d call if he showed up?” Livvy asked.

  “Yes,” Danny said. “But until he gets there, who knows what kind of trouble he could get himself into. We need to go looking.” He turned his eyes to Kate.

  “We can take my car,” she offered.

  “I can stay with Justin if you guys would like,” Rebecca offered.

  “I’m not a baby!” Justin protested as he climbed out of bed.

  “How about if we both stay with you?” Eli said, looking at Rebecca.

  “Actually,” Danny said, smiling at his fourteen-year-old, “that would be very helpful. It’s been a long day already, and I know Justin needs his sleep.”

  “Dad!” Justin whined.

  Danny shook his head. “The police are looking for James. We’ve covered all our bases. There’s no reason that you need to come, Justin. Just stay here with Eli and Rebecca. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

  Kate, Livvy, and Danny piled into Kate’s Honda. Kate suggested that Danny drive, sensing he needed something to do to keep himself busy. It was past eleven o’clock, and the streets of Gatlinburg were quiet, except for the occasional car meandering past. Kate was in the backseat, her gaze glued to the left side of the road, while Livvy scanned the right side from the front seat.

  “I wish I knew which route he took,” Danny complained.

  “How long ago did he leave the rec room?” Kate asked.

  “The manager said he was there half an hour,” Livvy reminded her, “so that means he left around eight o’clock.”

  “It’s been three hours,” Kate said. “Odds are he’s already at the highway.”

  Danny pushed the accelerator and wove north toward State Highway 441.

  As they reached the edge of town, Kate caught sight of someone walking in the opposite direction back toward Gatlinburg. The boy was tall and stocky, like James, with dark curly hair.

  “That’s him!” Kate said, pointing.

  Livvy let out a sigh of relief, and Danny pulled the car alongside his son and shut off the engine. The three of them got out. James raised his head when they approached. The street light revealed a tear-stained face.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets as Livvy pulled him into a deep embrace.

  “I was so worried,” she said.

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” James replied.

  “What were you thinking?” Danny asked, tension etched in his face. “Something could have happened to you! We were all worried sick. Even the police are out looking for you.” His voice rose in pitch with each sentence.

  James lowered his head and said, “It was stupid, and I’m really sorry.” He shrugged, looking forlorn.

  “Why were you walking back toward town?” Livvy asked.

  “I realized I was being selfish and decided to come back,” he said.

  Danny pulled his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open.

  “Sheriff, this is Danny Jenner,” he said. “We found him.” He paused as the sheriff said something, then continued. “Thank you for everything. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.” He said good-bye and closed the phone.

  James reached into his pocket, pulled out the cash he’d taken from his mother, and handed it to her. Tears streamed down Livvy’s cheeks, and Kate placed a comforting hand on her friend’s back.

  “I’m so disappointed that you did that,” Livvy said to her son. “To steal money—”r />
  “I know,” he said quietly.

  “Let’s go back to the motel,” Danny said.

  They climbed back in Kate’s car. This time Livvy took the backseat with her son, while Kate sat up front with Danny.

  “You need to know that there will be consequences for this,” Danny said after several minutes of driving. He looked into the rearview mirror so he could make eye contact with James.

  Kate glanced back.

  James had turned his gaze to the floor, and Livvy was holding his hand.

  When they reached the motel, Danny seemed to have cooled off quite a bit, though Kate sensed there would be a family discussion about what had happened. He’d already mentioned pulling James out of the band, and the boy had only nodded, as if he knew he was getting what he deserved.

  Danny handed the car keys to Kate and escorted his son back to their room, while Livvy stayed behind. Her tear-filled gaze met Kate’s.

  “I’m sorry about tonight,” she said.

  “You’ve apologized too many times already,” Kate said, hugging Livvy.

  When Livvy pulled back, she said, “I got a glimpse tonight of what you must be feeling this week with Paul missing—” Her voice cracked, and she wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I thought I understood before, but it’s not the same.”

  “Livvy,” Kate said, “it’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay,” Livvy said. “It won’t be okay until we bring Paul home.”

  BY FRIDAY, half of the search-and-rescue team had moved on to other calls. Kate couldn’t blame them. After all, people had obligations. But with fewer searching, it meant that the likelihood of finding Paul and Marcus alive was also reduced by that much.

  Kate hadn’t seen the two men they’d confronted the previous day. And that concerned her more than comforted her because it meant that she couldn’t keep an eye on them. She scanned the conference room where Ranger Morton was briefing the remaining search crew on that day’s search plan. Even the number of reporters had dwindled to a lone man with a notepad.

  The plan was to split into two groups, one for each of the trails that led into the backcountry from Andrews Bald just south of Clingmans Dome.

  Kate stretched her aching back and neck muscles. She wasn’t looking forward to another day of hiking, and after the events of the previous night, she hadn’t gotten much sleep.

  Finally they loaded into vehicles and drove to the trailhead to begin another day of searching. It had become a routine of sorts. All of the searchers knew their roles. Dogs sniffed along the ground, and helicopters scanned the terrain from above, while the search-and-rescue workers called out the missing men’s names with no response.

  Occasionally a view would open up along the trail, a gorgeous panorama of color, with mists adding a gossamer effect to the portraits beyond. Danny Jenner and his boys moved out to the east of Kate, while Livvy walked by her side.

  “Hey, you,” Livvy said.

  Kate glanced at her dear friend.

  “How are you holding up?”

  Kate shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

  She reached for Kate’s hand and gave it a squeeze before letting it go.

  They walked for three hours without any sign of Paul or Marcus, not a campsite or granola wrapper or strip of fabric to be seen. Kate kept calling Paul’s name, but even that had become rote. She didn’t expect an answer.

  Something just didn’t seem right. Kate could sense it in her core. They’d come up that long stretch of road to get where they were now. If Paul and Marcus had come all the way to Clingmans Dome Road, why hadn’t they just waited for help? There were plenty of cars that traversed the road to the lookout tower, especially in the glorious days of autumn. Someone would have found them and taken them to safety.

  She pictured the dogs the previous day at Andrews Bald moving from one path to the next. She glanced at Livvy as a thought came to her, then lifted her face to the cool September day.

  “We’ve lost the trail,” she said quietly.

  “What did you say?” Livvy turned to her.

  “Marcus and Paul didn’t come to the highest point,” Kate said. “It doesn’t make sense. They’re still walking in circles to the north.”

  “What do you mean?” Livvy asked.

  “Once Paul reached the road, he wouldn’t have gone back into the wilderness. The dogs are leading us on a wild goose chase.”

  Livvy gave that some thought. “But we would’ve seen him on the road.”

  “That’s why I think he never made it to the road.”

  “Kate, I can’t even think straight anymore,” Livvy confessed. “None of this makes sense. We’re guessing at everything here!”

  “No, we aren’t,” Kate corrected. “We found his prescription bottle and those strips of fabric. And those weren’t left by a bear.”

  Livvy laughed.

  “And we know where they camped just south of Chimney Tops. We’ve just lost their trail. Someone was injured. We know that much from the pieces of Paul’s shirt and the marks on the rocks. That would’ve slowed them down, not bolstered them to climb all the way up here. What if we walked right past them and didn’t see them because they can’t respond?”

  Kate stopped walking and looked her friend in the eyes. “First we were trying to think like Marcus. But I think that’s leading us nowhere. We need to try to think like Paul,” Kate said, feeling frustrated by the lack of clarity in her thoughts until that moment.

  “Without knowing what circumstances he’s in, that’s awfully hard to do,” Livvy observed.

  “I’ve been married to him almost thirty years. I know him better than anybody.”

  Kate gazed into the woods. Morning light filtered through the balding treetops. The ground was a carpet of yellow and red.

  “I know I’m right,” she said. “Paul would never have come this way, not if he passed the road.”

  She called to Sheriff Roberts, who was part of her search team and told him her conclusions.

  “But the dogs picked up a scent,” he protested.

  “And dogs are never wrong?” Kate asked. “Think about it, Sheriff. If Paul stumbled onto the road, he wouldn’t have kept going. He’d be hitchhiking for help!”

  The rotund man rubbed his chin in thought. “What do you propose we do?” he finally asked.

  “I propose that we don’t waste another precious minute.” Kate replied. “We’ve already lost three hours today.”

  IT WAS JUST PAST NOON by the time the search-and-rescue team made it back up Forney Ridge Trail. Ranger Morton and the local crew were standing in a circle in private conversation when Kate and the others arrived. When she joined them, the words she heard coming from one of the crew members she hadn’t been introduced to sent a wave of shock through her system.

  “This search has already cost us thousands of dollars—” the man was saying.

  “Mrs. Hanlon,” Ranger Morton cleared his throat in an obvious attempt to get the man to stop talking.

  “We’ve lost the trail,” Kate agreed with the man. “We need to go back to the campsite from yesterday and pick it up from there.”

  “We’ve scoured that whole area,” the man said.

  “What if we walked right by them?” Kate kept her cool, though it wasn’t easy. Rebecca came up beside her and placed a hand on her back. “What if they’re injured and can’t respond?”

  “It’s Friday,” Ranger Morton said. “Our odds are getting slimmer and slimmer.”

  “I don’t care about odds,” Kate said. “We can’t give up!”

  “I’m sorry, Mrs. Hanlon”—his voice was apologetic—“You expect us to change plans based on a hunch?”

  Kate shrugged. “I know I’m asking a lot. But it’s my husband.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. He lifted his face to those in the circle. “The crew is right.” He made eye contact with the man who had been speaking when Kate first arrived. “This investigation has already cost too much, and the trail is col
d. We need to go back to the drawing board.”

  “What are you saying?” Kate asked.

  “I’m saying you’re probably right about them not being down here, but that doesn’t mean you’re right about going back to where we’ve already searched. We need to figure out what we’re doing or call off the search.”

  The ranger ordered everyone back in the vans to return to Sugarlands. As they drove east along the road, Kate’s heart began to sink. How could she go home without Paul? She couldn’t even fathom the thought. She glanced toward the van in front of theirs where Ranger Morton rode. She didn’t want to feel angry at the man, and yet she was. Couldn’t he understand how unthinkable it was to simply stop looking? Both vans slowed for another sharp turn around a curve. The views were breathtaking.

  She peered through the woods to the north, hoping to get a glimpse of Paul. Why couldn’t she figure out where he was? Why couldn’t she feel it in her bones? She was as connected to him as any person could be, and yet she still had no sense of where he was.

  All along the road, she scanned for any sign of him and Marcus. But there was no sign.

  She even looked along Newfound Gap Road, though she knew it would be impossible to walk that far in a few short hours.

  The sheriff glanced back at her. He must have felt sorry for her because he radioed ahead to see if anyone had picked up the men. No one had. Paul and Marcus weren’t anywhere to be found.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Marcus was dying. Paul could see it in the glaze that covered the young man’s eyes as fever swept his thin body. Paul checked the bandage that covered Marcus’ broken arm. Blood stains had turned brown on the flannel sling that encased it, so he knew that the bleeding had stopped. Paul had managed to splint it with a green branch from a tree, but Marcus would need a doctor to assure that the arm would heal correctly.

  Paul gently tugged the silver emergency blanket up across Marcus’ body. The young man’s head rested on Paul’s backpack. Lying there, he looked more like a boy than a man. He took a shallow breath, then his eyes rolled and his eyelids closed.