The Tourist is Toast

by Carly Winter

  He nodded and shook his head. “Yeah, I’m relieved about that. But I wonder who it is and why he’s in my condo?”

  Chapter Two

  The next day Ruby and I had plans to meet Adam at Jumping Jack's Jeep Tours for a late afternoon / early evening ride. Adam had an ATV of his own, but I'd been forced to sell Ruby's when I first moved to Sedona. I was saving up for another, but I didn't quite have enough to purchase. So, I'd rent.

  To Ruby’s chagrin, we walked and arrived a few minutes early. Jack greeted me in the lot while wiping his hands with a black-grease-stained rag. With his wavy brown hair, green eyes, and bright smile, he was definitely one of the most popular men in town. “Hey, Bernie!”

  “Well hello, Mr. Dimples,” Ruby purred. “Aren't you looking sexy today?”

  And yes, he had dimples.

  I pursed my lips and tried to ignore her. “Hi, Jack. I was hoping to rent an ATV today.”

  “What happened to your head?” he asked, the smell of oil surrounding him. Not only did he rent ATVs, but also hosted the Jeep tours and fixed all the vehicles.

  As predicted, I'd ended up with a bruise right in the middle of my forehead, accompanied by a lump. “I ran into an open cupboard.”

  “You better watch out where you're going from now on,” he said with a chuckle.

  “Very true.”

  “I have an ATV available. C'mon inside and I'll get the paperwork ready.”

  Ruby and I followed him into the office. “If only I was alive,” she said with a sigh.

  “If only you were forty years younger,” I muttered.

  “Age is nothing but a number,” Ruby retorted. “I could show this handsome man a thing or two.”

  “Please don't,” I murmured, holding up my palm. “Don't go there.”

  Jack glanced over his shoulder. “Did you say something?”

  “No,” I replied. It was always so hard with Ruby around. First, she had no boundaries. Second, she didn't possess a filter and always said exactly was on her mind, which was often inappropriate. Third, I wanted to answer and often found myself speaking to her when I shouldn't. It would only be a matter of time before people in this town began to gossip about the bed and breakfast owner who strolled down the street muttering to herself, if they didn’t already.

  As I filled out the paperwork, I heard an engine rumbling out front. I glanced over my shoulder to find Adam arriving on his ATV wearing a backpack. I should have brought my own filled with water, but I'd been in such a hurry, it had slipped my mind. Jack went out to greet him—they'd been friends for quite a while.

  “All done,” I said, laying the clipboard and my credit card on Jack's desk. I walked over and picked a helmet, trying not to think who had worn it before me. Even though Jack cleaned them after each use, I needed to buy my own before I bought an ATV because wearing a public one gave me the heebie-jeebies. “Let's head out.” Besides OCD tendencies, I could probably be classified as a germaphobe.

  Ruby hummed as she trailed me, and I joined the men.

  “Depending on where you two go, I may see you out there,” Jack said. “I've got a full moon tour.”

  “I didn't know it was the full moon,” Adam said. “That'll be pretty.”

  “Yeah, when it comes up and you're by the cliffs, it's almost magical,” Jack replied, shaking his head. “Makes you really think about God and stuff.”

  I'd never seen Jack being philosophical or religious, so this new side of him surprised me. Perhaps there was more to him than dimples and nice eyes.

  “I'll let you two get moving.”

  “My credit card is on your desk,” I said. “I'll grab it when we come back.”

  “Perfect.” Jack pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. “I’ll keep it in my safe. You can take the ATV with the blue tag right over there. It's gassed up and ready to go. Even put in a new starter this morning.”

  “Wait a minute,” Adam said. “I’m paying for this.”

  “It’s fine, Adam,” I said. “You have an ATV and I don’t. I’m happy to pay for my own.”

  I grabbed the keys from Jack just as Ruby said, “Look over there. Dumb Darla Darling giving you the evil eye.”

  Glancing over at the diner, I saw her staring out the window of her establishment at us. My ex-friend seemed certain I was trying to take away her boyfriend, Jack. I had no intention of doing so, but she still stared daggers at me. The whole thing was quite childish. What were we? Fifteen, not thirty-five?

  When Jack headed inside and was out of earshot, I turned to Adam. “Did you see your ghost again?”

  He shook his head. “I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did. It was creepy. How's your bruise?”

  “It's fine. Better than it looks.”

  “I'm really sorry about that.”

  I laughed and gently touched my forehead. “Please quit apologizing. It's not like you can control your ghost. I can't control mine.”

  “No one controls me,” Ruby said. “No matter if I'm alive or dead. Now, can we please kill the chatter and get moving?”

  “Are you ready to head out?” Adam asked, unaware of Darla's hateful stare across the parking lot.

  Pretending I didn't see her, I slipped on my sunglasses and helmet. “Yes, let's go.”

  “Woohoo!” Ruby yelled as I straddled the ATV and she got comfortable behind me. A shiver went down my spine at her presence. “Let's blow this popsicle stand!”

  I followed the speed limit with Adam trailing me through town, keeping with the flow of traffic. Ruby, who loved speed, grumbled about me abiding by the laws, but I ignored her. When we came to the trailhead, I pulled over and waited for Adam who had gotten caught at the last light.

  Ruby sighed impatiently. “Last time we went for a ride you thought Jack was trying to kill you. Remember?”

  I nodded. “This time there isn't a murder, so hopefully it'll be much more fun for us.”

  “Unless the copper wants to throw cold water on a good day and keep us at a snail's pace. I told you to never date cops. They're snoozers.”

  “Ruby, Adam is a great guy. The problem with you dating Sheriff Walker was that his job is to uphold the laws you were determined to break. I, on the other hand, appreciate and respect laws. They're there for a reason.”

  “To break them!” Ruby bellowed and began to cackle.

  Adam pulled up a moment later. “Sorry about that. I got cut off in traffic.”

  “No worries.” I smiled. I'd wait all day for him if needed.

  “You’re so smitten with this guy,” Ruby said. “Just gag me with a fork, will you?”

  “A spoon.”

  “What?”

  “The expression is, gag me with a spoon. Not a fork.”

  “Gag who with a spoon?” Adam asked.

  “Sorry,” I said with a sigh. “Just having a brief disagreement with Ruby about that saying.”

  “Do I want to know what she's referring to?”

  I shook my head. “We should probably get going.”

  “Lead the way!” he said with a chuckle.

  In the past month or so that we'd been hanging out together, he'd witnessed me having more than one disagreement with Ruby, and it seemed he'd become accustomed to hearing one-sided conversations. It used to fascinate him—he'd watch me with rapt attention and ask a million questions. But now, most of the time he simply let the conversation go.

  I revved the engine and we took off, Ruby hollering in delight with Adam trailing me. He kept his distance so he didn't receive a face full of red dust, but followed close enough for me to hear his engine.

  “Faster! Faster!” Ruby yelled, and I obliged. Okay, maybe she wasn't the only one who loved speed.

  The handlebars shook in my grip as we bounced down the desert trail, buzzing by cacti and sagebrush toward the cliffs. Up ahead, the huge, red rock formations towered in the sky built by centuries of Mother Nature's infinite sculpting. I glanced behind me to find Adam lagging pretty far bac
k.

  “Dang, he's slow,” Ruby said. “Where's his sense of adventure?”

  “I'm sure he's riding at a speed he feels safe in.”

  “What's the fun in that? Half the excitement is the adrenaline of keeping the ATV righted and the fear of knowing you may crash.”

  I was about to argue, but quickly shut my mouth, a sinking feeling settling in my stomach. Shoot, she was right. I'd never considered it before, but that's what I also loved about riding ATVs and this suddenly bothered me. The rest of my life was led with careful planning and caution, except when I got on an ATV—a potentially dangerous activity that could get me killed.

  Adam pulled up next to me and I smiled, determined to examine my supposed death wish later.

  “You weren't kidding when you said you liked to ride!” he exclaimed. “You're fast, Bernie!”

  “I should probably slow down. Sometimes I get a little out of control.”

  “Don't you dare!” Ruby said. “In fact, push this thing harder! I bet it's still got some juice we haven't used yet!”

  “I was thinking we could stop over there.” Adam pointed to the cliffs. “We should be able to see the moon come up. It'll be really spectacular.”

  And maybe a little romantic. Would I get my first kiss? “That sounds good. You can lead this time. I'll follow.”

  “Aw, Bernie,” Ruby said when Adam went ahead. “Why are you letting him lead?”

  “Because he's right. I'm going too fast and being dangerous.”

  “No, you aren't. Rule ten in life: don't let others take away your joy just because your definitions of happiness don't match. You like speed, he doesn't. And there's nothing wrong with either one.”

  “Except I could kill myself.”

  “Well, you haven't yet.”

  “It's a possibility.”

  “And you could die unloading the dishwasher. Jeez, Bernie. Don't fear death or you won't be able to live. Besides, it's not so bad.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at my grandmother, caught on this plane as a ghost, and I disagreed. I hated that she hadn't reached her final resting place and couldn't do all the things she used to love while alive. To me, her situation seemed downright awful.

  “Okay, it's a little unpleasant,” she said as if she read my mind.

  I nodded and revved the engine, determined not to allow our conversation to sour my mood.

  We rode for a good half hour at a normal speed. I found my mind wandering, thinking about upcoming reservations at the bed and breakfast, trying to recall if I had any milk left, and remembering the sheets I’d have to rewash after leaving them in the washing machine. A little boredom set in, but it was still nice to be out in the desert with Adam.

  The sun sank behind the cliffs just as we arrived. At twilight, the desert became eerily quiet, the birds heading off to bed and the night critters waking from their slumber. Adam pulled off his backpack, unzipped it, and handed me a water.

  “Thanks,” I said, grabbing it and quickly drinking it down.

  “I brought sandwiches as well.” Sitting down on a rock, he pulled one out. “Peanut butter and jelly?”

  “That sounds great.” I took a seat next to him. “It's really thoughtful of you.”

  “I love peanut butter and I can't have any,” Ruby murmured as I took a bite of my sandwich. “I'm just going over here so I don't feel so sorry for myself.”

  An owl hooted nearby, then a few seconds later, silently flew right over our heads.

  “That just about grazed my hair!” Adam said as we watched it take off into the distance.

  “I know. Sometimes if I'm out after dark with Elvira, they try to get her.” Elvira being my tabby who could stand to lose a few pounds.

  “Seriously? She's a big cat.”

  “Yes, but I guess they get hungry and figure they can handle her.”

  “What does she do?”

  “She's smart. She runs back inside.”

  “I thought she was just cranky?” Adam asked with a laugh.

  “Smart and cranky.”

  He pulled out a flashlight and turned it on. “A deadly combination.”

  The light cast shadows all around us and I imagined javelinas and coyotes staring at us from deep within them, ready to strike when the time was right. The desert could be very dangerous at night, and Ruby had stories of being chased by the wild javelinas. I looked forward to the moon lighting our way home.

  Ruby danced around about fifteen feet away. “I'm summoning the moon goddess!” she said in a loud, ecstatic voice.

  A few minutes later, the moon peeked over the cliffs and lit up the whole area.

  “Oh, wow,” I said. “Isn't that gorgeous?” The moon appeared huge, as if it would swallow us up while bathing us in light.

  “It is,” Adam replied. “I'm so glad we came out.”

  For a few moments, we stood in awe observing the huge orb slowly ascending over the cliffs.

  “Look up there!” Ruby said. “We can see those people!”

  I glanced up, and indeed, two people were standing on top of one of the precipices. “Check it out,” I said, pointing toward them and nudging Adam. “Do you think that's Jack's tour?”

  “It may be,” he replied.

  One person left, leaving a lone figure who we could barely see standing far from the edge.

  I turned to Adam. “Do you think we should head back? I worry about javelinas and stuff. Ruby told me some scary stories about being chased while out in the desert in the middle of the night.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Sure. Let's head out.”

  “Uh-oh,” Ruby said.

  I turned and found her staring up at the ledges. Following her gaze, I noted two silhouettes again, but this time, they were engaged in a scuffle.

  “It’s a fistfight!” Ruby yelled.

  Why in the world would anyone be fighting on the edge of a cliff?

  With a yell, one toppled over, plummeting hundreds of feet to the canyon below. I gasped and held back a scream. “Did you see that?” I whispered as the remaining figure stepped away from the ledge and out of our sightline.

  Adam nodded. “Heck, yes. What the... I'm going to see if that guy somehow lived and call this in. Stay here until I get back.”

  After grabbing his helmet, he took off and I sat down again, unable to believe what I'd just witnessed.

  “You okay, honey?” Ruby asked, squatting down in front of me. “You look paler than me.”

  I studied her ghostly form and I seemed to have developed a difficult time getting words from my head to my lips. My body trembled uncontrollably while ice had somehow replaced the blood in my veins. I rubbed my arms with my hands. When had it gotten so cold? “Did... did we just witness a m-murder?”

  Ruby sighed and nodded, then pursed her lips together. “I think we did.”

  “T-there's no way that person could have lived through that f-fall.”

  “I agree,” she said. “That tourist is toast.”

  Chapter Three

  A half-hour later, Adam returned. Ruby and I sat with my phone's flashlight on, and I became more frightened with each passing moment. Perhaps it was my past experience of being chased out into the desert at night, or I'd just suddenly developed a fear of the dark on top of my OCD and hatred of germs.

  “I need to ride up there,” Adam said. “It's Jack's tour. I talked to the office, and Jack called it in. I told them I was out here, and so I need to go secure the scene.”

  “Okay,” I said, springing to my feet. “I'm assuming that man is dead?”

  Adam sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. “Uh... yeah. I wish I could unsee that.”

  “We'll go with you,” I said, buckling my helmet.

  “It's not necessary,” Adam replied. “Why don't you head home?”

  Because I was afraid and didn't want to be alone. “I'd rather come with you, Adam,” I said softly. “I'm not comfortable riding back by myself in the dark.”

  He
stared at me a moment, then nodded. “It could be a late night.”

  “That's fine.”

  The joy from the evening had vanished, replaced by dread as we slowly made our way through the desert and up the trail leading to the cliffs. Even Ruby was quiet. When we reached the top, we found Jack leaning up against the Jeep, its headlights on and the motor running. Four people sat inside the vehicle, but I couldn't make out their features. The silence and sadness felt like an oppressive blanket.

  “Hey,” Jack said, his face pale and grim as he shook Adam's hand and nodded at me. “Thanks for coming out.”

  “Didn't have much of a choice.” Adam pulled off his helmet. “Tell me what happened.”

  “This tour... it's been really difficult,” Jack began. “There's been fighting and bickering. Even though all the people are in their fifties, they've been acting like a bunch of toddlers.”

  “Do they know each other?” Adam asked while typing notes into his phone.

  Jack shook his head. “They're two separate groups.”

  Adam furrowed his brow and glanced over Jack's shoulder at the people in the Jeep. “And they're fighting with each other?”

  “Yeah.” Jack shrugged. “It's been... crazy.”

  “Well, let's meet the children,” Adam muttered.

  I stuck close to Adam as Jack motioned them all into the headlights. Two women and two men. One of the women sniffled as if she'd been crying, while the second one had her arm wrapped around her shoulder, comforting her.

  The two men stood stoically, their arms crossed over their chests.

  “I'm Deputy Adam Gallagher,” Adam said. “I'm sorry this evening has turned into such a nightmare.”

  “It was awful before that guy jumped,” one of the men said.

  Wait a minute. Jumped?

  “No one jumped!” Ruby exclaimed. “He was pushed! We saw it, dummy!”

  “What was the victim’s name?” Adam asked.

  “Harold,” the crying woman said. “Harold Berg.”

  “And you are?” Adam asked.

  She dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “His wife. My name's Belinda.” The slim, tall woman who seemed to be truly distraught, slurred her words. Was it grief, or had she been drinking?