No Room for Error: A Lexi Carmichael Mystery, Book Seven

by Julie Moffett

  I had no idea where Finn was hidden. Hopefully he’d found something suitable.

  The helicopter above us seemed overly loud, the rotors making a loud whooping sound. I tried to slide around the boulder, timing my position with the sound of the helicopter to keep myself hidden from sight. Unfortunately, I was caught out of position lying in the shadow of the boulder when the copter suddenly reversed direction and flew right over me. It hovered just past my position for a few seconds and then moved on. After another pass, it suddenly circled back and hovered again at a spot just to my left and not too far from Basia’s hiding place. While I was well hidden, I could see into the cockpit through a crack in the rock as it was flying so low. Rocks, dirt and sand were flying around from the helicopter rotors, but I could still see one of the men inside. It was hard to tell for sure, but he looked Asian. Since our lives were at risk, I had to err on the side of caution. I stayed where I was. I hoped everyone else came to the same conclusion and stayed put, too.

  The pilot circled our location a third time. I had no idea what he was doing and whether we’d been spotted. No one yelled at us or shot in our direction. The helicopter just seemed to hover above us for an inordinate amount of time before it finally flew away, continuing its search down the valley.

  I waited until I couldn’t hear the rotor any more before I came out from behind the boulder. “Basia? Finn?”

  “Over here,” Finn called out. “Everyone okay?”

  Basia wiggled out from under the rock. “Oh, God, I thought they’d never leave. My arm is killing me. Do you think they spotted us?”

  I saw something dark laying on the ground a little ways away from Basia and right near where the helicopter had been hovering.

  My stomach plummeted. “Okay, guys. I’ve got bad news. You lost your pack, Basia, and I think the helicopter may have spotted it.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Basia pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh, no! I didn’t even feel it fall off.”

  I walked over, snatched it up and tied it back on her. “Not your fault. But we’ve got to move and fast. We have to assume they saw it. They may think we are in the area, but they can’t be sure. If they were sure, they would have landed and searched.”

  No one argued and we navigated the rest of the rocks as quickly as we could.

  “Maybe they didn’t know it belonged to us,” Basia said.

  “It’s a plastic garbage bag. I’m pretty sure they knew. They’ll be back.”

  We made it the rest of the way across the open area without suffering any major injury. Panting and sweating profusely, we stopped for a moment on the edge of the jungle.

  “It’s time to enter the jungle proper,” Finn asked. “Are you girls ready?”

  Basia raised her chin and I nodded. Finn entered first and we followed him. It was darker there and a bit cooler. The sunlight was all but blocked by the heavy canopy of foliage. The smell was different, too. The ground was moist, damp and held rotting undergrowth. It became harder to walk. Vines hung from every tree and distended roots made walking difficult and dangerous.

  My ponytail was plastered to my neck and I lifted it up, hoping for a breeze that didn’t come. Sighing, I forged ahead, pushing aside a vine only to have it come loose in my hand.

  I yelped, tossing it in the air. It landed on Basia’s pack. She screamed and danced around until Finn came to her defense, brushing it off her pack and onto the ground where it slithered away.

  “If you girls keep making all this noise, we are going to be an easy target,” he said, frowning at us.

  “Sorry,” I said. “It took me by surprise.”

  Basia pressed a shaking hand to her chest. “Oh, my God. Was it poisonous?”

  Finn leaned on his walking stick. “I don’t know, but we have to treat all snakes as if they are dangerous. Be hyperaware of your surroundings. Use the walking stick to push vines out of the way. Consider it an extra line of defense.”

  “Oh, God.” Basia was trembling. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “You can,” Finn assured her. “You’re at the top of the food chain, even here. Stay strong and vigilant.”

  I reached out and tentatively pushed aside another vine with my stick. This was going to be a very long trek.

  It was. The more we pressed in, the more treacherous it became, especially for Basia in her heels. I constantly worried about having to carry her if she sprained her ankle. Still, she’d proved herself to be worthy of a worldwide Versace shoe ad. Whereas I would have been in ankle splints within ten minutes of wearing those shoes, she’d climbed down a mountain and run from helicopters without falling once. While defying all logic, it was seriously impressive.

  We continued forward, worried about who might be following. Sweat stung my eyes and dripped off my sore nose. I felt lightheaded and thirsty, but we kept going.

  Another hour or so passed. I was about to call for a rest when I suddenly spotted a wide stream.

  “Water,” I exclaimed.

  We staggered toward the edge. When we got there, we dropped our bags and sat down at the edge to look at it.

  Basia dipped her good hand in and squealed with delight. “It’s cold.”

  “Don’t drink it,” I warned.

  “I won’t. I’m not an idiot.”

  She slipped off her shoes and stuck her feet in the cool water. “Oh, God, I can’t tell you how good that feels. My feet are killing me.”

  I wanted to do the same, but my feet had swollen and I worried about getting my tennis shoes back on, so I resisted the urge. “You can have Wendy’s shoes, you know.”

  “I’m not wearing a dead person’s shoes.”

  “She has small feet like you. I bet they’ll fit and you’ll be much more comfortable.”

  “No. Discussion closed.”

  “Fine.” I reached into my bag and grabbed a couple of water bottles. “Let’s get something to drink, take some acetaminophen, reapply our mud cover and press on.”

  The rest was shorter than any of us would have liked, but we had to keep moving. Our food supply was dwindling and I remained concerned that the helicopter had spotted us and was either returning with people to drop off to chase us or was directing those on the ground where to find us.

  It was significantly easier to follow the stream rather than trying to hack our way through the underbrush. The insects were worse here, as well, and despite the relief from the direct rays of the sun, the humidity was a killer. It was like being slow cooked in a pot. We stopped several times to splash water on ourselves to keep cool and then reapplied mud.

  Eventually we came to a dead stop when our path along the side of the stream was completely blocked by a series of tree trunks and assorted debris that were probably leftovers from a flood.

  I wiped my brow. “We’ll never get over that. We have to go around.”

  Finn’s face was scarlet, his shirt completely soaked. His chin sported the start of a scraggly beard. “I’ll take a look.”

  “Maybe we can cross the stream,” Basia suggested. “It could be deep in the middle, but it’s not that wide.”

  I stared at the water in disbelief. Cross it? I couldn’t swim, so this was not an option.

  Before I could voice my concern, Basia spoke. “I’ll backtrack a bit and see a spot where we could cross.” She took off, leaving me no choice but to follow.

  She retraced our steps until she saw a potential path across the water. A rotted log stretched halfway across and several mostly flat rocks provided jumping off spots to help cross the rest of the way. It looked tenuous at best and downright dangerous at worst. I didn’t want to do it.

  I turned around. Finn had joined us.

  “It’s a mess in the jungle,” Finn said. “I have no idea what happened here, but it would tak
e considerable effort to go around. I recommend crossing the stream.”

  Basia pointed to a potential path. “What do you think about crossing here?”

  Finn studied it. “I don’t see a better way to go. Good plan. I’ll go first.”

  “Whoa. Wait.” I held up a hand. “How about a discussion on this? This is not a good plan. We could fall in and drown or be eaten alive by any number of creatures that might be lurking beneath the surface. Can we explore another possibility?”

  Finn met my gaze. “There is no other possibility, and we don’t have a lot of time for discussion. We can’t go around the debris without wasting considerable effort and time and running the risk of losing sight of the stream. The risk of crossing the stream here is significantly less.”

  “Since when is drowning a significantly less risk?”

  He frowned. “You’re overreacting, Lexi. The water might not even be deep.”

  Panic welled in my throat. I didn’t want to cross that stream, but I didn’t think I could outmuscle Finn. The stream was looking bigger and deeper by the minute.

  “I’m not doing this, Finn.” It came out as more of a challenge than I’d intended, but I was scared.

  Finn put a hand on my shoulder. “Oh, yes, you will. Right, Basia?”

  Basia looked between me Finn and me. Finally she sighed. “I’m sorry, Lexi, but Finn is right. This will be the fastest way. I know you don’t like the water, but we’ll be here to help you.”

  “How could you?” I threw up my hands. “You’re siding with him? I thought you were my best friend.”

  “I am your best friend, but it’s the right thing to do.”

  “You’re going to cross this stream, so get with the program.” Finn took off his pack. “I’ll take you across this stream on my back if I have to.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Don’t dare me, Lexi. Trust me. You won’t win this argument.” He stood in front of me, his green eyes narrowed to slits, his nose nearly touching mine.

  Basia came between us, putting a hand on each of our chests. “Stop it right now. You’re both being idiots. We’re completely exhausted and stressed. No one is thinking clearly. Finn, stop threatening her. Lexi, listen to him, he’s making sense.”

  Finn stepped away first, running his fingers through his hair and softening his voice. “Look, Lexi, I’ll show you how easy it is. I’ll go first.”

  He climbed on the log, holding his hands out for balance. “It’s simple when you just think of the log as a bridge.”

  I held my breath as he took each step, finally reaching the end of the log. He then hopped from the log to the first stone. I resisted the urge to cover my eyes. Moving across the remaining rocks, he jumped to shore.

  “See? Just a walk in the proverbial park.”

  My stomach knotted. “Easy for you to say. You know how to swim, you’re athletic and you’re large enough to wrestle a crocodile if one snaps at you.”

  “Do you see any crocodiles?”

  I glanced up and down the stream. “No, but that’s the idea. They’re likely lurking beneath the surface ready to snap at me as soon as I step onto that log.”

  That elicited a small smile from him. “Get your arse on that log and get over here.”

  “Hey, who died and made you king of this expedition?” I glared at him.

  “Lexi...” Finn’s voice held a warning.

  “Fine.” I closed my eyes. “I’ll do it. But if I die, it’s on you.”

  I swallowed my fear and took my first tentative step out onto the log. I held my hands out on either side, trying not to look at the water. It was hard because I was looking at my feet and the water was swirling past. It was moving a lot faster when I looked at it from this angle.

  “Just one step at a time,” Finn said encouragingly. “We’ve got your back.”

  I took one step and then another. My balance was crappy and my bag was heavy so I kept listing to the right. Somehow I got to the end of the log without falling off, but my legs were shaking. Carefully I lifted the bag off over my shoulder.

  “Finn, I’m going to toss my bag to you. It’s throwing me off balance and I’m afraid I’ll slip on the rocks. Catch, okay?”

  Before he could answer, I swung it a couple of times to give it more height and velocity. As I release it, an edge of the strap caught on my index finger, yanking me forward. My feet scrambled for purchase. For an agonizingly long moment, I wavered back and forth on the log.

  Then I fell forward into the stream with a single yelp.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Lexi!” Finn and Basia shouted as I went under.

  I bobbed up, flailing around, coughing and sputtering and trying to grab onto the log. I couldn’t touch. The water was deep and moving a lot faster than I’d expected. I slammed more than once into the log. Finn charged into the water, swimming to me as I flailed around. He put one arm around my waist and held us against the log with the other.

  “I told you I was a klutz,” I said, sputtering.

  “The bag,” Basia shouted, pointing. “There it goes.”

  I peered over the log and watched in horror as it bobbed and spun around a few times before moving down the stream and disappearing around the bend.

  “Go get it, Finn,” I said. “That one has the briefcase and most of our water supply. Just pull me to the rocks. I’ll be okay.”

  Finn pulled me down the log and dragged me onto the first rock. “Can you make it from here? Are you sure?”

  “Yes. Go get the damn bag.”

  “Basia, talk her the rest of the way across the stream,” Finn shouted before swimming the rest of the way to the shore and pulling himself out. He dashed out of sight along the shore, still dripping water.

  I pulled myself up to stand on the first rock, shivering. I wasn’t cold, but I was scared to death. On the bright side, I’d fallen into the water and hadn’t drowned or been eaten by a crocodile. Yet.

  “Hurry up and cross, Lexi,” Basia shouted. “Finn may need your help.”

  I closed my eyes. My pulse was going crazy. I waited a moment until my heartbeat slowed before opening my eyes. There was no time to waste. Without thinking too hard about it, I hopped from rock to rock until somehow I was across. I jumped onto the dirt shore, water dripping off me. Mosquitoes swarmed around because my mud barrier had been washed off.

  “Wait there,” I yelled to her. “I’ll go help Finn.”

  I darted downstream in the direction he’d gone, my shoes squishing water with every step.

  Before long I spotted Finn and ran up to him, panting. “Why did you stop?”

  He pointed to the water. “There’s our bag.”

  I followed his finger and saw the bag had got hooked on a low-lying tree branch on the other side of the stream.

  “Where’s Basia?” he asked.

  “I told her to wait for us. If she fell in while crossing, there’s no way I could save her alone.”

  “Good thinking.”

  I studied the location of the bag. “Okay. Now what, Your Majesty?”

  “Shut up. Now, we go get that bag. At the very least, we need the water bottles. I assume the water will have ruined the GPS.”

  “No. We’re good on that. The case is waterproof.”

  Relief crossed his face. “Well, that’s a bloody good break for us.”

  “Yes it is. But how do we get the briefcase? We don’t have those convenient stepping stones here.”

  Finn looked at me. “We’ll have to wade out in the water and get it.”

  “What? That’s a freaking terrible idea, Finn. The water is moving way too fast. You felt that, right? We’ll get swept away.”

  “We don’t have a choice. That briefcase holds our lives. We
have to get it or sit here and wait until someone finds us in time, hoping it’s the good guys.”

  I wiped my hands against my wet, filthy jeans. “Not that I’m worried or anything, but you’re using the word we a lot when discussing going into the water again to get the bag.”

  He wasn’t looking at me. Instead he glanced between the bag, the shore and me. Finally he went to his bag and pulled out the rope. Uncoiling it, he held it out to me.

  “You’re going to have to go in the water and get it,” he said briskly. “I’ll be the anchor.”

  “What?”

  “I’m too heavy to do it. In order for you to hold me in that current, you’d have to wrap it around the tree or I’d drag you in if I got pulled away. We don’t have enough length on the rope to do that.”

  I saw the wisdom in his thinking, but I didn’t like it. Still, it wasn’t like we had a lot of choices, so I sucked it up. “Okay.”

  He stopped, lifted an eyebrow. “Okay? That’s it?”

  “Do you want me to argue? Because there are a million reasons I could list as to why I shouldn’t go back in there. But none of them matter. So, tie the rope around me and let’s do this.”

  He leaned over and kissed the top of my wet head. I closed my eyes as he tied the rope around my waist.

  “Wait here,” he said. He went into the jungle and returned carrying a long stick with a forked branch on the end. “Use this to pull the briefcase to you in case we don’t have enough rope to make it.”

  I took the branch and tried to calm my breathing. I was headed toward full-blown panic mode.

  Finn put his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eyes. “Lexi, I’ve got you. I’m not going to let go or let anything happen to you, okay?”

  I gulped and nodded.

  “Good. Now go get that bag. You’ve got this and I’ve got you.” Finn wrapped the rope around his waist and planted his feet on the shore, digging them into the soft soil.

  I stepped into the water. It was cool and it felt good against my hot, clammy skin. I waded in until I was up to my waist. I could feel the pull of the water, but Finn anchored me, only giving me a little rope a step at a time. I tried not to think of what might be swimming around in the water, thinking about having me for lunch. I kept my focus on the bag and kept hoping it would get free and magically float into my waiting hands.