by Patricia Fry
“And maybe Maggie, too,” Iris said, fear evident in her eyes.
“Now that’s an odd thing for you to say,” Savannah scolded.
Colbi clutched her light jacket more tightly around herself. “Are you saying a bear or coyote or wolf ate our food? Maybe they scared Maggie off and she drove back home.”
Iris’s voice became softer. “Maybe the animal attacked her and she drove herself to the hospital.”
“Let me have a look,” one ranger said, walking toward the women. He took the lid from Savannah and examined it. “Yeah, a small animal might have chewed on this, all right, but probably after someone tossed it. Looks to me like whatever was in that bowl was eaten with one of the plastic spoons we found.” He handed the container back to Savannah and headed for the truck to join his co-worker.
“Are you going down the hill now?” she called. When the driver nodded, she said, “Would you watch out for a woman in a…”
“Yeah, I know, a silver Jeep Liberty. Sure will.” Before driving away, he asked, “What do you want me to tell her?”
“That we’re hungry!” Iris said.
After watching the rangers drive off, Savannah looked from one to the other of the women, then pulled out her phone. “Well, something’s not right. I’m calling Max.” She walked toward a picnic table and sat down. “Hi Max, this is Savannah.” She paused. Trying to sound more nonchalant than she felt, she asked, “Do you happen to know where my aunt is?”
“Um, I thought she was with you, on a picnic.”
Savannah spoke more softly. “Max, she didn’t show up. She’s really late. Do you know what time she left?”
“Yeah, right around ten thirty. She said she had a couple of stops to make on the way.” He hesitated. “She should be there by now—that’s two hours ago, for heaven’s sake. Did you try calling her?”
“Yes, several times. Her phone goes to voicemail.”
After pausing, Max said, “Maybe she had car trouble. I think I’ll drive out that way and see if I spot her alongside the road.”
“But why wouldn’t she use her phone to get help?”
“She sometimes forgets to charge it. It’s probably lost its charge. Darn it.” He then said,
“Savannah, stay put. I’m driving up there. Now, she said you were meeting at the picnic area at the campground near the river—the one they call Coyote Camp, right?”
Once Savannah had confirmed the location and ended the call, she reported to the others. “Max is driving up. She may have had car trouble. He thinks she forgot to charge her phone or maybe she’s someplace where she can’t get a signal. Let’s unsaddle the horses and take them to the river while we wait, shall we?”
“Take their saddles off?” Iris said, folding her hands against her chest. “What if Delilah doesn’t want to get undressed?”
Savannah grinned. “She wants to.”
“Where’s the zipper?” Iris asked while examining the saddle.
Colbi pointed. “It’s a buckle, Iris. It’s under the stirrup holder.”
“Yeah, the fender,” Savannah said, watching for Iris’s reaction.
“Fender?” Iris questioned. She grinned in Savannah’s direction. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, it’s really called a fender,” Savannah insisted, as she slid her saddle off Peaches and carried it to the picnic table behind the shrubs. Wait just a minute and I’ll help you guys.”
“Ohhh, your horse just did the shimmy,” Iris said.
Savannah laughed. “Yup, they like to shake after the saddle comes off. Sometimes they like to roll, too.”
“Yikes,” Iris said, stepping away from the horses. “Don’t want to get squashed under a horse.”
“You’re funny, Iris,” Colbi said, giggling.
“Why? Because I’m being cautious around the horses? Look how big they are, Colbi. I mean, I feel like a gnat next to them.” She peered at Colbi. “You…you’re like a microscopic something-or-other.” She started to laugh. “Just how are you going to get that saddle off that tall horse, anyway?”
Colbi spoke quietly. “I’m not sure. But I got it unbuckled.”
“You’d better hope she doesn’t shake like Peaches just did. That saddle will come flying off her.”
“It’s okay,” Savannah said, walking up and removing the saddle from Beulah.
“Here, Iris, I’ll unbuckle your saddle,” Colbi offered.
“I’ll carry it,” Iris said when Savannah reached for it.
“I got it. Okay, untie your horses and let’s take them to the river,” Savannah said after depositing the saddles carefully on the picnic tables and draping the bridles over them.
“What if she won’t go with me?” Iris asked. “She barely knows me.”
“She’s trained to follow,” Savannah explained. “Just untie her rope and walk this direction. Try to keep her walking behind you.”
“Wait!” Iris shouted. “Look, that ranger truck messed up the part of those tracks.”
“Yeah?” Savannah questioned.
“If those are Maggie’s tire tracks, they might be some sort of clue. I think we’d better cordon them off so someone else doesn’t drive over them.”
After thinking about it, Savannah agreed. “Hey, that’s not a bad idea, Iris. Okay, what can we use? The picnic benches and tables are bolted down.”
“We could leave a horse there,” Colbi suggested, quietly. When the others looked at her, she shrugged. “Maybe not. They might get run over.”
“And they’d walk all over the tracks,” Iris reminded her.
“Look around, ladies,” Savannah instructed. “Do you see anything we could use?”
“How about that gate,” Iris said, hurrying to where a gate arm was opened up into the bushes. This one would cover the tire-mark area and there’s still room for Max to drive in on the other side.”
“Hey, that might work!” Savannah said, joining Iris at the gate. Together, they pulled it closed. “But how will we make it stay? It wants to swing in the other direction.”
“A rock,” Colbi said. She pointed. “There’s a big rock that might hold it in place.”
“Good idea,” Savannah said. “Help me roll it, will you?” She then called out, “Don’t step on those tire tracks!”
“Oops, I didn’t mean to,” Iris said. She added. “No worries. There’s still plenty of tire evidence.”
Once the rock was in place, the women led the horses to the river and watched as the three mares began to drink. Suddenly, Iris squealed. “Hey, girlfriend!” she shouted. “No splashing. Stop it, Delilah!” While the other women laughed, Iris awkwardly turned the horse away from the water’s edge, looked into the mare’s eyes, and said, “This is not a water park, you know. And it isn’t July, either. Brrr. That water’s cold.”
“Well, you wanted your boots to look authentic, Iris,” Savannah teased. “You’ve got a good start there. Now all you need is for her to step on your foot.”
“Oh no,” she said, scooting away from the mare.” As she moved away, however, Delilah followed. “Stop it!”
“What’s she doing?” Savannah asked while leading her mare away from the river.
“Trying to step on me.”
Savannah laughed. “She’s just following you. That’s what she thinks you want her to do. You’re holding her lead rope and moving away from her; she’s trained to follow.”
“Oh,” Iris said, stopping quickly.
“Let’s hobble them and let them eat this lush grass for a while, shall we?” Savannah suggested.
“Hobble? How do we do that?” Colbi asked.
“I’ll show you,” Savannah said, pulling a set of hobbles out of her backpack and fastening them around Peaches’s front legs just above her hooves.”
“How do you expect her to walk with those things on?” Iris asked. “Won’t she fall down?”
“Watch,” Savannah said.
“Oh. She takes baby steps. Cute. So she won’t run
away?”
“Nope,” Savannah said, putting hobbles on Beulah. “Iris, just let your mare go; she can drag the rope.”
“What will I ride home?” she asked, sounding panicked.
“She won’t go anywhere as long as the others can’t follow her. Just let her go.”
“Okay,” Iris said, suspiciously. “But if we go home without her, you’re the one who has to answer to Bonnie and Barney.”
“You’re sure quiet today, Colbi,” Savannah noticed as she perched on a flat rock near where Colbi sat. “Are you having a good time?”
“She’s probably hungry,” Iris said, easing down next to Savannah. “I am. I knew I should have packed a granola bar or something.” Her eyes suddenly brightened. “Hey, I have an apple!” She lowered her voice. “I brought it for the horse, but she can eat grass. You guys want to share my apple with me?”
“Sure,” Savannah said. “Did you bring a knife?”
“Um, no. But I don’t mind sharing bites with you guys.” She dug the apple out of her jacket pocket, wiped it off with her sleeve, and handed it to Savannah. “You can go first, if you want. You eat this third,” she gestured.
“Oh, I’ll just have a bite. Thanks,” she said, biting into the apple and handing it back to Iris.
“Here, Colbi, want some?” Iris offered.
When Colbi balked, Savannah said, while still chewing, “It’s a good apple. You know how to pick apples, Iris.” She turned to Delilah. “You’re really missing out there, girl.”
“No thanks,” Colbi said.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Iris asked, concern in her voice.
“Maybe she doesn’t like apples,” Savannah said. She started to say something to Colbi when she noticed her eyes welling up. “Is something wrong?”
Colbi quickly wiped at her eyes. “No. Not really.” When she noticed her two friends staring at her, she added, “Well, you know how stressed I am and now a friend’s missing. I’m upset, aren’t you?”
“Sure. But like Max said, Auntie probably broke down someplace. I’m sure she’s okay.”
“Yeah?” Iris said. “Then what are her dishes doing up here?”
“Maybe those aren’t her dishes. There were probably thousands of those made.” Savannah focused on Colbi again. “Kiddo, I sense that you’re carrying a bigger burden than just the stress of planning a wedding. I’ve seen you handle more difficult challenges with ease.” She softened her tone. “What’s going on? Maybe we can help.”
“No one can help.”
Savannah set her jaw. She leaned closer to Colbi and said more sternly, “Okay, girlfriend, what’s up?”
“Yeah,” Iris said, “Why aren’t you acting excited about your wedding, marriage, and happily ever after?”
Colbi began to weep. “Because I might not have a happily ever after,” she blubbered. “Or any kind of ever after.”
Stunned, Savannah nearly slid off the rock. Catching herself, she asked, “What?”
“Are you sick?” Iris asked, gently.
“Maybe,” Colbi said. When she looked up and noticed her friends waiting to hear more, she continued, “I’ve had these odd symptoms for a while. When they didn’t go away, I decided to do some research. I…I think it’s…fatal. I may not live the year out.” Between sobs, she added,
“How can I marry Damon knowing this? It’s not fair to him. I should just leave town—disappear or something—but I’m too cowardly. I’m so torn and so upset. I don’t know what to do.”
“Oh my God,” Iris said. “What is it, cancer?” she asked, sitting down next to Colbi and putting her arm around her. “I’ve known a lot of people who’ve survived cancer. All you need is the right treatment…the best doctors…”
“No, Iris, it’s not cancer. It’s a rare disease with an unpronounceable name. I…I found a small support group online.” She took a ragged breath and swiped her sleeve across her eyes. “From what most of them tell me, no one survives this…this curse.”
“What does your doctor say?” Savannah asked quietly.
Colbi glanced at the two women, lowered her head, and muttered, “I haven’t seen a doctor.”
Iris looked aghast. “You haven’t been to the doctor?”
“No,” she said adamantly. “I’d rather not know the bad news.”
Savannah rolled her eyes for Iris’s benefit. “Colbi, how could it be any worse than what you’re going through now?”
“Well, I just don’t want to face it.”
“Again I repeat, what are you doing now? You’re living with a…a self-proclaimed, unconfirmed death sentence and you don’t want to know if it’s real? Come on Colbi, you could be grieving for no reason—no reason at all.”
“Yeah, when you could be enjoying the preparations for your wedding,” Iris said.
“But the people in the support group are so nice and so helpful. Especially Susan. They all have it or have a loved one with it, only most of them are in the later stages. Everyone understands what everyone else is going through. It’s comforting…well, in some ways. I think I have the information I need and I don’t want to get involved with a bunch of awful tests and procedures that will do nothing but make my life miserable for the short time I have left on this planet,” Colbi explained, her heartache now coming in sobs.
“How long have you known about this, Colbi?” Savannah asked.
“A few days. I’ve been living with the symptoms for a while, thinking they’d go away. When they didn’t, well, like I said, I went online.”
Savannah and Iris made brief eye contact, then Savannah said, “Colbi, now listen to me. You can’t diagnose a disease through the Internet. It just doesn’t make sense. Please, please, see your doctor to make sure, will you?”
Iris nodded. Fighting back tears, she insisted, “Right now—you have your phone with you. Call now, Colbi. Please. You owe it to Damon and yourself…and us.”
Colbi stood and started to walk away. “But Maggie…we’d better go see if she’s here yet.”
“Call,” Savannah said sternly. When she hesitated, Savannah reached for Colbi’s pocket to retrieve her phone.
“You’re tickling me. Stop it!” she squealed. Sounding defeated, she finally said, “Okay, I’ll call.”
“All right, then. We’ll sit here while you make the call, then we’d better get back to the picnic area.” Once Colbi had ended the call, Savannah asked, “When is it?” pulling out her phone to make a note on her calendar.
“Tuesday,” she said reluctantly.
“Time?” Savannah urged.
“Ten.”
“I’ll take you,” Iris offered.
“Oh, that won’t be necessary. I can…”
“No ifs, ands, or buts, Colbi. I will be at your house or your office to pick you up at nine forty-five Tuesday morning.”
Instead of answering, Colbi let out a sigh and walked off toward Beulah.
“Colbi?” Iris said.
“Okay, I’ll be ready,” she groused.
Iris reached for Delilah’s lead rope. “Good.” Shaking her head, she added, “I hope Max brings food. I can’t believe someone ate Maggie’s food. I mean, who would do that and why?”
Savannah looked off into the distance. “I just hope Max has found her by now.”
****
Thirty minutes later, the three women sat at a picnic table, each with her own thoughts when they heard a car approaching. “It’s Max,” Savannah said, rushing to greet him as he parked and stepped out. “Still no sign of her?” she asked, her voice reflecting the dread that consumed her.
He shook his head slowly. Glancing at Savannah and the others, he asked, “You say you believe she was here? What makes you think that?”
“The rangers found these dishes,” Savannah explained. “Auntie has some just like them. And there are these tire tracks that could be hers. See, someone drove in this far, then back out.” When Max glanced in the direction she indicated, she ad
ded, “The ranger drove over part of them and we tried to block them off so no one else would mess them up. See, it looks like one set of tire marks coming in, then pulling back out. They seem to be fresh, don’t you think?”
Max studied the patterns in the soft dirt. “Here are some footprints. Did you see that?” He looked at the women. “Or are these your footprints?”
“Well, some of them, I guess,” Savannah admitted. “But you’re right, it looks like more than one person was walking around where the car was stopped.”
“Look, they walked that way,” Iris said. “Toward the picnic table where we found Maggie’s dishes.” She gazed at Max and Savannah. “So you think someone was with her when she got here?”
Max shook his head. “It’s hard to tell—to decipher one set of prints from another.”
“Except for these,” Colbi said, squatting to examine them. When the others joined her, she explained, “Looks like one of them walked with a cane or maybe a walking stick.”
“Or a crutch,” Max said. “Look, there’s a deep footprint then a lighter one next to the crutch mark.” He stepped back and studied the soft dirt around the area. “Here it is again—a crutch mark with a light step, then a heavier step. And you’re right, Savannah. It looks as if that person got into the car or at least walked up to the car.” His voice accelerating, he said, “Yeah, that print with the crutch leads up to the car and stops. Whoever those prints belong to definitely got into the car.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right, Max?” Savannah said. “The other prints seem to go in both directions.
“So what does that tell us?” Colbi asked. “Maggie wasn’t walking with a crutch when we saw her this morning.”
“But maybe whoever ate her food and took her car was,” Max said.
“It could be that someone got hurt up here and Maggie drove them to the emergency room,” Iris suggested.
“Or maybe these aren’t her tire tracks at all,” Savannah said.
Max thought for a moment, then asked, “Hey, did you look around the rest of the campground?”
“We walked down to the river,” Savannah said.
“Maybe when she didn’t see you guys here, she drove farther into the campground and her car broke down there.”
