by J. Reichman
"Because she's white?" Nick said. His eyelid twitched again. Long time since I rode a horse.
Brett chuckled. "That and she's so gentle you could guide her off a cliff."
Nick shuddered. "Think I'll skip that." He looked at the horse, which looked back at him with black unreadable eyes. “I haven’t been on a horse since the nineties.”
“Get on up there,” Brett said.
Nick grabbed the saddle horn, put his foot in the stirrup, gave a little bounce and swung his leg over the horse. That wasn’t so bad, he thought.
Brett laughed. “You forgot one thing.” He put the reins over Vanilla’s head.
“Oh, yeah.” Nick felt sheepish. He gave the horse a gentle nudge with his heels and walked her around the corral until he was comfortable. He pulled up to the fence next to Lyn. “She’s a good horse.”
"Will you be okay, Nicky?" Lyn asked.
"I’ll be fine, Buttercup."
Brett approached. "Now about saddling up."
Nick dismounted. "Looks like we should start with taking the saddle off."
Brett nodded with a smile and showed Nick how to remove the saddle.
Nick slapped Brett on the back. "Got it. You can show me how to saddle up in the morning."
Laughter dominated Monday evening’s dinner in the cafeteria as the prospect of rescue raised everyone's spirits. Though he, too, was excited about rescue, Nick’s eyelid twitched when he thought of the ride to free Wade. Damned stress, he thought as he touched his offending eyelid. Just relax and enjoy the evening.
Chuck finally stood and clapped his hands for attention. "You all know Wade’s been taken hostage. I’m going out with Brett, Jeff, and Nick in the morning to rescue him.”
Nick felt a pang of guilt and considered telling Chuck of the early start time.
“I'm sure you’ve heard of the evacuation plans, but I want to be sure everyone's clear," Chuck said.
"You tell us, Mr. Mayor," Zenia said. "You the first out?"
Everyone laughed.
Chuck put his hands on his hips. "That was uncalled for, and no. I'm way down the list. First out is all those in the daycare and at the Lodge."
"Kids and old people," Steve Myers said.
"We decided next will be the school kids," Chuck said. "The rest of us go last."
"But when?" Prissy Waters said.
Chuck shrugged. "We don't know that. Depends on the Army, so keep the parking lot free. Have a bag packed and be ready to go whenever they show up."
"And just leave everything?" Henri Jones said. "Our homes? All our possessions?"
"Where will we go?"
"We won't have anything, not even a car."
"I can't start over."
"Can we come back and get things?"
"They'll fix the road."
"I won't go without Sweetie Pie."
"That's right, Henri," Herb Waters said. "What about the pets, Chuck? I can't go and leave them to die."
Nick thought about leaving his home. Got to take Dolly and Duke, too, he realized.
“Why didn’t the sheriff show up today?” Howard asked.
Chuck held up his hands. "I can't answer all those questions. I suppose you can choose to stay, and I'm sorry to admit I forgot about the pets. We'll have to see what can be done. And the sheriff?" Chuck shrugged. “Guess he’s busy elsewhere. My first priority is rescuing Wade.”
Nick’s eyelid twitched again.
TWENTY-FOUR
After a week of on-and-off rain, Wade should have welcomed the sun, but having a reference point as to direction made it more difficult for him to fool Carl. Wade kept Roman's nose pointed mostly south with a slight degree to the east, knowing that even that minor deviation would carry them miles away from his intended target and allow Brett time to meet them in Rosburg Valley. Traveling uphill, in contrast to the earlier search down river, meant streams were easier to cross, and they wasted little time searching for a safe place to ford them. As long as they passed through forested areas, Wade angled right and left to add time to the journey, but soon they were above the tree line where the soil was rocky and loose due to the week's copious rainfall.
Wade reined in and dismounted. With Carl behind him, he found it difficult to observe the man, to pinpoint his weaknesses. He glanced at the big man. "It's a long ride. Better take advantage of every break you get."
Carl slowly dismounted and Wade confirmed his earlier observation. The killer definitely favored his left arm. Wade checked the packs on the two horses, a totally unnecessary chore designed to consume more time and allow him to scrutinize his opponent. Brett would come with his rifle and scope, totally outgunning Carl, but as long as Carl pointed that gun at him, his life hung in the balance. I can’t overpower the man. Got to outsmart him. Convince him I’m no threat. Get him to relax his guard.
"We're moving too slow," Carl growled.
Wade shrugged. "Horses are animals. Push them and they'll fail us. Then we'll be on foot. We've actually made good time."
"Where's this Jones Peak you mentioned?"
"Up ahead." Wade pointed. "You'll be able to see it when we clear this rise in about half a mile or so." He turned his back on Carl and swung into the saddle.
They soon topped the rise with the peak looming before them and dropped down the other side. Wade reined Roman to a stop at a small stream and let the horses drink.
"Come on up." Wade waved Carl forward. "Let your horse have a good drink."
Carl maneuvered his horse to a spot a good ten feet upstream of Wade. Tipsy snorted and lowered her head.
"That peak looks awfully high," Carl said.
"We ain't goin' over it," Wade said. "We'll angle up and stay to the left where there's a little meadow. Camp for the night. Let the horses graze."
"Horses get a drink. What about me?"
Wade dug into his saddlebag and tossed a bottle of water to Carl who fumbled catching it with his left hand and almost dropped his gun. He rewarded Wade with a narrow-eyed glare and tucked the gun under his leg to open the bottle. Wade kicked Roman into a walk, crossed the stream and didn't look back. He followed the stream uphill until the slope steepened, crossed the stream again and began a series of switchbacks up the slope.
"Hey!" Carl yelled.
Wade stopped and turned in his saddle.
Carl reined in behind the packhorses. "I could walk up this hill faster than we're going."
Wade shrugged. "Be my guest.” He turned and rode on.
Wade knew Brett and whoever rode with him would skirt the peak to the west where a low pass made easy access to Rosburg Valley where they’d meet. He stopped and checked the sun high overhead.
"Lunch break." Wade swung to the ground, opened the food pack and took out two sandwich bags containing biscuit and ham sandwiches.
Carl dismounted stiffly, the bottle of water in one hand, the gun in the other. He rubbed his left biceps and walked rigidly to the other side of Tipsy. Wade sat beside the ascending trail on a boulder and smiled to himself. Ridin’ Tipsy’s gittin’ to him. He’ll be really feelin’ it tonight. Carl came around his horse.
Wade tossed a sandwich bag to Carl. "Eat up."
Carl opened the bag. "This is all?"
"You caught us at a bad time." Wade bit into his sandwich.
Carl walked downhill to another boulder and used it as a bench, putting the gun and water bottle to one side. They ate their lunch in silence, Wade wondering all the while whether Nora had been rescued.
The trail now climbed the mountain in a zigzag fashion. The horses followed each other single file, hugging the mountain. Recent rains created muddy washes intermittently where the trail dipped, making footing uncertain. Wade reined to a stop, studying one such wash which had narrowed the path. The soil appeared unstable and dangerous to cross. He dismounted and slowly walked across the wash and back, testing its firmness under foot then led the horses through the wash one by one.
"If that's the worst we come across, we'll
be lucky." Wade mounted and rode on.
The terrain now leveled off before dropping down into the valley where Wade planned to camp. An hour's ride brought them to the stream feeding the valley, and they followed it down into the lush grass shadowed by the mountain. Wade selected a fairly level area beside the stream and dismounted.
"It's early," Carl said. "Lots of daylight left."
"Once that sun sets behind the peak, it'll get dark fast. We got things to do."
Carl slowly lowered himself to the ground as Wade unsaddled Roman and turned him loose to graze. The horse immediately drank from the stream.
Wade glanced at Carl. "Well, take off the saddle." He lifted one of the packs from a horse's back.
Carl looked under the horse.
"Hrump." Wade grimaced and shook his head. "I'll show you this time." He lifted the stirrup and loosened the girth. "I suppose you can do the rest." Man’s a total tenderfoot.
He returned to the packhorse, watching Carl surreptitiously and confirming the man had an injured left arm. He turned the packhorses loose.
"Won't they run away?" Carl said.
"I treat my horses well." Wade opened a duffel. "They'll come when I whistle. Let's get the tent set up."
As he suspected, Wade discovered Carl knew nothing about camping. The man had never put up a tent, built a fire or used a sleeping bag.
"We'll sleep in this?" Carl looked at the two-man Alpine tent. "Together?"
"Yes. And now that I've shown you how to put it together, you can take it apart and pack it in the morning." Wade tossed two sleeping bags into the tent. "Maybe you can untie the bags and lay them out. I need to rustle up some firewood."
Wade found only shrub wood that would burn quickly. He stacked it, dug a pit for the fire, and located the grate to put over it. He dug into a duffel and assembled his fly rod. "I'll see if I can catch a few trout to supplement our diet."
"What should I do?"
"You seem to be good at standin’ around."
Without waders, Wade kept to the bank working first upstream then down. The fish, hungry for something new, struck regularly, and Wade threw his catch up on the bank, collecting five good-sized trout for the fire. Carl sat on a campstool pulled from a duffel and watched Wade clean the fish.
"I'll take that knife." Carl held out his hand when Wade finished cleaning the final trout. Anger flashed through Wade, but he remembered his plan to make Carl believe him harmless. He tossed the knife to Carl, prepared the fire pit and lit the kindling. He covered half the pit with the grate, warmed up a large skillet, and added the oil-covered sliced potatoes and onions Nora packed into a bag. He lay four chunks of trout to one side of the skillet and put the rest into the empty bag for tomorrow night.
The meal consumed, Wade washed up the dinner dishes in the stream and stored the food in the tent.
Carl frowned. "Don't leave much room for sleeping."
"A precaution," Wade said, "in case a bear wanders through."
The dying fire cast eerie shadows, and Carl stared into the darkness as though he expected a bear to materialize. Wade stacked the duffels, threw the saddles on top of them and covered everything with a tarp. Carl sat and watched.
"Turn around." With the gun pointed at Wade's chest, Carl stood in front of him with the nylon rope.
Wade followed Carl's instructions.
"Hands behind your back."
Wade looked up at the stars scattered across the sky as Carl tied his hands together behind his back. Still too jumpy. Thinks I might attack him while he sleeps. Would’ve, too.
"In the tent."
Wade fell to his knees and maneuvered clumsily to his sleeping bag. He lay on his side. "You'll have to zip me in."
Carl moved behind Wade and wound the rope around his feet, trussing him up like a calf in a roping contest. He zipped up the bag. Within minutes, Carl's snoring filled the tent. Wade thought of Nora and hoped someone had rescued her. Nora’ll tell Brett our route. Brett’ll know what to do. Wonder who’ll come with him. Hope the weather holds. Bum knee isn’t actin’ up. Tomorrow should be sunny. Today was sunny with only a slight breeze. Maybe a helicopter made it to North Fork Glen. Help could be on the way. Hope so for Andy’s sake. Frank’s, too.
TWENTY-FIVE
“I ain’t drinkin’ tonight,” Jeff said.
“Glad to hear it,” Brett said.
“Well, maybe one or two beers. Only to relax me, you know. Want to have a clear head tomorrow.”
“You talk to Darren today?”
“Saw him at the school before he left. He ain’t feelin’ too good. I warned him to stay away from Dana. Wouldn’t listen. I asked him to git in touch with my folks. Tell them I’m okay.”
“You nervous about tomorrow?”
“Hell, no. It’ll be excitin’. Ain’t camped out since I was a kid.”
“Be sure you don’t wake Chuck in the morning. Maybe ought to park that noisy truck of yours down by the street.”
“Nah. I’ll park it nose out. Coast down to the street before startin’ it.” Jeff glanced up at the clear sky. “Lots of stars out.”
“Tomorrow should be another clear day.”
“Why you so down on Chuck? Because of Darren?”
“That’s only part of it.” I really can’t put my finger on it. Just a feeling of antipathy, I guess. “Look, I got to shave. Shannon’s coming over.”
“She give you that haircut?”
“Yeah.” Brett ran a hand through his shortened hair. “It’d look better if I could shower.”
“Well, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Want me to wake you?”
“I got my dad’s old alarm clock.”
Brett wiped his freshly-shaved face, opened a bottle of wine, and sat out two glasses. Having heard her vehicle, he opened the door before Shannon could knock.
“Good,” Shannon said. “Didn’t know how I’d manage.” Her hands were full. “Brought a change of clothing and some cheese to go with the wine.”
“Let me help.” Looks like she’s moving in. Not sure how I feel about that.
“Wasn’t it glorious to see the sun?” Shannon headed to the bedroom with her clothes. “Don’t remember having such a long stretch of stormy weather.”
“That snow storm last January kept us in the dark for eight days.”
“Guess I have a selective memory.” Shannon returned to the kitchen. “Ah, wine.”
“A cabernet tonight.” Brett poured the wine.
“It’ll go well with the cheese.” Shannon sat at the table. “Anyone comment on your haircut?”
“Only Jeff.”
“He’s going with you, I understand. Nick and Chuck, too. Are you sure it’s wise to ride out after this killer?”
“Don’t worry.” Brett watched Shannon finger her hair again. “It’s an easy ride. Only a few steep places going down from the pass. Wade and I use the trail every fall.”
“I hope Wade’s okay.”
“He’s tough and smart.”
“I’m not so concerned about the ride.” Shannon sipped her wine. “It’s what might happen once you intercept the killer that worries me.”
“Nora says he has a handgun.” Brett reached across the table and took Shannon’s hand. “I have a rifle with a scope. I don’t have to get close to him.”
Shannon pulled her hand away. “But that seems like coldblooded murder to me.”
“I’ll try to just wing him. Hit him in the leg, maybe. Disable him.” Brett stared at the wineglass in his hand. Not sure I can shoot a human being, even this sadistic bastard, but if I don’t, he’ll kill Wade.
“Be careful.” Shannon grasped his hand.
“It’ll be okay.”
“Nora moved into the room vacated by the Fleeners. She didn’t want to stay alone up at the stable.”
“Wise move.”
“I heard people talking,” Chuck said. He sat at the cabin’s table. “They say you kissed him.” She’s wearing a low-
cut top again. Showing off her cleavage to anyone who looks.
“What if I did?” Dana sat across from him and lit a cigarette. “It was only a little harmless flirtation. Didn’t mean anything. Now they think you shot him because of that. Is that why, Chuck?” She reached across the table and patted his cheek. “Were you jealous?”
“Were you trying to make me jealous?” You manipulative bitch.
“Maybe.” Dana blew smoke at the ceiling. “Maybe I needed a little boost to my ego. Prove to myself I could still attract a man.”
“Did you ever think about me? How chasing some guy would make me out a fool?”
“Did it?” Dana looked puzzled. “That wasn’t my intent.”
She pleases herself. Doesn’t seem to think about anyone else. “What was your intent?”
Dana rose and paced back and forth. “I don’t know. It’s just been so boring here. Stuck in this little place. Nothing to do but work at the store, take care of Denver. I needed some excitement, I guess.”
“A flashflood, a murderer running loose, Wade taken hostage. That isn’t enough excitement for you?”
Dana tossed her cigarette into the fireplace. “I’m not involved in any of that. I get stuck with kitchen duty while you go off and chase the killer.”
“You talk about duty. It’s my duty to chase the killer. I’m not doing it for excitement.”
“Why are you doing it, Chuck?” Dana put her arms over his shoulders and leaned her chin on his head. “They don’t need you. You’ll leave me alone here in the cabin for a couple of nights. I’ll be scared.”
Thinking of herself again. Not worried about me at all. “Shannon’s place will clear out tomorrow. You can move in there.”
Dana resumed her pacing. “With a bunch of other people. Don’t think I’ll like that. And the daycare will close. What’ll I do about Denver?”
“Keep him yourself, of course. You are his mother.”
“Let’s move Denver out here on the couch,” Dana said. “You’ve been wanting me for days. We can take the bed.”
Tempting. But I seem to have lost the desire. “No. You sleep with Denver. I have to get up early.”
