by R. D. Brady
Everyone went quiet—all of them thinking about what could essentially be genocide if they didn’t stop Hayes.
“Okay,” Abby said. “Let’s start with our legal options. Bigfoot is not a legally recognized creature. In fact, there’s only one county in the United States where it’s been declared illegal to kill a bigfoot.”
“So, if someone kills one, it’s no big deal?” Sasha asked, her eyes wide.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Abby said.
“Any way to change that?” Tess asked.
“Well, it kind of depends on their legal categorization. If we can get them declared human, then the usual penalties would apply.”
“Unless someone declares self-defense,” Shawn said.
“Well, yeah,” Abby said. “And I suppose if they’re as big as you say they are, it wouldn’t take much to convince a judge that someone felt their life was in jeopardy.”
“And if we have them declared an animal?” Dev asked.
“Then I’m guessing they’d be protected by the endangered species law. But even then, it’ll take over a year to get them put on the list, at a minimum. And if someone kills one, they can still say that they thought they were in mortal danger.”
“So the law’s not going to be much help,” Tess said.
“It might,” Abby said, “depending on where the bigfoot are. If they’re in an area where hunting isn’t allowed, like private property or a state park, we could prevent people from hunting them.”
Tess’s hopes dimmed even further. “They’re not. At least, they weren’t the last time I saw them.”
“And even if they were, do you really think that would stop Hayes from going after them?” Shawn said. “He’ll just pay someone to take the prison time. And there are plenty of people who’d be willing to take that job on for the right price.”
“Okay, so what do we do?” Tess asked.
“We need to hit him where it hurts,” Shawn said.
“And where’s that?” Sasha asked.
“His wallet.”
“Okay,” Tess said. “And how do we do that?”
Only silence greeted her.
Tess closed her eyes. This is impossible.
CHAPTER 96
Three days later, they were no closer to an answer. And real life—and the responsibilities that came with it—were beginning to intrude. Tess stared at the bills in front of her. Now that she had turned down the grant, she had to figure out a way to make some money. She’d already spoken with Eric, and he’d told her that the state park service was hiring. But even with his help pushing her application through, it was going to take some time.
Missy came running up to Tess. “Can I go outside?”
Tess forced her negative thoughts away, placing her hands on Missy’s hips. “What’s that, honey?”
“I finished my letters and numbers. Can I go out?”
Dev stood up from the couch where he’d been helping Missy. “Yup. I checked them over, and she did everything perfect.”
Tess tried to ignore the image she had in her mind of Abe lurking out in the trees. He’s still locked up, she told herself. “Okay. But stay near the cabin.”
“I will,” Missy said.
She ran for the door. Tess watched her go with mixed feelings. The therapist had said it was important for Missy to regain some independence, and small things, like playing outside by herself, were critical in that. But Tess was still uncomfortable with the idea.
At least Dev had gotten a few people from his tribe to set up a small camp a ways down the road; they were keeping the reporters away. Only people with actual business were permitted to come by now.
Dev sat down across from Tess. “Everything okay?”
Tess bit her lip as all her worries came flooding back. She shook her head and gestured to the papers in front of her. “I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.”
“Why don’t you let me help?”
Tess shook her head before he even finished getting the question out. She tried to pull her hand away. “No. I’m not taking any money from you.”
“Hey, stop. Look at me.”
Dev waited. Finally Tess met his gaze.
“This is not charity,” he said. “I love you. I love Missy. Don’t force me to stand by while you shoulder something alone you don’t need to.”
Tess’s heart began to beat a little faster. “You love me?”
“I thought that was kind of obvious.”
“Maybe… but a girl likes to hear the words.”
Dev tugged her over to him and onto his lap. “I love you, Tess Brannick. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met, and I am going to love you until the day I die.”
“I love you too, Dev.”
Their lips met, and Tess felt her worries slip away. She wasn’t alone in this.
Shelby began to growl, and Tess lifted her head. “What’s the matter, girl?”
Shelby was staring at the door, the hair on the back of her neck standing up.
And then from somewhere outside, Missy screamed.
CHAPTER 97
Tess bolted out of the cabin with Dev right behind her. A man and woman, with Bigfoot Must Die emblazoned across the back of their sweatshirts, had Missy backed up against a tree. The man held a TV camera.
“Come on, Missy,” the woman said. “We just want to know who you were with when you were gone.”
Missy shook her head, her eyes impossibly large.
Tess was overcome by rage and a need to protect. “Get away from her!” she yelled as she sprinted across the yard.
The couple ignored her. Tess shoved the man and his camera, sending him sprawling.
The woman leaped back, and Tess advanced on her, her hands fisted at her side. “Get out of here.”
The woman spluttered, “We have—”
Dev grabbed the woman from behind. “You are under arrest for trespassing and harassment.”
The man stumbled to his feet, his lip bleeding. “You need to arrest her for assault!”
Dev narrowed his eyes. “You’ll be lucky if I don’t hit you. Tess, hold her.”
Tess gripped the woman while Dev cuffed the man’s hands behind his back. Then he took the woman from Tess. “I’ve got this. You get Missy.”
Tess nodded, trying to calm down. She was so angry she was shaking. Taking a breath, she turned. When she saw Shelby painfully trying to climb down the stairs, her blood boiled even more.
Missy was still backed up against the tree, her eyes locked on Dev and his two captives. Tess knelt down in front of her. “Missy? Honey?”
Missy’s big eyes turned to Tess. Tears swam in them. Tess pulled Missy into her arms. “It’s okay, honey. I’ve got you.”
Missy’s shoulders shook, and each sob was like a stab to Tess’s chest. She wrapped Missy in her arms and turned for the cabin. At the stairs, she looked over her shoulder and glared at the two who were now locked in the back of Dev’s car. Someone needed to teach Tyler Haven a lesson. And if the world was even slightly fair, he would learn that lesson soon.
CHAPTER 98
Abe strode out of the Beauford courthouse without even a glance at the high-priced lawyer walking beside him. Asshole probably wants a thank-you. He grunted. Right—for doing his job.
His phone rang, and he knew without even looking who was on the other end. He punched the answer button as he walked away from the lawyer. “Yeah?”
“What the hell happened?” Carter yelled. Abe paused in mid-step. He’d never heard Carter angry before.
“That brother-in law of hers came back. Guy’s built like a mountain. Oh, and I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“I don’t care how you are. I pay you for results, and these are not the results I was expecting.”
Abe clenched his jaw. His knuckles turned white from gripping the phone. He didn’t need this overfed suit telling him what he should be doing. But at the same time, Carter was his meal ticket.
“Is there any chance Branni
ck will tell us what we need to know?” Carter asked.
“Doubtful. Unless you want me to go after the little girl. She’d probably do anything to keep that one safe.”
Carter blew out a breath. “No. I never should have agreed to this approach anyway. She’s one of those do-gooder types; she won’t be cowed. And now I’m guessing she won’t let anyone near that little girl.”
Abe knew he was probably right. Although he wouldn’t mind a rematch with the big guy. Of course, he planned on bringing a gun for that fight—just to even the playing field.
“Is there another play?” Carter asked.
Abe paused. Inside the jail, one of the guys from that stupid reality show had been in the cell next to him, crying almost non-stop. That was not a man set up for hard time.
“You don’t really care about her, though, right?” Abe said. “You just want to know where the bigfoot have been?”
“Yes.”
Abe smiled as an idea popped into his mind. “Well, I may have just the thing.”
CHAPTER 99
The trees around them blocked out what little light was left in the sky. It would be dark soon. Tyler turned to Oscar. “You have the shot ready?”
“Yup. As soon as the rest of the light disappears, we’re ready to go.”
Tyler looked around, uneasy. He might host a show that was based on incidents in the wild, but personally, he was much more comfortable in the lap of civilization. The truth was, he’d never even been camping. Whenever the show called for shots of him in a tent, he’d pop in and do the shots and then go right back to his trailer.
“You, uh, you’re sure you know how to get back, right?” Tyler asked.
Oscar grinned. “Got the GPS. We’re good.”
Tyler had to admit, the cameraman’s confidence helped calm his nerves. The man seemed to know his way around the woods. Tyler had decided to do this shoot with just him and Oscar. Partly because he thought it would make for better TV if it looked more Blair Witch Project than Hollywood, and partly because the network had been making noise about budgets. And that meant either cutting down on some of the crew or losing the trailer.
The trailer was not negotiable.
Besides, his other two crewmembers were still in jail. He couldn’t believe that bitch had had them arrested. Didn’t she understand what freedom of the press was? What exactly was her problem? They were just trying to get some footage of the kid. It’s not like they were going to hurt anyone.
He paused. Maybe they could show how Tess Brannick was actually putting the kid in danger. Out here, middle of nowhere… It could work.
Tyler pulled out his cell phone, but he couldn’t get a signal. Damn it.
The brush near him rustled and Tyler jumped. A squirrel darted out. Tyler didn’t like it out here. It was too quiet. Eerie.
And for the shot they wanted, they had to wait until it was pitch black. Tyler felt more than a little creeped out. He would normally try anything to avoid being out in the woods at these times.
Finally, about twenty minutes later, it was dark enough for what they needed. Tyler took three breaths, getting his game face on, then said, “Okay Oscar, let’s roll.”
The light on top of Oscar’s camera bloomed to life, bathing Tyler in its glow. The brightness eased some of Tyler’s fears and reminded him why he was doing this: people needed to know. And I need to move on to bigger things.
“We are standing on the very spot where Tess Brannick said she found little Melissa Hargrove. Missy had been missing a year before she was found. No one knows where she was during that time, and Missy isn’t talking. But her father is—and he’s convinced she was taken by a bigfoot.”
Tyler waited while Oscar panned the area. “Okay, that’s enough. Back on me.”
The light came back to him. “This area of the Pacific Northwest is rife with sightings of bigfoot. In fact, the famous Patterson-Gimlin film was shot only a few short miles from here, in Bluff Creek.”
The sound of wood striking wood echoed through the area. Tyler went still. “Did you hear that?” he whispered.
Oscar nodded.
Tyler swallowed, trying to keep his voice even. “Um, observers have often reported hearing bigfoot striking trees with large pieces of wood. That may be what we just heard.”
The sound came again. Tyler scanned the area but he couldn’t tell from where it originated. It was almost like it was everywhere at once.
He turned back to the camera. “This audio evidence lends more support to Dale Hargrove’s claim that bigfoot took his daughter. As does the secrecy that now surrounds her. Her current legal guardian is refusing to allow the girl to be interviewed by the press. And that has to make a person wonder why? Why not just let the girl tell her story?”
Tyler smiled at his words. Man, that was good.
“Because maybe, just maybe… Tess Brannick is holding out so that she can break the story herself. Is that really in the best interest of this poor child?”
The sound of wood on wood came again, and then once more.
Tyler’s head jerked up. “I think the bigfoot are getting angry. We’re in their territory, and they’re letting us know they don’t want us here. For our own safety, we’re going to head out. But we will be back at first light to investigate and look for proof of our nocturnal visitors.”
Oscar took the camera off his shoulder, keeping the light on to lead the way. “That was good.”
“Yeah. It was. Now let’s get out of here.”
Oscar dropped to one knee. “Let me just run this back and make sure we have everything we need.”
“Fine, fine. Just do it quickly.”
Tyler felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He could feel eyes on him. And he didn’t like it. He stepped away from the circle of light and peered into the trees. Was there someone there?
A grunt sounded behind him—Oscar. Tyler spun around just in time to see the cameraman slump to the ground, taking the camera down with him. The camera’s light shined directly into Tyler’s eyes, blinding him.
Then a tree branch snapped off to Tyler’s side. He started to turn, but a branch caught him in the chin and chest hard enough to lift him off of his feet. He slammed to the ground and knew his jaw was broken.
Pain tore through him, but his need for survival overrode it. He started to crawl away.
Then a blow slammed into his back, knocking him onto his belly in the dirt. And he went numb. Which was good, because the blows continued to rain down on him. And soon he welcomed the black that enveloped him.
CHAPTER 100
Dawn was just breaking when Abe tossed the duffel in the back of his truck. He stretched out his back. A rewarding night.
He drove for an hour to the site he’d picked out earlier and then carried his bag over to the fire pit he’d set up. Pulling some lighter fluid out of the bag, he doused the wood, struck a match, and set it aflame. The wood caught quickly. He pulled out his cell phone as he began tossing everything from the bag into the fire.
Thaddeus answered quickly. “Yes?”
“Good morning, Thaddeus. How are you?”
Abe could practically feel the glare through the phone. “Is it done?”
“Is what done?” Abe pulled out the sixteen-inch carved wooden foot molds he’d had made. They strapped to the bottoms of his boots—and he had to admit, they had done a pretty good job. He tossed them in the fire as well.
“Is—Have you—The situation Mr. Hayes wanted addressed, has it been addressed?”
“You mean is that tool from the reality show dead? Yeah.”
Thaddeus’s spluttering came through loud and clear. “You can’t talk that way!”
“Relax. No one will be overhearing this conversation. And I don’t really see how you guys can order violent acts and then get all squeamish when I talk about them.”
“Fine. But it was arranged as planned? No one will know you did it?”
“Of course not. But more importantly, it won�
��t even look like a human did it. You’ve got your situation. Now I expect to be compensated for my part.”
“Of course. I’m wiring the remainder of the fee to your account as we speak.”
“Great. Well, that’s my part of this little situation concluded.”
“Very well. I’ll let Mr. Hayes know.”
“Tell him I’ll be out of touch for a few days.”
“You’ve got another job?”
“No, just taking a little vacation. Think I’ll get in a spot of hunting.”
CHAPTER 101
Dev hiked through the woods, his distaste for the task ahead of him growing with each step. According to the ex-producer of Bigfoot Must Die, two members of the crew had gone out in the woods two nights ago to do a shoot, and they hadn’t returned.
From the quick chat Dev had had with the two crewmembers he’d arrested at Tess’s cabin, he knew the group was not as woods-savvy as they tried to appear. It was likely they had simply gotten lost. And he wasn’t exactly thrilled about being part of the search party that had to go out looking for them. Like I don’t have better things to do. Serves them right for trying to capitalize on Missy’s situation.
And in fact, Dev had plenty of better things to do. And at the top of that list were Tess and Missy. Tess was stressing herself into exhaustion trying to come up with a way to thwart Hayes, and the last thing she needed was this reality show headache adding to her already sizeable worries.
