Hot on the Trail Mix

by P. D. Workman

  “He might tell me that. What the man looked like can’t be confidential.”

  “Why are you asking?”

  “I’m just wondering… how big or strong the person who moved him to the pool would have to be.”

  “Oh.” Vic nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “Is that all you had to show me?”

  Vic looked through additional pictures on her phone and nodded. “Yeah, that’s everything that seems like it could be important.”

  “Let’s go back to the clearing.”

  Vic led the way back through the trees. Erin looked back a couple of times to see the cave entrance or the path leading up to it. Someone wandering around could stumble across it. Someone who had maps, pictures, or even just a description would not have a hard time finding what they were looking for.

  Which had it been? Had someone come across Rip in the cave by accident and taken advantage of an opportunity? Or had he been looking for his victim? Or meeting Rip to discuss something or make some kind of deal, and then had turned on him? Had they had an argument and it was done in the heat of the moment or was it an ambush? Could he have planned to meet someone there?

  Willie had said that Rip had been trying to jump his claim. He’d been hoping to make it rich off of the minerals he would find in the cave. So where had he heard about it? Had he just happened to find it and didn’t realize that someone else had a claim to it? Or had he known about it and went there with the intent of taking what was not his?

  They reached the clearing; Erin looked around once more, noting all of the things they had previously spoken of, and then looked for more. She kept her ears pricked for anything out of the ordinary, not wanting to take the chance of anyone sneaking up on them and catching them unaware. Erin had had enough of caves and kidnapping to last her a lifetime.

  Chapter 24

  “Where would they go?” Vic asked. She had been scanning the trees, perhaps as anxious about intruders as Erin was.

  “If Rip’s family was forced to move away from here, where do you think they went?” Erin prompted.

  “I would think… they’d probably move a few miles down the road. Find out where Willie’s property ended so that they wouldn’t have to deal with him again, and move to the other side of that line.”

  “Do you think they had another cave or mine in mind already, or would they just… go in a random direction?”

  “If they knew about this cave, then I would think they’d know of others in the area.”

  “Do you?”

  “Know of any other caves?” Vic considered. “I think I’ve got some maps in the truck.”

  They returned to the cab and Vic pulled maps out of the side pocket of the door. She shuffled through them slowly, looking at the labels on them carefully. They were not highway maps, but surveys like Erin had found at Clementine’s when she and Vic had first met. Green to show vegetation and blue for water, irregular curves showing slope, close together where it was steep and farther apart where it was gradual. There were various locations marked with codes, some kind of letter and number designation. Vic glanced over at Erin.

  “I probably shouldn’t even be looking at these. Willie is pretty private about his mines.”

  “But he takes you to them.”

  “Mmm. Some of them. Places he doesn’t mind showing me. But if it’s an active mine, he might have other ideas.”

  “Oh. Well, I don’t want to make trouble, but this is for the greater good… We need to find Rip’s family and make sure they’re okay, and so the police can make the notification, if they haven’t already heard about what happened to Rip.”

  Vic rolled her eyes and continued to study the maps. “Okay, so I think we’re here.” Her finger jabbed the page, indicating one string of letters and numbers. “So the road is here.” She traced a faint brown line. “The property line seems to be just over here.” Vic indicated a straight line on the map, and then gestured to the trees ahead and to their left.

  “So they could have camped anywhere over there, and they wouldn’t be on this property. Willie couldn’t complain.”

  “Right.”

  “Let’s go over and check. And if… they were not just interested in a place to camp, but in mining particularly, are there any mines or caves close by that they might be interested in?”

  Vic stared down at the map. “These hills are like Swiss cheese. There are caves everywhere, and probably a few that haven’t been discovered or put on any map, too. There are a few marked locations. Maybe ones that he’s interested in investigating or in buying, if the opportunity arises.”

  Erin nodded.

  Vic slid the map onto the seat next to her. “Okay, so let’s see if we can find them.”

  They drove back out to the dirt road. Vic turned carefully, and they traveled along it, watching for any sign of an encampment. People, a vehicle, smoke rising from a fire, anything that might show them that there were people nearby. It was wild. Erin felt like there wasn’t anyone around for miles. Maybe all the way back to Bald Eagle Falls. But she knew that wasn’t true. There were plenty of little places outside of Bald Eagle Falls. Farms and homesteads. Many people didn’t want to live right in town; they wanted space or lived on old family property or farmed.

  Way back in her however-many-times-great-grandparents’ time, it had been a different world. People moved there with nothing but what they could fit in a wagon, looking for cheap land, full of hope at being able to make a living for their families. Was that the way that it had been for Rip and the other families like his? They were trying to grasp the American dream, to get land of their own and make something of it. Starting with nothing and hoping to end up with comfort or wealth.

  “We should be close to the turn-off,” Vic said, scanning the trees on the right for a break.

  “There… I think it’s there…”

  “Yeah.”

  They followed the new path. Trees scraped the top of the truck and Erin found herself ducking, even though she knew they were outside and couldn’t reach her.

  “Is there enough space?”

  “There’s no space to turn around,” Vic said, keeping the truck rolling slowly forward. “And there has been a vehicle through here.”

  Sitting up tall to look out the windshield and down at the ground in front of the truck, she could see places where the vegetation was mashed down. She knew that most of it would spring up again quickly, so it must have been driven over more than once to stay crushed down. She settled back down in her seat.

  “Maybe we’ll find them. Could it be that easy?”

  Vic raised her brows. “I’d be surprised. Nothing is that easy.”

  They both strained to see through the trees. It was a few minutes driving down the long drive before they finally made it through the trees. Erin saw several tents set up. Her heart sped up. Had they found the Ryders?

  Vic drove to where there were a couple of vehicles parked rather than right up to the tents. They waited for a moment before getting out of the truck, watching for any dogs or guards with shotguns.

  They opened the doors and Erin climbed down. A couple of people came out of the tents to see who was there. A man came out of one, a woman out of another. But she didn’t match the description of Jenny Ryder. Or whatever her last name was.

  Erin walked toward the woman anyway. She would rather talk to the woman than the man. Vic stayed back, close to the truck. Available if Erin needed her, but out of the way so they weren’t intimidating. As if either of them could be intimidating.

  “Hi there.”

  “Who are you?” the woman asked warily.

  “My name is Erin. I own the bakery in Bald Eagle Falls.”

  She scowled. “What are you doing here? What do you want with us?”

  “I’m looking for Jenny… Ryder. I don’t know her right last name, someone said she wasn’t married to Rip. But that’s who I’m looking for.”

  “What do you want with her? You don’t think she’
s got enough problems? If that no-good Rip ripped you off or dumped you, don’t go crying to Jenny about it.”

  “I’m not. I didn’t know him. I was just trying to find her. Make sure she’s okay.”

  “Why wouldn’t she be okay?”

  “I know that Rip disappeared…”

  “Good riddance. Best thing that could have happened to her. In fact, if you have any idea of getting them back together again, forget about it. She don’t want nothing more to do with him.”

  Was that what Jenny would say for herself? Or was the brunette just hoping that was what Jenny would say? Some women kept going back to the same abusive or irresponsible men over and over again. Erin couldn’t understand why.

  “Do you know where Jenny is?”

  “It’s none of your business. Just leave the woman alone.”

  “Is she close to here? I know that they were camped just over there,” Erin motioned in the direction they had come. “But Willie Andrews ran them off.”

  “What a jerk. He doesn’t live on the property. So what does it matter to him if someone else uses the land? It’s better for him if it’s occupied, isn’t it? Make sure that no one is there to do any harm. It’s empty land that brings trouble.”

  Having Rip and his family squatting outside or inside the cave had not helped Willie. In fact, it had put him right in the middle of a murder investigation.

  “I’m not going to cause Jenny any trouble. Could you tell me where she is?”

  The brunette’s gaze wavered. Not over to Vic or to one of the other tents, but the other direction, farther away from the cave. Then her gaze refocused on Erin’s face, the woman trying to correct the ‘tell.’

  “How about you get off of our property?” The man had come closer to Erin and the woman, and his voice was sudden and harsh in Erin’s ear, too close to her.

  Erin immediately reacted, stepping backward and turning to face him full on, prepared for an attack. Whether she was expecting a verbal attack or a physical one, she wasn’t sure. Her body reacted before her brain had had a chance to process anything.

  “Your property?” she repeated. She doubted it was theirs, any more than the land that Jenny had camped on was hers.

  “You see our settlement here. We’ve claimed this land, and you have no right to be here.”

  “Okay… I’ll head out. I guess… you folks don’t care much for Jenny, then.”

  Both of them reared back at this accusation. “Don’t care about her?” the man demanded. “What makes you say we don’t care about her?”

  “I’m trying to help her out, but all you’re doing is being obstructive. I guess you only care about yourselves.” She looked at the tents. “Your settlement. Jenny is… an outsider and she can take care of herself. Without Rip. Without any help.”

  “She has help,” the woman disagreed. She stepped toward Erin, putting her hands on her hips. “We’re a community. We help each other. Whatever we need. We take care of each other.”

  “She’s got a new baby and no husband. And a passel of kids. Every woman’s dream.”

  “It’s not our fault what she’s got,” the man said. “But we do our best to take care of our own. We don’t need… whatever it is you think you’re going to do to help her. Who exactly are you? Some social worker?”

  “She’s the baker,” the woman told him. “The one from in town. Bald Eagle Falls.”

  The man looked at her with a frown of consternation. Erin didn’t know anything about him, but he looked like he had heard of her. And he knew she was out of place coming to talk to them or to Jenny Ryder. What good reason did she have to talk to any of them?

  “The baker.” He appeared to be fishing for some memory, eyes screwed up while he tried to retrieve it. “Erin?”

  Erin nodded. She put out her hand to shake. “Yes. That’s me. And the woman over by the truck, the one who drove me in, that’s my assistant, Vic.”

  What had he heard? That she was a busybody? Always interfering with everyone else’s business? She hoped it was something more positive than that.

  “Wiseman,” he said automatically on taking her hand. “What do you want Jenny for?”

  “I just want to talk to her.” Erin let out a sigh. “Really. I’m not here to hassle her. I want to help.”

  “I don’t see what you can do to help her.”

  “I don’t either. But I’d like to do what I can. If I can just find Jenny and talk to her, then she can make that decision. I don’t see why you should make it for her.”

  “I’m not making it for her. We’re just protective of our own community. No one else is looking out for us, you know.”

  Erin had to admit that was probably true.

  “Is she over there?” Erin nodded in the direction the woman’s eyes had betrayed. “If we go over another road or two, we’ll find her?”

  Wiseman and the brunette just looked at Erin for a moment, not sure how to respond. Erin could hear children playing nearby, their voices carrying through the trees as they laughed and shrieked.

  There was a baby or young child’s cry from within the nearest tent. “Mama!”

  The woman looked toward it. She looked tired, the sun spotlighting the fine wrinkles around her eyes and the deeper ones around her mouth as she frowned. She had lived a hard life, and she wasn’t that old.

  Her eyes flicked back toward the man, and she shrugged. She gathered herself and turned away from them, going into the tent.

  Erin looked at the man to see whether he was going to answer the question. He gave Erin a long, measuring look. She could almost see the gears turning in his head as he thought things through.

  “Fine,” he said, shrugging. “Yeah, if you go farther east, you’ll find her. You would anyway, so it doesn’t matter whether I tell you that or not.”

  Erin nodded her agreement. “Thank you. Is she doing okay?”

  He shrugged. “How would you expect her to be doing with a new baby and a bum of a husband who couldn’t be bothered to stick around?”

  “Not good,” Erin agreed. “Well… thank you for your help.” She hesitated, not sure whether to say anything further or not. “If you know anyone who is in need of some baking, I’m trying to get rid of the day-old stuff at the bakery. Bread, muffins, whatever. I’ve been taking it to homeless shelters in the city, but I’d rather help the community around here.”

  He looked at her, scowling again.

  “I know.” Erin held up her hands in a ‘stop’ motion. “Nobody wants to take charity. But it’s better than me throwing it in the garbage and little tummies going empty. If you know someone who needs it, send them over. It’s confidential. I promise.”

  His expression softened a bit but still remained stony. He gave a brief nod.

  Erin went back to the truck.

  Chapter 25

  She climbed into the cab and melted into the seat, closing her eyes and letting out a long sigh. Vic climbed up into the driver’s seat, and Erin could feel Vic looking at her.

  “So… you at least had a conversation. How did that go?”

  “Try the next road over. We might get lucky.”

  “We might, or we will?”

  “I don’t know if it’s the next one or not, but we’re going in the right direction. We’ll get to them sooner or later.”

  Vic put the truck into gear, turned it around in the little clearing, and headed back out on the road that was too narrow for even the truck by itself. Erin hated to think of what would happen if they encountered a vehicle coming the other direction. There wasn’t exactly room for either one to pull off to the side. One of them would have to drive in reverse until they reached a point where one could pull over or pass.

  Luckily, they didn’t meet any other vehicles coming the other direction. They drove on, found the next access road, and tried it. They came to the end of the road pretty quickly. Erin looked around, searching the trees for any sign of the family or a tent or a vehicle, but didn’t see anything. “Not th
is one, I guess.”

  Vic turned around and again headed back out to the road. Erin caught her looking at the fuel gauge.

  “Just checking,” Vic said lightly. “Gotta make sure we have the gas to get back home again.”

  “Yes. I wouldn’t want to break down around here.”

  “Who knows how long it would take to get a tow truck or someone with a gas can out here. And to direct them to the right place…”

  “Maybe we should have brought Terry’s truck. At least it has a GPS locator.”

  Vic laughed. “Yeah. Somehow, I think we might have gotten another call from him…”

  Erin had to chuckle too. Terry had not been happy when she had taken his truck out of town previously without his permission. They hadn’t gotten a call from Willie complaining about them going out of town, but Vic had probably told him where they would be going. Erin wouldn’t put it past him to have a locator on his truck too.

  Trucks were expensive. It was an appropriate anti-theft measure. Not to mention, it could help them out if there were ever a day when he didn’t come home from checking out a claim.

  Erin shuddered, remembering the last time that had happened. It had not been fun for any of them. At least he had recovered.

  They got luckier with the next road. It snaked farther through the trees and, with each mile, Erin was sure that they were getting closer to Jenny and her children. But she hated the idea of their being out there, so isolated if something were to happen to any of them. What did a person do when they lived so far out in the sticks and a child got sick or injured? A trip to the hospital in the city would take a couple of hours. That kind of delay could be critical.

  “Something up ahead,” Vic said, her voice quivering a little with suppressed excitement.

  “Is it her?”

  Erin didn’t even know why she asked. How would Vic know if it were her? Neither of them had ever seen her before.