“We saw Wilson,” Eric said grimly, guiding Lindsey into the secure porch area before him.
“I did, too. She may be off her feed again, but Ginger alerted us. Who shot first?” Naomi asked.
“I did,” Eric said. Naomi ushered both of them into the inner cabin as Eric continued. “I know I didn’t hit him—but I figured I might scare him away.”
“When I heard the shots, I thought he was after us— I didn’t know you two were out there until you radioed. The big antenna’s down. Thank God you’re back.” Naomi gave Eric, and then Lindsey, a big hug.
“How’s Keith?” Eric asked.
“Not good. We’ve got to get him to a hospital…now.”
FURIOUS, WILSON RETREATED only as far as he decided was necessary for safety. The rifle fire aimed his way proved that the two rangers had returned, which meant they’d definitely evacuated Pam earlier and their numbers were now back up to three healthy adults, two of whom could shoot. He guessed they’d trek out again with the wounded ranger. Time for him to change his plans. He’d let the rangers leave the cabin with their patient. If he was lucky, they’d take him straight to the same area they took his daughter—Lee Vining. There was no other town in the vicinity. Pam had to be there, whether the police had her or her mother did. With this weather, she couldn’t have left the area, and if she did, she couldn’t have gotten far.
Either way, the nearest group of buildings that passed for civilization was where the rangers would go, and where he needed to be. He’d find his daughter from there. And if he couldn’t, then he’d head for the hospital in Lee Vining and finish the job with the ranger he’d wounded.
Day 8, 10:15 p.m.
LINDSEY AND ERIC SAT AT THE table with cups of hot tea. Ginger lay awake under the table on top of Lindsey’s feet, in constant physical contact. Keith and Naomi both slept on the beds in the common room.
“I never thought I’d see your sister sleeping with a rifle.” Lindsey reached down to stroke Ginger’s upright head.
“I never thought she’d have the need.”
They both stared at Keith, whose overall color and demeanor had rapidly deteriorated in their two-day absence.
“It’ll be a rough trip out of here for him,” Lindsey worried.
“It’ll be rough on everyone—one of us will have to carry the rifle, and the others will have to haul two sleds uphill to the pass.”
Lindsey’s gaze turned toward the sleds they’d already packed and loaded for the morning’s journey to town. One sled would carry Keith, but another would be needed for medical supplies, skis, packs, food and dog-transport in the very deep snow. There was no way Ginger could travel off trail, and with the recent snow and the immobility of Keith and Naomi, there were no old trails left or new ones broken.
“If you can handle the dog and the rifle, I’ll take Keith,” Eric suggested. “Naomi can haul the supply sled and spell us. She doesn’t have the rifle skills we do.”
“She’s done okay so far even if she hasn’t got off a shot,” Lindsey said. “I do wish we had a working antenna. I swear I could yell farther than that old portable can transmit.”
“It wouldn’t make a difference.” Eric took another gulp of his tea. “We could call for help all we want. No one would be able to get out here.”
“I suppose…”
“You should get some sleep. You look exhausted.”
“In a bit.” Lindsey added more milk to cool her tea and stirred. “Are you coming back here? To finish out the winter?”
“If I have to. I’m not happy about it.”
“What about your sister? She’ll need a biopsy—maybe surgery.”
“I know. But Lindsey, it was hard enough getting you to replace Eva. Someone has to stay on duty. Find Wilson. Protect others who may get stuck out here in the park. There aren’t that many rangers qualified to do what we do.”
“But Naomi needs you!” Lindsey protested. “And what about Keith? He doesn’t have any family around here.”
“The main office has already notified Keith’s next of kin. I called my parents when we were at the motel. They should be back in the country in a week or so.”
“A week? I think Keith and Naomi could use a little moral support before then.” Lindsey stared at him in frank amazement.
“You’ll be at the hospital with them.”
“Me? I thought I’d be coming back with you.”
Eric shook his head. “No. As far as I’m concerned, once Keith and Naomi are in the hospital and Ginger’s safely out, your job is over. Sled or not, I can’t possibly get Ginger up the outer side of Tioga Pass. Once she’s in town, she’ll have to stay with you.”
Lindsey took in a deep breath. “Not if I stay here at the cabin with Ginger until you get back.”
“No. I need you for the trip out, and I don’t want to leave anyone here with Wilson still loose.” He reached for her wrist and touched it lightly. “But thanks for offering. You’re a ranger and a half, Lindsey.”
Lindsey didn’t reply at first. The thought of Eric back here alone shook her up far too much.
“I can’t let you come back by yourself, Eric. If anything happened to you, no one would know, not with the main antenna down. Ginger can stay with Naomi for a while.”
The shock on his face surprised her. “You’d actually choose me over that dog?”
“For heaven’s sake, this is not a popularity contest! It’s a question of need. If you say the park needs a ranger on duty, then I’ll be that ranger.”
“So I’m just—what…a professional obligation?”
“Stop twisting my words!”
“It’s hard to twist what I don’t understand,” he countered. “I never know what you’ll say or do next.”
“Would you listen to me for a change instead of trying to second-guess me? I’m not your twin—nor do I want to be!”
Keith moved restlessly in his sleeping bag, and both of them were cautiously silent for a moment. When Lindsey spoke again, she kept her voice low, yet emotion caused a hoarseness that had nothing to do with whispering.
“Four years ago, you blamed me for choosing my partner over you. You broke off our engagement because I asked for a few extra days to get over Missy’s death. Yet you plan to put yourself in deliberate danger when others need you! After everything you’ve been through this past week, plus Eva’s death, no one would expect you to trek right back out here, if at all! And you have the nerve to say my priorities are screwed up.”
“Lindsey…” Eric began in a quieter voice, but Lindsey stood and left the table for the couch and her sleeping bag, Ginger at her heels.
“You say you can’t understand me—well, I can’t understand you. You have one set of priorities for yourself and another for the rest of the world. Where’s this secret rule book you carry around? Because I’d sure as hell like to read it.”
“I don’t have to explain my actions when it comes to my job.”
“As if you ever have! But let me warn you—you walk away from Naomi and Keith to play hero, you’re running the risk of losing them, especially Naomi. Just like you lost me.”
Eric’s face blanched, but Lindsey went on.
“Doesn’t Keith’s opinion of you count? You think he’s strong enough to get through this alone? Tracking after a madman instead of being with those who love and need you is wrong. You’re not a cop…it isn’t even your job! You might think it is, but it’s not. What kind of ranger—what kind of person are you?”
“According to you, a coward,” he said slowly.
Lindsey’s chest tightened at his words. “I never said you were a coward, Eric.”
His heavy silence accused her more than words ever could.
“Believe what you want,” she said wearily. “I’m going to bed. Wake me when it’s my watch.”
Silence. The silence continued that long night, and during the next morning’s trek out.
Day 9
THE NEXT DAY’S TRIP UP, through and
down the windy Tioga Pass was bone-tiring for all four rangers and the dog. If it hadn’t been for the continued clear, sunny weather and the absence of Wilson and his rifle, Lindsey wondered if she would’ve had the strength to make it. A depression had settled over her. She ached from head to toe, and suspected Eric did, as well. Naomi had silently towed the handsled with supplies, but her own demeanor had been far from cheery as she kept watch on Keith. He hadn’t been able to hide his pain, which had worsened during the long trek up and through the pass.
Eric and Lindsey maintained an uneasy truce, Eric never speaking to her except in her capacity as ranger. Between her aching heart, her fears about the journey, her exhaustion, and the desolate, harsh landscape, she could find no beauty inside or out. She’d once thought the day Eric had left her the most miserable day of her life—until now. If one more thing went wrong, she was afraid she might fall apart.
Her emotional resolve wasn’t tested, fortunately. At the bottom of the pass, the helicopter was waiting to take them on, then set them down in the hospital parking lot. That left Lindsey with Ginger and the gear at the ranger vehicle, while Eric went in to get Keith admitted and to assist Naomi in making an appointment to see a doctor.
Hospital parking lot
Day 9, late evening
LINDSEY TRANSFERRED THE GEAR from the two sleds into the same vehicle that had been waiting for them when they’d brought Pam in, and sighed with fatigue as she loaded the empty sleds. She opened the door and let Ginger inside to lie down on the middle seat on one of the sleeping bags she’d unpacked especially for the dog. She’d watered and fed her after dragging the sleds from the heliport to the parking area. The keypad code for the ranger vehicle door was the same as earlier, and the ignition key was inside the glove box.
“Sorry it’s not warmer, girl,” she said, her eyes gritty from fatigue. “But you’ll be okay for now.” Lindsey stroked the soft head, then pulled her glove back on and headed for the Admissions and Information area to find Eric and Naomi. Since she’d been officially “discharged” as replacement, she forced herself to shove aside her devastation.
She found Eric in the main lobby. He immediately rose to his feet at her appearance.
“I was just about ready to come looking for you. Everything okay?”
“You tell me.” She unzipped her jacket and sat down on the lobby couch, where he joined her. “How’s Keith?”
“They just took him up to surgery. I saw him before he left.”
“How’s he doing?”
“He seems more worried about Naomi than himself. I’ve got the main office contacting his next of kin.”
“Where’s Naomi now?”
“Upstairs having a mammogram done. They’re going to fit her in with an oncologist later this afternoon.”
Lindsey nodded. “What’s next?” she asked. “You want to drop me and Ginger off at the motel so you can come back for Naomi?”
“I’d already planned on it,” Eric said. “Jack Hunter’s booked us two rooms, one for you and Naomi, and one for me. He also asked if you want to fly Ginger back with you to San Diego, or if you’d rather the park system arranged for a rental car.”
She couldn’t believe the calmness in his voice, or how he couldn’t seem to wait to get her out of his life. “There’s no way I’d fly Ginger on a commercial airline. She’s stressed enough already. Have Jack authorize a car. I’ll camp out at the motel for a few days to rest up and make sure everyone’s okay before leaving.”
Most of the drive south would be relatively snow-free once she cleared the mountainous areas and cut across to the Sunbelt’s coastal route. Plus, if she felt like shedding some tears on the way home, she’d have privacy in a car that she wouldn’t have in a plane full of passengers. The drive down the coast would be more than soothing; it would give her time to decide what to do with her future. One thing she already knew: she’d be without Eric in her life…once again.
“Is Pam still here?” Lindsey asked. “I wanted to see her before I left.”
“If she is, it won’t be for much longer. I saw her mother earlier, and she told me Pam’s going to be discharged today and moved to Children’s Hospital in San Francisco via the Life-Flight chopper. Seems she might lose more toes, after all.”
“Oh, no! That poor kid…. What time were they leaving?”
Eric checked his wristwatch. “In a few minutes, as a matter of fact.”
“Damn! Maybe I can catch them at the helipad. Which way?” Lindsey asked.
Eric reached for her arm. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
They hurried through the halls, Eric in the lead, and almost ran into Mrs. Wilson right inside the helipad lobby.
“I left Pam’s insurance card at the finance office,” Mrs. Wilson explained breathlessly. “Only I’m not exactly sure how to get back there.”
“I’ll take you, and Lindsey can say goodbye to Pam, if that’s okay,” Eric suggested.
“That would be a big help,” Mrs. Wilson said. “She’s already in the helicopter.”
Lindsey nodded. After getting permission from the flight ops controller, she hurried onto the helipad. Inside, the flight nurse opened the hatch and kicked out the folding steps so Lindsey could get inside. But before she’d even reached the first rung, she felt a sudden tug on the neck of her unzipped jacket. Off balance, she turned and found herself staring into the muzzle of a gun.
“Where’s my bitch of a wife?” Wilson asked. “You’re not her!”
“I—I just came to say goodbye to Pam,” Lindsey stammered.
“Who the hell are—wait a minute. I know you!” Wilson’s eyes narrowed in fury. “You’re the ranger with the dog who kidnapped my kid.” Wilson shoved her toward the steps again. “Get in,” he ordered. “You—” He gestured toward the trauma nurse. “Get out. Tell the police I’m taking my daughter and leaving. Anyone tries to stop me or follow me, I shoot the ranger. And that goes for the pilot after I land.”
The pilot’s eyes widened. The trauma nurse, a thin male with pale-gray eyes, stare at the gun.
“I said go! And latch the door after you.” The nurse wisely didn’t argue. He left the chopper and stepped aside as Wilson climbed into the front seat next to the pilot. “We’re going for a little ride, Pam,” he said, the gun now pointing at the pilot. “The ranger will keep an eye on you, okay?”
Pam’s eyes filled with tears, but she was too afraid to make a sound.
So was Lindsey, for that matter. She took the nurse’s vacant seat, fastened her harness, and took Pam’s hand in hers. As the pilot increased the speed of the rotors and began to lift from the ground, Lindsey looked out her window, watching through the glass as the trauma nurse gesticulated wildly to the head of medi-flight operations.
As the chopper lifted even higher, she saw Mrs. Wilson and Eric through the glass doors. Mrs. Wilson screamed and tried to run outside. Eric stopped her, his arms around her waist as both adults tipped their heads upward toward the escaping craft.
The last thing Lindsey saw before they gained enough altitude to clear the hospital was the look of horror on Eric’s face.
Lindsey knew it matched her own.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Hospital administration conference room
Day 9, late evening
“HOW COULD THIS HAVE happened? Where’s the police officer who was assigned to guard the room?” Eric demanded. “And how did Wilson manage to make it all the way from Yosemite to Lee Vining without being spotted? I thought there was a police dragnet on, for God’s sake.”
Eric, Naomi, the local chief of police, the head of hospital security and the hospital CEO, along with the hospital lawyer, had all gathered inside the conference room around a large rectangular table. Mrs. Wilson was hunched over in a plastic chair, firmly believing she’d never see her daughter again. Eric didn’t hold with that belief, but he couldn’t have relaxed enough to sit, even if the chairs had been the most comfortable in the world.
“It�
�s the dead of winter, and our police force has less than ten members. We’re a very small town, Eric,” Chief of Police McClanahan explained.
“Maybe your officers weren’t where they should have been,” Pam’s mother said. “How could he make it all the way in here without someone seeing him?”
“Mrs. Wilson, I know you’re upset. My officer and a member of hospital security escorted Miss Wilson’s stretcher all the way to the helicopter. Others are manning the roadblocks out. You told us yourself your husband’s originally from this area. Obviously he found someone to help him—maybe warn him about the roadblocks so he could get past them. Or maybe he just caught a ride and pretended to be an innocent hitchhiker. We’re not sure.”
“I hope you’ve checked out any old friends,” Eric said, frustrated at the turn of events.
The chief nodded. “We’re on it now, thanks to Mrs. Wilson’s help. We searched the surrounding area and the helicopter before anyone boarded, and rechecked it when your child boarded, as well.”
“You didn’t do a very good job,” Mrs. Wilson said, her voice cracking with emotion, tears running down her cheeks. “I told you my husband was dangerous! You turn your back for ten seconds and he shows up and kidnaps my daughter! Again! I just got her back!”
She broke down even more. Eric could tell the woman’s stamina had run out. Naomi hurried to her side, handing her a tissue from the box sitting on the single large table.
The hospital CEO, obviously fearful of legal repercussions, immediately became defensive. “Security cleared takeoff with my flight chief, Mrs. Wilson. All would’ve been well if you hadn’t jumped off the helicopter at the last minute to run back for…what was it?”
He turned toward the hospital’s lawyer who filled in the blank. “Her daughter’s insurance card.”
“Pam’s insurance card.”
“The clerk forgot to give it back to me!”
“This hospital will not accept any blame in this matter.”
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