Murder in Mountain Springs

by Alene Anderson

  Must have run an errand.

  “Let’s get you checked in,” Jake suggested and headed down the hill toward the lodge.

  They had only walked a short distance when Jennifer exploded out of the door of the office and raced toward them. Ignoring Jake’s companion, she threw herself at Jake.

  Catching her in his arms, he looked over the top of her blond head at his startled boss. He knew Mike was wondering why a young girl would be throwing herself at him, but her words made him immediately forget the other man. He was even more worried when Hank stepped out on the porch. Hank never left the kitchen during the day.

  “Mom has disappeared,” Jennifer sobbed. “She’s been gone for hours. I’m scared.”

  “What do you mean, Kate has disappeared?” Jake stared up at Hank.

  “Said she was going to the nursery for vegetables for dinner,” Hank said. “Never came back.”

  “What time?” Jake asked, a knot tightening his stomach.

  Hank glanced at the clock. “Ten, and it’s two now.”

  “Are you sure she didn’t run down to Lava Cove?”

  “No,” Jennifer said. “She said she would only be gone a few minutes. She would have taken me if she was going to Lava Cove.”

  “That’s right,” Hank agreed. “Never leaves Jennifer here at the lodge more than a few minutes. Jennifer was out waterin’ the plants when she left. Said she would be gone ten or fifteen minutes, at most.”

  “I’ll run down to the nursery and see what time she stopped in there,” Jake said. “Maybe Connie saw which way she was headed.”

  “Can I go with you?” Jennifer asked, turning up a tear-stained face to Jake.

  “Maybe you should stay here, in case she returns,” he replied, looking at Hank for confirmation.

  “Take her with ya, Jake,” Hank suggested. “Been hard on her waitin’ all these hours.”

  “We’ll find her,” he promised.

  Suddenly recalling the man who was standing quietly beside him, Jake turned to Hank. “Hank, this is Mike Barton, one of the partner’s from my law firm in Los Angeles. Would you mind checking him into a cabin?”

  Hank nodded and motioned for Mike to follow him into the lodge.

  As Jake and Jennifer climbed into the Jeep, his thoughts chased each other around like an animal in a cage. What could have happened to Kate? Was someone suspicious of him? Did someone think she knew why Jake was here in Mountain Springs? Had they kidnapped her in order to force her to give them the information? Were they hurting her?

  The very thought of someone hurting Kate caused him to groan. When he saw Jennifer look at him, he forced a smile.

  “Just clearing my throat,” he offered in way of explanation. “We’ll find her. Maybe she had car trouble.”

  “She has a cell phone. Wouldn’t she have called us?” Jennifer wasn’t buying his explanation. “She has never left me for longer than a few minutes. She’s afraid someone will kidnap me. Now maybe someone has kidnapped her.”

  “Don’t say that,” Jake interrupted her. “Don’t even think it.”

  Jennifer stared at Jake. “I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice.

  “I didn’t mean to sound harsh,” he immediately said. “I have to admit, I’m a little worried.”

  “But we will find her, won’t we?”

  “Of course,” he assured her. “There aren’t that many places to look in a small town like Mountain Springs.”

  He pulled up in front of the nursery and they were both out of the Jeep almost before he had stopped.

  “Jake, Jennifer, what can I help you with today?” Connie asked, walking down an aisle of plants toward them.

  “Have you seem my mother today?” Jennifer burst out before Jake could say a word.

  “Not today,” Connie replied, turning to Jake. “Is there a problem?”

  “Kate told Jennifer and Hank at ten this morning she was coming down to buy vegetables for dinner. Said she would only be gone a few minutes. I returned from Salt Lake about twenty minutes ago and found she had not yet arrived home.”

  Connie shook her head. “I’m afraid I can’t be of any help. She hasn’t been here today.”

  “If she shows up, would you have her give Hank a call?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Let’s go to the General Store. Maybe she ran down there first,” Jake said, hoping to relieve the strained look on Jennifer’s little face.

  He felt her slender hand catch his and he wrapped his fingers tightly around it as they walked back to the Jeep. After she climbed in, he stood for a minute looking around. Then, shaking his head, he climbed under the steering wheel and started the engine. He didn’t have a clue as to where she could be.

  They headed on down the hill to the General Store, but Howard told them he hadn’t seen Kate in several days.

  “Is there a problem?” he asked.

  “I just got back from Salt Lake. Kate told Hank and Jennifer she was going to run to the Nursery for a few vegetables and would only be gone ten or fifteen minutes,” Jake explained. “That was at ten this morning and she hasn’t come back. Connie said she hasn’t stopped in yet today.”

  “Let me know if I can help,” Howard said. “I would be happy to lock up here and start asking around town if anyone has seen her.”

  “That’s good of you, Howard. I think Jennifer and I will do that right now, but if I decide we need your help, I will let you know.”

  “Let’s head back to the lodge,” Jake said to Jennifer. “Maybe she’s returned by now.”

  As he backed out from the curb, he realized neither he nor Jennifer had suggested they listen to music. His stomach was tied in knots and he was beginning to feel nauseated. He never recalled these feelings in all the years he had been in the Navy Seals. Not even when they launched a mission where their lives might be in danger.

  He knew he had never felt about anyone the way he felt about Kate. All his life he had waited to find someone like her. He loved her innocence, her loyalty, her dependability, and the fact that she was such a good mother. And to have Jennifer as his daughter was an added bonus. His heart swelled with love as he looked at the girl sitting in the passenger seat. He began to do something he never recalled doing before. He began to pray.

  “I’m sorry, Jake,” Mike said as the USCIS agents returned to the lodge after a day of fishing. “But we need to have a meeting in one of our cabins and make sure everyone is on the same page for the raid tonight.”

  “I’m afraid you’re going to have to carry on without me,” Jake said.

  “What are you talking about?” Mike asked, deep lines etching into his forehead.

  “I have to keep looking for Kate. I don’t want Jennifer or Hank to know, but I’m afraid something has happened to her.”

  “What would make you think that? She probably ran down to Lava Cove on a shopping spree and forgot to tell anyone.”

  “Kate isn’t like that,” Jake said, giving Mike a look of disgust.

  “Your priority is this raid on Mountain Springs Health Spa.”

  “My top priority is finding Kate.”

  “Then maybe you should be relieved of your duties at the agency.”

  “That’s your call, but I’m going out again in a few minutes to continue my search for her.”

  “Jake, we’ve been friends for a long time,” Mike finally said, after staring at the other man in silence. “I need to know where you’re coming from. It’s not like you to put one of your assignments on the back burner to allow you to take care of something else.”

  “I love Kate,” Jake said. “I am going to ask her to marry me and if she accepts, I will be resigning from USCIS. From now on, Kate and Jennifer are going to be my top priority,”

  Mik
e stared at Jake in surprise.

  “I didn’t realize there was anything going on between the two of you,” he commented. “If I had known this was going to happen, I never would have given you this assignment.”

  Jake gave Mike a slap on the back. “The best thing you ever did for me.”

  “You go ahead with your search for Kate,” Mike finally said, somewhat reluctantly. “I’ll get the men together in my cabin and we’ll go over our plan. Since you don’t carry a cell phone, it will be hard to stay in touch with me, but do your best.”

  Total darkness surrounded Kate. She couldn’t see one crack of light around or under the door. She began to feel claustrophobic and had to drum up all her will power to stay in control. She scooted toward what she thought was the door.

  Realizing she had guessed correctly, she pressed her ear up against it, hoping to hear something. She had no way of getting a message to anyone. But maybe she could kick on the door and attract someone’s attention. If Kuri came in again, she didn’t know what she might do. But she had to take the chance.

  She could hear a man’s voice and then Kuri answering him. Heart pounding, Kate swung her body around and began to kick with all her strength on the door. When she stopped hitting the door with her feet, she heard a door slam in the distance.

  A moment later she heard the bolt on the door slide back and watched the door swing open. Light from the hallway accented the large figure of Kuri as she stood menacingly on the threshold.

  Kate scooted quickly away from the door until her back was once more against the wall and waited for the wrath of Kuri to fall on her.

  “You be quiet,” Kuri ordered. “Or I use this.” She held up a large curved knife and made a motion across her own throat with the tip of it.

  The door slammed, and Kate heard the bolt slide into place. She was once again in total darkness and at the mercy of the Asian woman.

  Chapter 12

  As Mike rallied the six agents around him and headed up the hill toward the cabins, Jake went back into the lodge. Entering the kitchen, he saw Hank stirring a large pot on the stove. He was concerned when he saw Jennifer huddling at the table, her arms clutched across in front of her.

  “Hank, I need to talk to you,” he said, sitting down beside Jennifer and putting an arm around her, pulling her against him.

  Hank turned. “Listenin’.”

  “I need to tell you something in confidence, and I must have your word you won’t repeat anything I tell you.”

  “Ya got it.”

  “That goes for you, too, Jennifer,” he said, tipping up her chin.

  “Can I tell Mom?” she asked.

  “I’m going to tell your mom as soon as I find her, but you’re welcome to talk about it with her later.”

  Jake paused to gather his thoughts as both Hank and Jennifer looked at him with expectant eyes.

  “I told you, I’m an attorney. That’s true, but I also work for the USCIS out of Washington, D.C.”

  “What’s that?” Jennifer asked.

  “It’s the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It’s a government agency that controls immigration into the United States and enforces the laws having to do with immigration.”

  Jake glanced from Jennifer to Hank. They both seem to understand and he continued, “A few months ago, our office in Washington, D.C. began to get complaints about an organization, which was promising to find American husbands for women who lived in Asian countries.”

  He paused, not sure how much detail to go into with Jennifer.

  He decided he would tell her the bare minimum. If Kate wanted her to know more, she could be the one to tell her.

  “Once the women signed up to come to the United States and they were brought over, they were told they had to pay off their fare by working in health spas throughout the country. They kept these women working and never found husbands for any of them.”

  “They lied to the women?” Jennifer asked.

  “Yes, they did, Jennifer,” he replied, pleased it didn’t appear as though he would have to go into any more detail. “When the USCIS heard about it, they started checking this story out and found there were health spas all over the country, many of them in small towns like Mountain Springs.”

  “Spa here is one of them?” Hank asked.

  Jake nodded. “That is why I was sent here. The operation is an undercover one. Mike Barton is my boss and the six fishermen who checked in yesterday are agents from the USCIS. The plan is to raid the spa tonight. I was to be a part of the raid, but I have told Mike my top priority is finding Kate.”

  “How are you going to find her?” Jennifer asked, clutching at Jake’s arm.

  “I’m not sure,” Jake said slowly, patting her hand. “But I have told you and Hank our plans. Now I need to leave and look for her. I know it’s going to be hard, Jennifer, but I can’t take you with me. You will have to wait here with Hank. Can you do that for me?”

  As Jennifer gave him a trusting look and nodded, Jake stood up. He wished he felt as confident as he had tried to sound.

  “Before I leave, Hank, I want you to tell me every move Kate made yesterday, who she might have talked to and any errands she ran.”

  Hank scratched his head. “Think Jennifer can verify what I’m tellin’ ya. Kate left only one time yesterday and that was to run down to the nursery and get vegetables for dinner. Checked your agents in. Other than that, worked around here all day. Right, Jennifer?”

  Jennifer nodded.

  Jake was disappointed that Hank hadn’t presented him with any clues as to why Kate might have disappeared.

  “Hank, I know this is going to be a long day for you, but could you stay here with Jennifer while I look for Kate? I’m not sure how long this is going to take.”

  “No problem.”

  “Jennifer, maybe you could help Hank serve dinner to Mike Barton and his agents. They plan the raid on the spa as soon as it gets dark, but I need to go out while it’s still light.”

  Jennifer nodded again.

  “I’m going to run down to the General Store,” Jake said, as he stood up. “I want to buy one of those disposable cell phones. I’ll call you with the number, Hank. I want us to be able to stay in touch with each other.”

  It didn’t take Jake long to drive down to the General Store.

  “Any luck finding Kate?” Howard asked as Jake walked into the store.

  Jake shook his head and taking a packaged disposable phone off a hook, he laid it on the counter along with a bill.

  “Are you giving up on the pay phone?” Howard asked in a teasing voice.

  “For the time being,” Jake said.

  As soon as he walked out of the store, Jake put a call into Hank.

  “Jake,” Hank said, and Jake could tell he was excited. “Limousine driver wants you to call him as soon as possible. Thinks he may have seen Kate at the spa.”

  “The spa?” Jake exploded. “What would she be doing there?”

  “No clue, but ya had better call him right away.”

  “Did he give you his number?”

  “Got it right here.”

  Jake searched for a piece of paper and pen. When he couldn’t find a scrap of paper in his Jeep, he found the sales receipt for the cell phone he had purchased. “Go ahead.”

  The numbers he wrote were almost illegible, but he didn’t want to take the time to go back into The General store for paper and a better pencil. He jumped into the Jeep and started the engine.

  Thanking Hank, he broke the connection and quickly dialed the numbers he had been given. He recognized the driver’s voice immediately. He was the agent who had replaced the original driver of the limousine.

  “Jake, glad you called. Mike told me Kate had disappeared and I think I
might have caught a glimpse of her.”

  “Get on with it,” Jake said impatiently.

  “I went to the spa to tell Kuri I was bringing a group of men from Lava Cove up tonight. One of the Asian girls opened the door. I caught a glimpse of Kuri coming out of a door off the hallway by the kitchen with a big knife and some rope.”

  “I thought you said you saw Kate.”

  “Before Kuri shut the door, I caught just a hint of blond hair, down close to the floor.”

  “What do you mean, blond hair close to the floor?” he asked, his heart dropping.

  “I could see her feet, and her head was a few inches above them, as though she was sitting on the floor.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I’m headed down to the lodge to meet with Mike Barton and the other agents.”

  “I need the code for the gate.”

  “If you’re caught going in there alone, no telling what could happen to you.”

  “I have to get in there and get Kate.”

  “It would be safer if you waited until I came back with Mike and the other agents.”

  “I can’t wait that long.”

  “I think I’m speaking for Mike when I say you might blow this whole operation.”

  “Mike knows my top priority is Kate’s safety.”

  “I’m not giving you the code to the gate until I clear it with Mike. I’m almost at the lodge now.”

  Reluctantly, Jake agreed and cut the connection. He glanced anxiously toward the mountain where he knew the sun set. It had a distance to go before it dropped behind the hill, but he couldn’t wait for darkness or for Mike and the agents. He turned the corner and drove up the hill toward the spa. He had to get into the property before something happened to Kate. He was sure Kuri had been the one who had cut Kioko’s throat.