Harper

by Kathi Daley

  Chapter 9

  Harper screamed and jumped back.

  “What is it?” Michael shot up in bed, disturbing both the puppy and the baby. The puppy started to bark and the baby started to cry.

  “I’m sorry. It was just a raccoon. I heard a noise and peeked out the window and he was staring in at me. For a minute, I thought it was a person. I didn’t mean to scream, but it startled me.”

  Michael started to laugh. The puppy continued to bark and the baby continued to cry. She looked out the window again, but it was gone.

  Michael climbed out of the bed. “We should get back on the road.” He crossed the room and looked out the window. “The snow has slowed considerably. I’ll take the puppy out if you want to see to Princess’s needs.”

  She walked back to the bed and burrowed under the covers. “I guess I let the fire go out after all.”

  “It’s okay. We should put it out all the way before we go. Let’s do everything we need to get ready and then I’ll put some snow on it.”

  It was another hour before they managed to change and feed the baby, walk and feed the puppy, and find plastic bags to make makeshift shoe covers. Harper hated to head out into the snow, but they had a rendezvous to keep with Ben, and she was anxious to get on to the rest of their journey, wherever the notes on the thumb drive might lead them.

  The drive down from the summit went more smoothly than Harper had anticipated. The road was still bad, but the snow was no longer coming down at such a rate that it caused whiteout conditions. It took them the entire morning to get down low enough to find an open road, as well as functioning businesses.

  “We’re going to need gas,” Michael said. “Check my phone to see if we have service.”

  “We do,” she confirmed.

  “See if you can locate the closest casino.”

  She raised a brow. “Casino? Are you looking to gamble?”

  “No, but we need money and I have my checkbook with me. In my experience, casinos will cash a check if you have adequate ID. I figure that will get us by until we meet up with Ben, who can get us some cash for the rest of our journey, and the check I write today shouldn’t be deposited for a day or two, so it won’t give away our position until we are long gone.”

  “That’s smart. It looks like there is a casino about sixty miles from here.”

  “Okay. We should have enough gas to make it sixty miles. Where do I need to turn?”

  “There is a junction about fifteen miles north of here. We’ll head east. I guess if we can cash a check, we can get a meal at the casino as well. I am starving.”

  “Me too. We can call Ben when we get there. We aren’t going to make the rendezvous we set up. He may want to change the location. At the very least, we’ll need to change the time. For all we know, he was slowed down by the storm as well.”

  By the time they reached the casino, she was desperate to use the ladies’ room. The cabin hadn’t had running water and she hadn’t wanted to go outside in the cold, so she’d just held it in. She asked Michael to pull up near the front door and darted out, leaving him to see to the baby and the puppy. The casino was loud and bright despite the earliness of the day. She didn’t understand why anyone would want to spend much time in any casino, but at that moment, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  After she had taken care of nature’s call, she went back out to the parking lot. Michael had the baby in one arm and the puppy’s leash in the other hand.

  “I’m desperate to eat, but I hate to leave the puppy in the car,” she said.

  “There is a lounge over near the gas pumps. It looks like animals are allowed inside. We’ll make a bottle for Princess and then you can wait with her and the puppy while I go inside the casino to try to get some cash. I’ll grab some food on the way back and bring it to the lounge.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” She reached for the baby. “I’ll get the diaper bag.”

  Michael took the puppy to the forested area beyond the parking lot to do his thing while Harper took the baby into the ladies’ room to change her. Once Princess had on a fresh diaper and clean jammies, she headed back to the main lounge area, which featured several sofas, a grouping of tables and chairs, and a television that was tuned to the Weather Channel. There was a counter with a microwave on it, so she made Princess’s bottle, then settled on to one of the sofas with her. The lounge was deserted, although it had appeared as if the casino was busy when she’d rushed through. She was just as happy to relax well away from the lights and noise.

  “I was only able to cash a check for a hundred dollars, but that should be enough to fill up the tank and get us a bite to eat,” Michael said. “Ben is going to bring us enough cash for the remainder of our trip.”

  “At least you were able to get that. Do they have anywhere with takeout in the casino?”

  “There is a coffee shop that will box up our food. I brought a menu.”

  She looked at the options and settled on a club sandwich with fries, while he chose a hamburger. Michael hadn’t brought any dog food into the lounge with them, so he purchased a couple of extra meat patties for the puppy. When everyone had eaten their fill, they went back out to the parking lot and climbed into the SUV.

  “According to the IDT app, the road we traveled last night is still closed on the other side of the mountain. I don’t see any way the guy from DEA will be able to follow us as long as we avoid using credit cards. Still, the car could be an issue, so Ben is going to trade us when we meet.” Michael paused before he continued. “Going after the ledger will be risky. I want you to know I won’t think any less of you if you decide to go to Moosehead with Ben. I’m sure he can find a place for you to hide out.”

  She looked at him. “Do I look weak and frail to you?”

  “No,” he admitted.

  “Other than the fact that I screamed when I was startled by the raccoon staring in the window at me, do I seem timid or frightened?”

  “No. I guess not.”

  “I was in the Army for ten years. Quite a few of them were spent in active combat. I don’t mean to damage your manhood, but I would be willing to bet that I am better equipped to handle a mission to retrieve the ledger than you are.”

  Ouch. She could see him flinch. Maybe she had been too harsh, but she hated it when men assumed that because she was a woman, she was less competent than they were.

  “Look, I’m sorry,” she added. “I am very grateful for everything that you have done for Princess and me. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without you. And I’m sure when it comes to figuring out the code used to create the map, your computer skills are going to be invaluable. I just want to assure you that you don’t have to worry about me. I have been trained in counterintelligence and hand-to-hand combat and I can handle any type of gun there is. Well, I don’t have a gun with me right now, but if I did, I could handle it. I want you to know that I can take care of myself.”

  “You’re right. And I’m sorry if it sounded like I didn’t think you were capable of handling things. Let’s just blame my old-fashioned upbringing for my tendency to want to protect you. In truth, I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up protecting me.”

  She laughed. “Good to know. But the subject of guns reminds me, we should have at least one. Do you know how to use one?”

  “No. In fact, if I had one, I’d probably shoot us both. But we’ll talk to Ben about a gun for you. I’ll do the computer thing and you can provide the muscle.”

  She smiled. “Deal.” She turned around and looked at the sleeping baby. “It will be easier not having the baby to worry about.”

  “Ben and Holly will take good care of Princess and Bosley. I’m pretty sure the road we need to grab to head east is coming up. Pull a map up on my cell if there is service. I’d hate to miss it.”

  Harper picked up Michael’s cell. She looked at the home page. “You have a missed call from Megan.”

  “My sister. I told her I’d call her about my travel p
lans for my parents’ anniversary party. I suppose I should book my flight when we rendezvous with Ben.”

  “When is it?”

  “Not for more than a week, but Meg has been worried I am going to flake out. Frankly, flaking out is exactly what I’d like to do, but she is really adamant that I show, and I guess I owe it to her. She does seem to be the glue that holds the family together. Or at least she tries to.”

  “I get wanting to avoid family gatherings. I’ve avoided plenty myself.”

  Michael turned toward her. “Why? Don’t you get along with your mom and siblings?”

  “I get along with them fine. It’s just that it was hard to get home when I was in the Army. I was ambitious, so I spent a lot of time overseas. And then, when I decided that I’d had enough and hooked up with Eric, I was afraid that my family wouldn’t approve of the choice I had made. Traveling around the world diving was fun, but it wasn’t like I was making much of a contribution to humanity. I guess I figured my family would be disappointed in me.”

  “Did anyone ever say they were disappointed?”

  “No,” she admitted. “On some level, I suppose maybe I was the one who was disappointed in myself. I had a tough but meaningful life when I was in the military. After I got out and hooked up with Eric, I liked to tell myself that treasure hunting was important in its own way, but the reality was, I was really just messing around and wasting time while I tried to figure out what to do next. Four years of chasing windmills and I still don’t know what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

  “You seem to me to be well equipped for whatever you decide. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

  She certainly hoped so. “The turn is just up ahead. Less than half a mile.”

  After Michael made it, they settled into a conversation revolving around the pros and cons of classic rock and the country music that seemed to be so popular nowadays. Both agreed that given the choice, they’d take good, old-fashioned rock and roll any day of the week.

  “Chocolate or vanilla?” Harper asked.

  Michael raised a brow.

  “Ice cream,” she clarified.

  “Strawberry.”

  She made a face. “Really? I’ve never acquired a taste for the stuff. It’s just so fruity.”

  “Do you have something against fruit?” Michael asked.

  “Not in its natural state. I’m not sure I am willing to take such a dangerous trip with a man who likes strawberry ice cream,” she teased.

  “I actually prefer frozen yogurt.”

  Harper laughed. “That’s it. We are going to have to go our separate ways.”

  “Pizza or burgers?” Michael asked.

  “Pizza. Yankees or Red Sox?”

  “Yankees,” Michael answered.

  “Good choice. I guess you can continue to travel with me. At least for the time being. Although you do know that the best baseball team in either league is actually the Twins.”

  “Of course. Do you like baseball?”

  She shrugged. “I used to watch with my dad, although his favorite was football. He took me to a couple of Vikings games before he died. I was the only daughter who loved football as much as he did, although I haven’t had time to follow any sport much since I left home.”

  “Maybe if you are still in the area, we can catch a few Twins games this spring.”

  She smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “We should get to our rendezvous with Ben at around five. I figured we could wait to eat with him, but Princess will need to be fed and the puppy will need to stretch his legs before that. There is an app on my phone that lists rest stops. Check to see if there are any on this road.”

  Harper picked up the phone. She accessed the app and refreshed the phone’s GPS when prompted to do so. The service in the area was spotty, so she had to wait for it to load. Once she confirmed the road they were on and the direction in which they were traveling, a list of rest stops appeared. She selected the one closest to their location. “There’s one about thirty miles ahead on the right. It has bathrooms, a pet area, and vending machines. It looks like there is even an indoor lounge area, so I think it will meet our needs.”

  “Okay, we’ll stop there. We’ll call Ben and check in with him while we are stopped as well. I spoke to him while we were at the casino and he told me that the storm had slowed him down too, but he thought he’d be able to make up the time he lost today. Because we are going to get into town after dark, we discussed getting a motel for all of us and working together on the information on the disc drive. Ben is a smart guy and a good investigator. I’m sure his input will be invaluable.”

  “Yeah. Ben has good instincts. I’d welcome his input. Maybe once we get some cash and a different car, we will be able to lose our tail once and for all.”

  “We’ve probably already lost him, but I agree. I doubt anyone will be able to track us now that we know not to use my credit cards.”

  “Living off cash alone is going to require a lot of it. And if we are going to go after the ledger, I’m going to need some clothes,” Harper said.

  Michael shrugged. “I’m sure Ben can get us as much cash as we need. I guess you’ve heard that Holly came into quite a bit of money at around the time Ben met her. In addition to what she makes from her advice column, I think they’re pretty well off. Once this is all over, I can pay him back.”

  “No, I’ll pay him back,” Harper corrected him. “I am the reason we are in the middle of this in the first place.”

  Michael didn’t answer, but Harper suspected that the debate over who would foot the bill for this little adventure was not over by any means.

  Chapter 10

  Harper felt a sense of relief when Ben greeted her at the rendezvous point. She was going to miss Princess, but given the situation, she was happy not to have her health and welfare to worry about. Her instinct told her things were about to get hairy. Well, even hairier than they’d been up to now.

  “You’re looking good,” Ben said after hugging her. “Tanned. I was so sorry to hear about Eric.”

  “Thanks. It has been hard, but he died doing what he loved. I guess that is all any of us can ask for. How are Holly and the kids?”

  Ben caught her up while Michael unloaded the SUV they’d been traveling in. Ben had purchased a new vehicle in his assistant’s name so that it couldn’t be traced back to either Michael or Harper. They planned to drop off the vehicle Michael had been driving at a used car lot. Ben brought new burner phones for them to use, so they destroyed the old ones. He’d also brought a brand-new laptop that had never been connected to the internet, which they planned to use to read the disk. It seemed to Harper that Ben was taking unnecessary precautions, but given the fact that men working for government agencies were involved in whatever was going on, it was quite possible extra precautions were warranted.

  Once everything was unloaded from Michael’s old SUV, he went with Ben to drop it off with the man who had agreed to take it off their hands. While they were gone, Harper fed Princess and then clicked on the television. She needed to call her mother, but she didn’t want to involve her if there was the slightest suspicion in her mind that her family phone had been tampered with. There was no way to know yet how far up the ladder Garcia’s influence went. He was, after all, a rich and powerful man who seemed to have the ability to both make careers and end lives. She decided to wait to talk to Ben about how to handle things with her family when he got back. He knew her mother and sisters and would know how to deal with the situation.

  ******

  Michael paused after returning with Ben. “She’s fast asleep.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Ben answered. “I’m sure these past couple of days have been hard on her. She is used to the counterterrorism stuff, but not so much the baby stuff.”

  Michael watched her as she instinctively tightened her arms around the infant who was sleeping next to her. The puppy had gotten up when they’d come in, and Michael knew that he would n
eed to go out, but in the moment, he simply wanted to watch Harper sleep.

  “That baby was lucky that Harper was the one to find her,” Ben said after a few minutes.

  Michael smiled. “I agree. She is really amazing. I’m grateful I was in a position to help her, but I’m certain that she would have found a way to get herself and the baby out of immediate danger with or without me.”

  Ben nodded. “I’ve no doubt about that. She really is one of the most capable people I have ever met. When Holly suggested I look her up when we realized the teenager I was looking for was last seen in San Diego, near where Harper was living at the time, I wasn’t sure that bringing a woman into the investigation was a good idea. But boy, was I ever glad I decided to take the advice of my brilliant wife once I’d had a chance to meet the woman. I found Harper to be not only fearless but smart and intuitive as well. I honestly don’t know if I would have found the girl before the human trafficker shipped her out without Harper’s help. She seemed to know just what to do every step of the way, and she demonstrated a natural instinct that can’t be learned.”

  “I guess that was why she was so valuable to the Army.”

  Ben nodded. “She was indeed. After working with her for less than a week, I could tell that she must have been a damn good soldier.” He looked at Michael. “If the ledger really does exist, and the map and associated clues do lead to it, she’ll find it.”

  “She asked about a gun,” Michael informed his friend.

  “I have one I can give her. She can use it, so I am going to suggest that you let her take the lead if push comes to shove.”

  “Yeah, she already made that pretty clear to me.” Michael hooked the leash on Bosley’s collar. “Harper told me a bit about her time in the military. Not a lot, just a glimpse. She seemed to have enjoyed the life. I’m kind of surprised she left.”