by Lee Gregg
But if Animal Control was intent on killing him, Sam would be guaranteeing his death by keeping him in Glacier Village. Except, they wouldn’t kill Trax after Penelope showed them the new evidence she had discovered. Penelope was certain of it. One hundred percent confident, she had said.
Sam sighed as she hung up the phone. It wasn’t an easy decision, but she knew it was the right one.
* * *
A constant stream of beeps from his phone had kept Drew up all night. He could have turned his notifications off, but he didn’t want to. His website was getting noticed and along with it, his YouTube videos and social media pages. He finally knew what it really meant to go viral. Every beep was like a zap to his heart, making it jump and beat just a tiny bit faster. He enjoyed watching the subscriber count, the pageviews, the referrals and the share numbers grow. This was proof that people wanted to know the truth, just like he did.
When he wasn’t reviewing the statistics of his website, Drew searched through online classified ads for Ben’s special collection of mountaineering equipment and clothing. He quickly discovered that it was no small task. Many ads didn’t have photos of the sale items and if they did, the quality of the photos varied greatly. For some, no amount of enlarging, sharpening or brightening would make the pictures better. In addition, Drew had no idea what other items had been stolen or whether they had already been listed and sold. And Ben was still not taking any calls. Finding the person who had stolen the gloves was not going to be easy, but Drew had never backed down from a challenge before. Undaunted, he carried on.
By noon, Drew had visited Second Chances, gathered a list of thirty-seven ads to follow up on and called or emailed fifteen sellers on the list. He collapsed into a chair at a window table in Glacier Surge and pulled out his notes.
“Coffee?” Cara asked as she stood over Drew.
Drew was sure he saw a halo over Cara’s head. “You’re an angel, Cara. That would be amazing.”
She beamed and tilted her head, trying to read the notes on the table. “Did you find a lot of Ben’s stuff online?”
“Not sure yet. I’ve got a huge list of ads to investigate.”
“Me too. Here’s mine.”
“Alright, alright! Today’s the day we catch ’em,” Drew said, watching Cara smile and retreat to the counter. He turned on his phone and as he read through his notifications, his eyes grew bigger and bigger until he gasped. “Whoa,” he said under his breath. “Sam needs to see this.”
* * *
“Just listen to what he says when he gets to the spot,” Penelope explained to Dennis at the Glacier Village Animal Control office. She had cued Drew’s video of Wesley, Ben and himself hiking up Black Mountain with the rifle. “Here it is! Listen!”
“That’s it?” Dennis asked after watching the clip.
Sam studied Dennis’ facial expressions. His initial reaction told her everything she needed to know. Any attempt to save Trax was futile. She had initially thought that her only enemy in this fight was Wesley. That maybe she was just being paranoid to think there might be some kind of conspiracy. But now she thought that maybe she wasn’t being paranoid at all. Wesley did have people on his side and Drew was only the first to show his true stripes. Now she suspected that Dennis from Animal Control was on “Team Wesley” too.
“What do you mean, ‘That’s it’? He said it himself! The dog was barely alive! He said, and I quote, ‘it could hardly move.’ Is that not enough to show that the dog isn’t aggressive?” Penelope asked.
Dennis sucked on his lower lip and replayed the video. “I mean, it seems to imply…But, I don’t know. I don’t make the decisions around here, you know.”
“So you’ll check?” Penelope smiled at him.
Dennis flashed a bashful grin in return and nodded.
“Thank you, Dennis!” Penelope looped her arm in Sam’s as they walked out the door. “See? I told you,” she whispered to Sam.
Sam smiled, but there were no crinkles in the corners of her eyes.
* * *
Dan saw the box of Timbits at the front desk as he walked into the station. Had the Chief brought it out of his office to share with everyone? That had never happened before. He examined one side of the box and didn’t see the microphone. It had to be on the other side.
“Dan!” Maureen giggled as she popped up from behind the desk.
“Oh hey, Maureen.”
“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?” she asked. “You’ve been drooling over those donuts since you walked in the door. Cheers!” Maureen picked up a honey glazed Timbit and held it out, waiting for Dan.
Dan reached into the box and noticed it was full of donut holes of all types. Flavors that he hadn’t bought yesterday. This was a different box. He picked up a chocolate glazed and bumped it against Maureen’s donut. “Cheers, Maureen. Did you get a haircut yesterday? Looks great!”
“You’re the first to notice, Dan. As always. Thank you so much.”
Dan winked and smiled. “Have a great day, Maureen,” he said as he walked to his desk. He had let himself slip up and was lucky that Maureen had thought he was hungry. He knew that with his luck, he could not make another mistake. Stay calm and act normal, he reminded himself, you’re a professional.
The Chief’s office door opened and Carl exited, but before he closed the door behind him, Dan spotted it. The old box of donuts was still on the Chief’s desk.
Dan rubbed his wedding ring, spinning it around and around, his hand growing clammier with every rotation. He thought about the box and the bug, about how they were within arm’s reach of the Chief and about how easy it would be for the Chief’s eyes to linger on the box for just one extra second and notice the device. Unless…unless he had already found it. The perspiration under Dan’s armpits betrayed his cool exterior as he worried about what he was going to be forced to do next.
* * *
Drew and Cara were on their phones when Sam and Penelope arrived at the cafe. Drew hung up and rolled his eyes. “Why are people so flakey?” He crossed off a number on his list.
“No luck?” Penelope asked.
“Well, I’ve gone through thirty-four ads,” said Cara. “Still waiting for three to get back to me, but I don’t have high hopes. Drew has gone through his list too.”
“I’m waiting for two people for more details,” he said.
“Did you guys try a reverse image search?” Sam asked.
“With what? That guy’s gloves? Wouldn’t that just pull up the gloves?” Cara asked.
“With Ben’s logo,” Sam said, tapping on her phone. After a few minutes, she felt a tiny rush of adrenaline flow through her. Her idea had worked. “Look. An old listing that was cached.”
“Ben’s fleece jacket!” said Drew. “That’s definitely his design!”
“The number matches this one on Cara’s list,” Sam said, pointing to one of the three numbers not yet crossed off.
“That ad is for gaiters, but the photo was too dark to see if the logo matched,” Cara said.
“That’s the one we want. Now we just need to set up a time to meet.” Sam circled the ad.
“Oh my gosh! Guess who’s calling me back? Shh.” Cara spoke into her phone, “Yes, I called about the gaiters you have listed for sale. Do they have—”
“Don’t ask about the logo,” Sam typed on her phone and showed the note to Cara, who nodded.
“—holes at both ends?” Cara shrugged her shoulders and made a face at the group after she asked the question. “Oh, duh, of course they do. Like waterproof leg warmers. Of course. No I really want them. No, no negotiating, no problem, I’ll pay full price. When can we meet? Can we meet sooner than that? No? Okay. Tomorrow at one sounds great. In Dogwood Park is good. By the gazebo? Okay. Oh, I’m Cara. Okay and what’s your—Oh, sure, I’ll bring cash. And, um…hello? Hello?”
“Did you get a name?” Sam asked.
“No, he seemed like he was in a rush. Sorry.” Cara stared down at her phon
e as her cheeks turned pink.
“Well, let’s see what this guy has to say about selling stolen goods,” Sam said.
“Doesn’t matter what the guy’s name is. He would’ve probably given you a fake name anyway. Awesome work, Cara! This guy’s the one. I can feel it. Guess we can relax a bit until we nab him after the funeral tomorrow. Are you guys going?” Drew leaned back and took a sip of coffee.
“Ryder’s Celebration of Life ceremony? Everyone I know is going,” Penelope said. The others nodded.
“We can meet the seller afterwards. Funeral starts at 10am and should only last a few hours, tops,” Drew said. “Oh, hey, I almost forgot. Sam, you’ve got to watch this. I cleaned up the audio from the video that was posted of you, Steve and Aiden outside DressU and you can totally hear what they’re saying. I posted it under their section on my site and it went crazy viral. So, in addition to the tip yesterday saying that these two are brothers, someone else posted that they see them outside of the BEE sometimes and that they’re regulars at Thank You Thursdays, which we already know. But look here — a bunch of comments puts them on the trails around our first checkpoint. These guys could have totally been the Creeper who followed us and took Ben!”
“Wow. Look at all these comments and posts!” Penelope was browsing the social media pages. “Someone here says that they hang out in the alley behind Baker’s Doutzen just before closing to get anything that’s thrown out.”
“Okay, but why would they still hang out there if they just got a million dollars from the Blacks?” Cara asked.
“They showed up for Thank You Thursday. I’ll bet they’re pretty used to getting free food,” Penelope said.
“Yeah, maybe they’re saving all the ransom money for drugs, or booze, or cigarettes, or whatever. Why waste cash on food if you can get it for free?” Drew added.
“I think we all need to be together if we confront Steve and Aiden. After Aiden pulled that knife on Sam, we shouldn’t take any chances. Okay people. Whose phone is ringing?" Penelope paused. “Oh wait, that’s me. I forgot that I changed my ringtone.” She took her phone out of her bag and answered it.
Drew continued, “I knew those guys were sketchy from the moment I saw them. They totally could have kidnapped Ben, stole his stuff and are now selling it all. They’re asking top dollar too. Probably because they know everything’s brand new.”
What was Drew on about, Sam thought to herself. Was he actually saying that he thought she wasn’t Ben’s kidnapper? Was he not working with Wesley after all?
“What?” Drew asked Sam, catching her staring at him.
“Nothing,” Sam said, feeling blood rush to her cheeks and averting her eyes. “With your website going viral, we need to find Steve and Aiden fast. Before they go underground. If they did it, we need to get them to confess. And we need that confession on video. If they catch on to us before the meeting tomorrow, they’ll probably ghost and we’ll never be able to find them.”
“How do we do that without getting stabbed?” Cara asked.
“Oh my goodness!” Penelope said in a panic after ending her call. “They’re at my house!”
31
“Why are they so fanatical about killing my dog? They’ve never even met him,” Sam asked. Conversation had shifted to Trax after Penelope had run out of the cafe with the news that Animal Control had shown up at her home.
“The dog bit Wesley. Wes wants that dog dead. It’s going to die. Simple as that,” Drew said.
“It’s not simple, though. Wesley admitted that Trax was barely alive and immobile. You were there, Drew.”
He arched one eyebrow and looked at Sam in a way that made her feel like she was an idiot. “How long have you lived in Glacier Village?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Alright, you grew up here, right? You should know how things work around here.”
“What are you talking about?”
Drew’s eyebrow popped up again. “Seriously, Sam? Did you really think you could win a fight against a Black? You’ve got no chance. You basically called Wes a liar. You gotta expect that he’s gonna defend his rep. You should be glad that the only thing that’s really gonna lose is a stray dog you just met. Just the way it is. A dog, or any animal, will never win against a human. That’s just nature. No point to fight it. It doesn’t matter anyway, it sounds like the dog won’t last much longer.”
“Isn’t Wesley, like, thirteen?” Cara asked.
“See? This is understandable. Cara only moved here last year, so she gets a pass,” Drew said. His face softened as he paused to give Cara a crooked smile. Even his voice was sweeter when he spoke again. “Wes is a Black. As in, Black Mountain. One of the two main reasons Glacier Village exists. The Blacks practically own this town so whatever they say, goes.”
“The Blacks don’t own Glacier Village,” Sam said.
Drew gave Sam a sidelong glance and shook his head. “Forget it,” he said, picking up his phone. “Let’s get a selfie for the website. A shot of the team in action before we break everything wide open and bust Ben’s kidnappers.”
“I told you, Drew, I don’t want to be a part of your site,” Sam said.
“Alright, fine. Just you and me then, Cara. Come close,” Drew said, putting his arm around her.
“WHAT THE HELL?” Wade boomed as he burst into the cafe. “What are you doing?” With one hand, he grabbed a handful of Cara’s hair and yanked so violently that she was pulled from her chair, which crashed onto the floor.
Cara shrieked and reached above her head for Wade’s wrist.
“Hey, man!” Drew grabbed Wade’s free arm.
Wade let go of Cara and lunged for Drew’s neck. “I should kill you.”
“Take it easy, man. We were just taking a photo.” Drew tried to pry Wade’s hands from his neck, but Wade pushed him backwards into a table, toppling both onto the floor.
Wade’s face had turned deep crimson, making the whites of his eyes seem to glow. He spun around to face Cara. “Every time I turn my back,” he growled, stomping towards her with one hand balled into a fist at his side and the other pointing angrily at her face.
From behind him, Sam grabbed Wade’s left wrist with her left hand, elbowing his head with her right arm. She kicked his left leg and it buckled at the knee. Wade landed face down on the floor with Sam kneeling on his back. Twisting his left arm at the elbow, she pinned his hand to his back using her left knee to apply pressure and pain alike. It was one of the self-defense moves her dad had taught her years ago.
“Don’t you ever put your hands on Cara again.” Sam pushed her knee down onto his hand to emphasize her point.
Wade groaned in pain. “Agh! Get off. Who the hell do you think you are?”
Sam applied more pressure. “Wrong answer.”
“Aaagh! Stop! You’re breaking my arm!”
“Sam, please. He didn’t mean to,” Cara cried.
Sam looked up at Cara, feeling a sting of betrayal and confusion. “Cara, why are you defending him? He can’t treat you like that.”
Tears streamed down Cara’s face. “He just made a mistake, Sam. He doesn’t mean it.”
“That was not a mistake, Cara. That was assault.”
“She told you it was a mistake. Now get off,” Wade mumbled.
“Wrong again,” Sam said, reapplying pressure to his arm.
Wade winced. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, Sam.”
“I don’t need an apology, Wade. Cara deserves one, though. What I need is for you to never touch Cara that way again. For you to never speak to her disrespectfully again. For you to never even think about doing anything to hurt her again.”
Wade was silent.
“Break his arm, Sam,” Drew said.
“You’d better run now, ’cuz I am going to kill you,” Wade snapped at Drew.
Sam pushed her knee down further. “Now you owe Drew an apology too.”
“Aaaaagh! Okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Sam looked at Drew and Cara. He nodded while she wiped tears from her cheeks. “Cara?” she asked.
“It’s okay, Sam. I’m okay,” she said.
Sam let Wade up. His face was still red, but the rage in his eyes had faded.
“Yo, I already called the cops, man,” Drew said, holding up his phone. “You’d better run now, ’cuz Sam is going to kick your ass again,” he added, throwing Wade’s words back at him.
Wade looked at Cara and opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but he hesitated as he watched fresh tears stream down her cheeks. “I’ll see you later, Cara,” he said after a beat. His voice was tender and almost apologetic.
“Yo, get out!” Drew repeated, his voice deeper and louder now. He waited until Wade left Glacier Surge before gingerly rubbing his neck. “You should’ve broken his arm, Sam. He’s crazy.”
“Cara, you don’t deserve to be treated like that,” Sam said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
“I should get back to work.” Cara shrugged Sam’s arm off before scurrying behind the counter.
“I don’t get what she sees in him. Dude has serious issues,” Drew whispered to Sam. He checked over his shoulder to peek out the window. “You think he’ll come back? I lied about calling the cops.”
“Yeah, I know you did. That was smart of you. I don’t think he’ll be back, at least not tonight.”