Captured Lies

by Maggie Thom

The office was small, nondescript. Two walls of glass, a large counter and a woman who looked like she'd like to be anywhere else. As soon as her eyes met his, she pasted on that look of I-hate-my-job-and-don't-care-who-you-are-but-I'll-smile-to-get-you-to-buy.

  "Hi. What can I do for you today?"

  "I'm here to pick up a vehicle for Knight's Associates."

  She quickly punched information into the computer. "Yes here it is. Uh-it's been paid for but I need a password." She looked up. "Usually we ask for ID."

  Guy shrugged. "Butler." Graham loved the whole persona of an English butler - the accent, the formality. It was a long standing joke between them.

  He signed for the new vehicle and found out that when you drove west of Jasper you were either going to turn and head south through Valemount or head west through Prince George. The woman had told him how small Valemount was, yet Guy had a feeling that's where they were going.

  Flipping on the signal, he was about to pull into traffic when he saw the truck that had been at the motel earlier headed in the opposite direction. He wanted to get a good look at the man who was chasing them but he figured it was better that the man didn't happen to see him. He slouched down and averted his face. As soon as it was clear he headed to the caf?. He pulled up outside, keeping a close eye on everything around him. Nothing stood out. Walking into the dimly lit place he looked for Bailey. At first he didn't see her amongst the five of eight occupied tables, with two or three people sitting at each. He walked up to the counter to ask if they'd seen her, when he spotted her off to the left in a little alcove. The angle was such that he couldn't see exactly what she was doing. She was sitting at a computer, studying the screen intently. There was no way he could look at it without her being aware of him first.

  "Bailey. We have to go."

  At the sound of his voice, she jerked like she'd been horsewhipped. Then her fingers quickly hit the keyboard, so by the time he stood beside her whatever she'd been reading was gone.

  Not meeting his eyes, she said, "Oh yeah. I was just checking emails. I've been out of touch for a while. I didn't have a chance to get any food for the road, though."

  He got the hint but he was reluctant to leave. And he was reluctant to tell her about their tail. He needed to know what she was doing. The guilty look on her face didn't do anything to ease his suspicions. "I'll get something but we're leaving now." He walked away but kept an eye on her. She pulled something out of the computer and stuffed it in her jeans pocket.

  Five minutes later, they were headed west. "Want to tell me where we're going exactly?"

  "Uh, Valemount, B.C."

  "How do we get there." He handed her the map he'd gotten from the car rental agency only to realize she had one of her own. She was resourceful, he'd give her that. After she gave him the directions he needed, the trip was made in silence.

  She curled up against the passenger window. He tried to focus on the beauty of the mountains they were entering but his mind and eyes were constantly looking for a tail. A sign, indicating that they were entering the village of Valemount let him know they'd arrived. He pulled into the gas station, just off the highway. He muttered to himself, "now where to?"

  At the same time she jerked upright, her eyes opened wide and became very intense, as she focused on the view, outside the windshield. She stared for a long time before slowly turning and taking in a full 360 of where they were at. Guy followed her gaze, to see if he could get an idea of what she was so absorbed in. Granted the view was amazing, he recognized why it was a snowmobiler heaven. High mountains, surrounded the well treed area. Snow, still filled the ditches and much of the hidden terrain. Thankfully the roads were bare and dry. The area was beautiful, the sun dancing off the large majestic snow capped mountains was almost blinding, yet she was staring around as though it were hypnotic. Sighing, he leaned back against the door to wait her out.

  A few minutes later, she was still doing her slow spin thing but he'd had enough. He yanked open his door and climbed out. "I'm going to get something to drink, can I get you anything?"

  Absently she looked at him and then away. "A juice."

  The chilly spring air caused Goosebumps to pop out on his arms. He zipped up his jacket before entering the building. When he returned, he pulled open his door and slid in. Turning, he went to hand Bailey her drink but she wasn't sitting in the passenger seat. He looked in the back. She wasn't there either. He climbed out, tossing the two bottles on the seat. He did his own spin the top, to see if he could see where she had gone. Nothing. Running a short distance back, he came to the crossroads that led into the small town. He didn't see her wandering into the village so he looked the other way. A short, gravel road led out into the country. Just where the road curved, he caught sight of her green jacket. Swearing, he ran back to the SUV, jumped in and sped off after her.

  The road went straight for about a quarter of a mile and then made a sharp ninety degree right. As soon as he made the curve, there she was running down the middle of the road. Pulling up behind her, he waited for her to move to the side. Only she didn't. Lowering his window, he yelled, "Bailey." No response. "Bailey!"

  She flinched but kept on running. Really worried now, he pulled up to pass her. With the right side of the truck in the ditch he made it by her. He stopped the vehicle and climbed out. Panting and looking wild-eyed, her brown hair being tugged all different directions in the circling wind, she seemed oblivious to it all. It wasn't until she ran right past him that he really became concerned. Not sure what to do, he got back into the vehicle and followed her.

  About a quarter mile later she turned left. The area was so heavily treed it was like driving into an open topped tunnel, which stretched for a few miles. Ten minutes later she suddenly shot off the road to the left. He slammed on the brakes and jumped out.

  "Bailey. Stop!" She either wasn't listening or didn't hear him as she continued to run down a path that looked like it had been made by an ATV. Glancing over his shoulder at the brand new black SUV, he sighed. Not really a bill they could afford but something had spooked her and he needed to go where she went. He climbed back in and plunged down into the ditch. Thankfully the foot high snow was crunchy and not too eager to hang onto the tires. He drove along the path, ignoring the high pitched squealing sounds the Douglas Fir, White Spruce and Red Cedar branches were making, as they scraped along the sides of the Ford Escape.

  She never slowed down nor looked over her shoulder. She just kept going. Then she disappeared. His pulse jumped furiously in his neck. His hands gripped the steering wheel tight enough to snap it. He pushed on the gas. Branches slapped at the windshield, obscuring his vision. All of a sudden he burst into an opening. No Bailey but there was what he would have guessed was once a beautiful log cabin, now more of a weathered rustic building. Parking the SUV, he got out and looked around. The rutted, overgrown path that he'd just taken and the area around the cabin, gave the impression that at one time, someone had taken care of it and had kept it cleared. It had obviously been a long time since that had happened. Several animal tracks covered the area.

  Wading through the shrubs and tall grass, he moved through the foot deep snow towards the little house. Seeing it was padlocked he realized that Bailey hadn't been able to get inside. Moving more quickly he circled the building. Nothing. He stopped. A rushing, gurgling sound could be heard. Looking down he was able to distinguish Bailey's foot prints from those of the animals. He followed those toward the sound. Even though the sun was high in the sky it only penetrated enough to leave a gloomy, rainy-day kind of light. He stepped gingerly in the white stuff that quickly soaked his feet and ankles.

  A few minutes later he stepped out of the trees into a clearing. A creek, with just the hint of winter still clinging in the form of ice to its banks, rippled by. And there was Bailey perched on a large rock, hugging her legs to her chest. Tears streamed down her face. She looked stunned and spooked at the same time. Not wanting to add to her distress he sat down on a sma
ller stone a little ways away.

  "I don't know how I found this place."

  Guy consciously stared at the river, making sure he didn't look at her. She was scared.

  "But you know it."

  "Yeah. I came here as a kid. I think. I remember running and playing and some man chasing me. I was laughing. I sat here a lot and tossed pebbles into the stream."

  He gave her the time she needed to gather herself. They sat in silence for a long time. His mind wandered to all that he hadn't had as a child. There hadn't been much joy in his life. At least not until Dorothea and Joseph had taken him in. They'd really tried to make his life good. He'd worked awfully hard to be a good boy, to follow all the rules, to never be in their way. They had soon tuned him in to the fact that they wanted to hear him, they wanted him running. Laughing. Having fun. He'd been fifteen or so before he'd really felt comfortable living with them. It had taken six years for him to accept that their mansion of a house, was his to call home. They'd made his life good but he'd still never quite trusted that it wouldn't disappear one day. Comparing his life to Bailey's he realized how good he'd had it. He'd been saved but she hadn't been. It dawned on him that he'd been running for a very long time. Running away. Scared of losing what little he felt he had.

  The never ending musical, hypnotic sound of the creek, not to mention the stress of the last few days had Guy widening his eyes and then blinking them several times to get rid of the gritty feeling. Surely no one could have followed us here. The peaceful sounds, the warmth of the sun and exhaustion, all pulled at his eyelids. Giving in, he closed them for just a second.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR