by Forsaken
What little sky Jamison could see through the tops of the pines had turned a slate-gray. But the now-falling snow was getting caught in the branches, little of it making its way to the ground around him. What snow did make it through the pine needles floated in the air around him as he followed the tracks to the downed aircraft.
The two-seater plane had left a trail of broken limbs. Jamison found the plane’s left wing lying a few yards from the fuselage. While the trees had probably slowed the plane’s speed, the sheer rock cliff had stopped it dead.
He worked his way toward the granite cliff and found the nose of the fuselage half buried in the dirt and rocks. The wind rushed over it like a musical instrument with only one sour note. The sound would have driven anyone crazy and carried for miles. He could see how Dewey and Branch might have thought it crying by the time this loud whine reached the sheep camp.
The scent of death grew stronger as he approached the plane’s cockpit, confirming what he knew had to be the case. The pilot was still at the controls. It was hard to say how long the man had been dead. But one thing was clear—he’d been trapped in the wreckage. Someone had tried to bust him out. A long-handled ax leaned against the fuselage next to him.
Whoever had tried to rescue him had failed and given up, leaving the pilot to his own devices. At one point the man had apparently tried to chop off his legs to escape and either died of his injuries or blood loss.
Jamison assumed, given the tracks, it had been the passenger who’d tried to free the pilot. Leaning in, he saw blood on the passenger side of the plane. The passenger had escaped but had been injured, thus the blood and the limp, he figured.
Having gotten out and though hurt and limping, he’d made his way to the sheep camp where he’d taken food and the ax he’d used to try to get the pilot out. So why hadn’t he used the radio to call for help instead of taking the batteries?
The answer was just as obvious as how the man had known about the sheep camp. Branch.
Jamison turned, sensing Maddie behind him. She’d moved within a few yards of the plane and stood staring at it, in obvious shock. “Is the pilot—”
“Dead.” He figured she already knew that. Living on a ranch, she would be familiar with the smell of death. She would have learned about life and death early on. But it was one of those lessons that was difficult at any age.
“I was just getting ready to look inside. Please don’t touch anything and watch where you step.”
“I didn’t walk in the tracks.”
He smiled at her, more and more amazed by the woman. She wasn’t just strong and determined; she was also smart and more capable than any woman he’d ever known.
But what surprised him were those moments when he was acutely aware of her as a woman. She stood there in the too-large clothes, but he’d seen beyond them and her tough exterior. She was all female, and her attempts to hide it made him all the more aware of it the longer he was around her.
Turning from her and those distracting thoughts, he moved to a spot where he could peer into the back of the plane. He wasn’t all that surprised to see the duffel bags stacked behind the two seats. One had broken open during the crash, exposing the sealed plastic bags filled with a white powder inside.
He stuck his finger in a broken plastic bag and touched it to his tongue. Cocaine. Each duffel bag appeared to hold close to ten kilos. About two hundred pounds for all the duffel bags.
Jamison did some quick math. At two-point-two pounds a plastic bag...he estimated the street value at more than five million dollars.
“Are there more bodies?” Maddie asked, concerned.
He shook his head as he turned to look at her. “Just drugs. The plane is loaded with cocaine. More than five million dollars’ worth.”
She let out a surprised sound. “The dead man was a drug runner?”
“At least he was the pilot. The other one survived the crash, but he’s injured. Limping.”
Maddie hugged herself, her eyes wide. “He’s the one that was in the sheep camp?”
Jamison nodded, his stomach roiling. Where was the limping injured passenger now?
* * *
CLETE SENSED A CHANGE in the group as they neared the forest service cabin. He, too, was relieved that their day was about to end. Alex had tried to keep up morale during the ride, joking and teasing.
But Tony and Geoff had been sullen. The three were definitely at odds. At least now Clete knew why. If Alex was to be believed. But why would Alex lie about something like that?
He hated such suspicions. Maybe it wasn’t all their fault that he’d never been close to these three men even when he was on the team. Clete had to admit he had a chip on his shoulder when it came to their wealth. Maybe he was the one who kept them at a distance instead of the other way around, he thought. He felt bad about judging them the way he had.
Not that he wouldn’t be glad when he got them to Yellowstone and washed his hands of them. Depending on the weather, he might call a friend in Beartooth and get him to bring a horse trailer. He wasn’t sure he wanted to chance a ride back through the Beartooths alone with four horses.
He’d seen the dark clouds in the distance and could smell the cold in the air. Tomorrow they would be slogging through snow. He just hoped it didn’t dump too much, or they might be forced to turn back. Alex wouldn’t like that.
He still had time to make that decision about the horses before they reached the Yellowstone Park boundary. Another day with these three sounded like a life sentence given the tension between them. All he needed was a snowstorm to add to the problems.
The moment they reached the cabin, the three seemed to perk up, though. The cabin had been built for hikers to stay in along the trail. But it provided a dry place out of the weather.
“If you get a fire going in the fireplace,” Clete told Alex, “I’ll see to the horses.”
The truth was, he just wanted the time alone and was glad when they all took their own saddlebags and disappeared inside.
As he worked, Clete thought of Bethany, praying she was doing well and that the baby would wait until he got home. He thought about trying to call her but figured especially with the coming storm, he wouldn’t be able to reach her. Also, he didn’t want to worry her. He was afraid his call this morning had scared her. All the reassurance in the world wasn’t going to alleviate her concerns about this trip. He feared that she’d heard something in his voice this morning.
He and Bethany had been through so much over the past year. But things were better. He was better. He was learning how to be a decent husband. It shamed him to think how he had taken his wife for granted.
As he unsaddled the horses, he swore he was going to make it up to her—and his son. The money he made from this trip would help. It didn’t seem like enough, though—not with two days to go before he was home again.
He could feel the change in the weather. The air had cooled, and he swore he could see ice crystals dancing in the air. If they were lucky, the storm would go to the north of them. But he wasn’t going to worry about it since there was nothing he could do.
When he finished unsaddling the horses and carried his saddlebags into the cabin, he was hit by the strong smell of booze. The three men had their heads together but quickly stepped apart when they saw him.
Alex had gotten a fire going in the fireplace, and the men seemed to have settled in. Tony had a drink in his hand, and Geoff was making another that Clete suspected wasn’t his first.
“What are we celebrating?” Clete asked.
“We’re going to cook tonight,” Alex told him as he closed the door behind him. “Geoff, make our friend a drink so he can relax while we cook.”
“I don’t need—” He had started to tell them that he didn’t drink. He’d quit when he and Bethany had started marriage counseling. He’d drunk enough when he’d found out his wife was having an affair. A man who owned a bar had to be careful about booze, anyway.
But Alex hadn’t let
him finish. “No arguments. You’ve been great to bring us up here. We appreciate it. Isn’t that right, guys?”
Tony and Geoff muttered their agreement as Geoff made him a drink heavy on the booze and handed it to him.
He didn’t want to make a fuss. Nor did he want to sound superior for not having one since all three of them had a drink.
“Put your feet up,” Alex said as he took the saddlebags with the food from him and motioned for Tony to help him.
“Should be interesting to see what the two of them cook,” Geoff said as the two men disappeared into the kitchen area with Clete’s small propane stove.
“It is pretty easy to make freeze-dried meals,” Clete said, taking one of the chairs in front of the fire. He did as Alex said and put his feet up. It felt good. He could hear Alex joking around in the kitchen with Tony. Even Geoff seemed more cheerful as he made himself another drink and joined Clete.
Clete took a sip. It was strong and went down almost too easy. “How’s your leg?”
“Fine,” Geoff said as he pulled down his jean pant leg to hide the bandage, but not before Clete had seen that the bandage was soaked with blood.
He took another drink, biting his tongue to keep from saying anything. He just hoped the leg didn’t get infected. But Clete told himself he wasn’t going to worry about it.
He took another drink and felt the alcohol warm his blood. The fire crackled and popped, the room warming with him.
Just another day with these fools. He could do this.
The moment his drink glass was empty, Geoff refilled it. The smells from the kitchen assured him that Alex and Tony were doing all right, so he decided to go with the flow. They were in a great cabin in a beautiful place, they had food and a warm fire and the three weren’t fighting. He was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
* * *
JAMISON FELT HIS heart beat faster as the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. The crying Dewey said they’d heard on the wind. Branch would have gone to investigate.
“Branch made the cairns to lead us to the plane...” Maddie said.
Jamison nodded. “He must not have realized the passenger was still around when he was making the last rock marker.”
“The man from the plane, realizing Branch had found the plane and seen the drugs, killed him.” He heard the relief in her voice. “Dewey must have found Branch dead and panicked.”
“That would be my guess. I doubt Dewey knew anything about the plane or the drugs.”
She let out a heartbreaking sound. “If Dewey didn’t know about the plane...no wonder he was so terrified. He knew we’d think he killed Branch because as far as he knew, there was no one else up here.”
That definitely was the way it looked to him. “The passenger was injured. He was bleeding and limping badly. He probably wouldn’t have gotten out of here if he hadn’t had Branch’s horse.” He could feel Maddie’s intent gaze on him. “You were right about Branch.” He saw that gave her little comfort.
“The man left the horse near Gardiner,” Maddie said, hugging herself from the cold and the latest tragedy in her life. The wind had the plane wing singing. He could well imagine what it had done to Branch and Dewey when they’d first heard it. The eerie sound sent a shiver up his spine even though he knew what was causing the sound.
“Which means the man made it out,” Maddie said, putting it together. “He’s coming back, isn’t he? He can’t leave over five million dollars’ worth of drugs in these mountains. Only he won’t come back alone. He’ll need help getting the drugs out, and we already know what the man is capable of.”
She had assessed the situation quickly—just as he had. As he backed away from the plane, he saw his own tracks in the soft dirt. Several days had passed, so the passenger would probably be returning soon. There was too much money in the back of that plane, just as Maddie had surmised. The passenger would be armed when he came back with help. All Jamison could hope was that the storm would slow them down and that with any luck, the snow would cover his tracks and Maddie’s.
But the passenger already knew about the sheep camp. The man would have to know that someone would come up the mountain eventually to check on the sheepherder. Unless the passenger from the plane already knew that he and Maddie were up here.
Jamison swore under his breath. He had to try to reach the sheriff’s office as quickly as possible. For all he knew, the drug runners were on their way here right now.
“Come on,” he said as he moved away from the plane. The snow whirled around them in the wind the moment they stepped out of the trees. They reached their horses as more snow began to fall, turning the world around them into a blur of white.
He tried his cell phone. No service.
“You might have better luck on top the mountain,” she said, pointing to the next high ridge.
He’d never seen such huge snowflakes as they rode out of the ravine to the ridge. When he was a boy his family used to take winter vacations to Vermont where he learned to ski. But never had he witnessed this kind of snow.
On the high ridge, he tried the phone again, relaxing a little when it showed service. The line rang three times. He heard someone answer, but when he started to speak, he realized he’d lost service. He swore and tried again. This time nothing happened, and it was snowing almost too hard to see the screen.
“Jamison.” It was the first time she’d used his name. It felt strangely intimate on this high ridge, snow whirling around them in the wind. “I’m sorry. I don’t own a cell phone or you could try mine, but we have to get moving. We have to reach camp before the visibility gets any worse.”
He stuck the phone in his pocket and pulled on the leather gloves she’d given him to wear before they’d left her ranch. He’d read stories about ranchers getting lost in the distance between their barn and their houses in Montana snowstorms. Because of that, some ranchers tied a rope from the house to the barn and used it on days like this. He hadn’t been able to imagine anything like that. Until this moment.
The clouds and the falling snow seemed to obliterate everything. Suddenly they were surrounded by nothing but white. He had no depth perception and couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him.
“Give me your reins,” Maddie called through the wind. “We have to stay together.”
He could barely see Maddie and her horse in front of him, but he had faith that Maddie knew what she was doing.
* * *
NETTIE WAS SO GLAD to get back to the store after her wild ride to Big Timber with a hysterical Bethany Reynolds. She’d gotten Bethany to the hospital in plenty of time and was glad she hadn’t waited for an ambulance.
Nettie hung around until a nurse came out to tell her that Bethany had delivered a healthy ten-pound, four-ounce baby boy and was doing fine. The girl’s mother and a sister were on their way from Billings.
The nurse had asked Nettie if she wanted to see the baby, but Nettie declined.
Instead she returned to Beartooth, though she was too antsy to go home. She opened up the back door of the store and busied herself by doing paperwork in the office. She was there when she heard someone knocking.
Her heart did a little patter thinking it was probably J.D. She hadn’t seen him since lunch. Maybe he’d forgiven her for not trusting him.
That thought was interrupted as she came out of the office and saw Taylor West standing on the porch just outside the front door of the store. He was frowning but quickly removed his Stetson and the frown when he saw her.
“Hello, Nettie,” he said cordially as she opened the door. Taylor was always cordial. Everyone liked him and with good reason. He and J.D. shared the same good looks, but little else. Taylor was the more serious of the two and the more responsible. But J.D. had the better personality, she thought, and realized she could have been biased.
“Taylor.” She couldn’t have been more surprised to see him since she thought he was out at the ranch with his brother.
“
I hate to bother you. I hope I didn’t get you from anything important.”
“Just paperwork. I love anything that takes me away from that.”
He turned his hat nervously in his fingers. “I understand J.D. is staying in your apartment upstairs. I was hoping he might be around, but I don’t see a light on up there.”
She stared at him, dumbfounded for a full minute. “He isn’t out at the ranch?”
Taylor looked confused. “Why would you think he was at the ranch?”
Because that’s where he said he was going this morning in the note he left beside my bed.
“I haven’t seen him,” Taylor said. “I heard he was back and thought he might stop out...”
Now it was Nettie who was confused.
“He hasn’t been out to see you.” It was more of a statement than a question, but Taylor answered anyway.
“No. Do you have any idea where I could find him?”
“Not a clue.” She thought she’d known, but clearly she’d been wrong. “He...he’s just renting a room from me, so how could I know?” She hated the bitterness she heard in her voice. J.D. had lied to her. Frank had tried to warn her, but she hadn’t listened. She was so determined to believe that J.D. had changed.
“I’m sorry. Of course you wouldn’t know. I just thought...” He looked away, clearly embarrassed, and she knew then that he’d heard she’d been at the bar with J.D. last night. Everyone in the county would know by now.
“I thought he was back to patch things up with you,” she said. “That’s what he led me to believe.”
Taylor nodded, sympathy in his gaze. “Well, if you see him...”
“Oh, I’ll be sure to mention I saw you.”
After Taylor left, Nettie was too angry to go back to her paperwork.
There is no fool like an old fool.
She glanced at the clock as her stomach growled. She’d been waiting for J.D., thinking she might make them dinner, so she hadn’t even bothered to grab something while she was in Big Timber.