Deadly River Pursuit

by Heather Woodhaven

  “You were keeping Perry and Zach together because, even though you didn’t want to admit it, you thought it would be easiest to keep an eye on them that way, right?”

  He sighed. “Nothing gets past you, Radley.” The use of her last name was something they used to joke about when she’d first interned as river patrol. He’d said that’s how they would keep their work and personal lives separate. Last name at work, first name when off duty. “I wasn’t so much worried about Perry anymore as I was Zach. But neither one of them would risk getting in a raft they had sabotaged themselves, especially in The Killer.”

  “You’re forgetting that Bobby was a surprise addition. Maybe they thought they were riding with us instead and had no choice but to stick it out and hope for the best.”

  “By your way of thinking that makes Carl a suspect, as well.”

  “He has no motive, though,” she said. “And he didn’t seem to care where he was placed.” She pointed ahead. “Remember how we used to think the site where Tommy was killed had been closed off to us as a mercy?”

  “I never thought that.” There had been many times if he could’ve easily accessed the site, he would have.

  “Other guides did. We didn’t want the constant memory. But you said no one looked at Tommy’s case from a guide’s perspective. It wouldn’t be easy... I would need you to follow every single direction I call out and be ready for anything, but—”

  “You think you can get us to the site of Tommy’s murder?”

  She nodded. “I think Bobby has the skills to, as well. I don’t know about Carl, but he worked as a guide for years—for my uncle’s company—but still, he seems to have kept up basic skills from what I can tell.”

  Unlike him. She didn’t say it, but she didn’t need to.

  His chin jutted. “It’s all coming back to me. I maneuvered the high side. It just took me an extra moment to understand what was happening. Tell me and I’ll do it.”

  “Aye, aye, captain?” she asked with a laugh.

  “Aye, aye.” He gave a nod.

  “It’s not going to be easy, but if you do exactly as I say I think we can do it.” She scooted out of the middle and resumed her post, repeating her plan to Bobby. He enthusiastically shook his paddle in the air to indicate he understood.

  The rapids up ahead appeared extra foreboding compared to yesterday. Boulders seemed stacked up like blocks in front of the site Nora had referenced. Henry’s throat went dry despite the humidity.

  “We’re going to get as close to those boulders as we can and let the current whip us around. Then we paddle like our lives depend on it.”

  Her reassuring tone did nothing to calm his nerves. She began shouting out commands rapidly. The strain in her voice made the hairs on his neck stand straight. He kept his eyes on the front of the raft, not allowing his focus to veer to the water or to the rocks they were rushing toward. The scone he’d eaten at the bakery while he’d waited for the cashier to bag the to-go order for Nora threatened to make a reappearance. But he could trust Nora. She knew her stuff. He could let her take the lead.

  “I said left!”

  Henry slid across the seat and paddled intensely on the other side, determined. She’d asked for help and he was going to prove he still had what it took. That he’d conquered the fear. His arms began to burn after only a couple minutes.

  “Stop!” Nora cried out.

  He pulled up the oar and felt the current roar underneath his feet. The waters swirled and the raft spun and kicked them out toward the bank. Nora dove past him, her feet barely hitting the bow as she bent and snagged the rope on the D-line. She launched herself in the air like a soaring ballerina, except with water shoes and her favorite neon-pink life jacket and helmet. Her foot barely touched the sandy bank and she crumpled, rolling on the ground.

  “Nora!” He jumped to his feet, letting the paddle fall to the bottom of the raft.

  Suddenly, the raft tugged toward land and Henry almost fell backward. Nora struggled to her feet, tugging on the rope with fierce determination lining her forehead. “The undertow is strong and wants to pull it back into a hydraulic. We need to hurry. Then be ready to help Bobby.”

  Henry ignored the vibration in his chest that told him to hunker down and wait for land. He forced his heavy legs to move and launched himself into the air, as well. He landed a mere six inches beside Nora. He stood and grabbed the rope with her and felt the massive tug-of-war the river wanted to play.

  “Faster! Bobby will need the space to get in.”

  Except the kayak was already past the opening, fighting once again to return upstream.

  “They missed the current.” Nora’s voice warbled.

  “Meet up at the next site,” Henry hollered, pulling the rope closer.

  “Oh, no. Henry, look.”

  The D-ring on the bow of the boat seemed to have frayed the rope, and then the rope went slack. Nora fell back. Their raft, now free of the rope, began to slide out of the bay with the current. Henry kicked off his back foot. That raft was their only hope for getting out.

  His hands hit the bow of the boat, but the raft moved too quickly. His lower torso slammed against the water with enough force to shove most of the air from his lungs. The water grabbed his feet and tugged with the greatest force he’d ever felt, pulling him underneath the frigid waters. His fingers dug into the handles on the side of the raft, but the boat and life jacket were no match for the deadly undertow.

  He lifted his chin and pulled in the deepest breath he could muster before the waters swirled over his head, pulling him farther under. Is this it, Lord? He spun around in the water, blinking rapidly, trying to see past the bubbles. His heart squeezed with fear. He may not have remembered much from the summer before he’d shattered his leg, but he knew that aerated water wouldn’t allow him to float back to the surface.

  The river continued to draw him deeper under until a different current punched him in the chest and shot him forward, right toward two boulders. Instinct told him to put his feet out, but his legs refused, remembering the pain of impact at high speed all too well. There was a space between the boulders, maybe if he could—

  The bubbling water spun him again, so he couldn’t see, but something snagged him and his body stilled. Except the water continued to pound him right in the chest. Over and over. He glanced down at the rocks that had him pinned right around his waist.

  TEN

  Nora dropped the guide bag from her back. She pulled out the throw bag and pitched it as far as her arm allowed, hoping it would hit where she’d seen Henry go under. “Rope!” Except the bag filled with unraveling rope disappeared under the water. It was supposed to float, which meant only one thing. The undertow went deeper than she’d thought, right where he’d disappeared.

  She searched the waters, letting the rope pull her along the bank. Lord, help me understand the currents once again. There. The red bag popped back up. The end of the rope shook in her hand. If she was right, the current would eventually spit something heavier, like Henry, out, too, right into the boulders at the far edge of the bank.

  No, anything but the boulders.

  She pulled the rope, gathering it as best she could as she ran along the shore. The soles of her feet felt every bump of the rough pebbles through her water shoes as she hurdled tree logs blocking her path. She hesitated before she climbed the first steep boulder, violent splashes of water kicking up at her shins. One wrong move and she would slip under the water, as well.

  She grabbed her edge of the rope and tied it around her waist. If she was going down, so be it. She would be Henry’s only hope. She used both hands, clawing and sliding against the edges and moss on the boulders. Once at the top, she took off her helmet and grabbed a nearby hefty rock to place inside. Her fingers shook as she clicked the strap to hold it within. The helmet wouldn’t go very far under water, but it was possib
le, if Henry was stuck underneath...

  She leaned over as much as she could manage and let the weighted helmet hang, suspended in air. Using a swinging motion, she launched the helmet like a pendulum until it dropped right into the current she’d spotted. The rope slid through her fingers, pulling the helmet below the surface. Nora dropped down to a squat and pressed her feet against the second boulder to stay steady. If the rope started tugging her under the water, she’d need to act fast to untie it from her waist. If that were even possible.

  “If you’re down there, keep your eyes open!”

  The rope tugged with the weight of a sudden catch...or it was trapped in a current between the boulders and she was pulling against impossibilities. Nora leaned back, pressing her heels deeper into the second rock. Her legs shook from the effort. The rope slowly began to tighten around her waist. Should she give up? Should she untie the rope? She closed her eyes. Please don’t take him, too.

  A cry escaped her lips from the effort. She pulled on the rope between her legs and looked down at the churning water. Hot pink! She could see the hot pink helmet, struggling to come up, and fingers wrapped around the rope.

  “Henry!”

  A hand on the line just above the splashing water appeared. The rope dug into her waist. Henry’s face surfaced, pulling in a hungry breath of air. Coughs burst out of his mouth before he gasped, dragging in another breath.

  “Brace your feet between the rocks!” Her voice shook with fear. They weren’t out of danger yet. She still needed to get him out of the water, but he might not have much self-control if he’d inhaled water. The muscles flanked by her shoulder blades threatened to revolt, and her forearms burned like they might combust, but she forced her raw hands to keep pulling the rope upward.

  The moment Henry’s shoe braced against the boulder, the rope slackened ever so slightly. Nora finally lay back, her entire body shaking from the effort. The top of the boulder was rounded, having no sharp edge like the other side. She slid off the boulder to land so she could use the rock like a pulley system for the hardest portion of getting Henry fully out of danger.

  The minutes felt like hours, but the moment she spotted Henry on top of the boulder, she collapsed onto her knees on the bank. She raised her face to the sky, her eyes closed. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Coughs still racked Henry as he splayed prone on top of the boulder. She untied the rope from around her waist and gathered it up only to find her pink helmet bobbing on the water. The rock to weigh it down must have slipped sideways out of the harness.

  Henry propped himself up on one elbow. “I’ve never been so thankful your power color was neon pink.”

  She laughed. All rafting guides liked to wear their favorite color. “What happened?” She climbed the boulder nearest to him and sat, facing downstream. She didn’t want to stare at the churning waters that had almost taken his life.

  “The current dragged me under and then...” He bent over and fingered his waistband.

  “Your belt. Your holster is missing!”

  “The belt was caught, wedged between the boulders at the closest point.” Rivulets of water still streamed down his face from his helmet and drenched hair. “I finally managed to get the belt off, but I couldn’t wiggle myself free. The force of the current kept my chest pinned. I grabbed your helmet when it hit my elbow.” He turned to her. “I almost missed it, but I knew immediately what it was. My arms weren’t caught in the current, or I’d have been done for. I pulled for all I was worth until I got free.” He eyed the rope as she stuffed it back into the red throw bag. “How were you strong enough to pull me up?”

  She shook her head. “The better question is what were you thinking?” She blew out an exasperated breath. “If you weren’t still recovering, I’d be tempted to smack you. You could’ve been killed. I never would’ve even brought you here if I didn’t think you remembered—”

  “I knew we needed that raft. I didn’t have time to question my instinct. I felt I had to try.” He waved at the empty river ahead of them. “We’re surrounded by cliffs on either side. The only way someone is going to rescue us is if they have the same skills you do, which has become obvious is pretty rare. If Bobby couldn’t do it, then what chance is there?”

  “Don’t give me too much credit. I know these waters like the back of my hand. I keep my skills up, but since you’ve lost your phone...”

  Henry groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

  “And since we were obviously sabotaged—”

  “Wait. What?”

  She turned to face him. “Just like I’ve never seen a raft deflate like Perry’s did, I’ve also never seen a rope shred like that in the D-ring. If we ever get our hands on that boat again, I’m sure we’ll see someone tampered with it. Cut a slit or something in it. All the new equipment in the last decade is made with safety in mind. This wasn’t an accident.”

  “But they couldn’t have known it would happen here.”

  “No. But if we had capsized in the rapids—which you remember happens often—I wouldn’t have been able to flip the boat back up, either. If we’d gotten trapped underneath...” She shrugged, unwilling to list all the ways they could have been injured or killed if their safety equipment wasn’t up to par. “A lot can go wrong with one act of sabotage. Best-case scenario, we would’ve lost the boat at the next stop when I went to pull it in. We still would’ve been trapped.”

  Henry dropped his head into his hands. “Someone wants to make sure we can’t retrieve the drugs for evidence.”

  A new thought came to mind. “Henry, I don’t think we can afford to wait around for someone to retrieve us. If Perry’s boat and our boat were sabotaged...”

  His eyes widened. “Bobby and Carl might be in danger, too. And I can’t even send them a warning.” He frowned. “There doesn’t seem to be much of a choice other than to wait. Do you have an idea how to get out of here?”

  “There’s only one way to get out of here.” She grimaced. “How long do you need to recover? Because you’re not going to like it.”

  * * *

  Henry didn’t want to hear her solution quite yet. He didn’t want to so much as look at the water, and if he had noise-canceling headphones he would use them to block out the sound of the waves. Every muscle hurt and he couldn’t stop the low-grade shiver. His body felt like a vibrating engine trying to fully start again. Movement would help, even though he wanted the cloud above to move and bake him with sunshine. He groaned. “Let’s do what we came here to do so it’s not a total waste.”

  Nora swiveled her feet around to go down the set of boulders. “I’m not sure we should get our hopes up. Someone didn’t want us to retrieve the drugs, but if the two murders are connected, they didn’t seem to care about this stop.”

  “You don’t think there’s anything worth finding here since someone has been one step ahead of us this whole time.”

  “Basically.” She carefully descended, reached the ground and turned around to offer a hand to him.

  “Thank you for the thought, but if I slip, you’re not catching or helping me. I’d flatten you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know,” she teased and stepped back.

  “I think I really do.” He had at least fifty pounds on her. The laugh bubbled in his chest, irritating his lungs, and he had to balance precariously on the rock as he fought through a set of coughs. “Well,” he said at last, “I think that helped get the last of the water out of my system.”

  “Laughter is the best medicine?” She fished out her water bottle from the guide bag, took off the lid and offered it to him. “You might want a drink of some clean water.”

  He accepted but forced himself not to guzzle the entire thing down. His own water bottle was still stowed in the raft, probably almost to the Snake River by now. She tossed him a plastic-wrapped sandwich. “Sorry. I made them this time. Not
Bobby.”

  He didn’t care. Though the amount of mustard she’d used on the roast beef sandwich should be illegal. “How can you like both bland scones and hot and spicy mustard? My sinuses are clear now.”

  She barked a laugh as she finished her sandwich as if it were plain toast. “That’s why. Best springtime congestion cure there is, in my opinion. Let me know if you need any wasabi almonds.” She wandered into the trees. The thick layer of brown leaves and rotted wood seemed to indicate they’d been the only ones to visit the area since the mudslide had produced the extra rapids.

  He didn’t stop to look at the spot he knew Tommy had been shot. As soon as his active law contract with the sheriff had been in effect when he’d accepted the enforcement ranger position, he’d requested Tommy’s file. He’d poured over the photos so often, it felt surreal to be in the place they’d been taken.

  He glanced down at his indestructible watch, glad it seemed to have lived up to promises. While he had confidence that Carl would keep Bobby safe, Nora had a point. It did seem as if someone was picking them off one by one. Hopefully, Bobby was safe since Henry had unexpectedly invited him. “Who could have had access to both your boat and Perry’s ahead of time? Perry brought his own boat from his field office.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I had set up my boat before I went in the office to make our lunches and chat with Bobby. It probably sat out there for a good hour unattended, but I don’t know about Perry’s raft. It’d be pretty risky to sabotage his own boat, but if he was confident about his skills in the water...”

  “He’d still have someone with him.” Henry clicked the timer feature on his watch. “Let’s take ten minutes then try whatever your idea is to catch up with Carl and Bobby.” Even as he said it, he fought to ignore the sudden tightness in the back of his neck and shoulders. He really didn’t want to get back on the water. “It’s time to think like a guide. What places would a guide notice that an FBI agent wouldn’t?”