Right Out of Nowhere

by Laurie Salzler

  She opened the door and the sweet tantalizing smell of tomato sauce caressed her nose. Her stomach complained even more. She walked into the kitchen, and all thoughts of food vanished as she took in the sight before her. Her jaw dropped and she stood frozen to the spot. Jeff stood at the stove stirring the contents of a pot and whistling “Old Suzanna.” He’d wrapped a handkerchief around his head, and he had on one of their mom’s old polka-dotted aprons. Roni’s attention diverted from her brother to the individual sitting at the table with her back to her. Didn’t Mike tell her this new chick was arriving sometime next week? And rude! She hadn’t even turned around to acknowledge her.

  She shot a glance out the door to look for the visitor’s horse. Other than their own, none were in sight. “I didn’t know we had company.”

  Jeff acted as if he were unaware of her presence.

  Roni circled around the table to get a better look at their guest. “What the . . . ?”

  It wasn’t a her. It wasn’t even a live person. Pine boughs stuck out of one of Jeff’s flannel shirts and jeans. The ends of the jeans hung over a pair of Roni’s boots. A deep western hat covered a pillowcase stuffed with dried grass. From the back it sure looked like a person, and she’d believed it so.

  “Roni, meet Agatha,” Jeff said with an amused grin on his face.

  “Have you lost your mind?” Roni shook her head in disbelief.

  “Nope. I just figured you needed to get used to seeing somebody different around here.”

  “You’re an idiot.” Roni snorted and decided to play along. “Is she sleeping with you?”

  “She’s a little butch for me. I thought she could bunk with you.” Jeff’s shoulders shook from his silent laughter, apparently very pleased with himself.

  “I take that back. You’re not an idiot. You’re an ass.” Roni sat down at the opposite end of the table and cocked her head. “You know, I actually think she looks a little like your last girlfriend.”

  Jeff chuckled as he brought the pot over to the table. “You think so, huh?”

  “Naw, I changed my mind. Heather, her name was Heather, right? Yeah, Heather had more of a mustache.” Happy to be in a better mood and able to joke with her brother, Roni dug into her food.

  She wondered what Selena would look like.

  Chapter Five

  “RONI, WAKE UP.” Jeff’s voice reeled her in from a distant dream. He shook her shoulder.

  “Okay, okay, I’m awake. What’s the matter?” Roni yawned and stretched like a cat. Puller left his nest between her feet and bobbed forward from underneath the blankets. He crawled up onto her chest and looked at Jeff with sleepy eyes. “What the hell time is it anyway?”

  “It’s a little after four. We have work to do. Elk City radioed to report a missing woman.”

  Roni sat up on her elbows and flung the covers aside. “Give me a minute to get dressed, then give me details while I get my gear ready.”

  “I’ve got coffee ready and a meal packed for you. I’ll get Chenoa in the barn with one of the pack horses and be right back.” He turned and started out of her room.

  “Was she on foot or horseback?” Roni asked as she reached for her canvas cargo pants.

  “Horse.”

  “Just get Chenoa.”

  “Whatever you say.”

  Roni heard the door slam as she finished dressing. Her heart rate jumped in anticipation of the search. Training horses required a calmness that one used to convey to and relax the animal. In contrast, search and rescue provided an adrenaline rush, the challenge of the hunt. Since she’d gotten a taste of the action, she believed there was nothing else like it. Except sex, of course.

  Jeff had already returned to the cabin by the time she’d donned warm clothing over a moisture-wicking layer. Roni never knew how long she’d be out, so she dressed appropriately. First-aid supplies, freeze-dried foods, flint, emergency blankets, and other necessities filled her saddlebags. There wasn’t room for extra clothing, so she planned to tie her long coat onto the back of her saddle.

  “Okay, let me have it.” Roni stuffed a cold pancake into her mouth and swallowed it with a gulp of coffee. She reached for another as Jeff recited what he knew.

  “The missing woman left yesterday at dawn on horseback from the eastern-most point of the Selway River Rec sites. The destination she recorded at the trailhead was Goat Mountain,” Jeff read from the notes he’d most likely taken when the call came in.

  “Hell, that’s a good day’s ride just to Goat.” Roni pulled her Stetson off the elk antler and planted it on her head.

  “Right. According to her friend, she was supposed to ride out until noon and turn around and come back. Nobody’s seen or heard from her since she left. Her name is Kate Hutchins, she’s twenty-four, dark hair, hazel eyes. Nobody seems to remember what she was wearing other than jeans.”

  “Nice. What about her horse?”

  “Black.”

  “That’s it? Doesn’t anybody ever pay attention to details anymore?”

  “Sorry, that’s all they gave me.”

  Roni memorized the description and pulled a topographical map from the desk. After she checked to ensure she had the right one, she stuffed it into one of her vest pockets. She managed to down one more pancake and another gulp of coffee in her rush to get moving. She called Puller and hurried out the door.

  “I switched the radio in your saddlebags for a fully charged one and added another battery. You should be all set.” Jeff tightened the saddle girth and handed her Chenoa’s reins.

  Roni nodded once, already focused on the mission. She crouched down and slapped her leg. “Come on, Puller. We’ve got work to do.” The dog jumped onto her lap and wiggled into the vest pocket Roni held open for him.

  She stood up, and Jeff looked at her with serious eyes. “You should take the rifle with you. Especially with a cat out there.”

  “I really don’t want the extra weight, but you’re right.” Roni dashed into the cabin and grabbed the rifle. She ran back to the barn and shoved it into a scabbard. She hoisted herself onto Chenoa while Jeff tied it to the saddle.

  “Be careful.” Jeff looked up at her while patting the horse’s neck.

  “Give me a couple of hours until I radio in.” Roni gathered the reins. She turned her mount toward the meadow and looked back at her brother.

  “Roger that. I’ll radio Fenn and Elk City to let them know you’re rolling.” Jeff stepped back and saluted her.

  “You and Agatha keep the home fires burning.” Roni gave him a teasing smirk.

  “Don’t you worry about us, we’ll be fine.”

  “The fact that you’re using the word us worries me, brother.”

  It was nearly five a.m. before Roni tipped her hat to Jeff and urged Chenoa into a trot. She crossed the meadow and raised her hand over her shoulder just before she entered the woods. She knew Jeff would still be standing there watching her ride away.

  Under normal circumstances, Beth would have stayed at the cabin while she and Jeff went out. Now they had no choice but to split up because of the necessity of communication. They’d found it nearly impossible to remain in contact with the Fenn Ranger Station using a handheld radio. For some reason, they’d not found a black hole where contact was impossible between the cabin radio and the handheld. It was likely the elevation of the cabin gave them an advantage. For that reason, it was imperative for one of them to remain at home base for relay purposes. This time it was Jeff.

  Roni reached down and flicked on the flashlight mounted on Chenoa’s breast strap. Though she was surrounded by the blue predawn light in the frosty meadow, any luminosity disappeared as she entered the trees. The flashlight cast a strong beam on the forest floor as she followed the main trail that led to and from the cabin. The temperature gave a false illusion of rising as she rode into the natural wind block, but not enough for her to open her coat.

  Comfortable that Chenoa knew the trail well, Roni relaxed as he took them down the mounta
in without guidance or misstep. This gave her time to formulate the grid pattern she’d employ. In a few miles the trail would converge with a shortcut to the Selway River. This in turn would intersect with the route to Goat Mountain, which was, by her best guess, a few miles from where Kate Hutchins had begun her ride.

  A few hours later, Roni stopped at a stream to let Chenoa drink. She dismounted and released Puller from her vest. He wandered about until he found a tree to pee on. Roni drank from her canteen and, while refilling it, took care to add a purification tablet to the water. She pulled out and opened the topo map, draped it on a nearby log, and studied it as she drank. Chenoa moved into the grass to graze, and Puller took his turn at the stream.

  She planned to head in an easterly direction and, with any luck, locate the tracks of Kate’s horse. If not, she’d have to double back closer to the rec sites. She hoped that wouldn’t be the case. According to Jeff and his calculations, the woman had already been missing for close to thirty-six hours. Roni wanted to find her as soon as possible, especially since she had no idea if she’d had an accident and might be injured. The presence of the mountain lion only exacerbated her concerns. She knew the territory of the lion was apt to overlap the same area she and Kate were in. To top it off, where there was one lion there could very well be others.

  “Come on, Puller, we need to get a move on.” He trotted over happily and waited for her to pick him up. Once she tucked him in, Roni mounted and was on the move again.

  She glanced through the high birch canopy as she rode. The sky was clear and starlit as she’d left before dawn, but as was typical in these mountains, the weather was changing fast. The sky above was churning gray. The clouds tossed and turned over themselves in a northerly wind. She wondered how long it would be before the rain hit.

  She found the shortcut and because the ground was relatively flat, she urged Chenoa into an easy jog. If it started raining before she found Kate’s trail, locating her would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. In addition to the rain obliterating hoofprints, Puller might have a hard time picking up Kate’s scent.

  A red trail marker nailed onto a west-facing tree caught Roni’s attention. This was the trail she was looking for. She brought Chenoa to a halt and dismounted to look for tracks. A small hoof slide in the leaf pack told her a horse had been through here rather recently. Lifting her head, she gazed farther down the trail. She walked to a pile of horse manure and squatted down to examine it. While not fresh, it still maintained a faint smell and didn’t look at all weathered or hit on by the birds. She was reasonably certain it’d come from the missing woman’s horse. The tracks were also fairly clean with little debris or dried edges. Roni pulled out the radio and told Jeff she’d located a trail, and that she’d be back in touch when she found Kate. Or when it got dark, whichever came first.

  In the saddle again, she leaned over Chenoa’s shoulder and studied the ground as she rode. So far the trail was easy to follow. Another glance at the darkening sky told her she’d better hurry. She pressed her legs into the horse’s sides, and he responded with a slow canter. The deeper tracks and long strides of the other horse indicated it had run through that area. She hoped for Kate’s sake it was a controlled gallop and not a runaway.

  Suddenly Roni lost the trail. She pulled Chenoa to a halt and doubled back. She went about thirty feet and caught sight of an overgrown path heading north.

  “Uh oh, if Kate went this way, she really is lost,” she muttered. She slid the map out of her coat and opened it. Just as she suspected, the path was a route gold miners had traveled to access Three Links Creek back in the day. It was possible the population of elk and mule deer used it, keeping it open with hooves and heavy browsing. To the inexperienced, the false path could very well resemble a trail.

  A low rumble of thunder rolled across the sky. Gooseflesh peppered Roni’s arms, and she realized the temperature had fallen several degrees. She pushed her arms through her fleece-lined duster, adjusted her Stetson, and pushed onward. She looked ahead between Chenoa’s ears and saw the path rise up onto a ridge before breaking sharply down toward the creek. Under normal conditions she would’ve stopped to listen for cries of help or even a whistle. But common sense told her the wind from the encroaching storm would obliterate any such sound. Even a rifle shot would be hard to hear at this point.

  Roni was sure Kate had come this way, or at least her horse had. She spotted a broken leather rein lying in the middle of the trail and took advantage of her horse’s added height to use her binoculars. A flash of black hide moved through the brush ahead. It had to be Kate’s horse. A whinny sounded, and Chenoa answered. Roni loosened the reins on his neck and let him find his way down to the horse. A few minutes later a black thoroughbred trotted up the trail, nickering as he came. His saddle was empty, and his bridle was gone.

  Roni pulled the lariat from her saddle and formed a makeshift halter by letting out some rope through the small, reinforced loop at the end. She then formed an inverted coil. She made sure the first and larger one would fit over the horse’s neck and the other snugly over the nose. The horse was friendly enough and let her approach him to put it on.

  Roni glanced at the bloody scratches on his legs and chest. “You went through some nasty shit, didn’t you, buddy.” She used a low tone of voice to reassure him. She looked around but wasn’t surprised to not see any sign of the horse’s rider.

  “Okay, Puller, it’s your turn.” She let him sniff the broken rein and the coat tied onto the back of Kate’s saddle. She then put him on the ground to see if he could catch her scent. “Find her, Puller. Find her.”

  She wasn’t happy to see the coat. That meant Kate could be in any stage of hypothermia by now, and it could only get worse if she hadn’t found dry shelter overnight.

  Puller trotted around for several minutes, alternating nose to the ground and sniffing the air. Roni let him set his own pace and watched as he ran closer toward the creek. She put her foot in the stirrup and hoisted herself up. With Kate’s horse trailing calmly behind her, she followed the dog. As he increased his speed and wagged his tail faster, Roni knew Puller had found a scent trail. She could’ve followed the horse’s tracks, but she had no idea how far he’d meandered through the woods or how long he’d been grazing near the creek.

  Puller followed the course of the water for several hundred yards, stopped, and looked expectantly at Roni. She rode closer, able to see streaks in the algae from the horse’s hooves from where he had crossed. The water was too cold and deep for Puller to continue on his own four feet. It only took a minute for Roni to dismount, tuck him into her vest with his head sticking out an end, and hoist herself into the saddle again. If he was air scenting, she knew she’d make better time by reading him from horseback. Having crossed the water, she paused for a moment to let Puller get his bearings again. She felt his tail wiggle against her stomach and she pushed on. At one point the hoofprints went in a different direction and disappeared completely. She trusted Puller, so she wasn’t too concerned. After all, she was looking for Kate now, not her horse.

  They crossed a shallow tributary to Three Links Creek. Roni watched Puller more closely. He suddenly barked once and wiggled to be let down. Roni complied, and he raced into a thicket of alder. Kate had to be close by. Roni got off, tied the black horse to a nearby tree, and followed in the direction Puller had taken.

  Puller’s excited barking got Roni moving faster. “Kate? If you can hear me, answer me!” She shoved aside the branches and wormed her way through the impossibly thick brush. “Jesus, Puller, couldn’t you have taken an easier route? I’m not three inches tall, you know.”

  “I h-hope not. I’d h-hate to th-think I was being re-rescued by just a wiener d-dog,” a hesitant voice said.

  Roni barged through the last five feet and found a woman partially covered in pine boughs and huddling against a tree. Wearing nothing but a light flannel shirt, blue jeans, and riding boots, she sat with her arms wrapped tig
htly around legs drawn up to her chest. Her teeth were chattering, and she was noticeably shivering. What shocked Roni was how beautiful the woman was. Glazed hazel eyes stared into hers. Kate’s shoulder-length hair, although a bit mussed, accentuated her Native American ancestry.

  “Kate, my name is Roni. Are you hurt in any way?”

  Kate shook her head.

  “Can you walk a little?”

  “I th-th-think so. If you h-help m-me.”

  Roni crouched down and put an arm around Kate’s waist. She helped her up. “We’ve got to get you warm. Let’s move into the pines a little farther.”

  Fat drops of rain were beginning to fall as Roni left Kate next to a big spruce. The area beneath the tree was covered in dry needles and out of the wind.

  “I’m going to go get the horses,” Roni said. “I have blankets and food with me. Sit tight, I’ll be right back.” She picked up Puller and set him on Kate’s lap. “Hold him close. He’s puny, but he’s like a little furnace.”

  Kate nodded and Roni hurried back to where she had left the horses.

  It took her twenty minutes to find her way around with the horses to where she’d left Kate. After securing them in a temporary spot, she retrieved a foil blanket from her saddlebag and wrapped it around Kate and Puller. The rain was falling steadier now, and Roni thought she saw a flake or two of snow mixed in.

  She quickly ran a picket line between two large trees, secured the horses to one end of it, and draped a large tarp over the other. Using the pine boughs she’d found Kate covered with, she folded one end of the tarp together and draped the branches against it, careful to construct the shelter to have as much heat retention as possible. She spread another foil blanket on the ground under the tarp and put her bedroll on top of it. She removed Chenoa’s saddle with the saddlebags attached and brought it into the shelter.