Cook,Robin - Mortal Fear.txt
Page 24
and bumped across a crushed stone driveway, coming to a halt in front of
a picturesque mountain lodge constructed like an enormous five-story log
cabin. Smoke curled up lazily from a huge field stone chimney. A sign
over the steps leading to the porch said SALMON INN.
"Is this where you and Alvin stayed?" Jason asked, peering through the
windshield. There was a huge porch with raw pine furniture.
"This is it." Carol reached around to get her bag from the back seat.
They got out of the car. There was a chill to the air and the pungent
smell of woodsmoke. Jason heard a distant sound of rushing water.
"The river's on the other side of the lodge," Carol said, mounting the
steps. "Just a little way up there's a cute waterfall. You'll see it
tomorrow."
Jason followed her, suddenly wondering what the hell he was doing. The
trip had been a mistake; he belonged back in Boston with his critically
ill patients. Yet here he was in the Cascade Mountains with a girl he
had no business admirifig.
The interior of the inn was every bit as charming as the exterior. The
central room was a large, two story affair dominated by a gargantuan
fireplace. It was furnished with chintz, animal heads, and scattered
bearskin rugs. There were several people reading in front of the fire
and a family playing Scrabble.
A few heads turned as Jason and Carol approached the registration desk.
"Do you people have a reservation?" asked the man behind the desk.
Jason w6ndered if the man was joking. The place was immense, it was in
the middle of nowhere, it was early November, and it wasn't a weekend.
He couldn't imagine the demand would be very high.
"No reservations , Carol said. "Is that a problem?"
"Let me see," said the man, bending over his book.
"How many rooms are there in the hotel?" Jason asked, still bemused.
"Forty-two and six suites," the receptionist said without looking up.
"Is there a shoe convention in town?"
The man laughed. "It's always full this time of year. The salmon are
running."
Jason had heard of the Pacific salmon and how they'd mysteriously return
to the particular freshwater breeding grounds that had spawned them. But
he'd thought the phenomenon occurred in the spring.
"You're in luck," the receptionist said. "We have a room, but you might
have to move tomorrow night. How many nights are you planning to stay?"
Carol looked at Jason. Jason felt a rush of anxiety-only one room! He
didn't know what to say. He started to slammer.
"Three nights," Carol said.
"Fine. And how will you settle your bill?"
There was a pause.
"Credit card," Jason said, fumbling for his wallet. He couldn't believe
what was happening.
As they followed the bellboy down the second floor hallway, Jason
wondered how he'd 'gotten himself into this. He hoped there would at
least be twin beds. Much as he admired Carol's looks, he wasn't prepared
for an affair with an exotic dancer who did God knows what else on the
side.
"You people have a wonderful view," the bellboy said.
Jason went in, but his eyes shifted immediately to the sleeping
arrangements, not the windows. He was relieved to see separate beds.
When the boy left, Jason finally went over to admire the dramatic vista.
The Cedar River, which at that point widened to what appeared to be a
small lake, was bordered by tall evergreens that glowed a dark purple in
the fading light. Immediately below was a lawn that sloped down to the
water's edge. Extending out into the river was a maze of docks used to
moor twenty to thirty rowboats. On racks, out of the water, were canoes.
Four large rubber boats with outboard motors were tied to the end of a
dock. Jason could tell there was a significant current in the river
despite its placid appearance, since all four of the rubber boats had
their stems pointed down river, their bowlines taut.
"Well, what do you think?" Carol said, clapping her hands. "Isn't it
cozy?"
The room was papered with a flower print. The floor was broad-planked
pine with scattered rag rugs. The beds were covered with comforters
printed to appear like quilts.
"It's wonderful," Jason said. He glanced into the bathroom, hoping for
robes. "You seem to be the tour director. What now?"
"I vote for dinner immediately. I'm starved. And I think the dining room
only serves until seven. People turn in early here."
The restaurant had a curved, windowed wall facing the river. In the
center of the wall were double doors leading to a wide porch. Jason
guessed that in the summer the porch was used for dining. There were
steps from the porch down to the lawn, and at the docks the lights had
come on, illuminating the water.
About half of the two dozen tables in the room were filled. Most of the
people were already on their coffee. It seemed to Jason that everyone
stopped talking the moment he and Carol appeared.
"Why do I feel we're on display?" Jason whispered.
"Because you're anxious about sleeping in the same room with a young
woman whom you barely know," Carol whispered. "I think you feel
defensive and a.
little guilty and unsure of what's expected of YOU.
Jason's lower jaw slowly sank. He tried to look into Carol's warmly
liquid eyes to comprehend what was in there. He knew he was blushing.
How on earth could a girl who danced half nude be so perceptive? Jason
had always prided himself on his ability to evaluate people: after all,
it was his job.
As a physician, he had to have a sense of his patients' inner dynamics.
Yet why did he feel there was something about Carol that didn't fit?
Glancing at Jason's red face, Carol laughed. "Why don't you just relax
and enjoy yourself. Let down your hair, doctor-I'm certainly not going
to bite."
"Okay," Jason said. "I'll do just that."
They dined on salmon, which was offered in bewilderingly tempting
varieties. After great deliberation, they both had it baked in a pastry
shell. For authenticity, they sampled a Washington State chardormay
which Jason found surprisingly good. At one point he heard himself
laughing aloud. It had been a long time since he'd felt so free. It was
at that point they both realized they were alone in the dining room.
Later that night when Jason was in bed, looking up at the dark ceiling,
he again felt confuged. It had been a comedy of sorts getting to bed,
juggling towels as coverups, flipping a coin to see who used the
bathroom first, and having to get out of bed to turn out the light.
Jason had never remembered feeling quite so body conscious. Jason rolled
over. In the darkness, he could just make out the outline of Carol's
form. She was on her side. He could hear the faint sound of her
rhythmical breathing against the background sound of the distant
waterfall. She was obviously asleep. Jason envied her honest acceptance
of herself and her untroubled slumber. But what confused Jason was not
the inconsistencies of Carol's personality, but rather the fact
that he
was enjoying himself. And it was Carol who was making it happen.
Weatherwise, their luck held. When they opened the drapes in the
morning, the river sparkled with the brilliance of a million gemstones.
The minute they finished breakfast, Carol announced they were going on a
hike.
With box lunches from the hotel, they walked up the Cedar River on a
well-marked trail alive with birds and small animals. About a quarter of
a mile from the lodge they came upon the waterfall Carol had mentioned.
It was a series of rocky ledges, each about five feet high. They joined
several other tourists on a wooden viewing platform and watched in awed
silence as the wild water cascaded downward. Just below them, a
magnificent rainbow-colored fish, three to four feet long, broke the
turbulent surface of the water, and in defiance of gravity leaped up the
face of the first ledge. Within seconds it had leaped again, clearing
the second ledge by a wide margin.
"My God," Jason exclaimed. He'd remembered reading that salmon were
capable of running through rapids against the current, but he had no
idea that they could navigate such high falls. Jason and Carol stayed
mesmerized as several other salmon leaped. He could only marvel at the
physical stamina the fish were displaying. The genetically determined
urge to procreate was a powerful force.
"It's unbelievable," he said as a particularly large fish began to swim
the watery gauntlet.
"Alvin was fascinated too," Carol said.
Jason could well imagine, especially with Hayes's interest in
developmental and growth hormones.
"Come on," Carol said, taking Jason's hand. "There's more."
They continued up the trail, which left the river's edge for a quarter
of a mile, taking them deep into a forest. When the trail returned to
the river, the Cedar had widened into another small lake like the one in
front of the Salmon Inn. It was about a quarter of a mile across and a
mile long, and its surface was dotted with fishermen.
A cabin much like a miniature Salmon Inn lay nestled in a stand of large
pines. in front of it at the water's edge was a short dock with half a
dozen rowboats. Carol took Jason up the flagstone walk and through the
front door.
The cabin was a fishing concession run by the Salmon Inn. There was a
long, glass-fronted counter to the right, presided over by a bearded man
in a red-checkered wool shirt, red suspenders, faded trousers, and
caulked boots. Jason guessed he was in his late sixties, and that he
would have made a perfect department store Santa Claus. Arranged along
the wall behind him was an enormous selection of fishing poles. Carol
introduced Jason to the older man, whose name was Stooky Griffiths,
saying that Alvin had enjoyed visiting with Stooky while she fished,
"Hey," Carol said suddenly. "How about trying your hand at some salmon
fishing?"
"Not for me," Jason said. Hunting and fishing had never interested him.
"I think I'll try. Come on-be a sport."
"You go ahead," Jason urged. "I can entertain myself."
"Okay." She turned to Stooky and made arrangements for a pole and some
bait, then tried once more to talk Jason into joining her, but he shook
his head.
"Is this where you and Alvin fished?" he asked, looking out the window
at the river.
"Nope," Carol said, collecting her gear. "Alvin was like you. He
wouldn't join me. But I caught a big one. Right off the dock."
"Alvin didn't fish at all?" Jason asked, surprised.
"No," said Carol. "He just watched the fish."
"I thought Alvin told Sebastion Frahn he wanted to go fishing."
"What can I say? Once we got here, Alvin was content to wander around
and observe. You know, the scientist."
Jason shook his head in confusion.
"I'll be on the dock," Carol said brightly. "If you change your mind,
come on down. It's fun!"
Jason watched her run down the flagstone walk, wondering why Alvin would
have made such elaborate inquiries about fishing and then never cast a
line. It was weird.
Two men came into the cabin and made arrangements with Stooky for gear,
bait, and a boat. Jason stepped outside onto the porch. There were
several rocking chairs. Stooky had hung a bird feeder from the eaves and
dozens of birds circled it. Jason watched for a, while, then wandered
down to join Carol. The water was crystal clear and he could see rocks
and leaves on the bottom. Suddenly, a huge salmon flashed out of the
dark emer-ald green of the deeper water and shot under the dock, heading
for a shallow, shady area fifty feet away.
- Looking after it, Jason noticed a disturbance on the surface of the
water.
Curious, he walked over along the shore. When he got close, he saw
another large salmon lying on its side in a few feet of water, its tail
flapping weakly. Jason tried pushing it with a stick into deeper water,
but it didn't help. The fish was obviously ill. A few feet away he
spotted another salmon lying immobile in just a few inches of water,
and, still closer to shore, a dead fish being eaten by a large bird.
Jason walked back up the flagstone path. Stooky had come out of the
cabin and was sitting in one of the rockers with a pipe stuck between
his teeth.
Leaning on the rail, Jason asked him about the sick fish, wondering if
there was some problem with pollution upriver.
"Nope,',' Stooky said. He took several puffs on his well-chewed pipe.
"No pollution here. Them fish just spawned and now it's time for 'em to
die."
"Oh, yeah," Jason said, suddenly remembering what he'd read about the
salmon's life cycle. The fish pushed themselves to their limits to
return to their spawning grounds, but once they laid their eggs and
fertilized them, they died. No one knew exactly why. There had been
theories about the physiologicaiproblems of going fi-om saltwater to
freshwater, but no one knew for certain. It was one of nature's
mysteries.
Jason looked down at Carol. She was busy trying to cast her line out
from the dock. Turning back to Stooky, he asked, "Do you by any chance
remember talking with a doctor by the name of Alvin Hayes?"
"Nop, e."
"He was about my height," Jason continued. "Had long hair. Pale skin."
"I see a lot of people."
"I bet you do," Jason said. "But the man I'm talking about was with that
girl." He pointed toward Carol. Jason guessed Stooky didn't see too many
girls who looked like Carol Donner.
"The one on the dock?"
"That's right. She's a looker."
Smoke came out of Stooky's mouth in short puffs.
His eyes narrowed. "Could the fella you're talking about come from
Boston?"
Jason nodded.
"I remember him," Stooky said. "But he didn't look like no doctor."
"He did research."
"Maybe that explains it. He was real strange. Paid me a hundred bucks to
get him twenty-five salmon heads."
"Just the heads?"
"Yup. Gave me his telephone number back in
Boston. Told me to call
collect when I had 'em."
"Then he came back here to get them?" Jason asked, remembering Hayes and
Carol had made two trips.
"Yup. Told me to clean 'em good and pack 'em in ice."
"Why did it take so long?" Jason asked. With all the fish available, it
seemed twenty-five heads could have been collected in a single
afternoon.
"He only wanted certain salmon," Stooky said. "They had to have just
spawned-and spawning salmon don't take bait. You have to net 'em. Them
people fishing out there are catching trout."
"A particular species of salmon?"
"Nope. They'd just had to have spawned."
"Did. he say why he wanted those heads?"
"He didn't and I didn't ask," Stooky said. "He was payin' and I figured
it was his business."
"And just fishheads-nothing else."
"Just fishheads."
Jason left the porch frustrated and mystified. The idea that Hayes had
come three thousand miles for fishheads and marijuana seemed
preposterous.
Carol spotted him at the edge of the dock and waved at him to join her.