Footprints

by Alex Archer

"Enjoy."

  Annja walked up the stairs, marveling at the craftsmanship in the banisters and spindles of the railing. Clearly, whoever had designed this building had put a lot of time and skill into its construction. She frowned. From the outside, the place didn't look like much, but inside the rich dark mahogany was polished to a brilliant gleam.

  Photographs of the surrounding forest decorated the walls as she took the stairs to the third floor. Either Sheila or Tom must have taken them. From what she could see, they had a good eye for detail. And even Annja, with her limited knowledge of the area, could pick out a few places that looked familiar from her roaming the previous day and night.

  Annja crested the third floor and turned to her right. Around the corner, she found the heavy wooden door with the old-style lock on it. She slid the key in and opened the door. It opened soundlessly, again reflecting the care that Sheila and Tom must have put into the place.

  In front of her, a double bed piled high with blankets and pillows looked like the most luxurious pile of comfort she'd ever seen. On the edge of the bed, she spotted the thick white terry-cloth robe emblazoned with the initials MH for Milton's Hotel.

  Annja heard the water rushing into the tub and turned the spigot off. Thick clouds of steam billowed out of the bathroom as she began to undress. Bits of leaves, wet twigs and dirt sprinkled the floor as she removed her clothes.

  "Gross," she said. "I must reek."

  Sheila had taken the liberty of adding some type of bubble bath to the tub. Mountains of bubbles boiled over the edge and the scent of lavender hung in the air.

  Annja dipped a foot into the steaming water and instantly felt herself starting to relax. She eased into the tub and slid down until the water came up to her neck.

  "Thank God for the small comforts," she said.

  She closed her eyes and drifted. Thoughts ran together in a melted swirl of images and words. Simpson was trouble. And Annja would have to deal with him before too long.

  What's really going on here?

  Chapter 20

  By the time Annja emerged from the bathtub, she felt like several layers of gunk had melted off her body. The terry-cloth robe felt like a thick blanket wrapped around her body, and Sheila had even included a pair of slippers Annja hadn't seen until she lifted the robe.

  Downstairs, Sheila got her squared away at a corner booth. She smiled as she handed Annja a simple menu. "Feeling better?"

  "Almost human, actually. And thanks for the slippers."

  Sheila nodded. "Well, your hiking boots don't really go with the robe, and I couldn't have you wandering around here without anything on your feet."

  "They feel as nice as the robe."

  Sheila winked at her. "I stole them from some big ritzy hotel in Vegas when Tom and I were there a few years back."

  "You mean I'm staying with criminals? I'm horrified."

  Sheila laughed and pointed at the menu. "See anything you like?"

  "One of everything, please. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I got out of the bath. It's as if I haven't eaten in a week."

  "The combination of fresh air and the water in the bath will do that to you. Anyway, I'll tell Tom to make you up something great. Any allergies I should know about?"

  "Uh…no."

  "Good. You wouldn't believe the tourists who stop here from time to time with a whole laundry list of things we can't put in their food. The times certainly have changed from when I grew up."

  Annja smiled. "I guess they have."

  "I mean, what's wrong with an egg yolk every once in a while? Or a few slices of bacon? It's not going to kill you, is it?"

  Annja licked her lips. "You're making my mouth water with all this talk of eggs and bacon."

  Sheila nodded. "Okay, okay, I'm off. By the way, your friend is upstairs, too. I set her up across the hall from your room. She should be down soon, although she didn't look as if she was in a very good mood."

  "She didn't?"

  Sheila shook her head. "She came in looking all glum. I tried to get her to smile but she wasn't having any of it. No idea what's got her so upset."

  "An affair of the heart, I'd expect," Annja said. "She came to town looking for one thing and found out that she was here for something else. I think that's got her a little bit down."

  "She gets any lower and she can be an anchor." Sheila headed back toward the kitchen and left Annja alone in the dining room. Ten tables sat around the room, scattered in a fashion that wouldn't have anyone sitting right on top of their neighbors. Annja appreciated the fact that Sheila had obviously set up the place for private conversations, if need be. In most of the restaurants Annja had been to lately, the tables were so close together that confidential talk was impossible.

  Sheila came back out wielding a coffee pot and a mug. She set the mug down in front of Annja. "This should help wake you up. You look as if you could use about a year of sleep, though."

  "I could." Annja sniffed the wafting steam and sighed. "Nice."

  Sheila nodded. "Nothing like a stiff cup of java. I wonder if I should call up to your friend and see what's keeping her?"

  Annja shook her head. "I wouldn't bother. The only thing that took Jenny longer than getting ready for anything back in college was trying to get her to stop talking about her latest crush."

  "One of them, huh?"

  Annja smiled. "She's good people, Sheila. Just a little lovelorn and lonely."

  "Aren't we all," Sheila muttered as she walked away again.

  Jenny managed to make her way down faster than Annja expected. She wore a similar terry-cloth robe and slippers. Annja wondered which Vegas hotel Sheila and Tom had knocked off to get that set.

  Jenny sat down. "Hi."

  "Feeling any better after the bath?"

  Jenny glanced around. "Yeah, I guess so. It's nice not to be so dirty anymore. My water was pretty filthy."

  "Mine, too." Annja looked at her. "You okay?"

  "No."

  "David?"

  "Yeah."

  Annja sighed. "Jenny, you've got to look at it from his perspective. He needed your help. Maybe he thought you wouldn't come out unless he offered you something enticing, like some type of supposed evidence."

  Jenny looked up. "I would have come out for just the evidence. He didn't need to lead me on like he did."

  "Well, you know guys. They don't always think things through so well. Maybe that was just his twisted logic."

  Jenny frowned. "I don't think he even likes me."

  Annja sipped her coffee. "What's not to like? You're gorgeous."

  "I'm old."

  Annja stopped drinking. "Hold on a second. If you're old, then that makes me old, as well. And I don't feel old, so I would like to ask you to please stop saying that you're old, okay?"

  "I'm almost thirty, Annja. Do you know what the odds are for a single woman in her thirties to find true love and marriage? Very slim."

  "You're really a bundle of joy today, aren't you?"

  "Sorry."

  Annja leaned forward. "Look, so what if things didn't work out with David? There are tons of other guys around. You know that. You'll find someone, I know you will. And when you do, that guy will be the luckiest dude around. You're too good not to have someone recognize that."

  "You think so?"

  "Know so."

  Jenny managed a smile. "Thanks for the pep talk. I appreciate it even if you don't necessarily mean it."

  "Huh?"

  "Well, just look at you. You're my age and no prospects in sight for you, either. I know you're just as depressed as I am but you're keeping up a strong front for me. I appreciate that."

  Annja leaned back. "Jenny, I am not depressed. Nor am I putting up some sort of front for you. I'm trying to help you as my friend."

  "You're not lonely?"

  Annja snorted. "I'm too busy running around the world to be lonely."

  Jenny eyed her. "That's a convenient excuse. Are you sure you're not just using that to avo
id the issue?"

  Annja sighed. "There's no issue. I've had plenty of guys in my life but nothing really has a chance to develop. It's the price I pay for doing what I do. I've made my peace with it. Anytime I think my heart's needs outweigh my professional aspirations, I'll simply stop."

  "You think it will be that easy? To stop, I mean."

  "I don't know. I've never really tried." And with the sword, there's no telling if I'd even be able to, Annja thought.

  "And what about the whole love thing? You think that will just happen easily, too?"

  "What I think," Annja said, "is that if we put our minds to it, there's nothing we can't do."

  Jenny smiled. "I guess. It's just hard. I mean, I'm a college professor. I see truckloads of good-looking young boys all day long. And all I want is a man to call my own."

  Annja leveled a finger at her. "You'd better keep your hands off those college boys. You wouldn't want to add unemployment to your list of woes."

  "I know it. But we all want someone at the end of the day. That's what I'm saying."

  "So let's see if we can find someone for you."

  "Huh?"

  Annja grinned. "I'll bet that guy Simpson is available."

  "Please."

  "What about Baker? Did you see that receding hairline? Hot."

  Jenny shook her head. "What the hell, I'll just invite them both back at the same time."

  "There you go. Give 'em the thrill of a lifetime."

  Jenny giggled. "Probably be over in thirty seconds and then I'd be no better off than I was at the start."

  "Probably."

  Sheila came over to the table with two plates piled high with food. "Did I just hear laughter?"

  Annja nodded. "I think she'll be okay."

  Sheila smiled. "Well, maybe, but I'd be willing to bet a plate of Tom's breakfast would help the cause even more." She glanced at Jenny. "I didn't get you a menu, dear, but I thought I'd just have Tom double it all up and you could pick and choose what you like."

  "Are those hash browns?" Jenny said happily.

  Sheila nodded. "Of course."

  Jenny tore into her plate. Annja looked at Sheila. "Looks like you made a good decision."

  "Refills on the coffee?"

  "I could use one," Annja said. "And if you've got some fruit juice?"

  "Two glasses coming up," Sheila said. She turned and rushed back into the kitchen.

  "She seems nice," Jenny said around a mouthful of food.

  "Very," Annja agreed. "Now what are we going to do about our situation?"

  "What situation is that?"

  Annja took a forkful of eggs and chewed. "The way I see it, we've got a few things to tackle here."

  "Such as?"

  "Well, first and foremost, you brought me out here to help you find the Sasquatch."

  "Or evidence of its existence."

  "Okay. Next, we've got to deal with a couple of idiots from Washington who think they're going to kidnap the creature without getting themselves killed in the process."

  "I don't see that venture being very successful."

  "Neither do I," Annja said. She swallowed some of the hash browns. "God, these are good."

  "I know."

  "And then there's the last thing."

  Jenny looked up. "What's the last thing?"

  "Your relationship with super sheriff David."

  Jenny shook her head. "That's a lost cause. We can forget about that right here and now."

  "Why should we do that?"

  "He's not interested in me. He said so."

  Annja frowned. "Maybe he just said that to keep you from getting distracted. You know how you get when there's a cute guy around."

  "How do I get?"

  "Loopy."

  Jenny frowned. "Yeah, I guess."

  "David could have seen that and simply decided he wanted you focused on the evidence he was going to show you and not on him. I guess that means he might be really driven to prove this thing exists."

  "Is that a good thing?"

  "Well, not exactly for you right now, but overall? Maybe."

  Sheila came back with two glasses of orange juice. "Fresh squeezed, girls. But there's not a lot of pulp. We got a lot of complaints about that before so we strain it more now."

  Annja took a sip. "It's delicious."

  Sheila hauled a chair over and plopped herself down. "So Ellen didn't say anything, but I thought I'd just go ahead and ask."

  "Ask what?"

  "What brings a pair of you out this way?"

  Annja nodded at Jenny. "She dragged me here."

  "Oh? And for what?"

  Jenny smiled. "You'll laugh."

  Sheila leaned back. "What? No, I won't."

  "I want to prove that big foot exists."

  Sheila's eyebrows jumped. "Big foot, you say. Sasquatch? Why on earth would you want to find that thing?"

  "I don't want to find it, per se, just prove it's out here."

  Sheila frowned. "Oh, it's out here all right."

  Annja looked at her. "You know this for a fact?"

  Sheila nodded. "Of course I do. I've seen it with my own eyes."

  Chapter 21

  Jenny stopped chewing. "Are you serious?"

  Sheila shrugged. "Sure. But what's the big deal?"

  Annja took a sip of coffee. "You don't think it's unusual for some giant apelike creature to be roaming around the forest?"

  Sheila smiled. "We just accept it, I guess. One of those things. You know, like maybe how your neighbor likes to play loud music or something. We happen to live in a town near big foot."

  "That's awfully nonchalant of you," Jenny said. "Would you mind telling me about your experience?"

  Sheila shrugged. "Not much to tell. Tom and me were hiking one day and I got sidetracked by some blueberry bushes—they grow thick in parts of the woods out there—and I squatted down to pick them, thinking about how they'd make for some good pancakes. I popped a few in my mouth and happened to look up. That's when I saw it."

  "Where? Was it far away from you?"

  Sheila laughed. "Oh, my Lord, no. It was about as close as we are right now. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who liked blueberries. It had a mouthful of them with little bits all around its hairy chin. It looked as surprised as I was. Neither of us did anything, but then it sort of just walked off."

  "You didn't scream?"

  Sheila shook her head. "You know, I think I was just more shocked than anything else. We'd heard about the sightings, of course. Everyone around here does. Just part of life. Anyway, it didn't give me any cause to be afraid. Aside from the fact that it must have been more than seven feet tall."

  "You're sure about that?" Jenny asked.

  Sheila nodded. "It was huge. Anyway, I found my way back to Tom and told him what happened. And Tom, being Tom, well, he just nodded and we continued our hike. It really wasn't a big deal. Most folks around this area just consider it part of the landscape. It's obviously got a life to lead just like we do. No sense upsetting the balance, if you will."

  "Have you seen it at any other times?"

  Sheila shook her head. "Nope. Once was all I needed to convince me it was real enough."

  "What about Tom?"

  "Nope. But he believes me so I know he thinks it's real."

  Jenny sighed. "Incredible. I'm jealous."

  Sheila smiled. "Now, honey, there's no sense being jealous. If you're out there enough, chances are you'll run into it, as well."

  Jenny slapped her hand down onto the table. "Well, that settles it. I'm leaving right away."

  Annja smirked. "Not without a change of clothes, you're not."

  Sheila stood. "I'll check on them and see if they're ready for the dryer yet."

  Annja watched her go and then leaned closer to Jenny. "You don't buy that story, do you?"

  "Why wouldn't I?"

  Annja shrugged. "Isn't it possible that she might have had a few fermented berries and they went to her head? She co
uld have seen anything out there and thought it was big foot."

  Jenny frowned. "I see we haven't lost Miss Skeptical yet."