by Cliff Black
“I sure hope so.”
“I don’t know, Dad. I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this. This place is a maze and there’s no one to ask.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
We dropped down into a gully as we were arguing. A pair of headlights came over the ridge ahead and down toward us. As the other vehicle passed us, Nat yelled, “That’s him, but there’s no one with him. He’s left her somewhere.”
I wished I had pulled into the path of the Jeep and stopped him, but it was too late. Our first priority had to be Melanie, anyway. “I think Philo Carter was driving,” I said. “That makes no sense at all.”
When we got to the top of the next ridge, the helicopter was ahead, hanging five hundred feet in the air and pointed to our left. I figured it was a signal for us. We dropped into another shallow canyon with a few cottonwood trees in the bottom. When I got right under the chopper I could see fresh tracks coming out of a shallow side gully. The sky still showed a little light, but on the ground it was dark. I wondered how long the chopper could stick around.
I came to a stop, shifted into four-wheel drive, and turned to follow the wheel tracks . This had never been a road. I might have been able to drive a little faster, but I couldn’t help being conscious of what was happening to my brand new pickup.
We clawed our way over rocks and brush, then wallowed in sand as we followed a shallow wash. We had gone almost a mile when we saw a four-wheeled ATV parked against the front of a beat-up camp trailer where another shallow wash joined the one we were in. The trailer was backed into a narrow slot between two big juniper trees. I wondered how the trailer got here. I killed my headlights before they hit the four wheeler or the trailer.
“Uh oh,” I said. “I hope it wasn’t these guys’ tracks we’ve been following. Can you see the helicopter? We didn’t miss a fork, did we?”
“I didn’t see one,” Nat said. She stuck her head out the window and scanned the sky. “I can’t see the helicopter either.” She paused and then said, “There’s a light on in the trailer. Maybe that’s where they took Melanie.”
“You stay here with the doors locked. If you hear or see anything you don’t like, hightail it out of here.”
“Wait, Dad.” Nat grabbed her purse and pulled out her snub-nose revolver. “Take this. It’s loaded–five shots.” She held the gun out to me.
“Keep it here with you,” I said. “I don’t need it.” Little did I know.
I got out and eased d the door shut. Nat boosted herself across the console and into my seat. I walked to the ATV, pushed some limbs aside and peered around the trailer. Looking past the juniper tree on my left, I saw the open trailer door, light streaming onto a patch of dirt and grass by the step. There were no sounds, no sign of movement. I would have thought the place deserted, except for the four wheeler and the light.
I had to squeeze between the trailer and the juniper tree to get to the door. There was no way to keep tree branches from squeaking against the trailer’s aluminum skin. I might as well have charged on through and called out, “Anyone home?”
I crept to the doorway and peeked in. To my left was a dinette. Across the way was a walled-off area for a bathroom with the accordion door partly open. I waited five minutes, thinking someone might be in the shower stall. The stall curtain hung to one side, and I didn’t think there was room enough to hide. Nothing changed.
I moved to where I could see into the front of the trailer. There was a couch there, with a girl who looked a lot like Melanie lying on it. She was still in her soccer uniform and either asleep or unconscious. Her arms were pulled behind her like she was handcuffed. There was no blood, and her color was good. I opened the screen door and climbed inside. My hair brushed the ceiling.
Before anything else, I checked the bathroom to be sure it was empty and looked straight into the muzzle of a Colt .45 automatic. Arthur McLaughlin was perched on the toilet lid.
“You idiot, Corbin. I might have known it would be you. Now back away and keep your hands where I can see them.”
I did, and he climbed stiffly off the toilet.
“Now what am I to do with you?” He glowered at me from under his bushy eyebrows.
I said, “Whatever you’re thinking, Arthur, forget it. The cops will be here any minute. Put down your gun, and don't do anything foolish.”
“The only foolish thing I’ve done in the last fifteen years is let Alice hire you. And since you’re here, maybe I can rectify that oversight.”
“Are you out of your mind? Isn’t the girl there your granddaughter? Isn’t she the one you wanted me to find? What have you done to her? Why did you have her kidnapped?”
“Why do you ask so many stupid questions? This is my business, not yours.”
“Come to your senses, Arthur. This is madness. Whatever it is you’re planning. It won’t work.”
“Shut up, Corbin. It will work. I know where we are. This is New Mexico. Your Colorado cops have no jurisdiction here, and the New Mexico cops can’t get here in less than two hours. I’ll be long gone by then, and you’ll be fish food. I’d be gone now, if I could get the blasted furnace to work. Now shut your mouth and stand facing the door with your hands on your head.”
I wondered what the furnace had to do with anything, but I did as he ordered. He seemed all too familiar with the forty-five he was holding, and the hole in the end looked big enough to swallow me. I heard a clink of handcuffs and figured he was removing them from Melanie. Then I felt the muzzle of Arthur’s automatic against the back of my neck.
“Don’t try anything now, Corbin. Shooting you might make things awkward, but it would be a pleasure.”
“You really can’t get away with this, Arthur. Put the gun down and let’s talk.” I thought of Nat. Was she still waiting in the truck? By now, she must know I was in trouble. Or did I only think it had been too long?
“I think I can get away with it,” McLaughlin said. “In fact, your turning up here may provide a motive. How does this sound? ‘Math professor and student found dead in remote love nest.’ A suicide pact. Yes, Corbin, I do think I can get away with it. In fact, the more I think about it the better I like it. Your coming here tonight is providential. Very slowly now–bring your right hand down and put it behind your back.”
I lowered my arm, stuck it behind my back, and felt the cuff snap around my wrist.
I said, “The border is sealed off. There’s no way out.”
“There's a helicopter waiting for me less than five miles away. I’m not a complete fool. I know what I’m doing. Now your left hand.”
I started to lower my left arm and the lights went out.
“What the . . . ?” I heard McLaughlin say, and the gun muzzle left my neck. I ducked and dove out the door–crashing through the screen as I went. The forty-five exploded, but I wasn’t hit. I gathered myself to jump up and make a run for it when I heard McLaughlin step out of the trailer and growl, “I can see you, Corbin. Move a muscle and you’ll die right there. Now put both hands behind your back.”
Wouldn't you know? I thought. There’s moonlight. Why can’t I have a dark night when I need one? I put my hands behind me with my face in the dirt. It wasn’t long before I felt the hot muzzle of McLaughlin’s gun against the back of my head again and heard and felt him fumbling with the hand cuffs. He was having trouble working with one hand. The open cuff had slammed shut when I dove out of the trailer, and he couldn’t get it back open.
I was hoping he’d have to put the gun down so he could use both hands. I was trying to formulate a plan when I heard Nat’s voice. “Drop the gun, Mister McLaughlin, or I’ll blow your head off.”
I felt the muzzle against my head waver. Then it steadied, and McLaughlin said, “You blow my head off, and I’ll blow Corbin’s off. Who might you be, lady?”
“I might be a San Juan County deputy sheriff. Put the gun down. You’re under arrest.”
“It seems we have what’s called a Mexican stand-off,” McLau
ghlin said.
He was a cool customer. I was amazed–in spite of the predicament I was in, and my fears for Natasha.
“Except for one thing, Mister McLaughlin,” Nat answered with a voice as hard as nails. “I presume you care about your own life, and I don’t give a rat's behind about your partner there on the ground.”
“Nice try, lady. I don’t believe you’re a deputy, and I don’t believe that’s a gun against the back of my head.”
“You can believe what you want about me, but listen carefully while I pull back the hammer on this .38 revolver.”
I heard it clearly, and I figured McLaughlin did too. I felt the muzzle against the back of my head move. Then it was gone.
At that point, we all heard a vehicle laboring up the rough track.
“Put the gun on the ground,” Nat said. “Good. Now put your hands on your head.”
I rolled to the right, away from McLaughlin, saw the gun on the ground and picked it up with my left hand.
The vehicle coming up the wash stopped behind my truck with its lights blazing. I had to wonder who it was. Given where we were, I suspected it was probably Philo or whoever drove the Jeep Cherokee. Why had he come back?
I got up, grabbed McLaughlin’s collar, and dragged him roughly to his feet. I started to tell Natasha to get behind the trailer when I heard, “Hey, Geronimo. Where are you?”
The cavalry–or was it the Indians–had arrived.
“I’m back here, Ezzy. Bring a light.”
“I’ll go turn the trailer lights back on,” Nat said. She slipped past the tree to the front of the trailer. The trailer light flickered a couple of times, then came on and stayed on.
Ezzy bulled his way past the tree with a long flashlight shining. He looked us over without shining the light in my eyes and said, “Who do we have here?”
I was surprised to see Ezzy was not in uniform.
“Meet Arthur McLaughlin,” I said. “It’s his gun I’m holding. We’ve had a little difficulty sorting out who’s in charge here, but Natasha helped resolve that as you drove in.”
“Arthur McLaughlin? I don’t get it. Isn’t he the guy you’re supposed to be working for?”
“I don’t get it either. Maybe Arthur will enlighten us.”
“What about the girl? Where is she?” Ezzy asked.
“Inside. I think she’s okay, but she’s asleep–probably drugged.”
Ezzy climbed into the trailer, and Nat said, “I’ve got his keys. Let me get the handcuffs off you and put them on this old fool.” I continued to hold McLaughlin’s gun to his head with my left hand, while Nat got the cuff off my right wrist. She yanked Arthur's arms behind his back and did a credible job of cuffing, for having no practice.
Ezzy came back outside, put his flashlight right in McLaughlin’s eyes, and said, “Mind telling me what's going on here?”
“Yes, I mind,” McLaughlin said–though his voice had lost some of its belligerence. “Who are you?”
“I’m Sheriff Miller. Dolores County, Colorado.”
“You have no jurisdiction here. I want to see the New Mexico authorities. Where’s that woman deputy?”
“I’m afraid you were right about her, Arthur,” I said. “That ‘San Juan Deputy’ is my daughter.”
“Then there’s no one with jurisdiction. I demand to be released.”
“Sorry, McLaughlin,” Ezzy said. “There may not be anyone here with authority to arrest you, but neither is there anyone with authority to release you. We'll come up with someone who has jurisdiction soon enough. I still want to know what’s going on.”
McLaughlin said, “I’m trying to save my granddaughter from these two. They’re the ones that should be in handcuffs. That isn’t my gun Corbin’s holding.”
Ezzy cocked his head, looked at McLaughlin for a minute, and said, “So, that’s the game we’re going to play. What have you done to the girl?”
“Ask these two. I got here and they jumped me.”
“They jumped you? Yes, I can see that’s how it must have been. What rock did you crawl out from under, McLaughlin?”
McLaughlin didn’t answer, so Ezzy said, “Nat, why don’t you go inside? That young lady’s starting to come around. And Geronimo, if you’ll keep this scum bag here for a minute, I’ll go see if Billy and I can figure out what to do next.”
Ezzy fought his way back past the tree, and I said to McLaughlin, “Park your butt right over there, and lean against that trailer wheel.”
“Don’t try to push me around, Corbin. You’ve no authority here.”
I was getting very tired of the game. I still had his automatic in my left hand, so I slapped him on the side of his head so hard with my right hand that I knocked him down. “How’s that for authority,” I said and kicked dirt in his face.
Arthur lay there for a minute, then slid to the place I’d designated and began to splutter, “I’ll get you for this. I’ll have your license. I’ll have you arrested for assault and battery. I’ll–”
“You’ll shut up, Arthur. You tripped and fell.”
I looked in the open doorway of the trailer. Melanie’s eyes were beginning to focus. She looked at Nat, struggled to sit up, looked wildly around the trailer and said, “Who are you? Where am I?”
“Easy, Melanie. It’s me, Nat, your roommate, Nat from the soccer team.”
“How did I get here? Where’s . . . ? Where’s my mom? Does she . . . ?”
“It’s okay, Mel. It’s okay. We're here to help. We’ll take you home. Nobody’s going to hurt you. The big guy by the door there is my dad.”
“Some cop shoved me in his car. I need to call my mom. She doesn’t know where I am.”
At that point, Ezzy came thrashing back past the tree. I said to him, “Do you have someone with you?”
“Only one Ute cop.”
“How did you manage that?”
“I talked Billy into coming across the border. The chopper dropped me in a field and Billy picked me up.”
“Nobody from New Mexico?”
“So far as I know, they haven’t even been contacted. Billy and I decided there wasn’t time to mess around, when I explained things to him. The radio in his vehicle won’t reach Farmington, but the Utes finally have the Ignacio station manned again. We’ve radioed for instructions. The girl okay?”
“She’s talking to Nat. I believe she’ll be all right now. I think my old buddy Philo Carter was driving that Jeep we followed here. Will someone stop him?”
“A couple of cars were coming to seal the border. I asked them to detain him.”
McLaughlin heard what Ezzy said about Carter and began saying, “Damn, damn, damn,” over and over.
Ezzy turned to him and said, “You ready to tell us what’s going on, McLaughlin?”
“I’ll let my lawyers do the talking. They’ll put you people in your place.”
“We’ll surely appreciate that,” Ezzy said. “We need all the help we can get out here in the boonies.”
I asked, “Where did you get the helicopter, and who’s paying for it?”
“I was in Cortez when you called the first time. I called the sheriff in Durango. They didn’t have a chopper, and there wasn’t a rental available, so I found one in Cortez. I think La Plata County will pay for it. They’d better; Dolores County can’t.”
“We’d never have found this place without it, and it’s good you came back. We had things sorta under control, but taking McLaughlin and the girl out of here would have been a problem.”
“It’s still a problem, Geronimo. Putting this slime ball in handcuffs is one thing. Taking him back across a state line and then across the reservation is something else again. I better go see what Billy’s coming up with.”
When Ezzy turned to leave, his flashlight illuminated something I hadn’t noticed.
“Hold it, Ezzy. What’s that on the side of the trailer?”
He stopped and pointed his flashlight at the trailer. There was a flat rock duct-taped over
the furnace vent.
Ezzy pointed his flashlight in Arthur’s eyes and said, “You want to explain that, McLaughlin?”
“Talk to my lawyers.”
“Oh, we’ll be glad to. I think we’ll also check the duct tape for fingerprints.” He pushed branches aside and went through to the cars. He was back in less than a minute.
“It would be nice if we could get that young lady home,” Ezzy said and nodded toward the trailer. “Her mom’s about to have a nervous breakdown.”
“How do you want to work it? What do you have for wheels?” I asked.
“Shoot, Geronimo, don’t ask me what to do. I’ve got no authority here. Billy's a bit out of his element too. What do you want to do?”
“My truck is a standard cab with buckets. It will only hold two. It would be nice if we could keep the girls together. Nat’s the only one here that Melanie knows. Why don’t I bring McLaughlin, and you guys take the girls. Do we need to bring that four wheeler out?”
“Let me talk to Billy again. He’s still working the radio. They’re trying to get some official input from Farmington. We might as well try to do this right now no one’s in danger. The girl’s mom might have to develop some patience.”
Ezzy left, and I stuck my head inside the trailer. Melanie was sitting up now but still looked dazed.
“Nat,” I said, “Take Melanie to the pickup. There’s a can of Coke in the bin. It’ll be warm, but give her some.”
I helped Melanie out the door then went back to McLaughlin.
When the girls were gone, I kicked McLaughlin’s foot and said, “You were planning to kill her. Tell me why.”
“I don’t have to talk to you.”
“I ought to throw you inside, close the door, and turn the furnace on.”
“Go ahead. It would simplify things.”
“I’d like to, but you owe me twenty-five thousand bucks, Arthur.”
“Carter found her. You didn’t.”
It was pointless to argue, but I said, “I found her too. You didn’t say I had to find her first.”
McLaughlin looked at the ground for a minute; then he looked up at me more like the belligerent old man I was used to and said, “Take these handcuffs off me. I haven’t done anything.”