by Terry Spear
“So the three of us were on the same plane after the heist.”
Amelia cleared her throat. “Okay, so Conspiracy Theory 101, how likely would it be mere coincidence that Red maneuvers us to fly on the same sabotaged plane and that the woman who hired you—or possibly her husband—did it so that we’d go down together?”
“I’d say the odds are unlikely. Okay, then that’s something else we need to look into further.” Gavin climbed out of his bag. “I’ll put up the food, then head out. Can you shoot a gun?”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll help you with the food though.”
“Okay, if someone sabotaged the plane and he shows up while I’m out exploring the island, you protect yourself.”
She would, and Winston too. She hoped Gavin wouldn’t run into any trouble while she was back at camp. She had to figure out something useful to do while she waited on him. Patience was not her strong suit.
Chapter 8
As a wolf, Gavin ran through the woods, hunting for recent signs of anyone having been on the island. He was sniffing wet leaves, looking for tracks, and watching for any movement. While he was searching, he thought about Amelia and what she’d told him. As a cop, or a PI, instinct told him he needed to investigate every detail of her story to prove she had been telling the truth. Gut instinct, or some lower power, was telling him she was the wolf for him and everything she had told him was true. That she was innocent of any crime, a victim every bit as much as he had been. He wasn’t sure he would have ditched a plane to save himself and another passenger. That took real mettle. Even then, she’d managed to do so in a way that allowed everyone to survive. At least initially after they had crashed.
When she’d finally fallen asleep during their nap, her breathing steady and her heartbeat slowed, Gavin had moved Winston over so he could be next to her again. He liked the intimacy they’d already shared. And he wasn’t taking any steps back from this. He was certain they could put the past behind them. The thought kept running through his mind that she had saved him three times already. It sure sounded like mate material to him. He did worry she might want to leave for the bay without him to wait for a seaplane to pick her up.
He’d been running about an hour and continued to move through the spruce trees and check the shoreline so he could see if anyone was camped across the lake on the other island there, about an eighth of a mile away.
He suddenly saw movement across the lake. A soaking-wet black bear was lumbering out of the water. Then the bear saw Gavin and watched him with a wary eye, making Gavin glad the bear was on the other island. Gavin was running along the rocky beach when he saw a bright-yellow canoe on the south side of the other island, the symbol on the canoe indicating it was a Golden rental from Ely.
Glad to observe anyone in the vicinity, Gavin would have to return in his canoe and see if he could locate the paddler. Then he saw a man near the edge of the woods, wearing a camo jacket and pants, boots, and a hat, like he was dressed to hunt. The only reason Gavin even noticed the guy was that he’d turned to head deeper into the woods and out of view, bags in hand. He was probably carrying his gear over a portage. The movement had caught Gavin’s eye, but he didn’t think the man had seen him, or he would have come out of the woods to get a closer look at the out-of-place Arctic wolf.
This was one time when Gavin wished he was in his human form and could call across the lake to get the man’s attention. Motion across the lake caught Gavin’s eye, coming from the direction where the bear had been. Sure enough, the bear was heading for the canoe. He must have smelled the scent of food that had been carried in the craft. When the bear finally reached the guy’s canoe, he poked his nose into it. Apparently not finding anything, the bear headed into the woods the way the paddler had gone. The guy had to be making a couple of trips to carry all his gear across the portage. With any luck, the man had something to make lots of noise to scare off the bear.
Gavin thought the bear might help to delay the paddler from reaching his canoe on the return trip, which could give Gavin time to come back as a human and meet him. Gavin lifted his chin and howled to Amelia back at their makeshift camp to let her know he’d found something.
She howled from another direction, way on the other side of the island, confusing and concerning him. She was supposed to be staying with Winston as a human at their campsite. What was she doing running as a wolf? Where was Winston? He immediately worried they’d had trouble and she’d felt safer as a wolf.
His heart racing, Gavin tore off toward the direction of her howl, stopping for a moment to howl again to let her know he was coming to her location. She howled back to acknowledge his message. He’d run for about half an hour when he heard something moving in the brush, turned, and saw Winston. The dog ran to greet him, and Gavin greeted him back with licks to the face. Not immediately seeing her, Gavin woofed for Amelia.
She woofed back from twenty or so yards away, hidden in the brush and trees. He and Winston quickly joined her. Gavin nuzzled her face, waiting to see if she had found anything. She led him toward the shore where a fire had burned that morning. Someone had cooked eggs and ham. Gavin didn’t smell any sign of people. Someone had camped here under a tent, the grassy area bent where it had been set up. A canoe had rested there too. He didn’t like that he couldn’t smell anyone there. No hunting was allowed here. So why would anyone be wearing hunter’s spray? He glanced in the direction of the island and the paddler he’d seen. Was he the one who had camped here?
They sniffed around the area, searching for anything the paddler had left behind. They didn’t discover anything. Gavin led Amelia to the area where he’d seen the canoe on the shore of the other island.
The canoe was gone. Damn it!
He couldn’t have gotten the paddler’s attention as a wolf anyway. He had to know if the guy was wearing hunter’s spray and if he was actually hunting illegally. Though that wasn’t Gavin’s mission. Finding someone with a sat phone was.
Gavin stared at the beach across the lake where the canoe had been, as if it would suddenly appear. He ran down the beach a little way, but he didn’t see any sign of the canoe on the lake. Amelia and Winston chased after him while he observed the lake further. He couldn’t imagine paddling in the bad weather. Gavin ran along the shore, looking for any sign of the canoe in the opposite direction. He saw nothing. The paddler had to have carried the canoe up into the woods or paddled around to the other side of the island where they couldn’t see him. Maybe the paddler was trying to find a better location to set up his camp. If he had a sat phone, they needed to find him.
Gavin studied the distance to reach the other island. He considered swimming across the lake to explore the area and see if the paddler left a scent. But then he would be a wolf. Gavin needed to cross in the canoe so he could talk to the paddler if he found him.
Gavin, Amelia, and Winston headed back to their camp, and when they reached it, they all walked into the shelter. Both Gavin and Amelia shifted. “What did you see?” She pulled on her panties.
“A yellow canoe beached on the island across from ours. I thought maybe the paddler would have a sat phone, and we could contact your dad.” Gavin pulled on his boxer briefs. “I also saw a black bear nearby, and that might have made the guy decide to move to somewhere else. I did see a man wearing camouflage in the woods near where the canoe was beached. He might have carried up his gear first and returned for his canoe, unable to make it in a single portage.”
“Yeah, if he was alone. Or had a companion but too much gear.” She fastened her bra, then checked the rest of her clothes. They appeared to still be damp, so she slipped his sweats back on.
He liked them on her, making him feel as though he’d claimed her in some way. “Maybe, once we get this situation resolved, you can teach me how to overcome my fear of flying.” He finished dressing.
She laughed. “A few more crashes, if you survive them, and you’ll
either get used to it or have the worst phobia ever.” She pulled on socks and her boots. “But you seem to be a really good swimmer. Maybe you can teach me to be a better one.”
“It’s a deal.” He wasn’t sure about the flying bit, though he’d heard sometimes doing something over and over helped to reduce the phobia. He liked the idea of teaching her to be comfortable enough in the water to swim to her heart’s content. It sounded like she felt she could trust him now. “About what was said earlier—”
“I trust you are one of the good guys,” she said. “Don’t prove me wrong.”
He smiled darkly at her and finished dressing. He was one of the good guys—unless he had to take out a bad guy, and then he was no longer Mr. Affable. “I believe your story.”
“And you’re going to investigate everything I said when you return home.”
“No, I don’t need to. I believe you. About all of it. If I’d still been human, I would have had trouble with it.”
“If you’d still been human, I wouldn’t have told you about the wolf business. Or I would have had to bite you first.”
He chuckled. “Been through that already. If you want to bite me, be my guest.”
She sighed. “So what’s the plan?”
“You stay here while I check out the other island. Uh, by the way, why did you leave the camp?” Gavin leaned down to where Winston was sitting on the comforter and scratched his head.
“Winston had to go to the bathroom after eating his kibble. I don’t have his leash. When we evacuated the plane, the bag with his leash and dog bowls was left behind. I figured I’d have better control over him as a wolf. When I took him for a walk, he kept running, looking for the perfect spot. I swear we explored half the island before he peed. Then we found the fresh campsite, and I think that’s what drew him that way. We heard you howl that you’d found something, and I howled that I had too. It’s still stormy out. I can hear the thunder in the west. It’s heading this way again. How long would it take you to cross the lake to the other island?” she asked.
“It should take me only an hour or so to reach the island, put up the canoe, and search for the guy. Longer if he already reached the location where he planned to put the canoe back in the water.”
“What about your job? Do you think you can skip where the client’s husband will be the first couple of days and go straight to his next stop?”
“That’s the plan.”
“I still say it could be dangerous.”
“Which is why I want you to stay here.”
“Maybe you should take the gun.”
“I want you to be protected. I’m going to get the canoe and head out.” He pulled on the rain gear, but before he could leave, she pulled him in for a hug and kiss.
“If you get yourself killed over this, I’ll never forgive you.”
He smiled. “Especially after you’ve saved my life so many times. I promise I’ll be careful.” He kissed her and hugged her right back. Then he left the alcove, but as soon as he reached the trees, he noticed the raft and canoe were gone.
He just stared at the location and then looked around at the woods, as if he might have mistaken where he’d left them. No, both were gone. “We have a problem.”
Amelia was right behind him, wearing his rain jacket. “Where’s the raft? The canoe? Oh God, Gavin. Who would have taken them?”
“The person who sabotaged the plane? Where’s the gun?”
“I hid it underneath the rocks before I ran as a wolf. I didn’t check to see if it was still there.”
Thank God that she’d hidden it, but Gavin hoped whoever this was hadn’t found it. “Okay. I doubt he could have taken the time to search for it or grab our food. I didn’t check. He had to have taken the canoe and raft the opposite way from where I ran, or I would have seen them when I went to the water’s edge. Same with you. You headed in the direction I did. Then you veered off to the west.”
“Do you think he’s still paddling with them in tow?”
“Could be. He might have punctured the raft so it would sink. That way, no one could see it from the air.”
“The emergency flares were in one of the raft’s pockets.”
Gavin had never expected anyone to steal the raft. Or the canoe, for that matter. “Oh, hell yeah. I thought they’d be safe there until we needed them.”
“Me too.”
He figured they’d been gone a couple of hours or longer when they took off looking for signs of anyone. Plenty of time for someone to slip into camp and steal their transportation.
Gavin ran down the beach to look for someone towing the canoe and raft in the water. Amelia ran after him, observing the water too. He knew whoever took them wouldn’t head straight out from the island. He’d go around it so he could distance himself from their view and reach the next land mass while staying out of sight.
The rain started falling, and they heard distant thunder again. “Good thing you hadn’t gone anywhere in the canoe,” Amelia said.
But if he had, they’d still have it.
As stuck as they were, Gavin reminded himself that they had each other. And she was right. Maybe the person who had taken the raft and canoe would run into serious trouble out on the lake in the approaching thunderstorm. He could only hope.
“Oh.” Amelia was looking out at the lake and started pointing out at something. “There. Do you see something?”
He couldn’t be certain, but he thought he saw something yellow floating on the water, something flattened, like a raft that had lost most of its air, lifted on the crest of waves and momentarily visible, then falling into the troughs and hidden from view. No canoe was in sight.
“The raft, maybe? It’s hard to see, as dark as the water and sky are. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s the raft and it’s lost a lot of air. I don’t see any sign of the canoe. It won’t sink, so unless he’s ditched it somewhere else, we’d see it. Let’s check the rest of our supplies and make sure they’re all there.”
They ran back to the trees where Gavin had hauled their food high into the branches to keep it away from bears. It was still there.
“Oh good,” she said.
They entered the alcove.
“Gun’s here.” She pulled it from where she’d wrapped it in one of Gavin’s socks and buried it underneath the rocks. “I hid it there just in case someone with kids came along while I was out running with Winston or a bad guy showed up.”
“Okay, good show. You stay here with Winston and protect our things. I’ll look for the paddler out on the lake. It will take him some time to get beyond our sight if he’s on the lake, pulling my canoe in this choppy water. He’ll have to hide it up in the brush on land.”
“You don’t think he’s already done that? And he didn’t take it into the lake with him?”
Gavin considered the possibility. “Maybe. I’ll check the lake first before he can get out of range. He could have a couple of hours on us. After that, I’ll look for any trail inland.” He was glad she’d left with Winston and hadn’t had a confrontation with whoever this turned out to be.
He ran along the beach, looking out across the lake, trying to see any sign of his orange canoe. He didn’t see anyone out there, and the rain was really coming down now. He ran back toward the camp. Amelia was looking out at the lake, but she turned to observe him. “Anything?”
“I didn’t see any sign of his canoe or mine. The rain is coming down so heavily now that it looks like the sky and lake are all blended into one gray mass. I’m going to search the area near where we tied up the canoe, in case he moved it and didn’t have time to come back and take it yet.”
“All right.” Amelia had the gun in hand, standing under the rock ledge with Winston. The dog looked like he wanted to go with Gavin. But he wanted Winston to stay with Amelia.
His heart pounding with anger, Gavi
n checked the area where the canoe and raft had been tied. He discovered someone had walked from where they had been stowed, and he followed the trail in that direction for a few hundred yards.
Lightning lit up the sky. Gavin was ticked off that he had risked his neck to save his canoe and the raft, and whoever this bastard was had made them both vanish. The footprints on the tromped-on underbrush indicated the man had moved away from both of them and…hallelujah! Gavin’s canoe came into view, left on the ground in a thicket of shrubs. There was no one in sight. Thrilled they still had transportation, Gavin smiled and did a fist pump. The guy had abandoned the canoe and taken off. Unless it was a trap.
But the man couldn’t have had enough time to take the raft out and dump the canoe at the same time. Unless he was working with someone else. The winds began to pick up as Gavin carried the canoe back to the camp and secured it.
“Canoe’s safe and sound,” Gavin called out, and Amelia came out to give him a hug. “Hopefully, the storms will move out of the area by tomorrow. The rain’s letting up again. I’m going to check out the paddler and see if he left a scent behind.”
“But what if you run into trouble over there?”
“I have a couple of knives. I’ll be fine.” He hated to leave her and Winston behind, but if he could locate the man and discovered he was wearing hunter’s spray, Gavin was questioning him. If not, Gavin was still hoping to connect with someone who had a sat phone out here.
He carried the canoe into the water, got in, and paddled as fast as he could to reach the island. When he finally arrived at the other island, he pulled his canoe onto the shore. He carried it into the woods, then set it down and quickly began tracking the man’s scent. This wasn’t the man who had been wearing hunter’s spray. This man’s scent was fresh and the same as the male scent Gavin had smelled near the alcove. Winds had shifted it around, so he was having a time locating the direction in which the man had gone, though if he was carrying all his gear and the canoe, he must have made the portage here. The trail was well worn.