“Are you saying you think Dr. Wooten had something to do with my parents’ deaths?” Haley couldn’t hide her skepticism.
“Maybe. I considered going to Chet Gillespie, but I needed my job. It’s not pretty admitting I was such a coward. But it’s time the truth was known.”
Haley wasn’t sure she could take any more truth. A headache began to build behind her temples. What kind of woman had her mother been?
Twenty
Tank’s steps were slow and heavy as he approached the shop where he was meeting Libby. Brooke skipped along ahead of him. He was in no mood to buy new sneakers for Brooke. Not after his boss informed him that he was to arrange for hunters to track and destroy the bear. He’d hoped to be able to transplant it.
The bear would die anyway if they moved it, he told himself. It was too old to get food in the natural way. This was more humane, but it still felt wrong. He put his problems away and pasted a smile on his face as he stepped inside the shop and looked around.
Brooke ran to meet Libby. “Aunt Libby, we’re here!”
Libby’s pensive expression brightened, and she turned to show Brooke a pair of pink sneakers with flowers on them.
Libby’s loneliness bothered him, and he wished he could do something about it. A brother’s company was a poor substitute for the camaraderie she needed. Too bad Haley wasn’t staying around. The two had really hit it off. He joined the two women in his life and agreed the shoes were perfect. Ten minutes later and fifteen dollars poorer, the three of them were back outside on the sidewalk.
Libby guided them toward the hotel. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Haley along. She came back upset about something. I thought, between the two of us, we could worm it out of her.”
“Where is she?”
“She should be right down. She went up to drop Oscar in the room.” Libby tipped her head up to look at him. “I see that look in your eye. You can tell me how you feel about her, Tank.”
“I like her,” he said, avoiding her gaze. “That’s all.”
Libby sighed. “She avoids the subject, just like you. I think she’s the one.”
“Oh yeah? You ever seen a marriage that worked when the couple didn’t live together? She’d never live here, and I’d never live anywhere else. Solve that one, Sherlock.”
Libby sobered. “Okay, that’s a problem. But if you love each other, it can be fixed.”
“Who said anything about love? I like her, okay? That’s as far as it goes.”
“You could love her if you let yourself.”
“Maybe I could, but I’m not going to let myself. There’s no future in it, and plenty of other puzzles to solve right now. Besides, she has issues with God she needs to clear up, and I don’t want to get in the way.”
“Do you have to analyze everything? You’re always talking about trusting God. Don’t you ever want to step out on a limb without scientifically examining it first? There might be a pleasant surprise out there.”
“Yeah, a broken neck.” He grinned. “Drop it, sis. This isn’t going anywhere.”
“I’d like her for a sister-in-law.” Libby thrust out a stubborn chin. “It could be worked out.”
“Six months here and six months in Phoenix, right?” Tank couldn’t believe he was even discussing this with his sister. He couldn’t deny he cared about Haley, but he had no interest in pursuing her. It would be like picking up a bear cub with the sow in the same den.
Kipp and Erika came out the hotel door. Denny, Cary, and Augusta trailed behind them. “We’re going out for a stroll to look for bears,” Kipp said. “I’m looking for Haley. Have you seen her?”
“You shouldn’t be going out until Tank tracks down the predatory bear,” Libby said.
“I’m tired of waiting, and we’re not going far. A trapper said he saw a couple of bears out by Crystal Lake an hour ago. I just want a few shots.”
“I wouldn’t go out there,” Tank said.
“I know you wouldn’t. But I’m not afraid of the bears.”
“You were plenty afraid when the bear came at us,” Tank pointed out. The man’s cocky manner made him want to take a swing at him. Red ran up Kipp’s neck, and Tank realized he’d merely succeeded in egging him on.
“Let’s go,” Kipp snapped. “If you see Haley, tell her we’ll be back in a couple of hours, and that she missed the adventure. I hope her pictures are worth the trouble she’s been.” He and his entourage marched off.
Tank watched them go. He was more than ready for this summer to be over. “I saw how you skirted his question. Why didn’t you tell him Haley was upstairs? I’m surprised Augusta didn’t know.”
“Haley doesn’t need to deal with Kipp’s grandstanding all afternoon. Augusta was in the shop next door when Haley came by, so they didn’t see one another.”
“I should have stopped them somehow,” Tank said. “It’s not safe until we find that bear.”
The postmaster beckoned him from the post office. “Hey, you got a fax, Tank.”
“It’s probably the accelerant report. I’ll be right back,” he told his sister. He stepped to the doorway of the post office and took the paper the man handed him, then gave him five dollars. “Thanks.” He scanned it and sighed, then folded it up and rejoined his sister. It seemed all he got to do was be the bearer of bad news.
Libby nodded toward the door. “Here comes Haley.”
Tank’s pulse quickened when he turned toward Haley. It was one thing to deny his attraction, and another to lie to himself. He’d tried not to think of how soft her lips were or how she had felt as though she fit in his arms. Even though his head knew there was no future, his heart wasn’t listening.
“Ready for ice cream?” Libby tucked her arm into Haley’s and took Brooke’s hand, and the three went ahead of Tank toward the soda shop, where they were meeting Joy.
Haley spooned the last bit of her ice cream into her mouth. “Thanks, I needed a break.” Glancing at her watch, she realized they’d been there nearly two hours. Libby and Tank were easy to talk to. She enjoyed watching their obvious affection for one another as they interacted. She missed having a sibling like that. Her gaze fell on Brooke and Joy chattering. Maybe Joy could fill that void.
Libby wiped her hands with her napkin. “You seemed upset. You want to talk about it?”
“I’m glad you asked. I don’t know how much to believe,” Haley began. She told them what Vonnie had said.
“I find that hard to believe,” Tank said. “I’ve known Joe Wooten a long time. But I got the accelerant report back,” Tank said. “Someone set fire to their cabin. They found traces of kerosene.”
His grim voice was enough to curdle the ice cream in her stomach. “You’re kidding.” She ran her hand over her forehead. Murdered. Her parents were murdered. It was all true. “But why?”
“That’s something we have to find out.”
Haley’s gaze wandered to the window, and she saw men and women pouring by. Many had their fists raised. The sound of shouts and screams radiated through the plate glass window. “What on earth?” She half rose. Tank turned and saw the commotion. He sprang toward the door and threw it open. The women followed him outside.
Libby nodded toward Joy, who stood outside the hotel. “Tell Tank I’m going to take Joy and Brooke with me to get some more things from the cabin. I’ll be back in an hour or two. Whatever is going on, the girls don’t need to see this. He can call me on the radio.” Haley nodded, and Libby went toward Tank’s truck.
Haley flinched at the angry roar of the crowd as they converged on the health clinic. She scurried to catch up with Tank. Trooper Gillespie stood outside. His attempts to calm the crowd had no effect. Haley followed Tank as he pushed through the crowd to where Chet stood. There was too much noise to figure out what had happened.
“Chet, what’s going on?” Tank shouted above the din.
Chet glanced at Haley. “Sorry, guys, your bear activist has gone and gotten himself killed.”
“She’s fine. No one was hurt except Kipp. He approached a bear out by the river. It was our four-toed predator.”
Augusta had watched it. Bile burned the back of Haley’s throat. For all her practicality, Augusta was a sensitive soul. She would have nightmares for months. “You’re sure he’s dead?” she whispered.
“The body is inside. So’s your grandmother and the rest.”
“I need to see her.” Haley darted past the trooper and flung open the door to the clinic. Augusta sat beside Erika in the chairs by the door to the treatment room. Both women were as pale and green as sea foam. Erika cried steadily as she twisted a paper napkin to shreds in her hands. “Augusta?” Haley said in a quavering voice.
Augusta lifted her head. Her face crumpled. “Oh, Haley, it was terrible,” she sobbed.
Haley dropped to her knees and embraced her grandmother. It felt strange to be the comforter after so many years of being the recipient of her grandmother’s reassuring hugs. Augusta felt frail somehow, her bones poking through her blouse. Haley was suddenly struck with the realization that her grandmother might not always be with her. She hugged Augusta fiercely. She would never be willing to let her go. Never.
Tank came inside with Chet. “Can someone tell me what happened?” Chet demanded over Erika’s wailing.
Erika shook her head violently. “I don’t want to remember,” she sobbed. A scratch marred her right cheek.
Haley looked at a white and shaken Denny, who leaned against the wall by the door. His lips trembled, and he seemed smaller and shrunken. “Can you talk about it, Denny?” She didn’t want to put her grandmother through any more.
He nodded jerkily, and his throat worked. “I was videotaping Kipp as he approached a bear. He was singing and talking in a soothing tone of voice. The bear looked at him but didn’t run away. I got some good footage.” He stopped and swallowed. “The forest was just to his left. He sat on a rock and started throwing bread to the bear. It got a little closer, then closer still until it ate right out of his hand. He even petted it. When the food was gone, it wandered back to the water. I got it all on camera.”
“He knew better than to feed a bear,” Tank muttered.
Denny nodded. “I tried to talk him out of it before we got there. He was determined to get it on film. Anyway, he got up from the rock and started back to me when another bear came out of the forest. A big bear. Huge. It kept coming toward him like that bear the other day when we were tagging. Kipp shouted at it and waved his hands, but it just kept coming. Then it got right up to him and lunged at his head.” He closed his eyes, and his voice quavered. “It was over fast.”
“I can’t get his screaming out of my head,” Erika moaned. She rocked back and forth.
Tank slammed his hand against the wall. “I told him not to go.” His anguished voice quaked.
“It’s not your fault,” Haley said. “He wouldn’t listen.” She rose and went to Tank. He shrugged off the comforting hand she put on his back.
Chet turned back toward the door. “Tank, you know what we have to do. We can’t wait any longer. Do you want to go out with us?”
“I’d better. I don’t want them going after Miki by mistake.”
Twenty-One
Marley Gillespie drove down the narrow, unpaved road. Spruce trees crowded her mother’s old Jeep. It hadn’t been driven in months, but she’d found the keys in the drawer, and it had started right up. Her knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel, both from fear and determination. Marley felt an overwhelming need to see Brooke and make sure she was okay. It was going to be up to her to save her niece. Tank obviously had no idea of the danger. Just as he’d ignored the dark forces swirling around Leigh.
Her breath left her at the thought of her sister. She’d failed Leigh, but she wasn’t going to fail Brooke. No matter what it took.
Her vehicle bottomed out in a particularly vicious hole, and Marley bounced so hard her head hit the top of the SUV. She swore and jerked the vehicle to the right to avoid another pothole. How she hated this place. Hated it and feared it. It was capable of stripping away everything she loved.
The muddy track turned, and a clearing opened in front of her. The Lassiter cabin looks even more ramshackle than usual, she thought, curling her lip. What had possessed Tank to bring Leigh here? Leigh deserved a fine home with plush carpets and fine paintings. Seeing her here had been like seeing a fine diamond set in pot metal.
Lost in thought, Marley almost didn’t see her niece standing at the edge of the clearing. Brooke moved, and the bright splash of her red top caught Marley’s eye. A bear loomed over the little girl, dwarfing her. Marley froze, then scrambled out of the SUV. She tried to call out, scream for Brooke to run, but her throat closed, and only a squeak emerged.
Brooke reached up and patted the bear. “Good Miki.” She dropped a piece of a sandwich in the bear’s cavernous mouth as it leaned down toward her. For a heart-stopping moment, Marley thought the bear would swallow the little girl’s hand along with the food. It was that bear Tank had raised. Marley had warned him about that.
Cautiously, Marley approached. She kept her voice soft so the bear wouldn’t become startled and more aggressive. “Brooke,” she called softly, “come see Aunt Marley.”
The little girl turned. The delighted expression on her face told Marley she was doing the right thing. Brooke loved her. She needed a mother. Raising Leigh’s daughter would be her final act of service for her sister.
Brooke shot across the few feet that separated them and hurtled into Marley’s arms. Marley hugged her, breathing in the aroma of little girl, a mixture of baby shampoo, perspiration, and dog. It shouldn’t have smelled good but it did.
“Aunt Marley, you’re squeezing me,” Brooke complained.
“Sorry, sweetie.” Marley loosened her hold and bolted for the Jeep. The bear disappeared into the woods. “Let’s go for a ride.” She cast her gaze toward the cabin. “Where’s Aunt Libby?”
“In the backyard watering her flowers. But don’t say anything.” Brooke held her fingers to her lips. “I’m supposed to be taking a nap. Then we’re going to town to meet Daddy.”
“I won’t tell.” Marley opened the back door and buckled in Brooke. “We’re going for a ride.”
“With Aunt Libby and Joy?”
“No, just the two of us.” Brooke needed rescue from this. Tank said she was never around the bear, and here she was outside by herself and feeding the monster.
“I’d better tell Aunt Libby.”
Marley ignored the comment. “We’ll get some ice cream later, okay?”
“Can I have a brownie sundae?” Brooke settled back in the seat.
Marley started to get into the car, but a figure came dashing from the house. Marley’s gaze darted toward the teenage girl. Still no sign of Libby. She could always ditch this girl at the water’s edge. She turned her best smile on full wattage. “Hi, I’m Brooke’s aunt, Marley. Tank sent me after the two of you.”
The girl stopped, and uncertainty replaced the panic on her face. “Tank sent you?” She glanced at Brooke. “Is this your aunt, Brooke?”
Brooke nodded. “She looks just like Mommy.” She patted the seat beside her. “We’re going to get ice cream, Joy. You can come.”
Marley went around the other side of the car and opened the door. “Tank is in a hurry. He already radioed Libby. Get in.” With a last doubtful look toward the house, Joy went around the back of the SUV and climbed inside. Marley slammed the door shut behind her and hurried around to the driver’s side. She got in and jammed the key home. The engine sputtered but finally fired, and she drove off.
Her thoughts skittered feverishly to her escape plan. She hadn’t planned to do this yet, but the opportunity was too good to miss. Tank would assume Brooke had wandered into the forest and search for her there. By the time he figured out Marley had taken Brooke, they would be far
away in New York. She would get a real lawyer who would protect Brooke from a lifetime of being a hick. Lost in her rosy dream, it took a few moments for it to sink in to Marley that the vehicle sounded funny. It surged and began to thump. Had hitting that pothole done something to it? No sooner had the thought formed than the SUV gave a final lurch and a loud rattle, then died in the middle of the muddy lane.
“No!” Marley pounded the steering wheel. “This can’t be happening, not now.” She turned the key frantically. The engine ground. She tried again, and it coughed to life. A cloud of smoke billowed from the back and from under the hood. It wouldn’t make it. Marley’s mind raced for an alternative plan. If she could just hide the vehicle somewhere, Tank wouldn’t be on to her very quickly. She and the girls could walk to Cook Inlet, where she could get a boat to take her across the bay to Kenai, where she could catch a plane to Canada and on to New York.
“Come on, come on,” she muttered as the vehicle crept forward. There. She spied a parting in the spruce just big enough for the old Jeep. She coaxed it into the spot and pulled forward until she could go no farther. The engine gave a final cough and died.
“Get out,” she snapped at Joy. Grabbing her purse, Marley scrambled out, then opened the back door and unbuckled Brooke. Marley pulled the little girl out and took her hand.
Brooke tried to pull away. “I want to go home, Aunt Marley.”
Marley didn’t answer her. She thought the bay was to her left. Surely it wasn’t far. She glanced at her shoes. The heels would not be conducive to walking. She dropped Brooke’s hand, then took off her shoes and knocked the heels off. Another thought struck her. They’d need insect repellent. The mosquitoes would be vicious. She opened the back. Her father had always insisted her mother carry a backpack of gear for the bush. It was still in the back of the Jeep. She grabbed it and slung it on, then went back and motioned for Joy to follow her. By four o’clock, they should be to the Inlet. Another few hours and they’d be safely aboard a plane headed out of this wretched country.
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