by Lisa Shay
Turning to the right, Ben pointed. “Is that the tree?”
“Yes. You aren’t going down there, are you?”
Craig glanced back at me. “Well, we aren’t going to find out anything from up here.”
“Now I’ve got a bad feeling.” I slumped, my shoulders sagging.
“We’ll be fine.” Ben smiled and set the binoculars next to the camera. “Won’t need these.” He glanced at Craig. “Ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
I frowned and watched them clamber down the tree. They weren’t at all graceful as I’d imagined my own descent. Did I look that ridiculous when I did it?
Once on the ground, they raced to the building and flattened against the side.
“Well, at least I did that right,” I muttered. I scanned the surrounding forest with the binoculars. “Nothing. Not yet, anyway.” I wasn’t sure if that first little prickling sensation along my skin was the caffeine kicking in or an ominous foreboding.
Instead of going around the front as I had, they moved toward the back of the structure to the far side, out of sight.
Frowning, I mumbled, “Note—next time head to the back instead.” A small electric pulse coursed along my nerves. My stomach tightened followed by a lazy roll. “Hurry up, Ben.”
I strained to listen to anything not natural to the forest. I watched the far side of the canyon and waited. And waited some more. Leaning against a tree, I glanced at my watch for the fourth time. From where I stood, I could see the front of the building. No Ben or Craig swept around the corner and into my line of sight. “What’s going on, guys? Nothing over there but a generator and a grimy window.”
A low thrumming sounded under the high call of birds.
Is that real? Or just my imagination?
It grew louder.
“Real.” I held my breath, my heart thumping. Scanning the forest, I shifted my gaze to the gravel road stretching down into the canyon. Nope. Nothing.
The sound wavered, cycled, and became intermittently louder.
Can Ben hear it?
I looked farther to the right, beyond the canyon. There it was, a distant shimmer through green boughs—sunlight on metal.
Someone is coming.
No longer a thrum, the unmistakable low rumble of an engine echoed in the woods. It was still a long way off, but it was coming.
Can’t Ben hear that?
I hung the binoculars over my shoulder by the strap and grabbed my phone. No signal. I spun in a circle while holding up the screen. I stepped to the left. Nothing. To the right. One bar. I punched in Ben’s number. The bar disappeared. “No. No no no.” I’d had a signal the day before—not much, but something. My breath caught and my stomach knotted. “Do something, Kallie.” I brushed curls from my forehead, my eyes squeezed tight. “Okay. Where did I have it? At the truck? Yes. But here, too.” My lids popped open. Moving the phone up and then down, I remembered. “I was sitting.” I dropped to the ground. Ben’s number rang once and then twice. I held my breath with my arm stiff, not daring to jinx the connection.
“Kallie, we’re kinda busy. What’s wrong?”
“Someone’s coming. Get back here. Hurry,” I whispered. I didn’t need to whisper—not really. There was just something about the situation that made me want to hide and be silent.
“Copy.” Ben clicked off.
I jumped up and pressed against a sturdy tree trunk. Watching the rear of the structure, I waited. There was still no Ben and no Craig.
Reaching down, I grabbed the binoculars. I searched the woods, looking for sunlight reflecting off a white truck or a dark van or a silver Jeep. I thought I saw movement through the trees. My gaze shifted to the building. There was still nothing. “Come on.”
My phone vibrated, and I answered. “Where are you?”
“Leaving the building now. Where’s our company?”
I scanned the trees. Leaving the building? How—A white truck followed by a silver Jeep showed through the branches. In seconds, they’d reach the top of the slope. “Coming from the woods. You need to get behind the building fast, or they’ll see you.” Movement below caught my peripheral vision. Ben and Craig rounded the corner and stopped, backs flat against the wall. “Okay. Good. Stay.”
The truck crowned the hill and started down the curving gravel road. The Jeep waited at the top, exhaust billowing in the cool air.
Had someone seen them?
After the truck parked at the front, two men got out and glanced around. The Jeep started down and pulled in next to the truck. One man exited. Chains rattled against wood. Doors opened with a scrape of rollers on metal.
“Ben has to hear all this racket.” Remembering the binoculars in my hand, I raised them, but it was too late. All three men entered the structure before I saw them clearly. I swung around to check on Ben and Craig. They were gone. “Where did they go?” I surveyed the canyon floor but didn’t see anything. And my phone had no signal. My pulse beat a frantic tempo in my fingertips. “Okay. Breathe. Stay alert.”
There was movement at the front of the barn. The two men walked over, opened the truck’s tailgate, and slid stacks of the shoeboxes to the edge.
I watched through the binoculars. “Not shoeboxes. More like white rectangular bakery boxes.”
The men carried in four at a time, making five trips each.
“Must be heavy? But not liquid. So where did the goo come from?”
The generator kicked on, the chugging wheeze echoing off the canyon walls.
I kept checking the back of the barn. There was still no sign of Ben or Craig. I lowered the binoculars and looked back down the rutted path. “Okay. I’ll give them fifteen more minutes. Then what? Call for backup? No. Just keep watching.” I nodded and sat down, hidden among the cedar trees. “They’ll show up or call or something. If not, then I’ll do something, like call for help.”
At thirteen minutes and twenty-two seconds, my phone vibrated. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Kallie, we’re good. Meet us out at the main road. Hope you don’t mind muddy boots in your truck.”
“On my way.” I gathered our things and stowed them behind the seat. With the generator still echoing a dull chug, chug, chug, I didn’t worry about squeaking hinges or the growl of the engine. I hurried through ruts, slipping on slick mud, and slid off the path and onto gravel.
Craig dashed out of the woods on the other side of the road followed by Ben. Panting, they scrambled into the truck and buckled their seat belts.
Ben glanced at me with sweat trickling down his cheeks, his eyes dark. “Drive.”
Chapter 21
I had questions. Trying but failing to organize them into some semblance of order, I just gave up. “You were inside? How? You didn’t go through the front.” Nodding with enthusiasm, I declared, “I was watching.” My excitement grew. “What’s in there? I mean, besides tables, empty boxes, and those metal cylinders? Oh, and what about—”
“Kallie. Slow down. Let me catch my breath.”
Drumming the steering wheel with my thumbs, I waited.
“We got in through the window. It opened out on a hinge and wasn’t locked.” Ben sighed. “What sort of illegal enterprise doesn’t have surveillance of some kind or locking windows?” He shook his head. “I’m not sure, short of how they got the land, that they’re doing anything illegal.”
“What about Mr. Smith?” I glanced sideways at Ben. “I saw him murdered.”
“It still might be regarding the land, not what they’re doing at the barn. Maybe he threatened to tell someone about their less-than-truthful dealings with the rightful owners. Or it may have nothing to do with the properties at all.”
“So what are they doing there? What was in the boxes? Anything?”
“Not so much as a residue of any kind. I think we expected a white
powder, as in drugs, but nope—nothing.” Craig wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
“They brought in boxes—heavy, by the looks of them. I watched them make several trips.”
“Yeah. We saw that, too, through the window. Didn’t wait around to watch what they did with them.” Ben pulled a small plastic vial from his pocket. “I did get the inside of three empty boxes swabbed before you called to warn us.”
“Well, that’s good, right?”
Ben shrugged. “We’ll see. I didn’t have cause to get the sample, so even if it is something illegal, we can’t use it against them.”
“How did you get to the road?”
“There’s a run-off channel cut into the canyon on the other side—just past the barn. That’s where we found all the mud.” Ben pointed at his boots. “We waited until they went inside and ran until we found a deer trail to climb up and out. From there, we headed in the direction of the road. And, by the way, Craig called it a deer trail. I called it a vertical ascent.”
Chuckling, Craig shifted to look at Ben. “You made it just fine.”
“So what now? Search warrants?”
The first house set back from the road appeared on the left.
“We don’t have enough—No. We don’t have anything to show for a warrant.” Ben let out a breath through pursed lips and glanced at me. “If you’re up for it, let’s check out the property on Madrone Canyon.”
“Um, sure. Good.” I fought to contain a growing smile.
I parked on the side path, just like the first time, hidden from the main road.
High thin clouds raced overhead, leaching the intense blue from the sky and obscuring the sunlight. A gentle breeze sighed in the boughs and rattled scarce yellow leaves still clinging on the few oaks scattered among pine and fir.
“Through the trees?” Ben watched me. “Is there a path?”
“We can go up the road.” I gestured ahead. “If we hear someone coming, it’s easy enough to step into the woods.”
“I see what you mean. The gravel’s new.” Craig surveyed the road. “This wasn’t cheap.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” I started to walk up the slight slope. “Whatever they’re doing, they must be making money.” I glanced at Ben. “I mean, look at Whedon’s house and the furnishings. Even the grounds are meticulously maintained, and not by him or his wife.”
“Why do you say that? Maybe …” Ben paused. “Her hands. They were soft—no calluses. Not the hands of someone who worked outside.”
“And what about the mini donkey and the llama?” Facing forward, I kept walking and listening. “Were they, I don’t know, just for show?” I put a hint of Goofy’s voice in mine. “‘Look at us. We’re country folk. Just starting our little farm. We’ll be getting fainting goats next week. Never mind how we got the money.’”
Craig laughed. “You’re all right, Doc.”
Heat flooded my face. I grimaced and this time didn’t turn around, not wanting to see Ben’s reaction to my silliness. Sheesh, Kallie.
We stayed on the road all the way to the barn.
There were no vehicles out front or anywhere near and no distant rumble of an engine echoing through the forest. Birds chirped and sang on swaying limbs in the surrounding forest. A coyote skirted the tree line beyond the tumbled-down old house.
We walked into the open, no longer hidden by the wall of trees on either side. I stood at the edge of the small meadow, listening to the quiet. It seemed even the birds stopped singing at our arrival.
The coyote froze. Nose in the air, he turned his head in our direction. He crouched, spun, and disappeared under low limbs.
“You scared him.” Craig grinned at Ben.
“Was that a, a coyote?”
“Yes.” Craig chuckled.
“Is it dangerous?” Ben watched the spot where he’d entered the woods.
“Ask Doc. Then she can ask the coyote.” Craig frowned and stared at me. “Do you ever talk to wild animals?”
“I have, yes. They can be chattier than the domestic ones.”
“Huh. Who knew?” Craig stared straight ahead, nodded, and set off toward the barn.
Leaving the safety of the nearby woods for the meadow, I wanted to run and get out of sight. Electricity prickled at the back of my neck. Instead of racing to the rear of the barn, I held this irrational alarm in check. I walked behind Ben and managed not to run into him—or over him.
“No surveillance here either—just the chain and padlock.” Craig shook it. The lock swung open. “Hmmm. Did they forget something?”
“It’s open? Really? Does that mean they’re coming back soon?” I tried and failed to control the rise in my voice.
“If you want, I can take you back to the truck.”
“No. It’s okay. I’m good. That would just waste your time.” His green eyes narrowed. I frowned and stepped behind Craig, avoiding Ben’s stare. “So are we going in?”
Looking around, Ben asked, “You said there are windows? Where? Let’s get a quick look through them first.”
“Great.” I smiled, my lips twitching at the corners. “They’re around back.”
Ben stood at one, Craig the other.
“The whole place seems clear from what I can see. The tinted windows don’t make it easy.” Craig asked, “Can you see any better on that side?”
“Nope. Nothing above a certain point. Windows tinted over here, too.” Ben cupped his eyes with both hands and pressed against the lower portion of the glass. “Just dirt floor and the base of board walls. Don’t see anything around the doors, though.”
I squeezed in beside Ben and stood on tiptoes. Hooking my fingers on the sill to pull myself high enough, I looked through the one-inch clear strip of window. The tables were still there, but not the boxes. “Around the doors?”
Stepping away from the window, Ben nodded. “Yeah. They left the door unlocked. Maybe on purpose. Maybe not. If it was, it’s possible they left a surprise for whoever they think’s coming.”
The image of Data from the movie The Goonies, his pockets filled with all kinds of gadgets, flashed in my mind. “A surprise? You mean like a booby trap?”
Craig chuckled. “Yeah. Kinda like that.”
“I say we go in.” Ben turned toward the far end of the building. “Come on.” His hand on my back, he steered me to the other side of the barn. “I want to take a look around.”
Falling in step with Ben, Craig mused, “No generator here. Dirt floors at both locations. Whatever they’re doing doesn’t always require power or a sterile environment.” He slowed and glanced around. “No water, either.”
“If there’s none here or at the other property, where did the gooey stuff come from? They’re hauling water? That doesn’t seem practical.” I stopped. “Mrs. Adams said there used to be a well. She figured it was dry, caved in by now, but what if it isn’t? That’s definitely a source. They’d have to carry it to the barn, but still ...”
Squinting, Ben scanned the area. “Where would it be?”
“By the old house.” Craig set off at a brisk walk, and we followed him toward the heap of collapsed gray boards and rusty tin roofing. Slowing, he angled to the right and stopped next to a much smaller pile of rubble. Bits of rotting wood and pieces of stone surrounded what remained of the crumbling old well. “There’s your water.” Craig circled around to a spot where only a short stone foundation stood and pointed to a coil of one-inch fire hose attached to the end of a pump. A hard rubber hose was connected to the other end, snaking into a small hole on top of a twelve-inch square box on the ground. “Not exactly up to code.” Craig shook his head. “Doubt the water’s been tested.”
We returned to the barn.
“Let’s get a look inside. Code violations still don’t give us enough for a warrant.” Ben took my arm and stopp
ed me as I turned to follow Craig. “You stay outside when we go in.” He smiled. “Don’t need to explain to your mom why I had to bail you out on a breaking-and-entering arrest.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t stand at the door and watch.” I grinned.
Craig released the padlock, pulled the chain through, and swung the doors open.
I stood just outside, as promised, and stared in at the empty barn. Bare shelves ran the length of the walls. A faint trace of dust covered the tabletops. There were no cigarette butts, spent matches, or discarded candy wrappers anywhere—nothing to indicate so much as a casual occupancy. “Did they abandon this site?” My voice sounded dull in the vacant space.
Checking the far corner, Craig said, “Don’t know. It’s possible.” He glanced at me. “Maybe they found out someone was snooping around.”
“That would explain the open lock. They don’t care anymore.” Ben pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at the screen. “There’s been a bank robbery in Medford.” He nodded toward the door. “We need to go, Craig.”
Craig patted my shoulder as he passed. “Sorry, Doc.”
I dropped the guys off and headed for someplace I could get a burger to go. My stomach growled at the thought of food—a not-so-subtle reminder of how much time had passed since I’d last eaten. A quick check showed it was almost four. No wonder I’m starving.
Since Gracie would be off soon, I decided to wait and see if she’d like to get something to eat. I wanted to meet up with Sam, too, but she was on until seven. Maybe we could eat at the hospital. That way I could let both know what had happened, if Sam wasn’t slammed.
At five, Gracie and I met at the cafeteria, and I loaded up a tray with a salad, chicken and dumplings, and a Pepsi.
Sam hurried to our table. Her long blond hair was clasped on top of her head, and her blue scrub pants were an inch too short and one size too big. She settled onto a hard plastic chair. “I only have fifteen minutes. It’s quiet tonight, but I’m doing an inventory. I want to finish before I leave.” She took a carrot from Gracie’s salad and bit into it. Crunching, she said, “Come over later. I know I’m going to have questions, and there’s no time for answers right now.”