by Dana Mentink
“One of your aunt’s guides was murdered last week,” Henry said before Nora had formed her next question. “Dexter—”
Maya trudged ahead, following the string of lights. “Yeah, I knew about him, but that wasn’t part of the plan. Carl wasn’t supposed to—”
“Is he in charge of all this?” Henry interjected. “Deputy Carl Alexander?”
Maya spun and rolled her eyes at Nora as if to say, Can you believe this guy? She blew a thin line of air out past her lips. “He acts like it sometimes. But no, he’s not in charge. He’s just a jerk, though I heard his hand was forced.”
“By who?”
“It’s better you don’t know.”
“Are you in charge?”
Maya barked a laugh. “I may be important, but would I really choose to become an expert in old mining tunnels if I were the boss? Give me a little credit.”
“Is this related to Tommy?” Henry asked. “Did he die for the same reason?”
“Don’t ask me any more questions,” Maya said. Her statement signaled an order, but her voice sounded like a plea. For all Maya’s bravado, Nora’s heart twisted with compassion.
She reached for her sister’s hand. They both stopped and finally made eye contact. “What do you mean that you’ve been protecting me?”
Maya’s nose wrinkled in the way it used to when trying to decide something. Nora fought against impatience and waited.
“I got in this for the money, the freedom,” Maya said with a lift of her chin. “I know you could never understand, but I wanted something for myself. Haven’t you ever wanted that? I mean, we didn’t even get our own rooms growing up. Ever. Aunt Linda was so worried about seemingly giving us preferential treatment, she had us sleeping in the lodge with the other employees!”
“You have to keep in mind Aunt Linda never even knew Mom. She didn’t even know she had a half sister when she was asked to take us in.” The tendency to defend Aunt Linda’s choices took Nora by surprise. She didn’t want to admit that she’d fought carrying the same grudge for many years.
Maya threw a thumb into her chest. “I’ve been able to go places I’ve always wanted, Nora.”
Nora tried her best to smile but couldn’t.
Maya’s smile also dropped. “It wasn’t as much fun when I didn’t have anyone to tell, so I tried once to get… I did try. But…”
“They threatened to hurt Nora. Didn’t they?” Henry’s harsh voice broke the tenderness of the moment. “And your aunt?”
Maya pulled back, releasing Nora’s hand. “Listen, it’s safer if you stop asking questions. I’ll get you out of here, and you can do what you want. Just don’t mention me as part of any of it, if you want to keep Nora and Aunt Linda safe.”
Nora twisted to gauge Henry’s reaction. Maya had directed her words at him but turned to Nora as if to confide. “You can’t trust anyone. I don’t know who is on the payroll, but I know you’re being watched.”
Nora’s mouth dropped. “Is there one from the US Forest—”
“I don’t know who all is involved, I told you.” Her eyes flashed. “You mentioned Tommy. I don’t know any details about that, either. Promise me you’ll stop asking questions, Nora.”
“You at least know some of the payroll,” Henry interrupted.
“It’s not safe to talk about.” Maya eyed Henry. “For all I know, you’re in on it.”
“How ’bout we remedy that, and I get you set up with some witness protection? While I protect your sister. If Nora lets me know your aunt’s whereabouts, I can make some calls and get her safe, as well.”
Maya turned, looked ahead, and placed a hand on her forehead. “I need to focus. I can’t take you my normal route.” They came to an intersection where the tunnels split three ways. Maya stretched her chin forward. “Did you hear that?”
Nora strained her ears. Footsteps echoed through the tunnels.
“Carl found the entrance.” Maya turned to them. “I have an idea, but you’re going to have to trust me,” she whispered.
Nora almost groaned aloud. How could they do that?
* * *
Henry shivered, standing in the darkness. Maya killed the lights, flipping a switch at the intersection of the mine tunnels. A moment later, a bright spotlight shone from a headlamp he didn’t realize she’d been wearing. She beckoned them forward.
“I don’t like using this tunnel,” she whispered. “There are some vertical shafts that drop hundreds of feet farther down. We’ll stop way before that, but it gives me the creeps.” The tunnel they’d entered wasn’t nearly as modern—which was saying something—as they sidestepped trash in the form of discarded lanterns, a pile of seemingly old dynamite, a broken shovel and a four-foot wooden ladder. Pebbles and a few rocks the size of baseballs littered the path, as well.
Maya shifted her headlamp beam before he could look at the ceiling to judge the likelihood of being buried alive in a cave-in. They were only about forty miles from a known fault line. He hoped, if the tunnels had stood the test of time after so many earthquakes, that this one was sturdy. The moment they passed a precarious beam, Maya shifted her back against the wall and gestured for them to do the same.
Playing hide-and-seek from an officer five years his junior went against the fiber of Henry’s being, but Nora’s safety—and therefore her sister’s—took priority. The rattle of metal echoed. Maya’s headlamp went dark. Henry remembered his feet causing the same sound on the metal grates. Carl had to be roughly a hundred feet from the intersection of tunnels. Would the deputy turn around without light helping him lead the way?
There were thousands of abandoned mines in Idaho, many undocumented. In his short time as a ranger, they’d had one off-road vehicle unintentionally discover a nearby vertical mineshaft. Those types of hidden mines were the scariest. Thankfully, they’d rescued the two individuals without serious injury, though they’d been trapped for two days before the search party had found them. Henry’s throat tightened at the thought of being trapped inside a cold, damp environment for days.
Finding and entering the locations of discovered mines into a state database was one of the priorities of his job, but this particular set of tunnels was quite extensive, and he was sure they were not all on record yet. Copper or silver mines would be his guess. Whoever Maya’s boss was had likely discovered these mines and worked very hard to keep it a secret, from what Henry could tell. Otherwise, he and other nature enthusiasts would’ve discovered one of this magnitude by now. Maybe every exit and entrance had been camouflaged. He just prayed it would be easier to find ways out than in.
Nora’s breath shuddered next to him. Their shoulders touched, providing the only side-by-side warmth in the freezing tunnel. He adjusted his stance so he’d be ready to pounce if needed. Their hands brushed and it felt like electricity rushed up his spine, sharpening his senses. He bent his head and whispered into her damp hair, “Are you okay?”
She turned to him before he pulled away and her lips brushed against his cheek. He felt paralyzed for a second, the memory of their past kisses heating his neck. “I’m fine, but he has a gun, Henry,” she whispered so softly he could barely hear the words. “He has a gun and you don’t. Please don’t try anything.”
He squeezed her hand to indicate it would be all right, but he had to ignore the instinct that told him to say, Actually, I have two guns—Ka and Pow, while flexing each arm. His older brother and he had always made jokes like that. His brother had followed his father’s path as a lawyer, ensuring his father’s disappointment in Henry’s choice of career, but they’d recently made peace. “If he’s smart at all, he won’t shoot with the big risk of a ricochet in here.”
A small splash of water… Henry remembered barely missing the puddle caused by dripping water. Hundreds of small waterfalls in the area and snow on tops of mountains guaranteed leaks inside the tunnel. Judging f
rom the sounds, Carl was likely only twenty feet away. Maybe Carl knew the tunnels better than Maya thought he did. If so, hopefully the man would move on to the most likely path away from them.
From behind them, a phone light washed over the walls. Henry pulled his chin closer to his chest and noticed the loose rocks littering the ground beside his feet. David and Goliath came to mind again, but he didn’t have a sling and Carl wasn’t a giant. Still, a rock was better than nothing.
Henry squatted and tried to remember where he’d seen the closest baseball-size rock. His fingers brushed the rocks, careful not to shift pebbles and cause sound. More footsteps echoed, moving away. He stayed in the crouch a moment longer, just in case his knees decided to break the silence when he straightened.
The beam of light flashed back into the tunnel, illuminating the tips of Henry’s shoes, but also Carl’s face and the Taser in his right hand. Henry’s biceps were no match against a Taser. He launched himself forward and threw the rock. His aim proved true, at the sound of plastic cracking and Carl’s shout of pain. The Taser crashed against the side of the tunnel and the phone light hit the dirt, pointing upward.
Henry vaulted forward. He just needed to get the gun in the deputy’s holster before the man grew desperate.
Carl grabbed the stick from his belt and, with a flick of his wrist, the baton extended. Henry froze a moment before making impact, knowing how officers were trained and the pain that little stick could inflict. The light showed the red circle on Carl’s knuckles where the rock had left its mark. If Henry could get close enough, he might be able to disarm him.
His nerves fired warnings of the impending sting and pain if he failed, particularly in the leg that had once shattered. Henry held his hands out far enough to not be a risk.
Carl whipped the baton in front of him, as if proving what a threat he could be. “Give me the drugs.”
“We don’t have them.”
The deputy took a step closer, and Henry moved back. “Then tell me where they are, and we can call a truce.”
Henry almost laughed aloud at the implication he’d be so gullible. “Again, I can honestly say I don’t know.”
“Wrong answer.” Carl lunged, waving the baton in an arc over his head.
Henry jumped, but gained more height than distance. The snap of the baton crackled close to his ear and made contact with his shoulder. The sting radiated down his spine and through his bones, rattling him. He growled and plowed his head into Carl’s stomach, wrapping his arms around the deputy’s torso. Carl tried to smack him again, but only the handle of the baton hit Henry’s back.
The pain throbbed in his shoulder, almost enough to cause Henry to release the man, but if he didn’t take Carl out now, Nora would be in more danger. He twisted and bent his right arm around Carl’s head, pushing it downward while he used his left hand to bend Carl’s wrist back until he dropped the baton.
A stomp on Henry’s instep loosened his grip. He cried out and Carl pushed him away. One of them must’ve kicked the phone because the light all but disappeared. Henry took several quick steps back, and Carl ran at him. He raised his arms instinctively to block, but Carl punched him right in the gut.
He lost his breath for seconds that felt more like minutes as he stumbled backward, hoping the space between them would give him a beat before Carl attacked again. But as he stepped farther into the darkness, he realized it’d be best to draw Carl deeper, away from the intersection of the three tunnels. Hopefully, Maya would take the opportunity to get Nora out and far away while she could.
His foot reached something smooth and firm. He took another step and felt the ground wobble ever so slightly, but it was likely wood panels instead of the metal grates used in the other tunnel for sturdier flooring. Carl lunged for him, and a rush of cold air hit him at the same time Carl’s fist made contact with his chin. His skull rattled from the impact of teeth against teeth at his jaw shutting with unusual force.
“Henry!” Nora screamed.
A bright light burst from Maya’s headlamp just as Carl aimed another punch at Henry’s head. Henry ducked at the last second. The man’s knuckle grazed the top of his head, but the force of the punch sailed past him. Carl twisted with momentum and dropped, disappearing from view with a sudden holler.
Terror gripped every muscle as Henry looked down to see a vertical shaft on either side of the precariously thin wooden bridge. Nothing but darkness and cold air swirled below him. Carl had completely disappeared into the abyss.
“Don’t move!” Maya yelled.
The bridge vibrated over the open vertical shaft.
“I thought you said there weren’t any vertical shafts until much deeper in this tunnel,” Henry challenged.
“I misjudged.”
So had Carl.
Maya moved to the edge of the shaft and bent her head to shine the light down. Henry forced himself to look again. The only things visible were the wood and rock frames of the seemingly endless pit. He closed his eyes against the sudden onslaught of what-ifs and emotions until his stomach lurched and he questioned his balance. He looked over his shoulder to see the edge of the wooden bridge slip from the ground behind him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nora rushed forward, arms and hands outstretched. Maya also lunged, her legs braced in a wide stance. Henry’s eyes widened in the beam of Maya’s headlamp as he jumped.
His toes touched the edge of the rock. His waving arms flung upward, too far away for her to reach as he fought to catch his balance. Nora gripped the edge of his life jacket and Maya grabbed the opposite side and pulled, squatting for more momentum.
Henry pitched frontward and tripped over another rock. Dust kicked up in the air and irritated Nora’s throat while Maya and Henry coughed.
“I’d rather not think about what’s in the air,” Maya said. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
Nora reached for Henry. “Why didn’t you grab our arms when we tried to help you?”
“And risk taking you down with me? I know you’re strong, but not that strong.” He tugged her into a hug. “You still saved me. Thanks for pulling me the rest of the way.”
He bent his head into the embrace and his cheek brushed against hers. She heard the stress in his uneven breathing and fought to keep her own steady. “How do we make this all stop?” she whispered.
Her sister’s light bobbed as she walked away from them. Henry let Nora go and straightened to follow, but her feet wouldn’t cooperate. “What about him?” she challenged her sister. “We can’t just leave Carl there.”
“There’s no way he survived, sis. Don’t waste any tears on him.” Maya’s clipped tone bounced off the close walls. “He wasn’t a nice man—never was. He embezzled search and rescue funds. That’s how he got recruited in the first place. Probably wasn’t doing nice things before that.”
Maya’s statements prompted more questions about Carl. “Is that how you justify your part?” she asked. “You weren’t doing bad things before that?”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s safer that way.”
Henry straightened. “Maya, I can’t let this go, either. You know that. We need to call this in.” He beckoned Nora forward and held her hand until they made it into the intersection where Maya flipped on the electricity to the dangling lightbulbs.
“Do what you want, but I’m not going with you.”
“Maya, listen to reason. As soon as we get out of here—with or without your help—this operation is all going to be shut down one way or another. Let Henry help you.”
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with—”
“Then give me the upper hand by explaining it to me,” Henry interjected.
Maya stood still, breathing hard for a moment. “You’re right. I know you’re right, but you have to promise me not to take this to anyone local or—” her eyes flickere
d to Nora “—people will get hurt.”
“You have my word.” Henry’s voice dropped almost an octave. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep everyone in your family safe.”
Maya stared him full in the face. “A lot of meth is made throughout the forest areas. Then we have the classics coming in from Canada.”
“The classics?”
Maya appeared to bristle at Nora’s question.
“Heroin, cocaine, you name it. They cross the border by foot then get picked up and taken to the interstate bordering Montana. But before they get to the heavily patrolled areas, they jog over on state highways to Sauvage. From there, our guides take the stuff and any other meth down the river. It avoids all potential patrols.
“Everything is uncut. They leave the drugs at the Sangster Creek site and move on. I come out of my hiding place and hike the tunnels. There’s a shortcut soon that’ll take me right to Copper City where we cut the drugs and distribute them. From that vantage point, there are many easy options for distribution in the tristate area without detection.”
Nora gasped. The abandoned mining town in the middle of nowhere, at the top of a mountain, had very few buildings left, but the ones that were there were historically protected. Schools in the area made field trips there annually.
“We only do it in the spring, sis. No kids are ever in danger,” Maya chided. She apparently still knew Nora well enough to know where her thoughts went.
“They use guides?” Nora asked. “Our river guides?”
She shrugged. “It’s easy money for them. It helped you get employees, really. It’s always been a selective process for those that can keep their mouths shut.”
“What’s the motivation to stay quiet?” Henry asked.
“Besides money?” Maya asked, as if the answer should’ve been obvious, until her eyes fell on Nora’s gaze.
“Were they worried about their families like you were worried about me?” Nora shook her head. She already knew the answer. “I don’t think I could ever thank you for employees like Dexter.”