by Misty Malone
Satisfied it was all under control, she sat back and watched the creek. She decided the wildlife must know about her anxiety level, because they seemed to treat her to a show. Two rabbits played in the meadow, while a deer and her fawn came to get a drink before returning to the woods. Finally, a raccoon came out of the woods and did some fishing in the creek, finding some crawdads under rocks.
When she left, she decided to take another ride, just for the fun of riding. She went along an empty pasture, towards the woods at the other end of the area she was in. Garrett had taken her for a ride in that general area just the week before, and she’d enjoyed it. He pointed out different things along the way, even showing her a secret area where he used to hide when he was a boy.
Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she stopped. Not sure what it was, she reached back and got her gun. She took some ammunition from her pocket and loaded the pistol, putting it in the waistband of her blue jeans in the back, under her jacket. If it were an animal, she wanted to have it ready. She kept watching the area, but didn’t see any more activity.
While she was watching carefully, although she didn’t see anything moving, she smelled something. She couldn’t identify it, but it was a definite odor. She stopped the four wheeler and got off, sniffing the air. The odor wasn’t constant, which made it difficult to identify. It seemed she got whiffs of it, probably as the wind blew.
She started walking toward the woods, which is where she thought the smell was coming from, watching the whole time for more movement. Once she reached the woods, she stayed at the edge of them, slowly moving closer to where she’d seen the motion, thinking the movement she saw was probably related to the odor.
She couldn’t imagine the smell being related to any kind of wild animal, so if it wasn’t an animal, it must be one or more of the ranch hands doing something, since Garrett assured her it was still his land on the other side of the woods. That eased her concern a little, as she decided it was more likely coming from something one of the hands was doing than from an animal.
But her curiosity being piqued, she had to see who it was, which of the ranch hands, and what they were doing. She was learning a lot about all the work the men did on the ranch, but she couldn’t imagine what this could involve. She headed over to see what they were doing, feeling more relaxed, but still alert, in case she was wrong and there was an animal in the area.
She came upon a little bit of a clearing, and was about to yell out so she wouldn’t scare the hands, when the wind picked up just enough that she got another whiff of what she’d been smelling. She froze, as she suddenly recognized what it was. She quietly stepped off to the side a bit so she was hidden behind a tree, giving her a couple minutes to come to grips with what was happening, and decide what to do about it.
Chapter Sixteen
Several years ago, while a nurse in New York City, she went to a continuing education seminar for emergency room nurses. The seminar dealt with the more common illegal drugs on the market today, and how to tell when someone brought into an emergency room may be suffering from an overdose, or may have taken some bad drugs, or ones laced with something else. They learned the signs and symptoms to watch for, and how to treat them.
A big part of that seminar dealt with meth amphetamine. It was becoming more popular in the area, and law enforcement was beginning to find more and more meth labs being set up. As a matter of fact, a few children had been taken to the emergency room, not feeling well. The nurses reported an odor about them, in their hair and on their clothes, but they didn’t know what it was. It turned out the children lived in a house or a neighboring apartment to a meth lab. So, as part of the seminar, local law enforcement actually set up a small meth lab so the nurses could experience the odor first hand. If someone came into the emergency room with that aroma about them, especially children, they would have a clue as to what may be their problem.
She was sure, as she stood behind the tree, that was what she was smelling now. It was a very distinctive odor, and she had no doubt in her mind now what it was.
But was it possible some of Garrett’s men were doing this? She was sure Garrett knew nothing about it, if they were. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced it couldn’t be any of his men. She’d gotten to know them all, and there wasn’t a single one of them she could picture doing something illegal. Besides that, Garrett and Wyatt always talked about how hard the men worked during the day. If a couple of them were to sneak off to do something like this, she was sure their absence would be noticed.
There was also the odor itself. She was sure if it were some of the men living on the ranch, she would have noticed that smell. Even out here in the open air it was quite noticeable. If the men were doing this, she was sure someone would have noticed it once they were back at the barn and bunkhouse. She was around them enough that if one of them had this odor on their clothes or in their hair, she felt sure she would have picked up on it.
So, if it wasn’t any of Garrett’s men, who was it? As she understood it, this area of the ranch was not even real close to the boundary of his land, so it wasn’t likely to be a neighbor’s kid that thought they were still on their land and wouldn’t be caught.
She slowly peeked around the tree she was hiding behind to see if she could see much. She could see three young men, all of whom she guessed to be in their early twenties. They had what looked to her to be a propane cooker, that people use to deep fry a turkey. She couldn’t make out much else, but she was sure that odor was meth.
The three men had something on the hood of a pickup truck and were all looking at it, facing away from her. She took advantage of that and took her phone out and snapped a couple pictures while she was sure they weren’t looking. She put her phone back and slowly, quietly made her way back to her four wheeler.
She was a little concerned about the men hearing her start the four wheeler, but she didn’t see that she had much choice. With her arm still in a cast she didn’t think she could turn it around and push it far enough away. They apparently hadn’t heard her when she approached, so hopefully they wouldn’t hear her start it and leave, either.
She got on and started it, and quickly turned it back toward the barn. Unfortunately, they did hear it, and as she got it turned, she heard them yelling. She didn’t turn around to look, but concentrated on getting back to the barn. Hopefully they would choose to get in their truck and leave, rather than chase her. She heard a noise behind her that sounded a little like a four wheeler or motorcycle, but she didn’t allow herself to turn around and look, knowing it would be dangerous and possibly slow her down.
She kept her eyes straight ahead and kept going, as fast as she felt she could. As she was speeding toward the main lane leading back to the barn, however, she heard a gun shot, and seemingly at the same time something whizzed right past her. That happened three times, and she realized they were shooting at her.
She thought quick. She knew she had her gun, but also knew there was no way that would do her any good against three of them. She also wasn’t sure she had it in her to try to shoot three young men she didn’t know. She glanced around and an idea came to mind. When Garrett took her riding in this area a week or so ago he showed her a place he used to hide. If she could find that spot, her plan might work. It was risky, but she realized that at least two of the men were chasing her, and she thought it sounded like they were on motorcycles. It was riskier to try to outrun guys on motorcycles who were shooting at her.
With that determination, she changed direction just a bit. She was now heading toward the same lane, but was now following a creek. It was the same creek she ended up laying halfway in after her accident. In that area there was a deep ravine leading down to the water. Here it was more of a cliff on this side of the creek. There was a steep hillside on the other side, but on this side it was pretty much a straight drop off down into the creek.
There was a rather large ledge made of rock partway down,
but other than that, it was straight down. Garrett had warned her several times to stay away from this cliff. But when he showed her the area a week earlier, he’d brought her in from the side, where it wasn’t nearly as steep, and helped her over to his secret hiding place when he was young. It was a cave of sorts right at that ledge. He used to go in from the side, like he took her in that day, and hide in the cave. He would come out of the cave onto the ledge, where he could see down the river quite a ways in either direction.
Now she was trying to remember exactly where that ledge and cave were. Another bullet went whizzing past her. She tried to stay calm enough to think. When she was down there on the ledge, when she looked up she could see a tree that had sprawling branches, and it was just on the other side of the creek, at the top of the hillside. She remembered thinking it looked out of place because there weren’t any other trees close by. She glanced around quickly, and up ahead a little ways she saw the tree. It was the only one around and had the sprawling branches, so it had to be the one she remembered seeing.
She thought back, trying to remember how far down the creek the tree was. She could hear the men yelling behind her. It sounded like they were gaining on her. She did some quick thinking, and had a plan developed in her head. It was really risky, but she was a sitting duck out here with them chasing her. Now if only they would shoot at her and miss one more time.
As she was thinking about it, it happened. Another bullet whizzed past her head, and she put her plan into action. She let go of the handlebars and the throttle, while rolling off the four wheeler. She hit a stone that had a sharp edge on it as she landed. It hurt, but she couldn’t worry about that now. She rolled, hoping it looked like she’d been hit, over to and over the edge of the cliff.
Luck was with her, as she landed a few moments later on the ledge. Her ankle hurt, but she ignored it, quickly scurrying back into the cave. She knew from here on out it was luck. She had to stay quiet and hope they thought she fell clear to the bottom.
Toward the bottom there were more little ledges here and there, not nearly as big as this one, but big enough for a tree to take root in the soil on the rock. Because of those trees, and the large number of trees down at the bottom along the creek, you couldn’t see clear down to the creek if you were standing at the top looking down. That meant they wouldn’t be able to see if she was at the bottom, but they wouldn’t necessarily expect to be able to see her, either.
She scooted back into the cave, but as she looked out, she panicked. There was a spot of blood on the ledge. If they saw that they may look further. She quickly grabbed a handful of dirt from inside the cave and threw it in the direction of the blood. She grabbed a second handful and did the same. Her aim was better with the second and third handfuls, and the dirt covered the blood. There was other dirt on the ledge, so it blended in. She scooted back into the rather small cave as far as she could get now, and knew she had to stay quiet and listen. When she was standing at the top of the hill with Garrett, she couldn’t even see the cave. She was sure hoping they didn’t see it, either. She knew, though, that the least little movement might catch their eye and cause them to investigate. She sure didn’t want that. Her ankle was throbbing, but she didn’t dare check it yet. It was vital that she remain perfectly still and quiet.
She tried to put the pain in her ankle aside so she could listen carefully. It wasn’t long before she heard all three men at the top of the cliff, talking. None of the voices sounded familiar to her, but she listened closely, trying to make out what they were saying. She couldn’t catch every word, but apparently they were convinced by her acting. They all felt one of the bullets hit her. In fact, they found some drops of blood, so that confirmed it. They followed the blood to the edge of the cliff and looked down. They were all surprised that it was a cliff, a steep drop off, and not merely a ravine.
She was back in the cave as far as she could get, and stayed still. She couldn’t see them at all from where she was, and she hoped they couldn’t see any part of her. She could hear them pretty well while they were standing there, though. They were looking down, wondering about her, and where she might be. They decided if she would have landed on the ledge she would still be there since they didn’t see any way to get back up from there, and didn’t think she could have, anyway, after being shot. After talking about it more, they decided if she would have landed on the ledge and moved, there would be blood there, and there wasn’t. They assumed that meant she went on down to the bottom and was down there among the trees.
One of them asked the one who seemed to be in charge if he thought she was dead. He said more than likely, as far down as that was. But if she’s not, she’s not going to be in any shape to climb up the other side. One of them asked if they should follow the creek down far enough to find a place that wasn’t as steep and go down and check on her, but the guy in charged asked if he was stupid. He said they had to hurry and get the stuff shut down and loaded up in the truck and get it and them out of there before someone came looking for her.
One of the men asked about the four wheeler and phone. He suggested they could take them and sell them, but the guy in charge had a better idea. He said if they sold either of them they may be able to trace them back to the crime. Instead, they would use them to their advantage. He said they would load the four wheeler up in the truck, and take her phone. They’d take them to a different part of the ranch, far from there. Then when they went looking for her, when they found the four wheeler and the broken phone not far from it, they would concentrate their search in that area. That would give them time to drop off all their stuff, and bring the motorcycles or some four wheelers back to check the area again to be sure they didn’t miss anything.
They agreed to the plan, and the one in charge told one of them to stay and tear everything down while he and the other one took the four wheeler and phone and planted them. He said he knew of a place on the other side of the ranch that would put them far enough away that no one would hear them when they came back to get a second load. He planned on taking the big stuff, the things that made it obvious what they were doing, and getting them out of there as quickly as possible. They’d come back and get all the small stuff and do a final check of the grounds. He figured by then they would have found the four wheeler and phone and everyone would be in that part of the ranch, leaving this area clear.
They left, and it was only a few minutes later she heard their pickup, and then could hear them loading the four wheeler into the truck. The one in charge told the other one to hurry and get it all torn down, so as soon as they were back they could load the stuff up and get out of there before they realized she was missing and came looking.
One of them was worried they would find where they’d had their lab when they initially came looking for her, before they found her four wheeler. The guy in charge said that was why they had to hurry and get the main stuff out of there. If they found anything it would just be small things, and they’d scatter them around the area, in different parts of the woods so no one would see all of it or be able to put the stuff together and figure out what it was. Then once they’d had time to find the four wheeler and all gather in the one area to search, they’d come back and get the rest.
It got pretty quiet, and Mindy took a few moments to think. She didn’t like the way this was turning out at all. Two of them apparently were gone, but one was still up there, tearing down their operation. Her ankle was still throbbing, but she couldn’t risk palpating it or checking it now. She had to stay quiet and still until she was sure they’d all three left.
As she thought back over what had just happened, although there were things she didn’t like about what was happening, there were some good points, as well. When she formulated her plan, she expected them to all simply leave quickly before getting caught. She planned on using her phone to call Garrett and get help after they left. If her phone wouldn’t work down there, she assumed Garrett and his men would find her four wheeler and then find her.
She hadn’t anticipated dropping her phone when she rolled off the vehicle, or them taking the four wheeler and using it to draw Garrett and the men away from her. That part wasn’t good.
On the other hand, though, at least she timed her fall right, falling right after they shot at her, and they believed she’d been hit. The blood must have been from when she hit her ankle on a rock. That was unfortunate for her ankle, but as it turned out, it helped sell her story, so that was good. Another good thing, probably the most important, is that she landed on the ledge, which had been a big concern of hers, and she was able to scramble into the cave. Overall, she was pleased. It was sure better than getting hit with one of the bullets, or missing the ledge and falling clear to the creek below.
The other thing that might work out in her favor was them actually shooting at her. She hoped one of Garrett’s men heard the shots and came to see what was going on. As quickly as the thought came to her mind, though, she worried that they would. If they came to the area to see who was shooting and why, they might be in danger if these guys were still here and loading their stuff up. Now she was worried about that happening, but she couldn’t think of any solution. She’d just have to wait quietly and see what happened, how it all worked out.
In thinking things through, she decided that once the guys left, she had no way of knowing how long they’d be gone, so she didn’t think she could do anything until she heard them there a second time. Then once they left she planned on firing a shot from her gun to try to draw Garrett and his men to her. If they were all on the other side of the ranch, though, they might not hear her. The bad guys might, though, and come back looking for her. She would have to wait until they’d been gone long enough to be sure they wouldn’t hear it.