Fancy Gap

by C. David Gelly

  “Well, now, there’s something to look forward to. Why don’t you stand up and get right behind me and lock that image of my behind into memory, ’cause that’s all you’re going to see on that hike. But I promise to help you train for the trail while we work on the case. And, by the way, it’s two thousand one hundred and eighty miles long.”

  “My, my, aren’t you just the most generous and precise of souls? I suggest we get through providing our assistance to the sheriff, and then I will provide my assistance to little ole you on the Appalachian Trail.”

  “Works for me. Now let me tell you about the dinner I plan to cook for us. I promise to call the sheriff first thing in the morning. Really, I promise!”

  Quinn smiled as he left the deck and headed into the kitchen. Louisa didn’t budge from her chair, as the evening sunset show was about to get under way.

  * * *

  Quinn was first to wake in the morning. Louisa was in a deep sleep beside him as he gently slipped out of bed and headed into the kitchen. He had always been an early-morning fanatic. He needed some coffee and liked it bold and deeply flavorful. He ground his own Starbucks beans and then used a French press to get the brew exactly the way he loved it.

  Once he filled his mug, he went out to the backyard and climbed up to a bench he had built right near his fire pit. From this spot he could see more than a hundred miles into the North Carolina horizon. The air was still, and butterflies already were landing on the butterfly bushes that Ellen had planted years earlier.

  He slowly sipped his coffee and thought of all the wonderful things he and Ellen had accomplished at the Chateau. She was the love of his life. He never thought he would meet a woman like Louisa. He already had a new place in his heart for her. It was a small new place. Ellen owned the most space there, and that was as it should be. He had known Ellen from their childhood days in Maine till the day the good Lord took her home. Louisa had dropped out of the cosmic sky so unexpectedly to meld with him in a way he never imagined possible.

  He took another sip of the java in his cup and looked off into the distance. Maybe I should pinch myself, he thought. Two years of comfort in his aloneness suddenly wrapped itself into a tsunami of swirling change called Louisa. Life’s stirrups had fallen free as he dangled from an emotional roller coaster. But he liked where he was, uncertainty and all, because he had a companion who was also agile enough to deal with the humps and dumps of this altogether new path in life.

  He was jolted out of these thoughts when he heard the back screen door squeak open. Louisa peeked out. “Need more coffee, big fella?” she yelled in his direction.

  “By all means, my mountain barista, bring on another cup!” he replied. He threw out the dregs in the bottom of his cup as he waited for her to reappear. He didn’t have to wait long as she carefully opened the screen door while balancing two cups in her hands. His attention was quickly diverted to what she was wearing—or wasn’t. She had wrapped a tie-dyed do-rag around her head. Her feet were comfortably planted in a pair of fleece-lined boots. The rest of her was au naturel.

  His eyes quickly focused on the two mugs of coffee she was carrying. It was early enough and just cool enough for steam to be coming out of both mugs. She climbed the hillside in three short bounds and was by his side on the bench in a moment. He looked at this totally uninhibited woman, sipping coffee while completely in his space and loving it. They didn’t speak as they enjoyed their coffee and the gorgeous sunrise unfolding in the east.

  “So what happens if anyone at all drives around the bend right now and sees you looking ever so beautiful in your nakedness?” he asked, nibbling her earlobe.

  She didn’t say a word. Instead, she set both coffee cups on the grass. She then sat squarely on his lap, facing him. She rested her do-rag-covered forehead on his and slowly started grinding her hips into his.

  That quickly achieved the desired results as his manhood awakened as the floodgates opened and blood fortified with caffeine and lust joined forces to provide Louisa with an immediate indication that he was very interested in accepting her invitation for morning anaerobic exercise.

  This moment was so unexpected and pure that they lost all connection to the world about them. She had stripped away his running shorts and held his manhood tightly in both hands as she guided him into his new velvet glove that was moist with the soft and slippery lubrication of lust. His whole body was erect with passion as he slowly rose from a sitting position. His legs propelled him straight up as Louisa wrapped her legs around his torso and held on tight. He heard only Louisa’s deep, pulsating breathing as they rocked back and forth. He glanced up when he felt her right arm ease off his back as she waved up into the heavens above.

  They both missed the sound of a vehicle coming up the gravel road. Quinn’s first notion of company occurred when he saw the UPS truck rounding the bottom curve below them. The moment coincided with the mutual explosions within them.

  Quinn held back a yelp as the UPS driver slowly accelerated up the road and called, “Hello, folks! Looks like you’re enjoying your morning” as he drove by.

  Quinn almost dropped Louisa. She quickly released her grip around his waist and set her feet on the hillside. They both turned sideways and sat on the bench, overcome with waves of laughter. They finally composed themselves enough to catch their breath.

  “Do you think that young UPS man realized that the AARP cards were for the next house down the lane?” Louisa asked.

  “Were you waving at the hawks riding the thermals a bit ago, or was I imagining that?” he asked.

  “Do you remember when I told you that my last boss at the Bureau was a shithead? Well, before bringing out the coffee, I used an anonymous e-mail account I have to send him exact coordinates of this bench. I just know that curious son of a bitch dialed into to the Bureau’s spy satellite camera to have a look. I think a lot of people in the District probably heard the ambulance coming down Pennsylvania Avenue to pick him up after his heart attack. Hope the prick enjoyed the show!”

  They picked up their coffee cups and laughed some more as they headed down to the house. She took his hand and led him to the hot tub.

  “ We soak, and then you cook up a little something for breakfast,” Louisa said.

  After breakfast, Quinn called Sheriff Pierce.“Good morning, Quinn, how are you two getting along this fine morning?”

  “Well, sheriff, so far, so good, I guess,” replied Quinn, biting his lip hard to keep from laughing out loud.

  “So what’s it going to be, my friend? Can we count on you both to lend us a hand with this mess?”

  “Sheriff, this isn’t exactly what Louisa had in mind at this point in our lives. She has served her fellow man well through her distinguished career with the FBI. I served a great many shareholders in protecting assets against those who would steal from all. But at the end of the day yesterday, we decided that just this once we’ll take a look at all of this and see what we can offer.”

  “Well, by God, thank you, Quinn. I just know some good will come from all of this now. I’ll swear you in as special deputies.”

  “OK, sheriff, that brings me to an important point. Louisa will be a special deputy. I’ll just be her civilian associate. By doing so, I won’t be restricted by the rule of law that all of you have to follow and abide by. I’ll enjoy a certain degree of freedom if it’s needed anytime. So I guess we’d like to see Leroy this morning to get going with some things we need to see.”

  “I’ll have Leroy at your place in a couple of hours. Thanks again!”

  “You’re welcome, sheriff, and I do hope we can help.”

  Quinn hung up and looked at Louisa as she took both of his hands in hers and held them tightly.

  “This is the right thing to do, my dearest Quinn. Fate brought us together in this most magnificent way that has taken us both by surprise. Just a short time ago, I didn’t know Fancy Gap, Virginia, existed. But suddenly our eyes met at that bar, and here we are, still looking at
each other. Call it good karma or juju or whatever it may be. Our totally separate paths converged into one, where we sit on this cliff on your most beautiful acre.

  I pinch myself and wonder if this bubble will burst. I don’t recognize this new person I have quickly become. The old me had no love or passion and shut out any and all who tried to change that with me. I really didn’t know if I could find all the living I’ve missed for the past thirty years. Since I was so comfortable in my old ways, I wasn’t very optimistic that I could change.

  But all of that has changed in a hurry. Please understand that I left the old Louisa somewhere between Mount Airy and the state line in Cana. Like a snake, I shed my former self and personality and giggled like a young girl when I did. I have no regrets, Quinn, and I just hope you’ll help me along the way.”

  “Louisa, you may be the luckiest woman on earth, ’cause you got this good, ole boy to help you over the hump, so to speak. Not to worry—I promise to be there if you start to drift back to your old ways. I’ll spank you back into our new reality. Promise I will!” Quinn offered.

  “Well, you wonderful shit, you! I pour out my heart and you—”

  Before she could finish, Quinn’s phone rang. He looked at the display and pointed in the direction of his neighbor’s house.

  “Nigel, good morning, my friend! How are you?”

  “Quinn, a great mountain morning to you. I’m fine, and thanks for asking. Listen, I was at the deli last night, and a good friend—who must go unnamed for now—told me that the object of your attention is some high-powered former bigwig in the FBI, and the sheriff wants you both to help find that poor little girl before she’s killed.”

  “Well, Nigel, I suggest you question the veracity of the information that found its way to you at the deli. First of all, don’t believe all that you hear. After all, we both know that this is a very small community full of folks who like to stay informed of their neighbors business and only get about half of it right. I guess that’s not much different than any other community or neighborhood.”

  “Quinn, you’re right about all of that, my friend.”

  “Well, Nigel, what else do you have for me this morning?”

  “Well neighbor, the USP driver delivered a package to me and did mention that you both sure seemed to be enjoying your morning.”

  “By God, Nigel, we were, and thanks for asking. Have a great day, my friend, and best to your wife!”

  As soon as he hung up, he burst into a fit of laughter and rolled onto the couch. Louisa suddenly realized why he was cracking up and started to giggle herself when she thought of the UPS driver. She marveled at just how wacky this new chapter in life had become. They both heard a car driving up the gravel road and wondered if it was the UPS driver coming back for an encore performance. They peered over the edge of the deck only to see a Carroll County sheriff ’s car coming around the bend. It was Leroy. He was early.

  He parked in the driveway and got out to take in the view. He shook his head in obvious delight and headed up the back porch stairs. He looked through the screen door just as Louisa appeared around the corner from the bedroom.

  “Hey, Sergeant Jefferson, come on in. Hope you’re doing well today.”

  “OK, first things first: From now on its Leroy and none of that ‘Sergeant Jefferson’ stuff. Agreed?”

  “Of course, Leroy, and I promise I won’t forget either.”

  “Hey, Leroy,” Quinn shouted as he came up from the lower level. “How the heck are ya? I sure hope you don’t mind having to babysit these two ole senior citizens and keep us out of people’s way.”

  “Quinn, it’s a pleasure and an honor to be able to work with two such accomplished and experienced professionals. This is a chance of a lifetime for me. You probably don’t know, but I’ve been a patrol supervisor for a lot of years in the department. I’ve always dreamed of doing some sort of investigative work and dealing with the mental challenges of solving criminal actions.

  Now I could have left Carroll County and moved to a big city like Winston-Salem or Greensboro and undoubtedly realized that career aspiration with either of those departments. But my wife has a great business here in town, and we knew that we probably were better off staying put. So in a nutshell, that’s why I’m excited that the sheriff assigned me to work with you both, and I hope I can be of assistance.”

  “Leroy, there is no doubt in either of our minds that you are the right person to work with us. I know we’ll all learn from this tragedy. Are you ready to get to work?”

  “You bet I am. Where do we start?” Leroy asked.

  “Well, the first place we need to go to is Devil’s Den,” Louisa said. “ We need to get a good feel for the place where Pete was found. We might get lucky and find something that connects the site to the killer or where Pete was actually killed.”

  “Have you had something to eat yet?” Quinn asked him.

  “I just did, thanks. I’m ready to go,” Leroy answered.

  “Great. We did too. Let’s go,” Quinn said as he grabbed a satchel he had packed. They rode over in Leroy’s cruiser and talked about the case on the way.

  “I understand that you do some competitive shooting,” Quinn asked Leroy.

  “Well, Quinn, shooting has been a passion with me for a good long time. My father taught me how to shoot straight when I was very young. It just seemed to come to me naturally. I enjoy competing, and I’ve done well on the regional level. My wife complains that I have too many guns and too many trophies. Most of our kin aren’t excited about guns, but they support me, as it’s important for an African-American in this neck of the woods to get exposure for being recognized as winning any kind of competition.”

  They soon pulled in to the Devil’s Den parking lot. Police tape and barricades still blocked the main entrance. They got out of the cruiser and scanned the lot.

  “The CSI team didn’t find any tire tracks that matched the set they retrieved from the spot across the street from the motel in Fancy Gap. Now the killer could have used another vehicle or simply parked somewhere else,” said Leroy.

  After they had investigated the lot, Quinn suggested, “Let’s walk down the trail.”

  Leroy went back to the cruiser, put on a pair of hiking boots he had in the trunk, and grabbed a folder from the front seat. Louisa led the trio slowly down the path, stopping to look at anything that caught her eye. Quinn did the same, leaving the trail in several spots to inspect something. It took them a good forty-five minutes to get to the cave entrance.

  “Wow,” Quinn said as he looked at the entrance. “It’s bigger than I expected.”

  Leroy removed crime scene pictures from his folder. Louisa and Quinn examined the pictures closely as they looked at the opening from every possible angle. Quinn walked the immediate perimeter of the cave entrance, pulling back vegetation as he examined the area.

  “Leroy, I see several trails that come from below and lead up here. Do you know if the CSI staff examined them closely?”

  “I saw some of the technicians go down some of them, but I don’t know how far they went.”

  Quinn looked at Louisa and nodded as he headed slowly down the widest trail. She went left and started down another smaller trail opening. Leroy got the hint and started down the smallest one.

  About fifteen minutes went by before Quinn yelled for the others to come back to the cave. Not far away, Leroy returned in no time. Louisa came running back up the trail she had followed and burst into the open area near the cave. Leroy noticed that she wasn’t even breathing hard.

  Quinn suddenly appeared at the opening to the largest trail. Without a moment’s rest, he waved them in line to follow him back down the trail. One hundred yards down the steep trail, he motioned them to stop. He pointed to a small white object that slightly protruded from under a leaf.

  Louisa got down on all fours and looked at the object. Quinn set his satchel down and opened it. He took out a small magnifying glass and handed it to Louisa. She
carefully examined the object and asked Quinn, “Do you have any tweezers?”

  He reached into the satchel again and pulled out the longest tweezers Leroy had ever seen, as well as a clear plastic bag. He handed them to Louisa. She picked up the small white object with the tweezers and dropped it into the bag. Leroy was amazed that they hadn’t spoken yet. The whole time, Quinn took pictures with a small Sony camera.

  Louisa raised the bag into a ray of sunlight as she and Quinn examined the contents. They looked at each other.

  “Leroy, look at this,” Quinn said.

  Leroy stepped closer and looked at the bag. Quinn handed him the magnifying glass. Leroy held the bag closer as he examined the contents.

  “That will match up with what the lab team found from the fragments around the boy’s neck. This also tells us that the killer used this path to come up to the cave,” said Louisa.

  Quinn shook his head in agreement. Louisa could tell that Leroy wasn’t yet clued in to what she was talking about. “Leroy, look around us. There are a lot of natural greens, yellows, and purples. Nothing natural looks like this. Now I agree it could have come from someone other than the killer. But I doubt that, as this is a trail far less travelled. As a matter of fact, from what I can see, this trail hasn’t been used in some time. My best conclusion is that the killer parked somewhere down below us. What’s below us, Leroy?”

  He looked around to get his bearings. “I’ll bet Highway 52 is straight down below us at the bottom of this trail.”

  Quinn carefully placed the bag in his satchel and handed the satchel to Leroy. He looked at Louisa, and she nodded in the affirmative.

  “Hold this for a bit, Leroy, as we’ll run down the trail to see if there is anything else of interest.”

  They started down the trail at a good pace. Leroy sat on the bench and thought about looking into Quinn’s satchel for the next twenty minutes. He stopped thinking about it as he heard them both coming back up the trail. They stopped at the entrance to the cave, bowed their heads and held hands as they prayed for Pete Preston. Leroy joined them.