Chapter1

by Ribbon of Rain

  Breathing deep, she savored the scent of sweet pepper bush saturating the cool night air. It had never smelled so sweet. She’d missed night walks in the woods. Tomorrow morning she and Jude would talk about the future. Her enthusiasm dampened at the thought of the conversation. Would he ask her again to live in the city? Could she do that? Would he offer to move here? Could she bring herself to ask him to live here knowing how much he disliked it? Perhaps they would compromise, six months in each place. Could they both live with that compromise?

  The quiet gradually filled with nocturnal noises. Kat likened it to an orchestra warming up. Two great horned owls hooted back and forth to each other. Coyotes howled over a kill in the far distance. Tree frogs joined the song. She heard a screech owl to her right.

  Moonlight on the forest floor enabled her to pick up her pace. She didn’t slow until she neared the big pine. Without fail, every year a pair of ravens had nested in its 200 foot high branches.

  A branch cracked from somewhere behind her, and she froze. She stayed still as a statute, holding her breath and listening. It was too quiet. Only two legged animals stopped walking if they stepped on a branch. A creepy feeling crawled over her. Who would be following her? Dropping to her knee, she slid the .44 magnum from its holster and strained her ears for another ten minutes. A vole ran over her moccasins and disappeared under a rock.

  Everything appeared normal, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Putting her weapon away, she pushed on, her senses on high alert.

  When she emerged from the hemlock thicket, she saw a huge glacial boulder and knew she was close to her destination. She leaned against the lee side of the boulder, watching the woods from where she’d come. Nothing out of the ordinary, but still… “Spooked by my own shadow,” she muttered.

  As soon as she arrived at her destination, she found the three foot diameter stump, a few feet to the right of the pine tree. About two feet high with irregular sides, it was shrouded with sphagnum moss, giving it a mystical appearance. The loud thud of her heart drowned out all the night noises. She knelt on the ground and carefully peeled back one side of the moss with trembling fingers. She thrust her right hand deep into stump’s interior, encountering moist decayed wood. The texture reminded her of rich garden compost. Kat pushed deeper until the decomposed wood covered her elbow.

  She was about to try another section of the stump when her fingers touched something that didn’t belong inside a rotting stump. Her heart skipped a beat. Bingo. It felt like a pouch of some sort. Her fingers traced stones inside. Jude would be thrilled. Anxious to see the booty, she pulled it out.

  “Hello, Kat.” A familiar voice spoke behind her. “Sort of late for a walk in the woods, isn’t it?”

  Her muscles tensed. She dropped the pouch and slowly withdrew her hand. Under the pretense of wiping her hand on her thigh, she slipped the revolver from its holster. As she stood, she pivoted and faced the man who must have been shadowing her since she left the lodge.

  She cocked the .44’s hammer. “Why are you following me?” She demanded, no fear in her voice.

  The man held his arms in front of him, palms up. “Put the gun away, Kat. I’m unarmed.”

  “I don’t think so. It stays right where it is – pointed at your heart.” Her heart raced, but she kept her eyes and face free of expression.

  “Come on, Kat,” he wheedled. “We both know you’d never shoot me.”

  “Don’t count on it.” Like low rising smoke from a campfire, her blunt spoken words lingered in the night air.

  “Why are you pawing around in that old stump?”

  Kat ignored his question, her eyes drawn to a small blinking light coming from his waist area. “What are you up to? What’s that blinking on your belt?”

  Kat whirled at the sound of running footsteps coming from her right. Several men in army fatigues rushed from the brush, heading straight for her. Without blinking, she aimed and squeezed the trigger, hitting one in the chest. He dropped to the ground. Before she got off a second shot, she felt a sharp sting in the bicep of her left arm. Within seconds, her head swam with dizziness. Her limbs turned leaden. She sank to the ground, fighting to stay conscious. She heard voices, but nothing being said made sense.

  *****

  “Good job,” a gruff voice spoke from the darkness. “You did what the boss told you to do.”

  “What did you do to Kat? She’s not hurt, is she? He said he wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “Calm down, kid. She’s sedated, not dead.” Turning back to the others he barked orders. “I hear the ‘copter. Prepare to board.”

  Another man in fatigues stood in the clearing, staring at his comrade’s dead body. “What about Joe? Are we taking him with us?”

  “Yeah. Hoist him up first, then the woman. Get a move on. We’ve got to meet up with the boss and transfer her to his private jet.”

  Kat’s tongue felt swollen and the buzzing in her ears increased. Soon the ghostly voices faded, and she fell into a dark abyss.

  *****

  Jude opened his eyes and lay there, wondering what woke him. All he heard was the heavy thump of his heart. He reached over to draw Kat into his arms, but encountered emptiness. The sheet on her side was cold so she’d been gone for some time. He flung off the blankets and swung his legs onto the floor.

  His watch dial read three in the morning. “Kat? Are you in the bathroom?” Dead silence.

  In the far distance he heard a helicopter. Careful to stay in the shadows, he crept to the window and looked out over the lake. The noise grew fainter. It was moving away from the lodge. Jesus, where was Kat?

  He battled with his jeans, and his fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Maybe she went downstairs for a snack or to talk to Cody in the cabin. The fear in his heart almost choked him.

  Cody rushed through the door at the same time Jude reached the bottom stair. “Did you hear that helicopter?”

  Jude’s hopes of finding Kat in the lodge vanished. “Have you seen Kat?”

  “Kat? I thought she was with you.”

  “She’s gone.”

  “Gone?” Cody parroted. “Gone where? What about the helicopter? Your people?”

  “At three in the morning? I highly doubt it.” Jude sat at the table, putting his head in his hands. “They won’t be here before daylight.”

  “Maybe it’s the Canadians checking out the border.” Cody’s voice lacked conviction, as he joined Jude at the table. “Kat’s going to have my hide. Her dog took off as soon as I opened the cabin door.”

  Jude’s head snapped up. Hope jumped in his chest. “Red? He can help us find Kat.”

  As if on cue, Red began barking and whining outside the door.

  Jude flung the door open. His eyes soon became accustomed to the moonlit night. Red was frantic as he ran towards the generator house, only to run back to the lodge.

  “He wants us to follow him.”

  Cody nodded. “Let’s not go off half-cocked. We need flashlights, a compass and weapons.”

  Ten minutes later, they set out, following Red into the forest. Keeping up with the dog wasn’t possible, but in his canine wisdom, Red always returned to bark his encouragement.

  “Smart dog.”

  Jude grunted, his thoughts on Kat. He’d at last found a woman he loved. Would fate be so cruel as to take her away? Why had she taken off into the woods in the middle of the night? It didn’t make sense.

  Thirty minutes later, Red disappeared.

  “Now what?” Cody asked the dreaded question.

  “We wait. He’ll be back.”

  Cody reached over and touched Jude’s arm. “Stop beating yourself up. It’s not your fault.”

  Cody’s kind words didn’t help ease the fear and guilt Jude felt at Kat’s mysterious vanishing act. Generally, he wasn’t a sound sleeper. Why didn’t he hear her when she got out of bed?

  “She moves around as if she’s invisible. If she didn’t want to be he
ard leaving, then you wouldn’t have heard her. You’re no match for her.”

  “Jesus, Cody. Are you psychic?”

  A soft whine got both men’s attention. The dog approached, his head hanging down, as he slunk along.

  “He didn’t find her.” Cody stated the obvious.

  “Where’s Kat?” Jude knelt down by the dog, refusing to give up their only hope of finding the woman he loved. “Go find Kat.”

  Red tilted his head to the side, before he headed back the way he’d come. Cody and Jude followed in close pursuit. This time dog stayed close. Jude walked ahead of Cody, moving the beam of his flashlight from left to right. His heart jumped to his throat when the shaft of light crossed a body on the forest floor. He stopped abruptly.

  “What is it?” Cody asked coming up behind him. “Sweet Jesus,” he murmured, following the beam of light. “I’ll go check it out.”

  Jude reluctantly tagged along, fear nearly paralyzing him. Robot-like, he forced one foot in front of the other.

  Cody kneeled on the ground. “It’s Richardson. He’s still breathing.”

  Jude hunkered down next to Cody and lifted Brian’s head. Cody held the light at an angle. The once bright blue eyes were fading fast. Jude tried, but couldn’t muster sympathy for the man, deciding he must be the one who lured Kat away from the lodge. “Where’s Kat?” he growled.

  “Take it easy, man,” Cody warned, placing his hand on Jude’s shoulder. “He doesn’t have too many words left.”

  Brian attempted to speak, his mouth opening and closing, like a fish out of water. He coughed, and blood trickled down his chin. “F…B…I…” Both men heard the gurgle in his chest before he took his last breath.

  “What the fuck?” Frustrated Jude stood and paced back and forth. “What does that mean? FBI?”

  “Look at his hands.”

  Jude turned back to Cody who was crouched on the ground near Brian. “What’s wrong with them?”

  “They’re filthy. Looks like he’s been digging in rotting vegetation.”

  Jude pointed the beam of light at Brian’s hands. Not only were his hands dirty, so were the cuffs of his blue denim shirt. He scanned the ground with the flashlight. A few feet from where the body, he spied a dug out stump.

  “Hey, look what I found in Richardson’s pocket.”

  “What is it?” Jude asked.

  “If I were a betting man, I’d bet a paycheck it’s the gems you’re so hot-fired to find.” Cody tossed it.

  Jude caught the pouch in mid-air and opened it, using his flashlight to check inside. Rubies and emeralds, some the size of acorns sparkled up at him. My God. Is this why Kat came out here in the middle of the night to meet Brian?

  “Here’s Kat’s gun. Two bullets missing.”

  Jude looked up to see Cody holding Kat’s .44 magnum revolver with a red bandana. “It can be checked for prints, but it’s my guess Kat’s will be the only ones found.”

  Red whimpered a short distance away. Jude walked toward him and almost went to his knees at the sight of a large pool of blood soaking into the ground.

  “Don’t jump to conclusions,” Cody murmured, putting his hand on Jude’s shoulder. “If the blood were Kat’s, her body would be here. No reason to take her.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Jude managed to get out, his voice no more than a croak.

  “Because I know Kat. She’d have managed to hit one or more men before they took her.”

  Cody was right. Kat would go down fighting.

  Unless she’d gone willingly?

  A windmill rotated in Jude’s head, generating thoughts of deception. Christ. He’d trusted Kat. He’d have sworn she’d never lie to him about anything. Had he been a damn fool? Were she and Brian in cahoots all along? If so, why would she kill Brian? Where the hell was she? He should be investigating this as a crime scene; yet, he couldn’t think straight.

  “They smell rotten, Callahan.”

  “What?” Cody’s voice distracted him from his morbid ideas.

  “Your thoughts. I can smell them over here, and they stink.”

  “Back off, Cody,” he growled.

  The hand came out of nowhere and grabbed Jude by the front of his shirt. “Listen to me, asshole. I don’t like where you’re headed with this. Kat’s missing. Period. Focus on that.”

  “Perhaps it’s her choice to be missing. Has that thought occurred to you?” Realizing the other man’s anger, Jude stepped back and prepared to block a punch. But as fast as it came, Cody’s anger vanished, replaced with a look of disappointment.

  “I couldn’t have been more wrong about you. You don’t deserve Kat.”

  Jude stared in stunned silence as Cody and Red walked into the woods and disappeared. The bastard had gone off and left him. Lowering his body to the ground, he leaned his back against the huge pine and rested his head on his knees. Was Cody right? Why was he so quick to see Kat in a bad light? An hour ago he’d been terrified of losing her, and now he was accusing her of betraying him. If Kat had betrayed him, why’d she leave the gems behind? Christ, the cylinders in his brain were misfiring.

  While thoughts bounce around like ping pong balls in that empty cave you call a mind, my Marunga is in danger. Would you desert her in her time of need?

  Jude stiffened, going for his gun. Christ. Now he was hearing voices. Marunga? Kat’s grandmother called her that. Had the voice spoken to him or had his guilt conjured it from the recesses of his mind?

  Wallowing in self-pity serves no useful purpose. Marunga needs your help .

  “Who are you? Where are you?” Jude shouted into the night, not surprised when he didn’t receive an answer. Was Kat’s grandmother speaking to him from her grave? The truth of Cody’s words hit him. He was behaving like an asshole. The woman he’d held in his arms a few hours ago would not willingly betray him. His old insecurities had reared their ugly head. Instead of squashing them, he’d allowed them to fester. He didn’t blame Cody for leaving him.

  A soft jingling coming through the woods distracted him. Red’s dog tags. The loyal mutt had come back for him. Jude endured a tongue wash and followed the dog back to the lodge, determination in his step.

  Chapter 12

  “Well, well, look what the dog dragged in.” Cody sat at the table, his face about as friendly as a cobra when Jude walked through the door.

  “I was an asshole. I apologize.”

  “Kat deserves the apology. Not me.” Cody turned away, but not before Jude saw the anger smoldering in his dark eyes.

  “I suppose you planned to let me in stay in the woods until the Bureau showed up in the morning?”

  “Nah, I knew Old Faithful would go back for you. Dogs are like that. They give unconditional love and trust, even if a person doesn’t deserve it.”

  Jude winced at the sting of Cody’s well-deserved barb. He glanced at his watch. Only five o’clock. Out on the lake fingers of dawn stretched from behind the mountains.

  He pivoted back to Cody. “I realize I’m not your favorite person at the moment.”

  “No shit.” Cody’s eyes opened wide in his black face. “Your powers of observation never cease to amaze me.” He got up and pushed his chair with enough force to knock it over. “I’m going back to my cabin to wait for the Bureau. The sooner I start looking for Kat, the better.”

  “I want to talk to you about Richardson’s last words. They didn’t make sense to me. Now I’m wondering if Richardson thought he was working for somebody in the Bureau.” Jude rubbed his eyes. He was tired, and his heart felt sick.

  Cody frowned and righted the chair he’d knocked over. “Jesus. I thought he was referring to you… perhaps Kat told him you were an agent? Your theory sheds a new light on the situation.”

  “Tell me about it.” Jude placed the bag of gems on table. “I’ve been racking my brain, trying to think of who in the Bureau…someone who could be involved with this.”

  “How about the guy you’re always talking about?”

>   “Frank?” Jude laughed. “No way. Frank’s like a father to me. One guy comes to mind. Dave Perkins. We often work together undercover. He rode me the whole week before I came here. I don’t know…”

  He shook his head, tapping his fingers on the table. “The guy’s a jerk, but an inside informant involved with smuggling? That might be stretching it.”

  “What about Kat? Any idea who’s got her? Do you plan on helping me find her?” Cody tossed the question on the table as he cleaned his gun.

  “Try to stop me. Contrary to what you think, the loss of my senses wasn’t permanent.”

  Cody nodded, but made no comment.

  “Want some breakfast? I’ll do the cooking.” Jude chuckled at the look of horror on Cody’s face.

  “I’ll cook. It’ll give me something to do. I’ve cleaned my side arm twice in the last hour.”

  “Fine by me,” Jude murmured. He walked over to sit on the couch and stared at the brilliant shades of the red dawn. The colors reminded him of the blood they’d found on the ground. What if it were Kat’s? Then he remembered Sweetgrass Mendon’s words. She’d told him that Kat was alive and needed his help. A week ago, he’d have laughed at someone who believed in spirits. Not today. He’d heard Sweetgrass speak to him loud and clear.

  He admitted to himself that he’d changed in his short stay at LoonLake. A change for the better. Maybe living here wouldn’t be so bad, after all. But right now he needed to focus on finding Kat. Not for a moment would he consider she might be dead.

  *****

  The drone of jet engines brought Kat back to the land of the living. She thought she was she floating and tried to swallow, but her mouth was fuzzy and dry. Her tongue felt twice its normal size. At first she didn’t remember what had happened or where she was. Her mind refused to cooperate. Was she on a military transport plane? No, the engines were too quiet. She struggled to open her eyes, but her lids felt weighted. A slight moan escaped her lips.