Nothing Is Negotiable

by Mark Bentsen

  After Lauren started the pump, she sat down in the front seat and dropped her wallet back on the seat. Bonnie asked, “Is there a lake around here?”

  “Lake Koocanusa is just west of town. Not thinking of swimming across the border, are you?”

  “No, I was just noticing these boats,” Bonnie said, looking at the boat in front of them and the other one across the bay.

  “Yeah, fishing’s not bad. They do some boating over there. I like Flathead Lake down where Beau lives better, but it’s further.” Lauren glanced at the boats, “These are all from Canada. Most Canadians fill up before going home because gas is cheaper in the U.S.”

  She got out and pulled a squeegee out of a bucket and started cleaning her windshield. From the backseat through tinted windows Bonnie noticed the guys with the red and silver boat watching Lauren while she cleaned on her windshield.

  When Lauren finished, she leaned inside and grabbed her wallet off the front seat. “You guys want me to get you something to drink?”

  Bonnie said, “Wait a second. Get in and sit down, but don’t look back at us.”

  Lauren did as instructed.

  “I think I know how we can get across the border. Those guys at the pump to the left have been lusting after you ever since they pulled up. I’ve got an idea.”

  After a quick discussion of the plan, Lauren got out, replaced the hose into the gas pump, and glanced over toward her admirers.

  “That sure is a pretty boat,” she said, giving them a big smile as she started for the store.

  “Thanks,” the shirtless one said. He watched her butt until she disappeared inside.

  When Lauren returned a minute later, the top two buttons of her blouse were unbuttoned. The guys were cleaning the back of the boat when she came up and stood beside them.

  “I’ve never seen a boat painted to match the truck. I think it’s the prettiest boat I’ve ever seen,” she said, running a finger down the side.

  The one in the tank top immediately noticed her breast bulging out the opening in her shirt and when she looked the other way, he mouthed “Oh my God” to his buddy.

  The shirtless one moved closer to get a better look and said, “We have a paint and body shop, and a few weeks ago I painted the truck to match the boat.”

  “You did an awesome job. Could I see the inside of the boat?” she asked.

  The boat set high and she couldn’t see inside from the ground.

  “Sure, step up here,” the shirtless guy said. He pointed at the fender over the wheel of the trailer. She held out her hand for help and he took it, helping her up on the fender. While she bent to examine the interior, the guys checked out her well-toned legs.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said.

  Shirtless helped her down and she pointed to two colorful boards strapped to the chrome apparatus on the top of the boat and asked, “Have you guys been wakeboarding?”

  “That we have. And drinking a few brewskis,” said shirtless.

  She grinned flirtatiously at him. “Sounds like fun. I’d like to try wakeboarding some time.”

  “Where’re you from?”

  “Pincher Creek. How about you?”

  “Fernie. You aren’t that far from us. Give me your number and I’ll call you next time we’re going out,” the shirtless man said.

  “I’m changing cell phone carriers and will be getting a new number next week. Why don’t you give me your number and I’ll call you.”

  Shirtless got her a business card from the truck and handed it to her.

  “L & R Paint and Body—Lance Wells and Ryan Gillespie,” she read aloud. “Which one are you?”

  “I’m Lance, this is my business partner, Ryan,” Shirtless said.

  “I dated guys who were partners one time. Now that was interesting,” Lauren said laughing while tugging at her shirt. “I’ll tell you all about it if you take me wakeboarding.”

  “Yeah, I can hardly wait to hear that story,” Lance said, stepping closer.

  “So, what’s your name?” Ryan asked.

  “I’m Lauren,” she said, extending her hand.

  “How about next weekend?”

  “I’m not sure if I can. Can I get back with you later?”

  “Sure,” Lance said.

  Lauren looked at her watch and acted surprised. Backing toward her Suburban, she said, “Wow, I didn’t realize it was so late. I need to be going now, but I’ll call you in a few days.”

  They watched as she hopped in the Suburban and quickly left the station.

  Ten minutes later, five miles south of the Canadian border, the Suburban sat on the shoulder of Highway 93. Lauren stood beside it, watching the road back toward Eureka. As soon as she saw the red and silver pickup pulling a red and silver boat come round the bend, she pushed the hood up and started waving her arms frantically. The pick-up coasted up behind the Suburban and slowed to a stop.

  Lauren ran to the driver’s window and said, “Lance, I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t know what happened. My car just quit. Could you take a look at it and see if you can tell what happened?”

  Lance and Ryan got out and went to the open hood to look for problems.

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing, I was driving along and all the sudden, it just quit. I didn’t know what to do, so I just pulled over. I know I’m not out of gas because I just filled up. I let it sit a minute, then tried to start it. It goes rrr, rrr, rrr, but won’t start. What do you think is wrong with it?”

  “Could be the fuel pump?” Ryan said to Lance.

  He shrugged and they looked back at the engine. But Lauren could tell they didn’t know the fuel pump from the voltage regulator.

  “Do you know a lot about cars?”

  “Well, sure,” Lance said.

  “What do you think is wrong?” She moved up beside Lance and leaned in to look at the engine, mashed her breast against his arm.

  “Could be the alternator,” Lance said to Ryan, not wanting to move.

  She gave them a minute to look around but they didn’t seem to know where to start.

  “You think one of those wires came loose or something?” Lauren said, pointing to the spark plug wires.

  “That might be it.” Tentatively, they reached in and started wiggling wires.

  Lauren grabbed the hood with one hand and raised a finger, giving a signal to Bonnie.

  Bonnie and Luke slipped out of the backseat and ran back to the boat and climb inside.

  The guys were still pulling off wires and pushing them back on a minute later when Lauren felt the cell phone in her back pocket vibrate. That told her that Bonnie and Luke were safely hidden in the storage compartments of the boat.

  Ryan pushed on a few more wires and said, “Why don’t you try it now?”

  Lance nodded, and she walked around and sat in the driver’s seat. The engine started on the first crank and purred like a kitten.

  Lauren got out as Ryan was pushing the hood closed.

  “I thought one of those wires I pushed on was kind of loose,” Lance said.

  “I don’t know what I would have done if you guys hadn’t stopped.” Lauren gave him a full body hug and kissed him on the cheek. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said.

  With her arms still around Lance’s waist, she said, “I’ve got an idea. There’s a little bar about fifteen kilometers across the border just before you get to Elko, The Silver Dollar. Know where it is?”

  “Sure. It’s got the coldest beer in the Rockies.”

  “Let’s meet there. Drinks are on me,” she said and flashed him a devilish grin.

  “I thought you were in a hurry.”

  “Not anymore,” she said.

  They looked at each other and nodded. “Sounds good.”

  “Great. Follow me there, okay?”

  “We’ll be right behind you.”

  ***

  At the border crossing, Lauren fell in line behind a
dozen cars, campers and several other pickups pulling boats. When she got to the front of the line, she showed her passport and driver’s license to the agent and after a cursory glance in the backseat waved her through. Lance came through after her and the guard passed him and barely noticed the boat he had in tow.

  They stayed on Lauren’s back bumper until they pulled into the parking lot of The Silver Dollar Bar and Grill twenty minutes later. The parking lot was full so Lauren pulled around to the side and motioned for them to follow. When she got out she left the Suburban unlocked and ran over to where Lance and Ryan were getting out of their truck. She snuggled up between them, locked her arms in theirs, and they walked inside.

  “We’ll take a pitcher and three glasses,” Lauren told the waitress as they settled at a table.

  They were halfway through their first beer, when her cell phone rang.

  “Hello,” she said. She lowered her head and put a finger in the other ear to block the loud music coming from the jukebox.

  “We’re out and in the Suburban,” Bonnie said.

  “Oh... hi,” Lauren said. She glanced at Ryan, to see him listening close to what she was saying. She hesitated a few seconds, then rolled her eyes and said, “I’m at The Silver Dollar in Elko, why?”

  Another pause, then “I was just going to have a beer or two, then I was coming home.”

  Ryan looked at Lance and sucked down about half of his beer.

  “No, I’m not with a guy,” she said, emphatically, speaking a little too loud. “I’ve had a long day and just wanted to stop and have a beer. Is that okay?”

  At that comment, everybody at the surrounding tables was listening.

  “Don’t be a jerk, okay? I watch the kids all the time. You can do it for once, okay?” Lauren snapped. She turned away from Lance and continued, “Okay... there’s no reason to come over here. I’ll leave after this beer.”

  Without another word, she ended the call and put the phone back in her pocket, shaking her head in disgust.

  “What’s up?” Lance asked.

  “Oh, that was my husband,” Lauren said as she leaned back and guzzled the beer.

  “Husband?”

  “Sometimes he can be a real asshole. He’s a cop over in Cranbrook and thinks that just because he wears a gun, I should bow down to his every wish.”

  “You didn’t mention—” Lance said in a concerned tone.

  “We’ve got four kids and I take care of them all the time. He never does. Don’t you think he should take care of them once in a while and let me have some fun?”

  “Sounds only fair to me,” Ryan said, smiling at Lance. He was obviously enjoying the predicament Lance was in.

  “And something else; he’s the jealous type—always thinks I’m running around on him,” she added.

  Lance gave Ryan a look that said I should have known this was too good to be true.

  “I guess I’d better go. If I’m not home pretty quick, he’ll come looking for me... and he’s not the kind of guy you want to meet when he’s mad.”

  “We still have half a pitcher left,” Ryan said holding it up.

  “Thanks, but I’d better go. But, I do want to go wakeboarding sometime. Would it be okay if I bring the kids?” she asked.

  “Maybe it’s not such a good idea... you being married and all,” Lance said.

  “Oh, come on, Lance,” Ryan said. “You love kids.”

  Lance gave him a, Go to hell look, and reiterated, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “I guess I understand,” she said, standing up. “But I really do want to thank you. You helped me more than you know.”

  As Lauren hurried across the parking lot, a pang of guilt tugged at her. They were really nice guys. She planned to keep their card. And maybe after this was all over, she’d contact them and tell them the truth.

  When she pulled open the door of the Suburban she saw Luke and Bonnie inside. As she started the car and pulled out, she said, “Welcome to Canada.”

  Chapter 50

  It was past nine by the time they went through Elko. They followed the Jeep’s trail on Car-Trecker north into the forested mountains of British Columbia, through the small town of Fernie and on to Sparwood. There, they turned back to the east. After Crowsnest Pass, darkness fell as they descended onto rolling terrain and plowed into farm land, passing few other vehicles on the two-lane road. They traveled in silence, uneasy about what they would find at their next destination.

  It was two hours later when Luke reached over the seat and gently squeezed Bonnie on the knee to wake her.

  “I think we’re getting close to our turn,” he said. “Could you check the computer and make sure.”

  From where she sat in the backseat Bonnie stretched and looked out the front windshield to see a desolate stretch of straight highway with open pastures on both sides of the road. She pulled the laptop off the floorboard and powered it up. Blue light filled the backseat.

  A minute later, she said, “It looks like the Jeep hasn’t moved. We’ll come to our turn in about twenty kilometers. When the highway veers hard to the left, we’ll continue straight onto a smaller road. It looks like it might be gravel. The road will take lots of turns going up the mountain, probably about ten or fifteen kilometers. Just before the road end it looks like there’s a private road off to the left, and the Jeep is down there about two kilometers.”

  When they turned off the highway the gravel road passed through open pastures until crossing a cattle guard. There the forest reappeared and the road began to ascend back into the mountains. For half an hour they followed the winding road until it came to a dead end. They backed up until they found an old wooden gate held closed with a chain around a fence post. An old weathered sign said Private Property and beyond it a narrow one-lane road disappeared into the darkness.

  “Is this it?” Lauren asked Bonnie while the truck sat idling in the middle of the road.

  “It has to be. It’s the only other road I’ve noticed. The computer’s no help because we lost the Internet connection shortly after we left the pavement.”

  They looked at the hidden trail with apprehension; it was dark and appeared barely wide enough for a Mini Cooper.

  Luke said, “This has to be it. Find somewhere to hide this truck.”

  Lauren drove to the end of the road and pulled in behind a thicket of tall bushes. As soon as the engine died and the lights went off, everything became deathly quiet, except for an occasional creak from the hot engine.

  They sat in silence for almost a minute then Bonnie asked, “So, what are we going to do now? Just go down that road and see if the Jeep’s there?”

  “That’s our only choice. If we can find out, for sure, that Olivia’s there, I think it’s best we contact the RCMP and let them handle it,” Luke said.

  To Lauren he said, “But we need to be ready for anything. Where’d you put the pistol?”

  She reached up under the dashboard and pulled it out and handed it to him. He retrieved a box of bullets out of the console and stuffed some into the pockets of his cargo shorts.

  Quietly they made their way back to the old gate and climbed over, one by one. A foreboding feeling came over Bonnie as they stood staring at the narrow road that disappeared in the blackness of the forest. Luke led the way as they started down the dark, narrow road. After a few minutes occasional patches of light broke through the tree tops giving them enough light to see their surroundings.

  After about twenty minutes they came to a fork in the road and they went left, which appeared to be the more traveled route. Half a minute later they came to a clearing that was lit by a full moon and a star-filled sky.

  The football-field sized meadow was covered in what looked like dry, knee-high grass. Across it, at the crest of a hillock, a small cabin sat silhouetted on the horizon. Lights glowed from two windows. As they stood staring at the structure, Bonnie’s blood ran cold.

  “This is it,” Bonnie said, hugging herself. “This
is where they held me.”

  “Are you sure?” Luke whispered.

  “Positive,” she assured him. “That cabin is perched on the edge of a cliff.”

  “This must be Sonny’s famous Cliff House,” Lauren said. “Over the last few years, there have been stories about the drugs, gambling, and wild parties that took place out here. I never knew where it was.”

  “We need to get closer,” Luke said. He turned to Bonnie and asked, “What’s the layout?”

  Bonnie spelled it out. “The window on the left is the bathroom. Two bedrooms run down the left side. The window on the right is the kitchen. There’s a dining and living area beyond it. A deck runs across the back and most of it is suspended over the cliff, but it comes back onto solid ground on the right side,” she said. “There are three doors to get inside. The front door, another one on the right side and one on the back wall that goes onto the deck. That building off to the right is the garage.”

  “How big a cliff are we talking about?” Luke asked.

  “At least a hundred foot drop.”

  “How are we going to get up to the cabin? We can’t just walk up the road. With the full moon, if someone looks out the front door, we’ll stand out like a nun at a pool party in the middle of that dry grass.”

  “Maybe that other road back where the road forked would be better,” Lauren said.

  They doubled back and Lauren’s hunch was right. The other road took them through the woods and they came out on the side of the cabin by the garage. For the next few minutes they watched from the edge of the forest. When they were sure no one was outside, they ran to the garage and started to make their way down the side. Off to the side they saw a smaller metal building, a prefab structure that looked like a storage shed and beyond it, illuminated by moonlight, sat a motor home.

  When they got to the corner of the garage, they stopped and took in their surrounds.

  “Does that look like the motor home they had me locked in?” Bonnie asked Lauren.

  “I think so. And look.” She pointed. “There’s the Jeep.”

  They were still about forty yards away and because of trees, bushes and the angle where they were, the cabin was hard to see.