by Sylvia Nobel
“Black.”
“What time did they leave?”
“I don’t know. Maybe one-thirty.” Plaintively, she added, “Where could he be? We’re worried sick about him.”
And with good reason. Who knows what kind of a drug he’d taken this time? My heart ached remembering the horrific stories I’d read online describing the fate of teens and young adults who had experimented with unknown combinations of illegal drugs. Some had ended up in a coma while others suffered a horrible death. The memory of the Hinkles’ pickup streaking past me on the Bumble Bee road flashed through my mind. “Don’t worry, Mom. I have a pretty good idea where he might be.”
Amped up on adrenalin and not really sure what I was going to do, I took the Black Canyon City exit, crossed under the freeway and reversed course back towards the McCracken Ranch, my thoughts churning madly. Was there any doubt that the only job the Hinkles could possibly offer Sean would be dealing drugs? Everything seemed to point in that direction. And there was no question someone didn’t want me there snooping around. It was a well-known fact to law enforcement agencies that there was an abundance of people cooking meth in isolated communities all over Arizona. I had no doubt that I’d witnessed a drug deal going down in Jerome on Saturday. If the Hinkles were running a lab someplace, how did that involve the gravel company? Is that what Nathan and Jenessa had stumbled across? Without proof it was pure speculation, but seemed a likely scenario.
My brain was on overload, sifting through all the clues I’d garnered since first hearing about Jenessa. I tore along the Bumble Bee road for the second time that day and stared up at the misty peaks. “What is it?” I whispered. “What am I missing?”
And then all at once the answer to the puzzle hit me like a sharp blow to the stomach. “Holeee crap!” It had been in front of me all along—the common denominator linking the four supposedly accidental deaths. They had all been in the vicinity of the Raven Creek Sand and Gravel Company and they had all stumbled upon something they weren’t supposed to see. My heart began to thump erratically and I broke into a cold sweat. If Jack Loomis was lying about the status of the Thunderbolt, then the nocturnal activity at the vertical mine became a key element. There had to be something more than rock crushing going on out there. And with the Hinkle twins involved, I had a strong suspicion it must be drug-related. Did that explain the lights on the hill at night? Were they hosting desert rave parties to serve copious quantities of illegal substances? Then another thought occurred to me. What if the victims had taken photos of something incriminating? Would that explain the missing cell phones and the blank memory card taken from Luke Campbell’s camera? My mind swam with possibilities. The more I thought about it, the more my insides burned with excitement. But, this time I would be smart. No running willy-nilly into danger as I’d done on my last four assignments. This time I would keep the solemn promise Tally had extracted from me and alert the sheriff before striking out on my own.
I pressed my phone button. “Call Marshall Turnbull.” It rang four times and went to voicemail. Damn! I left a voice message explaining where I was going and then called his office. Julie answered tersely, “Sheriff’s Office.”
“It’s Kendall. Is Marshall in?”
“No.”
“How about Duane?”
“They’re both out investigating a fatal accident on 89. A wrong-way driver plowed into a family in a minivan. Two of the kids were killed. They’re going to be a while.”
“That’s terrible.” I chewed my lower lip for a few seconds. “Well, when Marshall is available tell him I think he should check out the Raven Creek Sand and Gravel Company. There’s something weird going on there.”
“What?”
“I don’t know. But it’s possible there may be some connection to Jenessa Wooten’s death. He should get a search warrant.”
“Can you be more specific?”
“Uh…no.”
Silence. “Well, he’s got to show probable cause to get it. What is he looking for?”
“I’m not sure yet.” I must have sounded lame. I checked the time on the dashboard. Less than two hours of daylight remained.
“So, what do you want me to tell him?” Julie persisted with an undertone of impatience entering her voice.
“It’s just a guess, but the Hinkle brothers may be running a meth lab or something there.”
“Okay, I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks, Julie.”
One thing I knew for certain. I couldn’t drive through the front gate of the gravel company, so I’d do the next best thing and sneak in the back way. I retraced my route to the ranch and when the gate appeared, I pulled off the road and maneuvered the Jeep into a secluded grove of scrub oaks. Armed with my .38 in one pocket of my jacket and my phone and car keys in the other, I slipped through the barbed wire. I was now officially trespassing. I zigzagged my way up the steep rock-and-cactus covered hill, keeping an eye on the advancing clouds that had finally snuffed out the sunlight, casting dark shadows over the mountain. The swift plunge in temperature had me zipping the jacket up to my chin as the first snowflakes pelted my cheeks. But I hardly felt them. Seething with fury, heat radiated throughout my entire body. I could gladly strangle Sean for his irresponsible behavior. He couldn’t possibly be in his right mind to think he could skip out on bail and ignore the fact that he had serious charges pending against him back in Pennsylvania. But then, if he was wasted on whatever drug he was experimenting with now, he probably wasn’t thinking rationally.
Within minutes I arrived at the painted skeleton rock. It was gigantic and downright spooky up close. What I hadn’t seen in the photo or from my vantage point below was the multitude of expletives, lewd pictures and satanic symbols carved into it. Repulsive. Nauseating. Hideous. No question. The Hinkle brothers bordered on psychopathic. Little wonder Elizabeth didn’t want them anywhere near her and why everyone else referred to them as bad news. And now they had lured my drug-addled brother into their seamy clutches. At that moment I loved and hated Sean equally. What a friggin’ mess he’d caused!
My heart pounded with exertion as the hill grew steeper, but I could now clearly see the splintered wood on the old head frame looming above the limestone rock outcropping. I sprinted the last few hundred yards and arrived at the mouth of the old mine, which was liberally sprinkled with warning signs to stay away. A makeshift chain-link fence surrounded the dark hole. I moved forward for a better look and that’s when I heard a whining roar from behind that turned my blood to ice water. Oh my God! For precious seconds indecision held me immobile before I got my mushy legs to cooperate. I broke into a run, frantically searching for a hiding place, finally flattening myself to the ground behind a thicket of mesquite bushes nanoseconds before an off-road vehicle rumbled to a stop. Laughter and masculine shouts reached my ears. With a stab of alarm, I recognized the familiar voices of the Hinkle brothers. Would they hear my tortured breathing? Did I dare even look up? I had to. Ever so slightly, I raised my head and had to stifle a horrified gasp at the sight of my brother seated in the quad with the two men. Sean looked completely out of it, his face ghostly white, his eyes glazed and unfocused. Danny and Daryl hopped out, but when Sean tried, he stumbled and fell to the ground like a rag doll and flailed about, speaking gibberish. The Hinkles turned to glare down at him. “The dude’s not supposed to be sampling the shit, he’s supposed to sell it!” Danny stated in a disgusted tone, eyeing his brother coldly.
Daryl gave him a sideways grin. “He’s really trippin’ out on it.”
“How much did you give him?”
“Hey, don’t blame me. I told him it was something new and to go easy.”
Danny’s upper lip curled into a sneer. “You dumbass! The big man is coming today. We can’t have this guy checkin’ out on us or we’re gonna be up shit creek!”
“It was your idea to bring his ass here, not mine,” Daryl shot back, punching
his brother in the shoulder.
Danny swiped his hand away. “You better keep an eye on him. Come on, we gotta get this stuff unloaded.” He pulled a box from the floor of the quad, shoved it under one arm and handed another one to Daryl before moving a section of the fencing aside. “Bring him over here,” he demanded curtly.
“Come on, bro, get it together.” Daryl reached down, dragged Sean to his feet and pushed him towards the mine opening, where Sean teetered dangerously on the edge. It took every ounce of willpower I possessed not to jump up and race to his side. Danny leaned over and yelled into the opening, “Catch!” then dropped the boxes. Then he climbed down into the hole and reached up to grab Sean’s arm, shouting, “Put your foot on the ladder, dude!” Working together, the Hinkles managed to pull him down and then all three of them disappeared from sight. I had never felt so utterly helpless.
The snow was coming down heavier now and for another few minutes, I laid on the ground, shivering from dread as much as the cold. What kind of drug had they given Sean? Had they been seriously discussing the possibility that he might die? I waited another few minutes to see if they’d return, then cautiously rose to my feet. The knowledge that Sean was in grave danger made my heart shrivel in horror. Stiff from the cold, I ran to the edge of the mine opening and peeked down. I couldn’t see anything, but could hear the hum of what might be a generator operating below. A peculiar odor wafted up the shaft along with the echo of masculine laughter. What was the right decision? Storm down the ladder and try to rescue my baby brother or run for help? Torn, I crouched in the fierce wind for another minute before deciding it would be sheer insanity for me to play the hero. No. Not this time. I had no idea what I’d be getting myself into if I followed him down the mineshaft. I took a few deep breaths of the icy air. I must not panic and do something stupid. Call! Call for help. I sprinted further up the hill, pulled off one glove, dug out my phone and dialed 911. Nothing. I wiped the snow off the screen and my heart sank. CALL FAILED. I dialed again. Nothing. I must be in one of the dead zones. Now what? I turned and charged downhill in the blinding snow, slipping and sliding, gasping for breath, trying to suppress the sobs rising in my throat. I had to get to the Jeep. I had to get help.
I figured I was about half way down when I saw the skull rock, barely visible in the blowing snow. And then my toe struck something. I pitched forward, my phone flying from my icy fingers. I landed hard and crashed into a rock or tree stump. I could actually hear the sickening crack of my arm breaking. For I don’t know how long, I lay there in a daze and then pushed to my knees. I’d never had a broken bone before. I expected to feel pain, and perhaps it was the adrenalin or the freezing cold or both, but strangely all I felt was numbness. It was more disturbing to me that I’d lost my phone. Groping on the ground, I searched around for it, but with more than an inch of snow already accumulated I knew I was wasting valuable time. Forget the phone! Get to the Jeep!
I tucked my left hand into my pocket for support and continued downward, moving a little slower now, finally feeling the dull throbbing in my arm. What a boneheaded move that was, O’Dell! The bare outline of the open gate brought a measure of relief, but it was short-lived. Fear coiled around my heart when the dreaded sound of more quads met my ears. Get to the Jeep! With nowhere to hide, I made a mad dash towards the trees, fumbling for my keys. Behind me, the whining drone grew to a deafening roar and then deadly silence before the thud of footsteps. “We got ourselves a trespasser!” came a triumphant shout. I pushed myself as hard as I could, but the footsteps were now directly behind me. All the air rushed from my lungs when powerful arms wrapped around me.
“Take your hands off me!” I screamed, struggling mightily, jabbing my attacker in the ribs with my right elbow, struggling and kicking until we both went down. I face-planted on the snowy ground. Pinned down, his added weight on top of me generated a searing pain in my broken arm so intense it brought tears to my eyes. Don’t pass out!
Grunting and panting with exertion, the man wrestled me onto my back and straddled me. Gasping, I looked up into the face of a young guy probably around my age. The futility of my dire situation came home to me when a second man appeared and stared down at me with a malevolent grin. “Well, lookee who we got here.” He reached down and whipped my stocking cap off. “You should’ve stayed gone!” I squinted up through the blowing snow, almost certain I was seeing my stalker’s face for the first time without the kerchief. He was actually not bad-looking. A pity he had such menacing dark eyes.
The first guy rolled off, grabbed my injured arm and yanked me to my feet. “Come on. We’re goin’ for a little ride,” he announced, tightening his grip. Nauseated from the blinding pain, I swayed dizzily trying to gather my wits. And then I remembered the gun in my jacket pocket. Everything seemed surreal, like a scene from a movie, like it was happening to someone else. I needed to keep a cool head. Perhaps a show of bravado would put them off balance.
“A lot of people, including the sheriff, know I’m here, so I’m not going anywhere with you two freaks,” I replied firmly, sliding my right hand into my pocket. But just as my finger curled around the trigger, he jerked my arm and slammed me against the quad.
“You’re lying! Get in!” he shouted through gritted teeth.
My stalker jumped behind the wheel and revved the engine. It was now or never. There was no time to pull out my weapon and take steady aim like I was accustomed to doing at the shooting range. There wasn’t even time to pull it out of my pocket, so I just turned and fired a round through my jacket. His face a frozen mask of dumbfounded rage, my attacker released me and lurched backwards.
“She shot me!” he shrieked, clutching his thigh. “The bitch shot me!” He slumped into the snow, moaning. Inanely, I marveled at how red his blood looked against the pristine white snow. I turned towards my stalker, but before I could fire off another round, he leaped from behind the wheel and knocked me to the ground again. I lost my grip on the trigger. In a frantic fight for my life, I bit, clawed and kicked. Teeth bared, his face contorted in rage, he punched me in the jaw, then followed up with a vicious bare-knuckled blow to my temple and a second to my left eye. A kaleidoscope of stars exploded in my head. And then he had his cold hands around my throat, squeezing hard. Desperate for air, I fought valiantly to remain conscious, only vaguely aware that another vehicle had arrived. My vision already blurred, the landscape began to spiral in a circle. I knew I was going to die, but I was too weakened to fight him off. Black. Everything was going black.
But then I heard a masculine voice shout, “Stop it, you fool!” and my stalker released his hold. “Get him out of here!”
I gulped in deep breaths of the blessed cold air and tried to move, but the combination of searing pain in my arm, jaw and head was so severe, I felt myself losing consciousness.
“Drink this,” said the kindly voice, cradling my head. I swallowed the hot liquid gratefully. He stroked my hair. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you suffer.”
What? What did that mean? My ears were ringing so loud I couldn’t quite recognize the voice. It sounded familiar. Who was it? I strained to open my eyes, but my lids felt massive. It didn’t matter. I was saved. I welcomed the blissful peace washing over me, the ebbing of pain. On some level I was aware of being carried by someone and lying on something soft and being warm again. I had the sense of being in a different place, a strange place, a hazy awareness of movement, of a lightness of being. Euphoric beyond anything I had ever experienced. I was flying now, soaring high above brilliantly colored hills that shone like jewels, deep valleys and shining streams among a flock of black ravens. I had wings! How cool was this? I wouldn’t have minded staying there forever, but then, the dream was interrupted by the sound of new voices, this time muffled and far away as if spoken from another room. I tried to understand, but the words made no sense. Was I hallucinating? I simply could not put a cogent thought together, so I gave up and faded into a
comforting, velvety soft abyss.
Time. I was aware of the passage of time. Again, I struggled to open my eyes and when I finally managed to crack them open a slit, I fought to understand where I was. I wasn’t outside in the snow anymore. I was lying in a small, dimly lit room made of rock. Rock walls. Rock ceiling. Where was I? How had I gotten here? I couldn’t seem to differentiate between the mishmash of distorted memories, dreams and reality. Why did I feel so woozy and disoriented? I slept again for an indeterminate amount of time and when I awoke again my mind felt clearer.
My insides trembled as the memories of my attack came rushing back full force and the dim recollection of someone coming to my rescue. Sean? What had happened to Sean? I heard the rustle of clothing and, instinctively sensing danger, closed my eyes again. I turned my head slightly at the sound of footsteps passing by my head and peered through half open lids. Golden light poured through an arched doorway illuminating a man’s silhouette. I remained perfectly still, feigning unconsciousness, but almost gasped aloud when he stepped into the next room and the light struck his face. My rescuer was none other than Burton Carr.
CHAPTER
32
Shockwaves coursed throughout my body when it dawned on me where I was. For confirmation, I reached out and felt the cool rock wall. So, this was the interior of the old Thunderbolt Mine. I was lying on a blanket. Rolling onto my side, I pushed myself to a sitting position, noting with alarm that I no longer had my coat, which meant no gun and no car keys. Had they found my cell phone? I stayed motionless for a while trying to clear the fogginess from my head.
My arm throbbed dully along with my head. I waited for another wave of dizziness to diminish, gently massaging my sore jaw and temple before slowly rising to my feet. I held onto the rock wall for support, then tiptoed to the doorway and paused, listening. I could hear voices, movement and faint music. I wrinkled my nose at the sharp, distasteful odor. What was that? Warily, I peeked around the corner into a massive chamber and as my gaze swept from right to left and back again, it took a few seconds to absorb what I was seeing. Spellbound, I gaped at the stacks of storage containers, cardboard boxes, plastic buckets, gallon containers of chemicals, detergents, plastic bags and gloves, cans, tubes, packing materials, bottles, pans, cooking materials. Holy cow! My hunch had been right. I’d hit the mother lode all right, but it wasn’t gold. Spread out before me were all the ingredients needed to produce large quantities of black market synthetic drugs. In fact, it looked like a veritable supermarket for the mass production of street drugs. This was it. The mountain’s hidden secret and the motivation for the deaths of four innocent people who’d ventured too close to the truth—a homegrown drug cartel. I eased back around the corner, breathing heavily, trying to stave off my growing panic. I was now a witness as well. In the murky light, I frantically searched the room looking for an exit. Nothing. Nothing but solid rock. How was I going to get out of here alive? It was difficult for me to imagine that Burton Carr was the unscrupulous brainchild of such a vast operation. He seemed so passive, so compassionate. He could have easily stood by while my stalker strangled me…and then suddenly the words whispered in my ear right before I’d blacked out reverberated in my ears. Don’t worry. I won’t let you suffer. The hot drink! Grimly, I realized he’d drugged me. So that’s what it meant to ‘trip out.’ I’d definitely been given some sort of psychedelic drug along with a painkiller. What had he given me and why had he spared me? Why bring me here? I dug deep inside, mining for inner strength, battling the overwhelming fear crushing my heart. Please God! I needed the courage to find Sean and somehow execute our escape. I stifled the sobs building in my throat when I thought about my beloved Tally, my parents, cherished friends and my precious cats waiting for my return. I had so much to live for. Don’t give up!