by Sloan Parker
Richard nodded. “Me too.”
Luke began examining Gus’s phone. He’d checked for a signal before we’d entered the cave but had no luck. I couldn’t imagine he’d get anything within the confines of the rock walls. He gave the phone a closer inspection while Richard remained near the front passageway, standing off to the side, out of sight but close enough to keep watch for anyone approaching.
I wanted to ask Luke what he was doing with Gus’s phone. I had a feeling he thought Gus did something to disable the cellular signal in a way not easily detectable, but I didn’t ask so as not to alert Gus to anything odd.
Gus dropped to sit beside Alex. “How you feeling?”
“Better.”
“Yeah? Because you look like hell, man.”
Alex chuckled. “Thanks.”
“I want you to stay here and rest with them. I’m going to head to my truck so I can go for help. We gotta get you out of here and get you home.” He hesitated before standing up. Alex was staring at the floor of the cave. “Alex?”
He didn’t answer Gus. Instead he asked me, “Why did you really come out here?”
“To see if we could find you. Or at least your truck or your backpack. We wanted to locate something that would prove to the sheriff that you didn’t leave town. Then he’d have to take another look for you.”
Alex searched my face. “Why would you think to do that?”
“Tomas came to our house and asked me for help.” Which had me wondering… Why hadn’t Tomas gone to Gus? Hadn’t he trusted Gus? Was I wrong about the man?
Alex dropped his chin to his chest and breathed a long sigh of relief. “Then Tomas doesn’t think I left him?”
“No. He thought you got into an accident out here in the park. He never believed you just left without saying anything. Even though that’s what most everyone else believes.”
“And my wife?”
Gus answered. “She knows you didn’t leave too.”
Tears welled in Alex’s eyes. Gus laid his hand on Alex’s shoulder in a sign of support. Alex nodded and swallowed down the emotion.
Luke had given up on Gus’s phone and was helping to keep watch by standing near the back entrances to the cave. “So tell us, Alex, they held you captive all this time?”
At Luke’s question, Richard turned to face us, obviously as interested in hearing the answer as the rest of us.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “They wanted me to tell them where I’d hidden my phone. A deputy sheriff named Baranski knew I’d made a video of those hikers that he murdered, and he wanted the footage.”
Gus’s jaw dropped. “Baranski killed someone?”
“Two people. He wanted to know if I’d made a copy of the video, backed it up to the cloud, or sent it to anyone. He came out to the cabin every other day and beat the shit out of me, tortured me, but I wouldn’t give him anything. I kept waiting for him to just get it over with and kill me. Or to use my family against me, but he just kept pounding on me. He wasn’t giving up until he had my phone. I thought I was going to die in that cabin. After a couple of rounds of him clobbering me, I lost track of time. I was so delirious I thought I kept hearing wolves howling.” He let out a bewildered laugh. “I’ve always loved wolves.”
Luke and I exchanged a look. His brows rose.
“What happened before they caught you?” I asked Alex. “What made you follow those college kids?”
“I was out taking pictures one day when I saw them hiking. I’d seen the two of them in the park before, but that time, something about them seemed off, so I followed them, snapping more pictures. Then I got a call about an injured swan, so I had to leave. Later when I went through the pictures I’d taken that day, I spotted them in more of the shots, and I knew something wasn’t right with those kids. And it wasn’t just them. There were more hikers their age, taking the same paths. It didn’t seem like they were out there for the view, more for a specific destination. I started documenting their movements.
“The last day I saw the original couple, I followed them again. Just before they got to the old mill, several others approached them, all rangers and sheriff’s deputies, all armed. They led them off the trail into the forest. I followed and started filming. When they got to a cabin I’d never seen before, they made the hikers kneel down. Then Baranski shot each of them in the back of the head.” He stopped, the raw emotion of what he’d seen overtaking him.
The heavy rain thudding against the ground outside the cave and the rumbling thunder overhead sounded louder now, despite that we were out of the storm’s direct onslaught.
“But I guess you guys saw that last bit on the video.” Alex’s next words caught in his throat. He had to breathe deep for several seconds before he could continue. “I didn’t have time to do anything to stop it. And then I just ran. I headed toward the mill. I hadn’t been there in over a year, but I could tell right away that something was different about the place. I waited until the guy on guard left, then went inside and found it loaded with landscaping rocks. I thought it was odd that the park officials would order something like that. I took a closer look and saw that the rocks were fake and stuffed with drugs. I filmed that too. Took some of their cash in case they caught up with me. Figured I’d need a bargaining chip. Then I heard someone coming, so I ran again.”
He took another short breather. “They’d seen me filming them, and I thought they’d kill me if they caught up with me.” Alex turned to Gus. “Baranski knows I can ID him. At least one other sheriff’s deputy and two park rangers are in on it too. I think they’re being paid to look the other way and deal with any obstacles that come up.”
I nodded. “We saw them on the video. Plus some state police are involved too.”
Alex asked, “Where did you hide my phone?”
Richard gave a barely visible shake of his head. He didn’t want Gus to know where the phone was.
“It’s somewhere safe,” I said.
Luke asked, “So what about Sheriff Emerson?”
Alex shook his head. “I know what you guys said, but I don’t think he’s involved. I never saw him with the others, and all this really doesn’t seem like him. But… I guess I don’t know for sure.”
Luke looked to Richard. “Maybe his deputies lied to him.”
“Or maybe not. Maybe he’s the one running the whole show.”
Gus harrumphed, the incredulous sound echoing off the cave walls. “Emerson’s not smart enough for something like this.”
Luke gestured to me. “Maybe you were right about Emerson from the beginning.”
Was I? So far it seemed like I might be right about trusting Gus. But something in my gut told me I wasn’t seeing things as clearly as I should. What was I missing?
Alex shared more of his story. “After I made the video, I headed for my truck. I wanted to get out of the park and get help, but the guys with the guns were everywhere, searching for me, using a drone to track me down. I hid in a cave nearby that night. The next day, I left a note for Gus and took off on foot again. They ambushed me not long after that. I figured I was dead, but Baranski wanted to know what I’d seen and if I’d been recording him as he assumed. I told him about the video on my phone. Thought it might be my only chance to stay alive. The guys running the drugs wanted their money back, but Baranski… he wanted that video. I guess they let him keep me alive and do his thing so long as there was a chance he could get me to tell them where I’d hidden their cash.”
Richard said, “It’s weird they didn’t use your family against you.”
Alex nodded, wincing with the move. “I thought the same thing. It’s like Baranski figured that was going too far. Or maybe someone threatened him to stay away from them. Maybe it was the sheriff. Maybe he’s involved after all. I don’t know.” He dropped his head forward and pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead.
Gus laid a hand on his back. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just a little dizzy.” He sucked in a sharp breath and went on.
“When they first had me tied up in the cabin, I could hear the search dogs and a helicopter. I thought if I just held out for a while, someone would find me. But no one came to the cabin.”
“Maybe,” Richard said, “because the sheriff was the one directing the search.” He glanced my way. “Which means we should still try to get in touch with the feds like we planned.”
Luke nodded. “We get to where we can get a signal on Gus’s phone, and I’ll make the call.”
“Shh.” Richard held up a hand to silence everyone. He listened for a minute, then turned toward the passageway at the front of the cave and scanned the area outside. “Shit.” He ducked sideways out of view and then rushed toward me. He grabbed the lantern and clicked it off. “Someone’s out there.”
Crouching low, Gus moved to the front entrance. “That’s them. I see two of them.”
Luke made his way to the other passages at the back of the cave. “This way’s a no go too. I can hear them coming.”
“Luke!” Richard called out. “Get back here.”
Luke crossed the cave in the dark and stopped beside me.
“They’re armed,” Gus said as he got another look out the front of the cave. He faced the rest of us. “There’s no way we’re getting out of here.”
“We have to.” I scanned the cave walls, my eyes adjusting to the darkness now that there was only the dim moonlight seeping in from outside. I frantically tried to think of a plan but came up empty.
Shit. What had I done to us?
The moment I made eye contact with Richard, the panic subsided. There was no way this was going to end with their deaths. I wouldn’t let that happen. We were going to negotiate. The phone and cash for our release. “We’re all getting out of here. Alive.”
Gus turned to the opening of the cave once more. “No, Matthew.” He spun back around. Despite the low light, there was no missing the handgun he held in his right hand. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
“No.” Alex stood, wobbling on unsteady legs. “Not you, Gus.” Luke went to his aid and helped Alex sit on the rock again.
Gus glanced their way but kept the gun aimed at me.
“Gus.” Richard’s voice was filled with barely restrained rage. “You better fucking point that thing somewhere else. Right now. Or I’m going to end you.”
“Fine by me.” Gus turned the gun on Richard instead. “You will do as I say, and no one will get hurt.”
The two men stared each other down.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. “I trusted you. Alex trusted you. He’s your friend.”
Gus didn’t respond with anything. He just kept his glare—and the gun—aimed at Richard. He’d take the shot if Richard made so much as one wrong move. I couldn’t stand seeing Richard in such a vulnerable position, that weapon pointed right at his chest, at his heart. I pictured the scar he had under his shirt. A knife wound from a hateful time before I knew him. He’d survived that.
And he was going to survive this.
I wanted to charge Gus, beat the hell out of him until he dropped the gun and let us all go. Until Richard and Luke were far away from him and safe again.
As if mimicking the mood in the cave, the wind outside kicked up again, creating an eerie whistle as it blew through the cave’s opening.
Without taking the gun off Richard, Gus tugged a two-way radio from his jacket pocket. He clicked it on and spoke to whoever was on the other end. “All clear. You can come in now.” He slipped the radio back into his pocket. “They just want to talk to you.”
Alex shook his head in dismay. “Why would you do this?”
Gus wouldn’t acknowledge him. He kept his focus on Richard. He thought he had us all figured out. He thought Richard was the biggest threat to him. I wasn’t so sure. Luke had Gus locked in his sights. He was trying to figure out how to get that gun off Richard and get us the hell out of there before whoever was on that radio came barging in. All I could picture was Luke lunging for Gus and getting shot in the process. I could barely breathe through the fear.
Agonizing seconds ticked by as no one made a move. Then came activity at both the front and back of the cave. Baranski, the deputy from the video, barged through the front first, semiautomatic pistol in hand. Another deputy sheriff and two park rangers, including the woman from the video, were at the rear entrances. All had guns drawn, the rangers carrying shotguns. To say the two rangers looked awkward holding deadly weapons would’ve been an understatement. Maybe we could somehow work that to our advantage.
They, as well as the cops, were soaked and appeared as exhausted as the rest of us.
“Good work,” Baranski told Gus. “I didn’t think you had it in you. We’ve been trailing you forever, waiting for you to make a move. The phone and the cash?”
“Not here. They hid them somewhere.”
“Hid them? Goddammit. You said you’d take care of this.”
“I said I’d try. I warned you it was time to close up shop and get those fucking drugs out of this park, but you wouldn’t listen to me.”
Baranski scoffed. “That’s not the problem. They are. If we don’t handle this and get that money back, those men who hired us to ensure shit like this didn’t happen are definitely going to make us all pay. With our fucking lives.” He charged forward and grabbed Richard’s arm. He whirled him around so they were facing the rest of us, the gun jabbed into Richard’s side. “Everyone’s going to do exactly as I say or he’s going to die. Right here.”
“No!” I lunged for them. The female ranger turned her weapon on me, and I stopped.
“It’s okay, Matthew,” Richard said with a quiet calm I had no idea how he was pulling off. “Just do what they say, and everything will be fine.”
Baranski signaled to the others. “Secure them.”
The ranger removed the pack from her back and got out several zip ties. She and the second deputy sheriff secured our hands behind our backs. Then they did the same to Richard.
Baranski gestured to them again. “You three, search the cave.” He motioned Gus’s way. “Help me get them outside. They’ll tell us where everything is one way or the other.”
“And then what? They can ID every one of us.”
“I have a way to keep them quiet. I just need that video first.”
Gus grabbed Richard by the upper arm and led him outside. Baranski forced the rest of us to follow. Alex stumbled with every other step, but he managed to stay upright. They stopped us thirty feet from the entrance to the cave. We stood there in the pouring rain, waiting for the inevitable, the sky flashing bright with each bolt of lightning, a nearly constant creak coming from the tree limbs overhead.
Baranski made no move to encourage us to talk. The other deputy and the two armed rangers returned.
“The cave’s clean,” the woman said.
“All right.” Baranski gestured to us with his gun. “Everyone, on your knees. It’s time for a chat.”
Richard and Luke shot each other far more panicked looks than I’d ever seen from either of them. I knew they were desperately trying to figure out if they could overpower our captors. What the hell were we going to do?
Baranski spoke again. “Get down. Now!”
The second deputy charged behind Richard and clocked him on the back of the head. Richard groaned and dropped to his knees in the mud. Luke and I instinctively moved toward him, but we were stopped by the other two goons. They forced the rest of us onto our knees.
“Richard.” My voice shook. He had his head hung low, his chin against his chest, but at least he hadn’t fallen face-first into the mud.
“I’m okay,” he said as he lifted his head. He was clearly not okay, but he was conscious and talking. That was something.
Baranski stepped forward to stand before Alex. In an odd move given the circumstances, he holstered his gun and folded his arms over his chest. “Where’s your phone?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. You talk, or these people are going to die. Because of you.”
“I don’t know where it is.”
“All right.” Baranski shifted his gaze to the man standing directly behind Luke. “Start killing them. Clean shots to the head. One every five minutes. Eventually one of them will talk.”
“Wait!” I shouted. “We hid it, but not here.”
“Matthew.” Luke spoke my name with deep affection, despite his next words. “They’re going to kill us anyway. No matter what we tell them.”
Baranski came to me. “Where is it?”
“You won’t hurt them?”
“I won’t.”
“You’ll let us go?”
“I will. If I get that phone.”
“It’s in a cave.”
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
“Hidden Willow Cave, the one under the waterfall near where we found Alex’s truck. There’s a rock jutting out along the south wall inside the cave. It’s tucked in behind there, inside a red backpack. With the money.” Of course the phone wasn’t there, and I hadn’t believed him when he said he wouldn’t hurt us, but I was hoping he’d wait to silence us for good until he had that phone. If I could just buy a little time, maybe one or all of us could escape.
He just grinned at me for the longest time. The eerie smile never faded as he took several steps backward, reaching for the gun on his belt. Just as he had it in his hand, a high-pitched howl filled the night air. The ominous sound continued on, morphing into a lower octave. It was the howl of a wolf.
Baranski’s eyes widened. “What the fuck is that?”
A second wolf joined the first, then a third, their howls blending into a haunting chorus.
Baranski shook his head. “That can’t be.”
Although the howls were coming from far off, he backed away from the sound—and us.
Thank God for those wolves.
“I’m so sick of this goddamn fucking park.” Baranski looked toward Gus and the two rangers. “I’m getting out of here and going for that cave.” He waved the gun our way as he kept moving backward. “Kill them all. Burn and bury the bodies.”