As the four red-clad staff members slowly eased back from the scene, Rox rushed to the teenage boys. She stood on the other side of Josh and put an arm around his waist. She and Silent Boy carried him to the truck, and she was surprised by how light he seemed. Rox opened the door and gave Josh a boost to help him in. She turned to the other teenager. “Thank you.”
“Take me too.” Silent Boy’s eyes pleaded with her.
Oh no! She’d been afraid of this. “I don’t have any authority, and this is a custody issue.” It broke her heart to tell him no. “But I promise to send federal agents here to investigate.” After seeing the beating Josh had been given, it was obvious all the camp kids needed rescuing.
Marty was already behind the wheel, so Rox climbed in after Josh, and her stepdad hit the gas.
Chapter 37
Rox watched over her shoulder as they sped away. The thugs in red stood on the road talking with the short woman. The manager gestured wildly, and the men made shrugging motions. No one moved to follow them. Rox heaved a sigh of relief, then burst into laughter, her heart still thumping with adrenaline. She reached across Josh to give Marty a high-five. “We did it!”
“I hope you don’t get arrested for waving that gun around.”
A flash of anxiety ripped through her, but Rox shook it off. “Your life was in danger. I did what I had to do. The law allows self-protection.” She patted Josh’s leg. “Look at this kid! They assaulted him. I don’t believe their contract allows for that.”
The boy was quiet, his breathing shallow.
“I know we did the right thing,” Marty countered. “Just be prepared for possible blowback. In fact, I think we should avoid Sun Ridge on the way out. I don’t want to be detained by the local cops.”
“That’ll make for a longer drive, but I’m with you.” She turned to Josh. “Hey, are you all right?”
“I will be.” He swallowed back a sob. “Thank you! I can’t believe I’m free.”
“Thank your dad. This is costing him a bundle. I’m Karina, by the way. And that’s Marty.”
The boy cried softly. “I heard them say my mother was dead. Is that true?”
Rox gave him a shoulder hug. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
“What happened?”
She didn’t want to tell him, but she couldn’t lie. “Your mom was murdered.”
“Who would do that? I don’t understand.”
“The police don’t know yet. She was beaten and strangled, probably by a stranger.” Rox wanted to change the subject.
But Josh choked out, “Strangled?”
Curtis Fletcher popped into Rox’s mind. “Any ideas about that?”
The boy was silent for a moment, then asked, “Is my dad in jail because they think he killed her?”
“Yes.” Rox patted his leg again. “Cops always think it’s the boyfriend or ex-husband, but I don’t think they have any real evidence.”
“He didn’t do it. If you’re a private investigator, you have to help him prove that.”
Startled, Rox deflected. “We’ll see. I know the detective handling the case, and I’ll get an update for you when I have cell phone service again.”
“Do you have any food?” Josh folded his body forward as if in pain. “I’m starving.”
Poor kid. “Not much, but we can stop at a store soon.” Rox reached over the seat and gave him the last soda and a breakfast bar. Josh wolfed it down in seconds.
They rode in silence for a while, still decompressing from the stress of the last few days. Rox stared out the window, wondering if she would ever enjoy hiking in the wilderness again—without thinking of how it was used to punish teenagers. She spotted something big and dark gray in a cluster of Ponderosa pines.
“Was that a car?" Fear filled her empty stomach.
“What?” Marty’s head snapped toward her.
“Maybe it was just a rock. I think I’m on edge.” She didn’t want to sound paranoid.
“Was it dark gray?” Marty’s tone was sharp.
“Yes, and I’m thinking the same thing. We were being followed, and we still are.”
“By who?” Josh wiped his face with his shirt.
“We don’t know.” Rox wanted to reassure him, but she couldn’t. A week without the magnets, and she was already regressing. “The local police might be watching us.” But if it was a Sun Ridge officer, why hadn’t he intervened at the camp?
“It must be about me,” Josh cried out. “That’s why you’re here.”
“You’re not our first extraction,” Marty cut in, trying to sound calm. “We have other people mad at us.”
“I saw the gun you used back there,” Josh said. “Is that why you carry it?”
Now Marty patted the boy’s leg. “We’re both ex-cops. It’s a habit.”
Rox looked back over her shoulder, but the road curved, and she couldn’t see if a vehicle was following. “I’ll just keep watching.” She smiled at Josh. “We’ll keep you safe.”
A few minutes later, they started the long descent on Briggs, an asphalt road with sharp S-curves and steep drop-offs at many of the bends. Rox checked behind them and didn’t see a car. “We might be clear.”
“I doubt it.” Marty shifted in his seat, his shirt wet with sweat. “We’ll know for sure once we get back down into the flatlands.”
Rox checked her phone to see if she had service. She wanted to contact Kyle about both murders, Carrie’s and Tommy’s. “No luck.” Her throat was so dry, she felt desperate. Marty had to be dehydrated too. With his heart condition, it was worse for him. “Hey, do we have a jug of water in the back? The one you keep with your camping stuff?”
“Yep. We’ll stop when we hit a flat spot and you can fill the bottles.”
Rox glanced back at the truck bed with its covered tarp. Movement up the hill caught her eye. A gray sedan was rapidly approaching. “We’ve got a tail, and he’s coming on strong.”
Marty looked in the rearview mirror. “What the hell?” Her stepdad pressed the accelerator, and the truck lurched forward. “What’s he doing? Trying to scare us?”
Rox stared behind them, watching the other vehicle gain speed. Dread made her queasy. “Maybe we should just stop and confront him.” The car was close enough now that she could see the driver was a lone male.
“Stop where?” A note of panic in the old man’s voice.
A forested slope hugged the road on the left, and on the right, a narrow shoulder gave way to a steep, rocky drop-off.
Josh cried out, “What’s happening?”
“We don’t know.”
Rox felt the truck slow and twisted to face the front. The road ahead curved sharply to the left, creating a wide rounded view of the valley on the other side. There was no place to pull over, just a guardrail protecting the drop-off.
They went into the curve too fast, but Marty braked and stayed in control. Rox glanced over her shoulder again. The gray sedan had closed the gap, and she could see the driver’s face.
No! Why him?
Suddenly the sedan slammed into their tailgate, and Rox’s body lurched forward against her seatbelt. She looked up to see them plunge through the guardrail and leave the road, heading straight into the open blue sky.
Chapter 38
Josh screamed as the truck plummeted, and his stomach dropped with it. This was it! He was going to die anyway. They all were. He closed his eyes, not wanting to watch the long slow crash into the valley floor.
A second later, the truck slammed into the ground on all four tires and bounced hard. Josh flew up and hit his head on the roof of the cab. They bounced again, but not as hard this time. No glass shattered. What had just happened? The old man still had his hands on the wheel, and they seemed to be on flat ground. But the truck was traveling sideways, still at a rapid speed, and a big tree loomed ahead. Josh yelled, “Watch out!” but Marty was already braking.
They crashed into the tree, and Josh was thrown forward. The seatbelt caught him before he hit
the dashboard and his body slammed back against the seat. He couldn’t believe he wasn’t dead and the truck was still running. “Holy shit! That was insane.”
The old guy mumbled, “No kidding.”
The woman squeezed his leg again. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I can’t believe we didn’t die.” Josh stared at the narrow dirt path they’d landed on. “Is this some kind of mountain biking trail?”
Rox gulped a breath of air. “I think it’s the old road that people used before the new one was built. Look, you can see concrete under the dirt in places.”
That was good, Josh thought. They might still get out of here.
“Let’s see where it goes,” the old man said. “If the truck will still move.” He shifted into reverse and backed away from the tree.
The front end was damaged, but they were moving. “Is the engine okay?” he asked.
“Seems so. I must have got her stopped in time.” The old man’s voice quivered.
“Good work, Marty! That was amazing driving.” The woman laughed, but she sounded nervous. “How are you? You feel okay?” She was talking to her stepdad.
“Mostly. If that didn’t give me a heart attack, nothing will.”
Was the old man sick? Before Josh could ask, Karina said, “That was Scott Goodwin. I can’t believe our client tried to kill us.”
Scott Goodwin? His old mentor? A sickness overcame him. Josh whispered, “I know Scott.”
The woman spun toward him, mouth open. “How?”
As Marty steered onto the old road, Josh tried to explain. “From the Fellowship. He’s a youth counselor and took us on trips.”
A new worry in Karina’s eyes. “Do you know Tommy Goodwin?”
Dread mixed with his guilt and fear. “Yes, he’s in our youth group too. Why?”
“Oh dear god.” The woman rocked forward, her hands on her face.
“What happened?” Josh fought back tears. He was so tired of crying. “Is Tommy okay?”
“No.” She shook her head. “He’s dead too. Probably murdered.”
No! Josh felt sick. And mad as hell. Scott had probably done it. Tommy had been there that weekend too, and it was time to tell the whole ugly story. These people deserved to know because they had tried to save him. But no one could.
“What is it, Josh? What do you know?” The woman had a grip on his shoulder.
The dirt trail began to climb, and they could see the main road above them to the left. Josh hoped they could get back up there. He really needed a shower. Maybe even a doctor. But he was avoiding the conversation. Some things were too shameful to talk about.
“Josh, you have to tell what you know. Scott Goodwin just ran us off the road.”
“It was me he wanted to kill. Just like he probably silenced Tommy.”
“You saw it?”
“No, but I saw what Scott did to that girl.” Tears welled in his eyes. Tears for Brooke and for himself. “What we all did to her.”
Karina and Marty were silent—waiting for him to speak.
The confession that had been building inside him for a month finally burst out. “We raped her, but didn’t think it was wrong at the time. Tommy and I were drunk and flying high on ecstasy. Brooke and Scott too. The E made us all really horny. But after Scott had sex with her, Brooke passed out. He told us to go ahead and fuck her too, that it was okay. We were too messed up to know better.”
A moment of silence, the woman demanded, “Who is Brooke? How old is she?”
Josh’s cheeks flushed with shame. “She’s fifteen, and she had been in one of the wilderness camps.”
“Where did all this happen?” Karina tried to sound calm, but he could hear distress in her voice.
“At Scott’s weekend house. He made us promise not to ever tell anyone about the girl. Or what we did.” Josh covered his face, his sobs uncontrollable. “I’m so sorry. And so scared. I don’t want to go to jail.”
“What about Brooke? Why didn’t she report it to the authorities?”
Josh got control of himself. This was the part that confused him the most. “I think Brooke is still at Scott’s house. She may not be allowed to leave.”
Marty slammed the truck to a stop. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know! Scott acted like Brooke belonged to him.” Josh was so tired and so hungry. And he hurt everywhere. He wasn’t sure he was even thinking straight.
The woman grabbed his shoulder again. “Where is this weekend house?”
They’d flown over Bend in Scott’s small plane, then turned south. “I think it’s around here somewhere.”
Chapter 39
In silence, they rolled along the bumpy road, and Rox took long, slow breaths. Her client had raped a young girl, murdered his own nephew, then hired her to lead him to Josh—so he could kill him too. And she’d gone to dinner with Goodwin! She’d found him compelling enough to want to date. Rox tried to console herself with the knowledge that psychopaths could be charming—but she was supposed to be smarter and more jaded than that. The damn magnet treatments had made her soft. She was done with them. Better to be quirky and unemotional.
“I should have let you meet with Goodwin,” Rox lamented, talking to Marty over the now-quiet boy.
“Hey.” Her stepdad reached across and patted her hand. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You had no way of knowing.”
“What if Goodwin decides to silence the girl too? He’s obviously spinning out of control.” Rage and disgust burned in her belly. The full humiliation of her gullibility would come later. Right now she had to face him. “We have to get back on the main road and go after Goodwin.”
“I think I can find his house if we get on the right road,” Josh offered.
Another wave of frustration hit her. She’d also risked a kidnapping charge to rescue a rapist! He’s a kid, she reminded herself. Josh had been intoxicated and influenced by an adult. He wasn’t evil… if he’d told them the whole truth. “What’s the right road?”
“It’s not far from the camp where the gay kids go.”
Ridgeline Get Straight. She’d seen it listed on their business registry. “Can you narrow that down?”
“The turnoff is between Bend and Sun Ridge. I think I’ll recognize the name when I see it.” Josh’s voice was barely a whisper.
He needed reassurance and forgiveness, but she was too upset right now. He would have to get that from a real counselor.
Marty was more generous. “Thanks for telling us everything, Josh. The fact that you’re helping us rescue Brooke will look good to a judge.”
He was only fifteen, Rox thought. He wouldn’t even go to jail, just to the juvenile center, then probably be released at eighteen. She couldn’t stop thinking about the girl. She looked at Josh. “How did Brooke end up at Goodwin’s house?”
“Her parents sent her to the conversion camp, but she wouldn’t stop being gay, or bi-sexual actually, so they didn’t want her back.”
“Are you serious?”
“That’s what Scott told us.” Josh looked sheepish. “But he also said we couldn’t tell anyone she was at his house.”
“What were you doing there?”
“Just spending a weekend. Boating and stuff. He’s Tommy’s uncle. We did that sometimes.”
Rox was still confused. “How is Scott Goodwin connected to the camps?”
“He’s Curtis’ half-brother and used to be part-owner of Ridgeline.” Josh shrugged. “I’m not supposed to know that, but I overheard my mom and Curtis talking about it.”
That explained how Scott Goodwin had known she was searching for Josh. Carrie must have known… and told her fiancé… who told his half-brother. Or maybe Carrie knew Goodwin too and told him directly. A horrifying thought popped into her head. What if Goodwin had pressured Carrie to tell him where Josh was? Then beat and strangled her when she wouldn’t? Rox stared at Marty, but he was focused on the road. They would talk about it later. The photo of Curtis Fletcher and
Isaac Lovejoy flashed in her mind. Did that mean anything other than a business investment? Maybe both clients had duped her.
She focused on Josh again. “Do you know why Scott is no longer a Ridgeline owner?” She could make a good guess—even without the conversation Marty had overheard about paying hush money.
"No. Sorry.”
“Look!” Marty shouted. “There’s a short slope up to the main road.”
Rox saw a tough, rocky climb over sagebrush. “It’s too steep!”
Marty shifted into a lower gear. “We’ll make it.” He gunned the engine and took a run at the embankment. Halfway up, the truck slowed, grinding out. Marty pressed the accelerator even harder. “Come on, girl!”
Rox held her breath as the truck inched its way up and over the edge.
Finally, they made it back to the main road. “Well done again, Marty. Maybe I should call you Mario instead.”
“What does that mean?” Josh asked.
They both ignored him.
“I need to call the police,” Rox announced. “If I can get service.”
Marty shook his head. “Not the Sun Ridge force. Call the Bend department instead. Or better yet, the state police office in Bend.”
“They’re both an hour away.” But he was right. If the local cops supported Ridgeline, dealing with them could be too much trouble. The young captive girl was closer to Bend anyway. Rox tried the call, but it wouldn’t go through.
She pulled out the map from the glovebox. Earlier, she’d noticed a route that connected the main highway north of Sun Ridge to a road east of the wilderness. It might even save them some time. She studied the area and spotted the cut-through. “If we want to avoid Sun Ridge, we need to head left at the bottom of the hill, then take Rattlesnake Road back around to the main highway.”
“That’s it!” Josh shouted. “Scott’s house is by a small lake off that road.”
“A fitting name,” Marty muttered.
A few minutes later, they stopped at Troutdale, the main road connecting to the highway.
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