by Sheryl Lynn
“I don’t know. We can figure it out after I find William.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on.”
Megan dug in her heels. “Wait a minute! Did Kara and William hike to Snowcap or take a car?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. He struggled against rising panic. Powder was a long way away, and the crazy woman had not only the local law after her, but the FBI. Amy Carter couldn’t know he was in Colorado—unless Eula had told her. He breathed slowly and deeply for a few seconds, telling himself William was fine, having a great time crawling on the rocks with Kara.
“Tristan?” Megan peered with concern into his face. “Why is Carter’s wife after William?”
“Her baby died, but she’s thinking William is hers. I don’t know, but I’ve got a bad feeling.” He strode down the hallway toward the back door. He’d taken several steps before realizing Megan didn’t follow. “Come on.”
“Wait,” she said calmly. “It makes a difference if they hiked or took a vehicle to the trailhead. Which one?”
He threw his hands in the air. “What difference?”
“If they hiked, they’ll go to the north face, but if they took a car they’ll go west. We can’t go from the north face to the west face without climbing gear. It makes a big difference.” She hurried to his side, took his arm and gently guided him in a circle facing the door. “You need other shoes. You’ll kill yourself in those boots. I’ll check the garage for Kara’s truck. If they hiked, we can take horses and catch up to them.”
“I best call the sheriff. The private eye said the local FBI have been notified, but I haven’t seen head nor tail of them.”
She rubbed his shoulder, her hand strong and soothing. “William is fine. Kara will take good care of him. Besides, that woman doesn’t know William and she won’t know where he’s gone.”
“His picture was in the newspaper with mine. Remember?”
“I forgot about that. Oh, God. Change your boots and I’ll find out which way Kara went. I’ll meet you back at the parking lot.”
Unable to shake the scared feeling, Tristan hurried out of the lodge and down the gravel path to the cabin. Wind rustling the trees had a nip to it; the air was cooler now than it had been at sunrise. To the east the clouds were gathering into a bank, still fluffy and white, but now streaked with patches of ominous gray. It would be his bad luck to get caught in a Colorado thunderstorm.
He entered the cabin and went straight to the closet, thanking fate he’d brought a pair of athletic shoes suitable for hiking.
“Hello, Nicky.”
Bending over, his hand on a shoe, he froze. Moving his eyes only, he glimpsed purple. Not now, he thought wearily, and straightened slowly.
Daniella Falconetti stepped from the bathroom. She held a .22 automatic pistol, small but effective in close quarters. He’d seen the damage a .22 round could do to a varmint. No way did he want one ripping around inside his guts. He put up his hands.
“Ma’am,” he said. “I don’t have time for this. I have to find my boy.”
“I remember so well how urgent are your needs. A man of great importance, with grand dreams and a lust for life.” She waggled the gun, indicating a chair. “I am no longer the timid girl you married. I have needs, too.”
“I am not Nicky Alonza.” Never lowering his hands, he eased onto a chair. “What do I have to do to prove it to you?”
“Proof,” she said with a sneer. “It is, how you Americans say, in the pudding.” She approached in a slow glide, her hips swaying and her hand steady. “Ah, but no longer do you have the pudding face. You’ve aged well, Nicky. Time has been kind to you. You are quite handsome.”
“We had a deal, ma’am. I kept up my end—”
“Always the wheeler-dealer, are you not? You have forgotten, then, I do not make deals.” She pulled a chair around and sat, but remained alert, the gun never wavering. “Let me explain to you what has changed about me, Nicky. Since you, there have been four husbands. Each has left me a little stronger, much wiser, and much, much richer. I do the using now, Nicky. I set the terms and all abide by my rules.”
“Okay, fine! You want to think I’m Nicky, think it. What do you want from me?”
Her eyebrows curved into arcs, and she fluttered her false eyelashes. “What I want, Nicky, my darling love, is for you to keep one promise that you made.”
He glanced at the door, wanting to find William and willing to deal with the devil herself if it meant doing so. “What promise?”
“Until death do us part, Nicky. I want you dead.”
WHERE IS THAT MAN? Megan wondered. Standing on tiptoe, she swept her gaze over the parking lot. He’d gotten her royally worked up about finding William and now he was piddling around with his shoes. She glanced over her shoulder at the barn where Cody was saddling horses.
Alerted by a crunch of gravel, she glanced at Janine. Brow furrowed, her mouth pursed, Janine hurried to her sister’s side. “Mom says there’s trouble. What’s going on?”
“You’ll find this amusing. A nut who thinks Tristan is Carter is looking for William. And she has a gun. She shot the postmistress in Powder and she’s wanted by the FBI.”
“Huh?”
Megan waved in dismissal. “It’s a long story. Right now, we’re going up to Snowcap to find Kara and William.”
She’d reached the point where she was wearied of waiting when she saw Tristan emerging from the trees near the Hideaway. Waving, she called, “It’s about time! The horses—”
Janine grabbed Megan’s arm and pulled it down. “That’s Daniella!”
A blonde in a purple pantsuit walked behind Tristan. Very close behind him with her right hand pressed against his back. The pair aimed for a lavender Cadillac parked near the exit. Tristan stumbled and thrust out his arms, then he nodded.
“Go on, honey,” he called. “I’m going for a little ride.”
Unreal, Megan thought, and planted her hands on her hips. She’d told Tristan he was stupid for making a deal with that woman. “Hey!” she shouted, and jogged across the parking lot.
A glint of metal registered in her brain, and she ducked behind a guest’s car. That nutcase had a gun!
Janine stumbled against Megan’s back. “She’s got a gun! What’s she doing with a gun?”
“Trying to kill Tristan!” Megan peeked over the hood of the car. “Are you nuts, lady? You can’t kidnap a man in broad daylight.” Janine clawed at her to get down, but Megan pushed her away.
“This is a personal matter, Miss Duke. It does not concern you. You’ll thank me later. I save you from your romantic foolishness!”
Megan peered over the car hood in time to see Daniella give a set of keys to Tristan. The demented woman expected him to drive off with her. When she dropped back into a crouch, the slingshot in her back pocket jabbed her hip. She whipped it out of her pocket and thanked fate for giving her a weapon. She scooped up a marble-size piece of gravel and fitted it in the sling.
Janine’s eyeballs practically bugged from the sockets.
Megan jumped to her feet, readied, aimed and let it rip.
The pebble disappeared into the sunlight. If it got anywhere close to Daniella, neither she nor Tristan gave a sign. Ignoring the way Janine hissed and pulled at her trouser leg, Megan found another pebble. Tristan had the car door open, and Daniella angrily gestured at him to get inside. Megan fired. This time she struck the Cadillac.
“Hey!” Daniella aimed the pistol in Megan’s direction.
Megan dropped behind the car and frantically sought another missile-size pebble. Daniella loosed a screech. Megan popped up in time to see Tristan with his arms wrapped around the woman from behind, lifting her off her feet. He shook her like a sack of dirt, squeezing so the cords stood out on his forearms and his face reddened, but she still fought grimly, trying to raise the gun. Megan dropped the slingshot and raced between the cars to the Cadillac. She grabbed the gun in her left hand and Daniella’s arm in the other, then jamm
ed her thumb between the tendons of Daniella’s wrist. The woman yelped and dropped the gun.
“What are you doing with a gun, Daniella?” Janine demanded.
“Give it a rest, Ninny, there’s no dealing with this nut. Are you okay, Tristan?”
“Yes, ma’am, but I’m getting real tired of this Carter fellow.” Daniella ceased struggling, but he held her fast, her toes barely dragging in the dirt.
“I’m calling the sheriff,” Janine said.
Megan looked around the parking lot. Nobody else was in sight. She reached inside the Cadillac and hit the trunk release. It swished open with a metallic sigh. “Put her in the trunk, Tristan. Ninny, you call the sheriff and handle this. Tristan and I have to find William. And you better find the Colonel, too.”
Daniella began screaming and kicking, but her struggles had no effect on Tristan. He toted her easily around the car and hoisted her into the trunk.
Megan pointed the gun at Daniella’s face. “I am so sick of you.”
The woman clamped her mouth shut and cringed. Megan shut the trunk. Daniella pounded on the trunk and screamed. Ignoring her, Megan handed the gun to her sister, who accepted it as if it were made of rotten meat.
“When the sheriff gets here, tell him we’ve gone to Snowcap. In the meantime, he should talk to the FBI about the shooting in Powder. It might have to do with Tristan and another wife thinking he’s Carter.”
“You can’t leave,” Janine said, pulling a face at the gun. “What other wife? Christie Carter?” She shook her head in denial. “She went back to Denver—”
“Another one,” Megan said. “Only this one thinks William is her kid. I’ll tell you all about it when we find William.”
Janine clamped a hand around Megan’s wrist. Her lips parted, and her face paled as she stared at Tristan. “A kid?” she mouthed silently.
“What is it, ma’am? Do you know something?”
“One of the guests has been acting strangely. Employees tell me she’s been asking questions about boys, and she’s been hanging around the pool when the children are swimming. Some of the parents have complained about her frightening the kids with her questions.”
Megan stiffened, remembering Kara telling her about the weirdo. “Is it the lady in the Hideaway cabin?”
Janine nodded. “I was going to speak to her this morning. You don’t think she could be looking for William, do you?”
Tristan held out his hand. “Give me that peashooter, ma’am. I saw that woman this morning. She was watching Kara outfit William in hiking gear. I apologized to her for William making so much noise.”
“What did she say to you?” Janine handed over the gun.
“Nothing. She went back inside the cabin. But if it’s her, she knows exactly where William is headed.” He checked the safety on the pistol, then tucked it in his belt.
Megan tapped her fingers against her mouth, her mind racing. “Okay, Janine, get Mom and the Colonel to help you find the woman. If she’s here, tell the sheriff she might be a suspect in a shooting in Powder. If she isn’t around, tell the sheriff to send reinforcements up to Snowcap.”
“You can’t go up there, Meg!”
“I don’t have a choice. Besides, Tristan and Cody will be with me.” She flashed a reassuring smile Tristan’s way. “William and Kara are perfectly safe.” She didn’t believe her own words for a second. Intuition screamed danger like blue jays spotting a hawk.
Daniella railed at them with muffled threats. The force of her struggles rocked the Cadillac.
Janine slapped the trunk. “Put a lid on it, Daniella!” She took a step, then paused, smiling wanly. “You’re a wild woman, Meg. I always knew you had guts, but I never knew you were so brave. Take care of her, Tristan. You guys make a great couple.” She broke into a jog, hurrying toward the lodge.
“She’s right,” Tristan said, squeezing her fingers. “Going up against Daniella’s gun. Girl, you need a keeper.”
Megan lifted her shoulders. She’d think about what she’d done and feel the fear later. “I had a slingshot. We were even.”
Chapter Fourteen
The hiking trail leading to the cliff formation called Snowcap was well marked but narrow. Cody, Tristan and Megan rode single file, the horses’ hooves pounding a dull rhythm in the quiet forest. Megan envisioned Kara’s amusement and William’s sneer when their rock climbing was interrupted. They’d all have a good laugh over Tristan’s worry. A nice, safe laugh back at the lodge, where by now the sheriff would have Daniella and the strange guest in custody.
“Heeyup!” Cody urged his mount up a steep hill. The bay gelding put his muscles into lunging up the incline made slippery by loose dirt and pine straw.
Tristan and Megan waited until Cody reached the top before they urged their horses one at a time after him. Once on the hillcrest Megan patted Doc’s sweaty neck. The temperature had been dropping, and clouds now covered half the sky. Thunderheads built to the east, and streaky curtains of rain grayed the horizon. She wished she’d brought a coat instead of her light nylon jacket.
“I don’t see anybody,” Cody said, squinting from beneath his hat brim.
Snowcap lay two ridges over, a mound of pale sandstone as bald as a pile of eggs. A favorite among amateur and professional rock climbers, its cliff faces were festooned with pitons. At times, so many climbers gathered, from a distance it appeared infested by ants. Today Snowcap was empty. Megan tried to ignore the prickling along her spine.
“Maybe they’re climbing over at the west face,” Cody said.
The climb between the north face and the west face was too difficult for a beginner. Kara could do it, but she wouldn’t risk William. “They’re probably eating lunch.” Taking the lead, she urged Doc down the hill.
Once over the second ridge, she began calling for her sister. Her voice echoed off the rocks. Scrub jays yelled back at her. The prickling sensation turned into an itch.
“She could have gone hiking elsewhere,” Cody said, but doubt darkened his eyes.
“If she said she’s going to Snowcap, then she went to Snowcap.” Megan stood tall in the saddle, cupped a hand beside her mouth and called, “Kara!”
Her voice came back in lonesome echoes: Ra…ra…ra…
Tristan dismounted, leaving Itchy’s reins trailing. He scrambled over the rocks, climbing to the base of the cliff. He leaned his head far back, looking upward. “William!”
Em…em…em…
They climbed over rocks and pushed through oak tangles, seeking any sign of Kara or William.
Tristan suddenly froze, his posture alert Megan crouched atop a boulder, sensing he’d heard something.
“What is it?” she asked.
He cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”
Pushing upright, Megan strained to hear. Then, faint as a breeze, she heard a cry for help. “Cody!” she yelled, and leapt from the boulder onto another. She skidded on loose gravel and went with the fall, bunching her thigh muscles in preparation of the shock and windmilling her arms for balance. She hit the ground running, ignoring the pains shooting from her knees.
Cody had his pocketknife out and was sawing at ropes binding Kara when Megan reached them. Her sister was curled beneath the low-spreading limbs of a spruce tree, her hands and feet bound, her face covered in blood. One eye was swollen shut, but she smiled at Megan.
“I knew you’d come,” she said weakly. She sobbed, her smile trembling. “She’s got William. Jane Smith, the lady in the Honeymoon Hideaway. She’s got him!”
Tristan arrived and immediately dropped to a crouch to help Cody cut the ropes free. Each man grasped an arm, and they hauled Kara from beneath the tree. She winced with each clumsy step, and tears streamed down her bloodied cheeks. Megan examined the wound on her sister’s head. She had a small cut and a huge bruise on her temple.
Kara leaned heavily against Cody, who supported her with one arm. “She followed us from the lodge. She has a gun.” She reached for Tristan. “She to
ok William!”
“It’s okay, honey, calm down. Take a deep breath, that’s a girl. Do you know which way they went?”
“She made William tie me. up. Said she’d shoot me if he didn’t do it. I told him to run and he would have, but she hit me. I think I passed out. I don’t remember. I’m sorry, Tristan, I’m so sorry. I tried to stop her, but she had a gun and I was so scared she’d hurt William.”
Megan turned her gaze west. Smooth and tall, carved by the wind into dizzying angles, the cliff face looked as daunting as a skyscraper. Only an expert climber would make an attempt to go over it, and there was no path in that direction, only rocks, ravines and junglelike growths of vegetation.
“Cody, take Kara back to the lodge. Come on, Tristan, she must have gone that way.” She pointed east where the rocks melded into a long razorback ridge angling up the mountain.
“You get back to the lodge,” Cody said hotly, his mustache twitching.
“Kara might pass out again. I’m not big enough to keep her on a saddle, but you can.”
“I won’t pass out.” The thin flesh under Kara’s eyes had a greenish cast.
“Just do it, Cody. I’ll be all right.” She pointed east. “Are there any cabins up there that you know of? Any cattle shelters?”
The wrangler squinted. “There’s an old mine shaft and a broke-down cabin on the other side of the ridge. Why?”
Megan followed her intuition. “A storm is moving in, so she’s probably looking for someplace to hole up.” She nodded at the sky, now gray and low. Thunder rumbled in the distance. “She has to go somewhere. Plus, she’s from Ohio, so the altitude has to be killing her. She can’t get far. Kara, can you make it back to the lodge?”
She sagged heavily against the wrangler. “Don’t worry about me. Be careful, she has a gun.” She gingerly fingered the goose egg on her bloodied head. “There’s something wrong with that woman. Really, really wrong. She kept calling William her baby.”
Megan and Tristan headed east on foot. The going was rough over loose rocks and through dense vegetation. In several places they had to climb. Her knees creaked and popped ominously, burning deep within the joints, reminding her of the doctor’s dire warnings about ending up permanently crippled if she injured her knees again. She ignored the pain, pushing onward. Behind her, Tristan breathed heavily, fighting for oxygen in the thin air, but he never lagged.