“I’m a woodworker, too,” Danny said, “though not a craftsman like you. But I get what you mean.”
Talon nodded but didn’t comment.
“If … if you get off this island and back to the states, would you return to Montana?”
Talon snorted. “If I get off? I’m getting off, man, somehow, someday. I’m not spending my life here, no matter what.” This was as much emotion as Danny had ever seen from him.
Danny nodded. “Me, either. I have to go back and prove my innocence. And I will.”
Talon shook back his long black hair. “Want to help build the boat and go with me?”
Danny’s heart leapt. “Do I? You bet I do!”
“We can start tomorrow,” Talon said, reverting to his non-committal tone. I can’t do any heavy lifting with my shoulder here, but I can show you what to do, and I can handle some of the lighter stuff.”
Danny tried not to show his excitement, but hope surged all through him. “Talon, I’ll do whatever I can. I’m not one hundred percent either, but we’ll both do what we can, and in a few weeks, we’ll be out of here.”
Talon nodded in silence. Then he broke into a grin that said more than a thousand words ever could have.
Danny closed his eyes in gratitude. He breathed a prayer to whatever gods might be listening, and sent a message to the woman whose face swam up before him. “I’m coming home, Charlie,” he told her, visualizing his words like wide-winged birds crossing the ocean and then the thousands of miles of land to find her in Connecticut.
* * * *
“Looks good,” Jake said, his eyes taking in every detail of the canoe.
Danny grinned. “Talon is absolutely amazing. He designed this thing from the get-go, and it’s perfect. Never seen anything like it.”
Talon, as usual, looked at the floor and said nothing. Danny had grown accustomed to his silence, and now recognized it for it was—Talon’s innate humility and natural reticence.
“Incredible,” Evan said.
“Think it’ll get us out of here?” Danny asked. His confidence was tempered by anxiety, and he hoped for reassurance from Jake and Evan. Looking at the beautiful craft, so carefully and skillfully put together, he felt not only pride, but hope. He and Talon might actually make it.
“When are you aiming to leave?” Jake asked.
“Two weeks, more or less,” Talon replied. “We need to put a pine-pitch sealer over the whole thing—several coats—then let it dry. We need to gather our food and water supplies and package them.”
“You’re absolutely determined to go?” Evan asked, sending Danny a hard look.
“You’re welcome to stay, you know. It’s not such a bad life here.”
“I know. But I have to go home.”
“Is there a woman waiting for you there?”
Danny hesitated. He didn’t know the answer to that. His darling Katie was dead and gone, and Charlie was married to the Presbyterian minister in town. Yet, he felt a connection to her, as if something was predestined for them—him and Charlie. Yet, that sounded crazy, even to himself!
“I don’t know,” he fudged. “My wife, Katie, is dead, and I’m accused of killing her, but I swear to you before God, that I didn’t kill her, or anyone else.”
“Very few of us here believe in God, any kind of god,” Evan said. “What kind of God would condemn us to life here?”
“That was the United States Judicial system, not God,” Danny said. “But I sort of agree. If God is good, if God is just, why are we here?”
Danny waited for an answer, but none was forthcoming, as it had not been for ages past, when the good suffered for naught, and the evil went unpunished.
“The Great Spirit knows what He’s doing,” Talon said, “It will all come out according to His will in the end.”
* * * *
It was too hard to say goodbye. These guys had saved their lives more than once, in circumstances that anyone else would have considered extreme. In the end, they scratched out a note on a bleached piece of bark and left it on Talon’s rickety table, where Evan and Jake would be sure to find it.
Danny and Talon dragged the heavy canoe through the woods. Dawn was yet a promise, its light hesitating on the horizon, flickering through the gaps between the branches. Having regained their strength and vitality during the last few weeks, the two men had cleared a path from the southern gate of the Village through the forest and to the hidden cave entrance that Talon had discovered, which in turn led to the underground river. Talon, with his instinct for exploration, had discovered the cave, its entrance completely hidden by dense thickets and thick tree roots. These they had hacked away with axes formed of sharpened stones bound to sturdy wooden handles. Now they had a space just wide enough to admit the canoe so they could slide it down into the cave. Once in the cave, they heard the river’s murmur. Danny had been amazed to find this place that no one supposedly knew about, and impressed with Talon’s knowledge of the cave’s interior and the corridors that led from the main chamber.
Everything went as planned.
“We’ll have to turn the canoe on its side to get it through the tunnel,” Talon said, as they slid into the cave.
Danny looked around. There were bones scattered about on the cave floor, bones that had not been there the last time they had checked out the cave. The bones were fresh. Shreds of flesh hung from them, and there were bloody smears.
“Talon. Someone else has been here.”
“An animal,” Talon said, glancing at the bones with little concern. “Nothing human knows about this cave, Danny.”
It was dicey getting the canoe around some of the twists and turns of the narrow passageway, but Talon had estimated its width correctly and built the canoe no wider than would fit. Ten minutes later, Danny saw the blush of early daylight and heard the roar of the river. His spirits leaped. After the disaster of the glider, he had hardly dared to hope, but this time it looked like they really were going to make it off this damned island.
“Wow,” Danny breathed, as they emerged from the cave. They stood on the bank of a fast-moving river that ran between massive blocks of black rocks. Hidden by rocks and overhanging trees, it plowed from under the mouth of the cave a short way before being swallowed up by the ocean.
Danny used his arm to wipe the sweat from his face but noticed that Talon hadn’t even broken a sweat.
“Let’s get her in the water,” Talon said. He unwound the rope of woven reeds that he had tied around his waist, and tied one end to the tree nearest the water. He pulled it tight; it held. As they had agreed previously, Danny went back down into the cave and got behind the boat to push it up. Talon threaded the rope through an aperture he had made in the front of the canoe, and pulled. It slid up the hill with some effort, as the men grunted and pushed, but then, there it was, perched and ready to go into the river.
“This is a half-assed place to be on the happiest day of my life,” Danny said, beside himself with excitement. But here I am, and even if I die out there in the ocean, Talon, I can leave this earth knowing I gave it my all.”
Talon didn’t answer, as he often didn’t, especially if emotion was involved.
He pushed the canoe into the water, where it rocked gently in the shallows. Talon untied the end that hitched it to the tree and stepped into the boat. He sat down, picked up and oar, and beckoned to Danny. “C’mon. Let’s get out of here.”
Danny barely saw Javonne, as he leapt from the cave entrance and was on them in an instant. He let out an unearthly bellow of pure rage. With one hand he grabbed Danny by the arm and hurled him onto the rocks. Before he lost consciousness, Danny, wedged between two sharp rocks, saw Javonne drag Talon from the canoe and hurl him against a rock, where he slid to the ground, stunned. Javonne picked up the boat as if it were a toy and smashed it against the rocks until it broke into pieces. He picked up Talon and slung him over his shoulder, where he hung like a limp rag and, still roaring, crashed off into the forest.
<
br /> Chapter Twenty-Four
Charlie stared at the TV screen, her mouth open in disbelief. Mindy had joined her for the Death Island reality show and sat beside her on the blue leather sofa.
“Did you see that?” Charlie gasped. “They were on their way to freedom and Javonne wrecked the canoe and made off with Talon.” She got up, went to the window and stared out at the Manning’s house. “Danny’s dead. I know it,” she said in a toneless voice. She looked back at Mindy. “I failed, didn’t I? I’ve probably wrecked my own marriage over this, and it’s all for nothing.”
“I don’t think so,” Mindy said, her eyes fixed on the screen. “I think I saw him move, Charlie. He’s hurt again, but not dead.”
Charlie returned to the sofa. “I’m tired,” she said. “I feel defeated, Mindy.
“I’ve done what I felt was right, and all it has caused is chaos. Paul’s hardly speaking to me, and he’s probably screwing one of my best friends—if I could only figure out which one. The congregation is all upset with Paul because of what I’ve done …” Her voice trailed off.
They watched as Pierre LeGrande filled the screen again, smiling. “It looks like another cliffhanger, my friends,” he said. “However …” he put a pudgy forefinger to his lips. “I don’t think it’s over for Danny Manning yet, fans. Yes, Javonne has captured Talon, and managed to wreck the canoe that Danny and Talon built, but I’m sure there’s more to come. Be sure and tune in next week!”
“And now,” Charlie said, her voice flat, “a word from all the sponsors of products that the condemned men on Death Island will never need.”
Mindy reached for her hand. “You did what you thought was right, Charlie,” she said. “You had more guts than all the rest of us put together. To us, it was just a show—condemned men sent to a remote island, an opportunity for us to gamble, bet on who might die that week. It was entertainment, that’s all.”
“Until Danny got involved,” Charlie said. “I just know he’s innocent, Mindy, and those last two axe murders prove it, as far as I’m concerned.”
“I agree,” Mindy said, “and I’m sorry I didn’t back what you were doing from the beginning. I’m with you now, Charlie, whatever you decide to do from now on.”
“Thank you,” Charlie said, and turned to hug her friend.
The phone rang. Charlie looked at it with distaste.
“Probably Paul,” she said, reaching for it. “Telling me why he’s going to be late tonight, even though he said he’d be home around ten.”
“May I speak to Charlotte Adjavon?” a brisk, secretarial voice asked.
“This is,” Charlie replied.
“Please hold for Pierre LeGrande,” the voice instructed.
Charlie nearly dropped the phone. She covered the mouthpiece with one hand, gesticulating wildly with the other. “It’s Pierre LeGrande! Omigod, Mindy!”
Mindy’s face lit with astonishment. She clasped her hands and leaned as far forward as she could. “Oh, how I wish you had a speaker phone so I could hear.”
The smooth, mellow voice came over the wire. “Charlotte, it’s wonderful to speak with you.” She could just see him, impeccably dressed, his expensive jacket casually open, a cravat instead of a tie.
“Mr. LeGrande.” Charlie forced her voice to be casual. “What a surprise to hear from you.”
“Oh, I hardly think it’s a surprise, Charlotte,” he said, amused. “Your letter writing, email and phone campaign has my clerical staff smothered. But—I called to ask you, personally, how does Danny Manning concern you? What is your particular interest in this situation?”
Charlotte swallowed hard. “He was a friend of mine, Mr. LeGrande. I felt a … a connection to him, in some weird way.”
“You were having an affair?”
“No! Certainly not! I didn’t even know him very well. He did some work on the church kitchen for us—”
“Church kitchen? You belonged to the same church? Which one would that be?”
She could just see him taking notes, making assumptions, jumping to conclusions.
“He wasn’t a member,” she said, keeping her voice calm and level. “My husband is the minister of First Presbyterian Church here in Northington. Danny taught in the school system for a while, then went into the carpentry business for himself. He did some work for the church, and in members’ homes, and he and Katie ran our youth group. The kids were crazy about him.”
“Uh hummmmm,” LeGrande said, drawing out the ‘m’ sound. “He worked in some of the members’ homes? Would you mind giving me the names and numbers of a few of them, so I can call them for their impressions of Danny?”
She hesitated. Should she do that? On the other hand, many of those women had helped on the campaign to free Danny, just because she was so convinced of his innocence and had asked them to. Maybe they wouldn’t mind a call from Pierre LeGrande.
After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Okay—”
Smooth as an eel, he interrupted. “My assistant will take those names and phone numbers at the conclusion of our call, Charlotte. Now, back to your personal interest in this man. Why are you so convinced of his innocence?”
“Because I knew him! He was a good man. And, there have been two more axe murders in Connecticut since Danny went away. He obviously didn’t commit those.” She could feel herself getting exasperated, sensing that Pierre LeGrande was trying to goad her into saying something outrageous that he could then spout on his program. Well, wouldn’t Paul just love that, if LeGrande intimated that his wife and convicted murderer Danny Manning were having an affair!
“There is such a thing as ‘copycat crime,’ ” LeGrande said. “How much time did you actually spend with this man in order to be so convinced of his innocence?”
She hesitated. She might have said too much already. Mindy, following every word she said, clenched her hands under her chin, her facial expression saying, “Be careful!” Charlie could read her like a book; unfortunately, she had no way of reading Pierre LeGrande.
“Not too much, actually,” she admitted. “When his wife was sick one Sunday evening I pinch-hit for her at the Youth Group. We went bowling and then out for ice cream. And as I said before, he had done some work on the church kitchen and in our home.”
“And were you in the house alone with him?”
Charlie rolled her eyes and threw Mindy a frustrated glance. “Look, Mr. LeGrande, I really don’t like what you’re insinuating. I did not have any improper relationship with Danny. I just felt, very strongly, that he did not commit those crimes, and that he most certainly did not kill Katie. Everyone who knew them said they were a very devoted couple.”
Smooth as silk. “Yeeeeessss. Many couples seem to be very devoted—until something like this happens. Someone just snaps, over some inconsequential matter—”
“He didn’t kill his wife!” Charlie yelled into the phone.
“Just like that, Charlotte,” LeGrande said. “I’ve made my point, I think. Now, another thing. Your husband is minister of a Presbyterian church in Northington?”
“Yes,” she said, angry with herself for falling into his trap.
“And he is supportive of you in this effort to free Danny?”
She had been afraid he might ask her that. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the phone, giving him the answer she had rehearsed. “Paul prefers to keep the church out of any personal social issues. He respects that this is something I feel I have to do.”
“But you had your first meeting at the church, when he was away on retreat, is that not true?”
How the hell did he know that? “Yes, that’s true.”
“I see. Well, Charlotte, it has been very enlightening to talk with you. Remember that next week will be the beginning of the ten day period when you and your friends can vote for the person you would like to see pardoned and voted off the island. I assume you will be voting for Danny.”
“Yes. We all will.” Her voice was tight.
“
My assistant is ready to take the names and phone numbers of your friends,” he said, already sounding as if he had lost interest in the discussion. Good evening.” And he was gone.
After she had grabbed the church directory and given half a dozen names and numbers to LeGrande’s assistant, she replaced the receiver and turned to Mindy.
“You know, I never liked him much on the show, and I like him even less now.”
Mindy chewed on her thumbnail. “You know, he could really do a job on you, Charlie.”
“I know,” she said, close to tears. “If he’s scum enough to do it, he has the power to finish off what’s left of my marriage.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“We carried you through the jungle on a home-made stretcher, just like after the glider incident,” Evan said, as he helped Danny sit up. “You were unconscious for four days—and then conscious, but not really with it, for a long time after that. Nothing broken, but it took a lot out of you. Here, let’s get some food into you.”
“How did you find me?”
“How do you think?” Jake asked. “Martin, of course. He was out there watching you take off—only you didn’t get very far.”
“We didn’t get anywhere,” Danny said. “I didn’t even get a foot off the island.”
Suddenly he remembered the last few seconds, as he lay spread-eagled on the rocks.
“Talon?” It hurt more than the bruises on his body to say his name.
“Javonne took him,” Jake replied. “Seven or eight of us went after him right away, but they were gone. We don’t know where he took him, but Martin’s out scouting for them. He’ll find them.”
“I want to look for him.”
“Danny,” Evan said, exasperated. “You’re not Jack Bauer! You’re in no shape to go wandering around in the forest. When Martin returns, when he’s located them, then we’ll go after him.”
Danny waved away the soup Evan was spooning into him. “That’s enough for now. I’m not hungry.” He lay back, his arm shielding his eyes from the light. “I got to thinking of him as my son, the son Katie and I never had. I need to find him.”
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