Inside the Echo

by Jen Blood

  I was met with the same chaos I’d experienced earlier when I knocked on the front door. To my surprise, Heather Wright was the one who greeted me. She was pale and drawn, propped up on crutches, but she still looked marginally better than she had when I’d seen her last.

  “I assume you’re here to pick up your tribe,” she said. “Unless you’re okay with us adopting them, of course.”

  “We still have use for them around Flint K-9, unfortunately,” I said. “But I’ll let you know if that changes.”

  Denmark – the giant Malamute I’d met earlier – had stationed himself at Heather’s side, and didn’t look like he would be moving anytime soon.

  “How are you doing?” I asked Heather. “I didn’t think you’d be out of the hospital so soon.”

  She shrugged. A pained smile belied the fatigue in her eyes. “I didn’t want to stay away knowing Meg’s still out there somewhere.”

  “I understand.”

  “Have you heard anything more?”

  I wasn’t sure how much the police were saying about the presence of Megan’s ex-husband, so shook my head. “Nothing much,” I said. “Have you talked to Hogan about it?”

  “He’s been so busy. I know he’s making himself sick worrying about Meg out there. If I can’t be searching myself right now, I’m glad he’s the one leading the charge.” She frowned. “I just wish we knew who the hell was doing this.”

  Ah. So that answered the question of whether she’d been told about Justin. Apparently, the police were keeping that detail close to the vest.

  “If you have a minute, come on in. We were just finishing up dinner.”

  I followed her through the house to a large, well-lit dining room painted a pale, soothing green. A long trestle dining table was the centerpiece of the room, which was lit by a chandelier that looked like it had been forged from old bicycle parts.

  “Megan’s creations,” Heather said, noting my interest. “Table, benches, chandelier, and the sideboard.”

  “I thought she just made the dogsleds,” I said.

  “She’s branching out lately,” Heather said. “With Hogan’s help. He’s got good business sense. Doesn’t hurt that he’s crazy about her, of course.”

  “Just don’t let him hear you say that,” Abe – Heather’s husband – warned.

  He sat at one side of the table, Ren and Bear at the other. If anything, he looked more worn than Heather. Considering how bad he’d looked yesterday, though, this was a marked improvement. Meanwhile, both my teenagers were filthy after their day’s labor, but neither showed any interest in leaving.

  “Can you stay?” Abe asked. “These two saved our butts today. The least we can do is feed you for letting them come out.”

  I was still processing the latest information about Hogan’s connection with Megan. It was definitely more than he’d first let on, but considering the way he’d been reacting from the moment we got here, I was hardly surprised.

  “We actually need to get back,” I said, pulling myself back into the conversation. “I’m headed out again in about an hour, and I’d like to get everyone settled before I go.”

  The plates in front of Bear and Ren had been scraped clean, while a large bowl of what looked like pasta and roasted cauliflower sat half-eaten at the center of the table. It smelled delicious. I noted the half-dozen dogs who lived inside the house had all taken up residence at the door, looking on with hangdog expressions.

  “Bring dessert to go, then,” Heather said. She hobbled to the sideboard, where a heaping plate of brownies waited. “I bake when I’m nervous,” she explained. “After everything that’s been going on, I think we’ll have enough brownies to feed the state if Meg doesn’t come home soon.”

  She forced a smile, but it looked tenuous at best. Abe rose as Ren and Bear stood to clear their plates. He went to Heather and put an arm around her shoulders. “They’re going to find her, Heath. Everyone in this county loves Megan. They won’t rest until she’s home, safe and sound.”

  He looked at me. “Have you talked to Chase lately? I know he must be losing his mind about Sally. That, combined with Violet still out there… I can’t imagine what he’s going through.”

  Heather closed her eyes. A tear squeezed from behind her lid, despite her best efforts. “It’s just a nightmare. I keep telling myself that. That I’ll wake up soon, and everything will be back to normal.”

  “Did Sally ever talk to either of you about Chase?” I asked. I knew this probably wasn’t the time for it, but I couldn’t just forget the feeling I got around that man. “About any concerns she might have had? She came to this base just before she died. Do you know what she might have wanted to talk about?”

  “No idea,” Abe said seriously. “We’ve been asking ourselves the same question. I mean, she was never a huge fan of Chase’s, but he can be a little much sometimes. He has a good heart, though.”

  The doubt must have shown on my face, because Heather added quickly. “He’s financing Abe’s movie. The guy can’t be that bad.” Abe frowned. “Sorry. That was supposed to be a secret. But Abe has been working on this project forever, and we just couldn’t get the money together to finish it and deal with the promotion and distribution. And then a week ago, Chase just comes to him…”

  “He wants to keep it quiet for now,” Abe said, though I could sense his own excitement now. “Violet isn’t always crazy about the way he spends his money, but apparently he’s working on something right now. He said he’d have everything we needed within a couple of months.”

  “But he didn’t say where he was getting that money?” I asked.

  “No, and I figured I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” Abe said. Heather looked a little less comfortable with that approach, but said nothing.

  Bear and Ren had cleared the dishes and were standing by waiting for me to finish – Ren quietly, Bear with the tapping and fidgeting I’d come to expect from my son over the years. I didn’t know what more to ask Heather anyway, so said goodnight, assuring both that someone would be in touch as soon as we knew anything. All the while, though, I couldn’t shake the feeling that what I had just learned had something to do with Sally Price’s wild ride that morning. And, possibly, could explain what Chase had to do with the sudden return of his old best friend: Megan’s violent ex-husband.

  #

  “So, did you get a lot done?” I asked Bear and Ren, as the two loaded back into the van. They left the passenger’s seat empty so they could sit together, just in case I thought for a minute I was anything but their chauffeur.

  “We did – it was disgusting,” Ren said. My rearview mirror gave me a perfect view of her hind end as she draped herself over the seat to greet Minion. “I missed you, girl!” I heard her say, and smiled. “None of those dogs are half as nice as you.”

  “They want us to come back this summer,” Bear said. “There’s a K-9 first aid course for kids, and they want us to be counselors. It’s just a five-day program, so it wouldn’t eat up much of our time.”

  I grimaced inwardly, thinking of what Bear had told me that morning: Ren was leaving soon. Based on what he’d said, she wouldn’t even be here by summer. To my surprise, however, Ren gave no sign of trepidation when she joined in.

  “He said we can use Casper and Minion in the programs. I think it would be so good for Min’s confidence.”

  “Can we do it?” Bear asked. “I know there’s a lot going on in the summers, but it wouldn’t be for that long. And it will be really good experience.”

  “I’ll talk to Abe and Heather about it,” I said. “But I don’t see why not.”

  Once we were on the road, I glanced back at Bear and Ren in the back of the van together. Bear’s arm was draped across the back of the seat – not exactly around Ren’s shoulders, but there was an unmistakable implication. Because I’m only human, I lasted only until about halfway back to the lodge before I finally gave in and had to ask what was eating up most of my mental energy at the mom
ent.

  “So… Are you two really thinking you’d be interested in that camp at WildFire this summer?” I asked. In the rearview mirror, I caught a flash of annoyance on Bear’s face. Ren, on the other hand, remained completely open.

  “We are,” she said. “But we needed to talk to you about something first. Or, I needed to talk to you.”

  “No time like the present,” I said.

  She unbuckled her seatbelt and made her way to the front, climbing over and settling into the front passenger seat with a grace she’d grown into in the five years since I’d first met her. She put her seatbelt on without being prompted, and turned to face me gravely.

  “I know Bear told you my father is planning to take a job in California,” she began. I nodded. “It was a difficult decision, but that organization’s mission is very important to him.” She hesitated. “To both of us, but I don’t have the memories of Nigeria that he does. He had a happy childhood there, and many happy years with my mother. But I remember nothing of my time with my family. The first place where I have felt safe is here.”

  I smiled, moved by her words. “You know you’ll always have a home with us, Ren. Whatever else happens, that won’t change.”

  “I know. Bear said the same – I know that it’s true.”

  She had been such a shy, broken little girl when she came to us at twelve years old. Ren was three years old when soldiers came into her home and killed her mother and brothers, while she hid beneath the bodies and prayed to be spared. Her father was a soldier himself; when he came home, he found his family gone. It took years before he was finally reunited with his daughter, who had been taken in by a neighbor and then sent to a local convent. Years later, when she and her father made it to the United States and eventually found their way to Flint K-9, she knew almost no English. I would wake to her screams every night from nightmares that still haunted her. I had no idea whether our outfit was right for her until Minion came along. The two saved one another…and from that point on, there was never any doubt in my mind that Ren and her father had found us for a reason.

  “That’s why I wanted to talk to you,” she continued. “I spoke with my father on the phone this morning. He is determined that he is meant to take this job, and I’m happy that he has found the opportunity.”

  “But…” I prompted, when she didn’t continue.

  “But, I am farther ahead in my studies than Bear. If I work at it, I could get my high school diploma by summer. I would like to finish out the year here, before going to join my father in California.”

  “And your dad is okay with that?” I asked, glancing at her again. Carl, Ren’s dad, was notoriously protective of his only surviving child. Despite the fact that she was seventeen, I was surprised that he’d agreed to the separation.

  “I’m almost of age – I will be going to college soon. He knows we won’t be together forever. He told me that if you agreed, he would be all right with me staying on the island and continuing with Flint K-9 until the fall.”

  “And then what happens?” I asked.

  She glanced back over her shoulder, in Bear’s direction. I followed her gaze in the rearview mirror and saw Bear poised at the edge of his seat, waiting for my verdict. Ren’s eyes returned to me. She straightened in her seat.

  “I’ve already been accepted to the undergraduate program in zoology at the University of Maine. Once that’s completed, I’ll be able to go on to earn a doctorate in veterinary science.”

  I looked at her in surprise. I’d been talking to Bear for the past year about the need to think about what he would do when he was finished with school. He’d been ambivalent at best; I had no idea Ren had been so focused on her own future while my son had been waffling about his.

  “You’ve given this a lot of thought, then,” I said.

  “It’s what I’ve wanted since I first began working with animals. I would like to continue living at Flint K-9 until Bear and I have finished our courses, however. And if I could keep working through the summer…”

  “Of course you can,” I said immediately.

  I resisted the urge to ask whether she had talked to Bear about this next part of the plan. Was he also planning on going to college, or did he just plan to move to Orono and hang out while his girlfriend went to school? Or had they even thought that far ahead? That was definitely a conversation better reserved for solo time with my son, so I settled for simply calling to the back of the van,

  “She can stay as long as Carl says it’s all right.”

  Bear grinned wider than I’d seen him in months. “He already said it was up to you.”

  “Then I guess it’s settled.”

  “Thank you,” Ren said quietly.

  “My pleasure, sweetie,” I returned, just as quietly. “Whatever happens, I’m here for you.”

  I snuck another look at her before I settled my eyes on the road ahead. At seventeen, I’d had an active, sensitive two-year-old son to take care of on my own. I love Bear more than anything on this earth, but my road still isn’t the one I would choose for most teenage girls out there. I vowed to do whatever I could to make sure that Ren remained focused on her future – even if my son didn’t turn out to be a permanent fixture in it.

  Chapter 22

  WildFire Expeditions

  February 5, 5:30 p.m.

  WITHOUT RECLUSE BESIDE HER, Megan didn’t know when she’d last felt so helpless. What if no one found him, and he just wound up tied to that tree indefinitely? She hadn’t tied it that tightly, and she knew the dog was more than capable of chewing through rope like that… That didn’t mean he would do it, though. He could die of thirst. Die of hunger. He would think she didn’t care.

  That she had abandoned him.

  “Faster,” Justin said, behind her.

  The sounds of search and rescue were all around them now. They were at the epicenter of the search grid, Megan was sure. With her hands bound and the gag tight around her mouth, though, the searchers might as well have been looking on another planet. They would never find her.

  If she could have called for help, Megan vowed that she would have. Even if it meant Justin shot her on the spot, she would have screamed her bloody head off. As it was, though, she could do nothing but move. Breathe. Try to function, despite the fact that she was growing thirstier with every passing step, thanks to the gag. And more weary. God, when had she ever been this tired?

  She brushed against every scrap of foliage she could find, intent on leaving a scent trail the search dogs could follow. She was sure they hadn’t been that far from the site of the warden’s slaying when Justin found her. Surely Hogan and his team would see it. Find Recluse. And from there, track Megan. Ideally, before Justin raped and killed her – which, she had no doubt, he’d been fantasizing about the entire time he’d been in prison.

  The sun was already sinking lower in the sky and Megan had completely lost track of where they were when she finally stopped dead on the rough trail they’d been following.

  “What are you doing?” Justin growled. He poked her in the base of the spine with his rifle, hard enough to push her forward. She stumbled. Fell.

  Unable to catch herself with her hands tied behind her back, she face planted in the snow before rolling herself over. Justin stood above her, always his favorite place to be. When they’d first gotten together, she’d been so stupid. Naïve. She thought it was just a quirk, the way he always had to lead the way. Make the agenda. Decide who she talked to, and when.

  Now, she understood exactly what that was called. Violet had warned her about it then. He’s isolating, you, Meg. A good boyfriend doesn’t have to know where his girlfriend is every second of the day. I don’t even understand why he and Chase are friends.

  “Get up,” Justin said, pulling her back to the present.

  He looked back over his shoulder nervously. She wondered again if he was on something. He’d been straight as an arrow when they first started dating. Or she’d thought he was, anyway. She l
earned later that that was only because he couldn’t control himself when he drank. He saved that for home. For her, once he had her and had no intention of letting her go.

  She shook her head, hating the gag and the snow and the cold and, above all else, Justin.

  “What’s the matter?” he demanded.

  She gave a muffled response through the gag that nearly choked her. Justin set his rifle against a tree and knelt on the ground beside her. He straddled her, still on his knees, weight pressed solidly against her groin, and wrapped his left hand around her throat.

  “Scream, and I kill you here,” he said. He pulled the gag away from her mouth, but kept the pressure so tight around her neck that she could barely squeak a word out.

  “Water,” she whispered.

  His eyes lit. It was a triumph to him, she realized: she had asked for something. Needed him for something.

  “I guess I can arrange that.”

  He replaced the gag, and got off her. She watched as he removed his pack, eyes on her always, and took a water bottle from the side pocket. Had Chase really supplied all this gear? Justin’s parents still loathed Megan and believed every word their precious son said, but they had moved to Hawaii the last she knew. If they weren’t available, she couldn’t think of anyone other than Chase who could have gotten this stuff for him. But why?

  While Justin was juggling gear, eyes fixed on her, a sound in the woods drew her attention. Megan coughed behind her scarf to cover it, her eyes drawn momentarily to the trees.

  She fought to remain impassive despite what she saw, returning her gaze to Justin. From the edge of the forest, Violet’s finger moved to her lips, signaling Megan to stay quiet. Recluse was beside her, ready to pounce. Violet must have been holding the beast back with everything she had.

  “Here you go, baby girl,” Justin said. He resumed his position straddling her, one hand around her neck while with his other he roughly shoved the gag aside. He put the water bottle to her lips. Tipped the bottle up.