Ben rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you just say he was in love with her and didn’t trust himself?”
“Jeremy never said he loved me,” Amanda stated.
“Doesn’t mean he didn’t,” Ben replied.
Kiera snorted and Amanda glared at him. “Drink your coffee and shut up.”
Kiera’s muscles protested as they lifted the makeshift stretcher to continue over the mountain trail. The next eight miles were downhill, but steep. Footing would be difficult and slippery.
But Amanda’s leg was swollen and purple and they had no choice or she’d never make it down. The first mile was tough as it twisted along the northern slope of the mountain. As the trail turned south, it narrowed and crumbled as they shuffled along.
They reached a spot shaded by the rock over head and a stand of trees that forced its way on the slope. Here a rough trail led up towards the top of the peak and the place Kiera had found before. That trail led to the stones, the man made markers.
The stones she believed were graves.
She glanced back at Ben. She could tell him. She could take him there and let him study them. But fear kept her silent.
That feeling of being watched crept over her again. Just like before. Just like Caleb Bridesdale. They were out there. Whoever “they” were. Watching. Waiting.
Nothing moved on that section of the trail. There were no insects buzzing or bird crying. Nothing but silence. It was eerie and uncomfortable.
“I don’t like this place,” Amanda whispered.
“Neither do I.” Ben peered up at the sheer cliff wall on their right and then down the steep drop on their left.
Her steps slowed and the atmosphere pressed on her chest. The stretcher seemed heavier and she stumbled.
“Kiera? What’s wrong?” Ben asked her.
“It’s this place.” Amanda shuddered. “Get us out of here.”
The shadows along the cliff face seemed to go on forever and Kiera put one foot in front of the other as sweat poured off her face. Just as they reached the edge of the overhang and sunlight showed on the trail ahead, they all heard the crunch of footsteps.
Kiera froze.
Rocks tumbled down the side of the mountain. She could see them as they bounced, dislodged by some unseen feet on the trail ahead. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move.
Closer, the footsteps didn’t slow or hesitate. They came right for them.
A figure appeared around the sharp corner of the trail and Kiera bit back a scream but in an instant, relief replaced fear. It was Jeremy.
She dropped the stretcher and ran towards him. Behind Jeremy’s solid uniform was a tall, gangly figure. Dodo. She thought she’d never see him again. Her sore feet forgotten and her fear gone, she almost knocked Jeremy down to get to Dodo. “Dodo! I was so afraid I’d never see you again.” The tears she’d held at bay for so many days let loose like a hurricane and Dodo patted her on the back.
“It’s okay, angel. I’m okay.” His voice was low and soft. She dampened his shirt with her tears that slid silently down her cheeks.
Then Jeremy got her attention. “Where’s Bobby?”
*
Ben exchanged glances with Amanda and then met the Sheriff’s brilliant blue eyes. He definitely lived up to his hype. The man’s Native American heritage showed in his dark skin and hair, but his eyes were a piercing blue. He was tall and solid, like a linebacker. His presence filled the trail and even Ben experienced a feeling of safety. Jeremy’s demeanor screamed “law and order”. He and Amanda didn’t look at each other.
Ben answered Jeremy’s question. “Bobby is dead, Sheriff.”
“What?” Dodo burst out. “How?” The wiry man’s surprise seemed genuine.
“We don’t know,” Kiera answered. “The day after you left, we found him—” She stopped and her lips pursed.
“We found him skewered in a tree. Hung by a meat hook.” Ben finished for her. “He hadn’t been dead long. That’s why we left.”
“What happened, Dodo?” Kiera asked.
Dodo’s frown was thoughtful. “I don’t know. I was carrying the pack and we had to climb the trail a little at a time since a lot of it washed away. One minute, he was ahead of me and the next, he was gone. I figured he went to the trailhead quicker than I did. He wasn’t there when I got there.” His bushy eyebrows crashed together. “I pushed through and got a hold of Jeremy.” He jerked his head at the Sheriff. “He dropped everything and brought supplies, called emergency services, which are on their way, and suggested we try this trail because it was quicker.”
“How far are we from the base of the mountain?” Ben asked.
“It’s about five miles. Steep, but quick,” Jeremy answered shortly. Ben’s eyebrows rose. Jeremy’s tone implied dislike and his gaze was unfriendly.
As Ben picked up his end of the stretcher, he noticed Jeremy immediately gripped the other end. “Let’s go, then,” Ben said. “We need to get Amanda medical care.”
Jeremy said nothing, and Kiera and Dodo led the way as the group headed down the trail. Ben glanced back over his shoulder at the shaded portion of the trail. Something was out there. It wasn’t his imagination. His gaze swerved to Kiera’s back as she swung her body down the trail. She knew what was there. Whether she’d ever tell him was another story.
Chapter Ten
The trek down the eastern slope of the Little Trinity was steep, but they made it down with minimal slipping and sliding. Ben noticed Amanda was silent. She said nothing for the first two miles they hiked down, even when Ben almost lost his footing and her stretcher got jostled.
He glanced at her face. She was pale and withdrawn. Nothing like the woman who had begun the journey days ago. They stopped after two miles for a rest and Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you in pain?”
An expression of dark agony crossed Amanda’s features, but was wiped away immediately. The pain wasn’t from her leg, that was for sure. Her voice revealed nothing, however. “No. I’m fine.” Yeah, right.
Ben glanced up and found Jeremy’s hostile gaze on him. He turned abruptly and picked up the stretcher. Ben frowned. Why didn’t the man say something to Amanda? Ben wasn’t stupid. He knew the Deputy Sheriff was anxious, worried for Amanda. But he wouldn’t talk to her and let her know he was worried.
He shook his head and picked up the stretcher. Kiera’s happy tones reached his ears and warmed him. She was thrilled to be out of those hills and away from Bobby’s dead body. He couldn’t blame her there.
What happened when they reached the bottom of the mountain? Would she walk away from him?
That was a crappy possibility and his stomached tightened. No way. She wasn’t going to walk away. He wouldn’t let her.
“What’s wrong?” Amanda’s voice broke into his dark thoughts.
“Nothing.” He bit out the word.
“Bull.” She spoke low. “You growled.”
“I did?” He was surprised, and her amused expression made him grind his teeth.
“You did. Thinking about Kiera?” she said innocently with a bright smile.
“Don’t start.” He glared at her. “Or I’ll start in with some observations of my own.” He raised his glance to Jeremy and back to her with a significant pause.
Her gaze dropped. “Okay. You win.”
He sighed. “I just want a shower.”
“Me, too.”
“We’re almost there.” Jeremy broke in.
Amanda didn’t respond and Ben wondered at the both of them. Idiots. But then, he wasn’t much better.
They reached the base of the mountain as late afternoon heated the air around them. Jeremy’s SUV was parked right at the trail’s edge and he set Amanda down and opened the back. He produced a first aide kit and began to go to work on Amanda’s leg. Funny how gently his fingers moved over her injury compared to the tension in the rest of him. As angry as Jeremy might be, he treated Amanda like he might break her.
He removed the ace ban
dage and splint Ben and Kiera had fashioned and pressed hesitant fingers into her swollen skin. Even Ben was shocked to see how purple and swollen her calf was. Jeremy glared at Amanda, their first eye contact since the Deputy Sheriff showed up on the trail.
“How did this happen? Dodo told me you fell.”
Amanda glared at the Sheriff. “I did. The trail above me collapsed on top of me.”
Jeremy whirled around and snapped at Kiera. “What were you thinking? You led this group on that trail when a storm that big was on its way?”
Kiera’s eyebrows rose. “First of all, Amanda wasn’t supposed to go on this little trip. Second of all, that storm was supposed to hit the shore eighty miles north.”
“You know those storms shift.” Jeremy glared at Kiera.
And Kiera glared right back. “Back off, Jeremy. You and I once did that hike in the snow so I don’t want to hear it. She broke her leg. That could have happened to anyone.”
“But it didn’t happen to anyone,” he shouted at her.
Everyone stared at Jeremy in shock. Poor guy. His secret was out. The Sheriff couldn’t pretend professional outrage at the accident. The deputy struggled to regain his composure and took a deep breath, then bent his head to the task of wrapping Amanda’s foot. Kiera’s gaze met Ben’s. She looked like she might burst out laughing. He resisted the urge to grin back. It wouldn’t help Jeremy’s mood if they poked fun at him. Amanda’s reaction was interesting. She stared at Jeremy’s dark hair as if she wasn’t sure who he was.
The silence was charged. Jeremy hadn’t stormed up that mountain to rescue his closest friend, Kiera McConnel. He did it for Amanda. And now, everyone knew it.
“Get in.” Jeremy’s tone was gruff, and he still didn’t look at Amanda’s face. She shook her head sharply with an expression of bewilderment. She limped to the back of the SUV with Jeremy’s arm around her waist.
She gripped his hand and flung it away. “I can do it myself.” Her bitter tone grated on Ben’s nerves. He couldn’t imagine what it did to Jeremy’s.
Kiera exchanged a glance with Ben and strode over to Amanda. She practically shoved the Sheriff out of the way and gave Amanda a hand into the back. “Where’s your jacket?” Kiera asked her. She ignored Jeremy’s clenched jaw and tight fists. “There.” She placed the jacket behind Amanda’s head.
They loaded up their packs and climbed into the truck. Kiera sat behind Jeremy and tapped him on the shoulder. “You’d better drop Amanda and me at the clinic.” She glanced at Ben. “Can you pick me up after you get your truck?”
He nodded and jerked his head at Jeremy in a silent message. The Sheriff’s knuckles were white, and he was really pissed off. Kiera just rolled her eyes. “Jeremy, can you give Ben a ride? I know you’ve got to get back up there.”
“Why does he?” Amanda asked from the back.
“Because there’s a dead body up there. And he’s going to have to find out who killed him.”
*
Ben got stuck with the grumpy sheriff. At least Dodo was still with them as a buffer. Not to mention someone to talk to since Jeremy said nothing, no small talk, not a word. Amanda and Kiera got out at the clinic, but Dodo stayed with the Sheriff and Ben as they headed back up to the trailhead. Dodo filled Ben in on what happened after he left them two days before.
“I figured it would take me two days tops to get out up that trail but I wasn’t sure how Bobby would hold up.” Dodo’s brow wrinkled. “When he got so far ahead of me, I thought we were home free. We passed the washed out part of the trail and made it to the top where we camped that first night and took a rest. Bobby was fine. A little winded, but fine.” He ran a hand through his stringy hair. “Then, we started on the downhill end. It was dark and he got ahead of me. When I reached the trailhead, he was nowhere to be found.” The man shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything. Not a thing. I don’t know what happened to him or how he ended up being hung on a meat hook eight miles back.”
Ben’s head hurt. How could Bobby disappear on that trail? And how the hell did he end up back down in the valley? “Did you look for him?”
“I didn’t want to take the time.” Dodo sighed. “I didn’t know how badly Amanda was injured, and I wanted to get someone in there to help. I let Jeremy know Bobby was missing.” He sounded frazzled.
“The rescue team was also sent to find Bobby. Once they reach Fanning Creek, they’ll start a search for Bobby. That’s their orders.” Jeremy finally spoke, his face unreadable.
“They’ll find the body then.” Ben leaned back in his seat.
“And secure the area. How in the hell did you get Kiera to go back up there?” Jeremy’s piercing gaze caught Ben’s in the rear view mirror.
He considered telling the officer but then wondered if Kiera would really want him to know. Dodo also gazed at him with raised eyebrows. He shook his head. “You’ll have to ask Kiera. It’s not my place to say.”
“The last time I saw her this rattled was when—” Jeremy stopped and glanced at Dodo.
“Don’t worry. He knows.” Dodo’s tone was amused.
“She never said what happened up there,” Jeremy said. “She had the same expression on her face when we came around the corner of that trail that she did when I asked her about the night she spent alone up there ten years ago.” He pinned Ben with another hard look. “What happened?”
Ben frowned. “I’m not sure. There’s a part of that trail that felt…wrong.” He didn’t know how else to describe it. The cold grip of unease still lingered. He just couldn’t put his finger on what bothered him.
Jeremy immediately nodded. “I know that section. It’s just beyond where I met you guys. The local Indians call the peak ‘Mountain Of The Dead.’ The Hoopa say it’s taboo.”
Ben leaned forward. Maybe the Sheriff had some answers. “What’s the legend behind it?”
The Sheriff squirmed in the driver’s seat and didn’t answer right away. For a legend, a story, it seemed to make Jeremy uncomfortable. Then, he said, “The Hoopa tribe believes a monster lives near the Trinities. The story is that the Little Trinity is haunted by the souls of the Oh-mah, the Hoopa name for Bigfoot.”
The man’s tone said “skeptic” but his body language didn’t. It was tough to tell whether the Sheriff dismissed the idea or hid a deeper superstitious belief. “You don’t believe it?”
“I spent a lot of my life out there in those woods and never saw a thing,” Jeremy said firmly.
“How many bears have you seen?” Dodo asked him. Ben sat back to watch the show. He’d heard the arguments before. Now, he’d get to see them played out with two locals.
“Maybe three. Why?” Jeremy shot an amused glance at the older man.
“Because the last study of bears in Trinity County was in the thousands. Yet, you’ve seen three your whole life.” Dodo pointed out. “Isn’t it possible for a species numbered in the hundreds, that doesn’t want to be found, to escape your notice?”
“Possibly,” Jeremy answered. “But there’d be a carcass, a dead body, something.”
“Not if the species was intelligent and buried its dead.”
“I’ve heard all the arguments, Dodo. I’m not convinced some intelligent species is out there howling and leaving massive footprints but no bodies.” Jeremy shook his head. “I was raised on stories of the Oh-mah. It’s just an Indian legend.” But Ben heard the doubt in Jeremy’s denial.
“But it had to come from somewhere.” Ben put in.
Again, Jeremy shook his head. “No. It could have been the Hoopa name for another Indian tribe they didn’t know.”
“That could be except the Hoopa traded with all the tribes. The Yurok, the Karok, the Wiyot, the Mattole, even the Klamath tribes all traded with the Hoopa. What tribe would they name ‘Oh-mah,’ or ‘Boss of the Woods’?”
The Sheriff was silent for a moment and then said, “You’ve done your homework.”
“It’s my job. I take it people report sightings to you as a De
puty Sheriff.”
He nodded slowly. “I’ve taken a few reports over the years.”
“And lately?” Ben pressed.
“There have been more of them.” Jeremy’s lips tightened. “I think someone is trying to start another circus around here.”
“That’s what Kiera thinks.” Ben frowned in thought. “You think someone is perpetuating a hoax? Why now?”
“Business has been slow. The economy is sluggish. Tourism is the first place hit when people have less money.” Jeremy pointed out. “It could make someone desperate.”
“Like the McBride family?” Ben speculated.
Jeremy’s gaze jerked to his in the rearview mirror again. “I couldn’t say.” But Ben got the impression he’d been right.
They arrived at the trailhead and Jeremy fiddled with his CB radio. He fiddled with the channel. “Hopefully, they’ve set up the radio,” he muttered.
A loud crackle startled them all but Jeremy found the channel he wanted. “This is Deputy Sheriff Jeremy Covey. Come in.”
Some interference and then a faint voice. “This is Ranger Lester Tanner. Hey Sheriff.”
“Hey, Les. I found the injured hiker. She’s at the clinic. Over.”
“Acknowledged. We’ve got a situation here. A dead body.” The radio sputtered and echoed with the words.
“I’ve got a helicopter coming your way. Did you collect evidence?”
“Yes, sir. We took pictures and collected hair samples. Can you give me an estimated time of arrival for the helicopter?”
“It will be there in about two hours, Les.”
“Acknowledged. You don’t sound surprised by what we found.” The Ranger’s voice broke up a little.
“I’m not.” Jeremy’s tone was grim. “The hikers that stayed behind with the injured woman found the body. They took the Dead Line Trail out.”
“Good thing you came in that way,” Lester said. “There’s still no sign of Robert Angelos.”
“The body you found is Robert Angelos.” Jeremy told him. “When you’ve got the body secure on the helicopter, you and your men can come home.”
“Acknowledged. Over and out.”
Legend Hunter Page 13