“No point,” another of the men argued. “We’re not gonna move them anywhere are we? Heck, they might be already dead—‘specially the boy. They been down there three days already—no food, no water. What’s to check on? Might as well leave them be. No better grave than this place. No one will ever find them.”
“They might, if they come looking for us—looking for the ‘sang’” the first voice replied.
Lin held her breath as she noticed Luke stirring down the way. She hoped he wouldn’t wake up or make any noise.
“Then we’ll just move the stuff out of here—soon as we can get shed of that last load we brung yesterday—we’ll find another place for a store house.” This was the second man speaking.
A third voice that sounded very familiar to Lin entered into the conversation. “We need to get rid of the stuff that’s here today, tomorrow at the latest, and then let the whole operation lay low for awhile. Now that we’re rid of those nosy women and your “do-gooder” nephew, things should blow over soon enough.”
“What about that park ranger and that FBI agent?” It was the second voice speaking, Lin thought.
“They won’t be a problem much longer,” the third, more familiar voice replied, “they may keep hunting, but if we get rid of this batch of ‘sang’ they won’t have any evidence—even if they find this place which I doubt they will. If they keep meddlin’ we’ll just take care of them like we did the last one. Now, you go get hold of your contact and make arrangements to unload this stuff. Call me when it’s done.” The men began moving away from the edge of the pit; their voices slowly faded in the distance.
Lin sat back, stunned at what she’d heard. These men had practically confessed to the murder of Bryan Lee, and their conversation implied that they might’ve killed others in the past. She swallowed hard. Their intentions toward their captives were also made clear. They were going to leave them there to die in that dank, dark hole in the ground. They were already in their tomb. Unfortunately, Lin realized that, unless someone found them soon, they would indeed die. Even if she’d had a rope or a ladder as a means of her own escape, Lin knew she could never get Sue out, nor Luke. No point in worrying about that—there was nothing that would help them anyway. Her fate was sealed along with her friend and that young man, who was evidently related to at least one of their captors.
Lin thought about the foggy night when she’d almost been hit by the truck pulling out onto the highway. The man who’d approached her then spoke of Eustace Hinson as his father. No doubt he was one of Luke’s uncles—and possibly also Luke’s assailant, as well as hers. He’d most likely also been at least one of Sue’s captors—she’d been unable to identify anyone.
These thoughts led Lin to contemplate the third voice she’d heard, the most familiar one. Even though she’d met Luke’s uncle that foggy night, she’d only spoken with him once so she hadn’t recognized his voice. Where had she heard the third man? She felt sure she’d spoken with him before. The exercise of trying to recall where she might’ve met her captor at least gave her something to think about, something besides the situation in which she found herself. She leaned back against the wall to focus on that.
About that time, she heard a groan coming from where Luke lay. She got on her knees and crawled over to him. He was awake, and obviously in some pain. He twisted about and tried to raise his head.
Lin took his head in her hands and tried to place it in her lap, “Quiet, Luke,” she said stroking the young man’s too warm forehead, “try not to move if you can help it. You’ve been shot. The bleeding seems to have stopped, but if you move too much it’ll come back again. Try to stay as still as you can.”
The young man seemed to settle down. He opened his eyes and gazed up at Lin. “I’m sorry, I got you into this,” he murmured. “I was scared and stupid. I didn’t know what to do.” He tried to smile, “I sure did the wrong thing, made a mess of things for sure.”
“Don’t try to talk right now, Luke,” Lin stroked his forehead gently. “Just rest, I’m sure someone will come soon. Someone will come looking for us and rescue us.”
Luke shook his head, “No they won’t. No one much knows this place exists. No one ever comes here except my uncles and sometimes grandpa,” Luke’s voice was slowly fading back into unconsciousness, “…just my family and sometimes Dave.” Luke passed out again, his head slipping off Lin’s leg.
His uncles and Dave, she thought, who is…then it hit her—she knew where she’d heard the third voice. It belonged to Deputy Sheriff Dave Winkler.
Chapter 29
Neal was waiting in the front reception area of the Ashe County Sheriff’s office when Mark and Zach arrived. He took them back to the conference room where Michael Jones was waiting to show them the probable location of the ore pits on the larger map.
“I’ve marked them on this smaller one, but it’s going to be harder to see in the dark, even with a flashlight. Thought you’d want to get familiar with the area on this larger map first. The newcomers studied the map carefully, also making sure they knew where the local deputies would meet them.
“Thanks for this, Michael,” Mark Scott said, “We’re going to need all the help we can get—that weather is building up into a regular ‘Deep Gap’ fog—and it was actually pretty nice today. I can’t get used to how the weather changes so quickly around here.”
Zach spoke up, “Well, it’s not going to get any better, and we have a flashlight. We’d better get going, unless you guys think we should wait until morning—wait for more light.”
“We can’t wait,” Neal spoke intently, “Lin and Sue have been missing three full days now, Sue actually a bit longer. If they’re in these ore pits…with no food or water…we have to go now.” The other men understood his point.
Michael Jones grabbed a rain jacket and tossed it to Neal. “This’ll keep you dryer than that light windbreaker you have on, you can bring it back later.”
“Thanks,” Neal said as he followed Mark and Zach outside.
It took another full half hour to reach the church where they were to meet the local deputies. They couldn’t make good time in the fog and misty rain. It was almost ten when they arrived at the meeting place. The deputies were already there, waiting for them to arrive. They suggested that they go inside the church where it was dry and take a few minutes to study the map. Neal was impatient to get going, but he realized that was probably a good idea.
When the local men had studied the map, they decided that they knew where these pits were located. “We’re going to have to walk in—at least the last half-mile or so, the woods are thick there and these vehicles won’t make it through. They indicated an area on the adjacent road where they should park. Then they headed out in their patrol vehicle with Neal, Mark and Zach following in the park service SUV.
When they arrived at the designated parking area, Neal realized more fully what they were up against. The path forward was a mere foot trail leading through thick woods that would be barely visible in broad daylight, never mind the dark and fog and mist they faced. The five of them gathered closely together. The local guys had walking sticks as did Mark Scott. Neal and Zach Taylor decided they needed something so they searched the nearby margin of the forest until they found some limbs of suitable stoutness and length to serve as makeshift sticks.
“Remember, when we get into the area where the pits are we’ll have to be super careful not to fall into one of them. We don’t know exactly where they are or how many there are,” one of the deputies instructed. “Best we stay close together and use these sticks to check our way moving forward.”
The deputies positioned themselves one at the head of the line and the other bringing up the rear. They each had large flashlights so Mark decided to save the batteries in his for the time being. Slowly they began moving forward along the trail, feeling their way through the thick shrubs as they went.
***
The fog was so thick it was difficult to see past the leader of
the column. He’d directed his flashlight down toward the path in front of him in order to avoid being blinded by the reflecting rays of light. In spite of using their sticks to push aside limbs and underbrush, they were all being pelted by wet branches hitting their face and arms.
They tried to proceed quietly, stopping from time to time to listen to the surrounding forest. The only noises were the occasional hoot of an owl and the sound of water dripping from the leaves and branches.
Finally, they seemed to emerge into an open area and the leader signaled for everyone to stop. “I want to scout this area first, see if this is the place and if I can locate these pits we’ve been told about. Mark, why don’t you come with me? The rest of you stay put and remain quiet.”
The two men moved out and soon disappeared into the fog. Neal felt tired and anxious. He realized how intent he’d been on getting here, on finding Lin and Sue. Now he was frightened—worried about what they might find when they located the women. He forced himself to stay positive. He couldn’t bear to contemplate the worst-case scenario. Lin was tough and smart, she wasn’t a quitter; He was counting on her strong will to survive.
Neal’s focus returned to the present situation when he realized their scouting party was returning. “This seems to be the place,” Mark reported. “This whole area seems to be full of these old pits—we counted at least four of them, more or less arranged as four corners of a square. We didn’t take the time to search carefully, but we didn’t hear anything. There may not be anyone here or…” he didn’t finish this thought.
The local deputy who’d led them out took charge of the situation. “How many flashlights do we have?” Mark and Zach produced theirs. “That’s four, but we need to stay at least in pairs to protect each other. Mark and I have scouted the locations so we should lead.” He pointed to his local partner, “You team up with Mark and I’ll take Zach with me.” He looked at Neal and started to say something.
Neal spoke up quickly, “No way, are you leaving me out of this. This is my fiancé, the love of my life, we’re looking for—I’ll go with Mark.” He moved quickly to join the ranger.
The deputy nodded his understanding. “You guys check the two pits on the right side and make sure you stick together.” The teams moved apart, walking in single file and following closely.
Neal positioned himself between Mark and the local man. Mark put out his arm to stop their forward progress. “I ‘ve located the edge of the first pit here. Move up beside me but be careful. Use your sticks to locate the edge. Then we’ll walk slowly around it and shine some light down there. Neal and the other man complied. Soon they were edging along the rim of the pit carefully. Mark and the deputy each focused their lights downward, seeking to illuminate the pit. It appeared to be about twenty feet deep and, so far as they could tell, was totally empty. They circled it twice, trying to make sure they’d not missed anything. With each step, Neal felt his stomach tightening as he fought back his fears. What if this wasn’t the right place? What if they’re here but…?
***
Lin opened her eyes and for just a moment couldn’t recall where she was. She lay still for a moment, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the pitch-black darkness. Gradually she began to see some shadows and then she realized she was still lying at the bottom of the pit. She tried to sit up but her neck and shoulders were aching, probably from the awkward position in which she’d been lying. She reached out with her arms seeking to know exactly where she was. Her hands touched the warm sticky fabric of Luke’s shirt—she must’ve fallen asleep as she sat beside him. Further examination revealed that he was burning up with fever. Sue was probably in the same shape.
Lin carefully rolled on her side, away from Luke, and managed to get up on her knees. She crawled over to where her friend Sue was lying. Her body was also hot to the touch. Fortunately both victims seemed to be breathing evenly, if not deeply. She wondered though if they were asleep, or unconscious. Lin couldn’t tell. She did know that they both needed moisture so she made her way back to the pool at the base of the wall. It was not nearly as full as it had been earlier but she managed to get a few spoonfuls in the bag and delivered them to her companions. Neither of them woke when she placed the water in their mouths but they did swallow it. She allowed the few remaining drops to drip on her dry tongue and lips. The fact that she felt no need to urinate confirmed that she must be severely dehydrated.
Lin crawled back to her place near Sue and shoved herself up into a sitting position against the wall. She felt so frustrated. She wanted to do something, anything to save them, but she simply couldn’t see any way out of this situation. She’d never felt such a deep sense of despair and helplessness before. She closed her eyes against the darkness and tried to focus on happier thoughts.
She conjured up a vision of Neal, walking beside her on a sandy beach, a warm sun beaming down on them. She could almost feel the warm touch of his hand on hers. She tried to imagine his arms around her driving away the pervasive feeling of damp and cold. She felt herself slowly drifting back toward sleep—might as well rest…Suddenly, the sound of voices above once more brought her to full attention. Were their captors returning? They’d mentioned getting rid of whatever they had stored here…she had to be quiet. Let them think she was already dead.
Lin lay very still. She could make out the voices but they were distant and she couldn’t clearly understand what they were saying. Maybe they would go away. That’s what her brain was silently screaming—go away and leave us alone.
Suddenly, it hit Lin that she was being ridiculous. There was no point in being quiet. Their captors had made it clear that they were going to just leave them there to die. What was the worst that could happen if they discovered them still alive? They might shoot them immediately, ending everything. Lin realized that might be a blessing. Better to end this ordeal quickly for all three of them, rather than suffer the agony of slowly dying from dehydration, infection, and starvation.
The other possibility was that these voices belonged to rescuers. She knew that Neal would’ve called the authorities as soon as she’d failed to call him back and there was already a search going on for Sue. Lin gathered her courage and decided to call out—to try to attract the attention of whoever was out there. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her throat was so dry she couldn’t even manage a whisper. She didn’t want to miss this opportunity—she was desperate to end this ordeal, one way or the other. She got up on her knees and crawled toward the spot where she’d collected water. She knew there hadn’t been enough time for more moisture to pool in the depression, but she also knew that it wasn’t entirely empty. She’d never been able to get the plastic bag completely full; there’d always been a sandy, muddy mix left at the bottom of the depression. Not very appealing, but it was wet. She reached the depression, leaned down, and put her face in the wet residue she found there. She tried to suck moisture out of the mix without choking herself on the grit. Finally, when her mouth felt somewhat wet she sat up and spit the dirt out. This time when she tried to cry out to whoever was nearby, she managed a raspy “Help, we’re here.” Before collapsing back against the wall of the pit.
***
Mark led his team carefully toward the second pit, following the same pattern of following closely, then lining up along the edge and working their way around the pit. Once again, they heard no sounds coming from the abyss. The flashlights swept the walls and the base—no signs of any people—but, as their lights reached the far wall, they saw several huge bundles wrapped in burlap stacked to a height of about six or seven feet and stretching about half way round the circumference of the pit.
“Stay here,” Mark said, “don’t move. I’m going around to get a closer look.” When he got to the other side and was able to see the bundles more clearly he spoke, “Just what I thought. This is ginseng, and a lot of it. These guys, whoever they are, have been stockpiling this for a long time. There are thousands of dollars sitting here in this pit—tens of
thousands more likely. I’m coming back around, just stay put. We’ll take care of this stuff later.” He began a slow careful walk back around to where his team waited.
Just as they’d begun moving toward the other side of the clearing where Zach and the other deputy were searching, they heard a shout. “I think we’ve found something—I thought I heard something in this pit—on the far corner of the clearing.”
Neal started to move forward quickly but Mark grabbed his arm, “Stick together, move slowly like we were before. It won’t help anyone if you fall into one of these holes. We’ll get there.”
Neal fell back into place. Mark was right. They had to be cautious and move deliberately. His heart began to pound though and he finally felt a glimmer of hope that the sounds were human and that meant that someone was still alive.
By the time they arrived at the pit where the sounds were, Zach was uncoiling a length of stout climbing rope he’d managed to stuff in his backpack. “This is all the equipment I was able to carry, he explained. This place is too far back from the road.” He looped one end of the rope around a nearby tree and prepared to repel into the pit. He turned to the local deputy. “I’ll go down and see what we’ve got here. Then you can use your radio to call for more help.”
Neal watched as Zach hooked his flashlight to his belt and began to climb down. “Mark, bring your light over here. I’d like to see what we can.”
Mark came toward the edge and began to play his light around the inside of the pit, while the deputy kept his firmly fixed on Zach as he climbed. It only took a moment for Mark to spot Sue where she lay against the wall. “I see Sue Gray, but I can’t tell if she’s alive or not, she’s not moving.” He continued to play the light, “there’s someone else lying against the wall—also still—looks like a man but I don’t recognize him.” Finally, his light came to rest on Lin, still kneeling beside the water spot. He turned a smile toward Neal. “She’s there, and she’s on her knees—must’ve been her we heard making noise.”
Fogbound: A Lin Hanna Mystery Page 37