by H. L. Wegley
He pulled her closer, until they were standing cheek-to-cheek and mouth-to-ear. “It’s the only way, Jenn. And we believe God is with us.”
“OK. I just won’t look at the river.”
“While we’re behind the bushes, the bank will be eroding away. The river may get close to us, but don’t move—”
“Stop! I don’t want to hear any more. I don’t want to think about it, either. You may think I’m crazy, but please, kiss me…now…before we do this.”
How could she even think about—? The fear in her eyes cut him deeply. Nobody was visible on the trail. He kissed Jennifer.
Obviously, she didn’t want the kiss to end.
He pulled his lips from hers, but held her close. “I love you, Jenn. You can do this. He’s given you courage, and He’s given us each other.”
“Lee, remember the good times—”
“But this isn’t one of them.”
Two figures appeared at the bend in the trail.
“Here they come. Get ready.”
The rapid erosion had assaulted the next tree within the river’s reach. The wind howled even louder. This had to be the right time.
He moved his mouth close to her ear. “Please, God, protect us.”
The raging river had exposed the entire base of the big Sitka spruce. The tree twisted and groaned from the force of the water blasting through its roots. Like the others before it, the tree leaned over the river, into the wind.
Lee locked his hand around Jennifer’s and pulled her with him. After they stepped into the open, he paused, and then pulled Jennifer with him to the bushes at the torrent’s edge. They slipped behind them.
One of the men pointed towards them.
Good. The goons knew where they were.
They had made their move. They were in position.
In a moment the tree would fall. When it did, he prayed the big spruce would fall between the other men and them.
A cracking sound split the roar of the next wind gust. The towering spruce twisted, snapping its roots, and began its fatal plunge into the river. Another gust hit the crown of the tree, spinning it halfway around.
This is what he had prayed for.
Almost.
Now the tree fell directly towards Jennifer and him. They had no room to retreat. In a few seconds, the ground where they stood would be in the river. Ahead were two gunmen.
Jennifer closed her eyes.
He was thankful she couldn’t see what was coming.
Another gust hit the falling tree, pushing it more in line with the wind, but still dangerously close to them.
With the foot of a giant, the wind stomped the tree to the ground as if it was merely a weed. The spruce hit with a deep, earth-shaking boom and a splash.
Tips of branches stung their hands and arms. The tree’s impact broke the earth loose beneath their feet.
They needed to run. But the crumbling soil made running impossible. With the sod, they slid backwards into the river.
Lee lunged forward on his knees, dragging Jennifer.
The ground around them dissolved into brown liquid and merged with the river.
With the current ripping at his knees, and then at his thighs, the river would claim their bodies in another second.
A foot away, a large branch waved in the wind.
Could he reach it? He lunged. His fingertips curled around it. He clawed his fingers into a hand hold.
Jennifer’s wrist slipped from his other hand.
Their fingers locked.
He pulled on her, and then grabbed again, catching her wrist.
He squeezed her wrist and she squeezed his, while their bodies skipped along the current like a fishing lure pulled too quickly through the water.
He couldn’t lose Jennifer now. Another surge of adrenaline hit and he pulled both of them into the crown of the tree.
Another branch, one above solid ground, hung almost within reach.
He lunged, dragging Jennifer, and grabbed the branch. His arm strength nearly gone now, Lee planted one foot on solid ground and pushed with his leg, simply trying to maintain his hold on Jennifer’s wrist.
Both feet were on the riverbank. He hauled Jennifer up, and then fell with her away from the water.
They crawled forward several feet.
Lee collapsed, breathing deeply, thankful it was air and not water going into his lungs.
He looked up. Everything up to a height of twenty feet was hidden from the men chasing them by the crown of the fallen tree.
The words of Isaiah rang true. God was a shelter in the time of storm.
Thank you.
Barely visible through the branches, the other men appeared reluctant to move towards the raging river and the falling trees.
Thanks to the uprooted tree, the evidence would indicate that their bodies were gone, swept out to sea by the torrent.
Now they needed to move.
He kept his hold on Jennifer, using the fallen tree to shield them. Soon their shield grew into many trees and bushes.
He didn’t have to worry about falling timber. They were moving on the windward side of the tallest trees, where the howling wind rode over the shorter deciduous trees.
A green blanket now coated the vegetation. The Hall of Mosses must be only a short distance away, and beyond it, the car.
He took a deep breath, smiled, and glanced heavenward. They had cheated death…with a little help from a Friend in high places.
And Jennifer had faced her worst fear, the raging water phobia. She still stared down at the ground, following as he pulled her along. Endured her worst fear was a better description.
“You can look up now, Jenn. Grab your car keys.”
“I don’t even want to know what happened back there. Let’s just thank God we’re alive and get out of here.”
“What happened back there is quite a story. If you—”
“Save it for later.” Jennifer pointed ahead through moss-covered trees. “There’s the car.”
“There are both vehicles.” His mouth stretched into a smile, and his hand, fishing inside his pocket, grabbed his locking-blade knife. “In case they’re closer than we think don’t start the engine until I hop in.”
“What are you up to?”
“Murder.”
When he bent low beside the rear tire of the white SUV, anger at the ruthless attempt on their lives drove a savage blow, plunging the knife deep into the tire’s heart. The tire popped, hissed, and died.
He jerked the knife, creating a long laceration. Now to kill the front tire. The knife went handle-deep into the tire. A pop and a hiss drained the air and a little more of his rage.
The passenger door of Jennifer’s car popped open as he ran to it.
Behind him, the white car listed badly to one side.
He slid in beside Jennifer.
She hit the ignition.
The SUV started.
Thankfully, the traffickers were more focused on killing them than killing their vehicle.
She coaxed the car around the parking area.
Would there be more downed trees? Could they even reach the highway? He needed to stop worrying. Hadn’t they just been delivered from certain death?
Rain still fell, though it was no longer a downpour. But the wind continued its fierce assault on the vegetation. The whole forest seemed to dance wildly like a mob of demons to the rhythm of Satan’s whims. Satan’s whims? Perhaps.
But then, God had conquered Satan.
But I wish He’d put him completely out of business.
Jennifer braked to a stop when they rounded a bend.
The cedar tree across the road blocked their path of retreat, but muddy tracks marked the path of escape. She followed them.
After rounding the tree, Jennifer set a fast pace down the Hoh River Road. Her hood was down.
He looked at her face.
Her large, intense brown eyes pored over the road ahead. The back part of her long, dark
hair lay on her shoulders, while the wet tresses in front clung to her cheeks. She was absolutely incredible.
“I’ll keep my eyes on the trees in case we need to dodge one. But, Jenn, if I’m ever in a tight spot and need a getaway driver, I want you at the wheel.”
“Where did you learn to slash tires like that? Did you belong to some gang?”
“No. It’s hereditary. My great-great granddad came from England. His name was Jack.”
“You’re not funny, Lee. I’m a woman and—”
“We’re getting married. It’s about time you confirmed that.”
13
Jennifer pushed the car hard to reach Highway 101. Each mile she put between them and the goons felt like a hundred. The terror-filled events a few minutes and a few miles behind her now seemed more like a nightmare than reality, a reality she feared might give her nightmares. “At least I have one consolation, Lee. I didn’t look at the river when—”
“Go, Jenn! Hit the gas!”
She pushed the pedal to the floor. “What’s—”
A piercing crack sounded, and then a thump on the back of the car. In its death plunge, a cedar tree’s branches brushed the vehicle.
Still in panic mode, she kept the gas pedal to the floor. Her gaze froze on the rearview mirror and the reflection of the tree.
Lee jammed both hands against the dash. “Slow down!”
A sharp left turn lay only a few yards ahead. She wouldn’t be able to slow enough. She tapped the brakes, cranked the wheel to the left, and pressed the accelerator. They flew safely through, though she had barely slowed for the turn.
“Like Dale Earnhardt.” Lee exhaled loudly. “But you can slow—”
“Dale who?”
“A racecar driver. NASCAR.”
“I’ll assume that was a compliment. But that was close. Is the wind still picking up?”
“It sure looks like it. From here to 101, we need to watch the south side of the road for anything falling.”
“You watch for falling trees. I’ll look ahead for anything that’s already down.”
“Sounds like a plan. And, Jenn?”
“Yes?”
“We stranded them for quite a while. We need to get to Forks in one piece and make that phone call to Peterson.”
She slowed, pulled her right hand off the wheel, and squeezed Lee’s arm. “I’m sorry. It feels like my heart is pumping pure adrenaline instead of blood. I’m still shaking.”
“It did get a little intense back there. The tree didn’t help matters.” He was grinning.
“A little intense?” She scowled at him. “I never want to see the Hoh River again.”
“You did great. We’re almost to the highway, but we should approach it cautiously, you know, in case those guys have friends.”
“OK. You check your side, and I’ll check mine.”
“Nothing towards Forks except a small tree down in the left lane,” Lee said.
To the south there were no vehicles visible from the Hoh River Road to the turn at the edge of the bend. “It’s clear my way.”
They were now headed to Forks, towards cell reception and a phone conversation with Agent Peterson at the FBI field office in Seattle.
“Lee, it’s 2:30. Trader could deliver the girls in less than ten hours, any time after midnight. We need—”
“There’s not going to be any exchange tonight. For more than a hundred miles out, the sea will be so rough no boats will enter that area. The shore, well, no one would survive a walk on the beach near Hole-in-the-Wall during the next eighteen hours.”
“We found the mill, and we got away, so Trader will have to move the girls immediately. I’ll bet he’s furious.”
“He’s probably roaring as loud as the Hoh River. But you’re right, and I’ll bet he has some sort of shelter—a staging spot—near the exchange point, north of Rialto Beach. That’s probably where he’ll move them.”
“I think I know where that spot is.”
“Have you been holding out on me?” No more grins. He was frowning at her.
“No.” She sighed. “Some fragmented thoughts are finally jelling.”
“Would you care to elaborate?”
“I think I told you about a fork in the trail to the scanner site.” She paused. “Twice recently, I’ve heard strange sounds coming from the branch to the north. I thought it was some animal. Once I thought it was a bear and ran all the way back to the parking area.”
“A holding place. That makes sense. It could be why your equipment picked up the call. They were close by.”
“I’ve seen footprints along the path—footprints much larger than mine. I was worried someone might’ve vandalized my scanner site. Then, there’s the van.”
“You’ve never mentioned a van.”
“Twice I spotted a gray van in the Dickey River Bridge parking area. It wasn’t a typical fisherman’s vehicle, and the windows were dark. You know how we often play road tag with other vehicles on that stretch near Kalaloch? The last time I drove over, I played road tag for a few miles with that van from the Hoh River Bridge to Kalaloch. Then the van sped up. When I got to the long, straight stretch a few miles below Kalaloch, it disappeared. That’s near the mill site where they’re holding the girls.”
“So you think it turned in at the mill?”
“There are too many coincidences, too many details fit that scenario. The first time I saw the van coincides with the exchange my scanner recorded.”
“I think you should mention it to Peterson. If you’re right, Trader will move the girls there today. A van with dark windows would be perfect for transporting three or four girls through Forks.”
“Now that we know there’s trafficking out here, it’s actually pretty easy to start putting the pieces together. But when you’re not expecting something so ugly in a place that’s so beautiful, you would never suspect anything.”
“You’ve sized it up pretty well. But there are some corollaries to your logic.”
“Corollaries like?”
“Like…Trader can’t operate at any location very long or someone might do what you just did and get suspicious.”
“That’s another reason we’ve got to stop Trader and Boatman here and now—stop the entire operation and nail them. Otherwise, they’ll simply move to a new location and continue selling girls.”
“Correction, Jenn. That’s another reason Peterson and the FBI have to stop Trader and Boatman. We’re lucky to be alive after our first encounter.”
She didn’t reply to his comment. But a plan formed in her mind, one Lee would surely try to veto.
“My phone says I have cell service. But it’s only a couple of minutes to the store. I’ll stop there.” Jennifer parked in the supermarket’s lot and handed her phone to Lee. “Do you want to call Peterson?”
“No way. After what you did to him on Friday, you can clean up your own mess. I’m surprised he hasn’t called you already.”
She opened the missed-calls log. “Uh, he did call. Fifteen times since Friday.”
“Great. He’s going to be hopping mad.”
“Here goes. You better pray this goes well. We need Peterson out here now.” She punched the speakerphone so he could listen.
“And you had better tread softly, Jennifer, or he’s liable to have the police put us in protective custody.”
Peterson answered on the second ring.
“Jennifer, where are you and why didn’t you return my calls?”
“We’ve been out of cell-phone range most of the time and a little preoccupied.”
“A little preoccu—”
“Peterson, we found where they’re holding the girls.”
“Are you and Lee OK?”
“Yes, we’re fine.”
“And you actually saw the girls?”
“Well, actually it was Lee who saw the girls, before…”
“Before what? Tell me everything.”
“Well, there was some shooting—only enou
gh to get us away safely.”
A loud expletive burst from the speakers.
“Same word he used before. Probably the only cuss word Peterson knows.” Lee whispered, grimacing.
“They gave chase, didn’t they? Of course they did. They would have to stop you two.”
“But they didn’t catch us. Well, almost, but the falling tree—”
“I don’t want to hear any more of the details, Jennifer. Where are you two and are you safe?”
“We’re in Forks and we’re safe.”
“Then where are the traffickers?”
“We think they’re stuck on the Hoh River Road, where Lee slashed their tires.”
Peterson roared again, exhausting his one-word, cursing vocabulary three times over. “I don’t know what to do with you, Jennifer. But you need to go to the Forks police station and tell them everything. Then you need to stay there until the team arrives. I’m calling them to assemble as we speak.”
Lee leaned hard into the passenger-side door with his palms out, protecting his face.
“We can’t do that. Trader will have to move the girls now, and I think he has a holding location off Mora Road, near Rialto Beach. Lee and I have—”
“You and Lee have to back off and let the police take over.”
“And when is that going to happen, Peterson?” One more stupid demand and she might tell Special Agent Peterson that he wasn’t so special, using a word from his vocabulary.
“As soon as the FBI team arrives.”
“And when do you plan to arrive?” Her voice rose to a crescendo. “We’re running out of time. These girls are supposed to be sold sometime tonight.”
“It’s 3:00 now. I can get the team together by 5:00, but you’re having hurricane-force winds out there, so we can’t fly the team out. We’ll have to use our vans. With the weather, we can’t possibly make it until 11:00 tonight, maybe later, if there are a lot of trees down. Those are just the facts, Jennifer. You’re going to have to live with them.”
“If you aren’t here by 10:00, we’re going in to disrupt the exchange. Those are just the facts, Peterson. You’re going to have to live with them.” As Jennifer terminated the call, she interrupted another ear-splitting expletive from Peterson.
“Hey, Peterson does know more than one cuss word. But frankly, I prefer the other one.” Lee put a hand on her shoulder.