by Ann Simas
“You two doing okay?”
“I tirsty,” Maisie said.
“How about you, Carson?”
“No, thanks.”
She poured some water into one of Maisie’s sippy cups and handed it to her. Her daughter reached for it without taking her eyes off the TV. Satisfied they were still engrossed in the movie, she went back up to “dust” everything. Thirty minutes later, assured that she’d done all she could to make the cabin look unused, she slipped through the closet door, closed it behind her, then did the same with the secret door, and headed back downstairs. A corresponding switch for the overhead light had been camouflaged to look like a flaw in the concrete. Once she knew to look for it, it was easy to spot.
She stepped into the safe room and activated the metal door.
It slid closed, with only a slight snick to indicate it had locked.
Home sweet home.
. . .
Luca and Trey made the drive up the canyon road in less than an hour. Exceeding the speed limit and having the flashing light affixed to the top of the car had something to do with their unhindered progress.
Using the car’s GPS proved futile in locating the cabin, so Trey pulled out the map from the Assessor’s office, which they hoped showed the correct address. They knew they’d gone too far when they approached the RV/tent park.
Luca, aware of how much time could be wasted being lost, pulled into the campground. He snatched the map out of Trey’s hands and exited the vehicle, heading for the small log building that had a CHECK IN sign over the sliding glass window.
Within minutes, he was back in the car. “It’s about a half mile down on the right. Apparently, the road in is ‘camouflaged,’ so it’ll be hard to find.”
“Camouflaged? That sounds like a special ops’ driveway, all right.”
With no one behind him, Luca drove extra slow so they could examine every possible point where a vehicle could turn in. They found it at point-six miles from the campground. The vegetation on either side of the dirt road obscured the opening, and without close examination, it was difficult to tell if anyone had passed through recently, but Luca didn’t care. This was the only lead they had to Sunny right now, so they were going to check out the damned cabin, regardless.
When they encountered a passing turnout, they decided not to drive all the way in. Both men had changed into jeans, FPD T-shirts, and boots, prior to leaving town, but they now popped the trunk and withdrew two small flashlights, two pair of binoculars, and extra magazines for their Glocks. They also donned FPD ball caps and their Kevlar vests.
“Glad I have on jeans,” Trey said. “I just paid too damned much money for the suit I had on earlier.”
“We do get a damaged-clothing allowance,” Luca reminded him, surveying the forest around them, “but you did look pretty in your new suit.”
“Screw you, Amorosi,” Trey returned with a laugh. He also studied their surroundings.
“Foliage is pretty dense. What are your thoughts about circling when we get within sight of the cabin?”
“Better that than being picked off like sitting ducks if Boyson and his crew are inside.”
Luca didn’t like to think about Boyson beating them to the cabin, but he couldn’t discount the possibility. “Let’s go.”
They made their way down the dirt roadway, which was in surprisingly good shape, considering that Zach Fyfe had been dead for over two years. With a start, he realized that meant someone had been taking care of the place.
“You think Fyfe booby-trapped it?” Trey asked as soon as the cabin came into view.
They halted and Luca said, “No. Look at it, and the road. Everything’s in good shape.”
Trey looked down at his feet. “You’re right. Got any ideas who?”
“Either it’s Sunny, or Zach’s family, being the neighborly people that they are, take care of the upkeep.”
“I go with door number one.”
“Yeah, me, too.” He frowned.
“It’s curious that Sunny never mentioned this place.” He shook his head in obvious puzzlement. “To anyone.”
“Except Libby, and that was apparently uttered in a moment of grief.”
“Guess you’ll have some figuring out to do about all this later, partner. Ready?”
Luca nodded. “Meet you in the rear.”
He went left, Trey went right.
Ten minutes later, they met on the backside of the cabin.
“No signs of life,” Trey said.
“No,” Luca agreed, “but it feels like she’s here.”
“No vehicle. All the windows coverings are closed.”
“Still….” Luca put the binoculars to his eyes and examined the back of the cabin. “Security camera just above the rear door. Probably one up front, too.”
“I noticed the campground had a wifi and free cable sign up. You think this place is wired, too?”
“Knowing Fyfe was a SEAL, I’d say just about anything is possible, inside and outside the cabin.”
“Shall we knock?”
“Might as well.”
Luca banged on the door for five minutes. No one answered.
“If she’s here, she doesn’t want you to know it,” Trey said.
“Something’s not right.”
“Could you be a little more specific?”
“It’s been dry up here. I noticed large boot prints in the dirt at the corner of the cabin.”
“You think Boyson’s inside, holding her?”
“Only one way to find out.”
“What’s our rationale for B-and-E?”
“We thought we heard a scream?”
“Works for me.”
Luca’s mind flashed back to the unlocked back door at Rayna Parson’s. He decided to try the knob, and for the second time that day, encountered no resistance.
If Sunny was in the house, he planned to give her a helluva a lecture about unlocked doors.
He didn’t expect the wild shriek of an alarm to deafen him as he eased the door open.
. . .
Sunny bolted upright, surprised that she’d fallen asleep in her chair, monitoring the security cameras. She darted a quick glance at Carson and Maisie, still sawing logs in their respective bunks. Fortunately, the door alarm from upstairs transmitted more like the buzz of a disgruntled bumble bee as the sound traveled down to the safe room.
Sunny had the capability to silence it from the laptop, but debated if that was the wisest course of action. She decided to let it run for at least two minutes, even though it would pierce the eardrums of whomever had ventured into the cabin. Shutting it off at that point would make it seem like the alarm had a self-induced timer.
She wanted to review the camera footage in the worst way, but she didn’t dare until she silenced the alarm. With no second hand on her watch, she couldn’t do anything except count in her head.
At the one-twenty mark, she hit a couple of key strokes and the bumble-bee buzz ceased. The empty silence revealed nothing, but then, she’d known it wouldn’t. There were no interior cameras and the safe room had extra thick concrete walls and ceiling, which served not only as a sound buffer, but a means to control temperature, as well.
Sunny reviewed the footage from the front camera first, but all she could make out were two men approaching from the north, on foot. They separated about ten yards from the cabin, one going east, the other west. They both wore dark clothes, ball caps, and sunglasses.
She switched to the feed from the rear camera. They were closer, but she still couldn’t make out any features and neither did her the favor of looking straight into the lens. Still, if she had to venture a guess as to who they might be, it would be Luca and Trey, which didn’t make a darned bit of sense. How would they know about the cabin?
Frustrated, she went back to live monitoring, which confirmed or denied exactly nothing.
Why hadn’t Zach installed security cameras inside the cabin?
. . .
&
nbsp; “Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for a long time,” Trey noted.
Luca ran his finger over a table, leaving behind a clean streak free of dust. “I was certain she’d be here.”
“One thing’s bothering me,” Trey said. “Why the security camera out back? Did you see one in the front, too?”
Luca nodded. “It’s at the top of the porch post nearest the door.”
“Hunh. I didn’t notice that one, either.”
“Why are they bothering you?”
“I guess they’re not actually bothering me, but given the one in back has a little green light on it, it’s activated. Where’s it broadcasting to?”
“Good question.” Luca looked around, hoping to spot a place where some electronic equipment might be stored. His eyes lighted on the small stand that held a TV and beneath that, two components, one for DVDs and the other for VCR tapes. The only cabinets were in the kitchen and the hallway. He spent some time opening them and examining the contents behind each door. Next, he went to each closet and did the same. “Nothing,” he said.
“She’s not here,” Trey said, his hands on his hips. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for a while.”
Luca surveyed the room, uneasy. Something wasn’t quite right. He ran a finger over the table again, leaving behind a dust-free X. “Zach must have thought Sunny would have to come up here sometime to hide out from his family.”
“Possible, I suppose.”
“Just having security cameras and door alarms wouldn’t keep intruders away.”
“Nope.”
“And the back door was unlocked.”
“That is was. Where are you going with this?”
“I don’t know. Just thinking out loud, I guess.” He hesitated. “Some might consider leaving a door unlocked an invitation to enter.”
Trey nodded slowly. “You think she came up here and what? Booby-trapped the place?”
Luca grunted. “I wouldn’t put it past her, but knowing Sunny, she wouldn’t risk harming an innocent passerby.”
“Not likely an innocent passerby would venture this far off the road,” Trey said, his tone wry. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, but I’d like to take a better look around outside before we head back to the car.”
“You’re probably wasting your time, but if it eases your mind, I’ll look with you.”
“It does. Thanks.”
They left by the rear door, pulling it closed behind them. Luca wished like hell he had a key to lock it, but he didn’t. Get over it.
They ventured into the nearest copse of trees, about twenty feet south, before encountering the moose and her two calves. Mama, busy gnawing on an aspen branch, reared her head in their direction.
“This is as far as we go,” Trey said. “I’ve never met a moose in person, but I know you don’t mess with them when they have calves with them.”
Luca wanted to argue, but the big dark eye the mama moose had leveled on them didn’t bode well for forward progress.
With reluctance, they backed up, trying not to make any noise or fall backward on their asses.
They decided to split up as they neared the cabin, giving the structure a wide berth and the surroundings a closer look-see.
Neither man noticed the two men lurking in the shadowy branches of a ponderosa pine near the roadway, just beyond the pullout.
. . .
“Mommy?”
Reluctantly, Sunny took her eyes off the camera and moved toward the upper bunk. “What, buddy?”
“I don’t feel so good,” Carson said.
“Do you hurt somewhere?” she asked, reaching for his forehead. He felt cool to the touch.
“No. I’m just worried.”
“About what, honey?”
“The bad men that are coming.”
“They can’t get to us down here,” Sunny assured her son.
“But when we have to go up, they’ll get us.”
“We don’t have to go up and Mommy brought plenty of food and supplies with us.”
His face wrinkled in a frown. “But when the fire starts, we can’t stay here.”
Shock rendered Sunny silent. When she found her voice, she said, “What fire, honey?”
He rubbed his little fists against his eyes, slow to answer. “The forest fire.”
Sunny again remained speechless and her heart began to pound in her chest. Was it possible that both her children had precognitive abilities? “Did you have a dream about a forest fire, baby?”
“No, my eyes were wide open, and I saw it.”
Dear God! She hadn’t given the prospect of a forest fire a single thought. The snow had been plentiful this year, the runoff heavy. Vegetation everywhere was lush, with no drought in sight. But there was a campground up the road. Maybe a careless camper? She questioned Carson further. “Do you know how the fire starts, baby?”
“Matches.” He yawned and rolled over. “I think I want to sleep some more.”
Chapter 34
. . .
Sunny willed herself not to freak. She put her hand to the back of her son’s head until he dozed off again. The moment she knew he was soundly asleep, she checked on Maisie, still snuffling softly in her bed, then hurried to the laptop.
She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought to activate the microphone on the security camera before, but there was no time like the present to have a light-bulb moment.
She was surprised to discover the backs of two men in the rear camera’s field of vision. She quickly activated the mike and slipped on the earphones, so the sound wouldn’t wake the children. It took her a moment to realize the two figures were not the men who’d been there just a short time before.
“You’re sure she’ll show up here, because torching this cabin seems a little extreme when we could just wait for her.”
“We’ll report the fire as soon as we get back to the road. They’ll douse the flames, and that will be it. They’ll contact her and she’ll come up to see what the hell is going on.”
Sunny’s anger was swift and dark. Boyson. Of course. But who was his partner in crime?
“And you think she’ll bring the lambs along for a joy ride?” the other man demanded, his tone incredulous. “God, I can’t believe you were a cop, you’re so damned dumb.”
From her vantage point at the laptop, Sunny could tell Boyson was about ready to explode. She wondered if the guy standing next to him recognized the imminent danger. Even as she had the thought, she realized the error of her assumption. Whoever it was standing beside Boyson had hired him. No matter how pissed he was, the bastard wouldn’t bite the hand holding his pay check, especially since he was on the lam.
With that came another insight. The man talking to Boyson had referred to her children as lambs. That meant he was associated with Vale Luna.
Thunderstruck, Sunny’s entire body tingled with horror. Had Vale Luna helped Boyson escape so they could hire him to find her and the kids?
Her fear ramped up. Boyson was no longer a cop, he was a convicted felon. An escaped, convicted felon. What kinds of contacts must he still have in the department that Vale Luna would consider him a useful tool? Hatred as deep and rancid as Boyson harbored toward her could go a long way toward fueling his motivation to sniff her out so he could hand her over to crazed cultists.
Or was it something less convoluted? Maybe Boyson blamed her for ending up in jail after he’d beat the crap out of her, and he’d sought out Vale Luna? The more she thought about it, the less sense that theory made. It was unlikely he’d had knowledge about her indirect connection to the cult.
Sunny’s thoughts went back the first scenario. The Vale Lunatics probably kept track of her every move. Even though her father had pleaded with the police not to release her name as the victim in Boyson’s assault case, it had gone out anyway, and one TV station had broadcast it to the world. More specifically, one TV reporter had decided the daughter of a famous movie star was fair game, even if she
was a victim.
Sally Box was good at digging up dirt. Somehow she must have discovered that Sunny had spent time at the Amorosi home, which must have irked her to no end, since Luca had rebuffed her come-on. Libby had mentioned that Sally had a vindictive streak in high school. Apparently, the leopard had not changed her spots in the intervening years. She and Boyson would make quite a pair if they ever hooked up.
The thought brought her up short. Was it possible Boyson and Box did have a connection? Sunny made a mental note to ask Luca to look into it, then she remembered she wasn’t in communication with Luca. So much for that brainstorm.
She suddenly realized that she’d missed the conversation between Boyson and the other man while she’d ruminated over who was involved in tracking her down and how all the players were connected. She reran the video and caught up to real time.
She listened to a few more moments of their back-and-forth bickering. In the end, they walked away because neither one of them had brought anything with which to light a fire.
Sunny removed the earphones and set to work planning yet another escape for her family.
She had news for them. They might burn down the whole damned forest, but there was no way in hell they were getting their hands on her children. If they needed sacrifices to ensure they landed in safely in the afterlife, they were welcome to climb up on the sacrificial altar themselves.
. . .
A steady stream of traffic meandered westward on the canyon highway. Travel trailers, fifth-wheelers, motorhomes, SUVs pulling popup campers. Luca was glad they were in the less busy eastbound lane, headed back to Fremont.
He couldn’t help thinking how much fun it would be to take Sunny and the kids camping at one of the high-country lakes. He’d get a couple of short poles for Carson and Maisie and teach them how to fish. Sunny would cook their catch for dinner, and then when it was bedtime, they could curl up together in their double sleeping bag, spooning, because with two small children also in the tent, that was about as much as a guy could expect.
Luca experienced an ache somewhere in the vicinity of his heart.