Burning Ridge

by Margaret Mizushima

“This has to be the one,” Cole said. “There must be a partner involved. Someone else had to have moved that truck.”

  The sun had risen, and Lawson scanned the blackened ridge. “I want to get up above the fire line and take a look. The wind has died down, and since there’s so much devastation on top, I don’t think there’s a danger of it coming back on us.”

  Mattie straightened, and Cole knew what she planned to propose. In a split second he decided to play the card that he’d placed up his sleeve earlier. He spoke quietly. “Robo is exhausted, Mattie. We had to work him to find you, but now he needs to sleep. That’s a powerful drug that was used on you both, and it acts on the nervous system. I think we should stay here and let him rest while the others go up on top. He’s dead on his feet.”

  With a frown of concern, Mattie looked down at Robo standing at her left heel. As if on cue, the blessed dog gazed up at her, his sharp teeth gleaming as his mouth stretched open in a huge, squeaky yawn. As soon as I can get my hands on a treat, he’s going to get one for that, Cole thought.

  Brody stepped in. “You and your dog wait here, Cobb. We’ll run a quick reconnaissance up above, and then come back for you. Rest now, so if we need you two for tracking, you can be ready to go.”

  To Cole’s surprise, she yielded without argument, and she bent to stroke Robo’s head and along his shoulders while the others divvied up roles. Frank rode away with Brody and Lawson while Cole and Garrett stayed with Mattie.

  With a slow step, she returned to the sleeping bag, picked it up, and began spreading it beneath a pine tree. Cole hurried to help. She told Robo to lie down, and then she sank against him, pulled him close, and curved herself around him. Cole covered them both with the remaining half of the down-filled bag.

  After Mattie closed her eyes, Cole glanced at Garrett who gave him a nod. They both picked spots where they could lean their backs against trees to rest while they sat and watched over her.

  * * *

  Gasping for breath, Mattie lunged upright to sit. Robo rolled onto his chest and stared at her. Cole came from a few feet away, soothing her with a gentle tone. “You’re safe. It’s just a slurry bomber making a pass.”

  She spotted the huge plane as it rumbled away, having dropped its payload of suppressant on the forest fire. Smoke lingered in the air, making her throat burn with thirst, and it hurt to swallow. She placed her hand to her sore neck. Cole handed her the canteen.

  “How long have they been gone?” she asked, her voice sounding raspy and strange.

  “Almost two hours. You slept?”

  “Yeah.” She tipped the canteen to sip, and the cool water soothed her throat. Cole’s eyes were reddened, the lines around them showing his fatigue. “You were up all night?”

  He shrugged and gave her a half smile. “I had a few things I needed to take care of.”

  His presence steadied her nerves, which she needed now more than ever. She rested her free hand on her dog’s shoulders. “How bad was it for Robo?”

  Cole winced. “Pretty bad. If Riley hadn’t found him when she did, he would’ve died.”

  “You saved him.”

  He studied her for a moment, and then a slow smile flirted with the corners of his mouth. “You might say that. Will it earn me any brownie points?”

  She felt unsure of how to respond. “I owe you.”

  He clasped her hand. “You don’t owe me anything, Mattie. All I want from you is any spare affection you might toss my way.”

  “You have that.”

  “Garrett brewed some tea. Could you drink a cup?”

  “I think so.” She started to get up.

  “Stay here. I’ll bring it to you.”

  He arose, leaving her feeling uneasy. Her past was an embarrassment to her, and Cole knew only part of it. He didn’t know the extent of the abuse she’d suffered at the hands of Harold Cobb. The life Cole had led was untouched by that kind of degradation—he wouldn’t be able to understand that part of her that had been twisted when she was a child. And much as she wanted to, she had trouble allowing him past the wall she’d built to protect her feelings.

  Before the others left to investigate the fire, she’d felt depleted. She’d had nothing left, and Robo looked like he felt the same way. She’d come to the realization that she couldn’t do it all, and she needed to trust that others could handle things in her stead. It was a tough lesson for her—learning to let go—but thinking about Robo’s welfare had tipped the balance.

  Cole returned, handing her a steaming plastic cup. He held up an energy bar. “Can you eat this now?”

  She realized she was starving. “Sure.”

  Robo watched, licking saliva from his black lips.

  Mattie nodded toward her dog. “You didn’t bring any food for him, did you?”

  “Actually, I did. I bagged some before I left the clinic. C’mon, Robo, I’ll feed you now.”

  Her dog looked full of energy as he followed Cole to the horses, which made her feel even better than her own sustenance. She sipped the strong, dark tea, the bitter brew replenishing her energy. While she nibbled on the sweet, nutty bar, she watched Robo scarf down a cupful of dog food. He came back to her, smacking his lips and waving his tail. He heaved a sigh as he plopped down beside her, everything right with his world.

  She needed to take another lesson from her dog. You have food, you have water, you’ve rested; there’s no reason to fret.

  But there is. Her brother’s killer was on the loose. And now that her battery felt recharged, she needed to take Robo up the trail to see if she could find him. After finishing the food, she scanned the mountain and spotted movement on a switchback up above. Riders. As they drew near, she could see that it was Brody and Frank, and they looked grim.

  Brody stopped at the campsite and dismounted, while Frank rode on.

  “He’s long gone,” Brody said, looking at Mattie. “Lawson stayed up there to secure the crime scene, and Frank’s headed down to escort crime scene investigators up here. Looks like the fire pit got away from him and lit the forest. Horseshoe prints indicate the two horses panicked and broke their picket line. He caught one of them and rode north away from the fire. We tracked him far enough to see that he turned to ride downhill to the north of this trail.”

  “What trail was he on?” she asked.

  “He wasn’t on one. He just headed into the timber going downhill.”

  “If he has a partner, maybe he’s headed down to meet up with him.”

  Garrett spoke up. “You’ve got a trail even farther north that he might hook up with, the one by Lowell Pass.”

  “That’s the trail Flynn said he was on the day his horse got cut,” Cole said, his voice edged with tension. “We need to make sure the volunteers have checked that trailhead for a rig, too.”

  Brody took out the satellite phone and dialed. After the few seconds it took to connect, he briefed the sheriff on the situation. “Did the volunteers check the Lowell Pass trailhead for a truck and trailer last night or today?”

  Mattie felt edgy while she listened. She rolled up the sleeping bag and gave it to Garrett to tie back on his saddle. Robo picked up on her nerves and danced around her.

  Still on the phone with the sheriff, Brody repeated what he was saying for the group’s benefit. “No rig there, but this morning they’ve spotted a silver Tahoe at that trailhead with a stolen Colorado license plate. This might be the Tahoe that William’s friend saw in front of his shop.”

  Brody looked confused—he’d been out of the loop while guarding William’s crime scene—but Mattie nodded at him that she understood.

  “What’s your plan?” Brody asked the sheriff. Mattie watched his frown deepen while he listened. “Hold one minute.”

  Brody lowered the phone from his mouth. “They’ve got the Tahoe under surveillance, and they’re watching Redstone and Balderhouse trailheads for activity. But Bret Flynn showed up at his place this morning with his rig and his two horses. Stella’s in the interro
gation room with him right now. He says he took his girlfriend on a night ride to the hot springs south of Hightower, and when they got back to the truck, it wouldn’t start. His story checked out with the woman, and Riley has been at Cole’s house all morning, so she couldn’t have taken his rig to him.” His face took on a sour expression. “Looks like he’s not our guy.”

  Mattie felt a strange sense of relief. She’d found it hard to believe that Riley might be involved with murder and kidnapping. “So that narrows it down to Tucker York.”

  Cole spoke up. “Mattie, I took Robo into your backyard to make sure he locked in the scent of your attacker. I think he would recognize him.”

  “Tell the sheriff I want to bring Robo down to check out the Tahoe.”

  After Brody relayed the message, he held the phone out to Mattie. “Sheriff wants to talk to you.”

  She took the phone. “This is Mattie.”

  “Mattie!” The sheriff’s voice boomed from the receiver. “It’s great to hear your voice. Do you feel well enough to report for duty?”

  “Reporting right now, sir. I can have Robo do a scent check on that Tahoe and see how he reacts.”

  “All right. One of us will meet you at the Balderhouse trailhead and take you over to Lowell Pass. It’s good to have you back with us, Deputy.”

  “It’s great to be here. See you soon.”

  While she and Brody spoke to the sheriff, Cole and Garrett had been busy breaking camp and tightening cinches on saddles. Cole led Mountaineer over to her. “You take him, and I’ll ride the black horse.”

  She clenched her teeth at the thought of riding a horse again while Robo watched her expectantly. “I’ll take the ground,” she said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I don’t think I can stay on a horse if it’s moving fast. This way, I can set the pace.”

  She didn’t wait for protest. With Robo leading the way, she headed down the trail, figuring the riders would be hard pressed to keep up with her and her dog.

  THIRTY-FOUR

  While she ran, Mattie thought hard about her captor. There’d been something familiar about his cologne, and she sorted through her memories, trying to put her finger on it. Had she first smelled it on Tucker York?

  Finally, it came to her, along with the realization that the scent hadn’t been cologne at all. The sweet blend of vanilla and cinnamon—she remembered where she’d smelled it. The ice cream shop. The odor had saturated the place and probably the clothing of its owners.

  She stopped on the side of the trail, whistling for Robo to come back. “John Carter,” she said as the others pulled up beside her.

  “Who’s that?” Brody asked.

  “The new owner of the Happy Shack ice cream shop on Main Street.” Her mind skipped to his wife. “The partner would probably be his wife, Violet Carter.”

  “That’s the place that Riley hangs out all the time,” Cole said.

  “Why do you think it’s him?” Brody asked.

  “The cologne. It was actually the scent of ice cream and cinnamon. I remember smelling it in the shop when I went there to pick up Riley.” She looked at Brody. “Call the sheriff. Have them locate Violet Carter and take her in for questioning.”

  “Do you have an address?”

  “The ice cream shop is on Main Street. I don’t know where they live.” She looked at Cole to see if he knew, but he shook his head.

  Mattie turned and began pounding down the trail again. She couldn’t rest until she gained justice for her brother. Was she on the right track with the Carters? They owned horses. John had said he’d ridden horseback to go fishing. But how were they connected to Willie?

  Her brother had referred to an old friend of the family, someone he didn’t know existed but should have. Could he have meant a previous partner of their dad’s? Willie had been two years older than she; perhaps he’d been more aware of their father’s involvement in shady business.

  When Mattie hit the parking lot at the base of the Balderhouse Trail, Stella was there with the K-9 unit. Cole and Brody trotted their horses over to a truck and horse trailer where one of the volunteers waited.

  Stella exited the car and gave Mattie a thorough examination as she approached, her eyes dark with concern. When she reached her, she pulled Mattie into a hug, something completely unexpected. Mattie hugged her back.

  Stella leaned away, still holding onto Mattie as she studied her face. “Are you sure you’re all right to work? Do we need to take you to a doctor?”

  “Cole gave me the antidote I needed.”

  “She should be seen by a doctor,” Cole said as he joined them. “I’ll take her to Doc McGinnis as soon as she’ll let me.”

  Mattie held up her hand, signaling them to stop. “That’s not necessary. Let’s get loaded and go to the Lowell Pass trailhead.”

  When Mattie opened Robo’s compartment, he jumped in and circled once on his dog cushion before plopping down. She noticed the torn up carpet. When she glanced at Cole for an explanation, he simply shrugged.

  Robo looked at her and yawned. She stroked his fur and gave him water, which he lapped up eagerly. “You’ve made a mess, hmm? You must have been very upset.”

  Cole offered his canteen. “You need to drink water, too.”

  “Thanks,” she said, taking it from him. She started to climb up into the back with Robo.

  Cole clasped her arm lightly, guiding her a step backward. “Ride in front.”

  Mattie found she was too exhausted to argue.

  Brody wound up in the back with Robo, and Stella took the driver’s seat while Mattie and Cole shared the passenger seat. With his arm around her, his closeness felt natural, and she settled in beside him, her body weary and sore.

  Stella opened the console and pulled out a handgun. She gave it to Mattie along with a half smile. “Your service weapon.”

  Her Glock. She took it out of the holster, popped the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded, and snapped it back into place. She racked the slide. Everything functioned as it should, and its weight felt good in her hands.

  “The Carters are nowhere to be found,” Stella said as she steered the Explorer from the lot, turned on the overheads, and accelerated to well over the speed limit. “We were able to get a warrant to search their place. No furniture in the home besides a mattress on the floor and a few folding chairs. They didn’t plan to stick around. There’s an old barn on the property where we found a silver Chevy Impala and a dark blue Ford F-150 with a horse trailer.”

  Stella paused and looked pointedly at Cole.

  “The two vehicles you saw on the surveillance video,” he said. Then to Mattie, “We suspected the truck in your abduction but not the car. They drove through town a few minutes apart, both headed west.”

  Stella resumed her briefing. “The truck had been reported stolen out of California and the Chevy up in Denver. Both have stolen Colorado plates. Tracks from a third vehicle with heavy tire tread are in the barn, too, most likely from this Tahoe we have our eye on.”

  Brody spoke up from the back. “So far all we have on the Carters is car theft and a whole lot of circumstantial.”

  “True,” Stella said, glancing at him in the rearview mirror. “We can’t even prove that those were their vehicles in the surveillance video. Too grainy.”

  “Chances are they know we’ve spotted the Tahoe,” Brody said. “They’ve probably ditched it and won’t come back.”

  Mattie agreed, but in the meantime she hoped she and Robo could come up with something. Anything.

  They passed Deputy Johnson parked on the highway shoulder in his cruiser about a hundred yards from the Lowell Pass parking lot. Anyone could spot him. Brody was right. They’d be fortunate to find either of the Carters in this area.

  Stella parked and they unloaded. Mattie changed Robo’s collar to his search harness and began the chatter that told him it was time to work. She led him to the driver’s side of the Tahoe.

  He sniffed the door
and the ground beneath, and his hackles rose. Mattie felt the back of her neck tingle as she decided to give the command used to search for an unknown fugitive. “Find the bad guy, Robo. Search!”

  Experience had taught her that Robo’s hair lifted when they were nearing their target or when he smelled someone he didn’t like. This time she’d bet on the latter. He headed toward the woods, nose to the ground.

  “Go ahead, Robo.” The others had fallen in behind her, and she spoke to them in an undertone. “I think he’s on the scent he found in our backyard.”

  Robo veered away from the trail, heading toward the forest. Mattie looked for footprints, but none were apparent in the dense grass at the edge of the parking lot. Without Robo’s special detection system, they would have never known someone crossed this way. When they reached the trees, dried pine needles and dead foliage covered the ground, again blocking any sign of footprints. She depended on her dog’s nose to lead them.

  Robo charged through the trees and Mattie jogged behind, Brody at her back and Cole following. She wouldn’t let Robo run blindly into another ambush, so she called out for him to wait. He stopped and looked back at her over his shoulder.

  When she came up beside him, he trotted on, leading the way at a slower pace. But his back still bristled.

  She was rounding a boulder when a gunshot blasted through the forest. The bullet pinged off the face of the rock near her head. Mattie ducked low, grabbed for Robo as she shouted his name, and dove for cover behind the boulder. Cole and Brody ducked in beside her.

  “Robo, stay.” She crouched behind the large rock, gripping his collar as he tried to break free. He settled at her heel briefly but then tried to wriggle free.

  Another blast from the gun, and a bullet ricocheted wildly off the face of the boulder that shielded them. Keeping one hand on Robo’s collar, she drew her Glock from its holster.

  Robo barked and tugged in another attempt to break away. She’d never seen him so incensed, and she kept a tight grip on his collar. He’d faced simulated gunfire in training before, and it didn’t bother him. It must be the fugitive’s scent that had him so enraged. “Robo, stay! Easy. Heel!”