North Rim Delight

by Regina Duke

  “We? You said ‘ever since we were kids.’ How many kids were there in your family?”

  “Just two. Me and my sister, Tiffany.” His smile faded as he thought of her. “She died.”

  “Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”

  Russ shrugged it off. “It was a long time ago.”

  “Yes, but we never forget those things,” said Terri. “I don’t care how many times people tell us we’ll get over it, we never do.” She lay a comforting hand on his arm. “I’ll bet she adored you.”

  Russ was surprised that Terri could read him that well. He blinked rapidly and searched for something to fix his gaze on. Chad’s gangly form was trotting along the trail toward them. Russ greeted him more warmly than anyone expected. He was glad for the distraction.

  “Chad! Great, you got away pretty fast. Let’s go look at those drawings, shall we?”

  Terri followed them into Chad’s small cabin.

  “My roommate might come back any minute,” said Chad, moving straight for the large black portfolio case leaning against the wall behind the small table. “I don’t want to spook him with this talk of someone out to get me, okay?”

  “No problem,” said Russ. “If he shows up, we’ll stop talking.”

  Chad was spreading a series of drawings over the table. They were large, and he had to lift them one after another in order to view them. Some were charcoal, others were pencil. A few were in color. One of the colored ones caught Terri’s attention.

  “Oh, my gosh. That is amazing,” she murmured as the portrait of a German Shepherd came into view. “You can practically reach out and ruffle his coat.”

  Russ was affected as well. “Great expression in the eyes,” he nodded. “You can even see the sutures on his shaved belly. Poor guy. Recovering from surgery?”

  Chad nodded. “I drew that one the day before I left Reno. Just last Wednesday. When they called with this job offer, I drove straight through. Got here Friday and went to work.”

  Russ nodded, still admiring the art work. “This is very good. What did you use?”

  “Colored pencil,” said Chad. “I did some preliminary sketches at my dad’s office. He’s a veterinarian. Then I did the color and detail from memory. I just see the image in my head and put it on the paper.”

  “I’m impressed,” said Terri. “I wish I had a portrait like this of my dog, Reggie. He passed away.”

  “No big,” said Chad. “I can work from photos.” He continued to leaf through the drawings, showing them what he had. Every drawing had a date and a signature in the lower right hand corner.

  “What’s this?” asked Russ. It looked like a preliminary drawing for the GSD portrait, but a section in the left corner had been rubbed out.

  “Very technical,” said Chad, somberly. “In the art world, it’s called a mistake.”

  They laughed.

  The rest of the drawings were of different subjects, most of them animals sketched in Dr. Nething’s veterinary office. But the last two were groups of people.

  Russ was immediately alert. “Isn’t that Warren Olsen of the District Attorney’s office?”

  Chad shrugged. “If you say so.”

  “No, really,” said Russ, pointing at each of the figures in turn. “This is Toledo Gray, one of the top criminal defenders in Washoe County, and that’s Jiggy Sheffield. He’s been tried twice for drug dealing, but got off both times on a technicality. And this,” he said, tapping the next face with his finger, “is Kenny DaSilva. What made you draw them?”

  “I don’t know, man,” said Chad vaguely. “They were talking. These three, I mean.” He separated another sketch. “I was sitting in the courthouse, waiting for my dad, and there was nothing to do but draw, so I did. That’s what I do. I draw everything.”

  At the sight of the face in the separated sketch, Terri cried out, “That’s Gavin!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  RUSS STUDIED the sketch of Gavin. “How close a likeness is it?” he asked.

  Terri said, “Practically photographic. This portrait is him. Right down to the smirk.” Terri shifted uncomfortably. “He looks cruel.”

  “From what you’ve told me about him,” said Russ, “he is. Chad captured that as well.”

  “Why was he at the courthouse?” wondered Terri.

  Russ shrugged. “That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that he was there at the same time as Jiggy and DaSilva, and he was talking to them.” He looked at Chad. “Do you remember what they were talking about?”

  Chad rolled his eyes. “There’s no way I’d ever remember that. I had my music on. Headphones, MP3. You know. I couldn’t even hear them.”

  Russ looked disappointed.

  Terri shrugged. “Yeah, but they probably didn’t know that. I mean, headphones today are practically invisible. I see people talking on their cell with headphones on, and I think they’re nut cases, talking to themselves. What if they thought you overheard them?”

  Russ nodded. “You could be right, Terri. Besides, it’s the only thing we’ve got to go on at the moment.” He held out a hand. “Thanks, Chad.”

  Chad shook it. “Do you think I’m still in danger?”

  “Yes,” said Russ. “I’ll have my people in Reno do some checking. Someone is definitely interested in you.” A thought occurred to Russ, and he frowned down at the portfolio. “I don’t see any drawings of the Canyon here.”

  “Oh, those are in another collection. You can see them, too, if you want. I thought you wanted to see stuff from Reno and Carson City.”

  “True,” said Terri. “How could they even know what you were drawing up here?”

  But just to make sure, they glanced through the sketches of the Canyon. Some of the more finished drawings were breathtaking, but there was nothing that pointed at a motive for someone to want to kill Chad. The three of them headed back toward the lodge along the trail.

  “Just be careful,” Russ told him. “As soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”

  “Whoa,” said Chad. “Who’s the hottie?”

  Tony and Raffi were waving at them, coming toward them on the trail.

  Raffi was smiling. Tony looked happy and eager. “Russ, I got everything you wanted me to get. And Terri, I got this list of stuff you can get for your friends. And here are the maps and programs. I’m ready for my next assignment.”

  “Hey, that’s great,” grinned Russ, wondering what he was going to come up with for Tony to do next.

  Chad was staring at Raffi, unable to speak. He was scuffing the ground with the toe of one shoe. Terri took pity on him.

  “Chad, this is Raffi. Rafaela Vega. She and Tony are in the campground. Raffi, this is Chad. He’s an artist, and he’s really talented.”

  Raffi smiled warmly at Chad, her eyes doing their own dance of shyness. “Hi.”

  Russ added, “Raffi’s looking for work. Any chance of getting her on at the restaurant?”

  “Oh, wow. No, they hire months ahead. There’s this whole process.” Chad seemed devastated that he couldn’t solve Raffi’s problem. “But hey! Wait a minute. There was this lady at dinner last night. She was talking about her assistant, how her assistant had to leave early because of a death in the family. This lady’s a writer. She’s working on a travel book, and she needs someone to help with the typing and everything. Maybe Raffi could ask her for a job.” He looked so hopeful, Terri had to drop her head to hide her smile.

  Raffi’s eyes were wide with expectation. “That would be wonderful! Could you point her out to me?”

  “Oh, hey, I’d love to. Come on, I’ll bet we find her up at the lodge. She’s still adjusting to the altitude.” He led the way, holding out his hand to Raffi in an unconscious gesture. She took it, then averted her eyes when she realized they were holding hands. But Chad just kept talking, and Raffi looked back to wave a small goodbye to them as she quickened her pace to keep up with Chad’s long strides.

  Russ and Terri shared a look, then they both laughed softly.
“Wow,” said Terri, “we should open a dating service.”

  Tony didn’t look thrilled. “Gag me,” he said. “Hey, come on, I’m ready for my next assignment.”

  Russ did some quick thinking. “You know what would be great, Tony?” He took the trail maps the boy had delivered. “Could you investigate a couple of these trails and see how long it’ll take to hike them? I’m here on a working vacation, but I’d like to do a couple of short hikes before I have to leave.”

  Tony saw right through him. “Aw, rats. You just want to keep me busy. Couldn’t I do something more exciting? Like clean your gun?”

  “No guns,” said Russ firmly. He glanced at his watch. “Look, Tony, sometimes when we’re working, we don’t get to choose the assignments. But here. Maybe this will sound better. Take this twenty and head for the camp store. Pick us up some sodas and chips for later.”

  Terri jumped in. “Diet sodas and at least one bag of pretzels.”

  “Well, okay,” said Tony. He didn’t look thrilled, but it was better than the lame idea of timing trail hikes.

  “Meet us at our cabin,” said Russ. “I’ve got to make some calls to Reno. And don’t take too long! I’m getting thirsty.”

  Inside the cabin, Russ got on his cell phone to Sara. “It’s me. How are the girls?” He chuckled at something Sara said. Then, “Sara, I need you to check on a veterinarian in Carson City, a Dr. Nething, n-e-t-h-i-n-g, and see if he’s had any break-ins recently. Anything strange or unusual, in the last few days.”

  “I’m already working on that,” said Sara.

  “Good girl,” said Russ. “His son Chad is working at the Grand Canyon Lodge. If you can manage a personal visit, I’d like to hear about the sketches Chad left with his father. Tell me if you recognize any faces in them.

  “Also, see what you can find out about three people: Jiggy Sheffield, Kenny DaSilva, and Gavin, uh, just a minute. Terri? What’s Gavin’s last name?”

  “Turkel,” said Terri, then added under her breath, “like Turkey with an L.”

  Russ grinned as he continued with Sara. “I need to know if they have anything in common, any history together, any deals going down, you know the drill.”

  Terri tapped Russ on the arm. “Don’t forget the dog with the laparotomy.”

  “Lappa what?” Russ screwed his face into a question mark.

  “Laparotomy. An incision in the abdomen. Remember the sutures? What if the information Chad stumbled on doesn’t have anything to do with people? He had a lot more pets in that portfolio than people. And the dates. Don’t forget the dates.”

  “What dates?” Russ still had a hand over the mouthpiece.

  “Every drawing had a date in the lower right hand corner. All of them were done between April 22 and May 1.”

  Russ looked impressed. “You’d make a good detective.” He got back on the phone with Sara and filled her in. “Pay special attention to the nine days between April 22 and May 1. It may be nothing, but those were the dates when Chad made the drawings of DaSilva, Sheffield and Turkel. He drew the dogs just last week.”

  Terri pulled a chair around and sat down. She felt suddenly tired. She realized she’d been half expecting an attack by Gavin or DaSilva all morning. She didn’t think Russ agreed with her about the pets being a link to DaSilva’s target, and that bothered her. Even so, it was as good an idea as his, wasn’t it? After all, Chad had only drawn the three men at the courthouse because he was waiting for his dad.

  “Oh! Wait, don’t hang up! Ask Sara to find out why Chad’s dad was at the courthouse.”

  “Okay,” said Russ. “Sara? Did you hear that? Good. We might as well check on that, too.”

  Terri sat back down. He was humoring her. She sighed heavily. At least she was trying. She wondered where Gavin was and if DaSilva was at the Canyon yet. Was Chad his target? She wished she could give him his pictures back so he’d focus on someone else. Then she felt guilty for wishing such a terrible thing on poor Chad, especially after Chad seemed so eager to help Raffi find a job.

  Russ hung up and pulled a second chair around to face Terri. “Hey, what’s wrong? You look like you lost your best friend.”

  “Oh, I was just thinking about DaSilva. It’s so hard for me to imagine one human being actually wanting to kill another person.” She shook her head sadly left and right. “What could be so important that Chad would be marked for death?”

  Russ leaned back in the chair and turned the cell phone over and over in his hands. “Well, we’re still not sure that’s what DaSilva intends to do. But to answer your question: money. That’s usually it. Money and personal safety. If they think Chad saw or heard something that could put someone in jail or cost someone money, that person might not want him spreading it around. And dead people don’t talk much.”

  “Do you think Gavin is involved with these guys?”

  Russ’s face twisted in a skeptical mask. “Actually, I’m not sure, but it’s all we’ve got for the moment. Warren Olsen appears to be as straight-arrow as they come. And Toledo Gray may hang out with thugs, but only because he makes his living that way. As for Jiggy, he’ll do anything for money. Same with DaSilva.”

  “Gavin, too. Anything that doesn’t require hard work, that is,” said Terri.

  Russ said, “Excuse me for a minute,” and stepped into the bathroom.

  Someone knocked on the cabin door. Terri started to open it, then remembered Russ’s trick. She peeked through the window curtain, then looked sheepish and swung the door open. It was Tony with a paper sack full of goodies.

  “Tony! What did you do? Run all the way back?”

  Tony looked serious. “Where’s Russ” he whispered.

  Terri whispered back, “In the bathroom.”

  “Okay, good. A man gave me this envelope for you. He said Russ isn’t supposed to see it. Here’s the stuff I got for you. See you tomorrow.” He handed her the sack and an envelope, then took off.

  Terri frowned at the envelope as she pulled items out of the grocery bag. Pretzels, corn chips, candy bars, a six-pack of Pepsi and one of diet Coke. There was also a little teddy bear with sequins and hearts glued on the front. It made Terri smile. Tony must have picked it out for his sister, but forgot to take it out of the bag. She set the little teddy bear on the table, propped against the lamp. She put most of the goodies back in the sack and shoved it to one corner of the table so she could see the teddy bear.

  Then she opened the envelope.

  Reggie’s face stared up at her. Blood pounded in her ears as she pulled the photo free. It was one of the pictures she took before he died.

  There was also a typewritten note. “If you want the rest of these photos, meet me on the trail to Bright Angel Point. Now. Come alone. I’m watching.”

  Terri kissed the photo of Reggie. She hesitated only a moment. Gavin would think nothing of destroying her photos just to spite her. She grabbed her tote bag and left the cabin.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  TERRI HURRIED down the trail. There were several places Gavin could conceal himself behind trees and other cabins along the way. She kept glancing to the right, the side of the trail where the cabins and trees were. Surrounded by forest, the rim was shaded by trees, but at three o’clock, it was still the hottest part of the day. Many people were in their cabins, cooling off, or putting their feet up, or showering before going to the lodge for dinner. She was not alone on the trail, but it was not nearly as crowded as it would have been at noon.

  Her heart nearly stopped when a gruff voice barked from behind a tree on her left, “Over here, sweet cheeks.”

  Startled, Terri snapped, “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” She frowned. She had been expecting Gavin. Then she remembered that DaSilva was the one who took her photos. And she still had his. She clutched her tote bag even closer.

  “You got something that belongs to me,” he growled. The heat and the altitude were not doing his acne-scarred face any favors. “And I got something you want.” He s
howed her an orange and white envelope. Her photos of Reggie.

  She held out her hand.

  DaSilva chuckled and tucked them inside his shirt. “Not yet. I have a few questions first.”

  “You have questions? About what?”

  DaSilva tossed his head back toward their cabin. “Why is Camino on my tail?”

  “How do I know?”

  “You’re sleeping with him. He probably tells you everything.”

  “I am not! How dare you. And even if I were, it’s none of your business.”

  “He follows me, it’s my business.”

  “You’re a crook, he’s a bounty hunter,” said Terri. “It makes perfect sense to me.”

  “You’re a smart-mouthed little bitch, aren’t you? If you want these pictures, you have to do better than that.”

  Terri fumed. There were still enough people on the trail that she felt relatively safe, although talking to DaSilva was giving her the creeps. “Maybe he’s ticked off because you tried to run us off the road on the way up here.”

  DaSilva shrugged. “I was trying to pass on a busy two-lane.”

  “Liar.”

  “Gimme my pictures and you can have yours.”

  “I don’t trust you.”

  “Oh, really? You’re sharing a cabin with Camino, the lady killer, and you don’t trust me? That’s a good one.”

  “Shut up about him. He’s a good guy.”

  “Right.” He drew the word out sarcastically. “Everyone has secrets, sweet cheeks. He’s a killer. Ask him what happened when he was sixteen. If he’d been an adult, he’d still be in prison.”

  “You’d say anything to drive a wedge between us. I don’t believe you.”

  “Good. You’re not as stupid as you look. The pictures. Now.” He stopped and held her Reggie photos suggestively over the green rail fence that separated the trail from the edge of the canyon a few feet away.

  “All right, fine.” She pulled an identical orange and white envelope out of her tote bag. “Here.”