Danger in Deer Ridge (Blackthorne, Inc.)

by Terry Odell

  “Roger.”

  Grinch jogged toward the cabin. His heart jumped when he found it empty, and no signs of Elizabeth or the boys.

  Calm down. The boys would want to explore, and Elizabeth wouldn’t let them go off on their own. Maybe she’d decided to check out the fishing stream.

  “Elizabeth?” he called. Nothing. “Elizabeth!” he shouted again. Louder. “Dylan! Will!” More nothing.

  Seconds later, Dalton came running. “Problem?”

  Chapter 32

  Elizabeth followed the boys around the next bend. One of the many sounds she’d been hearing rose above the others. Water rushing over rocks.

  “I’ll bet it’s down there,” Dylan cried out, pointing to the nearby stream.

  “Yeah,” Will said. “They’re excellent swimmers. And they can hold their breath for twenty minutes. Like whales.”

  Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile at the way the boys incorporated everything they saw into their world of make-believe. Their initial search for spoor had turned into pretending to be big game hunters in search of the elusive deerabearasaurus, a beast they’d created after much heated discussion. A beast that took upon new characteristics as circumstances presented themselves.

  She sat on a rock on the bank of the stream as the boys peered into the currents and eddies, discussing possible hiding places. This must be the stream Grinch had mentioned. Maybe they’d wandered too far. She’d give the boys a few more minutes, then they’d head back.

  Chester’s ears pricked up. He darted away from the boys.

  “Chester. Come back,” she said, using the tone she used with Will when she meant business. The dog turned, paused momentarily, then raced up the trail.

  Was he chasing one of the squirrels they’d seen? He wouldn’t run after a bear, would he? Was he doing his doggie stuff or his guardian stuff? Hadn’t Grinch told him to protect them? She couldn’t recall Grinch giving Chester a specific command, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t.

  She stood and crept slowly down to the water’s edge. “Will. Bring Dylan here,” she said. “Now, please.”

  Eyes wide, he obeyed without question.

  She saw fear and immediately regretted not making up something that fit with the game they were playing.

  “What?” Will asked when they reached her side.

  She put a finger to her lips. “I think I heard your … deerabearasaurus,” she said. “If we sit behind those trees, maybe it’ll come out.” She grasped Dylan’s shoulders. “But we have to be quiet, okay? Whisper voices only.”

  Dylan nodded, his eyes wider than Will’s, but with excitement, not fear. Will gave her one of his, “M-o-m” eye-rolls, but took Dylan’s hand and tiptoed him toward the tree she’d pointed out. All right, so he saw through her ploy. At least he was playing along.

  Elizabeth brought up the rear and nestled everyone between a clump of trees. She didn’t think they’d be visible from the path—but then again, what did she know about hiding from whatever might be lurking in the woods?

  Chester’s barking seemed to be getting louder. Was he coming back to resume his guard duty? Should she call to him? No, he’d find them by their scents. So could bears, she figured. But Chester would scare away a bear, wouldn’t he?

  Another sound, swallowed by the wind, followed Chester’s barks. Her fingernails dug into her palms.

  “I think I hear the saurus,” Dylan said. “He’s roaring.”

  “Shhh,” Will said.

  The sound grew closer, more intelligible. Someone was shouting. She strained to make out the voice. Voices. There were two distinct tones, both male.

  Chester leaped into the clearing, barking and wriggling with doggie excitement. Will grabbed his collar.

  “Chester, sit,” Elizabeth commanded. The dog thumped his tail and lowered his rump, panting.

  “Elizabeth! Will! Dylan!” The voices were clear enough now, no longer dueling with the wind.

  “That’s my Grinch,” Dylan said. He jumped up and ran toward the trail.

  Elizabeth waggled a finger at Chester. “You should have told me you were bringing them. Saved me a lot of grief.”

  He whined and nuzzled her hand.

  “All right, apology accepted.” She stood, brushed off the seat of her pants and finger-combed her hair. With as much nonchalance as she could summon, she smiled and stepped out to meet Grinch. Ryan was with him, gunless, thankfully. At least visibly gunless. Ryan smiled back, but Grinch’s lips were pressed tightly together. Was he upset that they hadn’t waited when she’d said they would?

  “Hi,” she said. “We were hunting the extremely rare deerabearasaurus. There were reports of sightings in the area.”

  “That’s right,” Dylan said. “We almost found one, too.”

  Grinch’s expression softened. “I hope we didn’t scare him away.”

  Dylan shrugged. “Dunno.”

  “Well, here’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is Ryan.” Grinch gestured toward the boys. “Ryan, meet Elizabeth, Will and Dylan.”

  Will turned his attention to Ryan, taking him in from head to toe. “Are you really lost, or pretend lost?” he asked. “Or are you one of the finders?”

  “He can’t be a finder,” Dylan said. “They’re supposed to be firemen. He doesn’t have a fire hat.”

  “Only when they’re on fires,” Will said. “Cheese didn’t have a fire hat, remember.”

  Grinch’s lips twitched. Ryan, however, maintained a straight face. He bent to Dylan’s level. “I’m not a fireman. Another friend and I were camping, and Grinch came by to say hello. My friend is cleaning up our campsite, and then we’re going to ride back to town with you.”

  Elizabeth’s heart jumped. Was it safe to go back already? And if so, there had to be a Plan B, transportation-wise. She was not getting on a helicopter again.

  “We can’t go yet,” Will said. “We’re helping the firemen practice rescues, and we have to pretend to be lost so they can find us.”

  “We rode in a helo,” Dylan added.

  “That’s why I’m here,” Grinch said. “The firemen called me on the radio. They have to do a real rescue. We’re going to ride back in a car.”

  A car. Elizabeth’s relief nearly buckled her knees.

  “But they didn’t find us yet,” Will said. “We could wait. Until the helo is done. Right, Mom?”

  Elizabeth lifted her eyebrows to Grinch. You came up with the plan. You deal with it.

  “Sorry, sport,” Grinch said. “Sometimes plans change. When they called me, they said they gave up, so I told them where to find us.” He couldn’t help but notice the disappointment on the boys’ faces, could he? She was about to lure them back to their big game hunt when Grinch spoke up.

  “How about we do some fishing while we wait? You ever been trout fishing?”

  Will shook his head. “I’ve never been anything fishing.”

  “You’ll love it. Ryan will go get the gear, and we’ll go find the best spot for fishing.”

  “And I’ll go back and start packing so we’re ready when our ride gets here,” Elizabeth said. Packing was inside. Packing didn’t involve fishing poles and baiting hooks. And if they caught anything, Grinch and Ryan would deal with the cleaning part. Not that she hadn’t learned how to deal with a whole fish in her cooking classes, but that hadn’t been one of her favorite lessons. Filets, yes. Guts, no.

  “So,” she said, as she and Ryan walked back to the cabin. Actually, he walked. Even though he seemed to be favoring one leg, she had to half-jog to keep up with his longer stride. “Do you like your line of work?”

  That slowed him down a little. “It needs doing,” he said.

  “Have you known Grinch and Dalton long?”

  He shrugged. “Long enough. Dalt and I were partners.”

  She bit back the urge to pump him about Grinch. “Dalton’s a good guy. He came to our rescue back in San Francisco.”

  “Sounds like Dalt.”

  Not much
of a conversationalist, was he? If she wanted his take on Grinch, they’d probably have to walk for hours. But mentions of Dalton, however taciturn, triggered a thought, and her pulse skipped.

  “Oh my God. Dalton. Will’s met him. Only once, but I’m sure he’ll remember. How will I explain bumping into him here?”

  Ryan stopped, turned, and rewarded her with a smile. “I think he’d say, ‘Don’t worry, little lady.’ Dalton can spin anything. And kids tend to believe what adults tell them.”

  She hoped so, because Will would see through anything she came up with.

  “Got anything?” Ryan asked as soon as they entered the cabin.

  “Cheese will be here at noon,” Dalton said.

  “What about John Henry’s car?” Ryan asked. He scanned the room, spotted the fishing gear and picked it up.

  “Tracker puts it on the road to Colorado Springs,” Dalton said. “Likely to the airport.”

  “This is the man who was trying to find me, right?” Elizabeth said.

  “Yep. He’s gone. You’re going home.”

  “And I’m going fishing. Want to come along?” Ryan asked Dalton.

  Dalton’s gaze moved from Ryan to Elizabeth. “I don’t mind staying here.”

  Elizabeth weighed her options. One way or another, Dalton and Will were going to meet. Might be better if she wasn’t around when they did.

  “Don’t be silly,” she said. “Go. Fish. I’ll get everything packed away. Nothing’s going to happen in the next hour or so.”

  * * * * *

  “All right, gang. Everyone into the Deer Ridge Express.” Grinch hoisted the last of the packs into the rear of the van. By the time he and Ryan had dragged the boys away from the stream, Elizabeth had everything assembled outside the cabin door. It was as if she couldn’t wait to get back. He shook his head. No as if about it.

  The boys had accepted that fishing was about fishing, not catching, and Harper had entranced them with stories of the ones that had gotten away when he was a kid. Dalt, of course, had one-upped him with all the ones that hadn’t gotten away.

  Will had been glad to see Dalton, and seemed perfectly willing to buy Dalton’s stretch of the truth about why he was here. It hadn’t taken long before the boys’ disappointment about the absence of another helicopter ride vanished.

  Elizabeth’s eyes glowed with a sparkle he hadn’t seen before. She buckled the boys in and took the center seat between them. All of a sudden, she was talking about how much fun she’d had—and it sounded like she meant it. Of course, he knew she’d hated every minute, but once she knew she was safe—and helicopter free—she’d transferred her relief into enthusiasm for their “adventure in the wild woods.” Which, of course, beat telling her son that she was happy because no bad guy was coming after them.

  Grinch changed his mind about telling her that he’d never felt a panic like the one he’d experienced when he’d come back to the cabin and she and the kids weren’t there. Not even being caught by drug runners and gun smugglers had frightened him to the core the way she had when she didn’t answer his calls.

  “Ready to roll?” Cheese’s voice snapped him back.

  “Do it,” Dalton said.

  As they headed out, Dylan piped out the first lines of “High Hopes,” and the concert began.

  By the time Cheese wheeled the van onto the road to Deer Ridge, Grinch wanted nothing more than to return to what had become a comfortable routine.

  What the hell? Routine? Comfortable? When had that happened?

  It didn’t matter. It had crept up on him, sneakier than a jungle ambush, and he was a hostage. But a willing one.

  Cheese pulled into the airfield, next to Grinch’s truck. “This is your stop, I believe.”

  “You can drop us off here, too,” Harper said.

  “Can they come for lunch, Mom?” Will asked.

  “That’s mighty kind of you, son,” Dalton said. “But we’ve got to get home. Let’s get your gear transferred.”

  “Next stop, Casa Grinciewicz,” Grinch said a few moments later. “Lizzie, is all our stuff in the truck?”

  “Roger that,” she said.

  “How about the crew? You buckled in? Will?”

  A seatbelt clicked. “Roger that,” Will said.

  “Dylan?”

  He echoed Will’s reply.

  “Chester?”

  Dylan laughed. “Chester can’t talk.”

  “Sure he can,” Grinch said. “Chester, can you speak?”

  Chester’s bark triggered more laughter from the boys.

  Elizabeth buckled in beside Grinch. He took a moment before starting the pickup. To sit. To absorb the feeling of rightness. Of family.

  You’re back in that mushy part of the movie.

  Well, sometimes the mushy parts weren’t so bad, if you were sharing them with someone you didn’t mind getting mushy with. He took a deep breath, set his cell phone in a cup holder, and started the truck.

  By the time they neared Grinch’s driveway, Elizabeth’s fingers were drumming on the window frame.

  “What’s for lunch, Mom? I’m hungry.”

  “Yeah,” Dylan said. “The oatmeal unstuck from my ribs.”

  “First things first,” Elizabeth said. “You both need a bath. A long, hot one.”

  “M-o-m.”

  “Your mother is right, Will,” Grinch said. “Cleanup after camping is the rule. So is helping to unload. Put everything on the porch.”

  With all their gear out of the truck and on the porch, Grinch unlocked the door.

  “Grab your stuff. Then go on upstairs, guys. Bath time,” Elizabeth said. “I’ll call you when lunch is ready. Will, while you’re waiting, why don’t you draw a picture of the deerabearasaurus.”

  “I’ll put the camping stuff in the garage,” Grinch said.

  When he finished, Elizabeth and the boys had carried everything else into the house. Upstairs, he heard water filling a bathtub. Knowing it would bother her if he didn’t, he locked his guns in the safe before joining her in the kitchen. Tonight, after the boys were asleep, he’d discuss introducing them to gun safety. He came up behind her, placed his hands on her shoulders, leaned over and kissed her temple.

  “If you want to grab a shower, now that we’re back in the land of indoor plumbing and hot water, I’ll handle things down here,” he said. “I can do hot dogs.”

  “I’ll wait until after lunch,” she said. “I like the idea of a long soak in a tub. Uninterrupted. With bubbles. Lots of bubbles.”

  He envisioned her in the tub, sinking beneath a disappearing layer of foam. One part of him was definitely not sinking. “Uninterrupted? You sure?”

  She lowered her eyelids. “This time, yes.”

  He took that to mean there’d be another time. He wondered if it would be worth it to drop the boys off at the rec center for the afternoon.

  Chester trotted toward the front door. A car drove up. “Wonder if Cheese forgot something. Or maybe Olivia’s coming by to re-swap cars.” Grinch strode through the house and saw Norma Fitzsimmons’ SUV pulling into the drive. Great. He went back to the kitchen.

  “Lizzie, I can’t deal with Miss Busybody Fitzsimmons right now. Do you mind seeing what she wants? I’ll be in the den. I need to check my messages.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Coward.”

  “Damn straight.”

  “No problem. You go hide. I don’t mind playing hostess.” Before Grinch high-tailed it to the den, Elizabeth was already putting a kettle on.

  Grinch settled down behind his desk, turned on the computer, then patted his hip for his cell phone. Damn, he must have left it in the truck. He waited until he heard female chattering, then slipped out to retrieve it. When he returned, Chester padded into the den at his heels, whined, then curled up beside the desk. Grinch shut the door. “You want to hide out with me, boy? I completely understand. Let’s hope Elizabeth doesn’t invite the biddy for lunch.”

  He checked his phone first. A text and a v
oice message from Jinx. He opened the text.

  Red alert. Check your damn email.

  He shifted his attention to his computer, opening his email program, then scrolling to find Jinx’s message while he listened to his voice mail.

  Elizabeth’s been found. Read your damn email.

  Grinch checked the time stamp on Jinx’s email. Twenty minutes ago. Hadn’t Jinx gotten a report from Olivia that she’d deflected her visitor? He keyed Jinx’s number into his cell, but stopped short of hitting the send button when he noticed there were two attachments. Instead, he opened the message first.

  You’ve been found.

  He clicked the first attachment. A picture of a group of kids in red rec center camp shirts, Will and Dylan front and center, munching on huge cookies.

  He opened the second. The picture was small and fuzzy, but it was clearly Elizabeth. In his living room.

  Who? How? When?

  He tried to squeeze out the memories. When had the picture been taken? Maybe Elizabeth would remember. As soon as Norma Fitzsimmons filled her gossip bucket and left, he’d ask.

  He zoomed in on the image. There. Behind Elizabeth, on the coffee table. A tray with two coffee cups. And a plate of cookies. They’d had company.

  His heart stopped for a moment. Norma. All that fussing about her new cell phone. Damn it to hell, the biddy had been taking a picture. And he’d swallowed her helpless old lady, doesn’t know anything about new technology charade like a trout taking the hook.

  “Chester. Come with me.”

  The dog didn’t move. Grinch dropped to his knees, shook Chester’s ribcage. “Chester,” he said a little louder. No response. But his breathing was steady. Double damn. The biddy had probably given him more than a dog biscuit this time.

  Grinch shoved his phone in his pocket and rushed for the kitchen. Elizabeth sat facing the door with her hands clasped on the tabletop. Two mugs and a plastic container of cookies rested in the center of the table. Wide-eyed and pale, she shook her head when he burst through the doorway.

  “Why don’t you join us, Mark?” Norma said without turning around. “Have a seat beside your friend. Everything will be over soon.”