by Terri Reed
“That’s a hobo spider,” she whispered. “Their bite can be deadly.”
FIVE
“Aaaack!” Nick yelled, flinging the spider off his arm.
Julie would have found Nick’s reaction amusing if she hadn’t felt the tickle on the side of her neck letting her know there was a spider crawling on her, as well.
“Uh, Nick,” she squeaked. “A little help here.”
Nick thrust the knife toward her and with a quick flip of his wrist, he tucked the knife under the spider on her shoulder and flung it away. He jumped to his feet and held out his hand to her. “I hate spiders.”
Shuddering, Julie grabbed his hand and scrambled off the bench. She did the heebie-jeebies dance, her skin tightening with revulsion. “Are there any more?”
“I hope not.”
Her gaze on landed the spider crawling up his thigh.
“Another one,” she screeched, pointing.
Nick let loose a roar of disgust. Scooping up the butter knife again, he scraped the arachnid off, flinging the offending creature toward the back of the trailer.
The motor home door jerked open and Ted stormed in with his gun drawn. “Mr. Walsh?”
“Spiders!” Nick grabbed Julie’s hand and headed toward the exit. “Out. We need to get out.”
Confusion played on Ted’s face, but he retreated, allowing Nick and Julie to stumble out of the RV. Once they hit the ground they both did the heebie-jeebies dance. Julie met his wild-eyed gaze.
A grin suddenly broke out on his handsome face.
Nick planted a hand on the side of the vehicle and bent over with laughter.
Julie giggled and couldn’t stop stomping her feet in time with the shivers still coursing through her.
Ted put away his weapon and folded his arms over his chest. “What is going on?”
Straightening, Nick rocked back on the heels of his leather boots. “Hobo spiders. Three of them. Big, hairy and ugly.”
A fresh wave of revulsion gushed over her, causing more shudders. “Their venom is nasty. I’ve seen pictures of bites. The skin and tissue surrounding the area of contact harden and die. And if not treated quickly...”
Ted’s frown deepened. He stepped a few feet away and made a phone call.
Nick groaned. “Gee, thanks for that image.”
More giggles bubbled up. “The famous athlete who risks life and limb by doing incredibly challenging flips and twists high in the air has an Achilles’ heel,” Julie teased.
“Yeah, you got me.” He made a face of distaste. “You were just as freaked out.”
“I’m a girl. I’m allowed to be freaked out.”
He scoffed. “You’re going to play the gender card?”
“If the gender fits...”
“I’ll have you know I’m secure enough in my manhood to admit there are two things in this world that will make me scream like a little girl—spiders and snakes.”
“Phobias, huh?”
“Big time. Remember the fifth-grade science fair?” Nick asked.
“Vaguely. I think I did something on photosynthesis.”
“Mine was on rockets.”
She laughed as a vision of him launching himself into the sky appeared in her mind. “Figures.”
“Robbie Blake did his on spiders.” Nick pulled a face of disgust.
“Oh, yeah, I remember. He brought those fake, rubbery ones to school. He stuck one in my desk.”
“He stuck one down my shirt.”
She snickered. “But you knew it was fake, right?”
“Yes. But wait, the story gets better,” he said. “Three nights later I woke in the middle of the night and found a spider crawling across my chest.”
“Ick, how awful.”
“Freaked me out. I had nightmares for months after. And I know it was a black widow, though my dad says it was a regular house spider, but I saw the orange hourglass on its belly before I ran screaming to my parents’ room.”
The image of the kid he’d been tearing out of bed, screaming for his mommy, had her grinning. “Okay, I can understand your phobia of spiders. Why snakes?”
His top lip curled. “Summer camping trip to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California when I was twelve. Came face-to-face with a rattler. I thought for sure I was a goner.”
“That would be terrifying. But it didn’t strike?”
“No. My dad chopped its head off with a shovel.”
“Ew. Gross.”
Nick’s chuckle rumbled from his chest. “Exactly. We skinned it and ate the meat.”
Her stomach heaved. “That’s even more gross.”
He grinned, clearly enjoying her freaked-out state. “I made a key chain out of the rattle. I had it for years, until it fell apart.”
Ted came back. “The police and an exterminator are on their way.”
Nick’s laughter died. His jaw visibly tightened. “Police?”
The grim set to Ted’s mouth made Julie’s tummy tumble. “Poisonous spiders in your trailer? One, maybe, but three?” He shook his head. “No way. The exterminator said they are aggressive when threatened. We need to stay out of the motor home.”
The implications ran through Julie like a freight train. “You think the spiders are another attempt on Nick’s life?”
“It can’t be,” Nick said. “No one could orchestrate a spider bite.”
“Maybe not with one spider, but with multiple...”
Ted’s grim expression left no doubt that he thought someone had deliberately placed the spiders in the motor home in an attempt to hurt Nick.
“No one but you, me, Frank, Lee and Gordon has had access to the motor home.”
“The grocery delivery guy,” Ted stated.
“You checked the groceries,” Nick said. “And we were there with him.”
“I’m not saying I know how he smuggled them in,” Ted said. “Or how they got on you.”
“But why would some random guy want to hurt Nick?” Julie asked.
“Maybe he has a grudge against Nick. Or someone could have paid him.” Ted shrugged. “We won’t know until the police have him in custody and ask.”
Nick swiped a hand over his jaw. “Sorry, Julie. This is such a mess.”
“It’s not your fault,” she assured him.
But it was. Nick hated that she’d been put in danger because of him. So had his friends. “We’ll have to reschedule.”
“We can do that. Maybe tomorrow after church?”
A car pulled up, drawing Nick’s attention. A short, round man climbed out of the sedan. Detective Agee. The man reminded Nick of a Weeble. The musical rhyme from his childhood toy played in his head.
Agee stuck out his hand. “Mr. Walsh, I understand there’s been some more trouble.”
“You could say that,” Nick replied, shaking his hand. The detective had been the one to respond after the threatening note had arrived. “We’re not sure what to make of it.”
Agee turned to Ted. “You’re Ted Gavin?”
“Yes, sir.” Ted shook his hand. “We spoke on the phone.”
“You said something about spiders?”
While Ted explained the situation, Nick turned to Julie. “Hanging around me isn’t a good idea.”
“You’re not getting out of the interview that easily,” she stated. Determination shone in her bright blue eyes.
“I would hate for you to get hurt because of me.”
“My choice.”
Another car came to a screeching halt and Gordon jumped out. “Nick, are you okay? Ted called and said there was another attempt on your life. This is so insane.”
Nick held up a hand. “I’m fine. The police are here and Ted’s got everything under control.” He spent the next ten minute calming his manager down.
“Here’s the exterminator,” Julie said gesturing to the blue-and-white van pulling in behind the RV.
A tall man in a blue jumper got out and sauntered over. “I’m Allan. I hear you have a spider issue?�
�
“We found three hobo spiders inside,” Nick said, directing him to the front door.
“Now that’s a bit strange.” Allan eyed the motor home. “I’ll take a look and lay out some traps.”
“Can’t you fumigate?” Gordon asked.
“I can if you want. Not sure it will do the trick. It will probably only kill the good spiders,” the man said.
“There are good spiders?” Nick asked, making a face.
The guy laughed. “I’ll spray and set traps. May take a few days before the RV is livable.”
“I’m staying at a hotel,” Nick said.
“It may be difficult to find anything with the festival in full swing,” Julie commented. “What about your parents?”
Nick’s gut clenched. “The memorial service is in a few days. I don’t want to burden them with this.”
Julie tucked in her chin. “They wouldn’t see it as a burden. They’d be concerned and want to do what they could to help.”
Of course, she was right. Guilt and shame nibbled at his conscience. The last time he’d seen his mother, she’d been grief stricken and angry. At him for not protecting Cody, and at God for taking Cody.
Nick was angry, too. At himself. He should have done a better job of watching out for his brother. “I’ll call them if we can’t find anything else.” He wasn’t ready to face Mom yet.
Gordon took out his phone. “I’ll see what I can find in the way of accommodations.”
The exterminator gathered his supplies from the van and went inside the motor home.
“How about we walk up to the lodge for coffee?” Nick asked Julie, noticing how the winter sun hit her hair just right. In the ray of light focused on her, her hair appeared to be filled with tiny diamonds.
“Sure,” she answered. “Bob should be here soon. We can shoot some footage of you at the training center.”
“Mr. Walsh, I suggest you lie low,” Ted said as he and Detective Agee walked over.
“It’s bad enough I have to move out of my house on wheels, I’m not going to hide like some lizard under a rock,” Nick groused. “You’ll have my back.”
Detective Agee lifted his hand. “Hold up, Mr. Walsh. In light of the ambulance incident last night, I put a rush in for the crime scene techs to look at your ski. It was definitely tampered with.”
Nick’s mouth went dry. Whoever had tampered with his ski had done so before Nick arrived in Bend. The skis hadn’t left his or his team’s sight since they’d arrived in town. He couldn’t say the same for when they were in Whistler or Copper Mountain, the sites of his last two competitions.
Agee flipped open his notebook. “Three incidents within twenty-four hours of each other. Who wants you dead, Mr. Walsh?”
Anger churned in the pit of Nick’s gut. He’d been asking himself that same question for months. “I don’t know. If I did, I’d tell you.”
“There was another attempt,” Gordon said, closing his phone.
Agee turned his attention to Gordon. “Fill me in on what happened.”
“This past November, after the U.S. Grand Prix in Sun Valley, Idaho, someone cut the brake line on Nick’s rental.” Gordon wiped a hand over his face. “He could have died.”
Nick met Julie’s concerned gaze. Though she didn’t show it, she must be thrilled to have so much fodder for her story.
“I’d taken the national title hours before and wanted a little time alone.” As he always did after a competition. Driving helped to calm him, ground him after the adrenaline rush of competing. “I’d taken off in the SUV, not really knowing where I was headed, and found myself on a lonely mountain road winding around Bald Mountain.”
The scenery had been breathtaking. “A deer ran out in front of me. I slammed on the brakes. For a moment, the brakes held, the truck slowed.” His gut clenched with the memory. “I heard a snap and no longer had brakes.”
He blew out a breath as the memory tightened his chest. “The vehicle skidded off the road and down an embankment, colliding with a tree. I walked away with a minor cut on my forehead and some burns from the air bag.”
“Nick, that’s terrible,” Julie said.
“And the police investigation?” Agee jotted notes on a pad with a chewed-up pencil.
“Nothing,” Gordon bit out. “Whoever did it was careful. Left no evidence.”
“I’ll contact the lead on the case and follow up,” Agee promised.
Nick blew out a frustrated breath. “There is someone you should talk to. Katherine Rogers. She goes by Kitty. She was present both times something happened.”
Gordon stared at him. “You know, you’re right. She was in Idaho when you had your car accident. She’s here now.”
“Why would Kitty want to hurt you?” Julie asked.
Nick turned to her and noticed for the first time her cameraman, Bob, had arrived. The big black camera was up and aimed at Nick.
Trying to keep his irritation from flaring out of control, Nick shot Julie a sharp look. “Can you let me know when you’re taping before the fact?”
Julie grimaced and put her hand over the lens. “Sorry.”
Bob lowered the camera. The dude stared Nick down. “Not her fault, man.”
Nick acknowledged Bob’s statement with a tip of his chin.
“Hey, are we having a party?” Frank asked as he and Lee joined them.
Gordon explained to the guys what had happened.
Lee shuddered. “That’s sick, man. Who’d do that?”
Frank sidled up close to Julie, drawing Nick’s gaze.
“So you’re doing a feature on Nick, huh?” Frank asked.
“Yes, I am.” She smiled at him.
“He’s not the only one vying for a spot on the team traveling to the games,” Frank said. “Nick’s not the only star in this circus. I’ve a good shot at it and so does Lee.”
“So I’ve heard. I’d love to interview you both, as well.”
“Anytime, anywhere.” The suggestive tone in Frank’s voice set Nick’s teeth on edge.
“Come by the studio Monday at two,” Julie replied briskly. She turned to Lee. “You, too.”
“Sounds good,” Lee said.
Unreasonable irritation washed through Nick. There was no good reason for him to feel the spurt of jealousy at his friend’s flirting or that Julie would be interviewing Frank and Lee. They were both great skiers and good friends. And Nick had no claim on Julie. And wanted no claim on Julie. He blew out a breath and reined in the possessive feelings.
Nick moved to stand on the other side of Julie. “I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier.”
She angled away from Frank to put a hand on Nick’s arm. “You’re forgiven. If you’d rather we do the interview tomorrow or Monday, I’ll understand.”
“Yeah, that’d be good.” Nick liked having her attention way more than he should. He noted the rueful twist of Frank’s lips before he walked away.
“I need my purse and smart tablet,” she said, looking at the RV.
Nick went to the door and cracked it open. Allan pushed it open the rest of the way and stood in the doorway. He held the baseball caps provided by Thunderbird in his glove-covered hands. “I discovered how the spiders got inside the motor home. I found two more tucked inside the sweatband of each hat.”
Nick met Julie’s stunned gaze. They’d had the hats on their heads. Revulsion trembled through Nick.
Agee stepped over. “Where did you get the hats?”
“They were sent by courier this morning from Thunderbird, my sponsor,” Nick answered. Dumbfounded, he couldn’t believe anyone at Thunderbird would want to do him harm.
“I’ll track down the courier,” Agee said. “I need the hats and the box they came in. Let me get an evidence bag from my car.” He jogged away as Allan retreated back inside.
A moment later Allan appeared in the doorway with the hats tucked back into the box.
Agee returned with a large paper bag.
“Here you go,�
�� Allan said, slipping the box into the bag. “I’ve trapped five so far. The ones you flung will take longer to find.”
“I’ll take this to the crime scene techs. Hopefully, they can lift some forensics off them,” Detective Agee said. “I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”
Nick shook Agee’s hand. “Thank you.”
Agee’s eyebrows twitched. “Doing my job.” And then he got in his car and drove away.
Before Allan disappeared inside again, Nick asked, “Hey, can you grab Julie’s purse? And the tablet propped up behind the dining table?”
“Sure can.” He came back a moment later. “Here you go. I checked the purse, and it’s spider-free.”
Nick handed Julie the bag and tablet. “I’m sure you got some good stuff here.”
She half laughed, half grimaced. “Of us freaking out!”
“Right. That would make for a story.”
“Any chance I’ll see you at church tomorrow morning?” she asked.
He hesitated. Over the past year God had felt very distant. He wasn’t sure how to recapture the closeness he’d enjoyed before Cody’s death. “I can’t promise I will.”
Julie’s shoulders drooped and her teeth tugged at her bottom lip. A gesture he remembered well from when they were kids. Usually right before a test. Not that she ever received any grade lower than an A-minus as far as he knew. She heaved a breath and straightened. “I hope that doesn’t mean you’ve walked away from your faith?”
“No. Not walked away, but certainly drifted.”
“Then it would be good for you to come to church. Same time as always.”
Every Sunday growing up, Nick’s family had moved around the nave, sometimes sitting in back, sometimes sitting up front, left side, right side. Mom always said she wanted to meet new people and the only way to do that was to find a new spot each week.
Did his mom still do that? Or was she still estranged from God, too? A welling tide of sorrow and pain rose. He hadn’t talked to his mom since Cody’s funeral, except for a few brief phone calls. He’d seen Dad once when he’d come to Lake Tahoe for the U.S. Aerial Freestyle World Cup. The sadness between them had made the weekend tense. Dad had said to give Mom more time. He wasn’t sure how much time she’d need to forgive him. Or if she ever would.