“This wine is fabulous, Win.” She wanted to make him think the drug was beginning to work, so she giggled. “You know, I’m beginning to feel a little giddy. Why, honey chile, you’ve barely tasted yours. Drink up, mon ami.”
Win watched her carefully and lifted his glass. “To you, Carole Barco.” He drank deeply.
Carole looked at her watch. Timing was everything. If she remembered what she’d read and heard about this type of drug, the effects should be noticeable within 15-30 minutes, would last for four to eight hours. Would Win need to consume all of his wine, and would he be incapacitated for as long as she would have been? After all, he weighed probably 60 pounds more than she did.
She looked across the room. The bartender smiled knowingly at her as he dried glasses and put them away. Carole faked another giggle, smiled back at him and waved. Not this time, you jerk, she thought. I won’t be the one sedated. But neither you nor he will know that until it’s too late.
“You know, Win, I’ve changed my mind. Earlier you offered to show me the stables and I declined. But I would like to see the boardwalk and docks. Is there a place by the water where we could buy another glass of wine? Or maybe even a bottle?” She drained her wine and stood up. “Yum. That was good to the last drop.”
Discretely folding the pencil-drawn map, she slipped it into her jacket pocket.
“I’d love to show you the boardwalk. It’s not far from here.” Win finished his wine. “Let’s go, little lady.” He took Carole’s arm. She faked a slight stagger, smiled up at him. He waved to the bartender as they left the pub.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
At exactly 9:15, Jasper Smoot dialed Kurt Karver’s number. An ecstatic Kurt answered the phone. “My mom told me about winning the camera. She said all I have to do is use it for six months and review it. Like what kind of review do you guys want?”
“We’d want to know how easy the camera was to operate, how well you were able to understand the directions, what you thought of the quality of pictures you took, if you’d consider buying one just like it, that kind of thing.”
“Yeah, I could do that.” Kurt was excited. When he’d come home from his class and his mom had told him about the phone call, he’d immediately looked up the camera on the internet. He could hardly wait to start using it.
“How soon can I get it?”
Greedy kid, aren’t you? Jasper wanted to say. Instead, he said, “Could you meet me in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Rocky Mount in, say, 30 minutes? I’d drop it off at your house, but I have another camera to deliver tonight.”
“I don’t know. Wait a sec while I go ask my parents.” Kurt put the phone down, picked it up a minute later. “Hello?”
“Well, what did your parents say?”
“Sorry, mister, but both of them said no. Mom’s too tired; Dad said he just got finished picking me up from my camera class and that it’s too late to go back out.”
“One of your parents would need to drive you?”
“Yes, sir. I don’t have my driver’s license yet. I’m only 13. You didn’t know that?”
Damn. Jasper felt like hitting something, preferably Kurt or Butch or Etta. How could he have known the kid was only 13?
“No, Kurt, the form I pulled out of the contest jar gave only your name, address and phone number.” Jasper scratched his head, tried to come up with another plan.
“I catch the school bus in the mornings at 7:30. Maybe we could meet at the bus stop tomorrow. Unless Mom decides to pick me up after school, I’ll get home around 4:30.”
“How would I recognize you out of a bunch of kids, Kurt?”
“No problem. Only Alice and I ride in the morning, and most times her mother drives her to school ‘cause Alice is always running late and misses the school bus. Usually there’re five who ride the bus home; only two of us are boys. I’m the tall, skinny one.”
“Then I think we can work it out. I’ll meet you in the morning. Think you can get there about 15 minutes early so I can go over the camera details with you?”
“Yes, sir.” He gave Jasper directions to the bus stop.
“Fine, see you at 7:15 tomorrow morning then. Don’t be late. Goodbye, Kurt. Have a nice evening.”
Your last evening, he thought, as he hung up the phone.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Wednesday, 9:20 p.m.
“Aurora. King. Little Guy,” yelled Sam. He and Robert had hollered those same words for over two hours with no satisfying results. Two dogs they didn’t know had come and gone: a red bone coon hound and a young treeing walker.
“Hold up, Sam. I need a drink, and I have to rest for a few minutes.” Robert opened his backpack and pulled out a water bottle.
“Good idea,” said Sam. “I’m pretty hoarse from all the yelling, could use some water myself.”
Bone tired, Robert looked at his friend, wondered where he found the energy to press onward. He was about to ask Sam that question when they heard a shout.
“Hello, over there. Have you found any sign of her?”
“Hello. No, have you?” Sam shone his flashlight toward the voice. Another light shone back his way. More lights bobbed on the mountainside as other searchers looked for Aurora.
“Hey, man, you’re the husband, right?” The man offered his hand to Robert.
Robert shook his hand. “No, I’m a friend. He’s Sam, Aurora’s husband.”
Sam thanked the men for volunteering their free time. “My wife’s a special person. I’m worried about her.” His voice broke. Regaining his composure, he said, “How long will you keep looking?”
“Searching in the dark is nearly futile. Dangerous, too. We’d have more success if we went home and got some sleep. We’ll come back when it gets light.” The two other volunteers agreed. “Come on, Sam. We’ll drop you and Robert off at your house. There’s nothing more you can do out here tonight.”
“If we git hurt we won’t be no help to her no how,” said one volunteer.
“We can’t just leave her out there. She isn’t wearing a coat and she’s scared of the dark,” Sam pleaded.
“They’re right, Sam. I’m going back with them. You coming, buddy?” Robert said.
“No. I’m staying here. Aurora’s somewhere on this mountain. I won’t leave without her. But you go. You need to bring Jill home from the hospital tomorrow. Thanks for your help.” One by one the men patted Sam’s shoulder and trudged back toward the dirt road on the ridge.
Sam leaned against a stump and chewed on a peanut butter sandwich minus the jelly he liked so much. Usually he couldn’t handle peanut butter without jelly, but tonight it tasted as good as a porterhouse steak. Well, not quite, but mighty good just the same. He thought about Aurora and how she must be starving. He prayed she wasn’t helpless and injured.
A crashing sound from higher up Smith Mountain stopped him mid-bite. Was that a person? Couldn’t be Aurora; she’d have more sense than to run at break-neck speed down the mountain in the dark. An animal tearing through the brush? Very likely. Whatever it was, it was coming closer fast. He pulled the pistol from the holster on his belt, pointed it into the night.
King’s exuberant howl reached Sam only seconds before his black body bowled Sam over. His big tongue licked Sam’s face.
“Am I glad to see you, King. And I’m even happier I didn’t shoot you. Other than the fact that I like you a lot, Aurora would never forgive me.” Sam hugged the dog, offered him the rest of his sandwich. King gulped it down in one bite, barked at Sam, and headed back into the brush.
Sam dug out his cell phone and punched in Robert’s number. No answer. He figured either Robert and the others were in a pocket on the mountain where there was no reception. He hung up and dialed Charlie. King came back to Sam, tugged on his coat.
“Charlie, I’ve found King. He’s fine.” Sam threw his backpack over his shoulder, retrieved a leash from his coat pocket, snapped it onto King’s collar. “He wants me to follow him. I think he knows where Aurora
is. Will you call the search team and ask them to get back here immediately? I doubt they’re off the mountain yet. Tell them King’s heading up and to the right of where I was when they left me.”
“I’ll call right now. But promise me you’ll let me know as soon as you find her.”
“I promise, Charlie. And if you can reach the search team, tell them I’ll keep blowing my whistle so maybe they’ll have a better chance of tracking me. Gotta get moving. I’ll call you when I know more. ‘Bye. And thanks, Charlie.”
Dixie Lee looked at Charlie. “Well? Don’t keep me in suspense. What’s happened?”
“Sam’s found King. He thinks King knows where Aurora is. He’s leading Sam somewhere, anyhow. That’s one smart dog. And he worships Aurora. He’ll find her. Just pray he finds her alive.”
Afraid to move for fear of waking Hessie, Aurora squirmed and slowly stretched out her right leg. Ahh, much better. Now maybe the cramp in her calf would go away. Her back and shoulder muscles screamed “Massage! Massage!” If only a massage were possible. She promised herself that if—no, when—she made it off the mountain she’d shower, spend an hour warming up in their Jacuzzi, then fall into bed, sleep for 12 hours straight, and then eat a double—well, maybe a triple—helping of grits swimming in butter. This time she’d use honest-to-goodness real butter, not the healthier spread she usually used. She squeezed her eyes shut and envisioned her muscles gradually relaxing, the welcoming warmth returning to her frigid body, her aches and pains washing down the drain when she pulled the plug, her stomach full.
Hessie cried out, shook, dropped back into a fitful sleep. Aurora felt guilty for having complained, even though she’d complained silently. Hessie had been through, well, through what? No one knew. How long had she been on Smith Mountain? How did she get here? Surely not on her own. And if someone else left her here, that person either had a horrible sense of humor—or meant for Hessie to die. Her conversation with Dixie Lee about how Hessie’s guardian treated her rang alarms in her head. What was his name? His first name started with a “J”; the last name was Shoot or Toot or Smoot—something like that. She’d find out the next time she talked to Dixie Lee.
Snuggled against Hessie’s feet, Little Guy lifted his head and growled. “Shh, Little Guy. Don’t wake Hessie,” whispered Aurora. “Please don’t wake her.”
Alert now, she raised her head and listened for any night sounds. She tried in vain to will the hairs on the back of her neck to lie back down. What now? she wondered.
Little Guy growled again, louder this time, and eased his body away from the old woman. Hessie moaned, trembled, coughed. Little Guy stood next to Aurora, growled softly, stared down the mountain. Aurora grabbed his collar, wrapped her other hand around his snout. “Be still, boy, please.” He whined.
Aurora strained to hear what Little Guy heard. Maybe he’s smelling it, she thought, when she heard no unusual noises.
A branch snapped nearby. The hair on Little Guy’s back stood up. He barked, pulled against Aurora’s grasp as he attempted to break her hold on his collar.
“No, Little Guy! Stay! I need you here.” She wrapped the belt around her hand and let go of the collar.
Hessie cried out, pushed herself away from Aurora and attempted to stand. She fell to her knees. Crying, she tried to get back up, fell again.
“Hessie, dear, come to me. It’s okay, Hessie. Don’t you worry, nothing’s going to hurt you. I’ll take care of you.” She reached for Hessie’s hand.
“I want Momma,” said Hessie as Aurora’s hand closed around hers. She nestled closer to Aurora, rested her head on Aurora’s shoulder.
“I know, I know.” Aurora tucked the bathrobe over Hessie’s feet as best she could, then put her arm around her shoulders. “Go back to sleep, Hessie. I won’t leave you. I promise.”
As Aurora rubbed Hessie’s cold hands, she thought of her own mother who had died of complications from Alzheimer’s less than a year ago. This could have been my mother lost on the mountain, she thought, glad that Margaret hadn’t experienced these same hardships that Hessie was now fighting.
Little Guy licked Aurora’s face and pawed at the belt attached to his collar. He cocked his head and nudged his nose under her arm. “I know you want me to turn you loose. But I need you with me. I feel safer with you here, Little Guy.” She jumped when he barked.
Then, in the distance, she heard a whistle and Sam’s voice calling her name.
“Here! I’m over here, Sam!”
“I’m coming, Susie-Q!” he called. King howled, pulled on the leash. Sam turned him loose. “Okay, boy, go to Aurora.”
“Bad man! Bad man!” cried Hessie. She shoved herself away from Aurora, tried again to stand. Aurora grabbed her waist, locked her arms around Hessie and held her.
“No, Hessie, not the bad man. Good men, very good men, are coming for us. You’re safe now, nobody will hurt you.” Whimpering, Hessie sagged to the ground.
From higher on the mountain, Aurora heard men’s voices, recognized Robert’s. “We’re coming, Aurora,” he yelled. Lights bobbed in the dark as the search party scrambled down the mountain.
“King, it’s you! I’m so glad to see you,” said Aurora as the big dog whined, licked her face, and plopped down in her lap. Little Guy yapped his excitement and tried to squeeze his body beside King’s. Aurora laughed, hugged both dogs.
To her right, a voice said, “Aurora, my sweet Aurora, we found you. Are you hurt?”
“Sam, oh, Sam.” Aurora pushed the dogs off her lap, gently moved Hessie off her, and limped to Sam.
Sam kissed her. Aurora touched his face, felt his tears. Husband and wife laughed and cried together.
When Robert and the others reached Aurora, she said, “I’m not hurt. But Hessie needs help badly.”
“Hessie?” asked Sam and the others. They shone their lights on the old woman. She shielded her eyes with her hands.
“I can’t believe this. How did Hessie get here and how did you find her?”
“I’ll answer your questions later. Right now she needs medical attention. She’s thirsty, hungry, and nearly frozen. Probably has cuts and bruises all over her body. Maybe a broken bone, too. I’ll fill you in on what I know later. Do you have any blankets with you?”
A man said, “Not on us. We’re a search party. There’re two blankets and a first aid kit back in my four-wheeler, though.”
“How long would it take you to get there and back?” asked Sam.
“I’d say about an hour, maybe an hour and a half.”
“My boat’s stocked with food, water, blankets, and first aid supplies, even dog food,” said Sam. “That’s much closer. I’ll get them.”
“Can you find your way back there?”
“Yeah, I have my trusty Boy Scout compass, my flashlight, and my GPS.” Sam looked at Aurora and winked. She squeezed his hand. “The compass belonged to Aurora’s dad.”
“I’ll go with you,” said Lou, one of the volunteers, “help you bring supplies back.”
“I’ve got another idea,” said Robert. “If Aurora’s able to walk, she could go with Sam. A couple of you could go, too, bring the supplies back. Sam could take Aurora and me back by boat.”
“I can walk,” said Aurora. “Can we take Hessie with us?”
“I don’t think so. We need to call the rescue squad, get an EMT over here ASAP. It’s possible she has an injury that would require immobilization,” said Sam.
“You’re right. I’ll stay here. Hessie’s scared, but she trusts me. I promised I wouldn’t leave her,” said Aurora. “But would you bring a blanket and some water for us, and maybe something to eat?”
“That’s probably a better idea,” said Sam. “I’d like the EMTs to check you out before you go hiking through the woods.” He took off his coat and handed it to his wife. “Put this on. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Aurora stuck her arms in the sleeves. The lingering warmth created by Sam’s body felt so good.
&n
bsp; Lou draped his down jacket over Hessie’s shoulders and hurried to catch up with Sam. Careful not to hurt Hessie, Aurora and Robert put the coat on her. When Robert zipped it up, Hessie moaned slightly. King rose, moved to Hessie’s side and stretched out close to her.
“Her feet are like iceburgs,” said Aurora. “I put my socks on her, and I’ve rubbed them, but that’s not enough.” She looked at the men around her.
A man stepped forward, removed his thick wool cap, and slipped it over Hessie’s feet. “That should help warm them.”
“Thank you, …? I’m sorry, I don’t know your name or any of your names.”
“I’m Earl,” said the man with the cap. He introduced the others. “Mrs. Harris, try to get some rest. We’ll take care of things from now on.”
“Thank you, I will.” Aurora snuggled closer to Hessie and closed her eyes.
*
On his way down the mountain, Sam pulled out his cell phone, dialed Charlie. “We’ve found her, Charlie. She’s okay.” He could almost feel Charlie’s relief. He felt the same way.
Dixie Lee looked at Charlie. “That was Sam?”
“Yeah.” A tear dropped down his cheek.
“So has he found Aurora? Is she okay? What? Talk to me, Charlie.”
Sam, well, he and King found Aurora. She’s a little battered and bruised, but she’s okay.”
“Praise the Lord!”
“Dixie Lee, Hessie is with Aurora.”
“What?”
“Sam said that when he found Aurora, she was with Hessie. He doesn’t know yet the extent of Hessie’s injuries. EMTs have been called.”
“Praise the Lord again. Aurora is okay, Hessie is alive. And you know what, Charlie?”
“No, what?”
“I love you.” There, she’d said it. Aloud.
“Dixie Lee Cunningham, I love you, too. Will you marry me?”
“Thought you’d never ask, Charlie Anderson. Of course I’ll marry you.” A frown crossed her face. “There’s something about me that you don’t know, though.”
Secrets at Sweetwater Cove Page 14