“Wait—”
He interrupted Nadia. “I know you don’t want to hike up the mountain and then back down it again. Guess what, none of us do. But we’re going to. I suggest after depositing Mac with Lucky we head down the mountain, toward one of the geocaches. I’ve been studying the placement of the caches and there’s one in the direction of the river. It will look like we’re playing this sick game for whoever is watching. If someone’s out there, it will buy us time.”
Silence followed Robert’s speech.
Tern stepped up, her anger toward Gage still simmering under the surface but enough under control that she saw the wisdom in what Robert had said. “I agree with Robert.”
Gage gave a short nod. “It’s decided then. We all go with Mac.”
It seemed fitting.
“Mac’s final decision was for us to hike out of here today,” Tern said. “We’ll do it in remembrance.”
Nadia scoffed and stalked off toward their cabin.
“Give us a few minutes to get ready,” Tern said, and then hurried after Nadia. When she entered the cabin, Nadia was tossing things around. None of them were landing in her backpack. “Nadia?”
She swiveled at the sound of Tern’s voice, her face a mask of calculation. “He makes me so mad,” she spat.
“Who? Robert or Gage?”
“Right now, both of them, I guess.” She dropped her head and sank down on her bunk. Her shoulders slumped and all the fight seemed to go out of her. “I’m scared, Tern. I’m scared to leave this place even though we’ve lost Lucky and Mac.” She raised her head and gestured to the outside. “What if the plane returns? Couldn’t we wait it out and see rather than leave and maybe encounter something even scarier out there?”
“It comes down to being proactive and not waiting around to see what happens. Like it or not, Robert and Gage are take action kind of men.” So were Mac and Lucky. “Robert and Gage won’t wait around for a threat to materialize. They’re going to face it head on.”
“But why do we have to go along?”
“We don’t have much of a choice. Besides, I think they’re right.”
Her lips quirked into a half smile. “That’s because you’re the same. The take charge, take action kind of person. I wish I were more like that.”
“Well, here’s your chance.”
Nadia sighed. “I just hope it doesn’t get me killed next.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Gage pulled up the edges of Mac’s sleeping bag, glad that it was a survival one with the hood. He used duct tape to seal the sleeping bag into a body bag. He’d have a hard time using one in the future without thinking of this moment.
Would he be wrapped in one before this ordeal was over?
Thoughts like that wouldn’t get him anywhere he wanted to be.
While he really didn’t believe that Tern had anything to do with Lucky and Mac’s deaths, she was the catalyst. He’d blurted out those thoughts without thinking, since she’d made him so mad. No woman got under his skin like she did, but then no woman had evoked such passion, love, and contentment either. She made him feel more alive than anyone else.
“Ready?” Robert asked, entering the cabin. “Glad he’s covered up. Doesn’t seem so creepy, you know?”
For a man who owned his own sporting goods store and hunted everything there was to hunt in the state, you’d think he’d have a better stomach with a dead body. Was it all an act?
“You grab his feet.” Gage reached under Mac’s stiff shoulders and lifted. Together they carried him out of the cabin and onto the makeshift pack board.
“This is going to be a bitch,” Robert said.
Gage hoped he didn’t complain the whole time. It had been considerably easier to carry Lucky’s head incased in the cooler, up the glacier than Mac’s two hundred plus pound frame.
Tern and Nadia joined them. Tern gave Mac’s form a grief-stricken look, but held herself together. Nadia averted her gaze and walked alongside Tern. In silence, they left the camping area and cabins, trekking around the north side of the lake to where the glacier dipped its icy toes into the pristine arctic waters.
Gage felt the pull of the pack board on his shoulders and they hadn’t even started to climb. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. Tern stepped up next to him.
“Let me help. Please.”
His first objection died in his throat at the emotion in her eyes. He dropped one of the nylon ropes he’d confiscated from Lucky’s belongings, and handed it to her. She picked the tie up and braced it over her shoulder. Together they pulled Mac up the ice, covered with six inches or so of new snow from the day before. Robert and Nadia took the end, and the four of them carried Mac to his temporary resting place. They were all breathing hard when Gage motioned for them to stop. The snow created a risk he hadn’t counted on. It covered any crevasses in the glacier that had been visible before. He didn’t want to hike too far onto the ice in case they encountered one. “Let’s dig out the snow and then cover him with it here.”
“What about animals?” Robert said.
Gage shot him a look. Did he have to bring up animals in front of Tern? They had no way of chipping into the glacier that deep for a body. A cooler, yes, but not something that would encase a full grown man. “The best we can hope for is the snow keeping him cold and the animals at bay. We don’t have tools for anything more permanent.”
Gage dropped to his knees and started digging in the snow. Tern knelt to help. Nadia was next to join in, and then finally Robert. Gage couldn’t help wondering if it had taken Robert so long because he’d been the one to kill Mac and didn’t want to help bury him.
Gage and Robert untied Mac’s body from the pack board and laid him in the cold, shallow grave. They made quick work covering him up with the snow and patting it down. Tern had silent tears running down her face. He wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know what to say or do. Would anything he’d say help anyway?
“Let’s get off the fucking ice,” Robert said. “I’m freezing.”
“Me too,” Nadia added.
“Tern?” Gage asked. She’d make the call when they left and not one minute before she was ready.
She nodded her head. “I already said good-bye. The rest can wait until I get him back home.”
“All right then.” Gage turned to Robert. “Let’s place the pack board over Mac to help mark the spot.” He’d already set GPS coordinates for help when they returned with the authorities, but the pack board—if it wasn’t moved by scavengers—would help them find Mac easier.
They hiked off the glacier. It was a relief to get off the ice and the cold that seemed to seep into his bones. He consulted his GPS to make sure he led them on the right track, and hoped to hell they were making the right choice by leaving.
“Anyone have anything to eat?” Nadia asked. “I’m starved.”
Tern swiveled her pack around and unzipped the front pocket. “All we have are the Almond Joys until we stop and hunt for something else.” Tern passed candy bars to everyone.
“I really hate Almond Joys,” Nadia muttered, but tore into the chocolate anyway.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Robert said. “I’ll take a couple.”
“Better string it out,” Gage said, taking the candy bar Tern offered him and continued to hike on. “We don’t know when we’ll eat again.”
“What?” Robert scoffed. “So now you’re the boss.”
Gage stopped. Tern almost ran into him; as it was, he had to make a quick grab at her hips to help steady her. When she had her balance, Gage released her and confronted Robert.
“You got a problem?” Gage asked, getting nose to nose with him.
“Yeah, I do.” Robert took a step forward.
“Guys,” Tern said. “Please don’t.”
Robert faced her. “How do we know Gage isn’t the one behind this?”
Tern rubbed a hand over her eyes. “Can we stop with the accusations? I can’t take any more point
ing the finger.”
“Hey!” Nadia hollered. “We don’t have time for this. Not if there’s a killer following. Put your dicks away and let’s move on.”
Tern choked on a laugh.
“Fine,” Robert said, stepping back. “Lead the way.”
Gage ground his teeth and moved to the head of the line. They continued down the mountain in silence and entered the darkness of the forest single file. Gage with Tern behind him, then Robert, and then Nadia. Earthly smells of spruce, low bush cranberries, and thick pootschki permeated the air.
They walked for a long time through the forest. There was no trail and they were getting into thicker and thicker undergrowth. It was hard to see where they were stepping. Nadia had fallen more than once by the time Gage announced that they were coming up on the GPS coordinates for the geocache Robert had suggested they search out.
“Look around,” Gage said. “Who knows if we’ll find it in all this vegetation? We don’t even know what size of container to look for. It’s probably too much to hope for, but keep an eye out for anything that could indicate who’s pulling this off.”
They fanned out from the center of the GPS coordinates, keeping in sight of each other. After thirty minutes or so Robert said, “I say we give up and move on.”
“What if there’s food in the geocache?” Gage asked with a cock of his brow.
Robert conceded the point. They were all hungry. No breakfast, no caffeine, no lunch and late afternoon was fast approaching. The only thing they had to eat was a few Almond Joys. While the candy bars did have almonds, there weren’t enough to call it protein. And, physically working the way they were, they needed protein.
“There.” Nadia pointed up. “In the tree. What do you think?”
Up in the tree, rigged with a rope and pulley, was a waxed cardboard box, the kind used to wrap fish in. It blended in the treetops with its dark brown, somewhat reflective surface. Robert located the end of the rope tied to a birch tree. He eased the knot free and gently lowered the box to the ground.
“We should keep the rope, in case we need it later,” Gage said, coming to stand over the box with the rest of them.
“I hope to hell there’s food in here,” Robert said, flipping out his knife to cut the tape keeping the box closed.
They all leaned in as he opened the top.
Nadia gagged and covered her mouth. “Oh, God, I’m going to be sick.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Inside the box were six dead arctic terns, their beautiful white and black-tipped wings displayed like fans as though still in flight.
Tern stood there in shock. This couldn’t be real. What kind of sick bastard could have done this? She swayed and then locked her knees.
The arctic tern was her namesake, her spirit totem.
“Son of a bitch,” Gage said, moving over to wrap an arm around Tern.
“This is sick,” Robert said, backing away from the grisly contents of the box. “We are dealing with a really sick puppy here.”
“You just now getting that idea?” Tern asked. Her voice broke.
“Everyone keep your wits,” Gage said. “There might be a note inside—”
“I’m not touching anything in that box,” Robert said. “You want to dive in there, be my guest.”
“I thought you were a hunter?” Gage scoffed. “Dead animals shouldn’t gross you out.”
“This is creepy. I don’t do creepy.” Robert stepped farther back as though the box would explode any moment.
Nadia rejoined them, but stood off to the side. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to act like such a girl.” She rubbed a hand up and down Tern’s arm. “You okay?”
Tern straightened her spine. “I’ll have to be.” They’d already figured out that this whole invite had to do with her, but this was the most personal evidence of it.
Gage found a stick. At least the birds had been dead long enough not to be mushy, Tern thought. No maggots squirmed around the dead carcasses. They were just dried husks of their former free selves. Gage used the stick to move the birds around.
“Who cares what else is in there?” Robert said. “I say leave it. Even if there was something worth keeping, who would want it?”
“Stop! There.” Tern pointed. “Oh no. How?” Her voice failed. She dropped to her knees alongside the box, reached in and carefully picked up the intricate hand-carved ivory arctic tern. Tears choked her as she clutched the little ivory tern to her chest, right over her heart, and began to rock back and forth as tears ran hot and unchecked down her face.
“Tern, honey, what is it?” Gage wrapped both arms around her and held her close to him. “Come on, baby, talk to me.”
She heard the worry in his voice but how could she reassure him when her life was so upside down?
Gage picked her up and carried her to a fallen log. “Nadia, cover that up.” He sat down and cradled her on his lap. “Tern, tell me what’s wrong.”
What’s wrong? Everything was wrong. So horribly wrong. “This is mine.”
“Can you let us see it?”
Carefully, she moved her hands in front of her. Cradled in her palms was her priceless arctic tern, carved in flight, its wings out to catch the wind’s kisses–her father’s name for thermals. Terns were the foremost migratory bird on the planet, traveling from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back every year. They spent more time in flight than on the ground, which her father had said explained Tern’s compulsive need to always be doing something.
“You don’t have to catch every meal on the wing. Now sit with your father and tell him all the wondrous things you have discovered today.”
God, she missed him.
“It’s beautiful,” Gage said. “What’s it mean?”
“It’s mine. I keep it in my bedroom so I can see it every day.” She swallowed more tears as they rushed up her throat. “M-my dad carved it for me. It’s the most personal item I own.” The memories attached to the arctic tern were those of her childhood, before the nightmare started. “Someone broke into my house, stole it, and put it here. What if I never knew what happened to it? I can’t lose this.” She clutched it to her heart again.
“Who knows this about you?” Gage asked. “Who knows about the tern?”
She lifted her head and looked around. “I don’t know.” She wanted to curl into the fetal position and cry. Losing Mac today, Lucky yesterday, and now this?
“Tern, snap out of it. Arctic terns are determined, tenacious little creatures. You’re the same.”
“Gage,” Nadia said, “her father made that for her. It’s one of the only things left that she has of him.”
“Robert, what about you? Did you know?”
“Uh, yeah. I remember her once talking about it, but I seriously didn’t get a clue how much it meant to her.”
That was because the only thing Robert had been interested in when he was at her house was getting her into bed.
“Tern, you need to remember how many others knew,” Gage said.
Her head hurt. So did her heart. She didn’t want to do this. Gage must have read what she was thinking.
“The person who killed Mac and Lucky stole the arctic tern from you as a warning. This person can get close to you, has gotten close, and he knows you very well. Your life, our lives depend on you remembering who could have taken this and placed it here.”
Gage worried over the pallor of Tern’s skin. How much more could she take? He couldn’t wait to get his hands around this son of a bitch’s throat.
“We need to get out of here,” Nadia said, glancing quickly around. “What if the killer is out there waiting, watching the scene unfold?”
“Nadia’s right,” Robert said.
Gage agreed. Thinking about being watched made his skin crawl. He studied the surrounding forest. This was a bad spot to get caught. They wouldn’t see the danger until it was over with. The thick mix of birch and spruce and forest floor vegetation made defending themselves almost impossible. He pull
ed Tern to her feet and helped steady her.
“Let’s move. Robert, take up the rear. I want the girls in the middle for better protection.” He eyed Tern warily. She had to bounce out of this. Fast. He needed her on her game, because if the killer got inside her head, the game was over.
He nudged her to move. For a while he had to put her in front of him to prod her forward. As soon as she got the hang of it, he moved to pass and break a faster trail. “Nadia, make sure she doesn’t fall behind.”
“Got it.”
He wanted to push Tern into remembering who could have gotten into her house and taken the bird from her. She obviously hadn’t noticed it missing, so the ivory carving hadn’t been gone long. Who knew her well enough, and hated her enough, to set this charade of a competition up to kill her? Tern was at the heart of it. Either the killer wanted her dead, or those she cared about dead. He’d bet money they were all marked.
They were prey.
Hours hitched by as they hiked. The birch had begun to thin, and they’d left the spruce behind miles ago.. The terrain was changing and he didn’t like it. They would be in the open soon, without the cover of the forest, but then so would the killer.
“I don’t like this,” Robert hollered from the back, echoing Gage’s thoughts.
“There’s no other way down without climbing gear.”
“I need a break, if you know what I mean,” Nadia said.
Living outdoors was more complicated for women. Gage made a note of it. “You’ll need to hold it for a bit.”
“I need something to eat, or I’m going to drop,” Robert said.
Obviously the biggest issue about taking lead was the complaints from the ranks. Did he have to figure it all out for them? The only one not complaining was Tern. She’d yet to comment on anything since they had left that last geocache. He wished she would complain about something. At least make some noise.
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