by Cindy Bell
Morris stepped closer to him and looked down at what Nick had found. The knife glinted in the beam of Morris' flashlight. It was mostly caked with dirt and mud, but the serrated edge still looked quite dangerous.
“That's a hunting knife,” Morris said quietly as he nudged it with his boot. “Looks like we might have found where our killer was hiding out.”
“He's gone now,” Nick said as he narrowed his eyes and looked over the remains of the campsite. “But has he just moved on to a new spot, or is he gone for good?”
“I don't know,” Morris frowned. “But it's not a good sign in my book.”
“What did you find?” Bekki called out from the narrow trail were she and Sammy were still waiting. Nick and Morris met eyes as they realized they were going to have to reveal how close they had come to the murderer.
“It's a campsite,” Nick said as he walked to the edge of the trail.
“Right, we already know that,” Bekki reminded him with a hint of impatience.
“We found a knife,” Morris added. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets. “It might be the murder weapon.”
Sammy gasped and covered her mouth to disguise a cry of fear.
“It might be the murder weapon,” Bekki repeated. “But we don't know that for sure, do we?”
“I think it's a strong possibility. There's a campsite in the middle of the woods where no one will find it. The occupant left in a hurry, and left behind a hunting knife to be washed clean by the rain,” Nick frowned. “It's the best explanation we have at the moment.”
“Or maybe it was just someone camping,” Bekki pointed out. “Maybe they got caught in the rain and took off because of the bad weather, before the roads got bad.”
“Maybe,” Nick shook his head. “All I know for sure is that we need to keep moving. If the killer is still lurking in the woods somewhere, the longer we stay in one spot the more vulnerable we are.”
“Okay,” Bekki nodded as she gave Sammy's arm a gentle squeeze. The sounds of the woods seemed even more damning to Bekki's ears. The nocturnal animals were going about their day, and making Bekki jump with every cry and skitter. When an owl let out a wild screech from a distant tree, Bekki gasped and her mind spun with fear. She nearly lost her balance from a sudden wave of dizziness. She caught herself on the trunk of a nearby tree.
“Bekki, are you okay?” Sammy asked as she rushed to help her friend find her footing.
Bekki couldn't answer. She was too busy staring at something tangled around a low branch of the tree.
“Is something wrong?” Nick called out. He jogged the short distance between where he had been hiking, and where Bekki had stopped. He saw the look of fear in her eyes, and followed her gaze with his flashlight beam. Tangled around the tree branch was what used to be a bright yellow scarf. Now it was stained crimson.
“Is that?” Sammy stammered out.
“Yes, it's blood,” Morris said from beside her. He took her hand in his.
Nick carefully freed the scarf from the tree branch. He glanced up into Bekki's eyes as she finally blinked.
“It doesn't mean she's dead,” Bekki whispered. She knew that the scarf was the same scarf she had seen Danielle wearing when she had met her. But she refused to believe that another murder had occurred.
“Maybe not,” Nick admitted. “It could be stained with Penny’s blood but I think from what we’ve found that Danielle and Kim are most likely victims. Whether they were killed or not, someone was obviously hurt.”
Bekki nodded shakily. She hated to think of Danielle and Kim falling victim to the same fate Penny had. But she also knew that if one woman had been killed, more than likely the others had as well.
“We have to keep moving,” Morris reminded Nick as he held tightly to Sammy's hand.
“Stay close,” Nick nodded.
Bekki fell into step just behind Morris and Sammy. She panned her flashlight over the trees around her. Her heart fluttered with every step she took. She was waiting for someone to jump out of the darkness and attack. The isolation of the woods was wearing on her mind, along with the knowledge that a very violent person was lurking just out of sight.
“Wait,” Nick said in a sharp but quiet voice. He held up his hand to stop the line of people following after him. “This isn't good,” he muttered under his breath. Sammy buried her face into Morris' back. Bekki tried to peek over Nick's shoulder.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“It looks like an illegal distillery,” Nick explained. He stepped back slightly so that Bekki could see. What greeted Bekki's eyes made absolutely no sense to her. The old metal barrels, the tubes, the storage bins, it all looked like the remnants of an old junkyard to her.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“I've seen one before,” Nick nodded slightly, not taking his eyes off what was in front of him. “It was a little more organized than this one, but yes, all of the equipment they need is here.”
“I didn't even know things like that still existed,” Morris said with dismay. “How could it be operating without anyone knowing?”
“I don't know, but this is where the trail led. Which means that whoever is operating this place, probably had something to do with Penny's murder,” Bekki shook her head. “I'd hate to think she was murdered just to protect this.”
“It probably makes a lot of money. Most successful illegal distilleries do,” Nick said between clenched teeth. “If they were caught, they would lose a lot.”
“Look,” Sammy said as she pointed through the trees to her right. “There's a small cabin or shack over there.”
Nick looked in the direction she was pointing. He nodded when he saw it. “Yes, it's an old cabin. I'm guessing that whoever operates this place sleeps there.”
“That might be where they're holding Kim and Danielle,” Bekki said in a whisper. “Can we get close?”
Nick shook his head slightly as he looked back over the entire clearing. “It's so out in the open, it will be hard to.”
“We need to know if they're in there,” Sammy insisted.
“I'll go check it out,” Morris volunteered.
“No,” Nick said firmly. “I'll go. You stay here with Bekki and Sammy, and watch my back.”
Morris looked as if he was about to argue with Nick, but when Nick's brow furrowed and his eyes sharpened, Morris nodded.
“I'll be watching,” he assured Nick.
Bekki reached for Nick’s hand. “Nick, be careful,” she pleaded with him.
“Don't worry, Bekki,” he assured her. “I'm just going to take a quick look,” he settled his hand to his hip, and for the first time Bekki noticed the bulge under his t-shirt.
“You're wearing your gun?” Bekki asked with surprise.
“Of course I am,” he replied. “So is Morris.”
“I just didn't expect you to bring it on the trip,” Bekki shrugged mildly. She felt a small sense of relief that they at least had some kind of weapon to protect themselves.
“Well, it is the woods,” he reminded her with a grim frown. “Considering what's happened here, I'm glad I wore it.”
“Me too,” Bekki admitted.
The three watched as Nick made his way across the open clearing. He did his best to stay close to larger objects, or duck down when he was in the line of sight through one of the windows.
The closer Nick got to the cabin, the more uneasy Bekki felt. She began to see clear signs of others being there recently. The fire in the fire pit was extinguished but there were still curls of smoke rising above it. Firewood was piled up beside the cabin that looked as if it had been freshly cut. As she crept a little closer to the edge of the trail she noticed tire tracks pressed into the damp soil. That meant whoever had driven into the clearing had done so after it had rained. Then she saw what she was certain was a flicker of light inside one of the windows of the cabin.
“They see him,” she hissed. “They know that he's coming.”
“Nick can handle himself, Bekk
i,” Morris insisted, but he could not hide the worry in his voice. Bekki glanced over at Morris and Sammy, then she looked back at the cabin that Nick had nearly reached. She couldn't resist anymore. She suddenly broke through the tree line and sprinted after Nick.
“Bekki no!” Morris hissed and lunged to grab her arm. Bekki was long gone before he could catch her.
“Oh no,” Sammy groaned as she watched Bekki go. “We have to stop her.”
“Sammy, you have to stay here,” Morris warned her. “I'll go after Bekki.”
“You'll never stop her,” Sammy shook her head. “It has to be me, she'll listen to me.”
“No,” Morris grabbed her arm and pulled her back as she tried to step out.
“Bekki, what are you doing?” Nick demanded as he glowered at her. “I told you to wait back there.”
“But there's someone inside,” Bekki hissed. “I saw the light from the tree line.”
“I know that there is someone inside,” Nick said as he peered through the corner of the window. The glass was so caked with dirt and grime that it was impossible to see much. “I can hear voices.”
“I couldn't let you be over here alone,” Bekki explained swiftly.
“Yes, you could have,” he replied with frustration. Bekki frowned as he pulled back away from the window. He guided her around the side of the cabin. “But you're here now. So, what I need you to do is listen closely, anything that we hear being said might tell us what they are up to.”
“Okay,” Bekki nodded. She crept to one window while Nick hovered near another. His gaze remained steadily on her, watching for any sign that she might be in trouble. Bekki watched him in the same way. She listened as closely as she could, but she could only hear a few words and phrases. It sounded like arguing, but the voices were strained, as if it was taking all of their self-control not to be shouting. That meant they knew that someone might be listening. All of a sudden Bekki heard a loud shriek. It was distinctly female. It was followed by a crash.
“I told you to tie them up,” a voice from inside the cabin roared.
“I did,” another voice shot back. “I tied them both!”
“Did you never learn how to tie a knot?” another voice bellowed. Bekki heard crying. She assumed that the woman who had managed to get free of her restraint was being tied up once more.
“I don't know why we don't just kill them and get it over with,” the second voice muttered. “It's cruel to hold them like this.”
“We don't do anything without the boss’ go ahead,” the first voice barked. Bekki could no longer hear the woman. She assumed that she had been gagged once more.
“And just where is the boss?” the second voice asked with annoyance. “We're stuck here just waiting for someone to find us with these gals tied up, while he does what?”
“You know what he's doing,” the first voice growled. “He's getting rid of the body.”
Bekki heard a squeal that must have bled through the gag in the woman's mouth.
“Oh, be quiet or I'll knock you out like I did your friend,” the second voice warned. Bekki closed her eyes briefly as she realized that meant that both Kim and Danielle were inside the cabin. She felt relief that they hadn’t been murdered and there was a chance to save them.
“There, now that's a knot,” Bekki heard the first man say. Then she heard scraping, of wood against wood.
“I still say we should just scram,” the second voice said. “We didn't agree to this. We agreed to the distillery, not to murdering people.”
“Oh, like you're above it or something?” a second man asked. “Have you forgotten about your own transgressions?”
“No,” the second voice said moodily.
“Then shut your mouth, and stop worrying so much,” the first voice said. “Everything is fine. No one ever said it wouldn't be messy.”
Nick crept his way along the outside of the cabin towards Bekki. He put his finger to his lips to warn her not to speak. Then he took her hand in his. He pointed to the woods behind the cabin. She nodded slightly.
***
“Where are they?” Sammy asked as she tugged against Morris' grasp. “I can't see them anymore. What if they get caught? How will I live with myself if Bekki is hurt?”
“Sammy, Bekki will be okay, she's with Nick,” he reminded her. “She's not alone.”
“I know, but I need to make sure,” Sammy said as she continued to tug at his grasp. “Morris, please, let me go.”
“I'm sorry, Sammy, I can't,” Morris said with a frown as he met her eyes. “How do you think Bekki would feel if you got hurt because you went chasing after her?”
Sammy sighed and slowly nodded. “I guess you're right.”
“Listen, there isn't any shouting, no gun shots,” Morris pointed out. “If they had been caught we would have heard something.”
“Then where are they?” Sammy demanded.
“Right here,” Bekki said from just behind them. Sammy nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun around to see Bekki. She hugged her before asking any questions.
“There's a path that leads behind the cabin, back this way,” Nick explained to Morris who looked at him questioningly.
“What did you find out?” Morris asked.
“The women are being held in the cabin,” Bekki said quickly.
“There's at least three people involved,” Nick continued with a solemn frown. “Two of them are in that cabin, but they answer to a third. Who knows how many more might be out patrolling the woods,” he added.
“Okay, at least we have an idea of what we're up against,” Morris said with some relief. “The women are alive?”
“For now,” Bekki said. “I doubt the plan is to keep them that way.”
“We couldn't see inside,” Nick frowned. “The windows are filthy.”
“That's an old trick,” Morris nodded. “They cake them with dirt and mud so that if they're raided they have time to destroy the evidence without being seen.”
“They seem to know what they're doing,” Bekki frowned. “Or at least whoever is calling the shots does.”
“We have to go in there and get those women,” Sammy said swiftly.
“No,” Nick said firmly, leaving no room for argument. “It's not possible right now.”
“What do you mean?” Sammy asked incredulously.
“If we go in now we risk getting those two women killed, as well as the rest of us. We don't know enough yet about the situation. Even if we get the women out of the cabin, we have nowhere to shelter them. Our first priority needs to be finding a way to call for help.”
“But if we just ambush them…” Bekki began to say.
“No,” Morris said sternly. “Nick's right. We can't put ourselves or the hostages at risk like that. Especially not without expecting backup.”
“Nick, you heard what they said,” Bekki frowned. “They are going to kill those women as soon as they get the go ahead from their boss. How can we just leave them here knowing that?”
“Bekki,” Nick looked directly into her eyes. “You know how much I respect you, but this can't be done impulsively. All that's going to happen is we will end up dead or abducted as well. We need to know how many men we're up against. We need to know that backup is on its way to get us off this mountain. Don't you think it's going against all of my wishes to walk away from those women?” he asked with frustration building. “But this is one of those times when you are just going to have to trust me. I think these men are ruthless, I heard it in their voices. There isn't going to be any talking them down. They could have anything from machine guns to explosives inside of that cabin.”
Bekki frowned and lowered her eyes. “I hadn't thought about that.”
“In my experience anyone running an illegal distillery is going to be stocked with a variety of weapons,” Morris contributed hesitantly. “It's part of the training we go through. Anyone conducting an illegal operation is going to have enough of a stockpile to ward off a police raid.
If we try to go in there guns blazing, we're not going to come out.”
Bekki was sobered by Morris' words. She was often impulsive, and did her best to protect anyone who was in trouble. But it seemed that the odds of going into that house being helpful to the two abducted women were pretty slim.
“We are much closer to the ranger station now, we can try to get there on foot. If we get to the ranger he can help us, or at least we can radio for backup. Let's try to get to the ranger station,” Nick said as he looked from Bekki, to Sammy, and finally to Morris. “We can regroup there, get some backup on its way, and see if he has any weapons we can use.”
“Do you know the way?” Bekki asked.
“It's not far from here,” Nick nodded as he pointed in the direction of the station.
Chapter Eight
Nick began walking through the woods in the direction of the ranger station. Morris waited for Bekki and Sammy to follow after him, then he fell into step at the rear.
“I can't stand walking away, and leaving them behind,” Bekki admitted as she walked close to Sammy.
“But we can't help them,” Sammy sighed and tried to walk faster. “We don't have enough weapons, or people. If they are alive and we go in, that might force the hand of the abductors.”
“Maybe,” Bekki grimaced. “But if I was one of the women being held I would want someone to try to save me. I hate to think that they believe no one is coming to help them.”
“That's exactly what we're trying to do,” Sammy insisted. “Once we find the ranger he can radio for backup, and we can finally figure out what exactly is going on.”
“Still,” Bekki sighed and rubbed at her forehead. “It seems so wrong to be walking away from them.”
Nick fell back a few steps to join them. He spoke in a low voice.
“The ranger station is up ahead. You all need to stick together.” He winced slightly and then whispered, “Let me go in first, I don't know what we might find.”
Bekki nodded, but Nick stopped entirely and looked her directly in the eyes. “I mean it, Bekki, let me go in alone, okay?”
Bekki grimaced, but nodded. She folded her arms across her chest and glanced over at Morris who had walked past them and was inspecting something further up along the trail. Nick stepped boldly out of the trees towards the ranger station. Bekki stepped to the edge of the tree line so she could watch what he was doing.