by Gerri Hill
“You okay?”
Sara wiped the blood on her jeans, nodding. “Okay. Just a scratch.” She raised the window and looked back at the others. “Judith? You’re the smallest.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, taking a step back. “I’m not good at this kind of stuff.”
“Just crawl through the window then find your way to the back porch. We’ll be waiting there.”
“But—”
Sara smiled. “Judith, you can do this. We need you to do this. We’ll boost you up.”
Judith looked at them all, her hands wringing together. She finally nodded, pausing to tuck her long hair behind her ears. “Okay. Okay, I can do it.”
“Good. Be careful of the glass.”
They boosted Judith through the window then walked around to the back, waiting. They finally saw her walking through the house and Sara tapped on the glass impatiently.
Judith fumbled with the lock, opened the door and stepped back to let the others inside.
“It’s spooky in here too,” she said. “The power’s off.”
“I guess that’s expected,” Sara said. “Well, let’s spread out. See if they’ve got any drugs stashed here. Look for a phone too,” she added as they dispersed. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Everyone had stayed on the lower floor. She eyed the dark staircase then walked toward it. She slid her hand along the banister, a smooth rounded log, and she climbed the stairs. Sunlight poured in through the second floor windows, chasing the shadows away, and she paused, admiring the beauty of the mountains that looked nearly close enough to touch.
She finally shook herself, moving away from the view and into one of the bedrooms. It was the master suite judging by the size. She looked around the room for a phone, but there was none. She moved on into the spacious bathroom, nearly gasping as she saw her reflection in the mirror. She ran a hand through her blond hair, tucking it behind both ears. She looked nearly frightful.
“No wonder she hasn’t wanted to kiss you,” she murmured. I would be scared away too.
She looked away from the mirror, bending over to open the drawers and cabinets, feeling a bit embarrassed at snooping in a stranger’s house. Her eyes widened as she pulled open another drawer. Jackpot.
“Hmmm, what do we have here?”
She was looking at no less than thirteen prescription bottles. She sifted through them, shaking her head. “Must be a depressing household,” she murmured as she found yet another type of antidepressant. Poor Jill, she thought, glancing at the name.
Finally she found what she was looking for—two types of pain medication, although they both contained codeine. She hoped Megan wasn’t allergic. The only antibiotics she found was a bottle of amoxicillin someone used for a toothache. She looked at the pain pills. One was for the same date.
“Thanks, Jill,” she murmured after taking the three bottles and closing the drawer.
She walked back into the hallway, stopping again to admire the view. She let out a tiny sigh, wondering what it would have been like to hike into St. Elmo in the normal fashion—everyone intact—and just explore the old town as they’d planned. She smiled wistfully, wondering how many stories Jaime could come up with to entertain them. But her smile faded as the reality of their situation came back to her. One last sigh, this one harder, sharper, and she moved quickly down the stairs, hearing the others as they regrouped in the spacious—albeit dark—living room.
“Did you find anything?” Celia asked. “We found nothing stronger than wine,” she said, holding up two bottles.
“Wine?”
“In the basement,” Judith said. “There’s practically a wine cellar down there.”
Sara gave a short laugh and held up her hands. “Found some drugs.”
They all came closer, inspecting her loot. Beth opened one bottle, silently counting the pills.
“Eight,” she announced. Then she looked at the label. “Codeine? That’s not real strong, is it?”
“It’s all we’ve got. And we need to make sure she’s not allergic. The last thing we need up here is for her to have a reaction.” Sara looked past them, out the giant widows. “Has anyone seen the others?”
“I’ll go find them,” Judith volunteered. “I’d rather be outside, where there’s sunlight.”
“You didn’t mind the tents and there certainly wasn’t any light out there,” Celia reminded her.
“That’s different. Remember what I told you in our sessions? About my grandmother’s house?”
“Oh, yeah. Forgot about that.”
“I guess we could all go out,” Sara suggested. She gave Judith a gentle smile. She’d forgotten all about her grandmother’s house and how Judith had been locked in the dark attic for three days when she was a child. No wonder she’d been hesitant to be the first one to enter. “It’ll be cooler outside too. Let’s sit on the porch.”
They had just barely settled down—Sara taking the steps and letting the others fight over the two benches—when they saw Jaime and the others walking down the road. Megan was sandwiched between Ashley and Lou Ann, leaning heavily on Ashley as she favored her left side.
Sara wasn’t surprised by the relief she felt at just seeing Jaime. Before, she’d always thought of herself as a leader, as being in charge. But she realized now she wasn’t a take-charge person. She was a planner. And if she had a plan to follow, she could carry it out to a T. But Jaime—Jaime was a take-charge person. Whatever the situation, Jaime had simply given them direction and they’d followed it. Without question. And that was probably the only reason they were all still alive.
But as Jaime got closer, as Sara was able to look into her eyes, she felt a different kind of relief. She thought perhaps it was a bit foolish of her to feel this way but what she saw in Jaime’s eyes told her she was safe, told her Jaime wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She had a nearly overwhelming urge to run to Jaime, to fling herself into Jaime’s arms, but she resisted, instead answering the smile Jaime gave her with one of her own.
“Well, you all look comfortable,” Jaime said as she paused at the bottom step. “Did you find the mother lode or what?”
“Sara found some pills,” Celia said. “We found wine.”
“Well, all right,” Abby said. “Megan gets the pills, we get the wine. I like that arrangement.” They eased Megan down on the top step, next to Sara.
“No Jeep?” Sara asked, reaching over to gently squeeze Megan’s leg.
Jaime shook her head. “They’ve been stripped for winter.” She walked closer. “What’d you find?”
Sara handed Jaime the prescription bottles. “Jill was well stocked with antidepressants but I found what we needed, probably not enough.”
“There are other cabins. There might be something.”
Sara shrugged. “If these are weekend homes, summer homes, I doubt they’re going to have much. I was actually surprised to find this.”
“Well, what’s the house look like?”
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Celia said. “Looks brand new.”
“Bedrooms?”
Celia frowned. “I don’t know. Why?”
“We gotta sleep somewhere tonight,” Jaime said. “Or do you want to pitch your tent out here?”
Abby laughed. “Oh hell no. Not if we have a choice.”
“Is it safe?” Sara asked quietly.
“Tonight, yes.” She motioned with her head. “Come with me.” As Jaime walked away, she tossed the pills to Ashley. “Hang on to these.”
Jaime led them around the corner, Sara following closely behind. She felt the eyes of the others on them as they rounded the corner of the cabin.
“What do you have in mind?” Sara finally asked.
“Turning the power on.”
“Can you do that?”
“If luck’s on our side.” Jaime pointed to the power box attached to the side of the cabin. “And it is. It’s not locked.” She shook her head. “People seldom lock their power box.”
Sara watched as Jaime opened the box. The main electrical breaker to the cabin was off.
“They probably turn it off when they leave in case a storm comes up and they can’t make it back here.” Jaime pointed down the road. “They don’t plow up here in the winter.” She gripped the handle. “Okay, here goes.” She paused then grinned mischievously before leaning over and kissing Sara on the mouth. “For luck.”
Sara, startled, simply nodded as Jaime lifted the lever. They waited only a second, then heard an excited yell from the front.
“Hey! The porch light just came on!”
Sara raised her eyebrows teasingly at Jaime. “Must have been the kiss.”
Jaime walked closer. “Must have been.”
Their eyes met for a second and Jaime smiled. “Let’s see if we can find the water pump. A lot of summer cabins up this high just have cisterns or holding tanks for water that they have delivered a couple of times a season.” She walked around to the back of the house, Sara following. “But this house reeks of money. I’m guessing they have an actual well.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Either. They’ll both have a pump. I just want to make sure they didn’t turn the valve off too.”
Jaime squatted down beside a faucet and turned it on. They both laughed as water poured out.
“And we have running water,” Sara murmured.
“And in a short while, we’ll have hot water. Can you imagine a clean shower with hot water?”
“The girls will love it.”
“Okay, let’s have a powwow with everyone.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s only five. A good couple of hours before dusk.”
“Where do you think he is?” Sara asked quietly as they walked back to the front of the cabin.
“If he found our trail—and I’ve got to believe he did—then he’ll be here tomorrow.” She shrugged. “Early afternoon, maybe.”
“If he found our trail?”
“If he’s got a map, it should be obvious we’re heading this way.”
Their conversation came to an end when an excited Celia met them at the porch, her eyes nearly smiling.
“There’s electricity! There’s running water,” she said with a laugh. “Never knew I’d get so excited about running water.”
Sara and Jaime followed her inside. Jaime found Abby as she was snooping through the pantry in the kitchen.
“Where’s Megan?”
“She’s in the living room. There’s a sofa in there.”
“Did you give her anything?”
“No. I wanted to wait for you. I put the pills in there by her. But I did change her dressing.”
“How’s it look?”
Abby shook her head. “Like it hurts.”
“Okay. Let me go take a look. Why don’t you gather everyone in the den? It’s time for a meeting.” She looked behind her, finding Sara standing in the doorway. “Come on. Let’s play doctor.”
Megan was lying on her back, a blanket pulled up to her waist. She appeared to be asleep but when Jaime knelt down beside her, her eyes fluttered open.
“How’s it hanging?” Jaime whispered.
“Hanging pretty low, doc,” Megan said with a slight smile.
Jaime held up the medication. “Found some drugs.”
“Good. Gimme.”
“Well, if you had a toothache, we could knock it right out. Got some weak antibiotics but they’re better than nothing. And some pain pills.”
“Okay. Anything.”
“Megan, are you allergic to anything? Penicillin?” She looked at the bottle. “This pain stuff has codeine in it. Are you allergic to that?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Because if you have a reaction, we’re screwed,” Jaime warned.
Megan shook her head. “I can’t take much more, Jaime. I almost wish I’d ended up like Sandra. At least it’d be over with.”
“Don’t you talk like that,” Jaime said, her voice hard. “Don’t ever say that. You made it this far. Don’t you dare give up now.”
Megan rolled her head away, eyes closing. “I’m so tired.”
Sara moved closer, touching Megan’s shoulder. “Megan, please. I will forever be haunted by Sandra’s death, feeling like I’m responsible. Please don’t wish two of them on me.”
Megan turned back to them, her eyes opening wearily. “Not your fault. Nobody thinks that. Just rotten luck.”
Jaime squeezed her hand. “Okay, come on. Let’s take some drugs and see what happens.” She looked at the bottles again. “You’re supposed to eat something.” She looked at Sara. “What the hell do we have?”
“We have a stove and we can boil water. I’ll do a dinner real quick.”
Megan shook her head. “No. I can’t eat anything.”
“It might make you nauseous if you don’t,” Sara warned.
“How about we give her a pain pill now. Then after dinner, we do the antibiotics?” Jaime looked at Sara. “She’ll sleep.”
Sara looked at Megan, noting the pained expression on her face. She looked back at Jaime and nodded.
“Okay. And maybe we can find something in their pantry to eat. Maybe make a decent meal.” She squatted down beside Megan. “When we wake you up, you’ve got to eat something. Promise me you’ll try.”
Megan nodded. “Yes, I’ll try,” she said quietly.
“Good.” Sara squeezed her arm, then nodded at Jaime. “I’ll go see what Abby found in the pantry.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Jaime stood in the doorway, watching the others. They were sprawled on sofas and across chairs, all talking and smiling as if they really were on vacation. Sara moved into the room, brushing past her to stand in the middle. She turned back around and their eyes met.
“Ready?”
Jaime nodded.
Sara turned in a circle, trying to get everyone’s attention.
“Ladies, time for a powwow.”
“How’s Megan?” Celia asked.
Jaime walked farther into the room, gently guiding Sara down onto the sofa then she turned, addressing them all.
“Megan is sleeping. I’ve given her a pain pill. We also have some antibiotics but I fear it’s too little too late,” she said. “She has a fever. And she needs a doctor.”
“She’s not going to die, is she?” Ashley asked, her voice quivering.
“I don’t know, Ashley. Her wound is obviously infected.” Jaime shrugged. “We’ve done as much as we can with what we’ve got. But that brings us to our options.” She turned around, looking at them, one by one. “We can relax tonight. We can enjoy the amenities. Hot showers. A meal in the kitchen.” She smiled. “And beds.”
“I could go to bed right now,” Lou Ann said.
“I know there’s not enough for everyone, so you can choose where everyone sleeps. Draw straws or something,” Jaime suggested. “But tomorrow, it’s back at it. Let’s don’t forget the reason we’re here. There’s still a man out there. A man with a rifle and the intent to kill.”
“You think he’ll find us?”
“Yes, he will. And since we don’t have a vehicle, we can’t head down the mountain to Nathrop like I’d hoped. That means we hike west to Tin Cup.”
“How far?”
“It’s less than ten miles. But there’s a road. I think you can hike it in five, six hours.” She paused. “Megan is not going to be able to make it.”
Ashley gasped. “We can’t leave her!”
Jaime shook her head. “No, I didn’t mean that. I’m going to stay with her. The rest of you will head to Tin Cup.”
“No.”
Jaime looked at Sara. “No? What do you mean?”
“I mean no. You’re not staying behind. Either we all go or we all stay.”
Jaime smiled. “Sorry, but it’s not your call. Our guy has to come through St. Elmo. But he’ll be looking for the whole group. He’s not going to find me and Megan. And you should already be in Tin Cup by the time h
e gets here. You’ll be safe.”
“But what about you?”
“It’ll be easier to hide two people, Sara.”
“I don’t like splitting up, Jaime. I don’t like it one bit.”
Jaime squatted down beside her, ignoring the others as she took Sara’s hand. “You think I like it? I’m supposed to protect you and here I am sending you out alone. But it’s the only way.”
“And if he finds you?”
“He’s not going to find me. Besides, I do have a gun, you know.” Jaime grinned. “Cop, remember?”
Sara shook her head. “I don’t like it.”
Jaime’s smile vanished. “It’s not up for discussion, Sara.” She straightened up and turned to face the others. “Let’s enjoy our last night up here, ladies. But go easy on the wine, Celia,” she said with a laugh. “You’ll need to get an early start in the morning.”
“I feel kinda funny about using these people’s house,” Judith admitted. “I mean, if this were my house, I wouldn’t want a bunch of strangers making themselves at home in it.”
Jaime nodded. “I understand. And I’ll make certain they’re compensated for anything we use, for the broken window.” She shrugged. “Same with the general store.” She looked at Judith, her smile gentle. “In a life-and-death situation such as ours, we can’t worry about what’s right and what’s wrong.”
“Well if that’s the case, I vote we raid the wine cellar again,” Abby said with a laugh.
“Raid all you want. But remember, you’ve got a nice little hike in the morning. Alcohol and altitude don’t mix all that well,” Jaime warned.
“Party pooper,” Celia teased.
Jaime laughed with the others then motioned to the door. “I’m going to go scout around a bit. Try to save me some hot water.”
Sara watched her go then turned back to the group, forcing a smile onto her face. “Okay, who’s up for kitchen duty?”