Paige MacKenzie Mysteries Box Set

by Deborah Garner

  “It’ll burn off soon,” Jake said, watching Paige look out the window and reading her thoughts.

  Having already ruled out the lower areas on his previous hike, Jake led Paige quickly along the two mile stretch around the lake and up beyond Hidden Falls. Arriving a half mile later at Inspiration Point, they paused to admire the view. Even misty and gray as it was, there was a dramatic beauty in the view across the valley.

  At the Forks of Cascade Canyon, Jake turned left and headed up towards Hurricane Pass, having already covered the right fork on his recent hike to Lake Solitude. By instinct, he led the way while Paige followed along, occasionally stopping to jot down observations. One short section at a time, they climbed higher, noting landmarks along the way.

  As they rounded one curve in the trail, a cluster of trees came into view. The trio of tall, mature pines would undoubtedly have been there long before the gold would have been hidden. Behind the trees a concave indentation marked the surface of a wide stretch of rock. From there a cliff shot up several hundred feet in a solid burst of sandstone. Jake paced off the distance between the trail and the grouping of trees and then motioned to Paige to continue on.

  Light drops of rain began to fall as they climbed higher and the path soon grew narrow and more difficult to navigate. A steep slab of rock pressed in on them from the right. To their left the ground dropped off abruptly, the roar of Cascade Creek echoing up from below.

  This would not be a great place to slip, Paige thought as she took cautious steps forward. Nor would it be a good place to get caught in a rock slide, either, she reasoned, quickening her pace to move ahead to a wider part of the trail.

  The rain grew steadier as they continued to document sections of the trail. Even the wildlife seemed to have backed away from the gloomy weather, choosing to stay in burrows or within thickets for protection. Still, Page and Jake pushed on. At one point, Paige stepped too quickly over a fallen rock, slipping sideways with her foot. She barely caught her balance in time to keep from falling.

  “Maybe we should turn around,” Jake offered, growing concerned. “We could come back out tomorrow when the weather should be better.”

  Paige motioned for him to push ahead, but within seconds the rain started to pound down with a fury. Jake turned around and shook his head. A heavy gust of wind blew across the canyon, whipping falling leaves up against the side of his face.

  “It’s too dangerous to keep going,” Jake shouted over the storm’s wailing. “We’re going to have to wait this out.”

  Reaching out to Paige, he grabbed her hand tightly, pulling her along as he pushed his way through thick brush on the trail’s cliff-side edge. Emerging on the other side of the tangled branches, he pulled her into a narrow hollow within the rocky surface of the cliff, where they hovered beneath an overhang. Though the space was cold and isolated, most of the rain was blocked.

  “Well, one thing is for sure,” Paige commented, wrapping her arms across her chest in an attempt to keep warm. “Old Man Thompson would never be able to hike up this far, not anymore.”

  “Exactly why he gave in and asked me to help,” Jake said, nodding his head in agreement.

  “I suspect he never intended to share anything with you,” Paige sighed, pulling the collar of her jacket closer to her chin. “If it’s even his to share, that is. Which I seriously doubt at this point.”

  “Or he may have intended to share it originally and just got greedy along the way,” Jake offered, watching the rain continue to pour down.

  Paige cast a quick glance at Jake, fighting back a smile at his half-sweet, half-naïve stance. “You’re a good guy, Jake. You give him more credit than I would.”

  Jake laughed, understanding the complimentary jab Paige had just delivered.

  “I guess I just like to believe people are trustworthy,” he replied. “You know, innocent until proven guilty. Give people the benefit of the doubt.”

  “You wouldn’t last long in New York City, I’m afraid,” Paige laughed.

  “I’m not sure I’d want to,” Jake tossed back. “I’ve never been there, but I have the impression that it’s a whole different planet.”

  “That may be the understatement of the century,” Paige agreed, contemplating their current trailside predicament. It was a far cry from that of rain-soaked Manhattan city-dwellers attempting to hail cabs from curbs.

  “So, getting back to your situation with Frank,” Paige continued, “Who knows what his original plan was? Or if it was even his plan at all, considering Maddie is somehow mixed up in all this. Whatever the case may be, it’s a betrayal, whether he – or they – originally intended to include you or not.”

  Unrelenting, the downpour continued full-force for another twenty minutes before it finally started to ease up. Once it was feasible to tackle the trail again, they stepped cautiously away from the security of the overhang. Slowly, they descended the canyon, ultimately arriving back at the lake’s western edge. Though exhausted and drenched, they nearly ran the last two miles around the lake to get back to the dry, warmth of the truck.

  * * * *

  “There are three places along that trail that I think might be hiding the gold,” Jake said over the steam rising from his mug. He and Paige sat in front of the fire at the ranch house, hot cocoa helping them recover from the stormy hike.

  “One must be that tall cluster of trees that was off to the side near the indented rock formation,” Paige ventured, remembering how much time he had spent taking notes in that area.

  Jake nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, that’s one, though there’s another location that looks very similar on the Lake Solitude trail, which we didn’t take today. A second possibility from today’s search was the area where the trail suddenly widened after that very narrow section.”

  “But you barely stopped there,” Paige pointed out.

  “I know,” Jake agreed, with a clear tone of frustration. “The weather was too unpredictable. I knew we couldn’t stop and take notes the entire way.”

  She thought this over for a minute and then asked Jake where the third area was.

  Jake pulled out the large map and placed the smaller, handmade map on top of it. He pointed to the actual split of the Forks itself. Paige peered up at him with a questioning look. He pointed back to the map again.

  “There’s another cluster of trees about here, up away from the trail about twelve paces or so. I noticed it the last time I hiked up there.” Jake spoke as if talking to himself, but Paige was following along and thinking of the pacing he had done at other points along the trail.

  “Why that particular spot?” she asked, confused.

  “Look here,” Jake said, pointing to the bottom of the map Frank had given him. “The lines that look like a ladder or bridge, I think they may be tallies of paces. The trio of arrows to the right could indicate a formation of three trees. They would have to be tall ones to have been there since then. And the semi-circle beyond that must indicate the shape of some sort of boulder or something. I think we’re looking for a combination of all those factors.”

  Paige looked over the markings at the bottom of the map again. It was true that they could be interpreted the way Jake described, but it still seemed he was grasping.

  “I don’t know, Jake,” Paige said, reluctant to dampen his enthusiasm. “I don’t want to discourage you, but it still seems the clues are too general. And those ladder markers, if that’s what they are, aren’t close enough to the trio marks.”

  Jake shook his head with the determined look common when someone does not want to be dissuaded.

  “Look, I not only have this map to go by, but also the descriptions I’ve heard since I was a boy – that the gold would be hidden high above the valley floor, that it was tucked away below some sort of rock formation and that it could be found by following water. These are the descriptions that Jeremiah himself passed on, those given to him by his friend. He explained them in detail to my grandfather, who told me the s
ame details over and over…” He stopped short, puzzled at the expression that had come over Paige.

  “Did you say Jeremiah?” she asked, her eyes widening.

  Jake looked at her with confusion. “Yeah, Jeremiah Norris, my great grandfather. Why?”

  A strange look came over Paige’s face, one that he’d never seen on her before. To Jake’s surprise, Paige put down her mug of cocoa suddenly, sending a small, chocolate wave splattering over the edge. She jumped to her feet and grabbed her jacket.

  “I need you to take me home,” she said quickly, already walking toward the door. She motioned to Jake to hurry up. “Just take me home to get my car and I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “But, Paige…,” he started to respond, confused by her quick change in demeanor.

  “I think I can help you with this.” Paige opened the front door abruptly, causing it to slam inward. She ignored the sharp sound of the door’s contact with the wall and started across the porch.

  “Alright, I’ll help, too,” Jake offered, jumping up quickly.

  “No, I’m afraid that won’t work,” Paige tossed over her shoulder while continuing to walk. “There’s somewhere I need to go.”

  “Then I’ll go with you,” Jake called after her, grabbing his keys and a jacket.

  “You can’t,” Paige answered brusquely, whipping around quickly to face him. “I mean…I mean, you have to trust me on this.”

  Jake pushed for an explanation a few more times, but to no avail. When he saw that she was determined to head out on her own, he reluctantly gave up. Whatever arguing he might continue to do, it would be wasted energy. He started up the truck and, at Paige’s insistence, drove as quickly as possible, dropping her off at her cabin.

  “I haven’t the least idea what you’re doing, but be careful,” he called as she jumped into her car and started it up.

  Paige waved in a rushed manner, pulling out on the road and heading quickly towards town. Please, she thought to herself, please let this work.

  The roads were slick from the rain, which had started to fall in torrents again. She flipped her windshield wipers on low, but immediately switched them to the highest setting. Water-filled potholes sent deep-toned splashes against the underside of her vehicle. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, she scanned the sides of the road for elk and bison, hoping to avoid a collision if one unexpectedly started to cross the roadway.

  In spite of the weather-hindered roads, she made the drive in record time and grabbed the first parking space she saw, about a block from the center of town. Walking quickly, but being cautious to avoid drawing attention to herself, she made her way to the town square.

  The gray of the antler arch was dull and dark in the falling rain. Very few people wandered along the edge of the square. A woman in her mid-thirties walked a golden retriever, one hand holding its leash, the other clutching the chin straps of a slick rain hood. A man stood under the covering of the local bus stop, a newspaper braced above his head for additional shelter from the rain. Three teenage boys horsed around on the opposite side of the square, oblivious to the spatters of mud and splashes of water that their shenanigans sent flying. Twilight was fast approaching and the neon light of The Million Dollar Cowboy Bar glowed in the background, gleams of colored light oozing out into the wet, misty air.

  Paige looked around slowly and then returned her gaze to focus on the antler arch again. Closing her eyes, she summoned up all the energy she could. It had to work, she thought. She knew this was the best chance to help Jake. She stood for what seemed like a very long time, listening in turn to the splashing of vehicles passing by on the rain-slicked roads, the carefree laughter of the boys across the square and the air-pressured brakes of the local bus stopping to pick up its passenger.

  Slowly, however, the sounds faded away into mere background noise and, soon after that, into silence. A sense of peaceful relaxation washed over her. She opened her eyes and looked up, finding that her hopes had paid off. The top of the antler arch had just a faint glow to it. Paige stepped forward and searched the ground, but there was no sign of the skeleton key. She paced several yards to each side of the arch, but the sidewalk was clear of debris. Sticking one boot into a large puddle, she tapped the pavement, searching for any object the water might be hiding, but there was nothing. Just as she was starting to fear that she’d have to give up, she spotted a small scrap of silver sticking out from a shrub on the other side of the arch. From the dull tone of the metal and the smooth curve of the upper edge, she recognized it as the top of the key. She looked around, took a deep breath and stepped through the arch.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The smell of fresh hay and the sound of neighing horses filled the late afternoon air. Thin rays of light filtered through the roof, casting a golden glow on the ground and against the walls of the livery barn. Paige looked around, first to the right, out the front barn door, where two cowboys sauntered by on horses, and then out the back door, where she saw nothing but open space and mountains. Looking down, she found herself wearing an old, baggy pair of blue overalls, an even baggier white shirt and brown work boots. Lifting her hands to her head, she felt the rough leather of a hat, as well as the width of a wide brim encircling the hat itself. Her hands moved down to her shoulders, where she felt the texture of her hair. Impulsively, she gathered the hair into her hands and tucked it up underneath her hat.

  Walking over to the back door, she looked out across the open field, but saw no activity, other than a few chickens pecking at the ground. She peered around the side of the barn, finding the small wagon she remembered parked against the wall. At the unexpected sound of a horse stomping its hoof inside the barn, she pulled back inside a little too quickly, knocking a horse shoe off the wall, which fell against a flat, metal trough of water and sent a clattering echo into the rafters. Now, even more startled, she leaned against a wood beam until her heart stopped racing, only to soon find herself jumping again.

  “Can I help ya, young fella?” a man’s voice called from the front barn door. Paige looked across the expansive interior of the barn and squinted to see where the voice was coming from, but the sun had lowered in the sky and now was shining directly in her eyes.

  “I said hello,” the voice said, a little louder this time. “Is there anything I can do fer ya?” Paige felt at a loss for words, but somehow pulled herself together when the figure came close enough for her to recognize Chester standing in front of her. At this point, he narrowed his eyes and took a good look at her, lifted his hand to his chin and rubbed it back and forth. Paige decided she had to say something and took the chance of speaking up.

  “Chester, it’s me,” she said cautiously, watching Chester continue to squint and stare, clearly confused.

  Not intending to cause him additional confusion, but in an attempt to clarify, Paige slowly lifted one hand to her head and pulled the hat off to the side, her soft, auburn hair falling down across her shoulders.

  Chester’s eyes popped wide open and blinked several times. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again without a word. He repeated this sequence again, still not finding any words. Finally he gave up and just stood there, staring.

  “Chester, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Paige said tentatively. “It’s me, Pai...er...I mean Maylene.” She held her breath, waiting for his response.

  “I know who you are,” Chester said, his eyes wide as saucers. “I just can’t figure out what you’re doing in that get up there.” His eyes looked her up and down as he shook his head in disbelief. “And where’ve you been, anyway? Haven’t seen you around since that ride we took, up on the butte.”

  “Well, I’ve been…I’ve been…” Paige attempted to answer, but knew there wasn’t a good explanation, at least not a believable one. She paused and decided to change the direction of the conversation.

  “Chester, I may need your help,” Paige said. “There are a lot of things I’m not going to be able to explain
, but I’m probably going to need someone’s help and you’re the only one I feel I can trust.” Paige paused, watching Chester and waiting for a reaction.

  “You’re sure a funny one, ma’am, if I do say so myself. Never met one quite like you,” Chester sighed. “But if I can help you, I surely will. You just tell me what you need and I’ll do anything I can.”

  Paige quickly put the wide brimmed hat back on her head, tucking her hair underneath it again. She pulled the hat down and checked around her neck for any loose strands of hair. Satisfied there weren’t any showing, she shook her overalls and shirt to make sure they were hanging as baggily as they could and then looked up at Chester.

  “Well, the first thing you can do is tell me if I look like a guy,” Paige asked.

  “I sure ain’t never seen a lady dressed like that, if that’s what you mean, ma’am, and I don’t mean any offence by saying that, you understand.” Chester tried to choose his words carefully, not wanting to say anything that might be taken as an insult, but seeing that Paige was desperately waiting for an answer.

  “Chester, if you saw me walking down the street like this, would you think I might possibly be a woman?” Again, Paige waited expectantly for his response.

  “No, ma’am, I certainly wouldn’t,” Chester answered honestly, hoping for his own sake that this was the answer she was looking for.

  Paige looked relieved and then pushed for a little more clarification.

  “So if you saw me sitting in the saloon, looking like this, you wouldn’t think I was a woman?”

  “No, I wouldn’t, ma’am. We don’t expect to see women in the saloon in the first place, so I don’t think the idea would even occur to anyone in there. You wouldn’t be recognized. Not dressed like that, you wouldn’t.” Chester stood back and looked at her carefully. “No, you’d be alright. You got a young face and you ain’t wearing any of that fancy paint that some of them women do. They’d just take you fer a young man, that’s what they’d do.” Chester paused before quickly adding “Again, I sure don’t mean any offence by that, ma’am.”