A Pilgrimage to Death

by J. J. Cagney

  Carole’s finger wrapped around the trigger. Cici took a deep breath and held it, wondering where she could go, if she had even a tiny percentage of a chance to survive Carole’s attack.

  Cici backed away.

  “I’m trying to understand, Carole. Help me understand how you came to this point.” Cici held out her hands in supplication.

  “You don’t care about my daughter. You’re already over there, thinking I sold her body. But she’d be dead without Ernesto. Now, she has money and prestige. She’s a wealthy woman, free to marry who she wants.”

  “Did you . . . I bet you did.” Cici gasped. “You caused Ernesto’s boat to explode.”

  Carole’s smile was brittle. “He wasn’t right for my baby. He was simply a means to an end.”

  The woman before her was the worst devil Cici had ever faced—her single-mindedness caused her to destroy anything in her path, whether innocent child or do-good teacher like her sister.

  Nothing mattered—nothing—except protecting her own child’s life. A life built on others’ blood and tears.

  Cici’s stomach heaved and she wanted to vomit into the stubby grass. Now wasn’t the time for such luxuries. She needed a plan. She needed a firearm—not that she knew how to shoot. She needed a miracle.

  Aci, if I ever needed you, now’s the time.

  A thick wind rustled through the leaves, causing them to shiver as a thick peal of thunder boomed close enough to make both women cringe.

  Carole’s finger squeezed the trigger and Cici dove to the ground.

  The plus side was the bullet missed her. The down side was she struggled to scramble out of the way of ensuing shots. One bullet whizzed by her neck so hot the skin there sizzled. Another struck the dirt just in front of her hand as she yelped.

  “In case you’re wondering, I killed Donald and Susan, too.”

  Cici bit her lip but she had to know. “Did you call in Donald’s murder?”

  Carole’s feet shuffled around the rock. The gun glinted in the afternoon sunlight. A large fly buzzed past the weapon.

  “No.” Carole smirked. “That was Jeannette.”

  “Jeannette. As in Sam’s Jeannette?”

  “No, you idiot!” Carole snapped. “Of course it was me.”

  Cici dashed away from the large rock, trying to get out of the way. Rain slanted into her eyes, making any moves more treacherous because the granite rocks slicked.

  Carole didn’t come after Cici because she now grappled with a large male.

  “Stop it! You can’t keep killing people.” Justin’s voice, thinner with the pain and blood loss, no doubt. But here was Cici’s miracle.

  Thank you, blessed Lord.

  “You think you’re going to play the white knight?” Carole snarled. “Anna Carmen’s dead—dead in part because you didn’t make sure she kept her pointy little nose out of my business in the first place.”

  Carole pulled the trigger again.

  Nothing happened.

  Carole screamed in frustration and charged directly toward Cici.

  The wind surged and cold rain poured out of the clouds.

  Cici scrambled backward. She stood on an outcropping, seeing that the ledge below her fell off another four, maybe five hundred feet. Nowhere left to go. Cici’s heart ramped up to the same loud pounding as the raging in her ears.

  I tried, Anna Carmen. I tried so hard to find your killer—to make sure you received justice.

  She stared into the eyes of the woman whom she considered her friend. Probably the woman closest to a mother figure she had in years.

  Anna Carmen’s killer.

  Carole launched herself at Cici. Cici darted to the left, but Carole grabbed Cici by the ankle yanking her with all her might. Just then, there was a sharper tug as Carole reached the end of the mountain. The ledge caught Carole in her mid-section, causing her to wheeze. Cici kicked as hard as she could.

  But Carole’s grip tightened as she slid to the edge. Down she fell, yanking on Cici’s ankle. The bones there gave with a sharp crack as Cici scrambled with her hands, trying desperately to find any kind of a handle.

  Nothing.

  Her boot slid off, weighed down by water and Carole’s grip. The pain caused Cici’s mind to seize from pain.

  Down they both fell.

  Carole first, her scream of outrage and fear cut off.

  Cici cringed, crying as she sought to grab the roots sticking out of the edge of the cliff face. She caught one, but the rough roots tore the skin on her palms and her momentum pulled her downward.

  The air cooled as it seemed to speed up. Just then, Cici landed on one of the piñons growing out of the side of the mountain. It took her breath and scratched the skin on her back and ribs. But Cici managed to breathe in a deep sob. She looked up. Fifty, maybe sixty feet from the outcrop.

  Anna Carmen glittered there, at the edge, her eyes wide and her mouth opened in a scream.

  Her sister. Her savior.

  “Cee!” Sam’s plaintive voice reached through the roaring in her ears.

  “Here!” She managed to call.

  He looked over the side of the rocks, his face ghostly pale and his eyes wide. His short ponytail was undone, his hair flying around his face, sticking to his wet-slicked cheeks.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I—I think so.”

  Cici’s voice remained much calmer than she’d anticipated. She dragged much-needed cool air into her lungs.

  “Carole’s below me. Somewhere.”

  “I have a full team. SAR and police. They’ve fanned out and are scouring the mountain right now. Let me focus on you.”

  “Good,” Cici said. She breathed out deeply, trying to ignore the black tinges melting into her vision. “How’d you find me?”

  Weren’t the guys closer to the trail?

  Sam’s face paled, his mouth compressed. “I followed the screams.”

  Cici considered that. Probably he had, but she bet Anna Carmen helped as much as she could.

  “I’m going to tie my rope,” Sam said. He disappeared back behind the lip of the rocks. She heard other people calling up there, across the mountain. Hopefully, Juan, Miguel and Justin would get the treatment they needed.

  Sam reappeared. His face taut with worry.

  “Can you climb?” His voice held doubt.

  “Yeah.”

  A rope dangled above her and Cici grabbed it.

  “Wrap the end around your waist. Good, yes, just like that.”

  Cici’s hands shook but she managed to knot the rope as she’d been taught by her search-and-rescue leader.

  Sam’s eyes stayed focused on her. She trembled with the relief of his nearness.

  “Go slow. If it’s too much, I’ll pull you up.”

  “We need to find Justin, Miguel, and Juan,” Cici said. “They’re nearby.”

  She sucked in a deep breath as the damaged skin of her palms connected with the smooth nylon. Cici gritted her teeth against the difficulty of sitting up. Her ankle throbbed but she managed to pull herself up enough for Sam to grab her under the arms and haul her the rest of the way.

  Then his arms were around her and his lips pressed to hers. He caught the back of her head and deepened the kiss as Cici began to collapse against him. He pulled back, his chest heaving near as much as hers was. He began to drag them both farther from the ledge.

  Cici winced as her bad ankle—and shoeless foot—connected with sharp rocks and other debris.

  Sam pressed her face against his chest. She curled her fingers into his wet shirt.

  “You scared me, woman. And I’m so mad at you for not listening to me in the first place.”

  “Good Lord, Sam. You can’t just kiss women you’re mad at.” Cici stumbled back and pressed her fingertips to her tingling lips. “And I did listen. I gave Kevin Loomis the note.”

  “You’re hurt,” he said.

  “My ankle’s a mess. Oh, and I got shot at.”

  Cici shivered i
n her sodden shirt, her one hiking boot squeaking as water sloshed around her toes.

  Sam settled her on the rock and Cici tried not to convulse as she remembered what had happened here not long before. He wrapped her ankle with quick, efficient movements and checked her arm. The bleeding had stopped but the area remained red and angry. Cici winced when Sam prodded it with gentle fingers.

  “I think this is okay,” he murmured. “Anything else?”

  He ran his hands up and down her arms, over her ribs to her hips. Cici winced when he slid his palm over the abraded skin on her back but she shook her head.

  “Some scrapes. I’ll be fine.” She took a deep breath, wishing she could ask him about the kiss. But Sam continued to look her over, much as a doctor eyed a recalcitrant patient.

  “I’m fine. Really. But guns are scary,” Cici said, her teeth chattering. She clutched at her waist, trying to warm her frozen middle. “And loud. So damn loud.”

  “Always with the potty mouth,” Sam said on a sigh. “And, yeah, having a gun pointed at you is scary.”

  He wrapped her in his arms and Cici rested her head on his chest again, breathing in the drying sweat and rain that caked his T-shirt to his body. He held her, rocking slightly, as one would a newborn. Cici soaked up his warmth and that of the sun peeking out from the dispersing clouds.

  “Anna Carmen’s been here this whole time, Sam. I know you don’t believe that. And I understand why. But she helped save me. I’m sure of it. In my dream last night, she deciphered that note of hers. It’s the mail boxes at certain post offices. Remember? 2 PS—that’s Pacheco Street. We know about those. 3DVM—DeVargas—”

  “Mall,” Sam interrupted. He shook his head in amazement. “Oh, that’s going to make this much easier.”

  “That’s what you’re going to take from what I just said?”

  “I looked over the visitor books and saw the footage from the prison. Found out Ernesto was with Regina, Carole’s daughter. That took longer than I wanted—and we almost lost you in the process—but you did good work, Rev.”

  After another long moment, Cici squeezed her eyes tight. “Can you help me down the hill? I want to get away from this place.”

  Sam threw Cici’s good arm over his shoulder, bending at the waist to make it easier for her. Then, he began to shuffle down the path as Cici hobbled on one foot next to him.

  “Just so you know, Cee, I trust you.”

  She heard the sincerity in his voice. His willingness to put faith in what he couldn’t see brought tears to her eyes. She blinked them back with effort so she could focus on the trail. Cici had already fallen apart more than she liked. No reason to keep up the pitifulness.

  They walked in silence; Cici hopped downward toward the narrow creek that sliced across the trail. “I need to check in with the team.”

  “I’m okay.” Maybe if Cici said it often enough, she’d believe it.

  Sam settled her on another large rock. This one had a flat top and no one trying to shoot at her. Cici sighed as she sank onto the surface gratefully. The faint rush of the stream hummed through the air, softer than the rippling waves of aspen leaves fluttering overhead. Cici turned her face up to the cloud-covered sun, her heart thudding with the thanks her lips had yet to say.

  Sam stepped away and pulled the walkie-talkie from his belt. He spoke into the device.

  “Thank you for what you did here, Anna Carmen,” Cici whispered. “I—I’m almost sorry though. I would have gotten to be with you again.”

  Turning her head toward the stand of aspens back up the trail, Cici wasn’t surprised to see Anna Carmen standing there. The white trunks of the trees were visible through Anna Carmen’s body—she’d never be corporeal again. But she was here, looking out for Cici. And that had to be enough.

  Anna Carmen smiled her brightest smile before she winked.

  “Yeah, yeah. Always the trickster,” Cici murmured. “I love you, big sis.” The lump reformed in Cici’s throat. “You have to come back and visit me again.”

  Anna Carmen’s smile dimmed as she looked past Cici’s shoulder. A snapped twig and a sharp intake of breath alerted Cici to Sam’s approach.

  Anna Carmen stepped forward, past Cici, much to her surprise. Before Cici could turn, Sam made a choked sound.

  Cici faced him and Anna Carmen, but her twin no longer graced the small clearing. Sam looked shell-shocked, like he was fighting back tears of his own.

  Cici closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her knees.

  She was alive. Sam was safe.

  “Any word on the guys?” Cici asked.

  “They’re all off the mountain,” Sam replied. “And on their way to the hospital. None of the injuries are life-threatening, even Justin’s, though he’s lost a lot of blood.”

  Warmth warred with the sadness Cici experienced when Anna Carmen went to Sam and disappeared.

  “Thanks for checking on them,” she murmured.

  Sam settled on the rock next to her and hauled Cici closer.

  “I’m glad it’s over. For them. And you, too.”

  They held each other as only survivors can understand.

  Finally, they heard voices.

  “Second wave of troops are here. We’ll get you off this trail now.”

  “I’m not letting Carole take the joy of hiking from me,” Cici murmured.

  “We’ll be back out here in no time,” Sam promised. “You, me, and both your dogs.”

  Cici nodded. She stood slowly, against the onslaught of dizziness. With it came one small brush of a soft breeze, almost as if her sister were saying goodbye.

  Cici’s heart squeezed as she focused on the sensation. Sam met her gaze, his blue eyes clear.

  A frown formed between Cici’s brows.

  “What did Anna Carmen communicate to you? I know she said something.”

  Sam ran his hand over his shorn hair at the base of his skull, a nervous habit leftover from their youth.

  “She didn’t speak, but I understood her.” He met her eyes. “She said now’s the time.”

  Cici’s frown formed fully just as the first responders came into sight.

  “Do you know what she meant by that?”

  He shook his head slowly as though the effort pained him.

  With that, he went to greet the rest of the officers who filled the clearing.

  Cici closed her eyes and let the peace of the forest wash over her.

  Epilogue

  Lovers and madmen have such seething brains

  Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend

  More than cool reason ever comprehends. —Shakespeare

  Sam closed the file, a sigh of relief filling the near-empty police headquarters. He glanced at the clock. After eight. Most of the night shift was on patrol.

  He opened his desk drawer and pulled out the ring he kept stashed at the very back, not in a typical black velvet jewelers’ box but a cheap plastic pencil case. The edges were frayed with age and the plastic turning brittle enough to flake.

  He pulled out the solitaire. Not a diamond because she never liked them. When he went shopping for a stone, he’d learned there were over four thousand minerals tucked into the earth’s crust. Many he’d never heard of, let alone seen. The stone he chose was alexandrite, a purplish gem that flashed near emerald in the sun and closer to ruby in the dark.

  Exotic, intriguing. Perfect for the woman who would never wear it.

  “You were wrong, Anna Carmen,” Sam murmured. “This is never going to happen.”

  He shoved the ring back into the bag, ignoring the small piece of paper, and zipped the pencil case shut. After shutting and locking his desk drawer, Sam stood and stretched.

  He picked up Anna Carmen’s file and slid it into his completed cases drawer.

  After he shut it, he patted the cold metal once before turning and starting toward the door when he saw Evan leaning against the wall.

  “What are you doing here?” Sam asked.

  “Could
ask you the same thing.”

  When Sam continued to frown, his heart racing, wondering how much of the last few moments Evan had seen, Evan stepped forward, hands up in supplication.

  “I heard you talking. Mentioned Anna Carmen.”

  “Yeah.” Sam swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to breathe normally. “She deserved justice.”

  Evan’s eyes crinkled at the corners a bit.

  “Congratulations on closing that case. I know it meant a lot to you.”

  Sam eyed Evan’s relaxed pose. “You, too, I’d think.”

  Evan’s lips curled up.

  “Yeah, it did. That’s why I came by. I needed to say thank you in person. Losing her . . . I talked to Cici for a long time last night.”

  Sam forced his feet to remain still. “Yeah? How’d that go?”

  Evan tipped his head, eyes still watchful.

  “Anna Carmen was a special woman. If I’d been smarter back in the day, I would have married her sooner. Told her I loved her more often. Assured her I trusted her judgment. Then, maybe, she would have come to me when she found out Regina was still alive.”

  “Blaming yourself won’t change the past,” Sam said.

  “True. But I’m still trying to figure out how to let that go.”

  Evan paused, considering the younger man for another long moment.

  “Anna Carmen talked about Cici a lot, you know. It’s a twin thing, I guess.”

  “Yeah,” Sam murmured, his heart hitching. “They were close, those two.”

  “Which is why I know Cici never planned to marry that guy—Lyndon? She was making noise about coming back to Santa Fe even before Anna Carmen died. Said she missed the people she was closest to.”

  Sam’s chest ached. He replayed Anna Carmen’s words in his mind: You said it yourself, Sam. Nothing good comes from lies. Now’s the time to tell Cici the truth.

  Sam chose not to answer. Instead, he grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the chair. After adjusting his shoulder harness, he put on the jacket.