Above the Bridge (16 page)

A feeling of uneasiness started building inide as she questioned how to start pulling the scattered bits of information together.  It was not going to be easy.  She tossed the jumbled thoughts around as she left the square and headed for the cabin, stopping only on the outskirts of town for some Advil to tackle the ache that continued to creep across her forehead.  Impulsively, she added a package of hot cocoa to her purchase, hoping something warm and sweet would help ease the oncoming headache and sooth her nerves.

Back in the car, she continued north.  Elk were just beginning to come down from higher altitudes to graze for the winter in the safety of the National Elk Refuge.  Beyond the refuge, tall mountains stood against the eastern horizon, with snow capping the highest sections.  Though they were less dramatic than the Grand Tetons to the west, they were still impressive.

As she turned right at Gros Ventre Junction and headed for the cabin, she began to feel increasingly uneasy.  What if Jake really was in danger?  What if she had the knowledge to warn him and she held back?  What would happen to him?  Would she be responsible?  She argued with herself that this was really none of her business.  She had come to Jackson Hole simply to do an article and she’d be better off not getting involved personally.  Yet she knew it was too late for that.  She was already involved.

She struggled back and forth with these thoughts as she continued east.  Fields of bison surrounded the curved slopes of Blacktail Butte.  Pine-flanked mountains rose up beyond the town of Kelly.  She took these images in absent-mindedly, her energy drawn to the conflicting feelings running through her head.  She aimed for the cabin, approaching the driveway and signaling to turn in.  But at the last minute, just as she was starting the turn, she surprised herself by jerking the wheel back onto the road and driving toward Jake’s ranch.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jake moved from the chair to the bed sometime in the middle of the night and slept soundly until long after the sun had risen.  Yet, in spite of sleeping well, he woke up with the blurry feeling of sleep deprivation, making him suspect that he hadn’t slept as soundly as he thought he had.  Thinking a good breakfast would help do the trick, he got the coffee maker started and tossed two slices of honey wheat bread in the toaster.  After a brief inspection of his refrigerator’s contents, he pulled out eggs, cheese and green onions, grated the cheese, sliced the onions and scrambled it all together in a large, iron pan.  Retrieving his toast from the toaster, he slapped everything on a plate and sat in front of the kitchen’s westward facing window.

He spread some orange marmalade on his toast, looking beyond his property, across the valley and over to the Grand Tetons.  This was the distance that separated him from the gold.  He got up to pour a second cup of coffee and then sat down again, slowly stretching his legs and arms and then finishing his breakfast with a surprisingly avid hunger.  He set the dishes in the sink and retreated to the living room, where, as seemed to always be the case now, he pulled the map out and sat down to analyze it again.  There was always a chance he might find something he had missed before.

This time he inspected the smaller markings, those that were so minor that they hadn’t seemed to warrant much attention.  He knew already from the zigzag of the line on the left that the map was set in a typical north to south, east to west format.  This placed the town of Jackson at the lower edge of the map.

There were several additional marks along the bottom that appeared to indicate the town, scratchy marks that looked like scrub brush, a few squares that appeared to be buildings, and some short parallel lines that looked like either a ladder or maybe a path.  Or some sort of crossing, perhaps a wooden sidewalk or even the slats of a wall.  There were a number of possibilities.  An oval shape seemed to indicate a body of water, though that didn’t make sense to Jake.  There wasn’t a lake that close to the town area.  He considered the possibility that there used to be one and that it had dried up over the years since the map was made.  But he was more inclined to believe it represented something else, though he couldn’t venture a guess as to what it was.

He was sure the gold wasn’t buried near the town itself, which made the lower markings on the map unimportant.  They simply set the location of the town and indicated the northward direction from there.  He was still on the right track.  The curving line down the center of the page represented the Snake River, just as it had appeared from Snake River Overlook.  It veered in the direction of Jenny Lake.  Yes, he was certain he had it right.  Now he just had to follow through until he found the exact location.

Jake was getting ready to put the map away when he was startled by a knock on the door. He’d never had visitors, not since he’d moved from Cody.  He’d made it a point to keep his distance from the local people, appearing friendly while in town, but reclusive once outside.  It was his protection, his way to avoid having anyone guess his motivation for coming to Jackson Hole.  Other than Frank Thompson, no one knew why he was here.  And Frank would never tell anyone.  He had too much to lose.

Quickly Jake stashed the map back in the shelf, making sure it was completely hidden before crossing to the front door.  He suspected a car had broken down or perhaps someone had become disoriented driving around the valley and needed directions.  But he did not expect to open the door and find the girl from the library standing on the porch.  With so much on his mind, he hadn’t had time to think of their brief, awkward encounter over flying books.

What he did remember, though, was her shiny, auburn hair, as well as her trim figure and rich-toned, hazel eyes.  These same eyes now held a look that was a cross between embarrassment and anxiety, nervous and flustered at the same time.  But they still held the depth that he recalled from their last meeting.

Paige attempted to speak, then closed her mouth and shook her head.  She appeared to collect her thoughts again and ventured another effort.

“I’m Paige Mackenzie, I met you the library,” she attempted.  “Well, it’s probably more accurate to say I bumped into you.”  She shook her head sheepishly.  To her relief, Jake laughed.

“Yes, I seem to recall that I was on my way to check out a few books and, just as I turned away from the shelf to head toward the counter, you flew around the corner at the speed of lightening and just about knocked the both of us over.”  He crossed his arms and smiled, watching her for a reaction.

Paige felt slightly annoyed at this exaggeration and contemplated turning around and leaving.  But she had come to talk to him and had ventured too far already to not see it through.  She gathered her composure and spoke up.

“I know this is going to sound odd, in fact it’s going to sound far-fetched,” she began, her voice trailing off.  “Actually, the honest truth is it’s probably going to sound like I’ve lost my mind, which may very well be the case.”  This just wouldn’t do, Paige thought to herself.  Now she was babbling.  A sudden urge to disappear into thin air flashed though her mind.  That is, until she remembered she had apparently done exactly that not very long ago.

Jake stood watching as Paige fumbled for words.  She was pretty, more than pretty.  She was beautiful, in fact, with classic features and a soft complexion,   Jake found it difficult to pay attention to what she was saying, though it didn’t appear at first that she was saying much of anything at all.  Babbling had never been impressive to him, but somehow in Paige it seemed cute.  He shifted his weight and waited for her to explain the point of her unexpected visit.  It was almost enjoyable, watching her struggle to get words out.

There was nothing enjoyable, however, once she managed to speak up.  His expression changed immediately as he listened to the words pour out.  Jake straightened up quickly, grabbed Paige by the arm and pulled her inside, closing the door with enough force that it made Paige a little fearful.

“What did you just say?”  Jake demanded, continuing to hold her by the arm, making Paige wince a little with discomfort, until Jake realized he was hurting her and let go.

Paige took a deep breath and repeated the words she had spoken outside on the porch.

“I said I think you’re in danger. I overheard a man mention your name and it sounded…,” she searched for the right words.  “It sounded threatening.  I know I don’t know you, but I think you’re in danger.  I just came here because I wanted to warn you.”

Jake stood back and looked at Paige with a puzzled expression, the only cover he could pull up for the actual worry that was starting to mount.  How could she possibly know anything?  After all, he had only seen her around town for a week or so.  He waited quietly for her to continue and then listened carefully as she spoke.

“I was in The Cowboy Bar the other night,” Paige started off, “You know, the one near the town square with the neon…”  She paused as Jake nodded and waved for her to go on.

“Well, anyway, I had a rough…I mean an unusual…I mean…a very strange day and had decided a drink sounded good.”  Paige paused to take a breath.  Jake fought off the passing thought that a drink was actually starting to sound good to him right now, his recent breakfast notwithstanding.

“And then what happened,” Jake pressed, growing impatient.

“I took a seat on one of those saddles.  You know how they have saddles in there, instead of…”  She stopped again, watching Jake’s expression grow weary.  He didn’t even need to motion for her to continue this time.

“Anyway,” she hurried up, as much out of nervousness being near Jake as out of her need to get the story out, “I sat down next to a man who had his back toward me.  He’d had quite a few drinks already and he didn’t seem to know I was there.  He was rambling on a little and occasionally slamming his fist down on the counter, that sort of thing.  No one seemed to pay that much attention to him.  I assumed he was a local and that people were used to him being there.”

Jake moved back and took a seat, watching Paige intently as she continued.

Paige started pacing slowly in front of Jake’s chair, thinking through the conversation and motioning with her arms as she attempted to reconstruct it for Jake.

“He was telling the woman not to worry, that he had it all under control.  He said your name, Jake.  He said “Jake fell for the first one and he’ll fall for the second.”  He also said you would lead them to it – whatever it is, that part he didn’t say – but that you wouldn’t get it.  That’s what he told her.”

Jake shook his head and held both of his hands out flat in front of him, confused.  “That’s what he told her?  Told who?”

“The woman who was standing next to him,” Paige explained.  “You know her, Maddie, the one who runs the Blue Sky Café.”  She paused a minute.  “He never said her name, but I recognized her.  Oh, and she called him Frank.”

Jake stood up and walked across the room, avoiding Paige’s eyes.  He continued into the kitchen, where Paige thought she heard the sound of a dull thud.  When he returned, however, he looked calmer and casually took his seat again.

“Look,” he said slowly, a forced smile across his face, “I really do appreciate you trying to warn me about whatever it was they were talking about.  But I’m afraid you’ve got the wrong person.  I haven’t a clue what this is about.”

“But the man said, ‘Jake,’” Paige insisted.  “I heard that clearly, even over the clanking of pool balls and beer bottles, even over the music in the background.  He definitely said your name.”

Jake stood and nodded to her with a reassuring expression.  “I’m sure he did, but this town isn’t as small as it used to be and Jake’s a pretty common name these days.  I’m sorry for whoever it is who’s in trouble with them, but you’ve got the wrong guy.”

Frustrated and more than slightly exasperated, Paige shook her head and walked toward the front door.  Jake jumped up and turned the doorknob before she could reach it, holding the door open in a gentlemanly fashion.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, discouraged and embarrassed.  It had been worth the try.  Maybe he was right, after all.  Maybe they were talking about a different Jake.

“I’m sorry, too,” Jake said with a kind expression on his face.  “I know you were trying to help.”  He studied her face a minute, waiting for her to depart.  He refrained from adding what he was thinking, though - that he wasn’t at all sorry to have seen her again.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jake paced back and forth, trying not to panic.  He had played it off well enough in front of Paige.  There had been nothing to make her think that her comments had hit a nerve, other than the mug he had clumsily knocked off the kitchen table in a short burst of anger.  But that surely sounded like an accident.  She hadn’t mentioned it when he returned to the main room.  No, she wasn’t a problem.

Frank, however, was definitely a problem.  For one thing, Jake had counted on him to be discreet.  The last thing they needed was to have other treasure seekers coming out of the woodworks.  This belonged to their families and they were the ones who deserved to find it.  On the other hand, if Frank had intentions of tricking Jake and keeping the gold for himself, he had another thing coming.  This didn’t worry Jake as much.  He knew the old man was no match for him, not mentally or physically. He just had to be more careful.  And he’d need to be less forthcoming with reports of progress than he had been up to now, since he suspected Frank was no longer to be trusted.

What troubled him the most was hearing that Maddie was somehow involved.   Why would Frank have kept this a secret?  All those mornings at the Blue Sky Café he had been served coffee by the seemingly innocent, well-meaning woman.  Had she been behind the plan to recover the gold all along?  Perhaps even before Frank asked him to come down to Jackson?