Authors: Karen Harper
Char fumbled for her purse, long lost on the floor of the sleigh, while Matt ran around his house through the snow. She found her phone. She knew dialing 9-1-1 meant the call would go through Gabe’s night receptionist to a volunteer fire department. But as she jumped from the sleigh, her phone fell into the snow.
“I can call, ma’am,” Brady said, jumping down, too. “Dad got me a phone.”
“Yes, good. Thanks!” she cried, even as she dug hers out and ran after Matt. His house was not on fire, thank God, but a large bonfire blazed in the backyard under a picnic table, which was also aflame. The heat had melted a big ring of snow. For one moment, the scene reminded her of the wreck of his burning truck with the fire-blackened grass and leaves.
“I’ve got a fire extinguisher in the house,” Matt shouted. “But it will burn itself out.”
“Brady’s calling 9-1-1.”
“Have him cancel it. Nothing Gabe can do here till morning, so why should we roust him or the volunteer firemen out of warm beds?”
Char only hoped it wasn’t too late to learn who was tormenting Matt and why. She turned back to tell Brady not to bring the volunteers out tonight, but in the flickering light, she saw a piece of paper stuck on the wooden wall of the house by the back door—stuck there with an arrow pierced through it. It bore a crudely sketched skull and crossbones. In bold letters, wavering in the backyard blaze, were the familiar words,
YOUR FIRED!
14
I
t was too late to stop the Falls County Volunteer Fire Department from arriving and bringing out the neighbors. But, at Matt’s request, Char went inside to call Gabe’s home phone number. He and his deputy, Jace, were both out on calls, but the dispatcher put her through to Gabe. He said not to touch things and he’d be there as soon as he could.
“I’ll have to bag that note,” Gabe told Char as she stood in Matt’s kitchen, watching the firemen put out the last remnants of the blaze. She saw that, besides the picnic table, it had been fed by firewood someone had taken from Matt’s own woodpile out back. “Char, were you at his house when it started?”
“Not exactly. We ate at the Mannings’, then took a sleigh ride. The fire was really going when we got here. Gabe, Royce Flemming’s assistant, Orlando, followed us up on Pinecrest today on Royce’s orders. Matt was mad because he wasn’t asked or told. It’s been quite a day.”
“Don’t lose the note Lee printed for you that you told Tess about. I’ll compare the handwriting and get a specialist, if I have to.”
“Lee wouldn’t do all this—the truck wreck, the arrows.”
“You and Tess have been telling me Bright Star has complete sway over his people. You don’t really know Lee anymore—can’t trust him. That’s what I’ve told Tess.”
“But I think Lee’s note might have been accusing Bright Star of something. Lee had to hide it from the guy next to him, who would probably rat on him. That’s why I’ve got to get to Grace again—to make sure she and the kids are safe.”
“Char, do me—and Tess—a huge favor. Don’t involve her in that. If she finds out you’re heading there again, she’ll insist on going. I’ve got to worry about her pregnancy now, more than Grace’s.”
“Okay. I’m just feeling desperate and so is Matt.”
“At least the two ‘Your Fired’ notes have to be from the same person, but why? When we get the why, we’ll get the who. Take care of yourself. At least the arrow wasn’t aimed at the two of you this time.”
But it was Jace Miller who arrived a few minutes later to take the arrow and note and survey the scene, since Gabe was still busy on a call. Jace only stayed about fifteen minutes and told them Gabe would be there to get their statements in the morning. “We’re stretched pretty thin, and there’s a full moon, which brings out the worst around here,” Jace told them on his way back to his cruiser.
Char fumbled around the kitchen to fix coffee for the six firefighters and Matt, who were still standing around the debris and ashes outside. She located enough mugs and cups and carried them out on a tray.
“You got a good wife there, Mr. Rowan,” one of the men said.
“A good woman, for sure,” Matt replied.
It had taken little time for the fire to be put out, though the fire chief—who owned the bakery uptown—interviewed Matt before leaving. Finally, though in circumstances they did not want or plan, Matt and Char were alone in his house.
“I’m tempted to go out right now to follow foot tracks so more snow doesn’t bury them by morning,” Matt said as he leaned stiff-armed on the granite countertop by the sink, glaring out a back window. “But that might be just what some idiot wants—me out there in the dark alone. Ten to one footsteps go up into the trees and toward the ridge, even up to the level of your cabin.”
Though she felt defrosted by now, Char shivered. She figured from their location that directly above Matt’s property was where they’d seen the drag marks that could have been from Woody’s body being dragged, then carried to be thrown off the cliff.
“I’m going to talk to Orlando in the morning if I can find him. I don’t trust the guy. I want to tell him to steer clear of me,” Matt said.
“You said before he doesn’t like you, but why? If he’s so loyal to Royce, you’d think he’d like anyone Royce likes.”
“Yeah. You’d think a lot of things.”
“Well, I’ve been thinking that I’ve been with you when both arrows hit, even probably when that first note was left in your burned-out truck.”
He turned to face her. “Char, you’re obviously not the one who’s being ‘fired’ or fired at. But you have lit a fire in me. Sorry our sleigh ride mood got ruined tonight. I’m so frustrated I could chew nails, but I’ll settle for some more of your good coffee made in my kitchen. I don’t want to sleep tonight or get too distracted.”
She nodded and got up to fix more coffee. It felt funny to be in a strange kitchen yet to feel at home.
“I’ll stay on patrol in case that ‘Your Fired’ warning means someone might try to burn the house. How about you sleep in the guest room or on the couch in the front room or my den? Once again, I don’t want you alone tonight. I’ll keep guard, get you home first thing in the morning. I’d rather not leave the house right now, and I can’t have you going out alone. I’m starting to see why Royce has a bodyguard, and he’s so much more powerful, wealthy—and unpopular—than I am, more of a target, it’s ridiculous. Everything seems ridiculous, except us.”
She went to him, hugged him. He clamped her full length to him, holding her so tight she could barely breathe. She was amazed how strong a man could feel, even one who was afraid. Despite all that had happened, she felt safe in his arms and yet scared, too, for him, for both of them.
* * *
In the morning, Matt dropped Char at the Mannings’ place, then went back to his house where Gabe was following footsteps up the hill. Before leaving Matt’s home, Char had seen that the fire had melted snow for quite a distance, so Gabe had to start tracking pretty far out. At the Mannings’, she changed clothes, got her warmest things on, grabbed Lee’s note to her, then drove back to Matt’s. She handed Gabe Lee’s note when he came into the house from his search of the grounds.
“I’m going to drive up to Char’s rental cabin,” Gabe told them. “I need to see if I can trace the tracks from that height since I lost the trail on the rocks. They disappeared below the ridge as if the single person had simply flown away.
“Oh, great,” Char said when Gabe drove off in his squad car. “Now we just have to sit around and wait to get answers.”
“It’s Sunday but how about we go check out how the beavers are doing? I think you’re dressed for that. I’m going to drive around town first to be sure we’re not followed. Once I saw that tree stand, I took off fast and I meant to do more there, including check the water in the creek. With all that brownish water in the retention lagoon above, I think leakage from it would be easy to spot. Let’s go out to my truck through the garage door. Since we were followed in that new Lake Azure truck, we’ll change vehicles. Oh, wait, the snow shovel’s in the basement and we might need it to break the ice or dig something out.”
She waited in his truck and nearly screamed when a man suddenly came in through the open garage door and knocked on her window. Orlando! Although Matt had wanted to talk to him, that’s all they needed right now. She was tempted to just lock her door and sit there. She couldn’t open the window since Matt had the truck key. While she vacillated, Orlando spoke in a loud voice. “Royce heard what happened last night. Is Matt all right?”
He must have realized Matt was coming soon since she was sitting here. And since he was hardly whispering, he wasn’t just sneaking around. She opened the door a crack.
Orlando bent down, pulled it farther open and looked in. He was clean-cut but his olive skin showed the outline of a dark beard. Even in the cold, he was bareheaded with his raven hair swept straight back. His piercing eyes were brown, his nose prominent, though his lips were thin. But those heavy brows that looked linked when he frowned made him seem angry.
“Yes, Matt’s fine,” she told him. “Once again, the sheriff’s on it. As you may have heard, Matt wasn’t real happy that Royce had you follow us yesterday.”
“I take orders from him, not Matt. And it was for his own good, always is, so—”
Matt came into the garage with the snow shovel. “Orlando! What are you doing here? I was going to look you up later,” he said, putting the shovel down and coming closer. “Didn’t Royce tell you to bodyguard him and not me?”
Char held her breath as the two men glared at each other. “We’ll be late for brunch with Kate and Grant,” she said, when they’d discussed nothing of the kind. It suddenly seemed a good idea to go there, change vehicles with them and not go in this truck since Orlando had seen it. And it seemed an even better idea to try to distract these two guys.
“Oh, yeah, you’re right,” Matt said, then turned to Orlando again. “Thank Royce for his continued concern.” He walked around to the driver’s side of the truck.
Orlando didn’t budge. “Why didn’t you take him up on going in on the fracking?” he asked. “Very lucrative. More cheap oil and gas is good for the country. That hurt him.”
The two men stared at each other over the top of the truck. Char gripped her hands in her lap as Matt responded. “I trust him, of course—his judgment. It just wasn’t for me, with all the possible fracking fallout when I need to be a community liaison around here. Maybe he’ll let you in on it.”
If Orlando said anything else, Char didn’t hear it as Matt got in and slammed the door. Orlando stalked out to Royce’s black sedan, parked in the curve of the cul-de-sac.
Matt started the truck and muttered to her. “Good move to make him think we’re going to visit your sister.”
“I think we should. Park there and either borrow one of their vehicles or else have them drive us to the creek, drop us off and come back later.”
“Big sis won’t like that idea, will she?”
“No. She’ll probably want to come along and look for Indian artifacts. Just kidding.” She craned around to scan the street behind them. “He’s gone. Let’s go.”
* * *
They found Grant and Kate sitting in Grant’s kitchen at the table, huddled over the Sunday paper and drawings of ancient burials and bodies. After they explained everything, Kate said, “I can take you in the Ohio State van the latest group of archaeology undergrads left here.”
“Kate, it’s one thing to be looking for old arrows and bones in our backyard,” Grant said. “But you don’t need to get involved with looking at water samples. Out of your element.”
“Yes, but I have contacts at OSU who can test the water if there’s a problem with runoff.”
“Actually,” Matt said, “I have a friend who can do that.”
Grant shook his head. “I imagine that’s one of the first things Ms. Lacey Fencer and Green Tree will do, too, if they’re showing up like Matt says. Picketing and protesting are their specialties. Green Tree rattles trees, and then we’ll see what falls out about fracking. No offense to Royce Flemming, Matt.”
“I’m sure he’s doing everything by the book. If there’s any toxic runoff, he’d take care of it right away—if he’s aware of it.”
“Is Lacey Fencer related to the Fencers, Joe and his family, who live on our old road?” Char asked. “Matt just hired him as head groundskeeper at Lake Azure.”
“Cousins, I think, like us to Lee,” Kate said. “Man, that’s a weird note he slipped you, Char, so I can see why you guys want to check the creek water there. But do you know Lacey is Grant’s ex-wife?”
“Lacey always has a cause,” Grant added. “Thank God, it’s not me anymore, but the environment. Okay, how about you two hiding in the backseat of our car and we’ll drive you there, then we’ll go see how Tess is doing. Kate’s been driving me nuts about that, and a phone call won’t do. In case your cell doesn’t work in the river valley, we can come back at a set time to pick you up. That way this Orlando guy can’t follow you, and there will be no telltale truck sitting around for the fracking site workers to get suspicious.”
“I think,” Matt said, with a smile, “the four of us could conquer the world.” As they all stood, he put his arm around Char’s shoulders. Kate, big sis that she was, surveyed them for a moment with narrowed eyes. Then, as if she’d decided Matt had passed muster, she nodded and smiled, too.
“Sounds good,” Kate said. “Let’s just hope the best laid plans of mice and men don’t go astray.”
15
I
n the valley, which Cold Creek had cut into the rock over the ages, it was bitterly cold. The sharp breeze sifted little snow showers on them from oak limbs and fir needles. The briar bushes rattled, and the wind sighed through the bare branches and swaying pines.
Matt had left the snow shovel behind, but he had his gun in his coat pocket, and that bothered Char, but she was glad she had come along. When they crunched through the eight inches of snow to where the beaver dam diverted some of the water to a pond, she wished she’d brought her sunglasses for the blinding light off the expanse of snow and ice.
“I see the beavers have made their own hole in the edge of the ice,” Matt told her, “but I’ll get a tree limb to make ours. Glad we brought a jar, though it will hardly do for a complete test sample of water. But I feel like a traitor.”
“To Royce?”
“Yeah, like I’m going behind his back, but then he went behind mine, even if his intentions were good. I’m sure he’d want to know if something’s going wrong from fracking runoff. Unless I have something to really warn him about, I don’t plan to shake him up with any of this. No offense, but your cousin Lee doesn’t seem like a reliable source to me.”
“Unless he wants to get back at Bright Star, so he’s telling the truth, even if it endangers him.”
“Get back at him for what? Lee must know his guru and Royce both owe each other big-time, so why get Royce in trouble? Bright Star got bigger, better land and a lot of money for selling the original Hear Ye property. Royce got a prime fracking spot. Besides, as for Royce being shook up, he is already from someone trying to scare or murder me. He has a calm demeanor, but I can tell he’s upset in his own way—which, unfortunately, included him putting Orlando on my tail.”
At that, Matt looked behind them and all around again. But for the cawing of black crows glaring at human intruders from their perches, it was silent. The lack of noise from the usually loud fracking site overhead on this Sunday morning was almost eerie.
They both ducked and jumped when a small tree crashed to the ground across the creek. “Over there,” Matt said, pointing. “Those two beavers must have gnawed through the trunk until it fell. I wish they’d shouted, ‘Timber!’”
She smiled. It didn’t take much to spook either of them lately.
“I want to check that tree stand I saw the other day somewhere around here,” he said. “Since we came in another way, I’m not sure exactly where it is. And with all this snow, things look different. Come on. Look, deer tracks. It will be hunting season on them soon. The way things have been for me lately, I sympathize.”
Char followed in his deep footprints along the creek, coming closer to the section of frozen river that lay below the fracking site. “You know,” she told him as the cold air bit into her lungs, “I can see the river’s not frozen solid clear across but only close to the edges. No way we’re walking out on it.”
“We’ll get a sample near the edge. I’m sure the tree stand was right along here,” Matt said, craning his neck to look around. “Why would someone take it down now with deer season coming?”
“Maybe it was there temporarily just to observe or photograph the beavers—everything’s a big guess lately. Look,” she cried, pointing farther down the creek. “There’s a small lean-to or shelter way back under the trees before the hill starts. It looks almost like an outhouse. Do you think hunters would build one down here? Or maybe it’s like a blind, hiding hunters so they can shoot game that comes to drink, or even pick off beavers.”
“I did hear a shot when I was down here and saw a dead beaver,” he said. “But people trap beavers for their pelts, not their meat, and it’s not trapping season yet.” To her surprise, he stepped in front of her and drew his gun, but would that be any match for a hunting rifle?
“Matt, there could be a peephole in the wall of that place. What if someone’s in there now?”
They approached it from the rear, near the ridge, moving carefully from tree to tree. They heard nothing from the windowless, shedlike structure, made with wooden planks, only the whistling wind, bird cries and their own rapid breathing.
“Get down. Stay here,” Matt whispered and rushed behind the structure. He edged around it, knocked once, then, standing to the side, yanked open the wooden door and, after a moment, peered in.
When nothing happened, she called out. “What is it?”
“Not sure. A slanted table. Not much else. Come take a look.”
She joined him at the door and looked in. It was dim inside; her eyes adjusted slowly after the outer brightness.
“A place where hunters cut up their meat?” she asked. “But what are those metal things? To keep the carcass from sliding off?”
He stepped inside; she followed. Four metal rings were embedded in the slanted wooden table which took up most of the room, two rings on one side, two on the other. The tilted table turned out to be an old door. On the floor at their feet were several wadded-up, thin pieces of cloth and, of all things, a garden watering can.
“Water to wash off the blood after the meat is butchered?” she asked. “So that’s why it’s slanted. What do you think?”
“I think chains or handcuffs or anklets fit in these metal rings,” he told her, his voice shaky. “See the scuff marks on the metal? I think it’s a waterboarding table to torture someone.”
She gasped. “What? Like the U.S. got in trouble for, questioning terrorists? But that can’t be... Who?” she cried, then an answer came to her. “It is right under the old Hear Ye commune site. But surely they don’t torture— At least, not like this.”
“I doubt if Bright Star does any of the dirty work himself. You don’t think brutal corporal punishment could be one way he keeps his little zombies in line? Why don’t they rebel or run away?”
“Maybe this is for ones who try that,” she said, her voice shaking as hard as she was. “Or, he threatens their spouses or children. I feel sick to my stomach. Should we get Gabe down here to see this?”
“For sure. But even if the Hear Ye bunch were asked about it, they’d deny it was theirs, that Bright Star had anything to do with it.”
“You’re right. Matt, I have to help the Lockwood kids, even if their parents aren’t rebelling.”
“Like you said, maybe he threatens the kids—terrifies or hurts the kids to keep the parents in line.”
“And maybe this is not even his. Maybe somebody else uses it to get even with someone. No one would hear screams with the usual drilling and truck noise just above here.”
“That’s for sure. Maybe Lee sent us here not to find poison water but this. Gabe said Bright Star speaks in riddles. Maybe Lee does, too. Or what about Sam?”
“Sam? Down here, so far from Pinecrest?” she said. “I get the connection with the torture table and the Taliban he’s obsessed with, but they say he has no way to get around. And wouldn’t he build something like this near his place, so he could question enemies he caught, not way down here where he has no connection?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Still, since we’re here, we’ll get a water sample. But right now, I’m going to take some pictures of this horrible place for Gabe, just in case it disappears like that Red Man tobacco pouch. Here, hold this gun.”
He shot a series of photos. She moved off to the side, holding his gun tentatively, pointing it down. In the light of his phone camera, she saw something carved into the wall behind the table, writing that had not been obvious in the dim shack.
“Matt, look! Back here. Do you suppose a prisoner carved something? I can’t read it. Can we use your phone for a light?”
“I’ve got a flashlight app,” he said, and walked past her to shine it on the wall. When he did, they saw traces of gold or gilt paint had once highlighted the words but had worn away or been scrubbed out.
“We’ve got the goods on that sadistic, phony cult leader now,” Matt said as they studied the writing.
The Lord threw Jonah into the sea for disobedience.
“That supports your waterboarding theory,” she whispered.
“I’ll bet one of Bright Star’s lackeys slipped up about destroying this hut when they moved, so I pity whoever that is if Gabe can bring charges against that maniac. Let’s take some water from the creek and get out of here.”
* * *
At Grant’s house, they all sat in front of the fireplace and listened as Matt explained to Gabe on the phone what they’d found. “Okay, hang on a sec,” he told Gabe. “Yeah, I’ll forward them to you.” He got up from the sofa and moved away into the kitchen. “We were just going to get a water sample. You know, because of that cryptic note Lee Lockwood handed Char. But I guess we should keep the possible water problem quiet for now. I have a friend who can get it tested. We don’t need a panic around here over tainted water when it’s probably not even true.”
Matt came back in and told them, “I’m going to send him the photos from my cell right now. He’s coming over and I’m going back with him, to show him where it is.”
“I’m going with you,” Char said. “I saw it all, too. I should be there.”
Grant put his arm around Kate. “She’s as stubborn as you are, my love,” he told her.
“A Lockwood trait,” Kate said, and kissed his cheek.
“That’s for sure,” Grant said. “Kate’s lecturing on her Adena mound finds at Penn State this week, and that’s quite a drive. I told her to shut down the dig for a few days and take Kaitlyn with her since I can’t get away, but no, she has to keep things going here and head out on her own in this weather tomorrow.”
“Grant,” Kate said, “I’ve trekked all over Europe and driven on the wrong side of the road, as we say, in the Highlands of Scotland, so I can get to the next state and back with no problems. All right,” she added, jumping up. “The least I can do is fill you two up with more hot chocolate and sandwiches before you head out again. Not only is Tess still going to feel nauseous but she’ll be so ticked off to be missing all this. I’m glad I was in on this much before I leave.” She headed to the kitchen.
“One other thought in all this,” Char said, talking privately to Grant while Matt was working with his phone and Kate was in the kitchen. “Speaking of family ties—I know your brother Brad works for Royce and is close to him. And, like Matt said, we need to keep this quiet right now.”
Grant narrowed his eyes. Char hoped he wasn’t going to take offense about her not trusting his brother, but, like Orlando, Brad seemed loyal to Royce. She felt bad vibes about Brad Mason, though she couldn’t exactly explain why.
Grant cleared his throat. “Brad’s had some setbacks in life, but he’s doing well, riding high right now, using his people skills working for Royce Flemming and EEC. But you’re right. He’d tell Royce right away. What worries me is, if he finds out later that we’re in collusion, he’ll probably take it real personally with his big bro. The two of us are still patching up our relationship, but Kate and I will keep this info privileged right now. I appreciate your asking me straight out instead of asking Kate to tell me.”
Grant left to help Kate in the kitchen as Matt came and sat next to Char. She spoke in a quiet voice. “Are you sure you want to wait to have the water tested before you tell Royce there could be a problem? I asked Grant to keep it from Brad, but he was uneasy with that.”
“It needs to be our secret for now. I’ll move as fast as I can. My friend in Columbus is a state geologist. I’ll ask him for a personal favor. I know he’ll keep it quiet, too. Then, if anything looks strange, we’ll have it done again—officially.”
He’d said
we,
but she wasn’t sure if that included her.
* * *
Matt wished Char had not come along with him and Gabe, but he knew anything that could help to spring her family from Bright Star’s hold was important to her, and a cult torture chamber would sure make headlines. It was probably just his nerves, but again he felt they were being watched. He found himself looking ahead, back—especially up on the ridge—as much as Gabe did.
The shack was just as they’d left it. “Not a place for cutting up meat,” Gabe observed when he looked inside. “If it was for butchering game, there would be bloodstains on the table and floor and these rags would be a mess. And, yeah, that quote is pure Bright Star,” he added as he swung his flashlight beam over the words. “You know, I saw a place where someone had been waterboarded when I was serving in the Middle East. It was pretty crude, too, but similar.”
“I checked on the carved words,” Char said. “They aren’t a straight biblical quote, but it would link someone being waterboarded to Jonah being almost drowned for disobedience before he was swallowed by the whale. And, I swear, Bright Star sees himself as God or the Messiah—he’s that messed up.”
“Either delusional or deceptive, but dangerous either way,” Matt put in. “But, if Bright Star’s behind this, the belly of the whale is that prison cult, and people don’t get out after three days and three nights.”
Despite feeling warm from their hike, Matt shivered and not from the cold. If this sort of thing was going on inside the cult, Char and her sisters would be even more panicked to get their family members out.
“So, will you go question Bright Star about this?” Char asked Gabe.
“Yes, and he’ll probably deny it and give me some mumbo jumbo.”
“Could I go along?”
Gabe looked at her instead of frowning at the bizarre scene. “Not if I’m on official business.”
“I told her I’d go with her,” Matt said. “Even if you were out of uniform in a civilian car, he’d see you as the enemy.”
“Anyone who bucks him is his enemy,” Gabe said. “I never thought this kind of thing was in his bag of tricks. He’s usually into mind control, but this has to tie to him and his wackos. I’m going to look around outside. The photos you sent me were good, Matt. Wish I could put you on salary,” he added as he stepped outside and they followed. “I need a second deputy with the local growth and influx of outsiders around here.”
“I can talk to Royce Flemming about lobbying for one, maybe even helping to pay for it.”
Gabe turned back to face Matt. He stopped abruptly, and Char bumped into his back. “Thanks for the offer, but your boss has made that suggestion already—twice.”