Authors: John R. Kess
“How many dead?”
Neuhaus asked.
“Four. One had
his throat slit, two were shot, and we think the last one has a broken neck.”
Nick noticed the
swarm of law enforcement personnel as he walked with Beckholm to the edge of
the crime scene. One officer took pictures of the ground while another, wearing
rubber gloves, searched a duffel bag.
“We’ve had
nothing but rain out here the past few days,” the sheriff said. “The few tracks
we did find were basically useless. With the variety of how these men died, I’d
say at least two men conducted the raid, maybe more.”
Neuhaus pulled
out a map and pointed at it. “The floatplane went down here. We are here. If
you drew a line from one to the other and continue on, you are headed almost
straight north.”
“How far is it
from here to the lake where the floatplane went in?” Beckholm asked.
“I’d say
twenty-two, twenty-three miles.”
“And how many
days’ walk is that?” Beckholm asked.
“In this
terrain,” the deputy said, “I’d say three days. Two, if you’re pushing it.”
“I’d say that’s
about right,” Neuhaus said.
Beckholm pointed
at the map. “We know the floatplane landed on the lake sometime Sunday morning.
That puts these guys at this location on Tuesday or Wednesday.”
“Judging by the
condition of the bodies, that’s about right,” the deputy said. “I’d guess
Tuesday night, since one body was still in a sleeping bag, and we had a big
thunderstorm that night. It’d be perfect cover for a raid like this.”
“Where’s the
nearest road?” Beckholm asked.
“It’s still a
long way,” Neuhaus said. “There is a highway that runs east-west about thirty
miles north of here. They could get onto some logging roads about twenty miles
east of here, but those don’t show up on most maps.”
“How many days’
walk is the highway from here?” Beckholm asked. “Another two or three days?”
Both the sheriff
and the deputy nodded.
“Whoever did
this is headed for the highway,” Beckholm said. “They may be there right now.
You need to shut the road down. You need to do it now.”
“Consider it
done.” Sheriff Neuhaus pointed at the county map. “This right here is a
fifteen-mile stretch of highway with only a few dirt roads coming off of it,
mostly dead ends. Nobody gets in or out without my approval.”
“Make sure your
people have a description of the girl,” Beckholm said.
* * *
“Look at this.” Elly
modeled her mud-stained arms, then leaned forward and shook her head. “I feel
like there’s a colony of bugs nesting in my hair.” She stomped her feet and
scratched her scalp in a frantic attempt to remove the imaginary critters.
Jay laughed.
The thumping
sound of an approaching helicopter ended Elly’s dance.
They took cover
under a small clump of trees just as a helicopter appeared on the horizon,
moving in the distance from east to west perpendicular to their current course.
“Is that the
same helicopter from before?” Elly asked.
“It looks like
the same one. That must be the highway, and that means they’re watching it.”
“What do we do?”
“They must have
some people on the ground, too.” Jay pulled out his GPS and noted the time at
the top. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to get a little closer to
the road and then wait to see how long it takes for the helicopter to fly back
and forth a couple times. That way we’ll know when it’s safe to try and flag
somebody down. From here on, we move in silence.”
* * *
Nick stared out
the helicopter window. He, Beckholm, and the sheriff were on their way deeper
into the forest. The helicopter had found another tent, and nearby were two
dead bodies, a young male and a young female.
Beckholm worried
what would happen if it was Elly’s body. He would be forced to deal with a
grieving sibling when he should be focusing on the case.
Nick turned to
Beckholm. “It’s not her,” he said. “There is no way.”
“Sheriff,” the
pilot said. Everyone in the helicopter could hear the conversation through the
headsets. “I’m patching a call through from the precinct.”
“Go ahead,”
Neuhaus said.
“Sheriff, this
is Sanders. I just got off the phone with the forensics lab in Missoula. The bullets found in the engine compartment match the shell casings found at the
airport. I also spoke with our lab. They were able to determine the blood found
on the tarmac was type A positive.”
Nick was shaking
his head no. “Our whole family has type O,” he said.
The helicopter
circled the area and made its descent. The pilot announced he’d be back as soon
as he picked up the forensics team. When the helicopter touched down, the three
men exited and were greeted with a nod from a member of the search party, who
escorted them over a small hill to a grove of trees. The helicopter took off
and headed back.
Beckholm saw the
young woman lying facedown next to a young man. The girl matched Elly’s
description.
Nick circled
closer, then shook his head and let out a huge sigh. “It’s not her.”
“Are you sure?”
the sheriff asked.
“Yes. It’s not
her.” Nick turned away, feeling relieved yet sick. He glanced at the girl
again, then leaned over and put his hands on his knees.
“Are you all
right?” Beckholm asked.
Nick nodded as
he stood. “How far are we from the highway?”
“About two
miles, if I had to guess,” one of the officers said.
“Then it’s not
that far,” Nick said.
“Sheriff,”
Beckholm said, pointing north toward the highway. “What do you say we—”
“You read my
mind,” Neuhaus said. “All of you follow me.”
Bull sat high in
a tree, his binoculars panning over the highway again. He knew the longer he
hung around, especially after killing the two teenagers, the better the chance
he would get caught and he wondered if it was time to leave.
Logan was flying the helicopter up and down the highway. Hammer was cruising back and forth
in the car he’d stolen a few days earlier in Missoula.
If the girl
had half a brain, she wouldn’t come near this road
,
Bull thought.
He tried not to
think about the bark digging into his back as he scanned both sides of the highway
for the hundredth time. He saw something move and focused in on it. It was the top
of a backpack just a few inches above weeds near the ditch. In a moment, the backpack
disappeared.
Bull grabbed the
radio with his free hand as he desperately searched to find the backpack again.
“Hey, we’ve got movement on the south side near the ditch. Estimate five
hundred yards west of my position.”
“Are you sure?” Belgrade’s voice squawked.
“I’m positive.”
Bull listened as
Belgrade called Logan and Hammer and told them to return to his position.
“Bull,” Belgrade said, “have you spotted anything new?”
“Negative, but
I’m sure at least one person is there.”
“I’m going in,” Belgrade said.
Bull searched
the area again but saw nothing. He swung his binoculars around to see Belgrade mount his motorcycle. Cy had positioned himself behind a nearby tree with his
rifle aimed down the highway. With a wave, he told Belgrade he was ready.
* * *
Jay heard a
motorcycle engine start and then the clunking sound of it slipping into gear.
He readied the shotgun, clicking off the safety. “Stay down,” he whispered to
Elly.
The sound grew
louder. Jay caught a glimpse of the rider holding a pistol and staring down
into the ditch. Jay crouched back down. He knew the rider couldn’t see
them—yet.
Patience,
Jay
told himself. He judged the speed of the motorcycle, then popped up and fired
the shotgun.
The blow flipped
the rider backward off the motorcycle and facedown onto the pavement. The
motorcycle continued on for another thirty feet, then fell over as the engine
died. Jay scanned the area but couldn’t see anyone. He stayed low as he ran out
onto the highway and picked up the motorcycle. He hopped on and waved for Elly
to join him. She ran from the ditch and hopped on the back.
* * *
Nick jumped at
the sound of the shotgun blast. He knew it was close and took off running
toward it.
“Wait!” Beckholm
shouted as he followed him. The sheriff was close behind.
Nick didn’t have
to run far before he spotted the highway through some trees. A hundred yards to
his right a man was getting on a motorcycle while another lay motionless on the
road. The man on the motorcycle waved as if for someone to join him. Nick’s
world froze as Elly appeared, wearing a backpack and running up the ditch toward
the motorcycle. He knew it was her, even from far away.
He caught
movement out of the corner of his eye. Another man knelt just thirty feet in
front of him on the shoulder of the highway, aiming his rifle at Elly.
“NO!” Nick
shouted.
The rifleman
swung his weapon around toward Nick.
Nick jumped
behind two trees as the man fired at him. Beckholm and the sheriff dropped to
the ground near Nick.
“FBI! Drop your
weapons!” Beckholm shouted. Two more shots rang out and hit the tree Nick was
hiding behind. The sheriff pulled out his pistol and returned fire. The gunman
retreated to the ditch across the road.
* * *
Jay heard the
gunfire behind them as Elly hopped onto the motorcycle. He had her wrap her
arms around him and hold the shotgun across his lap. He revved the engine, let
the clutch out and accelerated down the highway, shifting through the gears. The
forest rushed by as the needle on the speedometer rocketed past ninety miles per
hour.
It had been
years since Jay had driven a motorcycle. Most of his experience had come from
riding off-road at Pender’s uncle’s house. The motorcycle he was on now
surprised him by how stable it was at high speed. Elly squeezed him tightly as
they flew down the highway.
* * *
Nick crouched
down behind the tree and stayed there. More shots were exchanged from both
sides of the highway. Nick felt naked as bullets cracked the bark off trees
around him.
“Stay down,”
Beckholm shouted at him.
Without warning,
a white Chevy Lumina pulled up to a stop on the far side of the highway next to
the gunman.
“Freeze! FBI!”
As soon as Beckholm said it, more shots rang out. Then Nick heard a door slam,
followed by the screeching of tires as the car pulled away.
Beckholm and
Sheriff Neuhaus ran out onto the highway and took several shots at the tires,
but the car disappeared in the distance, heading the same direction as the
motorcycle. Neuhaus got on his radio and told the dispatcher about the
motorcycle and then gave a description of the car, emphasizing the men were
armed and dangerous.
Nick joined them
at the road, “It was Elly. She got on the back of the motorcycle. She did it
willingly.”
The noise from a
helicopter made the three men look back to the west as it swooped in low.
“Is that one of
ours?” Beckholm asked.
“No,” Neuhaus
said.
The three
watched as it landed on the highway about a half mile ahead of them. They saw
the outline of a man run from the woods to the helicopter. Then it took off
heading east.
“Dispatch, this
is Neuhaus,” he said into his radio. “Tell Officer Nelson that once she has the
girl to get the hell out of there! The suspects have a helicopter, and she’s
about to be attacked.”
* * *
Elly had never
ridden on the back of a motorcycle. She had no idea how fast they were moving,
and she didn’t want to know. She buried her head in Jay’s back, trying to keep her
face out of the air rushing around him.
The motorcycle
slowed down. Jay brought it to an abrupt stop.
“Jump off, Elly,
and give me the backpack.”
“What are we
doing?” she said, taking it off and handing it to him.
He stuffed the
shotgun into the backpack with the handle sticking out and then put it on.
“I spotted a
squad car over the next hill, about a quarter mile down the road. You need to
run to it!”
“Not without you!”
Elly said.
“Go!” Jay
pointed. “I’ll draw them away from you.”
“Wait—”
“Run, Elly!”
Elly watched
helplessly as Jay turned the motorcycle around in a quick arc and accelerated
back the way they’d come.
Elly took off running.
Why didn’t Jay come with her? What was he going to do to stop a helicopter?
As she reached the
top of the hill she saw the squad car in the distance. A female officer got out
of the car holding a shotgun. Elly was getting tired of seeing weapons.
Elly gasped out
words between breaths as she approached the car. “You’ve got to help … You’ve
got to help my friend.”
“Are you Elly?”
“Yes. We have to
go help him.”
“Get in the
car.” Officer Nelson held the rear door open and closed it once Elly was in. She
put the car in gear and spun it around, heading away from where Elly had come.
“No!” Elly
screamed. “We can’t just leave him.”
“My orders are
to get you out of here.”
“Please! You
have to help him. You can’t just leave him!” Elly leaned forward and hung onto
the wire mesh separating the rear seat from the front. “Listen to me, you have
to help him.”
“Sit back!”
Nelson yelled as she sped down the highway.
A massive
headache hit Elly hard. Nothing made any sense. Here was a police officer,
someone who could help Jay, and Elly wasn’t able to get her to help him. Elly
had to do something and quick.