Dark Witness (32 page)

"Thanks for lending me this, but I need my jacket. I have to go back for my friend."

"Where did you leave your friend?" Oki asked.

"Clara's Landing. Do you know where it is?"

The two old people nodded, but Oki spoke. "It's not far if you know where you are going."

"I'll find it," Billy pushed the beautiful
amaut
at Mama Cecilia
.
"Can I have my jacket, please?"

Mama Cecilia looked at Billy and said, "You cannot find this place."

"You can tell me. I can figure it out." He put down Mama's coat and picked up the shirt that Oki had laid out for him. He put it on. "How long will it take?"

Oki's shoulder's came up. "You are hurt. You are not from here. I am too old to go with you."

"Please, just tell me how. The guy who did this to me has my friend. She's sick. Please."

Oki nodded. A woman. Of course, a woman.

"Why did you cut your hair off?" Mama Cecilia asked.

Billy's lips tipped on one side and for a moment there was no pain in his eyes. There was only affection, soft like the reflection of the trees in a still spring lake.

"It's just something we do," he said.

"Cecilia," Oki said. "You will fix some good food. I will go see what can be done in a short time. The spirits do not like to hurry, but this is an emergency."

Oki went one way, to the small room to talk to the spirits. Mama Cecilia went the other way to cook. Billy fought the urge to run through the door and finally sat down on the sofa. He put the knife with the white plastic handle on the table in front of him and then put his head in his hands. He was hungry. He would eat. They would tell him where to go, and he would get Hannah. If push came to shove he would die trying to get her, or whoever got in his way would.

***

Everyone gathered at the window and looked at the two men coming up from the dock. One was dressed in a uniform and the other was not. Robert panicked first, but before the fear spread Duncan sent them to their rooms and prayer. Teresa went to Pea. Only Melody stayed, sitting in her shadowy corner keeping her eyes on the men coming toward the house.

Duncan stood on the porch, his feet apart, his stance firm. He didn't like that these men traveled in such obvious companionship. He didn't like that one wore a uniform.

"Hello." Andre called out. He stopped a few feet from the porch with Archer a step behind. Archer was watching more than the trooper's back. He was checking the place out, looking for traps, looking for problems. Duncan hated people like him, the kind who immediately thought the worst.

"Hello," Duncan answered. "How can I help you?"

"My name is Trooper Andre Guillard. This man's name is Archer, and we're looking for some people. We have reason to believe one of them lives here. Maybe the other two are here, also. The man we're looking for is Robert Butt. He is a big man with a birthmark on one side of his face."

"Why are you looking for him?"

"We want to ask him some questions about an accident a ways from here."

"What kind of questions would you like to ask him?"

Andre smiled his brilliant smile. "We would like to ask him those questions directly. Does he live here?

"A few people live here. We are a religious group," Duncan answered. "Has this man done something wrong?"

"No. In fact, he might have done something very good. We think he might have helped this girl and her friend."

Archer passed the photograph of Hannah to Andre who held it out to Duncan. Duncan couldn't believe he was looking at the same girl. Hannah had deteriorated since coming to Duncan's house when she should have thrived; Melody and Teresa had come broken and become stronger.

"Sir? Sir," Andre called.

"She's very beautiful," Duncan muttered.

"She would look different now. Her hair would be shorter and probably dyed blond."

Archer added: "She would have been traveling with a young man. About six feet tall. Long, light colored hair."

Duncan said nothing. Andre tried again to get a rise out of him.

"We found Robert's glove at the scene." Archer held out his cell phone with the picture of the glove. "We also found his fingerprints on a key that unlocked the container. We know he was on site, sir. We believe he might have taken something from the truck besides these two people."

"So you believe he is a thief? Or a kidnapper?"

Andre shook his head, "No, sir. I know how it is out here. I understand that what a body finds is sometimes critical to survival. In this case, the cargo is lethal if it isn't used properly. I'd simply like to recover it. Our main concern, though, is the two teenagers who we believe were in the back of the truck."

"So you don't have a warrant for his arrest?" Duncan asked.

"I'm just hoping for your cooperation, Mr. . .," Andre answered.

"Brother Thoth. Duncan Thoth," he answered.

Andre smiled, but Archer didn't bother to play the game. That was Guillard's job. Archer was busy cataloguing the area and there was a lot he didn't like.

The compound was spread out. On the way up they had passed a shed stuffed with tools: axes and shovels, a scythe and a wheelbarrow. There was a sharpening wheel. By the huge pile of split wood there were two sledge hammers and more axes. None of it was unusual for a place in the wilderness, but all of it could be turned into weapons. There was another structure about fifty feet from the main house. Its front door must face east because Archer couldn't see a backdoor and there seemed to be only two windows. There was a path that intersected the one he and Andre had taken. Something important must be down that way since it was well traveled.

Then there was the main house. Duncan was guarding it like there was a harem behind those walls. Three stories. Old. Dry as tinder. There was probably a root cellar and an attic. There were also people inside. At a minimum there was one woman and two men. Archer could see the woman through the picture window on the first floor. It wasn't Hannah. On the second floor a man had looked through old drapes only to pull away when Archer looked up. He saw the man's silhouette behind the lace curtains and it was big enough to fill the window. That was probably their man, Robert Butt. The other guy looked straight at Archer, but Archer couldn't have given a description of him for a million bucks.

"Excuse me," Duncan called. "You. What are you looking at?"

"Just admiring the house," Archer said. He didn't mind that this man was a little annoyed. Archer was getting a little annoyed himself and it was with Andre's soft sell. It wasn't getting them anywhere, so Archer took a chance. "Are they here or not? We'll take any or all. Maybe we can start with Robert, but Hannah or Billy will do, too. Just one of them."

Archer started walking, stopping only when he reached the stairs. Since Duncan hadn't moved and was giving him a stinking, lazy-eyed look, Archer forced the issue. He put his foot on the bottom step.

"This is a private residence," Duncan said. He looked toward Andre. As much as he hated the man – his good looks, his uniform, his false authority – Duncan was happy to use that authority to his own benefit. "Trooper Guillard, I feel threatened by this man. I would appreciate it if you would remove him from the property. And yourself, if you don't mind."

"Archer." Guillard called, but Archer didn't move. Andre raised his voice. "Archer."

This time Archer listened. His foot landed back on the ground. There wasn't much to be seen in Duncan's eyes: some arrogance, not as much confidence as Duncan pretended, but not as much stupidity as Archer would have liked.

"Thanks for the hospitality," Archer said and turned his back.

"I just want to protect my people. I'm sure you understand that," Duncan answered. "Come back tomorrow. After we've prayed."

Archer went back to Andre who gave him a clap on the back as he passed. Andre tipped his hand to Duncan.

"Thank you for your time. We've got a boat just down–”

Before Andre could finish making nice, Archer spun around and bellowed:

"Hannah! Billy! Hannah! We're here!"

"Damn!"

Andre was on him, taking his arm, moving him out. Archer tried to shake him off but Andre had a good hold of him so he walked backward, calling out until the trooper forced him to silence. The only thing Archer saw before the Trooper turned him around was Duncan's back just before he closed the front door.

***

Hannah rolled over.

She opened her eyes wide.

She thought someone was calling her name. She thought Archer had been calling her name. She rolled out of bed and onto her knees. Breathing deep, gulping air, she pulled on the bedclothes, got herself upright and, hand-over-hand, managed to get to the window. Once there, all she saw was outside: grey sky and white snow, the trunks of the trees brown and black, Glenn's woodpile, Duncan's house. Her head was spinning. She put it against the old window glass. Her stomach heaved. She draped one arm at her waist and closed her eyes. The icy cold glass felt wonderful on her forehead, but it wasn't enough to make her feel well. She wanted Billy to come through the door and get her downstairs and out into the snow. She wanted to breathe fresh air. But he wasn't there. She didn't know where he was. She didn't know if he was coming back. When the door of her room opened, Hannah shut her eyes. She didn't want Melody to fawn over her; she didn't want Teresa to check her stitches.

"I'm fine. I don't need help," she said.

When no one answered and the door didn't close, Hannah lifted her head and opened her eyes. She straightened up, intending to show Melody that she didn't need help. Instead, Hannah looked out the window again. She caught only a glimpse of two men walking into the forest and they weren't a part of the congregation. She knew one of them. She knew his walk and the breadth of his shoulders.

"Archer," she whispered.

If Archer had tracked her all the way to Alaska, Josie couldn't be far behind. They would help her find Billy. Hannah turned around to tell Melody of this miracle but her smile faltered. It was Duncan, not Melody, who stood behind her.

"There's someone you need to see, Hannah."

Then Duncan's face split into two happy parts that to Hannah's eye, if she'd bothered to think about it, looked a little cruel.

***

Oki wore his cape of hide and needles and the shaman hat. Cecilia sat in the chair and waited for good words. The shaman had none to give her. He shook his head.

"I journeyed to the fifth level and the spirits have all hidden themselves. This is not good business."

Mama Cecilia was sad. If a shaman could not figure out what should be done then the situation was troubling, indeed. She wondered if her spirits were bad and the failure was not in Oki's abilities. Perhaps she was not meant to have a son. And yet her spirits told her that this one, Billy, was kind of heart and in need of her attention.

"He is troubled," she said.

"His soul is lost." Oki sat back and waved his hand wearily. "If I had known, I would have requested assistance when I was journeying. I would have called out the spirits of his ancestors, but I did not know his soul needed retrieving. I should have guessed, Cecilia. All the signs are there."

"Can you restore his soul just a little? If you could do that, then perhaps he could find his friend and that would restore the rest of it," Mama Cecilia suggested, but Oki shook his head. He was so sad.

"It takes much strength and power to go to the otherworld. I cannot go back again." Oki sighed. "I have been a shaman all my life, Cecilia. Even if I could restore this boy, how do I know that he would not cause hurt and harm anyway?"

Mama Cecilia thought about the questions Oki raised. Finally, she said:

"Oki, if he has done as you told him – waiting to allow us time to discuss him – and he has not stolen from you, or hurt you, or said bad things even about the devil who hurt him, he must be a good person."

Oki nodded.

"If he is going to return to where the devil is to help his friend, does this not prove that his spirits are good even if his soul is harmed?"

Oki nodded again.

"Oki," Mama Cecilia said. "If I have found him does that not mean I must journey with him as I did not journey with my own son? Perhaps, this journey would show I am a good mother, and for Billy to prove he is a good man. Could it not be as simple as that, Oki?"

Oki shook his head, "No, Cecilia. I don't believe so. However, you have said wise things. But you are old, also. Perhaps, we should stay here and send him on his way."

Cecilia stood up. Her arms hung at her sides. She felt the warmth of her good moccasins.

"If he got lost and died, Oki, then why should I have found him at all?"

"This is true, Cecilia."

And it was settled. When they went to the room where Billy sat with his head shaved and his hurt hand hanging down between his knees, Mama Cecilia spoke to the boy.

"I will take you where you need to go."

CHAPTER 28

Andre talked to his captain on the Satellite phone and gave her an update while Archer watched the river for any sign of Nell and Josie.

It was now two hours past their anticipated time of arrival. Despite Andre's assurances that, one way or the other the two women would get to Clara's Landing, Archer didn't like it. He didn't like the fact that there was no way to communicate with Josie. And he sure didn’t like the fact that Andre wanted to do things by the book; Archer wanted to sit on Duncan's holy doorstep. A little intimidation never hurt anyone. Andre pointed out that in Alaska a little intimidation could get you dead. While he stewed, Archer watched the river. Finally, he said:

"They're here."

Up river the canoe slalomed across the wide water. There were three people in it: two were paddling and Josie Bates, taller than both, was in the middle.

"She's upright," Andre noted.

"She'd be upright in a body bag," Archer said.

"Good point."

The two men stood on shore watching the strange progress of the canoe. To pass the time Andre went over what he had.