Justice Overdue: A Private Investigator Mystery Series (19 page)

His hope was if there was a cabin somewhere in the vicinity, a light might be visible, glowing from its window.

If there was a window, if there was a light, if there was a cabin, and if they were in the right area.

It seemed hopeless, maybe futile, but he continued on, scanning the forest in all directions.

The flashlight flickered; it was dying. He had no choice but to turn back now before they got lost and his desperate search became impossible.

He dreaded leaving Annie to the unknown and he felt helpless. Reluctantly, he stopped and turned to the boys. “It’s too dark to see. We have to go back and try again in the morning.”

They turned without another word and picked their way back to the new site. Jake hoped, by some miracle, Annie had returned and it was all a joke. The camp appeared to be undisturbed since they’d left, and Annie wasn’t there.

He was sure the game warden hadn’t returned yet with the police. If he had, there would’ve been some evidence of their presence. Was it possible Andy’s vehicle had broken down somewhere during the long ride back to the main gate?

As evidenced by the disappearance of his wife, he knew the intruder was well aware of this site, and their own safety would be compromised if they stayed here. “We have to move camp again, boys. Matty, get the sleeping bags. Kyle, you help him.”

“What about the tent, Dad?”

“Leave it.”

The boys ran to the tent and returned with the sleeping bags and pillows, Kyle struggling with each step as the bags dragged behind. Matty hefted his backpack on his shoulder and picked up the straggling ends. Jake hoisted the cooler under one arm and grabbed one of the sleeping bags with the other.

He led them through the trees for several minutes until finally they approached the beach. He stopped at the tree line where tall shadowed pines stretched like arrows into the sky. He set the cooler down and spread out the sleeping bags on the soft forest floor.

“We’ll be safe here until morning,” he said. “Try to get some sleep and I’ll call you when the sun comes up.”

Matty and Kyle lay down obediently and crawled inside their bags. They whispered together for a few minutes but soon became quiet, sound asleep, exhausted from the day’s adventures.

Jake glanced across the lake to the far end, where a campfire on the beach lit up the sky. By the light of the fire, he could make out three or four figures milling around. The backpackers were safe for now, and so were they. It was Annie he was worried about.

He dragged his sleeping bag over to the foot of a large tree, sat down, and leaned against the trunk.

He had no plans to sleep that night. He was sure he would be unable to fall asleep anyway, knowing Annie was out there somewhere and he was powerless. He would keep watch all night, and tomorrow he would find his wife.

Chapter 41

Saturday, 8:40 PM

ANNIE WATCHED from her seat on the cot as Varick Lucas removed the sizzling rabbit from the spit and dropped it on the table. He slipped the hunting knife from the sheath on his leg and sliced the meat into bite-sized pieces, setting each piece carefully onto a plate.

He stood back, admiring his work in satisfaction, and then reached into a small cupboard and removed a loaf of bread and two more plates. He dropped two slices of bread onto each plate along with several pieces of meat, and carried them over to the cot.

“I hope you’re hungry,” he said, as he handed her a plate. “I’m sorry I have no butter for the bread, and it might be a little stale, but it’s all I have.”

She reached up with her loosely tied hands, took the offered meal, and looked at it dubiously.

“Try it,” he said.

She held it close to her nose. It smelled a little gamey, but not bad.

“It tastes like chicken,” he said, as he popped a piece of meat into his mouth, chewed vigorously, swallowed, then bit a chunk from his bread. “Go ahead, try it.”

Her legs were tied tightly, but she managed to swing them in front of her and lean against the wall. He watched as she sat the plate in her lap, picked up a piece of the meat, and took a nibble. It didn’t taste like chicken to her, but she was hungry and it was pleasant enough, so she ate, avoiding the bread.

He smiled at her as if pleased, then sat in a chair nearby, held his plate with one hand, and ate with the other. He seemed to be enjoying it, scarcely stopping to chew as he devoured the meal. She watched him from the corner of her eye. Besides the constant smacking of his lips, the only other sound was the occasional sputter of an oil lantern, hanging on a hook by the fireplace.

“If you let me go,” she said at last. “I won’t tell anyone about you. I’ll just say I was lost in the forest.” She looked at him, hope in her eyes, but in her heart she knew her request was futile.

He stopped eating and looked up at her. She held his gaze until finally he said, “I might let you go. I haven’t decided yet.” He popped the last piece of bread into his mouth, swallowed, belched, and set his plate aside.

“I’ve had enough,” he said, as he dropped his head back and closed his eyes. “But you can have more if you want, when you’re done with that.”

“This will be enough.” She finished the meat and set the plate on the cot beside her.

He opened his eyes, stood, and took the plates over to the table. “Do you want a drink?” he asked. “I have water or beer.”

“Water will be fine.”

He dipped a glass of water from a pail on the table and brought it to her, then found a beer in the cupboard, popped the top, and took a long swig. He sat down again and looked at her.

“The police will be looking for me,” she said. “I think it might be to your advantage if you let me go now.”

“They won’t find us here.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because,” he said. “No one knows about this place.” He pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his shirt pocket, lit one and took a drag. “Besides, I’m not planning on staying here much longer.”

“Where will you go?”

He laughed. “You think I would tell you that?”

His question told her a lot; he might let her go after all, and it might be soon. But what about Jake? Lucas said he had plans for him.

She tried to reason with him. “Maybe you should get out of this area soon. I think they might be looking for you here.”

“I’ll go before long. A few days, maybe. Or perhaps I’ll die here.” He shrugged. “But right now… I have things to do.”

“We found a body in the woods,” she said, watching him closely.

“A body?” he asked. “A person’s body?”

She nodded. “A man.”

“Really?” he asked. “Do you know who it is?”

No,” she said. “Do you?”

“How would I know? You just told me about it.”

“I think you’re the one who killed him.”

He looked at her curiously and puffed on his smoke. “Why would you assume that? Because I’m an escaped convict? So I’m guilty already?”

“Who else would it be?”

He shrugged. “Maybe a bear got him.”

“Bears don’t carry knives.”

He frowned at her and said flatly, “It wasn’t me. It was likely somebody nosing around where he didn’t belong. I’ve heard that happens up here sometimes. There are a lot of people protective of their territory and don’t like it when city people come nosing around.”

She didn’t pursue the point. She assumed he was lying, but if not … was there another killer around?

He looked at her curiously. “I don’t even know your name. You know mine, but we haven’t been formally introduced.”

“It’s Annie,” she said flatly.

“Nice to meet you, Annie.” He took another drag from his half-smoked cigarette and flicked it into the fireplace. “Those things’ll kill you,” he said, blowing the smoke into the air.

Her eyes moved toward the ceiling at the faint sound of a helicopter somewhere nearby.

Lucas held his breath and listened intently, unmoving, until the sound faded away, then stood and went to the window. “It’s getting dark outside, and it’s getting late. Tomorrow’s another day and I want to be up early.” He turned to face her. “You can have the cot. I have a sleeping bag.”

The noise of the helicopter sounded again, this time closer. It gave her hope. Maybe they were searching for her. Perhaps the game warden had finally returned in full force.

The sound vanished again, but Annie’s hope remained.

Lucas jumped up, grabbed a poker by the fireplace and stirred the fire, separating the logs. The fire dimmed. He grabbed the pail of water from the table and doused it. It fizzled and died. “I can’t take a chance they’ll see the smoke,” he said.

“They’re looking for me,” Annie said.

“It’s too dark for them to see, and besides, they’re gone now.”

“Perhaps.”

He crouched down and pulled a sleeping bag out from under the cot, unrolled it and laid it on the floor near the door. “Get your beauty sleep now,” he said, as he blew out the lantern. Through the sudden darkness, she could still make out his outline as he crossed the floor and climbed in the sleeping bag.

He was making sure she didn’t try to escape. She would have to climb over him to do so, and even then, the door wouldn’t open with him blocking its path.

Perhaps if she had a club she could beat him senseless first, but she’d checked around earlier, and there was nothing that would serve as a weapon. At least, nothing she could get to easily. There was a pair of oars in the rafters, but she would never be able to get to them with Lucas around.

“I’m a light sleeper,” he said, as if he had read her thoughts. “I wake up at the slightest noise.”

She was exhausted, physically and mentally, and no choice but to try to rest. She lay down, pulled the blanket up to her chin and eventually drifted off to sleep, her troubled thoughts of Jake and the boys slipping from her mind.

Chapter 42

Sunday, 5:45 AM

JAKE HAD NODDED asleep on a few occasions during the night, but thoughts of Annie would always startle him awake. It had been a long night and he finally dozed awhile just before dawn.

The sun peeked over the trees, and like a blaring alarm, jolted him awake, bringing thoughts of Annie foremost in his mind. He shook his head and jumped to his feet, angry with himself. If he hadn’t slept, he would have been awake with the sun and already searching for his wife. He shuddered to think what could have happened to her during the time he slept.

In an attempt to stay awake during the long hours of the night, he’d wandered up and down the beach. Near the out-jutting rock where he sat fishing two days before, he’d found a small natural cave, possibly worn into the limestone in ages past, but now dry, well away from the lake waters, and large enough for his purpose.

His plan was to hide the boys there while he searched for Annie. Maybe not a perfect plan, but they would be safer there than wandering into possible danger with him.

He’d given up hope of seeing Andy Fletcher or the police any time soon, sure now the game warden had fallen into some trouble, possibly even an encounter with the savage killer, and now it was all up to him.

He gently shook Matty awake. The boy moaned and opened his eyes, looked up, and spoke in a hopeful voice. “Is Mom back yet?”

“Afraid not, son. But I’ll find her today.” He had to keep his hopes up; that’s all he was running on, and he was determined not to tell Matty how worried and afraid he was.

Kyle raised his head, rubbed his eyes, and looked around as if trying to get his bearings.

Matty spoke. “It’s time to get up, Kyle. We have to look for my mom.”

Jake helped the boys to their feet, rolled up the sleeping bags, and picked up the cooler. “This way,” he said, as he started down the beach. Matty grabbed his backpack and the boys trudged along behind, still rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

When they reached the cave, Jake ducked inside. The space was only a few feet square with no room for him to stand, but plenty of space for the boys to move about freely. Matty followed him into the cavern and watched curiously as his father set the cooler down, unrolled the sleeping bags, and laid them out neatly on the floor of the cave.

“I want you boys to stay here while I’m gone,” he said. “You’ll be safe here and I’ll come back to get you after I find your mother.”

Kyle was looking at the lake. “Can we go swimming while you’re gone?”

“No, Kyle. I want you to stay in here.”

Kyle dropped down onto a sleeping bag. “It’s awful boring.”

Matty sat down beside Kyle and turned to face him. “We’ll be ok, Kyle,” he said. “My mom is lost and Dad’s going to find her. It won’t be for long, and we can tell stories.”

Jake pointed to the cooler. “There’s some food in there if you get hungry.” He turned and ducked out of the cave. “I have to go now. I’ll be back.”

He strode down the beach, climbed the grade to their original campsite, and looked around. Everything seemed to be the same as it was the evening before. He examined the vehicles. They were still locked up, apparently untouched.

After another quick glance around, he hurried through the forest to their newest campsite. The tent still stood, but the small cooler containing drinks had been knocked over, its contents spilled. Not likely the work of a killer, more like the evidence of bears or racoons snooping around, looking for treats. Nothing else appeared to be disturbed, and he wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad.

He turned back and headed into the forest, hoping to continue on from where they’d left off the night before. It was easier going now; he saw his way clearly, and he had a distinct plan. He made his way to the clearing where the boys had encountered the bear, arriving there in a few minutes. According to Matty’s blurred memory, the cabin was somewhere west.

A mile or two is a long way in the forest, and still uncertain whether or not he would stumble across the cabin, he set out due west. Twenty minutes later he gave up in disgust, sure he’d gone too far. He cut to his left a hundred feet and backtracked.