Tainted Mountain (15 page)

Twenty-Three

And what did that
little stunt prove? Only her incredibly unstable nature.

Heather and Charlie gave her a standing ovation from the deck.

First one pickup then the other inched toward the road. No doubt the trenchers would be called as witnesses at the murder trials of Scott and Maureen. They'd testify to Nora's deranged actions. Maybe insanity would be a good defense.

Charlie walked over to her window and reached in, tilting her chin to look at him. “You are a magnificent woman.”

At that, a sob escaped her. “So magnificent that I poured years into a doomed business that led to the death of my husband. A husband, by the way, so impressed with my magnificence that he was boinking some other woman. And I just went berserk and smashed my Jeep for nothing!”

Charlie shrugged. “Sure. But you're not passive. You've got life and passion, and that's a great thing.”

Heather stood at the trail to the lodge. “That was some crazy shit.”

Nora climbed from the Jeep and plodded past Heather. “I'm sure that's not the example your father wants you to emulate.”

Heather turned and followed her. “No one ever treats Poppy like that. Whatever he says goes.”

Charlie followed them up the path, popping a beer and slurping. Abbey trotted along behind.

“If you really believed he's invincible, you wouldn't be getting in trouble and doing time with me,” Nora said.

Heather shrugged. “Okay, so I'm fighting uranium mining and snow making. It won't make any difference. Poppy always gets his way.”

“Not this time.”

A light sparkled in Heather's eyes. “Maybe not this time. Too many forces are against him.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm only a small force but I've got controlling interest in Kachina Ski.”

“It's not only you.”

“If you think Big Elk is such a douche bag, why are you helping him?”

Heather's face turned as blank as a pack mule's. “I don't work for him. We just happen to support some of the same causes.”

“I support Ponderosa pine and Mexican spotted owls, and no motorized vehicles in my forest,” Charlie said.

I support staying alive
, thought Nora. “Okay. Let's see if we can salvage anything of this day.”

Heather sounded eager. “Charlie and I could finish hanging the curtains and surprise Abigail.”

“To see her smile I'd hang a curtain to China,” Charlie slurred.

“Much as I'd love to please my mother,” sarcasm injected Nora's voice, “I think we should finish inventory of the rental stock. Besides, Charlie shouldn't be climbing chairs.”

Heather walked next to Nora. “How come you don't like your mother? Abigail is so cool.”

“Abigail the Horrible? Abigail the Intrusive, Controlling, Disapproving, Demanding Mother From Hell?”

Heather's eyes took on a hard glint. “She's really proud of you. You should hear her talk about all the great things you've done.”

“You're kidding.” Nora stopped and looked at Heather. “Abigail went to bed for a week because I wouldn't attend my undergrad graduation. She was so busy planning a month-long cruise after my stepfather's death that she never noticed I took over Kachina Ski. By the way, between graduation and Kachina, she barely spoke to me in protest of me marrying Scott.”

“You have to admit she was right about that.”

Now Abigail was recruiting troops? “I suppose she spent the morning gossiping about my marriage and how she tried to save me.”

“She cares about you,” Heather said.

“Cares about me.” Noxious memories of Abigail's “care” swirled in Nora's brain. What about the preppy outfits Abigail bought, purely out of concern for Nora? It had nothing to do with Abigail's friends' disapproval of Nora's hiking boots and flannel shirts. Abigail's concern overflowed when Nora struggled the last semester of her senior year of high school. She said Nora simply
had
to be valedictorian because Abigail had already invited so many people to the reception. The list of Abigail's “loving concern” was endless.

Nora inhaled to begin her litany of abuse, but Heather's sad face halted her momentum.

“I'd give anything to have a mother.”

Nothing like a tire iron to the temple.
I am self-centered, insensitive, and callous
, Nora thought. She put her arm around Heather. “I'm sorry. From now on, I'll share her with you. Maybe you'll get a little of that doting mothering you've missed and I can get a break.”

This felt kind of good to Nora. She'd never had a little sister and she liked talking with Heather. Maybe this whole mentor thing would work out for both of them. “Look. I know I've been hard on you. I don't mean to be. I just don't want you to get hurt.”

Heather's eyes misted. “That's nice. But I can take care of myself.”

Nora gave Heather's shoulders a squeeze and felt her tense. The girl stared at the corner of the lodge.

Nora followed her gaze.

Alex leaned against the lodge, arms folded, a smug smile on his lips.

Nora dropped her arm from Heather's shoulders and fought to keep from screaming. “What's he doing here?”

“I don't know.”

Nora spun and sprinted for the apartment and her phone.

“Wait!” Heather called. “He's not going to hurt you.”

There wasn't a waiting kind of bone left in Nora's body. She hit the stairs and took them two at a time. While her heart threatened to explode, she told the 911 dispatcher that Alex was loitering on her property.

Heather spoke to him right below the apartment window.

Somewhere Charlie had found a shovel and stood a few feet from the couple, the shovel poised to attack.

Whatever Heather and Alex discussed, it wasn't roses and sunshine. Their body language telegraphed anger. Alex grabbed Heather's arm and pulled her a step toward the forest.

Nora didn't hesitate. As quickly as she'd flown to the apartment, she doubled her speed to get back. By the time she arrived, Charlie had moved closer and held the shovel like a javelin.

Heather raised her hands in a calming motion. “It's okay, Charlie. He's not going to hurt me.”

“You'd best clear out of here, young man.”

Nora stepped next to Charlie. “Why not stick around a few more minutes. The cops will be here by then.”

Heather turned on her. “You called the cops? You bitch!”

Alex laughed. “Go ahead and call the army for all I care. They can't save you.” He waved at Charlie, dismissing him. “This old man won't help. If I wanted to kill your lily-white ass, you'd be dead by now.”

In another couple of minutes her heart would burst from fear and save Alex the trouble of killing her. “Come on, Heather. Let's go back to the lodge and wait for the cops.”

Alex flipped his hair back. “You gonna let that white bitch tell you what to do?”

Heather narrowed her eyes at Nora. “I can't believe you called the cops. I told you I'd take care of it.”

“He's a murderer, Heather.”

She shook her head. “He's never killed anyone.”

“Yet.” Alex grinned at Nora.

Nora grabbed the shovel from Charlie. “Damn it, Heather. Get away from him!”

Heather shook her head, tears accumulating in the corner of her eyes. “He's the only one who loves me.” She took Alex's hand and together they ran into the forest.

Twenty-Four

When Officer Gary suspected
Nora of murder, he drove to the mountain, but a threat on her life only warranted a visit from a junior Mouseketeer. He took notes but never even scouted around the property. Finding Alex on the mountain probably presented an impossible mission. The officer flipped his notebook closed and headed toward his cruiser.

Heather hid somewhere alone out there with Alex. With all the confidence of youth, she thought this badass loved her and wouldn't hurt her. What a mess.

Evening pushed around the corners of the afternoon. Nora wanted Abigail home and safely locked inside before darkness covered them all. Abbey and Charlie provided some comfort, but not any real protection. Both of them dozed by the lodge in the last strength of the sun.

A middle-aged couple with daypacks strapped on their backs appeared near the top of the run and tramped across the slope, disappearing into the forest. At the peak of hiking season, today couldn't be any more perfect. The forest might seem empty, but Nora counted four or five hiking couples that afternoon; they appeared for only a few minutes, then disappeared into the woods, present but unseen.

Cole swung into the lot on his mountain bike. He braked by the cop and climbed off the bike.

Great.
Nora turned from the railing. “I've got to do something about Barrett.”

“Hmm.” Charlie picked up a beer from the bench beside him. Nora noted that it was the same can that had been sitting by him for two hours. Maybe he didn't drink as much as she had thought. Could be he carried around an open can out of habit. “I hate to see you leave this mountain, sugar. But she needs a rest from the skiers.”

Nora stared at the grassy slope. Instead of enjoying a mountain lawn, as she used to, she cringed at a bald swath once covered by pines. To add salt to the wound, the tire tracks from the trenchers had left muddy scars. “I thought making snow would fix all my problems. We'd have money, Scott would be happy. I'd be the success my mother always wanted.”

“Hold on there.” Charlie sounded almost energetic. “Your mother is proud of who you are, not what you've done.” Super. Now Charlie
and
Heather tag-teamed for Abigail.

“Anyway,” Nora said. “Nothing has changed about making snow. Kachina Ski won't survive without it and with it, I'll be rich in a matter of a few years.”

Charlie's voice settled back into half consciousness. “True.”

Her mouth almost couldn't form the next sentence. “But it's wrong.”

“Now you're talking.”

“The arguments are still valid: Kachina Ski only uses less than one fourth of a percent of the mountain; more moisture would be good for biodiversity and vegetation; more commerce would help the local economy. It's all there. That hasn't changed.”

“Yep.”

“So why have I changed?”

“You're seeing the light.”

She wouldn't admit the little kachina salesman held any sway over her, but his words about her protecting the mountain sank deep into her heart. “It's Barrett. He's desperate for snow making and I don't know why. It's like he's sprinkled evil powder over it all, and now it feels bad.”

“Mac has that effect on life.”

Mac? That sounded too familiar. Nora left the rail and sat next to Charlie. “There's something between you guys, isn't there?”

Charlie stared at the beer can. “Not anymore.”

“What happened?”

“It was a long time ago, honey. All I can say now is don't trust him.”

Nora waited while he gulped his beer. “Come on, Charlie.”

He considered a moment. “We were all young and out to save the world.”

“Who's ‘we'?”

His eyes gazed decades into the past. “Me and Barrett and Ester.”

“Ester?”

“A woman of uncommon strength and breeding. The only woman on this green Earth that could rival your queenly mother for beauty, grace, and intelligence.”

Nora rolled her eyes.

He patted her knee. “Pain is best left to the past.”

They sat together for a few moments letting the last of the day's sun soak the rawness from their hearts.

Cole climbed up the stairs to the deck. “Hey, Nora. Charlie.”

Charlie stirred and stood, crushing his can and dropping it in a pocket. “Got some recon to attend to.”

Nora jumped up, now nervous. “Wait. Don't go.”

Charlie glanced from Nora to Cole. “Aw, honey, he's okay.”

Cole raised his eyebrows at Charlie as if asking a silent question. Charlie answered with a slight shrug and walked down the steps.

It surprised Nora that evening had advanced so far she needed to squint to see Cole. “What's up with you and Charlie?” Abbey trotted over to Cole with a wagging tail. Too bad Nora couldn't trust the dog's character instincts. On the other hand, Abbey had never been all that fond of Scott, and he had turned out to be a bad investment.

“We have a pact to keep an eye on you.”

“Charlie I trust. You, not so much.”

He gazed off toward the mountain. “Lots of people out here this evening.”

She shrugged. “It's a good time of year for hikes and camping.”

He considered her for a minute, a slight lift to his lips. “That stubborn streak of yours is hard to get around sometimes.”

“I'm not stubborn.”

He laughed. “Right. What do you call fighting an uphill battle for years just to get the right to do something you don't really believe in?”

He was treading on dangerous emotional turf. “How do you know I don't think snow making is exactly the right thing to do?”

His shrug said her defensiveness sounded too silly for him to argue with. “And for a long time you stuck by a guy who didn't deserve your loyalty.”

“You don't know what you're talking about.”

“I know enough. He worked for someone else, lied about the money, and cheated on you.”

Thankfully dusk was far enough along he couldn't see her face flame with embarrassment and anger. “You never met Scott. Maybe he had reasons.”

“A man can't justify betrayal.”

“I guess bribing congressmen doesn't qualify as betrayal in your book.”

Cole let out a sigh. “Now you don't know what you're talking about.”

She stood up and turned her back to him, crossing her arms against the chill of the night. “Maybe not, but you're lying to someone about something.”

He'd moved beside her without a sound and his warmth radiated to her back. His voice rumbled low. “I'm not lying about wanting to keep you safe.”

His protectiveness rankled her pride. “I can take care of myself.”

“Really? How prepared are you to face Big Elk?”

She waved him off. “Big Elk's in jail.”

“
Was
in jail. He's out and the cops lost track of him already.”

Nora quit breathing. Big Elk out and at large? She wanted to jump in the Jeep and roar away. She gripped the rail. Hang on. Big Elk wouldn't attack her. He might send someone else after her, but he wouldn't expose himself that way. She faced no more danger now than she had when he was in jail.

Probably.

Cole took hold of her arm and turned her to face him. “Benny said—”

“Benny?”

“My friend on Second Mesa.”

“Second Mesa as in Hopi?”

“Yes. He said the kachinas are supposed to be off the mountain and on the mesas this time of year. But they're still here.”

“You believe they're real?”

Cole pushed his hair from his forehead. “Hell, I don't know what's real. I know Benny believes, and that's good enough for me.”

Nora had felt the same way when Heather spoke about Hopi. “You think if someone else believes it that makes it true?”

“What I think is the Hopi have traveled throughout the Southwest way before our ancestors knew a continent existed here. They built shrines and worshipped and developed a relationship to the land or Mother Earth or whatever you want to call it. The Hopi communicate with the world in ways others can't.”

“You may be better looking than Big Elk, but you speak the same language.”

“Fine, believe what you want, but I'm saying that everything is off kilter. People are upset. That translates into you and your mother being in danger. You should stay in town until this is over.”

Nora swallowed the lump of fear rising in her throat. Dangerous liar with a clever delivery or nice guy who cared about her?

“Okay?” He insisted.

She nodded. “Yeah. Soon as she gets back, we'll pack up.”

Cole stood for another moment looking as though he might add something more. Instead he plodded down the stairs.

Cole's friend said Big Elk had planned something. Hadn't there been an unusual number of hikers today? And hadn't most of them been gray-haired, like many of Big Elk's groupies? In Charlie's words, something was going down on the mountain.

And Heather was out there somewhere, alone with Alex and his knife.