Tempting Evil (7 page)

“What are his chances?” she asked in a voice so low she might as well not have spoken at all.

“Most optimistically, twenty percent.”

“Twenty percent? That he’ll die?”

“That he’ll live.”

Because time was crucial, Jo held Timmy while the nurses prepared him for surgery. He looked like he was asleep, his face calm, but his skin was too pale, his cheeks too hollow.

“It’s time.”

Time. She’d only had minutes. Nine years, one month, ten days, and minutes…

In the cabin, Jo turned to Ben, gave him a smile, blinking away the threatening tears. “You holding up okay?”

Ben sighed dramatically. “Mr. McBride won’t let me do anything. I’ve just had to sit here and do nothing.”

“How does your leg feel?”

He shrugged. “It hurts if I move, but it’s kind of numb now. And Mr. McBride put on a splint.”

“I see that. He did a great job. You know you get a free ride back to my place.”

“I’d rather drive the snowmobile myself.”

Jo laughed. “I’ll bet. It won’t be long. Next season.”

“That doesn’t help.”

Jo handed them both sandwiches. “Eat up, we have about a two-hour trek ahead of us and we need to get going pretty quick. I’m going to talk to Wyatt and start moving things along.”

Jason shrugged, bit into his sandwich.

Jo didn’t push it, relieved when she walked away to talk to Wyatt. He wasn’t in the cabin. “Where’d Wyatt go?” she asked Craig Mann.

“He’s using the radio.”

He could have done it inside—unless he didn’t want the boys to overhear.

She went outside. The wind had started to whip up, sending small flurries of snow to and fro like a vigorously shaken snow globe. Damn, it had come on suddenly. She saw Wyatt next to the snowmobiles and walked over.

He was on the radio. He stared at Jo and frowned.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“The weather is getting nasty. We have to get going now.”

“I agree. Who are you talking to?”

“Tyler. Here, you give him the ETA and I’ll get the boys ready. You’re going to pull Ben on your sled, Craig Mann and his son can take Kevin, he’s the smallest, and Miller and I will each take take two boys.”

She nodded and took the radio from Wyatt. “Tyler?”

“Jo. You made it safely.”

“Did you doubt me?”

She tried to make light of it, but Tyler’s voice was grave.

“The prisoners stole two of Nash’s snowmobiles. We’re nearly to Lakeview right now and Nash will lead us around the avalanche. Fallen trees and boulders are blocking the road, so we need to make about a quarter-mile detour around, but we’ll make it.”

“The wind is picking up, throwing the powder around.”

“The NWS is predicting another ten inches overnight, starting by five.”

“We’ll be back long before then.”

“Be careful, Jo. With snowmobiles, the killers could be at the lodge already. Did you know your phone is out?”

“Our phone?”

“Yes. I talked to your grandfather over the radio.”

“Must be something with the box outside the house. I can check it when I get back.” She didn’t want to be scared just because a wire got knocked loose in the storm—it happened on occasion—but she couldn’t help but wonder if it really was an accident.

“There are seven cabins on your property, right?”

“Yes. And there are a couple vacation homes between Lakeview and the lodge as well, but they’re not on the road. I don’t think they’d be easily found, unless you knew they were there.”

“We’ll check those later. I want to get everyone into the lodge. It’ll be much easier to keep people safe under one roof.”

Jo almost hit herself. “We have two cabins occupied. I didn’t think there was an immediate danger, not one that would warrant moving them.”

“Who are they?”

“Greg and Vicky Trotsky are newlyweds. Greg worked at the refuge one summer. And two college kids working on a big project in the second cabin.”

“I’m going to radio your grandfather and ask him to move them to the lodge before the weather gets worse. I can’t protect people if they’re spread all over.”

Wyatt came out with John and Craig, giving instructions.

“We need to get going,” she said glancing at her watch. Ten-thirty a.m. “We should be back by one. I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you, Jo.”

Click.

He’d hung up. She stared at the radio, in shock more than anything else. Her throat thickened. He still loved her? After she turned down his proposal? After she told him that she still felt married?

You slept with him, but you can’t marry him? What’s with you, Jo!

She glanced at the cabin and immediately thought about Jason, and knew then that it wasn’t Tyler she was scared to commit to.

“Joanna!” John waved to her, trying to get her attention. She put up her finger in a “just-a-minute” gesture and went back into the cabin to help organize the boys. They had stored the equipment they couldn’t take in the corner. Wyatt had all the food in his pack—they couldn’t leave that for grizzlies or wolves to hunt down. She made sure the boys were dressed properly and sent them out one at a time.

Jason and Ben were the last. “Is he really going to be okay?” Jason asked, eyes cast down.

“Yes,” Jo said. “Your uncle knows what he’s doing. The splint is solid and you’ve kept him off his leg. We’ll get him to the lodge and Stan—he was a medic in the army—he’ll give him a once-over. Nash will come in from Lakeview and patch him up.”

Jason’s eyes shot up in surprise. “Dr. Nash is a veterinarian!”

Jo laughed, rested her hand on Jason’s arm. “He’s been known to work on people. He delivered my son…” Her voice trailed off and her face froze. She rarely thought about the day Timmy was born. She expected the pain to hit her, physically, in the heart. Instead, a dull throb spread throughout her body, a quiet angst, but not debilitating. She didn’t cry.

Jason whispered, “Are you okay?”

She nodded. And meant it.

Wyatt came in and said, “The boys are ready. Help me bring Ben out?”

“Jason, want to grab Ben’s stuff and follow?” Jo asked.

Jason followed as she and Wyatt carried the injured boy outside and strapped him into the sleigh. “It’s cold now,” Jo told him, “but there’s a built-in heater. You’ll be toasty in no time.”

“This is totally cool,” Ben said, grinning at Jason, who secured Ben’s pack with bungee cords on the bottom of the sleigh.

Jo wrapped a waterproof blanket tight around Ben’s body. “Just don’t move around, okay? It’ll be a couple hours. Maybe a nap is in order.”

“Do you have music?”

“Sorry, pal, heat only.”

Wyatt pulled an iPod out of his pocket, put the buds in Ben’s ears, the device in his hand. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks, Mr. McBride!”

“Don’t thank him,” Jason teased, “he only likes country music, like my dad.”

“I like country,” Ben said.

Her snowmobile radio beeped. She said to Wyatt, “Make sure that you have everything you need and that the boys didn’t leave any of their food out. Wouldn’t want you to be mauled by a hungry bear when you return tomorrow.”

“You’re all heart.” Wyatt squeezed Jason’s shoulder, then went inside the cabin.

Jo picked up the radio. “Hello, Jo Sutton here.”

“Jo, it’s Stan.”

“We made it just fine, we’re already about to move on out. We’ll be in time for a late lunch.”

“Are you alone?”

She glanced around. Jason was leaning over the sleigh talking to Ben. Thirty feet away were the other three snowmobiles, the boys standing around, checking out the gauges and talking to the Manns. Where was John? There, talking to one of the boys. Wyatt hadn’t come out of the cabin yet.

“Sort of. Why?”

His voice was low. “Jo.”

“You’re going to have to talk louder.”

“Put the receiver to your ear and listen.”

She did what he said.

“John Miller’s real name is Aaron Doherty. He’s one of the escaped convicts.”

She couldn’t have heard right. Her blood ran cold.

Jo looked over at where John Miller was standing with one of the scouts, showing him the features of the snowmobile. He glanced over as Jo stared, and she quickly looked away.

“Are you sure?”

Stan had to be wrong. How could an escaped prisoner from San Francisco make it all the way up here to the Centennial Valley? Why would he?

Tyler said one of the convicts had her picture.

That didn’t make any sense. None of this made any sense! Why her? Her chest tightened and she was thrown back in time, to another day when a violent criminal threatened those she loved.

She’d been alone with him. He’d seemed odd, but could he be a killer? Had she led a killer to six innocent boys?

She swallowed bile as she listened to Stan’s confirmation.

“Yes. He stole his mug shot off the fax machine. I found it in his bedroom. There is no doubt, Jo. Are you okay?”

No, she wasn’t okay. But she’d have to find a way to pretend. To protect the boys, she had to make believe nothing was wrong.

“I’ll talk to Wyatt,” she whispered.

“Be careful.”

Careful.
She’d been talking to a convicted murderer for the last twenty-four hours. Had breakfast with him. Brought him out here even after getting that funny feeling about him when he quoted one of her books this morning.

Why’d he come here in the first place? Why was he so interested in her books? In
her
?

She glanced at Jason and Ben. She had to tell Wyatt, but she didn’t want to leave the boys unprotected. Wyatt would have a gun. Why hadn’t she listened to Tyler and kept a gun with her? But even if they confronted John—Aaron Doherty—he might still hurt someone.

Lincoln Barnes had never meant to kill Timmy. Her son was simply in the way of Linc getting what he wanted.

If Tyler was right—if one of the convicts wanted her for some insane reason—she had to get away from the boys. Right now they were occupied. She’d get to Wyatt, tell him, and they’d figure out what to do.

Just pretend everything is normal.

Normal. Right. Should she leave Jason and Ben alone to warn Wyatt?

She was doubting herself, doubting her instincts because of what happened to Tim.

John Miller—
Aaron Doherty
—was staring at her from thirty feet away. She was wearing her ski mask—a saving grace if she couldn’t keep the fear out of her expression.

She turned to Jason and said as casually and quietly as she could, “Hey, I need you to go to Wyatt right now and tell him I have a, um—” She didn’t want to alarm Jason. What would Wyatt understand? Of course, the Highway Patrol codes they also used in search-and-rescue. “I have a 10-106.”
Suspicious person.

Wyatt was smart. He’d understand and come out prepared.

“A 10-106? What’s that?”

“An inside joke,” she said, forcing a false lightness in her voice.

“O…K…” Jason said as if he thought adults had strange jokes.

She didn’t want Aaron Doherty anywhere near the injured Ben Ward. She watched Jason trudge toward the cabin. It was slow going because the boys had to leave their snowshoes and skis behind. She started toward where Craig and Sean Mann were handing out helmets to the boys. Maybe she could alert them to Doherty.

Doherty approached her faster than she could get to the Manns. She met him halfway, wanting to keep him as far from the boys as possible. She felt trapped. She didn’t know if she was doing the right thing, but she didn’t know what else to do. What if Doherty had a gun? Tyler had said the convicts were armed. What if Doherty took one of the kids hostage? Jo couldn’t bear the thought of another mother losing her son.

She put on her best game face. “Hi, John. Ready to head back?”

“Who were you talking to?”

“Talking to?” Her voice cracked and she coughed to cover up her nerves.

“On the radio.”

Did Doherty sound suspicious, or was that her fear?

“Stan,” she replied. “He wanted to make sure we arrived safely.”
She was talking too fast. She needed to smile. Smile, Jo!

She tried. She gave him a half smile.

“But didn’t you already talk to someone on that guy’s radio?” He motioned toward the cabin.

Jo glanced over to where Jason had stopped to watch her talking to Doherty.
Go, Jason! Get inside!
She willed him to keep moving toward the cabin. After what seemed like eternity, he did.

She breathed a brief sigh of relief.

“Joanna,” Doherty said, “what’s going on?”

“Oh, that call? That was, um, Sam Nash over in Lakeview. He’s a veterinarian and I wanted to make sure that he could get through the avalanche today to take a look at Ben’s leg. We don’t have a doctor here in the valley, you know, but Nash is great, handles a wide variety of medical situations.” She was rambling. She needed to give Wyatt time to act.

Please understand the code. Please, Wyatt, know what I mean.

She forced a smile on her lips, but he was watching her eyes through the ski mask. She swallowed, shaking. She was going to blow it. She was going to get the boys killed.

No.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jason enter the cabin and relaxed a fraction. No one was going to die. Everything was going to be fine.

“You seem—different,” Doherty said. “Did the veterinarian have news about the escaped prisoners?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that,” she said quickly.

She didn’t realize she’d averted her eyes when she spoke until after the words left her mouth.

Doherty did.

“You’re lying.”

She wanted to laugh and deny it, but what would she do if someone who wasn’t an escaped convict accused her of lying? She’d be indignant.

“Why on earth would you say that?” She stared directly into his eyes to show him she wasn’t afraid, when inside she was terrified.

His eyes scared her with their intensity.

Unconsciously, she stepped toward the cabin. “Mr. Miller, I think you’re being presumptuous—”

The door of the cabin opened. She and Doherty looked at the same time.