Chapter 20
Twenty
The earth has music for those who listen.
—Reginald Holmes
Kate stood in her room at Jackson Lake Lodge, a towel wrapped around her body after a long, hot shower. She sank onto the edge of the bed, her thoughts swirling with confusion and regret. The events of the morning buzzed in her mind, over and over.
It all seemed so clear now. She was able to see all the blinking red lights she’d either missed or ignored, like gentle but persistent warning signs from God. She knew she’d never felt totally comfortable with Oliver, never totally herself, but she blamed herself for that. Her insecurities.
As she sat there, the pieces started to click into place. She thought back to their first meeting, at the zoo, how he’d commented on the T-shirt she’d worn with her church’s logo. He told her that he attended the same church, and sure enough, there he was at the next Sunday morning service. Stalking his prey. Could she have made herself any more of an easy target? She’d been set up from the start.
Such an idiot. She felt like such a fool.
It was unsettling to think how easily Oliver had managed to overpower her, both mentally and emotionally. He had a way of confusing her, clouding her judgment with his charm and charisma and persistence. Especially his persistence.
Imagine if everything had gone the way Oliver intended.
Imagine if she had wavered last night when he surprised her with a proposal. Imagine if she had caved in as Oliver pressed and pressed. She usually did cave in to his persistence. He was a master manipulator. Imagine if he had taken down that magnificent bear with his bow and arrow. If she and Maisie had stayed in the truck, Oliver might have killed the bear. Imagine if he had gotten away with it.
Everything could have gone wrong—but it actually went right instead. So many things went right. The bear was safe. Oliver/Wade was in jail. Kate had said no to him. Before she had any idea of his true identity, she had said no. Relief washed over her.
Thank you, thank you , thank you , God. But how do I get over this?
She hadn’t been listening for an answer, but one came.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See , I am doing a new thing! Do you not perceive it?
The Bible verse she’d once memorized as a child came to her full-blown, startling her with its intensity.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See , I am doing a new thing! Do you not perceive it?
Over and over, she repeated those words. And, on their heels, Thank you, thank you , thank you , God.
She changed into fresh clothes and combed out her wet hair, drying it with the blow dryer, and her mind bounced to the bear. She couldn’t believe she had actually seen Grizzly Bear 399, up close and personal. If only she’d had her camera for that astonishing moment when the bear locked eyes with her. Kate would never, ever forget it. She felt an amazing connection—almost like there’d been some kind of understanding between them.
Today she understood what the other photographers had been telling her—there was a critical difference between zoo photography and wildlife photography. A bear in a zoo was stunning to behold, but its power and majesty faded away. Seeing that beautiful grizzly bear in her natural habitat was ... thoroughly terrifying. And thoroughly thrilling.
She could hardly wait to download her memory card from her Sony Alpha, assuming it was still in one piece. Hoping Coop and Frankie were able to retrieve it.
And then her restless mind landed and settled on Coop. She was counting the minutes until she saw him again.
Huddled behind a stack of empty bear-proof garbage cans, Maisie couldn’t resist eavesdropping on Frankie’s conversation with his dad. It was a side of Frankie she hadn’t seen before. He talked about his dad like they were strangers, like Frankie didn’t care about him at all. Clearly, it was an act. He did care. She peeked over the top to see the expression on his face. The scowl was gone. He looked ... uncool. Happy. Maisie dipped down again before he saw her.
“It was incredible, Dad!” she heard him say. “We nabbed Wade Schmidt! Yeah, you heard me right. Wade Schmidt! Remember when you found his wallet in Denali? You knew back then that this guy was trouble, but no one listened to you. Man, Dad, you had him nailed.”
Frankie paused for a moment to listen. “Well, yeah, I guess you didn’t actually nail Wade Schmidt, but you were onto something. It took a whole sting operation to catch him. And get this—no feds. All local law enforcement. It was like being in a movie, seriously.” Frankie listened intently for a long while, then a pleased look came over him. “Me? Yeah, I had a big role in it. Really big.”
Maisie had to bite on her lip to keep from laughing. She didn’t want to alert Frankie to her presence. This was way too fun.
“Dad, you wouldn’t believe it,” Frankie said. “There’s this acting chief ranger, a super short woman with fuzzy blond hair and she calls everyone hon or darlin’—” He paused to listen. “Yeah. Sally Janus. I guess I should’ve figured you would know her. You know everybody.” He listened a little longer. “Well, anyway, Sally set the whole thing up. This incredible sting operation. Wade Schmidt was using this ridiculously tall guy as his frontman. He was pretending to be a Yellowstone ranger.” Pause. “How’d you know his name was Tony Feldmann? Man, Dad, you know everybody.”
Frankie said it in a tone of admiration, not his usual sarcasm. So uncool. So sweet. Maisie felt warm from head to toe.
“Coop said he knew something was fishy when he first met Feldmann and shook his hand.” Frankie chuckled. “He said it was like shaking an accountant’s hand.” Pause. “Coop? Oh, he’s the seasonal ranger I got stuck with. We’re roommates too. Yeah, he’s not so bad. A little fussy as a roommate, but he’s a good guy.”
It occurred to Maisie that, up to now, Frankie hadn’t told his dad anything about his summer. Nothing. But that had just changed.
“Hey, Dad, you remember Tim Rivers, right? The ranger who’s always got that serious, drill sergeant vibe? Yeah, him. Well, turns out he’s the one who caught Feldmann. Crazy, right? Tim can be kinda intimidating, but he’s not too bad once you get to know him. Anyway, Feldmann got spooked when Sally Janus didn’t show up to guide him into the backcountry. She was supposed to lead him to the bear’s den, with Wade Schmidt trailing behind all stealthy-like. Apparently, that’s Schmidt’s thing, staying invisible and all ... Oh, you knew that? Yeah, figures.
“So, Sally had this plan brewing to meet up and have the wardens close the net, but then Tim slowed her down and she was late to the rendezvous. When Feldmann saw the game wardens drive up, he freaked out and bolted. Tim Rivers spotted his car and called the LE rangers to nab him at the gate.”
Pause.
“Hold on, Dad. There’s more. It gets even better. Then the game wardens—they caught Wade Schmidt red-handed, bow in his hands, arrows in his quiver. Schmidt started wailing like a baby. It was so awesome. Like a scene from a movie!”
Pause.
Maisie could hear the admiration in Frankie’s voice for Sally, for Coop, for Tim.
“Man, Dad,” Frankie said, “I’ve been hearing about Wade Schmidt from you for as long as I can remember, but he was always one step ahead of the law. Then, bam! The trap was sprung, and he fell right into it.”
This was too much! Maisie couldn’t help herself. She popped up and peered over the garbage bin. “Tell him about Kate! About the marriage proposal! About me!”
Frankie spun around, eyes wide. “I’ll call you later, Dad. I gotta go.” Frowning, he walked over to the garbage bin. “Aww, Maisie, are you going all Nancy Drew on me? Seriously lame. Haven’t I told you that you need to get your cool on?”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Maisie came around to the front to meet him. “Not at first. I didn’t want to interrupt your call ... and then, listening was so much fun.” She grinned. “Frankie, you called your dad to tell him all about the capture of Wade Schmidt!”
She watched in surprise as his face first turned pink, then bright red. He started scuffing his boots uncomfortably. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he muttered, trying to recover his typical aloofness, but she knew better.
“I bet your dad must’ve been thrilled to hear about it from you first. Pops said it’s going to make national news. Bet you’ll get your name mentioned.”
Frankie rolled his eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smirk. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“It was a big deal! The whole thing was a big, huge deal!” Maisie bounced on her toes, undeterred by Frankie’s attempt to downplay the situation. “A big-time poacher caught in a trap set by a miniature-sized chief ranger. And then Kate and I, we helped too.”
Frankie scoffed. “You helped?”
Maisie placed her hands on her hips. “The whistle. That was a game changer.”
He grew serious. “Maisie, you could’ve been lunch for a very hungry bear.”
At first, she thought he was making fun of her, like he usually did. But when she looked up at him, concern covered his face. It almost made Maisie think that he’d been worried about her. The thought filled her with happiness, from her toes to her nose.
“Why’d you leave the truck, anyway?”
Maisie’s happiness dimmed. “Well, um, because I needed a private moment in nature.”
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at first, but then a chuckle burst out. Soon, it turned into a full-blown laugh. He laughed so hard that he doubled over, guffawing until he was out of breath.
And just like that, the sweet moment between them was over.
Tim waited in his office until he knew Sally had returned to headquarters after providing formal statements at the Jackson Police Department. Then he waited a while longer. Finally, he made himself go to her office, but he hesitated for a long moment before knocking on the door. He poked his head around the threshold, bracing himself, confident he wouldn’t receive a warm welcome.
Sally barely spared him a glance. “Not now, Tim,” she said, her tone curt. “I have a lot of work to catch up on.”
“This won’t take long. I’d like to explain a few things.” Taking a deep breath, Tim stepped farther into her office. “Sally, I owe you an apology.”
She leaned back in her chair, her expression guarded. “Go on.”
“I knew something was going on with you, but I didn’t have any idea what—until I saw that picture.”
“What picture?”
“Kate Cunningham, the photographer—”
Sally squinted. “Who?”
“The Zoo Girl.”
“The same woman who was up at Pilgrim Creek today?”
“Yeah, her. She was at Willow Flats when you and that tall Yellowstone—”
“Tony Feldmann. Frontman for Wade Schmidt.”
“Right. The Zoo Girl took some pictures, and you and Tony Feldmann were in the background. You had a rifle.”
Sally raised an eyebrow. “That Zoo Girl really gets herself into tight spots with bears.”
“I think she’s learned some valuable lessons about wildlife photography this week.” Tim paused, gathering his thoughts. “Anyway, Kate thought you were aiming for the bear—”
“I fired a warning shot.”
“Right, right, of course.” Tim felt foolish for not realizing it sooner. Sally Janus would never have missed her target. “I just wish you would’ve told me.”
“Tim, this has been in the works for weeks. When I went to the Yellowstone conference, Tony Feldmann approached me. Offered me a bundle of cash if I’d help his client out.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” That’s what he just couldn’t get his head around.
Sally sighed, resting her elbows on the desk. “The more people who knew, the greater the risk for a slipup.”
“I didn’t think I was just ... anybody.”
“Maybe not.” Sally leaned back and crossed her arms against her chest. “But it sure didn’t take much for you to assume I’d gone to the dark side.”
“Sally, you sacrificed a gray wolf for this ... this scheme.”
She held his eyes. “That wolf had already been identified to be culled. It had been harassing a rancher’s livestock. I knew what I was doing.” She leaned forward in her chair. “And that’s the problem, right there. All along, I knew what I was doing.”
“Sally—”
“Look, Tim. Right now I need to get back to work.”
From the expression on her face, she was in no mood to see his side of the story. And maybe she never would. She turned her attention back to her work, the conversation already a distant memory, leaving Tim to wonder if they’d ever truly known each other at all.
Kate sat at the small desk in her room at Jackson Lake Lodge, carefully examining her Sony Alpha camera, which had spent the night in the high country, its motion detection capability activated. She’d never actually used the motion detection capability. Now, she prayed for it to yield something useful.
“Lord, let there be something. Anything,” she murmured as she inserted the memory card into her computer. “Please, please, please.”
Hours passed as Kate scrolled slowly through the footage, her anticipation building with each passing moment. A chipmunk examined the camera up close, its curious eyes staring directly into the lens. A family of raccoons shuffled by. A deer cautiously approached, its ears perked up, before darting away, startled by something.
But so far, everything was useless. It was during the dark of the night when the motion detection had been activated, as the animals moved about in their nocturnal activities. Then, as dawn began to break, she saw something that caught her eye. She slowed down the speed of the footage and watched it again and again, using the still photography feature to extract shots from the video. She examined every frame meticulously, searching for that one perfect shot. And then she found it.
Her camera marked it at four thirty in the morning. The sky was starting to lighten, though the sun wouldn’t be up for a while. In the soft light of dawn, a bear emerged from her den and sniffed the air. Slowly, she ventured out a few more steps. Standing on her hind legs, she lifted her paws in the air.
Freeze the frame.
Kate stared at the shot for the longest while, transfixed, a mixture of exhilaration and satisfaction coursing through her veins. She had the shot. The one that could change everything.
This was it. The one-in-a-million shot that she had come to get. Stunning.
She knew just what to call it: “Morning Stretch.”
On her computer, she searched for the Nat Geo editor’s email address. Back home, she had meticulously studied their strict guidelines: no fabrication, minimal post-processing (all she had done was to crop the photograph), no staging, complete transparency, and respect for the wildlife. Check, check, check.
She crafted an email to the editor, explaining the picture, the circumstances, and the famous subject. Hands shaking, she attached the photograph.
She breathed another prayer—this time, it was “Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord.”
And just like that, her email bounced back with the message: “Undeliverable.”
She went to the National Geographic website, to the staff directory, and searched for the woman’s name. Nothing.
She dropped her chin against her chest.
Oliver. Another setup.
In a bleak room at the Jackson Police Department, Wade Schmidt sat defiantly, a cold metal chair beneath him and stark fluorescent lights buzzing above. The game warden seated across the table kept asking him questions, but Wade didn’t answer a single one. He folded his hands together on the surface of the table and stared down at them.
“You know, cooperation could really simplify things for you,” the game warden said, trying to sound casual, like two pals having a chat.
Wade was unmoved. His instincts were honed. He wasn’t about to walk into a trap. “I’m not saying a word without my lawyer present.”
My lawyer. That was a lie. Wade had always been a step ahead of the law and never needed a lawyer. In fact, he’d always been a little pleased that he didn’t even know any. In retrospect, he should have thought that through.
He accepted the game warden’s offer to make a phone call, stepping toward the station phone. Dialing the one number he knew by heart, he listened to the rings, each one echoing his rising anxiety. A cold spark sizzled down his spine, a real bone-chiller. Fear hit him like a ton of bricks—it was a first for him. Then, relief flooded in as a familiar voice picked up on the other end and said a casual “hello.” He quickly checked to make sure the game warden was out of earshot before he whispered into the phone.
“Hey, Mom. Yeah, it’s me. Do you know any good lawyers?”