Chapter 40
40
“What is going on?” she hissed to Lachlan as they reached the town, which was barely recognizable under so much snow. “Is he really claiming I committed industrial sabotage? Of what? It makes no sense.”
Lachlan pulled into the gas station, where Gunnar was clearing the snow from around the gas pumps with a John Deere tractor with a snowblower attachment.
“No, it doesn’t,” he said in a low voice. “I don’t think they’re looking for you.”
“But they described me perfectly, down to the dyed hair. Did I mention that I dye my hair? I mean, normally I don’t, just now, so that SS can’t find me. It hasn’t worked at all, has it?” She was babbling. The fact that SS was here in Firelight Ridge absolutely freaked her out.
“I know all that, and it’s not important right now. SS must have offered to lend a hand with this suspect search while he was in the area. The police here are always understaffed, they’ll take help from anyone with experience. Notice how he only mentioned your name at the end? I’m not sure Officer Cromwell even heard him.”
“So who are they looking for? Who else would be out here in the middle of a storm?”
“My guess? Dr. Reed’s ex-wife, Andrea.”
She gave a gasp of surprise. “Andrea? Why?”
“That part, I don’t know. But remember someone mentioned a woman was working with the Chilkoots? I thought it might be Jackie Silver, but I was wrong about that. Andrea must have known the Chilkoots from when she lived here, right? Maybe they’re plotting something regarding Reed’s energy device. That could be considered industrial sabotage, I suppose.”
Maura’s head was spinning. This was all too much. “So they’re not looking for me?”
“If I’m right, the police aren’t. But SS is. We still need to keep you out of sight.”
Gunnar parked the tractor and climbed down, his boots crunching onto the snow. He wore a repurposed luge uniform that made him look like an Olympic star from one of the Scandinavian countries. As he joined them, Maura saw that in place of his usual grin, he wore a worried frown. “Did you see the police out there? They’re looking for some woman. I didn’t tell them that the only new woman around here is you, Maura.”
“I promise you, I have nothing do with whoever it is they’re looking for.” Maura held onto the seat while Lachlan slid off and unscrewed the gas cap. “But if they come back, please don’t mention you saw me.”
“Okay.” She saw the doubt on his face, the wariness, and was suddenly so very tired of watching every word she said. “One of those officers is from Colorado and he’s looking for me because he’s a crazy stalker .”
Gunnar stared at her in horror. “A stalker?”
“Yes, and I’m trying to stay as far away from him as possible. I can’t believe he made it all the way out here. He’s a maniac.”
“Well, don’t worry, we’re not going to let him get any closer to you. He’s the one with the beanie, right? The one who isn’t Cromwell? I got my radio in the back and I’ll send out an emergency call. Hell, we can do a citizen’s arrest. Wouldn’t be the first time out here.”
“No need for that,” said Maura, alarmed at the thought of some Wild West confrontation. “Just don’t tell him anything, that’s all.”
Lachlan finished gassing up and handed Gunnar some cash. “I’ve got this, Gunnar,” he said firmly. “We’ll stay a step ahead of him. Do what you can to spread the word, though. That’d be a big help.”
“Will do. Be safe out there.” A ping sounded from inside his shop. Gunnar gave them a “good luck” salute and hurried inside.
As they were cruising down the road, they heard a shout from the gas station and Lachlan brought the snowmobile to a stop.
Gunnar was waving his arms and running down the road toward them, clunky in his snow boots. When he caught up with them, he panted, “Message…from Lasse Ulstrom…on the radio.”
Maura gasped, her entire body going cold. “What happened?”
“In…intruder.” Finally, he managed to catch his breath enough to speak normally. “Intruder at Pinky’s. He had his hands full with his dog team, but got to his radio as soon as he could.”
Lachlan swore loudly. It had to be SS. He must have followed their snowmobile tracks back to Pinky’s.
“I’ll round up some backup. Bear, Murph, Sam, Martha, whoever’s around,” said Gunnar eagerly.
“Martha?” Lachlan asked in surprise, since as far as he knew, she was a sheep farmer and longtime pacifist.
“She’s the best shot in town. Won’t shoot a person, but she’ll shoot any animal that threatens her flock. We can have an armada of Skidoos out that way in about an hour.”
“We can’t wait that long,” said Maura, clearly beside herself with worry. “But please come as soon as you can, and be careful. If it’s the stalker, he’s extremely unpredictable.”
“You got it.” Gunnar directed them to a trail that would take them back to Pinky’s without going past the checkpoint, and they zoomed off into the backwoods.
Lachlan waited until they were far enough from town to slow down and ask Maura how she was doing.
“I’m good. Let’s just get there.” Then she burst out, “No, I’m angry! Who would go after an old man like Pinky? Why do people think they can just trample over other people to get what they want? What is wrong with the world?”
“If you figure out the answer to that, let me know. But maybe we should see what’s going on before we jump to conclusions.”
She drew in a shuddering breath. “You’re right. That’s the scientific way, right? Don’t assume. Test and verify.” That last word came out a little shaky.
“Hey. You’re worried. That’s okay.”
“I know it’s okay,” she snapped, that anger flaring up again. “You don’t have to tell me that. It’s patronizing. I’m a grown woman, I can feel whatever the fuck I want.”
He clenched his jaw tight and without another word, he opened the throttle and continued down the trail. She was scared and angry, he got that. Nothing he could say would make a difference.
Behind him, he felt Maura vibrating with anger. She took deep breaths to calm herself, and when she spoke again, she was back in control of herself. “I’m sorry.”
Even though her words were nearly snatched away by the wind against their faces, he could just make them out.
“None of this is your fault. I’m not mad at you. You’ve been great. You’ve been perfect. It’s me. I’m still so angry at that motherfucker .”
She screamed the last word into the forest. Only the trees and the snow could hear her—and him.
That must have felt good to her, because she let out a stream-of-consciousness flow of curse words that pierced the peaceful snowy scene. He tuned them out, feeling instinctively that they weren’t meant for him. He was just a bystander here as she wrestled with the fury and the fear of the last few months of her life.
When she finally went quiet, and the only sound was the high drone of the engine, he gave a quick glance at her over his shoulder. Her face was covered with tears that the wind froze to her cheeks.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded, apparently all out of curse words. “How many people I love are going to get dragged into this mess? Fuck him!”
And she let out a scream, like a primal wail into the wilderness.
They said no more until they reached Pinky’s place. Sure enough, a sleek, expensive snowmobile was parked right in front of the door, in the space they’d painstakingly shoveled. Lachlan was still stuck on her phrasing—“how many people I love.” Was she including him in that category? Could he stop time and pin her down on that?
As they reached the house, Maura slid off the snowmobile and ran down the driveway between the towering piles of snow. As he ran after her, he noticed a pair of backcountry skis stuck in the snowbank outside the front door. Had someone else skied over to check on Pinky when they’d heard the radio call?
“Maura,” he called after her as he jumped off the Skidoo. “Wait…”
Before he could even finish, the door swung open. She stopped dead, staring at something Lachlan couldn’t see. “What the hell?—”
Someone reach out, pulled her inside and closed the door behind her.
Lachlan ran after her and pounded on the door. No answer from anyone inside, although he heard bumping noises and a loud squeal that sounded like Pinky.
He ducked under the closest window to peer inside. Pinky sat tied to a chair with a bungee cord, a rag tied around his mouth. Over by the door, Maura had her hands in the air as she faced off with—a woman.
Not SS. A woman. She was wearing an expensive ski suit, with goggles shoved to the top of her head. Brown hair, late thirties.
Dr. Reed’s ex-wife, Andrea?
The woman held a gun, which she waved toward a chair next to Pinky. Hands still in the air, Maura carefully stepped to where the woman was gesturing, making her way past some papers strewn on the floor. Lachlan recognized those papers from the Reeds’ boxes.
So Andrea Reed was looking for something in those boxes?
Lachlan’s brain snagged on a small detail, as it often did. The ski suit. Something about it was bothering him.
Why had Andrea Reed skied here? Why not ride a snowmobile? She must be a strong skier, but even so, the Skidoos were so much faster…
And there it was. Suddenly his brain put together the pieces and he knew what was going on with the wildlife in Wind Valley. He knew what the “nulls” were, and why Dr. Reed had been so frustrated.
A moment later, pain shot through his head and everything went black.