Perilous (6 page)

Chapter 12

“Come on, come on,” Natalie grunted, pumping the gas pedal of the old car. “Two car chases in one day—this is too much for me.”

“I know how to lose them,” said Rachel. “I know this city better than they do.”

“Lead me.”

“Go toward the train tracks, but take the route past the elementary school. They’ll have to slow down.”

“Maybe they’ll get stuck behind a cross walk.”

Rachel pulled out her cell phone and looked at the time. “The three-thirty train will pass in three minutes. Jump across as the bars are lowering, and they won’t be able to follow. It will buy us at least twenty minutes.”

“Wonderful,” said Natalie, swerving right and heading for the school. She managed to put several cars between them as she slowed down to forty kilometers per hour in the school zone. The silver car slid into place three cars back.

“Hurry,” Rachel urged. “The arms are lowering.”

The train rapidly approached from the left, riding on the middle of the three tracks. Natalie sped up.

“Too late,” Jaci groaned. “We’re going to be stopped on this side, with them behind us.”

The arms were almost lowered, and the train’s horn was blowing. Natalie veered into the other side of the road and drove across the track, putting themselves right into the path of the train.

“What are you doing?” Amanda screeched, gripping the door handle.

Jaci could see the engineer’s face. His mouth was open, his expression twisted as he pulled down on the horn. She locked eyes with his and screamed. “We’re going to collide!”

She ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut. The car cleared the track, swerving back into its own lane. Behind them the train blared past, the force shaking the vehicle like a strong wind.

“Putting distance between us and them,” Natalie replied. “That went well.”

Rachel clutched the armrests. “Yeah,” she said.

Amanda released the door handle. “Ha,” she gloated. “I’m sure they’re cursing that train now.”

“Okay.” Natalie glanced in the rearview mirror. “We’re safe for a few minutes. Rachel, call my cell phone and find out what happened to Chris.”

Rachel dialed the number. “Busy.”

“Wait a second,” said Natalie, tapping a finger in the air. “How did they know where we’d be? My phone! They must’ve tapped my phone when they were at Chris’s house!”

“Wow,” Rachel said. “These guys are good.”

“What about 911?” Amanda asked.

“That takes us back to the police,” said Jaci.

Natalie nodded. “I don’t know if they will help. Rachel, give your phone to the girls.”

Rachel stared at Natalie. “Why?”

“Because I want them to call their families.”

Rachel pressed her lips together. “I don’t have international calling.” She tossed the phone to Jaci.

Jaci’s fingers flew over the dial pad. She pressed the phone against her ear, listening to it ring. And then the phone gave three quick beeps and turned off.

“What?” she said. “It turned off.”

She pulled it away from her ear and stared at it. “It died.”

Rachel stuck her hand out. “Sorry.”

Jaci slapped the phone into her hand.

“Never mind. Do you girls have identification on you?” Natalie asked.

“No,” Jaci answered. “They took our purses.”

“I’ve got some jewelry,” Amanda offered, reaching under her shirt and lifting up several necklaces.

Jaci took a second look at the necklaces. The thick diamond cord with five large pearls dangling from it caught her attention. That necklace alone must be worth a fortune.

“Pretty,” said Rachel, leaning backwards, “but gaudy. Not my style.”

Still focused on the road, Natalie said, “The easiest thing would be to take you to the United States border and let you get across. But the closest port of entry is hours from here.”

Sara shook her head. “They’re watching us. They’ll intercept us.”

Natalie tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “Why do they want you so bad?”

“We walked in on a robbery,” said Amanda.

“They want that necklace, Amanda,” Jaci said.

Amanda pulled her shirt back down. Not even the large pearls showed under the clothing. “It’s our only bargaining chip.”

“What about the American Embassy?” Jaci asked Natalie.

“It’s in the capital. Only a few hours away. Want to head that way?”

Jaci nodded, icy fingers of fear gripping her heart. “Yes. There has to be someone who can help us.”

“Can you describe The Hand to me?” Natalie asked.

“Perfectly,” Sara said, an edge to her voice.

“Rachel, write it on a piece of paper. We’ll give them a reason to hunt us. The RCMP wants to get a picture identification of this man.”

“Okay.” Rachel opened the glove compartment. She pulled out paper and pen and wrote down Sara’s description.

“Average height. Short, dark brown hair. Deep-set blue eyes. High cheek bones, square jaw.”

Natalie turned onto a quiet road, slowing down to match the speed limit. They drove in silence. Jaci kept her face glued to the window, watching the houses and cars roll past them.

“
Vous êtes prês de carburante.
”
Rachel pointed at the fuel gauge.

Natalie groaned. “Not now.”

There was a gas station on the left. “We can’t stop,” Jaci said, panic creeping into her voice as Natalie pulled up to the station.

“Stay here,” Natalie instructed, jumping out of the car.

“Jaci,” Sara said. “That man—with the blond hair, in the pick-up truck?”

Jaci looked around and saw the man. His shoulder-length hair was stringy and dirty, and the red truck had a dent above the back wheel. “Yeah?”

“He’s looking at us.”

He was cleaning his windshield with a squeegee. “Are you sure?”

“No,” Amanda answered for her, her eyes closed as she rested her head against the window. “She’s just paranoid. Not that I blame her.”

“Look!” Sara said.

Jaci squinted. It did appear as though he were staring at them. But why?

He reached into the cab of his truck and pulled out a piece of paper. Pulling out a cell phone, he began to punch in numbers while studying the paper.

Alarm shot through Jaci as she suddenly understood. “He’s calling about the reward.” She threw open the car door. “We’ve got to go now. Natalie.”

“What?”

Jaci pointed. “We’ve got to go. He’s calling The Hand!”

Natalie hesitated a split second. Then she screwed the cap back on and jumped into the car. “Here we go again.”

They sped out of the gas station down the winding road. Jaci kept her eyes trained on the red pick-up. “He’s following us.”

“Do you hear that?” Amanda asked. “Sirens.”

Natalie clenched her teeth and veered left down a residential street. “Girls, I am sorry, but I think the sooner we part ways, the safer you’ll be.”

“Safe?” Amanda cried. “How will we be safe without you?”

“You won’t be safe with me,” she retorted. “By now this car and license plate are all over the police radios. They’ll chase us down.”

“What about the RCMP?” Jaci asked, trying one last time.

“I’m sorry.” Natalie jumped a curb, drove through a backyard, and bumped down into another street. “I can’t keep you safe. There is no time.”

Jaci felt her last shred of hope dissipate. “Are you just going to abandon us?”

“Listen, here’s what I’m going to do. I know a place where there is no border control, hundreds of miles of wooded areas with no patrol. I take you to the head of the trail and drop you off. Get across and get home. You will pass over some roads, but very few, it’s mostly forest. Don’t speak to anyone.”

She gestured toward the back of the SUV. “There’s a soccer bag of snacks from our last campout. Take it. It’s a three-day walk.”

Jaci reached behind her and pulled out the bag. She did a quick inspection. Snacks, energy bars, tampons.

An hour later, Natalie pulled the car off the road. The forest dropped away from the roadside, leaving a ravine about six feet deep.

“Come on,” she said, putting the car into park and getting out. She led them to the edge of the ravine.

“There.” She pointed to a path cutting its way through the large oak and maple trees. “There used to be a cabin about two days into it. We never went there, but maybe you could sleep for a night. It’s rumored that the American government has put cameras in all the woods around here. Maybe a patrol will find you.”

“Cameras?” Sara lifted her head and examined the trees above them.

Jaci nodded. “All right, you guys, let’s go.” She paused, and turned to Natalie.

“And Natalie… thank you. I don’t know if we’ll even be able to contact you again.”

“Good luck,” Natalie said with a half smile. “I never did find out your real names.”

September 19

Idaho Falls, Idaho

“Carl? Are you out here?”

“Yes.” The crickets chirped in the trimmed bushes next to the house, and somewhere in the tree line an owl hooted.

Kristin sat down next to him on the steps, pulling her robe closer. He put down his beer can and wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s late,” she said. “Come inside.”

“I just keep going over this in my head. I don’t know where to look now. I keep thinking, something’s going to fall into place, and I’ll know where to go.”

Kristin pulled away and picked up his beer, then put it down and began shifting through the pile of pictures on the concrete. “You’re drinking.”

“Yeah.” He tried not to sound defensive.

“You only do that when you’re troubled.”

Carl shook his head. “Sometimes the dullness can actually bring something into focus, something I’m missing.”

“You want a jar of pickles?”

“Not right now.”

“Well, what are your leads?”

He spread his hands out on his knees, palms up. “Nothing. The searchers don’t know where to look. Nobody else is missing from the girls’ school, neighborhoods or churches. Unlikely they ran away with anyone. It’s possible that Sara’s biological family found her and kidnapped her, though not likely, and they certainly wouldn’t take her friends, too. The biggest link seems to be the robbery that happened the same night, at the same place. They have to be connected. The Hand is our first suspect in the robbery, and for the kidnapping as well.”

Carl grimaced. “I hate it when the FBI gets involved. The chief bows to them. He’ll pull me from the case, or give it to Stokes.”

“Hmm.” Kristin placed a picture of the four girls, grinning over a lunch table, on the top of the pile. “You called the FBI yesterday?”

“Uh-huh.” It had felt like a failure on his part—his way of admitting that he didn’t know what to do next. “They haven’t been keeping up with The Hand. They’ve plotted his raids but that’s it. Until recently, he wasn’t causing enough trouble.”

“So what changed?”

“I have no idea, little lady.” He brushed Kristin’s nose with his. “I can tell you this. The answer is here. I know it is. And I’m going to find it.”

“No leads on the hotline?”

“All kinds, most of them bogus.” People thought they saw the missing teens everywhere. He had gotten calls from California to Mississippi to Maine. Even a few from random places like Portugal.

“Are you following through?”

“Of course. First thing we do is call the police department of the city in question and send out a squad. Everyone’s looking for these kids.” The girls should’ve been found by now. If they were still alive.

“Maybe he separated them.”

He grunted, staring out into the night. “Not a good thought. Young girls are worth a lot of money. If he separated them, it means he sold them.”

“Oh.” Kristin’s brown eyebrows lifted, and her eyes pooled with moisture. “I hope that hasn’t happened.”

Carl stood. “Me, too. I’m going to grab another beer.”

She faked a smile and poked his belly. “That’s why this is growing.”

“Better me than you, hey?”

Her smile disappeared, and Carl winced. He had meant it to be a compliment on how fit she was, forgetting that recently she mentioned it might be nice to have a baby.

They had agreed not to have kids, but sometimes Kristin seemed unsure. “Hey, forget about that beer,” he said. “I’m coming to bed.”

She hooked her hand in his. “I’m glad.”

Chapter 13

Drizzling rain woke them in the morning. Jaci didn’t even remember lying down. Damp leaves and mud clung to her face, dead branches poking her hair and clothes.

Nobody said much as Jaci elbowed her way through a briar patch, making a path for her friends to follow.

The sun drifted higher into the sky. Massive trees grew closer together, and the air felt chillier as the sunlight fought its way through the branches.

Jaci paused to pull her sock up yet again as it kept falling beneath her foot. She switched the duffel bag from one shoulder to the other. The woven strap rubbed her shoulder.

The day wore on. Gnats swarmed around Jaci’s face, buzzing in her ears, getting into her nose. She picked several out of her eyes. Talking took too much energy. The three wandered in silence.

Jaci felt her stomach twist angrily within her and thought of the pizza they had eaten at Natalie’s the day before. Her mind wandered. She thought of the last time she’d gone bowling with Callie and Seth. Seth had given them a ride and Jaci had not expected him to stay, but he had. After Callie beat them all, Seth took them to buy Slurpees. What she wouldn’t give for one of those Slurpees now.

Jaci pulled out of her memory when she bumped into Sara, who had stopped walking. “What’s wrong?”

“We’ve been walking for ages,” Sara said. “Can we stop and eat something?”

Amanda looked at her watch. “Wow. It’s almost five.”

“Okay,” Jaci said. “Let’s rest.”

Ten minutes later they had devoured their rationed amount of food. Still they sat, tired and not eager to begin the journey again.

Sara drew in the dirt with a stick. “Do you think our parents are freaking out yet?”

Amanda looked surprised by the question. “Of course. It’s been… how many days has it been?”

Jaci tried to calculate the time in her head.

“How many nights were we at his house?” Amanda asked.

Sara shook her head. “Three or four. Then another in the woods—”

“And last night,” Jaci finished. “It’s not even been a week, then.”

“I’m sure it’s all over the news,” Amanda said. “When we get across the border, we’ll say, ‘here we are!’ and people will rush us home.”

“Let’s go.” Jaci pushed herself to her feet. “Let’s cross the border and test Amanda’s theory.”

“I’m so thirsty.” Amanda hauled herself up. “I need water.”

Jaci didn’t comment. They all needed water. No point in talking about it.

“I think I hear water.” Amanda lifted her head, eyes brightening. “This way.”

Jaci and Sara hurried after her, hearing it now, too. Jaci’s throat clenched in anticipation until a sick, rotting smell reached her nostrils. She ground to a halt.

“It stinks,” said Sara.

Amanda examined the stream trickling past their feet. “It looks fine.”

Jaci shook her head, disappointment heavy in her chest. “The water’s bad. Don’t drink it. Something died around here.”

“I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.” Amanda knelt down and took a sip. “Tastes fine.”

“I won’t drink it,” declared Sara.

“You guys are dumb.” Amanda cupped her hand to her mouth. “Dying of thirst and won’t touch water.”

A flash of lightning made them look up. Jaci glanced around. The foliage wasn’t dry here like in Idaho. The lightning couldn’t start a forest fire—could it?

“It’s going to rain. You should’ve waited for
that
water, Amanda,” Sara said, and they huddled closer together.

The gathering clouds eroded what daylight was left.

The rain started, but not the same light drizzle from that morning. Thunder clapped overhead, and the water came down in sheets.

Jaci shivered. The rain soaked through her clothing, and a piercing wind cut into her skin. Their body temperatures would soon drop.

“I’m hot,” Amanda said.

Jaci looked at her. “How can you be hot?”

Amanda sank into the wet ground. “I don’t feel so good.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach and rocked back and forth.

Jaci knelt in front of Amanda and touched her face. She felt feverish. “This isn’t good.”

Amanda pressed her hand to her mouth. “I’m going to puke.”

Jaci jumped up and pulled Amanda’s hair back, just as she leaned forward and vomited forcefully. She leaned back against Jaci, groaning. Rain ran down her face.

Sara began to cry. “What do we do, Jaci? It had to be that water.”

Jaci wiped Amanda’s face. “We need to find shelter. We can’t stay here like this.”

“What about that cabin Natalie mentioned?”

“Let’s look for the cabin,” said Jaci. “We have to find it.”

Amanda jerked forward and threw up again. “I don’t think I can walk.”

“We’ll help you.” Jaci beckoned to Sara, and together they helped her up.

Water ran down Jaci’s nose, and she stuck out her tongue, welcoming the cool liquid. She and Sara dragged Amanda between them, Jaci’s arms burning from the effort.

The ridiculous duffel bag kept banging against her calf. She wanted to leave it behind but knew they’d need it.

The moving was slow. There was nothing in the darkness except rain. Trees came into view only seconds before they reached them.

At last they saw the lights of a house in the distance. They twinkled between the trees, beckoning them forward.

“There it is,” Sara cried, pointing. “And there’s light. There
must
be people.”

Amanda stopped moving her feet. “I can’t. I can’t. I need a bathroom.”

Jaci reached out and clasped one of Sara’s hands. “Sara, run to that house and get someone to come back here. We’ll wait for you.”

She hated to send her by herself, but Sara was the better sprinter.

Holding her stomach, Amanda sank into the dirt and shook with the dry heaves.

They waited. Raindrops dripped onto Jaci’s eyelashes, and she brushed them away with the back of her hand.
I shouldn’t have sent her. What if something happens to her?

Worry and guilt gnawed at her stomach as she debated her options. Keep hauling Amanda over the rocks and ground till she reached the cabin? Or leave Amanda behind and rescue Sara? She checked Amanda’s watch again. It had only been eight minutes.

Time ticked by. A sudden light shone on them, temporarily blinding her.

“Jaci, Amanda!” Sara stumbled over a fallen tree and collided with Jaci.

A tall, thin man with graying hair and short stubble on his sunken cheeks followed behind Sara

“Sara!” Jaci smothered her in a hug. She turned towards the grim, specter-like figure at her side. “Is this our help?”

Sara nodded. “He and his wife don’t speak English, but he could tell I was in trouble. I think they were getting ready for bed. They’ll help us.”

“How can we be sure?”

Sara looked at her, hazel eyes wide and solemn. “I just know.”

Jaci nodded as the old man picked up Amanda. “I hope you’re right.”

September 20

Havre, Montana

Carl collapsed face-down on the cheap motel bed, barely able to keep his eyes open. Dust particles floated in the sunlight. The digital clock flashed the time: six in the morning. He needed to sleep, even if just for a few hours.

It was a seven-hour drive from Idaho Falls to Havre, Montana, but he had done it in less than six. He’d left Idaho as soon as the Havre police department called him, telling him they had found a body. They thought he might want to take a look. That was enough for him.

Carl leaned sideways and dug into his vest pocket. He pulled out the familiar pictures, worn around the edges and smudged with fingerprints. Callie Nichols, a pretty, blue-eyed brunette with wire-framed glasses.

He picked up the motel phone and dialed Kristin’s cell.

“Hello?” Her voice was groggy but awake. She would be getting ready for work.

“It’s me.” He cleared his throat, trying to shake away the heaviness.

“I know.” Sounded like she had bobby pins in her mouth; the words came out unclear. “What news?”

“It was one of the girls.”

“Oh, Carl.” The bobby pins came out. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“Gunshot.”

“I’m so sorry.” Kristin paused. “What now?”

Carl shrugged. Chances were small that the call would be intercepted, but on his cell phone he always had to be careful. “I’ve got a new lead.”

“Are you staying there?”

“No. I’m coming home. I’m sure her parents have been informed, and I want to pay my respects. Plus I need to get ready for another trip.”

“Okay. When will you be home?”

“Tonight.” Sleepiness descended upon him like a blanket, and he rubbed his eyes. “Gotta go, Babe. Drove all night.”

“I know. See you tonight, then.”

“Yeah.” He hung up the phone, then sat there staring at it for a moment. Grabbing a pillow, he pulled it over his head the way Kristin always did.

He needed to sleep, and afterwards he would arrange for the body to be transported back to Idaho. There’d be an autopsy, but it was a formality. The girl had died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

At least he had a lead. The highway continued north into Canada, and Havre was less than an hour from the border. He was certain that was where they were going.

It wasn’t over yet. If The Hand’s lair was in Canada, it would explain why they hadn’t found any trace of him in the States.

As soon as he got back to Idaho, he would make sure his passport was in order.