Nowhere To Run - A Joe Pickett Novel Part 30

"Yup."

"What's the name of it?"

"No Name Creek," Joe said. "Really."

"Seems fitting," Nate said, clucking his horse forward.

"Stay alert," Joe said to Nate, although he was really talking to himself. "Those brothers could be anywhere."

DEEP IN THE TIMBER and far down the mountain on its western slope, Joe almost rode by the dark opening where the cabin had been. He didn't so much see it as feel it-a creeping s.h.i.+ver that rolled from his stomach to his throat that made him rein to a stop and turn to his right in the saddle.

"Here," he said. He nosed the gelding over, and the horse splashed through the shallow stream and to the other side. As he rode through the opening, the familiarity of it in the starlight made him relive his escape from the cabin. When he reached the clearing where the cabin had been, he rode around it, puzzled. Ghostly columns of pale starlight lit the opening. But there was no sign of the burned cabin, just a tangled pile of deadfall.

Nate asked, "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"It's got to be," Joe said. He probed the deadfall with the beam of his flashlight.

Sweeping the pool of light across the dead branches, he noted a small square of orange.

"Ah," he said with relief, and dismounted. With the flashlight in his mouth s.h.i.+ning down, Joe tugged at branches and threw them away from the pile. He kicked away the last tangle to reveal a square foundation of bricks, which was where the woodstove had been.

"The Grim Brothers hid the scene," he said to Nate. "They carted away whatever was still here and covered the footprint of the cabin in downed timber. No wonder Sheriff Baird and his men never found this."

"I was starting to wonder myself," Nate said with a grin. "I was thinking maybe you made it all up."

"Ha ha," Joe said sourly.

JOE AND NATE SAT on opposite ends of a downed tree trunk at four in the morning, facing the slash pile that covered up the remains of the cabin, each with his own thoughts. Joe tried to eat some deer jerky he'd brought along, but every time he started to chew he thought of the faces of the three bodies hanging from the cross pole, and he lost his appet.i.te. He could hear Nate slowly crunching gorp from a Ziploc bag on the other end of the log, and their horses munching mountain gra.s.s. There was no more rea.s.suring sound, Joe thought, than horses eating gra.s.s. Their grum-grum grum-grum chewing sound was restful. chewing sound was restful.

If only everything else were, he thought.

That's when he clearly heard a branch snap deep in the timber. The sound came from the north, from somewhere up a wooded slope.

THERE WERE DISTINCTIVE sounds in the mountains, Joe knew. He was never a believer of trees' falling silently in the forest if there was no one there to hear it, because he didn't believe it was all about him, or any other human. Nature did what nature did. To philosophize that acts occurred in the wild in the presence of people and for their benefit was to acknowledge that humans were G.o.ds. Joe knew knew that not to be the case, and always thought anyone who bought that line of thought to be arrogant or new to the outdoors. In fact, from his experience, the forest could get downright loud. Trees, especially pines, had wide and shallow root systems. Hard winds knocked them over, where they'd fall with a crash and expose the upturned root pan. Dead branches blew off and fell down. One tree fell into another. Sometimes a bear or cat tried to climb one of the inferior high-alt.i.tude trees and the weight of the animal toppled it over. A herd of elk moving through dry and down timber sometimes sounded like a freight train that had jumped the tracks. that not to be the case, and always thought anyone who bought that line of thought to be arrogant or new to the outdoors. In fact, from his experience, the forest could get downright loud. Trees, especially pines, had wide and shallow root systems. Hard winds knocked them over, where they'd fall with a crash and expose the upturned root pan. Dead branches blew off and fell down. One tree fell into another. Sometimes a bear or cat tried to climb one of the inferior high-alt.i.tude trees and the weight of the animal toppled it over. A herd of elk moving through dry and down timber sometimes sounded like a freight train that had jumped the tracks.

But there was a unique sound to a dry branch snapping under the foot of a man. It was a deep and m.u.f.fled crack, like a silenced gunshot. It was a different sound from that of a twig breaking under the hard cloven hoof of an ungulate-an elk or moose-that produced a sharp snap like a pretzel stick being halved. At the sound, Joe rolled to his right and he sensed Nate roll to his left. Joe had no doubt Nate was on his knees with the .454 Casull drawn by now. For his own part, he had the shotgun ready. He slowly jacked a sh.e.l.l into the chamber to keep the metal-on-metal action as quiet as possible, and when the live sh.e.l.l was loaded into the chamber he fed another double-ought round into the receiver. He held his shotgun at the ready and felt his senses straining to determine if whoever had made the sound was closer, farther, or standing still.

Joe turned to his left to ask Nate if he could hear any more sounds, but Nate was gone. Joe squinted into the darkness, trying to find his friend.

When he couldn't, Joe settled back on his haunches behind the downed log, his shotgun muzzle pointed vaguely uphill.

There was another m.u.f.fled snap, this one closer than the first. He estimated the sound coming from fifty feet away.

He raised the shotgun and lay the doused Maglite along the forward stock. His heart pounded in his chest, and he thought if it beat any harder, everybody would be able to hear it.

As he stared into the shadowed darkness of the trees, he saw a single small red dot for a moment six feet off the ground. It blinked out. Then he saw it again. Joe was sure that he was close enough that if he fired he'd probably hit the source of the light. He remembered Nate's admonition to shoot first, but he couldn't simply pull the trigger. Not without knowing who it was.

The roaring of blood in his ears nearly drowned out the voice of the man who said, "Joe, is that you?"

Then, "For Christ sake, Joe, don't f.u.c.king shoot me!"

Joe said, "Farkus?" And he heard the hollow sound of the heavy steel barrel of Nate's .454 smack hard into the side of Farkus's head, toppling him over.

"Don't kill him, Nate," Joe said, sighing and getting to his feet. "I know this guy. He's the local who owned one of the burned-up trucks back in the campground. The one who didn't seem to fit into all of this."

"NIGHT VISION GOGGLES," Nate said with contempt, nudging Farkus with the toe of his boot, "and unless I'm wrong, he's wearing body armor, too. I'm thinking this Farkus guy isn't quite what you and Baird thought he was."

Farkus moaned and reached up to put his hand over the new gash and b.u.mp on the side of his head.

Joe stepped over the downed log and fixed his Maglite on Farkus. The bright light through the lenses of the goggles must have burned his retinas as if he were looking into the sun itself, the way Farkus winced and pulled the goggles off. He threw the equipment away from him, saying, "It's like you blinded me."

"You didn't shoot," Joe said to Nate, ignoring Farkus.

"No reason to," Nate said. "I watched him come down through the trees focused totally on you. He was watching you every second. I was behind a trunk and he never even turned my way."

Farkus croaked, "Why'd you smack me?"

Nate squatted down next to Farkus. "Because we've nearly been killed twice tonight by people who more than likely had night vision gear. And because you were lurking around in the dark, you idiot. You're lucky I didn't blow your head off. Where did you get those goggles?"

Joe kept his flashlight on Farkus's face, trying to read it. Farkus said, "I stole them. The vest, too."

"Who'd you steal them from from?" Nate asked.

"I took them off a dead guy," Farkus said, sitting up. "He didn't need them anymore. Being he was dead and all."

Said Nate, "Who was the dead guy?"

"His name was Capellen. He was with the other guys from Michigan up here to find the Cline Brothers. Capellen was killed first, and I took his stuff."

Joe said, "Start from the beginning, Dave. How did you get from the other side of the mountain to here?"

"They kidnapped me," Farkus said. "The men from Michigan, I mean. I drove up on them at my elk camp, and they took me along with them because I know the mountains. They were tracking those d.a.m.ned brothers, but everything went bad for them. The brothers ambushed us and I was the only one left alive. Them brothers, they ain't human, I tell you. They ain't. You guys should turn around and get the h.e.l.l out of here while you have the chance."

Joe said, "What are they if they aren't human?"

"Wendigos. Monsters. They can move through the trees like phantoms or something, and they can just appear wherever they want. I told you back at the trailhead, remember?"

"I remember," Joe said.

"So how did you get away from them?" Nate asked with a smirk. "Did you hold a cross up and just walk away?"

"I waited until they were gone," Farkus said, "and I managed to get untied. They've completely left the mountains for somewhere else. They ain't around no more. They had me tied up in a cave, I mean a cabin."

Nate drew his arm back as if he were going to backhand Farkus, and the man flinched and grimaced, raising his arms to cover his face, ready for a blow.

"Nate," Joe said.

When Farkus lowered his arms, Nate slapped him hard across his face.

"Why'd you do that?" Farkus protested. "I haven't done nothing."

Nate said, "You scared us, that's what. And now you're speaking gibberish. I hate hate gibberish. n.o.body confuses a cabin with a cave. So you'd better start telling us the truth about what's really going on up here, or you won't see morning come." gibberish. n.o.body confuses a cabin with a cave. So you'd better start telling us the truth about what's really going on up here, or you won't see morning come."

Joe nodded. "Your story doesn't jibe, Dave. Like maybe you're making it up as you go along." He kept his flashlight on Farkus's face and noted how the man averted his eyes and blinked rapidly as he spoke-two signs of a lying witness. "Somebody set a trap that could have killed either one of us and later rolled a boulder down the mountain that could have taken us out. The brothers were seen clearly this afternoon by a sheriff at the trailhead where they were in the process of burning your truck. No one else would match that that description. description.

"Plus," Joe said, lowering the beam of the flashlight to Farkus's hands in his lap, "I don't see any marks on your wrists from rope or wire. Which says to me you weren't tied up at all. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer them. If I think you're lying again, I'm going to get up and walk away and leave you with Mr. Romanowski."

He nodded toward Nate. "And whatever happens, happens. Got that?"

Farkus said, "Yes."

"Good. Let's start with the men from Michigan. We found three of them back on the trail. Who were they?"

"I told you. They were here to find the brothers and kill them."

"Why?"

"They wouldn't explain it all to me outright," Farkus said. "Every time I asked what they were doing up here, they basically told me to shut up. But from what I could get from what they said to each other, it had to do with something that happened back in Michigan, where all of them were from. They were taking orders from this guy named McCue. He was at my elk camp with them, but he didn't come along with us-"

"McCue?" Joe broke in. "Did I hear you right? Bobby McCue? Skinny guy? Older, kind of weary-looking?"

"That's him," Farkus said.

Joe took a deep breath.

Farkus continued, "The guys I was with knew the brothers, or knew enough about them, anyway. I got the feeling they might have clashed at one time or other."

"It was personal, then?" Nate said.

"Not really. I think they knew of the brothers, like I said. But I'm sure it wasn't personal. They were hired and outfitted by someone with plenty of money."

"Did you hear any names besides McCue?"

"None that meant anything."

"Try to remember," Joe said, his head spinning.

Farkus scrunched up his eyes and mouth. He said, "McGinty. I think that was it. And Sugar."

Joe felt a jolt. He said, "Senator McKinty and Brent Shober?"

"Could be right," Farkus said.

Nate's upper lip curled into a snarl.

Joe said to Nate: "What's going on?"

Nate said, "It's worse than we thought."

Then Joe said to Farkus, "And all of you rode into a trap of some kind?"

"At the last cirque," Farkus said, nodding. "We rode down the trail to the water and the lead guy, Parnell, rode through some rocks. He tripped a wire and a spike mounted on a green tree took him out."

"We're familiar with the trap," Joe said. "Go on."

"The brothers were on us like ugly on an ape," Farkus said. "The horses blew up and started rearing and everybody got bucked off. The brothers finished off the wounded except for me."

"Why'd they spare you?"

Farkus shook his head. "I don't know, Joe. I just don't know."

"So they took you to their cabin. Or was it a cave?"

"It was a cabin."

"Why did you say cave earlier?"

"You might have noticed there's a big guy with a big gun right next to me. I was nervous and probably misspoke."

"Ah," Joe said, as if he was happy with the explanation. "And then the brothers just left?"

"Yes. They packed up and left me to die. They are completely out of this county by now. Maybe even out of the state."

"Interesting you're sticking with that," Joe said. "So the rock that was rolled at us a while back was just a natural occurrence?"

"I don't know anything about a rock," Farkus said, his eyes blinking as if he he'd got dust blown into them. "All I know is there's no point in you guys going after them anymore. They're gone."

"Were the brothers alone?"

"What do you mean?" When he asked, Farkus looked away and blinked his eyes.

"Was there a woman with them?" Joe asked softly.

"A woman?" Farkus said. "Up here?"

"Terri Wade or Diane Shober. I'm sure you've heard of at least one of them."

Farkus shook his head.

Joe said to Nate, "We're done here," and stood up. "Should we dig a hole for the body, or let the wolves scatter his bones?"