Shadow Cave (12 page)

No, I decided, she was safer without my help.
If John thought she knew anything, he would have already done something about it.
And, I rationalized
,
he would not go after her out of revenge.
The fact that she was his ex-wife would make it too risky and out of the question.
I knew that without a doubt.
Megan would be fine.
She was safe now, I told myself.
I intended to keep it that way.

With that decided I lifted my chin and snatched up my purse again.
If I was going to get out of
t
here on time that night I would have to do some shopping.
To
have any chance at all of finding my mystery cave I would need a compass and a map.

Three hours later I finished marking the maps
and
could only hope that my
parameters
for the trek were accurate.
If not, I shrugged
,
I would come back and try again the next night.
Giving up was not an option
.

“
I
’
ll find it, Mike
.
T
hat
’
s a
promise
,
”
I whispered on my way out the door.

I bought a gun
, cringing all the while over the near certain knowledge that it was probably stolen
.
A week
earlier
home security meant a high tech alarm system with a touch screen keypad
, and
even that was basically for show.
I was notorious for neglecting to set the alarm.
My code was 1234
, which
sure impressed the technician who installed the system.
I realized that it was not the best choice for a home security code.
I was also fully aware that in order for a system to work you had to actually use it.
So why had I bothered to purchase the thing in the first place?
The answer was quite simple, really.
It shut my mother up, mostly.
At least it had until Mike tattled on me for leaving my door unlocked while I was at work.

“
One time...
.
”
I grumbled.
“
One time and he turns into a snitch.
And here I am, risking my butt to get his out of trouble…
.
”
You know, they say that when it all goes, you start talking to yourself.
I stopped in the middle of tying my hair into a tight ponytail to consider that.
“
Oh well
,
”
I said around the elastic hair band between my teeth.
I had bigger problems to deal with
,
and a long journey in front of me.
The weight of the handgun in the bag at my side was a jarring reminder of what lay ahead.
A week ago…I mused, staring into the wide mirror over the dresser in my hotel room.
Now I had no home and security was a .38 under the cover of darkness.

I checked the bag one last time, taking silent inventory of the contents.
M
aps, gun, bullets, knife, food, water, and a
flashlight were packed
.
Grabbing
the other bag
I
carefully took the key out and frowned.
There had to be
a safer place to keep it.
I had pockets and my pack.
I stood there with my lips pursed and my hands on my hips, considering.
The pack, I finally decided.
The make-up case was quickly emptied onto
the bed and
the key went
in
.
Once
it was safely tucked
next to the gun, I took a deep breath and walked out of my room and down to the hotel lobby.

The desk clerk was a tall man who looked to be in his forties.
I smiled and handed him my room key
and his
fingers brushed mine briefly during the exchange.
The simple human contact was so…normal, I realized
, and
somehow it was reassuring.
I sighed and gave him a sad smile.
It was also the last normal thing that I would do for a while.

“
Leaving so soon, Miss?
”

“
Yes, I
....
”
I wet my lips and hoisted the second bag I carried onto the desk that was between us.
“
Please take care of this.
I am not sure how long I will be gone
, but
I will come back for it
—
when I can.
”

When he continued to stare at me in silence, I cleared my throat and rummaged through the bag.
“
Here
,
”
I said when my fingers closed around a wallet. I dug out several bills and pushed them across the counter.
“
I think there
’
s a hundred dollars there. It
’
s American, but…
.
”
I trailed off, looking at him with hope in my eyes.

Finally, he closed his hand over the bills and pushed them back at me.
“
Keep your money.
”
He smiled with real warmth.

“
No, please take it.
I insist.
”

He hesitated for a minute before he pocketed the cash.
Probably decided he didn
’
t have all night to play a game of tug of war with me.

I bit my lip and glanced behind me at the door.
So close
, I thought.
I could just say thank you and walk out
.

“
Um…listen
—
you should know
...,
”
I began, not sure of how much I was obligated to tell him.

“
What is wrong?
”
Instantly concerned, he reached out.
“
Are you in trouble?
”

“
No,
”
I assured him.
“
Yes.
God, I don
’
t know.
”
I rubbed a hand over my face.
Out of practice
, I thought once more.
I braced my palms on the desk and lowered my voice.

“
Yes.
I have not broken the law
....
”
Had I? I wondered for a brief moment.
I shook my head.
“
There are some people after me…some men.
”

“
Ah,
”
he nodded
,
and clucked his tongue sympathetically.
“
It is a romantic situation.
”

A romantic situation? I choked back a laugh.
Oh
,
how I wished.
And who the hell had more than one boyfriend at a time come after them?

“
Not exactly
...
my brother
,
”
I explained.
“
They took my brother and…now they are after me.
I don
’
t know if they will come here, but if they do they will want what
’
s in that bag.
”

His eyes widened as I finished
and
he handed the bag back to me.

“
I am sorry, I cannot keep this.
”

“
I will come back for it, I promise.
”

“
No
—
I mean, you must take this with you.
I have a family.
I will say that I never saw you
,
though.
That much I can do.
But to put my family at risk
...
I
’
m sorry.
”

“
It
’
s ok
ay
.
I understand.
”
I shouldered the bag once more and smiled at him
, because
I did understand just what a hard burden it was to bear
and how dangerous it was as
well
.
“
Thank you for helping me just the same.
But if they have already come for me
—
if they saw me come in here
,
”
I swallowed hard and tried to look brave.
“
Just tell them that I left
,
and that you don
’
t know where I went.
Don
’
t let them think you may know something, ok
ay
?
That
’
s very important.
But if you could maybe tell them you think you saw me head south?
”
I would be heading north.

“
Yes, of course.
Here, take your money.
”

“
No, keep it for your family
,
”
I said softly.
“
Thank you.
”

***

The first leg of the journey was spent in quiet darkness and seemed to take hours, although
the thick leather watch at my wrist
claimed
that little more than an hour had passed.
The ground was rough and uneven
,
but the night was warm and the stars…
.

I breathed deep
ly
and grinned for the first time in several days
—maybe
longer, I realized
, taking
in my bare surroundings.
I didn
’
t smile nearly enough, I decided.
The heel of my boot
kicked at the dirt and
a
groan
escaped
as another realization hit.
Nature was calling
.

“
Oh, damn.
”
It wasn
’
t the thought of going to the bathroom out in the open that had me worried.
There was no one around to see
,
and I wasn
’
t that
self-conscious
anyway.
After all, it
’
s a basic bodily function.
My
concern for the moment was that I had not thought to pack any toilet paper.
Well, maybe there were some nice leaves, I consoled.
I set my bags down and dug through my pack until I found my flashlight.
Who knew better than me that there were some plants that just didn
’
t make good toilet paper
?

It occurred to me a short time later that I really needed to ditch the bag that held the bulk of Mike
’
s notes. I pulled the band out of my hair and gathered the damp strands into another ponytail, securing the strands that had slipped out to frame my face.
Civilization was gone
. A few settlements were scattered along my way—crude structures, mostly—but I remembered the man at the hotel and immediately abandoned the idea of hiding the bag in one of them.

I could not, in good conscience, put someone else in danger.
That left only one choice, as I saw it
...
I would have to bury the thing.
I walked a little farther and kept a sharp eye on my surroundings
, looking for
a spot that would be
both
secure
and easy
to
locate
later.
Landmarks…I needed landmarks.
Two miles later, I stopped abruptly.

“
Oh, this is perfect
,
”
I breathed.
The clusters of brush would provide excellent cover
,
and the large rock up ahead would serve nicely as a landmark.
I toed the ground lightly, testing the soil without disturbing it much.
The ground was reasonably soft too.