The Target (19 page)

“I guess you’re right. But this whole thing is surreal. I feel like
I’m
in a movie.”

“It’ll be over soon. We’ll make St. Elmo tomorrow. I think once we’re there, we’ll be safe. We’ll have shelter at least. And I’m hoping we can find a phone. My cell is dead.”

“Mmm,” Sara murmured, then sighed. She hoped they found a phone too. She hoped they found a car. She hoped they found several cars that they could pile into and get the hell off this mountain, away from
him
.

Jaime rolled closer, pulling Sara to her. “Come on. Get some sleep.”

Sara nodded. “I’m even too tired to flirt with you tonight,” she whispered. But she pulled Jaime’s arm tighter around her, entwining their fingers, feeling safe.

Jake McCoy sat on the porch, her long legs stretched out in front of her, the old rocking chair barely moving as she gazed out at the nighttime sky. Cheyenne sat beside her, eyes closed as Jake ran her fingers through her shaggy fur. The dog looked up occasionally, watching Jake, her intelligent eyes studying her.

“Don’t act like you know what I’m thinking.”

The dog yawned.

Jake rolled her shoulders then reached up, absently rubbing her neck. She hadn’t told Nicole yet about the phone call. Hadn’t told her she might be leaving in the next day or so. She jumped, startled when warm hands touched her shoulders.

“Sorry. I thought you heard me.”

Jake shook her head. “Just thinking.”

Nicole walked around the chair, squatting down beside her.

Her hand went to Jake’s thigh, rubbing lightly across the nowhealed injury.

“Is everything okay? You’ve been kinda quiet this evening.”

“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine.” Jake shrugged. “Got a phone call earlier is all.”

“What is it?”

“Captain Morris, from Homicide.”

Nicole stiffened. “In Denver? Is everything okay? Rick?

Steven?”

Jake smiled and covered Nicole’s hand with her own. “Nothing like that. He just wants me to do him a favor.”

Nicole sat down on the porch and leaned against the railing, pulling her knees up nearly to her chest. “What’s up?”

“He’s got a detective up here, undercover. She’s with a group of women. She’s supposed to be watching a senator’s daughter. Sara Michaels. Of Senator Peter Michaels.”

Nicole nodded. “Small world. I know her.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“She interviewed me several years ago when she was just starting her clinic. She’s quite successful from what I hear.”

“What kind of clinic?”

“The New You. It’s sort of the twelve-step program to improving your life.”

Jake rolled her eyes and Nicole laughed.

“Yes. I know how you feel about that, sweetheart. But I’ve heard good things about her clinic.” Nicole reached out and touched Jake’s hand, tugging lightly. “But what about your phone call?”

“There have been some death threats against the senator and his family. Which is not surprising, given his politics.”

Nicole nodded. “He makes Falwell look like a liberal.”

“Anyway, Detective Hutchinson was to infiltrate this group that Sara Michaels brought up here. They’ve not had any contact with her in ten days. The FBI is involved, which is why he couldn’t go into a lot of detail.”

“That’s right. She takes her classes out on a backpacking trip at the end of each session. It’s a confidence builder. I’ve read about her methods in the
Journal
.”

“Well, Captain Morris is afraid—and I guess the FBI too—that they ran into trouble. It’s been too windy to do flyovers, not that they could put a chopper down up here anyway. They’ve got a team that started out on foot from Buena Vista, but hell, they’re nine days behind.”

Nicole’s eyes widened. “And he wants you to go out looking for them?”

Their eyes met.

“Yeah, that’s what he wants. Sort of.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s going to e-mail me what he’s got. But they were heading up to Cottonwood Pass. If they ran into trouble, they could be anywhere, which is the problem. If it were me, I’d try to make it to the Mt. Princeton area where there’s always someone about. Or to St. Elmo.”

“I thought the road to St. Elmo was washed out. Besides, this late in the season, there’s probably no one still there.”

“The road going down to Nathrop is passable but you’re right. I think the general store closes after Labor Day.”

“Why don’t they just call the county sheriff in Nathrop and ask him to drive up the mountain?”

“It’s the FBI’s gig. And it’s a sensitive situation. The death threats haven’t been made public. There’s no way the FBI is going to involve a local sheriff in a tiny town.”

Nicole unconsciously ran her fingers over Jake’s thigh, tracing the scar with her fingers. “Can you make it, Jake? I mean, your leg still bothers you if you overdo it,” Nicole said gently.

Jake covered Nicole’s hand, squeezing it lightly. “I love you.”

Nicole smiled. “But you’ll be fine and I shouldn’t worry?”

Jake nodded. “I’ll have my cell. And I’ll take Cheyenne. Depending on what he finds out tonight and in the morning, I’m thinking I’ll drive to the washout above Cumberland Pass then hike in to St. Elmo. I’ll start there and follow the trail down to Cottonwood Pass.”

“I could get someone to cover my classes and go with you,” Nicole offered.

But Jake shook her head. “No. If there’s trouble, I’d rather you not be anywhere near it.”

Nicole nodded and leaned forward, resting her head against Jake’s leg. “I love you,” she murmured, relaxing a little as Jake’s fingers brushed through her hair. She would worry, yes. But she suspected Jake had something to prove by agreeing to this. That, and well, Jake just missed being a cop.

“Oh, my God,” Abby said. “Will you look at this. Incredible.”

Jaime nodded. “Pretty amazing, isn’t it.”

Spread out before them was the preserved town of St. Elmo, the old buildings nestled up against the mountains, the forest slowly trying to reclaim the town again.

“It could be a movie set. Look, there’s a schoolhouse.”

“And there’s the saloon,” Lou Ann said. “Man, I could use a drink about now.”

They all laughed and Jaime and Sara exchanged glances. It was the first laughter they’d had in days.

“I feel like we’ve just gone back in time. I mean, this is like a real Old West town. Even the wooden sidewalks are still here.”

Jaime ginned. “Hence the name ghost town.” She pointed up ahead. “There’s the general store.”

Abby turned in a circle on the road. “Look, Miner’s Exchange Store. Did they trade gold and stuff in there?”

“Mercantile? What’s that?” Judith asked, pointing to another building.

“It was like a trading post. Like a general store back in the day,” Jaime explained. She eased Megan down onto the bench in front of the general store. “You okay?” she asked quietly.

Megan nodded. “Thirsty.”

“Here. Use mine,” Ashley offered, holding the water bottle so Megan could drink.

Jaime stood back, sighing as she read the sign.

C
LOSED
F
OR
T
HE
SEASON.

“Wonderful,” she murmured. She took a deep breath and turned around, her eyes finding Sara. “Okay, ladies, here’s the plan. Abby and Lou Ann, you stay with me. We’re going to see if we can find a Jeep we can hotwire or something. Sara, you take the others. The summer cabins are down at the other end of town. There’s only a handful of them, so don’t be expecting a whole neighborhood or anything. The road down there leads to Nathrop. Hopefully, that’s where we’ll be heading soon.”

“What are we looking for?”

“A phone would be nice. Or a car. Or people. But we need to see if we can find something for Megan.”

“Don’t you think the cabins will be locked up?” Celia asked.

“Yeah. Break in.” She pointed at Ashley. “You mind staying here with Megan?”

“No, of course not.” Ashley sat down beside Megan and put her arm around her as the other woman slumped against her. “We’ll be fine.”

After Sara and the others walked off, Jaime led Abby and Lou Ann around the general store. There, eight Jeeps were lined up, all covered with tarps. They pulled the tarp off the closest one and Jaime popped the hood.

“Well, goddamn,” she murmured. “Can we not catch a break?”

“What is it?”

“No battery. Probably no fluids, either.”

“What does that mean?” Lou Ann asked.

“They’ve been winterized.” She slammed the hood down and walked to the back door of the store, peering inside through the window.

“Anything?”

“Only one way to find out,” Jaime said. “Stand back.”

The breaking of glass shattered the quiet of the old ghost town.

Jaime looked at Abby, then Lou Ann, shrugging before sticking her arm through the broken window to unlock the door.

Abby laughed. “Breaking and entering.”

Jaime smiled. “Yeah. Some cop, huh?”

“If we’re lucky, maybe someone will come along and arrest us.”

The general store was crammed full of anything a modern day tourist could ask for. T-shirts of varying colors fought for space on one wall, and souvenirs of every kind littered the shelves. The women walked in, the old floorboards creaking with their weight.

Jaime walked behind the counter, looking for a phone. There was none.

“Probably cost a fortune to run a phone line up here.” She opened up cabinets, smiling when she found a first aid kit. She ripped it open, but it contained only band aids, sterile wipes and anti-itch ointment.

“Oh my God! Look what I found,” Abby said excitedly, holding up two fistfuls of chocolate bars.

“It’s kinda spooky here,” Judith said as she trudged quietly along with the others.

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve come upon a town but no one’s here. Wonder if this is what it feels like to be alone in the world. Like in a movie where everyone dies but you.”

“Well, partially the reason no one is here is because it’s technically a ghost town. And secondly, it’s after Labor Day. Most places up this high shut down then. I suppose as long as the weather stays good, a lot of these people still come up on weekends.” Sara paused, her gaze lingering on what looked like a brand new cabin tucked back against the forest. “Wow. That’s beautiful.”

“It looks like a lodge. You think it’s just a house?”

Sara shrugged then started walking down the lane. “Let’s go see.”

The massive cabin’s porch was supported by no less than six log beams. Sara ran her hand along the smooth surface of one as she climbed the porch.

“It just seems wrong to break one of these windows,” Beth said quietly.

Sara followed her gaze along the porch. The four giant plate glass windows nearly dwarfed them. “Yeah. I agree. Let’s go around back. Maybe there’s a small window or something.”

The back of the house was nearly identical to the front, but they found a small four-paned window on the side. Sara grabbed a good-sized stick from the firewood pile to do the honors. The sound of shattering glass made them all jump back as they stared at the hole in one of the lower panes. Sara used the wood to clean the remaining glass from the pane then reached inside to flip the two locks. She grimaced as she pulled her arm back through. Blood trickled from her wrist.

“You okay?”

Sara wiped the blood on her jeans, nodding. “Okay. Just a scratch.” She raised the window and looked back at the others.

“Judith? You’re the smallest.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, taking a step back. “I’m not good at this kind of stuff.”

“Just crawl through the window then find your way to the back porch. We’ll be waiting there.”

“But—”

Sara smiled. “Judith, you can do this. We need you to do this. We’ll boost you up.”

Judith looked at them all, her hands wringing together. She finally nodded, pausing to tuck her long hair behind her ears.

“Okay. Okay, I can do it.”

“Good. Be careful of the glass.”

They boosted Judith through the window then walked around to the back, waiting. They finally saw her walking through the house and Sara tapped on the glass impatiently.

Judith fumbled with the lock, opened the door and stepped back to let the others inside.

“It’s spooky in here too,” she said. “The power’s off.”

“I guess that’s expected,” Sara said. “Well, let’s spread out. See if they’ve got any drugs stashed here. Look for a phone too,” she added as they dispersed. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Everyone had stayed on the lower floor. She eyed the dark staircase then walked toward it. She slid her hand along the banister, a smooth rounded log, and she climbed the stairs. Sunlight poured in through the second floor windows, chasing the shadows away, and she paused, admiring the beauty of the mountains that looked nearly close enough to touch.

She finally shook herself, moving away from the view and into one of the bedrooms. It was the master suite judging by the size.

She looked around the room for a phone, but there was none. She moved on into the spacious bathroom, nearly gasping as she saw her reflection in the mirror. She ran a hand through her blond hair, tucking it behind both ears. She looked nearly frightful.

“No wonder she hasn’t wanted to kiss you,” she murmured.
I would be scared away too.

She looked away from the mirror, bending over to open the drawers and cabinets, feeling a bit embarrassed at snooping in a stranger’s house. Her eyes widened as she pulled open another drawer.
Jackpot.

“Hmmm, what do we have here?”

She was looking at no less than thirteen prescription bottles.

She sifted through them, shaking her head. “Must be a depressing household,” she murmured as she found yet another type of antidepressant.

Poor Jill, she thought, glancing at the name.

Finally she found what she was looking for—two types of pain medication, although they both contained codeine. She hoped Megan wasn’t allergic. The only antibiotics she found was a bottle of amoxicillin someone used for a toothache. She looked at the pain pills. One was for the same date.