Untraceable (39 page)

My head swirls. Les was protecting me? I swallow hard. Feels as if my saliva’s hardened and can barely fit down my throat. “What about my dad?”

Carl sighs and takes off his hat. “That was all Al. Joe was an unfortunate liability. One I tried to prevent, but he was about to blow our operation wide open. He and his English friend. For a while, his tracking skills came in real helpful in locating bears. Until he got … difficult.”

The thought of Dad helping these guys makes my stomach churn. I can’t imagine how he felt doing that. “Give him to me. Now.”

Carl shakes his head. “Hm, you are persistent. I’m afraid I can’t do that. He’s dead.”

“Dead?” My body sags, and my back slides down the wall until I’m slumped in a seated position. Burying my face in my hands, I run through what he said but remain in denial. “No, no, it can’t be.” I blink back tears and lock my jaw to keep from screaming. “You’re lying.”

Carl kneels down beside me and strokes my hair. “Wish I was. But you know Al. He’s a little uncontrollable. I tried to protect Joe, but he wasn’t cooperating.” If looks could kill, I would have already put Carl six feet under. “At least I got here before Al could hurt you. Right?”

“Yeah, you’re a real
hero
.”

Carl smiles. “I’ve always admired you, Grace. You got spunk. A lot of guts. That’s why I’m going to help you. So don’t go anywhere, I gotta go do some damage control.”

“I don’t want your help.”

“You better. I’m all that stands between you and Al. Trust me, you don’t want him unleashed. It’s not a pretty sight.” Carl nudges Mo with the toe of his boot before ducking out the doorway. “Don’t worry, boy. We haven’t forgotten about you. Al will have fun with you later.”

After Carl leaves, a large boulder rolls over the hole, blocking us in.

As soon as we’re alone, I yank the tape off Mo’s mouth and choke out, “I thought he was going to kill you.” I fiddle with the knot for some time because my hands won’t stop trembling. Finally, the rope surrenders and releases Mo’s hands.

He rubs the red-inflamed markings on his wrists. “I’m abso-bloody-lutely positive it’s won’t be too long before he does.” Mo checks me over before touching my cheek. “Look what they’ve done to you.”

I lick the dried blood coming from a cut in the corner of my mouth. “I’m in better shape than you.” I lightly touch his swollen eye. “Are you okay?”

“Shoot, you should see the other bloke.” Mo begins checking out the place. “We gotta get out of here. Now that I know Carl’s the top guy of this whole operation. I gotta get some help.”

“This is insane. I cannot
believe
Carl is caught up in this.”I sit back and prop my elbows up on my knees, wondering where Wyn is right now. If he has any idea what his idol, Carl, has done. Though maybe I should have known. The Dixie song in his office. The green bandana. Not to mention, he’s been holding me back from solving this case since day one. If it hadn’t been for Wyn defending him all the time, I may have caught onto Carl weeks ago.

Mo kneels next to me. “I’m sorry about all this.”

All my unasked questions resurface. “So, does this mean you’ve known Al and Billy this whole time? Were you there when they attacked me?”

“I was out collecting a sample, because believe it or not, I do want to be a geologist. I saw you snooping around their truck and head off into the woods. I remembered you from the river and followed because I knew what those guys were like. When they attacked you, I had no choice but to intervene. At the risk of ruining my cover.” He stops, probably expecting me to ask a question.

“Why’d you pretend not to know them?”

Mo wipes his bloody brow with the hem of his t-shirt. “We worked out a deal later to keep it all quiet so none of us would get in trouble. That’s why I’ve been here so long. Waiting to find out who’s running this whole thing. Now I know.”

“Then why’d you show up at the river that day? Seems like it would’ve been safer for you to just stay away.”

He looks up at the faint light source, as if thinking of a response. “Pretty daft of me. I knew I shouldn’t, but after our time in the cave, I was worried someone would see you. Hurt you like your dad.” He rubs my shoulder with one hand. “I’m sorry.”

I crouch over and suck in gulps of air. “I can’t believe all this is about money.”

Mo agrees with me. “Carl has the perfect set-up. He can have his men kill bears without anyone knowing. He’s been in charge out here and only one person could stop him—”

I finish his statement. “My dad.” Then I mutter under my breath. “Well, don’t underestimate
me
.”

He grins. “I wouldn’t. I’ve seen your moves. Up close and personal.”

I try to smile back, but my lips seem cemented in place. “I wish I knew what happened that day at the river.”

Mo sighs. “Your dad found out what was going on. He walked right into a trap.” He averts his eyes, refusing to meet mine.

The look on his face scares me. “Is he really dead?”

Mo hugs me and whispers in my ear. “I honestly don’t know, blossom. These guys are unpredictable. Who knows what they’ve done. The thing we need to do right now is get the hell out of here. Alive. Get help. We can come back for answers later. And we need to move fast because I have a feeling we don’t have much time left.”

“But how? This is some underground tomb. Only one way out.” I point at the door Carl exited through.

He motions toward the natural skylight. “Not the only way.”

I look up. “Yeah, but how in the world do we get up there? It’s too smooth to free climb.”

He runs his hands though his hair. “I have no idea.”

For some time, I remain curled up in a fetal position. My body’s crashed, like an old computer. Unable to perform any of the basic functions. Standing, talking, even breathing. I’ve seen it happen to the people Dad’s rescued on the mountain. Shock is a powerful weapon for the enemy. My body is unresponsive to any activity swirling in my brain. As if the hope’s drained out, leaving behind an empty shell.

As if I’m already dead.

Mom’s face pops into my mind. I wonder what she’s thinking right now. Is she worried? Is she fed up? Does she think something’s wrong or wonder if I’ve run away for good this time? It’s hard for me to calculate how much time has passed since I saw her last. Hours? Days?

Mo paces the cave, searching for a way out. I track him with my eyes, noting every detail. How he thinks with his tongue sticking out of his mouth. How he fiddles with his hair when he’s frustrated. Every few minutes, he musters up the energy to try something new. Attempting to move the boulder in front of the tunnel with a large stick. Trying to scale the slick wall using shoelaces as temporary footholds. But of course, nothing works.

The more he fails, the more I realize that this could really be the end.

I stay curled on the ground, unable to gather any energy to help. I focus in on the night sounds. Crickets and frogs compete to see who can make the loudest noise. An owl hoots from far away, and the cicadas chirp in rounds.

Mo squats down next to me and strokes my hair. The dead flower bracelet I gave him scratches my hand.

I smile and kiss his forehead.

As he resumes his obsessive pacing, I stare up at the moon’s face, peering down on us from high in the sky. I can’t help but think of Wyn and all the times we argued back and forth about whether there really was a man in the moon. Even when I pointed out facial features, he still said he couldn’t see it.

Now I miss him annoying me. I wonder if he’s thinking about me too.

The owl calls out again. This time, it sounds much closer than before.

An idea crosses my mind. It’s a long shot, but it’s possible.

I stand up and hoot toward the punched-out hole in the ceiling.

Mo moves next to me. “What is it?”

“What do you think? It’s an owl.” I focus on the patch of light. Watching. Wondering. Hoping. The owl hoots again. I answer back one more time, just in case. My hunch might be crazy, but if I’m right, I just might get us out of this hell hole.

Mo squints at me in the dim light, looking confused. “Are you expecting an owl to rescue us?”

I shush him as the shadow of a head appears over the side.
 

I squeeze Mo’s arm. “It’s Tommy!”

Mo and I stare up at the entrance. Seconds later, a climbing rope uncurls in front of us.

He motions us up at the same time I hear voices yelling in the distance. Tommy changes his mind and climbs down the rope, never once making a sound. When he reaches the bottom, he puts his finger to his lips and stares up at the entrance until he thinks it’s clear. Then he whispers. “Sorry, I was going to just pull you up until I thought they saw me. There’s a swarm of people up there.”

I barely even hear what he says because I pounce on him. “Tommy!”

He clutches my arms. “Elu,
(t)do-`hi-tsu!”

I nod. “I’m fine. How did you know where we were?”

He squeezes me hard. “I had a hunch you’d come here so I came prepared. Just in case.”

I pull away and search his face. “Wait. I thought you didn’t want to get involved.”

He winks. “I changed my mind.”

I smile and pat his hand. “Well, then, it’s true. You
can
teach an old dog new tricks.”

His face softens. “Can you ever forgive me?”

I peck his cheek. “Already have.”

Tommy smiles, and I hug him again. As he holds me, he sticks out his other hand to introduce himself. “You must be Mo.”

Mo looks at me as if to ask for my permission in answering him. I nod. This isn’t the time to bombard Tommy with all the details I’ve uncovered about Mo today. I’ll fill him in on everything later, once we’re safe. I owe him that much.

“Yes, sir.” Mo shakes Tommy’s tan hand. “How did you know we were down here?”

Tommy frowns at me while answering. “By the time I got here, I saw them dragging you guys into camp. Unfortunately, there were too many of them around you so I had to wait. You both okay?”

“Yes. Did you see Les?”

Tommy shakes his head. “Saw the big dude dragging him out of here. He didn’t look so good. What’s going on?”

I mutter. “Les’s been protecting me this whole time. Carl and some other people in our town are involved in this. Did you know what was going on?”

Tommy drops his head and makes a clucking noise. “No. But Carl came into my store a few days ago saying he had someone who wanted to finance the store. Maybe help me expand. Acted kinda strange when I asked him where the money was coming from. I turned him down. Kinda like my store the way it is.”

“I thought you wanted to make it bigger?”

“Changed my mind. Lucky I did.” Tommy takes off his fishing hat. “Man, how money can change a person.”

I clutch his forearm. “Have you seen any sign of Dad?”

Tommy shakes his head. “Not so much as a clue or a track. I looked. Is he here?”

Mo remains silent so I just shrug. “No one knows.”

Tommy points up. “Well, I’m thinking we should get out of here. Probably don’t have much time before they come back for you two.” He addresses me. “You strong enough to climb this rope?”

I tug on the frayed end. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Mo stops us. “Wait. First, we need a plan. I can tell you what I know about the layout of this place.” He squats and draws a diagram in the dirt with his finger.

Tommy and I lean over him, studying the squiggly lines as he moves his finger along the picture. “Once we get up there, we’ll have a chance if we head out this way.” He points to a triangle shape. “The back side of the camp is less covered. It’s night, so they’ll be taking shifts. One person will be over here…” He points to a spot and then draws an X in another area. “Over here, there are usually two men patrolling the border.”

Tommy looks a bit perplexed. “Wait? How do you know all this? Didn’t you both come here together?”