Ace murdered a girl up here in the mountains and I have evidence."There. I'd said it. And while it hurt, it was the right thing to do. I wasn't going to protect Jude. "He killed Lauren Huntsman. Look in my backpack-the evidence is there."
Calvin stared at me, his expression clouded with disbelief. "He killed Lauren?"he stammered, clearly as startled as I'd originally been.
"She disappeared from Jackson Hole last year. Do you remember? It was all over the news." I felt relieved to pass the weight of Jude's secret to someone else.
"I remember,” Calvin answered, still looking shocked. "Are you sure?" I shut my eyes, feeling light-headed and weary again. "Look in the backpack. Everything needed to prove his guilt is there. Lauren's locket, her diary, and a photograph confirming he stalked her before he killed her."
Calvin nodded, obviously shaken. "Okay, I'll do it; just lie back and take it easy, you hear?"
Calvin went to the window and gazed out on the snowy woods surrounding Idlewilde. He cupped one hand behind his neck, squeezing methodically. I could tell he was uneasy, and that made the knot return to my chest. Calvin had not known we were going up against a killer.
"Do you have my map?" he asked without turning around. "Korbie told me you took it. I'm not mad, but I need it back."
"No, Ace has it. He's out there looking for me, Cal. I took the evidence that proves he killed Lauren Huntsman. He isn't going to let me get away. Idlewilde is marked on the map. I think he's going to come here."
"If he does, he's not getting in,” he answered grimly.
"With the map, he'll be able to cover a lot of ground quickly without worrying about getting lost." I could have kicked myself for giving Jude the map. What a careless mistake. What had I been thinking, to trust him so easily?
"What weapons does he have?"
"He's unarmed. But he's strong, Cal. And smart. Almost as smart as you."
Calvin strode to the desk across the room and opened the top drawer. He took out a handgun and inserted a loaded magazine before shoving it into his belt. I knew the Versteegs kept guns at Idlewilde; Mr. Versteeg had a permit to carry concealed weapons, and Calvin had grown up hunting.
His eyes locked on mine. "Almost as smart."
CHAPTER THIRTY
Calvin brought me chicken broth and bread for dinner. Then he went to wake Korbie. When I saw her appear at the top of the stairs, I couldn't help myself. I hastily set aside the tray holding my dinner, tossed off my blankets, and ran for her. The groggy, drugged glaze in Korbie's eyes cleared as she saw me racing up the steps toward her. By the time I threw my arms around her, Korbie was already sobbing loudly.
"I thought I was going to die,” she gasped. "I thought you were dead for sure."
"Nobody's dead,” Calvin said, and I could practically hear him roll his eyes at our emotional display.
"I didn't have any food,” Korbie explained to me. "They left me in that cabin to die. And I would have, if Calvin hadn't found me."
"Of course I found you,” Calvin pointed out.
I said, "Ace told me he left you two granola bars and a canteen, though, right?"
A quick, guilty glance at her brother revealed that Korbie had left that part out. "Yes, but it was hardly anything! Not enough to last two days. Besides, the granola bars were stale and I had to force myself to eat them."
For once, Korbie's melodrama didn't bother me. I hugged her harder. "I'm so glad you're alive and safe."
"Calvin and I tried to call the police, but the phone line is down and Calvin's cell phone isn't getting service,” Korbie informed me. "So Calvin's going to find Shaun and Ace himself and bring them in. Citizen's arrest, right, Calvin? They're on foot and Calvin's got a snowmobile. I told Calvin their plan is to get off the mountain and hijack a car, and he's going to go out first thing tomorrow and patrol the roads. They're not getting away with this."
"But Shaun-,” I began dazedly.
"I'll use whatever force I have to to detain them,” Calvin said. "One thing's for sure. They're not leaving the Tetons-unless they're tied in the back of my SUV."
I blinked at Calvin. Why was he talking like Shaun was alive? He shot Shaun and burned the body. I'd watched him do it.
"Calvin found the snowmobile abandoned by the roadside, wasn't that lucky?" Korbie went on. "It had the keys left in the ignition and everything. There was a radio in it, and Calvin thinks the snowmobile probably belonged to a park ranger. He tried to use the radio to call for help, but it had been destroyed."
"Lucky,” I murmured in agreement, a faint chill passing down my spine. Calvin took the snowmobile from the ranger patrol cabin. So why wasn't he correcting his sister? Why was he lying?
Was Calvin going to pretend like he hadn't killed Shaun? Surely the police would understand. Shaun was a criminal. And anyway, Calvin shot Shaun in self-defense.
Only he hadn't.
As Jude had reminded me too many times to count, Shaun had been unarmed when Calvin pulled the trigger.
I went to bed numb, but not from cold. Calvin had monitored me closely all evening, and true to his word, had refused to let me sleep until my body temperature crept into a safe range. Even though I'd watched Calvin check the door locks, I was scared of the dark, and of what-who-might try to come in while I slept. Jude was out there in the forest. And while a bolted door might slow him down, it might not stop him. His future depended on destroying the evidence that proved he was a murderer. I had a hunch, right now, that Jude was feeling very determined.
Calvin put me in the bear-themed bedroom on the second floor at the top of the stairs, the same room I had slept in on my previous visits to Idlewilde. Mrs. Versteeg had given each of the bedrooms a theme, and mine had a four-poster log bed with a bear-patterned quilt, a faux bear rug, and framed photos of bears on the walls. One photo was of a mother black bear playing with two cubs, but the other portrayed a roaring grizzly, fangs bared. I suddenly wished I had Korbie's room, with its fishing theme. I didn't want to remember last night's encounter with the grizzly . . . or what had followed, under the tree, with Jude.
I lay in bed, listening to Calvin pace downstairs. He kept the TV off, tuning his ears to any strange sounds. He'd also shut off the interior lights, but left the outside ones blazing like spotlights on every entrance into the cabin. No one, he'd vowed to me, would approach the cabin without his noticing.
As I felt myself drifting off, a knock sounded on the bedroom door.