I thought a moment before replying. “Do they have screaming, sobbing rocks, ’cause that’s probably what I’ll be doing if a bear is gnawing my arm off.”
“It would be difficult to just lay there and be eaten alive, huh?”
“Ya think?”
I stumbled up the trail and found a rustic hunting cabin with a carved sign that read YOST. After trying the door and finding it locked, naturally, I accidently broke a window. I had neither the time nor the inclination for locksmithing. A woman’s life was at stake. Dr. Yost could bill me.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary inside, I walked the perimeter of the house, searching for a basement or other underground structure while the little girl with the kitchen knife followed me. She was a curious lot. I turned to her and knelt down, hoping I wouldn’t inadvertently get stabbed in the eye.
“Wednesday … do you mind if I call you Wednesday?” Receiving no answer, I asked, “Do you see any kind of an underground structure?” Her arms hung rigid at her sides, one hand clutching on to the knife like her life depended on it, and she stared straight past me, her ashen face almost afraid. I decided to make physical contact, but when I went to touch her shoulder, she disappeared. Naturally. She reappeared on the hood of a four-wheeler, standing at attention, staring into nothing.
I stepped over to study it just as my phone rang. It was Nathan Yost.
“Hello, Ms. Davidson?” he asked when I answered.
“This is Charley.”
The ATV looked pretty beat up, but most four-wheelers did. This one was a utility ATV with an electric winch and cable on the back.
“This is Nathan Yost. I was just wondering if you’ve had a chance to look over my wife’s case.”
While the winch looked relatively new, the part of the ATV it was attached to was broken, like the doctor had used it on something really heavy. Unless he was trying to pull trees out by the roots, I couldn’t imagine what he’d need a winch for. But, admittedly, I wasn’t a guy. Winching was apparently a guy thing. As was wenching.
“I’m looking into it right now, Doctor.” I scanned the area again.
“So, you’ll take the case?” he asked, trying really hard to sound excited.
“Absolutely.”
Nothing else on the property seemed out of the ordinary. It was a nondescript cabin, and though it had electricity and running water, it was actually a little lower key than what I’d expected the billionaire doctor to have. Inside was a variety of camping paraphernalia, lanterns, sleeping bags, climbing equipment, rope.
“Thank you,” he said, forcing relief into his voice. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m happy to do it. I’ll call you the minute I know something.”
“Thank you again.”
After hanging up, I trudged about the place for a solid hour and decided the whole trip had been a complete waste of time. My last cup of coffee was wearing thin as I stumbled back to the Taurus. I looked off in the distance and saw Wednesday again, her back to me, staring into the side of a mountain. With any luck, she’d stay there.
After digging the phone out of my pocket, I called Cookie.
“Any luck?” she asked.
“Does bad count?”
“Damn. I was really hoping we were on to something.”
“Bear!” I screamed when I saw a real live bear lumbering through the trees.
“Oh, my god! Stop, drop, and roll!”
“What?” I asked, keeping my eyes locked on to it. I’d never seen one outside of a zoo. I suddenly felt sweet and salty. Maybe a little crunchy.
“Just do it!” she shouted.
“Stop, drop, and roll? That’s your solution to a bear attack?” I asked as I unlocked her Taurus and climbed inside.
“No, wait, that’s if you’re on fire, huh?”
Just as I started to close the door before the bear made a U-turn and decided to brunch on my innards, I felt it. A heartbeat, faint. Fear, a little stronger. I quieted and stepped back out of the car.
“Cookie, wait, I feel something.”
“Did he get you?” she asked, almost screaming in panic. We totally needed to get outdoors more.
“No, hon, just wait a sec.” I stepped closer to the trees and scanned the area for Teresa, all the while keeping an eye out for the bear.
“What? Is it her?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I felt a pulse of fear.”
“Yell!” she yelled, scaring the bejesus out of me.
I struggled to keep hold of the phone, then placed it back at my ear. “Cookie, holy cow.”
“Sorry, I got excited. Yell, maybe she can hear you.”
“But won’t the bear hear me, too?”
“Yes, but they can’t understand English.”
“Right. I’ll try that,” I said, stepping back to the car. “I’ll call you if I find anything.”
“Wait, I’m on my way.”
“What?” I asked, completely taken off guard. “You’re on your way here?”
“Yep.”
“In what? The space shuttle?”
“I stole the extra set of keys off your fridge.”
“Did you happen to notice the needle pointing to the really big E?”
“I got gas before I left.”
Score.
“And you ditched Garrett again, remember? He doesn’t have a phone, thanks to you. I just don’t want you to almost get killed alone again. You always almost get killed alone. Though the bear thing will be new.”
“That’s not true. I almost got killed by a bear when I was twelve. Its name was Uncle Bob. There was a wasps’ nest. He panicked. And you were with me the last time when that fake FBI agent chased us down the alley with a gun. We almost got killed then. The two of us. Together.”
“Oh, that’s right. I never understood why he kept shooting that building across the alley from us.”
“He was a bad shot,” I said, keeping an eye on the horizon for an oversized ball of fur. It would be just like me to be mauled to death by a bear.
“Good thing he couldn’t shoot. Then again, neither can you. Have you ever considered taking classes?”
“You know, I have,” I said, checking Cookie’s trunk. “I was thinking pottery or maybe basket weaving. Don’t tell me you don’t have a flashlight.”