Part 19 (1/2)
”Can I have a brownie sundae?” Brooke settled back in the seat.
Marley started to get into the car, but a figure came das.h.i.+ng from the house. Marley's gaze darted toward the teenage girl. Still no sign of Libby. She could always ditch this girl at the water's edge. She turned her best smile on full wattage. ”Hi, I'm Brooke's aunt, Marley. Tank sent me after the two of you.”
The girl stopped, and uncertainty replaced the panic on her face. ”Tank sent you?” She glanced at Brooke. ”Is this your aunt, Brooke?”
Brooke nodded. ”She looks just like Mommy.” She patted the seat beside her. ”We're going to get ice cream, Joy. You can come.”
Marley went around the other side of the car and opened the door. ”Tank is in a hurry. He already radioed Libby. Get in.” With a last doubtful look toward the house, Joy went around the back of the SUV and climbed inside. Marley slammed the door shut behind her and hurried around to the driver's side. She got in and jammed the key home. The engine sputtered but finally fired, and she drove off.
Her thoughts skittered feverishly to her escape plan. She hadn't planned to do this yet, but the opportunity was too good to miss. Tank would a.s.sume Brooke had wandered into the forest and search for her there. By the time he figured out Marley had taken Brooke, they would be far away in New York. She would get a real lawyer who would protect Brooke from a lifetime of being a hick. Lost in her rosy dream, it took a few moments for it to sink in to Marley that the vehicle sounded funny. It surged and began to thump. Had hitting that pothole done something to it? No sooner had the thought formed than the SUV gave a final lurch and a loud rattle, then died in the middle of the muddy lane.
”No!” Marley pounded the steering wheel. ”This can't be happening, not now.” She turned the key frantically. The engine ground. She tried again, and it coughed to life. A cloud of smoke billowed from the back and from under the hood. It wouldn't make it. Marley's mind raced for an alternative plan. If she could just hide the vehicle somewhere, Tank wouldn't be on to her very quickly. She and the girls could walk to Cook Inlet, where she could get a boat to take her across the bay to Kenai, where she could catch a plane to Canada and on to New York.
”Come on, come on,” she muttered as the vehicle crept forward. There. She spied a parting in the spruce just big enough for the old Jeep. She coaxed it into the spot and pulled forward until she could go no farther. The engine gave a final cough and died.
”Get out,” she snapped at Joy. Grabbing her purse, Marley scrambled out, then opened the back door and unbuckled Brooke. Marley pulled the little girl out and took her hand.
Brooke tried to pull away. ”I want to go home, Aunt Marley.”
Marley didn't answer her. She thought the bay was to her left. Surely it wasn't far. She glanced at her shoes. The heels would not be conducive to walking. She dropped Brooke's hand, then took off her shoes and knocked the heels off. Another thought struck her. They'd need insect repellent. The mosquitoes would be vicious. She opened the back. Her father had always insisted her mother carry a backpack of gear for the bush. It was still in the back of the Jeep. She grabbed it and slung it on, then went back and motioned for Joy to follow her. By four o'clock, they should be to the Inlet. Another few hours and they'd be safely aboard a plane headed out of this wretched country.
Tank rode shotgun with Chet driving his SUV. Six other vehicles followed them. Some had bear-hunting dogs. Tank felt sick over what would have to happen today. It would be like seeing his dad shoot the bear when he was a kid. He never got used to it. But this bear was a killer. It had attacked Jed Hoose and had now killed Kipp.
”Don't look so grim. I know you hate it when a bear has to die, but you know as well as I do that this is necessary.”
”I know it, but I don't like it.”
”I don't imagine Kipp Nowak was too fond of what happened to him either,” Chet said dryly.
”I'm sorry about that. He was misguided, but I wouldn't wish his end on anyone.”
”Where do we start?”
”At the scene of the attack.” Tank rolled his window down and let the fresh air help blow away his disgruntled mood. ”The bear will likely hang around for a while. We may get him right off the bat.” He glanced at his watch. ”It's already going on four. I don't particularly want to be out all night hunting.”
”Me neither. Especially with a bear like that lurking out there.” Chet turned toward the lake.
They rode in silence. Tank didn't know what Chet was thinking, but he wouldn't want anyone privy to his own thoughts. They strayed way too often to a certain young woman with hair the color of burnished leaves and eyes like smoked honey. He nearly laughed. Who would have thought he could have such a poetic thought? He'd surprised himself a lot lately.
Chet parked beside the lake, and the men got out. The other vehicles parked behind the SUV. Carrying guns and shus.h.i.+ng their barking dogs, they walked purposefully to join Chet and Tank. The dogs sniffed the bloodstains on the ground and began to strain at their leashes. They could smell the bear and knew what they'd been brought here to do.
Tank knelt and looked at the bear prints. Two bears had been here, both with a toe missing. Miki's was likely the smaller set of prints. He motioned to Chet. ”Make sure the men know not to follow this set. It was the bigger bear that attacked Kipp.”
Chet nodded. ”These Miki's?”
”Probably.”
Chet waved the men over and gave them their instructions. ”Make sure your dogs know which bear we're tracking. We want the big one.” Hunters usually weren't allowed to hunt bears with dogs, but it was allowed in special circ.u.mstances like this.
Mort Winters, the leader of the group, nodded grimly. ”We'll get this guy before he hurts anyone else.”
Tank shouldered his gun and his backpack and followed the baying dogs. He prayed Miki stayed out of the dangerous fray.
”Your pictures are here.” Gus thrust a bag full of photos into Haley's hand.
”That was quick. It's only been two days.”
”There was an extra plane flying this way, and he brought them in for me.”
She peeked into the plastic bag to see it full of picture envelopes. Maybe they would help figure out who had attacked her. She'd have Libby look with her and Augusta.
Libby. Libby had gone to the cabin with Brooke and Joy. Haley had forgotten all about it. Libby knew nothing about the bear's attack on Kipp. She needed to call and tell Libby to stay inside. She thanked Gus and left his temporary store set up in a tent, then took off at a run for the troopers' office as fast as her prosthesis would allow. Bursting in, she asked the volunteer if she could use the radio. The woman made the call, then handed Haley the handset.
No one answered. She was about to give up when Libby's breathless voice came on the line.
”Tank, is that you? You have to come quick!”
”Libby, it's Haley. What's wrong?”
Libby was sobbing in short bursts of pants. ”I can't find Brooke. She's gone!” Harsh sobs rattled through the line.
Haley stopped breathing. ”What do you mean, gone?” Adrenaline kicked her in the gut. Not again. Please G.o.d, not again. The prayer bubbled to her heart before she could stop it.
”I stepped out back for a minute to water my garden. Brooke didn't sleep well last night, so I thought she could use a nap, though she seldom takes one at her age. When I came in, she was gone. I thought maybe she'd gone to the bathroom, but she wasn't there either. I need Tank! We have to find her!” She burst into a fresh round of sobs.
Haley realized she'd been holding her breath. ”What about Joy?” She tried to quell the panic that dulled her thoughts.
Libby put her hand to her mouth. ”I forgot about Joy! She's not here either. Could she have taken Brooke for a walk? She was getting some of our things together for me when I went out back.”
”I can't believe she'd take her for a walk without telling you. Tank is out looking for the predatory bear. It killed Kipp today. That's what the commotion was about.”
”Oh, dear G.o.d, no,” Libby moaned. ”Be with my Brooke, Jesus.”
The blood in her veins was like ice, but Haley knew she didn't have the luxury of falling apart. ”Do you have a gun?” Libby was sobbing so hard, Haley couldn't understand the answer. ”Libby, calm down, I can't understand you. Do you have a gun?”
”Yes, yes, there are guns here.”
”Get a gun, the biggest one you can handle. Keep looking for Brooke. I'll be there as quick as I can.” She practically threw the receiver back onto the table. ”We've got two missing children,” she told the volunteer. ”Tank's little girl is missing, and so is my sister Joy.”
The woman's eyes widened. ”Brooke?” She put her hand to her mouth.
”I need some help.”
”Everyone is out looking for the bear. I'll try to raise Chet on the radio. I'll see if I can get some search dogs, too.”
”Tell them I'm heading out to the La.s.siter place now.” Haley ran for the door.