Part 53 (2/2)
Annja shrugged. ”Could be, I guess.” She knew she'd have trouble summoning the sword with her hands bound behind her. Instead, she started looking around for a sharp rock to cut the ropes on. They couldn't just sit there, waiting for someone to come and hurt them. They had to get out and quick.
”Either Simpson or Baker could easily have a gillie suit and tranquilizer darts. That's not out of their ballpark.”
”So if they're working together, then to what end? To capture the Sasquatch? David didn't strike me as all that supportive of their mission,” Annja said.
”Well, that was before he lured us out to his house and had his friend shoot us with those darts,” Jenny replied.
”Good point.”
Annja spotted an outcropping of jagged granite ten feet away. ”We need to get these ropes off.”
Joey squirmed his way over to Jenny and sat up, using her back for support. ”So if Dave is with those two Feds, then that would mean one of them shot us even though we weren't doing anything illegal. That doesn't strike me as being kosher.”
Annja smiled. ”None of this is kosher, pal. This is the big wide world of evil people.” She got herself situated and starting moving up and down, rubbing the small s.p.a.ce between her hands against the rocks. She felt the sharp edges bite in her flesh.
”d.a.m.n, cut myself.”
Jenny looked at her. ”You okay?”
”Fine.” Annja kept the friction on. She couldn't afford to give in to the pain. David and his buddies might be on their way to finish them off. ”How long has David been the sheriff around here?”
Joey shrugged. ”I don't know, maybe three years or so.”
”Where did he come from before that? Does anyone know?”
”I'm the wrong guy to ask, to be honest. I've had my nose in the woods too much to know what his background is. All I know is he came, wooed everyone and got the job.”
”What are you thinking, Annja?” Jenny asked.
”I don't know. Maybe he was sent here for some purpose that we don't know about. Maybe this isn't the first time he's done this.” She kept the pressure on and felt some of the rope start to give a little bit.
”Well, whoever he is, he can't get away with it,” Joey said. ”Someone has to find out and make him pay.”
”Like who?” Jenny asked. ”State Police are more than an hour away. Who would come out here in time to rescue us?”
”She's right,” Annja said. ”If we're going to stop David and whatever it is he's up to, we're on our own. Unless there's anyone else we can find to help us.”
Jenny frowned. ”Who are you thinking of?”
”Sheila.”
”From the hotel? I thought she was a nutcase.”
Annja felt another bit of rope start to give way. ”I thought so, too. But she was the one who warned me about David. That's got to count for something, don't you think?”
”I guess, but how are we going to get to her? I don't have a cell phone on me and I doubt it would work underground, anyway,” Jenny said.
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