I turned left and pulled my iPhone from the windbreaker I’d grabbed from Lillian’s back porch. I didn’t relish this call, but Kyla was expecting me, even though I was already half an hour late for dinner. Plus, there was that promise I’d made to keep her updated on what was going on.
When I turned right on Simpson Street, Kyla was brainstorming positive reasons Jane was at Ted’s cabin. Things like, “I think she’s brave. Probably trying to gather more ammunition for us to ambush Teflon Ray.”
I had to cut her off and end the call when Barry and Vanessa Clausen’s house came into view. There was a light upstairs, but no vehicles or other signs that either of them was home. I eased past the house and opted for a spot fifty yards beyond the attached garage where Lillian had parked her Aviator during our last visit.
I pressed the trunk release button and thought of the flashlight I’d purchased at Walmart the night I’d arrived in town. After verifying it still worked, I thought of how unprepared I was for this little hike, and especially for what could go wrong if discovered. If I had been prudent, I would have at least explored Lillian’s cabin to find the night vision goggles she’d brought on our first trip. Thank goodness the moon was almost full. I closed the trunk lid and gave myself an audible “Oh boy.” At least three additional items, a toboggan or a handkerchief large enough to cover my face, and a baseball cap, would be welcomed.
As I entered the woods, I activated my iPhone. It was 6:30, ninety minutes before calling Lillian. I knew my round-trip hike took forty minutes, an hour at an outside extreme, given the weather. This would still leave more than enough time to get in a suitable position to see, and hopefully hear, what Jane and Ted, and probably Ray, were up to.
It was 6:49 when I reached the giant oak I’d seen during my last hike. This was the last time I could safely light my surroundings before I got close to the cabin. To be safe, I powered down my iPhone and continued in the bright moonlight toward the rear of the cabin, remembering that I had forgotten to bring the H & K.
***
I continued my march to the backside of Ted’s cabin, relieved I hadn’t brought the pistol. Besides its weight and bulkiness (I didn’t have a holster), I wouldn’t need it.
All I intended to do was get close enough to see who was there. I knew Jane, more accurately, Jane’s Equinox, was present, but I needed to know if Ray was. If so, that would go a long way to confirm my suspicion that Jane couldn’t be trusted. I didn’t expect to understand a single word since I’d be looking through a door or window.
To my surprise, when I reached the creek, I saw a blazing fire only fifty or sixty feet away. Through the trees, I could see Jane standing and facing me with the cabin behind her a similar distance to what I was from her. To Jane’s right and left were Ted and Ray, respectively. Both sat, their backs to me. Jane appeared to be roasting hot dogs on a stick. There was a portable table to her right containing ketchup, mustard, and probably buns, but a tree obstructed my view of the left half of the table. I edged forward and sideways enough to gain the security of a larger tree. By the time I crouched, Jane removed the wiener from the stick, stuck it inside a bun, and added the condiments. Ray stood and reached toward her.
Over the crackling of the fire, I heard Ted’s voice. “I thought we were having your scrumptious chili.”
“Shit Ted, give her a break. Even Wonder Woman needs to rest.” It was Ray’s words, although altered by a mouth full of hot dog.
“Yeah Ted, how about a little gratitude?” Jane reached under the table and grabbed what was probably a beer. She handed it to Ray.
“Okay, sorry. Thanks for all your efforts. So, what time did you get back?” What was this all about? Where had Jane gone? And here I was thinking she had been home since late Friday night. Apparently, that applied only to her Equinox.
“Just before daylight. It took five hours.” Jane waved the stick with flaming wiener back and forth above her head. “Shit, I’ll take this one.”
“Any problem with Enterprise?” This was getting weird. Was Ted referring to the car rental company? I stood to ward off a cramp but stayed solidly behind the oak.
“Easy peasy. My disguise was a killer. So was Mandy’s.” Mandy? Who was Mandy? Man? Woman? The only Mandy I knew, rather, had heard of, was Alex Mandy.
“Give me another dog. I’ll take the crispy one.” Ray stood and walked to a tree to his right, maybe ten feet away. He returned with a stick and started prodding the fire. “Where did ya’ll switch?”
I shook my head sideways and closed my eyes. I wanted to cross the creek and join the conversation around the fire. So far, my best guess was that at some place five hours away, two people, Jane and a Mandy, had rented vehicles from Enterprise and then later met to swap. I assume their rentals.
“Cracker Barrel in Pigeon Forge.” Jane pulled a chair away from the fire and sat. Her statement was troubling. She had gone to Pigeon Forge. I now knew Jane had feigned her sickness.
Ray returned the fire poker to the tree and headed to the cabin. Halfway there, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder. “Tell me you reviewed the itinerary before you started home.”
“She better have.” Ted added.
“You two know me better than to doubt. Unless preacher man is a fucking idiot, he knows to do his deed and then swap vehicles at Laurel Point Resort. When he gets back to Fort Payne, he’ll dump the Ranger and return to Boaz in my old Impala, assuming Chevrolet of Boaz’s new engine did the trick.”
A wave of terror ran through me like an electrical shock, but before I could review what I’d heard, another man exited the cabin, walked across the porch, and descended the steps. At first, I didn’t recognize him, but then I recalled a photograph Micaden had shown me. The young man had to be Orin Russell.
“Anything?” Ray asked, motioning for Orin to join the bonfire and wiener roast.
“He’s still not home, neither was Vanessa even though there’s a light on upstairs.”
“What do you like on your hot-dog?” Jane asked, looking at Orin.
“Everything you got.” He sat in the folding chair that Ray offered. “Funny thing happened while hiding at Barry’s.”
“What’s that?” Ted asked.
“A maroon sedan drove past the Clausen’s house. It finally stopped along the edge of the woods. I couldn’t make out who was driving, but I got the heck out of dodge.” Orin motioned Jane for a beer.
“What brand?” Ray asked.
“Uh?” Orin popped the top and guzzled several swallows.
“The car. Honda? Toyota?” Ted asked, standing and tossing another log on the fire.
“Neither. It’s the one with the two men shaking hands.” Orin set his beer on the ground and formed a circle, maybe an oval, with both hands. “Hyundai. The H, its crossbar, represents the men shaking.”
Jane handed Orin his hot-dog, raised both hands, palms open and semi-shouted: “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.”
“What the hell is wrong?” Ted asked.
“That could be Lee’s rental car. It’s maroon, and it’s a Hyundai.”
“Fuck. That must be where him and Lillian parked when they came snooping around when Buddy came for his pay.” Ray said, looking at Ted, who was now walking straight towards the creek. And me.
I stood sideways behind the big oak, knowing he couldn’t see me. If I didn’t move.
“Come on. Let’s take a ride.” Ray said.
“Can I come?” Jane asked.
“Okay,” Ray barked and pointed at Orin. “You drive to Lillian’s and look for Lee’s car, the maroon Hyundai. If it’s not there, go to Kyla’s.” Ray turned to Ted, who had moved back toward the fire. “Ted, you hike through the woods. We’ll meet you there.” Apparently, Orin knew about Kyla’s place.
Ted didn’t verbally respond, but I knew what he was thinking. He wasn’t the hiking type, although he had on a pair of new-looking boots. I’d never seen Ted when he wasn’t dressed to the nines. I painted him soft, not as a Ranger type.
This was my chance. I eased backwards from tree to tree, keeping the fire in sight. I had to get back to my car and away from the Clausen’s before Ray and Jane would arrive.
The Pencil Driven Life 