Rough Terrain, page 24
Twenty minutes into the flight, vultures were seen circling in the early morning light as the chopper crested a ridge.
“There!” Jedi announced into his microphone, breaking the tense silence and causing Jared to jump. Below them there was a crescent-shaped depression in the landscape like Billy had described.
The pilot quickly found an open space to set the machine down. Crouching low, Jared, Billy and Jedi exited the chopper and looked around. Billy had been right. They were in a small canyon that couldn’t have been more than half a mile wide. Twenty-foot rock walls encircled the men on three sides. Jared eyed some deep gullies under the tall grass and fallen trees. He figured thawing snow in the spring would turn the canyon into a dangerous river. There were plenty of signs of recent human activity. The grass had been trampled and there were various flat spots where tents had been erected. The remnants of campfires were still smoldering. Moving slowly, with their rifles ready, Jared and Jedi flanked Billy as they walked toward a venue of vultures.
As they got closer, Jared could see that the birds were fighting over entrails. There was no carcass. Jedi tapped him on the shoulder and pointed at three other spots the vultures were fighting over.
Unsnapping a knife from his belt, Billy tried to shoo the birds away but the large scavengers weren’t easily scared off. The birds squawked and flapped their wings at the human interruption, hopping just far enough away for Billy to grab and cut a piece of the bloodied flesh, which he placed into a plastic bag. He then headed to the next kill site to get another sample.
While he was gone, Jedi and Jared searched the dirt for any clues.
“Check it out,” Jared called.
Jedi walked over and looked at where Jared was pointing. A paw print was visible in the dry dirt.
“My guess is a big cat,” Jedi said, squatting down to take a closer look. He measured the size of the print against his hand.
“That’s what I’m thinking. What kind of cat would be worth all the trouble that they’ve gone through?” Jared asked as he watched Billy finish up collecting his samples and start to head back in their direction. “Another Siberian Tiger? Lion?”
Billy was close enough to overhear the last part of Jared’s question.
“I saw black fur on some of the remains back there. If it’s a cat, then a black panther would be my guess. Endangered animals certainly seem to appeal to these bastards.”
“How long ago would you say they left?” Jedi asked him.
“They were here yesterday, just like they’d planned.” Billy shook his head. “The other site was a decoy to keep us all busy.”
Jared scanned the area. He counted five tent sites but only three campfires. Searching the grass, he found several boot prints but not much else. The poachers had once again swooped into the park and left no clues that would help to identify any of them. Just like before; as elusive as ghosts.
• • •
The team silently made their way back to the chopper. Jedi was the one to break the silence as they approached the field that they had taken off from. “Billy, when will you get the DNA samples back?”
Billy held up the bags of torn flesh and entrails. “I have a friend in the lab. I’ll make sure he runs them as fast as possible.”
Jared knew that once they were able to identify the species that the entrails had belonged to, the cyber unit could get on the deep web and try to track down where the animals had come from. With any luck, they could find out who had bought the animals and have some sort of thread that could lead them to the gang they had been tracking.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dr. Davis finished writing in Amanda’s chart and placed the file under his arm. He studied her for a minute as she awkwardly sat up in bed. A nurse had removed her IV catheter earlier that morning. It was still painful to breath and the throbbing in her head had only calmed to a dull ache. She was unable to open her right eye to more than a slit but, according to the nurse, the swelling had begun to subside.
“I’m going to release you from the ICU and put you in a regular room.” Dr. Davis grinned at her. “I’d like to keep you in for several more days for observation.”
Amanda pasted a smile on her face. This good news did not make her feel any better. She was still as helpless as a baby and had no place to go. No one had visited her in the ten days since she had been admitted. Dr. Davis had explained that only immediate family members were allowed in the ICU but mentioned that the nurses had turned away several visitors who were anxious to see her.
It wasn’t the good doctor’s fault that she was feeling sorry for herself.
The news that Samantha had been found safe had lifted her spirits until she’d realized that no one seemed to know what had happened to Kyle. She had no news about Shadoe, either.
She’d had plenty time to think as she lay in bed. Even with Kyle’s disappearance, there was still a band of poachers operating in the area. They may have finished with their dealings in the park, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t be back to try to finish the job that Kyle had started, with or without him. Did they think that she was still a threat to them? If so, then nothing had changed, and she would still be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.
Dr. Davis left the room and a nurse took his place. Moving efficiently, she removed the heart monitor clips and released the brakes on her bed. “Are you ready for your new room?”
Not having much say about the process, Amanda nodded, too preoccupied with her own misery to pay attention to the whirring sound that passed by her door.
• • •
Jared must have fallen asleep somewhere around midnight. He had spent the last five days filling out reports and debriefing his superiors, who wanted to send him to the staff shrink to ‘decompress’.
“You know how these situations can lead toPTSD,” his commanding officer had warned him. “I can’t let you back out in the field until you’re cleared by the doctor.”
Jared made an appointment for three months in the future, then took the next flight out of Washington. He had almost wept with relief at hearing Jessie’s voicemail, “Amanda has come out of the coma and has no sign of a brain injury.” The thought that he might have been too late to save her had been tearing at him. He’d never felt fear for his own life like the fear he felt when he saw the rifle butt slam into Amanda’s head as she faced down Kyle.
He arrived at the hospital just before 10 p.m.
Jared’s chair creaked as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position. The way his muscles ached, he figured a team of masseuses couldn’t get out all the knots. His own pain was nothing compared to Amanda’s battered face and black eye. Thanks to pain medication that the nurse said she had been given earlier, Amanda was sound asleep.
Grinding his teeth, Jared wished that Kyle was still alive so that he could kill him all over again, this time with his bare hands. The nurse had tried to make him leave, but he flashed his badge and told her flatly that he was staying; she had smiled and backed off.
Ignoring the protests from his own body, Jared leaned forward to hold Amanda’s hand. Her left eye opened and sought him out. She was groggy, but she managed a small grin.
“Hi,” she said sleepily.
“Hi yourself,” he answered in a whisper.
The medication must have dried out her mouth because she kept trying to swallow.
“Do you want me to get you something to drink?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No thanks, I’m having the nicest dream that you’re finally here,” she said before she turned toward him and fell back to sleep.
Jared pulled the chair closer to the bed. He brushed Amanda’s hair away from her face and leaned down to kiss her cheek. Without letting go of her hand, he put his head down on the bed and fell into a deep, peaceful asleep.
• • •
Jared was sitting in the chair next to her bed when Amanda woke up the next morning.
“So, it wasn’t just a dream. You’re actually here.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to snatch them back. Of course he was there
He’d taken a shower and looked clean shaven. She could have sworn that he’d had the start of a beard last night. She felt absolutely grubby in comparison.
Jared gave her one of those grins that said he’d noticed her comment but was going to let it slide. “Yeah, I got in late last night. You woke up and spoke to me for a moment. Figured that with all the pain meds they have you on, you probably wouldn’t remember.” He pulled his chair closer to the bed and turned it so that he could face her.
So many emotions were going through Amanda’s head; relief that he was okay, guilt that she had dragged him into her past and sadness that with all that had gone on, it had changed nothing.
Taking her hand, he looked solemn. It was the look of someone that had bad news to share but didn’t know how to say it. She would know that look anywhere.
“What?” she choked out when the silence became unbearable. “You have bad news, don’t you? Kyle got away and he’s still out there, waiting to come get me?”
Jared rose from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He lightly cupped both hands on either side of her face and forced her to look at him. “Kyle is dead,” he announced. “I shot him, just after he hit you with his rifle.”
At first his words didn’t sink in.
“Kyle is dead,” he repeated. “It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“The poachers?” she asked in a whisper.
Jared looked away for a moment before meeting her eyes. “They got away.”
Amanda started to shake. “Then it’s not over. I’ll never be able to be me again. I’ll always be wondering who’s coming for me next.”
Somehow, even though it was what she had expected all along, the reality of the situation hit her hard. She wanted to be Amanda Whittier again. Wanted to be free to do as she pleased, without worrying who and when someone would try to kill her.
Despair must have shown in her face because once again, Jared cupped her cheeks.
“Listen to me. It’s over. No one but Kyle was looking for you. He had a personal vendetta against you for getting away from him. It was something that his ego just couldn’t handle. Now that he’s dead, you’re free to take back your life, Amanda.”
She reflected about what he said for a moment. Then a thought occurred to her. “How long have you known who I am?”
Jared looked angry for a second as he slumped down in the chair. “Not long enough. I put a listening bug in Billy’s cabin and heard you two talking. You should have told me sooner. I could have protected you better, had I known the truth.”
He blamed her?
“Why should I have told you?” she asked defensively. “You weren’t forthcoming about who the hell you were, either. A listening bug?? It never made sense to me that you were just a photojournalist, but you’re some sort of agent, aren’t you? FBI or something?”
Standing up, Jared turned and for a moment. Amanda thought that he was going to walk out the door but instead he began to pace back and forth at the end of her bed.
“I can’t tell you much, except that I do a lot of undercover work. This was just supposed to be a fact-finding mission. Because I’m from the area, my bosses thought people would open up to me. Get some new leads on these guys, since the trail had grown so cold.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I had no idea that you had survived, ten years ago. I always wondered what had gone down on the mountain that day. The murder/suicide story never felt right to me. Not sure why, considering I had never met your father or your uncle. Anyway, I got a call several months ago about this assignment, so I jumped at it. It was a chance to try to solve something that has always bothered me.”
Crossing to the side of her bed, Jared once again sat down on the edge of the mattress. “I should have figured out who you were much sooner and protected you. I’m sorry.”
His words made her anger disappear. “Don’t be sorry. I had no idea who to trust. It seems that everyone else in town knew exactly who I was. I guess it was just my bad luck to fool the one person who could help me.”
Jared was about to say something when Jessie knocked on the open door, interrupting him.
“Mind if I come in?” she asked.
“No, not at all.” Rising from the side of the bed, Jared moved back so that Amanda could see her visitor.
Jessie’s smile was tentative yet warm.
“Glad to see you’re okay,” she said to Jared before turning to face Amanda. “I’ve gotten permission from the doctor to get you into a wheelchair and take you outside. There are a couple of visitors who would like to see you. I thought you might enjoy getting out into the sunshine for a little while. What do you say?”
Amanda glanced at Jared before smiling. “Sunshine sounds great.”
• • •
Jessie had brought Shadoe to the hospital. Billy was holding the canine’s leash as he stood beside Gus in the manicured garden. Shadoe almost turned himself inside out when he locked his eyes on Amanda.
No one had mentioned Shadoe to Amanda, and she had been too afraid to ask, convinced that Kyle had killed him. There were no words to describe the relief at seeing her best friend again. Burying her face in his fur, she sobbed. She wore her emotions on her sleeve lately. Having been dormant for so long, they would not be contained. When she was through hugging and kissing him, the shepherd settled down at her side.
Amanda couldn’t believe she was sitting outside in the sunshine with her dog, Jared, Billy, Gus and Jessie. It all felt so normal. The conversation was light, allowing her to relax.
Jared shared stories of some of the mischief he had gotten up to as a child, making her hold her ribs against the pain when she laughed. Jessie commented on pieces of local gossip but Billy and Gus didn’t say much, which was usual for both of them. It took Amanda a while to notice the odd looks the men were giving Jessie.
Glancing back and forth between Jessie and the two men, Amanda finally asked, “What’s going on?”
Jessie cleared her throat before getting up and moving to the bench next to Amanda’s wheelchair. “We have something we need to tell you, now that you’re stronger.”
In that moment, Amanda didn’t feel so strong, but she held on to Jessie’s gaze.
Jessie looked up at Billy, who nodded to her, and then she turned back to Amanda.
“There’s no easy way to say this so I’m just going to blurt it out.” Closing her eyes for a brief second, she opened them, took a deep breath then announced, “Your uncle Peter is alive.”
Amanda’s mind went blank. Not a thought, feeling or memory came forward. In fact, right at the moment, she wasn’t even sure she was breathing. Jessie’s words had stopped everything. If the birds were singing, she couldn’t hear them. Shadoe nudged her hand but she didn’t notice.
It was Jared who brought her back.
“What do you mean that her uncle is alive?” His tone was guarded but firm. “There’s no way he could have survived that fall.”
Jared rested a hand lightly on Amanda’s shoulder. She was grateful for the contact, which grounded her, as she let Jessie’s words sink in.
Jessie took Amanda’s hands in hers. “I know this is a real big shock to you, honey. Peter has been here every day since you were admitted. He’s been worried sick about you. “
Shadoe whined and Amanda automatically reached out to pat his head. After everything that she had been through, she wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. “He was alive, all these years?”
“The doctors warned your uncle to stay out of sight until you’d had time to heal and get stronger.” Jesse glanced nervously at Jared and then back to Amanda. Bowing her head, she seemed unable to continue.
Gus spoke up. “Your uncle suffered life-threatening injuries from the gunshots and the fall over the cliff. He was in bad shape when we found him. It took us over two hours to get him airlifted off the side of the Gorge. We weren’t sure if he would make it to the hospital.”
Amanda struggled to take his words in. She was still stuck on “Your uncle Peter is alive.” Jared’s hand felt reassuring as he pressed gently against her shoulder.
“He’d lost a lot of blood from the gunshot wounds,” Gus continued, “and his spinal column was severed in several places. His coma lasted for over three months. When he finally came to, Peter was paralyzed from the chest down and had to relearn everything again.”
“What do you mean relearn everything?” Jared quizzed, the investigative reporter taking over.
Billy answered this time. “Everything. He had lost all knowledge. He couldn’t recall the alphabet, numbers, colors, how to speak or dress himself. Nothing. It was like he was a newborn all over again.”
Amanda glared incredulously at Billy. “You knew about this?” Her voice cracked under the deep disappointment that he had also lied to her. And for so long.
Jessie’s eyes glistened with tears. “It’s been a long road for your uncle, Amanda. Years of therapy did help him to regain his memories. He does remember most of what had happened to him now. He remembers you and wants to see you very badly.”
“Where is he? Why isn’t he here?” Amanda whispered, afraid that this was just a dream again.
“Give yourself some time to process this. You’ve been through so much already.” Jessie smiled as she sat back a little against the bench. “We asked him to wait until we could tell you that he was alive. I thought it best that you heard this news from us.”
“I saw him.” Amanda spoke slowly. “I thought I’d died. I thought he was an angel waiting to bring me to heaven. I was so disappointed that it wasn’t my dad who had come for me. I wanted to see my dad.”
Shadoe whined and nudged her hand again. She stroked his head without taking her eyes off Jessie.
“I’m okay,” she told her dog. “I’m tired, Jessie. I’d like to go back to my room, now.”
Billy spoke quietly. “We’ll bring Peter to see you tomorrow.”
