THE BANDIT QUEEN - Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Deakin pulled off the highway near the outskirts of Phoenix and handed the reins over to Eden. He might feel comfortable driving on the open road but the crowded highways of the huge city in front of them still frightened him. Eden threaded her way through the heavy traffic in the city and turned north on the highway to Sedona. Deakin had already searched the Internet for any information about their quarry, Dr. Gretchen Falk. He’d found an address for the woman and then visited a travel site for directions to her house. The sun slipped behind a large hill as they drove north. The red rocks and dirt reflected the dying rays of the sun. Eden rolled down her window and sniffed the air as they drove higher into the mountains of northern Arizona. The cool smell of pine trees brought a smile to her face and she remembered other visits to the mountains when she’d been a child. Why hadn’t she been living in the mountains for the last two years of her life? She could have gone to college anywhere in the United States, so why had she chosen to stay in her own city? Was she that attached to her family? Obviously not. She hadn’t called them in days and days. When she and Deakin had finished their quest for information, she thought she’d try living somewhere else for a change. Maybe Boulder or Seattle or even back East somewhere. She glanced through the deepening dusk at the boy sitting next to her. The reflection from the computer screen turned his face an unhealthy gray and drained the life from his eyes. Then he sensed her gaze and smiled into her eyes. She nodded at him and reinforced her decision with one addition. She would take Deakin with her wherever she went. That was now a ‘given.’
Eden drove carefully in the thick traffic heading along the two-lane highway into the resort town of Sedona. She followed the directions past the center of town and off through a canyon between two large peaks. Small patches of snow lay in the shadowed areas under the trees and at the sides of the road. Narrow unpaved roads ran off into the woods and rustic cabins appeared in clearings as she crept along the two-lane road. Deakin called out directions and Eden watched the tenths click off on the odometer. She gestured for Deakin to keep an eye out for a small road to their left. Deakin waved quickly toward a break in the brush but Eden didn’t have time to turn. She slowed down and turned into the next road. She backed up and turned around just as another car whipped around the curve and headed straight for the front of their car. She gunned the car back into the driveway she’d just left and watched in stunned amazement as the car slid around the next curve and whisked out of sight. She turned her head toward Deakin and all he saw was a collection of circles. Her eyes were as wide open in amazement as her mouth, but no sound emerged. Eden closed her mouth with a snap and drove quickly away. She turned her head to look at the smooth expanse of snow covering the road they should take. Then she shook her head and drove carefully back into town to look for a motel. Deakin started to protest and then gave in without a word. Maybe they did need a better plan of attack. Their enemies had been waiting for them every time and he had no reason to think this one would be any different. They’d probably been very rash to drive directly out to Dr. Falk’s house in the first place.
After a decent night’s sleep, Eden stared out at the bright winter sunshine. Before long the snow they’d seen would have melted and they wouldn’t leave a clear trail right up to Dr. Falk’s front door. Eden picked up the phone and called the number Alden had given them. Soon the brusque clipped voice of their quarry demanded a message but gave no indication that she’d return any calls. Eden recorded a short message on the machine but no phone number, only a promise to call back. She then shook Deakin awake and pushed him toward the shower while she pored over the maps she’d picked up in the motel lobby.
Deakin begged and pleaded and whined until Eden grudgingly pulled into the only McDonald’s in the world without bright yellow arches. The Sedona city government had stuck to its guns and refused permits for anything other than teal arches. If they’d had a camera, Deakin would have forced Eden to take his picture next to them.
After breakfast they drove back out the mountain highway and turned into the unplowed dirt road that disappeared into a stand of tall straight evergreen trees. Eden drove carefully into the grove of trees and reluctantly stopped in front of a padlocked metal gate. A large red sign on the gate read: NO TRESPASSING. Eden leaned her chin on the steering wheel and stared at the sign in disgust. Deakin jumped out his door and surveyed the padlock. His head jerked around at the sound of an approaching car and he stared intently at the road behind them. A vehicle had turned into the road but had stopped in the trees where he couldn’t see it. He gestured for Eden to turn their car around and to drive slowly toward the highway while he watched from the side of the road. He moved from tree trunk to tree trunk as Eden inched along the road. Deakin held up his hand to stop her when he caught sight of a black SUV parked sideways across the entrance to the road. Eden gunned her car in reverse and nailed the sign on the gate with her back bumper. The gate crumpled and pulled the hinges away from the gatepost. Deakin dragged the gate out of the way until Eden drove inside the fence. Then he dragged it back into the middle of the road and jumped in with Eden.
“I hope someone is home, Eden, ‘cos we sure can’t go back this way. Do you think she might have a back road?”
Eden waved away his question and concentrated on the rutted path in front of her. It led them around the base of a large mountain and into a small valley surrounded by huge rocks and tall slender trees. Deakin peered between the tree trunks and whooped when he spotted a well-camouflaged cabin in the distance. Eden followed the deep ruts around the back of the cabin and pulled up next to a locked garage. The windows were shuttered and the only human sounds they heard came from the SUV following them along the dirt road. Deakin jumped out of the car and climbed nimbly onto the wide porch encircling the cabin. He methodically checked every door and window until he’d completed the entire circuit of the cabin. Eden tried to break into the garage but that was a bust too. Deakin dropped noiselessly from the porch and grabbed Eden’s hand. He pulled her into the woods cloaking the side of the mountain behind the cabin. They walked quickly but carefully through the trees, making sure they left no footprints in the drifts of snow that still covered the shaded ground under the trees and in the shadows of the rocks.
Deakin pulled Eden behind a huge boulder and climbed to the top of the rock. He shaded his eyes against the bright sun and scanned the area around the cabin. The truck was now parked behind their car and two people moved in and out of Deakin’s view as they too tried to enter the cabin. The woman was muffled in a puffy down jacket with a scarf wrapped around her neck and head. She stood on the front steps and stamped her feet to keep them warm. Her mouth moved constantly but Deakin heard no sound but the wind rustling through the tops of the trees. The man stopped in front of her and yelled in her face. He shook his fist at her. She stood her ground and slapped his fist away. The fist dropped away but was immediately replaced by his left hand. Deakin heard the slap of the man’s palm against the woman’s cheek and saw her reel back against the stair railing. The man stalked off and assaulted the front door of the cabin. Eden hissed at Deakin and waved him down from the rock. She pointed across the small valley at a thin streak of smoke drifting out of a circle of huge boulders. Deakin immediately headed along the side of the mountain. He didn’t want to cross the center of the valley unless there was no other choice. Eden grabbed the tail of his jacket and pointed out a small game trail that angled off in their general direction. A loud clanging alarm from the cabin behind them brought both their heads up in astonishment and they dived swiftly down the game trail. Eden kept her hold on Deakin’s jacket and used his back to screen her face from the onslaught of thin slashing branches from the trees they rushed past. They passed several other game trails that branched off up and down the mountain but they stayed on the largest one. A tiny seasonal creek crossed the path and Eden saw the mingled prints of many small animals who’d dropped in for happy hour. Now the trail angled to their right and the ground flattened out as they slipped through the bushes and trees that covered the far end of the small valley.
Deakin pulled Eden into the shadow of another large rock that had rolled off the mountain in ages past. She dropped to the bare ground and rubbed her calves. She loudly sucked in the thin mountain air as Deakin clambered up on the rock but could see nothing. After a few minutes, he pulled Eden to her feet and they took off jogging along the trail. Deakin stopped at the treeline and stared out across a meadow of tall brown grass and low bare bushes. Eden walked into his back and rested against him as he scanned the area. Their trail ran across the open end of the meadow. Eden finally stepped up next to Deakin and checked out their options. They could now smell the smoke that drifted up out of the rocks and trees about half a mile across the valley floor from where they stood. Eden looked back down the valley toward the cabin but the side of the mountain obscured her view. She looked down at the blinding yellow parka she wore and shivered as she took it off. She stuffed it under a rock with small twigs and branches covering it. Her pond green sweater and dark jeans blended in with the brush around her. She stepped around Deakin and walked to the left along the treeline at the edge of the meadow. Deakin followed her into the dappled shadows of the trees. His black windbreaker and jeans mimicked the long thin lines of the trees. They walked all around the edge of the meadow until they stood against the slope of the next mountain. Eden clambered up the rough ground until she had a view of the whole valley. She could even see the cabin. The SUV had either driven away or had been parked out of sight behind the cabin. Nothing and no one moved through the grass of the meadow. Someone could be following their trail between the rocks but Eden couldn’t see through the trees. The thin spiral of smoke lay ahead of them in a small clearing in a grove of trees. Eden could barely see the roof of a tiny cabin. She pointed it out to Deakin and then studied the area for the best path. Finally, she slid off the rock and just walked off in the right direction. The closer they got to the clearing, the harder their task was. Large boulders covered the area and impenetrable thorn bushes filled in the gaps between the rocks. Deakin finally took the point position and dragged Eden around the thorn bushes, through a small frigid swampy area, and into the snarling jaws of a large unfriendly dog.
Deakin froze in mid-step and Eden cannoned into his back. She peered around at the bared teeth of the large German shepherd and then huddled behind Deakin. Deakin carefully set his foot down on the ground and spoke softly to the dog. Nonsense syllables slipped easily from his mouth. The dog finally stood down from attention and warily backed up a step or two. Deakin held out his hand with his palm down and held still until the dog inched forward to check him out. The snap of breaking twigs instantly brought the dog into his stiff-legged guard mode. His lips lifted to showcase an impressive set of sharp yellow teeth and a growl started low in his throat. Deakin slowly straightened up and scanned the brush behind the dog. Eden caught the first glimpse of the dog’s owner. The brush to the right of the dog rustled slightly and two large hiking boots appeared beneath the lowest branch. Eden followed the line of legs until she could make out the shadowed form of a man. A muffled shout and the slither of rocks down the side the mountain behind them brought four heads up to listen. Eden and Deakin looked quickly behind them and then turned to face the dog. A tall thin man with a long silver ponytail now stood with his hand resting on the dog’s head.
The man shifted his cool gray gaze to the mountainside behind them. Then, without a word, he gestured for the two young people to follow him. He led them along a faint path through the brush and then on a twisty path through a natural boulder fence. He walked straight into the door of a small handmade cabin and disappeared inside. The dog posted himself by the side of the door. Deakin and Eden stared at each other and then, with visible shrugs of their shoulders, walked slowly and silently through the cabin door. One large cluttered room unfolded in front of them. One corner of the room contained a handmade wooden bed covered with a brightly patterned quilt. A small kitchen with a woodburning stove filled another corner. A third corner held a chair, a footstool, a hanging kerosene lamp, and a braided rug on the smooth wood floor. The rest of the cabin was filled to the brim with woodworking tools and various works in progress. The larger of the works had spilled out the far door into a large clearing paved with flagstones from the surrounding mountains. Sunlight spilled crazily in through windows set at different angles in every wall. Eden counted eight windows in the wall directly in front of her. Each one of them was a different shape and size and set at different heights. As Eden turned in a complete circle, she realized the man had just recycled every window he could find. There were windows from old wooden houses, fixed windows from office buildings, several small church windows, windows that slid up and down, windows that cranked open and shut, windows set at floor level, windows set above eye-level, windows set at odd angles, and tiny one-foot square windows up to four foot by six foot plate glass windows. Eden smiled widely and walked to the center of the room to stand in a large pool of light. She reached out to her right and ran her finger lightly along the back of a carved statue of a hawk sitting on a branch. The wood felt almost liquid under her finger. She spied more statues in the clutter of the workroom. Tiny carved field mice sat in nests of wood shavings and wooden lizards peered from behind tools. A large tree trunk with rudimentary carvings on it stood outside on the flagstones. Some day it would be shaped into an amazing totem pole.
The room darkened behind Eden and she turned to see the tall thin man closing the door. Then he unrolled heavy canvas shades down the wall of windows shutting out the light. He continued around the room covering the windows and latching the other door. In the sudden gloom, he said,
“Insulation to keep out the cold. Maybe it’ll keep out those other people if they make it this far. Why do they want you?”
Deakin stepped forward and said, “Bad guys have been following me all my life. I lost them for a few years but they’re back now. I’m Deakin and this is Eden. Who are you? We came to talk to Dr. Falk and they followed us. Do you know Dr. Falk? Do you know where she is? There wasn’t anyone at her cabin.”
A small amount of light flowed from the wood-burning stove and Eden could almost see the tall man in the darkness. He crossed his arms across his chest and contemplated his two visitors.
“I’m Neal. Why on earth are you looking for Gretchen? She doesn’t ever have any visitors. She doesn’t want any.”
A small sigh escaped from Deakin and he smiled slightly. “At least we’re in the right area. You do know her. Can you tell us where she is right now? It’s kinda important.”
The man turned his back on them and fiddled with a kerosene lamp on his kitchen table. After he had lit the lamp and trimmed the wick, he said,
“I didn’t say I knew her. Maybe I just know of her.”
Deakin shook his head decisively. “Uh-uh, Neal, you called her by her first name and you know something about her private life and you live close to her. You must be her friend.”
The man stared at them with his cool gray eyes and finally said, “Gretchen has no real friends. She’s too frightened of people. She’s my stepsister but I lost track of her for a long time. I don’t know what happened to her years ago and I don’t think I want to know. The only thing I do know is that she could never go through it again. She’s way too damaged inside. She’d probably kill herself first. Why do you want to talk to her?”
Deakin drooped against the workbench and shook his head. “It’s a long story and you just said you didn’t want to know about the past. She used to work with my parents and we only want to ask for her help. If she doesn’t want to help us, then we leave. That’s it.”
Eden watched the man’s work-roughened hands pick up a small piece of wood and begin to rub it. Neal then stepped around her and moved to the door. The dog’s growling escalated into sharp loud barks. Eden grabbed Deakin’s hand and pulled him to the far side of the workbench. Neal opened the door and laid his hand on the dog’s head. His mouth quirked into a slightly off-center smile as he listened to the breaking of branches and the slither of rocks out beyond his line of boulders. Angry voices rose above the bushes and reverberated off the rocks.
“Goddammit, Wendy, where the hell are you? I can’t see one damned thing. Are you sure this is the way they came? We’re never going to find our way back to that cabin.”
“Shut up, you asshole. It sure isn’t my fault we lost those kids.”
“Are you saying it’s my fault? Who said we should follow them? Who said they couldn’t go far? Who said we’d catch them in a few minutes? You did, that’s who! So, you goddamned genius, where the hell are they? Oh, and by the way, where the hell are we?”
Just then the man literally fell into the clearing in front of Neal’s cabin. The dog bounced on stiff legs toward the man crumpled in the dirt and growled loudly in his face. The man yelled and clawed in his pocket for his gun. A rifle had appeared in Neal’s hands and he jacked the slide to load it. That sound reached the man’s ears over and above the growling of the dog and he stared up into the grim face of the man standing behind the dog.
“Drop that gun, mister, and I might tell you where the hell you are right now. That’s good, now slide it under the dog’s belly. Good, good. Now, you can sit right there on the ground and tell me what you’re doing in my front yard, other than trying to kill my dog.”
Neal held the rifle on the man while he slowly squatted down to pick up the handgun. Then he listened to the frantic cries of the woman as she struggled through the brush. Neal called to her in a loud voice,
“Go to your left, lady, around that tall red rock. Then you’ll see a path through the rest of the rocks. Don’t forget to raise your hands above your head too. I’ve already taken your buddy’s gun and I’ll be happy to take yours too. Now, don’t stop or I’ll have to send the dog in after you.”
The woman finally clattered through the rocks and stepped into the clearing with her hands raised. She threw a murderous look at her partner and quickly joined him on the ground while the dog bared his teeth at her.
“Slip your gun out onto the ground, please, and slide it over to me.”
The woman smiled brightly at Neal and held her hands palm up. “But I don’t have a gun. I’ve never carried a gun in my life.”
A half-smile tugged at the corner of Neal’s mouth as he said, “Yeah, and I don’t have one either. Reach in with one hand and slide it out. I won’t even threaten to kill your friend here if you don’t do it. I’ll just shoot you and let the dog take care of him.”
The woman shook her blonde hair away from her face and said again, “But I already told you I don’t have a gun.”
Neal considered her for a minute and then said sharply, “Stand up, right now.”
The woman scrambled to her feet and began lowering her hands.
Neal gestured with the barrel of the rifle. “Strip, then. All the way down to nothing. Then I’ll be sure you aren’t armed.”
The woman’s mouth dropped open and she stared around in bewilderment. “What … what do you mean?”
“Lady, I’m getting real tired of this conversation. Start taking off your clothes, all of them, right now.”
A dark, sullen look clamped down on her face and she glared at him. Her right hand dug into the pocket of her parka and jerked out a small revolver. She tossed it petulantly into the dirt about five feet left of his foot. Neal never took his eyes off the pair of them as he kicked the gun backward toward the doorway to the cabin.
This time he smiled at the two intruders and said, “Now, take off your boots. Yes, that’s exactly what I said. Okay, you can stand up and walk out of here. I keep your guns and your boots and you get to leave. It’s a good trade. I don’t know why you tried to break into my cabin and I don’t really want to know why. Tell it to someone who cares. Just, get out of here now and don’t come back. This is private property and you’re trespassing. Hey, look on the bright side. I didn’t take your socks too.”
The man took two steps across the weeds and the rocks and turned back to glare at Neal. “You won’t get away with this. You can’t do this to us. We’re federal agents and I’ll have your ass thrown in jail so fast and so far you won’t see the light of day for years and years.”
Wendy shoved him along the path through the rocks and gingerly picked her way behind him. Neal stood guard until the sound of their voices receded into the murmur of the wind in the trees. Then he locked the door of the cabin behind him and dropped the handguns into a wooden toolbox under the workbench.
“Are those the people who have been following you around?”
Deakin and Eden stepped out of the shadows into the welcoming light of the lamp. Eden smiled at Neal and said,
“Thank you very much. Actually, we’ve never seen those two ever before. How many others have seen by now, Deakin? Twenty, thirty, forty?”
Deakin threw his arm around Eden’s shoulders and shook her lightly. “Don't exaggerate, Eden. Neal will quit believing what we tell him. My best guess would be around ten different people that I’ve seen.” The animation and laughter left his face for a fraction and he hugged Eden hard as he whispered. “I wonder how many others there are out there, waiting for us.”
Eden picked up his despair and leaned slackly against his chest for a minute or two. Then she took a deep breath and turned a calm face toward Neal. “If you can’t point us toward Dr. Falk, can you at least get us back to our car? It’s parked behind Dr. Falk’s cabin.”
Neal stared seriously at the young woman in front of him and then into the eyes of the young man. He shook his head angrily and said,
“I can’t give Gretchen up to you. She gave me this land and I watch out for her in return. All I know is that someone called her a few days ago and upset her totally. She was almost incoherent with fright. She mentioned a few names, uh, something with an M. Maybe Molly and Marian and Alex. Do those mean anything to you?”
Deakin and Eden nodded to each other and then to Neal. “Is that everything she said?”
Neal shook his head. “She gave me something to hold for her. She said I should give it to some preacher boy. I’m guessing you’re the one, son. Look on that shelf behind you. It’s wrapped in brown paper.”
Deakin felt along the shelf until his fingers touched the package. He brushed the dust from it and carried it into the light. He ripped the brown paper and two children’s books dropped onto the table. Deakin opened one and saw his own name written neatly inside the cover. He turned the page and realized he held an alphabet book. A is for Apple. The other was a book of nursery rhymes. There he found The Itsy-Bitsy Spider and Four and Twenty Blackbirds and One, Two, Buckle my Shoe. He clutched the two books and turned away from Eden and Neal. Eden caught sight of a small tear sliding down his cheek but she made no move to touch him. Deakin had finally made tangible contact with his parents and she had no place in his memories.
Neal tugged on her arm and pulled her into the kitchen. He quickly made a pot of hot tea and handed Eden a box of cookies. The two of them sat down at the table and waited for Deakin to join them. When he dropped into the chair beside Eden, he still clutched the two children’s books to his chest.
“Why did your sister have these books? Who gave them to her?”
Neal pushed a cup of tea across the table and said, with a sigh, “I don’t know the answer to any of your questions, boy. Gretchen had that package hidden in the attic of her cabin. She just said she was afraid and she couldn’t talk to anyone about it. She gave it to me because she thought I was stronger than she was now. She’s right too. At one time, she was the stronger one and I followed the lifestyle known as ‘better living through chemistry.’ Drugs, you innocent children, drugs conceived in laboratories. Now, I live out here by myself and watch over the sister who helped me change. Those little books made her cry too. Take them away from here. Later on, I’ll head out into the mountains and find my sister and bring her back home. She’ll be safe until then. Tuck those books under your sweater and let’s go. I’ll take you back to your car and get you safely away too. Then we can forget all about each other, okay?”