Jake, Seth, and Tommy had continued driving the narrow and now nearly invisible dirt road until they just couldn’t safely drive any farther, even with headlights. Every once in a while, they would stop, get out and attempt to find signs of tire tracks from either Danes’ jeep or the gray compact car. But both Jake and Seth were sure the little compact car wouldn’t have been able to make it this far.
“See anything?” Seth had asked Jake the last time they stopped to look around.
“Not in this light. We’re gonna have to wait until morning to be able to see anything significant.” He looked up at the darkened sky through the high branches of pine trees. Jake stood with one hand on the roof of his truck and glanced around. “Let’s set up camp over there.” He pointed to an area in a small clearing a few feet from the truck.
“You mean we’re gonna sleep out here tonight?” Tommy peered out the driver’s window.
“Remember what I said earlier, Tommy? We’re gonna have a campout. It’ll be fun. You’ll see.” Jake and Seth walked around to the back of the pickup and began pulling gear from the bed. Jake always kept his camping gear in his truck. He and Seth and a couple of other buddies, liked to camp on weekends, either to fish or hunt.
“Hey, Tom,” Seth called out. “You wanna help us with this stuff?”
Tommy leaned out the driver’s side window a bit and asked, “Can I sleep in the truck tonight?” There was a note of worry in his voice.
“Sure, Tom.” Jake smiled at his friend. “You wait there and I’ll bring you a sleeping bag and some blankets.”
“Okay,” Tommy answered and pulled back into the cab.
Jake glanced at Seth who smiled back. They understood Tommy and didn’t want to force him to do much more than they already had. He was a good kid, and they both felt a great deal of responsibility for him.
Seth hauled a few things to the clearing, and Jake took Tommy his gear.
“Can I keep the windows rolled up?”
“Of course you can.” He patted his friend on the shoulder. “You get your bed all set up and we’ll bring you something to eat in just a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay.” Tommy smiled and eagerly began unrolling the bag and arranging his bed on the seat.
Jake rejoined Seth, and the two of them quickly set up a makeshift campsite for the night. Jake unrolled sleeping bags while Seth put together a single-burner stove and began fixing a hot meal.
“Maybe I should radio in to the sheriff one more time before we bed down.”
“Yeah, maybe so,” Seth nodded. Neither of them wanted the sheriff on their backs for not “staying in touch.”
Jake walked over to the truck and tapped on the window. Tommy eagerly rolled it down.
“You want to sleep in here too?” Tommy sounded hopeful.
“No, Tommy,” Jake chuckled, “I just thought I should radio the sheriff one last time tonight. That okay with you?”
“Sure.” Tommy made room for Jake to sit on the seat so he could switch on the radio. Jake grabbed the microphone and began tuning the radio.
“Hmm...that’s odd.”
“What is?” Tommy asked.
Jake didn’t answer as he carefully scanned several frequencies. All he could raise was static and was ready to turn it off when he happened on a conversation already in progress.
“Mountain Fox, this is Scout, come in. Over.”
More static, then, “This is Mountain Fox. I read you Scout. Over.”
“Time is running out. Is your package ready? Over.”
“Should be. I'll turn it over tomorrow at our regular place around two o’clock.”
“Understood. Over and out.”
Static replaced the conversation, and Jake turned the radio off, hanging up the microphone.
“What’s wrong, Jake?” Tommy noticed concern on Jake’s face in the dim light of the CB.
“I’m not sure, Tommy. I’m just not sure.” Jake stepped out of the truck and shut the door. “I’ll bring you some supper, okay?”
Tommy’s face brightened at the idea of food. Jake, on the other hand, walked back to Seth and related what he had just heard.
“So what do you think that was all about?” Seth asked. “Do you think it has anything to do with this woman we’re looking for?” He dished up three plates of canned stew. “I mean, maybe it’s something else altogether. Lots of people use CBs around here, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. It just seems odd that someone would talk about some kind of package and meeting at a special place. Why can't they just mail the package...you know? I mean, what’s such a big deal about a package?” Jake didn’t feel good about that brief conversation or anything else that was going on. He walked a bowl of stew over to Tommy who accepted it gratefully then headed back to the campsite to have his own. Whether or not the conversation he overheard was part of this bizarre hunt they were on or not didn’t matter. Those two men seemed secretive about their “package,” and he wondered what it was all about. What he didn’t tell Seth was that he thought he recognized one of the voices.
Jake looked back at the truck one more time, checking on Tommy. He could see his friend licking his bowl! Jake laughed out loud and sat down to finish his own meal.
“What’s so funny?”
“Aw, it’s just Tommy. He really enjoyed his supper, I think.” Seth nodded his head and shoveled in another bite of stew. The two friends ate in silence and then cleaned up. They decided not to trouble Tommy for his dirty bowl. It would keep until morning.
“Ready to bed down?” Seth asked.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Jake sat on his bag and began to pull off his boots. Crawling inside, he zipped it up, then propped his head up on his elbow and looked at Seth. “Something’s going on. This whole thing we’re involved in...doesn’t it seem strange to you?” He waited for Seth to respond, but he didn’t right away. “I mean, the sheriff’s on a short fuse to begin with...”
“The sheriff’s always on a short fuse,” Seth remarked.
“Yeah, I know, but this time it seems different somehow. And the way he’s handling everything.” He paused a moment, then continued, “Tommy and I were told to look for a gray car and follow the driver, a woman in her twenties. He even said not to turn on our headlights if it got dark, just to follow her and keep him posted on her whereabouts.” Jake kept looking at Seth, who kept quiet.
“Did you notice all the supplies in the back of my truck?”
“Yeah,” Seth answered, “but then you’ve always got gear in your truck.”
“I know that, but the sheriff put all that extra food and blankets in there yesterday afternoon. I don’t keep that much stuff in my truck. He said I might have to be up in the hills for a couple of days and nights.”
“He did? Why didn’t you say something before?”
“I didn’t want to get Tommy all worked up. He’s upset enough as it is. I should have left him with my uncle.” Jake lay down and stared up through the trees at the few stars he could see through the treetops. It was getting chilly. Seth had given them both an extra blanket, and he pulled it up around his chin.
“So what do you think we should do tomorrow then?” Seth asked quietly.
“I don’t know. I guess keep looking, but it just seems unlikely we’re going to find any woman up here in the mountains...dead or alive.”
“Dead?” Seth’s voice sounded uneasy.
“You know what I mean. It’s just a figure of speech.” Jake backpedaled. “All I mean is that I really don’t think there’s any woman up here to find. It’s almost like we’re on a wild goose hunt, you know, like maybe decoys or something, while the sheriff is doing something else...I don’t know.”
“But why would he need to do that? Have decoys for anything I mean? He controls this whole county. ”
“Oh, I don't know. I'm just trying to figure things out. I guess I’m too tired to think right now.”
“I know what you mean,” Seth reassured him. “The sheriff’s always doing weird stuff, and he’s always acting like he’s sitting on a bed of hot coals. I learned a long time ago not to ask questions, just follow directions. No way am I gonna cross that man!”
Seth continued, “Ever since we made that agreement after I got caught taking that tractor...” Seth’s voice trailed off. He felt uneasy taking the subject any further and Jake had become very quiet. Seth wondered if he was already asleep.
Unknown to them, Tommy hadn’t fallen asleep yet, but instead had decided to turn the CB radio on again on his own. Suddenly, he was calling to them excitedly.
“Hey! Guys!” he whispered as loudly as possible. “Come here quick!”
Simultaneously, Jake and Seth sat straight up and turned to look at their young friend. By now, Tommy was hanging out the open window and waving at them emphatically to come to him. Shoving their boots on, they trotted over to the truck to see what Tommy was all excited about, realizing the CB was on, with the occasional squawk and static.
“What d’ya turn that on for, Tommy?” Seth asked.
“I was just curious, that’s all,” Tommy defended himself.
Jake asked them both to shush, and all three quieted down to listen as they heard the same two voices once again.
Chapter 13