Desperate Rescue - Janet Feldman Series

They drove a short distance up the road until it widened out into a small clearing. A cabin was situated back in the trees. It was probably a one-room dwelling, she thought, judging from the size of it. A curl of smoke was gently wafting out of a stovepipe in the roof on one side. There was a porch across the front, with a door on the right and a window on the left.

  Curled up in the one slightly sunny spot on the porch was a large dog. A Black Lab, she guessed. He raised his head just enough to acknowledge the arrival of his master and then put it down again, only to raise it once more as he saw Janet’s car pull in behind Greg’s. Rising to his feet with a stretch and yawn, he sniffed the air and descended the steps to greet Greg and check out this new visitor.

  Greg hopped down from his vehicle and motioned for Janet to pull in beside his jeep. That jeep. It looked like it had seen every muddy side of every mountain in the area. She did as he directed and turned off the engine. The dog had jumped into the back of the jeep to get a better view of Janet and stood there wagging his tail and staring at her. Great. Another staring contest.

  “Are you coming?” he called to her.

  Okay, Janet, she mentally challenged herself. Here you are. You wanted help. He may be able to do that. So get the heck out of the car!

  She stepped out, keys in hand, and shut the door. By now the dog had jumped from the jeep and trotted over to her, his tongue hanging, and tail wagging with great enthusiasm.

  “He won’t hurt you,” Greg assured her. “His name’s Shad—short for Shadow.”

  “Hi... Shad.” Janet was still cautious and, with some hesitation, patted the top of his head.

  Satisfied with this new visitor, Shad ran over to Greg and then bounded up the steps to the cabin door. He turned around and gave an excited bark, tongue still hanging and tail still wagging.

  Janet wobbled her way across the dirt and gravel in her party shoes and mounted the steps. Greg watched with a measure of amusement. She was definitely not dressed for the mountains. He opened the door for her, and she stepped inside. It was warm.

  “Go stand by the stove, its warmer there,” Greg suggested. She did so, gratefully. “You’re not exactly dressed for the mountains,” he commented. “Where are you headed again?”

  “Oh, north,” she replied without really thinking.

  “North? So home is north?”

  “What?”

  “Home. It’s north then. You said you were trying to get home.”

  “No... well, yes. Yes, I am, but I need to go north first.” She was confusing herself. “I mean, I need to see my sister first then I’ll go home.” There was that little lie again.

  “Your sister.”

  “Yes,” she replied with defiance. “My sister.” She turned away from his gaze and continued to warm herself.

  “You like pancakes?”

  “Hmm? Pancakes?” She looked at him again. He was holding a bag of pancake mix and a big spoon. “Sure. Pancakes sound fine.”

  “Good.” He smiled again and got to work.

  Janet took the time to survey his cabin. It was surprisingly tidy. There were two cot beds in one corner, neatly made up. A small table and two chairs were in the middle of the small room. A propane lamp sat on the table. Greg was busy mixing up pancake batter. He placed an iron skillet on a burner of an old gas stove to heat up. Janet involuntarily shuddered.

  “Are you okay?” There was concern in his voice as he poured batter into the skillet.

  “No. I’m not.” She looked at him. No sense in trying to carry on some stupid charade, she decided. She knew he didn’t believe her about going to see her sister. Truth is she didn’t even have a sister, and she told him so. “At this point, I really don’t know what I’m doing,” she confided. “I’m confused and worried and scared and angry and starving and cold...I don’t even have a change of clothes.” She was nearly in tears by now.

  “So you are lost then.”

  “Yes...and no...I don’t know,” she mumbled and walked to the front window.

  Greg placed a pancake on a plate and set it on the table. “Have a seat. Eat something, and then we’ll see if we can figure out what to do.”

  Janet walked back to the table and sat down. The food tasted wonderful, probably because she really hadn’t eaten a good meal since breakfast yesterday morning at Rosie’s Café.

  Greg joined her, and they both ate in silence for a few minutes. Finally, he broke into her thoughts. “So where were you yesterday? Which way did you come from?

  “Well,” she hesitated. “I spent the night just outside Cold Creek…the night before last, that is.”

  “You mean at the motel there?” He looked puzzled.

  “No, I slept in my car on a side road,” she said quietly.

  “Oh,” he said simply and took another bite of pancake. “You know, I’m sorry, but I think I’m really confused.” He put down his fork and looked directly into her eyes. “Are you trying to hide from someone? Or are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “Look.” She stared right back at him. “I don’t know who you are. You could be one of them for all I know.”

  Still looking back at her, he asked, “One of them? Them who?”

  “Okay, I really do appreciate you helping me and feeding me breakfast and all, but if you could just help me get back to the highway safely, I’ll be on my way.” She pushed her plate away.

  “Finished?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Greg cleared the table and began putting things away. Janet wandered back to the front window and gazed outside. The morning had ushered in blue skies and wonderful sunshine. She stepped out onto the porch. Shad followed and stood next to her, almost expecting to go somewhere. The breeze had picked up. It still had a nip to it but felt good nonetheless. Janet wished she could float away on that breeze to somewhere far away and safe and just forget about her dilemma then she snapped back into reality again and chided herself. “I can’t forget about Sally.”

  “Who’s Sally?” Greg was standing in the doorway.

  Startled, Janet turned around. “Sally?”

  “Yeah, you said, ‘I can’t forget about Sally.’ So who’s Sally?” He kept watching her. “Can’t be that imaginary sister because you told me you don’t have a sister.”

  Janet just stood there then started to cry. Her body shook as she tried to explain all that had happened, though none of it was intelligible. Amidst her gestures and animation, Greg listened until she ran out of steam and stood there, sobbing. He led her back inside and sat her down at the small table, giving her a cloth to wipe her face. Shad sat down at her side as if to say, “I’m here to help too.” She absently patted his head as Greg draped a flannel shirt around her shoulders before sitting down too. Janet had calmed down enough to speak more coherently but continued to suck in gulps of air in the process. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” she kept saying over and over again.

  Greg stared at the window for a moment then asked her, “So would you say your car is silver or gray?”

  “W-what?” she sniffed and blew her nose. “My car?”

  “Yeah, your car. Silver or gray?”

  “I...I...I don’t know, gray I guess, but what does that…”

  “So do I,” he interrupted her. Getting up, he walked to the front window and stood there, staring outside.

  “Were you listening to anything I was saying?” Janet was now exasperated. She had just spent the better part of the past ten minutes pouring out her heart in great detail about the party and the men following her and the old man and Rosie. Wasn’t he even listening? “What does the color of my car have to do with anything?” she demanded.

  “Maybe nothing. Maybe something. I’m not sure.”

  “What are you talking about?” Janet asked firmly. “You know something, don’t you?” Now Janet was standing, and she marched over to Greg. “Tell me!”

&n
bsp; “Everything will be okay, don’t worry.”

  “Don’t worry? Don’t worry!” The tears were gone. Anger had reared its head again, and she was in no mood to be placated.

  “I’ve got a CB radio here in the cabin and another one in my jeep.” His voice was matter-of-fact.

  "A CB?" she asked.

  "Citizen's band radio…a CB."

  "Oh," she replied, anxious to know where this sudden turn in the conversation was headed.

  Greg continued, “All day yesterday, I kept picking up some chatter between some guys. They kept talking about a ‘Gray Lady.’ I didn’t pay much attention at first, but then a voice had come on later in the day that I did recognize.”

  “Who was it?” Janet wanted to know.

  “The sheriff.”

  “The sheriff?” she repeated.

  “Yeah,” he looked at her. “The sheriff.” He stood there for a moment then headed outside and descended the steps toward his jeep. “Maybe I should take another listen.”

  “Why don’t you use the radio in here?” Janet, still standing on the porch, gestured at the cabin.

  “I’ll just be a few minutes,” he replied and stepped up into the driver’s seat. “Just wait there.”

  Shad had wandered outside and stood next to Janet, watching Greg intently. He didn’t like being left behind if Greg were going somewhere. But since Janet was still standing here, he seemed to be content to wait with her. Janet, in the meantime, had pulled on the flannel shirt. Even though the sun was up, she was still cold. She had no idea what altitude they were at, but the brisk mountain air was giving her goose bumps.

  The radio began to crackle with static. Greg kept adjusting the frequency until he apparently found something to listen to. Janet could hear sounds but couldn’t make out what was being said. He had turned down the volume but was very interested in the conversation he had picked up.

  “Rover One. Rover One. This is home base. Do you read? Over.”

  “This is Rover One. Over.”

  “What’s your position? Over.”

  “Taking the A-40 cutoff through to Pinewood. We’ll circle back to the highway and head back south from the summit. Over.”

  “Roger. We’ll head north and meet you at the old mine road and go pay Danes a visit. He might have seen something. Over and out.”

  “10-4.”

  Greg switched off the radio and hopped out of his jeep. In seconds, he was back on the porch grabbing Janet by the hand pulling her inside.

  “What’s going on?” Janet asked, suddenly unnerved by his behavior.

  “We need to get you outta those clothes.”

  “I beg your pardon!” She was incensed.

  “Well, would you prefer to traipse around these hills in that party getup, or would you rather put on some warm clothes and real shoes?”

  “Traipse around…”

  He cut her off. “We don’t have a lot of time to debate the issue. You’ve got about thirty seconds to make up your mind!”

  Janet stood frozen for fifteen of those thirty seconds while Greg dug through a duffle bag at the foot of one of the beds. He yanked out a pair of dark green pants and some boots, looking much the same as his, and in about the same condition. Further digging produced a couple of pairs of thick socks.

  “Put these on,” he ordered and tossed the clothes at her. “I’ll wait outside. But you’ve only got two minutes and I’ll be back in to see how you’re doing.” With that, he left the cabin, closing the door behind him. “One minute and thirty seconds!” he hollered back at her through the closed door.

  Janet wasted no time getting out of her dress and into the pants. She put the flannel shirt back on and buttoned it up. Sitting down on the bed, she pulled on a pair of the socks and started to put on one of the boots, when Greg startled her by bursting back through the door.

  “Times up! Let’s get moving!”

  “I need a belt or something. The pants won’t stay up!”

  “I’ll get you a belt. Put on the boots. Hurry up!”

  “What’s going on? What’s happening?” Janet demanded, hopping on one boot-clad foot.

  “Stick around much longer and you’ll find out!” Greg rummaged through the bag again while Janet struggled with the other boot.

  “They’re too big.”

  “Put on the extra pair of socks. Come on! Let’s go!” He pulled an adjustable cloth belt from the bag and handed it to Janet who had yanked both boots off and hurried to get the extra socks on.

  “I don’t have the boots on!”

  “Bring them with you...and those party clothes too!”

  Janet grabbed the boots as Greg yanked her to her feet and headed for the door. She snatched up her dress and party shoes, running to catch up. He took one last look around the cabin, then shut the door and headed for the jeep.

  “Aren’t you going to lock it?”

  “Nobody locks their doors around here. Too suspicious if you do.”

  “Huh?”

  “Get in your car.”

  “My car? I don’t have my keys!”

  Greg fished in his shirt pocket and tossed the keys at her. “Follow me!” He jumped in his jeep. Shad was already in the passenger seat and ready to go.

  Janet ran around to her car, fumbling with her keys, and hopped in. Starting the engine, she pulled away from the cabin and began to follow Greg farther up into the hills. The dirt road became narrow again and was getting more difficult for her little car to negotiate.

  They had only driven about a quarter mile when Greg came to a stop and jumped out of the jeep, the engine still running. He grabbed a canvas bag from the back and walked over to her car, motioning for her to get out.

  Janet obliged but demanded, “Now what are we doing?”

  “We are going to hide this car of yours, that’s what.”

  “Why? What is going on?”

  Without a word, Greg jumped into her car and drove it through some trees, disappearing from view. Though the sound had become faint, she could tell he had shut off the engine, but he was definitely taking his time getting back to her. In the meantime, she decided to get into the jeep with Shad, who was still waiting patiently in the front passenger seat. He didn’t seem all that interested in giving it up, so she climbed into the backseat, turning around to watch for Greg. She grew increasingly concerned about the time it was taking for him to return, but eventually he did with the canvas bag in one hand and a large branch from a pine tree in the other. He was walking backward swishing it around here and there apparently to cover the tracks of her car.

  Flinging it beneath a large drooping pine tree, he tossed the bag in the backseat next to Janet and hopped into the jeep, putting it into gear. With a jerk, they lurched forward and continued up the narrow dirt road.

  Chapter 7