Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (22 page)

"Oh, David. You poor thing. You don't think
you broke it, do you?"

"Oh, no," he said bravely. "It was just a bit
of a twist. It's slowing me up a bit, but I think it'll be OK if I
just take it slow. I'm sure it's fine."

"There's a cross-over spot just ahead," she
said, gesturing up the slope. If we take it, we can come down the
other side. It's a much easier trail."

"I don't want to mess up your hike," he
protested. "Why don't you go ahead and I'll make my way up. I can
take my time going down and meet you at the bottom. That way you
can enjoy the day here and I won't slow you down."

"You're more important to me than a hike,"
she said, with an exasperated look. "We'll go down together. That
way I can look after you."

"But that's silly," he protested. "My ankle
will be just fine as soon as I can wrap it and put it up for
awhile. I'd feel terrible if you cut short your hike just because
of my little mishap."

When she started to insist, he put up a hand
and shook his head. "I insist," he said. "This is just a silly
little glitch and I'll be just fine. Finish your hike and I'll meet
you at the bottom. I'll go sit in the Visitor Center and read about
the Temperance River. Maybe they'll even have a lecture or
something going on and then I can tell you all the interesting
things I learned when you join me."

She hesitated and he could see his suggestion
was tempting. "Go," he urged. "Please."

"If you're sure," she said slowly.

"I am. Go on now. Have fun and I'll see you
in a bit. I'm just fine."

She leaned over and kissed him hard on the
mouth, then stood.

"OK. You convinced me. But tomorrow I insist
we do an easier hike. The last thing I want to do is kill my
husband on our honeymoon."

He grinned. The feeling was definitely not
mutual. "Don't worry, darling. You won't."

She gave him another kiss and then strode
off. He waited long enough for her to get some distance, then stood
and continued the climb to the bridge that crossed the river. On
the other side, it was an easy walk back down. Although he took his
time, he still felt like an over-chewed dog toy by the time he got
to the Visitor Center.

Thankfully, it was air-conditioned and he
snagged a guide to the North Shore state parks and settled on a
bench near the window where he could look as if he was meditating
on the joys of Lake Superior.

This beats the hell out of hiking, he
thought. He only hoped Diana would take a nice long hike and he'd
have several hours to himself.

He looked around the center, wishing they had
a bar, but supposed that would conflict with the name of the
Temperance River which, according to the guide, had been so-named
because it was the only river on the North Shore without a bar
where it met the lake. He chortled slightly at his wit and settled
back to make the most of the time off.

Fae found a parking space near the entrance
to the Cove Point Inn and sat for a moment, enjoying the sounds of
the lake. The Inn was right on the water and she could hear the
waves beating against the rocky shore while seagulls shrieked
overhead. Unlike Storm Point, which had massive cliffs climbing
high above the lake, the land at Cove Point was low and here Fae
felt almost as if she was at one of the regular Minnesota lakes
instead of at the ocean. The landscape for miles around Storm Point
reminded her of the Big Sur in California. She had once driven from
Mendocino to Santa Barbara and was often reminded of that landscape
when she was at Storm Point. She thought that if she was ever
tempted to move to a better climate, that would be where she'd go
because it would remind her of the North Shore, but without the
snow and frigid winters.

Cove Point Lodge was a fairly recent addition
to the North Shore and they had done a great job. It had a natural
wood exterior designed to look like an upscale log cabin. It fit
beautifully into the setting and had a north woods feel, while at
the same time clearly signaling first class luxury. Fae had decided
to start here because it was exactly the kind of place where
Devious Dave's victims would stay. Although she knew the chances of
him actually being here were less than miniscule, Fae crossed her
fingers, thinking how nice it would be if it turned out to be that
easy.

Inside, she was shown into the manager's
office where she took a comfortable chair and sized up the manager
before explaining why she was there and what she wanted. The
manager had the incongruous name of Heidi Johnson and Fae wondered
if she had ever considered changing it. It was a great name when
you were a kid, but could be a handicap as an adult. She had
noticed that people with names like Heidi and the like weren't
taken as seriously as women with other names.

As she scrutinized the manager, Fae got the
impression the other woman made sure her name didn't get in her
way.

"Thank you for taking the time to meet with
me," Fae said, handing Heidi her badge. "I'm an investigator with
the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and I need your help."

The manager's eyes darted around the room as
if expecting to be suddenly raided. She shifted in her chair, as if
unable to get comfortable.

"How on earth could I help you?" she asked,
her voice just a teeny bit high and unsteady.

It made Fae wonder if the manager was up to
something or if she was just like a lot of people who got nervous
at the sight of an officer even if they weren't doing anything
wrong.

"We're looking for someone and we think he
might show up here."

Heidi stopped fidgeting and stared at Fae.
"How much of a problem is this guy likely to be?"

"If you mean, is he dangerous?" Fae asked.
"No. But we do need to speak with him." She pushed the picture of
Devious Dave cross the desk. "We don't know what name he'll be
using, but this is what he looks like. Have you seen anyone who
looks like him, even a little?" Fae asked.

The manager looked at the picture carefully.
"No." Her voice was sure. "I can ask the gals on the desk, but I'm
pretty sure he's not here."

"Could you ask them right now?"

Heidi's mouth twisted slightly at the
inconvenience and she sighed. "Sure." She stood and took the
picture by a corner as if it was a freshly dead mouse before
walking out to the desk. Fae watched as the clerks looked at the
picture and shook their heads.

When Heidi returned, she placed the picture
on her desk. "They haven't seen him."

"We need to speak to this man," Fae said now.
"He may be alone or with a blonde woman. You understand I can't
tell you the details, but one of them may be in danger, which is
why it's imperative for us to find him. What's most important is
that you and your staff must not act as if you're suspicious of him
in any way. He's likely to take off if he even
thinks
someone was looking at him oddly."

"I see." Heidi's eyes flicked to the picture
again and then back at Fae, her professional demeanor coming out
now, the fidgeting gone. "What do you want us to do?"

"Let him check in and be sure to treat him
the way you would any other guest. Then call me immediately. As I
said, he's not dangerous."

"You won't arrest him here or anything will
you?"

Ahh
, Fae thought, realizing why the
manager was so nervous. "No," she said. "We'll just ask him to come
in and talk to us."

Heidi seemed to relax a little. "And there
won't be any press?"

"Good lord, no," Fae said, startled. "That's
the last thing we want."

The other woman's face thawed a little more.
"Thank goodness for that. They can be such vultures sometimes."

Fae nodded her agreement. "Thank you," she
said and got up. "Here's my card. Call me directly no matter what
time it is."

Heidi took the card and put it with the
picture. "I'd tell you to have a nice day," she said. "But I
suspect that can be difficult in your line of work."

Fae grinned. "Sometimes that's more true than
you could ever imagine."

Still smiling, she returned to her car and
headed for the next place on her list.

Diana reached the top of the trail, barely
aware of the sweat dripping down her back. She loved the way her
body felt when she had pushed it as hard as she could. Especially
when the endorphins kicked in and she felt that rising surge of
pure energy and exhilaration.

She knew that if she wanted to keep going,
she could hike for miles into the heart of Minnesota and be
surrounded by unending tracts of thick pine forests, only the river
providing a sure route back out. It would be easy to get lost in
here. Even though she was an experienced hiker, Diana always kept
the dangers in mind. She didn't want to become one of the missing
whose skeletons were found by hunters years later simply because
they had wandered off the path and gotten lost.

The trail continued on behind her and one of
these days she intended to take a couple of weeks and backpack in
with all the gear and really see where it went and what was hidden
in the wilds.

But not today.

Instead, she stood with her feet spread wide
and her hands on her hips and looked out at the glitter of Lake
Superior.

God, it was gorgeous here. The wispy early
morning fog had burned off and now the lake sparkled under clear
skies. She could just barely see a faint smudge on the horizon
which was probably Wisconsin. But it was easy to imagine that there
was no land on the other side. That the lake simply went on into
infinity.

She had lost count of how many times she had
hiked the North Shore, but each time, she was overwhelmed at how
spectacular it was. Being away for any length of time made her
forget just how amazing it was, so each visit felt as if it was the
first. And each time it was always so much bigger than she
remembered. She loved the way it put so many things into
perspective.

In the distance, a freighter moved slowly
away from Duluth. Eventually it would round the tip of Wisconsin
and head into Lake Michigan before continuing on through the series
of Great Lakes until it finally reached the ocean. It was hard to
imagine a journey of that length, but at the same time, Diana found
herself wishing that she could be on board and see all the sights
along the way. She had dreamt of doing that when she was growing up
and while she had put that dream away when she learned that women
weren't allowed to do things like that in those days, the longing
was still there like a thumb faintly throbbing several days after
being nailed by a hammer.

She’d had the opportunity to take some time
off after college before starting in the architecture program at
the U, and wondered now how her life might have been different if
she had taken the time instead of barreling full speed ahead with
her career as if it was the only thing that mattered. But an answer
to the question wasn’t forthcoming and she smiled to herself wryly,
knowing that there was no way to go back in time, no matter how
much she might have wanted to. On the other hand, maybe she and
David could charter a boat and do the cruise together for their
first anniversary.

That thought brought Diana back to the
present. She checked her watch and started back down the trail, now
switching over to the easy side of the river. It was getting late
and she was anxious to connect up with David before he gave up on
her. Normally she went down the challenging side, but she wanted to
some serious thinking before she met David at the bottom.

She had taken David up on his suggestion to
complete the hike and pick him up when she was done because it was
one of her favorite hikes and she hadn’t wanted to give it up,
honeymoon or not. His insistence had allowed her to pretend
everything was all right. But now she had to admit that the whole
thing was bothering her.

One thing that niggled at her was that he had
told her he was an avid hiker. She thought that meant he was in
great shape and up to the kinds of hikes she liked to do. Now she
had to admit that it was more likely that while he enjoyed hiking,
he wasn’t up to anything really strenuous. But it bothered her that
he had given her the impression he would be able to keep up with
her. She knew herself well enough to know that she wouldn’t have
even considered dating him if she hadn’t thought he was her
physical equal.

Diana was also bothered by the feeling that
she hadn’t really seen the real David Fowler before they were
married. That perhaps she had led with her heart a little too
quickly. He had come along just when she had decided she didn’t
want to be alone any longer. Maybe she hadn’t exercised the caution
that had been her mainstay for so long. She had waited for such a
long time to find the right life partner, but now she was afraid
she hadn’t waited long enough.

She had to wonder if he had used his ankle as
an excuse to get out of the hike because he wasn’t up to it. And if
he had lied about that, what else was he lying about?

Diana had intended to do a thorough
background investigation on David when they first met, but the
person who did those for her was out of town and then she simply
hadn’t gotten around to it. The truth was, she had enjoyed being
swept off her feet and all the heady romantic weeks after they met.
Being in love and, more importantly, feeling loved for who she was,
had felt so wonderful that she hadn’t wanted to pop the bubble. She
had reasoned that if she felt so good, how in the world could David
be anything but right for her.

But now doubts were creeping in and she hated
the way it made her feel like a fool. She hoped David had
exaggerated his abilities either because he didn’t want to admit
that he wasn’t as fit as she might have liked, or because he wanted
her to think well of him. She supposed it was possible he had
thought he was in better shape than he actually was, but enough
doubts were niggling at her that she didn’t quite believe that.
Right now she knew she would feel better if she had a thorough
report on him.