Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (24 page)

As he stepped into the men's room, he took a
deep breath. His nerves were fine. He never got the jitters before
a major play, but as he got close to the moment, he had a tendency
to get excited and start pushing a little too hard. A little deep
breathing got him calmed down and back on track.

Fowler ducked into one of the stalls, closing
the door behind him so he could open his backpack without threat of
discovery. He had planned for every contingency and had everything
he needed, no matter what. He might not need some of the things
he'd brought, but now that he had reached the critical moment, he
didn't want to come up short. Seeing all his tools ready and
waiting one last time made him feel better. Now he could stay calm
and finish the job without the fear of screwing things up.

When he came back out into the main room,
Fowler found Diana perusing the geological history of Lake Superior
which was displayed on several panels near the windows overlooking
the lake. The sun was low enough in the sky to shine directly into
the building and Diana looked as if she was on fire, her blonde
hair catching and radiating the light.

Diana caught sight of him and smiled
joyously. "Oh David, can you believe this?" She swept her arms wide
to encompass the building and the lake glittering all around them.
"I always forget how spectacular it is here."

He knew from reading one of the brochures
that the building had been designed to look like the prow of a ship
in honor of local history. It was a bit precious as far as he was
concerned, but he had to admit the effect was impressive and the
view magnificent.

"I never get tired of this," Diana continued,
gazing raptly at the lake as if unable to take her eyes off it.
"I'm so glad you wanted to come here."

Fowler gave her his best happy smile. "It's
the perfect place," he agreed. Which really was the truth. Just not
the way she imagined it.

"Let's get started. It's getting late and I'd
like to see the Devil's Cauldron on the way."

"Now
that
doesn't sound terribly
romantic," she said archly.

"The name doesn't," he said. "But I was
reading about it and it sounds particularly elemental. One of those
places where you feel incredibly close to the true force of
nature."

"And you're sure your ankle is up to
this?"

He nodded. "I think so. I didn't feel one
twinge on the way here and the main trail here isn't too difficult.
I think it'll be fine. Besides, the last thing I want to do is sit
around like a banana slug during our honeymoon."

He put his arm around her and kissed her on
the cheek. "Although, the Devil's Cauldron may be the perfect place
to visit on our honeymoon." He waggled his eyebrows at her in an
exaggerated leer.

"All right, sweetheart," she laughed. "Let's
go see the Devil's Cauldron. And I believe you said something about
romance?"

"I did, indeed."

Back outside, they followed the underpass to
the other side of the highway and the main portion of the park.
There, signs pointed towards the various hiking trails snaking up
the side of the low-lying mountain. The most used trail followed
the Enchantment River Gorge which had some of the most spectacular
prehistoric landscape on the North Shore. It was also the only
trail that allowed visitors to get right up to the Devil's
Cauldron.

Diana stopped as they reached the sign post
for the main trail. She looked at Fowler, a quizzical look on her
face.

"I was going to suggest taking the Sawtooth
Trail," she said. "But somehow I have the feeling that you have
something very specific in mind for today's hike. Am I right?"

Fowler nearly stopped breathing. He stared at
her, wondering how she had guessed and how much she knew. "How …."
His voice died away, his mouth and throat so suddenly dry he
couldn't trust himself to speak.

Diana laughed. "Oh, David, you look as if I
just caught you in flagranté. But you really are quite transparent,
you know. I realized at breakfast this morning that you've been
trying to get me to the Enchantment River since we first arrived
and after a few other hints you've inadvertently dropped, I came to
the logical conclusion that you have a special plan that involves
the Enchantment River. And here I made it so hard on you by
insisting we go to all the other parks first."

He stared at her, realizing that while she
had accidentally stumbled upon the truth, she had absolutely no
idea what his surprise actually involved.

Fowler smiled ruefully. "You've caught me
out, my dear. But please tell me you haven’t guessed what I have in
mind."

She laughed and shook her head. "No idea,
darling. You're completely safe there. And I promise I won't spoil
things by asking any leading questions."

"Thank you, Diana," he said. He brought her
hand to his lips and turned it over, kissing the palm gently. "I
planned this part of our trip very carefully and I hope everything
I've come up with is a completely delightful surprise."

"Then I'm in your hands," she said, tucking
her arm through his. "So lead on, David. I can't wait to see what
you have in mind."

The climb was steady, but gentle and there
were numerous places to stop along the way. The trail twisted and
turned, showing off both the river and Lake Superior. At each of
the turns, Fowler took the opportunity to stop and kiss Diana as
thoroughly as possible. When they reached the first bench about a
third of the way up, he sat down and brought out an insulated bag
holding a split of champagne. He handed the small bottle to Diana
and then whipped a couple of champagne glasses out of his backpack
with a flourish. Those were followed by a small container filled
with Red Hawk Brie and a small package of her favorite herb
crackers.

"Oh my god," she said as she took everything
in.

"I know it's not the most energetic hike
you've ever been on," he said as he held out the container of brie.
"But I do hope it
is
the most romantic one."

"I can't believe you did this," she said. "I
have
never
had anything like this in my life." She looked at
him, her expression suddenly serious. "You have no idea what this
means to me. And how much I love you for it."

Fowler smiled. "I'm so glad. I hope it's
something you remember for the rest of your life."

"As if I could ever forget," she said.

While Diana tucked in, David nonchalantly
checked for other hikers. There weren't many and, fortunately, most
of them were now heading down the trail, and out of the park. When
he reached the Cauldron, he wanted it to be so late that they would
be the only ones around and he would be unobserved. At the rate
they were going, he had no doubt that he and Diana would have the
place to themselves when they reached their destination.

When Fae had gone to bed Wednesday night, she
had fully planned on starting her search on Thursday at Storm Point
Lodge and then working her way north from there. But the pain in
her back dragged her out of sleep before the sun was up, leaving
her curled up in agony for hours. By the time she was able to even
think about moving, it was late morning, forcing her to rethink her
schedule. She considered putting the northern most end of the Shore
off until tomorrow, but she had a torture session planned with her
physical therapist in Duluth and wouldn't have the time or energy
to manage both.

Weighing the choices, Fae finally opted to
start at Lutsen and work her way up to Naniboujou. If Devious Dave
wasn’t staying at Cove Point Lodge, he was most likely staying at
Naniboujou or Lutsen and she wanted to concentrate on the most
likely places. It would be simple to stop in at Storm Point Lodge
on her way back.

Not that she was concerned. It seemed
unlikely Devious Dave would run his con so close to where he had
stayed. If he was as smart as Bailey thought he was, then Fae was
willing to bet he had stayed in Ruby Cove just in case there was a
flag on his alias and so attention wouldn’t be focused on the place
he was actually targeting. On top of that, the resorts around Storm
Point were older and not as fashionable or upscale as the others.
Fae would cover all the bases, but she was betting on Cove Point or
Naniboujou.

As she drove up Highway 61, she considered
her next step. Once she talked to all the resorts, it would become
a waiting game. And if there was anything she really disliked, it
was sitting around waiting for something to happen. It left her
feeling antsy and as if she was lost in the middle of a swamp with
no idea where to step next. Although it was part of the job, it
drove her nuts.

She turned her attention back to the fragment
of memory that still eluded her. She had done a quick search
through the files before going to bed last night, but had seen
nothing that would make sense of the feeling that nagged at her.
Once she got everything set up with the resorts, she would go
through the files again, but this time from a different angle.

Starr secured her camera to the tripod and
focused on the Devil’s Cauldron ten feet below her.

This time she didn’t extend the tripod, but
merely splayed the short legs to keep it close to the ground. This
would give it more stability and reduce the chance of it shaking
and spoiling the image. It also let her sit on the ground while she
worked instead of standing during the long exposures.

The last time, the pictures hadn’t come out
the way she wanted. The tripod had been too shaky and the pictures
hadn’t been completely sharp. She also hadn’t used long enough
exposure times, so the water gushing into the Cauldron looked
frozen instead of having the illusion of flowing water. This time
she was determined to get it right.

She looked around to make sure no one was
hiking nearby. Fortunately, few people were foolhardy enough to
hike the gorge this late in the day. While the shadows were perfect
for what she had in mind, they played havoc with the trail and made
it dangerous for hikers.

The rocks of the Enchantment River Gorge
began to glow as the sun slowly slipped towards the horizon. Light
filtering through the trees added depth to the shadows and
heightened the sense of mystery and power. The river took on an
other-worldly sheen as the light shifted and bounced off the
rocks.

The image she wanted would not only capture
the intricate curves and colors of the rocks, but make the water
plunging into the Devil's Cauldron look like it was moving. To get
that effect, she needed to shoot at very slow speeds, so she
attached a remote shutter release to make sure she didn't
accidentally jar the camera. As she turned on the camera, she
noticed there were only nine more exposures left on this roll of
film. While she still had two more rolls, they were going to have
to last until next week, so she would have to make every shot
count.

Starr zoomed in slowly until the frame was
filled with exactly what she wanted. She felt a chill work its way
up her spine and down her arms. The light was perfect.
Everything
was perfect.

She pressed the shutter release that would
open the shutter and expose the film for 30 seconds and waited
patiently until she heard the sound that let her know the shutter
had closed again and the motor drive had advanced the film for her
next shot.

She looked into the viewfinder again, zoomed
out a little to get more of the rocks and prepared to take another
shot. She decided to start with a faster speed and then gradually
lengthen the time, making notes as she went. That way, if she
didn't get what she wanted
this
time, she would have a
better idea what to change. Starr carefully wrote down the shutter
speed and f-stop and picked up the shutter release again. But just
as she pushed the button, someone stepped into the frame and ruined
the shot.

Starr scowled and peered over the edge. She
hadn't seen anyone coming and now her shot was ruined. Hopefully
they would do what most of the tourists did, take a quick look and
then keep going.

A man stood on the rocks next to the
Cauldron. He held out his hand to a woman standing near the hiking
trail.

"Come on, honey," he said, raising his voice
to be heard over the roar of the river. "You'll love it."

Starr grimaced as she recognized them. They
were the couple who had talked to her about her camera at the Lodge
yesterday.

Darn it! Why did they have to hike here right
now?

Starr sat back on her heels and waited for
them to leave. With any luck, they'd take a quick look and leave.
Otherwise, she'd lose the light and have to try again some other
time. Conditions were finally perfect
now
and there was no
telling when they would be again. Although she already had one
shot, she had no idea if it was any good and she wanted to bracket
the shots to make sure she had gotten the one she wanted.

"Oh, come on, honey," he was saying now.
"It's perfectly safe. Besides, you're the intrepid hiker, remember?
I thought you'd come right out."

His wife shook her head. "It looks pretty
slippery, David. I'm not sure it's a good idea to get that close."
She turned to look at the sign posted prominently by the trail.
"The sign says it's dangerous and not to go out there."

"Oh, come on, Diana. You know that's just
'cause they're scared to death of lawsuits. Used to be you could
climb all over the place and no one said anything. Remember?"

She shrugged, but Starr could see she was
smiling.

Come on, Starr urged them silently. Another
minute and she'd have to give up. Already the light was pulling
away from the water.