Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (52 page)

He leaned forward slightly to see what was
going on and saw a two patrol cars pull into the lot and park near
his SUV.

Fowler groaned. This was the last thing he
needed. Even when it was dark up here, it was easy to see what was
going on. Especially when the moon was up.

He peered up at the sky, hoping the clouds he
had seen earlier had spread, but no such luck. He had been counting
on the moonlight tonight for the last part of his plan, but it
would completely fuck up getting the girl if the sheriff was
keeping watch.

And if they were here to search, there was no
possible way he would go unnoticed. He was practically invisible
from a distance, but anyone walking by his little nest in the trees
would have no difficulty spotting him.

Then, to his complete amazement and delight,
the deputy got out of his car and got into the other patrol car
which then drove out of the lot and back up the highway.

Fowler grinned. Viv must have made the
call.

His anger with her sulking vaporized. Not
only did it look like she was onboard after all, but now everything
could go forward as planned. He was going to have to give her a
bonus for this.

After dinner, Zach walked the girls back to
Starr's cabin.

Starr noticed how extra quiet it was. Usually
she could hear creatures rustling in the underbrush, but tonight
she couldn't hear anything. "How come it's so quiet tonight?" she
asked.

They stopped and listened.

"This is what it's like right before we get a
really good thunderstorm," Zach said. "Bet it hits some time
tonight or tomorrow morning."

"A really big one?" Starr asked.

"Sure feels like it," he said. "The kind that
gave this place its name."

"The beach just past Fae's house is called
Shipwreck Bay," Charlie added. "'Cause of all the ships that went
down when they got caught in the storms. They get really strong
here."

"Lake Superior is a place you don't want to
underestimate," Zach said.

As they reached the cabin, he pointed out the
sheriff's patrol car while Starr unlocked the door and then
extracted a promise from Charlie that she would stay there until he
came to pick her up.

"I know you think it's silly since we live so
close, but I don't want to take a chance," he said. "If Fae thinks
he might be out there, she's probably right."

"But I'm not the one who's in danger,"
Charlie argued. She looked to Starr for support, but Starr wasn't
going to agree. She had seen Fowler's face when he pushed his wife
in the Devil's Cauldron and knew she'd be having nightmares about
that for a long time. She didn't want Charlie ending up in the
Devil's Cauldron.

"Probably not," he said. "But let's not take
a chance."

"What if I need something from our
cabin?"

"Then you wait until Starr's mom comes home
or you get the deputy to walk you home. But I don't want you going
anywhere by yourself."

"What if Starr is with me? Does that
count?"

"No." He looked at her sternly. "I'm really
serious about this Charlotte."

Charlie made a face and Starr hid a grin.

"Besides, it's only for a day or two," Zach
added. "That's not so bad."

"Okay," Charlie gave in. "But we get a
special dessert tomorrow."

Zach grinned. "I think we can manage that.
What about you, Starr? Ever had my Trifle before?"

Starr shook her head.

"You'll love it," Charlie enthused. "It's got
whipped cream and nuts and all kinds of good stuff and melts in
your mouth."

"Sounds great," Starr said.

Zach handed Starr a brown paper bag. "I've
put some microwave popcorn in there and a couple of movies I think
you girls will like, so if you get bored, you can do a movie
night."

"Thanks, Mr. Running Bear," Starr said as she
took the bag.

"You just want to keep us out of trouble
until you come back," Charlie accused.

"That too," he said agreeably. "Now, if you
don't need anything else, I have to get back to the kitchen. Be
sure to lock the door after I leave. Okay?"

"We will," Starr promised.

"Good. Then I'll pick you up later." He bent
down and kissed Charlie on the cheek. Then he stepped out onto the
porch and went back up the trail.

Starr closed the door firmly and turned the
lock.

"You know, this is dumb," Charlie said.

"Maybe," Starr said. "But that Fowler creeped
me out and I don't want to take any chances. Just watch, the
sheriff will catch him lurking about the Lodge tonight."

"Ewww." Charlie made a face. "Don't even say
that."

"Well, he might be. But if he is, the sheriff
will throw him in jail and then we won't have to worry about it any
more." Starr peeked inside the bag. "Wow. Harry Potter movies." She
stacked them on the DVD player and held up a bag of the popcorn.
"Want popcorn?"

"Can't have a movie without popcorn," Charlie
grinned.

The second movie had just finished when Starr
heard the key in the lock.

"Darn," she whispered.

"What?" Charlie took the DVD out of the
player and put it in its case.

Starr's mother came in. "Any problems?" she
asked.

"No." Starr picked up the empty popcorn bowl
and carried it into the kitchen. "Charlie's dad gave us some Harry
Potter movies. Is it all right if we watch another one?"

"I think that's enough for one night," her
mother said.

Charlie had just pulled out the DVD for the
third movie and her hand stopped in mid-air. "But my dad isn't back
yet."

"That's all right. I told him I'd walk you
home."

"Oh, that's all right, Mrs. Nelson," Charlie
said. "I can get the sheriff to do that. Besides, he might need to
use the bathroom and we can give him some snacks if he's
hungry."

Starr stifled a snicker. She knew Charlie was
just using that as an excuse to have a few more of the brownies
they'd snagged at dinner.

"That's very nice of you Charlie," Starr's
mother said. "I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

Charlie put on her sweatshirt. "I'll leave
the movies here and we can finish them tomorrow."

"That'd be great," Starr said. "We still have
some popcorn left, too."

They went out on the porch and Starr watched
as Charlie crossed the parking lot. When she got to the patrol car,
she turned and waved.

Starr waved back and then felt her mother
propel her back inside the cabin.

Her mother slammed the door as she pushed
Starr inside.

"Geez, mom," Starr said, pulling away. "I
just wanted to make sure Charlie was okay."

"Charlie is just fine," her mother, her mouth
a tight line. "You, however, are not."

"I didn't do anything wrong," Starr
protested.

"The owners are coming tomorrow and the
sheriff and his men are all over the place. I could lose my
job."

"That's not my fault."

"Isn't it?" Her mother shook her head. "Go to
your room and stay there. I'm going to have a drink and then we're
going to have a little talk."

Starr opened her mouth to argue, saw her
mother's face and closed it again. She went into her room and
closed the door. Sometimes her mother stopped being upset once
she'd had time to relax and Starr hoped that whatever was wrong now
would go away just like it had in the past.

After Starr waved back, Charlie saw her get
pulled back in the house and the door slam. It looked like Starr
was in trouble with her mom and Charlie wondered if maybe she
should have had Mrs. Nelson and Starr walk her home after all. She
screwed up her face as she thought about it, then decided that
maybe it would be smarter to just to go home and talk to her dad
later.

She turned back to the patrol car thinking
she would have to knock on the window, but when she looked inside,
she realized no one was there.

She looked around the lot to see if he was
stretching his legs or something, but she didn't see anyone.
Remembering her dad's warning, she looked back at Starr's cabin,
thinking she should go back and get Mrs. Nelson.

She could just barely see her cabin through
the trees. It wasn't that far away and there was a path she could
take that went straight there. What could happen?

Still, she had promised.

Then she thought of the way Starr had been
pulled inside. She didn't want to intrude if her mom was yelling at
her.

She looked back at her cabin.

This was silly. She had lived here all her
life and had never had a problem. Fishy Fowler wasn't anywhere near
this place. She would just go straight home and everything would be
fine.

Charlie looked around the parking lot one
last time, then headed home.

Fowler couldn't believe his luck. Not only
was the girl alone, she was headed right past his hiding place. He
had moved to a crouch when he had seen her leave the cabin and now
got as low as he could.

As soon as she was past, he straightened and
then rushed forward. He grabbed her and covered her mouth
quickly.

She started kicking wildly and he just
managed to hang onto her.

"Stop it right now or I'll break your neck,"
he hissed.

She stopped struggling and sagged. He relaxed
the pressure slightly and she suddenly kicked out and pulled loose.
A moment later she was running through the trees. Fowler cursed and
went after her. As the neared the cabin, he reached out, just
managing to snag the back of her shirt. Another instant and he had
her again. Not willing to take a chance on another escape, he
slugged her and she slumped. This time she wasn't faking.

Fowler picked up her limp body and carried
her to the SUV, praying no one would come along. But luck was with
him and he put her in the cargo area. He pulled out the rope he'd
picked up in Grand Marais earlier and tied her hands behind her
back. He rolled her as close to the back seat as he could and
closed the door.

Another minute and he was pulling onto the
highway and heading for the park.

Once again he was in luck. It was so late
that the place was deserted. Fowler parked next to the trail,
backing in so no one could see what he was doing. The girl was
still out and he lashed her arms to her body tightly and stuffed a
kerchief over her mouth, tying it behind her head so she couldn't
work it loose.

He shrugged into the backpack he had picked
up earlier and swung the girl over his shoulder. She wasn't the
lightest thing in the world, but he figured he could manage. He had
a feeling she'd be a handful when she came to and this was probably
a lot easier in the long run.

He turned on the heavy duty flashlight and
started up the trail.

Going up the trail at night wasn't as
difficult as he had expected. In addition to the strong beam from
the flashlight, the moon was just up and illuminated the trail as
if it was early morning. Fowler grinned. It also didn't hurt that
he had been this way before.

He stopped a couple of times to catch his
breath. Each time he resumed the climb, it seemed as if the girl
got heavier and he was relieved when he finally reached the bridge
and could put her down and ease the cramp in his lower back.

When he had his second wind, he pulled a long
rope out of the backpack and looped it through the cords he had
wrapped around her earlier. He tied one end to the bridge and then
lowered her over the side, letting the rope play out until the
weight slackened.

He shone the light down and saw she had ended
up right at the edge of the little cove under the bridge, but far
enough away from the water so she wouldn't fall in. There was just
enough room. When she woke up, she'd have plenty of room to sit and
stay dry. But without the rope, she'd never be able to get out.

Fowler pulled on the rope and it slid easily
out and back up. He untied it from the bridge, stuffed it back in
the backpack and headed carefully back down the trail.

As he reached the SUV, Fowler hoped the
forecast was right. You never knew with these weather guys. Most of
the time they couldn't forecast their way out of a cold front, but
they were usually right about storms, so with any luck, he'd be
shut of his problem before lunch tomorrow.

Fae finally managed to get through to the
motel in Hjalmar Falls. She had kept getting a busy signal. But she
hadn't had any luck with any of the other motels, so she kept
trying. It was also one of the most likely since it was easy to get
to, especially attractive if you didn't know the area.

Hjalmar Falls was really little more than a
crossroads with a bar, a post office, a small Lutheran church and
some derelict buildings left over from the iron ore glory days. At
one time the town had teamed with immigrants and their families.
Now, it didn't even rate a dot on the map.

Finally it rang through and someone picked up
almost immediately.

"Ya sure we've got a Vivian Ellis," the man
on the other end said. "Chust checked in a little bit ago."

"Does she have a white Lexus?"

"Sure do. Parked right outside."

"What room?"

"Eight," he said. "Now, you're not gonna be
bustin' down the door now, are ya?"

"I sure hope not," Fae said. "But if you can
stand by with a key, then we won't have to. Of course, you know the
BCA will reimburse you."