Red Mountain (19 page)

He turned the kite over again to see if he could find any defects. From behind he heard a sound that was between a snort and a cough. When he looked he saw Peggy with both hands pressed to her mouth, trying to suppress an explosion of laughter.

“If you think you’re so good with these things…”

The wind roared down the beach again, and this time it whipped the kite from Robert’s hands. The silver arrowhead climbed high into the sky and was swept out over the frothing surf. Connor jumped up and down with excitement, not upset at all that Robert had lost it.

They watched the kite until it drifted even further offshore. Soon it became a brilliant speck of mercury on the horizon—as close to what Robert imagined an angel might look like if he believed in such things—before being swallowed by a swiftly moving squall line.

The world went black, and he heard Peggy and Connor’s screams for help. He thrust his arms out into the darkness, hoping they were within reach. He felt someone’s head and gently drew whoever it was toward him. When the squall line passed he found himself under a sweltering Mexican sun again and he looked down to see what he’d been holding.

It was his uncle Barney’s severed head. And next to Barney were the severed heads of a dozen eyeless pigs hanging from hooks in an outdoor market flashing with bottle-flies. He could hear the man in white laughing from a balcony somewhere high above the lines of drying laundry. It was the laugh of the devil.

Robert let go and screamed. Barney’s head swung back and forth on its rusty chain while fresh blood streamed from the corners of his mouth. His black eyeless sockets snapped opened and he began to speak.

“Look inside the wooden box, boy. I’ve got something in there for you.”

It wasn’t Barney’s voice, but the ghost who had once pursued Robert through the woods up at his grandfather’s mountain cabin. Just the memory of the tall glimmering figure made his skin feel as if it had been coated with stinging frost.

“What box? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“You’ve seen it before. On that day you were snooping in your grandmother’s attic.”

“I swear, I don’t remember.”

“Then you must try harder.”

Cold hands squeezed his shoulders and began to shake him. Somehow the violent movement loosened his memory of the object, made it tumble back into his conscious mind.

An oblong-shaped box no larger than a man’s hand, partially wrapped in the very brown paper it had been mailed in. With carvings on it that moved when you touched them…

Of course this was what the ghost was talking about, Robert thought. But he’d been so young when he’d first discovered the heirloom that he later dismissed it as a dream. His grandmother’s attic had always been a world full of mysteries to him. He never got to spend enough time up there before she’d shout at him to come back down.

****

“Bobby. It’s Will. Wake up.”

Robert rolled over on the couch, shaking. He opened his eyes and saw Will standing above.

“Where am I?”

“You’re safe. You’re inside my house.”

Robert was drenched with sweat and he had a raging headache. Will must have anticipated this, for he pushed a couple aspirins into Robert’s mouth and forced him drink from a glass of water. Nugget stood next to Will, her eyes following everything.

“How long have I been out?”

“Four hours.”

Robert sat up fast, wincing as a network of pain went red hot. “You’ve got to be kidding. How come you let me sleep so long?”

“I couldn’t wake you up. So did you learn anything from that guy?”

“No. I think he’s a waste of time.”

“Well I’ve got some great news. Maybe it’s just a perfect good-cop, bad-cop thing we’ve got going, but Mr. Frosty was in a really talkative mood when I checked on him a few hours ago. I found out where they’re keeping Peggy and Connor…”

“What?”

“He says they’ve got them up at this old farmhouse near Wrath Butte. I cross-checked some things on line and I think he’s telling the truth.”

Will sat down in a chair and began cleaning a revolver with a small cloth.

“Wrath Butte?” Robert seemed to recall the place being a topic of conversation recently but he’d forgotten to whom he’d been talking. Then the image of Steven came rushing back to him—the memories they’d traded about a past family reunion and the realization they both had the same great grandfather Jared Horn.

The dots were beginning to connect but Robert was no closer to understanding why. It was driving him crazy. At the moment he had little sense of how deep the dots would take him far into the past, that before his great grandfather there’d been a man named Charlie Maynard, and before Maynard a mysterious and powerful dark skinned man from an island on the other side of the world…

He felt the depth in his flesh and bone. It was as if he were on the edge of a giant canyon on a moonless, starless night. Staring into the void. There was so much he needed to understand…

“Is there something else you want to tell me?” Will asked. “You act like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

Robert shook away the scattered thoughts and drew himself together. It hadn’t been easy to stay focused. The past seemed to be manipulating him like the old Mexican had with the dancing marionettes. All he could do was keep moving forward, despite the feeling that he’d completely lost control. Peggy and Connor were still counting on him.

“I’ve been thinking about something I saw a long time ago. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“You want to tell me about it now?”

“It doesn’t make a lot of sense yet.”

“Oh.”

“But thanks for your help with Mr. Frosty.”

“Don’t mention it. You made it easy for me after softening him up and all.”

“How far is Wrath Butte from here? It’s been ages since I’ve been back.”

“We’re looking at a three-hour drive. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve started rounding up some gear.”

Robert rubbed his forehead. He still wasn’t absolutely sure if he was still dreaming or not. “I think we should get going as soon as we can… So how is Mr. Frosty now?”

“He escaped.”

“Escaped?”

“After he told me where they were at I sat him next to a space heater to thaw out. You almost turned him into an Eskimo Pie, Bobby. I did my research on line and then took a hot shower. When I went back to the garage he was gone...It looked like he’d burned off the rope, a cigarette lighter maybe...”

“Didn’t you go looking for him?”

“Of course I did, but I found no sign of him. It’s like the guy walked out of here and went poof.”

“He’s probably made a call to Wrath Butte by now.”

“I’m sure you’re right. And all the more reason we should be hitting the road.”

“I’ve got to do some things first. I need to go visit my mother’s house and also drop Nugget off at the shop.”

Will glanced up from polishing his gun. He looked worried. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to be going to your mom’s right now, or the shop. There are cops all over town looking for you.”

“That’s why I’m going to need your help.”

“So what’s so important at your mom’s place?”

“There’s this family heirloom up in the attic that I haven’t seen for years. I need to find it and I don’t know why. It sounds crazy but you have to trust me on this. It’s something important.”

CHAPTER 37

Earlier they saw two semi trucks pass below them and they’d tried to wave them down. Peggy knew she and the others were still too far away, that they’d just blended in with the darkness of the hills. It was hopeless without flashlights or something to signal with, but seeing the shadows of the big trucks had lifted their spirits.

Later she was glad they hadn’t drawn attention to themselves, for she began to hear what she thought was an engine sound following them from the hills above.
Whoever it was hadn’t turned on their headlights.

Everyone was getting tired and thirsty. The children had stopped interacting and seemed to be marching forward in their sleep. Peggy found her mind drifting inward and had to keep reeling it back. She wondered how much longer it would be before sunrise and what they would do then.

“I see a house!” Jan shouted.

Peggy raised her head and looked. At the bottom of the hill was one of those country houses you saw in the magazines with a generous wrap-around porch and a white washed fence. Behind the house there was a red barn and a small tractor. She noticed a light on upstairs and wondered if the occupants had already heard them coming.

“Let’s try to hurry everyone.”

They picked up their pace going down the grassy hillside and soon encountered a dirt road leading to the back of the house. Finding it impossible to contain their relief, they began to laugh excitedly. A dog sat up on the porch and started to bark.

I just hope they’re not hostile, Peggy thought. Out here in the country you could never be sure how folks would react…

Years ago Peggy and a college friend had their car break down on the highway and they’d gone to ask a local if they could use a phone. A woman had answered the door with a pistol and might have shot them both if Peggy hadn’t acted quickly and calmed her down. Eventually the woman allowed them to make their call but hadn’t let down her guard in the least. It was only when they left the house and smelled a foul chemical odor coming from the run down garage that Peggy knew someone was probably cooking meth.

This house looked nothing like that one and the closer they got the more secure Peggy felt. The owners obviously cared for the place. There was a lush garden surrounded by tall sunflower plants and a pond with a miniature windmill.

She saw the porch light come on and the front door ease open. A heavy man stepped out with his wife next to him. He was holding a rifle. He was wearing only a white T-shirt and baggy jeans, and she was still in her bathrobe and curlers. The man told the black lab to stop barking and it sat down in front of them and kept guard. Peggy and the others were close enough now that the farmer could see they posed no threat.

“What are you doing out here at this hour?” His voice was deep, but not entirely unfriendly.

“We need help,” Jan said, forcing back tears. She lifted Krista up next to her chest. “We’ve been walking almost all night. We escaped from some men who had kidnapped us.”

“Kidnapped?” The farmer glanced at his wife in disbelief. He took a few more steps forward on the porch and squinted at them.

Peggy moved under the porch light. “You must have seen something on the news by now… About Portland families vanishing in the middle of the night.” She was sure a friend or co-worker would have gone to the police, even if Robert had been unable to.

The couple on the porch looked as if they didn’t believe their own eyes.

“Jesus, it’s them alright,” the farmer’s wife said to her husband. “They said there were two women and two young children. Let’s not make them wait out here any longer, Wilbur. I’m going in to make them something to eat.”

Wilbur lowered the rifle and his wife went inside. He turned back around and grinned at Peggy and the others. Several of the man’s front teeth were missing, and some were down to brown nubs.

“Okay folks, come on inside and we’ll take care of you. You’re safe here.”

Wilbur held open the screen door as they stepped up on the porch. The black lab sniffed them curiously as they walked by.

“What’s your dog’s name?” asked Connor.

“That’s Randy. He’s our chief inspector around here. He never lets anyone come inside he can’t smell first.”

“Thank god we found you,” Jan said, unable to hold back her tears anymore.

Jan, Krista and Connor went inside. Peggy was the last one to the door. She couldn’t stop thinking that there was something odd going on.
It almost seems like they were expecting us…

“I’ll need to use your phone,” Peggy said.

Wilbur glanced nervously at her and laughed. “You’re not going to believe this lady but our phone’s been dead for two days now. Lightning storm took it out and the phone company says they won’t be coming out to fix it until maybe this afternoon.”

“Then it would be best if we left straight for town. Those men who kidnapped us could be on their way.”

Wilbur stroked his rifle with a fat hand and grinned. His lack of teeth sent a slight shiver of disgust up Peggy’s spine.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to let them get you. But I think it would be best if you and the children had something to eat. Come sunrise I’ll take you directly to the sheriff’s office in town.”

Peggy found it difficult to argue. The teasing smell of frying bacon was already drifting toward them from the kitchen and made her stomach grumble with hunger.