The River (12 page)

"I'd watch it, if I were you. People have a tendency to go missing out here. Remember?"

Miki stepped back. "Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm just giving you a bit of friendly advice."

She blew out a stream of smoke, her eyes resting on Miki's quivering lip.

The girl was easily intimidated.
Good.
A little fear would go a long way. At least it would shut her up.

Miki clenched her fists. "When I tell everyone that you were out of the tent last night―"

"And when I tell everyone how you came to Canada as an escort for a very influential man…"

She flashed a slow smile, noting the sickened expression on the poor girl's face. It was priceless.

"H-how―"

"It doesn't matter
how
, Miki. I did my homework before coming here. You should've done yours."

She pushed away from the tree, looking back over her shoulder.

"How do you think Peter will feel when he finds out you're nothing but a tramp? And do you really think Del will trust you with her precious book if she knew that you'd slept with men three times your age?"

"Bitch."

Francesca's mouth stretched into a catlike smile. "And you're a whore." She flicked the cigarette in the girl's direction. "We all have our titles to wear."

Leaving Miki to fend for herself in the woods, Francesca strolled down the path, confident and secure. The girl wouldn't risk having her secret exposed.

When Jake had handed her the list of people going on the trip to the Nahanni, she had asked her brother to run a background check. Sometimes it was useful to have a cop in the family. Not only had her brother dug up the sealed records on Miki Tanaka, he had discovered a few other startling facts about Francesca's fellow travelers.

Some of them were hiding secrets.

Hell, she even had a few of her own.

As for the others...secrets had a way of revealing themselves.

Eventually.

Pacing outside the cave's entrance, Del refused to think about the missing canoe. She pursed her mouth in determination and tugged on a wide-brimmed hat, pulling it low over her eyes.

Keep your eye on the goal.

"We can be at the falls before suppertime," Hawk told her. "If we paddle hard."

She bit her bottom lip. "Miki hasn't broken the code yet."

"Give her time. She's a smart girl. She'll get it."

He handed her a mug of coffee, then wandered over to a flat rock.

Standing silently in front of it, he closed his eyes. Then he reached up, grabbed his ponytail and, with a pocketknife, cut off a few strands of long hair. Placing them on the rock, he covered the hair with three pebbles.

"What are you doing?" she asked, fascinated by the ritual.

"The Dene believe that the land provides all things for us."

Hawk looked at his meager offering. "The cave was here when we needed it so I leave the land a token of my gratitude."

Without saying a word, she held out her hand. When Hawk passed her the knife, she cut off a curl, adding it to his. For a moment she stared at the two contrasting strands―one dark brown, one blond.

Two people…from two different worlds.

"We're not that different," he said, reading her mind.

Del was almost relieved to be back on the river.

Miki, however, looked like she'd rather be anywhere else.

"You okay?" Del hollered.

The girl dipped her paddle into the water and nodded solemnly. She didn't even crack a smile.

Del frowned.

What the hell was going on? Miki had been unusually quiet all morning. And she had avoided Francesca like the plague.

Francesca had done nothing but complain about the food, the sleeping arrangements, the bugs. And she never missed an opportunity to suggest they turn back. It was these things, more than the woman's interest in Jake, that irked Del the most.

I wish to God that Francesca had never joined us.

Pushing the woman from her mind, she wiped the stream of sweat from her brow as the searing sun mirrored off the Nahanni and a sticky heat enveloped them―the kind of heat that made her want to strip off her clothes and plunge headfirst into the churning river.

The pulse of the Nahanni was deceptively persuasive. Each canoe fell into an easy rhythm, growing silent with the effort of paddling. Cumulous clouds partly covered the sky, occasionally shading them from the intense heat, and the infrequent shaded bends in the river were a welcome reprieve. They paddled for hours…but it seemed like days

Del tugged at her life jacket.

The thing was on so tight, she swore she felt her ribs snapping when she inhaled.

"Keep it on," Hawk scolded lightly.

With a streak of stubbornness, she slid the zipper a few inches lower. "A girl's gotta breathe, you know."

Jake threw her a worried smile and she scowled.

"I'm fine, Jake. Except for this heat. Give me an hour and I'll be a pro at this."

And a pro at lying.

She wasn't fine at all. Her vision was wavering so much she had to close one eye just to focus―but damned if she'd say anything.

After a while, her fingers grew numb and the paddle felt like a lead weight. In a split second, it slipped from her hands and was sucked beneath the water.

"I've got it," TJ called out behind them.

When he passed her the wayward paddle, she gave Hawk and Jake a rueful look. "Sorry."

Hawk smiled. "No big deal. That's why they float."

"Take a break, Del," Jake insisted. "We can handle it for a while."

She wanted to argue with him, but he was right. Her muscles screamed for a break. Her legs were cramped and aching.

Grateful for the reprieve, she aimed a look over her shoulder in TJ's direction. Francesca glared back defiantly.

Del was shocked by the hostility in the woman's eyes.

She shuddered.

If looks could kill…

The Nahanni wrapped around each canoe like an invisible force, sucking them downriver, and Del trembled as the murky water formed larger boils and the current grew stronger.

"We're nearing Virginia Falls," Hawk shouted. "We have to put off shore. So we don't get caught in the current."

As they paddled closer to the left bank, Del heard the pounding crescendo of the falls. The sound intensified as they drew closer.

"We're not going over them, right?" Gary hollered nervously.

"Not unless you really want to," Hawk laughed. "Virginia Falls is twice as high as Niagara Falls. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't survive the drop. If you all check out that rock over there, that's Mason's Rock. It splits the falls into two. When we're on the other side, you'll see it in all its glory."

Mason's Rock.

The river circled the rock, the foamy water crashing down and swirling around its base. The monstrous, towering, jagged spire was enveloped in a strange, ghostly mist. Even stranger was the cluster of trees that sprouted from its tip.

Del forgot all about her pain, spellbound by the sight.

When the canoes safely reached the shore, she felt a weak humming wrack her body. She unfolded her stiff legs and stood shakily.

A wave of dizziness assaulted her.

"Crap!" she whispered.

There was no denying it. Her MS was definitely taking a turn for the worse.

While the others cleaned up after dinner, Del gathered Hawk and Jake around the journal.

She pointed to a short wiggly line. "Another river?"

Hawk pulled a folded map from his river bag. Laying the map beside Schroeder's journal, he traced the path of the Nahanni and compared it to the line drawing.

"It's not the Nahanni River. Sorry."

He folded the map, then leaned down to put it back in his bag.

Del nudged Jake, indicating a v-shaped object on the previous page. "I think we have to find this tree first."

"It looks more like a valley."

"My friend, Lisa, thinks it's a tree," she said sharply.

Jake shook his head. "The sides are steep, maybe covered in grass. It's a valley."

"It's a tree, Jake! This is the trunk and two branches, or maybe a split trunk."

Hawk raised his head abruptly. "She's right, Jake. It's a tree."

Del sent Jake a triumphant smile.

"It's off the main portage," Hawk added. "The one to the bottom of the river. Unless you veered off the path, you'd never know the tree existed. It's a bit of a hike in."

"Maybe we should leave the canoes here and check it out," Jake suggested. "It's only after seven."

To Del's surprise, Hawk agreed.

"Sure. There's over three hours of daylight left. If everyone packs extra food, matches and water in their day bags, we can carry some of the gear and camp there. We'll take two tents, one for the guys and one for the ladies."

Del left them to discuss the plans while she went to find her day bag. Opening it, she grabbed a plastic container. She emptied an assortment of pills into her palm, most of which she hadn't touched in over a year. A year of remission.

Of all the worst times to have an exacerbation.

She gritted her teeth.

Mind over matter. You've gotta get a grip on this, Del.

Francesca interrupted her thoughts.

"Here," the woman said, holding out a granola bar and a mug of water. "You didn't eat much."

Del was surprised. A peace offering?

She popped the handful of pills into her mouth and chased them down with a long drink of water, ignoring Francesca's curious stare.

The woman cleared her throat apprehensively. "I wanted to apologize. I know Jake and I are over but it's hard to see him with another woman."

Del was floored. "He's not
with
me!"

Francesca shuffled her feet restlessly. "Do you have any idea how it makes me feel to see him look at you the way he used to look at me? He really likes you. I can see it in his eyes. I feel…betrayed. But you probably wouldn't know what that's like."

Del thought about TJ. About finding him in her bed with her neighbor. A neighbor who was now pregnant with the baby that
she
had wanted to have with TJ.

"I know exactly how it feels, Francesca. But I can assure you, my focus is on finding my dad―not getting involved with Jake."

The woman let out a deep breath. "I wanted you to know…I'm not over him yet. He hasn't exactly been a saint since we broke up. Hell, Jake's not the loyal type. Just ask his wife."

Del's head shot up.

Jake was married? Why was he flirting with
her
then? And why wasn't he wearing a ring?

Francesca gnawed her lip. "Jake is only concerned about one thing, Del. His research."

Del exhaled slowly when Francesca was gone.

She couldn't fault the woman for being jealous. She would be too if she thought someone was honing in on her man, her territory.

Which Jake isn't.

The man in question strode past her and she eyed him furtively.

Jake had a wife. Someone who was probably patiently waiting for his return. What was it about men and commitments? It was so easy for them. They could turn their emotions on and off again―like a switch. They could screw around on someone they supposedly loved, then toss them aside like a used wad of toilet paper.

"Heartless bastard!"

Sexy
, heartless bastard, her mind argued.

She hastily wolfed down the granola bar, finished the water, then hurried off to find Hawk.

They were wasting valuable time.

She shuddered, recalling Arnold Schroeder's warning.

The little bastards have him, Delly. You have to destroy the cell.

"You ready?" Hawk said.

"Almost." She took a steadying breath. "Hawk, do you know anything about a secret river?"

"I've heard rumors. Why?"

"Do you know where it is?"

He shook his head. "They're only stories, legends."

"Schroeder told me we had to find a secret river. I think that's where the map leads to."
And that's where my dad is.

"There are branches off the Nahanni, marked tributaries. But that's it, Del. If there was another river, people would've found it by now. It would be marked on my map."

Disappointed, she picked up her day bag and joined the others at the top of the path.

"We'll follow the trail halfway down," Hawk said. "After that we veer off."

Gary gave him a worried look. "Won't we get lost?"

"I've got GPS mapping on my satellite phone. And a compass. But as an extra precaution we'll tie ribbons around the tree branches to mark the way. Anyone want the job?"

When Peter volunteered, Hawk passed him the roll of ribbon and a small pair of scissors.

"We all ready?" Jake asked, moving to Del's side.

They set off down the winding trail, talking loudly, in hopes of scaring off bears or other predators. Between the trees, they glimpsed Mason's Rock and Virginia Falls. The roar of the cascading water intensified as they drew closer. Even the ground vibrated.

"Here's where we leave the path," Hawk said, removing a small compass from his pocket. "We head north. That's where the Gemini Tree is."

Del's eyes widened. "The Gemini Tree?"

He motioned for the journal and indicated the v-shaped drawing.

"We've called it that for years. It's an anomaly." He returned the book to her. "When you see it, you'll understand."

His vagueness sparked her curiosity.

What could be so unusual about a tree?

In the middle of a charred circle of land stood the only sign of life.

The Gemini tree.

At its base the trunk was thick and knotty, twisting and turning like a creature rising from the ashes. About three feet from the ground it split in two. Someone standing from afar might have thought it simply had a split trunk.

When Del approached the tree, she was startled to see that it was actually two different varieties. They had grown together, melded into one, wrapping sinuously around each other. Then they split away. One side was a needle-bearing evergreen. The other had jade-green leaves―balsam poplar.