Timberline Trail (25 page)

“One more time,” called Jon
, and this time Tia floored the pedal, forcing the truck to lurch and bounce over the small ridge the wheels had ground into the snow. Within a few seconds, she’d left Jon twenty feet behind in the soft knee-deep snow. He waved a hand and trotted heavily to the car, his face, parka, and ski pants dotted with mud splatters. Tia quickly regained her seat as Jon settled in and put the Toyota into gear.

“I can only hope that’s the most trouble we have,” he said
, as the 4x4 continued its slow ascent up the steep grade.

When they finally reached the top of the crest, the main ribbon
of Highway 7 spread before them. It was evident logging trucks had passed through after the storm as deep ruts gouged the quickly melting snow.

Jon studied the long straight highway.
“The only problem is there’s nothing to shield us for at least three miles. As soon as we turn onto the main road they’ll spot us for sure.”

“Wait a minute, I know a place we can turn off,” said Tia
, suddenly inspired. “If we head down this road, in less than a quarter of a mile there’s an old logging road. If we follow the ruts maybe we can make it to the track before the Nissan spots us. Several different tracks branch off through the forest so we might have a chance to lose them. The road runs parallel with the main highway before meandering through different logging routes. It eventually loops back to the main logging road at three different places, finally intersecting the main highway seven miles down. It’s our best chance to lose them.”

Jon thought hard, his fingers tapping the steering wheel as the 4x4 idled.

“While it sounds like a good idea
, what if Paul or Tory come back with the police and totally miss us.” Jon rolled down his window and listened intently. “Isn’t that the sound of a motor?” he asked.

“Let’s not wait to find out!
” ordered Tia, and Jon revved the engine before pulling out onto the slushy main road. The Land Cruiser picked up speed, zooming down the long flat stretch of highway toward the logging turnoff.

Even though the snow was fairly deep, the going
seemed easier as the car slid and swerved in the wide ruts on the narrow two-lane highway. But would they reach the junction of the logging road before the blue Nissan Pathfinder pulled in behind them?

“So far, so good,” said Jon
, checking the rearview mirror as he pressed his foot even harder on the accelerator.

Up ahead, less than an eighth of a mile away, the junction of the logging road loomed, its red signal flag blowing in the stiff breeze.

“Oh damn, there they are!” cried Jon.

Tia cast a quick look behind her, and sure enough, the large blue Nissan
roared up to the junction of the highway.

“Hurry up,” she said between clenched te
eth as Jon accelerated, the car swerving as the snow tires tried to maintain traction upon the slick road.

Jon suddenly took a hard left onto the logging road.
The going here was immediately much rougher, the Toyota jerking and bumping along the one lane road cut through the forest, the darkness of thick pines instantly closing about them. Fortunately this area of lodge pole pines had not been clear cut.

Jon drove intently
, heading for the curve of the road less than a tenth of a mile away. Jon stuck to the deep ruts from the logging trucks and reaching a sharp corner made an abrupt right, the 4x4’s wheels spinning aimlessly in the soft snow. Only Jon’s skill managed to pull them from the drift.

Jon slammed his fist down on the steering wheel. “These snow tires are good but no match for this road without chains. It’s only a matter of time before we get stuck and
become sitting ducks!”

Tia
scrambled over the back seat, searching for the small storage area at the rear of the Land Cruiser. Moving boxes filled with files, she lifted up the panel near the spare tire to reveal heavy duty tire chains. She hauled the long clanging loops out hand over hand.

“We’ve got chains Jon!”

“Great,” boomed Jon from the front seat, “But where are we going to find a place to change them?”

“Keep driving, I’m sure we’ll find a secluded spot.” Moments later Tia suddenly shouted, “
Over there!”

Jon turned abruptly between two trees and there, behind a small group of cottonwoods stood a small shed. “Pull in behind the shed. We can only hope they’ve passed the turnoff
and have enough time if we work together.”

Jon skid
ded the 4x4 to a stop and leaped out, his movements a whir as he removed the tire jack and hoisted up the back of the car which immediately rose at a wicked angle.

Tia deftly spun the tire to remove loose snow and helped Jon place the first chain over the left rear tire, her gloved hands turning black with grease.
She finished up as Jon quickly depressed the jack, scurrying to the other side. Tia dropped the next set of chains near the opposite tire before cocking an ear to listen. Only Jon’s grunting as he wrestled with the chains and the pines whispering in the afternoon wind broke the stillness.

Jon worked amazingly fast and in less than two minutes the right rear tire housed a set of brand
-new chains as well. The jack depressed and Jon moved to the front but halted as Tia suddenly raised a hand.

“Listen,” she said. “D
o you hear that?” Sure enough the grind of a motor and the heavy sound of chains rattled less than a mile away.

“We’re out of time,” Jon hissed
. “We’ll just have to hope the rear chains will be enough to get us through this mess! Get into the car!”

He
threw the jack and tire irons unceremoniously into the rear of the vehicle and slammed the door shut. In a matter of sixty seconds they were back on the road again.

“How does it feel?” asked Tia
, as she watched him shift the gears and battle the 4x4 in the soft snow.

“I definite
ly have more control,” said Jon. “I can only hope with this being a four wheel drive, the rear wheels will be enough to propel the car through the deeper drifts. Keep your fingers crossed.”

The logging road meandered through another stand of
lodge pole pines, which luckily was not ramrod straight like the main highway. Jon took a quick left then another right. Unless the Nissan Pathfinder was less than 200 yards behind them they could not be seen.

“Are there any other roads similar to this one?”
asked Jon, and Tia thought hard. It had been a long while since she’d driven on this road.

“I’m certai
n there is. Logging trails cut through many different areas in this huge acreage of lodge pole pines. I remember the road comes out at three distinct points and if we take any of them to our right we’ll hit the main highway again.”

“But how long before the first road?” demanded Jon.

“I don’t know, maybe a mile, maybe less. It will swing us back toward Bear Lake believe it or not. Many of these logging roads make incredibly big loops so it’s easy to get lost.”

Tia peered into the frosty white world
searching for alternative turnoffs. At one point the truck stalled and caught in the snow, but the chained back tires enabled them to proceed. Jon breathed a sigh of relief as Tia watched his tense face. He was risking everything to get her out of this mess and the time had come to level with him.

“Jon,”
she began, as he careened around a particularly precarious corner. “You need to know that it’s my brother RK in that Nissan Pathfinder. I believe he wants to kill me because he was written out of the will.”

Jon’s b
reath hissed in disbelief. “Are you sure?” he shouted above the grind of the wheels and roar of the engine.

“Beyond a shadow of a doubt,” she said loudly and sadly. “It
actually makes some sort of warped sense. This must be my brother’s car and the copy of my father’s will in the dash clearly states he’s been written out of it. RK’s known about this long before I ever did. I always realized my brother and I didn’t get along, but never imagined he’d resort to murder to get hold of a company I didn’t ever want and thought he didn’t either.”

Jon
sighed and tossed a quick look at her. A long beep indicated the 4x4 was low on gas. Jon frowned and Tia swiveled in her seat, but could see no sign of the blue Nissan.

Tia sat back, recalling her brother’s livid face as he’d ordered his men to shoot out their t
ires. This was a brother she’d never known; one who obviously hated her. Still, none of it made real sense to her. She’d have gladly shared the company with RK if he’d just asked, but he’d apparently been so outraged when her father had re-written the will, that he’d slipped over the edge of sanity, deciding his younger sister had somehow manipulated his father one time too many.

Tia recalled the way her brother used to hate
how she’d sweet talk her father into seeing things her way. It made sense that he believed she’d coerced Anthony Heath into signing the shares over to her. Tia suddenly wished they could just sit in front of a crackling fire with a glass of brandy and talk it over. Instead, she and Jon lurched along this rough logging trail with her brother and his two accomplices in hot pursuit.

“Tia, now that you’ve realized the truth about RK, there’s something I need to tell you
.” Tia’s head snapped up from her reverie. “I’m positive your brother paid Andrew Carson to steal ideas from your father’s company. RK then tweaked them before passing them on to other corporations so it looked like he’d come up with the concepts. Jenny related she’d overheard your brother in negotiations with a Japanese firm regarding an idea he’d hacked from your father’s data base where he joked about how the early bird always gets the worm. It involved the computer operation project that turns off the main switches, gas, electricity, and whatnot fifteen to twenty seconds before a major earthquake strikes; the one your dad referred to as
Timberline Trail
. I wanted to tell you before but considering the circumstances didn’t want to be the one to indicate your brother was a betrayer as well.”

Tia felt
sick inside. So all this revolved around the innovative experiment her dad had been talking about casually last winter and her brother had stolen it like a common thief in the night.

“You’re positive?” she whispered, barely able to breathe.

“Yes. It’s my belief, and I suspect your uncle’s as well, that your life’s in danger as long as the original plans to your Dad’s ideas remain on his computer. Your brother can’t risk you learning what he’s done since you very well might turn him in to the police. And, if Andrew Carson was helping him steal the ideas, if may have been RK who ordered his murder.”

“My brother
a killer?” Tia stared sightlessly out the mud-splattered window.

“I think he very well may be. I believe your dad suspected something
and altered his will. He probably let something slip to your Uncle Jeffery who sent Paul up here to warn you. Paul just warned you about the wrong guy. I’m so sorry.”

“Then your sister...?” Tia dropped her face into her hands, her voice muffled by the greasy gloves. “My family
really
was
responsible for her murder!”

It suddenly all made sense.
RK had never gotten over his father’s remarriage and Tia’s birth. Now, after all this time, he sought revenge. His first step had been to hurt his father by refusing to join the firm; the second, to start his own competitive company and then coerce her father’s partner into selling trade secrets to him. Tia had heard all the rumors regarding Andrew’s gambling problems and bet RK was privy to them as well, probably having manipulated the desperate man into betraying her father. And lastly, her brother had sunk so low as to kill to keep his vile deeds under wraps.

Tia cast a glance at Jon
, who battled the half-melted snow on the lousy road. If Jon had suspected RK had been Andrew’s secret partner all along then he’d actually been trying to protect her, which meant...? The truth struck her like a ton of bricks. Jon really cared about her; he cared as much as she did.

“Jon,” she began, suddenly desirous
to break through the awkwardness still hovering between them and state how she really felt.

“There!” interrupted Jon. “J
ust on the right!” Another rough logging road, barely wide enough for a Land Cruiser, much less a logging truck, broke through the thick trees. “Shall I take it?” he cried.

Tia twisted around in her seat to
peer out the ragged windshield. Her instincts insisted they shouldn’t take the first turn off, but wasn’t certain how much time existed between them and their pursuers. At least she knew this turnoff would lead back onto the main highway.

“Yes!
” she declared, and Jon swung the heavy truck onto the narrow lane.

The track instantly turned rougher and Tia bela
tedly wondered if she’d made a wrong decision. Fortunately the Land Cruiser plowed through the snow like a pro. They drove on for five more minutes, Jon often swerving to miss a protruding rock or stump while Tia hung on for dear life.