26
To reconnoiter, Dina had changed into camouflage fatigues of muted autumn gold and brown. She would have blended easily into the woods. Cork was a little amazed at the foresight required to have such an outfit on hand.
He explained what had happened-Charlie’s disappearance-and near the end, he heard the rattle of heavy suspension on the gravel road that led to the resort. They stepped outside onto the porch and watched as Jewell’s Blazer pulled up and parked in the sunshine. Jewell got out, and a moment later Ren followed. Both looked concerned at the firearms that Cork and Dina held. On the steps of the cabin, Cork told them the situation.
“The man with the dog,” Jewell asked, shading her eyes against the morning sun, “was he kind of tall? And was the dog a golden retriever?”
“Yes,” Dina said.
Ren jumped in. “Bill Pothen. He hunts partridge. He’s okay.” His eyes darted around the resort as if he hoped to spot his friend lurking somewhere.
Dina glanced toward Cabin 3. “Is it possible someone came while you were gone?”
“Possible,” Cork said, “but not probable. I was away for three, maybe four minutes at most. I think Charlie would have yelled her head off if anybody tried anything.”
“If she was able,” Dina said. “Maybe she was surprised and didn’t have the chance.”
“Surprised by whom?” Jewell asked.
Ren climbed the steps and put his face to the screen. “Did you look all over inside?”
“I called plenty loud enough that she’d hear me,” Cork replied.
“Charlie!” Ren hollered. “Charlie, it’s me, Ren.”
A brief moment of silence followed, then a distant voice came from inside the cabin: “I’m here.”
Ren flung the screen door open and flew inside. The others were right behind him.
“Where are you?” he called.
“In here.” The words came from the kitchen.
Cork followed the others who moved faster than he.
“Here.” This time it was clear her voice had come from behind the cabinet door below the sink.
They found her contorted around the plumbing. She slowly extricated herself, limb by limb. When she was fully out, she began to twist and stretch her cramped muscles.
“Why didn’t you answer when I called?” Cork asked.
She arched her back. “I didn’t know if someone was, like, holding a gun to your head or what.”
Dina smiled. “Smart.”
Charlie bent low, lithe enough to press her forehead to her shins. “What were the shots all about?”
“A hunter,” Cork said.
“Pothen,” Ren replied.
“Gorgeous George with him?”
“The dog,” Jewell explained to Cork and Dina.
The girl straightened and faced Ren. “So how was Stash?”
“Unconscious,” Ren replied. “His family’s with him.”
“Not all of us,” Charlie said, obviously still resentful.
Ren punched her shoulder lightly. “We’ll go back when he’s awake.”
“It’s a school day, Ren,” Jewell reminded him.
“Not today, Mom. Please. I mean, everything’s so crazy. And I don’t want to leave Charlie. Please.”
She gave in quickly. “All right. I’ll call.” She walked to the phone.
“Could I talk to Charlie for a little while alone?” Ren’s eyes went to Cork and then to Dina.
“Sure,” Dina said. “Why not?”
The two teenagers headed toward Ren’s room.
After Jewell made her call, she came into the kitchen where Dina was making fresh coffee.
“Mind?” Dina asked.
“My kitchen is yours,” Jewell replied. She glanced toward the hallway where Ren and Charlie had disappeared. “How’s she doing?”
Dina began to fill the coffeepot in the sink. “If dinosaurs had that kind of survival instinct, they’d still be around, eating us for breakfast. She’s tough.”
“She’s had to be. Any reporters?”
“No,” Cork said. “I’m thinking the sheriff’s people haven’t released Charlie’s name. That’s a good thing. But we need to talk about those boot prints behind the shed.”
“And we ought to figure what to do about that damn cougar,” Dina added as she poured the water into the coffeemaker.
“Boot prints behind the shed?” Jewell looked confused, and Cork explained to her what he’d discovered near the Dart.
Jewell said, “I don’t like the idea of any animal creeping around out there, human or otherwise.”
Cork hobbled to the dining table and sat down. The bowl from which Charlie had eaten her cereal sat directly across from him. Soggy pieces of Cap’n Crunch floated in the milk. He idly tapped the tabletop with his cane.
“We could contact the Department of Natural Resources,” he said. “They might have the wherewithal to deal with a cougar. But we’d end up with a lot of strangers mucking around. I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now. You know how to handle a firearm, Jewell?”
“I’ve been around hunters all my life. I’m fine with a rifle.”
“Okay, how about this? None of us goes out without a firearm. And Ren and Charlie don’t go out unescorted.”
“Oh, they’ll love that,” Dina said, hitting the brew switch.
“They’d rather deal with a hungry cougar alone?”
Jewell pulled clean mugs from the cupboard. “I’ll talk to them. They’ll be okay. What about those boot prints?”
“It could be simply a curious troll, but we should probably assume the worst,” Cork said.
Jewell set the mugs on the counter near the coffeemaker. “The worst, you mean, being that the guys who murdered Charlie’s father are looking for Charlie?”
“That would be it.”
“Could it be someone who’s after you, Cork?” Jewell asked.
“If they knew I was here, I’d be dead already.”
“So okay, it’s about Charlie.” Jewell frowned. “What are they after?”
The coffeemaker burbled. Dina folded her arms and stared at the floor. Cork tapped the tabletop with the tip of his cane. No one had a word to offer in answer.
Charlie threw herself onto Ren’s unmade bed and rammed a pillow over her face. “Those guys are such assholes.”
“Charlie.”
She lifted the pillow and saw his expression. “Dude, you look like somebody just threatened to cut off your ‘nads.”
“I don’t think Stash’s accident was an accident.”
“Huh?”
He began to pace, moving from the door to his desk to the window, then retracing his steps as he spelled out the connections.
“I’ve been thinking about it all the way back from Marquette. I think somebody hit Stash on purpose. I think they were trying to kill him.”
“Stash?” She looked at him as if he were crazy. “What for?”
“Because they thought he was me.”
“Dude, are you tripping?”
“Just shut up and listen.” He stopped, and his hands formed a frame as if creating a window for her to see
