In Harm’s Way - Ch. 23

Excerpt of rough draft of In Harm’s Way by Pat Otterness

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

????????????In spite of misgivings, I decided to start at Raja’s grave, even though I didn’t like the ambience of death hanging over it.??I remembered a trail leading off from the clearing, and it seemed like a starting place. Any pre-trampled ground was better than thrashing through untouched undergrowth. The path quickly forked, with one branch heading down towards my house.??I remembered taking this trail with Deputy Nines the day I found the body. Instead, I took the other trail, the one that led uphill. It was not much travelled.??New growth was springing up everywhere, but it was still better than what surrounded it.??I was watching my feet for snakes, and my bare arms for ticks instead of watching where I was going. I slammed head-first into a tree branch and conked my head.??“Shoot!”?I said, but using a different vowel. Strands of my long blond hair ripped out as I freed myself.??I left it there, figuring it might help Search and Rescue find my decomposing body someday.??Already I was feeling lost, and I had hardly begun.

????????????I had been following what I hoped was a trail uphill for about a half hour when I heard the footsteps.??Someone was treading very lightly on the path behind??me.??“Hope?” I called in a whisper, but there was no response.??I knew it wasn’t Hope, anyway.??Her distaste for snakes and spiders, never mind ticks, was greater than her curiosity.??I stopped to listen, and the footsteps stopped, too.??I thought I heard breathing, though. It sounded like panting.??Not in great shape, then, whoever it was.

????????????“I have a gun,” I lied in a strong, clear voice.?“Show yourself or I’ll shoot!”??I tried to make my flashlight look like a gun. More rustling in the undergrowth, and a face appeared.

????????????“Woof!” said Wolf, wagging his tail and holding out a prize.

????????????“Augh!!!” I said. “Keep away from me!”??Too late!??Wolf and his catch lurched forward, and Wolf planted his paws on my shoulders.??“Oof!” I said, backing away from the dog and his reeking companion, which he dangled in my face.??A live skunk was hanging between his teeth. It continued to spray Wolf’s face as he held it aloft by its tail, playing with it. “Drop it!” I ordered, and to his credit, he dropped it immediately.??Instead of running off like any normal animal, the skunk started jumping around until it’s rear was facing Wolf, and it gave him another blast.??Then it calmly walked away, shaking the drool off its tail.

????????????Meanwhile, my nostrils were numb with the scent.??I tried wiping it off with the only thing I had, my tee shirt, but since that was going to travel with me, it didn’t remove the smell.??I was having mixed feelings about my stinky companion.??He seemed happy to see me, and overall I was glad to have a companion, even a drooling one that smelled of skunk.??I felt less alone.??More protected. I continued up the path, hoping for sight of a clearing, a trail, or a cabin somewhere in the undergrowth. Any sign of human habitation would be welcome.

????????????Hours passed, or what seemed like hours. I had lost all concept of time. My shirt was now ripe with sweat, adding that special something to the smell of skunk. I wondered if I should turn around and head home. I would not be welcomed warmly even if I did find Betty.??And that was seeming less and less likely. I should have brought water.??Some pathfinder I was.??Planning was so important, and I hadn’t started with a plan at all. I doubted that Wolf’s nose would be leading us anywhere interesting today.??He kept shaking his head and rubbing his nose against the greenery.

????????????I sat down on a log, and Wolf dropped to the ground beside me. I had come too far, I decided, to turn back now.??I picked another tick from my arm and felt like they were crawling all over my body. Something shot out of the end of the log I was sitting on and slithered away in the grass.??OMG!??I leapt up and moved in the other direction.??Wolf, though, happily went after the snake and caught it.??He brought it and dropped it playfully at my feet.??Yikes!?I glanced down at my feet and relaxed.??It was just a black snake.??“Leave it alone,” I said to Wolf. He continued to nose the snake. “Drop it,” I said.??This had worked before, and it worked again. The snake rustled off into the brush.??Gradually, my heart slowed down to its regular pace. “What are we going to do!” I said.

????????????“Woof!” said Wolf.??He started up the trail, and not wanting to be left behind, I followed.

????????????After a while, the trail forked in three directions. While I was trying to decide which path was the most travelled, Wolf took off up the one that was most overgrown.??Dandy!?I decided to go with his choice, though, since I didn’t want to be left out here?by myself.??Oh, no!?Wolf had now abandoned the path altogether and was making his own path through the undergrowth, which was chest high in places.??However, I could hear the sound of running water, and I was thirsty enough to abandon my common sense and follow him.

????????????A gentle mountain stream was burbling nearby, and Wolf was wallowing in it.??It wasn’t deep, but the water moved quickly.??This must be one of the tributaries that feeds Dancing Creek, I thought.??If I got lost, I could follow it downhill to find my way home.??I cupped my hands and drank my fill of the sparkling water.??Then, after a moment’s consideration, I dropped my jeans on the ground and flopped in the stream alongside Wolf.??The cold water felt so good on my sweaty body.??Maybe it would help with the smell.??Probably not. If anything, it seemed to concentrate it.

????????????I was lying on my back in the stream, enjoying the lovely coolness of the water, when I spotted someone on the far bank, watching us with what looked like amusement.

????????????“Hello?” I said, trying to get a better look at the person hidden behind the trees. “Can you help us.”

?????????????A long silence, and then a tentative voice called back. “Who are you?”

????????????“My name is Chat Chance,” I said. “I live on Dancing Creek.”

????????????“You are?that?Chat Chance? The iris grower?”

????????????“Yes,” I said. “Do I know you?”

????????????“ I fear not, but I know of you.??I have so enjoyed your garden.”??A woman stepped out of the undergrowth so I could get a look at her. “ I am Betty Diez,” she said.

????????????I was able to get a closer look as she emerged fully into the light.??She was, of course, Latina, with black hair streaked with white, and warm brown eyes.??“ I need your help, Betty, “ I said. “I’m looking for a woman who is missing.??She has a young child who needs her. I think she has come looking for you, though I don’t know why.”

????????????“ Who has sent you,” she asked. “It is not the immigration?” The woman pulled back a little, clearly suspicious.

????????????“ I was sent by Fletcher Fox,” I said. He is caring for her daughter, Dorita. He is very worried.??Have you seen Carmen???Do you know where she is?”

????????????“You will tell no one?” she asked. “You will not tell the immigration man?”

????????????“I promise,” I said. “ Who is this man you speak of?”

????????????“ He says he works for ICE, but I do not believe him,” Betty told me. “His name is Vaughn.”