Above the Bridge (6 page)

Dan shook his head in amusement as he lifted the small, square refrigerator and brought it inside, placing it against the far wall, under the shelves.

“I see you’ve gotten settled in a bit,” Dan said, looking around.  “Looks nice and cozy, the way it should be.”  His view took in the glowing fire and he nodded his head in approval.

“I really like this cabin and appreciate your offer to let me stay.  Oh, speaking of which,” Paige added quickly, turning away and crossing the room.  She grabbed her purse off the long table, pulling out the first week’s rent and handing it to Dan.  He took the money, folded it in half and put it in the back pocket of his jeans, thanked Paige and left, sprinting across the open lot to get out of the rain.

The weather whipped up into a frenzied pace during the afternoon and evening.  Paige stayed inside listening to the howling of the wind and pounding of the rain. The sounds of the storm echoed inside the old cabin, creating an isolated feeling and a sense of a larger force.  To these haunting sounds of nature, Paige warmed a bowl of soup and ate in front of the fireplace, watching the flames slowly die down.  Eventually her eyelids grew heavy and she curled up in the sleeping bag, fluffing her pillow before resting her head and falling asleep.

The storm had eased by morning.  Paige made a pot of freshly ground French Roast, poured some into her moose mug and looked out the front window. A light mist covered the mountains, weaving its way between trees.  Dan’s black lab played alongside the driveway, chasing chipmunks and jumping in and out of low brush.  Paige could hear the caw of a crow nearby and turned to see it sitting on the roof of the barn.

Without Internet access, she knew she would have to head into town.  It was likely that Susan had returned her email from the day before and she’d need to send a reply.  She pulled on faded blue jeans and a red, long-sleeved, button-down shirt, adding a V-neck sweater over that, a dark blue knit with a heavy weave, one of her favorites.  She lifted a hooded jacket off a wall hook, just in case the weather took another turn, grabbed her laptop case and cell phone and left the cabin to head toward Jackson.

 She pulled out of the driveway and started toward town, reaching up out of habit to adjust her rear view mirror.  Looking behind her, she noticed the outline of a red truck, far enough behind her that she had not seen it while entering the road.  She lifted her foot off the accelerator to allow the truck to move a little closer, curious if it might be the same one she had seen pass by the day before.  Continuing to slow down, she finally pulled over at a scenic turnout, quickly grabbing a map in order to appear occupied.  As the vehicle approached and prepared to pass her, she cautiously turned her head to the left, just in time to catch a glimpse of the driver.  Somehow she was not at all surprised to find that the driver was Jake.

 She waited before pulling back out on the road, long enough to not call attention to herself, but not so long as to lose sight of the truck.   Following it into town, she watched it pull into a parking space near the town square.  Again she stopped her car and watched as Jake got out of the truck and walked to a bench in the center section of the square.  He paced back and forth nervously, glancing occasionally at his watch.  

Paige estimated ten minutes passed while Jake paced, during which time his patience appeared to grow thinner, if she read the changing manner of his stride correctly.  His steps became uneven and nervous.  His arms crossed and uncrossed repeatedly.  It was clear he was waiting for something and not at all pleased that it was taking as long as it was.  Finally a man approached from the opposite side of the square, dressed in bulky clothing and wearing a cowboy hat pulled forward and to the side.  The bench was partially blocked by trees and she was too far away to see their faces, but she could still tell the two men were engaged in a heated conversation.  At one point the man who had approached Jake reached into his pocket and pulled something out, handing it over to Jake, who stuffed it quickly inside his jacket.  Both men lingered, their arm motions telling Paige that they were speaking a few final, terse words.  Finally they parted, moving away in opposite directions.

Watching Jake walk east from the square, Paige suspected he was aiming for the Blue Sky Café and soon found she was right.  He crossed through the park, walked under the antler arch and headed across the street, disappearing around the corner.  Paige put her plans to check email on hold, locked her car and followed.

The café was packed, more so than it had been on other mornings.  Most tables were occupied and a line stretched from the counter halfway back to the door.  This allowed Paige to enter un-noticed.  She took a place behind the other customers waiting and looked nonchalantly down the line.

Jake was just stepping up to the counter, ordering his usual black coffee.  Looking around at the crowded cafe, he took stock of the few available tables and grabbed one in the back corner, set away from the rest.  Leaning back against the wall, he quickly glanced around and took the envelope out of his jacket, opening it discreetly and pulling out a folded note.  In Paige’s judgment, he appeared entirely consumed, his eyes scanning the paper from side to side, at times leaning closer to squint at whatever it contained.

After a few minutes, he folded up the paper abruptly, stuffed it back in his jacket and quickly walked out the door, leaving his coffee untouched on the table.

Paige took her latte to go, opting not to follow Jake anymore.  For one thing, he had disappeared too quickly when he hurried out of the café and Paige wasn’t sure which direction he had taken.  For another thing, she needed to check her email and it had to be done before she headed back out of town.

Ten minutes later she pushed open the glass doors of the library and headed to the computer area.  To her relief, there was only a short wait in line.  She was soon settled into a chair in front of an empty terminal, logging into her email account.  As she expected, there was a response waiting from Susan.

To:  Paige Mackenzie

From:  Susan Shaw

Re:  Jackson Hole Article

Hi Paige,

Great to hear from you!

It sounds like Jackson Hole is as interesting as you expected.  Glad you are settling in and starting on research.

A couple things to think about:

Try, if you can, to push beyond the regular tourist information, beyond the advertised spotlights of the area.  We want to find something different, something unusual.  We want to give readers an inside view.  See if you can get to know some of the locals and maybe some of the old timers, too.  They’ll know things that wouldn’t be readily available through normal research channels.

Also, if you can do as much historical research as you can, it will cut down on the fact-checking we need to do later on.

We have a little time on this one, but I’d like to see it ready for print in two weeks.  See what you can do and let me know if you have any problems.

Susan

Paige clicked on the return icon and quickly typed a short response, aware that others were in line for use of the computers.

To:  Susan Shaw

From:  Paige Mackenzie

Re:  Jackson Hole Article

Hi Susan,

Thanks for the advice and direction.  I think two weeks will be fine.  I’ve already run into a few locals and will see what I can learn from them.  I’ll also do some research at the Historical Society, where I can get accurate dates and names of events and people involved with Jackson Hole’s history.

Again, thank you for your help and support.  I’ll give you an update later in the week.

Paige

Paige logged off and stood up, moving away from the computer in order to let the next person in line step up.  Heading toward the exit, she rounded a corner quickly, without looking up.  A clatter of books slamming against the floor followed her clumsy crash into another library patron.  Embarrassed, Paige mumbled an apology while bending down to pick up the spilled books.  Two more hands reached down to help, accompanied by a light laugh.  To her surprise, she looked up to see Jake.

“Oh my, gosh,” Paige stammered, more shocked and surprised to see Jake than she was apologetic for the collision.  “I’m so sorry.”  She scrambled to grab a few more books from the floor and noticed they had titles about Jackson Hole.  Some appeared to be history, others maps and trail information.  She heard the light laugh again and straightened up to face Jake straight on.

“I really am sorry,” Paige repeated, glancing at the books in her hands before looking up.  “It looks like you’re doing some research on this area.  Local books?”  She watched for a reaction.

“Jake Norris,” he said, shifting the books he was holding to one arm and extending his right hand toward Paige.

“Paige Mackenzie,” she countered.  She met his hand with her own, feeling a sudden, unexpected shiver at the touch of his skin against hers.

“These books?” Jake said lightly.  “No particular reason for them.  I just enjoy reading.”  Still, he clung tightly to the books in his arms. 

Paige noticed the edge of the envelope sticking out of the pocket of his flannel shirt.  In fact, she noticed the shirt itself, a light blue with gray and white lines in the design.  She also noticed his jeans, his rugged skin and the tilt of his mouth, still posed in a slight smile.  And she noticed his eyes, a blue-gray that matched perfectly with the shirt.  And then she noticed that he was noticing her notice.  She abruptly regained her composure, apologizing once more for not watching where she was going.  With a thin grasp of dignity, she quickly added that it was nice meeting him.  Turning to leave, she could feel his eyes and smile lingering on her back as she walked away.

Feeling oddly unsettled, she stopped to pick up a few more grocery items for the fridge that Dan had been kind enough to provide.  With another stop, she added a few utensils and some small pads of paper for taking quick notes.  From there she drove into the center of town, making the usual left turn required to head north.  The gray clouds had lightened considerably and there was still plenty of daylight left.  Impulsively, she pulled the car over in front of the town square.

Paige walked slowly around the perimeter of the park and then crossed diagonally along one of the slatted wood walkways that crisscrossed the square. Clusters of violet primrose and bright yellow dahlia surrounded a tall statue in the center, a memorial to war heroes.  She headed toward the bench where she had seen Jake’s animated conversation with the other man earlier that morning.  Sitting down, she took a slow look around the square.  She ran through the scene in her memory, knowing she had been watching from too far away to be sure of any details.  But it had been clear that Jake had seemed especially agitated and the man he met hadn’t been any less upset. The exchange of the envelope had been done quickly and discreetly, but not before an argument of some sort.  After that there had been little or no conversation.  Jake had merely tucked the envelope away quickly and walked off
toward
the Blue Sky Café.

 Again Paige ran through the encounter in her mind, wondering what the envelope contained.  It had to be important, both because of the way the interchange happened and because of Jake’s hasty exit from the café after reading the envelope’s contents.  Her instinct told her she was onto something and should follow through with it.  After all, Susan had encouraged her to pay attention to the local people, to try to get information that was not readily available to anyone who simply passed through town for a day.  Whatever was going on with Jake and the other man, it was definitely something outside of ordinary town activity. She was determined to find out what it was.

From her location on the bench, Paige had a view of most of the square.  She surveyed the area and paused, taking note again of the four antler arches, in particular the one on the corner closest to the Blue Sky Café.  Again it seemed to have a faint glow across the top, just as it had when she passed by it the other day.  Looking around at the other three arches, she didn’t see the same lighting.  She looked up and searched for parted clouds and rays of sunshine, wondering if one might be directed at that particular arch.  But there was nothing from above to cause that type of effect.  Nor were there streetlights on, which ruled out yet another possible explanation.

She stood and took a few steps in one direction, watching the arch closely as she passed it by, but could see no change in its appearance.  Reversing direction, she walked back, but the glow remained the same.  Finally, facing the arch directly, she wondered if this could simply be a trick of Wyoming mountain lighting, some type of optical illusion caused by the high altitude.  A scientific explanation was starting to sound like something she would welcome.

She approached the arch, expecting to see the light fade, but instead it seemed to grow brighter.  Though it appeared to go unnoticed by other people passing by, it seemed clear enough to Paige.  Stopping a few yards in front of the arch, she stared at its hazy glow for a few seconds, certain that she wasn’t imagining it.  She looked around for bystanders who might be able to confirm what she saw, but the town square was now surprisingly empty.  When she looked back at the arch again, the glow had completely disappeared.