Cliff-Hanger (8 page)

Softly, so Jack wasn't even sure he heard her, she breathed, “Yes.”

“Who?”

“My father.” She sighed. “My father's picking me up at Spruce Tree House. And if you think you can make it back to the round house before I get to my dad, you're wrong. I'll be long gone. I'm leaving with him. That's the truth.”

She began to move quickly down the winding path. Without saying a word, Jack and Ashley hurried behind until they were walking with her, three abreast. There was nothing the two of them could do but follow her. In its 100-foot descent, the trail switchbacked again and again, and they went down, down, closer to the valley floor.

“Why didn't you just tell the social worker about your dad?” Ashley puffed. “She would have helped you find him.”

“Dad doesn't like government organizations.”

Thoughts raced through Jack's mind, each one crowding out the other. Lucky had been lying to him all along. Right from the start. The call she made from the pay phone must have been to her father, not to anyone named Maria. It had all been more of her inventions.

“There is no Maria, is there?” he asked. “No gangs, nothing. You were calling your dad, right?”

Lucky jogged around another bend. “I couldn't risk having you know.”

“But if there's no gang, what about that bruise? You showed me that mark you said the gang gave you. Where did it come from?”

“It's none of your business.” Lucky's voice was suddenly hard.

“Was it your father?” Jack got a sick feeling in his stomach. Maybe that's why Lucky's dad was hiding. Maybe her own father had given her that bruise. As though she could read his thoughts, Lucky said, “That's not it. My dad's never hit me. Ever.”

“Then where did it come from?” When she hesitated, Jack grabbed her shoulders. “You're leaving, so what does it matter now if you tell the truth?”

She seemed to want to say something to make them understand, but for once Lucky stumbled for words. “We got separated in Wyoming, and now he's come for me. That's all you need to know.”

They'd reached the seep spring, where the people from Spruce Tree House had come to get water nearly a millennium ago. In daylight, the setting of the spring looked like a small amphitheater, a sideways cleft in the surrounding rock, overgrown with leafy scrub. Now, because it lay beyond reach of the moonlight, it appeared as dark as the passage to the underworld, the place the People had risen from on their way to inhabit Earth.

Jack heard a
hiss.
“I think your dad's signaling you,” he told Lucky. Turning to face Jack, she answered, “No, not here. We're meeting up at the cliff dwellings.”

And then he saw the eyes, the gleaming, golden eyes behind Lucky. And heard again the quiet
hiss.
Moving one silent step at a time, the cougar crept forward toward Lucky's defenseless back.

“Lucky, don't move,” Jack commanded, his voice sharp. “For
sure
don't run.”

“Why—?”

“Oh my gosh, Jack,” Ashley whispered frantically. “It's the one, isn't it? It's coming right at us.”

“Ashley, take off the flannel shirt and flap it hard,” Jack ordered. When she did, the cougar froze.

Without explaining, Jack fired off his camera, one frame after another in rapid succession, hoping the flash would scare away the big cat. Each burst of light from the flash reflected in the cougar's golden eyes and reflected on something else—something that gleamed on the cougar's neck.

“What are you doing?” Lucky cried, and then she glanced around to see what was behind her.

“Lucky, don't run!” Jack yelled again.

Her face terror-stricken, Lucky whirled back toward him and fell onto her knees.

“No!”
Jack yelled. “Get up! You've got to get up!”

“I can't!”

The cougar coiled backward as if to spring, snarling and blinking as the flash irritated its eyes.

In panic, Lucky stared at Jack, but she didn't move; it seemed as though she'd frozen into the ground. From the way the big cat's muscles bunched on its shoulders and hindquarters, Jack was sure it would pounce at any moment. Its ribs showed through its fur like the teeth of a comb, and the hollows of its sides were sunken. This cat was hungry. In the animal world, hungry meant fearless. The cougar gave another low
hiss.
Jack took a deep breath and then, inching forward, he gently reached out to raise Lucky to her feet.

“Get behind me!” he whispered.

Now Jack was face to face with the cougar.

Ashley kept flapping the flannel shirt as hard as she could, but that wasn't working, and the camera batteries didn't recover fast enough—too many seconds were elapsing between firings. When the flash did go off one last time, Jack noticed again how it reflected off something on the cougar's neck, but he had no time to think about that. Raising his hands as high as he could and holding his camera upright as if it were a weapon, he slowly waved his arms and stared the big cat straight in the eyes.

Other than its gauntness, it was a magnificent animal, more than a hundred pounds of muscle and sinew beneath a rough, tawny coat. From its nose to the tip of its tail it was six feet long. Ears laid back and eyes narrowed, it snarled at Jack, showing sharp teeth that could bite through a deer's spinal column and kill it instantly. Jack held his ground even though his insides had turned to water.

Just that day he'd picked up a leaflet about cougars at the Balcony House trailhead. Stay calm, it had said, if you come upon a cougar. Move gently. Face the cougar and stand upright. Don't crouch or bend over; do all you can to appear larger. Never block the animal. Make sure it has a route to escape.

The confrontation seemed to last forever. Then, slowly, the cougar began to back up. In a graceful leap, it climbed the rocky overhang above the seep spring and loped away into the night, gliding into the darkness like a vanishing dream.

It was over.

Her voice shaking, Ashley rattled, “I never really liked this flannel shirt of yours before, Jack. I only grabbed it because it was right there and I couldn't reach my jacket, but oh boy, Jack, oh boy”—faster and higher she babbled—“from now on this is my favorite shirt; don't you ever get rid of it, or if you grow out of it, I want it.”

“Ashley, take it easy!” Jack told her.

“OK, OK. I just have to say one more thing. Did you see what that cougar had on? A collar.”

“What!”

“Yeah, I saw it when the flash went off. A narrow collar with a metal buckle.”

So that was what had gleamed on the cougar's neck. A collar!

“Is it gone?” Lucky asked, sobbing and holding her hands over her eyes. “Do I have to keep standing up?” When Jack answered yes, the cougar was gone, and no, she didn't have to stand any longer, she collapsed onto the ground, her forehead on her knees. “This time,” she cried, “you
really
saved my life. How can I pay you back?”

Jack was so full of adrenaline from his encounter with a wild beast, so pumped up because he'd known just what to do to scare it off, that he had to come down to earth first before he could even answer Lucky. But he knew what his answer was going to be.

Lucky was trying to leave. If he had any chance of stopping her, he needed one thing. He needed the truth.

“I
want the truth about what happened to you.” Jack tried to keep his voice calm, even. “About the bruise.” Ashley burst in with, “Jack, we don't have time for this. We've got to tell Mom and Dad about the cougar.”

Jack brushed off his sister. The cougar crisis was over for the moment, as far as their safety was concerned. The Lucky crisis would soon move beyond anyone's control unless Jack could stop it. “The truth,” he insisted. “Now!”

Lucky took a wavering breath. “You won't understand.”

“Try me.”

She seemed to weigh something in her mind, hesitating as if she didn't know whether she could trust Jack. Or maybe she was so used to lies, she didn't know how to handle truth.

“If I do tell, I don't want you saying I've got a bad life or anything like that. Because outsiders just don't get it. The thing is, I'm happy,” Lucky went on. “Me and my dad, we go wherever we want. We've been all over the country, all the way up to Canada and down to Florida and California and Texas. So if you want me to talk, don't either one of you say anything about the way we live, all right? Then I'll tell you what you want to know. Is it a deal?” Her voice still shook from the en counter with the cougar, but she seemed willing to talk.

Ashley and Jack nodded. That seemed to satisfy Lucky, because she stopped running her hands up and down her arms as if she were about to peel her sweatshirt off her skin.

“How about we talk over there,” Jack suggested. In the moonlight, where he could see her face. They made their way to an open place where a wall of stone shot into the stars. The three of them leaned against the cool rock, listening as the wind hummed its night song. The breeze lifted the edges of Jack's hair. For a moment all was quiet.

Lucky seemed nervous. “What about the cat?”

“We'll be OK. The cougar's not going to come back. Even if it's still around here, if we stand close together like this, it'll think we're a great big animal, and it'll leave us alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“No. But the quicker you talk, the faster we can move out of here.”

“OK, OK. Where should I start?” she asked.

“The bruise. This will be the truth, right?”

“Yeah. The truth.” She gave Jack a quick glance. Her teeth gleamed when she smiled nervously, but her eyes, shadowed in darkness, were hard to read. “Man, I don't usually have to keep in the lines like this, you know? But OK, I'll try it your way. The first thing you need to understand is that my dad is the best. I mean, he's always thinking of me. When my mom died, my dad tried to keep the two of us going, but he was away all the time working, and I really missed him, and he hated leaving me with strangers. So one day he read about this lady who spilled hot coffee in her lap and sued the restaurant for, like, a million dollars. He started thinking about how much money restaurants pay out for lawsuits, and he got this idea.”

It seemed to Jack as though a seawall had been broken, and he was being washed away in a wave of words. Lucky had never spoken with such urgency before. He could tell she really wanted him to sympathize with what she was saying, to comprehend her and her father's life together.

“And so we do this…thing. It's not really bad or anything,” Lucky rushed on. “Not when you think about how rich the people are who own stores and restaurants. I mean, have you ever looked at how they live? Have you?”

Jack sensed he was supposed to answer. “No,” he said quietly.

“Well, I didn't either till my dad showed me. The owners have huge homes, you know? And they all have insurance, so it doesn't even come out of their pockets or anything. So we—we take a little of their money. Just a tiny little bit. It doesn't hurt them at all.”

“You rob stores?” Ashley was incredulous.

“No, that's not what I said.”

“Wait a minute, you've lost me, too,” Jack told her. “We're talking about bruises. What do they have to do with hot coffee and all of that?”

“I'm getting there. My dad and me—we run a scam.”

“A scam?” Ashley asked. “What's a scam?”

“It's a way to get quick money. We go to a store, pretend that I get hurt, and the owner gives my dad money not to sue him.”

Even in the half light, Jack saw Ashley's eyebrows crunch together. “Huh?”

“Look, when no one's watching, I spill a little water or soda on the floor, and then I slip on it and fall and make it look so real you'd think I was going to die. Then my dad yells really loud, saying he's going to sue the store 'cause they didn't take care of their property, and his kid got hurt, and he wants a lawyer. And the store owner pays him to take me away. That's our scam.”

She shrugged. “I get a few bruises, but it's no big deal. We usually make at least a couple hundred bucks a fall. On the average, more like a thousand. Once we hit it big and got five thousand, but I think that was because the restaurant owner already had some trouble with his license, and he wanted to get rid of us fast.” She drew herself up straight so that the moonlight caught her perfect features in outline. “It's like I'm an actress. I've done it for years. And I'm good at it.”

To Jack, Lucky sounded not only defiant but proud. It all made sense now. The bruise hadn't come from a gang but from her faking falls while she ripped off store owners. She'd been right; he didn't understand.

Her arms crossed tightly, Ashley asked, “If you and your dad are always together, then why aren't you with him now?”

Lucky answered, “It was stupid. My dad picked out this little hamburger joint, and I did my act perfectly. The guy behind the counter said he was real sorry I got hurt, but the manager was the only one who could give Dad the cash. He said we could come back the next day and collect $500. So my dad argued for a while, then he told the guy we'd be back when they opened up the next morning. But you want to know what that jerk did?”

“What?”

“He called the police. I guess he'd seen me spilling the water, and a camera on the ceiling caught it all. They handcuffed my dad and took him away. As soon as he made bail he got me, and we hit the road. There's a warrant out for him now.”

She paused, perhaps debating whether she should go on. Then she added, “Anyway, we planned on heading for the border. We were on our way, but some cops came into that little truck-stop restaurant in Wyoming. My dad thought they spotted him, so I did my act to get their attention while my dad took off. He's been keeping in touch with me through my pager watch. He pages; I call him. Except—” She frowned. “For a while I didn't hear from him, and I didn't know where he was. He said he'd meet me when we got to the Durango airport, but he didn't show.”

“Why not?” Jack asked.

“He told me on the phone tonight. Our car broke down in the middle of nowhere. It's fixed now, though.”

Far in the distance a coyote howled at the moon. “That's it. That's my story, and it's the truth,” Lucky said, moving away. “You two are the first people I've ever really told it to.”

“Well, now I know,” Jack said, his voice tight. Her whole explanation had taken only minutes, but Jack felt as though a lifetime's worth of disillusionment had been dumped on him.

Lucky stopped and turned to face him. “You think it's a bad thing we do, don't you? I knew I shouldn't have told you.”

“I didn't say anything.”

“You didn't have to.” Her voice heated up. “You and your sister, living your perfect little lives. You don't know anything about living with your wits and your brains. My dad and me, we make our own way. If you don't like it, that's your problem.”

She moved out of the moonlight and into the shadows again. “Anyway, my dad's waiting.”

“One more thing before you go,” Ashley said. “What's your real name?”

“Lacey O'Doul,” she answered quickly. Then, smiling, she added, “But I like Lucky Deal better, don't you? Well, good-bye. Nice knowing you.”

She was a dozen steps away from them when Jack signaled Ashley to follow. They made no secret of it; Lucky had to know they were behind her. She couldn't help hearing their footsteps on the trail. But she kept going, reaching the flat ledge in the alcove where the dwellings stood.

A shadow separated itself from the other shadows as a man stepped forward. “Hi, baby,” he said.

“Daddy! I missed you.” Lucky wound her arms around the man, and he held her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head.

It was a tender family reunion. Or was it an act by two con artists? Was there ever anything genuine about Lucky?

“Why are these two kids here?” the man asked.

“I couldn't shake them. They're harmless.”

“Will they—?”

“He's OK,” Lucky said, pointing to Jack. “He won't talk. The girl—I don't know. But we'll be outta here. Did you bring the flashlight?”

As the man handed her the light, he said, “Use it only where you have to,” he said. “When it's dark like this, a light can get spotted from far away.”

Lucky crossed the courtyard of the cliff dwellings to peer inside the nearly intact building closest to the trail. “I threw it through there,” she said, pointing to a square opening. “I'll have to crawl inside to look for it.”

Neither Jack nor Ashley had spoken a word since Lucky met her father. Now Ashley gave Jack a look that meant “I told you all along she'd stolen something from the burn area.” Jack nodded grimly.

As Lucky disappeared through the rectangular opening in the ancient wall, the man stood staring at Jack and Ashley. He was dressed all in black—sweater, jeans, running shoes; his pale face seemed disembodied, floating like a mask above the darkness of his husky frame. Never taking his eyes from them, he kept rising on his toes and then rocking back on his heels again and again. To Jack it was a menacing movement, like the coiling of a snake. It made the hair rise on the back of his neck. Ashley stayed very still, breathing shallowly.

“I found it.” Lucky's voice sounded muffled from inside the stone walls. “I knew I would.” As she crawled back through the opening with the flashlight in her right hand, her left hand tightly clutched something small enough to fit in her fist.

“Take a look,” she said, shining the flashlight on her open palm. “It ought to be worth plenty, Dad.”

Jack moved forward to get a look, too. Lucky was holding a piece of turquoise, a little more than an inch square. With a few skillful lines in the polished surface, the ancient carver had created the unmistakable figure of a frog.

“A fetish,” Jack said, speaking for the first time. “For one of the gods.”

“Really old, right?” Lucky exulted.

“Uh-huh.”

“Old things like this are super valuable. We made another hit, Dad. This time it's our biggest yet!”

“It is ancient,” Jack agreed. “And if you had papers or anything to show you got it from Mesa Verde, it might be worth something.” He took a breath. “But the problem is, you can't prove it came from here. You can't prove anything about it. So for you, it's worthless.”

“What do you mean?” Both Lucky and her father turned on him with such vehemence that Jack took a step back.

“Look at it,” he stammered. “It could have been carved yesterday. Turn it over—I bet there's no mark to show how old it is, right? I've seen lots of fetishes just like this in gift shops. There's one for sale in Jackson Hole. About a hundred dollars.”

“Turn off the flashlight,” Lucky's father commanded, scowling at Jack. “Is that true?”

Jack's voice wavered. “Ask Lucky if I tell the truth.”

Grudgingly, Lucky answered, “Always.” And Ashley added, “For sure.”

“So why don't you just leave it here?” Jack pleaded with Lucky. “Like I said, you couldn't sell it for much because there's no way to date it, but the park archaeologists can use it to study the Puebloan culture. To them it's really important. A piece of the puzzle.” When Lucky didn't answer, he pressed, “Besides, a fetish is, like, holy to the Native American people. Come on, Lucky, leave it with me. I'll make sure it gets to the park staff. It's the right thing to do.”

Lucky wavered, but her father told her, “Keep it, baby. We'll show it to a pawn dealer and check it out. You might trust this kid, but I don't. Anyway, let's get out of here. This place gives me the shakes. Too many ghosts spooking around.”

It took only a minute for Lucky to answer. “I'm keeping it,” she told Jack coolly. “My dad's right. I found it, and that makes it mine.” And then, to her father, “Let's go.”

Brushing past Jack, Lucky grabbed the man's hand as the two of them descended the path, chattering about the cougar and her near escape. Her father told her not to worry. No big cat would dare mess with him, he said, and if one did, he had a long switchblade in his pocket.

Jack and Ashley stood silently as they watched Lucky's white sweatshirt shrink to the size of a postage stamp. What should he do? Jack wondered. Follow them, maybe try to stop Lucky on his own? No, Lucky's dad said he had a knife. Jack couldn't risk tangling with him and possibly getting himself or Ashley hurt. Besides, the man was at least 70 pounds heavier and half a foot taller than Jack. No way could Jack overpower him. There was not a thing he could do but watch them disappear. Suddenly, Lucky's pleasant voice called back to Jack, like a leaf floating on a breeze.

“Hey Jack, you better grab your sister and catch up with us. You guys need that blanket to climb the fence, and my dad's taking it with him.”

“I don't know if we should,” Ashley murmured. “Her dad's a crook.”

Jack said, “We've got to go. We don't want to be stuck here with a cougar.”

“Last chance!” Lucky called again.