Footprints (11 page)

By the time Annja emerged from the bathtub, she felt like several layers of gunk had melted off her body. The terry-cloth robe felt like a thick blanket wrapped around her body, and Sheila had even included a pair of slippers Annja hadn't seen until she lifted the robe.
Downstairs, Sheila got her squared away at a corner booth. She smiled as she handed Annja a simple menu. "Feeling better?"
"
Almost human, actually.
And thanks for the slippers."
Sheila nodded. "Well, your hiking boots don't really go with the robe, and I couldn't have you wandering around here without anything on your feet."
"They feel as nice as the robe."
Sheila winked at her. "I stole them from some big ritzy hotel in Vegas when Tom and I were there a few years back."
"You mean I'm staying with criminals? I'm horrified."
Sheila laughed and pointed at the menu. "See anything you like?"
"One of everything, please. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I got out of the bath. It's as if I haven't eaten in a week."
"The combination of fresh air and the water in the bath will do that to you. Anyway, I'll tell Tom to make you up something great. Any allergies I should know about?"
"
Uh…no."
"
Good. You wouldn't believe the tourists who stop here from time to time with a whole laundry list of things we can't put in their food. The times certainly have changed from when I grew up."
Annja smiled. "I guess they have."
"I mean, what's wrong with an egg yolk every once in a while? Or a few slices of bacon? It's not going to kill you, is it?"
Annja licked her lips. "You're making my mouth water with all this talk of eggs and bacon."
Sheila nodded. "Okay, okay, I'm off. By the way, your friend is upstairs, too. I set her up across the hall from your room. She should be down soon, although she didn't look as if she was in a very good mood."
"She didn't?"
Sheila shook her head. "She came in looking all glum. I tried to get her to smile but she wasn't having any of it. No idea what's got her so upset.
"
"An affair of the heart, I'd expect," Annja said. "She came to town looking for one thing and found out that she was here for something else. I think that's got her a little bit down."
"She gets any lower and she can be an anchor." Sheila headed back toward the kitchen and left Annja alone in the dining room. Ten tables sat around the room, scattered in a fashion that wouldn't have anyone sitting right on top of their neighbors. Annja appreciated the fact that Sheila had obviously set up the place for private conversations, if need be. In most of the restaurants Annja had been to lately, the tables were so close together that confidential talk was impossible.
Sheila came back out wielding a coffee pot and a mug. She set the mug down in front of Annja. "This should help wake you up. You look as if you could use about a year of sleep, though."
"I could." Annja sniffed the wafting steam and sighed. "Nice."
Sheila nodded.
"Nothing like a stiff cup of java.
I wonder if I should call up to your friend and see what's keeping
her?
"
Annja shook her head. "I wouldn't bother. The only thing that took Jenny longer than getting ready for anything back in college was trying to get her to stop talking about her latest crush."
"
One of them, huh?"
Annja smiled. "She's good people, Sheila.
Just a little lovelorn and lonely."
"
Aren't we all," Sheila muttered as she walked away again.
Jenny managed to make her way down faster than Annja expected. She wore a similar terry-cloth robe and slippers. Annja wondered which Vegas hotel Sheila and Tom had knocked off to get that set.
Jenny sat down. "Hi."
"Feeling any better after the bath?"
Jenny glanced around. "Yeah, I guess so. It's nice not to be so dirty anymore. My water was pretty filthy."
"Mine, too." Annja looked at her. "You okay?"
"No."
"David?"
"
Yeah."
Annja sighed. "Jenny, you've got to look at it from his perspective. He needed your help. Maybe he thought you wouldn't come out unless he offered you something enticing, like some type of supposed evidence."
Jenny looked up. "I would have come out for just the evidence. He didn't need to lead me on like he did."
"Well, you know guys. They don't always think things through so well. Maybe that was just his twisted logic."
Jenny frowned. "I don't think he even likes me."
Annja sipped her coffee. "What's not to like? You're gorgeous."
"I'm old."
Annja stopped drinking. "Hold on a second. If you're old, then that makes me old, as well. And I don't feel old, so I would like to ask you to please stop saying that you're old, okay?"
"I'm almost thirty, Annja. Do you know what the odds are for a single woman in her thirties to find true love and marriage?
Very slim."
"
You're really a bundle of joy today, aren't you?"
"Sorry."
Annja leaned forward. "Look, so what if things didn't work out with David? There are tons of other guys around. You know that. You'll find someone, I know you will. And when you do, that guy will be the luckiest dude around. You're too good not to have someone recognize that."
"You think so?"
"Know so."
Jenny managed a smile. "Thanks for the pep talk. I appreciate it even if you don't necessarily mean it."
"Huh?"
"Well, just look at you. You're my age and no prospects in sight for you, either. I know you're just as depressed as I am but you're keeping up a strong front for me. I appreciate that."
Annja leaned back. "Jenny, I am not depressed. Nor am I putting up some sort of front for you. I'm trying to help you as my friend."
"You're not lonely?"
Annja snorted. "I'm too busy running around the world to be lonely."
Jenny eyed her. "That's a convenient excuse. Are you sure you're not just using that to avoid the issue?"
Annja sighed. "There's no issue. I've had plenty of guys in my life but nothing really has a chance to develop. It's the price I pay for doing what I do. I've made my peace with it. Anytime I think my heart's needs outweigh my professional aspirations, I'll simply stop."
"You think it will be that easy? To stop, I mean."
"I don't know. I've never really tried." And with the sword, there's no telling if I'd even be able to, Annja thought.
"And what about the whole love thing?
You think that will just happen easily, too?"
"What I think," Annja said, "is that if we put our minds to it, there's nothing we can't do."
Jenny smiled. "I guess. It's just hard. I mean, I'm a college professor. I see truckloads of good-looking young boys all day long. And all I want is a man to call my own."
Annja leveled a finger at her. "You'd better keep your hands off those college boys. You wouldn't want to add unemployment to your list of woes."
"I know it. But we all want someone at the end of the day. That's what I'm saying."
"So let's see if we can find someone for you."
"Huh?"
Annja grinned. "I'll bet that guy Simpson is available."
"Please."
"What about Baker? Did you see that receding hairline? Hot."
Jenny shook her head. "What the hell, I'll just invite them both back at the same time."
"There you go. Give 'em the thrill of a lifetime."
Jenny giggled. "Probably be over in thirty seconds and then I'd be no better off than I was at the start."
"
Probably."
Sheila came over to the table with two plates piled high with food. "Did I just hear laughter?"
Annja nodded. "I think she'll be okay."
Sheila smiled. "Well, maybe, but I'd be willing to bet a plate of Tom's breakfast would help the cause even more." She glanced at Jenny. "I didn't get you a menu, dear, but I thought I'd just have Tom double it all up and you could pick and choose what you like."
"Are those hash browns?" Jenny said happily.
Sheila nodded.
"Of course."
Jenny tore into her plate. Annja looked at Sheila. "Looks like you made a good decision."
"Refills on the coffee?"
"I could use one," Annja said. "And if you've got some fruit juice?"
"Two glasses coming up," Sheila said. She turned and rushed back into the kitchen.
"She seems nice," Jenny said around a mouthful of food.
"Very," Annja agreed. "Now what are we going to do about our situation?"
"What situation is that?"
Annja took a forkful of eggs and chewed. "The way I see it, we've got a few things to tackle here."
"
Such as?"
"
Well, first and foremost, you brought me out here to help you find the Sasquatch."
"Or evidence of its existence."
"Okay. Next, we've got to deal with a couple of idiots from Washington who
think
they're going to kidnap the creature without getting themselves killed in the process."
"I don't see that venture being very successful."
"Neither do
I
," Annja said. She swallowed some of the hash browns. "God, these are good."
"I know."
"And then there's the last thing."
Jenny looked up. "What's the last thing?"
"
Your relationship with super sheriff David."
Jenny shook her head. "That's a lost cause. We can forget about that right here and now."
"Why should we do that?"
"He's not interested in me. He said so."
Annja frowned. "Maybe he just said that to keep you from getting distracted. You know how you get when there's a cute guy around."
"How do I get?"
"
Loopy."
Jenny frowned. "Yeah, I guess."
"David could have seen that and simply decided he wanted you focused on the evidence he was going to show you and not on him. I guess that means he might be really driven to prove this thing exists."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Well, not exactly for you right now, but overall?
Maybe."
Sheila came back with two glasses of orange juice. "Fresh squeezed, girls. But there's not a lot of pulp. We got a lot of complaints about that before so we strain it more now."
Annja took a sip. "It's delicious."
Sheila hauled a chair over and plopped herself down. "So Ellen didn't say anything, but I thought I'd just go ahead and ask."
"Ask what?"
"What brings a pair of you out this way?"
Annja nodded at Jenny. "She dragged me here."
"Oh?
And for what?"
Jenny smiled. "You'll laugh."
Sheila leaned back. "What? No, I won't."
"I want to prove that big foot exists."
Sheila's eyebrows jumped. "Big foot, you say.
Sasquatch?
Why on earth would you want to find that thing?"
"I don't want to find it, per se, just prove it's out here."
Sheila frowned. "Oh, it's out here all right."
Annja looked at her. "You know this for a fact?"
Sheila nodded. "Of course I do. I've seen it with my own eyes."

Jenny stopped chewing. "Are you serious?"
Sheila shrugged. "Sure. But what's the big deal?"
Annja took a sip of coffee. "You don't think it's unusual for some giant apelike creature to be roaming around the forest?"
Sheila smiled. "We just accept it, I guess.
One of those things.
You know, like maybe how your neighbor likes to play loud music or something. We happen to live in a town near big foot."
"That's awfully nonchalant of you," Jenny said. "Would you mind telling me about your experience?"
Sheila shrugged. "Not much to tell. Tom and me were hiking one day and I got sidetracked by some blueberry bushes—they grow thick in parts of the woods out there—and I squatted down to pick them, thinking about how they'd make for some good pancakes. I popped a few in my mouth and happened to look up. That's when I saw it."
"Where? Was it far away from you?"
Sheila laughed.
"Oh, my Lord, no.
It was about as close as we are right now. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who liked blueberries. It had a mouthful of them with little bits all around its hairy chin. It looked as surprised as I was. Neither of us did anything, but then it sort of just walked off."
"You didn't scream?"
Sheila shook her head. "You know, I think I was just more shocked than anything else. We'd heard about the sightings, of course. Everyone around here does.
Just part of life.
Anyway, it didn't give me any cause to be afraid.
Aside from the fact that it must have been more than seven feet tall."
"
You're sure about that?" Jenny asked.
Sheila nodded. "It was huge. Anyway, I found my way back to Tom and told him what happened. And Tom, being Tom, well, he just nodded and we continued our hike. It really wasn't a big deal. Most folks around this area just consider it part of the landscape. It's obviously got a life to lead just like we do. No sense upsetting the balance, if you will."
"Have you seen it at any other times?"
Sheila shook her head.
"Nope.
Once was all I needed to
convince
me it was real enough."
"What about Tom?"
"Nope. But he believes me so I know he thinks it's real."
Jenny sighed. "Incredible. I'm jealous."
Sheila smiled. "Now, honey, there's no sense being jealous. If you're out there enough, chances are you'll run into it, as well."
Jenny slapped her hand down onto the table. "Well, that settles it. I'm leaving right away."
Annja smirked. "Not without a change of clothes, you're not."
Sheila stood. "I'll check on them and see if they're ready for the dryer yet."
Annja watched her go and then leaned closer to Jenny. "You don't buy that story, do you?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
Annja shrugged. "Isn't it possible that she might have had a few fermented berries and they went to her head? She could have seen anything out there and thought it was big foot."
Jenny frowned. "I see we haven't lost Miss Skeptical yet."
"Miss Skeptical has kept me alive for a long time. I don't fall for every person who can cook up a story."
"You think I do?"
"We've been over this already, Jenny. I'm just saying that, as scientists, we're supposed to use logic and facts to help us prove a theory, not the emotional memories of a person who may or may not be trustworthy."
"She seems trustworthy to me."
"We just met her barely an hour ago."
Jenny sighed. "Humor me here, would you? I'm having a bad couple of days. I nearly died from hypothermia. My love interest either doesn't like me or is pretending not to like me so I can concentrate on this big-foot thing. And now you think I'm too gullible."
Annja smiled. "Hey, the food's good."
"
Small consolation."
Sheila came back out. "Your clothes are going to need more time. The rinse cycle just ended."
Annja stretched her arms over her head. "That's fine. I could use a nap, anyway."
"That does sound good," Jenny said. "But is a nap enough? I feel like I might sleep for days."
"I probably could," Annja said with a yawn.
Sheila held up her hands. "You two had better stop that stuff or else I'm going to pass out right along with you.
Nothing like a good siesta to keep one on top of the world.
You two wander upstairs and I'll make sure you get your clothes back when they're finished drying."
Annja pushed back from the table and looked at Jenny. "Do you have any plans for later?"
"What—like meeting up with David?"
"Yeah. Doesn't he have something he wants to show you?"
"I guess. He told me to call him when we got settled here. Maybe that means he'll take me out tonight."
Sheila stood quietly by with a vague frown on her face. But as soon as Annja saw it, Sheila made it disappear. What was that about?
she
wondered. Did Sheila know something about David that they didn't? And if there was something else to know about the small-town sheriff, what was it?
"Why don't you head on up, Jenny. I'll help Sheila clear the dishes. No sense not helping out after all she's done for us."
"I can help, too," Jenny said. She grabbed a handful of dishes and walked them over to the plastic tub set out for clearing the tables. Annja looked at Sheila, who busied herself with the plates.
"There's no need to help, girls. I've got this. You two go on upstairs and get some rest. By the look of it, you need it. And if you're here to find big foot, then you might need even more than you think."
Jenny looked at Annja, who shrugged. "You're sure?"
"
Absolutely."
"
All right, then. Thanks."
"Have a good nap."
Annja and Jenny walked upstairs. "That was a little weird," Jenny said. "Did you say something to upset her?"
"Me? What could I have possibly said? You were with me the entire time."
Jenny nodded. "I know. Just seems strange. Like one moment she was all fine and jovial and the next she was a little…wary."
"Yeah, I got that, too."
"Did you notice when she changed?"
Annja frowned.
"Right about when we started talking about David."
"
Damn," Jenny said. "I was hoping I was wrong about that. But, yeah, she did get a bit odd after that, huh?"
"
Yep."
Jenny stopped. "What do you think it means?"
Annja shook her head. "I don't know. But I do know that we should probably be on our most
alert
around him. With crazy nuts like Simpson and Baker running around, combined with the Sasquatch, and then this whole thing with the sheriff, we've got to watch out for each other."
"Okay."
They crested the third floor and Jenny waved. "Sleep well."
"
You, too."
Annja watched her go and then turned toward her own room. She opened the door and stepped inside, locking the door behind her.
The lavender scent from the bath still lingered. Annja took a deep breath and exhaled, feeling a wave of relaxation wash over her. The bed looked incredibly comfortable and she couldn't believe she hadn't even tested it.
I would have fallen fast asleep if I had, she thought with a grin.
She took off her robe and jumped into bed, snuggling under the thick blankets. It wasn't cold outside, but somehow the feeling of thick blankets on top of her made her feel like a child again, back when the world didn't seem quite so big and scary.
How that impression has changed, she thought. Nowadays, everyone seemed to have an agenda and oftentimes that agenda clashed with Annja's, resulting in a lot of people who weren't particularly crazy about her continued insistence on breathing.
She burped quietly. Breakfast or lunch or whatever it was had been fantastic. Sheila hadn't lied about Tom being a great cook. He'd obviously come up around other chefs if he could make a typical breakfast like that taste as good as it had.
Or else Annja had simply been famished beyond belief.
She smiled. Anything was possible.
She shifted the pillow around until her shoulder felt comfortable on the mattress. It was a little firmer than she usually liked, but then again, she didn't think her body would complain given how she'd been battered for the previous day or so.
Her thoughts drifted. Sheila's reaction to big foot seemed weird to Annja, but she hadn't had the encounter. Who knew how people would respond to things until it actually happened? Sheila might just be one of those people who seem to cruise through life without getting excited about very much at all.
Or she could be lying about seeing big foot in order to feed into Jenny's fantasy.
But for what purpose?
And if Sheila didn't get upset about stuff, then why had she been so visibly disturbed, even for a moment, when David had entered into the conversation? What did she know about him that set her on edge?
It didn't make any sense.
Annja shifted again. Her stomach gurgled a bit and she wondered if she'd maybe had too much to eat. Annja didn't normally stuff herself, preferring to equate food with gasoline. You don't overfill the tank, but keep enough in there to keep the car running in top condition.
Still…
It wasn't the food. Annja found herself sinking in toward her subconscious. Wave after wave of drowsiness washed over her and she briefly worried that the food might have been drugged.
But no.
Annja had been drugged before and this felt nothing like it. This was her body telling her that it needed to relax.
No sense fighting it, she supposed. She took a deep breath and exhaled, willing herself to let go of her hold on staying awake, to give in to the temptation to drift off to sleep.
And then she felt herself jerked back up toward her waking self.
Little sounds dripped and dribbled down to her subconscious, slipping into places where her logical mind could process them.
The result disturbed her.
Someone was coming into her room.
Annja felt herself moving toward being fully awake.
Part of her resisted.
She was so tired. And yet the adrenaline that had started coursing through her system fought off that sluggishness and forced her awareness back to peak.
Whoever was coming in would have needed a key. Jenny didn't have a key. And that pretty much meant that this person would have to be considered a threat
,
She could hear it now.
Coming closer.
Annja steeled herself. In a second, she'd toss the covers and confront the person. Get them to talk.
But then she heard a familiar voice.
"Annja?"
Annja opened her eyes.
Sheila stared back at her.
"We need to talk."