Hominid (26 page)

CHAPTER 82

T
hey had stayed at the camp as long as Tess had dared. She didn’t want to head back to the cabin in the dark, but she also hated taking Missy away from her family again. The bigfoot had stayed with them right until the end. In fact, for the first time, it was Tess who left first.

When Tess had at last told Missy it was time to go, Missy had looked at her with big, sad eyes before turning to hug her other family. Tess felt the sadness at their goodbyes. Mary had even hugged Tess, much to Tess’s shock.

The walk back to the ATVs was a subdued one. Missy looked asleep on her feet, so after a while, Shawn picked her up and carried her. She fell asleep a few minutes later.

Tess put a hand on Missy’s back. “She didn’t sleep much last night. She was too excited at the thought of seeing them.”

“I still can’t believe they’re real. But I could see how much they love this little girl.”

“They entrusted me to take care of her. I can’t let them down.”

“You won’t,” Shawn said.

Hours later, back at the cabin, Tess was curled up on the couch, not really thinking about anything. In fact, she was intentionally trying to keep her mind blank. There were just too many weighty topics for her to focus on.

A sound came from the bedroom. Tess tilted her head, straining to hear. It was Missy; her cries were muffled, but Tess could just make them out. She hurried into the room and knelt down next to the bed. “Missy, honey? Are you all right?”

Missy shook her head, burrowing deeper under the blankets. Tess rested her hand on the trembling girl’s head. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

Missy shook her head again. Tess looked around as if somehow there was an answer in the dark bedroom. She turned on the small light next to the bed and took a seat beside Missy, nudging her over. “Make some room, kiddo. Do you think you could tell me why you’re crying?”

Missy sniffled. “I miss them.”

Tess sighed. “I know, honey. And I know they miss you too.”

“I don’t understand why can’t I live with them.”

Tess let out a breath. “The bigfoot are amazing people. But their life is suited for people like them. It would be too hard for you. And they’re worried that one of these days you would get really hurt, and they would be unable to save you.”

Missy nodded, but didn’t stop sniffling. “I know.” Tess held her close, rocking a little.

Missy looked up after a few minutes. “Could they come live with us?”

Tess smiled at the image of Frank and Mary sitting on her couch and Sugar raiding her fridge. But then the smile dimmed. “I wish they could. But not everybody understands what kind of people they are. Some people would try to hurt them or put them in a cage. It wouldn’t be fair to them. They live in nature. They’re part of nature.”

“I wish I could live like that too.”

“You know, I think humans would be better people if we lived a little more like them as well. The bigfoot take nothing from nature but what they need. They have no possessions. I’m not a very materialistic person, yet compared to them…” She sighed. “Not everyone will see it that way. And in order to protect the bigfoot, we need to make sure that nobody knows they exist.”

“But they do exist.”

“They do. And they love you, just like you love them. And it doesn’t matter if you can see them or not see them, they will always love you.”

Missy’s voice was small. “What if they forget about me?”

“Oh, honey, I saw how much you mean to them. They will never, ever forget you.”

Fresh tears appeared in Missy’s eyes. “It’s not fair.”

Tess pushed back Missy’s hair. “No. It really isn’t. And sometimes, that’s how life is—unfair.”

“It shouldn’t be that way.”

“No, it shouldn’t.”

Missy lowered her head. Sobs shook her shoulders. Tess rubbed them, and she felt like her own heart was breaking. She hugged Missy to her.

“Go ahead and cry. I’ll be right here.”

CHAPTER 83

S
eth put the car in park just past the cabin. Tyler looked around him with distaste. They were in the middle of nowhere. They’d arrived in town this morning and had learned where Tess Brannick lived as well as a few things about her just by asking around town. But they had wanted to wait until Tess’s brother and brother-in-law were gone before approaching the cabin. Apparently the brother-in law was huge; no need to deal with
that
if they could avoid it.

They’d also learned that Brannick was dating a deputy from in town. But Tyler wasn’t concerned about that. He knew that as soon as he smiled at the poor girl, she’d be putty in his hands.

Seth nudged his chin toward the cabin. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

Tyler took off his seatbelt. “No. I think this little meeting requires the personal touch.”

Seth snorted. “Okay. Good luck.”

“Luck is for amateurs.” Tyler flipped down the visor and inspected his reflection. He pushed his hair a little to the side and smiled.
Perfection
.

He opened the door and stepped out. Dusting off his jeans, he headed for the cabin. An old Labrador lay sleeping on the front porch.

Tyler kept an eye on the dog as he walked up the stairs. For some reason, dogs never seemed to like him. And to be honest, he didn’t really care for the walking flea magnets either. He didn’t trust anything that didn’t fall for his charms.

He knocked on the door, and the dog lifted her head. She rose slowly to her feet and let out a low growl.

“Take it easy,” Tyler said.

The door opened, and Tyler gave a grunt of surprise. He’d been expecting some old gnarled hippie chick. But this woman… well, she was gorgeous in that girl-next-door kind of way. He smiled.
This is going to be easier than I thought.

Tyler went to lean against the doorway, but the Labrador’s snarl stopped him. He glanced warily over at the dog. “Uh, can you call off your dog?”

“No. Who are you?”

Tyler turned back to her, his full-watt smile in place. “Dr. Brannick, I’m Tyler Haven.”

“And?”

Shock flooded him. Was it possible she didn’t know who he was? “From
Bigfoot Must Die
?”

“Oh, I know who you are,” the woman said. “What I don’t know is why you’re standing on my porch.”

“Well, I heard about the young girl you found, and I think it’s important for the world to hear her story.”

Tess laughed. “No, it’s not.” She started to close the door.

Tyler put his foot in the door. “I really think we should talk.”

Tess reached beside the door and pulled up a shotgun. “And I really think you need to leave before I get annoyed, or my dog gets
more
annoyed.”

Tyler took a step back, his hands up. “I think we maybe got off on the wrong foot.”

“I don’t think there’s any way on this earth that you and I could possibly have gotten off on the
right
foot. Now you have thirty seconds to get off my property before I start filling you with holes.”

Tyler pulled up another full-watt smile. “Now, Tess—”

“Twenty-five seconds.”

Tyler narrowed his eyes. “No need to be such a bitch.”

Her eyes hardened. “Ah, so now I’m meeting the
real
Tyler Haven. Get off my porch.”

He backed down the stairs and crossed the dirt drive. Tess stepped out onto the porch, keeping her gun trained on him, her dog at her side.

Tyler didn’t turn his back on her until he reached the car. He ripped the door open and flung himself into the passenger seat.

Seth was trying to hide a grin but completely failing. “So… how’d it go?”

Tyler gritted his teeth. “Shut up and drive.”

CHAPTER 84

T
ess watched Tyler Haven drive away. When he was gone, she let out a breath and began to shake.
Damn it.

“Tess?” Missy called quietly.

Tess whirled around. Missy stood to the side of the door, peering out, her eyes large.

Tess knelt in front of the girl. “It’s okay, honey. Nothing to worry about.” She pulled Missy into the house, and Shelby trotted in as well. Tess shut the door and returned the shotgun to its usual place.

“Who was he?” Missy asked.

Tess knelt down again so she was eye to eye with her. “Just a man who wanted to ask you some questions about where you’ve been.”

Missy’s eyes went large. “Do I have to talk to him?”

Tess shook her head. “No. He’s not a cop, not a social worker. He’s just nosy.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

Tess pulled the girl into her arms. “And you won’t have to. I promise.”

Missy’s next words were muffled into Tess’s shoulder. Tess pulled back. “What was that, honey?”

“Will he come back?”

Tess pictured Tyler’s face—not the fake one he put on for the cameras, but the real one. “No. I think he’s gone,” she said, lying with every word.

CHAPTER 85

D
arkness had started to fall by the time Pax and Shawn returned from town. Tess had called them after Tyler had left to see what they could find out about him and his show.

“Anything?” Tess asked when they arrived.

Pax slumped onto the couch. “Tyler and his producer have been talking to everybody in town about the bigfoot hereabouts, as well as you and Missy.”

Tess shook her head. “Damn it.”

Shawn grabbed himself a water from the fridge, then joined them. “Well, Tyler seems to be rubbing people the wrong way, but his producer is said to be less obnoxious. A few people say they told him about their sightings.”

Tess groaned. “Oh, that’s so not good. So what do you think happens next?”

“Well, it’s a given they’re going to do a show here,” Shawn said. “I don’t see any way of stopping that.”

“Don’t they need permits?” Tess asked.

Pax frowned. “Yes, but the mayor is on their side. And all she can see is tourist dollars.”

Shawn placed his hand on Tess’s shoulder. “Abby said the order of protection should go through tonight. The show won’t be able to come within five hundred feet of you, Missy, or this place.”

Tess looked to the open bedroom door, where Missy lay curled in bed with Shelby. “Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel better.”

“It shouldn’t,” Pax said. “I called some of my friends who are in the industry. Tyler’s a piece of work. He probably thinks this is his ticket. He’s not going to go away quietly.”

Tess sighed. She hated that they had to deal with this idiot when they had so many more important issues to deal with. “Yeah, I have the feeling we haven’t seen the last of Tyler Haven.”

“Did Abby send Carter the notice about the contract?” Shawn asked.

“Yeah, and she assures me it’s airtight. I’ve arranged to pay the money back, so I am officially done with Carter Hayes. At least that’s one headache gone.”

Pax wrapped his arms around Tess, and she leaned her head in to his shoulder. “Well, bright side,” he said, “we won’t have to worry about Carter Hayes anymore.”

Tess pictured the enigmatic businessman. His interest in bigfoot bordered on obsessed. But he would respect her decision, wouldn’t he?

“I hope you’re right,” she said softly.

CHAPTER 86

Scottsdale, Arizona

C
arter listened impatiently to the CEO droning on about the merits of his corporation.
Oh, please.
The man didn’t see the potential in his own company. He kept going with the same old approach his father had gone with. Which in this day and age meant the company would be all but dead in a few short years.

But Carter saw what this oaf could not. He saw that with a few tweaks, this company could lead the way not in circuit chips, but solar. That’s where the future lay.

His phone beeped
.
Results back.

“Mr. Gerund, we’ll have to pick this up at another time.” He disconnected the videophone without waiting for a response. Gerund needed to think Carter was barely interested in him. It would help seal the deal at a much lower rate and with much less bother.

Carter hit the intercom button. “Thaddeus.”

Thaddeus opened the door a few short seconds later and made his way quickly to the desk, a few sheets of paper in his hands. “Here you go, sir.”

Abe had finally managed to snag the sample and had overnighted it. Carter had had it analyzed immediately.

Carter grabbed the results from Thaddeus, and his eyes greedily scanned it. The top half of the page explained the methodology, which Carter ignored. His attention flew to the chart at the bottom of the page. First, the samples the DNA profile had been compared to were listed: brown bear, black bear, human, along with a dozen others. The column on the right indicated that all had been discounted.

Except there was a
similarity
to humans. If he was reading this correctly, that meant this sample came from a creature in the human family, just not a
Homo sapiens
.

Carter flipped to the second page. This page held the more detailed analysis—and it reported exactly what he had been hoping for. The sample matched the family tree of
Homo denisova
. The hair wasn’t from an ape. It wasn’t from a human. It was from something else.

She found them.

Carter looked down at his legs. “She’s done it.”

“Sir?” Thaddeus asked.

“We’re going to need to move fast. Arrange a videoconference with Brannick immediately.”

“Um, sir, she’s canceled the grant.”

Carter’s head whipped up and his eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Well, as I told you, after she went missing for those two weeks, she returned with a little girl. A girl who had herself been missing for over a year.”

“So what?”

“Well, according to Dr. Brannick, she’s going to halt her research in order to spend time with the girl.”

Women and their stupid maternal instincts.
Carter’s voice was hard. “She can’t cancel the grant. We have a contract.”

“Actually, sir, she can. Her lawyer worked wording into the contract that allows her to bow out at any point. She has seven business days to return any funds she’s used.”

“So we have no leverage over her?”

“No, sir. I’m sorry.”

Carter glared. “That is not acceptable.”

“I know, sir. But Abe is still in the area. I can have him speak with her.”

Carter mulled that over. He liked Dr. Brannick. He even respected her. But she had reneged on her word, and that he couldn’t allow.

“Do it. And make sure he convinces her to fulfill her contract—
however
he needs to.”