Murder in the Devil's Cauldron (55 page)

"Good." The woman released her arm. "Now get
going." Then she strode away.

Starr only paused for a second. Now she knew
she'd never get to come back to Storm Point. She looked at the
dreamcatcher, feeling her heart shred. Then she was fumbling with
the lock on the door of the cabin. To be safe, she locked the door
behind her, then ran into her bedroom. Most of her clothes were in
the suitcase, so it was easy to get to the trap door. She reached
into the camera bag and pulled out the extra roll of film. She
couldn't give Fowler the real one because Fae had it. But he didn't
know that.

She twisted it until the end disappeared into
the canister so he would think it had been exposed, then stuffed
the film in her pocket and closed the trap door.

In the kitchen, she pulled a Ziploc bag out
and put the film inside. She stepped back out on the porch, hoping
her mother hadn't come early, but the coast was clear. Then she was
running down the path towards Fae's house, hoping Fae hadn't left
for Ruby Cove yet.

After giving the girl the message, Viv hopped
back in the SUV and Fowler drove back up the road to the
Enchantment River State Park. As they pulled into the parking area
by the trail, a sheriff's patrol car whizzed by. Fowler waited
until it was gone before getting out.

"What if she goes for help?" Viv asked.

"She won't. There isn't time. She'll be lucky
to get here in time." He gave her a wolfish grin. "Besides, she's a
kid. She'll figure that if she gives me the film, she'll get her
friend back. She knows the sheriff didn't believe her after your
performance. I'm betting her friend is more important than proving
she's right."

"And if you're wrong?"

"I'm not." He pocketed the keys.

"You don't trust me?" Viv asked.

"The way this week has gone," Fowler said. "I
wouldn’t trust the pope to give mass."

He checked his pockets to make sure he had
everything. "This shouldn't take long. Why don't you get in the
driver's seat so we can take off as soon as I get back."

Viv came around. "You're not going to do
anything to bring the heat down on us, are you?"

"Like what?"

"Like toss the kid in the river?"

"I'd like to, all the trouble she's caused
me." Fowler didn't tell her that was exactly what he planned on
doing.

Viv got in the SUV. "Just make it quick so we
can get out of here. I've already seen more cops this morning than
I have all month. It's giving me the willies."

He checked his watch. "Thirty minutes
max."

Shortly after Fae passed Ruby Cove, it
started drizzling. She flipped on her wipers and slowed. This was
the first time it had rained in over a month and the roads were
likely to be slick. Before the accident, she hadn't thought much of
it. Now, though, each curve seemed fraught with danger and she
found herself wishing the rain had held off until she had gotten
back to Ruby Cove. While the accident had taken place just south of
Split Rock, the terrain here was similar enough to conjure
nightmares.

It didn't take long for her back and neck to
tense up and by the time Fae reached the camera shop, the pain in
her back was so intense she was ready to scream. She parked in
front of the shop and took one of the pain pills, hoping that since
she hadn't yet eaten, it would go to work quickly.

She popped her umbrella open and then got out
of the car, only then noticing Marc standing in the door.
Thankfully, it was only a few steps away and she was inside before
she had a chance to even get damp.

"Looks like it's going to be a good one," he
observed.

"Sure does. Not a day I want to be outside
that's for sure," Fae replied. "Thanks again for doing this."

He handed her two boxes of film. "You have
any idea what these are pictures of?" he asked.

"You looked at them?"

"Sure did. Have to cut them to put 'em in the
slide mounts, can't help but see what's on 'em."

"And?"

"There're two kinds of images here. I split
them up 'cause I figured that's what you'd want. "

He held up the first box. "Usual kinds of
pictures you see up here. Landscapes, close-ups, stuff like
that."

He handed it to Fae and then held up the
second box. "Now
this
box has a completely different kind of
picture. Guess you already knew that, though."

Fae nodded.

"Hmph. My guess is you'll find it fairly
interesting."

Fae smiled. "I'm very happy to hear that,"
she said, tucking the two boxes in her purse.

"Want me to put it on an invoice?"

"That'd be great, Marc." Fae pushed open the
door. "Thanks again."

He waved as she got back in her car and drove
back to Ruby Cove. She couldn't wait to see what Starr had gotten
pictures of.

Starr burst through the last of the trees and
into the clearing.

Fae's garage was empty.

Her breath coming hard, she bent over and put
her hands on her knees as she sucked in great gasps of air. She had
really been counting on Fae still being there, so the
disappointment at seeing the empty garage was a blow. After a
minute, her breathing eased. Starr straightened and jogged up the
driveway to the highway.

Fortunately, the highway was clear and Starr
sprinted across. She glanced at her watch as she got to the other
side. She still had twelve minutes.

She would lose a little time climbing the
hill, but once she got on the Superior Hiking Trail, she could run
flat out and make up it up. Thank goodness she had been this way
with Charlie before, Starr thought as she threaded her way along
the twisty path. This route was much shorter than going along the
shore.

The drizzle that had turned her hair to damp
strings on her run to Fae's didn't reach through the thick tree
branches and Starr was able to get to the top of the hill easily.
As she came out of the trees, she left the hood of the poncho down
so she could see. Her hair was already damp, so she pulled a rubber
band out of her pocket and tied her hair back to keep it out of her
eyes.

She checked her watch. Six minutes to go.

Starr started running.

By the time Fae got to Ruby Cove, the pain
had receded to a manageable level and she was looking forward to
breakfast and finding out what was on the slides.

She parked next to the Café and popped in
briefly to let Bea know she was going to take the big table in back
and would be back in a few minutes.

"Okey dokey," Bea said. "I'll take care of
it. You'll want some pots of coffee, I imagine."

"We will. I'll be getting breakfast, but I'll
bet the others will want some of your homemade coffee cake."

"If Mike is coming, then you can count on
that."

"I think he is," Fae grinned.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Be right back." Fae went across to the
sheriff's station and walked into much the same madhouse it had
been when she had left last night. She wormed her way through the
forest of really big guys. Looked almost as if half the law
enforcement north of Duluth had turned out. Eventually, though, she
tracked Mike down in the tiny back conference room going over a map
with a couple of deputies.

"Any sight of him?" she asked.

"It'd sure help if we knew what the heck he
was driving," the sheriff said.

"Don't forget, these two are professional con
artists," Fae reminded him. "They could look completely different
by now."

"Got another call from that woman at the
Lodge," someone yelled from near the door.

Thompson sighed loudly. "Any word from
Hartman? Anyone?

"What's that all about?" Fae asked.

"Just trying to track down one of the
deputies from last night," the sheriff said dismissively. "Poor guy
was up half the night and probably turned off the phone to catch a
little sleep." He looked over the heads of the others in the room
as he called out. "Send someone over to Hartman's and wake him up.
I need to get that woman off my back."

"I have some film that might be interesting,"
she told him. "I'm going to Ole and Lena's for some breakfast and
to check it out."

He turned back to Fae. "You going to have any
coffee set up over at the diner?"

"A couple of pots.
And
coffee cake,"
Fae said.

"I'll be over as soon as I finish making sure
all these spots are getting covered." The sheriff turned his
attention back to the map that covered most of the desk.

Fae made her way back to Ole and Lena's and
sat gratefully on the padded seat. Bea had already delivered a
stack of sturdy blue mugs decorated with loons, along with a couple
of pots of coffee. Fae helped herself, sighing in well-deserved
satisfaction as the first mouthful of hot coffee went down.

Once she felt human again, she pulled the box
of slides out of her purse and opened it.

As Starr ran, she tried to remember the
landmarks Charlie had told her to look for. They hadn't gone in
this direction before and the stumps and boulders suddenly all
looked alike.

Light rain continued to fall, soaking leaves
and rock, turning their colors vivid. The Superior Hiking Trail
began taking on an other worldly aspect, as if a different place of
color and feel was hidden behind the usual cloak of pine needles
and birch bark.

Three minutes left.

The trail curved off to the left and started
uphill.

She thought the path to the bridge had been
around here, but she couldn't see it anywhere. She might be able to
find it if she stopped, but there wasn't time.

She looked at her watch. Two minutes to
go.

She ran up the Hiking Trail as fast as she
could until she got to where it crossed the river. The main trail
along the river beckoned like a welcome lighthouse and Starr made
the turn and went down as fast as she could.

She didn't dare look at her watch. She knew
it was going to be close.

As Starr raced down the trail, the dull snarl
of the river ran alongside like a renegade wolf.

Before Fae had a chance to look at the
slides, she saw Bailey enter the cafe and she waved him over.

"So where are we on this?"

"Have some coffee," Fae said and pushed a cup
at him. The loon on this one had a baby loon on its back as it
coasted on one of the ten thousand plus Minnesota lakes.

"That doesn't sound good," Bailey observed as
he filled the cup with coffee and settled back in the seat.

Fae waited until he had his coffee and then
told him how they had tracked Fowler down to a dumpy motel up in
Hjalmar Falls. "The worst part," Fae said. "Is that I think we were
really close. Someone said they saw his partner hanging around the
bar right before we got there."

"So where do you think they went?"

She shook her head. "I have no idea at this
point. Could have broken in somewhere so they didn't have to
register. Could have snatched a motorhome at one of the ten
thousand campsites up here and holed up in that. Could have gotten
a private rental. That's easy enough. Take your pick." Fae picked
at her coffee cake. "But it doesn't matter," she added with a sly
grin. Then she explained how they were going to catch him.

Bailey grinned. After a big bite of coffee
cake, he looked at her quizzically. "Why's he still up here? He
knows we're looking for him."

Fae grinned. "He's trying to get the film. He
doesn't know we already have it." She waved the box at him.

"Are they good?"

"I haven't had a chance to see them yet. But
the guy at the camera shop said they were."

"Well, let's see them," Bailey said, sounding
like a six year old on Christmas morning.

Just then the sheriff came in trailing a
crowd of brown and blue clad troopers.

Starr skidded to a stop as she reached the
trail that crossed the little bridge.

Fowler was standing on the far end of the
bridge.

Starr stepped onto the bridge and then
stopped. She wiped the rain off her face.

"Where is it?" he asked.

She dug in her pocket and pulled out the bag
with the film inside. She held it up by one corner so he could see
it.

He grinned at her, making Starr legs feel as
if they were suddenly going to give way.

"Bring it over."

"Where's Charlie?"

He held up a rope. "Look down."

Starr looked, but the rope disappeared under
the bridge. She stepped closer, keeping one eye on Fowler. Just
past the middle of the bridge, she was able to see over the side of
the bridge and saw Charlie sitting on a narrow spit of sand where
the river turned. She was holding her right arm and had dark
circles under her eyes.

Starr looked up the river and realized that
Charlie was in the chute and the only way out was up the cliff.

She looked back at Fowler.

"Give me the bag and I'll give you the
rope."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Now
that she was here, Starr realized she had no idea what to do.

"You can't hurt me once I have the film, so
why wouldn't I?" He pointed at the sky. "Besides, you don't have
much time. You're not going to have much time to get her out once
the storm starts and it's already started raining. So I suggest you
give me the film and then you can help your friend."