Should Be Dead (The Valkyrie Smith Mystery Series Book 1) (22 page)

Maddie let the tears flow down her face, but she held back the sobs shaking her chest. It wasn’t over yet. Not by a long shot. She scanned the woods, peering into the shadows, straining to hear every sound the forest made. Odin was out there, somewhere. For all she knew, he might be lying in wait just a few yards away. He might even be sneaking up on her, right now…

The sound of a woman’s scream shattered the silence. Maddie’s breath caught in her chest. She pushed away from the tree, turning slowly, struggling to keep her balance. She waited, breathless, horrified.

Another scream, down the hill. Maddie searched her memory and remembered Frank telling her that this property was part of a land reserve. There was a campground down there somewhere. She saw a dead tree trunk lying nearby, and she stumbled in that direction. Frantically, she searched among the branches for something strong enough to support her weight.

Kaboom!

Maddie flinched at the sound of the shotgun going off. The sound echoed, reverberating noisily off the mountainsides. Odin had shot someone. That had to be what was happening. Odin had stumbled onto someone’s camp. Maddie grabbed at a branch with both hands, pulling with all her strength. A tearful cry escaped her lips as the exertion put pressure on her injury.

The branch snapped, and she reached out to catch herself on another before she fell. Her stomach churned, and she tried not to vomit. She forced herself upright, gasping against the pain, her gaze sliding up and down the slope. Odin had moved downward. That meant she should go up. She should run for the house, as fast as she could. Try to find her cell phone. Maybe, with a little luck, she’d even get a signal…

But Maddie couldn’t do it. She couldn’t let those poor people face Odin alone. Not even if it meant certain death for herself. With a whimper, Maddie put the stick on the ground and shifted her weight. She took one cautious step, and then another…

Chapter 31

At three-thirty a.m., Val and Riley pulled onto Willow Road. It was a narrow, dusty one-lane road that carved a path between the coastal mountains and the southern banks of the Russian River less than a mile from the coast. Trees and the occasional summer cottage lined the way, until Val drove across a cattle guard with a sign designating that they were now on the Sequoia Coastal Preserve. Here, the trees gave way to a broad field of wild grain that stretched off to their left, while the road ahead continued up to the edge of the redwood-studded hills.

“There it is,” Riley said. “There are campgrounds all up and down that hillside. We’re just on the other side of the mountain from the Thatcher house.”

Valkyrie saw a silver SUV parked alongside the road, and the flickering light of a bonfire at the edge of the tree line. She noted the sticker on the vehicle’s bumper that read:
My child was student of the month at Monte Rio Union!

“I hope I’m wrong about this,” she said.

Valkyrie parked before the closed metal gate at the end of the road, behind the SUV. She stepped out of the car and checked her 1911. She cocked the slide, loading a round, and flicked on the safety. Riley observed this and pulled Val’s sawed-off shotgun from behind the seat.

“What’s the plan?” he said in a whisper.

Val stared at the campsite a few hundred yards away. “We don’t want to frighten anyone. Keep that gun out of sight until we’re sure what’s going on. Follow my lead.”

Riley held the shotgun barrel down behind his leg as he walked so no one would see it. They approached the campsite, two soundless shadows slipping through the darkness.

“I see you, Valkyrie!” a voice shouted up ahead.

She cursed under her breath. “I should have known. We gave ourselves away the moment we drove up.”

As they got closer, Valkyrie saw Odin standing just outside of the ring of firelight with his back to a tree. He had a young girl under his arm and a shotgun in his right hand. A man, apparently the girl’s father, was lying on the ground nearby, unconscious or possibly dead. The mother was on her knees with her hands on her head. A second woman hovered at the edge of the darkness. She was nude, swathed in blood and dirt, leaning against a length of tree branch. Blood oozed from a gaping wound on her side.

“Call for help!” the woman shouted in a hysterical shriek. “Call 911!”

Valkyrie narrowed her eyebrows. “Mrs. Thatcher? Maddie? Help is on the way!”

The woman laughed hysterically, her shoulders sagging as the sound of her laughter melted into bitter sobs. She dropped to her knees and began to weep inconsolably. Odin laughed. Valkyrie drew her pistol as she entered the campsite and leveled her sights on Odin’s forehead. Riley hovered off to her right, brandishing the shotgun. He couldn’t bring himself to point it in the girl’s direction.

“Drop it, Odin,” Val said. “Let the girl go.”

Odin responded by lifting the girl off the ground, holding her up in front of him as a shield. “At last, my ring of shield-maidens is complete. This makes four of you. What a gathering! What a legend we’ll make! Except for him, of course.” Odin leveled the shotgun at Riley, who appeared to be trying not to hyperventilate. “Can’t have any other wannabe gods lurking around my harem!”

“You’re not thinking clearly,” Val said. “The second you pull that trigger, you’re dead. You need two hands to reload that shotgun, and there is no way I’m going to let that happen.”

Odin stared at her, sucking his teeth. “Then maybe I should kill you,” he said, swinging the shotgun in her direction.

“Go ahead. As soon as you pull that trigger, Riley will kill you. A few minutes after that, the cops will be here. I can promise you one thing, Odin: I’ll stay alive long enough to watch you die.”

Odin considered this. He glanced between Riley and Valkyrie, and his gaze fell to the mother. “Give me your car keys,” he said.

“If you promise to leave her,” the woman implored. “Don’t take my little girl!”

Odin took a step closer, bringing the end of the barrel up to the woman’s forehead. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Give me your keys, or I’ll blow your head off and then find them myself.”

The woman glanced helplessly at Valkyrie. Val nodded. “Go ahead,” she said. “Give him your keys. It will be okay.”

The woman crawled to her feet and disappeared inside the tent. She returned a few seconds later with a keyring, which she handed to Odin. He snatched the keys out of her hand and took a few backward steps around the campsite, circling towards the road, dragging the girl with his left arm.

“Mommy,” she said in a pleading voice.

“Let her go! Let her go, you promised!”

“Quiet!” Odin shouted. He gave the girl an angry shake. “Quiet or I’ll kill every last one of you!”

Val turned slowly, following him with her sights as Odin hauled the girl down the trail to the road.

“Why?” the girl’s mother shouted at Val. “Why did you say to give him the keys? Now he’s going to take my baby!”

The woman lunged at Valkyrie. Val took a step sideways, lowering her pistol. Riley dropped the shotgun and leaped forward, catching the woman around the shoulders. She tried to fight free of him, but Riley held her firm. The struggle lasted only a few seconds. When she realized it was futile, the woman began weeping into the cradle of his arm.

“I’m sorry,” Val said. “I promise you, he won’t get far.” She turned her attention to Riley. “Take care of them until the sheriff gets here. Do you know CPR?”

“Don’t worry,” Riley said. As an afterthought added, “Give me your jacket.” Val took it off. She tossed it to him and then hurried after Odin.

Odin had already made it fifty yards down the trail with his hostage kicking and screaming in his arms. The killer whispered something into her ear, and the girl went calm. Val hurried after them, closing the distance as Odin reached the road. He pressed the button on the key ring, unlocking the vehicle, and then circled around the front, purposefully keeping the SUV between himself and Valkyrie.

Odin yanked open the driver’s door, tossed the girl inside, and then climbed in after her. Val kept her sights trained on him the entire time, but never managed to get a clear shot. Odin was too clever for that. The headlights came on, and Val waited off the side of road, unwilling to give Odin the chance to run her over. As Odin slammed the SUV into gear and circled round to leave the area, Valkyrie made a dash for her car. She wasn’t much of a runner, but she could move surprisingly fast when it was necessary. Her back would scream at her later, but she was willing to make that sacrifice.

Valkyrie climbed into the Packard and tossed her cane into the passenger seat. She hit the starter and made an awkward three-point turn in the narrow road. By the time she had completed her turn, Odin had gained a considerable lead on her. Val stomped on the accelerator and gravel flew as the Packard’s V-12 roared to life. The old car flew down the road, a cloud of dust billowing up in the vehicle’s wake.

As Val rounded an outside corner, she caught a glimpse of Odin’s taillights up ahead. The vehicle was flying down the road. The SUV was built for this sort of driving, with automatic four-wheel drive traction control and oversized off-road tires. Odin managed to keep the wheels on the road even on the sharpest turns, almost to the point of defying the laws of physics. Val couldn’t gain on him; in fact she was hard pressed just to maintain a consistent distance. The Packard had a powerful engine and a stable low profile, but gravel was not the ideal terrain. Every corner she took threatened to send her spiraling off the road, or even into the river.

A mile from the campground, Odin took a right at the end of Willow Lane and pulled onto Highway 1. He crossed the bridge and merged right, following 116 east towards Stumptown. As Val pulled onto the highway, she could see the fleeing SUV on the other side of the river, moving east. She was back on pavement now, and it was time to let the road work in her favor. She gunned the engine.

As she flew across the bridge, Val activated the speakerphone and directed it to call Matt. His voice cracked with sleepiness as he answered. He cleared his throat.

“This better be important,” he grumbled.

Val quickly informed him of everything that had happened. “Odin’s heading east on One-sixteen,” she said. “I can’t call the sheriff. He won’t trust me.”

“I’ll call,” Matt said. “Just give me a sec.”

Val slammed on the brakes, skidding into a hairpin curve. The tires squealed as the car floated around the corner, and the rear end kicked up rocks as the tires hit the shoulder.

“Are you all right?” Matt said.

“I’m fine.”

“Okay, I called an anonymous tip to the sheriff’s dispatch. I also told her about the campground. I assume this sheriff can put two and two together?”

“He’ll get it,” Val said. “I just hope he can get here in time. Odin is driving like a maniac. I’m worried about what might happen to that poor little girl if he wrecks. I promised to get her back safe.”

“What’s he driving?”

“I don’t know. Some type of SUV, one of the little ones.”

“You mean crossover? Is it GM?”

“I guess. I’m not sure about the make or model.”

“Can you get me a license plate number?”

“Give me a minute.” Val clenched her jaw and floored it as she came out of another corner. For a few seconds, the road opened up. The Packard accelerated up to eighty miles per hour in the short span, and then Val had to slam on the brakes again.

As she flew around the next corner, the Packard drifted into the oncoming lane. As luck would have it, a vehicle appeared heading straight for her. Val swerved, and the other car’s horn blared as the driver veered onto the shoulder of the road. Val’s tires screeched. Her rear-end fishtailed as she struggled to maintain control. She turned into the skid, teasing the brakes, and eased the Packard back into her lane.

“That was close,” she mumbled.

“Be careful, Val. You won’t do that girl any favors by running off the road.”

“You don’t have to remind me. Is Diekmann on his way? I don’t have my scanner on.”

Matt was quiet for a moment as he checked his computer. “It looks like Diekmann is in Bodega Bay, headed north.”

“He must have been looking for me at the hotel,” Val said. “Is he going to the campground?”

“I think so. An ambulance is on the way, too. And they’ve issued an alert for the SUV. Hang on a sec…”

At last, the road straightened out heading into Stumptown. Val roared past a 25mph speed limit sign doing seventy. Up ahead, the stop light at the center of town turned red. Val laid on the horn to alert anyone who might be in the area, and then flew through the intersection, still accelerating. The taillights of the SUV came into view. Valkyrie realized that she’d closed the distance to a quarter mile.

Odin saw her coming up on him, and jumped into the oncoming lane, swerving around a slow-moving truck. Valkyrie tensed up and gripped the wheel as she followed him. As she came around the truck, an oncoming car appeared around the corner up ahead. Val stomped on the accelerator, and the tires chirped as the propulsion threw her back against the seat. The Packard put on a burst of speed and Val swerved back into her own lane with inches to spare. She forced herself to breathe as her heart hammered in her chest.

Matt returned:

“Val, they’re forming a roadblock just outside Forestville!”

“Perfect. That’s just a few miles ahead. I’m right on his tail.”

“What’s he driving?”

“It’s a GMC… I think it says
Acadia.
The plate says
EXC4U.”

“Stay on him; I might be able to help.”

The two vehicles flew through the small town of Rio Nido in about half a second. It was little more than a housing development on the side of the road, directly across from the Russian River. After taking a sharp inside turn, the road opened up into a long gentle sweep to the right. Half a mile ahead, Valkyrie saw the lights of Korbel Winery flashing through the trees. Just beyond, the glow of police lights at the roadblock. She waited for an oncoming car to pass and then accelerated, swinging into the other lane, trying to bring herself even with the SUV. Odin saw her coming and swerved to the left, cutting her off.