Caching Out (24 page)

 “You
go with me, Em,” Tate barked without hesitation. “How about I call Reva and see
if she can help us out?  She’s a seasoned cacher and she’s seen this mystery
coin before. I think she’d be willing to help us out if it means that we catch
Saralyn’s killer.”

Tate
dialed Reva’s number and she answered on the second ring. Explaining the
situation to her as briefly as possible, Tate then said, “Thanks, Reva. Chad
Green will be by to pick you up in about fifteen minutes and he’ll explain more
about our plan to you then.”

Agreeing
that each team would take three of the six caches on their ‘most likely’ list,
Tate loaded three into Walt’s GPS and  highlighted the other three on Emma’s cell
phone. Tate and Martin watched as Emma explained to Chad how to use the GPS and
some of the general rules of geocaching.  

Looking
like he’d just lost his best friend, Martin asked, “So what can I do to help
without actually going out to look for caches?”

            Emma
placed a reassuring hand on his arm. “We need to you be our acting command
central. After each find, we’ll call in and report back to you. You’ll know
where each team is, and if we find the coin.” She turned to Chad, “If you and
Reva find the coin, you are to leave it, understood?  We can’t have a private
citizen calling our killer out. If you find it, leave the coin there and call
me and Tate with the coordinates so that we can go and retrieve it.

 “Last
thing before we go,” Tate added, “remember that you’re just a hiker out for fun
today. Act excited when you find the cache, laugh or something, maybe even hold
hands. You know, make it look real. If the bastard is watching we don’t want to
tip him off in any way.”

Pushing
the GPS into his jacket pocket, Chad nodded. “You can count on me, Chief. We’re
going to find this killer and pull the plug before anyone else gets hurt.”

CHAPTER 35

Twenty
minutes later, Chad drove into Miller’s Haven following the directions Tate had
given him, and found Reva’s house without any problems. She was sitting on the
steps when he pulled into the driveway and stood when she saw his blue truck
turning in. Once Chad stopped, Reva opened the passenger side door and jumped
in. Glancing over at her, Chad thought she looked tense. “You sure you’re up for
this?”

Reva
hesitated a minute before saying, “I am definitely up to this, Chad. If I can
help you guys catch Saralyn’s killer, then I am with you all the way.”

Grinning,
Chad looked over his shoulder as he backed out of the drive. He reached into
his jacket pocket and pulled the GPS out tossing it on the seat between them. “Tate
already loaded the coordinates into the GPS and I know the general area for the
three caches we’re responsible for.”

Smiling
for the first time, Reva said, “Let’s do this!”

Once
Tate entered White’s Lodge Resort, Emma fed him directions until they had to
park and finish the hunt on foot. Walking along the pine covered trail, Tate
reached out and took Emma’s hand giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Today’s
the day, Em. We’re going to nail this bastard and put an end to this nightmare.”

Smiling
up at him, Emma gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Feels like old times
doesn’t it?  You and me out to rid the world of one more sick killer.”

Tate
grinned and picked up the pace as the beeping of the GPS became more insistent.
“Must be about there. Did this one have a clue?”

Emma
shook her head. “Not really a clue, but the directions did say that you don’t
have to cross the fence, so I’m thinking that if there’s a fence it must be on
or near it. GPS says we need to go about fifteen feet further.”

A
few seconds later the hand held device stopped beeping and a robotic voice said
‘you have reached your destination. Letting go of Emma’s hand, Tate moved
toward a barbed wire fence marking the boundary of the lodge property. “Okay, Em,
move a little up and down the fence line to see if the directional arrow
changes.”

Taking
a few steps along the fence line, Emma turned around and stopped. “Don’t think
I need to go any further.” She pushed some leaves away from a metal fence post
and reached behind it, pulling a green ammunition container from a shallow
resting place under the leaves. “Not very well hidden.” 

Squatting
next to the container, Tate slipped the clasp open and pulled the top back so
that they could see inside. “Damn, it’s not here.” Closing the container, Tate
pushed it back into the shallow indention and covered it with leaves. Glancing
up at Emma he said, “Don’t look so disappointed, Em. We’ve still got two to go.”

Tate
and Emma retraced their steps to the car and got in. Turning up the air conditioner,
Emma pulled her hair back and let the cool air blow in her face. “For spring in
South Dakota, it sure is hot out today. So, which cache do you want to do
next?”

“Load
the one off County Road 17, that’s the closest one to here.”  Pulling his cell
phone from his shirt pocket Tate handed it to Emma. “Why don’t you give Martin
a call and let him know to cross this one off the list.”

Emma
dialed Martin’s number and waited while the call connected.

“Crawley
here. That you Tate?” 

“No
Martin, it’s Emma. Tate is driving. You can cross the first White’s Lake cache
off our list. No coin there. Have you heard from Chad and Reva yet?”

“Just
got off the phone with Chad. They didn’t have any luck with their first one
either. They’re on the way to their second cache site, too. I sure hope one of
you find it soon and we don’t have to widen the search to pull in more cache
sites.”

“Don’t
worry Martin, we’ll find the coin and I’m certain that it’s going to be at one
of the six sites we’ve targeted. If not, then we just have to open the search
up further and maybe even pull in more help if we run short on time. I fully
intend to have that coin in my hand before the day’s end.”

Disconnecting
the call, Emma turned to Tate, “Chad and Reva came up empty handed with their
first pick too.”

Tate
frowned, “I heard what you told Martin and I appreciate all that you’ve done to
help us with this case, especially since you’re working off the grid and could
possibly lose your job if this gets out, but there is no way in hell that you’re
walking away from a cache site with that damned coin in your hand. I won’t let
you make a target of yourself that way.”

Opening
her mouth to argue, Emma stopped when Tate raised his hand. “I know what you’re
going to say and you can just save it. Nobody but me walks away with that coin.
Nobody.”

Staring
at him, Emma watched his hands tighten on the steering wheel, his knuckles
turning white. His posture pretty much said it all. The muscle ticking on his
jaw, the eyes straight ahead. Oh yeah, she’d seen that look before. With a sigh
she turned and stared out the passenger side window. Some things just don’t
change, no matter how much you want them to, she thought. Anger bubbled up from
somewhere deep within her, from the place she’d buried it when they’d divorced.
Well, she wasn’t married to him now, and she didn’t have to hold her feelings
inside any more. “Tate, pull over.”

Tate
recognized the look.
Oh shit, here it comes,
he thought. Steering the
car to the side of the road, he eased to a stop and pushed the gearshift into park.
Might as well get it over with
, he thought and turned to face her
without saying a word.

“Tate
Echo, I have never met a more stubborn man in my entire life!  Comments like
that last one make me want to pull my service revolver and just shoot some
sense into you or put you out of my misery, whichever comes first!  I am a
trained agent for the damn Federal Bureau of Investigation and I am perfectly
capable of handling myself without any advice or protection from you. In case
you don’t remember, comments just like that one that caused our divor….”

Before
she could say another word Tate hauled her against his chest and covered her
mouth with his own in a punishing kiss, his tongue exploring her mouth in a
violent dance that commanded her senses. Breaking the kiss, Tate leaned back
against the seat of the car, struggling to get his breath under control.

Staring
at Emma’s flushed and confused face he said, “And that, Emma, is a big part of
why we got married in the first place.” 

Starting
the car, Tate punched the gas pedal. He jerked the wheel moving the SUV back
onto the road, behind them a spray of loose gravel peppered the dirt.

Staring
straight ahead, Emma fought to regain her composure and her own breath. Damn
that man could kiss, now if she could just yank out his vocal cords he’d be
perfect!  The GPS broke their silence, instructing them to turn right at the
next intersection.

Grabbing
her phone from the console, Emma stared at the device. “Two miles further then
we have to walk.”

Passing
a large, white, frame farmhouse with dark green shutters, Tate pointed, “That’s
Walt Mabry’s house. I expect that Jewel will eventually put it on the market,
she has a house just outside of town herself.”

Turning
in her seat and catching a glance of the house as they passed Emma whispered, “Maybe
not. That’s all she has left of her dad now.”

            “How
much further?” Tate asked.

“Just
over a mile.”

Instructing
Tate to pull over, Emma watched as he maneuvered the car as far off the road as
he could. “Try to look happy, Em. We’re supposed to be having fun here. You
know he’s watching.” Taking her hand, Tate looked at the GPS then pulled Emma
along as he cut through high weeds on the roadside. Following the directions,
they walked side-by-side still holding hands.

Pulling
on Tate’s arm, Emma held the GPS up to him. “We need to cut to the right here.”

Tate
stepped over a fallen tree and looked around at the landmarks, then at the sun
hanging high in the mid-day sky. “We’re almost back to Walt’s property line. Surely
it’s not hidden on his land.”

Stopping,
Emma turned to him. “It’s going to be here, I just know it. This human time bomb
thought it would be funny to hide his cache on the property of his last
victim.”

Stepping
up the pace, Emma took the lead as they walked single file through the wooded
area. The dense trees offered a respite from the sun’s hot rays, but the native
white rock littering the ground slowed their progress. Stopping, Emma consulted
the GPS and whispered to Tate. “No more police talk, Chief. We’re just two
cachers out for fun from here on out. The cache is about a hundred feet
straight ahead.”

Tate
pointed, “The fence running here is Walt’s fence. I can actually see the top of
his shop building from here.”

Turning
to look in the direction Tate pointed, Emma nodded. “Here we go, Tate. This is it.”

Forty
feet later, Tate pulled Emma close and planted a quick kiss on her lips. A
little more loudly than necessary he said, “Bet I find it before you do!”

With
a grin Emma dared, “So what do I get if I find it first?”

Swatting
her on the butt and snatching the GPS from her hand, Tate laughed, “No need to
set the stakes, because this cache is all mine babe.”

Separating,
Tate and Emma scanned the area looking for the hidden cache.

 “I
found it!” Emma shouted.

Pulling
a small round metal container from under a pile of rocks stacked against a
fallen tree, Emma held it up as Tate walked to where she was kneeling.

Dropping
down he said, “Open it up, Em, let’s see what’s in it.”

Pulling
the top off the container, Emma removed a small wire bound tablet first and
sitting it aside peered into the container. She reached to the bottom of the
container and pulled out the coin. Knowing that they could be on camera she
held the coin skyward between her thumb and forefinger before speaking, “Check
this out. Think it’s some kind of travel bug or Cache Coin?” 

Tate
wanted to scream.
I told her not to touch that damn coin
. Reaching to
take the token from Emma he was surprised when she jerked away from him jamming
the coin into her front jeans pocket and laughed. “You’re not taking my
treasure, Hun! I found it fair and square and I’m the winner so now tell me
what my reward is.”

Knowing
how angry Tate was with her, Emma moved closer to him and wrapped her arms
around his neck. Standing on tip toes she pushed her lips against his and
quietly murmured, “Don’t blow this Tate. It may be our only shot.”

Growling
under his breath, Tate pulled her closer, covering her mouth with his in a toe
curling kiss that turned hungry in an instant.

Emma
swore. This was getting to be a real habit with the two of them, but right now
she didn’t care. Maybe he was punishing her for taking the coin. No, if that
were the case then he’d be punishing them both. Pulling her lips from his and
hugging him tightly, her mouth against his ear she whispered, “You trying to
give our killer a jumpstart or what?”