Ms. Got Rocks (16 page)

Making a mental note to call next week and see what he had in mind, she hoped it was permanent and soon. Her leg and ribs would be healed enough by next week to allow her to earn flying money.

Rocky did something that she hated to see people do, she pushed her cart around to another aisle and unloaded all the climbing equipment onto the shelf. Feeling incredibly guilty, she walked back to the counter and purchased the night vision scope and the NyQuil. There wasn’t enough energy in her to replace all the rope and climbing gear back in its proper place.

“I’ll make it up to the sporting goods department some other day,” Rocky whispered to herself in the checkout line. “I must be getting delirious.”

With the prospect of a flying job, Rocky drove to MacPawn's in Applegate to look at used cameras. She knew she shouldn’t do this. The painkillers helped her justifies it, nevertheless. 

“If I’m going to be flying I’m going to get air to ground shots, at least of my old place.”

Rocky never dreamed there would be this array of cameras in a pawnshop. Every make, model, and type. The cases were full of digital cameras and they were much too pricey for her right now. Mr. MacPawn was right there at the camera counter, he beamed when she asked for an older single lens reflex camera. Taking her elbow, they moved to another corner of the store, where the older type cameras are out of the way of the new digital stock.

There sat a beauty of an older model Minolta; MacPawn wanted a big price for such an old camera. Not that it was not worth it; it was built like an industrial strength version of the one she bought a few days before.

Rocky fell in love with it and she would have that old gem of a camera, she knew she would.

The MacPawn man gave her a short tour of the camera and developing equipment. A person could stock a darkroom with excellent quality equipment for a song.

There wasn’t even enough money to croak, much less sing that song. Rocky left without the camera love of her life, but bursting with ideas for the darkroom to be.

Later, back at the cabin, Rocky took a full dose of NyQuil, and while that was getting around her blood stream; she let the dogs out for a constitutional. Locking the doors, she showered off the cold chills and hot sweats.

The dogs were back in the cabin. Rocky flopped her body into the old bed and soon the three of them were sound asleep through the hot summer day.

Thirsty and hungry, the alarm clock was on four. But four what? Rocky rolled over and there was sunshine, that must mean four in the afternoon, maybe even in the same day. Rocky slept for five hours and she felt infinitely better. She rustled up some food and a pot of coffee.

Driving the truck down to the mailbox at the bottom of the meadow knocked her out. There was a check for the photos she sent weeks ago to the National Touring Magazine. A significant check, a check that will almost cover the cost of the NyQuil and the night scope.

“Wow, that made my day a lot better,” Rocky said to the dogs waiting for her to drive the return trip.

As she drove back up the driveway, she concocted plans on how to set up an observation post.

Darkness was falling. Rocky had the equipment set, and took another little nap. Her leg was pounding like a son of a gun. She brewed a big pot of strong Irish tea while the dogs returned from the last daylight inspection of the yard. Everything had been quiet all day.

Her body ached like the fires of hell were raging in there.

“I can sit all night and rest,” she said aloud to the absent Margie, She Who Guards Health.

Rocky rigged the rifle scope to the camera tripod; she found a slide type adapter that would work and wrapping a layer of duct tape around it did not hurt a thing. The other tripod will hold the 35-millimeter camera with the telephoto lens. Cutting two small holes in the curtain over the window allowed the scope barrel and the telephoto lens barrel to poke through. It didn’t look too stupid, if you were far enough away.

Aiming the equipment the best she could, it was sighted on the portion of the rock Rocky thought she saw the flashes. Now there was the waiting.

Leaving the lights on until her usual bedtime, Rocky used that time to finish the booby trap she made for the front door. It may not hurt anyone coming in, but it would make enough noise that she would know there was someone inside the house with her.

At ten thirty, it was lights out, and the four friends moved into the kitchen and began the vigil. Rocky was beginning to think that maybe she might be a little bit paranoid. Delete maybe, she was being paranoid and she planned to revel in it and be safe.

Feeling sure that her camera would not get images at night without special equipment, even using the slowest shutter speed, she nevertheless set up her spy station.

*   *   *

“Devlin, I’ve been watching every night for three nights, and I know that someone was there,” Rocky told him.

“Okay, okay, Rocky keep your britches on, we can go across the old Myerson place and get up the back side of the butte and then across the top. We can go around to the east side and go up the rock that way. It is a lot safer and easier than attacking that mountain of rock from our yard.” Devlin was doing instant planning for them.

“That sounds great, I think my cold is pretty much better, my ribs are okay for the walk, and I should be able to do that,” she grabbed the Kleenex and blew her nose with a funny honk.“I want to get this resolved soon, Dev, because sitting up all night and sleeping in the day I’m not getting any dredging done. I’m not getting any gold, and I’m not getting in any flying and I’m not getting pictures shot.”

“Sounds like you aren’t getting much done except getting angry,” Dev was joshing her.

Margie was cutting up the sandwiches and piped in.

“You aren‘t supposed to be dredging anyway, pictures okay, but no rock throwing. What are you two planning to do when you find out who the stalker is?”

“I didn’t plan on doing anything. I mean, I guess I didn’t plan on doing anything. What do you think Dev?” Rocky helped herself to the meatloaf sandwich and looked to Devlin.

“Hadn’t thought that far ahead, girls,” Dev was grinning at his family. “But what is the point of going through this entire riga-ma-role, to find out who or what is there and then not doing something about it?”

Devlin was not fooling them with that nonsense that he had not thought it through. Rocky’s big brother had a plan; he was just not letting them in on it, yet.

“Before you two go marching cross country like Sherman through Georgia, I think you should call in the Sheriff and let him do the investigation, not you two amateurs,” Margie was looking at them with a big frown on her lovely face.

“What, just what, am I supposed to say to the Sheriff, I think that four nights ago someone was up on a two hundred foot rock face, peeking in my windows. And, when they left they couldn’t get their truck started. I know they were there ’cause my dogs barked,” Rocky was tired and sick enough to be testy.

“No, Margie, somehow I do not like the way that sounds,” said Dev.

“Okay, you guys, but if you think you are going to have all the fun yourselves, you have another think coming. I’m going with you,” Margie was grinning from ear to ear now, and it was like the days fresh out of college. Margie could get them into more trouble in less time, than anyone Rocky and Devlin had ever known.

They may not find the bad guys, but guaranteed they would have fun. They were off to Myersons’ field. As they bounced over the back road in Margie’s SUV, Rocky was asking herself what she wanted to do after this. That would have to depend on who was spying on her.

If it was kids climbing up there to do what kids do, then Rocky wouldn't do anything. She could post it with a “No Trespassing” sign at the top and bottom. That was a good idea for her protection in any event, her Father should have done that years ago.

If it looked like something else, well, Rocky did not know. It would be safer to call in the authorities, but they have much more important things to do than chase someone off the rock.

Later, they were all puffing out their cheeks and winded. The climb to the top of the rock from the Myerson's property side, was not the piece of cake it looked to be. The top of that rock was flat and covered with spongy moss and lichens. There was a terrific view of the cabin, river and her claim from up there. They could see what a junkyard she lived in, but blotting out all that stuff the home acres were pretty.

Devlin was like a human bloodhound. He was looking over every square inch of the monolith.

“Rocky, come over here and get some pictures of this area here. It has definitely been sat on or laid on. These  mosses and lichens don’t bounce back fast from crushing,” Devlin was on his stomach getting a moss height view of the area.

Margie was standing on the edge of the rock face, looking down at the meadow two hundred feet below.

“Hey, you guys, we don’t have to look too much further. Look down here, there has definitely been someone up here recently. Look, right there on that little ledge,” she called to them. Candy bar wrappers had been thrown over the edge and landed on the outcropping.

Devlin was on his feet in a flash and over the edge and climbed back up with the garbage.

“Yeah, this stuff is pretty new, hasn’t been rained on. I guess we can stop wondering if there was someone and start figuring out who that someone is,” Dev was putting the evidence into a zipper bag.

“My first guess, would be Mr. Callaghan, if he is still trying to get me off the claim. I don’t feel this is some run of the mill Peeping Tom,” Rocky said.

“I think the first thing we should do is pay a visit to Mr. Callaghan and find out what condition his truck starter is in, and where does he spends his nights,” she continued.

Devlin was slowly moving all over the rock. “I want to see how he gets up here so easy and then we can head back, if that suits you girls.”

“Hey look at this, you guys,” Margie was again hanging over the side.

“Looks like our snooper has some climbing experience, those are pitons pounded all the way down the side over there past that little green spot, see them?” Margie yelled.

“He just ropes up and cuts hours off the travel time,” Rocky commented watching Margie clicking away with her digital camera.

“Well, if he can rope up, we can too, next time,” Dev had this very cagey look on his face.

“Yeah, he isn’t the only bear in the forest who can climb a rock,” Margie said, causing the other two to turn at look at her.

Rocky knew her brother; he must have a plan. Rocky set the camera and shot a couple of frames of a mound of nice pristine moss for her portfolio. They began the long descent chatting all the way, though never convincing Dev to tell them  his plan.

Margie and Dev have gone home, there was still plenty of time to get a long nap before nightfall and her watching shift.

Rocky and the dogs checked out the dredge, double-checked the tie downs and her goofy looking homemade anchor system. All the equipment looked untouched since last week. They piled into the truck and raced down the hill to MacPawn's in Applegate before it closed.

Rocky charged the old camera she loved. On the way back to Whiskey Gap, they stopped to buy film. They raced the sunset back up the mountain for the night watch.

When Mr. MacPawn asked Rocky if she was new in town, she told him. “I’m mining my Dad’s claim for the summer.

Mr. MacPawn said he would buy gold from her whenever she was ready to sell.

That was good to know, but Rocky knew where she could get a better price. If she needed grocery store cash, she would take some small fine flakes from the jelly jar to MacPawn.

Come hell or high water, tomorrow Rocky had to dredge. There was no choice; there was what was left of that last photo sale money in the bank. But she had her cameras, and she had a good idea for them.

She made a note to call Mr. Wilkerson tomorrow morning first thing about the flying job.

After checking that the truck would start and all the windows and doors were locked, Rocky spent an hour in the makeshift closet darkroom dusting, making shelves and dryer space from scraps of nothing from the yard. Her leg ached something fierce that night.

Margie had sent her digital pictures. The moss shots she took turned out really nice, Rocky put them onto the hard drive to print out later. Rocky’s moss shots will turn up from the processing plant in a week.

She mounted her new camera beauty to the tripod below the night vision scope at the kitchen door. She loaded it with the slowest speed film she could find in Auburn.

The telephoto lens fit perfectly in the hole in the curtain on the door. She couldn’t help herself, she grinned.

While she waited for the teakettle to boil, she snapped off a half dozen twilight shots as a baseline. The face of the rock shots might turn into something arty looking.

The shadows on the rock would make it easier to define where the snooper was watching and waiting.

That big adventure in the morning and the tail end of the cold were making her sleepy. She finished her tea and curled up on the floor with her pillow and afghan. She planned to look at the latest knitting magazine, but lasted one page and zonked out.