The Target (13 page)

“Well, you’ll know soon enough, I suppose.”

Sara shook her head and whispered. “If he is a trained killer, you won’t stand a chance.”

“Sweetheart,” Jaime grinned. “I’ve got some skills of my own. I’m not just a pretty face.”

“Can’t you be serious for once?”

“Okay. Serious. I’m a detective. I’ve been on the force since I was twenty-one. I spent two years with the SWAT team. And when I say I know this area, I’ve been out here at least once every summer since I can remember. I doubt our guy has set foot out here before. I can find him.” She tugged again on Sara’s jeans.

“Besides, we don’t know for sure he’s a bad guy, right? But we need to find out. The main problem is he’s probably got a rifle with a scope. He won’t have to get close. But I will.”

Sara stared at her, noting the determination in her eyes. Very well. She wouldn’t argue with her. “What do I tell the others?”

“How about the truth? I’ve seen someone following us and I’ve gone to check it out. They don’t need to know anything about … about you or your father.”

“Maybe we should just tell them.”

“Let’s see what I find out. There’s no need to get everyone upset if it turns out to be nothing.”

Sara nodded. “Okay. You’re probably right. But I still don’t like it. Like you said, he’s most likely got a rifle.”

“I’ll be fine.” Jaime got to her feet. “I’ll walk with you guys a little ways, then split. How’s that?”

Sara grabbed her arm as Jaime was leaving, pulling her back around. “How long will you be gone?”

“I’m not sure.”

“After dark?”

“Yeah. Most likely, I won’t see you until tomorrow.”

Their eyes met for a second and Sara forced a smile onto her face. “Be careful, please. I’ve kinda gotten used to you being around.”

Jaime laughed. “Better watch it, Sara, or I’ll think you’re flirting with me.”

“As if.” But Sara watched her walk away, back to where Celia and Sandra were sitting. The two older women laughed at something Jaime said, then Sandra handed Celia her camera. Sara grinned as Sandra wrapped an arm around Jaime while Celia took their picture. Sara wished she could be as free with her emotions as they were. But she’d grown used to being cautious over the years and it was a hard habit to break. She let her eyes travel over the lean figure of Jaime Hutchinson, remembering exactly what she looked like without clothes. If she were honest with herself, she’d admit that she hadn’t been physically attracted to another woman in years. Not really. Mostly she went out with women who she thought she
should
like because of common friends or common interests. But there was never a physical spark. Most of the women she’d dated were now the best of friends because that’s all they ever were destined to be. Just friends.

But Jaime—yes, there was definitely a spark. Just being near the woman made her heart beat a little faster. And whether or not Jaime really found her attractive or was just putting on a show, it hardly mattered to Sara anymore. She was insanely attracted to the woman, killer on their trail or not.

“Why are you leaving again?” Sandra asked.

Jaime kept up her even pace beside Sandra, knowing she should leave if she wanted to catch their guy before nightfall. “Would you believe me if I said I was looking for the three-toed woodpecker?”

“What?”

“Very rare bird. Found around here, I’m told.”

“I see. Sounds exciting,” Sandra murmured.

Jaime laughed and shoved playfully at Sandra. “Honey, someday I’ll have you walking the parks with a pair of binoculars around your neck. You just wait.”

Sandra stopped and stared.

Jaime did the same. “What?”

“Someday? Does that mean, you know, that we might keep in touch after this trip?”

“Well yeah, if you want. I mean, you know, we’re buddies, right?”

Sandra grinned. “Buddies. Yeah, I like that.” She walked on. “I think Celia and I will keep in touch but I don’t know about the others. They’re all younger and, well, they’re different from us.”

“I think it’s great what you’re doing up here. We’ve been on the trail nine days now and I’ve not once heard any complaints.”

“It’s all different up here. Sara was right, you know. You change up here. I’m not sure we really believed her. But this was just part of what we paid for. To tell you the truth, I’ve completely forgotten about my former life. We’re hiking and playing in the springs and sitting around the campfire at night. It feels so great out here. By the time I crawl into the sleeping bag, I’m out like a light. It’s wonderful. I mean, I feel so good about myself.”

“I think that’s the idea,” Jaime whispered.

“Well, she’s doing a good job, I’ll say that. I’d recommend her to anyone.”

“Yeah? And would you recommend this trip too?”

“Oh, yeah. I mean, it’s work, sure. But I’ve never seen anything this beautiful before.”

Jaime nodded. “You got that right. Take a deep breath, Sandra honey,” she said, doing exactly that. She breathed out slowly. “They should bottle that smell. It’s fresh, it’s clean … hell, it’s life.” She looked at Sandra and smiled as the older woman breathed with her eyes closed. “Makes me want to break out into a John Denver song,” Jaime said then proceeded to sing a verse. “That’s how I feel about the mountains. Pity the poor soul who’s never been up here before.”

Sandra grinned. “I never thought about it like that before. But yeah, I do feel all the richer for having seen all this. It’s something I’ll always remember, that’s for sure.”

Jaime was about to reply when the rifle shot sounded. Instinct took both her and Sandra to the ground.

Sara whipped around, eyes wide. “Jaime! Sandra!”

“Get down! Get
down
,” Jaime yelled. Leaning on her elbows, she looked back over her shoulder, seeing the reflection of glass on the mountainside. “Jesus Christ! Come on, Sandra.
Move!
” But she didn’t. It was only then that Jaime saw the blood running down Sandra’s face and her lifeless eyes staring back at her. Her heart stopped and she made herself roll over, diving behind a boulder just as the second rifle shot sounded, causing dirt to fly up where Jaime had just been laying. Oh dear God.
Not Sandra
. She closed her eyes for a second, fists clenched.
Goddamn …

“Everyone, get the
fuck
down!” she yelled as heads poked up from behind rocks. She moved on her belly, sliding down the hill to where Sara and the others were hiding.

“Where’s Sandra?” Sara demanded.

“She was hit.”

“What?” Sara sat up. “No,
no
,” she screamed.

Jaime pulled her back down, squeezing tight on her arms.

“Listen to me,” Jaime yelled. “We’ve got to move. Down the mountain, into the ravine.”

“What the hell’s going on?” Abby said, nearly hysterical. “Who is shooting at us?”

“Where is Sandra?” Celia asked frantically. “Where is she?”

Jaime moved closer, squeezing her hand. “She was shot, Celia. I’m sorry.”

“Shot? What do you mean? Not Sandra.”

Tears welled up and Jaime squeezed harder. “I’m sorry. We’ve got to go. Everyone, listen to me. Get down the mountain as fast as you can. Stay low to the ground. He’ll be coming.”

“Who? He who?”

“There’s no time for that now! Move!” Jaime yelled, practically pushing Celia down the hill.

“We are … not leaving … Sandra,” Sara insisted. She was shaking so badly she could hardly form sentences. “We’re going to … to take her with us. We are
not
leaving her.”

Jaime gripped her shoulders and shook her. “How the hell are we going to do that? She’s
gone
. Now we’ve got to
move
!”

“We can’t leave her!” Sara screamed.

“She’s dead, goddamn it. There’s nothing we can do for her.”

Jaime turned and pulled Sara after her, sliding down on the rocks and nearly losing her balance. The others were ahead of them, moving fast. Celia fell once to her knees and Jaime was right behind her, picking her up and urging her on. She looked back over her shoulder several times, thinking she would find him at the top of the trail, rifle trained on them. But there was no one. He had to have been at least two hundred yards away when he took the shot. It would take him a little while to get down the mountain and onto the trail.

“There’s water,” Abby gasped, pointing. She was bent over at the waist as they all were, trying to catch their breath.

Jaime pulled the trail map from her back pocket, trying to find out where they were. She turned a circle, then looked up, searching for the sun which was hidden by the mountain. “Goddamn it.”

She tossed her pack off and rummaged in a pocket, finding her compass. “Come on, come on,” she murmured, looking at it and the map. “Okay. Yes, there’s a stream up ahead but we’re going to cross over it. Down in the ravine there should be a small river. That’s what we want.” She folded the map and looked at them, all standing around her with a look of shock on their faces, especially Sara. “Let’s go. He’ll be right behind us.”

They moved on, over and around boulders and holding onto tree limbs as the mountain dropped dramatically into the ravine.

The small stream was only four feet wide and using rocks for steps, they easily crossed to the other side.

“Stop,” Jaime said when they’d all made it across the stream.

She looked again at the map, studying the slopes. She wanted him to think they were going right down the mountain. “This way. We go straight down until we hit the river.” As Sara passed her, Jaime grabbed her arm and spun her around. “How are you holding up?”

she asked quietly.

“I’m afraid I’m not.” Tears immediately formed. “It’s my fault, Jaime. My fault.”

“Stop it. It’s not your fault. If anything, it’s goddamn my fault. Now come on.” Jaime pulled her along, trying not to think about the woman they’d left up on the trail.

Only ten minutes later, they heard the water as it crashed down the mountain. For one moment, Jaime panicked. What if it was too big, too fierce? How were they going to manage the water?

She hurried ahead of the others, shoving them out of the way, scanning the banks of the river and hoping her plan would work.

“Now what?”

Jaime turned and faced them. “Listen to me. We’re out of sight, so he’s going to be tracking us. But he can’t track us in the water.”

“You want us to walk down the mountain in the water?”

“No. Upstream.”

“Upstream?” All heads turned and looked at the water that flowed and crashed along the boulders that littered the river.

“He’ll assume we went down. So we go up.”

Sara stepped forward, her eyes still on the water. “Jaime, I don’t know …”

“It’s the only way. Trust me.”

“I want to know what the hell is going on,” Abby demanded.

“Someone shot at us! Sandra … Sandra is up there,” she pointed.

“What the hell is going on?”

Jaime grabbed her shoulders and squeezed. “We don’t have time for this now, Abby. Someone’s after us and we’ve got to move. Do you understand?”

Abby nodded. “Okay. Okay. Let’s go.”

“Good. Now, take your time, make sure of your footing. We only have to make it to the top of the ridge up there. We’ll be out of sight that way.”

“And what if he comes upstream instead of going down?” Lou Ann asked.

Jaime looked at Sara. “Then I’ll kill him.” She walked into the water and grimaced. It was like ice. “Come on. I know it’s cold.”

“Jesus Christ,” Abby hissed when the cold water soaked her jeans.

Jaime ignored them, moving downstream several feet to where a tree grew close to the water. She grabbed a low limb, twisting the end until it broke, leaving it hanging. Hopefully, it would be enough to convince him they’d gone downstream. She looked at all the terrified faces watching her and raised her eyebrows. “Ready?” At their nods, she walked against the current, knees bent, concentrating on each step. The water was strong flowing down the mountain but at least the river wasn’t deep. Like most high mountain streams, so many boulders littered the river that is was only a few feet deep in places. If you avoided the deeper pools, you could walk across most streams. She bent over once as she lost her footing and she looked behind her. The others were all using their hands to guide them. But they were going slow. Too slow. Looking at her watch, she wondered how much time had passed since they’d left the trail. Since they’d left Sandra.

“There’s a deep pool right there,” she pointed. “Stay to the left. Just follow me.”

Sara found herself in the middle of the group, between Megan and Ashley. She was soaked nearly to the waist, as were the others.

It felt like they were crawling at a snail’s pace and she found herself looking over her shoulder constantly, wondering when the next shot would ring out. She followed the others around the pool, feeling the water swirling against her legs, pulling her downward. Her feet were so cold, she could hardly feel them but she pushed on, stepping on the rock that Megan had just vacated.

“Just a little farther,” Jaime called. She noticed that Celia was lagging behind and shook her head. “Celia, come on, pick it up.”

“I’m trying.”

Jaime stood where she was, holding onto the branch of a spruce tree that was hanging over the river. The water was splashing over her thighs and she realized how cold she was, how cold they all must be. “Abby? Can you make it on your own?” Jaime pointed.

“Get out right behind the two boulders there. Get low on the ground. I’m going to help Celia.”

“Got it, Chief.”

Jaime managed a smile at Abby as she left her, pausing to help Lou Ann before moving downstream.

“Where are you going?” Sara asked loudly to be heard over the rushing water.

“To help Celia. We’ve got to hurry. I feel like we’ve been out here for hours,” Jaime said.

“I know. I keep expecting—”

“No.” Jaime gripped Sara’s arm and squeezed. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Now go.”

Jaime passed the others, offering encouragement, urging them to hurry. Celia was several yards back, struggling over the rocks.

She was drenched and Jaime knew she must be freezing. She reached out and grabbed Celia under her elbow.