Timberline Trail (28 page)

Jon
finally met the woman called Mary Whitebird who was Tia’s good friend, and Tory’s mother, Nancy Leukowski, who he recognized from the general store. The gangly Tory had also sauntered in accompanied by a burly loud man named Roy, who demanded that his Tia receive the best care possible. Both Paul and Jon bristled at his possessive tone, momentarily shaken from their mutual dislike by his manner. Just how many men here were in love with Tia?

Sheriff Morgan stopped by with a now somber I
nspector Shumimora who asked to be informed about Tia’s condition as soon as possible. He nodded to the two waiting men, neither noticing the impish grin he cast at Jayce.

“Five dollars on the blond
e,” whispered Jayce to Takero.

“
Dark-haired men are more persuasive. You’re on,” grinned the inspector, who suddenly lost all his good humor as the body of RK Heath, zipped into a dark black body bag, was wheeled by.

Roy
bought everyone coffee as Tory chatted nervously to his distraught mother until finally a beaming Dr. Burns plodded into the small waiting room to scan the nervous group.

“Tia’
s going to be just fine,” he said. “The bullet imbedded itself in her hip but we managed to remove it during surgery without much muscle trauma. She’s lost a lot of blood from both wounds but luckily is type A and we have plenty of blood available at the clinic. I see no reason to transport her to Anchorage. We’ve got her patched up fine and dandy. I’ve loaded her up on pain medication and moved her to post-op where she can entertain visitors as soon as she’s fully awake.”

Within minut
es the competent nurse Rose bustled out, hands on her hips. “Mary, she’s asking for you but only five minutes you hear!”

Jon sank back down in to his uncomfortable chair, determined to wait until he could see Tia.

Paul disappeared with the inspector to return some thirty minutes later. He grudgingly sat down beside Jon.

“Steve spilled the beans to the sheriff and Inspe
ctor Shumimora, admitting Mike killed your sister.”

Jon shifted painfully in his chair.
“What else?”

“Steve Newcastle
’s being highly cooperative I guess. Apparently he and Mike had both been hired by RK Heath to help transport information back to Tokyo about some recent technology. According to him, RK has been depleting information from Heath Enterprises for over three years, using the debt-ridden Andrew Carson as his source.”

“So Andrew
was
the real thief.”

“Yeah,” stated Paul wearily, “but apparently
he had a conscience and finally balked at RK’s demands.”

“
For which he met his maker.”

“Steve says RK killed him, but evidence points to Mike Puchalet having been in LA around that time.
We may never really know who pulled the trigger.”

Paul’s voice droned on
, explaining RK’s desire to undermine his father’s company in any way possible. With Anthony and Jeffery Heath both under suspicion for Andrew’s murder, the stocks of Heath Enterprises had plunged. Upon Anthony Heath’s vindication, along with clear evidence that Jeffery Heath’s hands were clean, the company had slowly crawled back, its shares finally regaining their initial value. RK had been furious.

He’
d actually decided at that point, Steve said, to back off. But when his overly intelligent accountant, Jennifer Simons, discovered some misappropriated funds and sought to track them down she stumbled on too many inconsistencies. After learning RK had targeted Heath Enterprises as well as her own parents, Jenny felt the computer scientist would stop at nothing to destroy anyone who stood in his way. Jenny was later overheard calling her brother on a tapped line. RK apparently had been taping all his employee’s phone conversations for a long time. The unfortunate Jenny got caught in the middle of a horrible web of crime and was murdered in what was made to look like a simple mugging.

The letters Jenny indicated she was going to mail were not found on her body and RK had no choice but to track down his
half-sister. He’d always hated Tia and decided it was high time to dispose of the woman who’d always been a thorn in his side. He also planned to get rid of his father at the same time, but unfortunately for him, Anthony Heath had finally taken that long overdue vacation he’d threatened for so many years.

“So that’s it then?”

“Yes,” said Paul quietly, rubbing his face tiredly. “And when Tia is better, I intend to take her back to LA with me. It’s not safe for a woman alone up here.”

“Maybe she
doesn’t want to go back with you,” retorted Jon.

“Well,” said Paul
, as Nurse Rose approached. “We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we? I just think Tia deserves someone she can trust. Wouldn’t you agree?” His departing glance indicated clearly what he thought of Jon as he headed for Tia’s room.

Jayce Morgan had silently entered the clinic’s lobby and witnessed the two men’s exchange.

“Not a big fan of yours, eh?”

“Nor I of him.”

“He’s a brave one though.
Frozen to the bone he was, but insisted on hopping right back on that helicopter to go rescue his lady love. I like that boy’s style.”

As he moved away to conference with Nurse Rose
, he added under his breath; “There’s just something a little peculiar about him but I can’t for the life of me figure it out. I’m sure it will come to me later.”

Nurse Rose nodded shrewdly but said nothing; everyone had a right to their own secrets and space and she watched Jon fidget impatiently in his seat before he rose and headed for Tia’s room as well.
She’d place odds on the photographer.

“What’s up babe?”
asked Paul jauntily. “Are you feeling any better?”

Tia could only nod stiffly, her hip and entire leg throbbing with pain, the ominous drip of the IV hanging from its steel rod feeding her a slow cocktail of antibiotics and painkillers. Paul took her hand, massaging the pale member between his own tanned fingers.

“Steve spilled the beans Tia, regarding your brother, and both your Dad and Uncle are totally in the clear regarding Andrew’s death. I let you down Tia. I was supposed to warn and protect you and did a dandy job, didn’t I? Can you ever forgive me?”

Tia placed a shaky hand upon his cheek.
“I never realized before what a wonderful man you are and I’m so pleased you’re going to become part of our family Paul.”

Paul leaned forward and kissed her gently.
He hadn’t expected such sincere acceptance from any of the Heaths. “Thanks so much Tia. Thanks for everything. Don’t you worry sweetheart, I’ll take care of everything; you just leave it to ole Paul.”

Jon paused outside Tia’s door
, unable to enter after witnessing their tender exchange. He’d been a fool to believe Tia would choose him over her sophisticated ex-lover. He backed away from the awful image of Paul Dale leaning over the woman he realized he’d loved from the first moment she’d opened her creaky cabin door to him. No one halted his quiet departure from the clinic or noted his strained form heading for Timberline’s only hotel.

“Is Jon around?”
asked Tia fearfully.

“Yeah, he’s been waiting to see you.
I guess I have to take back all I said about him. You
could
do a lot worse.”

Tia smiled weakly back. “So
what happened to you?”

“I managed to run into the reinforcements after tu
mbling the snowmobile into a ditch. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone that this grand athlete wiped out. I have an image to protect you know! Tory was as good as his word and the cavalry rode to the rescue, though delayed a bit by the weather. I jumped into one of their Suburbans and tried to thaw out when the helicopter radioed us that you were being chased by a blue 4x4. I hitched a ride with the Japanese gent and those nice Federal agents. By the time we showed up, your brother already pursued you on foot and Mike Puchalet was dead. Steve explained the situation as we patched him up. The rest of the tale is yours to tell and it won’t be long before the police will be harassing you. Do you want me to try to hold them off?”

Tia leaned back against the hard pillow and thought.
“I might as well get it over with,” she said hoarsely.

“Ok
ay,” agreed Paul. “Do you mind if I sit in?”

“Not at all. You can probably help remember some of the details if I forget.
I’m feeling a little woozy from all the pain medicine they’re giving me.”

“Then it’s showtime
,” said Paul, and rose to summon the sheriff.



All in all the FBI agents and Anchorage police went pretty easy on Tia considering the magnitude of the case. They kept their questions short and to the point, using a tape recorder to record her answers. She ended up re-telling the entire story, from Andrew’s gambling habits and senseless murder to her brother’s part in the corporate espionage. Exhausted, but relieved the whole sordid affair was finally out in the open, she leaned back against the hospital pillows, bracing herself for whatever came next. Officer Shumimora leaned forward and patted her arm.

“That will be enough gentlemen,” he said in his crisp accent. “The girl is plainly tired so we
must come back later. Just so you sleep better, I want you to realize both you and your father have been totally cleared of any wrongdoing as has your uncle.”

“That’s a relief,” said Tia we
akly. “But I still can’t figure out what you’re doing here?”

Inspector Shumimora’s bla
ck eyes glittered. “Corporate espionage is serious business and unfortunately spreading in this information age. Because of my work I travel all over the world. Just a month ago I was in Amsterdam, helping European Telecom retrieve information stolen by paid hackers and sold on the black market in the Philippines.”

“So you travel a lot,” said Tia weakly
, and Takero Shumimora grinned.

“I like the travel, and of course
, the chance to practice my English.”

Sheriff
Jayce Morgan smiled at Tia before tapping Takero on the shoulder.

“Th
e little lady needs her rest.”

“Of course.
Get better Ms. Heath.” Takero bowed in his polite Japanese way and Tia smiled. As soon as he disappeared, Jayce cleared his throat.

“I hate to bring this up now
Tia... but ah...your brother’s body is here in the clinic. What would you like me to do with it?”

Tia shuddered
. “I don’t know Jayce. Could I have some time to think about it?”

“You t
ake all the time you need honey; he ain’t going anywhere. Ah, just one other thing... Jon Simons is positive his sister Jenny mailed you a package. Could you have received something within the past few months and just forgotten about it?”

“I never received any pack
ets or disks,” said Tia wearily, her head throbbing relentlessly. “I planned to check with the Post Office. Could you do that for me?”

“Not a problem.
And another thing; can Paul get hold of your father? He’s in Mauritius right?”

Tia turned her face away from him and swallowed painfully.

“He’s not in Mauritius.”

“Well then where would he be now?
We need to contact him about all this. I’m sure the blow of your brother’s betrayal is going to hit him hard.”

“No,” said Tia, slowly shaking her head.
“It won’t hit him hard, because you see, my father’s dead.”

“Dead?” Jayce repeated blankly.

“He died last April. He’d been a heavy smoker and contracted emphysema or perhaps even lung cancer. I don’t know exactly because he refused to get medical care. He made me promise I wouldn’t tell anyone he was really sick; not Uncle Jeffery and particularly not RK. It was almost as if he didn’t trust my brother, and now I can see from what he did about the will, Dad suspected my brother was up to no good.”

“But why Tia?
Why wouldn’t you tell anyone?”

“I was respecting his last wish.
Wouldn’t you do that if someone you loved were dying? Behind the cabin on a small rise is a huge cottonwood tree. I carved his name and a cross on it. All Dad wanted was to be buried here in Alaska, in a place he truly loved. He made me promise to bring my mother’s bones up to rest by him. Please forgive me for not telling you.”

“Of course,” said Jayce
, gently patting Tia’s hand, though thoroughly alarmed at the white pallor gripping her face. “I’ll talk to you later about this. Do you mind if I inform your fiancé your dad’s dead?”

Tia didn’t bother to correct the sheriff since her head
suddenly spun. “Fine, fine,” she mumbled, dropping her head back upon the hard pillow, not even realizing Jayce had left.