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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] you pack your things and we'll take you into town." She nodded. "I want to go home." They waited until she was out of earshot. "Why did they come back for her now?" Kraynak wondered quietly. "She's been out here alone since Monday morning." "Which was stupid of us!" Max snapped. "We should have moved her to the hotel the first day!" "With Rose here safe," Jared guessed, "it seemed more likely that Alicia was merely lost." "Why not take them both?" Kraynak whispered. "There were other campers here Monday and Tuesday," Max reminded Kraynak. "And herding two people through the woods would have been nearly impossible," Ukiah said. "Wolf packs usually only pick one animal out of a herd." "They came for Rose as soon as we had proof Alicia had been kidnapped," Max said. "They're tying up loose ends." "Damn it!" Kraynak swore. "The police scanner!" Jared looked puzzled, so they explained their theory on how the sniper knew where to find Ukiah. Page 56 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html "And I reported in that Ukiah found the kidnapping site. Everyone in the county with a scanner knows." "We should have thought of it beforehand," Kraynak said. "Thank God Rose wasn't here when the kidnappers came for her!" They packed all the camping equipment into Kraynak's Volkswagen van, which Alicia had used instead of her own small car. They made a small convoy pulling of out the campground, Jared leading in his cruiser, then Kraynak and Rose in the van, and finally Ukiah and Max in the Blazer. Max was silent for the ride back to Pendleton. Ukiah slumped in the passenger side, exhausted but too unnerved to sleep. As they pulled into the hotel's parking lot, Max gave a deep sigh. "Kid, could Sam Killington have been one of the kidnappers?" Ukiah recalled the long-legged blond woman. "No, wrong shoe size. I think she's about an eight, and the tracks were fives. The kidnapper wore tennis shoes, high end, probably considered walking shoes or cross-trainers. Sam had on hiking boots both times I saw her." "And the others?" "I think the rest were men." "Good," Max murmured, then, as a grin spread across his face. "Well, speak of the devil." Max toggled down his window, and the wind spilled into the cabin, bringing Sam's scent of leather, gunmetal, female sweat, and Obsession perfume. She swaggered across the parking lots flipping a keyring around her right index finger in a jangle of metal. "Hi, guys! Can I interest you two in a proposition?" "Proposition away," Max grinned, half-leaning out his window. "Thought you might be interested," she said with a wink. "Let's do dinner and swap information. That is" she glanced past Max to Ukiah "if you're up to it." Max looked to Ukiah. Ukiah would have preferred to order room service, followed quickly by sleep, but there was no denying that Sam could be the key to finding Alicia. She knew the area. With snipers and multiple kidnappers roaming the area, they were safer traveling as a team. So Ukiah nodded. "We're up to it." Max told her. They followed Sam on her Harley across town. On the way, Ukiah called and let Kraynak know where they were heading. Kraynak had volunteered to drive Rose to the airport for the evening flight. He told them to eat without him. A neon sign in the window marked the restaurant, a cowboy hat with the word STETSONS. Of the four parking spaces beside Stetsons, two and a half were taken up by a pickup truck and a badly parked station wagon. Sam tucked her Harley into the short third space behind the station wagon, and Max pulled into last space. She was pulling off her helmet when Ukiah opened his door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Sam paused, helmet cocked over her shoulder, frowning at him. "Where's the crutches?" "I told you that I heal quickly," Ukiah said, though he felt far from well. His entire body ached as if someone had beaten him with a baseball bat. He had pushed himself too hard, ignoring his body completely during the day's tracking. "Ah, I forgot." Sam snapped her fingers. "You're a Kicking Deer." "What does that mean?" Ukiah asked. "The Kicking Deers are local legends," Sam said. "Stronger. Faster. Healthier. They say that the Cayuse horses are so sturdy because the Kicking Deers bred with them." "What?" Max said. "Oh, it's an old Indian tale." Sam said. "A Kicking Deer woman ran off with one of the stallions and turned into a horse, and had colts with him. You listen to enough of these stories and you start to wonder if they didn't spend Page 57 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |