Escape From the Badlands (5 page)

“Must be a family trait.”

“I wouldn’t have thought so.”

The words stung. He looked away. She busied herself wiping Charlie’s hands and face, looking around, he imagined, to find another spot to sit. She’d just finished her cleanup when Ackerman announced from the microphone, “Let’s introduce you to our new race medic, Kelly Cloudman. Come on up here, Kelly.”

Kelly flushed and walked to the platform. Charlie watched her. “That’s my mama. I’ve got two. Mama Rose is on a trip.”

Shane found himself unable to answer.

Charlie waved and knocked over his orange juice in the process. Instinctively, Shane threw the nearby napkins down on the spill and said in his best John Wayne voice, “No worries, Cowboy Charlie. We got the flood under control, partner.”

Charlie laughed. “You’re funny.”

Funny. A memory of his little brother’s laughter rolled through him.

Funny Shane. The goofy big brother who could always get a laugh.

Lonnie, whose laughter was swallowed up by Shane’s carelessness in a moment that would change everything.

One horrible moment.

His reverie was broken at the sound of applause for Kelly. She waved, and Ackerman hugged her around the shoulder. Just a friendly gesture, a warm greeting that nonetheless made Shane want to launch himself at the platform and knock Ackerman away from her.

He gritted his teeth as Kelly detached herself and made her way back to the table, cheeks flushed.

“Embarrassing,” she said.

Shane couldn’t stop himself. “Stay away from him, Kell. He’s not what he seems.”

Her eyes flashed. “Ironic, coming from you.” She helped Charlie from the chair and made her way to the back, holding him in her arms as Ackerman started up a computer presentation.

Shane felt like breaking something. She was stubborn and she would not listen to reason, especially when it came from him.

Do what you need to do to find Ellen.

He watched the handsome man, so at ease in front of the crowd. Hard to believe he could be a murderer. What if Kelly was right and he wasn’t? The whole thing was some desperate effort that made no sense.

His hands balled into fists. No. Todd was right about people, and he’d pegged Devin as trouble. Todd’s cop friend felt the same way. Pictures began to scroll across the screen of prior Desert Quest races. The first had been in Utah, the last two in South Dakota. Smiling, dirt-covered racers, engaged in everything from biking to kayaking to spelunking, waved back from the screen to the hoots and hollers of the audience. He saw a quick shot of Gleeson on horseback, which surprised him. The man had said nothing about participating in other Quest races.

The music swelled and filled the small trailer, the excitement palpable. Another picture materialized.

Shane’s heart hammered to a stop.

It was a picture of Olivia, arm in arm with Betsy, smiling for the camera as vibrant and full of life as he remembered her. Just behind them was a slender blonde whom Shane knew was Ellen Brown from the news coverage of the murder.

Shane stiffened, locking eyes with Ackerman, whose smile faded. The picture quickly dissolved into the next one, and Ackerman’s face was once again a portrait of charm.

Shane looked across the room at Kelly, who was staring at him. She’d seen Olivia’s picture, too.

Had she seen Ackerman’s reaction to the photo?

Kelly answered the question by turning away, swinging Charlie into her arms and applauding with the rest as the slide show ended.

FIVE

K
elly took Charlie outside and watched him play in the watery sunshine, collecting pine needles and small bits of rock. She could not get the picture of Olivia out of her mind. She’d never met her, but it was impossible to believe the smiling, vibrant woman from the photo had been murdered, especially by Devin Ackerman. She’d seen Devin’s expression when the photo was shown, the flicker of unease, but it was likely because he had inadvertently left her picture in the slide show, a tasteless error in view of what had happened a few days before the race last year had commenced.

She’d seen the shock in Shane’s face too, the grief etched there before anger took its place. When had he become so suspicious, so seized by the certainty of Ackerman’s guilt? In the long months they had been apart, where had the happy, fun-loving Shane Mason gone? She remembered the haggard face that greeted her in the mirror that morning. Shane wasn’t the only one who had changed in their time apart. Where had her enthusiasm gone?

Her thoughts were interrupted as a rickety pickup truck wheezed into camp. Kelly’s spirit lifted as the sturdy gray-haired lady hopped out. Her wrinkled face was tanned and beaming.

“Aunt Jean,” Kelly called, wrapping her arms around the woman who seemed much younger than her sixty-eight years.

Aunt Jean squeezed her and planted a kiss on each of her cheeks. “Hello, sweetie. You look as pretty as a sunrise.”

Kelly smiled, feeling herself relax for the first time in days. “I am so glad to see you.”

“Glad you asked me to come. Delighted to be invited to take care of that precious boy. I’ve been counting the moments. Now where is my angel?”

Kelly called Charlie over. He smiled shyly and hid behind her leg. “You remember Aunt Jean, don’t you, Charlie? We saw her…” Kelly trailed off. The last time Charlie had visited Aunt Jean was on his third birthday, the day that Rose had promised to visit.

The day she hadn’t come. Another in a string of disappointments.

Now it was only a few days until Charlie’s fourth birthday, and Kelly was desperate for the phone to ring, to know that her sister would come and see Charlie before he could no longer remember her at all. Kelly hadn’t told Charlie his mother was going to visit. She could not stand to see the disappointment in his eyes again.

With a start, Kelly remembered that her phone had been destroyed. Had her sister tried to call? Kelly suppressed a groan.

“What’s the matter?” Jean said, wiggling her fingers at Charlie.

“Nothing. We had a little accident on the way up and I lost my phone. I’ll have to get a new one.”

Charlie edged over to Jean, and the two solemnly shook hands before Jean swept him up and swung him around. His squeals of delight danced through the air, and Kelly momentarily forgot her troubles.

Charlie has a family.
Maybe it didn’t look quite the same as other families, but she had done her best to make sure he felt loved and cherished, in spite of his absent mother.
We’re a family,
she repeated to herself fiercely,
just me and Charlie, Aunt Jean, and Uncle Bill and Heather.

And hopefully Rose.

She heard the racers start to stream out of the lodge. Shane would be among them, the man she had thought would become family and stand by her always, through anything.

How wrong she’d been. How utterly wrong.

Jean fished out a plastic car from her pocket and gave it to Charlie. “It’s from your uncle Bill.”

Charlie’s face lit, and he scampered away to roll it along the bench of a nearby picnic table.

Jean squeezed Kelly around the shoulders. “So tell me about this accident. Your uncle will grill me when I get back, you know.”

“Oh, everything’s okay. I’m so glad you’re here for Charlie. Monday’s his birthday.”

A shadow passed over Jean’s face. “Yes. I brought some special things so we can have a little party. Bill will come if things are okay at home.”

Kelly’s uncle Bill and his new wife, Heather, were foster parents to young Tina Moon until her guardian recovered from a stroke. Tina had been a handful for the two of them. “I’d love to see them.” She lowered her voice. “I haven’t told Charlie that Rose is supposed to come.”

Jean nodded. “I think that’s wise.”

Kelly caught Jean’s frown as she watched Charlie play. “What’s wrong, Aunt Jean?”

She opened her mouth to answer when Martin Chenko approached. “Hello, ma’am. You must be Miss Cloudman’s aunt.”

She shook his hand. “Call me Jean. Everyone does.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” He turned to Kelly. “Don’t want to interrupt, but I heard your phone was swamped.” He handed over a satellite phone. “Here’s one you can use until the race is over.”

Kelly thanked him profusely.

“It’s nothing at all. I’ll need to keep in touch throughout the race, and your family will want to talk to you, I’m sure.”

Kelly gripped the phone. “I’m hoping to hear from my sister.”

Chenko must have caught the urgent tone in her voice. “Problem?”

“No. It’s Charlie’s birthday on Monday, and she’ll want to talk to him.”

The strange expression crossed Aunt Jean’s face again, and Kelly thought she might cry. Chenko must have noticed it, too. “Are you feeling well, ma’am?”

“Fine, fine,” she said, walking over to Charlie.

Kelly frowned. Chenko gave her a puzzled look. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no. Thank you very much for the phone.”

“No problem.” He watched Charlie for a minute. “He likes cars, I see.”

“Yes, he went through a train phase, but now it’s nothing but cars.”

Chenko laughed. “A boy after my own heart. When I was a boy, I had a Mustang that made me feel like the biggest man in the Dakotas.”

“Do you have children?”

“No.” He chuckled. “Not sure I’d be much good at it, even if I got the chance. Maybe I’ll give it a try someday.”

He was about to leave when an impulse struck her. “Mr. Chenko, are a lot of the racers repeaters from last year?”

“A couple dozen, I’d say. Some people are just addicted. Good thing for me.”

“Like Betsy?”

He blinked. “This is her first race, but she hung around last year.”

“Oh, that’s why I saw Betsy’s picture in the slide show from last year. And another woman, a young blonde.”

He considered. “Can’t remember who the blonde was. Betsy was involved in helping unofficially on the last Quest because she and Devin had started dating. She didn’t want to let him out of her sight, I guess, so she was around all the time.” He sighed. “Good thing she was helpful and didn’t ask to be paid. That’s my favorite kind of volunteer.” He ambled away.

Kelly joined her family and escorted Aunt Jean to the trailer so she could get settled in. “Do you want to lie down for a while? We have to leave for the race site at noon, so you’ll be on kid duty then.”

“I’ve never napped in my life. I want Charlie to show me the campground. I saw a little play area as I came in, didn’t I?”

Charlie did not need any further urging as he dragged a laughing Aunt Jean away. Quickly she sent a text to her sister:
Here’s my new phone number. Starting a different job and want to tell you about it. Where are you? Getting worried. K

Kelly locked the door of the trailer and headed to the playground, wondering when she would be able to find out the real reason for the worry on her aunt’s face.

Shane found himself loading the bikes after checking them carefully. Perfect condition. He wished he could say as much for himself. Since he’d seen the slide of Olivia and Betsy, he couldn’t get the unsettled feeling out of his gut. Added to that was the sight of Ackerman schmoozing the crowd, and Kelly, too. The guy was a menace.

“Easy there,” Gleeson said as Shane yanked on the ropes, securing the bikes to the truck bed. “What’s eating you?”

“Nothing.”

Gleeson slid behind the wheel, and Shane took in the passenger seat. They fell in line in the caravan of racers, right behind the SUV with MEDIC lettered on the side, and in front of Gwen and Betsy’s dented pickup. Kelly nodded to them as she passed, carrying her backpack filled with medical supplies, and got into her own vehicle. Shane felt his nerves tingle as they always did when he caught the swish of her dark hair, the hint of that impish smile. When would that longing go away?

Ackerman strode along easily, cameras and lenses dangling from his neck. He waved a hand at them before stopping at Kelly’s car.

“Can you give me a lift? I’ve got so much gear I can’t fit it all in Chenko’s car.”

Shane did not catch Kelly’s reply, but Ackerman nodded and got in next to her.

The guy was a murderer, and Kelly was giving him a ride. Shane realized that he was grinding his teeth. He snuck a glance at Gleeson, who didn’t seem to notice. “What do you know about Ackerman?”

Gleeson looked surprised. “Devin? Nice guy. Good with the girls. Probably because he’s the only son, with three older sisters. Parents are highbrow, plenty of dough. Don’t get the sense they’d be too happy about him slumming with a bunch of endurance racers. Why?”

“No reason.”

Finally, the cars began to roll out toward the racecourse. He tried to enjoy the scenery as they went. The first leg of the race was a looping trail in mountainous country with long draws, high ridges and spectacular overlooks.

Though it was not his primary purpose in being there, Shane still felt the competitive juices rising up. He loved pitting his body against the elements and emerging victorious. It gave him the fleeting sense that he was in control of his life, and nothing else mattered. Not relationships he’d ruined, or lives he’d lost.

The way grew bumpy as they neared the course, rising to follow a limestone rim through stands of pine and spruce. The October rains had awakened pockets of grass and clusters of Jimsonweed, their white flowers still twisted shut. Shane rolled down the window to suck in a lungful of air, so clean it cut right through him. He remembered riding trails like these with Kelly. With deli sandwiches and cold water in their packs and the open trail in front of them, he’d thought he had finally found the place he belonged, a place where the past and present did not collide.

But in spite of Shane’s efforts, the past had a monstrous way of insinuating itself into his happiness. He shot a glance at Kelly as they pulled the cars to a stop and got out. She’d caught her fantastic mane of hair into a ponytail and put on a Desert Quest Medic baseball cap. Her face told him she was in nurse mode. No nonsense allowed.

Good, he thought, as he rolled their bikes to the top of the course. She’d have no patience for Devin’s hollow charm. Leaving the bikes, they all flocked to the edge where they could get a glimpse of what lay in store. After fifteen minutes of conversation or so, Chenko joined them, clipboard in one hand and radio in the other. He went ahead a few yards down the trail, where there was a sharp drop-off on one side. He looked the trail over closely. Devin busied himself snapping pictures of the fifty racers who talked excitedly, pointing to various elements of the course.

Shane understood their excitement. The course offered a variety of trail conditions, from single to double track, packed dirt, grass and rock, steep climbs and heart-stopping descents. Every adrenaline junkie’s dream. His muscles tensed with anticipation.

Chenko returned and gave them the thumbs-up. “It’s wet, but not too bad. It will give all you racing nuts an extra thrill!”

There was a collective cheer and hooting from the group.

“Remember now,” he cautioned, “it’s a sneak peek, a chance for you to get the feel of it. About three miles down is a turnoff that will loop back up here, so I expect to see you all in an hour. This is only the appetizer. Tomorrow is the main course.” The steel in his voice brooked no argument.

Tomorrow, Shane echoed, feeling a sudden prick of urgency. Tomorrow Todd would be one day closer to a life in prison. Would Shane be any nearer to proving him innocent?

He spotted Ackerman taking pictures of the assembled racers as they strapped on helmets and headed down the trail. They were taking the trip in order of team captain’s last name, so Shane had time before he and Gleeson had their turn. A few minutes to ask some questions, find out who knew Ellen Brown.

He saw that Betsy had taken Ackerman by the elbow and drawn him a few paces away from the crowd. Moving closer, Shane brushed by Kelly.

She gave him a close look. “Excited about the course?”

“Yeah, itching to take it on. Was that your aunt I saw in camp?”

“Yes, she’s come to watch Charlie during the race events.”

Shane nodded. “He’ll like that, I’m sure.”

She didn’t answer, and the silence between them thickened.

He flicked a glance at Ackerman. Betsy was gesticulating to him angrily. “Seems like those two are having some trouble.”

Kelly followed his gaze. “Looks that way.” She hesitated for a moment before putting a hand on his arm, the fingers squeezing slightly. “Shane, just focus on the race. It’s a dangerous course. If your mind is somewhere else…”

“What’s the matter, Kell? You’re afraid I’ll get hurt? I’m practically a superhero on a bike. Without the cape, of course.” He tried for a light and flirty tone, the old Shane Mason who loved a good laugh and kept all the darkness bottled up tight.