Unwitting Alliances - Hunter Blake Series by Peggy Lea Baker

  * * *

  “Here you go,” Janet said, offering Karen a warm cup of tea. “I’ll be right back with some sandwiches and chips.” She hurried back to the counter to pay for their meal then returned and sat with Karen in a booth.

  “Thanks, Janet, “Karen said. “How did you get here?” she asked.

  “I drove.”

  “You drove? In what?”

  “A beat up jeep I found at a small shack up the hill from the cabin. The keys were in it, so I took it. I wasn’t planning on sticking around and getting shot again,” she remarked dryly.

  “Shot?”

  “I’ll explain later but how did you get here?”

  “Helicopter,” she said and started to tear up. “Frank.” She swallowed hard. “My husband landed outside and ordered me to get out!”

  “What? Your husband? But...”

  “He was in a third helicopter that showed up at the cabin.” She looked at Janet. “We all thought you were dead.”

  “But... why did he just drop you off here... in the middle of nowhere? What were you supposed to do?”

  “I don’t know.” Karen began to cry. “Janet. I killed someone today.”

  Janet’s mouth gaped open and she stared at Karen.

  “Daniel Davenport.”

  “Daniel? He’s dead?”

  Karen nodded. “It’s a long story but I thought he’d killed Frank... so I kicked him out of the helicopter.” She sat trembling, tears streaming. “I just want all those images to go away. But Frank didn’t die and we flew away and he made the pilot land...” She paused then whispered, “Frank shot the pilot. I’ve never ever seen anyone get killed before. My husband killed a man.”

  Janet reached across the table and took Karen’s hand. “Daniel was an evil man. If he’s dead, he deserves to be and so did his pilot.”

  Karen sat and stared at her food.

  “So... you and Frank left and he brought you here. But why here?”

  “He said someone needed him or something.” She took in several breaths and stared out the window at the dark sky. In the lights of the truck stop they could see the rain beginning to fall.

  “After Daniel and that pilot were killed, Frank piloted the helicopter and we flew somewhere... I don’t know where... but he landed and we sat and talked. Then he sent someone a message and when he got a reply, he suddenly took off, brought me here, and kicked me out of the helicopter saying he had to go help someone.”

  “But you don’t know who,” Janet said.

  “No. I don’t.” She looked at Janet. I am so confused and tired and angry. I just want to turn back the clock and go back to last week when I had life that was good and safe and happy.”

  “I know. Me too,” Janet said. “Me too.”

  Karen sighed and forced a smile. “So now what do we do?”

  “Well, I was planning to drive as far as McCall tonight and stay there then keep heading south tomorrow. I want to get so far away from all of this.”

  “Can I go too?” Karen asked in a tired voice.

  “Of course. I won’t leave you here. We’ll stay together. Right now just try to relax a little. I know that’s not going to be easy, but you’re safe with me. We’ll finish eating and freshen up a little then head south. I think it’s only another couple of hours to McCall.”

  “Okay.”

  Some commotion erupted at the counter as the clerk spoke to someone on a CB radio. “Wait! Tell me again,” he said over the microphone. A voice was heard excitedly trying to describe something. The clerk listened, concerned. “Slow down. Repeat. Repeat what you said,” he said. A frown crossed his face, as a few others gathered around with great interest, listening to the conversation.

  “It was terrible!” Janet and Karen heard the person say. “It was a dogfight! Three helicopters! One went down. We saw a fire ball and smoke. Over.”

  “What’s your location? Over.” the clerk asked.

  “Pine Tree Lake Campground. Over.”

  “Okay. I’ll call the sheriff,” the clerk said. “They’ll know what to do. Call back if anything else happens. Over and out.”

  “What’s going on?” a customer asked as he stepped to the counter to pay for some fuel.

  “Something crazy. A bunch of campers up at the lake said three helicopters were shooting missiles at each other... tearing up the hills and finally one must have been hit because they saw this huge fireball and a lot of smoke and then that was it. The other two skedaddled out of there in a great big hurry.”

  Janet and Karen stared at each other.

  “You don’t think...” Janet began.

  “I don’t want to think,” Karen replied. “I’ve seen too much evil already today. I just cannot handle thinking about any more death or destruction.” Her expression showed great strain and extreme exhaustion.

  “Okay. You rest. I’ll drive and get us a place to stay tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll work on what to do next. Let’s just take things an hour at a time. How’s that sound?”

  Karen nodded. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I’m so glad you were here. It was a god-send.”

  Thirty minutes later they were back on the road. The worn out wipers scraped across the windshield creating an annoying squeak as they fought to bat away increasing raindrops only to leave a grimy rainbow of arched streaks.

  The heater in the jeep helped ward off the nighttime chill as both women rode in silence. Janet focused on driving but couldn’t help but wonder what Karen had experienced earlier in the day. The jeep’s headlights struggled to illuminate the road ahead and the dark landscape moved by in a rainy blur.