Gone
I ran as fast as I could to get back to the boys. I had a nagging feeling that something was wrong, and I hoped it was just my imagination. I passed Tiny on the way, still securely attached to the tree where we had zip-tied him. I thought about making some bear noises to give him a scare, but my heart wasn’t in it. I needed to get to those boys.
I topped the last rise before the highway and immediately saw them, blankets over their shoulders, sitting around a fire. They looked tired, they looked deflated, but they were alive. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued to jog in but more slowly now. Running back and forth through the mountains and fighting a crazed giant was starting to take its toll on me. I smelled the food from the campsite and realized I badly needed something to eat. I was ready to get some food, take a nap, and wait for Ron to help me figure out what to do next to find Hope. I’d been so focused on the boys and Ron that I’d let my concentration slip on my wife and daughter. The emptiness of my separation from them hit me suddenly, like falling into a dark, empty cave.
When I came into camp, I didn’t see the relief I’d expected on the boys’ faces. They were anguished. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“They took him,” JR said.
I looked around. The only one missing from the group was Peng. My heart began to beat faster. I wondered if Jillian had returned to finish the job. “Who took him?”
“I’m sorry,” Eric said. “She looked like my grandma.”
I was confused. Eric wasn’t making any sense.
JR must have seen it on my face. “There was a motor home parked here,” he explained. “An old lady made us pancakes and bacon and gave us blankets. There was a man too, but we didn’t see him. We were just eating, and the next thing we knew, they were driving off in the motor home with Peng. We saw him in the back window. It looked like he had a knife to his neck. He told us to wait here for you.”
“I didn’t know she was a serial killer,” Eric whined. “Honest, she really looked like my grandma.”
“Peng was holding the knife,” Joey chimed in. “The old lady was way behind him.”
“Why would Peng hold a knife to his own neck?” JR said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“None of it makes any sense,” Joey said. “Peng kept pointing the knife at his watch and saying, ‘Tell Matt.’ But he didn’t say what to tell you.”
I blinked my eyes and shook my head. It was all coming at me too fast, with bizarre images, like in a bad dream. “Peng doesn’t even have a watch,” I said.
“Sure he does,” Eric said. “We could see it in the window as clear as day.”
I looked around the camp, hoping there was some clue that would help me piece this together. They’d left the camp stoves behind, and they were still burning. I walked over and turned them off. There were still plates piled high with pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I grabbed an empty plate, filled it with food, and started chewing. Eating often helped me think, and although I was no longer hungry, I needed the calories.
It made no sense. A motor home with an elderly couple, a kidnapping where the victim was holding the weapon, and food enough to feed a crowd.
And then it dawned on me.
“This was the base camp,” I said. “They were expecting Jackson to bring back the prisoners this morning. That’s why there’s so much food.” I pushed in a few more bites of a pancake, which seemed to be helping my brain. “Peng must have figured it out and convinced them to take him and leave you here.”
“He gave himself up for us?” Joey asked.
“That’s the way it looks.” I was appreciating my adopted son’s qualities more and more. But I wished he would have waited for me to get here before doing anything.
“Is Ron okay?” JR asked.
“He’s fine,” I said. “I came ahead because he’s moving slower with his leg. But he should get here soon.”
“Did he kill them?” Joey asked. His voice was tentative, like he didn’t really want to know the answer.
“Jackson is dead, but apparently the woman decided to abandon ship. I didn’t get the full story.”
Joey screwed up his face like he wasn’t sure how he felt about that answer.
I put down my plate and began pacing back and forth across the camp, trying to think of what to do next. They had Hope, they had Jin, and now they had Peng. And I had no idea where they were or what to do next. It looked as if Dempsey held all the cards again. I was sure he would contact me as soon as I had cell coverage . . . and he would be able to lead me like a lamb to the slaughter.
I wasn’t any closer to finding a way out of my predicament when Ron staggered into camp. The boys nearly knocked him over when they saw him, and I filled him in on what had happened.
“You’re right,” he said after I explained it to him. “They’ve got the upper hand. I could call some ex-companions to go in with you, but that will take time, and I don’t think they’re going to give you a lot of time. So I guess it’s just you and me.”
“Not you,” I said. He was struggling to even sit upright. “You need a doctor.”
Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. “I know a guy in Park City,” he said. “I’ll have him patch me up at my condo. It sounds like these guys have connections to local law enforcement, and it’s probably better to keep any word of Scout kidnappings and gunfights on the down-low for a while. There should be some cars passing by here soon. We can flag one down.”
As if on cue, lights appeared on the highway, coming toward us. The driver stopped, but he was in a Mazda Miata convertible, and there wasn’t enough room for all of us.
“Me and the boys will catch the next vehicle,” Ron said. “You need to go find Hope. I’m sure there will be an SUV or a van coming along soon.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he pointed up the road at an old VW microbus chugging its way down the highway.
“Okay,” I said, getting into the Miata. “Call me when you get a chance.” I looked at Ron, looked at the boys, and felt a sudden wave of affection for all of them.
“Good luck, Brother Knight,” Joey said.
The others boys nodded in assent.
I turned around and watched them as we sped off.