The Chupacabra Catastrophe Read online

  “I don’t think he’s the only one.”

  “Why? Are you going to freak out, too?” Laura arched an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued.

  I bit back a hot retort and forced myself to remain calm. “I’m talking about Millie … and Hannah … and Myron. Don’t you think they’re going to freak out?”

  Laura shrugged, noncommittal. “I hadn’t given it much thought. I guess you’re right. If Chris is dead … .”

  Her cavalier attitude toward our boss, a man who had been nothing but warm and kind, grated. “He’s been gone only a few hours. We don’t know he’s dead.”

  “We don’t know he’s alive either.”

  “Just … can’t you go someplace else and spout your nonsense?” I challenged.

  “What crawled up your butt and died?”

  “You.” I pushed myself to a standing position and shook my head, frustration and weariness threatening to overtake me. At this point I’d been awake almost twenty-four hours and the strain was starting to show. “I don’t want Chris to be dead.”

  Laura balked. “I don’t want him to be dead either.”

  “No, but you seem to be emitting a certain amount of glee over the situation,” I pointed out. “You might want to ask yourself why.”

  “I’m not gleeful.”

  “No?” I scratched at an invisible itch on my cheek as I regarded her. Now wasn’t the time to pick a fight, yet I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “Where were you, Laura? Why was Chris alone in the first place?”

  “Where were you?” Laura shot back, her face flushing with color as she hopped up. “Where were you when he was wandering around by himself? I’ll tell you where you were. You were mooning over Jack, because that’s what you spend all your time doing.”

  I wanted to do the chick thing and smack her, but managed to refrain. “I was hardly mooning over Jack.”

  “Oh, don’t kid yourself,” Laura shot back. “We’ve all seen it. You follow him from one place to the other, one adventure to the other, and you can’t stop staring. It’s a little pathetic. Do you really think Jack is going to give you what you want?”

  “And what do I want?”

  “Him,” Laura replied without hesitation. “It’s written all over your face when you look at him. He knows it. I see it when he looks at you. He thinks it’s cute … like you’re a little kid with your first crush. He’ll never return your feelings.”

  I felt exposed. Actually, I felt far more than that. I was annoyed, flustered, frustrated, angry and ripped open for everyone to stare at. Laura thought she knew everything, saw everything. She didn’t know or see anything, though. “I don’t know what you think you see … but I don’t have a crush on Jack.”

  “I wish I believed that, at least for your sake, but I don’t.” Laura adopted a faux sympathetic tone. “He’s only sticking so close to you because you’re the new team member and he’s afraid you’ll get into trouble. He doesn’t really care about you.”

  Laura meant the words to be a dig. I didn’t want to give her power over me, but the statement hurt all the same. Instead of letting her see it, I ran my tongue over my teeth and took a step back. “This is not the type of conversation we should be having when we’re looking for a missing person. Chris disappeared on your watch because you were too hot for Zach to pay your boss any attention.

  “This isn’t on Jack,” I continued. “This is on you. Don’t even think of trying to blame Jack.”

  “He’s head of security,” Laura argued. “He should’ve been watching Chris instead of you. In fact, you shouldn’t have been out here in the first place. You had no legitimate reason to be on this trip and you know it.”

  I refused to engage in a screaming match with the police so close. I barely managed to hold onto my temper. “I get what you’re doing. I’ve seen it before. You’re the type of person who never takes personal responsibility. If that makes you feel better, well, great. I guess that’s good for you, but it doesn’t work on the rest of us. It won’t work when Millie finds out.

  “I happen to know that you were too wrapped up in your personal crap to pay attention to what Chris was doing,” I continued. “I see what your attack really is. It’s a way to cover your guilt.”

  Anger flashed through Laura’s eyes. “I have nothing to feel guilty about.”

  “Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

  Jack was working with the sheriff’s deputies, so I took advantage of the rising sun and crossed the street. I needed distance from Laura – her accusations regarding Jack set my teeth on edge – and I couldn’t get it if we were sharing space in the middle of Hooper’s Mill.

  I took up position in front of the hotel and stared up, mentally moving through rooms until I focused on a specific window on the second floor. I was fairly certain that was the room I stood in and looked out while lost in my vision. The room where I ultimately wouldn’t be alone – something evil moving in on me even as Jack stalked the streets searching for me while screaming my name.

  I willed myself to return to the vision so I could learn more, pressing my eyes shut as I opened my mind. Why was I here? Why was I in that room? Who would move in on me? How did Jack know I was in danger? Were we here looking for Chris? Was something else going on? How did the Chupacabra fit into all of this?

  I had a hundred questions and no answers.

  “What are you doing?”

  Jack surprised me when he moved to my side. I sensed him a split-second before he spoke.

  “Thinking.” It wasn’t a lie. I couldn’t do anything but think right now. “What are you doing? What did the cops say?”

  “They’re calling for reinforcements and starting a search,” Jack replied grimly. “They warned us not to go anywhere. That’s not sitting well with Laura – she’s over there trying to talk them out of their decision – but it makes sense to me.”

  “They think we did something to him, don’t they?”

  “I don’t believe that’s true,” Jack hedged. “I obviously can’t see inside their heads, but from a strictly law enforcement perspective it wouldn’t make much sense for us to drive out here, set up camp, do something to our boss and then call them.”

  “We’re looking for the Chupacabra,” I reminded him. “That might bolster our case.”

  “In theory,” Jack conceded. “But if we really wanted to bolster our case we’d have an exsanguinated body out here for them to discover.”

  He looked tired when I risked a glance in his direction. Tired and … sick to his stomach. Worry over Chris was eating him alive, but he was trying to be strong for my benefit. I mentally compared him to a warrior, one who fought to the death for honor and loyalty, and then shook my head at my ridiculousness. “How do you know they won’t find a body out there?” I asked. “We couldn’t really look because it was dark. Now it will be easier to see if he’s out there.

  “I’m not saying I want Chris to be dead,” I continued. “That’s the last thing I want. If someone is trying to send us a message, though … .”

  “Then killing him would be the way to do it,” Jack finished, pressing his hand to his forehead. “This is unbelievable. It can’t be happening.”

  My heart went out to him. “This isn’t your fault. You can’t blame yourself. I know Laura is spouting off at the mouth, but you didn’t do this.”

  “Is that what she’s been saying?” Jack didn’t look especially surprised. “I wondered what you guys were talking about.”

  “She said a lot of stupid things,” I groused, tugging a frustrated hand through my hair. “As long as she doesn’t have to blame herself for any of this she’s more than happy to point the finger at others.”

  Jack narrowed his eyes to dangerous slits. “What did she say to you?”

  I realized my mistake too late to take it back. The last thing Jack needed was to split his focus. “It doesn’t matter. It was simply Laura being Laura.”

  Jack didn’t look convinced. “Whatever she said, ignore her. For
now, the cops want us out of the way. We have to sit over there and wait for them to arrive and question us.” He pointed to the makeshift camp in front of the saloon. “I wanted to help them search, but they absolutely refused.”

  “They don’t want you accidentally tainting a potential crime scene,” I mused. “I hope they don’t find something out there.”

  “You and me both.” Jack held out his arm and ushered me toward the spot where we pitched our camp. “Why don’t you try to take a nap?” he suggested. “We’re going to be here for a little bit.”

  “I doubt very much I’ll be able to sleep.”

  “Try anyway.”

  “Fine.”

  I honestly thought sleep was out of my grasp. I was wrong.

  I WOKE WITH A start when a man cleared his throat, finding my cheek pressed against Jack’s thigh as he rested on the ground and tried to remain still so he wouldn’t wake me.

  “What … ?” I rubbed the corner of my mouth, frowning when I felt a bit of drool crusted there. “Did I fall asleep?”

  “You snored like a locomotive,” Laura shot back, her expression grim.

  Jack managed a small smile, but I knew it was only for my benefit. “You slept for an hour. It wasn’t long. You needed it.”

  “Did I really snore?” I was mortified.

  “And drooled,” Laura snarked. “It wasn’t attractive at all.”

  “Ignore her,” Jack ordered, shaking his head. “It was fine. You needed the sleep. You were much better off than the rest of us. I think you even dreamed. You were whispering or something in your sleep. I couldn’t make it out.”

  “I think she was having a sex dream,” Laura said pointedly. “Can you guess who it was about?”

  If Jack understood the challenge in Laura’s voice he didn’t show it. Instead he merely rolled his eyes and helped me to a sitting position. “Don’t give her a hard time, Laura.”

  “Fine,” Laura gritted out. “I won’t give her a hard time. I happen to think her little crush on you is cute, even though it won’t go anywhere and she’ll end up with a broken heart.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from lashing out and rubbed my cheek in an effort to cut down on the burn. Jack’s eyes were sympathetic. “I … .”

  “Ignore her,” Jack prodded. “She’s just trying to get a rise out of you. Don’t let her.”

  “I am not trying to get a rise out of her,” Laura argued.

  “That’s what you live for, Laura,” Jack said. “It’s beyond pathetic.”

  “You’re beyond pathetic,” Laura shot back.

  Someone cleared his throat again and I recognized the sound that woke me. When I lifted my eyes, I found a sheriff’s deputy with a notebook in his hand standing on the other side of Jack. He didn’t look happy.

  “This is Deputy Pierson,” Jack supplied, returning to the business at hand. “I believe he has an update for us.”

  “I don’t have much of an update,” Pierson countered, his gaze landing on me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but his expression didn’t reflect friendliness, or hope, for that matter. “We’ve searched the area and can’t find any sign of Chris Biggs. He seems to have disappeared into thin air.”

  “That’s good, right?” Laura rested her hands on her knees. “If you haven’t found him, that means he’s not dead.”

  Pierson’s expression remained flat. “Is there a reason we should believe he’s dead?”

  Jack shook his head, annoyance evident. “No. She just likes to talk to hear herself talk.”

  “That’s rich considering who you just let drool on you,” Laura shot back.

  Jack ignored her. “Like I told you before, we have no reason to believe Chris is dead. We also have no reason to believe that he wandered off on his own. He was looking forward to camping here last night. He had a bunch of expensive equipment with him.”

  “Maybe he ran off with the equipment,” Pierson suggested. “Have you considered that?”

  “Not in the least,” Jack replied, unruffled. “His family owns the Legacy Foundation. He’s rich. He doesn’t need to steal equipment and sell it.”

  “What about ransom?” Pierson asked. “If someone took him, would his family pay ransom?”

  “Yes, but I’ve been in touch with them, and they haven’t received a ransom call.”

  “So he just disappeared in the night and you have no idea how it happened?” Pierson was understandably dubious as his eyes bounced from face to face. “And where were you again when all this happened?”

  “We were technically with him, but we got distracted,” Zach volunteered. He’d been largely silent since Chris went missing. I had a feeling he was worried he wouldn’t get paid now that the guy who signed his contract was no longer around. “He was there one minute and gone the next.”

  “And how did you get distracted?” Pierson asked.

  “Oh, well … .” Zach trailed off, embarrassed.

  “We were making out,” Laura answered blandly. “We were behind the hotel and decided to make out while Chris was screwing around with his night-vision scope. The next thing we knew he was gone. We assumed he’d headed back to the fire – which is where Jack and Charlie were – but he wasn’t here when we got back.”

  “And you two were at the fire?” Pierson turned his attention to me. “Were you making out, too?”

  “What? No?” I was horribly embarrassed by the question.

  Laura snorted. “She has a crush on him, but he doesn’t return the feelings. They weren’t making out.”

  Jack scorched Laura with a dark look. “I think we can answer our questions. Thanks.”

  Laura made a face. “I just meant … .”

  Jack cut her off with a headshake. “No one cares what you meant. For the record, Deputy Pierson, we spent about an hour or so talking … just shooting the breeze … and then we decided to look around.

  “We each grabbed a flashlight and went into the saloon first,” he continued. “We were in there only five minutes when we heard Laura screeching. We came out, asked her what happened, and then immediately started searching for Chris.”

  “So you were at the fire for most of the night?” Pierson rubbed his chin as Jack nodded. “You would’ve seen something if Mr. Biggs returned to the main street, right?”

  Jack nodded again.

  “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. We’ve got dogs coming out here,” Pierson said. “We’ll look until we find him. You’ve got my word on that.”

  “I’d like to help,” Jack volunteered. “I have military training. I know how to run a search grid.”

  Pierson held up a hand to silence him. “It’s a nice offer, but we can’t accept it. While I don’t personally think you’re involved, we can’t rule you out. You should go back to your hotel and wait there.”

  Jack opened his mouth to argue, but Pierson shook his head to quiet him.

  “There’s nothing you can do here,” Pierson said. “There’s nothing we can let you do. You need to head back to town. Leave your things, because they’re part of a crime scene now. Go get some rest. I’ll touch base in a few hours.”

  “I guess that’s all we can do, huh?” Jack didn’t look thrilled at the prospect. “Well … I guess that’s it. Let’s head back to the hotel and talk to the others. I have a feeling this won’t go over well.”

  I had a feeling he was right.

  23

  Twenty-Three

  The ride back to the hotel was done in silence. Jack focused on the road and kept whatever thoughts plagued him to himself. Laura and Zach sat in the backseat, not whispering or speaking but making flirty eyes at one another as if we weren’t in the middle of a potential tragedy. The simple fact that they bothered doing it given the circumstances irritated the crap out of me.

  I stuck close to Jack as we walked into the hotel. Millie and Hannah sat in the lobby, faces grim and drawn. They rushed toward him when they caught sight of us.

  “Any word?” Hannah
looked tired, as if she’d been woken in the middle of the night and hadn’t returned to sleep. I figured that was exactly what happened. I’d never seen the woman look anything less than put together and perfect. Now she looked like a wreck.

  “No.” Jack gave Hannah a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “They’re calling for search dogs at Hooper’s Mill. They’re still looking. They haven’t given up.”

  “Why are you here then?” Millie challenged. She looked frazzled, as if she was one smart comment away from smiting the town … and everyone in it. “Shouldn’t you be out looking for him?”

  “They won’t allow it.”

  “Why? You’re military. You’d be helpful.”

  “I’m not a cop.” Jack was worn to the bone, but he remained strong for Millie and Hannah’s benefit. More importantly, he remained reasonable. “They don’t want me roiling up their scene. They don’t want me trying to hide evidence.”

  Millie was flummoxed. “What evidence?”

  “They think we might’ve had something to do with Chris’ disappearance,” I supplied. “We’re suspects, so we can hardly help with the search. They segregated us the second they arrived and kept us in the middle of town so they could watch us.”

  “Well, that’s ridiculous,” Millie sputtered. “Why would you do something to Chris and then call them for help?”

  “To cover our tracks,” Jack replied. “The deputy in charge said he doesn’t believe we’re suspects, but he can’t in good conscience have us out there.”

  “Are they acting as if they’re looking for a body?” Hannah asked, her lower lip quivering.

  Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re just looking in general right now. The longer we go without knowing where Chris is, though, the more likely it is they’ll believe we did something to him.”

  “What about the Chupacabra?” Bernard asked, sliding into the room. I had no idea where he’d been standing, but it was obvious he was listening. “Do they think the Chupacabra got him?”

  Instead of scowling at the question, which he would’ve done under normal circumstances, Jack flashed a helpless look. “We didn’t see anything that even remotely resembled a Chupacabra.”