The Remedy Page 4

  Who set that trap?

  But nothing short of fancy police equipment and computer databases could solve the case, and their department didn’t have the time or money to devote to such a detailed investigation. With miles and miles of rugged, wooded landscape, there was a whole world in which the perpetrator could hide. The rangers had no choice but to let the case go and just pray it would remain an isolated incident. Besides, the most important thing at the moment was that Phil was okay and that his injuries were not permanent.

  ***

  The screen door of the headquarters swung open as Jake entered, its springs squealing a pathetic plea for some WD-40. The fact the screen was still attached to the doorframe at all proved just how high the temperature had remained, even in the first week of September. In past years, Jake would’ve put the extra-ventilated door back into storage, along with the AC unit that still hummed in one of building’s rear windows. He didn’t even need to wear his windbreaker, which he hung on the coat hooks near the entrance as Phil registered a pair of day hikers. They were an attractive couple, probably in their late twenties, clad in color-coordinated L.L. Bean outfits.

  Phil addressed the man and pointed at a form attached to a clipboard. “Just sign here and you’ll be all set.”

  “Super,” the man said, scribbling a line on the bottom of the paper before handing it back. Phil accepted the clipboard, gave it one final check, and added, “Before you go, may I interest you in any complimentary provisions?”

  He gestured to a small display rack of dried meats and trail mix.

  “Why, thank you,” the man said, grabbing a package of dried beef nuggets.

  “I’ll have to pass,” the woman said. “That’s very generous, but I brought my own.”

  Phil winked at her like a mall Santa Claus trying to coerce a Christmas wish out of a shy child. “Well, how about a cup of coffee to start your day? I promise you won’t find a cup this good at Starbucks.”

  The young woman smiled coyly. “Well, okay. I am still a bit groggy, thanks to this one.” She playfully elbowed her companion.

  “Hey!” the man said. “You’ll thank me later when we have the whole trail to ourselves this early in the morning.”

  Phil handed her the cup of coffee. “Have fun, you two. And remember, even though it still feels like summer, the sun is setting earlier as the days get shorter. So give yourselves plenty of time to get out of the woods before dark.”

  “Of course, sir. Thanks again.”

  Jake gave the couple a friendly nod as they passed by and turned to the other ranger.

  “How we doin’ this morning, Phil?”

  Without asking, Phil handed Jake a fresh cup of coffee. Jake accepted it like he did at the start of every workday, inhaling its aroma with a euphoric “Mmm.”

  Phil leaned back, linking his hands behind his balding head in a relaxed pose. With an ear-to-ear grin stretching across the forty-five-year-old’s face, he exclaimed, “Cast comes off tomorrow!”

  “Really? I thought you still had another week. That’s great.”

  “You’re telling me!” Phil hit a few keys on the computer then stood up, pulling his shoulders back and pushing his overweight belly forward, audibly popping several of his vertebrae in the process. “If I was stuck behind this desk another day, I’d go off the deep end. I belong out there.”

  “Well, maybe you’ll watch your step from now on,” Jake said, teasing.

  But Phil didn’t take the bait, directing his anger at the ones responsible for his condition. “Goddamned poachers! I would just love to catch the fucking bastard who set that trap!”

  “You and me both, Phil. But like I’ve been telling you, you’re only going to raise your blood pressure if you don’t let it go. Just consider yourself lucky that the teeth on that trap were as dull as they were or you might’ve lost a foot.”

  Phil retook his seat behind the computer, grumbling, “Tell me something I don’t know.”

  The ham radio to his left suddenly erupted with the fuzzy transmission of a ranger at another outpost.

  “HQ, this is Maple Ridge station requesting confirmation of radio test. Come back. Over.”

  Phil leaned toward the radio’s microphone and pressed the appropriate button. “This is HQ. Radio communications are open. You may conclude testing. Over.”

  “Test complete, HQ. Over and out.”

  Motioning with the steaming cup of coffee in his hand, Jake pointed at the radio. “Was that Doug?”

  “Yeah,” Phil answered. “I sent him up to Maple Ridge to have a quick look at the generator. Thing’s been on the fritz lately. I asked him to do a radio test on his way out so he should be on his way back now.”

  Jake nodded. “Good. I’m sure Doug will figure out what’s wrong. The kid’s a whiz with small motors.” Jake realized the heat emanating through the thin cup was starting to burn his hand. “Well, I guess I’ll take do some paper work while I wait for him.”

  Jake walked around a partitioned wall that separated his and Phil’s workstations. He sat down at his desk, placing the cup of coffee on top of a yellow pad of sticky notes. As he waited for his computer to boot up, Jake sipped the dark, delicious brew. He’d already had a cup with his breakfast that morning at the Spruce Moose Diner, but Jake could never resist Phil’s special blend. It was the only cup that Jake never bothered adding cream or sugar to, preferring to savor the drink’s distinct flavor.

  The computer’s home screen sparked to life, a breathtaking Vermont mountaintop landscape offsetting the usual icons and toolbar. Before Jake placed the cup back down on the desk, he took one more generous gulp. He could already feel the caffeine taking effect, and felt truly awake for the first time that morning. Jake suspected that Phil added a secret shot of espresso to the concoction, but the older man always insisted that it was for him to know and Jake to wonder. Still, there was no denying that the instant revitalization was something you’d never find in a cup of Folger’s Crystals.

  It wasn’t long before Jake had reached the bottom of his mug. Though he could smell the steaming pot around the corner beckoning to him, he purposely distracted himself with an email from the regional headquarters. For the thousandth time in his life, he’d made a promise to himself to cut back on the caffeine.

  You beat nicotine addiction over a year ago, so cutting back on coffee should be a walk in the park, right?

  Then again, Phil didn’t greet Jake with a lit cigarette every morning.

  The screen door sang its screeching song once more and then slammed shut as the youngest and newest ranger, Douglas Graham, made his usual noisy entrance. The twenty-something removed his hat to reveal a mop of bushy black hair that hung in front of his eyes. Doug’s laid-back, bed-head style completely contradicted his straight-laced official uniform. Jake had known right away that the recent college graduate would be an ideal addition to their team after one look at his impressive résumé. Multiple internships and high marks in every environmental science course offered at his school paired well with his easy-going personality.

  “Hey, Doug,” Jake greeted the rookie. “Were you able to fix the generator at Maple Ridge?”

  Doug finished his Vitaminwater bottle and nodded. “Yeah, it should be good to go. I gave it a good cleaning and it seems to be working.” He shot his empty bottle at the trash bin. It bounced off the back rim and fell in.

  Jake raised his eyebrows. “Nice one. You ready to go?”

  “Just let me grab a cup of coffee and I’ll be all set.” Doug then turned to Phil. “So do you think you’ll be able to hold down the fort while we’re gone?”

  Phil shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the computer screen. “Har har. Enjoy it while you can, newbie. After tomorrow, it’ll be your ass stuck behind this desk.”

  Doug filled his coffee Thermos and smiled. Jake knew Phil had the kid there. If not for the veteran’s foot injury, Doug would’ve started out in the office doing all the grunt work. As it was, Doug received
a month’s worth of fieldwork and enjoyed every second of it, temporary as it was.

  Doug took a challenging step toward Phil’s desk. “But you know it won’t last for long, old man. I bet you’ll step into another trap the first day you forget your glasses.” He grinned, raising up three fingers. “How many, Phil?”

  Phil raised his middle finger in return. “You tell me.”

  Jake’s hand wasn’t quick enough to stifle a laugh at the childish behavior.

  “And you can kiss my ass, too,” Phil said, turning the hand gesture in Jake’s direction.

  “I’m sorry, Phil, but he’s got your number.”

  Phil narrowed his eyes at his associates and muttered, “Yeah, whatever. We’ll see who gets the last laugh when you’re the one twiddling your thumbs between radio tests.

  Doug scoffed and tapped the side of the metal box. “Why do we even still use this ancient technology? Would it kill us to get with the times?”

  Phil finished his coffee, crumpling the paper cup into a tight ball and throwing it at the cocky newbie. “Well, Douglas, why don’t you write the state and request an increase in our funding so we might be able to afford improvements? They haven’t bothered to throw a cent our way in the last five years, but maybe your irresistible charm is just what we need.”

  Before Doug could offer up a clever comeback, Jake cut in to end the bickering. “In all seriousness, the ham radio is reliable. It works when our walkie-talkies and phones fail.” He unlocked the wooden door to the station’s gun cabinet and handed a rifle to Doug before taking one for himself. “All right, all right. What do you say we get out of here already? We’ve got work to do.”

  Doug rolled his eyes and accepted the firearm. “Ah yes, our trusty rifles. The most unnecessary equipment we could possible carry. I bet I could work here for thirty years without ever having to take a single shot.”

  “You should be so lucky,” Phil mumbled, not bothering to look away from the papers on his desk. “I’d step in a bear trap everyday if it guaranteed we’d never have to use those things.”

  “Yeah, well, I think I’d rather shoot a bear everyday than step in its trap, but that’s just me,” said Doug.

  “I’m not talking about shooting bears, kid. We carry pepper spray on our belts for a reason.” Phil’s eyes rose to meet Doug’s.

  “What, you shoot people? I didn’t realize I was working alongside Judge Dredd.”

  Phil turned back to his computer. In a volume just over a whisper he replied, “Not me.”

  The comment hung in the air like a paper bag floating in the breeze. When Doug finally realized what the older man was saying, his head jerked to where Jake stood waiting at the door. Instead of offering an explanation, Jake only said, “Come on. Let’s go.”

  Although it was obvious by the look in Doug’s eyes that he wanted to know the story, the rookie bit his tongue and followed. As he took his first step toward the building’s exit, Phil waved, saying, “Enjoy yourselves out there, boys! I’ll be here…having a blast.”

  Doug looked back over his shoulder. “Don’t sweat it, Phil. Without you around to entertain us, I’m sure nothing interesting is going to happen today. Right, Jake?”

  Jake caressed the smooth, freshly oiled wood of the rifle’s stock resting on his shoulder. Years ago, as a rookie, he’d been tasked with oiling the rifles the same day Phil asked if he wanted to accompany him on his route for the first time. He remembered inhaling the heavy aroma of the varnish only an hour later as he took aim at another human being. He’d never enjoy the smell again.

  “Jake?”

  Doug was staring at him, his hand reaching out for the keys that Jake still had in his hand.

  Jake shook himself out of his dark trip down memory lane. He tossed the keys to Doug.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. It’s most likely gonna be just another Monday.” His grip on the rifle tightened, whitening his knuckles.

  Chapter 4

  “So, that’s it?”

  Sam leaned back into his seat, unfazed by the task assigned to him.

  Marshall looked to Rob, Eliza, and Alex to see if there was anything he’d missed. After they nodded their heads, he turned back to Sam. “That’s pretty much the whole deal. All we need is a way to get this—” he lifted the bag of pot—“across the border without getting busted. And if you can pull it off, I don’t think anyone here would be opposed to sharing a little bit of the wealth with you.”

  “Hey, if Sammy-boy can come through,” Rob chimed in from the front seat, “then I think we could afford to throw more than just a little his way.”

  Sam brought his left hand to his chin, contemplating the proposal. The others stared at him, unblinking in anticipation. After seconds of silence, Alex couldn’t stand it any longer.

  “So, can you help us?”

  The boy’s eyes rose from the floor of the van.

  “Well, if all you’re looking for is a way to dodge the border patrol, then sure. I know a way. No sweat.”

  Sam’s answer was greeted by a cheer that rocked the frame of the vehicle. In her usual flirtatious manner, Alex planted a fat kiss on her palm and then pressed the hand to Sam’s cheek. “You’re the best! You just saved our asses big time.”

  Leigh brought her fingers to her mouth to conceal a smirk. Who knew what else Alex would’ve done in gratitude if Marshall wasn’t sitting next to her? She wondered if anyone else noticed the lingering eye contact Alex offered Sam, or the way her eyebrow raised ever so slightly.

  Leigh, of course, had grown quite accustomed to spotting this behavior from her roommate. What wasn’t par for the course, however, was Sam’s reaction. When Alex removed her hand, the boy looked away to the window, as if the endless trees passing outside interested him far more. The initial connection Leigh felt toward this stranger was beginning to gain clarity. The fact that Sam didn’t look twice at such typical “eye candy” further suggested a depth to him that surpassed the rest of her present company.

  Leigh brushed a lock of hair from her forehead, summoning enough courage to look the handsome boy in the eye. She still hadn’t shaken that strange feeling of guilt that they might be leading Sam into more than he had bargained for

  “You know,” she said to him, “you don’t have to do this if it’s any trouble for you.”

  Sam flashed his teeth. “No trouble at all. Actually, it’s really very simple. There’s an unposted hiking trail a little ways up that crosses over the border and reconnects to this same road. So all you have to do is walk your…” Sam hesitated, searching for the right word “…stuff through the woods while someone takes your van across the checkpoint.”

  Eliza drummed her fingers on the dashboard in excitement. “Sounds pretty good!”

  “Hell yeah, it does!” Marshall agreed.

  Rob slowed the van to look back at Marshall in the rearview mirror. “Don’t get too excited, man. You’re the one who’s going to be driving the van across the border.”

  “Oh, really?” Marshall said.

  “Yes, really. Ain’t no way I’m parting ways with our score. Besides, you owe me and you know it.”

  Leigh expected Marshall to retort with some half-witted comeback, but his response was merely a single word.

  “Shit.”

  And then Leigh remembered: the first night they were in Montreal, they’d wasted no time getting drunk at the first pub they stumbled upon. Long after he’d lost count of the number of beers he’d emptied, Marshall excused himself to go take a piss. But instead of heading to the bathrooms in the back of the tavern, Marshall staggered outside, relieving himself against the side of the Peel Pub. Leigh was the only one to realize Marshall had yet to come back right before Alex discovered she had an unheard voicemail on her cellphone.

  “They threw me in the drunk tank. Come bail me out.”

  Two hours later, it was Rob who had offered cash from his own wallet to get his tanked buddy back to the hotel, safe and sound. Leigh found it unusua
lly bighearted of Rob to step up to the plate without a moment’s hesitation—but now here he was, using the favor as leverage.

  The world made sense again.

  Marshall eyed his friend behind the steering wheel. “So you’re saying if I do this…I won’t owe you the money?”

  “Like it never happened.”

  Marshall gritted his teeth, swallowed hard, and finally said, “Okay.”

  “Well, all right!” Rob punched the roof of the van, adding a high-pitched whoop. “Looks like I’ll be taking a hike with my main man, Sam!”

  “It’s nothing,” Sam said sheepishly. “You guys are taking me all the way to Burlington. It’s the least I can do. In fact, I have something else for you if anyone is interested.”

  Leigh watched as Sam hoisted his backpack from the floor and placed it in his lap. He tugged the zipper open and reached his hand into the largest pocket. A moment later he pulled out a plastic zip-locked bag filled with dark strips of dried meat.

  Sam shook the bag and smiled. “Anyone hungry?”

  Alex eyed the bag without attempting to hide her look of curiosity and disgust. “What is it?”

  “It’s jerky!”

  Marshall put an arm around Alex and eyed the bag as well. “I don’t know, dude. It doesn’t look much like a Slim Jim to me.”

  “This is much better than that factory-packaged junk,” Sam replied. “It’s homemade.” He looked from one passenger to another. “Any takers?”

  Marshall offered his most polite smile. “Uh, that’s real nice of you, man, but I’m not really that hungry.”

  “And I’m a vegetarian,” Alex piped in, lying through her teeth.

  “I’m going to have to pass as well,” Rob shouted to the back of the van. He nudged Eliza. “Don’t have a taste for squirrel.” Eliza tried to cover Rob’s rude commentary by quickly following it up with, “Maybe later, Sam. After we’ve gotten back and blazed up. I’m sure I’ll be craving it by then.”

  Sam shrugged as if to say, “Whatever,” but Leigh didn’t fail to notice the subtle manner in which his eyes narrowed or how he adjusted himself in his seat. Leigh had paid enough attention in her psychology classes to know these were signifiers of discomfort, even possible feelings of dejection. She shook her head for the thousandth time that trip, once again disapproving of the group’s collective behavior. She tapped Sam’s shoulder.