Chap 6
They made it back to the place where they found the body by 8:00.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Susie asked quizzically.
"Damn sure," John responded with a firmness that even surprised himself. "I stacked a few rocks in a cairn by that tree," he said, pointing to a two inch oak by the trail. "Oak is out of place in these woods, so I picked it to stand out. Look, the rocks are scattered around here."
Sure enough, they were the same rocks he had stacked.
"But no trace of the body," he added quietly as he probed the ground for any evidence a dead body had laid there a few hours ago.
After a few minutes, John stood up and faced Susie, holding her upper arms in his hands and looking into her eyes.
"Believe it or not, I have a Gift. When I touched the body last night, I could see the route he had run through the forest."
She pulled away from him, her eyes squinting in disbelief and distrust. "John," she said slowly, "I'm thinking 'maniac' here."
"No, really, you don't have to believe me, I'll show you," he stated with confidence.
"Hey, I'm thinking this is something you concocted so you can take me out in the woods and cut me into little pieces, never to be seen again," she said rapidly with a tremor in her voice.
"No, just think about it, I would have done you last night if things were like that," he replied tenderly, reaching out with one hand.
"OK," she again said slowly as the concept worked through her initial surprise at the revelation.
She raised her hand and held his. They drew close and kissed warmly for a few minutes.
"I'll tell you later about the Gift. Let's get started tracking."
The furtive figure had followed them at a distance but was still not within hearing range. He saw them headed the same direction the dead man had come. "Foxtrot Zulu to base, Foxtrot Zulu to base," he spoke softly into his Kenwood PK 20. Base here, go ahead Foxtrot Zulu he heard in response with the volume turned so low he could barely hear it. "Targets proceeding toward base, repeat, targets proceeding toward base," he whispered. "How the fuck they know which direction to go? Advise response." Stay on their tail and don't show yourself. Base out.