Chapter 5
The following day I was summoned to her grandma's house. I had no idea why that was and to be honest the idea wasn't sitting well with me. In the time that I'd been here I hadn't seen her let alone spoken to her. The sight of her sat out on the porch in an old wooden rocking chair had me thinking of a dear sweet old lady. The shotgun across her knee soon changed that impression. She was probably the same age as my grandmother, but her spunk manifested itself in other ways.
She was a dominating character and I learnt from her that a lot of the younger women sought out her counsel. While my grandma sought a life of fun and yeah okay, sexual encounters, Josephine sought out control to the point that very few men came near her home or family. Being who I was though I was keen to gain her acceptance so remembered all those Burg manners that had been instilled in me. We made small talk, but I think both of us were guarded with what we said. What she wouldn't do was tell me about anything about what was going on that had people behaving so scared. As far as she was concerned those strangers never interfered with her, so she kept her own counsel. I wondered if she was aware of what had nearly happened to Millie and me. It was time for me to venture further and find out for myself.
I planned to do some scouting around that evening so ensured that I had some supplies hidden outside, close to the toilet. My plan was to wait until the early hours of the morning when Danny would be fast asleep. It wasn't unusual for me to pay a nighttime visit outside so hopefully he wouldn't be too concerned. I was wearing a pair of black joggers, one of the many clothes that Millie had acquired for me, with my own black long sleeved T-shirt. I was careful to open my bedroom door to check on Danny and once I was assured that he was indeed fast asleep, walked carefully in my socked feet across the room and out of the back door. I was still keeping a watch on the cabin until I reached the hut. My gun went into the back of my waistband, boots went onto my feet with a knife in each of them. My hair was pulled back and covered with a cap giving me some sense of anonymity. I had a penlight which I swore to myself I wouldn't turn on because I knew just how it could attract someone's attention.
As I started my walk through the woods a feeling that I'd not had for a while came to me. How sad was that, here I was intending to spy on those strange Spanish visitors, and I was feeling elated, hyped up with the idea. As I followed the path that I was familiar with, that would take me around the rear of grandma's home, my mind was trying to figure out what the hell could be going on. I mean we were in the middle of nowhere so whatwas here that was so important? Or was it the solitude of the place that was important? Danny had said that the police would never come near and according to Millie the locals had basically become prisoners with some being forced to work. Doing what?
As I came to the end of the track, I sighed to myself. I really wished that Ranger had been back before I set off. Maybe he might even have come with me. Nah, he'd have been too busy, but I'm pretty sure that he would have insisted on some safety features. Like a tracker maybe. Would one work from out here? Maybe not, which had the guilt of dumping my trackers subside. Should I have told Joe what I was planning? Like that would have worked. The stupid man was so arrogant that he'd assume that it was an invitation from me to resume our failed relationship and I knew that I couldn't have coped with that. Besides he was working a case over in Philly, well that was what he'd told me. With Joe's history, maybe even that was a lie.
As I walked, I chastised myself because thinking was stopping me from being aware of my surroundings. Maybe that was why Ranger went into his zone because he couldn't afford to think or to talk like me. He probably had something there, so I tried really hard to focus myself. I'd veered off any pathways in case I came across anyone but was beginning to think that I was going around in circles. I plodded on, determined that I'd find something out and then I swore that I'd look for a way to get Danny and me away from here.
I ducked down low when I heard footsteps ahead of me so using a tree trunk to hide behind, I glanced around from my hiding place. One armed man smoking as he walked along what to me looked like a wide track, wide enough for a vehicle. So, did I follow him and see where he went or go in the opposite direction and find out where he had come from? Decisions, decisions. I opted for the opposite direction so staying within the cover of trees walked parallel to the track. A few minutes later I knew I was onto something when I saw a black truck parked up. There didn't seem to be anyone close by, but I was still very wary of bumping into those dogs again. I waited and watched, not something that I liked to do and just as I was about to move toward the truck another two trucks pulled up. It was so frustrating not to be able to make out who I was seeing. It was too dark, and their flashlights were aimed toward the ground where they were walking.
Okay, what the hell, I followed them, at a safe distance. It surprised me how sloppy they were as they walked and talked, though I had no idea what they were saying. As I rounded a bend, I had to step back into the under growth not realizing that they had stopped. There was a large new building in front of them which I was damned sure held all the answers. Again, I was waiting and watched as three of the men went inside. It became obvious that one of them was giving the orders and weirdly he always had a man on each side of him. Even from where I was, I could tell that he was a small man, or the other two were gigantic. Hmm, I wonder if he was the boss?
I wanted to take a look inside there and find out what they were hiding. The boss man and his two stooges came out and after some fast talking were driving away leaving four men guarding the place. Well shit, what now? Maybe there was a rear entrance. I carefully backed up being ever so careful not to make a sound, every leaf crunching and twig snapping seeming so loud to me. The trees were growing very close to the side of the building soI was sure that none of those guards would even consider walking this way. Didn't mean to say that that there wouldn't be a guard at the back. Hmm, okay, just keep going and I'll soon find out.
I'd only managed to maneuver myself about half way down the side of the building when there were headlights flashing across and through the trees. That had me diving for cover again. Doors slammed and men were talking as I listened. Obviously I was further awat this time so making out what was being said wasn't easy. From the snippets of conversation that I was hearing I realized that they were speaking English. So who were these people? Another group come look at what was inside the building? The problem wasn't anyone seeing me, or realizing that I was there becasue I was pretty sure that I was well hidden. It's what happened next. The world ceased to exist for me as I felt myself being lifted in the air by a whoosh of heated air.
I'm sure that I felt myself land on the ground on my back but for the life of me I couldn't understand what had just happened. My head was thumping and my ears were ringing as I opened my eyes, but I couldn't understand how it was snowing. Maybe I giggled as the white floated down from the sky, illuminated by the lights from the cars. It looked magical like I was inside one of those snow globes that you shook. At that thought I was sure that I giggled, and even as a shadow fell over me, I was seeing an angel, a white angel with a halo surrounding them.