Chapter 3

"Damn, I know that I have to kill him! ... How? ... All right, that's an idea... Yes, I will... Yes, I'll call back when I've got rid of him..."

So Ed had stumbled into a criminal's cabin – and the man thought that he had chased him down!

Negotiation didn't seem to be much of an option. If he wanted to get out of this alive he had to do something, and fast.

He looked around, hoping to find something useful. Come on, Ed, you haven't worked with Chief Ironside for a decade, gone to university and become Eve's husband to get yourself killed by some dirty punk just like that! he berated himself.

There was a bottle of bleach on the shelf. He threw it to the ground with his elbow, then he did the same with a bottle of vinegar. Fortunately the flower pots were on the lowest shelf, so he could grab one.

Although it wasn't easy with his hands going numb behind his back he managed to open the vinegar bottle and pour some of the vinegar into the pot, spilling a good part of it. Making sure that his hands were dry he grabbed the bleach. He managed to open that one too before the key was turned and the door was pushed open. Holding his breath he threw the bleach into the direction of the pot. The hermit started to cough heavily when the resulting chlorine gas penetrated his airways. Ed slipped past him and fled out into the night.

Suzanne was awaiting Ironside at the airport, Danny at her side.

"Any news?" asked the Chief as soon as he saw them.

She shook her head. It was visible that she was now as convinced as Danny that something had gone wrong.

"We'll have to put an APB out on Ed's car."

"They could have had an accident. There are some dangerous roads in Rocky Mountain National park, and maybe they didn't even get back to the car."

"When normal people vanish, you may think of an accident. When this happens to a police Chief, think of a crime," Ironside answered somberly.

She sighed. "I know. I just don't want to believe it."

"Have you been drinking?"

"No, I haven't! Danny would have set my teeth on edge if I had."

Together they entered the Browns' little house. Ironside knew it from his visit early this summer, when Ed had been in trouble because of Danny being a suspect of vandalism.*

In a corner of the living room he saw a new picture, obviously created by the artistically talented Fran Belding: in a big heart there was a wedding picture of Eve and Ed and photos of Suzanne and Danny. In beautiful letters she had written on the red paper of the heart Psalm 115:18: "We will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD."

Ironside was committed to making every effort to help this very special family.

He wheeled to the phone. He contacted the police department, informed them and requested that an APB be put out on Ed's car. Then he started to search for his friends, calling the hotel where they had spent the night.

Liz Gallagher was up early as always. Since her retirement as a schoolteacher she spent the summers out here in her cabin in the mountains. In October she would move back to Denver. She looked out into her little garden and stiffened. A ragged figure was stumbling through the gate, a tall man, not even wearing a jacket against the morning chilliness. His torn shirt was hanging halfway out of his jeans. Looking closely she saw that his hands were cuffed behind his back. Oh Lord, was this an escaped prisoner?

She fetched her rifle and stepped out onto the porch. The man saw her and stood still.

* See ff story "Patterns"