Paul Drake to the Rescue
Sitting in the hotel restaurant listening as Micah Parker laid out the search grids and assigned the teams, Paul put his arms around Marica, pulling her close.
"I know you can't 'see' where they are. But if you had to make a choice…"
Marica turned her lovely grey eyes towards him. Just now they were stormy, darkening to almost black.
"I don't know, Paul. I just can't get enough of Mr. Mason's…aura…"
Paul leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "It's alright. Let's put it this way. If you were just 'flying by the seat of your pants,' which lake would you choose?"
She tempered her voice to rid it of the annoyance his question brought. Keeping her tone soft, she replied, "First of all - I never 'fly' anywhere by the seat of my pants or any other part of my body."
Paul grimaced and started to apologize, but she shook her head.
"Second - if I had a choice, I'd look at the unnamed lake. That may be why I can't get a sense of Mr. Mason."
"Why is that?"
"Names are very important. We . . ." She trailed off.
"Psychics?"
Marica nodded, thankful Paul understood her reluctance to say the word. Most people were like he had been at the start of this adventure. Skeptical, mocking even.
"I…feel…if the plane had crashed at one of the other two lakes, I would get a sense of the name." When Paul only looked at her quizzically, Marica continued. "For instance, if it were Vestal Lake I might get a sense of a 'V'. Or if it were Balsam I might see a piece of wood or…"
Paul grinned. "Now I understand. So, because the third lake has no name you can't 'see.'"
Marica nodded. "Exactly."
At that moment, Parker came over to their table. "We are ready to head out. I am sure you want to join one of the search parties."
Before Marica could respond, Paul nodded. "Chief, we'd like to search around the unnamed lake."
Parker looked from Paul to Marica thoughtfully, then smiled his understanding.
"Of course. We will go with Team 2. I must warn you, it will be a rough trip. We are going on horseback. The terrain is rocky and after this weather system, treacherous at best. It will take hours."
Paul looked at Marica, wondering if she were truly ready for this. Sensing his thoughts, she laughed at him.
"Relax, Paul. I spent countless summers at my grandparents' ranch just over the state line in Texas. I can handle a horse."
Parker laughed and chimed in. "I have a copter circling each lake in case your friends have managed to signal somehow. I could arrange for you to ride with them if you would like."
Marica shook her head. "I prefer the land route."
"But if you have a copter and they…"
Parker placed a hand on Paul's shoulder, shaking his head. "Even if they do spot something, there is no way for the copter to land safely. But spotters can give us an exact location. So let us hope Mr. Mason is a resourceful man."
Now Paul laughed. "Oh, he is, but it's Miss Street who was the Girl Scout. If there's a signal, my money's on her."
In the midst of the others milling around, waiting on assignments sat Danny Novello. He watched the big Principal Chief, the lanky detective and the so-called psychic with great interest and undisguised contempt. He couldn't believe these people were depending on some crackpot witch to find Jimmy. But the ranger seemed to have confidence in her, so Danny planned on sticking close.
He was worried when he learned she said the plane had sunk. But that was a simple problem once they found Jimmy. His employer had been very adamant in his instructions. Find Jimmy but more importantly, find the plane. Danny had no idea why this was such a big deal, but he also learned never to question his employer, not if you wanted to continue to be in his employ—and to breathe.
Once Parker had sent the other two teams on their way, he gathered Paul, Marica and the rest of his team. He approached the young man, Danny Novello, to ask him a few quick questions. Since he was a local resident, or so he claimed, Micah wanted to know if he had a better way to head towards the unnamed lake.
"No, sir. I think the route you're taking is the best. Ah…shouldn't we get started?"
Parker stared hard at the man, feeling in his gut there was something not right. From the man's apparel to his obvious nervous energy, the picture of him in that place and at that moment seemed off.
"Chief!"
Hearing Paul's anxious voice, Parker pushed the feeling down, but vowed to keep a close eye on the stranger.
"Okay, Paul, Time to get this horse show started."
The search party traveled by Jeep as far as they could. Since this lake was at the lowest point of the Vestal Basin, they would be approaching it from the least traveled route. It would be an 18-mile ride through some of the roughest terrain in the wilderness. But Parker assured them it was still the quickest way to reach the lake.
When they reached the end of the Jeep trail, the team saw a makeshift corral and several rangers saddling horses.
While Parker went to converse with the rangers, Paul helped Marica from the back of the Jeep. Dressed in tight blue jeans, a plaid work shirt and black cowboy boots, Paul pulled her in for a quick kiss.
"What was that for?"
Paul chuckled and kissed her again. "It's just that . . . You aren't like anyone I've ever met before. It's not just your gift. It's who you are, Marica. Your sense of self, your way of thinking. You are witty, and you laugh at me. I gotta say, I never much liked being laughed at, but I love it when you do it. You surprise me, keep me on my toes. Most of the women I know don't surprise me. You, however, absolutely amaze me."
"Why?" She was genuinely curious.
"Well, let's see. When faced with the task of riding horseback through the mountains, most women would choose to stay in a nice, comfortable hotel. Then, even if they did decide to join in, not every woman would have already been prepared with her riding ensemble—and I must say, a sexy one it is—packed a complete day in advance."
"Oh, is that all?"
Now Paul pulled her into his arms. "No, but we'll save the rest for later."
Marica only stared at the tall man. Their night together had been amazing. But Paul had told her his past experiences with women had been anything but perfect. Marica had also confessed her less than successful pairings, mostly due to her . . . feelings. Yet as she looked at him, all she sensed was a feeling of rightness.
"Hey, you two lovebirds want to find your friends or go back to the hotel?"
Paul turned toward Parker with a frown.
"Coming."
Marica picked up a cowboy hat from the seat of the Jeep, placing it on her head to complete her look. Paul grabbed his own hat and taking Marica's arm headed to where two horses stood waiting for them.
He helped her climb onto a beautiful paint mare, then mounted his own bay stallion. Watching as Marica spurred her horse to follow behind the ranger, he once again thought what a strange and wonderful mixture this woman was.
He was about to move up beside her when he heard a small commotion behind him. The young man who purported to be a local was trying to mount his horse on the right.
Local, my grandfather's gold coins! That city slicker doesn't have the horse sense of Mr. Ed! Any fool knows you only mount on the left side, for fear of spooking a horse!
The big stallion was turning in circles while the man was trying to get his foot out of the stirrup, a string of colorful swear words emanating from his mouth as he berated the irate horse.
Paul nudged his mount closer until he could grab the reins of the unhappy animal. "Whoa, fella. Take it easy now."
With the confused horse now standing still but obviously very nervous, Danny managed to extract his foot. Paul noticed the Italian loafer instead of a boot, wondering just how much of a local this man was.
He smiled sardonically. "You might want to try getting up on the left side of the horse, pal."
Danny shot him a hostile, snide look, then came around to the proper side of the horse and climbed up into the saddle. Paul stared hard at the man, thinking he knew him from somewhere.
"Have we met before, Mr . . . ?"
"Novello." Danny checked his attitude. His cover was teetering on blown, and he had a feeling Drake the detective wouldn't hesitate to rat him out to the authorities. Forcing a smile, he admitted, "No, I doubt it. I haven't lived here very long."
Paul filed the name away, planning on checking it. But now his mind went back to the job at hand.
"Well, we better catch up with the rest of the team. Think you can handle the beast now?"
Novello flushed, laughed off the insult, and spurred his horse forward.
Paul quickly caught up with Marica, vowing to keep a closer watch on Novello. Marica smiled at him, then seeing the scowl on his face, put her hand out to touch his arm.
"Paul? What's wrong?"
Paul hesitated, not wanting to "abuse" her gift. But the more he thought about the "local" in the Italian loafers who did not know how to mount a horse, the more he . . .
"Paul, your thoughts are very loud. Please tell me what's wrong."
He looked at her and the scowl faded. "Sorry. I need to ask something of you, but I don't want to— I don't want you to think that I am . . . Could you…"
Now Marica took his hand, feeling the tension travel from his hand into her body. Paul suddenly felt the tension leave his body. He felt calm, almost as if he had awakened from a deep, restful sleep. But when he looked at Marica, he saw the stiffness, almost painful expression on her lovely face.
He tried to pull his hand from her, but she grasped his hand even tighter.
"Marica? Marica let go."
"He's not who he seems. You must watch him. He's . . . he's—"
Marica released Paul's hand and slumped forward and would have fallen from the horse if he had not grabbed her.
Oh no! Just what we don't need right now. Perry, what on earth have you gotten yourself into?