Earthshaker

Chapter 24

Chapter 24It took us four hours to get home from Cousin Canyon instead of the two hours it had taken to get there. Briar drove like a maniac on meth, but he stuck to back roads and gave new meaning to taking the long way around. Not that we cared. All that mattered was he got us back without being waylaid by all the heat drawn by the blast in the canyon. Heat was one thing we had no time for, not with Aggie and Cousin and Owen's killer still at large.

When we barged through the door of Cruel World, we saw just how much heat we'd ducked. Duke had the news on the TV, and the blast was front and center. According to the announcer, Cousin Canyon was now swarming with FBI, CIA, NTSB, FEMA, NASA, Homeland Security, and more.

"Earth Angel!" Duke jumped out of his chair and rushed over to hug me. "Thank God!"

All I wanted to do was slump into a puddle on the floor. "Bad day, Duke."

"Really bad," said Briar as he brushed past on his way to the bathroom.

"I'll say." Duke leaned back. "It's been all over the news."

I dropped my voice. "We lost Owen."

Duke looked past me at Laurel with grave concern. "That's too bad."

"Could you please get us some coffee?" As soon as Duke let go of me, I collapsed in a chair.

Duke went straight for Laurel. "Have a seat, dear." He took her by the elbow and guided her to a chair of her own. "Hot coffee's on the way."

I stared blankly at the TV as a reporter phoned in live from Cousin Canyon. Lots of talk about a plane crash and terrorists. The National Guard had the area on lockdown. We'd been damn lucky to get out.

"I can't watch this." Laurel got up from her chair and went to stare out a window.

I grabbed the remote from the desk and turned off the TV. "Me, too."

"I wish we'd never gone up there," said Laurel. "I wish I'd never come to you for help."

"I know." I leaned back in the chair and gazed up at the ceiling.

Briar emerged from the bathroom. "I hate to do this, but I have to get to the office. I'll catch up with you later."

I rolled my head over the back of the chair and nodded up at him. "Do what you have to do. We'll either be here or at my place."

"Call me on the cell if you need me." Briar gave me one last lingering look of concern—maybe more than concern—and then he was gone. Stomped out the door jingling his keys, "Caravan" playing on the ring tone in his wake.

Laurel folded her arms across her chest and leaned her shoulder against the window. "It was all for nothing, wasn't it? We're no further ahead than we were before."

"Not exactly." I tapped my temple. "I picked up some kind of map from that thing before it took off."

"A map leading where?" said Laurel.

I shrugged. "Wherever the thing was headed. I still haven't made sense of it."

Laurel sighed and looked back out the window. It was starting to rain out there. "I didn't expect that, you know. I didn't think it would be so dangerous."

"I know." I believed her.

"Owen knew," said Laurel. "He had a bad feeling about the place. He said some of the poison might still be down there."

"He didn't know there'd be a trap," I said. "He didn't know we'd run up against the killer or his guard dog or whatever that was."

"I wouldn't have sent you in alone if I'd known," said Laurel. "I wouldn't have let anyone go underground."

"Then we wouldn't have the map." I smelled Duke's coffee brewing at the back of the office, and my mouth watered. I couldn't help it. "We wouldn't have anything."

She shot me a cold look. "We'd still have Owen."

It was then I knew for a fact there'd been something between them. It was clear from the tears in her eyes and the catch in her voice. Maybe it had happened a long time ago, maybe more recently, but it had happened. She was mourning for more than a friend.

"I'm going to get right to work on this map." I leaned forward and reached for a pen and a piece of paper. "We'll find out who did this to him. To all of them."

"Before I'm dead too, I wonder?" Laurel rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, then held them pinched across the bridge of her nose. Her shoulders shook up and down with the rhythm of quiet sobs.

Just then, Duke came through with mugs of steaming coffee. "Here, dear." He held one out to her. "This'll help."

Laurel raked her fingers down her face and held them over her mouth. Stared like she'd never seen a cup of coffee before. Then shook her head. "I have to go."

That got me out of my chair like a shot. "Stay with us, Laurel." I hurried over and planted a hand on her shoulder. "I could use your help with the map."

"I need to go for a walk." She spun away from us both and went for the door. "I need to clear my head."

"Why don't you stay, Laurel?" I grabbed for her arm, but she was already half out the door.

"Don't worry," she said on her way out into the rain. "I'll see you later."

I knew it was a bad idea to let her go, but what choice did I have? She was a grown woman...and a mountain range, to boot. I couldn't force her to stay.

"Let me give you my cell phone!" I pulled the phone out of the holster on my belt. "You can call when you want me to pick you up."

"I'll be fine." By now, it was pouring down rain. Laurel was soaked as she marched across the parking lot. "I just need to take a walk."

I went down two steps, then backed up one when the rain started to hit me. Decided I wasn't going to run after her. "Do you remember how to get to my apartment?"

She turned, walking backward as she spoke. "It's in the Allegheny Mountains, isn't it?"

She almost sounded like her old self, and I almost smiled. "Yes, it is."

"Then yes, I can find it," said Laurel. "Don't worry. And don't wait up."

With that, she spun and jogged off into the downpour. Paused at the curb, waiting for cars to swoop past, and then she was gone across the street.