Mischievous Malamute Mystery Series: Books 4-6

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

If Cam hadn’t been overwhelmed when he arrived, I could only imagine he was out of his gourd at the onslaught of questions being tossed at him as we raced back to the vehicles. Blaze jumped into Anna’s SUV with us while Cam took the lead on his bike.

No one spoke despite the tension swirling as we traversed the nauseatingly endless path winding up the Pacific Coast Highway—its treacherous cross-backs combined with the sliver of two-lane road and sparse guardrails that divided drivers from a gut-wrenching plunge into the ocean were the only things preventing us from exceeding the speed limit.

Anna white-knuckled the steering wheel, attempting to keep pace with Cam while I gripped the armrest. Leah, typically up for any adventure, chewed her nails as Blaze worked his jaw, squinting after Cam’s taillights as his friend leaned the bike into the curves, narrowly escaping the pavement’s bitter kiss.

There hadn’t been time to ask him for the specific location of the accident but our destination soon became clear when we were hit by a flood of lights as traffic in both directions skidded to an abrupt stop.

Blaze jumped out of the SUV before Anna could put it into park and raced toward Cam, who had already dismounted his bike and was in a full sprint, weaving in and out of cars with his friend in close pursuit, both of them ignoring the blaring horns of impatient drivers. The three of us—with Nicoh leading the pack—attempted to follow but the dark of night only aided the gridlock, blocking Cam and Blaze from view.

We had jogged more than half a mile when Anna spotted Blaze among the growing crowd of onlookers with Cam at his side.

“There!” she yelled, calling out their name, only to have her voice muffled by the chaos.

We hustled toward the pair, hoping to catch up before we lost sight of them again, watching as they pushed their way through the mass. Several people recognized Blaze and created a path so that he and Cam could pass, slapping them on the backs as they passed. Fearing we’d never catch up, Leah, Anna, and I surged forward, hoping to capitalize on the generosity they’d afforded Blaze but the gap quickly closed.

Anna surprised us both as she pulled her P.I. badge, held over her head and screamed, “Detective!”

The crowd gave her a thorough once-over but didn’t give the badge itself an ounce of scrutiny—either not wanting to be involved or questioned, or fearful of repercussions—and quickly stepped aside so she could make her way through. Then again, considering the looks several of the guys were giving her, I was betting the concession had to do more with Anna herself.

Given the circumstances, I honestly didn’t care one way or the other, deciding to make my own opportunity.

“We’re with her!” I yelled, letting Nicoh take the lead.

His sheer size permitted us an easy opening to follow but the persistence of our little group helped create a continuous pathway to Anna as many onlookers backed away, perhaps shocked by the tenacity of our onslaught.

After several minutes, we found Blaze and Cam pressed against the barricade police had set up to cordon off looky-loos so that they could focus their attention on the rescue efforts.

As I scanned the crowd, I noticed several other members of Blaze’s crew from the tent were also present, making their way to him just as he began to argue with one of the officers charged with keeping the crowd the bay. I tugged Anna’s sleeve and pointed, forcing us to hasten our approach.

“You don’t understand, man! That’s my best friend!” Blaze gestured toward the area illuminated by the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.

“I need you to calm down, son.” The officer held up a hand and when Blaze started to protest, placed it firmly against his chest. “We’ve got an active scene here and for the safety of everyone, I need you to remain calm and stand down.”

When we reached Blaze, Anna gently touched his forearm. “Blaze, please, let them do their job. Let them help Bryce.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” the officer replied, nodding at her, though his eyes never diverted from Blaze, who fisted his hands and worked his jaw.

Anna interjected in an attempt to appease both parties. “We understand there was an accident involving a motorcycle.” When the officer’s gaze shifted from Blaze to her, she continued, “We believe a very close friend ours, Bryce Denton, may have been involved and if there’s anything any of us”—she gestured to the group huddled nearby”—can do to assist…or any information we can provide…please, just ask.”

The officer perused Blaze’s crew and several nodded their agreement, despite the array of emotions spanning their faces—shock, fear, anguish.

“I appreciate that Miss, and I may take you up on that but right now, I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything—”

“Oh, my God!” A woman screamed, interrupting whatever final commentary the officer intended to impart.

A group of firefighters and emergency personnel dispersed across the embankment as a twisted piece of metal was winched from the side of the cliff. At one time it might have resembled the frame of a motorcycle but now, it was nothing more than an unrecognizable mass of steel.

The technicians carefully heaved it over the lip of the drop before depositing it onto a trailer. The crane’s release was like a pained final cry, causing me to shudder, despite the humidity of the ocean air that had already caused an unladylike amount of sweat to trickle down the back of my neck.

They repeated the process over and over, taking way too long for all of us—as the parts and pieces revealed over the crest presented no evidence of its rider.

Leah caught my eye and grasped my hand. We’d been on the receiving end of similar situations on more than one occasion. It never got easier.

Whatever the news, it wouldn’t be good.

“You’re surprisingly calm,” she murmured as we watched Anna lean into Blaze, who wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

“I don’t know, Leah.” My grip on her hand tightened as I shook my head. “You know when they say the mind can only absorb so much before it becomes numb?”

“I do,” she replied, stroking Nicoh’s ears absently with her opposite hand, her tone somber.

“I’d hate to say that I was already there but—” My voice trailed off as my best friend finished my thought.

“But sometimes you’ve got to preserve whatever shell is left of the person you once were before fate takes over and makes you someone entirely different.”

I tilted my head back and managed to hack out something that was far too harsh to have been construed as laughter.

“Well, that was a little darker and way more prophetic than I would have phrased it, but thanks for giving me the CliffNotes version of my psyche.”

It was the best snark I could conjure, given the circumstances.

Leah snorted. “Yeah, if I had only been talking about your psyche.”

I nodded.

Been there.

Done that.

I frowned, both frustrated and saddened that the drama that had recently overtaken my life had affected not only her career but her well-being. It made me wonder whether she would have been better off ditching me and my baggage altogether.

Of course, knowing me for as long as she had, Leah immediately sensed my discomfort and mock-punched my arm.

“Hey, I wouldn’t change anything, bestie.”

“Anything?” I asked, refusing to meet her eyes as we looked at the commotion that continued to unfold.

“We can’t control the world, AJ, only our reactions to whatever it dishes out.”

I nodded, blowing out a long breath.

“I just wish it would stop oozing into the lives of everyone we care about.”

“Well, then we’ll just have to squeeze it back into the tube, won’t we?” she replied.

I snorted. “There are no bandaids in life, Leah.”

Suddenly, Blaze broke free from Anna’s embrace, leaped over the police barrier and charged toward the flashing lights. The officer we’d spoken to earlier took pursuit after him, yelling into the radio on his shoulder for backup. Of course, his absence left an opening for the rest of Blaze’s crew and they quickly jumped the barrier, sprinting in the direction their friend had taken.

Anna was momentarily shocked but hopped over and joined the pack. I glanced at Leah, who shrugged and soon, we too, followed suit, with Nicoh taking the lead.

By the time we caught up with Blaze, he was face down on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back. Several of his friends had found themselves in the same predicament and an angry verbal exchange had erupted as the officers attempted to keep the group under control.

“Please, sir, they are just concerned about their friend.” Anna pleaded with another officer as we rushed to her side.

“They were warned to stand down on multiple occasions, many of which were issued before they decided to breach the barriers meant to keep them safe—” Anna started to interrupt, but he raised a hand. “And allow us to do our jobs.”

“Can you at least tell us if you found him?” Anna asked.

“What makes you all so sure this accident involved your friend?”

“That!” Though still on his stomach, Blaze twisted his head in the direction of the trailer containing the mass of twisted metal. “That’s Bryce’s bike, man!”

The officer squinted at Blaze. “Are you sure he was riding it and that he didn’t just lend it to someone?”

“No, man, I…talked to him…right before,” Blaze replied, his voice raspy.

The officer looked at Anna. “Is that true?”

She nodded. “We saw Bryce at the beach and though we did not see him leave on the bike, it makes sense.” She squinted at the officer as he blew out a long breath and looked at the bike. “Oh my, God, you know something!”

The officer surveyed her before answering, “We’re still working—”

“Where is he?” Blaze interjected and once again, it took two officers to subdue him as he attempted to rise to his feet while Cam started testing the patience of his handlers. “Come on, man, you gotta let me see him!”

“You”—the officer next to us pointed at Blaze—“need to calm down or I will have my men haul all of your butts out of here. We already have enough on our plates without having to babysit a bunch of spoiled extreme sports junkies.”

Blaze stopped struggling and stared at the officer, his mouth open.

“Yeah, I know who you are. A few of my guys are fans but that does not give you the right to disrupt an active scene. Got it?” The group nodded and he continued, “Anyway, as I started to say, we’re still working the scene. The accident appears to have involved a single vehicle—a motorcycle.”

“What about Bryce? How badly is he hurt?” Anna’s tone was hopeful. “Is he conscious? Could he tell you what happened? Or how he lost control?”

“I’m betting he’s pissed,” one of Blaze’s guys called out. “He just got that bike paid off.”

The officer looked toward the cliff and blew out a long breath before facing us again. “No.”

“No, he’s not pissed? Or no he’s not conscious?” Cam pressed.

“Neither.” The officer remained stoic, his face revealing nothing more.

“Okay, so, he’s not conscious,” Anna replied. “That’s probably to be expected, based on the damage to the bike. But how is Bryce? Surely they tended to him before messing with it? Truthfully, we’re all more than curious to learn—just how bad are his injuries?” She prattled on, either ignoring or unaware of the lack of expression on the officer’s face. “Hopefully you will allow Blaze to travel in the ambulance with him. The two have been tied at the hip since they were five and Bryce’s mom caught them jumping off the roof of the garage when Blaze convinced their little band of idiots that they could fly…”

As Anna babbled, Leah and I glanced at one another, noting that the officer continued to be strangely quiet as he looked off into the distance.

Finally, he spoke, “Whoever went over the cliff, whether he was your friend or not, he’s not going to be able to tell us anything anytime soon, if ever. The crew will continue their efforts but I need you to understand, we’ve already transitioned from rescue to recovery.”

The world spun on its axis as we collectively absorbed the officer’s words and the message he was taking great pains to deliver.

“Where is he? Where is Bryce?” The only thing more agonizing than the pain in Blaze’s voice was the anguish that spanned his face.

“I’m sorry, sir.” The officer replied, his tone even but grim.

Blaze wailed and several of his crew yelled out. This time, he broke free from his handlers and made it a dozen steps before being tackled to the ground, this time by Cam, who had also surprisingly escaped his handlers.

“There’s no way he could have made it, Blaze,” Cam said quietly, working to secure his friend.

“What does that mean?” Blaze thrashed as Leah and I moved to embrace Anna as she leaned into us, her thin frame shuddering.

Her voice sounded hollow. “It means Bryce is gone.”