Page 16 of Freedom to Love

Chapter Five

The cicadas, crickets, and night owls had just silenced as the sun came up on the mountain. Brynn lay very still, window open, dawn filtering in along with the remaining cool night air. She unzipped her sleeping bag and crawled from the old mattress and springs. She’d aired out the mattresses, beaten them with an oar, and sprayed them down with Lysol. Still, she had to cover them with blankets in order to quell the musty smell enough to sleep. Bea, though, hardly seemed to care. She’d gone off in the woods late in the night to no doubt snort her heroin, returning a short while later with a sloppy grin, shuffling like a zombie. She slurred her words and first passed out on the couch, then awoke and collapsed on the front porch, and finally on her bed. Brynn was sick to her stomach over it, and something had to change. She just wasn’t sure how.

She rose and crept to Bea’s bed to check on her. She was on her side, one arm hanging from the bed, sleeping bag askew. Drool glistened from her cheek, and Brynn made sure she was breathing. Then, satisfied at her coma-like state, Brynn found her bag and searched through it. She found a baggie of pills but no heroin. She looked around the room. Pants. She plucked up her jeans and dug in the pockets. She found three small balloons which she quickly carried from the room. She removed the heavy wood lock on the front door and cringed when the screen door squealed. After closing it carefully, she hurried across the grounds to the woods where she dropped to her knees and dug with her hands. When she was satisfied with the depth of the hole, she dropped in the balloons and buried them, patting the ground flat and covering it with brush. Then she stood and wiped her hands on her jeans.

She walked back to the cabin and considered doing the same with the pills, but she knew Bea would have to have something. Bea would be beyond pissed, but at least she would be alive, rather than passing out in the woods somewhere and getting lost. Or worse, overdosing where it was impossible to get help. At least this way the situation was more controlled.

Gunner whined behind the screen as she stepped up on the porch. The woods smelled thick and rich, and she opened the door to let him out. He jumped on her leg, tail wagging. She scratched his head and they set off for a surveillance walk. They’d been there a few nights, and so far, things had been quiet. She’d parked a ways away and covered the car as best she could to help camouflage it. Gunner hadn’t been a problem, barking only when wildlife came up to the house. At night, he kept guard, sleeping by her side, ears perked. But during the day he liked to chase birds and squirrels, and he even went after the crawdads and fish she and Bea caught.

“You like it up here don’t you?” He ran up to her with his tongue hanging sideways. He followed her as they climbed for an hour, coming to rest on some high rocks in a clearing. Brynn held out Bea’s cell phone and smiled when she got a signal. She dialed the hospital and waited. Hopefully, Vander would be alone this early. A receptionist answered and took a moment to search for her name.

“I’m sorry. It looks like she’s no longer a patient here.”

Brynn squinted into the rising sun, which was eating the morning mist, infiltrating the trees and ground. “Do you know when she left?”

But the call dropped and she was disconnected. “Your mom’s home,” Brynn said, causing Gunner to look up at her. Shit, now she had to get him back somehow. But how was more than a good question. According to Uncle Mo, the law was still crawling around like roaches who refused to die. Just when they thought they’d gone, they’d show up again, looking around, asking questions, making threats. Billy was beside himself and was convinced they were following him. She knew he was probably right.

“How long can we do this?” she asked. She sat on a rock and studied the phone. Had Vander told her side of the story yet? What was going on?

She got an idea, but her heart beat too fast to make sense of it. “Should I? Should I call your house?” she asked Gunner. What if it was a setup? What if Vander had told them she had Gunner and they were waiting for her to call? Would Vander do that?

Of course she would. She was a cop.

Brynn stared at the numbers, at the screen with the date and time. She swallowed hard and dialed, too curious to know how she was, if she was okay, consequences be damned. She had to know and she didn’t know why. She had no ties to Vander or any cop for that matter. So why did she care so much? Was it human decency or something more?

She dialed information and asked for Vander’s home number. There was no listing.

She ended the call and then dialed Holly, hoping for information. Holly answered on the third ring.

“Brynn.”

“Yeah. How are things going? They on to you yet?” Holly had lent her the car. It had been her father’s, and he was in a personal care home, so he wouldn’t miss it.

“All is quiet with me. But ya’ll are all over the news.”

“Still?”

“Yes.”

“What about Vander? Any word on her?”

“She’s home.”

“Is she—okay?”

Holly paused. “I guess. Why?”

“I’m just wondering why she hasn’t cleared us yet. Or at least made it safe enough for us to come in.”

“I don’t know. I just know her partner is still critical. I think she’s been sticking by him. There’s footage of her leaving his hospital and she doesn’t look so good herself.”

Brynn ran her hand through her hair. She was dirty and dying for a shower. As it was, they were bathing in the creek. Cold mountain water was great for some things, but early in the morning, you didn’t want to soak in it.

“I don’t know what to do,” Brynn said. “Bea’s a mess.”

“Come here.”

“We can’t. You know that.” She wasn’t surprised that Holly had asked. Holly was a good friend but a bit clingy, even after their dating had ended. She still wanted something more and she made it more than obvious. It probably hadn’t been a good idea to go to her for help, but Brynn hadn’t had much of a choice.

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