Page 29 of Mile High Mystery

“This is a small town,” Eldon said. “Sooner or later you do feel like you know everyone. But the climbing community is especially close.”

“How long have you lived here?” Zach asked.

“A little over two years. How about you?”

“Nine months,” Zach said.

“You’ll be an old-timer in no time.” They stopped beside an empty section of canyon wall that towered thirty feet overhead. Smooth rock in shades of caramel, red, gold and cream reminded Zach of melted candle wax—and looked almost as slick. “This is a good beginner pitch,” Eldon said. “Let’s get our gear set up.”

Zach studied the wall again. It wasn’t perfectly vertical, but almost, and while permanent pins studded the wall like cloves in a ham, nothing about this said “beginner” to him. “I really haven’t climbed much at all,” he said as he unfolded his harness. “Just a couple of times during SAR training.”

“That’s all you need for this pitch,” Eldon said. “Trust me.”

Helmets and harnesses in place, Eldon reviewed the basics. Then he turned to the wall. “I’d start right there. See that handhold? Grab hold of that, then you can put your foot right there. See where the rock juts out a little. Perfect step. From there, you should be able to reach that little lip to the left. See it?”

Zach looked closer, and he began to notice not smooth wall, but dozens of little divots and protrusions. Enough for a hand-or foothold. Still, he had to be strong enough to make his way up the wall without losing his balance. “What if I miss a hold or lean back too far?” he asked.

“The rope will catch you.” He indicated the belay ropes stretched out between them. “I’ll climb up first and set this, then you come up after. Don’t worry. It will be just like walking up a ladder.”

Eldon went up first, without a rope. He easily scaled the wall, moving so quickly Zach didn’t have time to make note of every place he put his hands or feet. He anchored the rope and tossed the end down to Zach, who fastened it to his harness as he had learned in SAR training. Then he rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath. “You can do this,” he muttered, and started up.

Eldon had lied, he decided after he had hauled himself up the first few feet. This wasn’t as easy as climbing a ladder. But it wasn’t impossible. And as long as he avoided looking down and focused on carefully choosing his next handhold or his next step up, he could do this. His muscles protested and shook with strain by the time he reached the top, but he didn’t freeze or freak out. He was grinning by the time he stood beside Eldon at the canyon rim.

“That was great.” Eldon slapped him on the back. “How did it feel?”

“It felt good.” He rolled his shoulders. “I felt...strong.”

“Didn’t I tell you? You may have more bulk to haul up here, but you have the muscle to do it. Did you play football in high school?”

“Left tackle.” Ages ago.

“Same here,” Eldon said. “Climbing beats crashing into people on the field any day, in my book.”

They spent the next two hours climbing in a couple of different areas. In between climbs, they discovered surprisingly similar backgrounds. Eldon was from Hawaii, but like Zach, he had grown up with one sister. She was married with kids in Hawaii. “My whole family can’t understand why I would ever leave the islands,” he said. “I miss them all, but I’m happier here. I just fit in better here, you know?”

Zach nodded. He was beginning to feel that way, too. He loved his parents, but he was glad they had moved away from Houston. That city held too many reminders of Camille. Here in the mountains they could all start fresh.

Had Camille felt that when she moved to Maryland? She had truly started over, with a new name, a new backstory. Had she gotten to choose the details herself, or had the Marshals Service assigned her a role? Either way, she would have relished playing this new part. She had always enjoyed being the life of the party or the star of the show.

The sun was setting when they packed up their gear and headed back to Zach’s truck. They were loading up when someone hailed them from across the parking lot. “Hey!”

They turned and saw a tall blond loping toward them. “Remember me?” the man asked. “Todd. You two were part of the Search and Rescue team that took care of me when I rolled my ATV last week.”

“Todd with two Ds,” Eldon said. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good.” He pointed to the fading cut on the side of his head. “This is almost healed up.” He nodded toward their gear bags. “So you guys been doing some climbing?”

No, we just carry this stuff around to look good, Zach thought. Instead, he said, “Do you climb?”

“I’ve been thinking about getting into it. I just came out here to watch. Say, I owe you guys a beer. Want to go somewhere and grab a drink?”

Eldon looked at Zach. “Sound okay to you?”

Zach shrugged. “Sure, why not?” He wasn’t going to turn down a free beer, and it wasn’t as if he had anything else planned for that evening.

“You can follow us to Mo’s Pub,” Eldon said. “Do you know where that is?”

Todd grinned. “It’s my new favorite place. Let me help you with your gear.” He bent and picked up Zach’s gear bag, grunting with the effort.

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