Page 68 of Waylaid in Whittier

“We have the patience of saints,” Millie joked.

It was a short trek from the gangway to Elvira’s old jalopy. Millie climbed in the back and set her bag next to her. “Do you really believe there’s a chance whoever was behind Wanda’s attack and your break in will show up?”

“The DNR is closing the roads leading to the mining sites tonight. If they’re gonna make a move, it will be today. The closings coincide with it being the last day of the show’s taping. They either hit it hard or wait until spring.” Elvira reached the end of the port’s parking lot and turned left. “Wanda texted. She’s outside waiting for us.”

“You two must be good friends for her to drop the charges,” Millie said.

“She knows it wasn’t me. Wanda and I have a lot in common. You know the saying, ‘birds of a feather.’” Elvira glanced in the rearview mirror. “I would like to mention something else.”

“What?” Millie asked.

“Wanda thinks I only found a small chunk of gold.”

“You want to keep it from her? I thought you were partners.”

“We partneredafterI found the nuggets. Therefore, I don’t consider what I already found to be part of our partnership.”

“It’s your call.” Millie shook her head. “To be honest, I’m glad I’m not your partner.”

Taking a shortcut down a side street, they arrived at Wanda’s apartment complex in no time and found her standing on thesidewalk. As soon as the truck stopped, she hopped in the back. “Thanks for picking me up. I called Alex and Carter this morning to confirm the show’s filming was wrapping up today.”

“Smart move. It’s good to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row.” Millie shot her a side glance. “Aren’t you a part of the show?”

“I was. They’re doing a final take and I wasn’t in it.” Wanda tapped her bandage. “Probably a good thing with this little gem. I called Neil to let him know we might be onto something. He’s hanging around the courthouse with papers in hand.”

“Who is Neil?”

“My brother.”

“He’s a cop,” Elvira added.

“He’s going to get a search warrant as soon as we confirm Carter is behind the attack and has gone to our special spot. It gives the cops probable cause, clearing the way for them to search for evidence,” Wanda explained.

“All of which hinges on him showing up, andifthere’s evidence to find,” Millie pointed out. “That’s a lot of ifs.”

“Even if we don’t find anything, at least we tried,” Elvira said.

Passing through the tunnel, they turned onto a dirt road Millie had never noticed during their previous trips. She peered out the window. “Are you sure we’re going the right way?”

“Positive.” Wanda explained the shortcut to Mount Baldie was relatively unknown and only a handful of locals knew about it. To her knowledge, the route hadn’t been shared with the production crew. “We’ll be driving up from the opposite side, so there’s no chance we’ll be spotted.”

The road narrowed. Deep ruts appeared, forcing Elvira to slow to a crawl and jostling the truck’s occupants despite straddling as many of the pockets as possible.

“I would hate to break down out here,” Sharky said.

“Or run out of gas.”

“We have plenty, a quarter tank.”

Millie stared at Elvira. “You’re kidding.”

Sharky leaned over to check the gauges. “Actually, it’s more like an eighth of a tank.”

“Don’t you think it would have been a good idea to make sure we had plenty of gas?”

“I’m giving this clunker back to Otis. You think I should fill the tank for him too?” Elvira asked incredulously. “I’m a generous person, but not that generous.”

They continued at a snail’s pace, climbing higher and higher while the trees and clumps of brush grew thicker. Finally, she pulled off and into a small clearing. “This is it. We’ll have to hoof it the rest of the way.”

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