Page 11 of Redwood Blaze
Heights aren’t my thing. I’ll bribe any of our guys to climb trees when it’s necessary. I’ll cover shifts. I’ll buy beers when we’re off duty. Anything but be at the tippy top of anything.
“Sounds rough.”
“Yeah, but to watch two eaglets being born, then mature, and fly away… man, that was the shit.”
“Glad you got to experience it. Anything else to report, Trav?”
“Yeah… no… wait… what…”
There’s some static in the line making the words choppy.
“Sorry, can you repeat that?” I ask.
“Hold on… what the fuck?! Who are… Dude, this is a federal…” his voice is tight, but the signal is still breaking up.
I hear rustling and then a loud pop!
Shit. Gunshot?
“Trav?! Travis?” I call into the com but there’s nothing but static. And then the line goes dead like someone’s pulled the plug.
I dial Sheriff Dunning on the company cell. It’s almost eight.
Pick up, please pick up.
“Dunning here.”
“Sheriff, I think someone’s taken over lookout tower on peak eight.”
“What makes you think that?”
I replay what happened and I hear the sound of an old La-Z-boy’s footrest cracking back to the floor.
“Okay, I’ll send a deputy out there. Any chance you know who it could be?”
My stomach does a fucked-up roll. “Sheriff, do you know anything about Millie Archer’s background?”
There’s silence on the other end and I have to pull it out to make sure we’re still connected.
Finally, he clears his throat. “Yeah, I do. Do you?”
“No, but she basically ran from here tonight. I think… I think she might be in trouble.”
“I’ll do some calling around, but you stay put. Do you understand me, Rusty?”
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you.”
“No, I asked if youunderstoodme. Hearing and understanding are two separate things.”
My hackles go up. “Why?”
“I promise you, Rusty, you don’t want to know.”
“Yeah, I think I do. I care about Millie, and as more than just my boss, Sheriff.”
“Well, shit. Let me get my guys up there to check it out. Maybe it’s just Trav needing a little company, you know, being all Cali-dramatic.”
I want to chuckle, and now knowing the eagle dilemma, I could see that, but something in my gut says that isn’t the case here. I know what I heard.
