***
It was nearly five-thirty in the evening before either of them began to stir. Jake was the first to get up and walked into the kitchen looking for Uncle Pete. Not finding him, he stepped out the back door and headed around to the front of the property and the store. A friendly ding-ding signaled to Jake that someone had either just pulled in for gas or was just leaving. Rounding the corner of the building, he stopped short. It was Seth. He had pulled up to the front of the store. Jake hesitated a moment and then decided to confront his former friend.
“What are you doing here?” Jake demanded, glaring at Seth, his arms folded tightly across his chest.
“Jake, just give me a chance to explain,” he started to say.
“Explain what? You sold us out!” Jake’s anger was growing. He unfolded his arms, but his fists were clenched.
“Please!” Seth pleaded. “Just listen. Please, Jake.”
“Fine! Explain!” There was no mercy in Jake’s voice.
“I had no choice.”
“No choice? No choice! Yeah, like I can believe that.” Jake started to walk away.
“Jake!” Seth called after him. “They said they’d kill my mom if I didn’t help them.”
Jake stopped and spun around, looking at Seth. “Your mom? Kill your mom?” Jake was not buying this story. “You said she ran off with some jerk salesman!” Jake responded, his arm pointing down the road.
“No,” Seth looked at the ground. “She didn’t run off. She’s been working for the sheriff. A-a-at the Quail Club.” He looked up at Jake. His eyes were troubled, and his face was drawn with exhaustion of their recent ordeal.
“The Quail Club,” Jake repeated. “What’s she doing for the sheriff at the Quail Club?”
“I... I... I,” Seth stammered.
“So where’s Janet?” Jake broke in.
“Same place.”
“The Quail Club.” It was a statement.
“Yes,” he replied. “You know. Where fellas go to...to relax...and stuff.” Seth felt sheepish and awkward talking about the subject.
“I know what they do there!” Jake snapped. “And that’s where they took Janet?” He was furious. “All of this running around and spending all night in the mountains was to grab Janet for the sheriff so he could take her...” He didn’t finish the sentence. “Why Janet? Heck! There are all kinds of woman who’d sign up to work at the Quail Club. She didn’t want any part of that!”
Uncle Pete overheard the commotion and came outside to see what was going on. A couple of older gents stood in the doorway of the store to watch, pool cues in hand. “Why don’t you boys go back to the house to talk about all this?” He glanced in the direction of the store and their audience.
“Sure thing, Uncle Pete,” Jake said and took Seth by the arm. They headed back to the house and into the kitchen. Both stood staring at each other for a moment. Then Jake spoke first. “I just don’t understand you, Seth. I thought you were my friend. I thought I could trust you!” He tried to keep his voice down so as not to wake Tommy.
“Look, Jake,” Seth began, “I wanted to tell you everything that’s happened for the last couple of years, but I was scared. If I told anybody, the sheriff threatened to kill my mom,” he paused, “and me too.”
Jake took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Dang, Seth.” He looked at his friend. “Dang!” he repeated and took a step toward Seth. “I...I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”
“I’m sorry too.”
“So okay, now what are we going to do?”
“About what?” Tommy broke in.
“Tommy!” Jake looked up. Tommy was standing in the doorway to the hall. “Hey! Did you sleep well?” Jake tried to divert the conversation.
“What’s Seth doing here?” Tommy asked suspiciously.
“Uhh...well, it’s a long story, Tommy, but it’s okay. Seth’s okay. We’re…uh…just talking...about some stuff.”
“What stuff?” Tommy still wasn’t too sure about seeing Seth.
“Well, nothing really, just…”
“About Janet?” He looked at both Jake and Seth.
“Uh...yes, Tom,” he let out a sigh, “about Janet.”
“Are we gonna rescue her again?” he asked excitedly.
“Well, we’re not sure, Tommy,” he replied. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We need a plan.”
“You’re not gonna rat us out again, are ya, Seth?” Tommy asked sternly.
“Rat you out?” Seth chuckled. “No, Tom, I’m not going to do that. I promise.” Then he looked at Jake. “I don’t care what happens to me. We need to find Janet.” His tone was resolute.
“Okay, then let’s see what we can do.” Jake stood in the middle of the kitchen with his hands in his pockets, obviously trying to think of something. Seth and Tommy stood by waiting for him to say something.
“So, Seth,” he finally spoke, “have you ever been to the Quail Club?”
“Once, about a year ago. But it was just for a few minutes while the sheriff talked to someone inside one of the buildings.”
“So what’s the layout? I mean is there any way we could sneak into the place?”
“I...don’t know, Jake.” Seth hesitated. “It’s pretty wide open. Not many places we could hide as I recall, but then it has been about a year. I really don’t remember it all that much. All I know is that I wanted to leave. The place gives me the creeps.”
“You say your mom is there?” Jake asked carefully, now feeling upset with himself for being so angry with Seth in spite of how things had turned out.
“She used to be. I really don’t know anymore.” Seth looked away. It was obviously a painful topic.
“Okay. How about if we hop in the truck and take a ride up West Avenue to the pullout? You know, where you can park and see the whole valley floor. We’ll take binoculars and see what we can make out about the Quail Club. What do you think?”
“Let’s do it,” Seth agreed.
“Yeah,” Tommy chimed in.
“You sure you wanna go, Tommy? You don’t have to, you know.” Jake didn’t want his young friend to feel obligated in any way.
“I wanna go!” Tommy was determined. “I wanna help Janet...and Seth’s mom too!”
Seth looked at Tommy and smiled. “You’re a good friend, Tom. Thanks. You too, Jake.”
They grabbed a pair of binoculars from Jake’s room and headed out to the truck. Jake poked his head in the pool room long enough to tell his uncle that the three of them were taking a ride up into the hills nearby.
“Everything okay?” His uncle had asked.
Jake reassured him that everything was fine then joined his friends. A short while later, they were headed up West Avenue out of Cold Creek, into the nearby foothills. They had gone for about five miles winding up the two-lane road until Jake pulled over to a wide area and parked. Below them lay the valley floor. They could see the main road going through town and the few buildings there plus scattered homes here and there of the few town occupants. They also could make out the road that headed east to the Quail Club.
An afternoon breeze had picked up, and the sun was nearly to the crest of the mountain range behind them. It wouldn’t be long before they’d be in the shadows, but the valley would remain lit for a few hours still.
Reaching for his binoculars, Jake focused on the narrow road leading to the club. “Have you ever seen any quail around here, Seth?” he asked as he gazed through the glasses.
“Maybe once or twice I guess,” he answered. “Not many though. I guess there might be some out there away from town, though.”
“What do you see?” Tommy was anxious.
“Not much yet,” he began. “Wait a minute. I see a car headed out that way. A dark-colored car, but that’s about all.”
“Let me take a look,” Seth said. He took the glasses and began scanning the distant buildin
gs of the club. “Okay, I remember that one building because that’s where the sheriff went in.” Looking some more, he continued, “And that looks like a recreation hall or something. I don’t know about that other building, but it could be a place for people to stay.” He kept looking then put down the glasses. “I think I saw a guard gate or something like that at the entrance.”
“Keep looking. Watch to see what that dark-colored car does.”
Seth held up the glasses once again and trained them on the car as it approached the club. Pulling up to the gate, someone stepped out of the tiny building and stood next to the driver’s window. A moment later, the car headed on into the club grounds and drove up to the first building Seth had mentioned. “I think I see two guys getting out of the car. No. Wait. There’s three of them. Wait!” His voice got excited. “They have someone with them. A girl! She’s struggling with one of them!”
“Is it Janet?” Jake and Tommy eagerly asked in unison.
“No,” he finally said in disappointment, “it was a blonde, with short hair, and she was wearing a dress, not pants. It isn’t Janet.” He handed the glasses back to Jake, who wanted to see for himself, but by now the three men and the woman had entered a building and were out of sight.
“We’re going to find a way to sneak into the grounds and try to find Janet and your mom,” Jake decided with conviction.
“How?” Seth wanted to know.
“I have no idea. I just know we have to...and soon.”
They all got back into the truck and headed back down the hill to the store and gas station. Uncle Pete was starting to close things up for the day and looked up as Jake drove in and parked out front. They hopped out and were still in the midst of excited conversation but waved to Uncle Pete as they started to head around back to the house.
“You boys have a nice drive?” he called out to them.
“Uh, yeah, Uncle Pete, we did,” Jake answered back.
The three friends entered by way of the kitchen and sat around the table bouncing ideas off one another when Uncle Pete walked in.
“Say, you boys seen the sheriff today?” he asked them.
All three looked at one another and then back at Pete. “No,” Jake replied slowly. “Why?”
He came by earlier while you and Tommy were sleeping, and I told him to come back later. Then he came by again while you were out fer yer drive then took off in a great big hurry toward town.” Uncle Pete looked at the trio for a moment. “I jest wondered.” He started to head back out the door when Jake called him back.
“Uncle Pete?”
“Yes?”
“What do you know about the Quail Club?” Seth and Tommy both looked at Jake wide-eyed.
“The Quail Club.” He stroked his chin then asked, “What d’ya want to know about it?” He gave them an odd look.
“Well,” Jake hesitated, “I don’t know...I just...well, I thought maybe...oh, heck, Uncle Pete, we all know what goes on out there!” He looked frustrated.
“Yup” was all Pete said, looking at each boy in turn. “You mean you want to…”
“Heck no! That’s not what we’re asking for!”
“Well, what then?”
“We just wondered,” he looked at his two friends. “Well, okay, I was wondering if you knew much about the place. That’s all.” He reddened and felt awkward, avoiding looking at his uncle.
“Maybe.”
Jake looked embarrassed, Seth kept his eyes on the floor, and Tommy just looked completely bewildered. “I...I’m sorry I asked, Uncle Pete. Just forget it. We’ll figure something out.”
“Well, what d’ya need? Maybe I can help ya some.”
“Okay,” Jake replied. “What we need is to find a way to get into the property at the Quail Club without being seen so we can look for the girl, Janet.”
“Yeah!” Tommy blurted out, “and Seth’s mom!” He understood that much of the conversation.
“Seth’s mom?” Uncle Pete looked at Seth. “I thought yer ma…”
“I know...e-everybody thought she ran off, but the truth is the sheriff forced her to work out there at the club.” Seth walked out the back door and let it slam behind him.
Jake looked at his uncle. “Uncle Pete? Is there any way we can do this? Do you have any ideas? Anything?”
“Well, let me think a piece.” He stroked his chin again then said, “Carl Teller goes out there nearly every afternoon to make deliveries to the kitchen. Maybe you could hitch a ride with him.”
“You think he’ll be going there tonight?”
“Reckon so,” Pete looked at his watch. “In fact, he jest might be pulling in to fill up his truck in a short while.”
“Okay.” Jake’s mind was swimming with thoughts. A delivery truck. Yes. They could hide in the back and sneak out once they go there. “Okay!” Jake repeated with more excitement. “We could hide in the back. But Carl can’t know we’re in there. We don’t want to get him in trouble, and we don’t want him to accidentally tip anyone off.” He looked at his uncle again. “Do you think you can help us?”
“Yup” was all he said, but he smiled a big grin. “There’s just one thing, though, that you fellas might want to know.”
“What’s that, Uncle Pete?”
“Carl drives a refrigerated truck. It’ll be mighty cold back there.” He checked his watch. “You better get hoppin’. Carl will be here pretty quick.”
Chapter 18