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“I can pony him, no problem.”
“Okay, great. Now I have something for you,” he declared, giving Noah and Ellie a whistle. “If something happens and you need me, blow it once and I’ll come right back. Twice means it’s urgent. When I reach the area, if you can join me I’ll whistle once. If you can join me but you should be prepared for something unpleasant, I’ll whistle twice. If you need to stay put, three times. Any questions?”
“Why don’t we just use our cell phones?” Ellie asked.
“Whistles are a lot faster and easier, and hangin’ from a chain around your neck you won’t drop it. Besides, you can’t always get a signal up there.”
“I’ll go first on Stetson,” Noah interjected. “He prefers to lead. Blaze should go second, and you follow him, Ellie. Candy feels safer at the back.”
“With a stallion and a handsome guy like Blaze protecting her, I can understand why,” Ellie remarked with a grin.
Noah chuckled, but completely focused on the task ahead, Matt had barely heard her.
The snow wasn’t as deep as Noah had feared, and they made good time up the gentle slope. It was only about ten minutes before Matt stopped, slid from the saddle and handed Noah the reins.
“How long do you think you’ll be?” Ellie asked. “Is it much further up?”
“No, and I’ll be there in a few minutes. Come on, Shelby, we have work to do.”
* * *
Matt loved to run through the woods, especially in cold weather. Even with the snow on the ground he was deftly darting around the trees with his smart, faithful dog at his side. When he spotted the wreckage, he slowed to a quick walk, then crouched down and retrieved a small, but powerful pair of binoculars from his chest pocket. Lifting them to his eyes, he spied a huge branch resting on top of a car, and he immediately recognized the Black Tesla.
But as he approached, he discovered the massive tree limb wasn’t lying flat on top of the vehicle, but at an angle. The broken edge was in the air above the driver, and the tip rested on the ground next to the passenger’s side. Though the car hadn’t been badly crushed, it was engulfed by many branches, trapping the victims.
“Come on, Shelby,” he said quietly. “Let’s see how bad they look.”
Stepping up to the car and pushing aside the greenery, he found the driver’s side window had been shattered by a protruding stump-like limb, now broken off and hanging loose. Miraculously, the windshield was intact. There was a male in the front passenger seat, and another in the back. While the driver was sitting normally with a hood over his head, the passengers were leaning forward with their arms crossed.
Bringing the whistle to his lips, he blew it twice, then lifted his cell phone from his pocket and called the sheriff. But as he gave his report, Shelby began running around the car sniffing and whining.
“What is it, girl?” he asked as he ended the call. “Is something in the car upsettin’ you?” Shelby replied by jumping up and trying to peer inside. “I know, they’re all dead. There’s nothin’ we can do.”
“Hey, Matt,” Noah called as he and Ellie rode up. “Damn, what a mess.”
“Yep, I don’t envy the sheriff dealin’ with this one. It’ll take forever get all these branches cut away, then they’ll have to move the victims and get the car towed. It won’t be easy gettin’ the vehicles up here.”
“Is it Michael Aiken?” Ellie asked urgently.
“Sure looks like him from the photo I was shown.”
“I need to see for myself,” she exclaimed, quickly climbing off Candy.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Matt said solemnly, stepping in front of her. “Like I said earlier, it’s not a pretty sight.”
“From the pictures I’ve seen of him, he wasn’t a pretty sight when he was alive,” she shot back, “but I have to know for sure.”
“I get where you’re comin’ from, but wait a second I’ll join you,” Noah said, climbing off Stetson. “Matt, I can tie up Blaze and Candy, but will you hold Stetson?”
“Noah, are you sure about this?” Matt asked quietly as he stepped up and took the reins.
“It’s the lesser of the two evils. She needs to know the man who’s been screwin’ with her family is history,” he replied, tying Blaze and Candy to a nearby tree, then walked up and put his arm around Ellie. “Whenever you’re ready, but be prepared. Whoever is in there will probably look ghoulish.”
“I don’t care. I can’t imagine how many people he’s hurt, how many girls like Bethany he’s used and abused,” she muttered, moving slowly forward. Then pausing, she noticed Shelby. “I wonder why she’s so antsy.”
“Probably odd smells we can’t detect,” Noah remarked.
Reaching the Tesla, he broke off several small branches to clear the passenger’s side window, then looked inside. Though it was obvious the victims were dead, their lifeless bodies weren’t as terrifyingly ugly as he thought they would be.
