Vella Munn - The Return of Cord Navarro

“You said he’s fascinated by Arapaho. Last night I didn’t have the chance to really explore it. I want to go back there, look at it through his eyes.”

If it had been anyone else speaking, she would have laughed at the possibility of seeing a demanding ski area through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, but this was a man who made his living getting into other people’s heads before the terrain, elements, or their own limitations and stupidity killed them. He was also that ten-year-old boy’s father.

“How long do you think it’s going to take?” she made herself ask.

“I can’t tell you that. No one can.”

“But you’ve done this before. You must have some kind of idea.”

He did. The way his eyes darkened told her that. But instead of telling her what she probably didn’t want to hear anyway, he shrugged his competent shoulders and asked if she’d told her parents yet.

“No,” she admitted. “Last night, well, I kept hoping you’d come back with him and there wouldn’t be any need. It’s so early. They might still be asleep.”

“They have a right. And they’d want to be part of this, to help.”

“I know. It’s just-they love him so, Cord. I don’t want to scare them.”

“They’re strong people.”

Yes, they were. Although Cord had been somewhat distant around her parents, probably a combination of his natural reserve and the belief that they held him responsible for their daughter becoming a mother at eighteen, he understood them better than she thought possible.

In the end, he was the one who made the phone call.

“Elizabeth,” Cord said while she stood a few feet away, “it’s Cord. I’m at Shannon’s house. Matt didn’t come home last night. We’re going after him.”

He stopped talking and she could hear the murmur of her mother’s voice. A few moments later he basically repeated what he’d already said and then asked if they could come over and handle her business while they were gone. Closing her eyes, Shannon marveled at his ability to think of that when she should have been the one to plan for her absence. She opened her eyes again when he spoke her name. Taking the phone from him, she managed to mouth the lie that she wasn’t worried, just determined to get Matt home and dry. After some brief reassurances, she finally hung up.

“You’re sure you don’t want anyone else out there with you-with us?” Shannon asked Cord. “Every time I hear about searches, especially when children are missing, half the people in the county are involved.”

He’d been standing off to one side with his arms folded across his chest while she spoke to her parents. Now he fastened his fingers around her elbows and pulled her close. She looked up at him, seeing what the past seven years had done to his once boyish features. “This is different.”

“How? Because it’s your son? If you’re worried that your reputation will be damaged if people learn that your son is the one they’re-”

“It’s not that.”

Of course it wasn’t. She had no business saying that. “Then, what is it? Cord, I don’t know how you run your business any more than you know how I handle mine. But I’m all too aware of how vast, how isolated this area is. I’d think you’d want as many eyes and ears out there as possible. Is it-you don’t want to waste time getting people together?”

“Half the people in the county can’t do any more than I can alone.”

“You’re that sure of yourself?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice.

“I know what I’m doing, Shannon. The question is, do you trust me?”

His question was impossible; surely he understood that. Hadn’t she once trusted-expected-him to support her and Matt? But instead of keeping his factory job with its steady paycheck, he’d gone to the county sheriff, the state police, the forest service, anyone who might have a use for his skills. She’d been so afraid of the uncertainty facing them that she’d taken a part-time job in addition to her college courses. But he wasn’t asking her to step into the past. He needed to know whether she believed he would find their son.

“If anyone can find Matt, it’s you.”

He nodded at that and released her. Although she was now free to back away from him, she remained where she was and breathed in the smell of wet cotton and denim. She wanted him to tell her that her trust was well placed and he wouldn’t fail her. But he didn’t. Instead he told her what she needed to bring in the way of clothes, and because they couldn’t leave until she’d done that, she turned and started toward her room. Her back between her shoulder blades felt warm, as if they’d been touched by him. But then, maybe it was only because she needed the contact-a contact he couldn’t give her.

Cord waited until he heard Shannon’s dresser drawer open and then dialed the country sheriff at his home. Although it was barely 6:00 a.m., Dale Vollrath answered before the second ring. “Cord? What the hell are you doing? Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” he told the man who’d already been on the police force when he was still in high school. He quickly explained what he and Shannon were up to. Unlike Shannon, Dale didn’t ask whether he wanted local search and rescue volunteers called out.

“This is your call, Cord,” Dale said. “Just tell me what you need from me.”

“Nothing right now. I’ll be getting in touch with you from time to time to give you updates. I’d like the same thing from you”

“You got it. I’ll contact anyone and everyone I can think of around Arapaho or the other wilderness areas. A nephew of mine is doing fire watch for the forest service this summer. He’s still wet behind the ears, but he can see a hell of a long way from his tower. Who knows. He might be more reliable than I give him credit for.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“No problem. The more eyes you’ve got working for you, the better.”

The sheriff had given him his first break. Although Cord hadn’t gone through the formal training most search and rescue personnel received, Dale had called him to lead an expedition to find skiers buried by an avalanche on Copper. The mission had attracted widespread media attention and when Cord refused to quit until he’d found the last survivor two days after the avalanche, the wire services had picked up the story. As a result, he’d started getting calls from all over the country.

“We’ll have to get together for a beer,” he told Dale. “Just as soon as I get Matt back where he belongs. What does the activity on the mountains look like?”

“Unauthorized activity. That’s what you’re talking about, isn’t it?”

He said yes, alert for sounds of Shannon’s return.

“Yeah,” Dale said after a brief pause. “Yeah. Maybe. The only thing I’ve got is a report from a couple of forest service employees who were working on Breckenridge a few days ago. They heard shots, and when they checked it out, they spotted four, maybe five men with rifles. The men were pretty far away and on the move. By the time the rangers got there, the poachers were gone. My guess, they realized they’d been made and took off.”

“You’re sure they were poachers?” Cord asked, not because he questioned Dale’s conclusion but because this was the last thing he wanted to hear.

“There’s nothing I can take to court, but I’ve been a cop too long not to know the signs. Several men with rifles in the wilderness when it isn’t hunting season. They wouldn’t go all that way for a little target practice. Come on, Cord. You know how that adds up as well as I do.”

“Yeah. I do.”

“Look, don’t go getting uptight over this. Like you said, your son could be anywhere. There’s a hell of a lot of territory around here. Chances are, even if those characters haven’t hightailed it, your son won’t get anywhere near them.”