Victim (An Emily Taylor Mystery Book 2) by Catherine Astolfo

Author:Catherine Astolfo [Astolfo, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Imajin Books
Published: 2011-11-17T05:00:00+00:00

About two hours later, just as the noon sun swept away the rest of the clouds and beamed down from above, May, Edgar, Alain, Langford and I set out along Lakeview Road in Edgar's jeep. May and I had not even tried to convince Langford and Alain to stay behind, nor had Chief Dan seemed the least bit perturbed that all these extra people were going to advance on the caves. I could tell when he looked into May's tortured eyes that he was willing to agree to almost anything that might help solve the mystery. At any rate, he had immediately gotten the blessing from the remainder of the Native Council, which made Edgar feel much better. Although legally he'd have the right to search the area, Edgar Brennan was Burchill born.

We parked the car in the provincial park on the other side of Ogeechee Lake. From here, it would be a hike of about four hours before we reached the cliffs near the sacred caves. As I shifted my back pack, I hoped for at least two things. One, that my physical condition was still up to the trek, and two, that the weather would continue the sun-filled, warming trend it had been following all morning. I didn't dare think further ahead than that. We all knew that it would take most of the day to get to the caves. We were all aware of the small tents and sleeping bags that we had rolled into the packs on our shoulders. But the idea of spending the night inside the forest was not one I had yet allowed to sink in.

The first two hours of the hike were straight through the forest on flat land. This was largely un-traversed territory. Not many ventured this far east of Ogeechee, as most people used the many hiking trails that had been provided by the province and the Native Council. Single file, we hacked our way through the brush, Alain in the lead, swinging his scythe and expertly slicing through the vines that might entangle our feet. Despite his efforts, I found myself tripping fairly often, forcing me to keep my head down to watch my boots as they squished through the barely unfrozen ground.

We tramped along in silence, our bodies slowly becoming used to the high-stepping walk that we had to adopt. The distant hum of the highway gradually gave way to birds busying themselves with the signs of early spring. Rustles in the distance echoed as animals scampered out of the way of our noisy march. The breeze soughed through the brittle limbs of trees. Soon I was engulfed in my new surroundings. Away from the noise of the town, I focused only on our progress forward.

We stopped in a clearing after about two hours of walking, guzzled down more water, ate energy bars, and met the 'call of nature' in our own private tree-sheltered stalls. Covered in perspiration and each with our secret fears about what lay ahead, we didn't talk very much.

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