Present Danger by Elizabeth Goddard (shoe dog free ebook .txt) 📗

need to see it, Terra. I could drive up to you.”

Wow, he wasn’t kidding. “No, that’s okay.”

“The Janus has many connections, political and social, and probably travels a lot. More than that, this could mean a world market. It could mean . . . international collectors. Bigger money.”

There was that word bigger again.

Just as she was thinking, but she didn’t want to believe it. Jeremy had been the right person to ask. “Okay. You have a deal. But I’m coming to you.”

THIRTY-SIX

Chance sat in the dark corner and waited. This wasn’t his preferred method, but he had no choice.

Blevins flicked the lamp on at his bed and spotted Chance in the chair aiming a gun at him.

Fear flickered across his face. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s time for you to remember something.”

The man lifted his palms. “You don’t want to do anything stupid.”

“I already did that a long time ago. You’re the one who doesn’t want to do anything stupid.”

“You’re not going to shoot me.”

“I have nothing to lose.”

“What do you want from me? Why are you doing this, man? This isn’t like you. Not at all.”

“Oh, so you do remember me.”

Blevins stared at Chance but said nothing.

“Who’s behind the deliveries?” Chance asked.

“I don’t know anything.”

Chance fingered the trigger, hoping Blevins believed the bluff.

“Okay, okay. I remember you. But maybe you shouldn’t be so anxious for me to remember. Maybe it’s better that I forget I saw you.”

“Yes, please forget. But only after you give me something I can use. I need to face off with him. This was supposed to be my last run, and then I was free.”

Blevins laughed. “Did you ever stop to think that your freedom simply meant your death?”

Chance paused at that. “No, actually, I hadn’t. But since it sounds like my life is threatened, you’d better start talking.”

Blevins wiped the sweat from his brow. “Friends stop by the bar and have a beer with me. Sometimes it’s a stranger who hands off information for a drop point or pickup point. Or we walk out together, and I take the package. It all happens in plain sight. When you sat down, I knew that something had gone very wrong.”

“How did you know I wasn’t supposed to be there?”

“I was told to expect the delivery. Then I saw on the news that the plane had crashed. Then you—the pilot from the crash—showed up, and I knew you were going to be trouble.”

“So once the package is handed off to you, what do you do with it?”

“I hand it off to a woman. She meets me at the bar. We have a beer and a few laughs. We sometimes leave together like there’s something going on, and I hand off the item. I’d say she could tell you what you want to know, but she was murdered.”

“She was murdered. Jim was murdered.”

“Tonight I was packing up to get out of town for a while.”

“Because you could be next?”

The man barely nodded. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll disappear too.”

“I already disappeared once. Biggest mistake of my life. I intend to end this once and for all. But if you don’t have the package, then who does?”

“I have no idea.” Blevins sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you know what you were delivering?”

Chance pursed his lips. Unfortunately, he did know. In fact, he’d looked inside the box. Just this once, on his one last trip, he wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

He’d been shocked to see what was inside.

And . . . the one person who Chance would suspect to be behind that particular delivery had died a long time ago.

Chance eyed Blevins. “I’ll help you pack.”

THIRTY-SEVEN

The next day started early. After giving statements regarding the previous day’s events, Terra and Jack piled into her vehicle to drive to an archaeological dig near Jackson Hole—a three-hour drive one way.

She’d suggested that they could accomplish more by going their separate ways, but Jack insisted he wanted to ride along. She hadn’t wasted time arguing with him, though she knew he’d shifted to protective mode. They’d both been left shaken by what happened yesterday. In the end, Terra was glad for his company.

The day would be a long one, most of which would be spent traveling. But they could use the time to discuss what they’d learned so far.

The first couple of hours, they rehashed everything that had happened. Terra hoped she would remember something more about the man she’d seen. Some small clue that would give them insight into who he was, but he was good at creeping around and keeping his face in the shadows. Neva, Jim, and the cabin were entangled, and Terra strongly suspected the man she’d seen running from the cabin was the same man she’d seen running from Neva’s home.

“We’re driving three hours so you can show the artifact to your expert friend. You know, you could have let the Billings Curation Center look at it. That’s sort of out of the circle of locals.”

“That’s Bureau of Land Management’s repository. Not forest service.”

“So? Think of artifacts discovered when an oil company is drilling, and the BCC holds stuff for all kinds of agencies. They could have kept it for you, and their archaeologists could have looked at it. No need to spend six hours driving.”

“Are you trying to tell me you don’t like being in the car with me this long, after all? I mean, you insisted on riding along.”

He chuckled. “Not what I mean. You know what I’m saying.”

Terra passed a car on the curvy two-lane road leading into Jackson Hole—the valley between the Wind River and Teton ranges. Home to Grand Teton National Park and gateway to Yellowstone National Park. Gorgeous place.

“Look, that’s still local as far as I’m concerned. And as I mentioned, I trust this guy, at least where artifacts are concerned.” Oh, great. Terra hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud.

“Sounds like there’s more to the story.”

“There’s no