Chapter 44
“Wally!” said a suddenly taut Cilla. “Then, Hudson...?”
The old man went to her, awkwardly put his arms around her. “No word. Thank God you’re safe.”
Cilla pushed him off, held him so she could look in his eyes. “John said a body had been found.”
“It wasn’t Hudson.”
“Then why are you here?” she demanded, a fierce light in her eyes.
Loni came over to her. “Blame me, Cilla. He hadn’t slept in three days, just sat in his room worrying. The search is continuing. They’ll call us if...when they find him.”
Cilla slumped into an armchair. It was then they saw the blood caked on her forehead.
“Here!” said Doctor Evans. “Let me look at you. What happened?”
She sat up. “Have you heard anything from Todd?”
“No. Wasn’t he with you?”
Cilla sighed. “We got separated. Kurt’s wounded, maybe badly.”
“Bullets. It’s a long story. I’ve given it all to John Krestinski. We found the Nutcracker.”
Exclamations came from her listeners.
“Then your hunch was right,” said Wally almost to himself.
“Only partly. He got away. I think I’ve got to lie down.” She went to the stairs.
“I’ve got to check you over, Cilla,” insisted Dr. Evans. “You’ve obviously been in an accident.”
“I’m alright, but come up,” she said without stopping her ascent upstairs to the room she’d shared with Hudson.
“How did you get here?” asked Frances.
“Guide at AMC,” she replied. Then stopped, bemused. “Power is out in the whole Valley. They say we may not get it back until morning.”
“The guide’s car made it up the hill?’
“No. I borrowed a snowmobile from the kids at the bottom.” She disappeared.
Doctor Evans came down the stairs in less than five minutes. “She’s okay. Just needs rest. Like you Wallace Carver.” He lowered his voice. “Incidentally, she wants to see you.”
Carver cleared his throat with a short bark. Frances felt there was pride to his step as he mounted. “Did she tell you any more?” she asked the doctor.
“Not much. She apparently came down Washington on skis and took a spill that knocked her out for a while. When she came to she skied to the AMC Center in Pinkham Notch where she contacted John Krestinski. She’s sure three of the tanks are up there somewhere. But the Nutcracker’s not. The Observatory said the helicopter was gone.”
“How about Kurt and Todd?” asked Frances.
“She doesn’t think the Nutcracker’s people found them. Mountain Rescue has been alerted and is probably already on Mt. Field. They go out in nearly any weather.”
“But with this storm, and Kurt wounded...”
“Todd’s a mountain man,” said Bob Gold. “In this weather, Kurt couldn’t be in better hands.”
It was nearly twenty minutes later when both Wally and Cilla descended.
“Great,” pronounced Doctor Evans. “Both of you should be in bed. One word from me, and everyone does the opposite.”
“I’m fine,” said Cilla, putting a hand on his arm. “I just needed to lie down for a while.” She peered into the wood-box next to the fireplace. “We’re going to need more wood tonight if the heat stays off. Jim, will you and Andre get some logs from the garage?”
When the two returned with armloads, Cilla was telling the others what had happened on Mt. Washington. She did look a lot more energetic, thought Doctor Evans. Oddly, Loni now appeared tired and despondent. It was as if Cilla had been able to transfer her exhausted state to her “twin.” Like the painting in the closet.
“When I got to the AMC center, the ground lines were out; they let me use their radio to call John. He’ll have an army sealing off Washington and Field as soon as the storm lifts.”
“So the Nutcracker is out of business,” said Bob.
“He’ll never get to use those three tanks,” said Cilla, “though we’d better find them before a thaw. The worry is the others. There are three more and, something John just learned, they may be unstable.”
“What do you mean?”
“They leak.”
“Good God,” said Frances. “John told me how it was in Stewart. A house was no protection. And these might be spewing the deadly things right now!”
“Yes, if they defrost. And with this wind, the poison could be blown all over the Valley.”
“How could he know this? Those tanks may have been bouncing around the country ever since they were stolen. What makes him think they’re dangerous all of a sudden?”
“The Army,” replied Cilla. “They stored other stuff in the same type of tank at the same time these were loaded, and a number have started to leak.”
“Let’s hope these stay good and cold wherever they are.”
The group was silent, each with own thoughts. The flames from a giant candelabra and a dozen candlesticks cast flickering shadows on the walls, hushing voices. A gang of killers was loose in the countryside, and deadly bacteria might this minute be seeping under doors. Evans felt an urge to pull closer to the others and to the fireplace, where there was not only light but warmth. An outside thud raised eyes toward the roof. Branch, blown by the fierce wind. Snow blanketed the west-facing living room windows hiding the wolf that huffed and puffed.
Andre was restless. “Let’s see what your supplies look like,” he said, taking a flashlight to the refrigerator. “Looks a little low,” he commented after a moment. “Cilla,” he called, “was that convenience store at the foot of the hill open when you came up?”
“We’ve enough food for breakfast, Andre. By then the plow will be through.”
“I might just take a run there anyway”
“In this blizzard? Your car would never make it down, let alone back up.”
“You’re right. It sure wouldn’t.” The refrigerator closed.
“There’s bread and cheese if anyone wants something tonight,” said Frances to those in the living room.
“Maybe we could cook something over the fire,” said Loni in a small voice.
“I’ve done it before,” said Wally. “I’m sure I’ve got some marshmallows in one of the cabinets.”
“Great idea,” said Jim Evans, getting into a lighter mood.
“Now,” whispered Cilla. Frances and she rose quietly from their chairs, and stealthily approached the kitchen. Evans blinked, what...?
Suddenly the two ran through the kitchen to the garage. The door slammed. All was quiet for a moment, then the door could be heard opening again, and a red-faced Andre was pushed through into the living room by Cilla and Frances. As Bob Gold’s houseguest sprawled on the floor, Evans could see he was wearing handcuffs.
“What on earth...?”
“The real Nutcracker,” announced Cilla.