“Carl! Carl Hammer!” Tessa yelled. “This is Deputy Black. I just want to talk to you.”
“Leave me alone!” Carl shouted back.
More rocks tumbled down the other side of the slope, toward Tessa. Logan used the noise as cover. He hooked one hand over a thick root and heaved himself over the edge. Fifty feet above him, water gushed from a break in the rocky mountainside. It cascaded over boulders and into a clear pool. Next to the pool, a small shelter had been built out of pine boughs. Inside, Carl had made a bed out of pine needles and dead leaves. At the edge of the pine-bough lean-to was a firepit ringed with rocks. A skinny plume of smoke curled from its center.
Logan looked for Carl and spotted him about thirty feet away. He was leaning over the edge, looking down, his back to Logan.
Tessa was right. If Carl had killed Gavin, then Carl had a gun. But as much as Logan wanted to apprehend Carl, he couldn’t just charge and tackle him. They’d both go over the edge.
After drawing his gun, Logan took a deep breath, stepped closer, and raised the gun. “Carl! Drop the rock!”
Carl whirled. He barely resembled his driver’s license photo. That Carl had been an average guy. This Carl was a wild man. He’d lost at least twenty pounds since that picture had been taken. Dirt streaked his green jacket, and his hair fell in a tangled mess that reached his shoulders. He clutched another rock in both hands like a caveman defending himself from a saber-toothed tiger.
“Carl, we just want to talk.” Logan kept the gun pointed at him. “Drop the rock.”
Carl’s gaze darted around like a scared rabbit. He did exactly what Logan had instructed. He opened his hands and let the rock fall to the ground. Then he leaped off the plateau and onto the trail—heading right for Tessa.
Shit.
Logan ran forward. He stopped at the top of the steep trail and looked down. Carl was scurrying down the steep slope like a mountain goat. Logan couldn’t shoot him as he ran away. He shoved the gun back in his holster and started after him.
“Tessa!” Logan yelled. “He’s headed your way!”
Tessa didn’t reply. Logan watched his footing. The sun was setting, and deep shadows made the steep descent treacherous. The top end of the slope was dotted with trees. His foot slipped on some loose pebbles, and he skidded a couple of yards. He managed to keep his feet under him and grabbed for a tree branch to stop his slide. Breath heaving, Logan used the branch to slingshot around a bend in the trail.
He saw Carl about fifteen feet ahead. Despite Carl’s head start and agile movements, Logan was closing the gap. Carl stopped and turned. He held a baseball-size rock in one hand. He cocked his arm and threw it at Logan like a minor-league pitcher. Logan dropped to the ground. The rock slammed into the tree trunk right where his head had been.
Logan sprang to his feet. He couldn’t bring himself to shoot a man armed with a rock, even though that rock had the potential to injure him. Carl didn’t look sane. Logan leaped forward. Carl catapulted another rock at him, and Logan dodged it. Damn, that guy had an arm!
A smaller rock whizzed past his head. Fifteen feet in front of Logan, Carl scooped another stone from the ground. Just as he brought his arm back, his entire body convulsed. He went rigid and fell to the ground like a tree at a logging camp. On the dirt, he continued to shake.
What the hell?
Logan moved forward, but Tessa was there before him, moving out from behind a tree, her Taser in her hand.
Carl rolled around on the ground, moaning and gasping. Walking forward, Logan spotted two darts in Carl’s back. Long wires extended from the darts and snaked across the ground to Tessa’s Taser.
Tessa rolled Carl onto his face and handcuffed his wrists behind his back. Then she removed the darts and replaced her Taser in its holder on her duty belt. Once Carl was secured, she turned him onto his side and searched his pockets. She found a comb, which he clearly hadn’t been using, a matchbook, a spool of thin metal wire, and a cell phone. “Carl?”
He groaned and curled into a ball.
“Take a few deep breaths,” Tessa said. “It’ll pass in a minute or two.”
Carl shuddered.
Tessa crouched in front of him.
Carl lay still. His eyes were wide, and the only things moving were his eyeballs. He watched her like a wounded buck, panting and waiting for the kill shot. Pity welled in Logan’s chest.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” Tessa said. “We only wanted to ask you a few questions.”
Carl stopped shaking, and he appeared to calm.
“Can you sit up?” Tessa asked.
Carl nodded. Tessa and Logan each took an elbow and hefted Carl into a sitting position. He sat cross-legged, his arms behind his back. “Are you arresting me?”
“I don’t know yet,” Tessa said. “For now, we’re going to the station for an interview.”
Carl flushed. “I was defending my campsite.”
“It’s public land, Carl.” Logan wondered how much of Carl’s craziness was an act. Was he trying to establish an insanity defense?
“What’s your full name?” Tessa asked.
“Carl Hammer,” he said, his eyes still furtive.
“What are you doing out here, Carl?” Tessa asked.
“This is public property. I have every right to be out here. You can’t make me leave.”
“This is a government owned and operated state park.” Logan pointed to the badge on his sleeve. “I’m the ranger. I can make you leave. Now why are you here?”
Carl lowered his voice. “Because they’re watching me.”
8
“Who’s watching you?” Tessa studied the man in front of her. Carl was in sad shape. He needed a shower, clean clothes, and a meal or ten.
“The government,” he whispered, looking up at the sky. “They have drones everywhere.”
“If I see a government drone, I’ll shoot it,” Logan promised.
Carl straightened, as if that thought calmed him. “Okay.”
She crouched in front of him. “When did you last eat?”
He lifted a shoulder.
“Let’s get him down to the parking lot.” Tessa stood. “It’ll be full dark soon.”
“I’ll be right back.” Logan turned to the trail. “I have to make sure his campfire is out.”
“Already done.” Jerry appeared out of nowhere.
“Where were you?” Logan asked.
“Hiding. I’m no dummy.” Jerry grinned and nodded at Carl. “I could fix his anxiety with a nice bag of prime product.”
Tessa sighed. “We’re not going to medicate him with pot, Jerry.”
Jerry shrugged. “Let’s go, then.”
They trekked down the trail the way they’d come. The descent was slow in the fading light. Jerry led the way with a flashlight. Tessa brought Carl behind him. Logan brought up the rear, keeping a close eye on Carl. But he seemed subdued.
It was completely dark by the time they reached their vehicles. Tessa’s legs ached. She loaded Carl into the back of the Range Rover. She was hungry and thirsty, but she wasn’t going to eat or drink until she could feed Carl. And she wasn’t removing his handcuffs until he was in a secure place. He was too unpredictable. Logan’s vehicle wasn’t equipped with a cage, so she turned in her seat and watched Carl while Logan drove.