“The rangers don’t patrol much in the wash,” Juan said. “Who’d want to hike down here if you didn’t have to?”
“Last hill,” Juan said twenty minutes later. “After this, downhill the rest of the way….”
Once at the campsite, they dropped their packs and set up tents. Jack helped Leah assemble the fiberglass poles that created the support for her two-person dome tent. “How did you find this dwelling?” he asked as she threaded the poles through nylon.
“Research done by my dad,” she replied. “Most archeologists assumed that the cliffs here are too steep for a cliff dwelling or village of any size. It’s also remote and hard to navigate. Dad thought it was the last best hope for finding virgin dwelling that hadn’t been cleaned out and the pot shards sold on Ebay.”
She pointed down toward the river. “The valley is quite rich, and we have plenty of evidence that Native Americans lived on top of these mesas and down near the river.” Her gaze swept the canyon. “The Gila wilderness is rugged. Besides tourists coming out of Silver City to see the dwellings in the National Monument, there aren’t many people tramping out here.” Leah fluffed her sleeping bag, before tossing it into the tent.
“The Anasazi and the Mogollon Indians lived happily on the top of the mesa for thousands of years. They had no natural enemies from what we can tell. There was no logical reason why they abandoned the rich canyon floors and mesa tops and move entire communities into the cliffs. Can you imagine having to carry water up hundreds, if not thousands of feet, not for one person, but for an entire community? My dad understood that — and so do I. There’s an answer out there and I intend to find it, even if I have to rope down every rock cliff in the Southwest.”
“It’s one beautiful set of canyons,” Jack said, taking in the scenery. He took a step back and watched the rays of the afternoon sun weave through the canyons, making them appear to glow in shades of orange and blue.
“Make you want to give up all that ice?”
“Probably wouldn’t take much after the last climb. Alex Stein died on the mountain.”
Leah involuntarily put her hand up over her mouth. “No….”
“Who was Alex Stein?” Garrett asked from across the campsite.
“He was one of Jack’s former clients.” Tears welled in Leah’s eyes. “He was the only one worth a damn. Alex was always helping out the poor in Atlanta with legal aid.” She wiped the tears away. “What happened?”
Jack sat next to her on a sandstone boulder. “Nash had to get him to the summit, no matter what.”
“What about Kent? Did he stay on the mountain with Alex?”
Jack shook his head and looked at the sand. “He left him, Leah. Left him on the mountain….”
Leah’s face paled. “He left Alex on Everest?”
Jack nodded. “I couldn’t believe it myself, but he did.”
“How about if we get dinner started?” Juan asked. “I’d suggest you take a quick bath, but the water’s getting cold this time of year.” He pointed toward a grove of trees about one hundred yards away. “A little fresh water on the face probably wouldn’t hurt.”
“Well, this beats those sponge baths on Aconcagua,” Jack said, leaning down and splashing cold water on his face.
“Being boiled in oil would’ve beaten those sponge baths, Climber.”
After a quick dinner they gathered around a small campfire. Leah slipped the hood of her UNM sweatshirt over her head and leaned toward the warmth. “You really mean you’d give up the ice?”
Jack put his hands up and let the fire warm his palms. “Today I’d probably give it up.” He stared into the flames for a moment. “But it’s my occupation. I’d have to go back sometime.”
“I should have known.”
Jack looked up at Marko and winked. “Leah always wanted me home for dinner, not sitting on the side of some mountain for weeks on end.”
Leah picked up a rock and tossed it into the fire, scattering sparks and causing Marko to scramble away from the flame. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“Now if you kids want to argue, we can all retire to our tents,” Garrett said.
Leah ignored Garrett. “I couldn’t give a shit about you being gone for months on end. I couldn’t stand having you underfoot every day.” She pointed a finger into his face. “The problem was, I never knew if you were dead or alive on one of those mountaintops.” She sighed and shook her head. “I know you, Jack. Sooner than later, one of your rich mountain-climbing wannabe maggots is going to drop on the ice. You’re going to say, ‘I’ve got to stay with him — everyone will say I killed my client if I just walk away.’” She paused. “You’ll end up dead. Frozen in that fucking ice, and for what? A few lousy dollars?”
Jack bit his lip. How close had he come to that exact end with Paulson?
“I know you can’t help it,” she sighed. “You climbers are like salmon swimming upstream. You’ve got it made out in the ocean with plenty of fat anchovies to eat. No, you have to suddenly charge up the river. You know it’s going to kick your ass and you’re not coming back, but you go anyway.”
Jack raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, but think of the wild salmon orgy waiting in that narrow, sandy stream bed; makes the whole deal worth it. Climbers, like salmon, just prisoners of our DNA.”
Garrett looked over at Juan and they both burst out in sudden laughter, vaporizing the tension.
Leah stood and stretched. “I’m hitting the rack, Climber. Who knows what we’re going to have to overcome tomorrow.”
Jack stared silently at the fire, watching the flames flicker and glow. He thought about the dream he’d had about Adeline Smith on the airplane.
Leah’s probably right, he thought. One of these times, you’re going to check out on a peak with the client. Sit down on the ice and just go to sleep.
CHAPTER 11
“We’ve got trouble,” Garrett whispered.
Jack’s eyes blinked open to the Native American’s angular facial features.
“Juan spotted a couple of park rangers on four-wheeler all terrain vehicles headed toward the canyon.”
Jack forced his body into an upright sitting position. “You think someone got wind you guys are prowling these canyons?”
Garrett glanced cautiously around the campsite. “Once inside a national park or wilderness, there’s always a chance of running across rangers.”
Jack looked around. “Wait. Where’s Leah?”
“She was hell-bent-for-leather to see if the rangers had discovered the dwelling entrance. I sent Marko and Juan along with her — just in case she got any bright ideas.”
Jack lay in the dirt behind a ridge with binoculars held to to his eyes. “I can’t believe she’s sneaking up right under their noses.”
In the distance, Leah ran in a crouch toward an outcropping of rocks near the natural bridge connecting the two sides of the canyon. Marko nearly stepped on her heels several times, his mop of blond hair flying in the wind as he struggled to keep up.
“I told her to stay right here and wait for you,” Juan explained. “You know Leah. She’s got ants in her pants and won’t wait for anyone.”
Jack focused on one of the two park rangers. The ranger wiped at his forehead, glanced down at a map, and indicated a new direction of travel with the wave of his arm.
“I think they’re bugging out — for now, anyway.” Jack set off at a run toward Leah, making sure to keep low and out of sight.
She walked out from behind the ledge where she’d huddled with Marko and nodded in relief. “They’re leaving.”
“What if they decide to come back?” Jack asked angrily.