The Chief Ranger Read online

  “I will.” She got to her feet. “Thank you, Dr. Karsh. I’ll let myself out.”

  After reaching her car, she phoned her boss. Fortunately, he was in his office, and took the opportunity to explain her situation, something she should have done months ago. Not only would she be missing the next cruise, she also gave her two weeks’ notice. Nicky’s mental health was in jeopardy. She had to put him first, even if it meant looking for another career.

  Her boss didn’t like it, but said he understood. Would she consider an office job that kept her in Miami? he asked. When Rachel reminded him of her broken engagement to a man who worked in the cruise line’s main office, that idea was taken off the table. Before she hung up, she promised to come in the following Tuesday and hand in her formal resignation.

  With that decision made, she felt a gigantic weight lift from her shoulders. Of course, she had the daunting prospect of finding a new career, but she’d deal with that after she and Nicky returned from California.

  Twenty minutes later she pulled in the driveway of her parents’ ranch-style home in Caseil Heights, where she and Ben had grown up. The guest bedroom in the modest Miami house had been redecorated for Nicky. Rachel had painted it blue and white, and found curtains and a bedcover with his favorite Power Ranger and Spiderman motifs.

  Before she reached the front door, he came flying out of the house and lunged for her. She’d learned to be prepared, so Nicky wouldn’t knock her down. The blond boy was a little taller than average, with a square-shouldered build and strong legs.

  Others might accuse Rachel of being biased, but she thought he was the most beautiful child she’d ever seen. Many people agreed with her. Stand him next to the statue of Michelangelo’s David in Florence, and you would think the sculptor had created David as he might have appeared as a child, curly hair included. If only this trip would help calm Nicky’s heart, so he could face life like the young David who slew Goliath, Rachel thought.

  “How come I couldn’t go with you today?” he asked as they entered the house.

  She had to think fast. “Because I’ve been planning a surprise.”

  He stared up at her with those solemn, gray-green eyes. “What kind of surprise?”

  “Come with me and I’ll tell you.”

  From the foyer she could see through the dining room to the back patio, where her parents usually spent their mornings gardening. Her father’s bad heart caused him to tire easily. He would pull a few weeds, then have to get back on the lounger. Her mother did the rest.

  One of these days there would be new surgical methods to fix his arrhythmia, but for now he had to be medicated.

  Rachel called through the screen to tell them she was back. They knew she’d been to see the doctor, so didn’t ask questions in front of Nicky. “We’ll join you in a few minutes,” she added.

  “Take your time,” her dad said, eyeing her anxiously. She would have to satisfy him when they were alone.

  But first things first. Taking a calming breath, she walked Nicky down the hall to his room. He’d made his bed the best he could, and they both sat down on it. “What’s the surprise?” he asked eagerly.

  She reached for his hand. “I’ve been making plans. You and I are going to go on a trip, hopefully tomorrow.”

  Nicky blinked. “Where?”

  Her pulse sped up. “To California.”

  A long pause ensued. “Where Mommy and Daddy died?”

  “Yes.” Praying for inspiration, she said, “I want to talk to one of the park rangers and see where your Mommy and Daddy went hiking in Yosemite.”

  He slid off the bed. “So do I!”

  “You do?” Rachel was stunned by his ready acceptance.

  “Yes, but are you scared?”

  Oh, Nicky … “Scared of what, darling?”

  His lower lip quivered. “That we’ll die, too?”

  She shook her head and hugged him to her. “Of course not. No accident’s going to happen to us. I promise.”

  He pulled away from her. “Then how come we didn’t go there sooner?”

  Rachel couldn’t see him through the blur of tears. Dr. Karsh was a genius. From the beginning he’d urged her to consider the idea, and had warned her to be honest with her nephew no matter how difficult it might

  be for her. In some ways, her fear appeared to be worse than Nicky’s.

  “Truthfully, I’ve been so sad I didn’t think I could do it until now.”

  “Because you loved my daddy and mommy so much, too?”

  Out of the mouths of babes. “Yes, darling. That’s it exactly.”

  “Papa and Nana won’t be able to come.”

  “No.” She wiped her eyes. “While we’re gone, they’ll have to stay here. Is that okay with you?”

  “I want them to stay. Papa’s too tired to walk around.”

  “You’re right.” She tousled his curls. “I have to ask you an important question. Since you’ve never been on a plane before, would you like to fly there? If not, we can take the train, or we can drive in my car. You decide.”

  “Will it be a jet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then that’s what I want to do. How long are we going to be gone?”

  She bit her lip. “I’m not sure yet. Why? Are you worried about it?”

  “No. I want us to be gone a long time so you won’t have to go on another cruise.”

  Of course. “I know you don’t like my job.”

  “Why do you have to work?”

  “To earn money. Everyone has to earn money to live.”

  He dropped his head. “I wish you could stay home with me all the time.”

  “Guess what? After we get back from Yosemite, I’m going to get a job around here.”

  “What kind of a job?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  “But you won’t be going on a ship anymore?”

  “Nope. I plan to work as close to you and Papa and Nana as possible.”

  Nicky lunged for her again, and hugged her so hard it was a good thing she was sitting on the bed.

  “Come on,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s go to my room and make reservations.”

  He shot out the door ahead of her, to the bedroom she’d had as a girl. Since moving back home, Rachel had transformed half of it into an office, and she now sat down at her computer. After getting her credit card from her wallet, she pulled up the Yosemite Park Web site.

  Nicky leaned against her left arm. Luckily, she was right-handed. “What does it say?”

  “Yosemite National Park takes up twelve hundred square miles of scenic wildlands. It was set aside in 1890 to preserve a portion of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in eastern California. The park rises from two thousand to more than thirteen thousand feet above sea level.”

  “Thirteen thousand?” he cried, his young mind trying to imagine the immensity.

  Living at sea level, Rachel was pretty amazed herself. “This says the park has an alpine wilderness, three groves of giant sequoia trees and many impressive waterfalls, cliffs and unusual rock formations.”

  The headquarters and several hotels were located in Yosemite Village. Probably the best way to get there was to fly to Merced, California, she decided, checking airline schedules. Dozens of early morning flights left daily from Miami, and while Nicky rested against her shoulder, she checked for availability. “Okay. We’re booked for a flight to Charlotte in the morning. From there we’ll fly to Las Vegas and then Merced.”

  “I thought we were going to Yosemite.”

  “We are. From the Merced airport we’ll drive into the park.” Depending on the summer crowds, the trick would be to find accommodations somewhere in the Yosemite Valley. Tomorrow was Tuesday. Maybe they’d get lucky, and a room would be available before the crush of weekend visitors.

  After learning the Ahwahnee Hotel was booked solid, Rachel tried the Yosemite Lodge. “We’re in luck, Nicky. There’s a room available for Tuesday and Wednesday nights.”

 
; “We’re only going to stay two nights?”

  “No, darling. But June brings so many tourists, we can only stay at the Yosemite Lodge for two nights. After that we’ll have to find someplace else. This says the lodge is near Yosemite Falls. See that picture?”

  He peered at the screen. “Whoa! That looks like the one in my Tarzan movie.”

  Whoa was right, except that the cartoon didn’t do a real waterfall justice. She hadn’t heard him sound this animated since before Ben and Michelle had died.

  “Do you want to press this button?”

  He nodded and followed through. Soon the confirmation appeared.

  “This says we’re booked at the hotel for the ninth and tenth. All we need now is a rental car.” Another couple of minutes and she’d arranged for one from the airport. “While you tell Nana and Papa our plans, I’ll get the suitcases. We need to start packing!”

  VANCE WAS ON THE PHONE with Superintendent Noyes when his secretary, Beth, came into the office and put a message on his desk. After glancing at it he whispered,

  “Send them in.” The middle-aged brunette nodded before disappearing.

  Chief Sam Dick and his wife, Ida, didn’t need an appointment. As far as Vance was concerned, they topped the park’s list of VIPs and were always welcome. He’d been an adolescent when Sam had shown him a secret trail that led from the Yosemite Valley to the Hetch Hetchy Valley to the northwest, where Sam’s ancestors had gathered acorns. The chief had provided part of the magic that made up Vance’s childhood.

  In a minute the elderly Paiute couple stood in the doorway. Vance motioned them inside and told the superintendent he would have to call him back. Once he’d hung up, he walked around his desk and shook their hands.

  “This is an honor, Chief. Please, sit down.”

  “Thank you, Chief,” Sam replied, with a glimmer of a smile. It was a joke between them. Vance chuckled, because his own title was only a few years old and would end if, heaven forbid, he got transferred somewhere else. Hopefully, the gods were kind, and Yosemite would be where he worked and lived out the rest of his life.

  Vance had grown up using the park as his backyard. It represented home to him, but it had been home to Chief Sam much longer. He came by his title through generations of Mono Paiutes who’d inhabited Yosemite long before the Europeans showed up.

  The two gray-haired visitors settled in chairs arranged in front of Vance’s desk. Then Sam handed over a large brown envelope. “Take a look.”

  Vance went back to his swivel chair and examined the two photographs he pulled from the envelope—identical photos. They were copies of a historic picture of a Yosemite Paiute camp taken by the British photographer Edward Muybridge.

  “Look at the copy with the number one on the back. That photograph is in the Bancroft Library,” Sam told him. “Now look at copy two. It’s in the Yosemite Research Library, but notice that the title ‘Paiute Chief’s Lodge’ is missing.”

  Upon close inspection Vance could see he was right.

  “Someone etched in the title ‘Miwok Lodge’ instead.” Sam’s dark, solemn eyes studied Vance. “Some major funny business is going on at Yosemite National Park. Why was the Paiute title removed? Can you tell me that? There were no Miwoks among my people in this valley. So now you understand why we Paiutes do not have any faith in the park service. I think someone is trying to help the Southern Sierra Miwoks get federal recognition. What are you going to do about this problem, Chief?”

  This was no longer a social visit. Sam had come to him as one chief comes to another. In the historical sense it was a great honor. Yet in the modern world, Vance feared this was the tip of an enormous political iceberg involving the complex relationship between the Paiutes and Miwoks. Anthropologists claimed both tribes had a shared history in the park going back thirteen thousand years.

  “I’m a descendent of the Yosemite Indian and know something,” Sam declared. “The park service should listen to us instead of discrediting us. After all, who should know the history better than we do? A bunch of non-Indians who read books written by other non-Indians and their employees who are interested in acquiring a casino?”

  Vance understood his frustration. “I feel your pain, Sam.” After taking a deep breath he said, “Give me some time. I have no idea who tampered with this photograph. But I swear I’ll find out what’s going on and—”

  The ringing of the phone cut him off. Beth wouldn’t have interrupted him if it wasn’t an emergency. He put up his hand to indicate he needed to answer it. “Chief Rossiter speaking.”

  “Vance?” Chase blurted without preamble. “The park has two visitors you need to know about.” Along with other duties, Chase was in charge of the bureau of information. Nothing happened he didn’t know about first.

  Vance frowned. “Has someone from D.C. flown in under the radar?”

  “Nothing like that,” his friend muttered. “A Rachel Darrow just signed in for a tour.”

  Darrow? The mere mention of the name was like a powerful blow to the gut. Vance gripped the phone harder.

  “She’s planning to hike the Mirror Lake loop. I’ve already alerted security. Sims is running a background check on her as we speak.”

  Together with Mark Sims, Vance had raised the level of homeland security within the park boundaries. Mounted cameras took pictures of every vehicle and license plate. No one who entered was allowed to pass through without indicating travel plans, home address, a contact person with phone number, and expected length of stay.

  “Where’s she from?”

  “Florida.”

  Vance broke out in a cold sweat. “Then this is no coincidence.”

  “I’m afraid not.” Chase’s voice grated. “She has a young boy with her.”

  Vance leaped from the chair. “How old is he?”

  “I’d say he’s at least five, maybe six. I’m as shocked as you are.”

  “Where are they right now?”

  “Outside with some other tourists waiting for Bob, who’s about to come on duty to take the group on tour. Naturally, I’m not letting her go anywhere, but she doesn’t know that yet. How do you want to handle this?”

  Vance’s thoughts were reeling. “Tell her I’ve been informed she’s here and I’d like her to come to my office before she does anything else.”

  “I’ll bring her myself. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  When Vance hung up, he turned his attention to Ida and Sam, who’d gotten to their feet. The chief’s wise old eyes stared at him in that mysterious way they sometimes did when he was seeing a vision.

  “After ten springs, we found three fledgling gray owls near the edge of the meadow yesterday,” the old man said. “A big change is coming for you.”

  Ida nodded.

  Vance knew the part of the Tuolumne Meadows he was talking about like the back of his hand. To learn that the endangered great gray owl had once again nested there was big news for the park. But the pronouncement coming on the heels of Chase’s phone call raised the hairs on the back of Vance’s neck. The old man’s prophecies had a way of coming true. Vance couldn’t bear the thought of his time at the park being threatened in some way. But now wasn’t the time to try to figure out what he meant.

  Thrown by the revelations of the past few minutes, he said, “Let me keep these photos, and I’ll get back to you about this problem as soon as I can.”

  “Good. See you around, Chief.”

  Vance walked them out of his office and stopped at Beth’s desk. “Chase is bringing a couple of important visitors to my office any minute now. Unless there’s an emergency, I prefer not to be disturbed while they’re here.”

  “Understood.”

  “Thanks.”

  He went back into his office and returned the superintendent’s call, so they could set up another phone conference. Right now Vance’s thoughts were far removed from developing strategies that would attract more minorities, specifically African-Americans, to the park. They could ex
amine the Vail agenda for a perspective on the National Parks Service goals another time. After arranging to talk again on Friday morning, Vance hung up the phone.

  As he lifted his head, the door opened to reveal a striking blonde of medium height standing in the entry. “Chief Rossiter?” He rose to his feet. “I’m Rachel Darrow. Your secretary said I should come right in,” she explained, in a slightly husky voice he found curiously appealing.

  “Please,” he said, walking around his desk to shake her hand. At a glance, he estimated she was in her mid-twenties. The feminine curves of her body did wonders for the pale blue T-shirt and jeans she was wearing. “Ranger Jarvis informed me there’s a boy with you.”

  Unfriendly green eyes set in that classically beautiful face caught him off guard. “Yes,” she replied in a clipped voice. “Evidently my last name rang a bell with the ranger. He told me I couldn’t go anywhere in the park until I talked to you first.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Knowing you wanted this meeting to be private, he offered to show my nephew around headquarters.”

  So she was the victim’s sister…. “What’s his name?”

  “Nicky.”

  The boy haunting his dreams now had a name. “How old is he?”

  “He turned six three weeks ago. Were you the man in charge when my brother and sister-in-law were killed?” she asked point-blank.

  Her aggression caught him by surprise. “Yes. To tell you I’m sorry for what happened couldn’t begin to convey my feelings.”

  The woman’s gaze didn’t flicker. “I won’t even try to describe mine. Just tell me one thing. Was their accident preventable?”

  Vance felt the pit in his stomach deepen. “Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

  “In other words, you might be the almighty king of the great outdoors, but your underlings fell asleep on your watch, and two lives were snuffed out as a result.”

  Vance had to set the record straight. “My underlings had nothing to do with it. I myself could have prevented it.”