“Thanks Robert,” Westly said.

He hung up his phone and turned to Holly.

“Her mother hasn’t seen her either.”

“How is that possible? She literally left our room for a second, and no one has seen her in hours?” Holly said with a shock.

“Apparently the person to see her last was Forest. He said she rushed down the stairs, heading out to the woods. Robert’s team hasn’t turned anything up, but they are still looking. He said he’d be in touch shortly.”

Westly sat next to Holly on the fireplace. The sun started to creep behind the trees. Holly downed her brandy old fashioned and dropped it on the stone seats carelessly.

“You do know that’s crystal, right?” Westly said.

Holly glared at him.

“And?”

“Well if you break it, it will go on my credit card.”

“Are you serious right now? Summer could be dead. Besides you owe me for the damage to the car a month ago.”

“Oliver said that was not my fault.”

“Oliver’s head didn’t collide with the rearview mirror. You know what! I know what you are doing, and I hate it.”

“Sorry, it’s just I can’t figure how we missed it. The jacket, the lack of lavender.”

“It makes sense that if someone kills a woman in a bridal dress, she was the intended target.”

“I get the mix up, but why kill Autumn?”

“Maybe she saw him, and he panicked?”

“Maybe.”

They both sat in silence.

“Did Summer given any clue to where she would have gone?” Westly inquired.

“No, I mean, she might have, I just couldn’t understand her half the time.”

“It’s just, I feel if Jordan is still out there, injured, he doesn’t have a lot of time to finish what he started. If that is the case than he may just decide to kill Summer where she stands.”

Westly’s phone went off again. He pulled it out.

“Straight Razor! I need your help further down the mountain. I sent one of my people to meet you, Officer Anderson. She should be at the hotel in a bit,” Robert shouted so loud that even Holly could hear him.

“Alright I will be right here.”

He hung up.

“Robert?” Holly asked

“Yeah he is sending someone to come get me and meet him down the mountain.”

“I am going to stay here,” Holly said pulling herself to her feet.

“I may need you out there.”

“I think Forest is hiding something. He keeps favoring his left shoulder. I know I shot Jordan or well, the person who killed Brock in the right shoulder.”

“That is a very weak premise to make that kind of accusation,” Westly said hushedly.

Holly nodded.

“I am going to see if I can get any information from him about his condition. Perhaps I can get him to hang himself.”

“Alright just be careful,” he said.

“You too.”

She smiled as Westly nodded in agreement and they parted ways. Westly walked out of the main double doors down the staircase to the main circle that wrapped around the front of the main lobby. As he walked down the stairs a bellman past him sharply, nearly hitting his foot.

“Sorry!” She shouted nervously.

Before he could respond she darted past him into the hotel. All he could see was a wisp of her black hair. He was about to follow after her as a car horn let out and he saw a police car roll up. The driver rolled the window down and waved him over. Westly hurried over to the police car, pulled the door handle, and got in. He was greeted by a redheaded woman with her hair tied in a pony tail. She had on thick red lipstick and brown sunglasses.

“You must be da guy they call Straight Razor?” She asked, as if her tongue was too big for her mouth.

“I prefer Westly. Private detective Westly Gibbons,” he said, holding his hand out to shake.

The woman looked at his hand but refused to shake it.

“Offica Debra Anderson. Robert’s waiting for us down the hill.”

Westly retreated his hand back and fastened his seat belt. Debra put the car in gear and whipped around the circle, heading quickly down the mountain. Westly looked over at her. She carried herself as though she had been through many cases. Her posture was leaned back in the seat with one hand on the steering wheel, yet her eyes remained fixated on the road. She cut the first switchback hard, beginning the long spiral ride down the mountain. She grabbed a bottle of Pepsi out of the cupholder and took a swig. Westly decided to break the awkward tension.

“Robert say what he found? It sounded intense over the phone.”

“Nah,” she said not taking her eyes off the road.

“Well, we know that Jordan is injured so he couldn’t have carried Autumn. The good news to that is she may still be alive.”

“How you know he’s injured?” She asked with a sniff.

“My partner shot him last night. She thinks she caught his shoulder dead on.”

“Gotta love a woman who can shoot,” she said taking another gulp of Pepsi.

“It does come in handy.”

“Robert did say he was baffled by the trail. Perhaps dis Jordan character had a partner?”

“We know he’s got a female partner working with him. But we are uncertain what her motives are.”

They swerved hard around another corner, sending small splash of soda onto Westly’s arm. She pulled the car to hard stop on the corner of the switchback overlooking a small opening in the canyon. The trees bent up trying to counteract the almost vertical slope. Westly stepped out the car. Debra moved around the other side and pointed down into the canyon.

“Robert’s about a half mile down da canyon overlooking the river. Good luck.”

Westly nodded and began making his way down the mountain. The pine needles filled his shoes, several poking into his ankles. He made it down the canyon to a small opening near the river. He could see the crest of the hotel peaking over the ridge of the canyon in front of him. There was no one there. The ground was mangled, with broken twigs and sticks, it looked as if a major fight had occurred there. Westly pulled his 30-30 out his coat and clicked back the hammer. He paced around the trees. There was no wind to give any sound, save the slow trickle of the river. He moved to the front of base of the river the rocks gleamed with the slowly setting sun. He saw more glimmer than he was expecting and decided to take a closer look. A black cell phone was wedged in between two rocks, the screen cracked and water leaking into the heart of the phone. Westly snatched it up. He clicked on the screen. For a brief moment he saw Robert holding a pretty girl with light brunette hair before the phone went black. Westly lifted his head and looked up the trees, several of the needles were covered in blood. He continued his gaze up and found Robert’s brown coat smushed into the branches. He jumped up and pulled it out of the tree. He looked the coat over. The collar was stained with several splotches of blood. He lifted it to check the back of the coat. The back of the coat had a crude note stapled to it. Westly looked closely at the misshapen paper. It only had one word.

“Goodbye.”

His eyes widened and he fell to the dirt, but not quickly enough. The gunshot sound rang out and he felt the searing pain connect with his right ear. The bullet cut deep into the side of his ear but missed his head. He fell hard on ground. The river rose up and splashed him in the face. He rolled over still on his back and fired three shot into the trees, each one wild and careless. He clutched his ear, pulled himself to his feet and ran. Hopping over the rocks and pine needles. He barely heard another shot ring out through the trees, driving itself deep into the trunk. He was midway up the canyon doing his best to keep his head down, grabbing at the ground for stability. Heaving each breath out of his lungs. His knee buckled under him again and he grabbed the trunk of a tree, planting his face against it. Another shot rang through the trees breaking through the branches. He inhaled and ran up the hill, feeling the weakness of his knee starting to come back. He made it up to the police car, without hesitation he pulled the door open, and jumped inside. Debra was gone. Her Pepsi was empty, knocked over, slowing dripping sticky soda down into the back seat. He peered out the back, gripping the revolver tight.

The shots seemed have stopped but he was worried about leaving the car to look for Debra. He pulled his phone out and began to call Holly. The slow sound of the ringing matched his heart beat.

“Wes,” she said, answering the phone.

“Holly, Jordan is down in the canyon. He just tried to kill me, and I think he may have killed Robert and another cop get ahold of dispatch and send someone down right away.

“Right away! Wes, I can’t find Forest. Jeremy said he went to look for Summer.”

“Can’t think about that right now. Do what you can.”

Before Westly could hang up the phone, Debra broke through the trees. Her head looked partially cut and her face was covered in mud. She ran to the car, quickly getting into the driver’s seat.

“Damn it. Som of a bitch got the drop on us.”

“I called for back up he can’t fight all of us at once.”

“If he tries it will be like the Alamo,” she said with a laugh.

She elbowed the car into drive and began heading up the hill. Westly rolled the window down and aimed his revolver back, expecting a barrage of bullets to strike the car at any second. But none came. The car had almost made to the switch back. Westly bit his lip.

“Stop!” He cried.

She slammed on the brakes.

“What is it?”

“He plays games. Gets in your head, rattles you up, and you forget what you are doing. I think Summer is in that canyon and Robert is with her. We leave now he kills them both. Turn the car around.”

She threw the car in park.

“Sorry Straight Razor or whatever your name is. I gotta wait for back up.”

Westly opened the car door and stepped out. He held the side of his bleeding ear as the pain was starting to make him feel woozy. He used the butt of the revolver to slam the door shut and stumbled back towards the canyon. Debra jumped out of her car after him.

“Where do ya think yer goin?”

“He doesn’t want me in that canyon so that is exactly where I should be. Back up will be here in under an hour but she might not make that long.”

Westly continued down the path. Debra threw her hands up in the air and followed him. He returned to the slope where he first made it down to the canyon. He could see the tree that Robert’s coat was hanging from. He stepped slowly down the slope, trying not to fall, his balance was way off from the assault on his ear. They made it half way down the slope when Westly stopped them. He pointed to more struggling on ground leading back to the trees. He started down the incline, nearly losing his footing before Debra caught him, supporting his weight on her left shoulder. They followed the struggle away from the river. The brambles and brush started to get darker. Westly first that it was the mud from the river. As they came closer though he saw that it was stained dark with blood. Westly and Debra moved quickly into the trees as the trail climbed slightly up the incline to a crest in the rock. Debra clasped her hand on her mouth as they saw it.

Summer was dangling up-side down. Her right eye was gouged out slowly dripping blood to the ground. Westly ran to her and put his hand on her neck.

“She’s still alive.”

He aimed his revolver and fired a shot through the rope as he slowly brought Summer to the ground, He hoisted her onto his arm and motioned for Debra to help. Debra shook her head and produced her 45.

“You need someone to watch yer back as we make it the car.”

Westly nodded and the two made their way back up the hill. Digging into the rocks with his fingers, Westly could feel the lack of blood taking over. They were almost to the road, blood soaked and tired, Westly lifted his foot to the corner of the road and slipped, his body slid back, and he slammed into Debra who dropped her gun on impact. She quickly snatched it up and looked around. Westly grimaced and the two helped pick up Summer’s unconscious body. Westly dragged her to the car. The sun was very low, only a few beams slicing through the trees. Debra opened the car door and let him set Summer on the back seat. Westly grabbed a sheriff department’s shirt and tied it tight around Summer’s bleeding eye.

“She gonna be okay?” Debra asked.

“She’ll be blind in one eye, but I think the blade missed her brain. Given Jordan’s injury he probably had a tough time making the attack.”

“Hopefully the can get her a nice glass eye,” Debra said softly.

“Maybe she can have yours,” Westly said with a growl.

He quickly clapped Debra on the back of the head, dislodging her glass eye and sending it tumbling to the dirt.

“You bastard!” She screamed in a much higher voice.

Westly struck her in the right shoulder which knocked her off balance. He grabbed her pony tail and pulled, ripping off her red hair, revealing it to be a wig, showing her dark black hair tied under several rubber bands. He steadied his revolver towards her head.

“Stay down…Jordan.”

She grinned and spit blood, laughing deep in her throat. She lunged at him, catching her right hand on around the barrel of the revolver. Westly fired. The bullet shattered through her hand sending blood around them, but she didn’t stop her assault. She pinned Westly up against the car and wrestled the gun away from him, striking him in the ear as she did.

“Did that hurt? Makes one of us,” she spat mockingly.

He sank to the ground as she clicked the hammer back.