Chapter 1: Volunteers

Identity Crisis

“It could be number one or four. The others are definitely out,” Karen said. She sipped at the coffee in her hand. It wasn’t Birdie’s and tasted foul but she needed something to do with her hands. Her heart had been in her throat ever since they opened the curtain to show her the lineup of five men.

“O-kay,” Detective Mead Oliver groaned. He pulled the curtain closed and dismissed the lineup. “Uh ... Why do you say that?”

“It’s confusing! It all happened so fast. I approached Rena, I was grabbed from behind, and before I could scream, he slapped that stinking cloth around my face and I passed out,” she nearly screamed. “How am I supposed to identify the bastard? Those three are too short. That’s all I know.”

“He was tall?”

“Either that or he was on platforms taller than mine.”

“You were wearing heels?”

“Wedges. An inch and a half. I liked those shoes. Did anyone ever find them?”

“I’m afraid we’ve found none of your clothes,” Sheriff Brad Johnson said. “We’ve had some complications with the search. How do you know he was tall?”

“I don’t ... He grabbed me in a choke hold.”

“How tall are you, Karen?” Mead asked.

“Five-ten.”

“Plus a couple of inches in heels,” he said. “I think I see. Brad, how tall are you?”

“Six-three.”

“Give me a hand and get behind me.” The sheriff stood behind the police detective. In a community their size, the two often worked together and since, at the time of the crime, the Wild Woods and quarry were technically outside the city limits, this required their cooperation to the fullest. The results of yesterday’s election would put the area inside the limits. “Grab me around the neck. Karen, tell him if he’s got it about right. I don’t want to traumatize you by reliving everything, but this will help us in the search.”

“I understand, Mead. That looks right.”

“Okay, switch places with me, Brad.” The sheriff moved to the front and Mead moved behind, placing his arm over Brad’s shoulder.

“I think I’m too big for you to get that hold on me,” Brad said.

“Exactly. I understand Karen’s description now. The assailant had to be significantly taller than her in order to get that kind of upward pull. Otherwise she would have been pulled down.”

“So, we’re looking for someone over six-two,” Brad nodded in agreement.

“Wow!” Karen said. “I didn’t realize. Now that I’ve seen it, I can almost feel his face up next to mine and smell his breath before the cloth covered my face. I thought it was the stuff on the cloth. Strong peppermint smell.”

“Sounds more like Tic Tac than chloroform.”

“Any other impressions?”

“The arm under my chin was ... smooth. It wasn’t a rough fabric.”

“Good.”

“And I’d say older. I didn’t realize that until I was listening to you two talk. Sheriff, your voice sounds younger than Mead’s. The guy who grabbed me sounded older. And he was deadly calm like it didn’t mean a thing that he was forcing me to eat poison nuts as he recited the names of the Families. I have impressions of a face, but it isn’t even human. I was already hallucinating by then. I could hear the trees talking and prayed Gee would come to save me.”

“You’re doing fine, Karen,” Brad said. “We’re getting a lot more to go on now. I’m afraid the description the kids gave wasn’t much help either. Oh. Gloves?”

“Yes. At first. Smooth. Leather. Like driving gloves. When he shoved the first nut in my mouth, I tried to bite him. He slapped me. After the first nut, I knew I was dead, so I just kept eating them.”

“Thank you, Karen. Let’s give it a rest. I know this is hard on you. If you think of anything else, please call. Anything at all. We want your attacker in jail.”

“Thank you, Mead. You’re a sweetheart. Sheriff, I promise not to walk into that kind of situation again without backup.”

“Take care, Karen,” Brad responded. “Give our best to Gee.”

“Now what?” Mead asked as Karen disappeared down the hall.

“Now we let our number one suspect go free,” Brad sighed. “Rev. Lance Beck is only five-five. He couldn’t have gotten her in that hold without pulling her down.”

“Sheriff?” Deputy Carlisle poked his head in the room where Mead and Brad were meeting.

“What is it, Jeff?”

“Not good, sir. We just got back from the church. It’s clean. The dogs found no scent of drugs. If cleanliness is next to godliness, those people have one foot in heaven already. The place was spotless.”

“That’s great. Just great. Now we’re worse off than we were before. Is there any chance they were tipped off?”

“It all looked normal. There was a work crew of church members who said it was their annual maintenance week. They were almost finished repainting the sanctuary and it looked like a couple of days work completed. They weren’t happy about the dogs.”

“Nothing like fresh paint to hide a scent. Damn it! Write up the report. I want impressions from everyone who was on the search team. I’m going to have to take it to Judge Warren and explain that our whole investigation is in the toilet.” Brad waved his deputy out of the room and sank heavily into his chair.

“We need to search the Wild Woods,” Mead said.

“For what? We already know there are nuts out there. The dogs would never pick up a drug scent. And the underbrush is so dense we were using machetes to get through to find Karen.”

“Which means that whoever did this knows the woods a lot better than we do,” Mead insisted. “Might even still be out there. Think about it. Two kids witness the attack and we get a 911 call. You’re on the scene within fifteen minutes. From that point, there are firetrucks, ambulances, and police onsite for the next hour. That’s when we get another 911 call from Gee. We start searching the woods. It’s eight hours later that we finally find the cabin with Karen in it. During that time, we’ve got people closing in on the location from two directions. Foresters, EMTs, deputies, with firetrucks playing searchlights along the edge of the woods. This bastard has had time to drug and rape her, clean up all the evidence, including her clothes, and walk out without being detected.”

“Right past us. Could have even been a forester helping with the search,” Brad nodded.

“I don’t think we need a warrant,” Mead concluded. “Savage agreed to removing the fence. All we need is his permission to search the woods.”

After leaving the police station, Karen dragged herself into the office of The Elmont Mirror. She was immediately immersed in the excitement of getting the next day’s paper ready. Election results had been reported and the paper put to bed last night long before two hundred kids and parents gathered to tear down the fence separating the Forest from the Wild Woods. Kelly Murray had been with Karen and managed some extremely good night photos. Lanterns and flashlights painted an eerie glow over the activities. Karen had hours of recorded interviews with parents and permissions to use their kids’ names in her story. But the story still had to be written.

“What’s the story on Preacher Beck’s arrest?” Axel Hunter, the editor, demanded.

“What arrest?” Karen asked. She hadn’t followed the police scanner while she was out at the fence.

“Beck was caught in Rena Lynd’s hospital room last night and arrested. I thought that’s where you were this morning.”

“I don’t know anything about an arrest. I was out at the fence all last night. You know I can’t do any reporting on that story. I’m too closely involved.”

“Any comments from the victim?” Axel sneered. Karen scowled at him.

“Yeah. This is a time of recovery for the victim and her family. We ask that you respect her need for privacy as she continues to heal from the trauma. No further comment is available at this time,” she said while staring him in the eye.

Axel stormed away in his usual foul mood to call the police department. Karen set to work going through Kelly’s photos and putting them together with her story.

Unwarranted Search

Gee dragged himself into Jitterz for lunch after half a day at the Market. He got little sleep after the fence destruction the night before and hoped Karen would join him for lunch before he went home for a nap. His phone buzzed just before he reached the counter. “Don’t wait. I’m tied up with the story. Deadline. Chaos,” Karen’s text read. Gee sighed.

“Coffee, Gee?” Elaine asked. Everywhere Gee looked, people appeared tired. Elaine and her cousins had been at the fence last night, too.

“I had a cup earlier. Just tea. And I guess an egg salad sandwich.”

“Have a seat. I’ll get it out to you,” she said after he paid. An empty table by the window was inviting and he sank into the chair. Election results were the main topic of conversation around him. A hundred or maybe two hundred teens and parents had taken part in removing the fence between the Forest and the Wild Woods last night but it had been long after the paper was put to bed. Troy mentioned the fence in his morning broadcast but even he had focused on the election results and annexation of South Rosebud.

“Catalyst. That’s the word I’ve been looking for,” Birdie said as she set Gee’s tea and sandwich in front of him. She dropped into the seat opposite him with her own cup of tea.

“What?”

“There were a lot of volatile elements floating in the primordial sea of Rosebud Falls six months ago but nothing was coming to life. Then you arrived. The atoms began to align on both sides of the fence. Now there is no fence. You are a catalyst.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You didn’t need to. You only needed to be present. Now, though, you’ll have to take a more active role.”

“I’m just...”

“No-no, Gee. You can’t hide behind being a simple man with no memory. You’re a leader. You’re the Champion of Rosebud Falls. No one cares who or what you were before, any more than you care. But now that the elements are aligned, will we have fusion or fission?” Birdie said.

“I didn’t know you were a scientist. What should I do? I just try to be a good person. Most of the time I don’t know what the right thing is, I just hope it turns out okay. Do you know what Mead Oliver told me? I could be arrested for inciting civil disobedience last night. If they hadn’t been so orderly, he’d have run me in for inciting a riot,” Gee sighed. He just needed some sleep and he wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed.

“You know Mead wouldn’t do that—even if it was possible. You’re a hero. You control the super-majority of stockholder votes at Savage Sand and Gravel. You’re a role model. You’re the Pied Piper of the library and the Forest. You’re an equal with the Family heads, engaged to the Roth heiress. You cannot pretend to just be stumbling along doing what comes naturally—even if that’s true,” Birdie lectured him.

Worry creased Gee’s brow. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do next, Birdie.”

“I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies, Miz Scarlett,” Birdie mocked. “I don’t think anybody is going to give you time to decide. You’ve got visitors.”

Mead Oliver, for better or worse, always seemed to show up when Gee had done something—good or bad. Beside him, Sheriff Brad Johnson cut an imposing figure in his uniform. And following along in a utility kilt was the new Chairman and CEO of Savage Sand & Gravel, Pàl Savage.

“Can we join you, Gee? I mean, if you’ve finished your lunch?” Mead asked. Gee set his teacup on his empty plate and Birdie swept it away. The men pulled up chairs to the little table.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Gee asked. “Am I being arrested ... again?”

“Never expected what a pain being City Champion would be, did you?” Mead laughed. “SSG has decided not to press charges for the vandalism of their fence.”

“And we won’t book you for inciting a riot,” Brad added. All three men laughed at Gee’s discomfiture. “Really, we’ve come for advice and to ask a favor.”

“Of me?” Gee asked. “Sure. Whatever I can do.”

“Pàl?” Mead said.

“The sheriff and police have asked for permission to search the Wild Woods,” Pàl began. “On the surface it sounds like a good idea. We should know what’s out there. I dug up the leases and discovered the Savage Family home was leased to a small group as an alternative to Flor del Día for fostering orphans and teaching. That was right after the war when my grandfather incorporated the company and took me to Scotland. There was no shortage of orphans and it seemed like a good thing. But ultimately, the shelter grew into the Calvary Tabernacle. When Mr. Beck was called as pastor a little over ten years ago, he was permitted use of the home as part of his compensation and the camp for troubled children was moved into the woods.”

“We executed a search warrant early this morning on both the church and the house,” Brad said. “It revealed no sign that children were in the residence nor had been for many years.”

“I’m not fond of Pastor Beck,” Gee said carefully. “Was there any other incriminating evidence?”

“No. We’ve eliminated Beck as a primary suspect in Ms. Weisman’s kidnapping and the attempted murder of Rena Lynd,” Brad continued. “He might still have been in collusion, but he didn’t carry it out. And we’ve found no trace of drugs in either the church or the house.”

“Still, we know the church has been bringing children into the area for deprogramming by Beck,” Pàl added. “The two cabins found in the woods during Karen’s rescue had been scrubbed clean. Are there more? Are there children out there? Another processing plant to manufacture drugs? A storage facility? Sheriff Johnson wants to search the woods for evidence of wrongdoing.”

“It sounds like a good idea,” Gee said. “Why ask me?”

“SSG’s rights to the Wild Woods are questionable. Mineral and resource leases can be interpreted in many ways. Anything found in the Wild Woods could incriminate SSG, not just the church. Our liability could bankrupt the company and possibly put present and former executives at risk,” Pàl said. “You hold the proxies for over two-thirds of the stockholder votes. If we pursue this, those shares could end up worthless.”

“And you want me to vote?”

“As CEO of the company, I would like to find a way to do this that minimizes our legal exposure. It could take a long time to do that and I don’t yet know which people in the company I can actually trust. The control was securely in the hands of the church. Right down to the lowest levels of labor.”

“In the meantime, there could be children being held or hiding in the Wild Woods,” Gee said. “Drugs might still be manufactured there. Kidnappings might still be concealed.” All three men facing him nodded as Gee contemplated the options.

Gee finally lifted his head to look them in the eyes. “Every person who gave me a proxy used the same or very similar words—almost as if they had a script,” Gee said at last. “Each one asked me to vote my conscience to the benefit of the Forest, the City, the people, and the woods. To me, it was a clear commitment to ethical responsibility rather than profit. Since the sheriff is nicely requesting a search rather than simply presenting a warrant, I assume there might be some political or financial reasons for not just breaking down the doors, so to speak.”

“Honestly, Gee, I have no idea what to request in a warrant or how to go about a search,” Brad said. “It took us hours to hack our way to those cabins we found and we had GPS coordinates. I don’t have the manpower to devote to an extended search for an unknown something.”

“How about if we send the foresters in to do an assessment of the resources in the Wild Woods? We know they want access as soon as possible anyway. We could press some urgency to determine the value and dangers of our new annex. Of course, the sheriff and police department would be welcome to observe when they can and we’d want emergency services on alert in case we ... encounter an injury or other emergency. Would that resolve our difficulties?”

The three men looked at each other and silently nodded their assent.

“There’s just one thing, Gee,” Pàl said. “I’ll authorize the foresters and volunteers to have access but someone has to convince them of the urgency to move now. That someone is you.”

Gee sighed. He’d been hoping for a nap.

Enlistment

“I knew that action in the Forest last night would come back to bite us in the ass,” David said. The head of the Lazorack Family was never one to mince words. “I have one job. It is to ensure the care and harvest of the Forest.”

“But Harvest is over,” Gee objected.

“The nut harvest is over,” Jonathan jumped in ahead of his father. “Weather is getting colder each day and there will be snow soon. Before that happens, the foresters need to check every tree, make sure all the deadwood has been cleared, and supervise the gleaners who are still picking up late-falling nuts from the Forest floor. We can spare some people after snow starts in earnest.”

“We can’t wait,” Gee stated.

“I agree,” Jessie said. She and Jonathan had been married less than two months and, to many people, the couple represented the future of the Forest. “I understand we need to finish Forest maintenance but there could be children out there. David, I saw your determination when we went into the woods to find Karen. This is just as important. We have to dedicate people to surveying and assessing the Wild Woods.”

David ran his fingers through his hair and looked at the map in front of them. The area depicting the Wild Woods was copied from maps that were over a hundred years old. They probably weren’t accurate to start with. He looked at his friend and mentor.

“Gabe?” The old forester looked up from the map as if just becoming aware of the conversation. He’d worked alongside the other foresters during Harvest but spent most of his semi-retired time in the office. He glanced at the faces of the younger foresters.

“Yep. Gotta do it, David.”

“Just stop our fall maintenance and send everyone into the Wild Woods?”

“No. But we could spare a few foresters. I’ll supervise the assessment. We might not get all the way through the Wild Woods right away but we should get a good picture of what is out there,” Gabe answered.

Gee breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the old forester’s support. “What about volunteers?” he asked.

“People are pretty burned out after Harvest,” Jonathan said. “They’ve already spent ten days volunteering and ignoring school, work, and their families.”

“Still, if you could get volunteers, we could use them,” Gabe said. “Especially if they have an interest in becoming foresters.”

“Like advance training? An internship? I might be able to get some of those enthused high schoolers out here on weekends,” Gee said.

“We need to start tomorrow,” Gabe answered. “Not enough time to organize anything formal. We’ll just teach you as we go.”

“Me?”

“You’re our first volunteer.”

“Seeking volunteers to help foresters assess the Wild Woods of South Rosebud,” Karen read back to Gee. “Sounds like a classified ad. We’ve got the paper in layout already. Axel will throw a fit. Maybe we can squeeze in a sidebar to the story of the fence coming down. I’ll have to do some rewriting.”

“I’m sorry to cause problems for you, Karen. Thank you,” Gee said to his fiancée. He’d never been inside her office at The Elmont Mirror before and felt like he was intruding on her private domain.

“Call Cameron and alert him to what you are doing. When Axel goes ballistic and calls his boss, I want him ready to support the delay in getting the paper to bed. Whom should volunteers contact?” she asked.

Gee finished giving Karen the details and then headed out to start recruiting.

“Hey, Gee,” Ryan said when Gee found him trimming lettuce in the vegetable display. The boy’s tone and posture showed how exhausted he was. He’d had little more sleep than Gee after leading the youth tearing down the fence last night but still had to go to school and show up for his job.

“I don’t think you should be working with a sharp knife today,” Gee laughed.

“Done with this,” Ryan said, carefully putting the trimming knife in its plastic sleeve. He pulled off his cutting glove. “I think you’re right. Wow! That was sure something last night.”

“It was. But now we have to live with the consequences.”

“You mean like being so tired I can hardly stand up?”

“That’s one,” Gee said as Ryan pushed the trimming cart to the back of the store. “The other is that we have six hundred acres of new forestland to assess and protect. I’m going to work with the foresters for the next couple of weeks but we could sure use some volunteers to help us. We’re spread pretty thin.”

“I’d love to but ... I mean, there’s school. We can’t exactly cut classes to go work in the woods.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Gee said. “But there might be time on weekends. If you’re serious about learning forestry.”

“That would be cool. I bet we could get some after school help once football season is over,” Ryan said, warming to the idea.

“I’ll be at the game Friday night. Why don’t you let kids know I’d like to talk to anyone interested in volunteering?”

Ryan grinned at Gee. “We might need to reserve a section of the stands.”

“I don’t know what else to say, Nathan. This is important. It was easy for people to ignore the Wild Woods when it wasn’t part of the City. But it’s our responsibility now and I guess I walked into it.” Gee had gone directly from talking to Ryan to meeting with his boss and friend at the Market.

“Do you really think there could be people living out there?” Nathan asked.

“We found two cabins last month. The Wild Woods could hold a dozen of those and we’d never know. It’s not just that there could be people...” Gee sighed and shook his head. “I have an uneasy feeling, Nathan. We could find anything.”

“We’ll miss you in the mornings. I guess we’ve survived without you before but I hope you get back to us soon. It’s hard to get coverage for that shift,” Nathan said.

“I’ll keep an eye out for another employee. Hmm. Might even have an idea. Let me see what I can come up with.”

“Are you as tired as I am?” Karen sighed as she sank onto the sofa next to Gee. It was a struggle for Gee to stay awake until ten when she got home.

“Exhausted,” he said. “How’d it go at the office?”

“The expected big row about changing layout of the front page to accommodate your little sidebar but Cameron set Axel straight and the paper went to press. I think you might get flooded with volunteer inquiries at the foresters’ office starting about noon tomorrow.”

“Do you think that many will come out?”

“It’s hard to say. The City loves its Forest. The Wild Woods is a source of mystery. I hope you don’t want only men. There are likely to be more women available if you can accommodate school schedules.”

“I never thought of that. I don’t think there is any prejudice against women. Even I am overqualified for what we need to do,” Gee mused.

“Well if you can do the job, certainly a woman can!” Karen laughed. Gee blushed.

“I sounded like an ass, didn’t I?” he said. She kissed him.

“That doesn’t often happen with you, sweetheart. I’m sure it’s just the exhaustion.”

“Say, how’s your friend Timmy doing?”

“He was very concerned when I was in the hospital and brought me a flower. I think he’s mostly worried that I won’t take him back to the big city again. Why?”

“Nathan needs help stocking shelves and carting things at the market in the mornings. Do you think Timmy could handle it? It’s hard to get a high school student for that shift.”

“Hmm. It’s possible. He’s a very dedicated worker once he learns his job. He washes dishes at the Pub & Grub most evenings and does a good job there. If Nathan is patient in training him, he’d be able to do the work, I’m sure.” Karen breathed a long sigh. “I’ll have to talk to his mother.”

“Raven?”

“That’s their last name. Her first name is Lynda but with her black hair, everyone has called her by her last name as long as I can remember. I don’t think she really likes me but I’ve been Timmy’s friend for so long that she’s accepted me. Without her support, Timmy wouldn’t establish the routine he’d need to do the job.” Karen kissed her fiancé again. “Can we just go to bed now? My head hurts.”

“I think that’s the best idea we’ve had today.”

Recruitment

“It’s getting chilly out here for football,” Gee said as he and Karen moved into the stands.

“Only one more game next week and the season ends,” Karen said. They took their customary seats next to Wayne in the stands. The teams were warming up on the field and their breath could be seen in the lights. Gee wrapped their blanket snugly around their legs.

“I’m getting a little worried about how cold it will be this winter,” Wayne agreed. “Even Granda is thinking about going back to Florida.”

“Really?”

“I think it’s all talk. I see the look in his eyes when he’s standing at his office window and can see the Wild Woods. He’ll never leave. He’s not too happy with his accommodations at my house, though,” Wayne said. “I think he’s considering moving up to the retirement home where Dee Warren and Celia Ransom live. Nothing brings life to his eyes like spending time with them, Heinz Nussbaum, and Coretta Sims. I don’t think I’ll ever really comprehend how close they were growing up.”

“Wayne,” Karen said suddenly, “do you have any idea where your Family tree is?”

“Uh ... Granda has a chart with names on it. I assume it’s packed in his things.”

“Oh. That’s not what I mean. Each Family has a rose hickory that is ... I don’t know ... dedicated? It’s the Family’s connection to the Forest,” Karen said. “When I ... had my ordeal, I promised the Forest I would visit all the Family trees. I know how that sounds, but it’s a compulsion. Not that I’m rushing to finish the task but so far I’ve visited Roth, Poltanys, and Nussbaum.”

“I’ll ask Granda if he knows. If I had to guess, I’d say it was on the property where Preacher Beck lives. That’s the Savage ancestral home from what I understand.”

“I didn’t know that. Could be sticky getting in there.”

“Not if Granda succeeds in evicting him. What about the other trees? There are seven, aren’t there?”

“Cavanaugh, Lazorack, and Meagher.”

“Meagher is still in touch with his tree,” Gee said. “He ate a nut from it years ago.”

“It scares me a little to visit him but I’ll get to it soon.”

“So, how was your first day in the Wild Woods?” Wayne asked, changing the subject away from Karen’s discomfiture.

“Slow. We all want to just march through the woods in all directions but Gabe insists that we have to be systematic. I understand. As thick as the undergrowth in the woods is, we could miss entire sections if we don’t take our time to do it right. You wouldn’t think six hundred acres was so big. I could see getting lost out there and never finding my way out. I’m just worried there might be someone lost in there and we’ll never find them,” Gee said.

“Can the cabins be seen from the air?”

“Gabe ordered a helicopter flight for this weekend. They’re going to photograph the whole region. In general, though, the canopy of the Wild Woods is almost as dense as the understory. And the two cabins we’ve found were camouflaged on the roof. If there is no heat source even infrared photography won’t show anything.”

“Gee’s trying to get volunteers to help make the work go faster. He’s working with ten foresters, but wants to get some high school kids involved.”

“You’ll do well with them,” Wayne agreed.

By the end of the game, snow flurries danced in the air—a potent reminder that winter was coming and time was short.

“Can we move to Jitterz or someplace warm?” Shannon asked. Ryan’s girlfriend was shivering under the bleachers with over a dozen other teens who came to meet with Gee. It was obvious she had worn far too little for the weather.

“I’m good with that,” Gee said. “Karen? Do you think they could find room for about fifteen people as a group?”

“I’ll call. Is everyone walking or driving?” Karen asked. Ryan and Shannon gratefully climbed into the back of Karen’s car for the short trip. Birdie was waiting for them and directed them to a section of the lounge she’d cleared. As soon as everyone had drinks or ice cream, they settled around Gee.

“You all did a great job Tuesday night when it came time to tear down the fence,” Gee started. There were a few hand-slaps. “You’re leaders. The former CEO of the company threatened retaliation for vandalism, but the current CEO quashed that and announced that he’d given permission. But we’ve got another problem.”

“Is there more fence?” Barrett asked.

“No. It’s the Wild Woods itself. It hasn’t been tended for nearly a century or maybe more. The undergrowth is so thick we can hardly cut a path. But three weeks ago, we found two cabins out there that no one knew about. I think there are more. Call it a hunch if you like, but evidence says that Calvary Tabernacle used the woods for its child reprogramming camp.”