Dangerous Undertaking by Mark de Castrique Read Free Book Online Page A

do?”
    “We could use your phone to check in. After we walk down to the quarry.”
    “How much farther is it?” I asked.
    “Couple hundred yards,” said the preacher.
    “I’ll do it,” I said. “You call the sheriff’s office.”
    “I’ll take Ned to the stall,” said Charlie. “Come get me when you’re ready.”

    On my return, I walked into the shadows of the old barn. The sound of my footsteps died in the carpet of brown hay strewn over the dry, packed earth. The rich pungent odor of manure, sweat, and feed rose up like a barricade. I stopped for a moment while my eyes adjusted to the dim light.
    Against the golden backdrop of the barn’s open rear door, I saw the motionless silhouettes of Reverend Pace and Charlie. They sat on barrels and watched the mare drink from her water trough. The barn odor mellowed into an aroma of age. With reluctance, I intruded upon their silent pleasure.
    “I didn’t find anything,” I said. “You talk to Tommy Lee?”
    “Yeah, patched through the two-way radio. Nothing.”
    “Great day in the morning,” muttered Charlie. “What’s the sheriff planning?”
    “To keep looking at least through the weekend,” said Pace. “It’s about all he can do. National Park Rangers have agreed to scout park land at Montgomery Rock and Black Bear Bluff. Sheriff’s got a couple of the mountain families to do the same on their own land. He hopes somebody will find some sign. Maybe a campfire. Dallas could be lost if he wandered too far into the gorges.”
    Charlie Hartley kicked the dirt with his work boot. “Tarnation. He’s a local boy who knows these hills as well as anybody. He’s been up and down them since he could crawl. He ain’t lost. If he ain’t dead, he’s bad hurt. Dogs. Ought to bring in dogs.”
    “Tried that,” I said. “Tommy Lee got the SBI to bring them to the truck. No use. Nothing for the dogs to follow. Scent ended at the tracks. Said Dallas may as well have caught a train.”
    “Maybe he hopped a freight,” said Charlie.
    “Railroad told Tommy Lee that would be impossible,” I said. “It’s not a crossing, and they’re usually going thirty-five to forty miles an hour. SBI ran aerial surveillance over the tracks, but it’s not as effective as walking the ground, which is what I guess we’d better get back to doing.”
    Pace stood and clasped a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Take care of Nell, you hear.”
    “You come up and see her colt.”
    “Sure. I kiss all the new babies.”
    Pace picked up his walking stick and followed me out of the barn, leaving Charlie to lean against the stall and admire his mare.

    I knew something was wrong as soon as Pace and I got to the funeral home. From the high corner eaves, the spotlights blazed even though the sky still held the last purple rays of twilight. They were the sign of official business, the illumination for visitors and mourners going to and from the circle of grief.
    “Uncle Wayne told me nothing was scheduled for this Saturday night,” I said. “That’s why we invited you to stay over.”
    Pace glanced at me as he slowed my Jeep to a crawl.
    “Maybe you’ve got company,” he said.
    We saw the old blue pickup with dented aluminum camper-top parked at the edge of the pavement. Next to it was a rusted Chevy Nova. “No, not the social kind,” I answered. “And I don’t see Uncle Wayne’s car. I’d better not leave until we know what’s going on.”
    We walked through the side yard to the back porch off the kitchen. My mother bustled out of the door, waving her arms in frantic ellipses, her plump body bobbing up and down as she exhorted us into the house.
    “Oh, Barry,” she whispered. “It’s awful. Just awful. And Wayne’s not back from looking for Dallas Willard.”
    Pace gently held her by the shoulders to calm her. “It’s all right, Connie. Tell us what happened.”
    Her voice quivered and she blinked back tears. “They brought him in the back of a truck. Wouldn’t