Cold Cat Mountain: The Peak (Cold Cat Mountain Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Striding in the direction of Blaze and Matilda he nodded and removed his rain sodden hat, taking a seat, his bright blue eyes awash in wisdom. Winking, he ordered drinks for all three and turned back to the two ladies sharing the table with him.

  “Names Hoyd Merger. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His large hand engulfed each of theirs in succession. Hoyd made small talk until their drinks were placed on the table. With some ceremony he swiped his mustache aside and tipped back his first whiskey shot efficiently, sucking his teeth as he placed it upside down on the table with finality. Raising his finger toward the bar a second shot arrived immediately after on a tray.

  Hoyd held up his glass. “Here’s too Monsters. God help them. They tend to find each other in the dark.”

  Elegantly sweeping his mustache to the right and left, Hoyd drained the second whiskey shot. Standing he removed his coat. When he took his seat again he motioned for another drink, crossed his legs and slowly put his glasses on.

  Matilda sipped her red wine not speaking.

  With a cock of his head Hoyd grinned. “How’s about I tell you ladies what you came to hear?”

  A few curious locals loitered close to their table. Hoyd turned in his chair, waving his wet cowboy hat at them. “Go on and get now. This don’t concern you.”

  Sullen and with dented pride, the younger men pushed away from the table they were lingering at, ambling out the front door.

  Blaze frowned. “Doesn’t that concern you? Now they’re going to be pissed off.” Hoyd slowly sipped his third whiskey in thought. Raising an eye brow he shook his head. “Seeins’ as how I taught most of those pups about Jesus when they still couldn’t reach a urinal I think it’ll be all right.”

  “You are a minister?” Blaze was stunned.

  Matilda smiled ironically and pulled out her leather notepad.

  “I am indeed. Fifteen years now.” Blaze pointed toward his two empty shot glasses resting upside down on the table. Hoyd shrugged.

  “The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. I sip this last one slower. I need all the Holy Ghost I can get.”

  ”You mind telling me what’s up with the locals swarming around everywhere?” Matilda asked, leaning forward.

  Hoyd rolled his neck, looking over his shoulder at the men milling near the bar.

  “Folks are scared. They got a monster on their hands. Have had for some time.”

  Matilda stopped scribbling. “Are they scared from Rodney’s disappearance or have they been like this since the widow’s death?” Hoyd took another sip of his whiskey, eyeing her from under his bushy grey brows. He seemed to consider his answer before resting back against his chair. It creaked under his weight.

  “What if I were to tell you ladies that the problems have been happening since long before the widow’s death? By the way, I would gently remind you, that widow was my mother.”

  Blaze watched the exchange.

  Matilda paused, a warmth softening her face. “I am sorry if I came across callus. I lost both of my parents too.”

  He waved his arm dismissively, although it seemed an understanding had passed between them. “Some of these guys still think it’s the cold kitty doing all this, causing folks to go missing, but us older folks, the ones of us who are here and still remember…” He pointed his finger to the slate colored mountains beyond the window. “We know that ole’ cold cat didn’t cause all this. That was just convenient timing. Truth is, folks been goin’ up into those hills and not comin’ back for a hell of a lot longer than most know.’”

  Matilda rubbed her forehead.

  “You know that creates an opening. If you are saying that Kitty wasn’t responsible for the deaths in the past fifteen years then what was?”

  Hoyd took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat.

  “Now that’s the question, aint’ it?”

  Blinking, Blaze shrugged off her coat. Her curiosity was raised. “But you did see Kitty?”

  Hoyd nodded. “I saw her.” Matilda flipped forward through her notes. “And as we discussed by phone you are the only surviving witness to the snow leopards existence. How did you manage that?”

  Hoyd pursed his lips, sweeping his mustache aside. “Well, now, remember, others have seen Kitty too. During Search and Rescue operations. Seeing that cat is a precursor to a deeper knowledge that’s held true for every missing person- seeing Cold Cat means you won’t find the person yer lookin’ for; and what if I told you that I survived because Kitty saved my life?”

  Matilda’s expression changed. “Excuse me?” Hoyd said nothing.

  “Well?” Blaze’s voice had less patience than she intended. “Mind telling us what that means?”

  Matilda was nodding her head, as if she were involved in a secret realization with Hoyd.

  “Another predator,” she murmured. Hoyd nodded his head. “Not just any predator. I’d say you just stepped into the hive. There’s a lotta predators in forests around the world. This ones special.” Hoyd sat up straight. “And not in a good way.”

  Blaze turned toward Matilda.

  Matilda had not broken eye contact with Hoyd. “Did you see it?” Hoyd shook his head. “I doubt anyone whose gone missing has seen it. I believe it’s like the flame of a match. It casts no shadow. It makes no sound. That cat saved my life.” Hoyd waved his arm. “We can all call it Cold Cat Mountain. It’s catchy. It draws people- but then that’s the blessing and the curse isn’t it?”

  “Would one of you please tell me what is going on here?” Blaze was trying to catch up with a conversation that Matilda and Hoyd seemed to be having without her.

  Both Hoyd and Matilda ignored her, despite her efforts.

  “Does anyone else know your theory as to how dangerous this one is?” Matilda spoke in a low hushed tone. Hoyd glanced over toward the men roaming the bar.

  Leaning forward he put his hat back on. “Someone does, and some of them do. Someone is prodding those boys. A private party who doesn’t want attention drawn to their own name. Someone who knows about what’s up there and has made a life of pursuing it. Gotta lotta money too. Some of the locals have been contacted privately and asked if they would be interested in being paid for assisting and reporting their findings should they be willin’ to patrol the mountain.”

  Matilda swallowed. “Would that someone’s name be Sterling?”

  Hoyd inclined his head, standing. As he buttoned his brown buckskin jacket he tossed money on the table to cover their drinks. “You ladies should think about things. I didn’t know ya’ll were coming up to jump right in. The stakes are high here. Hell, no one’s even questioning the open carry. Hate for you two to get hurt.”

  Matilda straightened her shoulders. “I am aware of the danger.” Leaning across the table Hoyd took her hand. “No, you aren’t. You are incredibly intelligent and I contacted you to do some nosing around. Not to live in its path. You ladies should re-think this plan of yours.”

  Matilda removed her hand from his, undeterred. With a deep sigh Hoyd tipped his hat, pushed open the doors of the bar and was gone.

  Blaze turned to Matilda, still shocked. “He’s a reverend?” “The scariest thing about monsters is that they hide. They hide in your head where no one else can see them, making it feel almost as if no one can save you from them.” ― Meghan Blistinsky

  ~Sixteen~

  Blaze sat back down and raised her eyebrows. Nodding toward the bar she ordered her own whiskey. Matilda followed suit and ordered one too. The sobering grip of the firewater calmed their nerves a bit. Blaze absently turned her shot glass upside down, mimicking Hoyd.

  “So now what?”

  Matilda wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Her coloring had paled.

  “You mean now that he’s scared the hell out of us?” Blaze nodded slowly.

  “Yes. Now that I don’t want to go up there.”

  Matilda closed her eyes a moment and tucked her hair behind an ear.

  “We maintain as low a profile as possible.
” A gentlemen in the corner of the bar warmed his fiddle as Blaze and Matilda rose to leave. Blaze longed to stay. Just beyond the doors they’d entered was a different kind of discomfort; one that had nothing to do with the sudden onset of rain. As they gathered their coats and bags Matilda swore under breath.

  She peered out the window, her face grim.

  “I was afraid of that.”

  Blaze moved closer. Standing next to a satin black ’65 Nomad, a large man pulled on a long black brushpopper over his leather vest. His black boots moved through the new puddles as he focused intently on the front door of the café and bar.

  “Who is he?”

  Matilda rammed her notebook into her messenger bag, grimacing.

  “It’s Skid.”

  Blaze, warmed by the whiskey, laughed quietly. “What’s a Skid?” The man, well over six feet tall moved their way as he approached the front door, stopping to speak with a couple of local men for a moment. His white blonde hair, facial piercings and tattoos were out of place. However, his size alone prevented anyone from the slander that sometimes accompanied the herd bound mentality at local bars. The man seemed familiar with him, which Blaze also found strange. His sharp blue eyes lit on Matilda. He patted the shoulder of the man he’d been speaking with, striding their way.

  “Don’t tell him anything.” Matilda’s tone was harsh. Impatient. Blaze frowned. He was apparently going to be intense, and she was feeling mellow enough she wanted to learn his back story. By the time he neared the table it was obvious he possessed street smarts, carrying himself with deliberate confidence.

  “Ma’am.” He nodded to Blaze.

  Turning to Matilda he smiled broadly. “Pixy.”

  Matilda squared her shoulders, assuming her professional mask.

  “Skid. We were just leaving.”

  Stepping into her path Skid crossed his arms, looking down.

  “Wonder when you’re going to stop being mad at me?”

  “When you manage to finish Green Eggs and Ham I suspect. It’s a long book. Be careful with the syllables.”

  Skid rocked back on his heels, clapping his hand over his heart as if he’d been wounded.

  “Ouch. Is that how you treat someone who helped you out of a rough spot?”

  Matilda attempted to step around him. He maintained his trajectory just ahead of her.

  “Come on, can’t we hunt together?”

  Matilda took a second to consider his request, and smiled. “Yes. Yes we can Skid. Let me just write down exactly where we’re heading.”

  Staring down the white haired giant Matilda waited until he graciously stepped aside and gestured for her to pass. As both women climbed into the jeep a ruckus of cheers and cat calls from the testosterone amped men rang out. Having overheard her exchange with Skid they saluted him, calling him over to have a drink. He joined them, approaching the bar as he mimicked the walking wounded, laughing heartily.

  A swift knock at the driver’s side window caused Blaze to jump as she tried to focus on their preparations to head up the mountain. The sheriff of Stryker smiled back at her from the other side of the rain splattered window. His hood was pulled up over his head, and he stood bent over with his hands in his pockets as rain rolled down his poncho.

  “I don’t like to intrude ladies- I do apologize.” Inclining his head toward the open door of the café where a few men leaned against the railing to smoke he turned back to Blaze, smiling.

  Blaze held her silence and shrugged. “It wasn’t like this again until a few months ago. Folks are sick of seeing people not come back from the mountains. I apologize for the obvious old west atmosphere. I owe it to them to feel they’re protecting their own though. I just thought I’d introduce myself.”

  Without much to add Blaze shifted the jeep into gear. “Communities lucky to have a tolerant sheriff.”

  “Yeah…” The sheriff’s voice waned. Clearing his throat he checked his watch and turned down his radio. “Where you ladies heading from here?”

  Matilda answered. “We are conducting research on Cold Cat. I have a permit.”

  Thumping the end of his flashlight on the edge of the window he grinned.

  “Aha, where the legend began.” The smile he offered didn’t reflect in his eyes. Blaze felt Matilda tense next to her.

  “Well, be careful. The rain down here is likely turning into snow up there. Winters settling in early this this year.” His dark brown eyes settled briefly on Blaze.

  “You ladies have fire arms? Just in case?”

  Blaze locked eyes with him. “We do. And pepper spray, but that’s really just for the locals.”

  Caught off guard by her dry humor the sheriff’s eyes crinkled at the corners and he laughed. “I want you to know either myself or Deputy Barnes will be swinging by to check on you all while you’re up there. It’s not safe. Please remember that, permit or not.” He turned to wave at a truck as it passed and stepped closer to the window.

  “I’m not sexist. I just want to go on record saying it’s a real bad idea for you ladies to research up there. We’ve had a lot of intelligent minds trying to figure this thing out over the years. But, two women, alone…” The Sheriff stepped back as if expecting a physical rebuttal.

  Matilda nodded her head.

  “I feel confident we can handle this, Sheriff. We will see you up there.”

  Stepping back he knocked on their hood a couple times indicating they were free to leave as he walked through the mud, heading into the café. Blaze held her silence in check until they found the turn toward Cold Cat Peak about a mile away. The encroaching dark made her feel claustrophobic. The shoulders of the road were hard to see. It was clear the road hadn’t been graded for a while. Blaze realized she was gripping the wheel and took a deep breath. Once they were higher, the rain eased up and Blaze slowed the windshield wipers.

  Matilda was shaking her head in the glow of the green dash lights. She was tired, and her shoulders slumped slightly as she tried attaching a small blue light to the maps she held.

  Blaze cleared her throat. “So, a lot of people are missing from an elusive and predatory Sasquatch. Not sure I feel confident about this Matilda. We’ve been warned off by two locals.”

  Their eye contact was brief. It was all the confirmation Blaze needed as she replayed the cryptic conversation between Matilda and Hoyd in her mind. At the next bend in the road, which looked like it might have been leading them to nowhere, Blaze switched on the bright’s. Ahead, rain water was running over the banks, causing rocks to dislodge and tumble down onto the one track lane. The need for concentration prompted Matilda to lower the radio. Finally she held her hands out.

  “Ok. I know this looks dangerous. It is dangerous. I warned you it would be. If you don’t feel comfortable joining me for this research I completely understand. But for the record, I think they’re wrong. I have had extensive experience in the field.”

  Blaze shifted the jeep and it chugged slowly up the mountain. “But I haven’t. If this is one of the most intense field research forays you’ve been on maybe bringing a rookie wasn’t such a good idea. This thing sounds really dangerous. I mean, really, really dangerous. Do we know what we’re walking into here?”

  Matilda dropped her head back. “Yes we do!”

  Blaze frowned, not caring for Matilda’s tone.

  They drove in silence while Blaze considered the implications of two well informed men warning them to avoid the mountain. She felt her scalp tighten. “Ok Matilda, time for the truth. Now I’m pissed. I don’t feel I have all the information here. Why’d you and Hoyd seem like you were speaking a secret language? Why does it feel you both know something about this creature that I don’t?”

  Matilda arched her back, popping her neck. “Because we shared a thought. A theory. I’m not in a position to discuss it with you Blaze. It will taint the research and I need your mind clear. Got it?”

  Blaze stopped the jeep. Turning she shrugged. “No. I don’t “got it.” I want
to know everything. All of it. Now.”

  Rain thrummed down on the roof of the idling jeep forming rivulets on the windshield. Blaze waited.

  Finally, with a deep breath, Matilda rubbed her face and turned to Blaze.

  “I’m not sure I’m correct. I could be wrong.”

  “About what?” Blaze tapped the steering wheel with her fingers. Waiting.

  “It, it could be more predatory than I first theorized. Hoyd apparently agrees.” “And what does that mean exactly?”

  Matilda tucked a strand of hair back. “It means we could have a serial killer on our hands. One that’s killing for the sport of it.”

  Blaze felt her face tighten. “Matilda, even I know animals are efficient at meeting their needs. Why would an animal be referred to as a serial killer?”

  Matilda slumped slightly in her seat. Her voice was low.

  “What if it’s not an animal, Blaze? What if my original theory was wrong?”

  Blaze shifted in her seat to face Matilda fully.

  “What does that mean?”

  Matilda bit her lip. “What if it’s not a descendant of Gigantopithecus?”

  Blaze shrugged. “Okay...?”

  “What if it’s a human hybrid?” Shocked, Blaze frowned and rested her forehead on her palm. “Are you kidding me? You’re saying that if Sasquatch is a hybrid human it would have the potential to become a serial killer?”

  Matilda nodded, slowly folding a map. “In so many words…”

  Blaze leaned back against her seat, swearing under her breath.

  Staring straight ahead Blaze gritted her teeth.

  “I hate surprises. Is there anything else you haven’t told me Matilda?”

  The younger woman shook her head sheepishly.

  Blaze shifted the jeep into drive, still deciding what to do.

  “And what about Skid? What’s up with the weird exchange between you two?”

  “I don’t really have much to tell you about Skid, except that he is everything that’s wrong with this field.”