Read Online A String of Beads by Thomas Perry - Free Book Online Page B

going to do for you.”
    “What?”
    “Remember the helicopters that used to come to get you out of tight spots in Afghanistan?”
    “Very well.”
    “That’s me. That’s what I’m doing here. I’ve come to help you get back home before
     they catch you. Having a woman with you might help you look a lot less like a fugitive,
     and it might even make the state police a little hesitant if they see us.”
    “Why would you do this for me?”
    She looked at him as though she hadn’t thought about having to tell him. She hesitated,
     then said, “This isn’t just me that you see here. The clan mothers—all eight of them—came
     to my house one morning and told me to go find you. This is our people coming to take
     you out of trouble.”
    “The clan mothers sent you? I can hardly believe it.”
    “Believe it.” She took the single strand of shell beads out of her pocket and dangled
     it before his face. “They knew we were close when we were kids, so they asked me to
     do it. Here’s their ote-ko-a.”
    He took the wampum string into his hand, looked closely at it, and then handed it
     back. “So it’s official. You’re working for them.”
    “You know who they are,” she said. “What it means is, if I get put down, there will
     be somebody else—maybe another rescuer, maybe an avenger. But it doesn’t end with
     me.”
    For the first time Jimmy seemed serious, almost chastened. “I really don’t think going
     back is such a good idea, or I would have stayed there.”
    “Your chances are much better if you turn yourself in. I told you there’s already
     a state policeman out here trying to track us.”
    “You know what?” Jimmy said. “I think I see him.”
    “Who? The cop?” asked Jane.
    “Is he tall, thin like a heron, with khaki pants and a blue jacket?”
    Jane was up in a second, kneeling to see where Jimmy was pointing. “Get off the platform,
     but stay low,” she whispered. “We’ve got to move.”
    Jimmy slid off the platform, held on to the edge for a moment, and then dropped to
     the ground. Jane watched for the trooper. He was trotting along the crest of the hill
     beyond the creek that separated him from the rock shelter. He was about five hundred
     yards away, but moving back and forth on a trail to make his way down to level ground.
     Jane lowered herself off the platform, hung for a second, and then dropped.
    Jane and Jimmy slung their packs over their shoulders and began to make their way
     deeper into the woods. “Do you think he saw us?” Jimmy asked.
    “It almost doesn’t matter,” Jane said. “He’s a cop, and he’s obviously done this kind
     of thing before, and he seems to know this part of the world. He doesn’t need to see
     you to know where you must be. I’ve been traveling hard for five days. He must have
     tracked me for a while, then realized where I must be headed, and called for a ride
     to be here first. Come on, we’ve got to speed things up.”
    Jane moved ahead on the trail and worked herself up to a trot, and then to a half-speed
     run, watching the spaces between the trees for protruding roots or stones that could
     trip her. She could hear Jimmy behind her by about ten feet, giving her the chance
     to plot a course, stop to look, or change directions without crashing into her or
     stepping on her heels. Jane chose surfaces that wouldn’t leave a readable track—stone
     surfaces, openings in the middle of groves where the leaves had piled up. After a
     few minutes she found the bed of a small stream that flowed from an unseen spring
     near the top of the ridge, and led him down by the water so they could run along the
     pebbly bank, giving them a bit of invisibility.
    She could hear Jimmy’s heavier steps as he ran, and she listened to his breathing.
     He had been a good athlete when they were young. He had probably stopped playing games
     at some point—they were both in their midthirties now—but he had obviously stayed
     active. He was