Too Near the Edge (26 page)

By the time Joel got to my office at 8:00, I
was livid. I had called the National Park Service number for Rocky
Mountain National Park, but the man who answered said he couldn’t
give out any information about camp reservations or campers—that
there was a pay phone campers could use to contact me. I struggled
to stay calm while I explained that these campers didn’t know they
needed to contact me. He repeated his script about being unable to
give out information, this time calling me “ma’am” in an
exasperated tone. I tried every way I could think of to convince
him this was an emergency that warranted suspending the rules, but
bureaucracy won out.

“Good grief!” I screamed when Joel walked in.
“Those idiots at Rocky Mountain National Park care more about
preserving privacy than they do about human life.”

“Cleo, think about it,” Joel said. “For all
they know, you could be trying to find someone to hurt them. They
can’t be giving out names.”

“You’re probably right. It’s just so
frustrating! I can’t see how we can find them without some
information.”

“Didn’t you say your boyfriend is a police
detective? Why don’t you call him? He could find something
out.”

There was no way I wanted to call Pablo about
Erik, after having been so snippy with him on the phone when he
told me Erik might be trouble. Plus, Pablo didn’t know about my
little Minneapolis jaunt yesterday, and I preferred to keep it that
way. “Finding people isn’t exactly his thing,” I said, “unless
they’re selling drugs.”

Joel grabbed my shoulders gently but firmly.
“Cleo, if you think Sharon and Nathan could be in danger, you have
to do whatever you can.”

“You’re right. I’ll call him.” But I got
voice mail at Pablo’s office and on his cell. I left messages for
him to call me right away.

“I don’t know what else we can do,” I said to
Joel. He looked dejected. “If you want to go search for them, go
ahead. But I have to stay here and meet my clients. I’d cancel them
if I thought we had half a chance of finding Sharon and Nathan, but
I can’t see how driving up to Estes and cruising around the park is
going to help.”

Joel said he had the time, so why not give it
a try. Right after he left, Pablo called.

“I decided you were right about Erik—or
Horace, whatever you want to call him,” I said, “and now I’m
worried about Sharon and Nathan because they’re camping with him.
The park service won’t give me any information about where they are
and I have no way to reach them. Could you find them and get them
away from him, maybe arrest him?” I heard myself getting
shrill.

“Whoa, Cleo. What brought on this sudden
concern? Less than two days ago, you were accusing me of being
jealous and snooping into this guy’s business, and now you want him
arrested?”

“I talked to his brother. He told me a lot of
shocking details, but I promised I wouldn’t tell Erik that he’s
told me. So if I tell you what he said, you can’t tell where you
got the information.”

“Never mind, Cleo. We can’t arrest someone
because of what his brother said anyway. But I will see if I can
locate them and find out whether they’re okay. If we don’t find
them today, I won’t be able to do much, though. Don’t forget I’m
leaving tonight for that artists’ conference in Oregon. I’ll be
back Sunday afternoon. You can reach me on my cell, but if you need
some quick help in the next few days, you’ll need to call 911.”

As soon as he said it, I remembered how much
he was looking forward to this conference on marketing for art show
artists—hoping to get some new ideas on selling his work, and also
to enjoy a gorgeous Oregon resort. It’s not easy for him to get
time off for an artist thing, and I didn’t want to bog him down
with my problems, so I told him not to worry. I promised if we
didn’t find Sharon and Nathan by this evening, I’d call the sheriff
or police.

I went back to my work, met with several
clients and returned some calls, but I had a hard time
concentrating. I kept imagining grisly scenarios in which Sharon
and Nathan were victims of a horrible accident. My stomach twisted
and lurched as energy surged through my body in nauseating jolts.
As I debated taking a break and going to the gym to work out as a
way to burn off some of the tension, my phone rang. I jumped and
grabbed it on the first ring. It was Sharon.

“Sharon! Are you and Nathan okay?”

“We’re fine. A little tired, but we had a
great trip.”

“I’m so relieved to hear from you.”

“Why, is something wrong?”

Oops. Now I needed to give her a reason for
being anxious to hear from her. I didn’t want to get into the whole
Erik thing over the phone. Given her feelings about Erik, it would
be a tricky conversation. I preferred to have it in person. Then I
remembered the computer, so I said, “I have Adam’s computer at my
office.”

“The police found it?”

“No—believe it or not, Natalie brought it to
me.”

“What? I can’t believe it! She stole Adam’s
computer? Do you know why?”

“She said she didn’t steal it, that someone
else took it and then gave it to her later. She wouldn’t give me
any details—just a lot of nonsense about negative energy connected
to it.”

“You can’t believe anything she says,” Sharon
said in an exasperated tone. “I told you she’s a total liar. I bet
you anything she stole it herself.”

“But then why would she give it back? And she
said no one was able to boot it up, so they didn’t do anything to
it.”

“Did you tell the police? I’d love to see
Natalie arrested.”

“No, because I figured they’d take the
computer, and we might not get it back for who knows how long.”

“Good point. But I have a mountain of laundry
and stuff to do tonight, so I really can’t come get it now. Anyway,
we can’t get into it without Erik, and he’s going to Denver to meet
with some people who might invest in his business. So how about I
get it tomorrow when I come for my contact session?”

I was relieved to hear Erik would be
otherwise occupied. I wanted to keep him away from Sharon and
Nathan, and from Adam’s computer—but I hadn’t yet decided what I
would tell Sharon about him. I needed some time to think without
distractions. So I took her suggestion with enthusiasm. “Tomorrow
is good for me. But let’s look at the computer after your contact
session, so it’s not a distraction.”

“Okay. I’m dropping Nathan off at a friend’s
at 1:00, so I’ll be there by 1:30 with no problem.”

“Great. Don’t forget to bring Adam’s shirt
and a picture.”

I called Pablo to let him know Sharon and
Nathan were safely home. Got his voice mail and left a message. I
couldn’t reach Joel either, so I left a message on his cell. I
finished at my office, had a good workout at the gym, and picked up
a grilled chicken burrito at Illegal Pete’s to enjoy on my patio
with a cold beer. Sitting out there, where Grampa and I had had so
many deep discussions, I tried to access some of his wisdom. How
could I best warn Sharon away from Erik, without telling things I
promised Harry I wouldn’t tell? And how dangerous was Erik? When
Pablo got back should I tell him everything Harry told me, and let
him decide what to do, or was information from a family member
useless as he had implied?

“Hey Cleo, do you have any more of that
beer?” I almost fell out of my chair. It was Erik. My heart
thumped. Where had he come from? The sun had sunk behind the
mountain while I ruminated, so I didn’t notice him until he was
right in front of me. Come to think of it, I hadn’t heard a car
either, so he must not have parked in my driveway.

“Erik! What are you doing here?” My voice
sounded shrill. I knew I needed to stay calm so he didn’t pick up
my fear and exploit it. So I took a couple of slow deep breaths
before I went on. “I thought you were in Denver talking to
investors.”

“Can I grab myself a beer out of the
refrigerator?” Erik flashed his usual winsome smile, but after my
meeting with Harry, I was forewarned.

I tried to take control of the conversation,
speaking in an even no-nonsense voice. “No, Erik, you can’t. I’m
not in the mood for guests tonight, and I don’t appreciate you
showing up uninvited like this.”

He scowled. “You’re in a nasty mood, Cleo.
What’s going on?”

I was so exhausted and overwhelmed and so fed
up with Erik that I lost my cool. My emotions bubbled up—my anger
at his manipulative behavior, my anxiety for Sharon and Nathan, my
outrage about Jenny’s death. Almost as if my voice came from
outside my body I heard myself blurt out, “I think I’m the one who
should be asking what’s going on, Erik. Or should I say
Horace?”

Erik stared at me sharply, amazed I had
uncovered his lies. “Why have you been spying on me? You have no
right to pry into my business.” His face contorted in anger. “You’d
better not be telling Sharon a bunch of lies about me, or I promise
you, you’ll regret it.” I could feel waves of rage rolling off him
in my direction.

I jumped up and hastily backed away to put a
little distance between us. “Don’t threaten me, Erik. I’m not as
easy to get rid of as Jenny was.” At least I hoped I wasn’t.

Erik went limp and sank into a chair. He hung
his head as if in defeat. “Okay, Cleo, let’s talk. Come on. Sit
down.”

More of his fake quick-change behavior? I
didn’t want him to think he could manipulate me at will, but I did
want some answers. Like Harry said, the police can never pin
anything on Erik. But I wanted him to have to pay for at least some
of his evil deeds. I thought I at least had a chance to get some
incriminating details out of him, so I decided to let him go on a
little longer. I sat in a chair facing him, but about five feet
away. I kept my hand on my cell phone in my pocket. “Okay, you have
the floor.”

He leaned forward in my direction. “Cleo, you
don’t know anything about my relationship with Jenny. You hardly
even knew her. Don’t make judgments about a situation when you
don’t know the facts.”

“Okay, I’m listening.” Calm voice again.
“What are the facts?”

“Jenny had problems. She took a lot of drugs
that she got from Dr. Ahmed. I knew she shouldn’t have been taking
all that stuff, but it helped her in some ways, so I didn’t
complain. She was pretty crazy, so I figured, whatever worked. Even
with the drugs, she was a bitch to live with.”

Now I was shocked as well as angry. No longer
cool, I lashed out like a three-year-old. “So you stood by while
she died from her asthma attack on that camping trip?”

“Jumping to conclusions again, Cleo. And even
if you were right, you could never prove it. Your reputation around
town isn’t so favorable that people will be likely to believe your
accusations. You’re just a small-time therapist who figured out a
way to trick people into believing you can contact dead people.
Anyway, what business is it of yours?”

Those words stung! He knew exactly how to
zing in to my most vulnerable spot. Even so, if I’d been thinking
straight, I would have dropped it right there. Knowing what I knew
about Erik, why push him, especially when we were alone in a fairly
secluded area. But like my namesake, Cleopatra VII, I don’t take
kindly to being put down, and I will stand up for what I believe
even when the personal consequences may be dire. So I plunged
ahead. “It’s my business what happens to Sharon, and I don’t think
she’s safe with you. I’m thinking Adam had discovered your lies,
which was what had him so worried. Did he know, or guess too much?
Did you find a way to eliminate him like you did Jenny? Is that why
you’re so against Sharon contacting Adam?” I stopped for a
breath.

Erik seemed strangely calm. Or maybe he was
getting ready to smash me. I couldn’t tell. He sat there saying
nothing, just staring at me for maybe two minutes. As a therapist,
I’ve learned to wait for people to speak, and I had vented most of
my pent-up emotions by then, so I sat quietly.

Finally Erik said, “It wasn’t me Adam was
worried about. It was Sharon’s dad, Donald Waycroft.”

Wow—yet another story? “I thought you said
Adam was stressed out from losing money on internet gambling.”

Erik shrugged. “I said that to shut you up. I
didn’t want to upset Sharon by bringing up problems involving her
dad.”

“Oh come on, Erik. Do you expect me to
believe you now, after you’ve lied about everything including your
name?”

“Look, you wanted to know the truth. I’m
telling you the truth. If you don’t want to believe me, that’s your
problem.”

“No, Erik, it’s your problem. Because I’m not
going to give up until we contact Adam, and find out what really
happened.”

“Who exactly do you think will believe the
testimony of a dead man that you supposedly contacted? Think about
it, Cleo. You already have a reputation as a flake. You even have a
complaint filed against you as a fraud. How far do you want to push
this?”

Who was calling who a fraud? I couldn’t let
that go by. It came over me like road rage. “You’re the expert
fraud artist, from what I’ve heard—Horace. What about all this
nutrition nonsense? You’re no nutritionist.” I heard myself
shouting this out, at the same time I thought I needed to back off
before things got any more ugly.

Erik jumped up from his chair, heading in my
direction. In my rush to get up before he got any closer, I turned
over my chair. But he walked right by me toward the side of the
house.

“Don’t panic, Cleo. In spite of what you
think, I’m not a killer. You’re safe with me, and so is Sharon.”
With that Erik disappeared into the dusk, leaving me trembling like
Aspen leaves in the wind.

I pulled myself together, took my dishes
inside, locked the doors and sat down to figure out my next move.
The wind picked up outside and clouds rolled in heralding an
early-evening thunderstorm. I was jumpy, startling at every little
sound. What if Erik decided to come back? Pablo was on a plane to
Oregon by now. I thought about calling the Boulder police, but what
could I tell them that would get them to do anything about Erik? I
had no proof he’d hurt anyone and he hadn’t even threatened me.