Rogue Angel - Footprints Part 50

Annja took another sip of beer. "The cake didn't taste as if it had anything in it. Just rich and full of chocolate."

Joey got up from his chair. "I don't feel any different, do you?"

Annja shook her head. "Nope. And I've been drugged enough times to know what it feels like."

"There's a surprise," Jenny said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annja whirled around. "If you've got something to say, you'd better just say it."

"What-you're taking offense at the fact that you're always off trying to save the world? No wonder you're alone all the time. You've got an ego the size of Texas keeping you from landing anyone around you as a potential mate. Meanwhile, I work my a.s.s off and have little to show for it. But you, Miss TV Hotshot, you've got guys you don't even know luring you across the globe, trying to get in your pants. Must be nice, must be really nice."

Annja stared at her. "Is that what you think? Is that what you actually believe?"

Jenny got out of her chair. "I'm going to use the bathroom."

Annja watched her go and then looked at Joey. "It's not like that. Really."

Joey put up his hands. "Annja, I haven't known you all that long but if you even think that I'm getting anywhere near this thing, you're out of your mind. I'm keeping my nose out of it. All I want to do is see this supposed evidence and then get the h.e.l.l out of here. No wonder I always feel so much better in the woods."

Annja sighed. "You're right."

David came back into the room. "Where's Jenny?"

"Bathroom," Annja said. "We had a little misunderstanding."

David put a hand on his chest. "Not over me, I hope."

"Shut up, David."

Joey smirked. "She's been saying that a lot tonight."

"Well, I hope she comes back soon. The evidence should be here any minute and I don't want any of you to miss it," David said.

"Miss it?" Annja frowned. "How would we miss it?"

"Let's go outside. You'll be able to understand better out there."

"What about Jenny?"

"She'll be along, I'm sure. She's a big girl. She can figure out where we're at." David waved them out of the dining room. "Now, come on and see."

Joey glanced at Annja and shrugged. "Guess we find out what the big deal is, huh?"

"I guess."

Annja blinked. She still didn't trust David and this whole thing might be some elaborate setup. It had certainly happened to her enough times in the past.

She walked through the kitchen on the way to the back door. As she pa.s.sed the counter and the sink, she saw the dishes stacked inside it.

"Annja?"

She turned. David stood in front of her. "Yeah?"

"You all set?"

"Yeah."

David grinned. "Then let's go."

Annja took a final glimpse at the sink, noting as she did so that there were two cake knives and two pans in among the dishes.

Two knives.

Two cakes.

She frowned, but then walked outside after David.

Chapter 26.

The darkness beyond the glow of the porch lights seemed to spread off in the distance forever, an endless horizon of impenetrable shadow. Annja tried to adjust her breathing so she was more relaxed and hopefully more in tune with her surroundings. At the same time, she switched from trying to focus on everything and allowed her vision to become softer, knowing that at night this was the better way to see in the dark.

"It shouldn't be long now," David said. He stood right behind Annja. His presence was so close it made her feel uncomfortable. She wished Jenny would see how aggressive he was and how Annja was not encouraging him in the slightest.

She sighed. "Get away from me, David."

Joey glanced at her and grinned, but then went back to watching the woods. "What exactly are we waiting for here, Sheriff?"

"Just keep your voice down and be still. If it hears you, it won't come out of the woods."

"It?" Jenny said as she approached them. "You don't actually mean the Sasquatch is going to come here, do you?" Jenny said as she approached them. "You don't actually mean the Sasquatch is going to come here, do you?"

"I certainly do."

Annja shook her head. "There'd better be a good explanation for how you managed to achieve that miracle."

"Simple. A few months back, I noticed some obscure tracks on the periphery of my property. They weren't like anything I'd ever seen before. Of course, my skills aren't nearly what Joey's are so I couldn't be sure of anything, really."

Joey frowned. "Well, you certainly could have asked me."

David shrugged. "I guess I wanted this to be my discovery and mine only. I wasn't ready to ask for any help. I just wanted to make sure this was what I thought it was and not some big mistake."

"So what did you do?" Annja asked.

"I set up small feeding stations around the edge of the woods back there. And then I started sitting out all night long, making notes of when the creature came in and for how long. What it liked to eat, what spooked it, that sort of thing."

"That's pretty intriguing," Jenny said. "Did you think to set up a night-vision camera or some other method of actually capturing this thing on film for the rest of the world to see?"