Free Above the Bridge by Deborah Garner Page B

thought.  It was a good thing he calmed down and settled back, because when Frank came walking up, he wasn’t in any kind of a calm mood himself.
    “What the hell do you think you’re doing, calling me out here like some little servant?”  Frank was fuming and he wasn’t about to hide it.
    “I need more information from you,” Jake stated calmly, looking Frank directly in the eye.
    “I already gave you everything I have,” Frank insisted, though the look in his eyes told Jake otherwise.
    “Listen up, now,” Jake said, the calm tone in his voice and manner starting to quickly slip away.  “I didn’t spend all this time, all these years and all of this last particular year getting to this point, only to have it all ruined by you.”  He pointed his finger at Frank for emphasis, then dropped it and looked around to make sure they weren’t attracting attention by causing a scene.
    Jake lowered his voice and moved his face closer to Frank’s.  Even without words, the communication was clear.  Frank now shifted his weight back and forth, considering the unspoken statements.
    “I want the rest of the information now,” Jake said slowly.  “Don’t even try to tell me that paper is everything you have.  I know better.  For one thing, the tear on the side of the paper hardly looks a hundred years old.  And the smudge doesn’t look that old, either, now that I think about it.”  Jake ran an image of the small map through his mind.
    A woman walked by, accompanied by a small terrier on a leash and a young girl, who she pulled in closer to her as she passed the two men.  Frank and Jake waited until they were alone again before continuing.
    “OK,” Frank said carefully, keeping an eye on Jake while he spoke.  “I might have something else for you, but…” His voice trailed off and he looked at Jake inquisitively.
    Jake threw back his head and laughed, then brought his gaze directly into Frank’s eyes.  “Don’t even think about blackmailing me for any more money.  You’ve gotten all that you were promised.  Now it’s your turn to hold up your end of the deal.”  His eyes didn’t waver until Frank started to nod his head.
    Frank looked around nervously; making sure no one else was approaching.
    “Here’s what we’ll do,” he said, lowering his voice as a precaution.  “We’re not going to meet in this place again.  Too many times will look suspicious.  For all we know, someone could have already seen us and wondered what was going on.”  Frank paused and looked around again, then stopped with his gaze on Cache Street, directly across from the town square.
    “I’ll meet you tomorrow night at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.  It’s crowded there and we won’t appear obvious to anyone.  Besides, a good, tall lager sounds pretty good to me.”  Frank shrugged his shoulders and stretched his neck to one side, then to the other.
    “Well, at least that’s one thing we agree on,” Jake answered, imagining a cold beer in his hands right then.  “You’re on, but don’t let me down on this one.  I already told you I held up my side of this deal.  Now you’re going to follow through.”
    With that the two men parted ways, Frank heading toward one antler arch and Jake heading toward another.  It would be a long twenty-four hours, Jake thought to himself, but he’d make use of the time.  And tomorrow night he’d have his answer.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
    Paige took the narrow, dirt road east, climbing out of the flat land and winding into the hills.  Tall rows of aspens lined the road, sunlight filtering through the last remaining leaves of gold and orange which represented the tail end of fall foliage.  The sunlight cast sharp angles low across the ground, almost horizontal in the rapidly setting sun.  Beyond a rocky scenic overlook, the road swung sharply down in switchbacks before flattening out beside a lake.  Signs marked the way to a campground, spaces inside empty and