Dark Sky (Joe Pickett #21)(23)

It was then that Jacketta realized Brad had casually swung the muzzle of the carbine up a little, even though he still held it one-handed. It wasn’t pointed at him exactly, but it was just a flick away.

“Let’s go get a steak,” Brad said.

“I can’t tell if that’s an offer or a threat,” Jacketta said.

“You’ve got a lot to learn if you can’t tell the difference. Come on,” Brad said while he stepped aside. “Follow me. I know you’ve met my old man, but I don’t think you’ve met my brother.”

“Maybe I’ll come along and say hello,” Jacketta said, as much to himself as to Brad. “Since we’re all in the same area and you’re locals and all.”

Brad nodded his agreement. “This way,” he said.



* * *



—

The first thing Jacketta noticed was that the Thomas men weren’t set up in one of their more established camps like the ones they used when guiding hunters. Instead of cleared trees, decades-old fire rings, and elevated cross-poles in the trees to hang game, this camp looked temporary, as if set up to be torn down at any time.

The second was that they didn’t appear to be grilling any steaks.

There was one medium-sized canvas wall tent, a small campfire shrouded on four sides by gnarled root pans as if to hide the flame, and various gear bags and panniers scattered on the pine needle forest floor. He could smell the musky odor of pack animals as they got closer and he sensed their big bodies within the trees, but he couldn’t see them in the dark.

Jacketta squinted and said to Brad, “I thought you said your brother was with you.”

“He is.”

“I don’t see anyone.”

As if that were a signal in itself, two men stepped out from behind trees on either side of the camp. Earl was armed with a rifle, but the other, smaller man didn’t appear to have a weapon.

“What the fuck, Brad?” the smaller man said.

“Look what I found about a half mile away,” Brad said to Earl.

Earl approached Jacketta and looked him over carefully. “I know you,” he said.

“Aidan Jacketta,” Brad said. “We met him at that meeting last year. He’s one of those millennials, like Kirby.”

“Fuck you, Brad,” Kirby said.

Jacketta nodded to Kirby as if trying to establish a kind of bond. Kirby didn’t reciprocate.

“What are you doing up here?” Earl asked Jacketta.

“Bowhunting for elk.”

“By yourself?”

“Yes.”

Earl narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t nobody ever tell you it isn’t a good idea to hunt alone? Does anyone know where you are in case something happened to you?”

It was a loaded question, Jacketta thought. Why was he asking?

“My wife knows I’m up here,” Jacketta said. It wasn’t a total lie. Erin knew he was going hunting for a few days, but he hadn’t said specifically where he’d be because it was important for him to have flexibility. If the elk were on one mountain, he didn’t want to be stuck on another. Plus, Erin wasn’t a worrier. She trusted him and she was used to absences of a couple of nights here and there.

Earl seemed to weigh his answer, but said nothing. Finally, he asked, “Did you ever know my daughter, Sophia?”

The question had come out of nowhere, Jacketta thought. Was Earl implying something?

“No, I don’t believe so,” he said.

Jacketta noticed that Brad and Kirby were exchanging looks and expressions without actually speaking. Kirby seemed agitated that Brad had brought Jacketta into camp. Brad seemed to be defending what he’d done at first and then doubting it a second later.

“Look,” Jacketta said. “I don’t want to screw up your hunt. I didn’t know you guys were up here, either. I just want to get along.”

Earl said, “It’s just that we know you and you know us.”

“So?” Jacketta said. “Why does that make any difference?”

Earl looked to both of his sons and said something to them with his eyes. Jacketta couldn’t interpret it.

“We both know I have as much right to hunt on public land as you do,” Jacketta said, “but I don’t want any trouble. There’s three of you and one of me. I’ll break camp first thing in the morning and hike eight miles or so to the east. I’ll give you guys this whole mountain and stay out of your way.”

Jacketta hated giving up so easily. He’d scouted the area for months before the season opened and he knew there were elk here. He wasn’t so sure that would be the case eight miles east.

Brad said to Earl, “He was glassing the hunting party when I found him.”

Earl turned his gaze on Jacketta again. “Do they know you’re up here spying on them?”

“I wasn’t spying. They built a gigantic fire and it got my attention.”

“Do they know you’re here?” Earl asked.

Jacketta shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

“Do you know who is in that hunting party?”

“How would I know that?”

Jacketta looked to Brad and Kirby and made a What’s this all about? gesture with his hands.

“He don’t know,” Brad said.