“That’s why you killed him, too. Jack had figured out where the diamond was and you wanted it for yourself.”
Andrew nodded. “Exactly. What I want to know is how the hell you figured all this out?”
My throat felt parched, like I hadn’t had a thing to drink in days. Still, I figured that if I kept him talking, that was my best bet for getting out of here alive. But before I got a chance to say anything, Sophie started talking.
“It was actually me that figured it all out,” she said. I couldn’t help but notice she took a few steps away from me. What on earth was she doing? Suddenly, I realized! Sophie was trying to get Andrew’s attention away from me. She wanted to give me a chance to get rid of the diamond, in case he killed us. Slowly, I moved my hand toward my zippered pocket and opened the zip.
“I knew it couldn’t be a bear attack. I’ve spent my whole life in Willow Bay, so there had to be another explanation,” Sophie explained.
As subtly as I could, I slipped my hand into the pocket and wrapped my fingers around the stone. I dropped it onto the ground and waited a moment to make sure Andrew hadn’t noticed anything.
“I snuck into Jeremy Wallace’s hotel room and found a hidden cell phone that had texts from you and all the other thieves,” Sophie continued. Andrew’s attention was completely fixed on her. I focused on the stone on the ground and pointed toward it, whispering “Nonvideroa,” as quietly as I could. I looked down and saw the stone had disappeared. Good.
I took a step forward and waited for Sophie to finish her story.
“There’s only one problem, though,” I said. “When we got here, there was no stone.”
Andrew turned toward me and pointed the gun at my head. My legs felt weak.
“You’re lying,” he hissed. “I saw you take something out of the tree.”
“It was just a rock,” I said. “I thought it was going to be the diamond, but it wasn’t. You can check.” Until a witch pointed at the spot on the ground where I’d left the diamond and reversed my spell, there was no way anyone would be able to see it. Andrew looked at me suspiciously.
“No,” he said finally. “No, I’m not going to search you. This is a trap. You’re trying to stop me. Well, it’s not going to work. He fired a shot from the gun into the ground. The explosion from the gun made me jump about a foot in the air; I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified.
Sophie let out a scream at the shot, and the rustle of feathers coming from the forest told me that all the birds in the vicinity had flown off.
“Help!” I cried at the top of my lungs. It was a Hail Mary cry; I knew the odds of anyone else being nearby at this time of year was virtually nil.
“Shut up!” Andrew Fischer shouted. He made his way to Old Oakie, keeping the gun trained on Sophie and I the whole time. My eyes were on the barrel, I barely noticed Andrew putting his hand into Oakie’s Eye and fumbling around in there, looking for a diamond that was no longer there. He let out a shout of frustration.
“Fine!” he said. “I know you have it. You have to have it. I’ll just kill you, and find it on your bodies after.”
He pointed the gun to my chest and took a step forward. I was so focused on the barrel, my brain screaming for me to do something, that I didn’t notice the rustle of the woods from behind us. Evidently, Andrew didn’t either, because a moment later Jeanie, the big black bear who had seen the original attack on Jeremy Wallace, came storming out from the woods and swiped at Andrew’s back.
He let out a horrifying cry as a shot went off, and I fell to the ground. Luckily, there was no pain coursing through me, so I obviously hadn’t been hit. I looked over at Sophie, who was still standing, looking stunned.
Andrew Fischer was screaming. “Get this thing away! Get it off me! Ahhh!” He began to crawl toward his gun, which had fallen and was about two feet from where he lay.
I picked up an old, broken tree branch off the ground and wacked him on the head with it as hard as I could. Fischer immediately stopped moving. I stared at him for a minute, as my brain began to process what I’d just done. Suddenly, I began to shake.
“Are you all right, human?” Jeanie asked me softly, and I nodded.
“Yes. Thank you, Jeanie. You saved our lives.”
“It is not a bother. I saw you passing through my territory once more. I decided to follow you, thinking you might need some assistance.”
“We definitely did. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“We are the caretakers of the woods,” Jeanie replied. “Bears are the law here. We are the biggest of the animals. We must ensure that no ill takes place in our woods. We do not like humans, but you are good. You understand our role. I was afraid, but I had to help. Good luck, human,” Jeanie said, before turning and lumbering back toward the woods with an agility I hadn’t expected her to have.
“Thank you!” Sophie called out after her. I looked over at my best friend, whose face was white. I ran over to her and the two of us embraced, collapsing into tears a moment later. I couldn’t believe how close the two of us had just come to being killed. I was so glad my best friend was ok.
After about a minute, we separated.
“I’ll check and see if he’s alive, you call Chief Gary,” I told Sophie, who nodded. As I approached Andrew Fischer’s lifeless body, I said a little prayer, hoping he was only unconscious. Sure, the man had tried to kill us, but that didn’t mean I wanted to kill him. I had never taken a life before, and I hoped that hadn’t changed today. I leaned down and carefully pressed a finger to his neck. It was weak, yes, but there was a pulse there. I mouthed “ambulance” at Sophie, who nodded and gave me a thumbs up as she passed those instructions on to Chief Gary.
I sent Jason a text as well, telling him where we were and what had happened, and then made my way back to where I’d dropped the diamond.
“Videroa,” I said, pointing to the ground and centering all of my thoughts on the diamond. A spasm of energy left my body and instantly the diamond reappeared. I quickly picked it up and slipped it back into my pocket. Sophie hung up the phone and we sat on a nearby bench together, in silence, my hand in hers. We’d just been thought a near-death experience together.
“I’m glad we’re not dead,” Sophie said finally.
“Me too,” I replied. “Thank goodness for Jeanie.”
“Yeah. Absolutely. I never thought I’d be celebrating a bear saving my life.”
“I’ve been saying for days that bears aren’t the dangerous killers we think they are.”
“Yeah, but no one takes anything you say seriously.”
I stuck my tongue out at Sophie as I heard rustling in the woods and the first of the emergency responders arrived. Help was here. We were safe.
20
About three minutes after the first paramedics arrived, Jason burst through the trail, followed closely by Chief Gary. As soon as he saw me, Jason ran over and took me into a huge hug, pressing me close to his chest. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent, closing my arms around him. I hadn’t let myself think about the people I would have missed the most if Andrew Fischer had actually killed us, but now, I couldn’t help myself. I burst into tears once more, the salty droplets wetting Jason’s polo.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he whispered into my ear as he held me close to him.
“Me too,” I replied. “Me too.”
Chief Gary chose that moment to clear this throat, and Jason and I separated. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, “but I have to take a statement from Angela.”
“Of course,” Jason replied, taking a step back. I reached into my pocket and took out the stone, handing it to Chief Gary.