Cobb Mt Mystery: Konocti Caves Part 6

"He's been missing school for some time hasn't he?" questioned Ron.

"Oh- yes. Yes, of course. He's had the flu, but he'd started feeling better. I was keeping him home for a few more days to make sure he wouldn't relapse," the man volunteered.

"Jimmy's lost a lot of weight since he's been in your home." It wasn't a question. And the man looked uncomfortable.

"Well, he appeared thin but I think it was because he was getting taller," Melbourne quickly countered the insin-uation. "His appet.i.te was fine."

After a few other questions and not getting a straight answer to any of them, Ron took his leave. He was convinced that Melbourne was hiding something. Ron had a bad feeling about it. His gut told him that Jimmy had been missing for much longer than a few hours.

"But why the cover up?" Ron worried. He didn't believe it had anything to do with the money paid to him for being a foster parent. The man was rich. Why would Melbourne hide it? Was it to protect his license and reputation of his foster home? Or was it something much more sinister. Ron had the sick feeling that it was the latter.

Sitting in the squad car staring at the house Ron called Jack. While briefing him he saw movement at the upstairs window, and looking up he saw Melbourne watching him. He started the engine and backed up to turn around catching a glimpse of a dusty pickup on the upper level of the driveway which curved behind the house. He was still on his cell phone with Jack and asked him to check how many vehicles were registered to the Melbournes. He could do that himself, but Ron already had the feeling that William Melbourne was not a 'subject of interest' in the investigation; and that the department had already bought into Melbourne's claim that Jimmy had simply ran away.

Ron headed to Mrs. Capra's home. "If it is true, and there would be anyplace Jimmy would run to it would be there," he thought.

Ron pulled up Mrs. Capra's driveway and with a heavy heart saw that her front garden had not been tended in months. He wished he and Kat would have kept in touch with her. They should have helped her with things around the house.

"It was just, the thought of seeing her brought up so much guilt and pain." Ron sighed.

Before he could get out of his vehicle a woman was out the door and standing at his car window.

"I've been expecting you. This is about Jimmy, isn't it?" she said hurriedly.

"Yes- he's missing. I need to talk to Mrs. Capra..."

"Well you can't!" the woman inter-rupted. "She is very ill and her doctor has advised that she not be subjected to any stress at all. This would just be too much for her. Thank goodness I heard the news on the radio before she woke up. I unplugged the radio, and have been screening all her phone calls. Please, you must leave before she sees you. She'll suspect something is wrong. She loves that little guy so much, this news would just kill her!" she said and then looked over her shoulder with real concern. "Please go!" the woman pleaded and Ron complied. It was obvious that Jimmy was not there.

"Where could he be?" Ron asked out loud as he backed down the driveway and the big mountain loomed up in his rearview mirror as if to answer.

CHAPTER NINE.

The Little Lost Boys Jack was waiting at Guido's Pizzeria in Kelseyville. "Ironic," thought Ron. This was the last place I was with Jimmy. After asking if he could leave his squad car there, he climbed into Jacks Jeep Wrangler.

"Nice ride," Ron said trying to muster up a normal conversation to no avail. He couldn't hide the fact that he was worried.

Without a word Jack spun his little Jeep around and headed for Konocti Road. Jack had his own guilt to face.

"If only I had recognized him sooner when he showed up at the retreat... By the time I did, he was gone," Jack lamented.

"Don't blame yourself," Ron tried to comfort. "He didn't look like the same happy little kid you saw hangin' out with me..." That statement brought such a rush of guilt and pain that the words caught in Ron's throat.

The road was even rougher than Ron remembered and he was happy that Jack had bought this new Jeep. Not only was the four wheel drive necessary to get all the way to the top, but it was small enough that they could drive it on most of the trails. Jack had already removed the top, so they were in open air which made the search for Jimmy easier- however it was still unsuccessful. They saw no sign of the young boy.

Ron was able to find the cave that he and Jimmy had ridden out the storm in, but there was no sign of Jimmy having been there. Ron personally covered each of the peaks. No signs there- and none in the walnut grove, the vineyards, or in the old settler's cabin- not one sign of the child anywhere. By nightfall Ron had to admit that Jimmy wasn't on Konocti and he left the mountain.

Kat was waiting anxiously when Ron drove down their driveway. Her family had come to her side as soon as they heard and were waiting with her. They were all so certain that Jimmy was up there that they were shocked when Ron came back empty handed.

"Are you sure, son?" Uncle Lenny asked, "Did you cover all three peaks? The old cabin? How about the..."

"He's not there!" a tired and stressed out Ron interjected. "I looked everywhere. He's just not there," he added sadly. "There's a search party still up there. But they are not going to find Jimmy there. He's not there." Ron's eyes met Kat's and the two fell into each other's arms. "I won't give up, Kat. I promise. I won't give up," he whispered in her ear. "I'll find our boy."

Kat took Ron's hand and said, "I know you will, Honey. I know you will." For the first time she noticed that Jack wasn't with him.

As if sensing Kat's thoughts, before she could ask about him, Ron said "I've asked Jack to follow up on something for me tonight," and he turned around to face Lenny. Kat saw a familiar look pa.s.s between the two men, and Ron walked to the back sliding door and went out on the deck with Lenny following.

Kat, Caroline, Angel and Auntie sat at the large kitchen table trying not to watch the men and trying not to look past them at the large mountain rising up out of the harbor which carried its name. But they would each find their gaze drawn to the big dark mountain, again and again, wondering if there was a little boy huddled somewhere up there.

Ron and Lenny were leaning on the deck rail looking at Mt. Konocti and Ron was giving his best pitch to persuade Lenny to join the secret investigation that he had already instigated- even before Jimmy's disappearance. What he had learned so far made him certain that Jimmy was in danger.

"Why didn't you say something before?" a red faced Lenny demanded.

"I'm sorry, Lenny. With Melbourne's hero status in the county, I was afraid that I'd get stepped on before I found out anything."

"I think with what we've gone through together that you would have turned to me sooner. That you would have known you could trust me."

"Of course I can trust you, man. I know that. I... I guess I was ashamed about the way I dumped Jimmy when... and... I dunno, I guess I was afraid you may think I was jealous of Melbourne. Kat thought I was, and I guess I was a little. At first. But there were always things that just didn't add up. When Kat told me how sick and thin Jimmy looked, I called Jack to do a background check on Melbourne."

"Have you got a report back?" Lenny asked.

"Yes, he just got a preliminary report back- the finger prints and the face that comes up is not the Melbourne's. He used someone else's fingerprints to get the foster license. So that tells me that someone in Social Services or even higher up in the county is in cahoots with Melbourne. I thought that license got approved pretty fast!

"Do you know whose finger prints it is?

"Well- the name is William Melbourne- but the face is not that of the person pa.s.sing himself off as William Melbourne here... but that face... I know I've seen that face before..." Ron's voice trailed off as if he was trying to place it, before continuing.

"And today when I interviewed Melbourne, there were a lot of incon-sistencies in his conversation..."

"For example?" Lenny quizzed.

"Well, he showed me school papers and art work claiming that it was Jimmy's and I tell you- I saw plenty of Jimmy's art and he never drew anything that didn't have a volcano in it," Ron replied. "I also saw a map that Jimmy supposedly drew and... well you know how meticulous he was with maps. He studied maps all the time, there is no way that Jimmy drew the map Melbourne showed me. The rest of the school papers were fake as well. He also had been calling in sick for Jimmy at school for the past two weeks, but when I asked how Jimmy was last night he said he was feeling fine. Oh- and the clothes and pajamas that Jimmy supposedly wore just yesterday were no where to be found. And that room.... That room had never been lived in. I don't know where Jimmy was sleeping but it wasn't in that bedroom."

Ron turned to look squarely at his boss, before continuing, "That's another thing. There are just too many discrepancies in the timeframes. Jimmy only ended up there in the middle of the night due to an emergency- right? Well, how did they have time to buy volcano bedding and get a mural painted on the wall? The muralist that painted it left the area long before Jimmy was sent there. Somehow, they knew they were going to get Jimmy in their foster home well before Mrs. Capra's heart attack. And now Jimmy has either run away or... or something else happened to him long before Melbourne made a report."

"What are the other boys saying?" Lenny asked.

"I wish I knew. I wasn't allowed to speak with them. Melbourne forbids anyone talking to them about Jimmy," Ron replied. "He said they are too upset.

"I've got Jack watching the house tonight, and he'll be following Melbourne for awhile. He's also going to put in an application for a janitor position at the school- I'm sure the retreat up there on Cobb will give him a good recommendation. I'm hoping he can get an inside look at the other foster kids and maybe get next to them. Get them talking. When I saw the boys at CMAS, they all looked like scared little waifs. Something is going on and I'm going to find out what." Ron paused and squinted at the mountain thinking that he saw headlights or maybe spotlights. A shiver ran up his spine in spite of his conviction that Jimmy wasn't up there.

The lack of evidence of Jimmy on Konocti didn't stop the rumors spreading throughout the county. Jimmy's obsession with the caves up on Mt. Konocti was evident to all who ever came into contact with him. All, that is, except his last school. No one there had ever heard Jimmy talk of Konocti- or much of anything for that matter. He spoke when spoken to and even then only said as little as necessary.

Just one day after Jimmy went missing the entire county was speculating that Little Jimmy had finally met his fate in the caves that he was obsessed with. Then someone started saying that he got what he deserved, considering all his trouble making. It didn't take long before others were repeating it. Ron couldn't pin down who started it but he was certain it was Melbourne.

A week went by and then the talk moved to the next news headline. It was even more shocking than a missing foster child.

"All Of Melbourne's Cobb's Kids Have Disappeared!" was printed under a photo that covered the top section of the Record Bee.

The photo was of Melbourne waving a letter that he said was penned by one of his foster boys. Melbourne was quoted as saying that the boys went up on Konocti looking for Jimmy.

Melbourne had already started forming a search party- even before one could get organized by the sheriff department. Melbourne had called Ron personally and asked for his help.

Although Ron complied, he had the distinct feeling that he was being played. He pulled the sheriff's quad on a trailer up as far as he could; and then mapped out the three peaks into sections. He divided the gathering group of searchers into groups- a.s.signing them various sections. When another sheriff deputy showed up, Ron joined the searchers covering the mountain. Unlike the search for Jimmy, this search easily turned up a shoe. Too easily. Dogs were brought out and with the scent of the shoe the search should have gotten results. But nothing. The dog's reaction was as if the scent suddenly disappeared on the road. "As if the scent of the child left in a vehicle," Ron thought. He kept his gaze off Melbourne but could feel the foster parent's eyes on himself. Once again, Ron had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

At the urging of Melbourne, the search continued all that day and into the night. Once again no child was found on the mountain.

And once again rumors started flying around the lake.

The new rumors burnt through the county like wild fire. Old timers claimed that the mountain was evil, and was seeking revenge on the white man; and that people had no business up there. Because of Indian lore, superst.i.tion of the mountain grew.

As one rumor died down, another flared up. Ron had no proof but he was sure that Melbourne was the fan that kept the rumors alive.

With more boys missing, the talk turned mean. People resumed talking bad about Jimmy pointing to his new reputation as trouble maker. The nicer rumors were that Jimmy went up on the mountain due to the draw it had on him and the other kids followed him because it now had a 'draw' on them; and they blamed Jimmy. Other rumors were darker and more vicious.

The people spreading them were mean hearted and took pleasure in saying that Jimmy was taking kids to Konocti due to his obsession and that's how they got lost and perhaps he was even throwing them down the cave like he did the doll at the museum so long ago.

The one rumor that seemed to have stuck, was that Jimmy had not fallen down into the Konocti Cave as first believed; but that he had hidden out and then snuck back to the house and got the boys to follow him up to Konocti, and that they all probably fell down the caves. Some even said he pushed them and now was looking for more boys to take up to the cave.

Ron stood back watching Melbourne. He was organizing the morning search party while putting on a showy public display of heartache and worry about the boys. Ron still didn't buy it.

One day something happened that made Ron sure that Melbourne was behind the boy's disappearance. He overheard Melbourne telling a junior reporter that Jimmy had filled the other boys' heads with stories of the Konocti Caves and bragged that he knew where the caves were and had been in them many times. He told the boys he would take them there. Ron knew this was out of character for Jimmy. He would never put other children in jeopardy; and Ron knew that Jimmy had only been in one of the caves up on Konocti. And only once- that day in the storm. And he would not lie. Jimmy was no liar.

As Melbourne continued talking to the young reporter he fed the rumors that the boys went up on the mountain due to Jimmy filling their minds full of Indian folklore and that they must have fallen through the caves to the lake like the old legends.

"But I'm not totally convinced there was a suicide pact," Melbourne told the young reporter sternly.

Ron took note of the fact that this was the first mention of such a pact among the boys; and felt his blood turn cold. He began to fear the worse.

The days turned into a week and then two. Melbourne continued to organize daily search parties- which were always up on Konocti- while seemingly consumed with worry. People gathered around him patting him on the back and rea.s.suring him that they would find the boys. They told him that it was not his fault and how wonderful it was that he opened his home to the boys.

One morning Ron was surprised to see George Franklin, Social Service Director in charge of placing foster children in homes, speaking to some of those gathered for the search. He said a little too loudly, Ron thought, that Melbourne should get more foster kids. Then turning to Melbourne he urged, "I hope you are not going to close your foster home Mr. Melbourne. There are so many kids that need a good home like yours."

As if on cue Melbourne made a long arrogant statement to the contrary, a.s.suring all, that his home would be open to foster kids as long as he had any say about it. "As a matter of fact, we will be accepting a new foster child into our home by the end of the week," he said proudly.

Ron knew the Melbourne's home would accommodate only six children and shuttered, as he thought, "He already has six on his rolls. That means he's already written Jimmy off as..." Ron couldn't even say the word to him self. "How can he get approved for another child so soon after losing six?" He made a mental note to cross check Franklin and Melbourne's backgrounds to see if there was any connection between them. Service records, college records, towns they lived... and then he remembered that 'Melbourne' was not the real name of the man he was looking at. He had no idea what this guy's real name was. But on a hunch he decided to cross reference the names anyway.

When Ron arrived on the scene the next morning he was surprised to find a definite change in William Melbourne's demeanor. His arrogance had vanished as well as his 'feigned worry'. In fact he was less worried and more frantic about the missing boys. And Ron didn't think he could fake the stress that was showing on his face.

Ron also concluded from the fact that Melbourne had spoken out publicly to call off the search on the mountain, even before he had met with the Sheriff Department, that there had been some new development that was out of Melbourne's control.

In the statement to the press Melbourne had said that every inch of the mountain had been covered and if the boys were there they would have found them. He expressed fear that all this talk would spur more boys to sneak up there. He used his influence to apply pressure, and the search on the mountain was indeed called off, and Konocti was closed "for safety reasons."

Melbourne hired twenty four hour security guards- that looked more like hired goons- to guard the gate; which he also paid to have installed on the only usable road up the mountain. Everyone a.s.sumed it was out of guilt, and concern for the safety of other children. Everyone except Ron. As far as he was concerned it only added to his suspicion towards Melbourne.

And that suspicion grew when even he- a Lake County Sheriff deputy- was denied access to the mountain by the security guard.

"Hired Goon!" Ron murmured under his breath as he backed his SUV down from the gate to turn around. He knew he could force the issue, but he was more concerned about what Melbourne was hiding on the mountain, and he knew that forcing his way past the newly installed gate wouldn't get him answers.

But a plan was formulating in the young deputy's head. Using his personal cell phone he called Kat, and then set up a meeting with Jack and Lenny later that evening at the house so Kat could join them. After a little more thought, Ron also put in a call to Guido Lombardi. He had heard that the Lombardis were back from Italy, and if he could enlist their help it would be invaluable.

In the mean time he wanted to drop in unannounced on Melbourne.

The look on Melbournes face when he opened the door convinced Ron that the man was sincerely worried. Although sincere was not normally a word Ron would use in conjunction with William Melbourne.

Ron deliberately drug out his greeting watching the expression on Melbourne's face change from startled, fear, dread and then relief when he realized that Ron had not dropped in with news about finding the boys. He was obviously very relieved in the knowledge that they had not been found; but he was also rattled that they were missing from his home. He tried to cover his relief with false laughter about how rumors were flying; and repeated a few. Ron just nodded. He was certain now, that Melbourne had been feeding the rumors. "He's trying the same tactics on me. Trying to get me to believe the lies he's spreading about Little Jimmy.

"I know you were close to Little Jimmy," Melbourne said. Ron winced at hearing him use the nickname that people who were fond of Jimmy used. Ron had no doubt that Melbourne was not among them.

CHAPTER TEN.

Walker Ridge Two months earlier in the cave.

Carefully Jimmy edged his way towards the light, crawling carefully, remembering the black drop off he had almost just walked off into. He recalled also the same thing happening when he was in the cave with Ron.

But this was not the same cave- that he was certain. He didn't know where he was, but he was sure it was not a volcanic cave.

As he got closer he saw that the light was coming from the ceiling. It was a tight fit but he kept going; his heart was pounding, "Is it a way out?" he wondered, almost afraid to hope .

Yes! A way out. As he crawled under the light he realized that it must be the moon shining through a vent. Jimmy thought about the boys. He knew that without him they would never venture off. They were still in the front part of the cave where he had left them.

Jimmy's head was swimming. Here was his chance to get away. Really get away. All he had to do was make it appear that he fell down the black hole. And he would be free. Beyond that he couldn't think. Not now. Now he just knew he had to get free. He'd face what to do next after he escaped the horrible fate he had landed in. Quickly he scrambled back to the Y in the dark crawling until he could walk. Then he ran a few feet down the other direction before turning on his light. Arriving back at the hole, Jimmy took off his belt and gathered up all the slack before throwing the belt which was still connected to the rope down the hole, shuddering as it fell.

Turning Jimmy headed back in the dark groping the side of the cave with his hands; finding the Y he made his way to the vent.

Jimmy's little heart was pounding loud in his ears as he scampered up the vent. As he climbed out into the moon light in the night air, the little boy breathed in the first deep breath he had been able to take for many months.

Looking around he found a boulder and rolled it over the vent hole. He didn't want to chance the men finding it. He smudged the earth where the boulder had rested and then marked the boulder with a fallen branch so he could find it again. Although ice ran through his veins at the thought- he knew he would be returning to the cave. He knew he would have to come for his foster brothers. But for now he faced the fact that they would return with the men to the attic and would be returning to the cave again come nightfall.

Jimmy used another small leafy branch to brush his foot prints as he made his way to a rock formation.

Looking around, Jimmy tried to get his bearings in the moonlight. He didn't know which way to go and afraid he would walk into the hands of his captors, he decided that the best thing to do was to find a hiding place.

Jimmy knew that up here on the mountain there was more to be afraid of than the men. Spotting a group of live oak trees he made his way to them, careful to walk on rocks or gra.s.s. He chose the tree with the lowest branches and was able to climb up it. As quietly as he could he climbed as high as he dared. Not only for fear of breaking a thin branch and falling but also he wanted the safety of leaves to hide in. He knew that before long the men would bring the boys out of the cave and the search for him would begin. He also knew that for what ever reason they would not search beyond early dawn. The men had always left the mountain well before daylight and never returned before darkness.

As tired as the little boy was, adrenaline kept him awake as he waited tucked away in the thick leaves of the live oak. From this vantage point he could see the moon shining on the dually. Shortly before dawn he saw movement near the pickup. He knew Melbourne was pulling on the ropes signaling the boys to come out of the cave, following the ropes that were connected to their waists.

One by one the boys appeared from the dark mouth of the cave. Jimmy could hear Melbourne's voice get loud and angry, followed by the boy's murmuring. The boys reentered the cave and Jimmy could hear their m.u.f.fled voices calling his name. They sounded panicky. He knew that it was both out of worry for him and for themselves if they didn't find him; and he felt a pang of guilt for causing his foster brothers to have to face Melbourne's rage.