Avalanche: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery (Sheriff Bo Tully Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page A

close to the river.”
    “No, it’s back up on the side of the mountain. But if I remember right, there’s a cabin down close to the river not far from here.”
    “I don’t care if there is a cabin,” Pap said. “I’ve had enough heroics for one day.”
    “I didn’t notice you do any heroics.”
    “It’s what I ain’t done that’s heroic.”

5
    THE FULL MOON STILL ILLUMINATED the canyon. Tully cleaned the snow off the windshield of the Explorer and its hood. Then they drove up the road, neither man talking. Tully thought it unusual for Pap to be so quiet. He guessed he was still shaken by the close call. He glanced over at him. Pap seemed deep in thought. Tully turned and looked down at the river, a black streak etched against the snow. Then he saw the cabin. It was down close to the river, with a car parked in front of it. He hit the brakes and slid to a stop.
    “What now?” Pap said, irritably.
    “There’s a cabin with people in it down there! It’s got a car parked out front. The river has backed up almost to it! We must have passed the entrance to the access road without seeing it. The water is already over the road.”
    He grabbed his flashlight, jumped out of the Explorer, and went down the hill in long, stiff-legged jumps, digging in the heels of his boots at each landing. When he reached the access road, the water already swirled over the bottoms of his boots. He hit the cabin door with his shoulder and knocked it open. A boy and girl blinked in the beam of his flashlight, holding up a blanket as a screen in front of them. They both looked terrified.
    “Get up!” Tully shouted. “Get up and get out of here! Now! The river is backing up and about to take out the cabin!”
    The boy leaped up and ran out the door stark naked.
    “Forget the car!” Tully yelled after him. “It’s done for! Climb straight up!”
    He turned to the girl. She was still seated in bed. The water was coming in the door now and rising on his boots.
    “Come on!” he shouted at her. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
    She threw back the covers and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She too was naked. It was then Tully saw that one of her feet was in a cast. She started to cry.
    “It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll carry you.” He took off his coat and wrapped it around her. The water was now halfway to his knees. He scooped her up in his arms and rushed out through the door, the water splashing up and soaking his pants. Desperate as he was, he still thought of his boots. They’re alligator, after all. Water shouldn’t hurt alligator. The girl was small and thin but surprisingly heavy. She still whimpered but now also trembled from the cold. He started up the steep slope, his flashlight tumbling away behind him. Climbing blindly, he stumbled and almost went down. The girl reached up and locked both her arms around his neck, taking some of the strain off of him. The bank was almost solid rock and steep, only inches in front of his face. He could feel the sharp edges of rocks tearing at the knees of his pants. “I’m sorry,” he gasped to the girl. “I can’t carry you in my arms any longer.”
    “Don’t leave me!” she cried.
    “I won’t leave you but I have to throw you over my shoulder.”
    “Nooo!” she cried.
    She made an oofing sound when her belly hit his shoulder.
    The spotlight hit him in the eyes, blinding him. Pap had pulled the Explorer over to the edge of the road, so he could shine the light down the slope.
    By the time Tully reached the road he was mostly climbing with his knees. Pap reached down, grabbed the girl around the waist, and stood her up on the edge of the road. Tully tried to tell him about the cast on the girl’s foot but couldn’t get the words out. She was shaking and crying. Pap reached into the backseat and whipped a blanket off the boy.
    “Hey, I’m freezing here!” the kid yelped.
    “Shut up!” Pap said. He wrapped the girl in the blanket, picked her up, and