Annja frowned. "I wonder exactly who David is working with. And why the h.e.l.l has he fabricated the entire existence of big foot?"

"I thought we were calling it Sasquatch," Joey said, opening his eyes for the first time."

"You okay?" Annja asked him.

Joey nodded. "Yeah. My stomach hurts a lot, though."

Annja grinned. "Did you get shot in the stomach?"

"Yeah."

"It's the localized pain from the dart hitting you. Sort of feels like you got punched real hard."

"Yeah."

Annja smiled. "It wears off in time. The important thing is you're okay and back with us."

Joey flexed his hands. "Whoever tied these ropes did a good job. There doesn't seem to be any give to them."

"Agreed," Annja said. "Which leaves us with the questions that have been plaguing us for the past day or so. Namely, what the devil is going on around here?"

"Well, Dave hasn't succeeded in luring the Sasquatch to his backyard, that's for sure," Joey said. "He did, however, succeed in suckering us something silly. Speaking for myself, as a fourteen-year-old, I'm not happy. But you guys are grown-ups. You should be ashamed."

Jenny smirked. "Thanks a lot."

Annja looked around the cave. "Joey, you recognize any of this? Does it look familiar at all?"

"Not really. The woods are filled with caverns like this. Miles of unexplored tunnels crisscross the area. I don't know if anyone has really ever explored them, to be honest."

"Not you?"

Joey shook his head. "I was just mastering the outside world. I wasn't even that curious about the tunnels."

"Maybe this is where the Sasquatch lives," Jenny said.

Annja sighed. "I doubt that. Last I remember reading about the Sasquatch, it doesn't wear a gillie suit, shoot tranquilizer darts or tie people up in secret underground caves."

"This is all the sheriff's doing," Joey said. "And, boy, am I going to enjoy having some words with him."

"But what's the purpose of all this?" Annja asked. "Why bother getting us out here? He could have simply ignored us and done whatever he was planning on doing by himself. What does he need us for?"

"That would be the magic question," Jenny said. "But clearly it's not for anything romantic."

"Safe bet," Annja said. She glanced at Joey. "Any ideas there, Einstein?"

Joey shook his head. "All I know is Dave has been a decent guy since I've known him. That's not all that long and all, but he's always been cool with me. This is completely out of left field. I don't get it."

"None of us do," Annja said. "So let's hear some theories."

"You think this is connected with Simpson and Baker?" Jenny asked.

Annja shrugged. "Could be, I guess." She knew she'd have trouble summoning the sword with her hands bound behind her. Instead, she started looking around for a sharp rock to cut the ropes on. They couldn't just sit there, waiting for someone to come and hurt them. They had to get out and quick.

"Either Simpson or Baker could easily have a gillie suit and tranquilizer darts. That's not out of their ballpark."

"So if they're working together, then to what end? To capture the Sasquatch? David didn't strike me as all that supportive of their mission," Annja said.

"Well, that was before he lured us out to his house and had his friend shoot us with those darts," Jenny replied.

"Good point."

Annja spotted an outcropping of jagged granite ten feet away. "We need to get these ropes off."

Joey squirmed his way over to Jenny and sat up, using her back for support. "So if Dave is with those two Feds, then that would mean one of them shot us even though we weren't doing anything illegal. That doesn't strike me as being kosher."

Annja smiled. "None of this is kosher, pal. This is the big wide world of evil people." She got herself situated and starting moving up and down, rubbing the small s.p.a.ce between her hands against the rocks. She felt the sharp edges bite in her flesh.

"d.a.m.n, cut myself."

Jenny looked at her. "You okay?"

"Fine." Annja kept the friction on. She couldn't afford to give in to the pain. David and his buddies might be on their way to finish them off. "How long has David been the sheriff around here?"

Joey shrugged. "I don't know, maybe three years or so."

"Where did he come from before that? Does anyone know?"

"I'm the wrong guy to ask, to be honest. I've had my nose in the woods too much to know what his background is. All I know is he came, wooed everyone and got the job."

"What are you thinking, Annja?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he was sent here for some purpose that we don't know about. Maybe this isn't the first time he's done this." She kept the pressure on and felt some of the rope start to give a little bit.

"Well, whoever he is, he can't get away with it," Joey said. "Someone has to find out and make him pay."

"Like who?" Jenny asked. "State Police are more than an hour away. Who would come out here in time to rescue us?"

"She's right," Annja said. "If we're going to stop David and whatever it is he's up to, we're on our own. Unless there's anyone else we can find to help us."

Jenny frowned. "Who are you thinking of?"

"Sheila."

"From the hotel? I thought she was a nutcase."

Annja felt another bit of rope start to give way. "I thought so, too. But she was the one who warned me about David. That's got to count for something, don't you think?"

"I guess, but how are we going to get to her? I don't have a cell phone on me and I doubt it would work underground, anyway," Jenny said.