Dee slammed out of Jeff’s cabin and ran down the path to Michael’s. She banged on his door with all her might. “Hey, jerk! Open up! Now!” She kept pounding, but no one answered. Finally she gave up. Rubbing her sore fists, she bent down by the room’s front window. She managed to get enough of a glimpse into the cabin to see the unscrupulous writer’s belongings were still there.
She marched to the parking lot. Michael’s car was gone. She had a feeling where he might be, so she ran to her apartment, grabbed her own car keys, and headed for the All-in-One.
Dee pulled into the general store’s parking lot and hit the brakes. There was a chill in the early-morning air, but Dee, hot with anger, didn’t feel it.
She pushed open the store’s doors and marched inside, down the sloping aisle to the café. A short line of customers waited for coffee from Elmira and Heloise, who worked part-time at Williker’s All-in-One General Store. The line included locals, a few rangers from Majestic National Park—and Michael Adam Baker. Dee stormed up to him. “Thief!”
The others in line exchanged looks and discreetly put distance between themselves and Michael. He held up his hands and stared at Dee with an expression of dismay.
“Whoa. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Dee held up her cell phone, open to Michael’s scene. “This. We need to talk. Now.”
“Okay. Fine. Sorry.” He addressed the apology to the others in line, not so subtly twirling a finger by his ear in the international sign of “cuckoo.”
Dee suppressed the urge to throttle him. She took the sleeve of his hoodie and yanked him in the direction of the parking lot.
Once outside, Dee lit into the writer with full force. “How dare you show up at my motel acting like all you want to do is support my new venture, when you were really plotting to steal my life for a pilot!”
Out of sight from anyone else, Michael dropped the self-effacing–victim act. “Not my problem, babe. You can’t copyright an idea.”
“Don’t you dare ‘babe’ me,” Dee said through gritted teeth. “You have no right to do this. It’s my life. I’m the only one who should ever write about it.”
“I thought you were out of the business,” Michael said with a sneer.
“I am, but maybe someday I won’t be. I don’t know.” Feeling put on the defensive, Dee repeated, “But it’s my life, and it’s my choice.”
Michael shrugged. “I don’t know why you’re freaking out so much. Your ex already based a whole show on you.”
Dee winced. The comment touched a nerve. Ian Akerman, her second husband, was a struggling television drama writer when they married. His envy of her success ate away at their relationship until they finally divorced. After the breakup, Ian channeled his jealousy into a sci-fi drama pilot called Vengeance: Year 3004 about a heroic space force commander fighting back against his evil ex-wife, Lee Flern.
As Dee’s writing career sputtered out, Ian’s took off. Vengeance was a massive streaming hit, recently picked up for four additional seasons.
She scowled at Michael, wishing she could shoot daggers at him with her eyes, like Lee Flern could. “This is completely different. Ian’s series may have been inspired by our marriage, but that’s it. It’s set in a dystopian future and doesn’t resemble real life at all. You’re full-on stealing. If you pitch whatever piece of drek you come up with anywhere, I’ll sue you.”
Michael gave a derisive snort. “Like I said, you can’t copyright an idea, and since you’ve already admitted you haven’t written anything about your life, that’s what we’re talking about here. A notion. Besides, who are you gonna hire as your lawyer? Some local yokel? I’m guessing all your money’s sunk into the Golden, so that’s all you can afford, if you can even afford that.” He taunted her with a second salute. “Good luck, ‘Lee.’ ”
Michael hopped into his Porsche and roared out of the parking lot, kicking up a cloud of dust that enveloped Dee. “I hope Stoney the bear finds you and eats you!” she screamed after him.
Choking from the dust, Dee turned to go back inside the All-in-One, almost colliding with a ranger heading back to his truck with a container of coffee. She found Elmira waiting for her.
“We heard everything,” Elmira said. “Pluses and minuses of poor insulation in these old places.”
Dee coughed up more dust. “Can I get some wa-wa-wa––” Unable to control her emotions any longer, she burst into tears.
Elmira put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get you some water and a free coffee drink.”
She led Dee to the café and sat her at a table. Patrons at other tables eyed her with sympathy. Heloise came from behind the coffee bar, holding a large ceramic cup. “Here. Our biggest cappuccino.” She leaned in and whispered, “I used Callan Katz’s coffee beans. Don’t tell him.”
Dee managed a smile. “I won’t.”
Elmira fetched a glass of water and paper towel. She wet the towel and handed it to Dee, who wiped dirt and tears from her face. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.” Elmira placed a hand on Dee’s. “That Michael Adam Baker was a bad bet back in the day and he’s a bad bet now. But don’t you worry. Us ‘local yokels’ got your back. Right?”
Her customers responded with a chorus of “Right” and “You bet,” along with a few scatological names for the duplicitous writer-producer.
Comforted by the support, but still shaken, Dee decided she wasn’t ready to return to the Golden. After thanking everyone at the All-in-One for their kindness, she drove past the motel to a dirt road barely visible from the main road. She turned onto the secondary road and parked in front of a trailhead.
Dee followed the trail, which took a slow, steady climb through the forest. She emerged from the dense thicket of trees into a valley. A meadow lay before her, green grass and wildflowers gently swaying from a slight breeze. In the middle of the meadow was a small, pristine lake reflecting the striking granite outcrops of the Sierra Nevada mountains rising above it. Dee had stumbled upon the hike on her first visit to Foundgold. The spectacular scenery was what inspired her to trade the city for the country. Now it provided a refuge.
She sat on the grass and drank in the beauty around her, listening to the song of chirping birds and the occasional woodland creature scurrying by. The bucolic setting brought a sense of calm to Dee, allowing her to analyze Michael’s actions more objectively.
Based on her conversation with Callan Katz, she knew the scheming writer’s own career was in trouble. He didn’t even have an agent at the moment. He could write about her life all he wanted, but there was no guarantee he’d sell the pilot, or if he did sell it, the pilot would be produced. She’d written half-a-dozen pilots herself that were currently collecting e-dust as files on her computer.
I still hate Michael with the passion of a thousand white-hot suns, she thought. But he’s way less of a threat.
Dee rose from her spot. She hiked back to her car and made the short drive back to the Golden, where she headed straight to Michael’s cabin. She gave the door a purposeful rap. He opened the door, holding an ice pack to his right eye with his free hand. “I want you gone,” Dee said, her tone terse and determined. “You’re no longer welcome as a guest at the Golden.”
“I’ll leave when I’m ready to leave.” He dropped the hand holding the ice pack, revealing a swollen, blackened eye. “I paid for tonight, so I’m here until at least the morning. Maybe longer. And I’d be a good host if I were you. You wouldn’t want your first online review to be a crappy one.” He slammed the door on Dee.
Her sense of calm shattered, Dee stomped away, heaping curses on Michael Adam Baker.
“Dee!”
Jeff waved from the doorway of his cabin, then strode over to her. “I was worried about you. I drove over to the All-in-One. Elmira told me what had happened. I came back and had a little talk with our guest.”
Dee eyed her friend’s left hand. His knuckles were raw. “You did more than talk, I’m guessing.”
