The Trail

Anderson Ray

Description

An intense physiological thriller set on the Appalachian Trail by expert hiker and writer Ray Anderson.
The Trail, by Ray Anderson is the first thriller set entirely on the Appalachian Trail, and it comes with its own special sales market – at least three million people hike at least a portion of the trail each year, and the author is increasingly tapped into that hiker market, blogging, guest blogging, and a very visible participant in the numerous message boards on hiking the great trails of the U.S.
I may have intentionally killed a man.
Karl Bergman was on top of Springer Mountain in Georgia staring at a rock with a bronze plaque bolted to it. The plaque depicted a map of the Appalachian Trail running through fourteen states, from Georgia to Maine. Bergman’s feelings were a mix of excitement and guilt. For the last twelve years, whenever anything positive happened to him, whenever opportunities for joy and happiness presented themselves, festering guilt would tinge the moment, and blacken his soul.
He tried to push back at the guilt and remember the times in his life when he had felt the excitement of new adventure—going away to college. Joining the Army. Heading out to the Gulf War. This would be different though. He was thirty-six now and needed the challenge of the unknown in a different way than before. In a way that might cleanse him and rid him of his past mistakes.
His morning had started out shaky. He’d called Linda from the motel to say “I miss you already,” but she was chilly. Yesterday morning, when she’d driven him to Logan airport, she’d stayed quiet from the moment they left her house.
“I’d sure like your help with mail drops. Makes things easier.”
Silence.

Sujets

• Policier & Thriller
• Thriller
• Thrillers
• Canadá
• Paul Le Roux
• Canada
• Suspense
• Ray Anderson
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 27 octobre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781630269838
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Praise for Ray Anderson s THE TRAIL
THE TRAIL is an intense psychological cat-and-mouse thriller, written by a bright new talent who is very familiar with military survival strategies and the unique and unforgettable setting that distinguishes this story. Well-written and well-researched, Ray Anderson s debut novel will grab you from the disturbing opening scene and hold you in its grip until the grand payoff at the end of the trail.
- Gary Braver, bestselling author of Skin Deep and Tunnel Vision
There s a particular darkness in the crimes of a middle-aged man. Murder s thought to be the medium of younger people with poor impulse control, bad nurture and a hormonally-induced taste for the dark side. But when a man at midlife commits murders on the Appalachian Trail, the crimes open a window into something aberrant. Ray Anderson captures this darkness with extraordinary skill. He s in total control of his prose, characters and a story that manifests the most disturbing crisis of all-that humans can do these things, and we the readers, are human too.
- Mike Hogan, author of Burial of the Dead
This book has more twists and turns than the Appalachian Trail itself . . . a compelling, atmospheric thriller . . . Anderson captures the imagery and emotion of the renowned trail like no one else.
- Brett Ellen Block, author of The Lightning Rule, Destination Known, and The Grave of God s Daughter
THE TRAIL perfectly captures the essence of the backpacker s lifestyle, and the natural beauty of the outdoors stands in stark contrast to the violent events that unfold.
- Michelle Ray, author of How to Hike the A.T.

THE TRAIL
THE TRAIL
RAY ANDERSON
Turner Publishing Company 424 Church Street Suite 2240 Nashville, Tennessee 37219 445 Park Avenue 9th Floor New York, New York 10022
www.turnerpublishing.com
The Trail, A Novel
Copyright 2015 Ray Anderson. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
The Trail is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situation, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Cover design: Nellys Liang Book design: Kym Whitley
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Anderson, Ray, 1942- The trail / by Ray Anderson. pages cm ISBN 978-1-63026-982-1 (pbk.) 1. Suspense fiction. I. Title. PS3601.N54475T75 2015 813 .6--dc23
2015009480
Printed in the United States of America 15 16 17 18 19 20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
DEDICATED TO THE THRU-HIKER
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PROLOGUE
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
PART TWO
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
PART THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CHAPTER FIFTY
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
PART FOUR
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
CHAPTER SIXTY
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I WANT TO THANK THOSE readers who gave me helpful criticism. They include Joe and Fran Cucci, Susan Trausch, Virginia Young, Dan Gervais, Gary Goshgarian, Ellie Hawkins, Carol Chubb, Bob Alexander, Brett Ellen Block, who suggested the title, John Lovett, Bill Chase, Dottie Clark, her late husband, Don, my goddaughter, Karen Karlsson, for providing the English to French translations, and others I may have forgotten. Several readers also gave detailed guidance and suggestions. These people are Jennifer Harris, Michelle Ray, Susan Shannon, and my good friend and excellent writer, Alan Kennedy. I owe a special thanks to writer and hiker David Miller, who not only provided me with detailed suggestions, but also allowed me to borrow his trail name Awol for my protagonist. Thanks also to my number one hiking partner, Hank Zulauf, who took the back cover photo.
Of course, none of this would have happened without the guidance, teaching, and perseverance of my agent, Sorche Fairbank. She was patient and navigated correctly. Thank you, Sorche. And my thanks to everyone at Turner Publishing. I also want to thank all the A.T. thru-hikers who made the trek with me in 2003. We were an inspired and hardy group.
Finally, my biggest thanks goes to my wife, Nancy, who always keeps a level head and remains the best thing to ever happen to me. To Nancy-all my love.
I M NOT A GULF WAR vet. I served in a different conflict much earlier. This book is a work of fiction, and the war-time incident I refer to is imagined. Likewise, the astute hiker may note that I took some liberties in a few instances. Most notably, Hell Ridge is different than described because for that scene I simply couldn t pass up that name-Hell Ridge. In writing The Trail, I referred to my own journals throughout and used the actual weather (including snow storm) that I encountered. I am responsible for any inconsistencies.

PROLOGUE
THIS ONE WOULD BE EASY; he knew it the moment he saw her in the lot as he parked his Jeep. She watched him while he clipped up the canvas top and later, when he cozied up to her at the bar, she said, I ve always wanted a Jeep. It was Friday night and there was a sense of relief after a hard work week. Outside of the bar, men and women sucked extra smoke into their lungs and blew it farther with the excitement of the weekend ahead. Inside, eight balls bounced off cue sticks as if shot from cannons. An hour and a few drinks later, avoiding the prominent birthmark across her cheek, he stroked the brunette s face and fingered the pearls around her neck.
He gave her his best smile. Would you like to drive my Wrangler up to the lake?
She didn t blink as she sipped the last of her strawberry margarita through a lipstick-stained straw. Okay.
But at the lake, as Paul Leroux put a hand on her knee and told her to drive down a dirt road, It s nice down here-you ll see, she shrank.
Why don t we drive over by the clubhouse? she said.
Naw, baby, that s no fun. He patted her thigh and she stiffened. Aw, c mon, sugar-it s okay, I m not a bad person.
You never know these days.
Yeah, you have a point. Tell you what, drive down a little ways, I ll show you how pretty it is, and then we can turn around.
She drove slowly. A rabbit hopped across the dirt road.
Cigarette? he offered.
No, thanks. Let s go back. I don t like it down here.
Leroux blew a slow stream of smoke out the window. Okay. There s a spot up ahead where you can turn around. But you re missing a pretty place.
Smells of spring buds wafted through the windows and she settled into driving. But a half mile later she began to worry. So where s this turnaround?
Baby, relax. Am I making you nervous? It should be up a little ways.
Another quarter of a mile of silence followed. The dirt road tapered and was no longer a road. She had no idea where she was. She looked at him. I . . .
Right there, see? Pull in over there; I ll drive.
The brunette looked helpless as she drove the Jeep off the shoulder and turned into an opening. She had both hands clamped on the wheel and her lower lip trembled. Leroux crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, reached over, and shut down the engine. He pulled out the keys.
What are-?
Slip over to my side, Leroux said. He saw the fear in her eyes and just as she was about to shriek, Leroux punched her solar plexus. Her earrings flipped up and flopped back down. She slumped as he pulled her over to the passenger side. Leroux got out, entered the driver s side, and refired the Jeep. He put it in four-wheel drive and drove straight in through the opening, zigzagging around pines, until he could go no farther. He shut off the engine and cocked an ear to the open window as the brunette sucked in oxygen.
You ll feel better in a minute.
Please, she sobbed, as she held her stomach, take me back.
Oh, baby, you know that s not the way it works. Leroux leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, Let s go find the moon.
P ART O NE
Man is nature s sole mistake. -W. S. Gilbert
CHAPTER ONE
I MAY HAVE INTENTIONALLY KILLED a man.
Karl Bergman was on top of Springer Mountain in Georgia staring at a rock with a bronze plaque bolted to it. The plaque depicted a map of the Appalachian Trail running through fourteen states, from Georgia to Maine. Bergman s feelings were a mix of excitement and guilt. For the last twelve years, whenever anyth