by Sharon Dunn
Lacey pressed her lips together as the driver tore off his helmet. She relaxed. It wasn’t a he at all. The driver was a tall thin lady with gray hair pulled back in a ponytail. “I got some gas for you folks,” she said, turning toward the container she had strapped on the back of her snowmobile.
Jude stepped out toward the woman and took the gas can. “Thank you.”
The woman tilted her head toward the darkening sky. “We better hurry. Don’t have much daylight left. I’ll wait to make sure your snowmobile starts up. I’m Nancy by the way. Lev’s wife.”
Lacey stepped toward the older woman. “Nice to meet you.” She held out a gloved hand. There was something trustworthy in Nancy’s expression.
Nancy pointed at the rifle she had mounted on the snowmobile. “Lev said there might be trouble. Over his objections, I volunteered. I’m the best shot in town, almost made the Olympic team as a biathlete when I was younger.”
Jude poured the gas into the tank and started up the snowmobile. He gave Nancy the thumbs-up.
She nodded and gave him the thumbs-up. “Stop by the bank when you get into town. Leave the snowmobile there. Pop your head in. Lev wants to make sure you made it back safe.”
“Got it,” said Jude.
Nancy got back on her snowmobile, zoomed a ways up the road until she found a wide spot to turn around and then headed back down the mountain. She disappeared around the curve just as Lacey and Jude got into their helmets.
Jude stared down at his gauges. “Looks like just enough gas to get us back into town.”
“That’s the plan, right?”
Jude glanced up the road where the kidnapper had sped away. “That little girl must be in one of those cabins. We have to get to her...somehow.”
Lacey couldn’t argue with him.
“I’m going to take you back into town and then I’m going to see if I can talk to Lev. I’ll let him know the whole story. See if he is open to going out with me to search the cabins.”
“It’ll be dark soon.” Even as she spoke, she knew she couldn’t argue with him. This was a child they were talking about.
“I know navigating at night has more hazards, but I don’t think we can wait.”
Jude got on the snowmobile and Lacey slipped in behind him. He twisted the throttle and sped down the road. She rested her head against Jude’s shoulder, feeling the fatigue settle into her muscles. She knew that she didn’t have the energy to brave the cold and the dark again. That meant she would be left alone while Jude went out. She didn’t much care for that idea either.
Jude was not wrong. Time was of the essence in finding Maria. Still, the thought of being alone in Lodgepole struck a chord of terror inside her.
* * *
Jude was glad to see the lights of the town grow closer though they were much sparser than the last time they’d come into Lodgepole. Up ahead, he saw Nancy’s taillights as she came to the edge of town and turned off on a side street.
Much of the snow had been removed from Main Street.
He wrestled with the choices that lay ahead for him. To leave Lacey behind meant she might be in danger. But he couldn’t wait until morning to search the cabins where Maria might be held.
Even through the padding of his snowsuit, he could feel the weight of Lacey resting against his shoulder. She might already be asleep.
He pulled up by the bank where there were still lights on inside. He could just make out Lev’s silhouette as he stood watching. As they stopped and pulled helmets off, Lev came to the door and held it open for them. “Glad to see you made it. You’re the last team to come back.”
Jude stepped toward the warmth of the building. “Sir, I need to talk to you.”
Lev’s shoulders drooped. He was probably tired too. “Come on in.”
Lacey followed behind.
He turned to face her. “I’m not sure what to do. I don’t think going back to the hotel will be safe for you.”
“I’d rather stay with you until I know what the plan is.”
Jude felt like his insides were being ripped apart. He didn’t blame her for being afraid to be alone. “Maybe we can ask Lev if you can stay at his place. You’d be safe there.”
She nodded. “You must be tired too.”
He was exhausted but that didn’t matter.
Lev ushered them into the back room where they could get out of their snowsuits. A lantern had been set up to provide some light. He’d seen some lights on in town but not many. Maybe people had backup generators.
Lev sat on the bench.
Jude took in a deep breath and explained everything. That Maria was probably in one of the unoccupied cabins. That he had been unable to communicate with Maria’s father, George Ignatius. That he had no idea what the kidnapper might do. He told Lev about the attempts on his and Lacey’s lives while they had been in Lodgepole as well as while they were on the mountain. “So you see, Lev, I’ve got to go back up there. And I need to go with someone I can trust. This can’t wait.”
Lev rubbed his chin. He stared at Jude for a long moment. “You’re not going back up there in the dark.”
“But, sir...”
Lev raised his hand. “You’re exhausted. You’ll end up having an accident. I will search the cabins with some men I trust. You and Lacey can stay at my house with Nancy.”
Even as Lev spoke, Jude knew he didn’t have the energy to make it back up that mountain. Lev was right. He’d end up wrecking the snowmobile or worse. Lev gave them the directions to his house. “If you run into the man who is holding her, there might be violence.”
“I have a gun,” said Lev. “I can radio Nancy and let her know you are coming over.” He patted Jude on the shoulder. “Get some sleep.”
Jude nodded. Still, his guts felt tied up in knots. Staying with Nancy was safer than being at the hotel and at least he could stay close to Lacey. “Wake me as soon as you get back into town.”
Lev nodded. “I’ll get up there as fast as I can. I just need to find someone to man the radio for me.”
He and Lacey headed out to Main Street. All the windows in the businesses were dark. They turned onto the side street and no one was walking around. The quiet hush offered a sort of comfort. They found Lev’s house. Nancy stood at the window, looking out as they made their way up the snowy walk.
She opened the door for them and welcomed them. “Come on in.”
They stepped inside. There was a fire going in the woodstove that made the living room toasty warm. The furniture was rustic in style with lots of natural wood and leather. The lights on the wall must have been battery operated.
Nancy gripped her bathrobe at the neck. “I’m afraid I have limited things to offer. We are trying to ration our use of the generator. I can warm you up some water on the cookstove if you want a hot beverage.”
Lacey glanced over at him. “I think we both would just like to get some sleep.”
Nancy pointed toward the woodstove. “The warmest place is in the living room. I’ve made up the couch and I was just going to grab a pad and a sleeping bag. Be right back.”
“You can have the couch,” Jude said.
She smiled faintly. “Thanks.”
Her expression brought back some of the warmth and good feelings he’d had when they’d first met. He shook his head. He’d come to Montana to do a job. Maybe that was where he needed to keep his focus.
Lacey took her boots off and placed them beside the couch. She lay down on the couch, adjusted the pillow and pulled the blankets around her, staring at the fire through the glass door of the woodstove.
Nancy returned and handed Jude the bedding. “You don’t want to sleep too close to the stove, you will wake up in a pool of sweat. I’ll try to have some breakfast for you in the morning.”
Jude thanked Nancy. She nodded and disappeared down a hallway.
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Lacey had closed her eyes. He laid out the pad and sleeping bag. A noise outside alerted him. He rose to his feet. The window that faced the backyard looked out on a road. Three snowmobiles sped by. That had to be Lev and whoever he had recruited to search the cabins in the dark.
His stomach twisted into tight knots. He wasn’t sure if he’d even be able to sleep until he knew what the men found. He glanced over at Lacey whose relaxed posture indicated she had fallen asleep.
Still restless, Jude moved around the room making sure the doors were locked. At least he could keep Lacey safe tonight. He settled down on the pad, unzipped the down sleeping bag and crawled inside. He set his gun off to one side but within reach. He stared at the ceiling for a long moment trying to pray. The prayer on the mountain when he was being shot at had been out of total desperation.
Though he was not in danger or in fear of losing his life, a sense of desperation invaded his mind. Desperation for Maria to be returned safely to her parents, and for him to feel like he’d redeemed himself from ten years ago.
He pulled the sleeping bag up close to his neck. The down surrounded his body and warmed him. He struggled to make the words of the prayer form. Did he only need God if he thought he was going to die? His faith had been so solid at one point in his life.
Lacey rolled over, so she was facing the back of the couch.
He listened to the gentle sound of her breathing.
If he was totally honest with himself, he wished too that there could be something between him and Lacey. He loved her easy laugh and the way her face got all animated when she talked about her work. But what did he have to offer her? He was a washed-up cop with only a fraction of the faith she displayed.
He stared at the ceiling, not able to form the words of a prayer but knowing that God understood anyway. His eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.
Hours later, his eyes fluttered open. Though he could not tell if he had dreamed it or if it was really happening, he thought he’d heard noises. He sat up. Alarmed, he rose to his feet. From what he could see, Lacey was not on the couch. The blanket that had covered her lay on the floor. Panic spread through his body as his senses tried to absorb what was happening.
It was still night outside. His eyes had not adjusted to the dark room. He heard muffled noises. As he glanced across the floor, he could see only shadows. He ran toward the noise in the next room just in time to see a dark figure unlock the back door in the kitchen from the inside and swing it open. The man disappeared into the darkness and he had Lacey with him.
Jude stepped into the first pair of shoes he saw. They were too big for him. The move had cost him precious seconds, but he wouldn’t get far barefoot. He yelled once for Nancy to come help him. He didn’t have time to find her room in the house.
A cold wind hit him as he stepped outside to search. In the dark, he could just make out boot tracks and two parallel lines. Signs of a barefoot Lacey being dragged away.
How could anyone know they were even here instead of at the hotel unless they’d been followed from the bank?
Someone had gotten to Lacey, probably taking her to a quiet place where killing her couldn’t be heard.
NINE
Cold seeped into Lacey’s bare feet as she struggled to get away from her abductor. Everything had happened so fast. A few minutes before in the house, the man had put a gun to her head probably intending to kill both her and Jude while they slept. She had managed to knock the gun out of his hand. Jude had seen she was being taken. He couldn’t be far behind.
Her kidnapper still held a hand over her mouth and the other suctioned around her waist as he dragged her through the snow. The chill seeped through her thin layer of clothes. She tried to get traction with her feet but to no avail. She twisted her head and torso to break free. She fell on the cold ground in a heap.
She couldn’t see the house. Her kidnapper had dragged her behind a bunch of trees.
Her abductor grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up. Already she was shivering. She reached out toward his face. He was wearing a ski mask. He was tall and thin. Again, he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Jude...somebody,” she tried to yell, but her voice was paper thin.
He clasped a gloved hand over her mouth. “Be quiet!” His voice held a note of rage that scared her even more. She had no doubt that his intent was to kill her.
As he continued to drag her through the snow, she spied the backyards of the houses on the same street they had searched. The run-down blue Victorian house was set off from the others. The tall thin man must be looking for a hiding place to kill her before Jude found them. When she looked where they had been, she saw no sign of Jude. The back sides of the houses looked very far away.
She had to get away. His grip around her waist was like iron. He swung her around and planted her feet. He gripped her wrist. “We need to run.” He yanked her arm, pulling her through a cluster of trees. They ran for at least five minutes before he stopped. She stood before a set of stairs leading to a door that belonged to what looked like a single wide trailer. The trailer was off by itself, and it was not visible through the trees.
“Get in,” he barked.
Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. Once she was inside, she was a dead woman. She turned and took off running. Her bare feet sunk down in the snow, chilling her to the bone. She took five steps before he was on top of her, tackling her to the ground. Her stomach pressed into the snow.
He rolled off of her. “Get up.”
In what felt like one swift motion, he pulled her to her feet and pushed her into the trailer. Though she could not see much in the dark space, it was clear the trailer hadn’t been occupied for some time. The place smelled like dust and mold. Cupboard doors hung on single hinges and what she could make out of the furniture, lopsided chairs and a couch with no cushions, indicated no one lived here.
She gripped the corner of the counter. He pushed on her back from behind. She took a step and felt a sting to her foot.
She lifted her leg. “I think I cut myself.”
He pushed her again. “Like it’s going to matter.”
She limped forward. The house was nothing more than shadows. But there had to be a back door. She bolted down the hall as pain from the cut shot up her leg. The fact that her feet were already cold numbed some of the potential pain.
Because of all the junk and broken furniture, the house was like a maze. She crashed into furniture. She ran into a room and flipped open a window, preparing to crawl out.
He found her and pulled her back in. He pushed her to the ground and his arms were around her neck. He squeezed tight as she struggled for breath.
Her hands reached out for something...anything. Fingers wrapped around an object, something metal. She lifted it and hit him in the back. The blow was enough to make him let go of her and cry out in pain. She rolled away and scrambled to her feet, hitting him again but this time in the shoulder. She ran down the hallway.
Please, God, let there be a back door here.
She saw it then at the other end of the trailer, a door swinging on its hinges. She stepped through it expecting stairs. Instead she found herself falling through space and landing on the ground. Her knees hit first and then her hands.
Behind her, she could hear the noise of her abductor crashing through the trailer.
She rose to her feet and started to run, back toward Nancy’s house, back toward safety. But she was disoriented. She’d run in the wrong direction and now she was surrounded by trees. She turned in a circle, trying to get her bearings.
A voice came to her ears, calling her name. Somewhere out in the darkness. It was Jude.
“I’m here. Jude.” Her voice sounded faint and far away like it hadn’t even come out of her throat. She hurried toward the sound of his voice.
She glanced over her shoulder as
she ran. Where had the tall thin man gone?
Jude was suddenly there. Out of breath, she pressed herself against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”
“Do you see him back by that trailer?”
Jude still held her but lifted his head and turned slightly. “He’s gone. He must have run off when he saw me coming toward you.”
She felt both relief and rage. Relief that she was safe for now but rage that he was still out there in the shadows, waiting for another chance to come after her.
“Let’s get you back to the house.” Jude squeezed her shoulder.
She took a step forward her leg collapsed under her. Her feet were numb from the cold, and one of them was bleeding.
Jude looked down at her feet. “You’re in no condition to walk.” He swept her up in his arms and carried her toward the house.
She nestled her face close to his neck, breathing in the scent of wood smoke and musk. Her hand rested on his chest. She could feel herself getting light-headed. It wasn’t entirely because of her injuries. Being held by Jude’s strong arms made her feel like she was a balloon floating on the air.
She heard Nancy’s voice. “Oh my, let’s get her inside and warmed up.” Though Lacey didn’t think she’d managed to make much noise, Nancy must have been awakened. Maybe Jude had yelled for her help.
A door creaked open. Jude’s boots made a different sound as they pounded across the wood floor. Nancy said something about heating up water and getting a first aid kit. Jude gently placed her on the couch. He grabbed the blanket and lifted it, so it covered her shoulders.
He kneeled and looked at her feet, then rubbed her uninjured foot between his hands.
“I can’t see very well. Are your toes tingling?”
“No, just numb.” She could feel the warmth of his fingers as he squeezed her foot. “I don’t think I have frostbite. I’m just very cold.” She drew the blankets even tighter around herself.
“You’re probably right.” He lifted her other foot. “It’s this one I’m worried about. It looks like you have a cut on the side of it.”
