by Sharon Dunn
Jude turned around to look at her. “You okay?” He was carrying the backpack, which he took off. “I’ll see if there is some kind of light or something in here. Maybe some flares. They’d be spotted now that it’s dark.”
He set the pack on the ground, leaning close to see. She kneeled as well as he turned over the objects that were in there. Food, water, medicine.
“There’s a lighter in here.” He held it up so she could see. “We could build a signal fire.”
“What if it’s spotted by the wrong person?”
“We could at least build a small fire to keep warm.” Jude took one of the bandages out of the first aid kit and wrapped it around a stick, then poured the rubbing alcohol on it before lighting it to make a torch. “This will burn out after a while, but we can at least see a little better.”
He handed her the torch to hold while he zipped the backpack up and slipped into the straps. Again, they took off at a steady pace. The landscape never seemed to change: evergreens, fallen logs, the occasional clearing with no sign of the road.
From time to time she heard a strange sound in the forest, some sort of wild animal maybe. She couldn’t quite place the noise, not a bear or a mountain lion. At first it was faint and infrequent.
Jude must have heard it too. “A fox maybe? Whatever it is, it sounds like it’s in pain.”
“Foxes sound like crying babies when they’re in pain. That’s not a fox.” Fear infused her words.
They kept moving. Jude’s makeshift torch illuminated the ground in front of them. The path was wide enough for them to walk side by side. The strange noise died out altogether.
They walked for another twenty minutes. The sound from the animal returned, this time closer and more distinctive. Jude turned one way and then the other. The noise was clearly howling and yipping, a canine sound.
“Are there wolves around here?” Jude asked. The flame from the torch flickered on the side of his face.
A chill ran up her spine like a thousand tiny spiders. “Yes. They’re the primary predator of the elk.”
“They move in packs though?”
“Usually unless they have been kicked out.” Her throat was dry from fear. “Wolves aren’t that noisy when they’re hunting.”
The barking was very close but still they couldn’t see anything. She caught a flash of movement in the trees. “There.” She grabbed the torch to aim it. Jude still held on to it.
She saw a flash of dark fur.
It was a canine and it did look like a wolf and now it was being quiet. Was it stalking them?
“What if it’s a dog?” Jude stepped forward. “Hey buddy, come mere, puppy.” He aimed the torch at sectors of the trees.
It could be a dog that had been abandoned because of the storm, left to fend for itself. “Mr. Wilson had dogs.”
Jude whistled and called for the animal again. They heard yipping and then a black border collie with white markings emerged from the trees. The dog wagged its tail and jumped up and down.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lacey knelt down and pet the dog who licked her face. The dog had tags. “This is Mr. Wilson’s dog. It says his name is Bart.”
“Maybe we’re far enough down the mountain that his place is just around a corner.”
“But why is this dog out running through the forest with another storm on the way?”
“I don’t know. We must be close to Wilson’s house. Maybe he’ll lead us to it.” Jude handed Lacey the torch and rummaged through the backpack for another long bandage. He tied it around Bart’s collar. He petted the dog’s ears. “Come on, boy, lead the way.”
They took off. Bart put his nose to the ground running at first and then slowing down. Though he seemed content to stay with them and didn’t mind the makeshift leash, his movement seemed random and erratic.
The wind blew, and the snow fell more intensely. Her face grew cold as they worked their way through the trees and across a clearing. The temperature was dropping.
The dog sniffed the ground from time to time but really didn’t seem to be leading them anywhere. They were now headed downhill, but she wasn’t holding out hope that they would find Mr. Wilson’s house.
They kept walking. The torch died out, slowing their pace. Her nose and cheeks felt numb from the cold. Bart grew excited, barking and twirling in circles, jerking on the leash.
He might just be chasing the scent of raccoons or some other nocturnal creature. All the same, she kept pace with the excited dog.
The back of Mr. Wilson’s house appeared first as shadows. There were no lights on at all. Though Bart continued to yip and pull on the leash, they slowed their pace.
Mr. Wilson had a rifle, and he was paranoid about being robbed.
As they approached the house, another dog came out of the shadows and greeted them. The old Lab was glad to see them and Bart. They circled around the house and knocked on the front door. No answer.
“Didn’t he say he was staying in a back room because it was easier to heat?” she said.
The Lab disappeared around the side of the house. Jude untied Bart and let him go. “They must know how to get in. Let’s follow.”
She could barely make out Bart’s dark fur against the blackness of night. The wind howled, and the snow had started to come down sideways. The dogs led them to a door that was ajar. The tiny room was more of a shed, maybe ten by ten feet and it was separate from the main house.
Jude knocked on the door. “Mr. Wilson?”
The dogs yipped and barked and wagged their tails. Jude tried the door. The knob turned.
“Mr. Wilson, it’s the people from Lodgepole. We checked on you yesterday.”
The silence was eerie. Lacey tensed as Jude opened the door farther. The room was dark though she could make out the outline of a woodstove.
Despite the storm still raging, they searched all around the outside of the house and a little ways into the forest. She was shivering.
“We can’t stay out here much longer,” Lacey said. “Let’s get warmed up and then we can look some more for Mr. Wilson.”
They returned to the little room with the dogs trailing behind them.
They stepped inside. Jude touched the woodstove and opened the door on it. “Fire is out but the stove is still warm, so it went out recently.” He grabbed some of the chopped wood stacked in the corner and lit the stove.
The dogs came inside and lay on the beds that had been set up for them in the corner. Lacey fumbled around until she found a lantern and lit it. When she shone the light around, she saw Mr. Wilson’s rifle propped against the wall. Would he go anywhere without his rifle? She wondered too where the third dog was, the white one that looked like it was part pit bull. All of this was concerning.
With the stove blazing, Lacey reached her hands out toward the warmth, shifting from foot to foot. Jude picked a blanket up that had been resting on a small nightstand. He stood beside her. His shoulder pressed against hers. “There’s only one blanket. You can have it.”
The fear she’d felt earlier was no longer there. There was something comforting about having him close. “We can share it.”
He wrapped the blanket around his shoulder and then around hers. His hand brushed over her back. Jude had left the door on the woodstove open. Both of them stared at the crackling fire.
The dogs settled down on their beds. Bart whined before lying down.
“We’re going to have to go looking for Mr. Wilson once we’re warmed up.”
“I know,” she said. Now that they had a quiet moment, the memory of him looking into her eyes came back to her. There was a part of her that wanted him to kiss her. Her jaw tensed. Why did she feel so conflicted about this?
“Mr. Wilson wasn’t a young man. Maybe he wandered away from the property and had a heart attack,” Jude said. “He must have gone pretty far
. We looked everywhere. Maybe he went to a friend’s house.”
“Maybe, but the door was left open. That’s why the dogs got out. That is the action of someone leaving in a hurry,” she said. They’d worked together to get here. Over and over, Jude had shown her that he would protect her and not leave her. She wasn’t sure what to say. “I’m sorry I didn’t want to talk about losing my family.”
Jude turned, grabbed another log from the stack and tossed it into the fire. “I understand. It’s painful to open old wounds. I sure don’t want to do it.” He settled back down beside her.
Tears welled up in her eyes. “I guess I’ve been kind of closed down since the accident. I cut people out of my life who cared about me. I worked and moved around so I didn’t have to think about it.” The tears flowed. “I feel like I wasted the life God gave me. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
Jude took her in his arms and held her.
She sobbed, resting her face against the flannel of his shirt. His arms held her while she cried. She felt a release...anger, guilt and sadness that she’d been holding in for years. Finally, there were no more tears. She rested her face against his chest while his heart beat in her ear.
His fingers touched under her chin. She lifted her face to look into his eyes. He bent toward her and brushed his lips over hers. She drew closer, feeling the hunger of his kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck.
The blanket fell from her shoulders. She felt the warm smolder of attraction...and maybe something deeper. His arms held her as he kissed her again. When he finally pulled free, she felt light-headed but so alive.
It was as if she had spent the years since the accident in walking paralysis. Functioning but numb with pain.
He rested his forehead against hers and then kissed her cheek before shifting back. His hand found hers and he squeezed it tight.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment.
Jude’s hand pulled away. She opened her eyes. Something in the corner of the room caught his attention. The look on his face was one of shock.
As she watched him rise to his feet, her mood shifted to fear. Jude picked up the object in the dark corner of the room. It was a small stuffed animal, a lamb. Holding the toy, he turned to face Lacey. “This was the toy Maria was holding when she was kidnapped.”
TWELVE
Jude stared down at the toy he grasped in his hand. It felt as though his world had been flipped on its side and then turned upside down. Maria’s mother said she always had the toy with her. The picture he’d been given of the child showed her holding it.
Lacey rose to her feet. “I’m sure there are a lot of stuffed toys like that around. Maybe Mr. Wilson has grandchildren or maybe the dogs play with it.”
He shook his head. “It can’t be a coincidence. Mr. Wilson must have been holding Maria here.”
“Do you think he’s in on the kidnapping?”
“It looks that way.”
The dogs stirred from their beds, barking and flinging themselves at the door. Something had them excited.
Lacey moved toward the door. “I hear another dog barking.”
While the dogs continued to bounce around, she and Jude got back into their boots. Jude grabbed a flashlight that rested on a chair. Lacey eased the door open only a slit so they could slip through but the dogs couldn’t get out. Outside the wind was still blowing and the snow came down sideways.
The barking of the third dog grew louder as he emerged through the trees. The dog ran toward them, jumped in circles around them and then headed back toward the trees.
“He’s trying to tell us something.” Lacey hurried after the white dog.
Jude ran beside her, shining the flashlight. The conditions were not a whiteout. All the same, it was not a good idea to get too far away from the house.
As they ran following the dog, the intensity of the kiss they’d shared lingered in his memory. How quickly the mood had been destroyed by his discovery.
His feet pounded through the snow. Frustration rose up inside of him. When they’d checked on Mr. Wilson, he may have been only a short distance away from Maria and not have known it. Or maybe she’d been brought down here from the cabin. Though they still needed to search the property, he had the feeling Maria was not here any longer. Had Mr. Wilson taken her somewhere else?
The dog led them into the trees that surrounded Mr. Wilson’s property. He stopped at what looked like a fallen log, sat back on his haunches and howled. Lacey and Jude sprinted toward the dog, arriving at the same time. Jude shone the light all around. The object that he thought was a log was not. The light washed over a body lying facedown. The white hair indicated that it was Mr. Wilson.
Lacey let out a sharp gasp and took a step back. She reached for Jude’s arm. Jude stepped closer. The body was frozen but there were clear bloodstains on the back. “He was shot.”
“So he wasn’t involved?” Lacey’s voice faltered.
Jude straightened his spine as his stomach twisted into a hard knot. “Mr. Wilson lived a very austere lifestyle. I’m sure a little cash would have persuaded him to watch a child.”
“His conscience must have bothered him. So he was shot,” Lacey said. “Maybe he threatened to tell the authorities.”
“Or maybe that guy on the snowmobile just eliminates anyone who could turn him in. We need to search the rest of the property. I doubt Maria is still around. But there might be some clue as to where she’s been taken. That car that I was chasing must be parked somewhere.”
The dog whined and yipped and then paced. Something was upsetting him.
A bright light shone on the body and then on their faces. A man in silhouette stood not more than twenty yards from them.
Lacey’s voice filled with panic. “He’s come back for the body.”
And now they’d been spotted. The dark figure advanced toward them. He was the same build as the man on the snowmobile, the broad-shouldered man.
“Run,” Jude said.
Both of them sprinted toward the house. As he ran, he lost sight of Lacey. Several shots were fired. The proximity and power of the shots hurt his eardrum. He sprinted toward the house, shining the light in the trees. Without a flashlight, Lacey would be forced to move slower. He didn’t see her anywhere. His heart squeezed tight with fear.
Another shot zinged by his head. Jude switched off the flashlight. It made him too easy of a target. The dog that had led them to the body continued to bark.
Without any light to guide him, Jude slowed his pace. He slipped from tree to tree. The kidnapper was close enough that Jude could hear his footsteps. Light flashed into and out of the trees.
Jude pressed his back against the thick trunk of a tree. The kidnapper’s steps crunched in the snow and landed on branches that crackled as they broke underneath his boots. Jude feared his raging heart and heavy breathing would give him away. He stood still as a rock. The kidnapper’s flashlight continued to jump around.
He heard another set of footsteps moving rapidly. Lacey. Now the kidnapper turned his light toward where that sound had come from. Jude caught a flash of Lacey running and the kidnapper falling in behind her right at her heels. Jude could see the kidnapper’s back as he raised the gun to take aim at Lacey. He had to stop him before he shot Lacey. There was no time to draw his gun. Jude ran toward the kidnapper, leaping on his back and taking him to the ground. The two men wrestled. The kidnapper hit Jude in the head. The blow stunned him as he lay on his back.
The other man had risen to his feet moving toward where he’d dropped his rifle. He’d lost the flashlight in the struggle, leaving them both in the darkness. Jude rolled away into the brush, pushed himself to his feet and fired a shot. It was too dark to see if he’d hit his target. Another shot whizzed by his arm.
He needed to find Lacey.
He sprinted toward the dark shadows of Mr. Wilson�
��s house. He peered over his shoulder. The kidnapper must be looking around for his flashlight. It bought Jude a few precious seconds. His legs pumped as he neared the house. Where was Lacey? She might go back to the room where the dogs were to get that rifle. But she wouldn’t stay there. There was only one way in and out. That would make her a sitting duck. And he didn’t think she would run haphazardly into the forest either. There were piles of rubble and building materials and an old car on the back side of the property in addition to the car that was parked out front.
“Over here,” came a whisper.
He heard Lacey’s voice but had no idea where it had come from. Light flashed as the kidnapper appeared around the corner of the small shed. Jude dove toward a pile of rocks. The man stomped past him, shining the light everywhere.
It occurred to Jude that the man must have come on his snowmobile. Where had he parked it? If he could find Lacey and figure out where the snowmobile was, they could get back to Lodgepole. The kidnapper would be stranded. Wherever he had hidden that car, it wasn’t going anywhere.
The kidnapper trudged back toward where Jude was hiding, swinging around his flashlight. Jude crouched lower as the man passed him.
The footsteps stopped. Jude could no longer see the light. He lifted his head, trying to figure out what had happened. The dog that was still outside had stopped barking. Silence fell around Jude like a shroud. He studied each sector of the yard looking for any indication of where the kidnapper may have gone.
Jude bolted up, still not seeing any movement. He turned.
A light flashed in his peripheral vision by the little shed. He crouched back down.
“I think you better come out wherever you are. I got your girlfriend here with a gun to her head.”
The blood froze in Jude’s veins.
* * *
From the loft where she was hiding in the main house, Lacey peered out. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The kidnapper was trying to lure Jude out into the open with a lie. She watched in horror as Jude rose to his feet and stepped toward the little back room where the voice had come from. She had to warn him, but shouting would only alert the kidnapper to her position. She reached behind her and grabbed the first object that her hand touched, a metal mug. She tossed the mug close to Jude. It fell in front of him. He stuttered in his step then looked up. She waved, hoping he would see her in the dark. The attic space where she was hiding had a window-like opening but the glass had been replaced with plastic that she had torn away when she’d first cried out to Jude.
