Colder Than Ice

by Maggie Shayne

  God, would they ever find help? And what if they didn’t?

  When he didn’t think either of them could go another step, Bryan stopped, leaned back against a tree, fought the urge to suck loud gasps of air into his starving lungs. He’d pushed so hard his thigh muscles were quivering. And Dawn…God, Dawn was rasping and hot to the touch. But she wouldn’t say a word about stopping to rest—hell, he thought, if left up to her, they would still be moving. But when he stopped, she stopped, too, leaned on a tree of her own, fought to catch her breath.

  “Maybe we finally outran him,” Bryan whispered between gasps.

  “Maybe,” she whispered back.

  Please, God, he thought. And he tried to listen over the pulse beating in his temples. It was quiet for so many minutes he began to think they were safe. But then…

  “Bryyy-annn.”

  The call chilled his blood. And the look in Dawn’s eyes when they shot to his was enough to freeze it entirely.

  “Come, on Bryan. I’m not going to give up. Just talk to me.”

  “Jesus,” Bryan whispered. “You told me he had powers. But you didn’t mention that he was superhuman.”

  Josh managed to make his way closer to Beth through the dozen or so neighbors gathered around her. They were coming and going, mostly. Walking in with a gift, a bottle of wine, a casserole, a pie. Telling her how proud they were to have her living in their town, asking if she needed anything, if they could do anything to help. Some stayed long enough to share in the snacks and casseroles that had appeared on the buffet. Amazing, the change in attitude a simple newspaper article could make.

  Arthur Stanton and Chief Frankie were handling crowd control, watching everyone carefully. Frankie seemed to know everyone, which eased Josh’s mind considerably. If a stranger showed up, Frankie would spot him. Though Josh doubted Mordecai Young would make his move among a crowd. Still, the man was unpredictable.

  “How are you doing?” he asked when he got close enough to Beth.

  She looked up at him, smiled a little. “I’m a little overwhelmed. People keep telling me they want me to stay.”

  He nodded. “You’ve become their new hometown hero.”

  She lowered her eyes then. “That won’t last long. Only until one of them gets caught in the cross fire.”

  “We’re not gonna let that happen.”

  “It could happen right now. Tonight. Look at them all. Don’t they realize they’re standing around a live target?”

  He followed her gaze, scanned the people milling around.

  “Will Ahearn was here,” Beth said. “He told me that if I still wanted my deposit back, he’d return it and tear up the contract.”

  “Really? What did you say?”

  “I told him I couldn’t think about it right now.”

  “That’s probably for the best.” Then he said, “I think they’re starting to thin out.”

  “I wish they’d hurry it up.”

  He frowned, then, as a sound made its way to him. “Is that the phone?”

  Beth tipped her head, listening, then nodded. “I’ll get it.” She turned to head toward the telephone, but Josh kept pace. He didn’t want to be far from her tonight. Something was off; he felt it in his gut, a nervous, hyperalert state. Maybe it was because he expected her write-up in the paper to spur Mordecai into action. Or maybe it was instinct. He didn’t know which, and he wasn’t willing to take any chances.

  Beth reached the phone first, picked it up, then handed it to Joshua. “It’s for you.”

  He took it, covered the mouthpiece. “Stay close, okay, Beth?”

  Her lips pulled into a slight smile, and she nodded.

  Josh brought the phone to his ear. “This is Joshua Kendall.”

  “Josh, hi. Mark Malone. We just wanted to call and see whether you had any idea exactly when Bryan will be coming out.”

  For a second Josh went blank. “You mean—when he’ll be coming back here?”

  “No, when he’ll be flying out here.”

  His throat went dry, and his eyes sought Beth’s. She frowned at him and rose to her feet. “Mark, Bryan was supposed to have arrived yesterday. Are you telling me he never got there?”

  He heard the swift intake of breath before the other man said, “We had a call from Bry. He told us there’d been a change of plans, that he’d be coming out in a couple of days.”

  “Bryan’s not there.” The words fell flatly from Joshua’s lips.

  “No, Joshua, he’s not here. Are you telling me he’s not with you?”

  “No. Listen, I have to go. If you hear from him again, call me immediately. All right?”

  “Sure. Damn, Joshua, I’m so sorry about this. If there’s anything—”

  “I know. Just…just call if you hear from him.” Josh put down the phone. He felt dizzy, shocky and slightly panicked—not like a trained law enforcement professional at all. More like a frightened parent.

  Beth was gripping his shoulders. “Bryan didn’t go to California?”

  He shook his head.

  “God, where is he?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t…”

  Beth turned, saw that some of the others in the room had noticed something was up, were watching her and Josh, speaking softly, looking worried. She signaled to Arthur Stanton, who frowned at her, glanced at Josh, and then rushed across the room.

  “Bryan never got to California,” Beth told him.

  “What?”

  Josh lifted his head, forced himself to recount the facts. “He phoned the people he was supposed to be visiting, told them his plans had changed. Jesus, Art, I don’t know where my son is.”

  “Okay, okay. Calm down. Did he board the flight?”

  Josh looked at Beth, shook his head. “I don’t know. We dropped him at the airport. God, I should have stayed, seen him off. Damn security. I should have insisted.”

  “This isn’t your fault, Josh,” Beth said. She looked to Arthur. “You can find out, can’t you? That way at least we’ll know where to start looking.”

  “I can find out. Five minutes. I need the flight info.”

  Josh looked down at the notepad on the table beside the phone, where he’d scrawled the flight information when he’d ordered the ticket. He tore off the page and handed it to Arthur. Art took it, pulled a cell phone from his pocket and walked away while punching numbers.

  “He didn’t want to go,” Josh said softly. “He threw a fit about it, and then all of a sudden, he changed his mind.”

  “If he called them, Josh, he must have been all right.”

  “We don’t know that.”

  She closed her eyes, and Josh knew she was as afraid for his son as he was.

  Arthur was coming back, Chief Frankie at his side, her eyes worried. “He never boarded the flight,” Arthur said. “Which means your son is probably still here in town, Joshua.”

  “Yeah,” Josh murmured. “And so is Mordecai Young.”

  “It’s not a big place. We’ll find him.”

  “Get me a photograph,” Frankie said. “We’ll get flyers made immediately.” Then she turned to the people still gathered in the room. “People, can I have your attention? We have a situation here. And we could sure use your help.”

  Beth looked out the window. “Oh, God,” she whispered. “It’s starting to snow.”

  Bryan’s mind was working overtime. Just when the sound of the lunatic’s friendly voice had him ready to bolt, he stopped himself, gripped Dawn’s arm and stopped her, too. “Don’t run, Dawn.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  He shook his head. “I think that’s what he wants us to do.”

  She frowned at him, but remained still—stiff, alert and terrified, but still. And poised to take flight at the slightest movement from Mordecai’s direction.

  “He can’t see us any more than we can see him,” Bryan whispered. “It’s pitch-black in these woods. We can’t even see each other unless we’re standing as close as we are right now. The
only way he can keep following us is by sound. We keep crashing through the forest, plowing into limbs and tripping over stumps. We’ve been making it easy for him.”

  “He knows we’re here,” she whispered. “He could be creeping closer, even now.”

  “Every time we stop, he stops, too. Then he calls out to us, tries to shake us up, get us running again, so he can hear where we are.”

  “But we can’t just sit here and wait for him.”

  “We’re not going to. We’re gonna move, but we’re gonna be so quiet, the bastard can’t follow us. Okay?”

  She stared at him, her eyes wide in the darkness, but she nodded. “Okay.”

  He pushed himself upright, off the tree where he’d stopped to rest, looked around. He could see a distance of about three feet in any direction. No farther. He picked a direction, not angling up and left as he’d been doing, but instead veering sharply to the right. He walked, placing his feet lightly, carefully. Dawn did the same.

  “Bryan, where are you?” Mordecai called. “Come on, you can’t hide from me forever.”

  Wanna bet, you sick bastard? Bryan stepped again, slowly, carefully. He made no sound, and Dawn was as quiet as he was—maybe even a little quieter. He heard nothing to indicate that Mordecai was following. So he kept going.

  He told himself not to feel overconfident, not to underestimate the guy. Hell, if Bryan could move silently through the woods, Mordecai probably could, as well. And then there were his voices and spirit guides, who, according to Dawn, were not all in his head and were sometimes deadly accurate.

  God, even if he outmaneuvered the loon, he was still in more than a little trouble. He had no idea where the hell he was. He knew the way back was downhill, but this mountain felt as wide as it was tall, and he could go downhill and still end up miles away from his goal.

  It was dark. And now that they were walking, virtually tiptoeing through the woods instead of running, it was getting colder and colder. The air chilled his nose and face. His hands were cold, and he wished for a pair of gloves. The breath in his lungs was icy, and he exhaled thick clouds of steam and wondered if they were visible from very far away.

  “Bryyy-annn. I’m still following you.”

  Bryan closed his eyes and swore in a harsh whisper. It wasn’t working; the bastard was still keeping up.

  Dawn was going to freeze before long. Hell, out here overnight, they both might. Then he glimpsed a pair of headlights moving along a road far below. He nudged Dawn. “Look. Look down there.”

  She looked, saw what he saw, nodded. “So?”

  “Listen to me, Dawn. I have a plan.”

  She looked at him. “I hope it’s better than the last one.”

  He nodded. “It is, but you’re not going to like it. You saw the car, the way it moved around the base of this hill. If you go down, you’re gonna hit that road, and from there you can find your way to help. Get hold of my dad, tell him what’s going on.”

  He spoke emphatically, but in whispers. He was terrified this wouldn’t work, but he vowed he wouldn’t go far until he was sure it had.

  “You think I’m going to leave you out here all alone?” She shook her head firmly. “No way, Bry.”

  “You have to. If we don’t get some help, we’re either going to freeze to death or he’s going to catch us. One of us has to go for help.”

  “Why don’t we both go?”

  “Because he would follow. And he might catch us before we made it down there.”

  “So you want me to go alone and just leave you here?”

  He nodded.

  “It won’t work. He’s just as likely to follow me.”

  “No, he won’t, because I’m gonna hide you so well a rabbit couldn’t find you, and then I’m gonna make so much noise crashing off in the opposite direction that he’ll be sure to follow me. Once I get a ways out, I’ll stop, listen for him. If he’s not still on my trail, I’ll come right back, in case he’s on to you. But if he does follow me, I’ll keep leading him upward. Once you’re sure he’s long gone, you head down toward that road. Mark the spot where you come out of the woods, so you can tell them where to start looking. Okay?”

  She blinked at him.

  “Dawn, you’ve gotta get me some help. I’m the one he’s after. He doesn’t care that you’re out here. Please, do this.”

  “You think I don’t know what you’re doing? This is a typical guy stunt. Protect the helpless female, lead the bad guy away and send her scurrying for help.”

  He put a hand on her cheek. “If he caught up to us and something happened to you…I don’t know what I’d do.”

  Her lips trembled, though she tried to look angry. “Macho garbage.”

  “I can handle this if I don’t have to worry about you, Dawn. And I can move faster on my own.”

  “Liar.”

  He sighed, not sure what to do. The next thing he knew, he was leaning closer, kissing her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her against him. He tasted salt, knew she was crying. When he lifted his head away, he cupped her neck in his hand, his face close to hers, and whispered, “We can’t handle him alone, Dawn. We need help. It’s not macho to admit that, but I don’t have a choice here. I need you to get word to my father. I’m counting on it.”

  She sniffed, nodded. “All right.” Bryan heard footsteps in the distance, then crunching of underbrush. Still many yards away, though. “Come on, it’s now or never. He’ll be close enough to hear what we’re doing soon. Get under this pile of deadfall. I’ll cover you up and then lead him away.”

  She let him lead her. He crouched down, lifting fallen limbs and briars enough so that she could crawl underneath. She couldn’t get all the way inside, but enough. He lowered the brush again, rearranged some of the limbs on top, then added some more from the ground nearby.

  “Don’t move until you’re sure he’s gone. Even if it takes a while. If he doesn’t follow me, I’ll come back. Okay?”

  “Be safe, Bryan. Be careful. I’ll be fast.”

  “Don’t be fast. Quiet’s more important. At least till you get down there a ways.”

  “All right.” She sniffled. “God, I hate this.”

  “I do, too. I’m going now.”

  “Bye, Bryan.”

  “See you later, Dawn.”

  “We’re going to find him.” Beth had said it a dozen times in the past couple of hours. But if she couldn’t convince herself it was true, she didn’t suppose she had much hope of convincing Josh.

  “I can’t stand this waiting.” He was pacing the floor. He’d pushed his hands through his hair so many times it was sticking up all over, and she swore there were worry lines etched into his brow that hadn’t been there before.

  “I don’t like it, either.” She sent a resentful glance toward the living room where Arthur Stanton had commandeered her phone lines as well as his own cell phone and a computer he must have had in his car. “He has troops on the way, he tells me. And he says it as if it ought to give me cause for celebration.”

  “It should,” Josh said. “You’ll have a lot more protection.”

  “Yeah. Let’s not forget what happened to me the last time government troops came to the rescue. One of them put a bullet in my gut.”

  She saw him turn away quickly, thought he had winced at her words, reminded herself he was the one going through hell right now, not her. She moved toward him, slid her hands up his back and curled them over his shoulders. “But it’ll be good when they get here, because it’ll be that many more people looking for Bryan.”

  He sighed. “I want to be out looking for him myself.”

  “So do I. We’ll go, just as soon as we have some idea where to look. Whether that government watchdog in there likes it or not.”

  He nodded. “We should have something soon. It was nice of that guy who owns the print shop to run off all those flyers for us.”

  “Stanley Kipp,” she said. “One of Maude’s many friends. So were all the others who s
howed up here tonight. By now they’ve got the town papered in those flyers, and have spread the word far and wide that he’s missing.”

  “We got a hit,” Arthur said, slamming down the telephone. He came across the room to where Joshua and Beth were alternately pacing and sitting. “Bryan spent last night at a motel outside town.” He licked his lips and averted his eyes.

  “What else? What aren’t you telling me?” Joshua asked, reading his face.

  Arthur sighed. “Josh, uh, he wasn’t alone.”

  Josh’s brows went up.

  “Oh, hell. The girl,” Beth said softly.

  Josh swung his gaze to her, looking astounded. “What girl?”

  “I didn’t know what to tell you. There was a…an article of girls’ clothing…on his bedroom floor the other day. I had a feeling he’d struck up a romance with one of the local girls.”

  “He had a girl—in his bedroom?”

  “Josh, he’s seventeen.”

  Josh gaped at her, then stared at Arthur. “This girl was with him in the motel?”

  “Apparently, yes. But they were in a room with two beds, Josh.”

  “Oh, well, that’s reassuring. Here I am scared to death he’s been abducted by an insane murderer, and he’s holed up in a cheap motel with some—”

  “Let me in, Goddammit!”

  The shrill cry came from the front porch. It was a girl’s voice. And one Beth knew as well as she knew her own.

  Chapter Twenty

  Beth went rigid at the sound of that cry, then surged to the front door ahead of the men, both of whom were telling her to wait, and yanked it open. The police officer Frankie had stationed on the porch had his hands on the outer arms of a girl who was struggling to break free.

  “Let her go!” Beth’s voice came out firm and deep, a tone of command so powerful it startled her. The cop turned to look over his shoulder at her, and the girl stopped struggling and looked up at her, her eyes desperate and damp. Straggles of blond hair had escaped the knit cap she wore, and there were leaves and bits of berry briar tangled in them and clinging to the hat. Her face was scratched and smeared with mud. So were the front of her coat, the knees and bottoms of her jeans, her shoes. And her hands…