Avalanche of Trouble

by Cindi Myers

  He pulled the cruiser to the curb and cut the engine. Travis pulled in behind him. A quick glance showed nothing untoward about the house’s appearance. The front door was closed and everything on the outside looked in order. One hand on the weapon at his side, he hurried up the walk, Travis at his side.

  The front door, which should have been locked, opened easily when he turned the knob. He shoved it open and waited a second before he peered carefully around the frame. No sign of a disturbance in the front hall. “Maya!” he shouted. “Paige! It’s me, Gage.”

  No answer.

  “Paige’s car isn’t out front,” Travis said.

  Struggling to control his racing heart, Gage drew his weapon and started for the stairs. Halfway up, he heard what might have been crying and ran the rest of the way, to the hallway, where he spotted Maya, slumped on the floor in front of the door to one of the bedrooms.

  He dropped to his knees beside her, relief leaving him weak when he realized she was alive and breathing. Blood seeped around a lump at the back of her head, but the pulse in her neck beat steadily beneath his fingers and as he carefully rolled her over, her eyes fluttered and she groaned.

  “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” He gently rubbed her hand between his palms and she opened her eyes and stared up at him, gradually bringing him into focus.

  “Gage,” she said softly. And then louder. “Gage!” She tried to sit up, but he pushed her back.

  “Take it easy,” he said. “You’ve got a knot the size of a hen egg on the back of your head. What happened?”

  “Someone hit me, I think.” She fought against his hold and this time, he let her sit up. “Casey!” she said. “We have to find Casey.”

  Gage helped Maya to her feet. She swayed and held on to him, then steadied herself. “Did you call 911?” Travis asked.

  “No. Is that why you’re here?”

  “Dispatch said they received a call from this address, but no one said anything.”

  “Casey knows to call 911 in an emergency,” Maya said. “Angie and Greg taught her that.” She groped for the knob on the bedroom door. “I heard a scream and was on my way in here when someone hit me.”

  The door opened to reveal an attractively furnished bedroom with a neatly made four-poster bed, antique dresser and slipper chair. A purple stuffed hippo lay on the floor in front of a closed door. Maya, Gage close behind her, hurried to the door. She tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn’t budge. “It’s locked,” she said, and began pounding on the door.

  “If Casey’s in there, she may have locked herself in to get away from whoever hit you,” Gage said. He glanced around the room and spotted an empty phone cradle. “Was there a phone in there?” he asked.

  Maya frowned at the base unit, which sat on the bedside table. “I guess so. I hadn’t really paid attention. I always make calls on my cell phone.” She pounded on the door. “Casey!” Her face twisted in anguish. “I know she can’t hear me, but I don’t know what else to do. What if she’s in there and hurt?”

  “Let me see.” Gage gently moved her aside and examined the doorknob. “Do you have a paper clip?” he asked.

  “Maybe in my purse.”

  “Get it. I think I can insert it in this hole here and pop the lock.” He indicated the small hole at the base of the doorknob.

  She moved away and returned a few moments later with a paper clip. He straightened one end and inserted it into the hole. Something clicked and he was able to turn the knob.

  Maya rushed in ahead of him. She pulled back the shower curtain to reveal Casey huddled in a small ball at one end of the tub, the pink stuffed rabbit clutched in one hand, the phone in the other. Maya lifted the sobbing girl from the tub and Gage took the phone. “This is Deputy Walker,” he told the dispatcher. “Everything’s under control here. You can cancel that call for backup.”

  “Ten-four.”

  “I’ll search the rest of the house,” Travis said, and left them.

  Gage ended the call and laid the phone on the bathroom vanity. Maya had set the little girl on the side of the tub and was signing to her. Casey didn’t answer at first, but then her fingers began to move, with small gestures at first, then with more assurance.

  “She says she was in the bedroom, playing with her new stuffed animals,” Maya said. “She got the phone and was pretending they were calling her friend Sophie to invite her to a tea party. Then the door opened and a man was there. She’s pretty sure it was one of the men from the woods—one of the men who hurt her mom and dad. She screamed and ran into the bathroom and locked the door.”

  “Smart girl. Tell her she did the right thing.”

  “I told her. She says the man tried to get in, and she dialed 911 and hid in the bathtub. The man stopped trying to get in and she waited for me to come get her.”

  “He may have heard the sirens approaching and decided not to stick around,” Gage said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll get a team out here to dust for prints. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” Luck hadn’t been on their side much in this case, although the killer hadn’t succeeded in getting hold of Casey. He studied the blood clotted in Maya’s hair. “Do you want me to get someone out here to look at your head?”

  She touched the back of her head and winced. “No, I’ll clean up the blood and take a couple of aspirin and I’ll be fine.” Her eyes met his. “Except now I’m terrified that this guy is going to come back.”

  “He won’t find you here,” Gage said. “I want you to come back to my place with me. At least until we can find you a spot in a safe house.”

  He expected her to argue, but instead, she looked relieved. “That sounds like a good idea.”

  “What’s going on here?” Paige stood in the door of the bedroom, Travis behind her.

  “I didn’t find anyone in the other rooms,” Travis said.

  “Someone came into the house, hit Maya over the head and tried to grab Casey,” Gage said. He looked at the little girl, who was focused on the pink rabbit. “Casey was smart enough to lock herself in the bathroom and call 911. She says the guy who was after her was one of the men who killed her parents.”

  “They know Casey can identify them,” Maya said. “As long as they’re out there, she’s not safe.”

  “We weren’t able to get much of a description from her earlier,” Gage said. “It’s more difficult with children anyway, and with Casey being deaf, well, I guess you could say the language barrier gets in the way.”

  “Let’s get her with a police sketch artist,” Travis said. “Maya can translate. With patience, we might be able to coax a good image from her.”

  “Only if Casey agrees,” Maya said. “I don’t want to upset her any more.”

  “Let’s find the artist, first,” Travis said.

  “Are you saying someone broke into my house?” Paige asked. “How?”

  “Let’s take a look.”

  “We’re coming with you.” Maya picked up Casey and followed the others down the stairs.

  Gage examined the front door. “This was closed, but unlocked when I got here,” he said.

  “I know I locked it when I left,” Paige said. “I always do.”

  “It was locked when Casey and I got here,” Maya said. “I opened it with my key, and I know I locked it back.” She had a clear memory of turning the dead bolt after she closed the door.

  “It doesn’t look as if anyone has tampered with the lock,” Gage said. He closed the door again and turned to Paige. “Who has the key?”

  “Guests are given a key when they check in,” Paige said. “And I have one, of course. But that’s all.”

  “Let me see your key,” Gage said.

  She handed over a silver key ring with what was obviously the key to a vehicle and a silver house key. “It would be pretty easy for someone to take this to a locksmith
and have a copy made,” he said. “Where do you keep the keys?”

  Paige led them to a desk in a small office just off the dining room. She took a key from the top drawer of the filing cabinet and unlocked the center drawer of the desk, and took out a small plastic tray with half a dozen keys inside. “They’re all here,” she said after a quick scan of the tray’s contents.

  “But it wouldn’t be that tough for someone—a guest or someone else who was in here—to get a hold of one of these and have a copy made,” Gage said. “I’ll ask the local locksmiths, but depending on when the key was made, they might not remember. Meanwhile, you should probably have the locks changed.”

  “I certainly will,” she said.

  “I’m taking Maya and Casey to my place, until we can find them a spot at a safe house,” Gage said. “They’ll be safer there.”

  “What am I supposed to do if this creep comes back?” Paige asked.

  “We’ll run extra patrols by here,” Travis said. “Get the locks changed.”

  “And if anyone asks, tell them Maya took Casey back to Denver,” Gage said. “That might throw the killer off the track.”

  “We’ll have Adelaide spread the word,” Travis said. “She’s more effective than the newspaper for distributing news.”

  “I’ll help you with your things,” Paige said and took Maya’s arm.

  The two women and Casey headed back upstairs. Travis turned to Gage. “I can call the Montrose sheriff and he can probably get you a spot in one of their safe houses this afternoon,” he said.

  “I think Maya and Casey will be more comfortable here for now,” Gage said.

  “You mean you’ll be more comfortable,” Travis said.

  Gage didn’t bother trying to deny it. “I don’t trust anyone else to look after them the way I will,” he said. “The killer or killers are here in this town—our town. I’m not going to rest easy until we stop them, and until we do, I’m going to have a twenty-four-hour guard on Casey and her aunt.”

  “I’ve never known you to take the job quite so personally before,” Travis observed.

  Gage met his brother’s eyes with a hard look of his own. “Don’t fight me on this,” he said.

  “I’m not fighting,” Travis said. “And who knows—maybe spending more time around Casey will help you gain her trust. The more comfortable she is, the more she’ll be able to tell us about the killers.”

  That would be good, but Gage was really hoping that spending more time with Maya would help him to gain her trust.

  * * *

  WHILE CASEY GATHERED up her stuffed animals, Paige helped Maya collect scattered clothes and toiletries and stash them in her suitcase and backpack. “Are you okay with going to stay with Gage?” Paige asked.

  “I feel safer with him than I do anywhere else right now,” Maya said. She added a sweater to the clothes in her suitcase. “No offense—I don’t blame you at all for that guy getting in here.”

  “I know you don’t.” She handed Maya a pair of shoes. “Gage seems very serious about wanting to protect you. No one has ever questioned his dedication to his job, but I’d say there’s a little more than that at play here.”

  Maya tugged on the zipper of the suitcase, glad to have something to focus on besides Paige. “He’s probably just angry that the killer was here in town, practically right under his nose, evading all his efforts to find him.”

  “I don’t think that’s it—or not all of it.”

  “I don’t care why Gage is taking us in, just that he is. At least with a cop watching over us, I won’t be afraid to let Casey so much as go to the bathroom by herself.”

  “I think you should care,” Paige said. “And before you pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll be blunt—I think our commitment-phobic cop has fallen in love with you.”

  Maya fumbled the suitcase. “That’s crazy. We hardly know each other.” People didn’t fall in love that fast—especially a man who had sworn relationships weren’t for him. Yes, Gage had said he “cared” about her—but that didn’t mean love, did it?

  She hefted the suitcase off the bed. “Casey needs all my energy and attention right now,” she said. “Gage knows that.”

  “While you’re devoting yourself to Casey, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to have a man like Gage devoted to you,” Paige said.

  “You’re reading too much into this,” Maya said. “I need help and Gage is chivalrous enough to want to help, but he hasn’t known me long enough to get attached. A week after I’ve left town, he won’t even remember me.”

  “Hey.” Paige grabbed her arm. “Don’t say that. I haven’t known you long, either, but you’re my friend now. If you need anything, I’m here to help. Me and a lot of other people.”

  What had she done to deserve people like Paige—and yes, Gage—in her life? And what would she have done without them to help her through the past few days? She put her hand over Paige’s. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

  Casey, her arms full of stuffed animals, joined them. She carefully set the toys on the bed and turned to Maya. “Don’t forget the cards,” she signed. “I want to look at all of them.”

  In all the commotion, Maya had forgotten about the box of cards townspeople had sent. “Thanks for the reminder,” she signed. “We’ll get them right now.”

  Gage and Travis met them at the bottom of the stairs. “We’re going out the back door,” Gage said.

  She flashed him a worried look. “Why? Do you think the killer might be watching the house?”

  “I’m just being cautious.” He took the suitcase from her hand while Travis picked up the box of cards and Casey’s bag.

  “Where are we going?” Casey asked.

  “We’re going to stay with Gage for a few days,” Maya said, signing as well as speaking for the others’ benefit.

  Casey turned and studied Gage. “You mean, like a sleepover?” she asked.

  “Not exactly,” Maya answered. “We’re just going to stay at his house.”

  “What did she say?” Gage asked.

  “I was just explaining that we’re going to your house for a few days,” Maya said.

  “But what did she say to make you blush?”

  She debated making up a lie, but why bother? “She asked if we were going for a sleepover.”

  Everyone around them laughed, and there was no mistaking the glint in Gage’s eyes. “Tell her I’m going to keep you both safe,” he said.

  Maya hesitated. “I don’t want her to think there’s anything she needs to be afraid of.”

  “She’s a smart kid. Smart enough to know that if the killer broke in here to try to get her, he’s liable to come back. I want her to know she doesn’t have to worry about facing him alone.”

  “You’re right. I’ll tell her. And thank you.”

  While Maya relayed Gage’s message to Casey, he turned to Paige. “Do me a favor and take a look around outside,” he said. “I want to make sure no one’s keeping an eye on the back door.”

  The idea that the killer might even now be watching them made Maya’s skin crawl. She was grateful Casey wasn’t able to hear Gage’s words, and she hoped the little girl hadn’t picked up on his concern. Paige went outside and returned several moments later. “There’s nobody out there,” she said. “I even walked all the way around the house.”

  Gage had moved his cruiser into the alley behind the B and B. He and Travis stowed Maya and Casey’s belongings in the back, then bundled them into the vehicle. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow,” Paige said. “Try not to worry. And remember—if you need anything, you call.”

  “I will.”

  On the drive to Gage’s place, Casey was cheerful, playing with her new stuffed toys, signing to them and moving the paws of the bear as if he was signing in answer. Her resilience amazed Maya. But wa
s it really healthy? Maybe she was in denial about what had happened and it would all come back to haunt her later.

  Gage slowed and pulled into the driveway of a cedar-sided cottage set against a backdrop of tall pines. “Here we are—home sweet home.”

  The house reminded Maya of a cabin that might have been home to a miner or a rugged outdoorsman a century before, with heavy stone pillars framing a cozy front porch and a rusty metal roof sloping steeply from a high peak. Inside, the rooms featured honeyed wood floors and lots of natural light from an abundance of windows. “Your room is back here,” Gage said, leading them down a hallway to a bedroom furnished with a queen-sized bed with a black iron frame and a small dresser. “You don’t mind sharing, do you?” he asked. “Casey could bed down on the sofa, but I thought she’d be more comfortable with you.”

  “This is perfect,” Maya said. “I’ll feel better having her close.”

  Casey tugged on his sleeve and began signing. He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows in question.

  “She wants to know if you’re going to catch the man who hit me and tried to hurt her,” Maya translated. So the little girl hadn’t forgotten what had happened.

  Gage squatted down so that he was eye level with her. “I’m going to do my best to catch them,” he said, enunciating carefully. He glanced up at Maya. “Tell her that—and tell her she was very brave and very smart this afternoon. She did exactly the right thing, locking herself in the bathroom and calling the police. I’m really proud of her. And I know her parents would be proud, too.”

  Casey’s gaze fixed on Maya as she translated, then she turned to Gage and put her arms around him, buried her face in his chest and began to sob. He looked startled for a moment, then gently returned her embrace. “Go ahead and cry, honey,” he said softly, rubbing her back. “Maybe that’s what you need, after all you’ve been through.”

  His eyes met Maya’s over the top of the child’s head, and something expanded inside of her, a warmth and lightness that made her catch her breath. Here was a man she could depend on—the kind of man who wouldn’t lie or expect too much or do anything but be there for her. Was this what love felt like?