From This Moment

by Vella, Wendy

“You heard of the tortoise and the hare, Trainer?” Ted called. “You’re the hare.”

  Luke raised a fist and kept running.

  “We can’t let him beat us, and I see your sister and Joe up ahead. We need to pass them too.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  They increased their pace, which wasn’t easy with a mug of coffee in one hand.

  “Your ass is spreading, Joe!” Ted said as they passed them. “If he’s slowing you down, sweetheart, you just tell him.”

  “Fuck you, Teddy Bear. Sorry, Charlie.” Joe increased his pace until they were all running close together. Luke and his partner, Joe and Charlie, Dylan and Ted.

  “Move those cute butts!”

  Dylan turned to find Jack Trainer and Miss Marla, the latter in a pink woolen hand-knitted cap, pink running jacket, and gray leggings.

  “Eat our dust, Miss Marla,” Joe called.

  Mr. Goldhirsh did a neat maneuver, cutting off the track and going bush, and came out ahead of them dragging his partner with him.

  “That’s cheating!”

  “Not written in the rules, boy,” he said to Joe.

  Dylan spent most of his time looking at the trees, as if whoever was after him would suddenly appear.

  “Kind of spooky, is my guess. Knowing someone’s after you, but not knowing who.”

  “I’m used to weird in my job, but it’s not usually pointed at me. If it was just about me, then I’d handle it better, but not knowing when or who he’ll strike at next is unsettling.”

  “And then some.”

  They ran some more, and reached the turning point in what Dylan thought was a good time, as only a few runners had come back the other way.

  “Damn shame you didn’t get that big foot of yours out quicker, Howard. We could have taken down Luke Trainer.”

  “Not an easy maneuver while holding coffee, which by the way you’re carrying on the way down.”

  Ted whacked his chest.

  “I supply the coffee and food for after, least you can do is carry it.”

  They found Mickey and Fin waiting for them at the top. His friend was frowning. Joe and Charlie were there too.

  “What’s up?” Dylan stopped beside him.

  “I saw someone when we started, Dylan, and thought I recognized him from the lodge staff. Now I’m not so sure.”

  “And you waited till now to bring this up?”

  “I didn’t really give it much thought until we started running.”

  Mickey began pacing, which meant Fin had to go too, as he was attached to him.

  “It’s his process,” Dylan said. “His memory never discards anything, and he extracts the information out of his head by walking. In the office, he has a route he paces. There’s lots of stuff in that brain, so it takes time.”

  “Meanwhile I have to walk with him... carrying coffee,” Fin groused.

  “Okay, so I saw his photo in a file.” Mickey came back to stand before Dylan. “I think it was from the Field case, Dylan. In fact, I’m sure of it now.”

  “Who?”

  “The son,” Mickey said.

  “You’re sure?” His words were stupid, because Mickey was never wrong, but he said them anyway.

  “I’m sure. We never interviewed his children because Field’s wife had taken them to Canada after they separated, five years before he took the first woman. But their photos were on file.”

  “That’s right, she took the kids to live with her sister. That was when Field lost his mind. But surely that photo is old now. The son has to look different.”

  “I’m 99 percent positive it’s him. The look around the mouth and eyes was the same.”

  “The son,” Dylan said softly. “How is it he’s here and I haven’t recognized him?”

  He felt Ted’s hands untying them.

  “I’m good with that kind of thing, you do the other stuff.” Mickey shrugged. “Plus, you weren’t expecting him to turn up here.”

  “Where did you see him?”

  “At the start. He wasn’t tied to anyone, and like I said I thought he was staff to begin with, someone I’d seen at the lodge.”

  “Okay, you and I,” he pointed at Charlie, “need to get back down to the lodge. On the way down we’ll collect Piper and Ava, and take them there too. If he’s here, chances are he sees this as another chance to get at me.”

  “Or kill you,” Mickey said.

  “That too.” Dylan felt strangely calm now. He had something to work with, a face, and because of that he now had a direction. “Let’s go.”

  Everyone nodded.

  “Call Piper, Joe, and I’ll call Ava before we start.”

  Neither woman answered.

  “Stay in single file, Charlie and Dylan in the middle,” Joe said as they began the descent.

  “I can handle myself, just look after my sister.”

  “Shut up and do as you’re told.” Joe nudged him in behind Fin and Ted. “Drop the coffee, and just run,” he added.

  They did as he said and kept their eyes out for the other runners, but saw no sign of Ava and Piper. By the time they reached the bottom, everyone was sprinting.

  “What’s up?” Jack Trainer approached with Luke, eyes alert. They knew something was off.

  “Have you seen Pip and Ava?” Joe asked.

  “No.”

  “Everyone split up,” Dylan said, trying to stay calm. “Talk to everyone you see, ask questions. Be back here at this spot in ten minutes. Mickey, get that photo of the son emailed through so we know who we’re looking for.”

  “What’s happening, Dylan?” Mr. Goldhirsh approached with the Robbins sisters.

  “We can’t find Piper and Ava, and have reason to believe the man after me is here.”

  “What can we do?” Miss Sarah asked.

  “If you three could watch Charlie, I’d be grateful. Take her somewhere and keep her safe. Then put a call in to my mom and dad and tell them to stay in the house and keep all the doors locked.”

  “No, Dylan, I want to come and find Ava.”

  He grabbed his sister’s shoulders.

  “I know you do, Charlie, but I can’t worry about you while trying to find them. You need to stay safe for me, sis. Can you do that?”

  She sniffed, then hugged him hard.

  “I love you and Ava. Please come back to me.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Promise.”

  When they’d taken her away, he tracked down Cubby Hawker.

  “He’s here. Mickey recognized the son of Field, the man whose case I worked on. Ava and Piper are not here, and weren’t on the trails. I’m worried he has them.”

  “Okay, Chief Blake is coming in with the stragglers, so we’ll get him and start a search. Go stand on top of that column and look over the crowd and see what you can see.”

  Dylan did as the sheriff asked, but didn’t see Piper or Ava, two women he now loved. One because she was his little sister, and finally they’d rekindled a relationship, even though it was still in a fledgling state. The other.... Hell, how did he even begin to think about Piper? With love, he now believed. The thought that she was with Field’s son, who was likely a maniac too, turned him cold. Jumping off the column, he ran back to the others.

  Nobody had seen or heard from Piper or Ava.

  Looking at the mountains, he knew someone could go missing up there for days... weeks, and not be found.

  “Sheriff Hawker has just filled me in.” Chief Blake arrived. “I’ve called in the helicopter and others to search. One of my officers has been dispatched to your parents’ house to watch them until I say different, Dylan.”

  “Thank you.”

  “This has to be done right, and if as you say this man is a genius, and crazy to boot, then we need to be organized. Let’s head to the ranger station.”

  “I’m not sure he’s a genius,” Mickey said, “but his father certainly was.”

  They took off at a run, and once there they were handed maps and handheld trans
mitters.

  “Okay, grids,” Fin said.

  “To hell with that. I’m going up there now because they can’t have too much start on us.” Dylan started running. The others could do a grid search and bring in the helicopter, but he wasn’t waiting. He’d tracked this bastard’s father, and he sure as hell wasn’t waiting to track his son.

  “That’s my cousin up there, and we know these mountains better than you.”

  Dylan found Mickey, the Trainers, and Fin behind him. It had been Joe who spoke.

  “Okay, so where do we start?”

  “If he’s on foot with two women, he’ll stick to the safer trails, plus he’ll think he’s got time,” Fin said.

  “Agreed. He won’t know that Mickey recognized him,” Dylan said.

  “You carrying a gun, Dylan?” Fin asked him.

  “Yes.”

  “Good, me and Joe too. Now you get into FBI mode, Mr. Profiler, and work out how we’re going to track this bastard. You got his daddy, let’s go for the double and get his spawn too.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  “So, you and Dylan, you’re closer now?”

  “Sure.” Ava gave her a shy smile. “We’re working on it, but now I don’t hate him so much, or Charlie for that matter. It’s kind of nice to have them around.”

  “And this time you guys will stay in touch, I’m sure of that.”

  “We’ll see, but they both say they want too.”

  “Then they probably do.”

  They were last up the trail because the runners had long gone. But Piper wasn’t concerned; they’d be coming back down soon. Chief Blake and his men were up there, and Bailey and a few others were at the halfway point.

  “Buzz, come back here!” The dog ignored her and sprinted off into the bush. “He’ll come back.”

  “So you and Dylan?”

  “There is no me and Dylan, Ava.”

  “There should be.”

  “What?” The girl’s words surprised her. “You don’t mean that. You the person who doesn’t care about anyone. I remember you once telling me that.”

  “He’s a good man, for all he’s been missing most of my life. I can see that, and see we lived apart because living here with Mom was too much for them.”

  “Ava—”

  “I know it’s true, and it was the same for me, but I came home because I like Ryker. The drugs helped.”

  “I’m sorry, if I’d known you were struggling I would have reached out.”

  “No.” Ava shook her head. “I didn’t let people close, and this was something I chose to do. Lately... well, I’ve seen myself through others’ eyes, and I don’t think I like the vision.”

  “Why did you start taking the drugs?”

  “I got into it at law school, and then when I came here Zander and I continued.”

  “Zander is using too?”

  Ava realized she’d said too much. “It’s not his fault. He’s important to me, and keeps me sane, so don’t blame him. I was the one who was using before coming back to Ryker, not him. If anyone is at fault it’s me.”

  Before Piper could ask any more questions they heard Buzz yowl as if in pain.

  “I need to go find him, Ava. He’s probably got something in his paw.”

  “I’ll come. We’re not winning anyway.”

  “No, I think you should just wait here for the others to come back down.”

  “Dylan said I had to stay close to you.” Ava untied the ribbon around their arms and lowered the coffee mug to the ground. “Let’s go.”

  “I didn’t drug your mom, FYI.”

  “I know that, and my brother does too, even though he was too stupid to figure it out right off.”

  Piper made a noise that neither agreed nor disagreed and started walking.

  “Buzz!” she yelled, and he barked. Pushing aside the branches, Piper went first, and made her way through the trees.

  “Bloody dog,” she hissed as a branch smacked her in the face. “He’s getting straight kibble tonight!”

  They found Buzz, tied to a tree with Zander bent over him.

  “You found him, Zander, good job,” Ava said.

  He leapt to his feet and pushed one hand behind his back.

  “I t-tied him up so he d-didn’t run off.”

  His voice was high and panicky. Piper watched Zander and was sure he was pushing something into his waistband. Unease slithered up her spine, an awareness that something was very wrong.

  “Nice work.” Ava started for Zander, but something made Piper stick out an arm and stop her.

  “What are you doing, Piper?” Ava threw her a confused look.

  “What are you two doing here? I thought the run was done with?” Zander looked nervous, his eyes moving from left to right constantly.

  “We’re the last, and just walking.” Ava pushed out from behind Piper’s arm.

  This whole situation felt off somehow, which was weird, as Piper had known Zander for months.

  “Buzz escaped, we heard him yelp, then came looking for him.” Ava dropped down beside the dog.

  “Yeah, he had something stuck in his paw,” Zander said, shooting Piper a look she had no idea how to interpret.

  “Poor baby.” Ava hugged Buzz. “Hey, he’s bleeding!”

  Piper hurried forward, dropping to her knees. Parting the fur that was matted with blood, she found a cut about two inches long above his shoulder blade.

  “What the hell did you do to him?” She glared up at Zander. “I saw you bent over him, then you tucked something into your waistband.”

  “Piper!”

  Ignoring Ava’s shock, she straightened and moved closer to Zander.

  “Zander would never hurt Buzz, he loves him like we all do.”

  “Okay, maybe I was wrong.” Piper decided to back off. This entire situation felt volatile and she didn’t know why. “Let’s go, Ava, we have to finish the race or they’ll come looking for us.”

  “Not so fast.”

  Ava saw the gun the same time as Piper.

  “What the hell, Zander? Quit messing around. Where the did you get that anyway?”

  “Come here, Ava.” Piper reached for the girl and tugged her close.

  “Zander, stop it, you’re scaring us!” Ava cried.

  “This wasn’t meant to happen yet.” He looked agitated. “We had it all planned, and it wasn’t supposed to play out like this.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  How could the face of a person you’d known for months suddenly change? Gone was the indifference, and in its place was something sinister.

  “Adjust, I need to adjust like he would,” Zander said.

  “Zander, talk to me,” Ava pleaded. “I don’t understand any of this.”

  “I hadn’t planned it like this, but you suspected something.” He waved the weapon at Piper. “You saw me tucking something in my jeans. Father asked me to get revenge, and worked out the plan, and this is the start. We have several more people to kill before he is avenged. But your brother and you were chosen as the first.”

  “First what?” Ava whispered.

  “First people to die.”

  “Dear God.” Piper realized then that he was the person responsible for everything that had happened to the Howard family.

  “Your brother is lauded as one of the best FBI profilers they have, Ava, and yet even he has not worked out what I’ve been doing.”

  “Tell me it wasn’t you who cut Dad’s breaks, and poisoned Mom? Tell me Zander!” The words were torn from Ava.”

  “We planned everything, and it worked. We kept your brother in Ryker Falls, and now he’s going to die… along with both of you.”

  Piper shivered as Zander spoke the words calmly.

  “And, Charlie?” Ava whispered.

  “That was my father’s idea. He told me exactly what to do,” Zander smiled, and Piper saw the insanity then.

  “Stop crying!” Zander waved his gun at Ava as she started sobbing.
“Or I’ll shoot Piper now, with you watching.”

  Piper pulled the girl into her chest and pretend to cry too, pushing her face into Ava’s hair.

  “Don’t say anything, and run when I say,” she whispered.

  Ava nodded.

  “Stop talking!” Zander was getting agitated. “Now walk, we have a distance to cover, and then I need to set my plans in motion.”

  “What plans?”

  “I’ve told you,” he snarled. “Killing both of you and having your brother there watching. Then it will be his turn.”

  Ava shuddered; Piper just got angry. She watched Zander untie Buzz and then motion them to go first.

  “H-how could I be so wrong about you?”

  He sneered at Ava, and Piper resisted the urge to return the gesture. For now he held all the cards.

  “I put up with you for months. Now I don’t have to.”

  “It doesn’t seem an ideal situation for you to kidnap us and walk up the mountain, Zander, considering you’ve spent months perfecting your plan,” Piper said, staying where she was. “I mean, what if one of the runners strays off the path and sees you holding that gun.”

  Zander looked around him. “The run is finished now. I hadn’t planned it this way, but I watched you, you were suspicious of me, and I knew I had to act. Plus up is best for now. We’ll hide there until the runners have gone. When they realize you’re missing they’ll start searching, but no one will suspect me.”

  “You cut Buzz, you bastard!” she snarled.

  “I was only going to hurt him some.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “It would have had everyone focusing on him and nothing else. This town loves him more than most of its citizens.”

  “You’re sick and twisted,” Ava said, and Piper was pleased to hear a thread of anger now.

  “It was a distraction, because if they were focused on the dog, they wouldn’t pay me much attention. I was kidnapping Ava later and using her to lure her brother. As it turns out, I now have two lures. Now no more talking, get moving. We need to get up into the trees and hide until dark.”

  “And get lost,” Piper said.

  “I know where I’m going,” Zander told her in a cold, clear voice. “Don’t be stupid enough to think you can overpower me or escape. I’ll shoot you without hesitation.”