Colton's Blizzard Hideout
Автор
Deborah Fletcher Mello
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Chapter 1
“We have to find those babies! They must be here somewhere,” Lizzy Colton cried out. She struggled against the ties that bound her hands and feet together. “Why are you doing this?” she screamed.
The man standing above her grunted. The ski mask he wore obstructed his face, but she had memorized every detail of his dark eyes, his dismissive stare feeling like daggers of ice. He wore the same dingy slacks, red plaid jacket and brown hiking boots that he’d been in for the past few days. Lizzy wasn’t certain how much time had passed since he had dragged her up this mountain, but he’d come and gone three times, throwing a bag of cold French fries and a hamburger at her feet every time he returned.
He dropped the greasy brown bag to the floor and pushed it toward her with his foot.
“I need the bathroom,” Lizzy muttered, her voice dropping multiple decibels. “A real bathroom,” she exclaimed as he pointed toward a large bucket positioned in the corner.
He leaned down to stare at her. His eyes danced over her face, and when he reached out his hand to draw his fingers along her profile, she flinched. Her discomfort seemed to amuse him. He grabbed her cheeks as if to kiss her, and then he let her go, his lips lifting in a wry smile. He untied her hands, then gestured with his eyes to the bucket.
Lizzy rubbed her wrists as she pulled her body upright, stretching her legs. She flexed her arms to revive the blood flow down the appendages. She pulled against the heavy, twisted nylon rope wrapped around one of her ankles, the length only giving her enough freedom to reach the far corner. With a heavy sigh, she moved slowly in that direction, tossing him a chilly glare over her shoulder.
He grunted a second time, motioning with a large butcher knife for her to hurry. Then he turned his back to her. A cell phone in his pocket suddenly chimed for his attention. As he answered the call, she noted the stress that rose in the gruffness of his voice. He swore, a litany of profanity spewing into the chilly air. Tossing her another look, he sauntered to the cabin door and stepped outside. He whispered angrily into the phone receiver as he made his exit.
Lizzy cursed as she dropped her pants and squatted above the bucket. When her bladder was empty, she straightened her clothes and moved back to the other corner, kicking the dinner bag out of her way. Her stomach grumbled with pain, but she ignored whatever lay inside the container. She didn’t trust the stranger or anything he thought to serve her.
Leaning her back against the wall, Lizzy slid down the wood structure, easing herself to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. The last time she had tried to free herself from the bindings, he had caught her. His palm slamming into the side of her face had dropped her to the floor. The slap she could have handled, but his heavy boots slamming into her midsection had been brutal. She knew she couldn’t risk another beating. She was still in pain from their last encounter and might not survive another. She settled in and waited for the man to return. Minutes later, Lizzy was still waiting.
It was only as the sun was beginning to set for the night that Lizzy realized the man had gone, leaving without retying her hands. Her abductor had retreated back down the mountain, seeming to forget that he had left her there alone. Something had pulled his attention from her and thwarted whatever plans he’d had.
With every ounce of energy she could muster, she freed herself from the leg restraints, peered out the door to be certain no one was around, and then she ran, bolting for freedom because her life depended on it.
“The children have been found! I repeat...the children have been found! All are safe and sound!”
Ajay Wright felt a wave of relief float down his spine as he recognized his friend’s voice. He took a deep breath and then another before he pressed the call button on his radio.
“Ten–four,” he said to the man on the other end. “Good news is always appreciated, Malcolm.”
“Happy to oblige,” Malcolm Colton responded. “And thank you. I can’t tell you how much your help means to me and my family.”
Ajay nodded into the radio as if the other man could see him.
Malcolm, a rancher by profession, was also a highly respected volunteer with the police department’s search and rescue team. The two had been giving a public relations demonstration with both their rescue dogs when the two children were snatched. Pacer, Malcolm’s shepherd-and-hound mix, had been equally invested, determined to give Ajay’s dog Pumpkin a run for her money.
“I’m happy to help,” Ajay finally responded.
“Everyone be careful getting back,” Malcolm concluded. “There’s a storm brewing, and the temperature is going to drop fast.”
“Will do,” Ajay replied. “Over and out.”
As the call disconnected, a round of cheers rang through the chilly afternoon air, the team of search-and-rescue personnel and volunteers within hearing distance surrendering to the comfort that this time, all had ended well. There were hugs and high fives as they all began to move out of the snow-covered terrain toward the line of vehicles parked on the road below.
Ajay exhaled another deep breath. They had been searching for two small children—Justin, age four, and his sister Jane, who was only fourteen months old. Three days prior, the two had been snatched by their paternal grandfather at Fall Fest, Owl Creek’s annual county fair, and many had feared the worst.
Their grandfather, Winston Kraft, had not been given custody of the children after the death of his son and daughter-in-law. Kraft had vowed revenge against the Coltons when he’d discovered that Greg Colton and his new wife, Briony, were the family who had been given the responsibility to cherish and protect those babies.
Ajay knew from past experiences that a man intent on revenge was a man capable of the most heinous crimes. The children being found safe and sound made his heart sing with sheer joy and gave him comfort knowing that for once, all things could be right in the world.
He blew a loud whistle that echoed through the late afternoon air. Tilting his head, he listened for the familiar response from his four-legged companion. He whistled a second time, his gaze narrowing as his eyes darted across the landscape. He smiled when he spied Pumpkin, his five-year-old yellow Lab, bounding in his direction.
“Good girl,” Ajay muttered as the dog reached his side. He leaned to tousle his pet’s fur coat. “Good girl!” He gestured with his hand, pointing the dog toward the car. He followed as Pumpkin scampered ahead of him, her tail waving excitedly.
According to procedure, Ajay double-checked that all his staff and the few volunteers with them were accounted for. He paused, watching as everyone waved goodbye and disappeared toward town. He jotted a quick note onto the clipboard that had been resting in the front seat of his new Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, the ocean-blue SUV a birthday gift to himself. He noted the date and time that the last car pulled onto the road and out of sight.
Inside the vehicle, Pumpkin settled down against the back seat. She laid her head against her wet paws, her eyes looking toward him as if she had something she needed to say.
“What’s up, Pumpkin?” Ajay questioned, tossing a look over his shoulder. “Why those sad eyes?”
Pumpkin lifted her head and barked, then rested herself a second time. She didn’t look happy.
“Sorry, kiddo,” Ajay said. He chuckled softly. “It wasn’t our save to make this time. You’ll get the next one.”
Pumpkin groaned, seeming to understand what her friend was saying to her. She suddenly lifted herself again and barked.
“Easy, girl,” Ajay responded. “There’s a storm coming in, and the wind is starting to pick up. We’ll be on our way as soon as I make sure everyone else is off this mountain.”
Pumpkin barked a second time, the high-pitched yelp capped with a low growl and then a grunt.
Ajay smiled, thinking if anyone could translate the conversation, they would have heard Pumpkin cursing him, not at all happy that she couldn’t still be outside running about. He and his furry friend had been conversing like that since she was a puppy. He talked to her as if she understood, and she answered in kind. They were inseparable, the bond between them as thick as the blackstrap molasses he hoarded during the winter months. Molasses and his grandmother’s homemade biscuits were a daily staple in both their winter diets.
His name echoing out from the shortwave radio pulled his attention from Pumpkin.
“Dispatch to Lieutenant Wright. Dispatch to Lieutenant Wright.”
Ajay pressed the talk button on his radio. “Go ahead, Dispatch.”
There was a swift moment of static before a voice broke through the quiet. “Ajay, this is Della.”
Della Winslow and Ajay were good friends. She was his first search-and-rescue partner when he’d joined the department. She’d found Pumpkin for him and had helped to train the pup. She was one of the best dog trainers in the field, and he had great respect for her. Occasionally, people questioned their relationship, but Della was engaged to be married, and he was excited for her. Her fiancé, and the love of her life, was FBI agent Max Colton, the eldest Colton son and brother to Malcolm. Ajay and Max were acquainted through Della, but the two men didn’t know each other well.
“What’s up, Della?”
“We’re short one volunteer. You didn’t pick up any strays, by chance?”
“No, ma’am. All my volunteers have been accounted for. There’s no one up here.”
“We need you to do a sweep of the area between Owl Creek and the Overview Pass. We’re looking for a woman. It’s Lizzy Colton, Max’s baby sister, and she wandered away from the group she was with. They last saw her headed up toward the back ridge. That was on the first day of our search for the Kraft children, and she’s been out of contact ever since. The family just realized no one had talked to her when she didn’t show up to see the kids with the rest of the family. They all thought one of them had spoken to her until they were all together and realized no one had. Doppler weather radar is now predicting this storm is going to be a beast, so we need to find her before the precipitation starts coming in.”
“We might be a little late for that,” Ajay said, noting the flecks of snow looking like tufts of white cotton falling from the sky. “Are we sure she didn’t just head home?” he asked. They often had volunteers who quit the job after discovering just how stressful it could be.
“It doesn’t look promising. Her brother Malcolm is headed to her house now to double-check. But her family swears she hasn’t been seen since they started searching for the missing kids. Max is nervous, so that makes me nervous.”
He sensed something in her voice as she mentioned the man with whom she would soon be united in matrimony. Something that gave him pause and put him on high alert. “Ten-four,” Ajay responded. “I’ve got my radio. Give me a shout-out if she turns up.”
“Be safe, Ajay,” Della said. “It looks like it’s going to get nasty out there.”
The radio clicked off in his ear. Ajay sighed as he shifted his gaze up the side of the mountain. The last slivers of bright light that had shone through the canopy of trees earlier in the day were beginning to disappear. The sky had gone a dull gray, and the temperature was dropping swiftly. The snow was falling steadily, settling in for the long haul. Ajay knew it wouldn’t bode well for anyone caught out in the elements unprepared.
He was familiar with Lizzy Colton through her brother Malcolm. He’d seen her that first day, frantic over the children being taken. The whole family had been at their wit’s end. She’d barely glanced in his direction, anxious to be searching. She’d been impatient throughout the safety talk, barreling toward the tree line as soon as it was finished. She’d been assigned to another group, and so she’d been someone else’s problem. Not his. Till now.
He blew another heavy sigh. “Let’s pony up, Pumpkin,” he said, the baritone in his voice echoing around them. “We’re still on the clock, girl!” He grabbed his backpack, checked its contents and slung it over his shoulder.
Pumpkin jumped from the Jeep, her tail waving with anticipation. She barked twice and then took off on an easy sprint through the tree line. Ajay shifted his bag against his broad shoulders and then followed after his dog.
