Just as she’d feared. “We need to find them, but I don’t have Samson.”
“Call Naomi. Get her over here with Charley. I’ll get Zorro.”
“He does better with Lauri.”
“Lauri will want to come. Is she here?”
Bree shook her head. “She went to town for coffee.”
“I’ll call her.” Kade drew out his cell phone.
While he called his sister, Bree used the house phone and called Naomi, who promised to come immediately. She also called two other members of the Kitchigami Search and Rescue team but didn’t reach either of them. Her urgency kicked up a notch now that she’d decided something was definitely wrong.
Maybe one of them had fallen. Or the storm had disoriented them and they were lost. But no, they had Samson. He’d lead them home, blizzard or not. Olivia was wailing for her dinner, and Bree stood, torn, in the middle of the floor. She needed to call Anu to come care for the baby. She placed the call quickly, then saw Mason approaching the front of house with his head down against the driving snow. Had he heard about her missing boy already?
Kade snapped her out of her thoughts. “Lauri said she saw Jenna and Davy heading this way in a truck. She’s on her way too.”
Bree closed her eyes in relief, then opened them. “Maybe Jenna’s cell phone is dead.”
Lauri’s car pulled up behind the sheriff ’s SUV, and she hurried through the snow to join him on the porch as Bree opened the door. Both came in stomping snow from their boots and brushing it from their coats.
Mason glanced from Lauri to Bree. “What’s going on?”
“Davy didn’t come home from a ski trip with Jenna. Isn’t that why you’re here?” Bree asked. “It’s okay though. Lauri said she saw them heading this way.”
He shook his head. “I asked the Houghton police to bring Mrs. Saunders in for questioning. We managed to get the truth out of her. It seems the adopted daughter of Mike Saunders, CEO of Kitchigami Mining, was kidnapped. It’s all hitting the papers now. The baby was taken to force him to pull out of his new mining project near the forest. Plus he was paying kickbacks to state officials to get the mining approval through. His wife spilled it all early this afternoon.”
“I saw on the news about the mining project being withdrawn,” Bree said. Her lungs froze. “Are you saying you suspect Olivia is that kidnapped baby?”
Mason nodded and pulled a picture from his pocket. “Here’s a picture of the child.”
Bree’s fingers closed on the picture and she stared at it. Olivia, as she’d looked the first time Bree saw her, stared into the camera. “I-I see,” she managed.
Mason pulled at his chin. “Mr. and Mrs. Saunders are coming to get Olivia tomorrow, once the roads are clear.”
The baby continued to cry in the portable crib in the living room. Bree went to get her and held her close. The infant settled with her fist in her mouth. Mason and Lauri had followed her, and Kade joined them with Zorro, who was already in his search vest.
“Does she have any proof that Olivia is her daughter?” Bree asked Mason. “More than just a picture?”
“The adoption papers. She faxed them over to me. They look legitimate. Ellie Bristol signed her daughter over to the Saunderses, who agreed to pay medical costs plus living expenses for four years while she was in college.”
Bree batted back the tears in her eyes, but they dropped onto Olivia’s face anyway. It would rip out her heart to turn over this baby.
Kade came to stand behind her. He put his big hands on her shoulders in unspoken comfort. “Where did you see Jenna and Davy, Lauri? I thought they’d be here by now.”
Lauri frowned. “I did too. She was in a black truck. A guy was driving. Davy and Samson were in the back. I thought they were heading here. I saw them before I stopped at the coffee shop.”
A big black truck. Just like the one that belonged to the man who had tried to take Davy from Naomi’s. Rob. “Jenna and Davy are with Rob,” she said. She stared up at Kade.
Had Rob told Davy the truth? Bree couldn’t bear the pain her son would feel when he began to question what had happened. Bree gestured at the falling snow illuminated by the porch light. “It’s dark and the weather is atrocious. What kind of person would keep a child out in this without calling? Jenna is in on this with Rob.” Her voice trembled and she told herself to hold it together somehow. She’d get him back.
She heard the front door open, then Anu’s light steps down the hall. “We’re in here,” Bree called. When Anu appeared, Bree told her what had happened. “Has Rob been in contact with you?” Her throat kept clogging with tears.
Anu shook her head. Sobs heaved her shoulders, and she clung to Bree. “I am so sorry, my Bree, that my son would bring this sorrow on our heads.”
Bree hugged her close. “It’s not your fault, Anu.” Tears burned her eyes. She wanted her boy back. Now.
If only she had Rob’s cell phone number. Would he just take Davy and disappear without a word? She couldn’t fathom the man she once knew being so cruel.
Anu pulled away. “I will care for Olivia. Go. Find my grandson.”
Mason was putting his phone away. “I don’t think anyone is traveling far on these roads. We’ve already gotten six inches with another foot predicted. High winds too. My crew tells me it’s nearly impassable outside town.”
Bree paced. “We’ve got to find Davy! Can we get out the snowmobiles?”
Mason put his hand on her shoulder. “Sure. But the wind chill is fifty below. Rob must be holed up somewhere. He’s not going any farther than we are. When the snow stops, I can get choppers in the air and have every trooper in the UP watching for him. He’s not getting far.”
Bree knew what Mason said was true, but she wanted to do something. She couldn’t just sit here in the house and not look for her son. She sent a silent plea to her husband.
Kade nodded. “I’ll get the snowmobiles out,” he said. “We’ve got warm clothing, Mason. In the direction Lauri saw them headed, they had to be going east on 38. They couldn’t have gotten much farther than Baraga, not in this weather.”
“That’s forty miles of open road,” Mason pointed out. “You’ll have hypothermia by the time you get there.”
“We’ve got heated gear,” Kade said. “Heated socks, the whole nine yards. It won’t be comfortable but we’ll be okay.”
As if to punctuate his words, the wind shrieked around the windows and howled down the chimney, scattering cold ashes onto the floor. Was her son out in this? The thought made Bree shudder.
“I’m going to try Jenna one more time,” she said.
Conscious of their gazes, she picked up the cordless phone. Before she punched in the number, she had a thought. What if Jenna had called Rob from this phone? Bree cycled through the redial numbers. Anu’s number, Hilary’s, Naomi’s, Mason’s, Lauri’s, two more of Anu’s numbers.
Then there it was. A number she didn’t recognize. Not local. The area code was farther east, over by the Soo.
She pressed the button to dial it and prayed.
Please, please,
Lord, let this be Rob’s.
Let him listen to me. The dial tone rang in her ear. One ring. Two, three, four. Her fingers tightened on the phone. He wasn’t going to answer, and she waited to be dumped into voice mail.
Then his voice spoke in her ear. “Bree?”
“Rob!” She nearly sobbed with relief. “Is Davy all right?”
“He’s fine. Sleeping. I debated about answering, but I knew you needed to know. Don’t try to find us, Bree. You’ll put Davy in danger. I’m saving his life.”
Her angry tears dried. “What are you talking about?” she whispered.
“Some very powerful men want him . . . silenced. His only hope is to disappear with me.”
“He saw you bury a baby, didn’t he?”
“I’ll take good care of him, Bree. I’ll let him call once in a while.”
Bree spoke at the same time as the phone went dead in her ear. “Rob!” Nothing. She tried to call again, but this time he didn’t pick up. She burst into tears and told Kade what he’d said.
Kade took her hand and glanced at his sister. “Where exactly did you see them?”
“Heading this way on Houghton Street.”
“They could have turned off on Kitchigami, then hit the highway,” Mason said.
Hysteria numbed Bree’s thoughts. “I need Samson,” she said, her voice breaking. “I’ve got to find Davy.” Bree listened to Mason call the jail. He told the deputy to put out a lookout on the truck. He also called for help from the state police.
“Victor is mixed up in this somehow,” Mason said, putting his phone away. “Victor and Davy saw Rob bury a baby. It’s all got to be connected. Victor is the key. Plus he’s Jenna’s brother. She knows more than she’s told us. Get me those puzzle copies you have.”
Bree forced herself to focus. Anything to help find her son. She handed the baby to Lauri, then pulled out the file of sudokus, then added a pad of paper to the stack. “That nine-digit number is always the same. But I can’t seem to find out what it means.” She spread the puzzles out on the coffee table so the men could look.
She wanted to jump in the snowmobile and search for her son, but he was in a vehicle. He’d be untraceable by the dogs. Plus, she was severely handicapped with Samson missing too. She had to figure this out another way if she could think past the panic numbing her brain.
Kade picked up two sheets. “We’ve been focusing on that number across the top, but have you checked the numbers in the following rows?”
Bree peered at the puzzles he held, then down at the one in her hand. She grabbed the pad of paper and jotted down the number from the second row: 325714698. She scanned the number across the top: 896417523. “They’re the reverse of one another,” she said. “On all the puzzles.”
“So which one is our clue?” Kade asked.
Mason joined them and glanced at the numbers too. “Let me run them through the department and see if anything pops up.” He pulled out his cell phone and called in the request.
“Could we talk to Victor again?” Kade asked.
Mason shrugged. “Sure, but I don’t see that he’s going to help us. He’s lost in another world. I released him, by the way. I left a message on Jenna’s voice mail. A man showed up to get him. Short, kind of mashed-in face and a high voice.”
Lauri gasped. “That sounds like the guy who’s been threatening me.”
THEY WERE WELL AND TRULY STUCK. QUINN HIT THE STEER-ing wheel with both hands. He hadn’t counted on this, and there was no easy way out. His gaze went to the rearview mirror and his sleeping son in the backseat. Had he taken the boy only to watch him freeze to death in a blizzard?
Jenna roused from sleep and tossed her hair out of her eyes. “Are we there?”
“No.” He let the silence bring her around to staring out the windshield at the white death waiting to swallow them.
Think,
think.
He used to know the area around this little side road well. It was dotted with caves. He had survival gear in the back. Shelter would be all they needed to ride it out in relative comfort. They were off the beaten path, so no one was likely to stumble on the truck. Tomorrow when the storm passed, they could hike out. Maybe law enforcement would assume they’d perished in the blizzard. They could start a new life the easy way.
“Are we stuck?” Jenna asked.
He gritted his teeth at the stupid question. “Good guess, Sherlock.” He ignored the way she flinched and felt relieved to spout off some of his anger.
“What are we going to do?”
“Find a cave, make a fire, and ride it out.” He shoved his door open against the wind and went around the bed of the truck, where he peeled back the tarp and removed it. He rolled it up to take with them, then grabbed his backpack of gear and the two bedrolls. Jenna got out with him and he tossed her the backpack, then shouldered the rest of the stuff.
“Get Davy!” he shouted above the wind.
She nodded, then went around to the back door and roused the boy. Davy rolled out into the wind sleepily with his jacket still unzipped and no hat.
“Get your hat and gloves!” Quinn shouted.
Davy blinked sleepily but reached in and got his belongings. He pulled his ski mask and hat over his head and grabbed his skis. “Should I put my skis on?” he asked, the wind snatching away some of his words.
Quinn nodded and grabbed his own. They’d make better time on skis. Only Samson would have to brave the drifts. The dog would wear out fast, and Davy wouldn’t go anywhere without the dog, so they needed to find shelter quickly. He led them toward a rocky crag rising from the snow.
Carrying so much stuff was awkward on skis, and the half-mile trek took so long he couldn’t feel his face by the time they reached the cliff formation. He shined the halogen flashlight on the cliff face but saw only high drifts of snow. There had to be caves around here. The darkness of the night and the heavy snow hampered his view.
Tossing his burdens to the ground, he grabbed the backpack from Jenna and unzipped it, then took out the collapsible shovel. He extended the telescoped handle, then used it to prod the snow along the rock face. When the tool plunged in up to his shoulder, he knew he’d found a cave. He tossed the shovel down and began to scoop out armfuls of snow until the entrance loomed as an even darker space than the night.
The cave was clear of animals, but he was surprised to find the interior covered in ice. Huge ice formations hung from the ceiling. Still it was big enough for them all, with room for a fire too. He motioned for the rest of them to come in.
Jenna held back until Davy and Samson entered, then ducked in herself. “It’s good to be out of the wind!” She blew on her gloved hands. “Can we have a fire?”
“If I can gather enough sticks.” He tossed the sleeping bags to the ground. “See what you can do about spreading these out and getting you and Davy warm. I’ll be back with the wood.”
He left one of the flashlights with her, then stepped back out into the blizzard, where he grabbed his quickly vanishing shovel and glanced around for trees. It was too dark to see, and even his flashlight didn’t pick out any likely trees. He went up the hillside to the right of the cave and found an armful of wood.
By the time he returned to the relative warmth of the cave, his breath pumped in and out of his lungs in spurts. Jenna had spread out the sleeping bags and Mylar blankets. “Looks cozy.” He dropped the wood and built a fire near the cave mouth, leaving access if someone needed to go outside.