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By now, you should soon be on the final leg of your journey.You’ll have to leave the car behind at Vector Mountain. You’ll follow the path, which I’ve marked for you. I’ve provided everything you’ll need fromhere.
Patrick says hurry.Alexa’s voice shook a little bit on the final words before she visibly steeled herspine.
“Vector Mountain?” Ethan’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he swore silently. That’s where the caves were that the RCMP officer had warned him about. How had Tillman become familiar with thearea?
As if plucking the thought from his mind, Alexa mused, “Maybe he lived near here when he was a kid. After his father died, he would have stayed in the child welfare services system until he aged out. There’s no telling what part of the province he might have lived in during that time. Or those he visited. We can be sure of one thing, though. He’s returning to something familiar to him. He wants thatedge.”
After another twenty minutes, the road suddenly ended. Ahead was only grass and rock. Ethan braked abruptly. Then sat for a moment, his jaw clenched. “Whatever he has planned, I won’t riskyou.”
“Before you promise that, we need to see what he’s got in store for us.” She met his gaze head-on. “We can’t risk Patrick, either. We’ll figure something out. But we’d better make it quick.” She pointed to theclock.
He stared at the hands on it, transfixed. Their time had just about run out. A sneaky chill of dread shot down his spine. Without another word, he got out of the car and approached the vehicle coming to a stop behind them. He drew out a cell to call the RCMP officer back. They were going to need that local he’d promised, so they weren’t at Tillman’s mercy. Now that they could guess what the man had in store for them, it was time to plan a few surprises of theirown.
* * *
“And I’m telling you,it can’t be done.” Jackson Weaver, a man who lived nearby, shook his head emphatically. “Most adult males can’t even move inside these caves. Every single branch is a crawler, and when the space does open up in a few areas, there are keyholes to watch out for on the floor. It’s hazardous in there. There’s a deep lagoon inside, with treacherous undercurrents. I could get you to it from this side of the cliff. But there are a hundred different passageways that lead to and away from it, all around thisbluff.”
Which was why, Alexa thought, Tillman had brought themhere.
She stared at the jagged side of the cliff that the men were arguing over. They were close enough to make out the dark entrances dotting the stony bluff. None of them were more than a foot and a half wide. The thought of being inside one of those tunnels with glacier-carved rock all around her, made her fleshcrawl.
“We know he meant for me to be the one to go in after Patrick.” Alexa surprised herself with the steadiness of her voice. The climbing shoes he’d left were close to her size. The helmet with the miner’s light attached were too small for any of the men. The knee and elbow pads, the gloves…everything had been chosen for the one person in this party that they’dfit.
And the hand-held radio left with the clothes would be her link to thekiller.
“No one’s going inside there without proof of life first,” Ian declared. With his hands on his hips, he surveyed the bluff beforethem.
“Damn straight,” Ethan agreed. “We have to know the kid’s here before anyone goes in afterhim.”
“There are openings on the seaside of this bluff, too,” Jackson said. “Three people have died in the last thirty years trying to scale that cliff from there. Lost their balance and fell to their deaths on the rocksbelow.”
“Maybe the folklore could wait until later,” Alexa suggested. Her heart was already thumping. Her palms were growing damp. She knew how this was going to end, even if Ethan refused to admit it. Patrick was here. Tillman wouldn’t have left him behind. The boy had been taken for one purpose only—to set up thismoment.
“Alexa.” The radio crackled. A chill broke out over her skin at the sound of the disembodied voice. “I see you disobeyed me. I expected you would. No matter. You’ll soon learn discipline. Let’s get started, shall we? If you look up to your right, you’ll observe our young friend peeking out of one of the entrances. Do you seehim?”
Nyle peered at the towering bluff through a pair of binoculars that had been among the equipment they’d hauled from the trunks of the vehicles. He motioned to the others.Pointed.
Alexa looked upward. She saw a flash of white. It still wasn’t light enough to make out the shape that far away. She took the binoculars from Nyle and looked through them. And felt a curdle of fear when she recognized the mop of blond hair. The pinched face stamped withfear.
“I think I could make it through the caves,” Steve Friedrich said. Everyone stared at him. “I’m long but I’mwiry.”
“You’re too tall,” Weaver responded. “The tunnels would be too cramped for you to maneuver the hairpinturns.”
“We’ve wasted enough time.” The result was certain, and Alexa was suddenly in a hurry. Sighting Patrick had ignited a sense of urgency that wouldn’t be denied. “I’m going to be the one to go in. We all realize that. Figure out a plan and do itfast.”
“No.” Ethan’s voice was emphatic. “I’ll call the local RCMP detachment again. They can round up an officer who’s the rightsize.”
“Another stand-in?” She cocked a brow. “That went over so well the last time.” And then she jumped when a high-pitched scream of pain split the air. It took a moment for her to recognize that it, too, came from theradio.
“I’m afraid I’m becoming a bit irritated with thedelay.”
It was all the impetus she needed. Alexa sat down and donned the clothes Tillman had left, her handsshaking.
“Ethan.” Jonah drew his attention. “She’s right. We’re out of optionshere.”
His jaw clenched so tightly Alexa feared it would shatter. For long moments, he stood there, and she knew he was grasping for an alternative. She was also aware that there weren’t any. Finally, he squatted down and started sorting through the equipment they’d brought along. “Okay. Here’s what we’re going todo.”
Ten minutes later, Alexa was nodding. “Yes. I’ve got it.” The plan had been polished, re-arranged and then perfected again. She was anxious to get started; to avoid hearing a second scream coming from the radio. Ethan grabbed her arm and walked her several yards away, positioning himself in front of her, his back to theothers.