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Monica checked out one of the three doors opposite the kitchen. She listened at one door, then hearing nothing, he hurried to open the door for her. He turned the knob slowly.

She peeked in and stepped into the room. He quickly joined her and looked inside. The compact bathroom had a sink, commode, and bathtub. She pulled back the shower curtain and shook her head.

Clear. Then they went to the next door, and when she opened it, they found a closet, coats hanging inside, snow boots, and nothing else.

They moved to the last door, which had to be the bedroom. This time, Andy turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. A queen-size bed was sitting against one wall, the covers half hanging on the floor as if someone had recently left the bed.

He headed over to the wooden door in the room that he suspected was the closet and found a walk-in closet with clothes on one side and linens and towels on the other.

Monica checked out the glass door, half hidden by vertical blinds, and he assumed that it led to another balcony. A wall must have separated the living room balcony from this one, so he hadn't realized there would be another balcony.

He hurried to the door, but when he went to unlock it, he realized it was already unlocked. He peeked through the blinds. Smaller boot prints were imprinted in the snow, and a larger man's boots were beside them.

"Hell." Irritated to the max that they could have just missed them, Andy rushed onto the balcony and looked down.

Footprints had run toward the imprint of where a car had been parked. Then, the two people got into the car and took off. There were no cars anywhere in sight.

Monica joined him. "It looks like they were here for a while, probably straightened up the kitchen and went straight to the bedroom to rest."

"Yeah. Then heard us enter the apartment at some point." He pointed to a parking area behind the motel. "Tire tracks there."

“Let’s see if we can find them.”

They hurried out of the apartment, down the stairs, and through the lobby. Once outside, they got into his car and headed around the motel to the backside, where a dumpster androom for about six cars sat. Only one vehicle had been there, and now it was gone.

They drove off and followed the tracks, but the road led back to a snow-packed area, and they couldn't tell where the car had gone.

"They only have three ways to go—back toward town, or in the direction of the cabins, or hit the road we had been on and go from there once they get farther down the road," Monica said.

"They would most likely keep going. I suspect they would be afraid whoever was after them might return to the cabin they'd stayed at or go to Denny's grandparents' cabin." Andy drove back toward the cabin.

"Or not. Pierre supposedly is the one who planned things out and disappeared, unlike these guys, who ended up back at Eloise's house. So maybe they will go to one of the two cabins. I would opt for his grandparents' place. "

Andy drove as fast as he could, but the road conditions were still icy, and his tires slipped on patches.

"Don't wreck the car."

He shook his head, not wanting that either. "Nope. I can't imagine what the guys would say at the office if they heard I was in yet another accident."

"Right. And out here?" She checked her phone. "No reception. So we don't want to be lost in action again."

They finally reached the first road that led to the neighbor’s cabin. Andy slowed down.

"Yeah, go for it. It's first, so we might as well check it out."

He pulled into the long drive, but Eloise's car wasn't there. “Do you want to go inside to see if there’s anything anyone missed?”

Monica eyed the lifeless building. “I don’t think anyone’s here, but we’re here now, and we might as well make certain.”

They exited his SUV, guns drawn, and approached the cabin using caution. A white hare hiding under a snow-covered bush darted out of its hiding place and dashed into the nearby woods, making Monica jump back.

Andy caught her arm before she completely lost her balance and fell. “Are you all right?” He ran his hand over her back to calm her nerves.

“Yeah. Don’t tell me the hare didn’t scare you too.”

He chuckled. “Damn near gave me a heart attack.” He used the lockpick to let them in, and they cleared the house. No one had been here since the police had been.

Monica took a deep breath and let it out. “Are you ready to find Denny’s grandparents’ cabin?”