Page 37 of High Country Escape
She closed the door behind the other woman and turned the lock, then returned to the kitchen. Diane was finished dicing the potatoes. “Would you and your friend like something to drink?” she asked. “I’m sorry I didn’t offer before.”
“That’s all right. She couldn’t stay long.”
“I guess Eagle Mountain was a good choice for you,” Diane said. “You’re already making friends.”
“Kara is my neighbor at the tiny houses.” A potential friend.
“It’s good to have neighbors who are friends.”
“She said the sheriff’s department is done with the property and my landlord has installed a new lock. There’s no reason I couldn’t move back in.” Except that Ledger—who else would have left that doll and that note?—was still at large.
“I think you should stay here for a while longer.” Diane didn’t look up from chopping herbs. “You know you’re welcome. And my oldest son, Aaron—did you know he’s a sheriff’s deputy?”
“Yes.” Roxanne tensed. “What about him?”
“He didn’t go into any details, mind you. He takes confidentiality very seriously. But he did tell me it wasn’t a good idea for you to move back to your tiny house until they had figured out who was behind the burglary and arrested them. He told my husband and me to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity in the area, and he said he and the other deputies would be making regular patrols by the house.”
So much for being an unobtrusive guest. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“We’re not upset,” Diane said. “Though if you have any idea of who we’re watching out for, that would help.”
Roxanne hesitated. “Maybe a man. But I’m not sure. It...it’s someone who tried to harm me once before. A long time ago. He was in prison, but now he’s out. He’d be in his late forties or maybe early fifties now. Not too tall, with a mustache.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry I don’t know more.”
Diane moved over and put her arm around Roxanne. Roxanne held her breath, surprised by her longing to lean into the hug. She couldn’t speak, sure she would burst into tears if she tried to say anything.
“We want you to be safe and it sounds like you’ll be safest here,” Diane said. “Better to have a lot of people looking out for you.”
Roxanne nodded. “Thank you,” she managed to whisper.
Diane patted her shoulder. “Look in that cabinet behind you and take out the cocoa, baking powder and vanilla. I feel like making some brownies for dessert. Chocolate doesn’t cure everything, but it can’t hurt, right?”
It was such a simple thing—homemade brownies and hugs. But Diane would probably be shocked to know how much they meant to Roxanne.
Chapter Ten
Dalton didn’t make it to his parents’ house in time for dinner that evening. He had just left Aaron at the soccer fields when his phone alerted with a search and rescue summons to look for a missing camper in the mountains above town. He stopped by his apartment long enough to grab his SAR gear, then headed for headquarters.
Carter was already there when he arrived, and Bethany pulled into the lot shortly after him. “We’re looking for a ten-year-old girl, Sarah Michaelson, missing from her family’s campsite at the Bryson Creek National Forest campground off Forest Road 1432,” Danny told them.
“That’s a pretty small campground,” Tony said. “Only eight campsites, if I’m remembering correctly.”
“You are,” Danny said. “Sarah was there with her parents and her six-year-old brother. She told her mom she was going to walk up to the entrance to the campground to take photos of some wildflowers she had seen there. When she didn’t come back after forty-five minutes, the mom went to look for her. The whole family and some of the campers in the area searched for her, too, but they didn’t find anything. That’s when they called 911.” He glanced over at Sergeant Gage Walker, who stood a few feet away. “Do you have anything to add?” he asked.
Gage, the sheriff’s younger brother, moved to stand beside Danny. His expression was grim. Dalton remembered the sergeant had a young daughter of his own, probably close to Sarah’s age. “The entrance to the campground is only about ahundred yards from the family’s camp,” Gage said. “It’s right on the forest service road. No one saw Sarah around the time she went missing, and no one reported traffic on the road, though there’s a lot of brush and some big boulders that block the view of the entrance from most of the campsites.”
“Are we sure she walked up to the entrance?” Harper asked. “Maybe she changed her mind and went in a different direction.”
“We’re not sure of anything at this point,” Gage said. “We’ll need to search the entire area around the campsite. On foot. Most of that area is heavily wooded, making an aerial search, even with a drone, impractical.” He glanced at Danny. “That’s all I’ve got right now.”
Danny nodded. “All right, everyone. Carrie has maps of the area. You’ll work in teams to search your assigned sections. Anna and Jacquie will start at the family’s campsite and try to determine which direction Sarah went, but as soon as she’s cleared the campground itself we’ll start our search.”
Volunteer Anna Trent and her trained search dog, a black standard poodle named Jacquie, moved to join Gage. “We’re ready when you are, Sergeant,” she said.
Gage, Anna and Jacquie left and the others lined up to take a map and receive their search assignments.
The road to the campground was lined with vehicles—sheriff’s department SUVs and Forest Service trucks, along with passenger cars of locals who had heard about the missing girl and showed up to help search. People milled about the campsites and clustered around the girl’s family, who stood with Sheriff Travis Walker and Forest Service Ranger Nate Hall. “Search and rescue is here,” the sheriff told Sarah’s parents as Dalton and the others followed Danny into the camp.
“Thank you for coming.” Sarah’s father, red-eyed and white-faced, greeted them.