Page 39 of High Country Escape

“Yeah.” He pulled a twig from his hair. “Did your group find anything?”

She shook her head. “Not one footprint or piece of clothing or anything.”

Dalton looked past her and spotted the sheriff and Gage walking toward the road. He headed to cut them off. “Dalton, where are you going?” Bethany called, but he ignored her and picked up his pace.

He caught up with Travis and Gage at the road. “Sheriff, wait up!” he called.

They stopped and waited for him. “What is it?” Gage asked. “Did you find something?”

Dalton shook his head. “No. But I was wondering—do you think William Ledger might have grabbed the girl? She’s the same age Roxanne was when she was taken, and he had to be the one who broke into Roxanne’s cabin and left the doll and the note. I mean, no one else would do that, would they?”

“We’re still looking for Ledger,” Gage said. “If we find him, we’ll certainly question him about this.”

“Are you saying he got out of prison and just disappeared?”

“He failed to report even once to his parole officer,” Gage said. “He’s not leaving an electronic trail under his own name. There are bulletins out to every law enforcement agency in the US and Canada warning that he’s wanted for parole violations, but no one has reported seeing him.”

“What about the truck he was driving when he ran Roxanne off the road?” Dalton asked. “That was pretty distinctive.”

“No one has seen it, either,” Gage said.

“He probably ditched it shortly after the accident and is driving something else now,” Travis said. “He’s using cash, or maybe a stolen credit card, to pay his expenses. He may have changed his appearance and he’s certainly using another name.”

“Do you know if Roxanne has had any more trouble?” Gage asked.

“I haven’t talked to her today,” Dalton said.

“An Amber Alert went out this afternoon for Sarah,” Travis said. “We’ll issue a new bulletin for Ledger as well.”

“I hate thinking about that little girl out there, with someone like him,” Dalton said.

“We’ve got deputies combing the county for any sign of her,” Travis said.

“Go home and get some rest,” Gage said. “We may need you to search tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here,” Dalton said.

The ride back to search and rescue headquarters with his fellow volunteers was silent. Everyone looked worn-out and discouraged. “I imagine the search will continue tomorrow,” Danny told them before they dispersed to their own vehicles. “Watch your alerts, if you’re available.”

Dalton had intended to return to his apartment for a hot shower and whatever he could find in the refrigerator for a quick meal. But instead, he turned the Jeep toward his parents’ home. Welcoming light glowed golden in the windows along the front of the house, and he heard laughter as he trudged up the front walk. He let himself in with his key and stood for a moment in the darkened foyer, listening to the sound of conversation from the living room—his father’s deeper voice, followed by his mother’s familiar tenor, then a softer, feminine murmur that made his heart beat a little faster.

He moved to the doorway of the living room. “Hey,” he said.

The three of them were seated side by side on the sofa, Roxanne between his parents, a large photo album open on her knees. She smiled up at him, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. But the smile faded as she took him in. She pushed aside the album and stood, but his mother had reacted even quicker. “What happened to you?” Diane asked. “Have you been in an accident?”

Dalton looked down at himself and realized there was a large rip across the front of his shirt where he had caught it on a thorny vine, and mud streaked the knees of his pants where he had fallen. He probably had scratches on his face from morevines. “I was on a SAR call,” he said. “We were looking for a missing girl in some rough country.”

“Did you find her?” Roxanne asked.

“Unfortunately, no.” He moved to an armchair adjacent to the sofa, dropped into it and closed his eyes. He could have fallen asleep then and there, he thought.

When he opened his eyes again, Roxanne had returned to her seat on the sofa and was watching him. He looked around for his mom and dad. “Your mom went to make you something to eat,” she said. “And I think your dad went up to get a room ready for you.”

“I can drive home after I rest a minute,” he said.

“You don’t look like it.”

He sat forward and wiped his face with his hands, trying to wake up. “I guess I’m tireder than I thought.”