Page 55 of High Country Escape

“Was Debra in on this?” Roxanne asked. Had the big coincidence of Debra being on the tour not been a coincidence after all?

Kara frowned. “That busybody has been in our way from the first,” she said. “I’m glad we got rid of her.”

“What did you do to her?” Roxanne asked, alarmed.

“Don’t worry. She won’t be bothering you anymore.”

“Did you put that doll in my house?” Roxanne asked.

Kara grinned. “Wasn’t that clever? Billy gave me the doll and the note.” The grin faded. “I thought it would remind you of the good times when we were all together. It wasn’t meant to make you move out.” She raked her fingernails down both arms, leaving white streaks where the nails dug into her skin. “Billy wasn’t happy with me about that. He got very angry, until I agreed to help him find a way to get you alone.”

She had helped Ledger kidnap her, just as she had all those years ago. “I’m going to be sick,” she said.

Kara rushed to shove a trash can under her mouth as Roxanne vomited. When she was done, she collapsed back onto the bed. Kara left the room and returned with another damp cloth and a glass of water. “Drink this,” she coaxed and held the glass for Roxanne. “Billy will be back soon and you’ll feel so much better then.”

George Ames arrivedat the same time as the first search and rescue volunteers. Ryan, Eldon, Sheri and Carrie sped up in Ryan’s Jeep, followed by Tony Meisner on a motorbike and Grace, Harper, Caleb and Dr. Rand Martin in the search and rescue vehicle. Rand was the search and rescue group’s medical director.

The three couples on Dalton’s tour gaped at them all until Mr. Ames herded them back to the Jeep. “These folks know whatthey’re doing,” he said. “They’ll find the two women. Meanwhile, let’s continue your tour. There’s still lots to see up here.”

The volunteers gathered around Dalton. He looked for Carter, then remembered he was on another tour. Bethany hadn’t shown up yet. Maybe she was busy elsewhere. Danny was working a shift at the hospital, so his partner Carrie was in charge. “Tell us what happened,” she said.

Dalton described the two women, then explained that they had gone to use the bathroom across the road and not returned. He detailed his own search for them and his encounter with the hikers who had heard a single scream. He spoke as if the events had happened to someone else, his voice without emotion until he got to the part about not being able to find them. “I knew she could be in danger,” he said. “I never should have let her out of my sight.” His voice broke, and he had to turn away.

Carrie directed the volunteers to spread out and conduct a hasty search. Dalton pulled himself together and faced her again. “I can help,” he said. “Where do you want me to search?”

She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You can’t be part of the search,” she said.

He started to protest, but the arrival of a black-and-white quadrunner with two uniformed deputies distracted him. Gage Walker shut off the vehicle and he and Deputy Ryker Vernon stepped out. “Stay here and tell them what happened,” Carrie said to Dalton. “That’s the best way you can help.”

Dalton repeated his story for Gage and Ryker as the searchers headed out. He described the two hikers he had talked to as a middle-aged man and woman, both with short graying hair and dark green jackets. “Did you see anyone suspicious while you were conducting your tour?” Gage asked.

“There are always a lot of other people around,” Dalton said. “But no one was acting strangely.”

“Anyone who might have been following you?” Gage asked. “Anyone you saw at more than one stop?”

Dalton tried to think. Had there been anyone? “I don’t think so, no,” he said after a moment. “But I wasn’t really looking for that.” He had thought here, in the mountains crawling with tourists, they would be safe.

Gage stared out across the area, which was still busy not only with searchers, but with half a dozen tourists. “They could have fallen, or wandered off the trail and gotten lost,” he said.

“I don’t think both of them would have fallen,” Dalton said. “And we would have heard them calling for help. Or someone would have heard them. And they weren’t gone that long.”

Gage met his gaze again. “Do you think Ledger took them?” he asked. “Both of them?”

“I don’t know what to think.” Dalton tried to bring moisture into his dry mouth. “How much do you know about Debra Percy?”

“Aaron shared your concerns about her,” Gage said. “So we ran a background check. Her story checks out. Why?”

“She’s just always bothered me,” Dalton said. “And she kept showing up out of the blue to question Roxanne, even after Roxanne told her she didn’t know anything about her missing sister.”

“Do you think Roxanne is missing because Debra took her somewhere?” Ryder asked.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Where would she have taken her?”

“Someone posing as a tourist could have stuffed her into a Jeep and driven away,” Gage said.

The thought made Dalton sick to his stomach. “Do you think Debra Percy could be Betty Josephs?” he asked. “The woman who was visiting William Ledger when he was in jail?”

“Didn’t you tell Aaron that Debra was the one who told you about Josephs?” Gage asked.