Page 103 of Snowbound Threat

I’d painstakingly reviewed all the others I’d found in his file cabinet. They were filled with speculation. Pete had many theories early on about what happened to Abby. He’d gone from believing she had been abducted by a cult that had once operated in our fair county to a drifter had taken her life. None of his speculations had come close, and yet I know he found something. I’d been watching him for years. I’d gotten close to him without him even realizing the viper he hunted was seated right next to him.

I’d almost taken care of the problem up at the old miner’s cabin, but they’d gotten away. Even though I went through Pete’s house carefully, I couldn’t take the chance I’d missed something important. Something that taking out Charlie wouldn’t fix. I’d have to take a trip back there soon. Right now, I needed to find out where they were hiding. Best to keep the enemy close.

He’d destroyed his phone and Charlie’s. There would be no tracking her that way.

I tossed the last of the journals into the fire. I’d give them a day to think they’d won. Then I’d find them and whatever evidence Pete had dug up and I’d end this thing once and for all.

Chapter Nineteen

Charlie hesitated at the door to her room. She’d come here after her parents’ death, a broken person.

Charlie had taken a leave from school. She’d told herself she’d go back once the pain was less crippling, only she hadn’t. She’d run away to Denver where she’d gotten a job taking photos and later made it into a career. The thought of coming back to Pine Haven became too much. Each year, she’d promised herself she’d come next month, six months, year. But the years had piled up and soon it became easier just to stay away.

“I know this is hard,” Ryan said beside her.

She looked his way. Hurting him had been one of the worst things she’d ever done. They cared about each other. But instead of letting him help her through the pain she’d run away.

“I’m glad you’re here.” She stopped short of telling him she’d missed him. Charlie didn’t know what their future would be. If they couldn’t make it work, what then?

His eyes softened as he searched her face. “Me, too. Want me to check inside?”

She shook her head. She’d taken the coward’s way out too many times. She needed to be strong. Needed answers about her parents’ deaths. Abby’s disappearance. Her uncle’s murder.

Charlie opened the door and the past enveloped her in a rush. Most of her memories in this town weren’t good ones. Only her time with Pete and Ryan.

“Let’s see if we can get the bed moved out of the way.” Ryan went over to the log bed and tested it. “Won’t be easy. This thing is heavy. I’ll be right back. I’ll get Warren and Adams to help.”

Charlie barely heard him. She went over to the bed and sat. On the walls of the room were some of her first photos taken around the area. A shot of a bull moose up near the creek. Wild turkey hanging out in the backyard. That black bear Pete had been so certain would get her before she snapped the shot.

Pete had always been her biggest fan. He’d encouraged her to get involved in photography.

Ryan and the two officers returned. Together with Charlie they were able to move the bed out of the way enough to see the boards that had been replaced on the floor.

“Thank you, officers,” Ryan told the two men. They returned to their posts. “Let’s see if we can get those boards up.” Ryan knelt on the floor near the four boards that had been replaced and tried to pry them up. He sat back on his haunches. “I’m going to need something with some leverage.” He rose and left the room.

Charlie looked out her window. The breathtaking day outside beckoned, and yet she’d become a prisoner of a madman’s evil plan.

“This should do it.” He returned with a crowbar. Placing the smooth edge against the new boards he applied pressure. It took several attempts before the board was pried free making the removal of the other boards simple.

The small space was revealed, and a single item waited inside.

“It’s a journal. This must be what he was working on last.” Charlie leaned over and picked up the journal. She flipped the pages open. A name she hadn’t heard since she was a teen jumped out at her. “Check out Noah Briggs. Abby saw something she shouldn’t.”

Charlie jerked toward Ryan. “You remember Noah?”

“I do. His parents owned the local hardware store. Noah took it over.”

She remembered Noah being a quiet kid that often had his nose in books. He wasn’t popular and didn’t attend any of the parties. “You think he’s responsible for Abby’s disappearance?” Charlie’s thoughts went wild. Had Noah done something to Abby because of what she’d seen and covered it up through the years? What if Pete had somehow discovered the truth and Noah killed him because he was worried about being found out?

“We need to speak with Noah right away.” Ryan looked over her shoulder as she flipped through the pages. “There are some names here I don’t recognize.”

“We’ll have to check them all out. One of them might be the killer.”

Charlie clutched the journal as they left the cabin. On the porch, she turned to Ryan. “I want to be part of Noah’s interview.”

Ryan wanted to tell her no, but she believed he understood her need to be present. “I’ll clear it with Boone and have him meet us over at the hardware store.”

Warren and Adams flanked them as they returned to the police cruiser. Ryan called Boone with the update. “It’s a new lead we didn’t have before. We’d like to meet you at the hardware store to speak with Noah.”