Page 94 of Snowbound Threat

Disappointment washed over her. “Does he have a description of the person who created the dare?”

“Not really. As I said, the bar was busy, and he’d been drinking. This guy’s name is Tracy Miller. Does the name sound familiar to either of you?”

Charlie looked at Ryan who confirmed her answer to the sheriff. “We’ve never heard of him before.”

“Makes sense. Miller’s not a local. I’m guessing he’s here skiing and had a little too much to drink last night. I’d say he kept the party going after he left the bar because he’s obviously intoxicated. Will’s taking him in to sober up. Maybe something more will come once he sobers. I’ll head over to the bar and see if I can get some video footage and maybe find out who all was at the bar last night who might remember the person who created the challenge.”

Charlie prayed there would be some answers coming but her hopes had been dashed before.

Ryan confirmed they’d radio once at the cabin. “Hopefully by then you’ll have more to go on.” He ended the call and concentrated on driving up the narrow mountain road that hadn’t seen much sunlight. The snow was piled deep. He’d been forced to put the vehicle into four-wheel-drive at the bottom of the mountain.

“Why would the killer have someone follow a police car?” It didn’t make sense to Charlie.

“My guess is he needed a distraction for some reason.” Ryan glanced at the rearview mirror, his thoughts going to the same place as Charlie’s.

“But no one’s following us now. There’s been no sign of anyone back there.”

“You’re right.” He frowned.

“They needed a distraction to go to a place where police had been watching previously.” And then it fell into place. “Pete’s cabin.”

“We’ve searched the cabin multiple times. There’s nothing there.”

“Or we missed it. Think about it. The journal we found in the barn was well hidden. It gave us some information but nothing to identify the killer. If Pete figured out the identity of the person who took Abby, then he’d take extra precautions to make sure the journal with the killer’s identity was never found by him.”

Ryan grabbed the phone and tried to call out. “The weather or the mountain is blocking service. We’ll have to wait until we reach the cabin to try and radio Boone.” His hands tightened on the wheel as the SUV slid slightly on an icy patch of road.

“Is it this narrow the rest of the way up?” Charlie’s voice reflected her anxiety.

Ryan smiled. “I’m afraid so. In fact, it’s little more than a four-wheeler path just past this next curve.”

Not exactly the news Charlie wanted to hear.

While Ryan focused on his driving, Charlie tried to keep her mind off the dangerous road by going over the details that had come out regarding Abby.

Had she been involved with someone? Charlie wondered if that was what Abby wanted to talk about. Yet in the days before her disappearance, she hadn’t seemed happy like someone in a new relationship. Perhaps something had gone wrong.

Eddie seemed emphatic that whoever the mystery man was, it couldn’t be Junior. Charlie wondered if what they believed to be initials was just Abby’s way of throwing anyone who read her diary off from the real person. Why the secrecy? What was it about the person she was seeing that she didn’t want anyone to know?

She voiced her concerns to Ryan.

He paused to consider the question for a moment. “It was probably the boy’s idea. Abby likely would have preferred not to sit on it.”

Charlie remembered Abby telling her she wished she had someone like Ryan. She’d had a few boyfriends in high school, but none had ever worked out.

“Why would he not want her to tell her friends? What was he hiding?”

“That’s the question of the day.” His voice held a thread of tension. “Figuring that out might just unravel this whole thing.”

Charlie faced forward again, shelving the mystery man for the moment focusing instead on what she’d heard from Pete about his investigation through the years. He’d told her on several occasions that he believed he was getting closer. But each time she’d asked him about it, he’d told her his lead ended in a dead end.

The last conversation they had there’d been something different in his voice. He sounded on edge yet excited. She’d asked him if it was about the case. He told her he’d tell her everything soon.

“What was Pete like before he died? Was he worried about something?”

Ryan didn’t act surprised by the question which scared her.

“Yes. Pete was extremely jumpy the last time I visited. Constantly checking the window as if he expected someone unwanted to show up.” Ryan cocked his head. “I asked him point blank what was troubling him, but he couldn’t give me an answer.”