Page 47 of Trail to Trouble

Chief Ganea turned into the parking lot of Yooper Adventures just as a hearse pulled out, followed by an Iron City squad. Hannah’s chest tightened, and her eyes flooded with tears. Alyssa was in that hearse.

Chief Ganea parked near the front door of the office, and a tall, slim man who looked to be in his mid-thirties walked toward them. He sported athletic shorts and a Yooper Adventures logoed T-shirt.

Cap slid out of the vehicle. “Justin.”

“Cap.”

“The clients are waiting to hear from you,” Justin swung his gaze to Chief Ricco, “or you, I guess, about what they are supposed to do.”

The chief nodded. “I’ll address the group. We’re going to send them all home. We can’t risk their safety, as we really don’t know who’s behind the shooting.”

Justin nodded.

The chief looked at her and Bianca. “Give me a minute to talk with the campers, and I’ll be right back.”

She and Bianca waited quietly in the office with Chief Ganea as Chief Ricco and Cap addressed the crowd.

A few minutes later, Chief Ricco and Cap entered the office.

Cap looked at Justin. “I’m going to the hospital. Text me once all the guests have cleared out. Uncle Lee is still a few hours out.”

“You got it,” Justin replied.

Cap spun to leave.

“Wait!” Hannah called out.

He looked at her.

“Please let me know how Hunter is doing?”

“You bet,” he said and then left.

“I have all the gear sitting outside your SUV,” Justin said to her and Bianca.

Their gear. Alyssa’s gear. She hadn’t really given that any thought, but now that he’d mentioned it, she was thankful she didn’t have to go and get it. Chief Ricco probably wouldn’t have let her anyhow. All she had was what was in her backpack, which was now in the minivan.

“Thank you,” she responded.

“I need to get out of here,” Bianca said as she wrapped her arms around herself. Those were the first words she’d spoken in a while.

“We’ll get your stuff out of the van and I’ll drive us back to town in your vehicle,” Chief Ricco said.

Like her friend, Hannah wanted to be away from this place. Away from Iron City. Away from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She never wanted to lay eyes on this place again. She wanted to close her eyes and reopen them to find herself out of this nightmare.

The sensation of Chief Ricco’s warm hand that came to rest on her shoulder reminded her that this whole thing was real. As far away from a dream as one could get.

Fire Chief Ganea disappeared with the minivan, and she, Bianca, and Chief Ricco loaded their gear into her SUV. Chief climbed into the driver’s seat, she in the front passenger seat, and Bianca in the back. He drove them to the Iron City municipal building.

The chief led them into the building and partway down a long, narrow hall, where they took a left into a small conference room. A few eight-foot tables sat in the shape of a square. She and Bianca sat next to each other on one side of the square, and the chief sat opposite them. Dewey entered the room and sat next to Chief Ricco.

The pretty blonde woman who’d been working the front desk earlier in the day, when she first entered City Hall, entered the room.

“Can I get you anything to drink or eat? Soda? Coffee? Sandwich? We have a great deli down the street.”

“Do you have any sparkling water?” Bianca asked.

“Yep.”