Page 33 of Wilderness Search (Eagle Mountain: Unsolved Mysteries #2)

Aaron called the sheriff directly. Travis was awake, though he wasn’t at the sheriff’s department yet.

“What have you got?” the sheriff asked when he answered the phone.

“I have Olivia with me,” Aaron said. “And Willa.”

The sheriff’s relieved sigh was audible down the line. “Are they all right?”

“Willa has a sprained ankle and a few bruises. They’re fine otherwise.” He gave Olivia a questioning look.

“I’m hungry,” Olivia said. Then more softly she added, “And I’d really like to see my parents.”

“I’ll call your parents,” Travis said. “Meet us at the sheriff’s department.”

Aaron started to protest that Willa needed to see a doctor, but she laid her hand on his.

“Let’s take Olivia to her parents,” she said. “I’ll be fine.” She smiled. “And I’m hungry, too.”

Mr. and Mrs. Pryor were waiting in the sheriff’s office when Aaron, Willa and Olivia arrived. Sylvia Pryor burst into tears and Olivia started crying, too. The others looked on at the touching reunion.

Aaron moved closer to the sheriff. “Where is Scott?” he whispered.

“He’s in the jail in Junction,” Travis said. “I’m going down there later today to question him, after his lawyer gets here from Denver.”

“Do you think he’ll tell you anything?”

“Probably not, but we don’t need his statement. Between what Kelli has told us and what Olivia will tell us, we shouldn’t have any problem proving the charges.”

The Pryors finally released their hold on the girl. “I know you’re all anxious to be done with this ordeal,” Travis said. “But we’re going to need a statement from Olivia.” He glanced at Willa. “And from you, too.”

“Can I at least have breakfast first?” Olivia asked, a plaintive whine edging her words.

“It’s on the way,” he said.

Aaron wondered what restaurant had agreed to cater breakfast at this hour, but voices rose and the door opened to admit an attractive brunette, followed by office manager Adelaide Kinkaid and two toddlers.

“I hope you like waffles,” the younger woman called as she passed.

They followed the women and children into the conference room at the end of the hall, where they began unloading a bin full of food dishes—waffles, scrambled eggs, sausages, hash browns and biscuits.

“This is my wife, Lacey,” Travis introduced the younger woman. “And our office manager, Adelaide Kinkaid.”

“And this is Casey and Kelsey.” Lacey put a hand on the top of each toddler’s head. The two children grinned up at them.

“I love waffles,” Olivia said. She eyed the spread hungrily. “Thank you.”

Aaron realized that he, too, was suddenly ravenous. They all filled their plates, then ate without saying much for the next fifteen or twenty minutes.

Finally, Olivia pushed away her plate. “That was so much better than leftovers and granola bars,” she said.

“Is that what you’ve been eating?” her mother asked.

“It wasn’t so bad,” Olivia said.

“I don’t understand any of this,” her mother said. “Would someone please tell us what happened?”

“I’ll let Olivia do that,” Travis said. “When she’s ready.”

“I’m ready,” Olivia said. “I want to tell you everything.”

“Then come with me.” Travis stood. Olivia and her parents followed him down the hall to an interview room. “Wait until we’re done here,” he instructed Willa and Aaron.

They sat alone in the conference room, amid the remains of breakfast. For a long time, neither said anything, too weary or stunned or overwhelmed to speak.

Finally, Aaron turned to her. “I don’t have words to describe how glad I was to see you this morning,” he said.

“I spent the night telling myself you were probably all right, but it’s hard not to think of the worst.” He stilled as a thought struck him.

“You should call Gary. He’s probably worried sick. ”

“I don’t have my phone,” she said.

“We’ll have to get that for you later.” He handed her his phone and she called her brother and reassured him she was all right.

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” she said. “Right now I’m waiting to give a statement to the sheriff.” She glanced at Aaron. “Yes, he’s with me. I’m using his phone… I will, I promise.”

She ended the call and returned his phone. “Gary says hello. A friend from camp already called to tell him Scott was arrested. I told him I’d fill him in on more details later.”

“I want to hear everything, too,” Aaron said. “But I won’t ask you to go through it twice.”

“What happened with Scott?” she asked. “How did he end up in custody?”

“The girl he was with when you interrupted his attack on her told us how he had targeted and threatened her. And she told us about you making it possible for her to escape Scott’s clutches.

She didn’t know who you were or what happened after she ran away, but after we found your phone behind the pit toilets we put two and two together.

I wanted to believe you had run away and were safe, but we just didn’t know.

We tried to search for you in the dark, but it’s impossible in that rough country.

” He frowned. “Where were you all night?”

“I was with Olivia. She had a pretty comfortable hideout fixed up in a space between two boulders. She’s a remarkable girl.”

He glanced down. “How’s your ankle?”

“It hurts.” She reached down and slipped off her shoe. “I’m sure it’s just a sprain, but I should wrap it and keep it elevated.”

“Let me see.” He beckoned and after a moment’s hesitation, she lifted her foot into his lap.

He began massaging very gently, his hands warm and soothing.

She closed her eyes and sighed. He watched the tension leave her face and his throat tightened as he thought of how close he had come to losing her.

Behind them, someone cleared their throat. Willa opened her eyes and pulled her foot from his lap as he turned to see Adelaide frowning at them. “The sheriff is ready for you now.”

Aaron stood. “Thanks, Adelaide. And thanks for the breakfast.”

“Yes, thank you,” Willa said as she and Aaron slid past her into the hallway.

“Olivia’s parents are taking her to the hospital to have her examined,” Travis said when they joined him in the interview room.

“She’s a strong little girl.” Though he had dark circles beneath his eyes, the sheriff looked energized.

They all probably felt that way. After so many days and nights of searching, Olivia had been found safe, and they had a man who had hurt a lot of people behind bars.

“Olivia is amazing,” Willa agreed. “I was stumbling around in the dark, lost, and she found me and took me to her hideout, gave me tea, offered to share her food and promised to lead me back to the camp in the morning. While we’ve all been worried sick about her alone in the wilderness, she was doing a pretty good job of taking care of herself, though she admitted the novelty of the situation was wearing off and she’d be glad to get back to her parents. ”

“Did she tell you her story?” Travis asked.

“Yes. Does it fit with what you know about Trevor Lawson’s death?”

“It does.”

“What about Trevor Lawson?” Aaron asked.

“Why don’t you tell us what you know.” Travis nodded to Willa.

She spread her hands flat on the table in front of her. How to tell everything she had learned in the past twelve hours, without talking for half a day?

“The night before she disappeared, Olivia says Trevor caught Scott molesting her and they fought,” she began.

“Scott tied up Lawson, made him drink a bottle of whiskey and forced pills down his throat, then walked him to the parking lot. Olivia didn’t see anything after that.

It sounds like Trevor got into his car, tried to drive home and in his intoxicated state was unable to keep the car on the road. ”

“Or Scott followed him and made sure he ran off the road,” Aaron said.

“That last may be difficult to prove, but we’ll investigate it,” Travis said. “Maybe someone spotted Scott’s car on the road behind Lawson.” He turned to Willa once more. “Now let’s hear what happened to you.”

She told her story, from the moment she spotted Kelli waiting for someone by the bonfire until she and Olivia reunited with Aaron that morning. “After hearing Olivia’s and Kelli’s stories, I wonder how many other children that man has harmed,” she said.

“We’ll put out a plea for other current and former campers who may have information to come forward,” Travis said. “That may result in more charges.” He stood. “Go home, both of you. Get some rest. We’ll be in touch if we have further questions.”

Aaron rose. “I start night shift this evening,” he said. “I’ll be in then.”

She and Aaron left together “Do you think Olivia is going to be all right?” he asked when they were in his truck, headed back to Eagle Mountain.

“I think so. She’s been through a lot, but she’s a very resilient girl. And she’ll have her parents. They’ll get her the help she needs.” She shifted toward him. “What about Scott? What’s going to happen to him?”

“Some of it depends on how many other girls he molested, and who will testify against him. And on what charges he faces in relation to Trevor’s death.”

Gary met them at the front door and pulled Willa into a tight hug. When he stepped back, her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. “Did Scott do that to your face?” Gary asked.

She nodded. Gary made a growling sound. “I made coffee,” he said. “Come and tell me what happened.”

They followed him into the kitchen and sat around the table, and the two men listened as Willa retold Olivia’s story of witnessing the torture of Trevor Lawson, and about Sprague’s habit of abusing girls.

“Just as well I didn’t know that about him,” Gary said. “I’d have been tempted to ruin some tools on him.”

“With the evidence of the two girls and what we know about Trevor’s death, I think Scott will be locked up for a very long time,” Aaron said.

Gary wrapped both hands around his coffee mug and studied them both. “Are you two friends again?” he asked.

Aaron looked at Willa, awaiting her answer. She took his hand in hers. “I never stopped loving you,” she said.

“Ha! I knew it,” Gary said.

Aaron looked at him. “What I can’t understand is why you don’t hate me,” he said. “You almost went to trial for a murder you didn’t commit. Even so, your life was pretty much ruined because of the accusations against you.”

“I didn’t go to trial.” He drained his coffee mug and set it down with a thump.

“The DA knew a bad case when he saw one. And my life wasn’t ruined.

I like it here in Eagle Mountain. The only thing I hated was how miserable Willa was.

She was upset about what happened to me and all the harassment, but what she really missed was you. ”

“I never stopped loving you,” he told her. “And I’ll never stop apologizing for what I did to tear us apart.”

She raised their clasped hands and kissed the back of his. “I’m as much to blame as you are,” she said. “So let’s forgive each other. We both came to Eagle Mountain to make a fresh start, so let’s do that.”

“Together.”

“Yes, together.”

Gary stood. “I’m outta here. Have fun kissing and making up.”

He left, and Aaron pulled her to him. “I like the way your brother thinks,” he said, and kissed her.

She took his hand and pulled him toward her bedroom. “We have a lot of catching up to do,” she said.

Aaron followed willingly. They would never get back the months they had lost, but they had years to build a love that would last.