Page 85 of Lost Lake
Abandoneddidn’t begin to describe the place. Rotten wood threatened the integrity of the structure. Cedar siding split and was hanging by nails, looking like it wanted to take the cracked windows down with it. The porch slanted at an angle as if waiting to fall off the front. A surprisingly sturdy-looking red metal roof sat on top of it all.
Gabe could easily imagine the matching interior in what looked to be a one-room cabin. Anger for Lucy raged in his gut. How could anyone force a little child to live here? The uncertainty. Her fear. Had she been restrained all this time? Too many days for such a young child. For anyone.
He should’ve found her sooner.
Jude laid a hand on Gabe’s arm and telegraphed strength through his expression. What would Gabe do without his teammates? He might not have his traditional family at his side, but he was part of a family nonetheless. One who had seen him through years of trials. They would see him through this one.
Gabe nodded his understanding at Jude and turned back to the cabin, his anger receding a notch.
Mina didn’t stand around, but rifle shouldered, sights on the target, led her team up the steps. At the door, she took her place to the right.
El took the left side. Ulrich stacked behind Mina. Two of the remaining deputies split between each side. The last one, a large burly guy, approached the door.
Mina signaled for the team to move forward. Though the door was so ramshackle it looked like a strong breeze would take it down, a deputy turned and kicked it in.
Wood splintered, and the door disintegrated. They charged inside.
In a matter of minutes, the SWAT team members spilled back out of the building, jogged down the steps, made a circular sweep of the property, and stopped out front.
“All clear,” one of the deputies shouted, and the team lowered their rifles.
El stepped down to the porch, her rifle at rest. She shook her head.
Gabe’s heart fell, and he clung to the nearest tree branch to stay upright.
Did this mean Lucy and her captor weren’t in there?
Most likely.
Why, Father? Why? Why must this little girl continue to suffer?
El waved Gabe and Jude ahead.
“Sorry, man,” Jude said as they slipped out of the brush. “I really believed she’d be there.”
Gabe’s disappointment nearly overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t speak so he simply nodded. He focused on his anger to get his strength back as he strode across the grass. He took the porch steps two at a time and entered the one-room cabin.Someone had lit an oil lamp, and a soft glow revealed a rusty metal bed with a mattress covered in a surprisingly clean white sheet. Pillows had clean cases too, and the blankets looked new.
The back wall held a small kitchen, the other side, a wood stove with a fire smoldering inside. There was a faint smell in the room that didn’t seem to fit with a secluded cabin, but he couldn’t place it. If anyone else noticed it they didn’t say anything.
He glanced back at Jude. “You smell that?”
“Musty smell common to closed-up cabins?”
“No, it’s something else. Maybe chemical. The owner could’ve stored something here in the past.”
Gabe approached El. Jude matched him stride for stride. “Fire says someone was here not long ago.”
She nodded. “My guess is our suspect came back to get anything incriminating then bolted right after the witness saw them.”
Carrying a single piece of paper, Mina joined them. “Check out the window before you go. There’s a child’s handprint there, and we found this.”
She held out the paper and displayed rudimentary stick figures. A man, woman, and child, and an indistinguishable blue object at the child’s feet.
El leaned closer. “The red hair coloring for the mother and child couldn’t be a coincidence.”
Gabe pointed at the blue blob. “This is your true giveaway. Lucy thinks Bluey is real, and she wants him to come live with her.”
“So she was here,” El said.
