Page 101 of Fallen Creed

That was then. Now that she recognized the damage Ruben had inflicted, Libby felt a nagging obligation to help Ariel escape, too. Whoever she texted last night seemed to send Ariel into the paranoid frenzy of pacing the trailer like a caged animal. Now, she tagged along behind Libby as if she was afraid to lose sight of her.

When they finally arrived at the shed, Libby noticed her own wave of relief wasn’t shared by Ariel. The tension continued to hunch the blue parka around Ariel’s shoulders like she was bracing against the cold wind. But the wind wasn’t all that cold this morning. The sunlight streaked down through the broken branches, and it felt warm and wonderful.

In fact, Libby felt buoyed by the dripping snow. The crunch underfoot turned to a slush. All good signs that the melting would aid their escape.

Still, Ariel jerked at sounds behind them. Her head pivoted, watching and examining the trees surrounding them.

Libby asked for the keys and Ariel dug deep into her pocket before relinquishing the key fob. Libby climbed in behind the wheel and started the SUV while Ariel slid in on the other side. The air vents blasted on high, and Libby tapped down the cold. They could afford a few minutes to wait for the heater.

This was it. Finally!

Then, as she adjusted the seat and mirrors, her eyes skimmed across the dashboard and her heart skipped a beat. The fuel gauge was on empty.

“There’s no gas!” She shifted to face Ariel.

“What?”

“How can the tank be almost empty?”

Ariel’s eyes darted away, and she stared out the windshield. In a matter-of-fact casual tone, she said, “I guess it might have run down when I was out here.”

“You ran it when you came to get your drugs?”

“For a while, yeah, I guess. It was frickin’ cold. Can’t we just drive someplace and get more?”

“I don’t think we have enough to get anywhere.”

Libby pushed the seat back and punched the engine off. She sat quietly, trying to keep the anger from turning into panic.

“I know where we can get some,” Libby finally said. “But we’ll have to walk to get it. Ted keeps extra containers in the barn.”

“The people you stayed with?” Ariel’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “We can’t go back there.”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s watching the house. We can slip through the trees and get in through the back door. No one will see us.”

Libby’s own suggestion made her sick to her stomach, but there was no other way. She couldn’t have come this far, to only come this far. The snow might have slowed him down, but eventually, Ruben wouldn’t sit and wait and watch. Eventually, he’d come looking for them. Their window for escape was closing quickly with every drip of melting snow.

—81—

Jason let Scout run and weave. He shoveled snow with his nose, biting at it, then shaking his entire head, spraying all of them. He leaped into drifts and sent snowbanks crumbling behind him. Hank only watched, staying by Brodie’s side, apparently not interested in his buddy’s wild antics.

Just when Jason thought the dog was ready to get serious, Scout launched himself into another pile of snow, bounding and plowing then galloping through melted stretches of meadow. His undercarriage was soaked and dripping in between strands of icicles.

Jason glanced back and saw Brodie stooped over something in the sludge. Maggie was at her side.

“Scout, come,” Jason called as he circled back to the two women. The dog head-bumped his leg. A sign he wasn’t ready to stop. But he didn’t argue. He trotted beside his handler, coming to a halt when Jason did and staying put except to nudge a greeting at Hank.

“What is it?” Jason asked.

Brodie fished a small, bright yellow piece of cellophane out of the ice melt.

“It’s a butterscotch candy wrapper.” She held it up. “I put some in Ryder’s daypack. Our grandmother used to have candy dishes filled with our favorites every time we visited. Ryder would crunch these.” She smiled at the memory, then looked up, her face serious. “You’re supposed to suck on them.”

Jason sneaked a quick glance down at Scout. Should he be concerned his dog missed this? How much scent would be left on something Ryder unwrapped? And maybe unwrapped with gloves on.

Maggie squatted down about twenty feet away from where Brodie found the wrapper. She, however, didn’t attempt to poke at whatever caught her attention. When she looked up, her eyes searched for Jason’s. He didn’t like what he saw.

He approached slowly, stepping carefully with eyes down. The snow had melted but left a thin glass layer of ice. More snow covered the smashed down blades of tall grass. He searched the spot where Maggie now pointed, and Jason could barely see the tiny drops of what looked like blood. Before he could say anything, Brodie was standing next to him.