Page 34 of Chasing Creed

The suite gave her two rooms and plenty of space not only to spread out and work but also to pace. Outside the window, snow began to cover the pavement. Traffic below moved more slowly. Lines of headlights and streetlights glittered with icy drizzle.

Pakula insisted the small farming community had little to offer. At first, Maggie thought it was impossible that someone hadn’t noticed. But she’d seen the stretch of farmland, the distance between houses. It wasn’t unusual for there to be miles separating properties. Mailboxes were at the end of long driveways. Fences, woods, creeks, pastures. It wouldn’t be difficult to keep a young girl hidden. Or even several young girls.

She filled her glass, emptying the can, and went to the mini fridge to grab another. On the counter, she’d left the other envelope Pakula had handed her. Back at the desk, she turned it upside down and let the contents fall out. It was an assortment of pages and copies of documents. One stood out. A handwritten note:

Iris, I know you don’t want them but remind Sara to help herself to my jams. Eleanor

Iris’ mother. How could she not know something more?

22

Mississippi

Creed and Grace were exhausted by the time they got to their hotel room, but Creed still held tight to her leash when he saw the door to the adjoining room left open. The dog’s nose sniffed the air while she tugged toward the opening. Creed let his duffel bag slide to the floor and put his index finger to his lips. Then he lifted her onto one of the queen beds. She immediately started digging a nest in the pillows.

Back at the doorway, Creed peeked into the other room. In the dim light, he saw bags, equipment, dog vests, and harnesses piled on top of the beds. Scout poked his head around the corner of a bed. Creed heard the big dog’s tail thump against the floor. He tried to put his finger to his lips like he did with Grace, but Scout didn’t know the signal. Instead, he crossed the room slowly, sleepy-eyed and wagging.

Creed crouched down to meet him halfway. Scout welcomed him with a head-butt. From this angle, Creed could see that Brodie, Jason, and the dogs had pulled comforters and pillows from the beds to make a sleeping area. He wasn’t surprised to find them all together. Road trips triggered Brodie’s PTSD. Having Hank, Jason, and Scout close by seemed to help.

Hank glanced up but stayed sprawled in the middle. Jason was fast asleep, head back, mouth open. The kid could sleep anywhere. A trait he claimed he learned in Afghanistan. A trait Creed envied.

He signaled for Scout to return to his place then Creed started to tiptoe back to the other room.

“Hey, Ryder,” Brodie whispered as she climbed out from between Hank and the side of the bed. “Everything okay?”

“Go back to sleep. I was just checking on you guys, and Scout decided he needed to greet me.”

“It’s okay. I need to go to the bathroom. Hank, Scout, stay. I’ll be right back.”

She followed Creed all the way to the other room. It wasn’t until she went over to greet Grace that he saw all the bandages. In her baggy shorts and T-shirt, her swathed arms and legs looked like a Halloween zombie costume gone wrong. The yellow, fuzzy socks he’d given her for Christmas didn’t make it any better.

Before he could ask how she was doing, she said, “It looks worse than it is.”

Her short hair stuck up in places where it’d been scrunched against a pillow. Her eyes looked droopy enough to believe she might have actually gotten a little sleep. All of it only reinforced that she was his little sister, and he’d failed once again to protect her. But he couldn’t dare say that.

“Did you guys eat?”

She nodded. “Jason fed the dogs. He warmed up a casserole Hannah packed. There’s some left in the mini fridge, if you want.”

“Grace and I already ate.”

“I’m sorry about what happened.”

“Brodie, you don’t need to apologize.”

“I know you worry about me, and then I’m clumsy and fall.”

“You didn’t just fall. You were trying to protect Hank. It’s no different from Jason getting zapped by the electric fencing trying to protect Scout. Stuff happens on searches. No matter how hard we train or prepare, there’s always going to be something that might trip us up.”

She nodded, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“You were right about that rubbish pile.”

Her eyes shot up. “You found something?”

“Someone. Or maybe just a piece of someone. You were right about the cooler on top. It was newer than the rest of the debris. And it was hiding a hand sticking up.”

“You think it’s Kyle Lawrence?”