Page 16 of Dark Angel
Picturing the rabbit and the tortoise inside her head for one crazy moment, she laughed. “So, you can’t handle a feisty woman, huh? I’m used to working at breakneck speed. In case it slipped your mind, we still have a kid missing out there.”
“Yeah, I know, and we also have every person available out searching for her. We all have jobs to do, Beth. The search teams have been running all daylight hours since she went missing. Trust me, Ryder has it covered. Searches are something he’s good at and the townsfolk all get behind him. We’ve lost people in snowdrifts and he’s found them.” Styles pulled on a pair of gloves. “If we’d joined the search, we wouldn’t have hunted down this list of suspects, would we? We need to allow the local law enforcement to do their job.” He indicated to a list on the whiteboard. “Did you check to see if any of those people on your list own cabins in the forest? We know this killer is taking the second girl somewhere isolated. If we can discover where he’s taking them, it would be a start.”
Fortunately, Beth could see his point and she nodded. “Yeah, I’ve checked, but none of them own any properties in the immediate area. Discovering where the killer is taking the girls will be near impossible.”
“The problem is there are hundreds of hunting cabins throughout the forest. Many have been there since the first mines, way back. Some are occupied but most of them are deserted or only used during hunting season. Just about anyone can build one and live off the grid out there and no one would know.” Styles went to the coffeemaker and filled a Thermos. “How long before you’re ready to leave?”
Dragging on her coat, Beth went to his side and filled her pockets with energy bars. She looked at him and smiled. “Just in case we’re held up. I want to be eating supper before midnight.”
Beth’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she stared at the caller ID. She glanced at Styles. “It’s Ryder.” She swiped her phone to answer. “Beth Katz.”
“We have a problem.”Ryder sounded agitated.“There’s a van heading out of town with a bound and gagged girl in the back.”
Excitement shivered through Beth. “Stay on the line.” She stared at Styles. “This could be the Pied Piper. Let’s go.”
SEVENTEEN
Running for the door, Beth pressed the phone to her ear. “Okay, we’re on our way. Give me the rundown.”
“The woman who called it in said she followed the van and called me. She had to stop as it was heading up the mountain in the direction of Silver Fish Creek. I’m out at Rainbow coordinating the search for Skylar Peters.”Ryder let out a long sigh.“It would be an hour or more before I get there, especially in this weather, so I can’t act as backup.”
Beth glanced at Styles as they climbed into the elevator. “Do you have the coordinates?”
“Styles knows the area, but I know a shortcut. The road to Silver Fish Creek is steep and narrow and it will be slow going for a van. If you head out through Rock Valley and go through the town of Rosewood, you’ll come out halfway along the mountain road. The trail up the mountain is little more than an old animal track. The mines laid some gravel over it at one time but it’s steep and narrow, but Styles’ truck should handle the going without a problem.”
They dashed from the elevator and Beth pressed her phone to her ear. “We’re leaving now. I will update you as soon as I know anything.”
“Copy that.”Ryder disconnected.
Outside was like walking into a hurricane. The wind howled like a freight train, bending the trees and stripping leaves. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled on for long seconds. The rain came down in freezing sheets, and as Beth ran for the truck, hail pinged off of the hood. She threw herself inside and strapped in as Styles backed out of the parking lot and, lights and sirens blaring, drove away at high speed. They made their way along Main. The road met up with Clear Spring, a highway that wound its way through the local forest. “What do they call the forest?”
“Eagle’s Nest.” Styles accelerated but the noise of the rain pelting the roof of the truck drowned out the sound of the engine. “It covers all of Rattlesnake Creek, from the highway right through to the mountain range and then some. It’s broken by the highway over the bridge that leads into Rainbow. The forest there is known as Wandering Bear.”
Gripping tightly to the edge of the seat, Beth nodded. “Yeah, I heard Ryder mention that name when we were there.”
They raced out of the forest and headed alongside the railroad track for about three miles before turning back toward the forest. Beth noticed a signpost ahead. “Rock Valley is coming up on your left.”
“Yeah, I know my way around town, and if we happen to get lost, we can always use the GPS. There’s a satellite sleeve in the glovebox for my phone if you can’t get any bars.” Styles slid the truck around the corner, the back wheels fishtailing in the deluge of water rushing down the mountain.
Fear gripped Beth as the truck bounced over debris spilling from the torrents of rainwater, coming toward them in wide muddy rivulets. She could hardly make out the road ahead between theswish, swish, swishof the wipers. It seemed that Styles didn’t have a problem driving at top speed in dangerous conditions. They flashed past a signpost that pointed the way toward Rosewood and hurtled along a narrow winding road. Ahead, a flash of lightning illuminated a herd of deer careering down the mountainside toward the road. The brakes on the truck screamed as they bumped over fallen rocks and skidded. It seemed to take forever to stop, and Styles had the truck sliding sideways toward the terrified herd.
Nails digging into the upholstery, Beth hung on for dear life. With her heart in her mouth, she stared at the soaked deer scrambling to get away. Finally, the truck came to a jolting stop, and beside her Styles huffed out a long sigh. She relaxed her fingers and looked at him. “That was a little too close for comfort.”
“It’s not gonna get too much better either.” Styles righted the truck and kept going. “The road the van has taken around the mountain is very narrow. There’s often mudslides, especially in this type of weather. It’s obvious to me he took this route to avoid being seen. It used to be a cattle track before a team mining the area widened it ten years ago. There were so many accidents, vehicles plunging down the side of the mountain and into Silver Fish Creek, the mine was abandoned.”
Horrified Beth stared at him. “Where does it lead to now?”
“A fire road. About two years ago the Forestry put through a fire road with a lookout. The fire road runs through the forest and eventually ends up at the main highway. If I wanted to live off the grid, that’s where I’d head. Apart from the forest warden living in the lookout over the wildfire season, there wouldn’t be anyone around that part of the forest, except those people who don’t want to be found.”
Scratching her head, Beth looked at him, she didn’t understand the reference to Silver Fish Creek. “So, we’re heading up the mountain, right? Shouldn’t we be going down toward the creek if that’s where we assume the van is going?”
“Nope.” Styles turned onto a narrow trail. “The creek is way down at the bottom of the mountain. This road got its name from the mine. Hang on, it’s going to get rough.”
Thunder crashed and lightning flashed all around them as they wound their way at breakneck speed up the steep incline. They seemed to be traveling through intermittent patches of clouds. Swirling mist and sheets of rain surrounded them. The truck hugged the side of the mountain as they maneuvered the narrow road higher and higher. It was as if they were traveling upstream. The swirling water brought with it leaves, pine cones, twigs, and chunks of dirt. As they turned a tight bend, the back of the truck slid out over the deep ravine, the back wheels barely getting purchase on the wet rocks before Styles regained control.
Heart thundering in her chest, Beth stared ahead at certain death. Under the rock formation that formed a bridge, the swollen creek had fast become boiling rapids and rushed down the mountain in a raging torrent of water. Swallowing her fear, she searched the winding road. “There, look, that has to be the van. It looks as if it’s having trouble driving up the side of the mountain. Do you think we can catch it?”
“I’m going as fast as I can without killing us.” Styles shot her a glance. “At the speed he’s going, we’ll catch up with him soon enough. I doubt he’s stupid enough to try and cross the bridge.” He cut his lights and sirens. “Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know who we are right now. I don’t want him to do anything stupid.”
