CHAPTER FIVE

Seth rushed into the ER, nerves on edge, his gaze searching for his wife. Relief hit him like a blow to the back of his knees when he spotted her.

Carly stood in the hallway, her phone pressed to her ear. He waited for her to finish her call. She slid the phone into her pocket and looked up. As soon as their eyes met, hers went misty. Seth choked up, strode to her, and hugged her tightly against him.

Every time she was in danger, he needed to touch her to believe that she was whole and unharmed, as if his body demanded proof of her survival on a cellular level.

“I’m fine, Seth.” But she hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his damp coat for a few seconds before lifting her chin.

The dark circles under her eyes told him she wasn’t fine. Two highly stressful cases right on top of each other were wearing on her. She’d been devastated when the child had died, and she’d had no downtime to recover. Seth knew how that felt all too well, and his wife’s heart was even more tender than his.

But in their lines of work, sometimes stress overload couldn’t be helped.

He released her and held her at arm’s length. “Tell me what happened.”

She gave him a succinct summary.

Hearing the story from his wife’s lips was different from taking a stranger’s statement.

The violence hit closer to home.

It became intimate.

Personal.

“Can you describe him?” Seth took his notebook and pen from his chest pocket.

“I couldn’t see his hair because of the surgical cap.” Carly closed her eyes and pursed her lips. “The light reflecting on his glasses kept me from seeing his eyes. He was at least six feet tall, and he moved like he was fit. The skin on his hands was light. His body seemed thicker, more filled out and mature than a very young man.” She opened her eyes. “And he wore black boots. I’m sorry I can’t give you a better description.”

Seth looked up from his notes. “It’s actually impressive considering his hair and face were covered. You are such a cop’s daughter.”

Her face was so tight, her attempt to smile should have cracked it. “We both know how inaccurate eyewitness descriptions can be.”

Seth nodded. “I’m headed to interview the other witnesses and view the surveillance tapes. Bruce will stay with you and the boy.”

“I wish we had a name. I hate calling him the boy over and over.”

“Give him some time. He’ll tell us.”

“I know.” Carly massaged her forehead. “I’ll take him home. Mom can work her magic with food and love and furry creatures. I cleared it with my boss. And we have an appointment with a child psychiatrist at his office in Solitude this afternoon. I’m dropping Brianna off at James’s house on the way.”

“Sounds like a sensible plan. Please be careful. Trying to kidnap a child from a hospital ER is a ballsy or desperate move,” Seth said. Neither one boded well for the child—or since the boy was headed to the farm, for Seth’s family.

But since he’d married into the Taylor family, he’d learned that the Taylors didn’t turn their backs on those in need. Animals, children—anyone who needed help was welcome in their home. This child would be no different. He’d be folded in their embrace and healed with their love.

“The sheriff has cleared Bruce to stay with the boy for the next twenty-four hours,” Seth said. Though it had taken some convincing on Seth’s part.

“All right.”

“I’m going to head downstairs to the security office now.” He pressed his forehead to his wife’s. “I wish I could stay with you.”

“I know, but the sooner you solve this case, the sooner we’ll all be safe.” Carly moved back a few inches.

“No pressure.” A wry smile tugged at Seth’s mouth. He didn’t want to leave her.

“We’ll be all right.” Carly wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself. The vulnerability in the gesture killed him. “You take care.”

“Back atcha.” He leaned over and kissed her, then stepped away.

One of the hardest things Seth had to do was walk away from his wife and trust her to keep herself safe, especially when she was so fragile.

But he had to trust her to do her job. Carly would protect the child, even if it hurt her in the long run.

Seth left the examination room and spent the next hour interviewing witnesses and hospital staff. All accounts agreed with Carly’s statement. When he was finished, he found the office of hospital security. An older man in a guard uniform stood behind a bank of monitors like Captain Kirk on the bridge of the Enterprise. Seth knocked on the door frame.

The older man waved him in. “I’m Todd White.”

Seth introduced himself. “What do you have?”

“Plenty.” Todd turned back to his monitors. “We have him on at least five different feeds. Here he is, getting off the elevator in the ER hallway.”

Todd pressed a button, and the image froze on the screen.

Seth leaned closer. The image was black and white and slightly grainy. Carly’s description had been spot-on.

“Too bad he’s wearing a mask.” Todd moved his mouse, and Seth watched the attacker enter the ER exam room, emerge with the boy, and racewalk back down the hall. The nurse staggered from the doorway. Seth’s gut clenched as he watched Carly give chase. Todd changed camera viewpoints as the pursuit continued to the final showdown at the entrance to the ER. The would-be kidnapper managed to keep his face turned away from the camera at all times.

“Do you know how he got into the hospital?”

“I do.” Todd clicked through a few computer windows. “He walked in through the emergency entrance.”

On the screen, the man walked through the sliding doors of the ER. He wore a parka over scrubs. His hood shadowed his face as he walked to the doors that led into the ER, scanned a badge, and went through.

George worked his mouse and pulled up the video from the other side of the door. They followed the fake doctor all the way to the doctor’s locker room. When he reemerged into the hallway, the parka had disappeared, and he wore a surgical mask, cap, and glasses with thick, black frames.

“Whose badge did he use?” Seth asked.

“A resident who had just gone off duty.” George wrote a name and phone number on a sticky note. “I talked to him a few minutes ago. He stopped for a hamburger on his way home, and his car was stolen. The badge was in the front seat.” George switched the camera view to the parking lot. “This clip shows the car parking in the employee lot.”

The suspect had likely followed the resident.

“Can you make me copies of all the hospital security feeds from three o’clock this morning until after the incident?”

“Already did.” Todd handed Seth a USB flash drive.

“Thanks.” Seth pocketed it. “Let me know if you find anything else of concern.”

“Will do.” Todd turned back to his monitors.

Seth left the hospital and drove to his office at the sheriff’s department, where he assigned a deputy to view the flash drive and dig up background information on Peter Green and Kandi Hollis. Then he took a two-minute shower and put on clothes that weren’t covered in blood. Considering the weather, he opted for tactical cargo pants, a black polo shirt bearing the sheriff’s department logo, and boots.

He called a police detective he knew in Portland and relayed the information about Peter’s and Kandi’s murders. Whenever possible, death notifications should be performed in person. Since the weather and distance prohibited Seth from getting to Portland, the Portland detective agreed to locate and notify any next of kin. He also promised to question family members and check out Peter and Kandi’s apartment as well.

Seth spent the next hour filling out reports and requesting information from the National Crime Information Center, also known as the NCIC, and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He had several hits on missing kids in Oregon, but none of the photos were a match. But then, he had no idea when the child went missing or where he was abducted.

If he was abducted.

The child had come from somewhere. Had no one reported him missing? Why not?

Seth called the owner of the house, who lived in California and had rented the property to Kandi through a Realtor in Hannon. Seth tracked the transaction through the real estate agent. The terms were month to month, with the homeowner accepting six months’ rent in cash in lieu of a longer-term contract.

No surprises there.

Seth’s phone rang. “Yes.”

“It’s Gabe. We have a report that a big black SUV with a broken taillight turned into the O’Rourke resort out in Solitude. Isn’t that where you live?”

“It is.” With the phone pressed to his ear, Seth grabbed his coat on his way to the door. While thrilled to have a lead to follow, Seth wasn’t excited that the information was taking the investigation closer to home.

“Watch the bridge,” Gabe said. “We’re getting reports of major flooding.”

“How long is this rain supposed to last?”

“A few more days at least,” Gabe said. “The storm front is huge, and it’s stalled right on top of us. I’ll meet you at the resort.”

“Isn’t your shift over?”

“With this weather, most of us are going to be pulling doubles. Plus, you need backup.”

“Thanks.”

The drive to Solitude took almost two hours. As much as Seth would have liked to have driven faster, torrential rain limited visibility to what seemed like two feet in front of his car. A thick layer of water sluiced from the blacktop, and when he drove across the bridge into Solitude, the engorged river churned frothy and white, an occasional wave splashing over the sides onto the road.

If the rain kept coming, the river was definitely going to rise over the bridge. Seth called a warning in to the sheriff’s department as he made his way to the entrance of the resort. The driveway and parking areas were a sea of mud. He prayed his car didn’t get bogged down.

He cruised the main lot without seeing the vehicle, then stopped at the log cabin–style office. The O’Rourke resort was a corporate retreat. Set along the Rogue River, the resort offered private cabins, conference space, and team-building exercises, all built around the usual Oregon outdoor activities: white-water rafting, fly-fishing, and hiking. The resort’s owner, Andrew Reynolds, was behind the thick wooden reception counter. Flames crackled in a huge stone fireplace.

His face turned grim as Seth walked in. “What’s wrong?”

Andrew had crappy luck. The resort had already experienced several crimes and a couple of fires.

“I’m looking for a black SUV.” Seth wiped his feet on the mat.

Andrew turned to his computer.

“Left taillight is out,” Seth added.

Andrew typed. “Can you tell me what’s going on? When I see you, it usually means my property has burned down.”

“No fires this time.” Seth unzipped his jacket and approached the counter.

“Good to hear. Though with this weather, I suppose flooding is more likely.” Andrew worked his keyboard. “I only have a few guests.”

“I’ll bet. It’s nasty out there.” Seth crossed the wide-planked floor to spread his hands to the fire’s warmth.

Andrew pointed at his screen. “A black SUV is registered to cabin 12. Guests’ names are Lyle and Ethan Dodge. They’re brothers here to hunt elk. They live in Portland.”

Kandi and Peter also lived in Portland.

“How many other guests do you have on-site?” Seth asked.

“I have one other group here.” Andrew consulted his computer. “A corporation by the name of Knight Products booked a two-bedroom cabin for the CEO, Terry Reece, and a guest, Shawn Collins.”

“That’s all?”

“Everyone else canceled their reservations.”

Why would anyone come to the resort in this weather?

Seth turned away from the fire and went back out into the storm. Rain sliced through the muddy gravel parking lot. Water sloshed under his boots as he jogged back to his vehicle. He drove around to cabin 12. The black Chevy Suburban sat in front.

As much as it killed Seth to wait, he called Gabe and relayed the information.

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Gabe said. “Don’t go rushing in alone.”

Two years ago, Seth probably would have done just that. But he’d wrestled his impulsiveness to the ground since then. He moved his vehicle two cabins down, in front of what appeared to be an empty unit. While he waited, he researched online records for Ethan and Lyle Dodge. Except for a few speeding tickets, Lyle’s record was clean. But Ethan had been arrested twice for burglary in Portland. He’d done six months in a county jail for the second offense. Nothing current, though.

Could the murders have been a burglary gone wrong? Maybe theft was how they funded a vacation at a fancy resort.

Impatient, Seth scanned the resort. The rain fell in a torrent, pounding the parking area into mud soup. His gaze drifted to a curl of smoke from a chimney at the end of the row of cabins. He moved his car to park in front of cabin 2 and got out.

He jogged up the porch steps and knocked. A man of about forty-five opened the door.

“I’m Detective Harding from the Rogue County Sheriff’s Office.” Seth showed his badge. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Of course. Please come in.” The man stepped back and gestured for Seth to enter.

Seth shook the rain off his jacket and stepped over the threshold. “Thank you. Can I have your name?”

“I’m Terry Reece.” He walked to the round table that separated the kitchen from the living room areas and closed the lid on a laptop computer. A local news station played on a flat screen television mounted on the wall. Terry picked up the remote and muted the TV. “What’s this about, Detective?”

“I’m investigating a homicide.” Seth took off his jacket and hung it by the door. A fire blazed in the hearth. The heat slowly soaked into his damp clothes. Over the smell of wood smoke, Seth caught a whiff of tobacco. “Did you see the men from cabin 12 last night?”

Terry shook his head. “I stayed in and worked.”

“What about dinner? Did you go out?”

“No.” Terry gestured toward the kitchen. “Had a burger here and turned in early.”

“Any noise outside during the night?”

If the Dodge brothers had left the resort during the night, they would have had to drive right past Terry’s cabin.

“I slept well. Didn’t hear a thing.” Terry chuckled. “I did indulge in scotch and cigars after dinner. I’m sure that helped.”

“What about early this morning?” Seth asked. “Did you see them at all?”

“The rain was loud. I heard nothing over it, and I haven’t left the cabin today. We probably should have canceled the trip, but clearing my calendar isn’t an easy task.” Terry lifted his palms. “Besides, the weathermen so often exaggerate. Remember the blizzard they forecast last year? They closed the schools, and we didn’t see a single flake of snow.”

He had a point.

“But this time they were right on the money.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” Terry sighed. “But we’re hardly roughing it. The resort is well appointed. The Wi-Fi is still up and running. So we played chess instead of going hunting? It’s not the end of the world.”

The door opened and a man walked in, accompanied by a blast of wet wind.

“Detective Harding.” Terry pointed to the newcomer. “This is Shawn Collins.”

Tall and fit, Shawn had buzzed blond hair and flat eyes. Seth would bet a week’s pay Shawn was former military.

The smell that drifted into the room from the paper bag in Shawn’s grip could be nothing other than fried chicken from the local deli, Nell’s.

Seth’s stomach rumbled.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t be more helpful.” Terry showed Seth to the door.

“Thank you for your time.” Seth shrugged into his rain gear and went out onto the porch.

As Seth scanned the area, his Spidey senses tingled. A movement in the window of cabin 5 caught his attention. Seth blinked hard and looked again. Nothing. Had he imagined it?

Seth walked off the porch, climbed into his vehicle, and drove closer to unit 12. He parked in front of the adjacent cabin. A sheriff’s cruiser turned in to the lot, water spraying from tires as the car bounced through a deep puddle. Gabe slid his black-and-white into the space next to him.

Seth got out of his car, put up the hood on his rain jacket, and walked around to Gabe’s lowered window. “The SUV is owned by Lyle and Ethan Dodge. Elk hunters.”

“Perfect,” Gabe said dryly. “They’ll be well armed.”

“Yep.” Seth retrieved his still-damp body armor from his trunk and put it on. “Let’s go.”

They approached the cabin just as they had the house the night before and flanked the entrance. This time Seth took the lead, banging on the door.

Footsteps sounded inside. But instead of the front door opening, Seth heard another door open, followed by the splash of footsteps. “They’re running out the back.”